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Number of U.S. Troops to be Left in Afghanistan may Increase; Russia Continues Airstrikes in Syria; Cleanup Continues in South Carolina; Interview with Senator Lindsey Graham; Officials Look into Oregon College Shooter's Mom. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired October 7, 2015 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[08:00:00] ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Wednesday, October 7th, 8:00 in the east. Russia launching new air strikes overnight, targeting several towns in western Syria. Moscow says it's willing to cooperate with the United States in carrying out future attacks. The question is, are they going after ISIS or America's rebel allies?

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. and NATO have been concerned about Russia's military presence in Syria both on the ground and in the air. The NATO secretary general condemning Russia's violation of Turkish air space, calling it dangerous, reckless, and unacceptable behavior. CNN's Barbara Starr following developments for us live at the Pentagon. Strong words.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Indeed. Good morning, Michaela. An update, the action in Syria, Russian military action, has changed significantly overnight. A short time ago the Russian defense ministry said it began naval attacks into the Syria. Now, U.S. officials are able to tell us that indeed a few days ago in the Caspian Sea, let's take a look at the map, the Russians moved several surface warships into the Caspian and they have every reason to believe those ships are there indeed to begin naval attacks with their missiles into the Syria.

The Russians have said the attacks have begun. The U.S. says it knows the ships are there. It is trying to get the intelligence, the radar data to show that those attacks have indeed begun.

But that is just one change overnight. U.S. officials are also telling us they are able to confirm at this hour that Russian ground forces are now in action in western Syria, that the Russian artillery and rocket launchers we've talked about for the last 24 hours that are on the ground in western Syria have begun their attacks in that area, which is an area where anti-regime forces and civilians, of course, are located.

Those Russian weapons, those Russian ground attacks are there, the U.S. says, to back up Syrian war planes in the sky. All of this as the Russians say they want to work with the U.S. on that de- confliction of the air space extending their version, perhaps, of an olive branch. That remains to be seen. Another round of talks could happen at any point, but with this latest action, the U.S. perhaps increasingly skeptical of Russian intentions. Chris?

CUOMO: Especially as your reporting has suggested that olive branch comes after they have done all they can to shore up the Assad regime which would obviously be inimical to the U.S. interests. Barbara Starr, thank you very much. Let us know what else you get.

Now, on another front of the war, the head of U.S. forces in the Afghanistan region says ISIS and Al Qaeda are getting stronger there. So he is he's adjusting his recommendation for the number of American troops needed to stay on the ground. CNN's Nic Robertson joins live this morning from Kabul, Afghanistan. Frightening thoughts to Americans, the idea of another Iraq where the U.S. has to stay a long time, withdraws, and things seem to get worse. What does it look like there?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sure. The analogy just keeps growing as well. Billions of dollars spent, many, many hundreds of thousands of U.S. military man hours trying to train the Afghan national army here. The Taliban threat has been growing since the U.S. draw down began a few years back. We're down to 10,000 troops more or less now. It will go down to 1,000 by the end of 2016. The Taliban now so significant in tens of thousands able to take control of a major city. You now have ISIS thrown into that mix. Thousands of ISIS here operating in Afghanistan. Al Qaeda rising up against inside Afghanistan, we're told thousands of them.

The picture that was presented and everyone could see perhaps a year or so ago that U.S. troops could draw down. Well, now the U.S. general in charge is saying maybe not so fast. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. JOHN CAMPBELL, COMMANDER OF U.S. FORCES IN AFGHANISTAN: Based on conditions on the ground, based on the transitions I've talked about, I do believe that we have to provide our senior leadership options different than the current plan that we're going with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: So I was talking to some Afghans forced out of the town of Kunduz. The Taliban just took control of it recently. These townspeople told me yes, we do need U.S. forces. Why? Simply put they told me they saw their own army running away in the face of the Taliban. They don't think Afghan forces are up to the job yet. General John Campbell has said himself their abilities to be to the best patchy at times.

These town people told me we want U.S. support to continue. Don't hit civilians, they say, don't hit hospitals, but also we now, as U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter has said very clearly, it is never the U.S. intention to hit hospitals and those types of facilities. [08:05:00] He said "The U.S. military takes the greatest care in

our operations to prevent the loss of innocent life. When we make mistakes we own up to them." Owning up to them there, this of course the investigation into the Doctors without Borders hospital hit over the weekend in Kunduz. Michaela?

PEREIRA: All right, Nic, thanks for all that, a very complicated situation there. Thank you.

Back here stateside, water-logged South Carolina is not out of the woods. In fact there is serious threat of flooding. Right now officials are carefully watching and monitoring the Beaver Creek Dam in Columbia. Boris Sanchez is live in Kingstree, South Carolina with the latest. There is concern that that dam actually could imminently fail.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is correct, Michaela. Within the past hour we got word that it is not a question of if but rather a question of when that dam is going to breech, and that has huge implications for towns all along the east side of South Carolina, because it is at a lower elevation, so all the water is heading into town like Kingstree where we are right now.

I should tell you we're at the home of Bobby Dukes (ph). He's lived here about 50 years and he told me he dodged a bullet. Take a look at this. The water literally at his doorstep just a few inches away from his home. His front yard has basically become part of the Black River swamp. You can't see his mailbox. It is submerged in water next to that Bush. If you look across the street there is a home completely submerged in water. There are about five homes in this neighborhood alone that are covered in water, flooded out. There is also a bus right there you can see. That bus actually serves as an adult day care center that we saw was closed yesterday.

And this street continues down and it is completely submerged. This is an area called Fool's Hill, and it is at a lower elevation than the rest of town. And this water is moving east as the river overflows, the swamp overflows into this neighborhood. It is hitting Highway 52, which is a busy highway here in Kingstree. And there is a bridge there that is always submerged. It will be a long time before the water recedes and before inspectors can get to the bridge and see whether or not it is safe to travel again on Highway 52, Chris.

CUOMO: And everybody has to remember, Boris, that what you are showing us right now, everything will change because of that water. Those houses will have to be rebuilt. Those vehicles are almost all lost. That infrastructure, the bridges and roads, will almost certainly crack and need replacement. That is time. That is money.

Here to discuss the issues is Republican presidential candidate and senator from South Carolina Lindsey Graham. Senator, sorry to have you on this occasion, but what can you tell us about the need, the scale and scope of devastation that your state faces?

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R) SOUTH CAROLINA: Well I don't think we can give you good assessment yet because a lot of the damage is yet to come because the water from the upstate has got to flow to Columbia and eventually the coast. And if these dams break it will be a lot different than if they don't. So I'm going to meet with the governor and her team at 10:00 and get a better assessment of where we're at and what we're going to most likely need in the future.

CUOMO: How frightening is the prospect in terms of what you know of the state's history?

GRAHAM: This is -- well, there is nothing to compare this to. We've had Hurricane Hugo that was devastating. But this has went inland. It's touched more places in South Carolina. Almost every county was affected in some fashion. So the amount of damage to be done, I'd just be making something up. It is going to be a large amount of damage, a lot of homes lost. The most consequential thing is the loss of life. We're in the teens now, and I just hope people stay off the roads until we get a better handle on this.

CUOMO: And we've been keeping the word out. We'll stay on the story, we'll report the need and different way for people to help.

GRAHAM: Thank you.

CUOMO: Absolutely.

GRAHAM: Let's deal with one other big topic in the news overseas, and then we'll go into the political implications of everything going on in your life right now as a presidential candidate. Syria, it seems to the untrained eye at least that Russia is doing exactly what it wants to shore up the Assad regime. It is not fighting ISIS and it is doing it all right under the United States' nose. Is that a fair assessment? And if so, what are the options for the U.S.?

GRAHAM: That is a very fair assessment.

CUOMO: So what can the United States do about it under the leadership of you and others?

GRAHAM: OK, well, number one, I think that is a fair assessment, that the Russian president is all in for Assad. What I would do is form a regional force to go in and destroy ISIL. You never destroy ISIL, Chris, without a ground component. There is nobody left, I believe, to train in Syria. If you can find some people to train, count me in. But the problem is we insist they fight ISIL alone. They want to go after Assad who's murdered their families. So the first thing I would do is try to get the region together, the Sunni Arabs working with the Americans to counter the Russians and Iranians and Assad.

CUOMO: So if you are fighting ISIL with a coalition, let's say it comes together. At the same time Russia and Iran are killing off people who are inimical to Assad.

[08:10:00] So yes, you are making progress on ISIS. But what about your problems with Assad and that Iran and Russia are doing a power play on you at the same time? GRAHAM: That's a great question. What they are doing is our

goal is to replace Assad and degrade and destroy ISIL. I share both of President Obama's goals. But his policies are failing miserably. He has not been all in when it comes to getting rid of Assad. The people we train have limitations on what they can do.

So you ask a really good question. Is it right for America to train people, knowing that the Russians and Iranians and Assad's forces will kill them without providing them help?

Here is what I would tell Russia. I intend for Assad to go because the war never ends with his presence. He's a magnet for ISIL in terms of recruitment because he's a puppet of Iran that helps ISIL recruit. People in Syria are not going to accept him as their leader. So to the Russian president, he is going to go. We are going to go in and destroy ISIL. You are welcome to help. But if you want to fight for Assad, that will be your choice. But if I'm president of the United States he is going to leave Syria because I want this war to end. The refugees never stop flowing. Lebanon and Jordan are very much affected if this war continues to go forth.

CUOMO: The question is, how do you get Russia out? And that's a question that we'll leave for today.

Let's move on to some of the political implications in your life right now. The first one is the polls. The polls are out now and they show a couple of things clearly in the key states and in the likely battleground states early on of Iowa and New Hampshire. Donald Trump is the man. He's at the top. He's the prohibitive leader now for several weeks on end. He says look at the rest of the field. You got me, you got Carson, you got Rubio. You know what he says about them. You got Bush, you know what he says. You got Fiorina. You know what he said about her. The rest of you, he says, should drop out. You are at a hash mark in these polls. You need the get out and help your party by narrowing the field. What do you say?

GRAHAM: Well, I say that I think I've got a message unique to the field, that I've been to Iraq and Afghanistan 35 times. I have a coherent vision of Syria. Mr. Trump's foreign policy to me is pretty much gibberish. And at the end of the day this is a process. This time in 2008 and 2012 the people leading, none of them won. I was with John McCain who was fifth in a four person race. I'm going to be in New Hampshire this weekend with John. I'm going to spend a lot of time on the ground in New Hampshire, some in Iowa. And I am convinced that the more people I meet in New Hampshire, the more they understand who I am and what I want to do for the country. I do want to work across party lines to fix immigration and get us out of debt. And I think I am the best person to be commander and chief, and thank God for Iowa and our New Hampshire because its gives a person like me a chance.

CUOMO: So you tell yourself when you look at these polls, it hasn't really started yet. It was like this in the last cycle. I still got a shot.

GRAHAM: Yes. I was with John McCain when he was fifth in a four person race. He did 100 town hall meetings in New Hampshire. I'm going to try to duplicate that.

I've got a very compelling message in terms of a life story. I lost my parents young. Government was there to help us. I owe a lot to a lot of people. And 35 trips to Iraq and Afghanistan, 33 years in the Air Force. I understand this war. I have a plan to win it. And we're never getting out of debt if we can't get Republicans and Democrats to work together. I'm tired of fighting. I'm the Republican in a primary who openly talking about working with Democrats to get this country back on track.

CUOMO: And you get a big "amen" from the American people in general. But within your own party that is seen as dissent. So last point here for this interview.

GRAHAM: All I need is an "amen" from about 15 percent.

CUOMO: That's right. You'd be in good shape then. Ben Carson said something that is getting a lot of flak about the shooting in Oregon. Let me play it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN CARSON, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Not only would I probably not cooperate with him, I would not -- I would not just stand there and let me shoot him. I would say, hey, guys, everybody attack him. He may shoot me, but he can't get us all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Now, this also.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- the students didn't do enough to save themselves.

CARSON: I said nothing about them. I said what I would do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And can you say what you would do?

CARSON: I would ask everybody to attack the gunman because he can only shoot one at a time. That way we don't all end up dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Donald Trump one of the few to weigh in on this said "Ben Carson is talking about what to do in general. He's not criticizing the victims in Oregon. This is not fair criticism." What do you say?

GRAHAM: I think Mr. Carson has no idea of what he would do. You know, I've been in the military for a very long time. I've never been a front line soldier by any means. But I can tell you this. You don't know what's -- like, during the holocaust. You are overwhelmed. All I can say is that's not what we need to be saying as leaders of the country. I'm glad President Obama went to see these people. I just don't think that is the road to go down in terms of questioning people who have lost their lives, because you have no idea what you would do.

[08:15:03] CUOMO: So it is not about what you'd do in that moment anyway. It is about how you stop that moment from happening. Do you have plans?

GRAHAM: Exactly. Well I think the mental health area is right for bipartisan ship, 80,000 people fell to background check in the last couple of years and less than a hundred prosecuted. There are about a million people who have been adjudicated a danger to themselves in the federal and state level who are not in the background check system. That's a good place to start.

Let's enroll this people, give the state money to enroll people who have been adjudicated a danger to themselves and others.

CUOMO: All right. Senator Graham, thank you for being on NEW DAY. We look forward to having more conversations going forward.

Mick?

GRAHAM: Thank you.

PEREIRA: Investigators looking into the online postings written by the mother of the Oregon college shooter. In them she talks about her son, and the fact that he's well-versed on firearms.

CNN's Dan Simon is live in Roseburg, Oregon. That community so hard hit and trying to recover -- Dan.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Michaela, you will remember that the father of the gunman said he didn't know that his son had any guns. Well, the mother she knew about them and she is a gun enthusiast herself. And in these online postings, she also says that her son has a developmental disorder on the autism spectrum, specifically Asperger's syndrome.

Now, we should point out that there is no link between violent behavior and Asperger's but it raises questions about what she knew about the full mental profile of her son.

And I want to read an example of what she said about guns. This is almost in a boastful fashion. She writes, "I keep all my mags full. I keep two full mags in my Glock case and ARs and AKs all have loaded mags. Nobody no one will be dropping by my house uninvited without acknowledgment."

And here's what she says about Asperger's. "My son has Asperger's. He's no babbling idiot, nor is his life worthless. He's very intelligent and is working on a career in film making. My 18 years experience with and knowledge about Asperger's syndrome is paying off. I'm a nurse."

And we have confirmed that she is a nurse. And she also says that she has Asperger's herself. Everyone has been noting there's a whole lot of similarities between this case and what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The shooter in that case, Adam Lanza, he also had Asperger's, lived in a home with all kinds of guns. His mother took him to a shooting range. So people looking at that case and this case in the same context.

Chris, Michaela, we'll take it back to you.

CUOMO: And, of course, the concern is Asperger's can become different things. It can be in addition to other things that were neglected and untreated. That seems to be a similarity as well. And gun storage is always an issue.

In other news this morning, ISIS militants have been seen driving in Toyota trucks. U.S. officials want to know how did they get them? The terrorists are often spotted in the vehicles and Toyota says as the part of a U.S. Treasury inquiry to look more closely how international supply chains and capital flow into the Mideast may be a function of this.

PEREIRA: We are learning more about the mother of Oregon college killer and what she said in online posts. Were warning signs ignored? We're going to speak to a woman who knew her and worked with her to get insight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:21:56] PEREIRA: Newly discovered online posts linked to the mother of the 26-year-old Oregon shooter reveal a troubled son who had a passion for guns and that she had them as well. But what about the people who knew the gunman and his mother personally? Were warning signs missed?

Joining us is Alexis Jefferson. She's a friend and a former colleague of the Oregon shooter's mother. Alex joins us from California this morning.

I'm so glad you could join us to help us understand a little more about the woman you know. Tell us a little about this woman. You knew her as Ms. Harper.

ALEXIS JEFFERSON, FRIEND OF OREGON SHOOTER'S MOTHER: Yes. She's my coworker and everybody calls her Miss Harper. We never call her on her name.

PEREIRA: You work together in Torrance at a sub acute center as nurses. Was she outgoing? Was she friendly with the other nurses? Did you all share stories about your own personal lives?

JEFFERSON: She is really a very -- very quiet person. And she mind her own business most of the time. And she doesn't really share anything about her family and stuff like that. And a few times they just say oh my son is in the hospital. That's it. And she tells me one day that they argue. I mean that's it. She doesn't really do -- talk about it at work.

PEREIRA: She had mentioned to you that her son had been in a psychiatric unit. I understand you are a psychiatric nurse yourself. Did she share anymore about that?

JEFFERSON: No, because during the time that we talk about it we were working in the sub acute. So I -- during that time I don't know anything about psychiatric patients. So I just let it be, you know. When she tells me that her son is in the hospital I just say, OK, well, I hope he feel better. That's it, but I never asking anything about what's going on and stuff like that.

PEREIRA: Did you have any sense she was having trouble with her son? Is that there were problems at home?

JEFFERSON: Umm, actually she doesn't say anything about trouble. Sometimes she say they argue. That's it.

PEREIRA: What family doesn't.

JEFFERSON: Sometimes -- and -- and sometimes they don't argue and sometimes they are doing good. I know that she's -- she loves her son. I know that. And she worries a lot about her son, during that time. And but she doesn't mention anything more than what she had told me that he goes into the hospital and out again and in again. But never mention --

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: We're learning a lot about she has said about her son and her own interests by some of the postings that she's put on social media sites and on blogs. She talks about her love of guns. She was a gun enthusiast and a gun collector, and talking about keeping guns in the house with loaded magazines.

Does any of that line up with the woman that you knew?

[08:25:00] JEFFERSON: Nope. I don't see that on her at all. I was so shocked when New York News had call me about it and told me. I said she's not the kind of person they knew that will have guns at home. I mean, the way she looks. Because she's just a quiet lady. She's quiet very nice lady. Most of our patients likes her. I just don't see it at all. I just don't.

PEREIRA: And you were surprised to learn that her son was the one that shot and killed all these people in Oregon. You didn't know until someone reached out to you.

JEFFERSON: Yes. I was really surprised. I was really, really surprised. I did not -- I didn't know that this can happen to her son.

PEREIRA: Is it true that you reached out to her, you tried to reach out to her via Facebook after?

JEFFERSON: Yes, I did. I actually did. And she hasn't said anything. She told me just delete my name. And I said why? And she said just listen to the news. That is all she told me.

PEREIRA: Since then her Facebook page has since been taken down. If she was listening right now what would you want to say to her? What would you want your friend to hear from you?

JEFFERSON: I -- I feel sorry for what happened. I feel sad for her. And I also feel sad for the people that lost their loved ones. I just did not -- I don't know how she's going to cope with it. And I'm sorry that this thing happened to her and to the people that lost their loved ones.

PEREIRA: Well, it shows you how wide a reach this kind of horrific event can have, the lives that it touch, the lives inextricably changed forever, the people that lost loved ones, but also the people that are touched just by reference of knowing someone in the family.

I want to say thank you to Alexis for joining us. I know this is an odd conversation and tough conversation to have. Thanks for joining us this morning on NEW DAY.

JEFFERSON: Yes, thank you too.

PEREIRA: Chris?

CUOMO: All right, Mick.

Let's change topics and get back to the presidential politics. We have new polls. And here is the good news: the front runners are looking good. But here is the bad news: the front runners have the highest unfavorability ratings of anyone in the field.

So, is this good news or bad for Donald trump and Hillary Clinton? They are on top but will they be able to stay there? We're going to break it down with people who know, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)