tv CNN Newsroom CNN February 18, 2015 8:00am-9:01am PST
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is in. >> no i don't. >> she has a nose for the weather. >> reporter: ron has a nose for turning her into a brand. a children's book and a clothing line but this is a dog to turn to if you think the weather is turning. jeanne moos cnn, new york. >> that was ridiculous in a really good way. thank you for joining me today. i'm carol costello. another hour of "newsroom" straight ahead. isis attack denied. a major offensive by the terrorists met by kurdish fighters on the ground and coalition strikes from the air. what is the end goal for the terror group and what's next? i love my father and my brother but that's a little of what jeb bush is expected to say next hour. major policy speech as he looks to lay out his own vision ahead
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of a possible presidential bid. what he says about his family legacy and president obama. cold is an understatement folks. another blast of arctic air is on the way if it can get much colder. it will force the temperature to lows not seen in two decades. who is getting the brunt of it? good morning. thanks for joining me. i'm kate bolduan. john berman is off again today. we begin with breaking news out of iraq at this hour. after hours of deadly fighting near the northern city of erbil, kurdish fighters fought back a major isis attack. the battle was followed by air strikes pounding isis targets from the air. plus there's new information this morning about the secret u.s. kill list for top isis leaders. number one on that list isis chief al baghdadi but it
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includes jihadi john the masked militant who allegedly beheaded a number of isis hostages seen in those gruesome propaganda videos. later today president obama will speak at the white house summit to counter violent extremism. the top of his agenda the attacks carried out by isis and how to prevent the terror group from recruiting jihadies right here in the united states. let's stay on this big story and get to the battle first near erbil. ian lee is joining us from cairo. you have been watching this very closely. what more are we learning about that battle there? >> reporter: it was a very intense battle between the isis militants and kurdish peshmerga fighters. for hours the air strikes couldn't hit them because they were afraid to hit kurdish fighters as well. for hours these two sides were going at each other. after about five hours they split a bit and that's when
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coalition air strikes were able to pound the isis militants again and really put an end to this offensive. what we know is isis launched a multiple fronts on this attack crossing the river. kurdish forces repelling them back across the river. this is a strategic point for both sides. both would like to control it. it's about 25 miles from the kurdish city of erbil. and if isis fighters would have broken through that line they wouldn't have much stopping them on the way to erbil although that didn't seem to be what their goal -- what their outcome is as kurdish fighters surround the isis controlled city of mosul where we are hearing that isis is trying to probe kurdish lines to relieve the pressure on mosul and try to strike back at the kurds. what really is astonishing during these few hours where air
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strikes were unavailable, on one side kurdish fighters don't have heavy weaponry. they don't have one armor. one weapon they have is 1941 artillery piece against isis militants who do have heavy weaponry and yet these kurdish fighters were able to push them back. kate? >> much of that weaponry they said early on was stolen from the iraqi military as isis moved in. ian lee, thank you so much following that developing story out of erbil in iraq. let's talk about this as well. the u.s. has a list of isis militants it wants dead. for that let's bring in pentagon correspondent barbara starr. how big is this list? >> it's a target list. why are we talking about it not so much as a target list but a kill list because frankly the u.s. has no forces on the ground inside iraq or syria to capture isis top operatives. they're going to be, the u.s.
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hopes, victims of coalition air strikes. two dozen names are rotating on this list we understand. one, number one on the list of course is the leader of isis al baghdadi. the reclusive leader of the organization is number one and the one use wants to get right now. they are struggling make no mistake, to try to get crucial intelligence they need about where he's located, about where other top operatives are located and fundamental yltamentally who are top commanders in isis? it's a murky command structure. they're not going after everyone at once. they are trying to isolate who are top operatives and if they could take them off the battlefield, would it make a difference to isis' capability? that's who they are going after. >> any sense on why we're learning about this kill list? you would assume there would be a target list as administration
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wants to take on isis and try to degrade and destroy isis but why do you think we're learning about this kill list? >> you're right. let's be very candid and clear here. this type of list has existed for some time. make no mistake when the u.s. starts air strikes, the targets it goes after are both the buildings, weapons, the arms depot, the things on the ground. isis formations on the ground. but also we've seen it in iraq. we've seen it in afghanistan. they try and look for the most high valued targets they can. nobody thinks that it is going to change the situation on the ground if these people are gone because other people constantly come in. they may be less experienced. they may have less loyalty from the rank and file but isis is an organization that constantly recruits new people. i think you're seeing perhaps people just more willing to talk about it but also being very candid. the struggle to get the intelligence to really identify that isis command structure.
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it's a big problem. it's a very big intelligence challenge. it's something they're working on all the time. kate? >> especially in syria where there are a lot of blind spots for the united states intelligence gathering there. barbara starr, great to see you. thank you so much. barbara is at the pentagon for us. at the white house, the president is going to speak about the fight against extremism both at home and abroad. it's the first time that he's really going to speak at length since the gruesome killings of 21 egyptian christians by isis put together in a highly produced very horrific video they put out. already today homeland security secretary jeh johnson says this is everyone's fight. everyone has a stake in taking on isis. our white house correspondent michelle kosinski is joining us with a preview of what we'll be expecting to hear from the president. what do we expect to hear from the president, michelle? >> reporter: he's going to have to strike a balance. this is a community based push. the dynamic is what has become interesting. white house for days now never mentioning the words islamic
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extremism, but today in all of these local programs they're looking at around the country, they are all focused on muslim communities. the result is kind of annoyance from both sides. you have some saying the white house needs to just talk about islamic extremism because muslims are the ones who tend to be led into or more susceptible to this rhetoric that isis is trying to recruit for. but then muslim americans saying hey, we're being stigmatized and singled out and they're planning a protest outside the white house today. so you can see the tensions the issues on both sides. that said, the summit itself they are bringing up really practical ideas here. again, it's all about the communities. we're hearing from these communities where they actually have pilot programs although ones that have only been a couple months in existence. for example, in minneapolis, they are focused on schools giving kids more to do and lots and lots of job training but they say they need more mentors.
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trying to get involved and get teachers to recognize early warning signs, for example, and then in l.a. teacher training so that they are more empathetic toward muslim students and find programs to improve the quality of life in general in these communities. we think muslim americans will find that this summit is not about law enforcement or trying to crackdown or be suspicious of muslims but that people who are working on these programs are really focused on trying to build opportunities in these communities, kate. >> michelle kosinski a lot to cover at the white house today for sure. michelle thank you so much. michelle mentioned and we'll talk about this coming up as well. islamic extremism or violent extremism? what's the difference and why does it matter in this conversation? that's ahead. it's jeb bush's turn to tackle foreign policy. we'll hear from him next hour. we also have a preview of what he's going to say to set himself apart from his father and his brother.
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from beheading ging egyptian christians isis doesn't have a problem killing and threatening everyone around them in the muslim world on top of threatening the west. so what is the terror group's end game then? national security analyst peter bergen is joining us to discuss. this is something that -- a question that you have raised. a topic you have been talking about and also the subject of a new cover story for "the atlantic" where they look at this question in-depth. if you are at war with everyone even another terror group, al qaeda, then what is this group's
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end game? >> it's a very good question. i think that it's not a rationale strategy to make a world of enemies and isis has made not only as you said an enemy of al qaeda in syria but has brought 60 nations into the coalition against us and brought in the arab world and angered egypt with killing of these egyptian christians but if you look more deeply into beliefs, they believe that they are in a cosmic struggle between good and evil and they believe they're on the good side and they believe that we're in the end times. that the apocalypse is coming. the name of their magazine which is an english magazine where they believe final battle between islam and forces of west will happen and they believe they're precipitating this.
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it wouldn't be horrible if there were western boots on the ground in syria because that would confirm the prophecy they believe to be true. >> when you put it that way and you also said that they are like an apocalyptic cult and it raises the question of how do you take them on because you're not dealing with a rationale actor. it gets into if you will the psychology the psyche of isis but at the same time the white house is hosting this summit. it's about combatting violent extremism. it resisted references to religion in their discussions of isis calling it a fight against islamic extremism and so forth something that they avoided and really danced around. "the atlantic" in their cover story put it this way. they wrote this. the reality is that the islamic state is islamic. very islamic.
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yes. it has attracted psychopaths and adventure seekers, drawn largely from disaffected populations of the middle east and europe but pretending it isn't a religious group already led the united states to underestimate it and back foolish schemes to counter it. what do you think? >> i would sort of largely agree. islam is a very big tent just like christianity is and you have islam people who are mystical passafist. it doesn't make any sense. it would be like saying cruise aids crusades have nothing to do with christianity.
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isis believes these things. they are of course completely insane. but that doesn't mean they don't believe and there's something to do with islamic theology in these beliefs. >> why do you think, peter -- why does language matter here? fareed zakaria asked president obama this when he sat down with him directly because he had been taking heat for not saying that religion has a part in it. the president at the time said he didn't want to quibble over labels. how does the choice of words, the language impact the fight against isis? why does it matter? >> i think a long time ago it was pointed out how we describe things is important for the truth of the matter. i think that it is simply a fact that these are islamist which is a different word than islamic. islamic is about the religion. islamist is a politicized view of this which has a theological strain. these are extremist militants.
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they are extraordinarily violent. they make up probably 000.1% of the muslim population. they are muslim and they believe they have certain islamic beliefs that are related to things that are in the koran or related to things the prophet muhammad is supposed ed mohammad is to have said. >> i want to talk about this and bring this point up. it's being called disturbingly effective. isis exploits the power of social media sending up to 90,000 tweets a day to recruit terrorists. we'll look into the propaganda machine. financial noise financial noise
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the fight against isis on the battlefield is one thing but fighting intense online recruitment campaign is another challenge. "the new york times" is reporting that the terror group and supporters are sending as many as 90,000 tweets and other social media messages a day. 90,000 a day. u.s. officials say they are now retooling their efforts to counter the online propaganda but they may need more than just retooling. >> reporter: the boy appears only 10 years old. he stands before hostages holding a handgun. next to him, a bearded isis fighter reciting religious verses. cnn cannot verify the authenticity of the video but the boy fires the gun. the hostage slumps to the ground. one video on the online war waged by isis.
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recent images show dozens of armed vehicles driving through libya including police vehicles in benghazi waving the isis flag. another recent video believed to be from isis showing hostages paraded through iraq in cages. just weeks after isis burned a jordanian pilot alive in a cage. trying to top the horror of the beheadings and murders of these innocent hostages and then there's this. isis' last known western hostage appearing to predict his own death. >> hello. i'm john cantlie. in the last film in this series we're in a city that's been at the heart of the fighting since summer 2012. >> reporter: we know isis' propaganda twitter, facebook and youtube is notorious for shock and horror but muslim activists say it's also disturbingly effective. >> the problem is you have violent extremeist recruiters who use online mechanisms to lure
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people into thinking that committing acts of violence are somehow glorious or godly. >> reporter: it's an uphill climb of catchup. isis has been using fighters that speak english to connect with westerners especially teenagers, on the same social media sites this 50-page guidebook for those looking to get to syria, how to get there, who to call and what to pack. a world that tries to show the softer side of isis educating future fighters among this group of children a caucasian boy with red hireer seeking to redefine civilization. >> an eye popping number of 90,000 tweets and propaganda that isis puts out on a daily basis. peter bergen is still with us. you have been an expert on terror networks for years now.
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have you seen anything in terms of this kind of social media scale. their capability of reaching out so far so quickly so often. >> i think it's really a function of just the age we live in. we live in a social media age. the parent organization in this group, al qaeda in iraq was the first dwroupgroup to take advantage and send out videos of beheadings early on in 2005-2006 time period. this is a group for the past decade has been comfortable with the use of whatever technology exists to help with recruitment and help spread that terror message. >> the administration and other allies are looking into that right now how to counteract that when you talk about 90,000 messages going out a day. great to see you. thank you. still ahead, is isis using libya as a feeding ground for a recruitment ground. hear how the terror group is
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new this morning, after hours of heavy fighting kurdish forces in iraq repelled an assault against isis fighters. terrorists were hit by coalition air strikes after isis militants launched an offensive near the city of erbil. commanders say about 40 isis fighters were killed in the firefight. this is the latest try by isis to infiltrate through kurdish lines and take over the region's capital. let's discuss the significance of this in the broader fight against isis. let's bring in associate director of the international security and defense policy center. chris, thank you so much for joining me. we hear a lot from in these towns battles back and forth, isis taking on kurdish forces in
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erbil. how significant is this battle in erbil and the fact that kurdish forces were able to hold them off in terms of broader context of trying to take iraq on the part of isis? >> i think it's significant. obviously what we see -- one of the things we've seen over the last couple months in iraq is that forces whether kurdish or shia have done a better job of holding their own territory than they have of actually pushing back isis in the more predominantly sunni areas of the country. i think it does matter. we wouldn't want to read too much into it. >> in terms of reading too much into it i heard -- we heard from other analysts that this was an attempt at -- you call it a distraction on the part of isis trying to spread the kurdish forces too thin in order to get their eye off the prize, which is mosul. explain that.
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>> i think it's plausible. again, we have to see how it will play out to know for sure. >> looking forward, the next front could be libya. that's where the more than 20 egyptian christians were killed in that horrific propaganda video in recent air strikes were there as well. why do you think libya could be the next front for isis? why is that such a danger for coalition forces? >> this is an enormously complicating problem for the united states and for its allies. it's a really potentially significant threat to stability across all of north africa. right now it's possible that we have more isil fighters in libya than in any country other than iraq and syria. it's clear that isil is trying -- to me it's clear isil is trying to use libya as a jumping off point to gain a
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foothold in north africa to make it more difficult for the united states and partners to combat it in general. >> how serious do you think the threat -- do you believe that isis could take over libya because we now have news out of italy. italy expressing concern about the threat of isis being so close to their nation and so close to the mediterranean. how worried should europe be do you think? >> i don't think it's likely that isis is going to be able to take over libya. i think that they can do a lot of harm in what is already a very very bad situation. i mean we have a civil war going on in libya right now. isis has moved in and taken advantage of that. you have al qaeda's local affiliate operating in libya. isis appears to be moving to the side to some degree which makes me think they are gaining ground. the concern is this they would
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use libya not only to destabilize egypt, tunisia, mali but if they wanted to to conduct terrorist operations in europe itself. >> it pose as threat to europe. also joining the conversation now is a former senior intelligence adviser to general david petraeus especially at the height of the iraq war. colonel, great to see you. we've been talking about the fight in iraq and in libya. let's stick with libya for a second. how significant do you think as chris puts it he thinks this is the second front of isis. what do you think? >> i think we're going to see multiple fronts and not just in libya. they are taking advantage of the crisis in that society there. they have a good beach head. they are taking advantage of the tribal dynamics in libya. there will be limits for them because it's a difficult environment even for isis to expand in a significant way because there are forces that
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will be aligned against them. it's going to be greatly destabilizing and it will give them a place from which they can then launch other operations and infiltrate into southern europe. >> on that point, we are seeing greater involvement as isis moves into libya and other arab nations joining the fight against isis. jordan and egypt. these are countries the united states is allied with. you also see administration kind of dancing around quite a bit in looking at iraq and syria about any involvement or coordination with iran. the goals here in a strange way, align with iran especially in those countries. what degree do you believe there is coordination between the united states and iran because the administration definitely doesn't want to speak too directly to that. >> i think there are some communication but there's not tactical coordination on targets in either iraq or in syria.
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despite the claims of the commander, shia militia in iraq and comments by the iranian codes force commanders coordinating iranian activity they are suggesting that there is coordination. to sunni arabs in the region it looks like there is. when we bomb it seems like the syrian air force bombs. we've also conducted some operations in support of the isf. keep in mind that isf is looked at as a shia army at this point in time as well as you've got shia militias in all of the command centers coordinating and actually directing operations of the isf in some cases. >> thank you both so much. coming up for us new polling out today on the race for the white house. shows that democrats have a clear favorite. republicans, well seems still up for grabs. we'll tell you about a big shift in the gop field as well as
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this. jeb bush looking to blaze his own trail when it comes to foreign policy. we'll give a major speech in just under an hour. how will he set himself apart from his older brother. [ male announcer ] eligible for medicare? that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans they could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call today to request a free decision guide. with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and virtually no referrals needed. join the millions who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp... and provided by unitedhealthcare insurance company, which has over 30 years of experience behind it.
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republican field has shifted significantly but voters are having a hard time rallying behind one candidate. mike huckabee is leading right now but not by much. he has 16% followed closely by jeb bush at 14. wisconsin governor scott walker came in third with 11%. democrats are more unified on who should be president at least at this very moment. hillary clinton leads the field with 61%. closest competition vice president joe biden with just 14% of voter support you would say followed by massachusetts senator elizabeth warren with 10% support of democrats in 2016. at the moment. let's get back to jeb bush. he hasn't officially announced hissy hissy candidacy, he's given a policy address next hour in chicago. we have key excerpts ahead of his speech. two major themes are emerging in this speech that he's about to give. how bush will set himself apart from his brother and father's
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legacy both who led the country into wars in iraq and criticism of president obama's current foreign policy approach in the middle east. one excerpt says that we're inconsistent and indecisive. we have lost the trust and confidence of our friends and we definitely no longer inspire fear in our enemies. joining us now, athena jones and jake tapper will join us in a second. what more do we expect to hear from jeb bush. maybe not a surprise he's criticizing president obama but the fact the family legacy is interesting. >> we would expect him to be critical of president obama's approach to foreign policy at the time when our own polling shows the american public is growing increasingly critical of the way president obama is
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handling foreign policy. the bigger question here as you mention will be how he distinguishes himself or doesn't distinguish himself from his brother and his father both of whom were president. here's some of what he'll say according to the excerpts released. i love my father and my brother. i admire their service to the nation. the difficult decisions they had to make. i am my own man. my views are shaped by my own thinking and own experiences. he'll also say that he knows his views will often be held up in comparison to theirs. sometimes in contrast to theirs. again that question today is are we going to hear him draw any contrasts with his brother and his father? he's hesitated to do that in the past. listen to this clip from a 2010 interview with cnn's candy crowley. let's play that. >> i'll tell you that i'm the only republican that was in office as president that never disagreed with him. why do that now after two years? >> not one time did you call up
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and say don't do that? >> i'm not going to start now. until death do us part. >> reporter: until death do us part. people here are going to be waiting to hear whether governor bush tries to say something that sets him apart from president george w. bush and his father. >> so interesting when you hear the past coming back to talk to you in the present. let's bring in jake tapper host of "the lead with jake tapper." on this front, he had to talk about it at some point because it's going to be a clear line of attack from democrats. interesting that he's doing it like this. >> it is. i don't know how sustainable it is because obviously the decision to go to war in iraq is one of the most controversial decisions that's been made by a u.s. president in the last decade. it's one that still resonates in the republican party and one that basically got president
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obama elected in 2008. his idea that he's going to stand as his own man if you read excerpts he understands that some of the foreign policy visions he puts forward will be contrasted with those of his father and brother. i think in all likelihood this idea he wants to be judged on his own is not sustainable. >> timing is everything in terms of the leadup to announcing a presidential run. second major speech. why do you think he's taking on foreign policy now? do you think it has anything to do with the fact that any timing of what's going on in washington or what's going on in terms of the fight against isis abroad? >> that's it exactly. whoever the republican nominee is is going to have to are a strong view and vision about foreign policy. right now most of the candidates do not have that. most of the potential candidates do not have that. marco rubio is a potential exception because he's on the senate foreign relations
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committee and he's been articulating a vision. obviously rand paul a distinct vision talking about foreign policy as well. it's an area where all of the nominees are going to have to approve their metal and talk about it. this is a time when the nation's focus is on foreign policy because of the threats of isis because of what's going on in ukraine, other situations abroad. boko haram, et cetera. so it is an area that is ripe for a republican candidate to address. >> absolutely. and latest cnn poll he seems to have work to do in terms of republican choice for nominee in 2016 but as we always say, it is very very early to be talking about that. athena jones and jake tapper great to see you. thank you both. the prosecution wraps in the "american sniper" trial and now the defense offers a peek into the life of the killer. hear what defense witnesses had to say and why they're putting them on the stand.
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new this morning, the defense calls several witnesses including the sister of the killer of "american sniper" kissamerican"american sniper" chris kyle after the killer's mother took the stand describing her son's history of mental health problems. the prosecution rested its case but not before showing this
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video of routh in the back of a police car after police took him into custody. the state described him as a troubled young man but argued that he knew right from wrong. let's excuse all of the twists and turns that come with every day with this trial. let's bring in hln legal analyst and criminal defense attorney joey jackson. a couple interesting things when looking at the defense beginning their case has happened. you have a lot of family members or those who know eddie ray routh well taking the stand. his sister just took the stand. i believe his mother was the first witness the defense called. what's the defense trying to do? >> this is big. here's why. remember the defense has a burden here. normal cases the defense has no burden at all. it's the state that has a burden beyond a reasonable doubt. when you put insanity up there as an affirmative defense, now the prosecution has their burden but defense also has a burden. is it more likely than not that
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routh is insane. who would know better than the family members? so the defense started with his mom. he was a happy-go-lucky guy. but he went to iraq went on a humanitarian mission in haiti and he came back changed. he came back suicidal. in 2011, he was committed to a mental institution. that was voluntary. then he was civilly committed against his will. and, remember eight days prior to him engaging in this killing, he was released by the veterans hospital and his mom was begging, keep him, have him stay, he's not well. so when you have a family who knows who he is and what he's become they could address the critical issue, his state of mind. >> the sister seems to reinforce that point. she's just been on the stand and she said a lot of interesting stuff. a couple of things she said is because he went to her house, he went to -- >> afterwards. >> he went to her house after the killing. and said a lot of things. she says that he was talking nonsense.
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then she said this the man who was my brother was not at my house. the person who came to my house is not the man who i knew was my brother. >> very significant, kate. if you remember she also makes the 911 call. on that 911 call she's basically saying he's crazy, he's psychotic, there's an issue here. when you put the family members on the stand tlekdhey could address the mental issue. did he know right from wrong? the family can address his past psychiatric issues but how he appeared appeared. he was talking about demons is he schizophrenic? the defense said he was in a grip of psychosis. if they can establish he didn't know right from wrong and the family members support, this is not the guy we once knew you're on your way to he's insane. >> we're seeing the contours of where the defense is making their case. an interesting point before they got to this point, the defense tried to call for a mistrial because of some -- i don't know
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prosecution putting forth vials they say were drug paraphernalia found in routh's home. but they were vials from the crime lab. >> that's big. let me tell you why. when you have a prosecution that's preparing a case, that presents a case, all you have with the jury is your credibility. the prosecution's theme has been you know what he smoked pot, in addition to that he was a drinker, in addition to that he was on drugs. and that's what made him commit this act. if you could establish that whenever you voluntarily engage in drug abuse and that drives your action that's no excuse for criminality. that's where the prosecution was going. when you introduce two vials to make the suggestion that he was on meth and later say, i'm sorry, those weren't his vials and he wasn't on meth. of course the defense moved for a mistrial. >> should they have gotten it? >> the judge said with a curative instruction telling the jury disregard the vials and disregard any indication of
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meth get it out of your mind. it's hard to unring a rung bell. the judge felt it was appropriate to curative instruction the jury and they would be okay with it. will it work? if he's convicted, it's a big issue on appeal. >> joey, thanks so much. programming note for all of you, make sure to watch cnn's special "the story behind the american sniper" see what the film didn't show you tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. coming up for us major developments happening right now in ukraine. nato calling on russia to withdraw all of its troops all of its forces after ukraine says it's pulling back from a key city. how will vladimir putin respond? thank you for being a sailor, and my daddy. thank you mom, for protecting my future. thank you for being my hero and my dad. military families are thankful for many things. the legacy of usaa auto insurance could be one of them. our world-class service earned usaa the top spot in
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russia to withdraw all its forces from eastern ukraine. this after ukraine's military pulled most of its forces out of the strategic city of debaltseve. the area has been the focus of bitter fighting with pro-russian separatists. and remember this is all happening while a supposed cease-fire has been in place. senior international correspondent nick paton walsh is in donetsk with more on this. nick ukraine's military said 80% of the ukrainian armed forces have pulled out of debaltseve debaltseve. what does this mean? >> reporter: well they think they'll have all of them out by the end of the day. it's extraordinarily hard to tell given the town that fact has been earn circled by separatists and there's been such heavy shelling by both sides around it for days if not weeks now. this is a vitally important moment in the ukrainian war here. the biggest war to hit the european mainland since the balkans. we're seeing a town which wasn't really dealt with by the peace agreement because it was in
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ukrainian hands then falling to the separatists on the fourth day of the cease-fire. the separatists always said they had it. that was their distortseded reading of the peace deal. but there's been continued bombardment. the ukrainians suggested they left in the early hours of the morning and came under intense fire on the way out. the question is now how many died during this violence how many ukrainian soldiers and also separatist militants and civilians caught in the crossfire. we've been driving around the outskirts of debaltseve and seen abandoned ukrainian positions, burning apcs left behind. a huge cache of arlttillery shells left behind. a dramatic change on the battlefield here. and the question remains now, kate what of this peace deal?
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is it effectively dead in the water or are we going to see the separatists saying what now, let's freeze or slow down the violence for a while? what's of the ambition the separatists to take even more territory now. many in the kiev government are concerned. we are potentially in for more violence ahead. >> the cease-fire seemed to have been broken the moment it was put in place. they can't really be calling this still a cease-fire when you know that ukrainian soldiers as well as civilians are all under attack right now. >> reporter: no one's really had to call that yet because they all consider the cease-fire was able to continue with the exception of debaltseve. but now since the bloody conclusion conclusion people will ask if this is peace in any way, kate. >> nick paton walsh on the ground in donetsk doing amazing reporting, thanks so much. thanks for joining me. that's all for us. "legal view" with randi kaye
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starts right now. field. we begin this hour with a battle isis lost in a war that is still very far from over. kurdish forces in northern iraq fought off an all-out terrorist assault on the outskirts of erbil, the area was peaceful just days ago when cnn crews were there. overnight, however, the two sides were fighting so close together that coalition air strikes weren't even possible. hours later, kurdish forces pushed the invaders far enough back that fighter jets could help save the day. at this hour the white house is hosting what it calls a summit on fighting violent extremism.
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