tv The Situation Room CNN April 6, 2015 2:00pm-4:01pm PDT
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particular flight did not do that in order to prevent the flight from being canceled. jake? >> rene marsh, thank you so much. that's it for "the lead" today. i'm jake tapper. i am now turning you over to wolf blitzer in "the situation room." happening now, streets of blood. an al qaeda group is vowing new attacks, warning that quote, cities will run red with blood. will new strikes be able to stop them? terror offensive. a major u.s. ally melting down. one american is dead in the fighting. why is the u.s. not evacuating its citizens and can the meltdown be stopped? i will ask the saudi ambassador to the united states. his country is now leading the fight. talking points. israel goes on the offensive, demanding changes to the nuclear deal with iran. can the israelis get what they want? and north korea women's march. new details of plans for a controversial march just as kim jong-un is bringing back the so-called pleasure squads of
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young women. why is america's most famous feminist planning to take part in the demonstration? i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." breaking now. terrorist forces on the rampage and threatening new attacks. the al qaeda affiliate in kenya responsible for that university massacre is now vowing that the country's streets quote, will run red with blood. and now both al qaeda and isis forces have seized control of a refugee camp in syria and 18,000 people are trapped inside. their lives profoundly threatened. right now according to united nations officials, amid growing reports of atrocities. we are also following the deadly crisis in yemen, where an american citizen has been killed in the escalating fighting. cnn was at the airport in the capital today as hundreds of people scrambled to get on one of the few flights out of the collapsing country. the death toll is climbing assad
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saudi war leanplanes lead the offensive. our correspondents are working their sources but we begin with our pentagon correspondent, barbara starr. what's the latest you are hearing about the isis forces and that syrian refugee camp? >> reporter: good evening, wolf. isis now holding an entire palestinian refugee camp at danger at risk. never has the hour been more desperate. isis gunmen have moved in and tonight, thousands of palestinians trapped and in danger here at a refugee camp near damascus, syria. >> translator: houses are ruined and destroyed. we are afraid to sleep in the upper floors. we are hungry and thirsty. we do not have food or medicine here. >> it's never been as grave and
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desperate as it is now. it is a place that has been besieged for two years, where 18,000 people have been surviving on very minimal assistance for a long time and now with the fighting intensifying, their lives are in immediate danger. >> reporter: more than 3,000 children are here. u.s. officials tell cnn they are monitoring unconfirmed reports of mass killings in the camp. there are reports of kidnappings and beheadings. increasingly it is civilians bearing the brunt of terrorist onslaughts. in kenya, the horror at garissa university still visible. cnn was given access to the grounds where al shabab gunmen killed more than 147 people. kenyan authorities say this man, mohamed mohamud, master minded it all. he's a regional commander in al shabab al qaeda's east africa
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affiliate, and commands a militia along the border with somalia. his network extends into the teeming refugee camps in the region. now a $215,000 reward on his head. al shabab saying kenyan cities will run red with blood. kenya has launched air strikes against al shabab strongholds. the u.s. has killed several al shabab leaders in recent months. but the group still able to carry out this major attack. >> it remains a persistent threat to u.s. and regional interests. al shabab has broadened its operations to conduct or attempt to conduct a symmetric attacks. >> reporter: now, kenya, somalia and syria pose a similar problem for the u.s. very limited ability to gather intelligence on the ground to find out what is going on to find out where these terrorists are dug in. so these attacks likely to continue to happen. very difficult to see a major change in u.s. strategy.
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wolf? >> very disturbing information. thank you very much. the war of words now heating up once again between president obama and the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu over that nuclear deal with iran with the israeli offensive against the agreement escalating and the white house firing right back. our global affairs correspondent elise labott is joining us from jerusalem. what's the latest over there? what are you hearing? >> reporter: well his speech to congress didn't seem to have much effect on the negotiations but now that the deal is done, prime minister netanyahu says it raises a lot of questions and he is demanding answers. tonight, america's closest middle east ally has become the biggest thorn in its side launching a media blitz against president obama's nuclear deal with iran calling it a quote, free path to the bomb. >> not a single centrifuge is destroyed. not a single nuclear facility is shut down including the underground facilities that they built illicitly. thousands of centrifuges will
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keep spinning enriching uranium. that's a very bad deal. >> reporter: today, the white house fired back pushing the u.s. energy secretary and m.i.t. trained nuclear physicist and top negotiator of the deal to argue israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu was wrong. >> this is not built upon trust. this is built upon hard-nosed requirements in terms of limitations on what they do. >> reporter: the israeli government is now on an all out offensive, distributing to reporters a set of detailed questions about the deal and suggesting areas where it could be strengthened including stopping iran's research and development program on advanced nuclear technology closing iran's underground nuclear facility and eliminating its stockpile of enriched uranium. in a wide-ranging interview with the "new york times" sunday president obama defended the proposed framework, calling it quote, israel's best bet to stop iran from getting a nuclear
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bomb. >> there is no formula, there is no option to prevent iran from getting a nuclear weapon that will be more effective than the diplomatic initiative and framework that we have put forward. >> reporter: attempting to convince skeptics president obama said it concerned him that he was being portrayed at anti-israel, reiterating america's commitment to defending its ally. >> what we will be doing even as we enter into this deal is sending a very clear message to the iranians and the entire region that if anybody messes with israel, america will be there. >> reporter: israeli officials say it's not about trusting the u.s. it's iran they don't trust. that's why they will lobby the u.s. government and all other countries party to this deal to make it tougher, but they feel their best bet may be in the u.s. congress where pending legislation giving law makers a say on this deal already has strong support.
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wolf? >> elise labott from jerusalem, thank you very much. more on this story coming up. we are also following the stunning events unfolding in yemen right now. an american man has been killed in the fighting. thousands of people are trying to flee the country as it collapses and while many nations are evacuating their citizens the united states is not offering aid to hundreds of yemeni-americans believed to be trapped by the conflict. our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto is with us right now. what's the latest on u.s. citizens inside yemen? >> it's interesting. the state department won't say how many americans in yemen have registered with the embassy because they don't know what percentage of americans, many are dual citizenships what percentage of americans there have actually registered so they don't have a hard number. the bottom line for the americans that are there, there are no immediate plans to evacuate them although other countries including russia china and india have done so. what the state department says is they have been warning americans for some time this is not a place that they should be.
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they should have taken those warnings in effect. and that there are limitations now on america's ability to evacuate them. one of them being that the airport is closed. so really the only advice the state department giving the americans that are there is to shelter in place and in light of the scenes we are seeing there, the fighting et cetera you can see why that makes sense. >> what are you hearing about the alleged cooperation apparently going on right now between al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, aqap, and al shabab? that's the terror group based in somalia that killed nearly 150 people mostly christians at that kenyan university? >> well this would be a worrisome collaboration. i spoke to a u.s. counter terrorism official today. they said like these al qaeda affiliates do these groups are communicating. aqap and al shabab they may be sharing know-how. there is no evidence they collaborated on a joint operation but i'm told that is a credible next step something they are watching for, but they haven't seen it yet. >> is the saudi air campaign making a positive difference or
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is it too early? >> this is what u.s. officials say. they say clearly it's having an impact. it is hitting targets, it is hitting targets associated with the houthi rebels these iran-backed rebels. it is not in the u.s.' estimate stopped their advance or deterred them but it is having some effect on the ground. the big key question going forward is do the saudis move ground forces into yemen and on the other side do the houthis attempt to make an incursion into saudi territory. from the u.s. perspective, that has not happened yet but of course it's a very clear sign of how quickly what is today a yemen problem can very easily spread beyond the borders there. that's why so many countries, including the u.s. are watching this closely. >> jim sciutto, thanks very much. let's get some more on all of this. joining us the saudi ambassador to the united states. mr. ambassador, thanks very much for joining us. your air campaign is it making much of a difference so far? is it too early? >> absolutely it's making a huge difference. we have degraded their aircraft capabilities their ballistic missiles their heavy weapons,
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their air defenses their command and control centers. it's moving according to plan and being very very effective. we have ten coalition countries operating with us and we have support from the united states which we very much appreciate. this campaign is having a huge impact in yemen and it is not over yet. for us, failure is not an option. we will destroy the houthis if they don't come to reason and go to the negotiating table and work this out. >> you have seen all the reports, though mr. ambassador that the prisoners, they busted open a prison nearly 300 al qaeda and other prisoners, terrorists, are now free. our reporter was there in sanaa, she flew in with an indian aircraft. they got people scrambling to get out. she says it's a disaster over there. >> well, wars are never orderly but we have taken every precaution to make sure that civilians are not damaged. we have taken every precaution to make sure the targets we hit are the targets that we intend to hit and we have done so. we have inflicted tremendous
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damage on the houthis and on other yemeni groups during this air campaign. we expect to continue with this effort until we have destroyed their capabilities and by extension, destroyed the risk they pose. >> what is the role of iran in yemen right now? i'm getting conflicting information about how significant that role might be. your analysis? >> well we don't look at this as sunni versus shia. we look at radical groups that operate outside legitimate government that are in control of ballistic missiles that represent a threat to yemen, yemen's people the kingdom of saudi arabia and the region. this is something we cannot tolerate. as far as their support from iran is concerned we know that iran has offered to work with the houthis, provided them with financial assistance, provided them with weapons. sometime not too long ago a ship
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was intercepted carrying weapons to the houthis including shoulder-launched air to surface missiles. we see this as a war of necessity where we are trying to protect the people and their government. we see iran trying to promote disunity in yemen. >> so far, just saudi air power. is there any ground forces you have sent in to yemen? >> no. we have that as always an option. we are ready to do whatever it takes to protect the kingdom of saudi arabia and we will do so. at this stage we are dealing with the air campaign. >> but have you amassed troops along the border with yemen, tanks, artillery, armored personnel carriers, to move in if necessary? >> we have amassed troops along the southern border in order to protect our borders from any incursion into our territory by the houthis from the border of yemen. we are focused on the air campaign according to plan and we will look at what the next steps are when we get to that point. >> what are these other
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coalition partners you are talking about, what are they doing? >> some of them are flying air combat missions with us like the united arab emirates. all of them have provided political support. we continue to receive other countries who want to offer assistance and to see what kind of assistance we would require. >> what is the u.s. role? >> the u.s. plays a tremendously important role for which we are very grateful. the u.s. has provided -- is providing us with intelligence information, logistical information, political support. we are coordinating with the u.s. on a minute by minute basis practically. >> the state department issued a travel warning a few days ago saying americans shouldn't plan on being evacuated by the united states from yemen. let me read a couple sentences from it. the level of instability and ongoing threats in yemen remain severe. there are no plans for a u.s. government coordinated evacuation of u.s. citizens at
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this time. we encourage all u.s. citizens to shelter in a secure location until they are able to depart safely. additionally some foreign governments may arrange transportation for their nationals and may be willing to offer assistance to others. there is no guarantee that foreign governments will assist u.s. citizens in leaving yemen. is saudi arabia offering to help get u.s. citizens and many of them are joint yemeni-u.s. citizens out of the country? >> we are offering to help any non-yemeni citizen be evacuated from yemen. we are working closely with a number of other countries that have sent ships in or aircraft in in order to evacuate citizens of other countries. i don't know what the exact number of nationalities that have been evacuated but i know it's an ongoing process and we are working with them as we are working with international humanitarian organizations in order to facilitate and expedite the distribution of humanitarian assistance to the people. >> we know there are hundreds if not more u.s. citizens stranded
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in yemen right now. i assume most of them would like to get out. we will be following. do you have any idea how many u.s. citizens are in yemen? >> not really no. i assume there are a lot because you have a lot of american citizens of yemeni descent in this country. >> i had heard earlier there were thousands. but the u.s. embassy, they evacuated the u.s. embassy, all u.s. diplomats, civilian personnel, military personnel, they got out of there within the last several weeks, as you well know. mr. ambassador i want to talk to you about what's going on as far as the u.s. and other world powers nuclear deal with iran. we will take a quick break. when it comes to good nutrition...i'm no expert. that would be my daughter -- hi dad. she's a dietitian. and back when i wasn't eating right, she got me drinking boost. it's got a great taste and it helps give me the nutrition i was missing. helping me stay more like me. [ female
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breaking now, the deadly and deteriorating crisis in yemen where an american citizen has been killed in the escalating fighting. it's getting worse right now. we are back with the saudi ambassador to the united states. we talked about yemen. let's talk about the iran nuclear deal right now. if you read the "wall street journal" today which i assume you did, you saw richard hass current president of the council on foreign relations, a man you know saying the great fear that many u.s. officials have is that iran -- that israel might use its own military power to try to destroy iran's nuclear capability and that saudi arabia your country, will start buying bombs, nuclear bombs, from pakistan. is that realistic? >> i don't know that i would want to comment on something like this. what we understand is that the deal that is being worked on there is no deal as we speak and the president has said this very
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clearly, and there may not be a deal that the deal would prohibit iran from acquiring an atomic bomb close off all pathways to iran acquiring an atomic bomb puts severe limits on iran's ability to conduct research towards an atomic bomb and place severe intrusive and permanent inspections or long term inspections on -- continuous inspections on iran. all of this is very positive. what we are waiting to learn more about is the details and what we are waiting for also is to see whether those principles would be translated in actual agreements. >> if they are, based on what the u.s., the administration, the obama administration has already put out, that four page memorandum which i'm sure you read if that is fully implemented, put into writing by the end of june will saudi arabia support that? >> what was put out in writing is not conclusive. there are areas subject to more clarification related to inspections and related to the
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timing and sequencing of the removal of sanctions. the other part that we have also been reassured on is that for us just as dangerous as iran's nuclear program is their interference in the affairs of other countries in the region. they are interfering negatively in lebanon, syria, iraq yemen. this has got to stop. >> that's not part of this deal. the administration they never included any of that as part of this deal. >> that's correct. but among the reassurances that we have received from the united states is not only what they talked about with regard to limitations on their ability or preventing them from acquiring an atomic bomb but recognition of iran's negative role in the region. >> the administration says this was strictly involving their nuclear capability. what i'm hearing, correct me if i'm wrong, you are not yet ready to say you support this deal. >> because i don't know that the deal is done. i think the principles that have been given to us and the assurances that have been given to us are something that we welcome. but we have also been informed
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that the negotiations are ongoing with regards to the details and once they are concluded we will then know what the deal looks like. but as explained to us and the assurances that came with the explanation, are something we welcome. >> a lot of people are concerned that if you don't like the deal saudi arabia you will get -- you will try to get your own nuclear bomb to balance what the iranians presumably have down the road. pakistan is a friend of saudi arabia. pakistan has a nuclear bomb capability. they have nuclear weapons. are you in discussions with pakistan about perhaps getting a nuclear bomb from pakistan? >> wolf we have known each other for 25 years. you don't really expect me to answer this question. we will do whatever it takes to protect our people and our country. we are determined to ensure the safety of saudi arabia and with regards to the deal we want to wait until we see what the details are that are finally agreed to. >> how concerned are you that the u.s. says one thing in
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interpreting what has been achieved and the iranians on several key sensitive issues say that's spin that's not really what's going on? >> what this confirms and what the administration has been saying is that the details have yet to be worked out. that this is a framework agreement where an agreement on principles and an agreement on objectives and then you work on the details. the u.s. and p5 plus 1 countries have been saying that they are -- they have a certain objective they want to achieve. the iranians in their statements are saying something contradictory. i don't see -- what i see here is areas where -- that have not been agreed to yet and we hope that they will be agreed to on the basis of the assurances we were provided by the u.s. >> but you don't trust the iranians do you? >> it's not about trust. it's about trust and verify. >> so what does that mean? >> meaning the agreements that have to be made have to be solid agreements.
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there can be no wiggle room. the areas that remain -- have not yet been agreed to must be agreed to. we must know exactly what iran's responsibilities and obligations are and iran must also know what the consequences are for trying to get out of any agreements that it makes. >> as you know the president, president obama, has invited saudi arabia the uae, other gulf states to send their leaders for a summit meeting at camp david, maryland. when is that going to take place? >> the objective is that it takes place during the spring. >> what does that mean the spring? april? may? june? >> we are now in consultations i think with regard to the dates that would work best. the thinking was in the spring. i will leave it at that. >> would the new king of saudi arabia would he come to camp david for this summit meeting? >> we welcome the invitation by the president and he expressed his acceptance of it subject of course to finding a date that works for all parties. >> it's not easy to find a date for all these leaders of all these gulf states that what
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you're saying? >> i'm sure it will happen. it's just a question of aligning everybody's schedule. >> but the king would come? >> this is what he informed the president. >> he already told him. bottom line on this iran deal is you need more information. you are not ready on this day, lot of people are watching you right now, to say you support the deal? >> because we don't know what the details are. we are dealing with a country that for 35 years has been flaunting international law that have been violating laws that has been supporting terrorism, that has been involved in the affairs of other countries in the region that has had a program that was secret that was unaccounted for and that has discovered after the fact. so we have to see the final agreements. i hope that they will be able to make a solid and serious agreement. because the iranians have not been very good at keeping their word in the past. i hope that they will change now. >> you hate what they are doing in yemen right now, where saudi air power is involved. >> we are determined to prevail
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in yemen. we have no doubt that we will prevail in yemen. we are determined to restore yemen back on its feet and to move the country towards a political transition where everybody lives in peace and security and we are determined to prevent any outside power from dominating yemen. >> the saudi ambassador to the united states. mr. ambassador thanks for joining us. up next u.s. citizens caught in a war zone. we are getting word of the first american death. why isn't the u.s. able to do more to get american citizens out? later, we are getting new information on why america's best-known feminist may be planning a trip to kim jong-un's north korea. big day? ah, the usual. moved some new cars. hauled a bunch of steel.
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also breaking now, complaints the u.s. government isn't doing enough to help american citizens trapped in a country engulfed by war. a california gas station owner who went to get his family out of yemen has now been killed by shrapnel. with us in "the situation room" to discuss that and more the former cia operative and cnn intelligence and security analyst bob baer retired u.s. army general and cnn military analyst mark hertling the former fbi assistant director cnn law enforcement analyst tom fuentes and cnn chief national security correspondent, jim sciutto. bob, your quick reaction first to what we just heard from the saudi ambassador to the united states. i didn't hear him say, absolutely deny these reports that saudi arabia may in the end decide they hate this deal that the u.s. and others worked out with iran and may go ahead and buy, if you will some sort of nuclear bomb from a friendly country like pakistan which as you know is a nuclear power. what's your reaction to that? >> wolf that was an amazing
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interview. number two is he said they may send troops in to yemen if they can't solve it otherwise. we are looking at a full-out war in the arabian peninsula and he as much said if it gets bad enough and if we don't trust the administration's deal with iran we are going to get a nuke. we are going to defend ourselves. i really worry about saudi arabia. they are not going into yemen just for the practice. this is a serious, serious war that affects their stability and survival and frankly, we are not doing anything to help them right now. >> your reaction general? >> i disagree with bob a little bit. i did not hear him say they were about to send troops in. in fact i thought he hedged as much on that question -- >> he didn't rule it out. he said they will do whatever is necessary to achieve the objective which is to basically liberate yemen from these houthi rebels. >> he kept coming back to the air campaign repeatedly coming back to the air campaign saying we have forces defensively on the border. truthfully i'm not sure the saudi arabian army is capable of conducting an operation into
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yemen. >> why do you say that? the u.s. has supplied it with the most sophisticated ground capabilities tanks, armored personnel carriers. they have a lot of weapons. >> they have the weaponry. they have the equipment. i'm not sure they have the capability. it takes a whole lot to go offensive. when you are synchronizing operations across a land mass that's a whole lot tougher than digging in on the border and preventing someone coming in. >> your quick reaction to this possibility that saudi arabia may in the end if they decide this deal with iran is no good, they may become a nuclear power themselves? >> i think that message was intended for iran. i think he wanted them -- >> the ambassador what he wanted to do? >> absolutely. >> jim sciutto, you have covered this story for a long time. you remember vividly how pakistan was able to develop its own nuclear capability. >> with enormous amount of saudi funding. you are not the only one to ask that question. i have spoken to many gulf diplomats who in fact they don't just ask the question they make the assumption that saudi arabia has a relationship where they could take that nuclear technology from the
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pakistanis and go down that path themselves. >> why isn't the u.s. able to help hundreds if not a few thousand american citizens who are stranded in yemen right now get out? because other countries are sending in emergency planes there's four-hour windows, the indian government for example. why isn't the u.s.? >> india, russia china. first thing is the number. the state department won't say how many americans in yemen have registered with the embassy there because they don't know what percentage that is. is it 10%, is it nearly 100%. they don't have a hard figure on the numbers. the airport is closed. the state department will say we have been telling americans there for some time now this is not a safe place to go we have limited ability to get you out. the best advice they are offering now is to shelter in place. but for the americans there, we saw the man killed yesterday, got to be frustrating advice. >> is there anything bob baer the u.s. can do to help u.s. citizens get out of there now? that's an awful situation. >> you heard the ambassador say the houthis have surface-to-air missiles.
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i wouldn't want to be sending in a c-17 or any other plane in to aden definitely not sanaa. it's too dangerous. it's a full-on war as i just said. we simply cannot risk american troops for these people who should have left weeks ago. >> general hertling? >> even if you have the airplanes and you can put them on the ground you can put overhead cover, how do you get the yemeni americans to the airport? you make an announcement over the airways, say the plane's showing up tomorrow at 2:00 be there? it just doesn't happen that way. they have known to get out for months now. >> this prison break, they went into this prison -- nearly 300 al qaeda, other terrorists they are now roaming around aqap these are master bomb makers if you will. >> that's right. you have al qaeda enhancing their forces on the ground. you've had these other groups enhancing it. i think the clue was when the u.s. closes an embassy and you are an american, time to leave. >> guys i want all of you to stand by. we have much more to discuss, including a new military
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breaking now, a delay in plans for the iraqi army to start an offensive to try to retake a major city held by isis. our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto is here in "the situation room" together with our panel of experts. what are you learning about this effort to liberate mosul? >> remember all the talk about a spring offensive even with the pentagon coming out with some of the details of that plan just a few weeks ago but i'm told now it is more likely to begin in the fall and that's at the earliest. there are a number of things going on. one, you have ramadan starting
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in june, that's 30 days. then you have the intense heat of the summertime. mark and i were speaking about this earlier having been to mosul in the summer. you are talking about 130 degrees. that makes it very difficult. in addition to that when i was in iraq in december meeting with american commanders there, they were talking about the preparation of iraqi forces raising a lot of questions saying not just months but it could be a year before they are ready to carry out an operation of this intensity, and difficulty. listen all this can change. but at the earliest in the fall is the best assessment i'm getting right now from the pentagon. >> what we are seeing now, these mass graves that have been unearthed in tikrit tikrit has been liberated from isis it was a joint operation, the iraqi military backed by shiite militias backed by iran with some u.s. air power in the process, tikrit is -- but there are literally hundreds if not thousands of iraqi soldiers and other shiites who have been massacred there. these graves are awful. arwa damon was on the scene. it's a brutal picture. >> some of the film that arwa
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showed, old stomping ground of mine and truthfully the mass graves are just a part of the problem. when isis killed a lot of the security forces in that city they would either put them in mass graves or in many cases shot them and tossed them into the river. that's unfortunate. there are thousands of people who have been buried or tossed aside. >> what's the lesson here bob baer? the battle for tikrit as far as a much bigger battle that would be necessary to liberate mosul, a city of nearly two million people the second largest city in iraq. >> well wolf it didn't go all that well the taking of tikrit. it was mainly militia, shia militias that went on. they wreaked havoc on the remaining population. they were shooting prisoners, they were dragging them around in cars. the sunnis have taken this very badly. isis saying look if you don't help this is what's going to happen to you. so what we are seeing here is
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truly a civil war where there's no good guys on either side. i think isis is much worse, of course but the shia militias and even the iraqi army is not up to snuff at this point. so taking mosul, whether it happens in the fall or not, we have to wait and see but it will be a very very messy battle. >> and speaking of bad guys al shabab tom fuentes, we know what happened at that university in kenya, nearly 150 students had been separated, muslims, christians they took the christians slaughtered the christians and they now say, they are saying this is just the beginning, kenyan cities they say, will run red with blood. are they really capable of doing this inside kenya? >> absolutely. only takes a couple guys. they just did this with four people and killed 150 students at that university. i mean here in our country, virginia tech one guy with two pistols kills 32 people. doesn't take much to go in and create a slaughter. >> what are you hearing about what's going on in kenya right now? because it sounds awful. >> no question.
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the irony here is that al shabab has actually been losing ground and territory and power in its power base of somalia, but it's maintained this ability to strike out outside the country and that's become more public. this was an internally focused group until a couple years ago. of course the westgate mall and now this. >> stand by. we have much more coming up on this story. also another important story we are following, feminism north korean style. kim jong-un apparently will allow a visit by some international feminists including america's perhaps best known feminist. he's bringing back his country's at the same time demeaning so-called pleasure squads. stay with us.
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plans are under way for a march in north korea. america's most famous feminist will take part in a march. >> gloria steinem is involved in the event. this is strange. tonight, kim jong-un's regime okaying this walk by a prominent women's group as he is bringing back a practice of having young women at the beck and call of him and his inner circle and not long after they were accused of oppressive treatment of women. an old ambitious plan sanctioned by kim youngung jong-un.
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a woman's activist group joined by gloria steen um is planning a walk. the border between north and south korea is the place. we spoke with the organizer. >> we wafrnted to end the state of the war. >> reporter: north korean officials have given the green light for the walk. one analyst and a human rights and list say analyst says there's a good reason why. >> they have views that are fairly pro-kim regime. >> they have written articles that are more sympathetic to north korea issues and north korean causes. >> reporter: the notion that he is a sympathizer is inaccurate. >> that is a cold war mentality. that kind of framework is what
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has enabled korea to remain divided. i'm pro-peace. i'm pro-engagement and pro-dialogue and pro-human right rights. >> reporter: this is odd. the u.n. state department and human rights groups say kim's regime routinely represses women, throwing them in prit on camps, subjecting them to rape torture. one prison camp survivor testified before a u.n. commission she knew of a starving woman who gave birth in a camp. a prison official heard the baby's cries, beat the woman and forced her to drown the child. >> with her shaking hands, she picked up the baby and she put the baby face down in the water. >> reporter: the north koreans denied it. according to south korea's newspaper, kim brought back a practice his father and grandfather were known for. joy brigades of young women. >> it's there to please men, the ruling elite. they dance, they sing. they give pleasure.
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>> reporter: what does gloria think of this? when we asked about their report with women and the comments she's aligned herself with is pro-north korean a representative e-mailed us saying on behalf of her that "i am proceeding on the advice of women i trust and who know the region, including criste inginge inging christine." they are waiting for permission from the government. we reached out to officials to see if they would grant permission. officials have said the request is under review. >> we have this statement from gloria. what about the women's organization -- this organization that is organizing the whole thing? what are they saying about the women's rights issues in north korea? >> they say they are not ignoring them. they are aware of the issues. they want peace on the peninsula and the way to achieve adequate human rights is to secure peace on the peninsula.
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critics say that they are misguided in this, they are naive. the critics who say they are pro-north are pro-north korean say they are trying to embarrass south korea. city street running red with blood. a new terror threat. a country collapses. terrorist forces regrouping and possibly getting stronger. people ship all kinds of things. but what if that thing is a few hundred thousand doses of flu vaccine. that need to be kept at 41 degrees. while being shipped to a country where it's 90 degrees. in the shade. sound hard? yeah. does that mean people in laos shouldn't get their vaccine? we didn't think so. from figuring it out to getting it done, we're here to help. it's happening. today, more and more people with type 2 diabetes are learning about
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rising fears that americans are being abandoned in an escalating war that's tearing apart a u.s. ally and he emboldingen al qaeda. president obama and benjamin netanyahu. isis in america. we're learning about the arrest of two new york city women now facing terror charges. could one of them have been set up? cockpit brawl. we're looking into reports of a fwas face off between pilots minutes before takeoff and the danger to passengers. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you are in "the situation room." breaking now. new calls for the u.s. to evacuate citizens from an urban battlefield now that the first american blood has been swelled in yemen's civil war. the crisis is growing more dire and deadly by the hour.
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there are new warnings about al qaeda's resurgence as it feeds on the chaos. a terrorist theft unfolding tonight. isis fighters have seized a camp in syria trapping palestinians including more than 3,000 children. our correspondents and analysts are standing by with all the new that's breaking right now. let's go to jim sciutto who has the latest. >> reporter: the clalhallenge is finding the bottom in yemen. it doesn't appear we have seen that yet. the situation continues to deteriorate deteriorate. no plans to evacuate. the houthi rebels they are trying to spread silence across the border into sound did i territory. this is yemen in collapse.
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running gun battles on the streets of key port city. now desperate attempts to escape. residents were running for their lives. flight crews nervous to get off the ground within minutes of landing. caught in the cross fire an american killed by mortar fire as he tried to evacuate his pregnant wife and 2-year-old wife for their home in california. countries from india to clie nahina and russia have evacuated. but the u.s. has not. with the embassy close and special forced no longer on the ground u.s. citizens looking to leave the country are seemingly on their own. >> we are very clear with american citizens that this not a place they should go. we have limited ability,
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particularly now. >> reporter: the departure of all u.s. forces diplomats and intelligence gathering resources leaves a one-time counter terrorist success story in disarray. a u.s. counter terror official calls the situation, dire. warns the terror group al qaeda in the arabian pa nin sueninsula stands to gain. >> very concerning to have the u.s. operating blindly in yemen. one of the organizations that has been most interested and capable of conducting strikes in the homeland has increased its control of territory. >> reporter: also standing to gain iran. houthi rebels who have u.s. ally government forces on the run are backed by tear ran. the u.s. is monitoring whether iran is sending arms to them. even in the midst of progress on
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sensitive nuclear negotiations. i'm told that aqap in yemen is communications sharing with al shabab in somalia as groups normally do. they have not carried out it to this point joint operations. that's considered a credible next step. that's two failed states right across from each other, yemen, somalia, with two growing tear irthreat er threats. both of them with as spir ragspirations to attack abroad. now to the fate of thousands of refugee ss including more than 3,000 children. barbara starr is joining us. she has this story for us. this is more awful news. >> reporter: wolf another place on the ground where the u.s. has almost no intelligence no ability to influence events. outside damascus syria, the palestinian refugee camp now
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almost completely captured by isis. the estimate is they control 90% of the camp. there are 18,000 palestinians refugees including 3,000 children, who have been living there in dire circumstances due to the ongoing conflict in syria. the u.n. says the hour has never been more dire for these people. the running gun battles across the neighborhoods are -- there is no food water, medicine. no ability to get aid in. the u.n. calling for a halt to the fighting. there's no indication that isis is listening to anybody. >> that's true. let's turn to the deadly terror attack in kenya. we are learning about the hunt for the mastermind behind that attack at the university killing about 147 students mostly christians. >> reporter: indeed. the kenyan government putting a $250,000 reward on the head of a
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man, an al shabab commander in the region along the border who they say is one of the masterminds. you see him there. he has such a vast network of operatives. it stretches into some of the refugee camps in that region which also house thousands of people. he is able to recruit from there. a good deal of concern about what al shabab's next moves may be. they have vowed to make other kenyan cities red with blood in their words. a lot of concern in the united states. al shabab may not be able to conduct a massive scale attack in this country, but the concern always that they can recruit sew soma somali americans and have them conduct attacks. >> thanks very much barbara,
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for that. the debate is raging over whether a nuclear deal with iran will ease the danger in the middle east or make it worse. president obama is defending the agreement. he gave another interview as he faces a barrage of criticism from congress and israel. let's bring in jim acosta. he has the latest. >> reporter: wolf the president says this deal with iran fits perfectly into the obama doctrine. his critics say that's the problem. by the way, there's a key portion of this agreement that's in limbo. the full court press has begun. the president sells a nuclear deal that will define the obama doctrine. he told "the new york times" that the negotiations with iran are proof that diplomacy, with long timed adversaryies can pay dividend dividends. >> the doctrine is we will engage. but we preserve all our
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capabilities. >> reporter: especially the president said when engagement is backed by the threat of military action. >> the truth of the matter is iran's defense budget is $30 billion. our defense budget is closer to $600 billion. iran understands that they cannot fight us. >> reporter: the president's critics say he has undercut that position by allowing iran to keep too much of its nuclear program. >> the best deal that he could get with the iranians because the irrapanians fear or respect him. our allies don't trust the president. >> reporter: it's a message benjamin netanyahu repeated. do you trust the president? >> i trust that the president is doing what he thinks is good for the united states. but i think that we can have a legitimate difference of penopinion on this.
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iran has shown to be distrustful. sglt . >> the president takes that to heart. >> it has been difficult for me to hear the expressions that somehow we don't have this administration has not done everything it could to look out for israel's interests. >> reporter: part of the reason there is so much skepticism is the fact that a big portion of the agreement touted in the rose garden is hardly settled. the white house conceded the u.s. and iran have yet to agree on just when economic sanctions on teararear tehran will be lifted. does that mean there was no agreement? >> there's a four-page document -- >> reporter: there's a pillar to this agreement. >> i think we have been very clear about the fact that there's important details that need to be locked down. >> reporter: the sales pitch continues. the president explained to npr why he didn't make the nuclear deal hinge on iran's recognition of israel's right to exist. the president essentially said iran would never agree with such a deal calling that suggestion a
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fundamental misjudgment. his words. >> thanks very much jim acosta. good interview with the israeli prime minister yesterday on "state of the union." joining us now, actual congresswoman congresswoman. i want to get what's going on with the nuclear deal. let's talk about the first american believed to be killed in the yemen fighting from northern california. had a gas station there. he went back to yemen to bring home his pregnant wife and child. while there, he got caught in the cross fire if you will. there are hundreds if not thousands of american citizens many yemeni americans there. is there anything the u.s. can do to get the americans out? >> i think it's something that the united states should be looking at department of state should be looking at to see how can we make sure that our u.s. citizens who are there still can
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be evacuated. if you look at what some of these other countries who have large numbers of their own citizens there still in yemen have done i think there are opportunities for us which we should exploit and pursue to make sure that our american citizens are given the opportunity to evacuate he is especially during this time of chaos and unrest in yemen. >> as you know the u.s. abandon the embassy in yemen. all the u.s. military personnel, they got out quickly. india and a few other countries, russia, they are 1e7bdsending in planes to get citizens out. would you recommend -- you are an iraq war veteran -- that they have aircraft to fly to have american citizens out of there? >> we have to look at the risks and what the situation is on the ground to make sure we're not causing more danger both to those who would go into rescue
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in the situation as well as those who are being evacuated. you mentioned india as an example. i think just in the last day or so india sent in some of their navy ships or one of their navy ships and rescued a couple of thousand people. you are seeing coordination between the various countries to make sure that they are working together to get citizens out. yes, i do think that we should look at what are the options that are available to us as the united states to make sure that our u.s. citizens are -- have the opportunity to be evacuated from yemen. >> listen to what president obama said last september -- not that long ago, about the u.s. efforts in yemen and somalia. listen to this. >> the strategy of taking out terrorists who threat us is one that we have successfully pursued in yemen and somalia for years. >> that hasn't worked out well. both countries are failed states. the u.s. embassies evacuated. all u.s. military personnel,
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they got oust theret of there quickly. how did the obama administration get it so wrong only last september in discussing the u.s. counter terrorist strategy in somalia and yemen? >> i think if you look at what's going on in yemen now, you are seeing still a relatively young country is that working out some very difficult differences and what is a sectarian war. we're seeing this play out in different parts of the middle east especially. we can see this with what's happening. the importance of recognizing these are sectarian fuelled conflicts with what we saw in tikrit in iran. we saw this military offensive strategy to drive isis out of tikrit. as i said before this offensive started, in order to do that and make sure it's successful you have to recognize the sectarian conflict at play and make sure
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you have a plan for the sunni people in this sunni community in tikrit to have governance and to be responsible for the security. there's no plan to that are to take place. you saw the militia, who are basically being trained by iran burning houses down erupting in chaos and looting the town which is creating more of a reason for the sunni people there to turn away from this baghdad central government and towards isis who is offering them protection from iran and from the shia led government in baghdad. this points to the necessity to recognize what's fuelling these conflicts, the sectarian driven longstanding conflicts. >> even as we are speaking right now, congresswoman, we are getting word the u.s. saying that the government of india, which has been flying the emergency planes in to try to get some of its citizens out, other international citizens out, the government of india is telling the united states they will help get some americans out
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of yemen right now. what does it say to you that india is capable of doing this but maybe the u.s. isn't? >> i would not say that the u.s. is incapable. i think we have tremendous capabilities. i think it's a matter of our leadership making a decision to either go and work directly or work with some of our friends such as india to be able to make sure that the american people who are in yemen right now have the opportunity to be evacuated to safety. >> is there a concern right now -- you are privy to sensitive information -- that aqap in yemen is being given new breathing room? saudi arabia is launching air strikes. u.s. got out of yemen. no military personnel there. drone strikes not necessarily going on. is aqap likely to get a lot stronger in the short term? >> i think it's a concern that the united states should
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maintain its focus on fighting against the islamic extremeistextremists. seeing how we can continue to focus on taking them out with the conflict that's happening in yemen. i think it's complicated and continuing to evolve. i know that in the past these houthi rebels have fought against aqap. the unrest there will continue to to evolve in ways that might be difficult to determine at this point. >> i want you to stand by. we have more to discuss including the iran nuclear deal. also, what's going on in iraq and afghanistan. more with congresswoman tulsi gabbard right after this. ld's newest energy superpower. surprised? in fact, america is now the world's number one natural gas producer... and we could soon become number one in oil. because hydraulic fracturing technology is safely recovering lots more
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we're back with congresswoman tulsi gabbard. we're talking about the terrorist threats that are breaking right now, including the hunt for the mastermind in the slaughter at that university in kenya, 147 students massacred. mostly christians who had been separated from the muslims. as you know the president told tom freedman in the interview over the went alienated youths that are unemployed can be most vulnerable to the allure of terrorism. the suspect -- one of the key suspects in the kenyan terror attack was a law school graduate, the son of a kenyan government chief. how are these accomplished individuals recruited by these isis al shabab al qaeda terror groups? >> wolf you and i have spoken
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about this a number of times about the need to recognize really what is the true motive behind these groups like isis and like al shabab like aqap as we just spoke about. it's not about people who are alienated. it's not about people who are living in poverty. it's about people who are being recruited and attracted by this pseudo religious ideology that they are motivated by as they conduct killings like we saw in kenya. when you look at it what they did there at that university separating muslims from christians and then slaughtering people simply because they are christians really say clear example of what this is really all about, what their motivation really is. we look at easter. we look at to look god, love your neighborhood. look at hinduism religions
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arounded world. the real meaning is about love. it's about caring for others. it's about loving gad and having respect and compassion for all people regardless of their own religious practice, their race wherever they come from. this just points exactly again to this radical ideology that is really false religion. it's fuelling these terroristic activities. >> we see now the images of fighters in afghanistan showing their allegiance to isis with the flag. does the u.s. need to rethink its strategy of eventually pulling out when there are 10,000 u.s. troops in afghanistan? there you see video of isis thugs who are now in afghanistan with that isis flag. does the u.s. need to stay there or just get out? >> i think we have to look again at what our goal and what our mission is and what we're trying to accomplish. our goal as it should be to be
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able to defeat this radical is islamic ideology, and other groups who are pledging their allegiance to isis. we have to be able to work with partners on ground. we have to work with partners in the region to be able to root that out, not only militarily. that's a hugely important component, but also we have to address the sectarian political conflicts that are happening there. we are seeing not being addressed right now in iran. we have to again look at this ideology component and have a strategy to be able to defeat these groups simultaneously in all three elements. >> the iran nuclear deal the tentative framework as it is being called that was worked out, do you want the house of representatives and the u.s. senate to hold a formal role kol vote to approve or disapprove of whatever agreement emerges? >> i think we will have to see what legislation comes forward. absolutely i think that
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congress does have -- congress and the american people have a role in expressing their opinion on this negotiated agreement and the opportunity really to look at the details of this framework that we have seen released so far and the ultimate agreement, which we will see in the next few months because we have many questions. i have many concerns specially about this agreement and how it will affect what our real bayic interest is making sure iran does not have the capability to develop a nuclear weapon. >> you are not convinced yet that this is a good deal? >> there's not enough information to be convinced that it's a good deal. i think there's not enough information that's been released. but also there's not enough information that i can see that's actually been worked out, not only between the united states and iran but the other countries that are involved in these negotiations. i think it goes to core elements of it like inspections.
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there has to be the ability for inspections not only to these declared sites that we have heard that iran has declared but the bigger concern is what about the undeclared sites, the bigger concern is having the ability to have inspectors go in anywhere at any time to inspect and make sure that iran is holding up its end of the agreement. we have concerns about the sanctions. we have concerns about how quickly they will be rolled back and the president is talking about sanctions being snapped back if iran does not comply. the reality is, the sanctions have taken quite some time to be able to have the effect that they have had. they can't just be snapped back into place so quickly. >> tulsi gabbard, thanks for joining us. >> thanks, wolf. >> thank you. after a series of terrorism cases, including two new york city women charged, we are getting breaking information about yet another arrest. stand by for that.
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we have breaking news on isis and its recruitment here in the united states. evan perez is joining us. >> reporter: we have had a fourth member of this isis recruitment group that was arrested in brooklyn in february. they have now added a fourth member to this group. this is agroupa group helping to
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fund-raise to join isis. federal prosecutors say that this group falsified travel documents. they basically said they were going to syria for vacation. instead, were going to join isis. they have added a fourth member to the indictment. >> you are getting new information about the two women in new york city who were arrested last week seeking to build some sort of explosive device. what are you learning? >> reporter: that's right. one of them the husband did an interview over the went. he accuses of federal government of framing his wife and says this was all something that she was being led into by the fbi. i got to tell you, we see these indict mentes almost daily. we have been covering the stories here on "the situation room." the criticism is growing against the fbi for doing some of the sting operations. in their defense, the fbi says if they don't do this -- one of these people carries out an
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attack -- it quillwill be on them. this is the only way -- even unsophisticated people can kill people. we saw what happened in kenya where people with not a lot of money can carrying out deadly terrorist attacks. >> there was a shocking news coming out of britain. a 14-year-old and 16-year-old picked up for suspected terror activities. >> reporter: right. and the british authorities have not said exactly what those activities were going to be. but they said they picked them up over the weekend. this is in man chest erchester, which has been the scene of isis -- young people trying to travel overseas to join isis. this has been the center of recruitment in britain, which reports up to 2,000 people who have tried to travel to syria and iraq to join with the terrorist groups. >> stand by. i want to bring in our panel.
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fran townsend peter bergen general mark hertling and philip mudd. he is the author of an important brand new book just coming out this week entitled "the head game." there you see the cover. phil let's talk about the two british teens, a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old presumably wanting to go support -- fight for isis. what's causing these teens to join a terror group allegedly like this? >> i think naivete. it's like we are in the third stage of the war. we started with the core of al qaeda. the guys who are the architects of 9/11. we move to the home growns starting in 2007, 2008. people not al qaeda members, but people who are emotionally driven to go to iraq. now we have naive 14-year-olds that have been told, there's a
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place i can go. the brits have said -- they have more cases than we do -- that they will not charge people this young. there's an interesting question for the white house and the department of justice. if you get a 14-year-old, my judgment is the department of justice should come out saying those individuals would not be charged, not just because we are soft and fuzzy because you want a message that says, if your kid is in trouble, don't worry, there won't be a federal charge. >> we see young women charged in new york. the surveillance that's going on now you hear from the defense lawyers, entrapment by the fbi. what do you make of this? >> we hear this when there's a sting operation. if you sting with the pure facts and numbers, the fbi has gotten sophisticated with these sting operations. they are getting legal advice early on in the investigation. the lawyers who are with them step by step about what they can and cannot say.
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by and large, these cases are upheld when they get a conviction like in the 90th percentile. it's very rare -- it's rare that they win it with a defense in court. >> are we seeing more of the arrests now because more activity is going on? more young people simply want to join forces with the terror organization? >> i think what's happened is that wunszonce you saw isis came on the scene, the fbi started doing investigations. they saw people going kwon line to learn more about them. this takes -- they take a year, year and heyyear a half to get this point. a lot never get to this point. people change their mind or they -- like phil was talking about, parents intervene. that's what the justice department hopes happens. by doing arrests, they can dis dissuade young people from doing this. >> peter, you study terrorists.
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how hard is it to track the young people? they may think of doing something. they may be online social media saying nice things about isis. then somebody from the fbi starts talking to them. what happens then? >> ard cogsocial media say great boon. there's a disadvantage it's recruiting people. it's legal for the fbi to monitor twitter and facebook. the kids don't understand what they are doing is public. most of the cases are emerging out of social media postings. not all of them but most of them. >> how worries should u.s. officials be right now, general hertling that so many of the u.s. counterterrorism capabilities in yemen have disappeared with the collapse of regime the u.s. leaving the embassy, all u.s. military personnel out? what's going on over there this had is the home aqap which has a lot of capabilities. they have made no secret of their desire to strike the u.s.
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homeland. >> it's a combination of two things. do you have the lack of capability now because -- giving up of embassy and having forces drown out of there. there's the factor of having the civil war between the forces of the houthis and the haiti government is distracting them from going after aqap itself. they are in a free roaming can be right now. they can cause a lot of damage without a lot of people paying attention. you add to that the fact that we now have an economy of force in that region where we put priority in helping the saudi arabians hit houthi targets. we have taken our eye off that ball ball. >> the u.s. has sold americans in yemen that they are on their own. now we're told india has offered to help. they are sending planes in. do you expect other countries to join the effort? why can't the u.s. send in a plane or two to try to get americans out of there?
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>> i think at some point when you warn people again and again in a civil -- in a civil war environment, they have responsibility personally to leave. i feel for these folks. you can't sit there in yemen and say i didn't know something bad was coming down. when you are asking foreign governments, including the indians to help there's one thing you have to consider. i hope they do. every time you go into that environment, if you are the indians, saudis or somebody else you are putting your own forces at risk. that's asking for a lot for a foreign goflt tovernment to say, we don't want to put our own folks but if you choose to put yours -- it's not like we didn't have worn ingarning. >> we saw what al shabab did at the university in kenya. they separated out the muslims. they were threatening to attack u.s. canadian shopping malls. is this a serious threat based on what you know? >> absolutely. wolf it's not really new.
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al shabab has been under pressure. they lost a leader. there's another leader that's at the top of the wanted list. these cross border operations -- remember going back to the west gate mall. this has been a threat, particularly to our allies in kenya. and i think you are going to continue to see it. i know that the white house is very focused. sources are telling us they have been meeting about this. there's a target list in materials of the leadership of al shabab that is continually updated. i expect you will see the administration looking to put pressure and work with the kenyans to put pressure on al shabab. >> peter? >> sure. i mean al shabab has been losing ground quite a lot over the last several years. they are capable of doing what they did at the university at the mall. that's quite within their capabilities going forward. >> it cost no money. it costs no money and very little manpower to do it. >> it's limited what the u.s. can do right if they are going to -- if they want to die in the
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process of doing something like that. stand by. just head we're following other breaking news on the terrorist threats. new information about an angry dispute between two pilots in cockpit minutes before takeoff. big day? ah, the usual. moved some new cars. hauled a bunch of steel. kept the supermarket shelves stocked. made sure everyone got their latest gadgets. what's up for the next shift? ah, nothing much. just keeping the lights on. (laugh) nice. doing the big things that move an economy. see you tomorrow, mac. see you tomorrow, sam. just another day at norfolk southern.
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cockpit that some are describing as an all-out brawl. >> reporter: the co-pilot is a repeat offender. pilots i spoke to today say this is more than a simple cockpit quarrel. they say tension in the cockpit can lead to a catastrophic end. we have seen passengers belafshhaveing badly. a pilot having a midair melt down in the cabin. on board air india flight 611, the problem was in the cockpit. the times of india reports two pie los went blow for blow in a cockpit brawl, minutes before taking off. >> the break down in the relationship between pilots can have deadly affects. when you are nay cockpit, it's a team effort. everything from one pilot reads a checklist to the other responds and does the items on
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the chickecklist. >> cnn cannot confirm the account. according to unnamed sources, they were fighting over preflight paperwork. the captain reportedly told his co-pilot to write down critical information like the number of passengers on board weight and fuel. the co-pilot took offense and beat up the captain. the flight still took off. a commercial pilot said it shouldn't have. >> you need to address the problem before it pushes back from the gate. if there was a first fightst fight, that compromises things. >> reporter: air india says it was just a miner incident. pilots mental health is in sharp focus. the air india co-pilot
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reportedly had other altercation altercations. three years ago, he told a captain of a flight to exit the cockpit, remove the stars on his shirt collar and fight him. in another incident a captain reportedly questioned the co-pilot's mental health. many pilots say when there is tension or an ongoing dispute, the proper procedure is to report it before takeoff so that a different crew could take over. we do know in this instance, the captain of the flight reportedly did not do that in order to prevent the flight from being canceled. we should note wolf that india has a whole, they have struggled with aviation safety issues. the faa just last year downgraded their safety rating. >> i didn't know that. that's interesting. thanks for that report. just ahead, more news that's breaking right now. we'll be right back.
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. tonight, hillary clinton is adding to the staff of her yet to be formally announced presidential campaign expected to become official any day now. let's bring in our senior correspondent brianna keilar and jeff zeleny. brianna, it's going to be soon? >> it's going to be soon. it's in the window. you have much of her staff in
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waiting that is already up in new york. they have signed a lease in brooklyn on the office. and as jeff zeleny and our colleagues have been reporting, they have told her staff to be ready today so we're in the window. >> and there's going to be a new and improved version of hillary clinton running? >> we'll see how improved it is. but it's going to be new. she's definitely trying to make the case that she's fighting for every vote not a coronation. and it would be so easy to do that because she does not have as much competition as she had eight years ago but she's trying to go one-on-one with voters and see if it works. one of the key differences this time from eight years ago, her staff is so different. she's surrounding herself around advisers who advised it senator obama. >> you reminded me she came in third in the iowa caucuses back in 2008.
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>> john edwards second. >> and barack obama first. she has some work to do to learn how to deal with those caucuses. what do you think of her new strategy even before the formal announcement? >> look i think the strategy was not to have any competition and she's done that so far. she's basically cleared the field. right now you have token opposition out there. no role serious candidates going after her. if she wins that will be why she won, because the democratic party completely closed ranks around her and there's no competition of the like that she had in 2008 at least not yet. maybe martin o'malley or jim webb will emerge but they are not looking so hot right now. >> jeff you are getting information about the role that bill clinton may play in the campaign. >> at the beginning, not much of
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a role. definitely behind the scenes. he's one of her top advisers. he's not going to be front and center and out there in any announcement video or in iowa or new hampshire. he's going to be fundraising, primarily, i'm told. >> also there's going to be tomorrow as you know, brianna, rand paul is going to make his formal announcement that he's running for the republican presidential nomination. today he released a little video. i want to play a clip. >> there is probably few candidates for 2016 that are more interesting than rand paul. >> rand paul has been the most consistently principled person. >> they used a lot of clips in that 2 1/2 video from journalists, including not only candy crowley but jon stewart to show what a great guy he is.
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>> and there's this heavy metal music running through it. that was just the prelude of it. you get the sense through some of the clips but also just the ambience that it is trying to create that it's going for a music video feel it's going for younger voters out there. you go to a place like cpac where you see young conservatives, they get so excited over rand paul over other candidates but the question is really going to be does rand paul have this broad appeal? and we've seen some topics pop up lately and he's not commenting on them. we're waiting to see where he comes down on some issues and whether he can pull any more people than just being this kind of niche player. >> ryan lizzy, you've done a lot of reporting on rand paul. if you're running for president, you are going to be asked and you have to answer a bunch of questions about everything. >> look i think he's probably had the toughest years of the top tier candidates.
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the foreign policy has really changed with the rise of isis and that has really been a struggle for him to deal with. and -- but i do think that if you look at the races that he ran here in kentucky his primary and general election he took on the establishment and beat them. if you're jeb bush you should be worried about rand paul. >> do you agree? >> i think that's right. ryan hit the nail on the head there. so much has changed within the republican party with the rise of isis. his views were much more popular a couple of years ago and now so much now. that's his biggest challenge coming out of the gate tomorrow. >> jeb bush had a blunder, he's acknowledged in 2009, brianna, he listed himself as hispanic. >> that's right. my mistake, don't think i fooled anyone he said in a tweet. so this was something that
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obviously was a mistake and there are some who have said this is going a bit far because this is someone who speaks spanish, is trying to appeal to the hispanic electorate but at the same time very obviously not true. >> his wife was born in mexico. his kids are hispanic. ryan is this going to hurt him at all or is this going to be passed over here? >> i don't think it will hurt him. if he has a mexican wife and speaks spanish and relates to the hispanic community, i wonder not to put him on the couch, psychologically to relate so much to that community that he made that error. >> guys thanks very much. follow us on twitter. tweet @wolfblitzer.
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join us again right here in "the situation room." you can always watch us live or dvr the show so you won't miss a moment. thanks for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. "outfront" tonight the boston bombing trial is in the hands of the jury. plus, "rolling stone" is taking back their story over the uva rape story. and two sons are in a coma tonight after exposed to a paralyzing chemical during their caribbean vacation. let's go "outfront." good afternoon. we begin with breaking
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