tv Wolf CNN August 13, 2015 10:00am-11:01am PDT
10:00 am
collecting the artwork. that was 25 years ago. and despite a $5 million reward, the artwork has never been returned. randi kaye, cnn, new york. that's all the time we have. dana bash is up next. hello. i'm dana bash in for wolf blitz er. it's 1:00 p.m. here in washington, 6:00 p.m. in london, and 8:00 p.m. in baghdad. wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks for joining us. and up first, joe biden. he is huddling with his family talking to advisers about whether to jump into the presidential race. some democrats concerned about the controversy brewing around hillary clinton have urged biden to run. former democratic national committee chair howard dean thinks it's too late.
10:01 am
on nbc's "today" show he said biden would not be the democrats' best candidate. >> well, look, i have a lot of respect for joe biden. he's been a terrific vice president. the problem is joe biden is a very good guy and probably has no appeal to people whatsoever under 35. people under 35 elected president obama president of the united states. that is a key part of the democratic coalition along particularly with latinos african-americans and asian-americans. so i think it makes sense to have a candidate, and i think hillary is one, i think bernie is another, who can turn on the under 35 set. i think that would be a problem for joe. >> let's talk about all of this with cnn's white house correspondent michelle kosinski and our political director david chalian. you're on martha's vineyard where president obama is taking a vacation. joe biden is also on vacation in south carolina. what are you hearing from your sources who exactly biden is
10:02 am
consulting as he weigh this is decision? >> reporter: he's not taking up his whole vacation on this subject. it's hard to imagine he hasn't been reaching out all along. his son died in may. he's wanted to spend this time with his family, get over the grieving process. it's interesting to hear now he is making some of those calls from what we understand is just a few close friends, politicos he's very close to just to kind of get a feel and put out those initial calls to get a sense of what this possibility would really look like and what the likelihood is, what they're thinking, and he with a nts to hear some advice as well, dana. >> i'm sure he does. david, you are poring through the polls. you know them better than anybody. you heard howard dean say he doesn't appeal to young voters, the backbone of the democratic electora electorate. do you think that's right? >> i think it's a piece of the democratic electorate, no doubt about it. you do want to bring young
10:03 am
people in. as you know, dana, they don't tend to vote in great big numbers. if you're putting some sort of primary winning coalition together you're going to focus on some older voters. i will say this if you look at the polls. a gallop poll showgallup poll i about whether biden should get in or stay out of the race. what is key if you look at our cnn/orc poll, biden is down to like 12% compared to hillary clinton's 50%. bernie sanders at 31%. and significantly, if you take joe biden out of the race, hillary clinton benefits from that support. if he's not running, she's in an even stronger position. >> that's an excellent point. it's splitting the so-called establishment. maybe not splitting but chipping away at. michelle, let's talk more about the personal. you mentioned the horrific,
10:04 am
tragic issue joe biden had to deal with his son dying just a couple weeks ago at this point. what i've been told beau urged him to run before he died, but now that that has happened, joe biden has small children, and joe biden knows, because he had his own tragedy with his wife dying when his children were small, how important it is to have a parental figure there. i'm hearing that may be a reason for him not to run because of beau's death, to be with his children and help raise them. >> reporter: it's complicated and extremely emotional. look at the timing. it's so tough. people say he has been torn. it was surprising to hear they didn't know if he was going to run, that he, himself, hadn't decided. you think really? not yet?
10:05 am
when is it going to be? it has been that wrenching for him to try to make this decision. and as it gets later thinking of what kind of team he could put together, what kind of run this would be. we even heard from some in washington who said they felt bad for him given the timing, to try to weigh those two forces on him right now. it's been extremely stressful and he's wanted to be able to grieve but he's looking at -- especially if this is going to be his last chance to make a run for president and looking at the politics of it. is he going to fit into this interesting slot between hillary clinton and bernie sanders, or is this going to be extremely a difficult uphill climb for him, dana? >> that's exactly right, michelle. david, i'm sure you hear from top democrats around washington like i do. joe biden is beloved. i think that is maybe part of the reason why those who love
10:06 am
him are saying, do you really want to do this given the personal situation and given the fact it is likely an uphill battle for you. don't you want to ride off into the sunset being remembered as a good vice president. do you think that's a consideration that you're hearing from your democratic sources? >> without a doubt. people are concerned that if he gets into this race that he might do some damage to the legacy he's been building. even with the e-mail controversy swirling around her or hillary clinton's numbers down on honest and trustworthiness, she is one of the most formidable front-runners we've seen for a party nomination that is not involving a president. joe biden, remember, that is done this twice before, knows all too well what it would take and he doesn't have anything organizationally built yet. i'm not saying he wouldn't have
10:07 am
time to do that but it's also because of how beloved he is that the democratic party is going to give him as much space and time to sort of make this decision as he needs. >> absolutely. that is nice to see that there's some patience kind of all around him. david and michelle, thank you. we're going to continue this conversation, get more perspective on a possible biden presidential run and other developments in the race for the white house. joining us now is former michigan governor jennifer gran holm, a super pac supporting hillary clinton and jeffrey lord, a cnn political commentator and former reagan white house political director. he also writes in support of donald trump. jeffrey, let me start with you. what's your take on that possible joe biden bid? >> you know, one of the sad ironies of american politics, when major political figures suffer a tragedy, the public seeing them thrust into a very
10:08 am
public and very searing personal moment rallies to them in some way. and i am just curious to see whether or not if the vice president decides to do this whether or not the whole situation with his son will have an impact on his reception. i mean, you can go back to american history, this happens time after time. the late senator charles percy was involved in a senate race which he was trailing in 1966. and out of the blue there was an intruder in his home, murdered his daughter. the campaign was suspended. he was subject to, of course, this incredible wave of sympathy. and that more or less ended the campaign. he won going away. those kinds of things have repeated themselves and i'm just a little curious here to see how this plays out because, lord knows, this has been a real tragedy for the vice president and i think the american public is aware of it. >> jennifer, you're obviously pro-hillary clinton. does a biden run, just the pure politics of it, does a biden run
10:09 am
worry you? >> i'm also a big die deny fan. i helped to prepare him in his debate against sarah palin, so everybody on team clinton are biden fans. and i would say i'm sure team sanders feels the same way. let's just let him make his decision in the way he needs to. if he jumps in and there's more competition, so much the better. there's a good competitive race, but allow him to make that decision. >> okay. so let's move on to something, jennifer, i know you've been watching, the republican race and a guy by the name of donald trump. jeffrey, i will start with you on this. donald trump and rand paul have been kind of going at it. the latest back and forth within the republican field. let me show you what donald trump said of rand paul. recently rand paul called me and asked me to play golf. i easily beat him on the golf course and will even more easily beat him now in the world of politics. senator paul does not mention that after trouncing him in golf
10:10 am
i made a significant donation to the center he is affiliated. i feel sorry for the people of kentucky being used as a backup to senator paul's hopeless attempt to become president of the united states. i'm trying to figure out what he's trying to get at there. it's not clear. paul fired back making fun of trump. look at this. >> we have now people up there who say such profound things as, you're stupid. you're fired. you're a pig. you look terrible. you only have half a brain. and then when you respond with an argument, you're stupid. or my favorite is, the reason i tell women they're ugly is because i'm so good looking. >> i think he needs to worng on his donald trump imitation. jeffrey, paul's criticism that trump is just name calling and a
10:11 am
bully and that he doesn't have a lot of substance behind what he says. >> you know, i looked at the cnn poll, the internals here and time after time after time in this poll of iowa republicans, they are giving donald trump far and away the highest marks on handling the economy, on handling terrorism, illegal immigration, et cetera. so whatever senator paul may think, in fact, at least those who identify themselves as the most like ly goers to the republican caucus in iowa have a considerably different opinion and i think that's a pretty big deal here and, to be candid, i think senator paul knows this, and this is his way of trying to deal with it. i'm not sure it's the most effective way. i think that's what he's trying to do. >> jennifer, is there anything about a trump candidacy that concerns democrats? you hear him. he insists he would be the one to beat hillary clinton. the polls are mixed on that.
10:12 am
until now the democrats -- >> mixed? i would say she trounces him pretty good but anyway. >> who knows? democrats, to your point, have been champing at the bit for a potential race between hillary clinton or a democrat and donald trump. but is there anything besides maybe his big war chest or his big bank account that worries you? >> well -- hmm. not really. i encourage the fight on the republican side. it's very entertaining to watch. i'll say this, dana, if you look at that ad that rand paul put out against donald trump, so i encourage the viewers of cnn to look at that because in that ad he quotes donald trump as saying that the economy does better under democrats and hillary clinton is great and, you know what, the economy does do better under democrats, twice as many jobs created under democratic presidents than republican
10:13 am
presidents since 1960. more people are insured under democratic presidents than under republican presidents as we saw yesterday. the cdc numbers, more people are insured than any other time thanks to the affordable care act. i encourage people to watch that and in the meantime democrats can just put up your feet and break out the popcorn because this is really an interesting fight on the republican side. >> and i will say as we wrap up the conversation donald trump says he has evolved and changed and he said never mind a stone not changing but he says, of course, a piece of granite, only a piece of granite would not evolve. it has to be granite. >> the facts don't change. let me just say that. >> thank you, jennifer. thank you, jeffrey. >> okay, dana, thank you. and coming up, from first in the iowa polls to tied for third, is scott walker's regular guy style working? the massive explosion in china.
10:14 am
10:15 am
10:18 am
donald trump has come under fire for his comments about women. jeb bush was criticized for his comments last week about the cost of women's health care. dr. ben carson is the top choice in iowa in our new cnn/orc poll. donald trump stands second. bush and wisconsin governor scott walker are way back tied with just 4%. rick wiley, scott walker's campaign manager, live from madison, wisconsin. good to see you, rick. i was with you a few weeks ago in the rv tour through iowa. he had been really riding high there. he had a healthy lead for
10:19 am
months. it's slipping now and you saw our poll third place in iowa. what do you attribute that to? >> well, i think there's a lot of time to go in this race. there were record crowds when we go around the tour. this nomination has to be earned. it's not a coronation much like hillary clinton wish it was a coronation on the democratic side. so we're going to be out there. we have completed nearly 20% of our 99 county tour in iowa. we're going to be back there very soon. as a matter of fact, we'll be there monday. it's a long haul and these polls will fluctuate all over the place and i think every person in my position would tell you the same thing. i feel good about where we are, iowa, nevada, through the march states. it's steady and moving forward. >> sure. the blessing and the curse of being number one at the beginning is that you only have one place to go from there, right? it certainly is a mixed blessing. let me ask you about this
10:20 am
specific poll because on the rise beating your candidate scott walker in the polls are nonpolitician candidates, donald trump, neurosurgeon ben carson. governor walker is a career politician, has been in elected office since his early 20s. his resume given the mood out there, how is that holding him back? >> i don't think at all. what you have going on, people are fed up with washington. they're frustrated at the gridlock out there. nothing has moved. and that's what you're seeing. it's not -- it's not uncommon to see people who are not from washington, d.c., leading in these polls. and i think you can argue certainly that scott walker is about as far removed from washington, d.c., as you can be. what it's going to take to move this country forward is a record of accomplishments, executive leadership. someone who has rolled up his sleeves and got it done. that's scott walker. that's what you'll see through the long haul of running a
10:21 am
presidential campaign. >> the woman on the other side of the aisle, hillary clinton, turning over her e-mail server to the justice department. i was with john kasich. he said it's too early to know what it means and you have the other extreme, donald trump, who said this to jake tapper. >> what she did is a real problem for her. i don't know frankly that she'll be able to run because it just looks to me that the whole e-mail thing is a very criminal situation and it could cause problems for years to come. >> rick, criminal? does your candidate scott walk earp agree with that? >> i think it's potentially troubling and potentially a criminal offense. the inspector general has said there were classified documents in a private e-mail server, a couple of which were deemed top secret. this is not only -- this is not an e-mail issue. this is a national security issue. the governor said it best. russia and china may have more
10:22 am
knowledge of what's on the server than members of congress. this is a potentially huge problem for hillary clinton out there. >> that was his memorable line from the debate last week. always good to see you, rick wiley. appreciate it. >> thanks, dana. take care. and republican presidential candidate ben carson is being accused of using tissue from aborted fetuses for medical research two decades ago. the explosive claims are made by an obstetrician/gynecologist who published this in her blog. he has condemned using such tissue on the campaign trail. >> virtually everything that can be attributed to progress by using fetal tissue can also use other types of tissue. so i'm -- if it were the only way to do something and there was no other way, it might be an argument. but under these circumstances,
10:23 am
it really is not a legitimate argument. >> and that was carson talking to our own jake tapper last month. now we have cnn senior political reporter nia-malika henderson joining me. what exactly is his former colleague accusing him of doing? >> she's say that go in 1992 dr. ben carson, who is, of course, a retired neurosurgeon, did research on a research paper in 1992 on brain surgery research that he was doing, that he used fetal tissue that was 17 weeks old. and that's cited as part of the research. he was the third author on this particular study that came out in 1992. a very reputable medical journal, and she's essentially saying this is a contradiction from what we've heard from dr. carson coming down on the use of this tissue and also speculating that it's not even necessary but here he was in 1992 using this as part of his research. >> and that's really the issue, not necessarily -- for some,
10:24 am
certainly, especially in the republican electorate, it may be whether or not he used it. beyond that is he telling the truth? but he's responding to these charges. >> he has. he's in new hampshire today and, of course, this is coming up. we have some sound on his response. >> why did you change your decision about whether to use fetal tissue or not? >> to not use the tissue that is in a tissue bank regardless of where it comes from would be foolish. why would anybody not do that? >> would you ban this now if you're saying it's not essential? >> that's a very different thing from killing babies, manipulating them, taking their tissues, selling them of that's a very different thing. to try to equate those two things is ridiculous. >> so there you have his response essentially saying the two equate with what planned parenthood is doing and the research he was doing is not fair. he has said in a statement to us
10:25 am
that his part of this research was primarily operating on people and then comparing it to the tissues that were there in the lab, some of them, at least according to the research paper are from aborted fetusefetuses. what makes this a big deal is that he is beloved on the right. he's riding high in the polls in iowa at this point. folks think he did really well in that debate and he has come out very strongly against planned parenthood, against the use of this fetal tissue essentially saying it's not necessary and that it sort of has moral implications. >> this is an early lesson for somebody who has never run before, the pure politics. the higher you go, the more people will take shots at you. >> this is what it means to have a former neurosurgeon running for president. >> people are paying attention. thank you. appreciate it. and still ahead, buildings leveled, cars torched, and dozens of people dead. it's only part of the devastation following massive explosions in china.
10:26 am
the new images coming in and how the disaster could be part of a dangerous trend in that country. i'm reworking the menu. mayo, corn dogs... you are so out of here! ahh... the complete balanced nutrition of great tasting ensure. with nine grams of protein... and 26 vitamins and minerals. ensure. take life in. ♪ look how beautiful it is... honey, we need to talk. we do? i took the trash out.
10:27 am
i know - and thank you so much for that. i think we should get a medicare supplement insurance plan. right now? whether you're new to medicare or not, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. it's up to you to pay the difference. so think about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, they help cover some of what medicare doesn't pay. i did a little research. with a medicare supplement plan, you'll be able to stay with your doctor... oh you know i love that guy. mmmmhmmm. these types of plans let you visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. and, there are no networks. is this a one-size fits all kind of thing? no. there are lots of plan options. it all depends on what we need. and how much we want to spend. call now to request your free [decision guide]. it could help you find an aarp medicare supplement plan that's right for you.
10:28 am
what happens when we travel? the plans go with us. anywhere in the country. i like that. you know what else? unitedhealthcare insurance company has years and years of experience. what do you say? i'm in. join the millions already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance... plans endorsed by aarp. remember, all medicare supplement plans help cover some of what medicare doesn't pay. and could really save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. you'll be able to choose your own doctor or hospital as long as they accept medicare patients. and with these plans, there could be low or no copays. you do your push-ups today? prepare to be amazed. don't wait. call today to request your free [decision guide], and find the aarp medicare supplement plan to go the distance with you. go long.
10:30 am
10:31 am
[ bleep ] no! dangerous. oh, my god! >> oh, dear. >> are you filming? >> yes, i'm filming. >> whoa! >> wow. the explosions are coming from a warehouse storing hazardous chemical materials. the giant fireball lighting up the night sky. people who filmed it and felt it thought they were experiencing an earthquake. it sparked fires more than a mile away. cnn's chief national security correspondent jim sciutto joins us now. you lived in china. you spent a lot of time there. you understand the country and its infrastructure. how much of a danger is this? >> there have been a series of disasters really. you had a high-speed train crash in 2011 killed a lot of people. of course you had the 2008 earthquake in sichuan which is a
10:32 am
natural disaster. schools collapsed, houses collapsed, really increased the death toll in the thousands. think about china, it's not a democracy. that's the opposite, an authoritarian country. people have a voice that they use when things like this happen. they get very angry at their government. the government is sensitive to that. we've seen chinese equivalent of twitter there exploding with comments about this, questions, rumors that far more people died than the government says. so you have this distrust of the government in situations like this. the government is sensitive to it and it censors. >> when they use that voice, do they have any impact? >> they have some impact indirectly. they're not going to vote any of them out of the office but the government is sensitive to it because, listen, it's a big country, 1.4 billion people. they don't want a critical mass of protests. but the reaction typically is to silence, right? they will find particular words
10:33 am
on, again, chinese internet, chinese twitter, they will censor. they won't let you use certain phrases if they feel things are getting out of hand. on the flip side they know they have to respond to some of the criticism. i was amazed to see a press conference in china with local authorities announcing things like death tolls. we're used to it when it happens here. that's unusual there. they're trying to get ahead of it. >> fascinating. jim, thank you for that reporting. and just ahead, one republican presidential candidate who arrived late in the race is now gaining some traction. my interview with ohio governor john kasich when we come back. w. but i keep it growing by making every dollar count. that's why i have the spark cash card from capital one. i earn unlimited 2% cash back on everything i buy for my studio. ♪ and that unlimited 2% cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business...
10:34 am
that's huge for my bottom line. what's in your wallet? the one on your right is made out of high strength steel and the other is made of aluminum. now i'm gonna release a 700 pound grizzly bear into the room so you better pick a cage and get in it. this is crazy. oh my goodness. why did you pick the steel cage? harder for the bear to get into steel. you want to see something else made with high strength steel? that's the chevy silverado. made with high strength steel for high strength dependability. beautiful. this is highly irregular.
10:38 am
ohio governor john kasich is feeling a little wind in his back following the first primary debate. the candidate who jumped into the race much later than most actually moved up to a close third place in new hampshire according to the latest boston herald poll. i had a chance to sit down with kasich in derry, new hampshire. >> never heard of because we're not -- >> john kasich is rising in new hampshire polls. his events now more crowded thanks to a standout debate performance. >> i am having so much fun. so we go into this town hall and i almost lost my breath. >> why? >> there are so many people in there and it's noon on a -- i was going to say it was a friday but it was a wednesday. you lose track of time. >> in the house kasich helped balance the budget with president bill clinton. you like to say -- >> that's a big deal. >> you like to say it's the first time it happened since the
10:39 am
man walked on the moon. >> do you know why that's a big deal, though? it's a big deal because people don't believe it can happen. >> how do you do that again, and is it really doable? >> yeah. well, you do it over time. in fact, you wouldn't want to do it, like,a year because it would be so disruptive. it's not just chopping and cutting. it's innovating, thinking differently, shifting om power back and economic growth. if you put a credible plan on the table, you're going to start to get nick growth. >> you talk about the social safety net in a way of lot don't. >> i'll tell you somethng that's really weird about all of this. i balance more budges than about anybody walking on the face of the earth. i mean, i'm kind of kidding, but i've done that. i cut taxes every step of the way. the largest tax cuts in ohio of any sitting governor right now. i'm for school choice. higher education costs.
10:40 am
and somehow because i care about people or i care about the environment that makes me something other than a conservative. i think republicans allow themselves to be put in a box. if i care about people, like some lady whispered to me when i walked out of the town hall, thanks for caring about people. she's whispering. no. to me conservatism is giving everybody a chance to be able to be successful. >> hillary clinton met here in new hampshire yesterday with some black lives matter protesters. i don't know if you saw bernie sanders had a disruption at one of his events because of protesters. martin o'malley apologized for saying all lives matter. do you think that it's appropriate to apologize for that? what's your view on this? >> i've been very involved in ohio. we have a collaborative effort with leaders, african-americans, law enforcement, and they come up with 23 recommendations. >> should a public official apologize for saying all lives
10:41 am
matter? >> i don't know about that issue. all lives matter. black lives matter especially now because there's a fear in these communities that, you know, the justice isn't working for them, but it's about balance. i'm not going to get myself caught in some sort of a wedge. the community has to understand the challenges of police, and the police have to understand the challenges of the community. >> as for the republican front-runner, kasich is consistently careful not to slam donald trump. you thanked donald trump for being in the debate because you think he drew 24 million people. who also got a look at you. do you think he's a positive force in the gop field? >> i think he's tapping into people's anxieties because i think those anxieties are real. people have about had it with frustrations in their lives connected to the government, connected to the loss of jobs, but i don't think people want to stay on the negative side. i think they want to know what the solutions are and they're skeptical. when i talk over there, what's
10:42 am
going through my mind, do they believe me? they don't want the same old same old anymore. they want solutions and they want to believe that somebody can deliver solutions. look, i'm only a guy, okay? i'm not some magic man. i do the best i can. i know i have the experience and the record and maybe even some of the personal strength to be able to help this country. >> for more of my interview with john kasich and all the latest contenders head over to cnnpolitics.com. hacking personal information of hundreds of u.s. military members. the chilling message calling for immediate attacks here at the u.s.
10:47 am
a pro-isis hacking group, isis followers will be striking back, quote, very soon. cnn's brian todd is on the story and joining us now. brian, the message also involved a possible hit list? >> reporter: that's right, dana. this is a dry looking spread sheet but it has ominous implications, a hit list put out by a group calling it the islamic state hacking division. we blurred out the names. it has 1,400 or so names, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers of people it says are u.s. military members, state department personnel, also poem weople who for nasa, british people on here as well. we can't confirm the
10:48 am
authenticity of the list. we have called some of the numbers. we have e-mailed some of the people to determine if they're legitimate or not. some have bounced back. some have not indicating some of the e-mail addresses may be valid. we also can't confirm the you authenticity whether this was a hack or not. some technical experts who monitor jihadists may not be a full hacking of these names. this could be what they call an internet scrape, people just go through the internet, pull together some material that's on open sourcing and just compile a list but, nonetheless, it is an ominous thing. we've asked pentagon officials about this, fbi officials about this. they say they're looking into it. here is what the outgoing army chief of staff, raymond odierno, had to say about this publication. >> this is the second or third time they've claimed that. the first two times whatever list they got were not taken by any cyber attack.
10:49 am
they were kind of lists that were really off the site and right now so far i've not seen the list myself, but what i believe is this is no different than the other two times. but i take it seriously because it's clear what they're trying to do. >> reporter: and they take this serio seriously, dana, because this is what they try to do, send us a message know we're in your e-mails and computer systems and calling on our people to strike in your own lands. even if some of these are not legitimate e-mail addresses or phone numbers, the fact they're trying to do this is what really makes u.s. officials worry. they're trying to incite lone wolves to do their bidding, attack people where they live. this has been a huge issue just over the past year. 55 arrests in the united states. isis-related arrests of people who were sympathizers of isis and, again, u.s. officials say this is what keeps them up at night, messages like this hacking list, just sending out to lone wolves to incite them to
10:50 am
do something. again, even if not one of these is a legitimate telephone number or e-mail address, the fact they're putting out this message trying to get people to look follow through on the information and attack, that is what is chilling to u.s. officials. >> chilling is the perfect word. thank you so much for that report, brian. up next, isis with a massive truck bomb. is it a game changer for the u.s.-led coalition? we'll take a closer look. listen up... i'm reworking the menu. mayo, corn dogs... you are so out of here! ahh... the complete balanced nutrition of great tasting ensure. with nine grams of protein... and 26 vitamins and minerals. ensure. take life in.
10:51 am
10:52 am
you premium like clockwork. month after month. year after year. then one night, you hydroplane into a ditch. yeah... surprise... your insurance company tells you to pay up again. why pay for insurance if you have to pay even more for using it? if you have liberty mutual deductible fund™, you could pay no deductible at all. sign up to immediately lower your deductible by $100. and keep lowering it $100 annually, until it's gone. then continue to earn that $100 every year. there's no limit to how much you can earn and this savings applies to every vehicle on your policy. call to learn more. switch to liberty mutual and you could save up to $509. call liberty mutual for a free quote today at see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance.
10:54 am
10:55 am
syria. the chief of staff says the u.s. may not have the right isis plan. general ray ordierno says that the white house should consider embedding u.s. troops in iraq and in baghdad, a massive explosion at an outdoor market. dozens of people were killed. let's bring in phil mudd, bob baier and rick francona. bob, the blast in baghdad, how damaging do you think this is to the new iraqi government? >> i think it's very damaging. isis can move around at will, set up bombs. it undermines legitimacy of the
10:56 am
government. the country is essentially divided and we're getting no closer to reunifying it. it's very damaging. >> and let's go to what general ordierno said about considering boots on the ground in iraq. he is in one camp. general martin dempsey has said something a little similar. do you think that's a good idea? do you think the u.s. should i am imbed with the iraqi forces? >> we need to focus on the key question and that is, who owns the fight. the iraqi military owns the fight now. imbed the troops and that doesn't change that dynamic. i don't think it's a bad idea. i do think over the next we're we've got to focus on the basic question, are the proposals for the white house or pentagon like the proposal for general
10:57 am
ordierno, do they change the question of whether we own the fight or the iraqis do? embedded troops doesn't change that yet. the iraqis have gone to win this for themselves. >> so far we've been focused on iraq and what is the biggest threat to america. what this? >> at this moment, the greatest threats from the mid-kell east and north africa, where radical groups exploit grievances for their own gain. >> isil is not your parents' al qaeda. it's a very different model. and by virtue of that model, it's the threat that we are worrying about in the homeland most of all. >> i think russia is the most dangerous. they are more mature than some other of our potential adversaries and i think they have some stated intents that concern me. if i had to stack them today, i'd have russia down as number one, china down as number two.
10:58 am
clearly north korea with ballistic missile capability and the potential to reach the united states and attack the homeland is high on that list and then isil. >> colonel francona, let's start with you. is it russia, china, all of the above? >> it's all of the above. but there are different categories of threats. if you look at russia, it's an existential threat to the united states. the chinese have that as well. and then isil, of course, presents a threat to the u.s. and to the homeland. they are all threats and have to be addressed in different ways. that's what presents a different challenge to not only the pentagon, state department and to the new president. >> bob baer, what do you think? >> i still worry about the middle east. with reconciliation with iran
10:59 am
coming, there's more tension. isil is on the move in syria. that government isn't doing it at all well. isis is filling in the vacuum there. i don't think we've seen the end of it or yemen. the immediate threat i think is isil. long-term threat, of course, is china, russia, and north korea but that's a distant threat. >> phil mudd, what keeps you up at night, knowing what you know or at least while you were in the intelligent business? >> i hate to agree with the cia guy, bob baer, but people are too general saying let's lump these all together. short term, i'd agree, isis, we've had 50-plus arrests over the last year. long term it is clear, russia, china, it's the most likely to draw america and america men and women in uniform into a fight, especially as we see russian expansionism. i think russia and china is the
11:00 am
biggest. >> no shortage of threats for this president and the future president. thank you all so much for that discussion. phil mudd, bob baer, colonel rick francona, thank you so much. "amanpour" is next for our international viewers and for our north american viewers, brooke baldwin is next. top of the hour, you're watching cnn and i'm brooke baldwin. the race for the white house got a tad more bizarre. a dark horse mounting a challenge against hillary clinton in the battleground of iowa. and you know what, he's not even running yet. take a look at this new cnn orc poll. see that, top right, vice president joe biden, a man who hasn't made it official seemingly closing the gap on clinton and bernie sanders. the question is, is he a serious
181 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
CNN (San Francisco) Television Archive The Chin Grimes TV News Archive Television Archive News Search ServiceUploaded by TV Archive on