and it is confounding how this could is have happened. joey and paul, thank you. and everyone, thank you for joining us here on this friday program. my colleague wolf blitzer takes my colleague wolf blitzer takes over the helm right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com hello, everyone, i'm wolf blitzer, and it is 1:00 p.m. here in the united states, and 1:00 a.m. in damascus. we begin with the latest on the fighting in syria, and defense minister ash carter responded. >> we are looking at how to achieve the same strategic

objective which is the right one, which is to enable capable motivated forces on the ground to retake territory from isil and regain syrian territory from the extremism. so we have devised a number of different approaches to that and going forward. >> and we are covering this story from all angles and the pentagon correspondent barbara starr is with us, as well as our counter terrorism analyst philip mudd and kimberly sanchez and also arwa damon on the ground. and arwa, there is a new approach to the fight, and whth the old approach is not working, and take the new approach. and what is that? >> well, it is taking the people out of turkey and jordan and training them, and forget about

all of that, and it is to provide munitions gear to a loose areally knit coalition in northern syria, and near the turkish border but very much in the area where they have already been fighting eye circumstances and they are looking for additional help in fighting isis. this is a group that the u.s. believes has a proven track record, and what they are going to do is to start sup poring them the. they hope, and it is a hope as they are working more and more with the people and get a proven track record with them, because they have had initial success, that will give them more success with the u.s. backing, and the air strikes and the air support, and that could lead to the u.s. providing them with additional more sophisticated weapons down the road, and not yet by any stretch, but looking to the seed that the area along the border and put this, these rebels in the better position.

all of the way along the border to be able to fight isis. wolf? >> standby, because i want to bring kimberly into the conversation, and why do you think, because you have been talking to the national security officials, and pentagon officials why they believe that this strategy is better than the older ones? >> well, it is because they are working, and looking at the darwinian rules of vetting. they are going to look at the groups with success and vet them the as opposed to taking the people they don't know and take them out of the environment, and give them some training, and send them back into numbers too small to yuse the infantry tactics that the infantries are being taught. the problem is that it is bait and switch program, and it was taught to the syrian rebels that we will teach you how to defend your territory from all-comers, and the white house has changed it to you can only fight isis, and the syrian rebels did not

show up in the numbers they needed to make it work. >> and syrian rebel, and philip, you have look eded at this much more closerly, but they are are with the barrel bombing, they blame the assad regime of the civil war in syria a lot more than isis. >> that is one of the problems here that we are going into the opposition saying, why don't you go fight isis? the model that we have here, and the reason that we are in the strategic model is that the rebels are sitting back, and what do you mean fight isis, and our idea is to provide a better future for the people, and that is about taking out bashar al assad, and why not just fight out the people fighting assad, and we are confused about the ultimate objectives here. >> is it deliberate, and the shift in the u.s. strategy comes as russia is escalating the military involvement in syria. >> well, it is hard to say, and

the pentagon had been pushing for these decisions that we are hearing about today for some weeks, especially u.s. special operations speci s forces, becae guys had been pressing for weeks to get decisions by the white house to get them the ammunition that they were desperate for, because they were running low up there on the border, and special operations were getting very frustrated that they could not get a decision out of the pentagon and a decision out of the white house. i think that it is reasonable to assume that the new russian profile there, and their intervention, their ground and air campaign certainly perhaps invent vise incentivizes the process. >> and listening to the british secretary michael fallon who is meeting with ash carter talk about russia's involvement in syria. >> by propping up assad instead of defeating isil, russia risks making a grave situation much

worse. we want russia to use its influence with assad to find a diplomatic solution and help alleviate the humanitarian crisis. >> i guess that the question is, is it naive or the wish fful thinking of the part of the u.s. to think they can convince putin to stop propping up the assad regime? >> well, that is the only route to the u.s., and britain and nato, because russia has moved in with troops and created facts on the ground. i spoke to one senior administration official who said that we have been dithering back and forth for years about how we should pressure assad to leave. the russians made a decision, moved the forces in, and stunned us with the speed of all of this, and we are still trying to figure out how to pressure them, but we don't have levers left. >> as you know, phil, and it is depressing to think about it,

the u.s. does not have a great record over the past 13 or 14 years, and training forces, pro u.s. forces to go ahead to fight the taliban and the al qaeda and isis and the other groups whether in afghanistan or iraq and now in syria, and there are not a whole lot of great successes. >> no, we won't have success here. and reframe the question. if the question is if we can train enough people for them to win on the battlefield and destroy isis and take out assad the question is no. clear no. and the question is clear away from assad, and if there is a moderate opposition, we want them at the table, and the only way they will get to the table is to give them support to make sure they are not crushed by assad, isis and russia. >> and the new strategy news comes at the point where france has announced they have conducted a fresh round of strikes in syria, and that in addition to the last combat missions that the russian defense ministry says it is carrying out.

the foreign intervention in the region makes the syrian intervention much more complex. our arwa damon is going to show us the reality of the syrians on the ground in syria, but we want you to warn all of the viewers that some of the images that you are about to see are graphic. >> reporter: barely able to see through the thick dust, somehow members of the syrian civil defense team the also known as the white helmets pull out a little girl. grab her, one orders, and turns around. miraculously, the children appear unharmed, but then, another strike. frantic cries of "god is great." lu luckily this time, it seems that the everyone got out. but often not. the white helmets, an independent medical rescue team have been through this before. too many times for most to

count, and now, it is not just from warplanes and barrel bombs. since russia's bombing campaign began on the 30th of september, they say they have documented around 182 civilian deaths, including two of their own, which they say were caused by russian strikes. the kremlin boasts of the accuracy, an insisting that the civilians are not being targeted or killed. but those on the ground say it is a lie. the strikes are indiscriminate and often land on the areas far from the front lines or the rebel bases. a child here treated for wounds. two others appear shell shocked. childhoods they will never know. we cannot independently verify the activists' claims of the russian responsibility for the casualties but perhaps what is most despicable is that it is

happening at all and for too long no matter who the blame. a as the russian, syrian regime, american and nato and others talk about the war maneuvers and the strategic gains, that is what this rhetoric looks like on the ground. these images are they are real. a child covered in blood screaming in pain, crying out for his mother. >> arwa, those are truly horrific pictures, and one of the activists are telling us about the air strikes, and is there any escape? i take it no real bunkers and places like that for people to try to be safe. >> reporter: there are no bunkers, wolf, and no place for people to go to be safe unless they flee from the homes which near nearly half of them do. nearly half of the syrian population has been displace and many of them now trying to get

to europe, because they realize that they can't go back home. the white helmets, themselves, believe they are being deliberately targeted by the assad regime, and now d deliberately targeted by the russian air strikes as well. so you have medical facilities not protected and population consistently coming under fire for years now, and nowhere to be going to be safe and no adequate access to medical facilities for treatment. when you speak to the syrians in country, and tough country as well, wolf, that i will tell you that the they feel as if they are simply regarded as cannon fodder for the various governments and pli cal powers as they are continuing to play out in their own war games and not caring how many tets and displaces it causes. >> what a horrific situation. arwa, we will stay in touch with you, and thank you for the report. in is coming into cnn and officials are saying that the north korea is likely preparing for some weapons thes weeke-- t

weekend to mark the anniversary of some launch. and now, officials believe that for the first time north korea is going to be testing a submarine launched medium range missile at sea. this is all coming up as there is a marking celebration for this 70-year anniversary. we are expected to see a lavish parade of military hardware. and our will riply is in pyongya pyongyang, and we will have a report coming up at 5:00 p.m. eastern. and this the hour, the house of representatives now in disarray. is paul ryan the man who can help to bring together the republican party? can he be convinced to go for the top job? and plus hillary clinton and

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we are wac with the political scramble up on capitol hill right now following the ma jor ti leader kevin mccarthy's shocking decision to drop out of the race. now there is word that paul ryan, a former vice presidential nominee is considering, at least considering joining the race at the strong urging of a lot of the colleagues. the only problem is that rye yab doesn't want the job, and he said it repeatedly, but there a full court press under way for paul ryan to become the white knight of the party. and joining us is dana bash and our house reporter man rawraja, and what do you know?

>> i am told that everybody knew that this it was going on, but paul ryan was not saying anything, and the house is having a final series of votes for the week. this is time for the culture of the house to get on the floor to talk about what is going on and it is all of the buzz, and everybody is talking about whether he or won't he? and you have a lot of high profile pressure and not just the current house speaker john boehner, but a scoop from our own deidre walsh who is told me that mitt romney, the man who put paul ryan on the presidential ticket the called him and said you have to run. and now, the man at the front who we thought would be the nominee for the speaker until he abruptly pulled out of the race yesterday which is of course

kevin mccarthy. this is what he said. >> it is his decision, but if he decides to do it, he would be a very good speaker. >> i did everything but to kcary the gym bag this morning to get him to do it. and the fact is that paul ryan is the right man right now, and he has moderate support, and clearly, he has conservative support, and members of the freedom caucus have come to me one after another, and saying, let paul know that we will be with him, and this is good sign after the strained relations that john boehner has had with the same caucus. >> that is darrell issa on the other side of there, one of paul ryan's republican colleagues talking about the private conversations urging him to run. again i am just off of the house floor as the members were voting, and i talked to some of the conservative members not

support i supporting kevin mccarthy, and one of the people there did tell me that he could support paul ryan, and that is one example of why he is under pressure to run. but he has not said anything to us, but he said he is going home the talk to his family. >> and manu, he has repeatedly said that he is not wanting the job, and he se a young m nd nd years ole and he does not see himself in the house of representatives forever, and what are you hearing? >> that is it, wolf. this is a man with many opportunities to move up the leadership ladder and several times in his career where he could have run for the speaker or the other leadership posts, and he said no. in 2012 he was recruited to run for the open senate seat in wiscons wisconsin, and he has said no. he h resisted on many, many occasion, and largely, because he views himself as a policy man who wants to get major policy accomplishments where the speaker job is more of the

management job. you have to deal with the different personalities, and very is transactional job, and something that mr. ryan does not like. in addition to that, he has three kids, and consider that as a possibility, and the job as the speaker requires an intense amount of traveling. lots of fund-raising, and that means that he would be away from the family, and he likes to go home the janesville, wisconsin, every weekend, and so there are a number of factors the weigh, and that is some of the factors he will be considering as he heads home, and the pressure is build building on him to take the job. because if he wants it, it is his, wolf. >> and yes, he has to make a major decision. and dana the conservative freedom caucus is small, but influenti influential, and they played a role for kevin mccarthy to exit the speaker's race, and what are they the looking for? and what power are they seeking? >> well, a lot more. that is just it. a lot more power, and part of

the reason why mccarthy and his aides have said that he decided to step down is because of what they were asking for was just undo-able. it would have made the speaker's job incredibly weak, because they wanted to have so much, so much power to be taken out of the leadership position. but i can tell you at this point they are behind daniel webster for that job. daniel webster is a member from florida, and he was running yesterday, and he is still in the race he says, but then of course, the question is what happens if paul ryan does jump in? it is hard to imagine most members of the freedom caucus not supporting paul ryan, but you know, if nothing else, they are sort of unpredictable, and happily so. >> and dana bash and manu raja, thank you very much. and another man who has to make up his mind, joe biden holds a family meeting this weekend and his team is meeting with party

officials at this time, and all of that is adding to the intrigue as to whether he is going to jump into presidential k contest. the panel is standing by to weigh in. to folks out there whose diabetic nerve pain... shoots and burns its way into your day, i hear you. to everyone with this pain that makes ordinary tasks extraordinarily painful, i hear you. make sure your doctor hears you too! i hear you because i was there when my dad suffered with diabetic nerve pain. if you have diabetes and burning, shooting pain in your feet or hands, don't suffer in silence! step on up and ask your doctor about diabetic nerve pain. tell 'em cedric sent you. that's a good thing, eligible for medicare? but it doesn't cover everything.

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to give you the best experience possible. because we should fit into your life. not the other way around. turning now to presidential politics here in the united states. allies of the vice president joe biden take yet another step in preparing for a possible white house run. biden's team met with the democratic national committee to discuss filing deadlines for filing state deadlines. and that according to a senior official. and also that bide n is plannin a family meeting in delaware to talk about his political future. let's bring in alex castellanos who is our democratic strategist

as well as donna brazile. alex, who is a stronger democratic candidate against any of the republicans? would it be hillary clinton or joe biden? >> i think that to today it would be joe biden. i'd rather run against hillary clinton, because she is damaged goods, and has credibility problems, and hillary clinton doesn't have the passion of the democratic base that bernie sanders has, and joe biden appeals to the working class reagan democratic voters, and he has been loyal to the first black president of the united states for eight tough years, and he could energize the base, and i think that biden is tougher, and for a guy who is maybe not running, he sure does seem to be putting on the track shoes and the running shorts, and getting right up to the starting line. >> well, he is always in shape for running for the presidency and hayes run twice before and he has lost two times and so maybe he is not a good presidential candidate, but he has been an excellent vice

president. he is a great public servant, and ooh here is the one thing that the republicans have given joe biden so much love over the last five months that the it must feel like valentine's day this weekend, but it is a tough contest, and hillary krinton is in position to the beat them all. even if you add republicans -- well, yes, alex, she is, and bernie sanders in a unique position to win the nomination. and martin o'malley's understocked here, and the truth is that we have a good bench, and looking forward to the debate tuesday on cnn and let me tell you that we will be interrupting the republican clown show to the bring you two hours of real conversation of public policy and discussion. >> as a republican, ki lend you donald trump for the stage. >> well, he is not going to get anywhere near our stage.

>> and in vermont and new hampshire, he is crushing hillary clinton right now, and not necessarily in iowa or some of the other states burk he is generating huge enthusiasm, and big crowds, and how tough will it get in the face-to-face debate tuesday night? >> well, first of all, they know each other, and they are not clashing over the penalties or clashing over what i call the crazy issues that we have heard on the republican side. what they are going to be clashing over is how to best address some of the major issues in the kcountry, income inequality, and how do we preser preserve the virnlgts and create the jobs, so we won't have a clash of personalities that we have on the republican stage, but rather enlightened and informed debate and the future of the country. >> and you remember the mercury space program with the capsules where the astronauts went up for the ride, but they didn't have a lot the do? they were passengers? that is where the democrats are, and this is elizabeth warren's

debate, and it is about income inequality, and the candidates all agree on, that and so who is the best pilot, and in this race, hillary's challenge is to say, i can get that job done. and we all agree, but i have the experience, and i have been part of the establishment, and i can get that job done better than anyone else. >> i suspect that you will agree, and while bernie sanders is cautious in going after hillary clinton, and he is going to the explain why she was wrong in supporting the war in iraq, and he did not, and jim webb and lincoln chafee and martin o'malley are going to the to tr hammer as hard as they can. >> they are going to be looking to anderson cooper saying, go to me, me, me. >> and it is that he should, and five of them on the stage, and all of them will have an opportunity, and three of them have said that they strongly disagree with hillary clinton and she is going if be pummeled by the candidates.

>> you know, i am not her spokesperson and i have given her some dollars and i like all of them, and these are adults, and when we have an adult conversation, and we don't have a children's table. so whatever conversation whether it is income inequality which is not a left issue, but it is a right-left, because it is a right-wrong. >> and it makes you want to take money from one form of money and give it to another. >> and it is the wealth of the country -- >> we agree, and trying to get the the money from the democrats in with washington to try to get it to trickle down to the american people does not work. you are right about it. >> i hate to go back to the past, because i don't believe in yesterday all of the time, but the democrats gave republicans a balanced budget with a huge surplus, and they spent the money down, and we can have all of the old debates, but the democrats can address the future, and we will address isis

and the challenge in syria, and some of the big issues in the country, and so we are going to have two hours to interrupt the republican clown show, and bring some leaders. that is what it is going to be >> and it is going to be a lively discussion as we all an pass the ta anticipate. >> and also, we will have a bernie sanders' strategist joining us after the break. the first is fast. the second lasts all day. we give you your day back. what you do with it is up to you. tylenol®. it wouland it turned onif you turned oeverywhere else.ne room but that's exactly how traditional cooling and heating systems work. so you pay more than you should. but mitsubishi electric systems give you a better way... with no waste and lower energy bills. control temperatures precisely in one or every room ...

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beating her in some of the early polls, so how is he preparing going into tuesday's c nshnn democratic presidential debate? this is the first time that he is going to go face to face with hillary clinton and according to sanders, he is not going negative. he says it is just not his style. >> you are looking at a candidate who has run in many, many elections, and i have never run a negative political ad, and i won't. and you are looking at a candidate who does not go about attack i attacking people personally. i don't do that, but what i think that democracy is about, and what i think that the debates are about is in fact the differentiating of the differences of opinions that we have. >> all right. joining us now is ben cohen, a bernie sander's supporter, and also the co-founder of ben and

jerry's ice cream in vermont, the home state of senator sa sanders. and all right. tell us why people should support senator sanders and not hi hillary clinton? >> well, i think that what bernie is talking about is what the american people care most about. it is very clear that the american electorate is tired of politicians as usual, tired of politicians as usual. politics as usual. bernie is authentic as they come. and through the 35 years of bernie's career he is kon sconst and plain talking, and he does not talk political speak. he is passionate, and he is speaking from his heart. you won't see him flip-flopping on any of the issues. >> he has been a politician though for 35 years, right? >> he's been a politician here for 35 years. i mean, he is not a politician

in the normal is sense of the word, and he is anned a voe a political and social and financial stability. >> and hillary is not? >> well, you have to say that the hillary clinton is typical politician, and politics adds usual. if people are lacking for the systemic change and for the political revolution that is needed, you have to vote for bernie. if you want to fiddle around the edges or incremental change, any of the candidates will do. >> and the argument made for him, and against him even though he is doing well in the polls, and getting huge crowds when he goes tout speak in iowa and new hampshire and other places as we well, but the argument is that the american people are never going to the e will lekt for

president of the united states, a self-declared socialist, and to that the argument, what is your response? >> well, it is interesting. i'm obviously a capitalist. and the things that bernie advocates are the things they believe in. i mean, i don't understand why he calls himself a socialist, bu but the things that he is advocating for are what the mainstream of america wants. we are talking about college education regardless of your ability to pay for it. talking about raising the minimum wage to $15 and every american worker deserves guaranteed sick leave. it is amazing in the country that a worker, hourly worker if they are sick, they have to

choose between working or taking care of themselves. >> and so if the joe biden enters the race, who does he take away from? hillary clinton or bernie sanders? >> i think hillary clinton. >> and you recommend him to enter the election? >> yes, i have run into him several times. yes. and in terms of the only systemic change that is needed, bernie sanders is is the only guy able to do it, who is not beholden to the wall street and the other corporate interests, and he is the only guy running a peopl people-powered campaign. he has refused a pac. i mean, i have had, i have had friends of mine who want to the hold a big dollar fund-raiser for bernie, and he won't do it. >> ben cohen, thank you for

joining us, and the senator is lucky to have you as a sup pporr and i know that you have been friends up there in vermont for many years. >> good talking to you. >> and now, we will talk to the clinton campaign supporter congressman javier becerra to talk about the efforts under way in the hispanic caucus institute. you tuck here... you tuck there. if you're a toe tucker... because of toenail fungus, ask your doctor now about prescription kerydin.

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san fwhile this parking loting lies still. life, proposition d and mission rock will create a new neighborhood right here with 40% affordable housing, 8 acres of parks and open space, all connected to public transit, and generate $25 million a year in revenue for san francisco. vote yes on d to turn this into this. ♪ hillary clinton met with representatives of the black lives matter movement and other activists, and we have a video

of her leaving the meeting, and aides described it as part of an ongoing conversation, and she is trying to shore up the african-american and latino voters. and congressman javier becerra is a clinton supporter, and let's talk about what is going on and she has had tough inencounters with the black lives matter spokesmen shall we say, and how would you describe her relationship with that movement? >>t the end of -- at the end of the day, you will find within the african-american and latino community, she will have strong support and overwhelming support as she becomes the next president of the united states, and she has the experience and the record to verify that she is doing to do what most americans want us to do including those of color. >> also at a congressional national caucus last night was heckled bay protester who said

that clinton the on various issues was wrong on the various sensitive subjects including incarcerations, prisons involving hispanics, and listen to this. >> tonight i am introducing somebody who is just like that, a wonderful man that i have had the privilege of knowing chef jose andres -- i have known jose -- >> and she was obviously introducing chef andreas, and at the same time this heckler or protester kept shouting out, and you were here and how dud it go? >> i was a table away from him, and the operative word in what you said, wolf, is a protester, and one. this is a hall of several thousand people, and most of them cheering for secretary clinton and one protester, and the great the thing about the count country, the free speech is allowed around the country, and while i disagree with what the

young man was saying, he had a right to say it, and he was asked to leave in a peaceful way. it was a great show to see so many people talk and the issues so important and great to is have secretary clinton with us, and hitting the right chords when it came to seeing what >> you just heard bernie sanders supporter say that if vice president biden jumps into the race he'll take more votes away from hillary clinton than senator sanders. how do you deal with the vice president if he announces he is in the contest? >> the vice president is one of the best we've got out there, and he deserves to make a decision, and whatever he decides i think a lot of folks feel like he has earned to do whatever he wishes to do. but i decided to support hillary clinton because i believe she is going to be the best person in america to be our next president, and i fully believe that she will become the next president, regardless of who her competition is. i think she'll go at it. she is not someone who backs

down from any kind of fight. i think she's proven that over the years. she always comes out on top. she is as tested as you get. i find there is no one who is better tested whether in foreign hot spots or here in tough races at home. she'll come out on top. i'm going to do everything i can. in fact, next week i'll be in new hampshire trying to make sure that we pull out as many people to be there for secretary clinton, not just early but often. >> why is she increasingly distancing herself from president obama on several sensitive issues? >> i wouldn't classify it as distancing herself, wolf. i think she is telling you who she would be as president, which is what everyone expects, right? we want to know who you will be he when you become the next president of the united states. tell us where you stand, whether it's on trade, whether it's on war, whether it's on education or health care. tell us where you are, not where you were when you were working for someone who is very important, not where you were when you were in the white house as first lady. tell us where you would be as president. and i believe hillary clinton is

doing a marvelous job of telling america this is who i am and this is where i'll ti president debate tuesday night. you'll have a chance to see all the democratic candidates debate the issues. cnn facebook, the democratic presidential debate only here on cnn. we'll take a quick break and be right back. gluten free. oh! that's a lot of kale.

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in iran. jason jason rezaian. he was put on trial in august. no verdict has been delivered. three other americans are detained or missing in iran. amir hekmati, a former u.s. marine, detained since 2011 on charges of spying for the u.s. and robert levinson, a former fbi agent and contractor for the ci cia reported missing after

visiting rauiran. the numbers are growing but not for the reasons you would think. here is cnn international diplomatic editor nic robertson. >> reporter: the man with the army jacket and gun is a taliban fighter recruiting the other two to join. >> translator: i told them to come join as they can make enough money to live with. >> reporter: in this video shot by a free-lance cameraman the would-about recruits are easy prey. >> translator: today in afghanistan finding a job is not an easy thing. i want to join them so i can have an income and make a living. >> reporter: easy prey, and an easy pitch for the fighter. seven months ago he too was jobless. he won't say how much he earns, but it's more than an afghan soldier. >> translator: i used to work for a foreign company. but after the contract was finished, i lost my job.

after several months of being jobless, i had to join the taliban. >> reporter: over the past few years afghanistan's economy has been grinding into the dust. the lubrication of foreign contract dollars is drying up as the international community heads for the exit. corruption has been sopping up what little spare there was. unemployment has been rocketing. >> translator: i am educated. i have my school and university degrees with me. but after a lot of struggles i could not find a job so i had to come to the taliban. >> reporter: he shows us his diplomas. he never thought he would see this day, doesn't even like the taliban. >> translator: i don't have anything to do with their viewpoints. my reason to join them is my economical problems and unemployment. >> reporter: the taliban's recent success in kunduz is also something of a pull. >> translator: it's very much possible that the taliban may get stronger and capture more places.

if a situation continued like this they may get to the capital. looking at the current situation in afghanistan, to me it looks like the taliban will take control of it in the near future. >> reporter: but they're not all in. they say they'll jump ship the moment the government offers them something better. >> translator: if the government tries to create job opportunities for educated youths like me i'll work with the government and continue my normal life. >> reporter: so, as important as the battle of kunduz undoubtedly is, the war won't be won on bullets alone. the economy is the new front line. nic robertson, cnn, kabul, afghanistan. that's it for me. thanks for watching. the news continues next on cnn. hi, everyone.

i'm brooke baldwin. you're watching cnn. president obama is about to touch down in oregon on his way to roseburg to do something that is already making a lot of people very angry. he is about to meet with survivors of last month's campus massacre. protesters gathering and grieving the deaths of the nine people shot dead by a 26-year-old who went building to building to building at umpqua community college. why are they so mad? you will remember the day after