Transcripts For CNNW The Situation Room 20150706 : vimarsana

Confederate flag protesters rally for and against the diadviceive symbol. Will the flag come down . Keeping their distance from donald. After a series of outrageous statements by donald trump, his republican rivals back away from the billionaire, but is a francis shooting adding fuel to his fire . Wolf blitzer is off today. Im pamela brown, youre in the situation room. The u. S. And is allies have pounded dozens of targets in iraq and syria, including the city which isis has turned into its capital and command center. At the same time isis has recaptured a key town and is on the move elsewhere. President obama has just made a rare visit to the pentagon conceding that the fight against isis will not be quick, but stressing that the terror group has suffered heavy loss, and cub pushed bake. At the same time the president warns there is concern about lone wolf attacks in this country and the u. S. Is working to quote, smother new isis cells. Ill speak with jason chaff detz. Here at the pentagon pamela the president said a short time ago the u. S. Is intensifying its efforts in syria, but the question of course, will it make a difference . Coalition war planes pounded isis positions around raqqa, to the dlafrd capital, here just one of 16 isiscontrolled bridges destroyed. Its the kind of progress president obama wants to talk about. Isils recent losses prove that isil can and will be defeated. Reporter a total of 18 air strikes on july 4th several air strikes in populated areas. The pentagon insists no change in policy but could there be new flexibility . I think with the strikes on raqqa over the weekend show that they have relooked the rules of engagement for those strikes and willing perhaps to take more risk with collateral damages and civilians cabots. Reporter the hope it will force the leaders to reposition troops and weapons. Syrian kurdish fighters are on the ground, now less that 50 miles from raqqa, working with the americans to pinpoint more isis targets. If you put pressure on a force with Ground Forces with offensive action it forces the enemy to move to communicate,ened to mass to defend its positions. Then it becomes vulnerable to air strikes. Reporter u. S. Officials say one of the dead may have been an aide to an isis hacker believed to have communicated with an attacker on the garland texas assault. The u. S. Still looking for top leaders, who the u. S. Believes could be in raqqa. With respect to leadership they are not sibt of these opportunities that rose over the weekend north of raqqa, but we continue to take action. Reporter but a setback in iraq seven kills when an Iraqi Military jet accidentally dropped a bomb on a residential neighborhood in baghdad. Pamela you mentioned a town that isis apparently had taken back from the curtis in syria. These are the kind of areas that are going to see a lot of fighting a lot of battling back and forth. Isis wants that town to keep its supply lines flowing. The kurds want the town back. Barbara starr, thanks so much. Whats behind the sudden lets bring in jim scuitto for more on that. So jim, with this Current Campaign against raqqa, explain isiss hold there. We talk about how in iraq mosul is isiss stronghold. In syria, its certainly raqqa, it goes back to before isis swept into iraq from syria. Whats been happening in recent week is the ypg, syrian kurds have been advancing on raqqa, as well as areas on the border here. And as they advance, you get better intelligence. Expand bases. The bases currently in iraq you have five u. S. Bases, baghdad the capital erbil, as well as just south. You added two bases here in taqaddan and al asad. But the pentagon has made clear, Martin Dempsey has made clear they might one spot perhaps on the path between baghdad, in the key city of tikrit also between kirkuk and mosul, both of those key, because this is are areas the iraqi voices with the backing of the u. S. Coalition, they want to reestablish control. Listen pamela weve been talking for a long time about when iraqi forces will be ready to retake mosul. There was talk of springtime this year then the fall of this year but no one is saying no one believes iraqi forces are capable of an operation like that until sometime next year. Did the president announce any changes this year . He did not announce any major changes. The one thing sill noticed really was his sobriety on this how sober his assessment is of the threat from isis saying one, it will take time. Two, there are going to be setbacks and frankly he has to acknowledge that. Those setbacks have been very visible. But also this expanded assessment of the threat from isis today. It was a year ago the president called isis a jv threat. He that he had it very clear today it is a threat in his words beyond the region right up to the u. S. Homeland. And nour theyre considered the number one Terror Threat against the u. S. Right up there with al qaeda. Thank you very much jim scuitto. Meantime negotiations with iran over the Nuclear Program are in the final stages. Its not the first deadline and may not be the last in this marathon effort to keep iran from getting the bomb. Lets turn to elice labott on that. What are you hearing . Pamela today was the first day that the parties had gotten together in the same room since they talks began, but it was clear there were still major differences on key issues like irans past Nuclear Weapon the lifting of sanctions, asked today if the dead line would slip the white house sid nothing is certainly. Take a list to josh earnest. I would set any expectations. I would say its certainly possible but i dont have been an expectation to share. I think everyone is laying the groundwork for the parties to work past tomorrows deadline. The question is can they get a deal to the congress. You heard this weekend bock corker the republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee called secretary kerry personally warned him not to rush. He said it was more important to little a tough agreement than trying to jam one through with the deadline. You also heard today Prime Minister netanyahu, one of the most vocal opponents of this deal warning that the u. S. Is making too many concessions. He said the deal is even worse than the deal north korea had, which it used to go nuclear. A lot of fearmongering by the israeli Prime Minister. Theres a question of whether the deal will be reached by the deadline but what if theres no deal at all . I think it depends on how close they are. They could go a few days but both sides say theyre prepared to walk away. Secretary kerry says if theres not a tough agreement, the iranians say they would rather go home emptyhanded so in the last couple days weve been calling it a game of chicken. Its a question of who will flinch first. Elise, thank you so much for that. Joining me to discussing it is congressman chaffetz of utah. Thanks so much for being here with us. As i said, a lot to discuss. First we saw today the president make a rare appearance from the pentagon. He said this fight against isis will not be quick. But he did not mention a war authorization from congress. Congressman, if this is going to be a long fight, in your view does the president need that authorization . Well he should. He should make the case for the American People. I sense more resolve from him, a more realistic view but im concerned he doesnt have a strategy. He talked about some tactics, but in a topical way. But i didnt sense he had a really rocksolid strategy on how to deal with this and defeat it. What do you think needs to be done . Hes getting a sense of the severity of the problem. It both you had. I think hes starting to do that thats just my xwrengs, from listening to him, but look the United States military can do anything. They can accomplish anything we set them to do but if the more handcuffs we put behind their back the more tethered they are to doing it a certain way, they wont be able to get the job done. Its not just iraq. I really do worry about north africa, libya, i worry about those areas. We dont have the type of intelligence that we should and we have had in the past and weve got to make sure were taking the fight not just to mosul and other places we should never have lost control, but we have to make sure we have the fight going on in syria, iraq libya and other places to make sure theyre held back and that theyre defeated. Whats taking so long in your view, with this fight . Well the president hasnt had a sense of urgency. The fact he was at the pentagon talking about this is a good sign. Ill say thank you, mr. President for doing that but lets unleash the military to defeat this enemy in its totality. Thus far, i have not heard that resolve, and the president is starting to get there. I think the American People would be behind him if he would talk about it more often and explain the threat to the homeland in the United States of america. I do believe it is a clear and present danger but we have to unleash or military to get it done. As he said the fight against isis will not be quick. Moving on to another big story, the ongoing negotiations with iran for a nuclear deal. Jim scuitto reported the iranians are saying theres no agreedupon deadline for a deal. What you would you need in order to support a deal congressman . If they cant even agree theres a deadline and if the United States looks at thursday as just a suggestion then there really isnt a deadline. I would want it to be crystal clear. The iran should not get a nuclear capability. If they want to come into the real world, to the developed world, they cannot develop a nuclear capability. Iran with a nuclear bomb is one of the biggest threats to the history of this planet and we cant let it happen. There are a series of other things and points that i think the president should insist upon. Ive got to tell you, these concessions that i hear that the president is considering is just not going to fly. Its a nonstarter at least for this representative and the vote i get. Congressman chaffetz i have a lot more to asking, particular particularly about the secret service. Stay with us. Well be right back with more of our enter view. It takes a lot of work. To run this business. Im on the move all day long. And sometimes, i just dont eat the way i should. So i drink boost to get the nutrition that im missing. Boost complete nutritional drink has 26 essential vitamins and Minerals Including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. All with a great taste. I dont plan on slowing down any time soon. Stay strong. Stay active with boost. Now try new boost® compact and 100 calories. When youre not confident your companys data is secure the possibility of a breach can quickly become the only thing you think about. Thats where at t can help. At at t we monitor our Network Traffic so we can see things others cant. Mitigating risks across your business. Leaving you free to focus on what matters most. If you take multiple medications, a dry mouth can be a common side effect. Thats why theres biotene. It comes in oral rinse spray or gel so theres moisturizing relief for everyone. Biotene, for people who suffer from dry mouth. We live in a pick and choose world. Choose choose choose. But at bedtime . Why settle for this . Enter sleep number. Dont miss the lowest prices of the season going on now. Sleepiq technology tells you how well you slept and what adjustments you can make. You like the bed soft. Hes more hardcore. So your sleep goes from good to great to wow only at a sleep number store. Right now, save 300 to 700 on select mattress sets, plus 36month special financing. Ends monday know better sleep with sleep number. And the wolf was huffing and puffing. Kind of like you sometimes, grandpa. Well, when you have copd it can be hard to breathe. It can be hard to get air out, which can make it hard to get air in. So i talked to my doctor. She said. Doctor symbicort could help you breathe better, starting within 5 minutes. Symbicort doesnt replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. Symbicort helps provide significant improvement of your lung function. Symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. It should not be taken more than twice a day. Symbicort contains formoterol. Medicines like formoterol increase the risk of death from asthma problems. Symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections osteoporosis, and some eye problems. You should tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high Blood Pressure before taking it. Grandfather symbicort could mean a day with better breathing. Watch out, piggies child giggles doctor symbicort. Breathe better starting within 5 minutes. Call or go online to learn more about a free prescription offer. If you cant afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. Chaffetz but first after a series of blunders and secure lapses including a fence jumper who made it inside the white house residence, the secret service has a new boss on a mission to fix the agency. Jim acosta got a behind the scenes look. Jim, how was it . Reporter pam, the secret service invited us to the Training Facility in part to reassure the public the agency has what it takes to protect the president. As the agencys director told us there is no room for error with the influx of threats coming in. Its supposed to be one of most elite agencies in the world, from the canine squads arming the white house to armed agents protecting the president from a potential ambush. The secret Service Conducts yearround training for all possible threats, but lately the agent itself has been in the line of fire for allows an intruder inbide the white house, a low light in a barrage of embarrassing headlines. What is your short answer . It should not happen. That wont happen again. Reporter joe clancy was tapped to fix the troubled agency a longtime agent who came out of rye timplt an insider that a job many in congress say an outsider could do. I think it helps to have a baseline education in what this job, and its a its a difficult job. Every day is a challenge. Its a cultural problem that youre dealing with now . I dont think its cultural. I think we have an element that has had difficulties in the past but weve learned from our mistakes. Reporter clancy is rebuilding the agency from the ground up dramatically boosting the number of recruits. 80 Miles Per Hour the purpose they say is not to protect the integrity of the vehicle, but also the occupants. But clancy knows the secret service also hag to be prepared for more modern threats, whether its isis. Is it something youre training for . Absolutely. But also were training towards the lone wolf. Our dropped flying over the white house fence. Can the secret service stop a drone from flying over the white house . Im not going to get into specifics, but we have included new technology there. Reporter but catching up take time. They installed spikes along the white house fence just last week more than nine months after last falls incident. Were hoping it will give us time to react. Its not stop ever jumper. And clancy wants a taller fence. Almost anybody could jump it. Do you feel the same way . I do. The director understands restoring the Publics Trust must come first. Every day is a new day and weve got tore prepared. Later this year the secret service says it will thats when pope francis comes to the u. S. To meet with president obama just as the president will be traveling to the United Nations to address diplomats from around the world there. Secret service wants more money to build a mock white house. They ville have to wait for congress to address that request. Jim acosta thank you. Were back with congressman chaffetz chairman of the House Oversight and government reform committee. We just heard this interview with the new director of the secret service n your view hearing what you heard seeing the training that happens with the secret service, do you believe that the president the without are safe. Hope so. The director doesnt believe theres a deepseated cultural problem. Thats what has led to a lot of these issues. I think we would agree there is a cultural pro into the training it looks great on television but as we uncovered in the Oversight Committee, the average training time for over the course of a year for both agents and officers if you average it out, its 25 minutes. 25 minutes okay, so you that you can about it cultural problem, youre saying the bigger problem is not a lack of training, but rather this culture problem. How do you change that . What would you doing to change that . Thats where i believe they need to cross the board. I disagree with the president s choice but i think mr. Clancy is a good person he has a good heart, a host of experience i wholeheartedly support him. I want and need him to be successful every step of the way, but thats not my role as the chairman of the Oversight Committee to just pat him on the back. Its to hold him accountable. The fact they dont have a mock white house, something they are asking for now, i support it. It costs Something Like 8 million to do it but thaerz better that are spray painting a ball field and pretending they knew how the worries works. We had officers who had never been in the white house before yet they were guarding the without. We had a guy in crocs and got in the white house. There are a lot of fundamental problems there. Already consent rick circles, and they all failed. Thats why i think they have a more systemic problem. In all fairness the director joe clancy has only been on the job, what six months or so . Dont we need to give him more time to do the job . Hey, like i said i want him and need him to be successful in a nofail mission, but they have not necessarily made the changes. They put on press releases said they dismissed and let people go but we found out later they didnt actually let these go. They did bring one person from the outside, but they have got to be able to deal with management problems and issues you have to hold people accountable. They have a financial audit system that doesnt work. You have agents and officers that dont know if theyre going to work the next day, excessive overtime. I could go on for an hour. He ha