Interview With State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki; Terror Manhunt
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Plus, terror manhunt, urgent new raids in Europe and new evidence that several cohorts of the Paris attackers may be hiding in plain sight right now, getting ready to strike. And Ferguson controversy. As a new video of looting surfaces, there's now a new report that the Justice Department is nearing a bombshell decision in its investigation of the police officer Darren Wilson. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You are in</s>THE SITUATION ROOM. ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.</s>BLITZER: We have breaking news tonight. ISIS invades al Qaeda's turf, battling to be the top terrorist group. CNN has learned ISIS is actively recruiting inside of Yemen and the country is the home to al Qaeda's most dangerous affiliate known as AQAP, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Yemen's government has been fighting off attacks by rebels for days and teetering on the brink of collapse. The violence and the chaos are threatening a crucial U.S. ally and emboldening brutal killers. The State Department's top spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, there you see her, she is standing by over at the State Department along with our correspondents, our analysts, and they're covering all the news that is breaking right now. But, first, let's get the very latest. Our chief national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto, is joining us -- Jim.</s>JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this is part of the brutal competition under way terror groups fighting for attention, recruits and territory. We're now seeing that extending into Yemen. Yemeni officials telling CNN, including our Brian Todd, that perhaps dozens of fighters now loyal to ISIS in Yemen and they are attempting to recruit more.</s>SCIUTTO (voice-over): The terror group ISIS, a Yemeni officials tells CNN, now active and recruiting on a new front in Yemen. ISIS competing for influence in a country now dominated by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. AQAP believed to have hundreds of members in Yemen, compared to dozens from</s>ISIS. MOHAMMED ALBASHA, YEMENI EMBASSY SPOKESMAN: They are promoting themselves as ISIS. It's the rebranding of a new militant group. The understanding that we have is they initially started recruiting from within AQAP ranks. But now they are expanding and trying to recruit within the tribal areas.</s>SCIUTTO: As the ISIS threat expands, President Obama used his State of the Union address to call on Congress for new authority to fight</s>ISIS. BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now, this effort will take time. It will require focus. But we will succeed. And tonight, I call on this Congress to show the world that we are united in this mission by passing a resolution to authorize the use of force against</s>ISIL. SCIUTTO: Still, since the start of military action against ISIS in August, the president has already authorized a deployment of some 3,000 troops to Iraq, and U.S. warplanes have conducted more than 1,900 airstrikes. The president's new call continues a delicate constitutional balancing act for the White House, simultaneously arguing the U.S. needs new authorization, while continuing to expand the war under the old one, dating back to the 9/11 attacks. Even Democrats in Congress are demanding quicker legislative action.</s>SEN. TIM KAINE (D), VIRGINIA: American servicemen have already lost their lives as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, this war against ISIL. If we are asking people to go out and risk their lives, it would seem that we could approach with seriousness and speed. So why everybody is slow-walking this thing is a mystery.</s>SCIUTTO: The call for new action comes even as administration officials are making great efforts not to overplay the immediate threat from ISIS to the</s>U.S. JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There is no existential threat to the United States because of what is going on there, but there is a threat in the region. We are making progress.</s>SCIUTTO: The ISIS presence in Yemen highlights the growing threat that failed states pose directly to U.S. interests, ISIS gains in Iraq and Syria giving it enormous recruiting power which was seen as far afield as Libya, the Sinai, Afghanistan and now Yemen. Wolf, I have been in touch with a U.S. counterterror official and they make the point that in Yemen you do have this tremendous competition among these various groups, including AQAP, which remains the dominant force there, but ISIS making strides. You are also seeing some AQAP loyalists who share goals with ISIS, some sympathy, et cetera, who don't necessarily leave AQAP, but they show a new allegiance to ISIS. This is one of the things you see. A lot of these groups, they are competing for power, but they are also competing for the same group of fighters here. It's possible that a fighter can be loyal to one group, but also supportive of the other group's goals.</s>BLITZER: With the exception of the Yemeni government, which is in tatters right now, seems to be on the verge of collapse, all these other groups have one thing in common. They hate the United States of America.</s>SCIUTTO: Exactly. No question. And it's yet another group taking advantage of a failed state. You see in Somalia you have got Al- Shabab. You certainly see in Yemen. You see Libya becoming an increasing haven for these kinds of groups. It's a real problem going forward.</s>BLITZER: Jim Sciutto, thanks very much. Breaking now in the Paris terror investigation, CNN has learned that the terrorists appear to have urged about six associates to leave France before the plot was carried out. That would allow them to launch more attacks possibly soon. Let's go to Paris. Our justice correspondent, Pamela Brown, has uncovered new information. What are you learning, Pamela?</s>PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the concern among officials I have been speaking with is that these associates of the Paris suspects could pop up in ISIS propaganda videos, or, even worse, be recruited to attack the West, this as we learn more about the four suspects already in custody here in Paris.</s>BROWN (voice-over): Today, for the first time, the Paris prosecutor is identifying four suspects charged in connection with the Paris attacks whose DNA was allegedly found on Amedy Coulibaly's car, gun and glove found at the crime scene. But the prosecutor says authorities are still investigating whether the four suspects were actually complicit in the attacks. He says, "We think that there's a group of individuals who contributed as part of an agreement and that this has effectively served the terrorists who commit the attack." But it's the others who are still on the run, suspected cohorts of Amedy Coulibaly and the Kouachi brothers, that have authorities on edge. Sources tell CNN it's believed that terrorists urged around half-a-dozen of their associates to leave France just before the attacks, including Coulibaly's wife, Hayat Boumeddiene. A law enforcement source tells CNN the concern is they could all be hiding in the terrorist safe haven of Syria and soon try to attack the West. Meanwhile, two weeks after the attacks, Paris remains under heightened security with soldiers and police guarding landmarks and Jewish sites.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seeing on CNN all the security, the Eiffel Tower and around the city, I never once felt threatened.</s>BROWN: Today, the French prime minister announced new details of suspected jihadis living in France. He says 3,000 people with jihadist ties need to be under surveillance. And the number of people linked to terror networks in Iraq and Syria has jumped 130 percent in just one year.</s>TOM FUENTES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, they're talking they have 3,000 people they need to cover and you have the massive amount of resources it takes, people, vehicles, equipment, photography equipment, radio equipment, and extensive training, this is no small chore on their part.</s>BROWN: Another jihadi hotbed, Belgium. Tuesday night, Belgium police evacuated a neighborhood as they raided a home at the request of French authorities, part of the wider anti-terrorism operation, this as the manhunt continues for suspected Belgian ISIS operative Abdelhamid Abaaoud. Authorities believe he was directing a plot from Greece that may have included attempts to murder Belgian police officers.</s>BROWN: And, today, the French prime minister announcing that nearly half-a-billion dollars will be spent in emergency funding to track -- spending, rather -- to track those 3,000 jihadis living in France. Wolf, that news today very unnerving for people here.</s>BLITZER: You said a half-a-billion dollars, right?</s>BROWN: Nearly half-a-billion dollars in emergency spending, that's right. They say that money will come from savings from other public service funds that they have -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: All right, Pamela Brown, thanks very much. Tonight, a new terrorist call to attack the West in a video released by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. AQAP may be even growing more dangerous right now, given the turmoil in its home base of Yemen. Yemen has been under siege now by the rebels for days and now there's a report the two sides may have reached some sort of tentative deal. But chaos and instability remain a very serious threat to a critical U.S. ally in the war against terror. Our senior international correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, is the only Western TV correspondent inside Yemen right now. Nick, you went to the president's home. You had a chance to see what was going on. Looks like this whole country is on the verge of being a failed state. Tell our viewers what you saw.</s>NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Around the president's residence today, it was clear he was inside. It was clear that part of his security detail had, as we were told by one Yemeni official, run away the day before in the violence. But guarding him, sharing the duty with the guards still inside were the young Houthi militia in charge of a tank. If you ask them who is in charge, who is the president, they pointed to themselves and said it's the people now. They really began a day in which was clear President Hadi's power was going to be diminished in some way. Talks continued. Of course, the Houthi militia were in charge of the presidential palace and many other key buildings too. In the last few hours we heard of the tentative peace plan. Both the Houthis and the presidential administration seem to be more or less on side. It's a pretty one-sided deal, frankly. The Houthis have to pull their guys back from the key buildings and good vantage points in the city, release the presidential chief of staff. Fine. But on the other side, the government has to allow an editing, a rewriting in some degree, we don't know how significant, but pretty substantial under the text of the agreement, of the new constitution that the Houthis originally objected to. They have to let the Houthis have key figures in government and they have to give the Houthis some sort of concession in Marib, the province to the east of the capital here, where there have been potential clashes against al Qaeda. A substantial concession from the government. We just don't know, Wolf, at this stage whether or not the president is president in alone or still will retain some sort of lever -- sorry -- hand on the levers of power here, Wolf.</s>BLITZER: All right, Nick, tell us a little bit about this new AQAP, this al Qaeda video that was released today telling its supporters out there, don't worry about coming to Yemen where they are, just go ahead and start killing people, killing Americans in particular.</s>WALSH: This was recorded ahead of the Paris attacks, but is being pushed out again as I think al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula try to reinvigorate their following around the world, sickeningly, after what they claimed responsibility for against "Charlie Hebdo" magazine. But this message is pretty stark, really. It says, look, you may be -- I'm paraphrasing here -- you may be depressed, living with the infidels in the West, but you may want to leave. Don't do that. Stay where you are and launch attacks against the West where they are. A remarkable call really for lone wolves, people who share this kind of ideological, not to seek to leave the countries they're in, but stay there and cause violent attacks there. It goes on, Nasr Al-Ansi, the spokesperson we saw in the claim for responsibility for the "Hebdo" attacks about a week ago now, he goes on to say that they believe they have managed to close 16 embassies through what they refer to as external work, and that's operations against the West, terror attacks, as you refer to them. And basically says that this jihad and incitement will stop the severity of the disbelievers, a very troubling message there from the spokesperson for AQAP. They clearly feel they are on the front foot and encouraging people to stay where they are and cause attacks in the West rather than try and leave.</s>BLITZER: That's very, very disturbing. Thanks very much, Nick Paton Walsh. Be careful over there. Let's go to the State Department now. Joining us, the State Department's top spokeswoman, Jen Psaki.</s>JEN PSAKI, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESWOMAN: Hi, Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Jen, thanks very much for joining us. All right, so how worried are you about this new al Qaeda video telling people out there, their supporters, don't worry about coming here, just stay where you are and kill Westerners, kill Americans?</s>PSAKI: I think you heard the president of the United States talk last night about how committed we are to taking on the threats of terrorism around the world. It's not just al Qaeda. It's ISIL. It's Boko Haram. But certainly we're not only aware and concerned. It's one of the top priorities of the administration to fight this terrorism, to work with partners around the world, including the Yemeni government.</s>BLITZER: When you have groups like ISIS and al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula competing with each other now for dominance, if you will, that makes these terrorist organizations even more dangerous, doesn't it?</s>PSAKI: Well, there's no question it's a sick race to the bottom, Wolf. I don't have any confirmation of the level of recruitment or the success of recruitment of ISIL in Yemen. But I can tell you that our partnership with the Yemeni government on counterterrorism operations, which is ongoing, and is one of the reasons why it's so important we have a presence in Yemen, is something that we're focused on taking on all threats of terrorism. Yes, AQAP, as you have been talking about, certainly has a large presence there. But any threat that is -- any counterterrorism threat that we can take on there is one we will continue to work with the government on.</s>BLITZER: We heard the spokesman for the Yemeni Embassy here in Washington tell us just a little while ago there are hundreds of American diplomats, military personnel, sort of official Americans in Yemen right now, but there are thousands of U.S. citizens, many of them Yemeni-American dual citizens who are there right now. Here is the question. Are they safe?</s>PSAKI: We don't get into numbers because we think it puts the men and women serving at risk. We certainly understand there are a lot of numbers out there. I can tell you that one of the top priorities of the president of the United States, the secretary of state, everybody who works in this building that I'm standing in right now is the safety and security of American citizens. And we weigh that very, very heavily. But we look at a range of factors. And that's a conversation that's ongoing. We're not just monitoring it. We're discussing internally the situation and what the right steps are. But nothing has changed at this point in time in terms of our presence there.</s>BLITZER: Where does the evacuation proposal, the evacuation plan stand right now? We know there are two U.S. warships, the Iwo Jima, the Fort McHenry, right off the coast of Yemen. How close are you, the State Department, to ordering an evacuation of all American diplomats?</s>PSAKI: Well, Wolf, we always have to be ready. There's no question there's a lot of violence happening in Yemen right now. There's a lot of tension on the ground. And it's our responsibility to take every step necessary as a government to be prepared. But we have not changed or made a decision to move forward with an evacuation. Obviously, we continue to discuss internally what the right steps are. Now, you talked a little bit about steps that were taken, a tentative political agreement. Obviously, that's a positive step. Implementation is key from here. But we're going to continue to work with the government and see if we can move toward a more peaceful path on the ground.</s>BLITZER: Because Angus King, the senator from Maine, independent senator from Maine, he's a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, he was on CNN earlier today on "NEW DAY." He is concerned that some of those Americans could be held hostage, taken hostage by these terrorists who are out there. You are concerned about that as well, I assume?</s>PSAKI: Well, of course. We're concerned about any man or woman serving us, whether that's in Yemen or any high-threat post around the world. And obviously taking care of American citizens is one of the primary responsibilities of the State Department. And that's something we take incredibly seriously. We have a lot of information we look at. And we have a lot of internal consultations that are ongoing. And I can assure you that, if this is a step that we believe is warranted, we will take it.</s>BLITZER: You have taken it in Libya. You have taken it Somalia and have taken it in Syria. We will see what happens in Yemen next. Those other embassies, they are all shut down, as we know. Jen Psaki, I want to you stay -- stand with us. We have a lot more to discuss. There's other breaking news we're following. We will take a quick break. We will be right back.