CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Targeted Terrorist Killing and Iran Nuclear Deal

Interview

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BLITZER: Let's get back to the breaking news of the U.S. killing a top terrorist leader.

We're joined now by Congressman John Garamendi. He's a leading Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.

We got lots to talk about, including Iran.

REP. JOHN GARAMENDI (D), CALIFORNIA: Sure.

BLITZER: But let's talk about this targeted killing of this Khorasan leader, this al Qaeda offshoot, a guy by the name of Muhsin al-Fadhli.

Big deal or little deal?

GARAMENDI: It's very important. It's very important in that this was a very dangerous group.

Khorasans were known to be dangerous, one of the reasons we went into Syria in the first place. And it's also a message to every other terrorist group out there. We will find you. We will know where you are, and you're at serious risk and you will learn what a Hellfire missile is all about.

BLITZER: Because Khorasan -- Hellfire missile on a drone is the missile that killed this guy and presumably others who were with him.

GARAMENDI: Exactly.

BLITZER: But Khorasan's main objective, this offshoot of al Qaeda, is to go after U.S. targets outside the region, presumably right here in the United States.

GARAMENDI: Exactly. And that's what made them so very, very dangerous.

But we can find them and we will, wherever they happen to be in the world. You take a look at Somalia, you look at what goes in Yemen, Afghanistan, even in Pakistan, we have ways of knowing where these people are and eventually -- Mr. Baghdadi is on the list too.

I noticed just today he is spreading his operation in anticipation that he is going to be welcomed with a Hellfire missile before too long.

BLITZER: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is the leader of the ISIS group, and as...

GARAMENDI: Exactly.

BLITZER: You have no problem with the U.S. going out targeting these guys for assassinations?

GARAMENDI: I have no problem at all. These are known terrorists. These are guys that are out to get us in America. And we are going to get to them first.

[18:10:00]

BLITZER: What is your analysis of what happened in Chattanooga last week? Because we're getting more and more disturbing information about the killer, the shooter, Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez.

GARAMENDI: There seems to be a common thread through all of these, whether it's the situation in the South Carolina or in Colorado.

There is a disturbed person, usually a younger person that is disturbed for some reason. And they lock up on some sort of an ideology. And that ideology then gives them license to commit murder. And in this case, we're finding that this probably goes back to al- Awlaki and his influence on this individual. We will know more. And this always starts with a disturbed young individual. And

the real point for us as citizens in this community is to watch, to be aware, families to watch. Apparently, he was able to hide it. But I'm not sure he was really able to hide the trouble. Reach out. Get the help that is needed in a family. And if you see something, say something.

BLITZER: His family said, yes, he did have some serious problems, depression, bipolar, or couldn't hold on to a job. Clearly, he had some drug-related, alcohol-related problems. But he did go spend several months last year in Jordan. His uncle now in Jordan is being questioned by Jordanian authorities.

We don't know who he met with. We don't know if he got instructions to do this or he was simply inspired by Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born cleric, the AQAP killer who was killed by the U.S., by the U.S. in a drone strike, as you well remember.

GARAMENDI: Well, it may be all of the above.

We will find out what happened in Jordan. Undoubtedly, in Jordan, there was a lot of discussion about ISIS, about what it was doing, about its glory, if you would call it that. And he probably picked up on a lot of that.

Al-Awlaki apparently now very much inspired him. So, all of these things add up, the drugs, the depression, the trouble at home, the fact that he was known to want guns, and that he had acquired guns. All of these are things. Can we put together the dots and protect ourselves from it? We are going to have to work really hard at that.

But there are signs. And it is up to all of us in our own families to understand what's going. These tragedies are not just limited to this kind of activity against the military, but it happens in the communities. We have seen it most recently in Modesto, California, near where I live.

BLITZER: In your district.

GARAMENDI: Just outside my district, five people killed. Troubled young man took out his wife, or his soon-to-be-wife, child.

So these things happen.

BLITZER: But he wasn't inspired by some...

(CROSSTALK)

GARAMENDI: No, no, this has nothing to do with terrorism. This has something to do with what takes place in our communities.

BLITZER: He was just a mentally sick person.

GARAMENDI: Apparently so. BLITZER: Do you have confidence that the men and women who work

at U.S. military recruiting centers in your district in California right now -- because they're not armed. Are they safe, are they secure, given the edict that has gone out from ISIS and other terrorist groups to target U.S. military personnel?

GARAMENDI: Well, they certainly stepped up their own protection. They're much more careful. They're much more aware. They're doing things that are very simple to be done.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Should they be armed?

GARAMENDI: I don't think that is going to really work.

We know that the local police need to be more vigilant, more security in the area, more patrols in the area. We also know that there are things you can do to make these recruiting centers safer.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Because usually they're just in a strip center. They're in a mall or whatever. They want people to come in and feel at ease. But what's wrong with letting trained military personnel have a weapon?

GARAMENDI: Well, you just said the right word, trained. Many of these people are trained for combat in the field, but not necessarily for what might happen in a particular area.

BLITZER: Maybe they should be trained for that.

GARAMENDI: They're going to have to be more aware of what's going on.

We need to take a very careful look at this. Who are these individuals who are doing the recruiting? What is their background? What is their training? Clearly, the military police have a role to play in this. I met yesterday with the commanders at the Travis Air Force Base and we went through this in detail about that base and how they are protecting themselves on that base. And, frankly, it is very impressive.

BLITZER: All right. Congressman Garamendi, we have more to discuss. I want to you stay with us.

Much more with Congressman John Garamendi when we come back.

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BLITZER: I'm sure there will be an excellent back and forth during those meetings. Elise, thanks very much, Elise Labott reporting for us.

Let's get back to Representative John Garamendi. He's a member of the House Armed Services Committee.

You support the president on this deal, right?

GARAMENDI: I do.

BLITZER: You think this is a good deal?

GARAMENDI: I think this is the very best deal and I think it accomplishes its purpose.

It takes the nuclear weapon off the table for at least 10 years, quite possibly 15 or even longer. That's important.

BLITZER: Is that long enough, from your perspective? Because after 10 or 15 years, they have got the money, they have got the capability, they have got the research, they can go ahead and build a bomb. Is that OK?

GARAMENDI: No deal, they can do it in three months. If there's no deal, they can do it right now in three months. This takes it off the table for 10, 15 years, maybe even longer, because they are a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

So, that's also in place. This is not a simple situation, but, as they say, what's the option? You are looking here at the option, which is no deal, Iran is prepared to build a bomb today. And you tell all of those countries in the Middle East that are worried about Iran without a bomb, think what they would be thinking about if Iran had a bomb.

BLITZER: They would not be very happy, because the closer you are to Iran, it seems the more you are opposed to this deal, whether the Israelis, the Saudis, the Emirates, the Kuwaitis, the Bahrainis.

All of these countries, they're very firmly opposed. What they say, there is another option, namely the military option, if the U.S. were willing to launch a concussion bomb, a deep-penetration bomb and go ahead and get the job done and end it once and for all.

GARAMENDI: You think Iran doesn't have a significant military? They have got a very, very significant military. And there would be immediate retaliation.

We have the Seventh Fleet in that area. That fleet would be at risk, no doubt about it. Also, you have set in place the reason why Iran will build a bomb. They would know that, if there was a bomb, they would not likely be attacked because there would be nuclear retaliation.

BLITZER: But you think the military option should be off the table?

GARAMENDI: No, I think the military option has to be on the table, but we should never underestimate how dangerous that is, not only to Iran, which it certainly would be, but also to our allies and to us.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: What do you say to the Israelis, for instance, who are -- the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, so fiercely opposed to this deal?

GARAMENDI: I say that we're going to get this deal in place and then we're going to make sure that Israel is safe and secure, that their armaments are both in qualitative and quantitatively better than anything else in the area. We are going to have to do the same thing with our other allies in the area.

That is step two. Step one is to get this deal in place. Step two is, we're going to have bolster our position in that area to deal with the reality that Iran is still a very nasty place.

BLITZER: Representative Garamendi, thanks very much for joining us.

GARAMENDI: Thank you.

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