Gunman Backed ISIS Before Deadly Shootings; Egypt Asks U.N. Security Council for Help; ISIS, An Apocalyptic Cult?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. This morning new details emerge on the Denmark terror suspect and a reminder of just how raw nerves are in Copenhagen. This morning police scrambled to the cafe where that first attack took place. Someone had found a letter described as suspicious. Police later dismissed the concerns without giving out any details. In the meantime, a new ISIS linked surfaces. This Facebook page apparently belonging to the gunman shows he vowed his allegiance to the ISIS leader just before the shooting spree. CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is in Copenhagen with more. Hi, Nic.</s>NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hi, Carol. We've also heard from the Danish ambassador to the United States saying that there is a strong possibility that he may have become radicalized while he was in jail. He had been a gang member. He'd been convicted of an attack in 2013 for an unprovoked violent stabbing of a passenger on a commuter train, and it's while he was serving time on that jail sentence that there's a possibility they say that he may have become radicalized. He left jail two weeks before the attack. Just hours before the attack posting on Facebook the support of the ISIS leader, al- Baghdadi, an indication therefore that he sort of ascribes to the ISIS ideology. But what we're also learning from the Danish Intelligence Services here is they say that, yes, he was on their radar, been brought to their attention, but they didn't think that he was about to commit an attack here. But I've also talked to a man who knew him when he was a member of the gang and described that -- described to me that environment that the gangs once where he would be able to get weapons would be very attuned to violence on the city streets but where he was finally thrown out of the gang he was in. This is what he told me.</s>IDEN SOUIE, SOCIOLOGIST: They did a peace agreement but to make that peace agreement they had to throw out some of the members whom they wouldn't control and he was one of the members who was thrown out, and then afterwards, he's become radicalized. Also Islamically radicalized. But I mean, if you ask a normal Muslim, he would say, well, this doesn't have to do with Islam. You have to be used to violence and being able to kill other people to act the way that he has done. He has had this identity before and it's also very common with anti- Semitism in these subcultures. But he could have been more radicalized in prison. But I think what is important to look at when you look at history is after he went to prison and came out, he didn't have anything to lose. I mean, he was a loser man from a ghetto before he went into prison, when he came out of prison he was even more isolated. And -- I mean, it's not a secret that a lot of young men become more radicalized while they're in prison.</s>ROBERTSON: So what we're learning here is that he -- while he was supporting ISIS, he didn't actually ever go to Iraq and Syria. He learned his weapons skills if you will on the streets of Copenhagen in these turf wars between the gangs here, learning how to kill other people. And the gangs, they were viciously fought -- viciously fought turf wars here. But the idea emerges here that he was really drifting down to the bottom in society, kicked out of the gang and just gravitated to radical Islam and that gravitational pull perhaps stronger when he was in jail. That's the impression, certainly the narrative we're hearing from officials here -- Carol.</s>COSTELLO: All right. Nic Robertson reporting live for us this morning. Thank you. In the meantime, the likely target of the Denmark attacks tells CNN he is now in hiding. Lars Vilks is the Swedish artist who has enraged Muslims with his depictions of the Prophet Mohammed. He was at the Free Speech gathering that became the gunman's first target. Last night he talked with Anderson Cooper.</s>ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: For you there is no going back, just -- purely on a security level, this is the reality for you?</s>LARS VILKS, CARTOONIST: No -- when once you get on the Islamist list and you're pointed out, you cannot excuse, you cannot withdraw because there's no forgiveness. You are pointed out and you are bound to die in these people's eyes. There's no way out.</s>COSTELLO: Vilks became a target in 2007 after drawing the prophet with the body of a dog. He says the attack was the third attempt on his life. A delegation from Egypt is appearing before the United Nations Security Council today asking for help in the battle against ISIS. Many believe the terror group take advantage of the chaos in Libya which could put it nearly on Europe's doorstep. In the meantime, it is a very busy day in Washington in the meantime. The White House is holding a counterterrorism summit focusing on the prevention of violent extremism as General John Allen, the man leading the coalition fight against ISIS, details what could be ahead for the United States as it faces off against the terror group. Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has more for you. Good morning, Barbara.</s>BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Even as Egypt continues its air strikes in retribution of those Egyptian Christians in Libya by ISIS, they are continuing to ask for help at the United Nations, here in Washington today we are seeing a good deal of work evolving on counterterrorism countering extremism. As you say that summit going on. A combination of looking at the problem domestically here in the United States and also on the global stage. Today Vice President Biden chairing a panel looking at some of the domestic issues. Looking at what cities in the United States like Los Angeles, Boston, and Minneapolis are doing to try and counter extremism right on their turf, looking at some of the things that these city and local officials are doing to try and encourage young people not to join in with extremist causes. Also that international big picture. What comes next for the coalition. A lot of talk again as there always is about ground troops. But don't look for President Obama to commit ground combat forces to this. Because even as we see ISIS evolving, expanding to Libya, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, it's only making the issue of ground troops less and less likely than it even was. This is going to be a very difficult problem. Every official says this is the real lesson of countering extremism. It's not a military problem alone. It is a problem for everybody to address on so many different levels -- Carol.</s>COSTELLO: All right. Barbara Starr reporting live for us this morning. Thank you. Americans do seem ever more willing, though, to engage in a ground war to take on ISIS. And it seems like that's the right move. ISIS is simply evil and needs to be wiped off the face of the earth except that's kind of what ISIS wants. A ground war is ISIS' prophecy. It's the end of days. CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen writes, quote, "ISIS' ideology is that of an apocalyptic cult that believes we are living in the end times and that ISIS' actions are hastening the moment when this kill happen. In other words ISIS wants a Western ground force to invade Syria as that will confirm the prophecy." So let's talk more about this with Peter Bergen. Hi, Peter.</s>PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.</s>COSTELLO: This is so strange and so frightening. So is ISIS like some sort of apocalyptic cult?</s>BERGEN: I think that's a fair description, Carol. You know, Tony Abbott, the Australian prime minister, has called them an apocalyptic death cult. I think that's sort of on the money. If you think about the way that they think about the world, they have an English language magazine called "Dabiq" which is -- just recently published its seventh issue last week and Dabiq is a town in southern -- in Syria where the Prophet Mohammed is supposed to have predicted a final showdown between the forces of Islam and the forces of Rome. And so in the -- in the minds of people in ISIS, they see themselves as the vanguard of a, you know, Islamic army which has been predicted in Islamic prophecy, even to include you're seeing these black flags here, Carol. These are important because there's another prophecy of the Prophet Mohammed that an army will come bearing black flags from an area called Khorasan which is what is -- where Afghanistan and Pakistan is today. So these guys really believe all these prophesies. A lot of them are not necessarily very authentic kind of sayings of the Prophet Mohammed, but they're saying they believe with ISIS, so they see themselves as partaking in this kind of final apocalyptic battle.</s>COSTELLO: You know, the "Atlantic" had great a article, too. Your article is fantastic as well, Peter. But the "Atlantic" had a really long article about it. And I was struggling to understand it. So ISIS wants this apocalyptic war to break out, right, and then somehow an anti-messiah will come and then Jesus, they say, Jesus is the second most revered prophet in Islam. He'll return to earth and lead the Muslims to victory. What exactly does -- can you expound on that?</s>BERGEN: Well, again, these are one of these sort of prophetic traditions. And of course Jesus is a very honored prophet in Islam known Isa, but not regarded as the savior as Christians believe that he is. And, you know, it's just one more kind of part of this. I mean, there's a reason that the leader of ISIS awarded himself the title of the caliph, Carol, because, you know, the caliphate is the perfect incarnation of Islamic rule across the Muslim world that existed at the time of the Prophet Mohammed. And so they -- these guys truly believe that they are establishing a perfect Islamic state and unfortunately a lot of other people around the world believe that, too, including the United States where we have seen teenagers from Colorado try and join, go to ISIS. We've seen teenagers in Chicago. Despite all that brutal tactics some people do believe that they are establishing some kind of perfect Islamic state in Syria and Iraq despite the -- you know, significant evidence to the contrary.</s>COSTELLO: Fascinating and scary, too. Peter Bergen, thanks for your insight. I appreciate it.</s>BERGEN: Thank you.</s>COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a train carrying crude oil derails and explodes in West Virginia. And guess where the oil landed? Right in the river. So is it safe to drink the water? We'll talk about that next.