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Turmoil in Romney Campaign?; Red Line for Iran?; Mitt Romney Speaks Live; Hope for a Convicted Murderer;

Aired September 17, 2012 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The actors thought they were making a low budget, cheesy film with little plot.

LILY DIONNE, ACTRESS: We didn't wonder what it was about. They kept saying George. This is the Middle East 2,000 years ago. Who is George? But, you know, we don't normally ask questions.

MARQUEZ (on camera): George turned out to be the Muhammad character.

DIONNE: He did.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): The script handed out piecemeal, sometimes late at night, the day before a shoot. Lily had no lines, but was asked to come in after the shooting was done to dub her voice over that of another actress. Other actors she says went to the same sound studio also after the shooting was done to record the word that is sparked a fire storm.

DIONNE: They brought the actors in, in posts and had them say specific words like Muhammad, for example. Then they took -- it was isolated. It wasn't in context. They said say Muhammad. Say Muhammad, why?

MARQUEZ: She says Bacile. We now know his real name is Nikoula Basseley Nikoula was engaging in cheerful on set. There was no indication of the film's real intent or story.

DIONNE: I was shaking when I found out.

MARQUEZ (on camera): Really?

DIONNE: Yes. I mean, I had no idea. This is a movie that I thought was nobody was ever going to see.

MARQUEZ: You were shaking when you heard about the ambassador's death?

DIONNE: Yes.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Dionne feels betrayed by a man that pretended to be a filmmaker and a friend. Sam Bacile, Nikoula Basseley Nikoula, a convicted fraudster and identity thief who put all of his skills together to pull off the role of a lifetime. DIONNE: He had a vision. Him and the director would get in arguments and he wanted things a certain way. He knew what he was doing. He was playing us all along.

MARQUEZ: It may sound a common experience, but the making of this film, the deception. It's dark motivation would be Oscar worthy if hateful were a category.

Miguel Marquez, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And just a short time in Los Angeles, Muslim and Coptic Christian leaders stood side by side, strongly condemning both the film and the violent reactions. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BISHOP SERAPION, COPTIC DIOCESE OF LOS ANGELES: We cannot allow the action of a few deceived fanatical individuals to define our communities.

Those individuals are responsible for their deepest actions, which cannot be reflective of the respectable communities they claim to be members of. Responding with violence only serves to continue the hate, rather than taking positive steps to start the healing process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Start the healing process, those comments just a short while ago from Los Angeles, that joint news conference with again Coptic Christians and Muslim leaders.

And as we roll into the second hour here, I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thanks for being with me here on CNN.

Want to let you know, we are awaiting a speech by Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. He is set to speak in Los Angeles. He will touch on immigration reform. And first I just want to show you something we just got in.

Take a look with me. This is a poll from the Pew Research Center. It shows that just 26 percent of respondents approved of the way Mitt Romney handled the attacks on U.S. embassies in Egypt and Libya, 26 percent -- 48 percent disapproved.

As you remember, Mitt Romney came out and criticized the White House, even as the details of the embassy attacks in Cairo and both Benghazi were still filtering out, apparent thumbs down from the public on that one.

Back to today's speech in Los Angeles, here is what we need to all keep in mind here, and there has been a battle brewing within the Romney campaign as a result of the battle we expect to hear Romney begin to offer, you know, more specifics today, as to precisely what he would do as president. We expect he will start to tell us what he, Mitt Romney, would do differently from President Obama. At least that's what the Romney team is saying.

Want to bring in Jim Acosta. He's with me now from the scene there of the Romney speech in Los Angeles.

Checking my time, Jim Acosta, I'm thinking 10 minutes if he's running on schedule. But let me just turn the question on its head here. Why has Mitt Romney not been offering lots of policy specifics up until now? Was there a conscious decision to do that and if so, why?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, he's given a couple of explanations about why he's not offered a lot of specifics for his economic plan.

I will keep my voice a little low right now. I'm hearing shushes from the crowd behind me at this business luncheon in Los Angeles. But what he's said, in a couple of interviews is that, you know, if he gives specifics, a whole cottage industry of people in opposition to his plan will rise up and try to defeat those plans out on the campaign trail before he gets a chance to be elected and get into the presidency.

That is one response he's given all of this in all of this. And the other responses come from Paul Ryan, that when they get into Congress, when they get into the White House, what they want to do is go to the Congress with a framework of proposals that the Congress can work with and come back with some concrete, specific reasons.

So those are the responses, that's the spin coming from the Romney campaign, from the ticket themselves. But I will tell you, Brooke, being here today at this business luncheon, this comes at a critical time for the Romney campaign. You just talked about the numbers from the Pew poll, and those are not good numbers when it comes to how the public feels about how he handled that crisis in the Middle East last week.

Today, the Romney campaign is trying to retool his economic message, and that's why he's coming out with some of these specifics today. And you were talking about specifics, and one of the things he will be talking about, something he hasn't talked a whole lot about is what he would do to reduce the budget deficit and he will be talking today according to excerpts released from the speech that he will come out and deliver that he wants to combine departments of the federal government, phase out agencies of the federal government.

These are things he has not talked a whole lot about during the course of this campaign because, as you know, some of this stuff might be politically unpopular, but the campaign says now is the time to start laying out some of these specifics.

BALDWIN: Jim, what about specifics on immigration reform? Do we know what specifics he might be giving on that?

ACOSTA: According to the excerpts that have come out on this speech so far, no real specifics on immigration right now.

One of the things he heard during the primaries that really irritated a lot of Latinos was this talk of self-deportation, when he said in the one NBC debate during the primaries that the undocumenteds should self-deport themselves back to their countries of origin.

That is not in the excerpt. What is interesting about what is what is in this speech might not be the specifics, but what is not in the speech, what he will not be talking about. That might be a sign he's trying to pivot a little bit and perhaps, you know, soften his rhetoric on immigration as a way to appeal to Latino groups.

BALDWIN: So it's also what he won't say that we will listen for.

ACOSTA: Exactly.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: I have you read it, this huge Politico story about all the complaints being leveled at Stuart Stevens. Here is, this is a photo of him, and he's Romney's chief strategist.

I think what was striking about the Politico story was just the level of finger pointing within the campaign. They sourced all the aides and friends. It was the kind of stuff you hear from within a campaign once it is over and you have lost.

ACOSTA: Right.

You will remember during the 2008 campaign there was a lot of finger pointing and blame game stuff going on inside the McCain campaign with respect to that decision of picking Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate.

So we're starting to hear some of that same kind of finger pointing that is going on now about what happened at the convention in Tampa a couple of weeks ago, you know. There was some, you know, responses in that Politico article from sources cited by the reporters who wrote that article that people inside Romney world were not too happy with Clint Eastwood's speech, that that was a -- that that is a major problem for some people inside the Romney campaign.

I did have a chance to talk to a senior Romney adviser about some of this. They're basically dismissing all of this as" inside the Beltway", "inside baseball" gossip. And they say that Stu is in the words of this one adviser still very much part of this team. So, Brooke, this is the kind of stuff that goes on in the latter stages of a campaign when things haven't been going that well in the last couple of weeks, and that's where Mitt Romney finds himself right now.

BALDWIN: "Inside the Beltway" gossip, so says a senior Romney adviser to you. We will see what Politico's editor in chief thinks about that. We're talking to John Harris here in coming up in a couple of minutes. Jim Acosta, thank you very much.

Again, we're waiting and watching for Mitt Romney to speak in Los Angeles. We will bring that to you live in a matter of moments.

But there is more news developing at this hour, including this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: As Mitt Romney gets ready to speak live, we're going to take you behind another one of his most famous speeches and explain how at the last minute everything changed.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

(voice-over): An American soldier killed by the men he was training in Afghanistan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He had a pillow over his face 4:30 in the morning screaming at the top of his lungs. Heart-wrenching.

BALDWIN: The pain of an insider attack in war comes home.

Plus, as one magazine threatens to publish more revealing pictures, the royal couple gears up to fight.

And when it comes to Iran, where is the red line? CNN's look at what each presidential candidate promises in the nuclear standoff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: You have by now heard the phrase green on blue, as in green on blue attacks. That's the term the military uses when a supposed ally and friend of NATO forces kills the troops training him.

These types of attacks are on the rise, sadly, three separate incidents in just the last couple of days. The man you're about to see says he is responsible for a similar attack back in 2009. He went out on a patrol with U.S. troops, took out his gun, and shot them.

CNN's Anna Coren met him and asked him why did he do it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a small house in a Taliban-controlled village is a man who claims to be responsible for a green on blue attack.

With his ace covered to hide his identity, he pulls out his police uniform, something he has not worn since the attack on the second of October, 2009.

On patrol with U.S. forces in Wardak province in central Afghanistan, this father of two says he waited for an opportunity to launch his premeditated attack.

The Americans went inside the nearby school for a break, he explains. They took off their body armor and put their weapons down. At that moment I thought it was the right time so I took my gun and shot them. Two soldiers were killed. 25-year-old sergeant Aaron Smith, and 20- year-old private first class, Brandon Owens. Three other soldiers were injured including Captain Tyler Kurth.

When asked why he turned his gun on the U.S. soldiers training him, he said because Americans were burning copies of the holy Koran and disrespecting it.

Having escaped from the scene, he was captured by the Taliban who thought he was a police man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): When I told him I killed Americans, he took me to a safe place and gave me new clothes, then, they drove me to Pakistan with the Taliban welcomed me very warmly like a hero. COREN: He says he later moved to Iran for three years. Returning to Afghanistan only recently after being told it was safe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They said Americans were not everywhere they like used to be. The Taliban brought security and I should return home. I am happy to be back in my country.

COREN: Green or blue or insider attacks as they are known in the military have sharply increased this year here in Afghanistan. It is an alarming trend that its coalition forces extremely worried. And every single time there's an attack, the Taliban immediately claims responsibility.

COL. TOM COLLINS, U.S. ARMY: The Taliban lie and we know they lie. We think they overstate their influence on the tragic incidents. We think somewhere around 25 percent of them are insurgent related to some degree.

COREN: The majority of the attacks according to the coalition are related to personal grievances, cultural differences, and a psychological fatigue of an 11-year war that is about to enter its 12th year. And while trust is being undermined forcing new measures to be put in place to protect troops. The Afghanis are determined to ensure these insider attacks don't derail these vital partnership.

SEDIQ SEDIQI, AFGHAN INTERIOR MINISTRY: We will continue to work together. We have been working for the 11 years. We have built very good relationship together and this will continue to despite any efforts by the Taliban to make us separate. That will not happen.

COREN: But for this 30-year-old Afghani, he believes the attacks won't stop.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I know they will increase and I know more people will do what I did.

COREN: Anna Coren, CNN, Kabul.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Anna Coren, Thank you. In just a couple of minutes, Mitt Romney is expected to speak live. Here are live pictures. We're waiting to see Mitt Romney behind that podium there in Los Angeles in front of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, this as his campaign strategy appears to perhaps alter a tad today. We're going to take a look at that new turn. We will dip in live for you next.

BALDWIN: President Obama is going after a favorite target today on the campaign trail, Mitt Romney's record at Bain Capital. The president told the crowd there in Cincinnati this morning that Romney's promise to fight for fair trade policies with China is undermined by Romney's previous career as a venture capitalist.

President Obama made his remarks just hours after his administration filed a complaint with the WTO, that's the World Trade Organization, accusing China of providing a billion dollars in illegal aid to its auto industry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now, I understand my opponent has been running around Ohio claiming...

(BOOING)

OBAMA: Don't boo. Vote. Vote.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: But he's been running around Ohio claiming he's going to roll up his sleeves and he's going to take the fight to China.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: Now, here is the thing. His experience has been owning companies that were called pioneers in the business of outsourcing jobs to countries like China.

He made money investing in companies that uprooted from here and went to China. Pioneers. Now, you can't stand up to China when all you have done is sent them our jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That was the president just a couple of hours ago. He stays in Ohio as he's holding a rally a little later today in Columbus.

Meantime, Mitt Romney, as we have been telling you, here he is, speaking at this U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce event there in Los Angeles.

And before we dip into him, I just want to let you know what to listen for. Right now, he's talking economy. He actually just said President Obama, and I'm quoting him, "failed to produce a real recovery." We're also listening for specifics on perhaps immigration reform. So let's take a listen. (JOINED IN PROGRESS)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... million more Americans not working. Nine million.

I expected that the president at his convention would talk about the unemployed and unveil a jobs plan. Astonishingly, he didn't.

Now, I have a plan. And my plan for a stronger middle class will create 12 million jobs by the end of my first term. And it will raise take-home pay. My plan is premised on the conviction that it is freedom that drives our economy, that free people creating free enterprises is what creates good jobs with good wages.

Government supports the job creators, but it cannot take their place. Now, my plan, as you have heard, has five key steps. First, we will take advantage of our oil, gas, coal, nuclear and renewables to achieve North American energy independence in eight years.

That will not only give us the affordable, reliable energy we need. It will also create nearly four million jobs. And it will bring manufacturing back to our country.

Second...

(APPLAUSE)

ROMNEY: Second, we have got to give our fellow citizens the skills they need for the jobs of today.

And we got to give our kids the education they need for the careers of tomorrow. There are too many of our kids trapped in failing schools. As president, I will ensure that every child from every background receives a quality education. I will empower the...

(APPLAUSE)

ROMNEY: ... I will empower the parents of our low-income and special- needs students to choose where their child goes to school.

Now, three, we will make trade work for America by forging new trade agreements with nations that play by the rules. At the same time, we will crack down on nations that don't. We can jump-start our economy by expanding trade with Latin America.

And our nation's three million Hispanic-owned businesses will have the most to gain. President Obama has not initiated a single new trade agreement with Latin America. I will. I will also pursue a comprehensive strategy to confront China's unfair trade practices and I will do that from day one.

(APPLAUSE)

ROMNEY: Now, the president may think that announcing new trade lawsuits less than two months before the election will distract from his record. But American businesses and workers struggling on an uneven playing field know better. If I had known that all it took to get him to take action was to run an ad citing his inaction on China's cheating, I would have run one a long time ago.

Fourth, we have got to cut the deficit and put America on track to a balanced budget.

(APPLAUSE)

ROMNEY: I actually believe it is immoral for us to continue to spend more than we take in and to pass our debts on to our kids.

Now, I would like to spend some time talking about this issue in particular. As businessmen and businesswomen, and as Hispanics, you understand the threat President Obama's spending poses for our future.

Many Hispanics have sacrificed greatly to help build our country and our economy and to leave for their children a brighter future. Today, those sacrifices are being put at risk by a president who just can't stop spending, the president...

BALDWIN: Points one through five, Mitt Romney -- we were looking for specifics, although we have heard this plan, the five-point plan on getting our economy to bounce back if and when he's elected as president.

Want to make you the promise that we're certainly listening in on this speech because a lot of people also want to hear specifics when it comes to immigration reform. Of course, you think about his audience, Hispanics, he's at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce there in Los Angeles.

And just quickly, if you're curious, because I know I was, in terms of the latest numbers, a recent Gallup poll gives Obama a big among Latinos, 64-27 percent. So we're listening to Mitt Romney there speaking in Los Angeles.

But, coming up next, actually, one of Romney's more famous speeches, the one he gave in Tampa at the RNC, got a lot of criticism, and there are now reports the Republican speech changed dramatically in the days leading up to it. We are going to talk to the editor in chief of Politico. They broke the story. They had the scoop. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Do want to just remind you we are keeping an eye -- here he is speaking, Mitt Romney, at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce event there in Los Angeles.

And we're told -- we got this heads-up that he will get specific on speeches, just like this one today, as he's talking economy and immigration, you know, let the people know why they should vote for him and against President Obama.

As he speaks, I want to bring in John Harris from Washington. He's editor in chief of Politico.

So, John, welcome to you.

JOHN HARRIS, EDITOR IN CHIEF, POLITICO.COM: Good afternoon.

BALDWIN: Let me just begin with the campaign, because they say that the camp says they're going to get their man on more specifics when it comes to, say, policy plans.

Before I ask you a question, I want to throw out this poll, because this is our recent poll showing that voters now believe Obama has the clearer plan for solving the country's problems.

Do you think it is polls like this that have been the catalyst for, you know, camp Romney changing, going more specific?

HARRIS: Yes, I think it is polls like that.

I also think it is an increasing drumbeat of criticism from the kind of Republican elite, conservative intellectuals, political operatives who are looking at polls and saying, something is clearly not going right with the Romney campaign. They don't have the momentum they need.

And a lot of these people feel that the convention in Tampa was a missed opportunity to lay out a really clear, compelling alternative vision to Obama.

We heard there Romney say that Obama's failed on the economy. That's been his case all along. We heard about his personal biography. We heard very little about his policy plans. Here's where I would take the country.

BALDWIN: So, as we look for specifics, back to your, you know, things aren't going right, great article from Politico. This is Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei's piece out last night, the title, "Inside the Campaign -- How Mitt Romney Stumbled."

Obviously, I've read the whole thing, a lot of people talking and I thought one nugget that jumped out at me, the fact that, John, the campaign strategist, Stuart Stevens, scrapped Romney's entire acceptance speech eight days out.

It was written by, you know, A-list speechwriters. How do you interpret that, that nugget?

HARRIS: Well, it gives us a window inside the Romney operation. We tend to think of Mitt Romney as a very buttoned down guy, somebody who comes from a corporate background, so crisp, well organized, a kind of a classic PowerPoint guy.

That may be the case with Romney, personally. It's not true of his campaign. We see that there's a certain amount of chaos that just flies around that campaign, tends to be last minute, improvisational. That's what we saw with the speech. It also tends to be divided by different factions. That's something that happens pretty frequently when you've got a campaign in trouble that different power centers emerge and we've seen that.

BALDWIN: Let me just quote someone here in this piece talking about Stu Stevens managing the campaign.

Quote, "As the mishaps have piled up, Stevens has taken the brunt of the blame for an unwieldy campaign structure that, as the joke goes among frustrated Republicans, badly needs a consultant from Bain and Company to straighten it out."

I mean, John, are things really that bad behind the scenes?

HARRIS: Look, when a campaign is in trouble, and I think you have to look at the polls and critical swing states, Ohio, Virginia, Florida, all states that anybody needs to win if they're going to win the presidency and you see Romney behind, what that does is ignite, frankly, a pretty familiar cycle in politics.

When things aren't going well, recriminations within campaigns start. The finger-pointing starts. The background leaks start. And the only thing that can shoo that away is success.

So, the Romney campaign desperately needs some success. They need a big break in the news. They need to create their own break with some policy initiatives. They need some polls that show them regaining momentum or you're going to hear this kind of chorus of criticism.

BALDWIN: You know, it sounds like, according to the sources in the piece, that Mitt Romney's a pretty loyal guy. You know, he's standing by Stu Stevens and perhaps loyalty isn't necessarily a bad thing.

But, really, my final question to you is, given this article in Politico, what is the mood? What really is the mood inside the Romney campaign?

HARRIS: Well, I think it's very tense. I think it's very -- there's a lot of mutual suspicion within the campaign of different sides. That's never a winning formula.

Effective campaigns tend to be very unified. They tend to have a sense of esprit de corps throughout the campaign and, clearly, we're seeing some of that missing with Mitt Romney.

BALDWIN: Seven weeks and one day to go until November 6th.

HARRIS: That's not much time, is it?

BALDWIN: It is not. It is not, sir.

John Harris, editor-in-chief of Politico. Nice have you on. Thank you very much.

HARRIS: So long. Thanks a lot. BALDWIN: Coming up next, the police officer shot 15 times during that Sikh temple shooting appears in public for the very first time. You will hear exactly what he is saying, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: He was shot 15 times -- 15 -- critically wounded. And just a month after an attack on a Sikh temple in Wisconsin that left those six people dead, Lieutenant Brian Murphy made his first public appearance.

The police officer got a huge welcome at a fundraiser for the victims of the August 5th shooting. Tom Murray from our affiliate WTNJ has his story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM MURRAY, REPORTER, WTNJ: This is the first time Oak Creek police lieutenant, Brian Murphy, is appearing publicly since he was shot in the line of duty, a cast visible on his hand, family at his side.

Murphy arrived to a hero's welcome at this fundraiser in the bowling alley parking lot across the street from the Sikh temple.

Despite a wound to his throat, the lieutenant wanted to give this public thank you.

BRIAN MURPHY, POLICE OFFICER SHOT AT WISCONSIN SIKH TEMPLE: I just wanted to let everyone know how appreciative I am, my family is, for your kindness, prayers and support. It means so much to us.

MURRAY: This is the same lot authorities used as a staging ground when responding to that mass shooting.

Murphy survived more than a dozen gunshots, survived to celebrate his birthday.

At his side, Officer Sam Lenda. Lenda fired the shot that took down the temple gunman, ending this community's darkest hour.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: How about that? Tom Murray from our affiliate WTNJ for that report.

In the nuclear standoff with Iran, we keep hearing this phrase "red line," essentially that the no-turning-back point.

Well, Israel's prime minister says Iran is six months away from a bomb, so you're about to hear where President Obama and Mitt Romney stand on that very issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID EAGLEMAN, NEUROSCIENTIST: I'm interested in neuro-law because it's really where the rubber hits the road in neuroscience. It's where we can take all the things we're learning about human behavior and how humans are different and translate that into social policy, how we actually are running the system here.

I'm David Eagleman. I'm a neuroscientist.

At some point, there will be a crime committed, like the Virginia Tech shooting or the Columbine shooting or the Aurora movie theater shooting and we will find that the perpetrator had a brain tumor.

I'm not suggesting that any of those events were explained by brain tumors, but at some point that will happen and then society is going to have to deal with the very difficult question about this relationship between brain and behavior and this question of culpability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: You have heard this before. We have talked about this before on this show, drawing your line in the sand and, if you step over that line, there will be consequences.

Now, that saying is really at the heart of some pressure coming from Israeli's prime minister about Iran's nuclear capabilities.

Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu wants the United States to establish this quote/unquote "red line" that Iran cannot cross with this nuclear program if it wants to avoid war.

Prime minister Netanyahu spoke with CNN's Candy Crowley just yesterday morning, saying time is running short to get Iran to listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER, ISRAEL: They're moving very rapidly to completing the enrichment of the uranium that they need to produce a nuclear bomb. In six months or so, they will be 90 percent of the way there.

I think it is important to place a red line before Iran and I think that actually reduces the chances of military conflict because, if they know there's a point, a stage in the enrichment or other nuclear activities that they cannot cross because they'll face consequences, I think they'll actually not cross it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: No doubt, how the U.S. handles the country that crosses the red line has become part of the race for the White House and CNN goes in depth on the issue of foreign policy this week.

See how Mitt Romney differs from President Obama over two looming issues, internationally. First, Iran's nuclear program and, secondly, the civil war in Syria. The specifics from Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney on degree on two crucial, national security issues. Iran will not be allowed to go nuclear and Syria will not use its chemical weapons.

But, if it looks like either might happen, they differ on what could trigger sending U.S. troops into action.

On Syria ...

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized.

That would change any calculus. That would change any equation.

STARR: The White House won't say what it will do if the red line is crossed. Seizing dozens of chemical weapons sites would be tough, requiring tens of thousands of troops on the ground.

Romney has openly called for covert action.

MITT ROMNEY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would -- instead of watching what's happening in Syria from a dispassionate distance, I would be leading in Syria by encouraging our friends there, like the Turks and the Saudis, to provide weapons to the insurgents in Syria.

STARR: But he, too, hasn't said how or when he would use U.S. troops.

The bottom line on Syria? President Obama's red line, moving or using chemical weapons. Governor Romney advocates greater U.S. involvement now.

On Iran, the candidates agree. Iran cannot be allowed a nuclear weapon.

OBAMA: We are determined to prevent Iran if acquiring a nuclear weapon.

STARR: Romney has a different take.

ROMNEY: Clearly, we all hope that diplomatic and economic pressures put on Iran will dissuade them from becoming a nuclear-capability nation.

STARR: The bomb bottom line on Iran? President Obama says the regime would have to take direct steps to acquire a nuclear weapon.

For Governor Romney, the red line merely having a nuclear capability without actually moving ahead to produce a weapon.

But in the case of Iran, many believe the red line already has slipped.

MICHAEL O'HANLON, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: We said that any enrichment was unacceptable in the case of Iran and, yet, here they are with hundreds of kilograms, if not thousands, of material.

STARR: Neither candidate is advocating war with Syria or Iran. Both of them, in fact, have expressed hope the sanctions will work, but if the red lines get crossed, both of those countries pose serious national security challenges to the United States.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: It is an infamous American crime case, a Green Beret and doctor convicted of killing his pregnant wife and two daughters some 40 years ago. Now, a new twist, the so-called "Fatal Vision" killer back in court today with brand-new evidence.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All this legal back-and-forth in the case of convicted murderer Jeffrey McDonald is really enough to give you whiplash.

Today, the latest and perhaps final turn begins. A federal hearing in North Carolina will determine if this ex-Green Beret doctor should get a new trial more than 40 years after this crime.

So, let me take you back to 1970. This military court cleared him of murdering his pregnant wife and two young daughters.

Fast-forward to 1979, he was convicted in a federal trial. 1980, he went free. "The L.A. Times" reports a federal appeals court dismissed the charges.

And then, in 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned that ruling. MacDonald has been behind bars ever since.

And, all the while, MacDonald maintained that hippie intruders were the ones who slaughtered his family.

Back in 2006, he talked to Larry King.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, FORMER TV HOST: Are you optimistic?

JEFFREY MACDONALD, CONVICTED MURDERER: I'm optimistic if the tests are done legitimately, yes.

There is no way that those people were in that house and didn't leave evidence and the government record shows the evidence. It shows wig fibers from Helena Stokley's wig. It shows brown hair in my wife's hand that was secretly tried to match ...

KING: You're saying the government knew this ... MACDONALD: Knew it.

MACDONALD: Still went ahead and prosecuted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let me bring in legal analyst Sunny Hostin. She's "On the Case" with us today.

Is there enough evidence for a new trial?

SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL ANALYST: You know, there very well may be, Brooke. I mean, I've been looking at this case all day. Of course, I remember the movie and I remember this case very well.

The district court judge is going to be looking at two key pieces of new evidence. One, DNA. Remember, you just said this happened 40 years ago. There was no DNA evidence at that time.

And, so, three strands of hair were found in Jeffrey MacDonald's daughter's hand. Those hairs don't match anyone in the house, not Jeffrey MacDonald, not any of the daughters, not his wife and, so, that's one crucial piece of evidence.

Another piece of evidence that is coming in is this evidence that pertains to Helena Stokley. Now, she says that she told a marshal -- or rather a marshal overheard her telling the prosecutor that she was in the home on the night of these murders and that she witnessed her boyfriend and two other men commit this crime.

Well, the U.S. marshal says that the prosecutor threatened to prosecute her for murder and then she recanted -- sort of retracted that story and did not say that when she was on the witness stand.

So, this is really blockbuster evidence.

What is fascinating, though, Brooke, they are dead. Helena Stokley, no longer alive.

BALDWIN: Forty years, Sunny.

HOSTIN: The U.S. marshal, no longer alive.

BALDWIN: Forty years has passed.

HOSTIN: Exactly. So, this case doesn't necessarily get better for Jeffrey MacDonald. It kind of get worse.

BALDWIN: How long is a hearing in North Carolina supposed to last?

HOSTIN: It's going to be about two weeks. It's going to be about two weeks and, so, we may at the end of two weeks hear whether or not Jeffrey MacDonald will be getting a new trial.

BALDWIN: OK, Sunny Hostin, please stay with me because we have to talk about something that every one of you is talking about. And I'm reading your tweets. You're tweeting me about this one. Roland Martin weighed in on this whole topless photos fiasco involving the royal couple.

And you know what? Roland doesn't feel sorry for the duchess. He explains. We'll talk to Sunny, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Back to "On the Case" and to Britain's royals. They are not too thrilled about these half-naked photos of the Duchess of Cambridge that are now in three different magazines.

Today, lawyers for the palace filed a complaint in France over the pictures of Catherine Middleton, topless, while she was apparently sunning herself on a balcony at this private chateau of William's uncle.

The complaint is against the magazine, "Closer." This is the sister- publication to "Chi." That's that Italian magazine that, just today, released a 26-page spread of the Duchess of Cambridge, exposed.

Earlier, Roland Martin talked to me and he definitely did not mince words, putting much blame on Catherine for the photos.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROLAND MARTIN, CNN ANALYST: There are people with literally lenses that can shoot photos from a mile or two miles away.

Now, look, I totally agree on the whole notion of privacy, but what I'm saying is, you have to protect yourself.

In boxing, there's a phrase called "protect yourself at all times" and, you talk to any number of celebrities, they will tell you they have to think about this beforehand and protect themselves beforehand.

I get French law. I get the laws are on the books, but the reality is this here. When you walk outside of that door, you are in the open space.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So that was just part of our conversation. The real question is, who will the courts find at fault?

Let me bring Sunny Hostin back in. And, so, first, Sunny, what is the palace saying, first and foremost, in this complaint filed in France?

HOSTIN: You know, I love Roland Martin. He's a friend. I completely disagree with him.

Listen, the palace is saying, enough is enough. They want a line drawn in the sand. They want the Duchess and Prince William protected. They are saying this is too much. They're seeking damages. They're seeking an injunction. They don't want the photos to continue being published and they're also seeking a criminal complaint against the photographers.

Now, they are leaving it up to French prosecutors to pursue a criminal case for either breach of privacy or trespassing, but what they want, I think, is a line in the sand so that this family can be protected because, while they are public, of course -- this is the royal family -- they also have private lives and I think the palace wants that distinction made.

They want the distinction between the public life of this duchess and the private life of this duchess. And let's face it. This is very personal to Prince William because his mother ...

BALDWIN: Of course, the most photographed woman in the world.

HOSTIN: ... was the most photographed woman in the world and was mowed down by paparazzi which led to her death. So, this is a very personal, I think, thing at this point for the palace.

BALDWIN: Final point, this is a point sort of on the other side because the photographer, obviously, used some sort of crazy high- powered lens to get these photos of her.

The magazine says that whoever it was that took this photo was on public property. Do the royals have a case that their privacy was invaded given that fact?

HOSTIN: Well, they absolutely do. The laws in Europe are very robust. The laws in France, in particular, are very robust.

And even now, Brooke, in California, we have that anti-paparazzi law that was signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger and you can't use one of these high-powered lenses and stand on public property and then invade the privacy of someone that is in private.

This was a private place. This was a private chateau, a family home. They had no business taking these photographs and, when I take off my legal hat and I put on my lady hat, Brooke -- and you have a lady hat, too -- what woman would want to be violated like that. I've seen the pictures researching. She looks good, but come on.

BALDWIN: I -- you know, the story broke on Friday and my heart just went out for her and I know people have been all over me on Twitter because they say, look, she's the duchess of Cambridge. She has no private life now.

But, still, I agree with you. I just feel for her. I feel for her. I do.

Sunny Hostin, thank you very much. Good to see you back here "On the Case" with us.

And thank you so much for watching. I'm Brooke Baldwin back here in the slot here in the afternoon. Now, to Washington. In fact, it's Joe Johns in for Wolf Blitzer today.

Joe, to you.

JOE JOHNS, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Brooke, happening now, Mitt Romney retools his campaign, trying to stop his slide in the polls.