Are we fighting a new war on terror?

close

Video

How is US intel keeping up with evolving war on terror?

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen responds to threats facing homeland

This is a rush transcript from "Sunday Morning Futures," January 18, 2015. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

MARIA BARTIROMO, HOST: Homegrown terrorism redrawing the battle lines. Good morning everyone. I'm Maria Bartiromo. Welcome to "Sunday Morning Futures."

More arrests in Europe over the weekend as the West remains on guard.  The threat just as deadly, but tactics are now changing.

A member of House intel committee with us on tackling these new challenges.

Energy stocks rising while the price of oil and gasoline keeps going lower. Could this be a red flag for jobs in the industry?

And just what do the Saudis have planned? We'll talk to one of America's leading energy scholars and Pulitzer Prize winners Dan Yergin.

President Obama set to give his first State of the Union Address before a GOP-led Congress. Watchers say his tone will be defiant. Our panel on that, the 2016 race for the White House and a lot more as we look ahead this morning on Sunday Morning Futures.

Well nations in Europe on alert this weekend following sweeps across the continent after the home grown terror attacks in Paris.

And the arrest here in the United States of Christopher Lee Cornell in an FBI sting. The feds here saying Cornell planned to target Capitol Hill.

Florida Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is a member of the House intelligence committee. He joins us right now.

Congresswoman, good to have you on the program. Welcome.

REP. ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, R-FLA.: Well, good morning Maria.

BARTIROMO: An increasing number of incidents now at home incidents, homegrown terrorism. Are we fighting a new war on terror?

ROS-LEHTINEN: Well, I think it's always been a challenge for intelligence capabilities to keep up with loan wolf attacks. But more frightening is this global Islamic jihadist network that we have extreme networks trying to target us. We'll never get able to get rid of the lone attacks like this gentleman who obviously has some issues. We hope that he gets the proper punishment.

But it's the global network that is more worrisome, Maria. I don't think we need to worry about or ever be able to stamp out folks who are acting on their own, but if they're part of the network, that's what is really frightening.

BARTIROMO: Does that global network originate in Syria, originate in Yemen? And what can we do to begin to break open that global network?

ROS-LEHTINEN: Well, the first way to tackle a problem is to admit there's a problem. This is a radical Islam, it is a global network. It could be in Yemen, it could be in Nigeria, it could pop up anywhere, but they want to do is target the west because of our values, because of what we represent. And they all have in common this hatred for American, hatred for the west and anyone who is not pure is an infidel and then they determine that that person is right for death.

And we see that spawning all across Europe. We've seen that the attacks here on our homeland. And so we've got to work with all of our partners to make sure they recognize the problem for what it is.

If you don't recognize it and you don't want to say radical Islam or jihadist network, you're never going to get rid of the problem.

BARTIROMO: Yeah, I wonder why the president has had a tough time with that. I want to talk about that as well as come back to what's being done now and look at the president's State of the Union. So, stay with us congresswoman, a lot more to talk about with you.

But first the latest on this battle against radical Islamic terrorism.  Fox News senior correspondent Eric Shawn with that angle. Eric, good morning to you.

ERIC SHAWN, FOX NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Maria. And good morning everyone.

Shootouts, dragnets, arrests of dozens of radical Islamic terror suspects in western Europe.

Authorities there are aggressive while here there has been one arrest since the Paris massacre.

But from France to Greece and even Israel, law enforcement is now on a terror sweep.

They are targeting radical Islamic suspects and suspected terror cells before they can strike. In Belgium, last week's raid killed two jihadists and uncovered a cell stocked with police uniforms, ready, said authorities, to kill officers.

The one arrest in our country has been this man. He's from Ohio. His father describes him as a momma's boy who never left their house.

He is 20-year-old Christopher Lee Cornell. And he's accused of planning to bomb the Capitol and shoot fleeing lawmakers. He was nabbed in an FBI sting.

But so far there apparently has been no European style raid on a terror cell like the terror cell that in New York carried out the first attack on the World Trade Center, the bombing back in 1993.

Investors Business Daily this week is blunt saying, quote, "with Belgian, German and French police all bursting up Islamic State terror cells, some in deadly shootouts, attention is turning to the U.S. At least a dozen sleeper terrorists are secreted here, yet the FBI still hasn't kicked down any doors. Apparently the bureau is still tracking them as the FBI director says, which is not comforting given the FBI's long track record for losing the terrorists it monitors. The FBI and the attorney general need to wake up to the threat that's staring them in the face. It's time to launch counterterrorism sweeps in this country as well."

Others say the only way to stop radical Islamic terrorism is address the root causes that draw alienated, disaffected and hateful young men to jihad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW PEEK, FRM. U.S. ARMY INTELLIGENCE OFFICER: It's really since the late 70s that Islamic extremism has really become the major terrorist threat worldwide. And sort of why -- and how you answer the question of why that happened says a lot about how you funnel resources into strategies for solving it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHAWN: Now French President Hollande says France is waging a war against terrorism. Our president has exactly put it in those words, but then again Mr. Obama told us last year that the war on terror is over -- Maria.

BARTIROMO: All right, Eric, thanks very much. Eric Shawn with the latest there.

More now with House intel committee member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

And congresswoman, let me ask you about that. Is there anything we should be doing now in terms of targeting the global network and getting at these home grown incidents?

ROS-LEHTINEN: Well, we've got to make sure that we work with our allies and we have to make sure that we address the problem. You just can't do it by saying it's workplace violence as the president labeled the Fort Hood attack that was an act of terror. To say that was workplace violence attack was it's unbelievable.

And then look at all the problems that we've had with stating the obvious. This is Captain Obvious that he misses out.

And I'm so anxious to hear the president on Tuesday night when he lays out his agenda. I know that he's going to key in on economic issues, domestic issues, his tax plan, et cetera, but I want to hear what he's going to do to tackle these radical global jihadists.

Because our safety and our security, that's the number one priority for our commander-in-chief. And I don't think that he understands the difference between an ally and an enemy. And he's not willing to say that we're at war with this jihadist element.

And he's a gentleman who said that we've had al Qaeda on the run. And he said oh, ISIS well that's a JV team.

Come on, let's wake up and see what's going on all around the world and know that our homeland is next.

BARTIROMO: Well, that's a good point. Let's move on to the State of the Union. What would you like to see? What would congress like to see in terms of priorities as it relates to foreign policy, for example, are you going to encourage boots on the ground in places like Iraq right now?

And then in terms of economic policy, the word is is that the president is going to raise taxes -- or propose raising taxes, on highest earners, eliminate the inheritance tax break. What would you like to see there as well?  Start with foreign policy and let's talk economic as well.

ROS-LEHTINEN: Well, first part about boots on the ground, we should never tell our enemy this is what we're not willing to do. Let's say what we are doing and say that all options are on the table.

The problem with this president is that he has very little credibility. He said in Syria, if they use chemical weapons, that's a red line. We will not allow it. Syria, Assad used chemical weapons not once, but twice. What did we do? We still don't have a real strategy in wiping out ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

So, we have got one foot forward and two steps back.

So, I'm very worried about our national security.

On the economic, domestic front, this is a president who wants to keep on waging the war on the folks who are creating the jobs. He claims that he's for middle class and he's for working families. But if you tax and overregulate the folks who are producing the jobs, or want to produce the jobs, you will never move America's working families forward.

So, let's stop this war on folks who are creating jobs and let's try to lift all boats.

I don't think he's interested in doing that.

BARTIROMO: In terms of your own heritage, any thoughts real quickly on the president's stance towards Cuba and the U.S.? Has that moved the needle in terms of activity between the two?

ROS-LEHTINEN: Well, he is a very weak dealmaker. What we've done with Raul Castro is given away the store. And what have we gotten in return, 53 dissidents who were released. And by the way of those -- that fake 53, one of them was released over a year ago, five of them were rearrested just last week after the deal was cooked.

So, this president doesn't know how to make a good deal. And with a tyrant like Raul Castro, there is no good deal possible.

So, he gave away the store just like he's dangerously doing that in Iran with the nuclear deal that's very weak also.

It is just amazing what a weak leader he is and how little credibility he has internationally.

BARTIROMO: Congresswoman, thanks for joining us. We'll be watching the debates.

ROS-LEHTINEN: Thanks, Maria.

BARTIROMO: We'll see you soon. Thanks so much.

With homegrown terrorism coming into the forefront in the new year, does our military focus need to shift as well? We'll put that question to a retired special forces colonel who worked on Donald Rumsfeld's Pentagon. That's next. I hope you'll follow me on Twitter @mariabartiromo @sundayfutures. Let us know what you'd like to hear from the rest of the show. Stay with us as we look ahead on "Sunday Morning Futures."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARTIROMO: Well, it seems, just as official combat operations ended in Afghanistan, those homegrown terror threats emerged here in the West. So how do Western military forces factor into stopping these kinds of attacks in the future? Retired Army Special Forces Colonel Steven Bucci is with me. He was the deputy assistant secretary of defense under Donald Rumsfeld.

Sir, it is good to have you on the program.

COL. STEVEN BUCCI, ARMY SPECIAL FORCES (RET.): Thank you, Maria.

BARTIROMO: Now, as director of the Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation, no doubt you are looking at the issues of the day. Can you tell us how the battlefield has changed as these new threats have emerged?

BUCCI: Well, on one hand, it hasn't at all. We're still at war with terror despite what the president would like to say. This incident in Paris has shown us that there's something between the big high-profile 9/11-type events and the simple lone-wolf, some guy just jumping in his car and running somebody over. These guys have some training, some equipment, some support, and then they act. That's much more dangerous than the true lone wolf.

BARTIROMO: So -- so what do you think, on the ground, special forces need to be doing at this point? How do you break open this global network to actually get a handle on the homegrown?

BUCCI: Well, the homegrown is really a law enforcement issue. It's really something, in our country, for the FBI, in the U.K., for the MI5 guys. The special forces units can be called in to support law enforcement on a takedown. But their job is really more overseas, chasing down the bad guys in different countries or, in Iraq and Syria, perhaps embedding our soft guys with the local forces to take ISIS apart at that end. That would be very helpful.

BARTIROMO: Well, you know, it seems to me that it's, sort of, an all new game and, not to be using the word "game" lightly, but when you factor in cyber and the idea that ISIS is basically, you know, getting new entrance through the Internet, attracting people online and the bad actors are using, you know, hacking as a new tool. These are all new tools. Are we prepared?

BUCCI: Not as prepared as we should be. We are working on it. Al Qaida was already using the Internet to radicalize people. ISIS has taken it up a notch. They're better at it than Al Qaida has been. And now they're adding in actual attacks, not physical attacks but the -- attacking networks, trying to get information. They're pretty savvy at using this. We have to up our game in both protecting our networks and going after theirs.

BARTIROMO: In what way? What can you say, in terms of specifics, that we're not doing right now that we should be looking at?

BUCCI: Well, we've got to get our business entities in line to protect themselves better and our individuals. Our level of personal security here in the United States is not up to speed. And we actually have a lot of government agencies whose cyber security is pretty darn poor as well. DOD is good; intel community is good; White House is good; most of the others, not so much. So we need to improve that greatly.

BARTIROMO: Are you expecting more of an emphasis on this, for example, during the president's State of the Union on Tuesday?

What might we expect in terms of foreign policy coming out of this State of the Union this Tuesday, as we set up a new day in Washington?

BUCCI: Well, from a foreign policy standpoint, I think the president will probably lowball it. It's not his specialty. He's not comfortable with it. He wants it to go away so he can do his stuff that he really cares about. And I think he'll declare some victories, like he's done in the war on terror, when they're not there. So we need to really look at whatever statements he makes and -- and test them to see if they're really as sunny as he may portray it.

BARTIROMO: All right. We will be doing just that. Steven Bucci, good to have you on the program. Thanks so much.

BUCCI: Thank you for having me.

BARTIROMO: We'll see you soon.

Up next, layoffs in the oil industry, new evidence there is a dark side to falling gasoline prices. One of America's top energy scholars, Dan Yergin, is with me to explain, as we look ahead on "Sunday Morning Futures."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARTIROMO: Welcome back. Energy stocks bouncing after a tough year on Wall Street this past week. Helping the market break out of a five-day slump, the Dow Jones industrial average ended the week on an upswing of nearly 200 points. The market is now positive for the year 2015.

But analysts are warning that the oil industry is on the verge of cutting production in a big way which will put jobs in jeopardy.

Energy scholar Daniel Yergin is the vice chairman of the global information and analytics company, IHS. He is a Pulitzer Prize winning author of "The Prize" and "The Quest," two books about energy business and security. And we welcome Daniel now to the program.

Dan, good to see you. Thanks for joining us today.

DANIEL YERGIN, VICE CHAIR, IHS: Thank you, Maria.

BARTIROMO: First let me get your observation on what we have seen in terms of the 50 percent decline in oil. There are so many implications of cheap oil. I want you to first frame the story for us.

How do you see it?

YERGIN: It comes in two parts. The positive side is that 70 percent of the U.S. economy is consumption. So lower oil prices mean more money in people's pockets and more money going into consumption.

The other side of it, however, is that this unconventional oil and gas boom, shale gas and shale oil has been perhaps the most positive thing to happen to our economy since 2008.

And as you noted we're going to see that cut back now.

BARTIROMO: I was looking at some data and extraordinarily, all of the jobs created since 2007 have been in Texas. They have been around the oil boom. Whether it be producing, drilling, whatever jobs come around with that.

YERGIN: Yes. If you look down at heat maps from North Dakota to Texas you see that directly and indirectly. And that's why a couple of years ago in the State of the Union address, President Obama actually specifically touted the job creation that's coming from this oil and gas boom in the United States.

BARTIROMO: In the last two weeks, we've seen a number of oil companies including Schlumberger, BP, British Petroleum, a number of others actually announcing layoffs.

Is this the new wrinkle in the jobs picture that has been improving?

Now we're seeing thousands let go because it's not as economical to do the same projects on oil when you're getting so much lower revenue.

YERGIN: Maria, I think you're absolutely right. What we're seeing is the beginning of the job cuts. So much of the activity was predicated on $100 a barrel oil. If you're now looking at $50 and you're really going to focus on what's productive and where your high impact will be, we'll see, I'm afraid, a lot more job cuts coming in the new price environment.

BARTIROMO: The shale revolution was one of the big promises for moving the needle on growth in America. Last week, in my "USA Today" column, Prince Al-Waleed (ph) of the Saudi royal family, basically said we will not see $100 a barrel again.

So are you expecting the shale revolution that has this been enormous job creator and growth story for America to be hampered?

YERGIN: By the way, Maria, that was a real eye-opener of an interview. You had a lot in there.

I think that in fact what's going to happen is that the producers are going to get more efficient. This is still a relatively young technology.  We'll see people driving down cost. What they're going to do is focus on the most productive areas.

So the activity will continue. In fact, the funny thing is that, perhaps for the first half of 2015, we'll actually see U.S. oil production continue to increase because of momentum. And then you'll start to see leveling off or decrease.

BARTIROMO: You don't want to see those jobs go away, that's for sure.  These are high-paying jobs that require skill sets.

What are the Saudis doing right now, Dan?

They don't want to impact the production because they want to keep that market share. So they're basically willing to allow prices to keep on falling but they're not budging by taking any oil off the market.

YERGIN: No, in fact they've been very, shall we say, firm in what they've said. It was last Thanksgiving at the OPEC meeting that they basically resigned. They said, we quit, we're not the market manager. You want the market, let the market do it.

And I think maybe prices have come down faster and farther than they and many others would have expected. But they're still standing firm and not budging on their position nor are the other Gulf Arab countries that are allied with them. This is driving Venezuela crazy. It's driving Iran and Russia crazy.

BARTIROMO: And you've got all of the above really struggling huge because of the dropoff in oil. Meanwhile Libya is producing. Iraq is producing all this oil on the market.

What's your take, Dan, 2015, do oil prices go lower or do we see a bounceback?

YERGIN: I think we could see them go lower as we go into late winter, early spring as demand goes down. I think we'll see the impacts on supply by about the middle of the year. And that's probably when you start to see prices respond more positively. But right now it's still very much in this bear market.

BARTIROMO: By the way, we've been saying about the positives of oil for months now. Oh, yes, cheap gasoline enables people to have more in their pockets and they're going to spend that money.

We just saw the retail sales report out for December, Dan. Retail sales were down 0.9 of a percent. Clearly America is not spending the extra cash that they've saved as a result of low oil prices. They're sitting on it.

YERGIN: Right, they're not going to -- they're not celebrating the party. And it's still -- it really started to get going in December. But we'll see in the next few months.

But if you look around the world, the U.S. economy is the one bright spot. Whether you're looking at Europe or China with its slowing economy, you don't see the positive impact.

So this will be a big transfer of income from oil exporters to consumers. But it takes time to have its impact. Meanwhile, we'll see those factors you've been talking about up close right now.

BARTIROMO: Dan, always a pleasure to have your wonderful insights on the subject. Thanks for joining us today.

YERGIN: Thank you.

BARTIROMO: We'll see you soon. Dan Yergin joining us from IHS.

President Obama's State of the Union this upcoming Tuesday. We already know one topic: taxes.

Who's in line to get tax cuts and who's in line to see their taxes get hiked?

Our panel begins right there as we look ahead on "Sunday Morning Futures."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHAWN: From America's news headquarters, I'm Eric Shawn. Here's some of the other stories that are making headlines at this hour.

The so-called modern-day Bonnie and Clyde now facing the music.  Authorities say they have arrested the teenage fugitives in Panama City Beach, Florida, catching them asleep in their stolen pickup.

The couple, 18-year-old Dalton Hays and his 13-year-old girlfriend, Cheyenne Phillips, have been on the run for more than two weeks now.  Police accuse them of going on a crime spree across the South, leaving a trail of stolen checks and vehicles.

Authorities plan to extradite them back to their home state of Kentucky, where they are expected to face felony charges.

A record 6 million people braving the elements to see Pope Francis in Manila. The pontiff, celebrating the final mass of his week-long trip to Asia, his homily focusing on the plight of abandoned children, the pope saying, quote, "We need to see each child as a gift to be welcomed, cherished and protected."

I'll be back with Arthel Neville at noon Eastern here on the FOX News Channel with more news. And then the doctors will be in, Dr. Siegel and Samadi join us as always for "SUNDAY HOUSECALL" at 12:30 Eastern.

For now, I'm Eric Shawn. And back to "Sunday Morning Futures" with Maria.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE DIMON, JPMORGAN CHASE: The country always has to face issues that may affect our long-term competitiveness. I'm going to mention five.  By the way, when I go to Washington, all five are mentioned. Yes, I've spoken to the White House about it. Everyone puts these five in the category.

Corporate -- tax reform in general. Simplify it, broaden out the base, reduce it, become more competitive globally.

Immigration reform: most Democrats and Republicans I know support immigration reform. They may differ on pieces of it.

Education: so think of secondary education the most where we're failing a lot of kids in inner city schools.

And the president mentioned community education. We think it's critical that community schools tie up with local businesses so those degrees mean something, those people get jobs. And if you can make it free for the more people you can make it free for, if it's effective -- I think to be effective it might have to be done locally, not just nationally.

Infrastructure: I think most people agree that we don't do good infrastructure planning. So think roads, bridges, tunnels, schools, hospitals. We need to do that at the city, state and federal government level.

And one more, oh, trade. We got to get, and again, most people want thoughtful trade policy, Democrats and Republicans. This transatlantic and transpacific trade agreements would be a great boon for the American economy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BARTIROMO: That was from my exclusive interview this past week with JPMorgan Chase chairman and CEO, Jamie Dimon, answering the question what issues would you like to see addressed when the president delivers his State of the Union address this week before the new Congress. That is this upcoming Tuesday.

Let's bring in our panel.

Ed Rollins is former principal White House advisor to President Reagan. He's been a long-time strategist to business and political leaders. He is a Fox News political analyst.

Judith Miller is an adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. She's a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist and a Fox News contributor.

And Alfonse D'Amato is a former U.S. senator from New York.

And it is good to have you all on the program. Thank you so much for joining us. Let's talk about the State of the Union. We've already heard the fact sheet from the White House that the president will focus on taxes and in particular the middle class. He says he wants to raise taxes on the highest earners. He says he's cutting taxes for middle class.

But I guess the question is what is the middle class? $200,000 he is considering rich.

ED ROLLINS, POLITICAL CAMPAIGN STRATEGIST: First of all, his tax proposal is dead on arrival and it's not going to get a single vote. He hasn't sat down with Paul Ryan, the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee or Orrin Hatch, who is the Senate Finance Committee chairman.  And they're the ones that basically have the tax policy.

What we need is corporate reduction, we need basically to get the money back from overseas. We need something to stimulate the economy.  Basically the things that he's proposing aren't going anywhere.

BARTIROMO: See, the $200,000 that I mentioned is rich and a lot of money. The problem is that falls under the highest earners, Judy, and they're going to get an increase in taxes. So when you look at that segment of the economy, it's actually very, very wide. A lot of people are going to get hit by tax increases.

JUDITH MILLER, AUTHOR AND JOURNALIST: Yes, if it were to pass, and I agree with Ed. I don't think it's going anywhere. But it doesn't matter because what this is about is politics. This is going to play very, very well with people who perceive themselves as middle class.

Nobody minds taxing the rich in theory. That's the mean he's emphasizing here. And I think it will play well for him.

BARTIROMO: Your thoughts?

ALFONSE D'AMATO (R), FORMER NEW YORK SENATOR: I think he should be ashamed of himself. Let me tell you why. We have jobs leaving this country. We have corporations moving because the tax rate is the highest in the industrialized world. And those corporations employ Americans and real jobs.

If we want to be competitive, we better take a look at lowering the rates on major companies. He's going the other way. And by the way, the banks -- I'm no great defender of the large banks. They deserve to have  been hit for the abuses that they absolutely were part and parcel of when we had this economic collapse.

But to say I'm going to go after the big banks if you're more than $50 billion and we're going to have more taxes, it doesn't work.

He's talking about income redistribution. Lower the tax on corporate America. Lower the tax on small businesses which create the jobs (INAUDIBLE), let them repatriate the hundreds of billions that we have trapped abroad.

And say if you invest that money within a period of time, we'll lower the rate. Put people to work in real jobs, not income transfer.

BARTIROMO: These are not new ideas. And yet it feels like we're hearing more of the same.

ROLLINS: Well, it's demagoguery. It's clearly he's going to go attack Republicans. Everything good in America that could happen under him he wants in his agenda is not going to happen because these nasty Republicans now control the Congress. And that's absurd.

Instead of reaching out and saying, where can we have some compromise, the issues that Jamie Dimon laid out are those we need to face.  Immigration reform, the corporate reform, those are all going to take time and they take cooperation and --

D'AMATO: It's cheap politics at the best, cheap politics at the expense of the American people. He should be ashamed of himself.

BARTIROMO: What are you expecting from the GOP side after the president's State of the Union Tuesday night?

(CROSSTALK)

ROLLINS: There's a new superstar, Joni Ernst, who's going to give the rebuttal. She's the first woman ever elected to statewide in Iowa, she's an extraordinary woman. She served in Iraq as an officer in the National Guard, she's a farmer, she's a great, great -- and she's going to be one of our superstars. And I think she'll lay out a very clear message; it's the counter message.

MILLER: The average family of four in this country, two parents and two children, earn $50,000 a year. To them, Jamie Dimon looks like a very rich person. And his very sensible suggestions are not going to play.

I think what Obama is going to try to do is to paint the Republican Party as a party of older, white, rich people who don't care about ordinary Americans. And I think you'll see that in the State of the Union.

BARTIROMO: Even if it's not true and even if it's simply politics and it is politicking rather than actually governing?

MILLER: First of all, we'll see to the extent whether or not he's actually willing to compromise on anything that he says he is willing to compromise on. I kind of agree with Ed and also the senator because why should he at this point? He's already looking at legacy and at 2016. This is all about meme and theme.

BARTIROMO: We've got to talk about the 2016 race and the layout, who's on deck now. And I also want to get your take on foreign policy, what comes out of the State of the Union on that.

But first, let's get a look at what's coming up on "MediaBuzz" top of the hour. Howie Kurtz standing by.

Good morning to you, Howie.

HOWARD KURTZ, HOST, "MEDIABUZZ": Good morning, Maria. Well, speaking of 2016, we're going to look at the extraordinarily negative media reaction to Mitt Romney indicating he wants to run for president a third time. The press seem to be clamoring for him to get in, get in, get in and now that he looks like he might, even many conservative commentators, publications, "The Wall Street Journal" editorial page not enthusiastic about another Mitt run. And Laura Ingraham will be one of my guests on that subject.

BARTIROMO: I mean, there were op-eds, a lot of commentary on Mitt Romney. We'll be there, watching at the top of the hour, Howie. Thank you.

Speaking of Romney, he's just one of the Republicans announcing plans to explore a 2016 run while Hillary Clinton appears to be putting a team together. Our panel goes there next as we look ahead on SUNDAY MORNING FUTURES. Back in a moment.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARTIROMO: Welcome back. Our panel is back. We are looking at the 2016 race. Ed Rollins, Judy Miller, Senator Al D'Amato with me this morning.

So, increasingly, we're getting new people coming -- throwing their hat in the ring. Last week you said Lindsey Graham is going to announce. He is saying that he is exploring. What's your take on the lineup so far, Ed?

ROLLINS: Well, I think the lineup is not established yet. There's -- there's at least 20 people looking at it. I think we end up with 10 or 12 very significant candidates.

The story of this week is that Romney's jumping in, who basically has been the nominee of the party. He just got trashed. I mean, The Wall Street Journal trashed him. He's out in California with Republicans this week, and I'm hearing from money people saying "Thank you very much, but we don't want you again. You had your shot, ran a lousy campaign." I think he's still going to be in; he's still going to stick it out. But he's in there talking about "I'm going to have a poverty program; I'm going to have a middle-class program."

BARTIROMO: (inaudible).

ROLLINS: He's basically going after the Obama voters, which is not what lost his campaign last time. He didn't get enough of his conservative voters.

BARTIROMO: I guess the question is, I mean, he's out there, but does he take away from perhaps viable candidates that are already there, like a Jeb Bush?

ROLLINS: No, Jeb Bush is going to have his own independent -- he has his own ability to raise money. And it's going to be a tedious process before somebody -- the guy who gets hurt badly is Christie. Christie is really, I think, "dead man walking" because Bush and Romney take away from his donor base here in New York.

BARTIROMO: Senator, what do you think?

D'AMATO: I think it's more politics that people are fed up with. I told his brother that he had his chance. I spoke to him this week. He called me.

BARTIROMO: Romney's brother?

D'AMATO: Yeah. And I said, number one, he's got a terrible campaign team around him.

Number two, he blew the whole thing in that debate when, instead of pursuing Benghazi, he was -- he allowed Candy Crowley, who was wrong on the facts, to bully him. And he should have come right back. That blew it there.

Number three, he's got the same cast of characters.

And, number four, if you continue to say, "No, I'm not going to run; I'm not going to run," and then you're now come in -- what is it? You had your shot. You lost. And let me tell you this. In order for the Republicans to win, and Eddie can tell you better, you've got to carry Florida and Ohio. He has no shot in -- in either of them. And I don't know what his campaign message is going to be except more of the same.

MILLER: I know everybody loves to talk about the Republican side because it's more interesting. There is a sense of tired inevitability about Hillary Clinton. And now you're beginning to hear some speculation. Is she really going to run? Is her health up to it?

My question is, what happens on the Democratic side if she doesn't run? Talk about no bench there. Talk about what do the Democrats do at that point? It's going to be very interesting to watch.

BARTIROMO: Who is -- I mean, who would jump to the occasion, Elizabeth Warren?

ROLLINS: She is -- she's one candidate, but she's not going to be a viable long-term candidate. There's several governors, O'Malley, some others, that are thinking about it. I don't think there is a bench. I think the reality is either one of my King Charles Cavaliers could beat any of the Democrats other than Hillary.

(LAUGHTER)

She's making a very important roll this week though. She hired a top- notch media team, Margolis's team, which ran Obama's stuff. She hired his chief strategist, not Axelrod and Plouffe, but Benenson is going to be her chief strategist. She's putting a team in place that's not her old team. And they know how to win.

BARTIROMO: On the Republican side, the senator talks about Florida and Ohio. Who fits the bill, Ed, in terms of who takes Florida and Ohio and could be a viable candidate?

ROLLINS: The strongest -- the strongest ticket we could have -- and I'm not -- I'm an analyst, so I'm not basically running anybody -- if you had Bush and you had Kasich as the running -- the governor of Ohio as the vice president, you'd be in good shape to basically win those two states.

What I would say if I was running this campaign -- we have 31 governors. I'd say to each of these governors, Republican governors, "You're in charge of your state. You go win your state. We'll give you whatever you need at a national level." And if we can basically win those states, we can win the 280 -- 270 electoral votes.

BARTIROMO: And should the focus and the emphasis from this team be economic or foreign policy? What do you think?

D'AMATO: Foreign policy, by far. The threat -- and I know we're going to talk about it -- of the Islamic extremists is absolutely there. It's alive, well and thriving. And Obama should, just on that, giving it up, living in a false world, after spending billions of our treasury and the lives of our young men and women and allowing Maliki in Iraq to do what he did, to fracture this place and never step in and do anything, we have a real war on our hands. We better realize it. Tell the American people, now, you're not going to beat them just with drones. You're going to have to put boots on the ground.

MILLER: As long as there are no attacks here, the Democrats can concentrate on economy, economy, economy. Because, even an attack, a terrible attack like Paris, does not affect the American people directly.

(CROSSTALK)

ROLLINS: I think the overarching issue is leadership. We had our amateur hour, thank you very much. We checked the box off with Obama. He was an incompetent president, continues to be an incompetent president. And I think, at the end of the day, here, people are going to want someone who can do the job. Both foreign policy and economics are important. But I think leadership is the overarching thing.

BARTIROMO: All right. Short break, and then other leaders have done it; other world leaders do it all the time. Why can't President Obama do it and say "Islamic extremism" when calling out the terrorists? Our panel on that, as we look ahead on "Sunday Morning Futures."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARTIROMO: We bring back our panel now, Ed Rollins, Judy Miller, Senator Al D'Amato.

"Islamic extremism," "Islamic radicalization" -- two words the president cannot say. Why not, Judy?

MILLER: He will not say it because it is a policy issue. This is not a mistake. This is not something he didn't -- he forgot to include. He believes that it is crazy to make enemies out of 1.6 billion Muslims on the planet, that that's a war America cannot win. So he will not use that word, even though I and others have argued, many, many experts say you cannot fight something effectively that you cannot identify.

BARTIROMO: But talking about extremists is not talking about all Muslims, Senator?

D'AMATO: That's -- that's absolutely correct.

MILLER: That's true.

D'AMATO: But what you see is people backing away from it. Here, even in New York City, the NYPD has got to make -- they can't use the words "Islamic extremist." And they're going through this contortion to settle a suit. This is nonsense. You know what's happening today? We're becoming so politically correct -- I think that's what it is -- we're afraid to say the facts and put them out there.

Poor Joe Biden, when he criticized Saudi Arabia and Turkey for not doing their part, they made him apologize. Well, he was right. Who do you think has been funding these extremists groups for years? The Saudis. They give $2 billion a year for education in these sharia schools, et cetera. And what they say is, basically, "You leave us alone in Saudi Arabia and we give you this money." And so he has to apologize? Turkey, you think they really helped us up until recently?

BARTIROMO: Right.

D'AMATO: Not a thing. That's nonsense.

BARTIROMO: Ed, how do you see it?

ROLLINS: The president is afraid of the Muslim community, and he shouldn't be. What he should be is calling out the leadership of the Muslim community to isolate these extremists. There's 1.6 billion Muslims. There's tens of thousands of radical terrorists. And they need to be identified; they need to be called out. And we need to call on the leadership in the Muslim community to stand side by side with us. This president, for whatever reason, is overly sensitive. He's a coward when it comes to this issue. The idea to call this million-person parade in -- a parade, in this demonstration in France -- we should have stood side by side with those people fighting the same terrorists that are going to come here again.

BARTIROMO: And then he brought James Taylor, so, I mean, what...

(LAUGHTER)

MILLER: Yeah, his administration actually criticized that magazine, the magazine whose editors and cartoonists are now dead.

BARTIROMO: Charlie Hebdo.

MILLER: He criticized them. And he said as late as last week that he does not believe that Islamic extremism is an existential threat to this country. That's his belief. I disagree, but that's what he thinks, so he's acting according to that principle.

D'AMATO: And it's a very real threat that is growing. We're not winning that war. Don't kid yourself.

MILLER: Absolutely.

D'AMATO: We may keep them from taking over Kobani, or drive them out of there, a little town, but the fact of the matter is that the extremists are winning, and no one is standing up to them. Nigeria, where they come in and take 300 young girls -- what are we doing?

BARTIROMO: You've got to believe our allies are just shaking in their boots. For Ukraine, we're sending them, you know, blankets, and then, after the Paris attacks, we miss the -- we miss the walk, and then we bring James Taylor out.

ROLLINS: And part of this is his legacy. Part of this is he pulled out of two wars prematurely. He made campaign promises before he knew the issues. He pulled troops out of both Afghanistan and Iraq And both of those countries are going to turn bad in the next couple years again, and it's going to be the fundamentalists that are going to do that. And I -- so we're basically saying, "It's all over; we did all we can do, and just pretend they're never going to come here again."

It's, sort of, like, we pretended when 9/11 occurred that the people on the planes were not Saudi Arabians; terrorism wasn't sponsored there. So...

BARTIROMO: Right.

Still to come, the one thing to watch in the week ahead on "Sunday Morning Futures." I have a feeling I think I know what's most important to you guys this week.

(LAUGHTER)

Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARTIROMO: We're back with our panel looking at the one thing to watch for the week ahead.

Senator Al D'Amato, do you think de Blasio, Mayor de Blasio in New York, started the divisiveness?

D'AMATO: I think he did, with respect to having Reverend Al with him and being associated -- at big important meetings, to have Al Sharpton and the police commissioner? People will begin to say -- and think of the police -- they say, "Are you siding with him against us because of the statements that Sharpton has made?"

BARTIROMO: But doesn't Sharpton owe all this money on taxes? I mean, is that forgiven or what?

D'AMATO: That's -- you know, that's a disgrace.

(CROSSTALK)

D'AMATO: And to have him coming into the White House on a regular basis...

BARTIROMO: I don't get that.

D'AMATO: ... a tax cheat?

BARTIROMO: One thing to watch, Ed Rollins, for the week ahead?

ROLLINS: I'm going to watch how aggressive the president is in the State of the Union and I'm going to watch Joni Ernst's response. I think she's a future star of the party, and I think she'll basically have good points.

BARTIROMO: That's going to be critical, the GOP response, and Joni Ernst. Judy?

ROLLINS: Absolutely.

MILLER: I know I'm not going to hear a condemnation of Islamism or militant Islam. I want to hear some praise for President Sisi for calling for a reform in Islam.

BARTIROMO: That will do it for "Sunday Morning Futures." Have a great week, everybody. I'll see you on the Fox Business Network next week, live from Switzerland.

Content and Programming Copyright 2015 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2015 CQ-Roll Call, Inc. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of CQ-Roll Call. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.