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Prism

Pakistan Bombing, Strategy for Afghanistan; New York Markets Rocket on Warren Buffett's $44 Billion Bet that Burlington Northern Is a Futuristic `Green' Play

Aired November 10, 2009 - 12:00   ET

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


STAN GRANT, HOST: A bomb kills more than two dozen in Pakistan. It's the third attack in as many days. New details emerge surrounding the alleged gunmen in the Fort Hood shooting spree as the U.S. president travels to attend a memorial service for the victims and today's "Prison Segment," brokering deals in Afghanistan, how the moderates and the Taliban who would talk in good faith to the West.

From CNN Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, this is PRISM where we take a story and look at it from multiple perspectives. I'm Stan Grant.

We start in Pakistan. A scene of destruction that is becoming all too familiar in this embattled country. More than 25 people were killed when a suicide car bomb ripped through a busy traffic circle north of Peshawar. Officials blame the violence on militants seeking revenge for the army's war against the Taliban. Reza Sayah is following developments for us from CNN Islamabad.

And Reza, once again a sign of the militant's potency.

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Stan. You know, whenever we have militant attacks here in Pakistan, the first thing, of course, we do is we call police officials to get confirmation and details. What was remarkable about today's attack is that the police official we spoke with said he was the target of the attack. And if it weren't for a donkey trail, he could have been dead. He said if the explosion would have taken place just moments earlier, he would have been killed.

Let's tell you what we know about this attack. According to police, this was a suicide car bomb that exploded in a very crowded market in a major square in the district of Charsadda. Police chief, Riaz Khan, tells us he was driving home from work in a two car convoy going through this market when he was approached by a red car. Right then, he says, a donkey trolley came in front of the red car and blocked the car. The police chief said he went about his way. And moments later, right behind them is when the explosion took place. And that's why he's convinced he was the target.

The police chief survived this attack but many civilians didn't. Police tell CNN at this point, the death toll is at 26. Up to 60 people have been injured. This is the third suicide attack in as many days in Northwest Pakistan -- Stan.

GRANT: Reza, thank you for that. Reza Sayah bringing us up to date there from Islamabad.

Well, the heartbreaking occasion, one that has become all too familiar in a small town in the English countryside. We go now to CNN London where international security correspondent, Paula Newton, is standing by with more on the return of the bodies of the latest British soldiers to be killed in Afghanistan. Two hundred British soldiers now killed.

Paula, as we say, a tragic reminder of the cost for Britain in being in Afghanistan.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and this welcome home, as it were particularly difficult for the families involved. Five of the six soldiers coming today, Stan, killed by an Afghan police officer who basically was a rogue, took them out when he was actually being trained by these British officers. The Taliban then boasting that look, he did a fine job for us and he's back safe within our ranks. All of this very tough to take.

You know, Stan, I've been to the ceremony before and in months previous, it's always been quite silent. No longer. In all of these ceremonies now, Stan, you will hear the sobs. You will hear the crying and you will also hear applause. That does not mean that people here in Britain really back this.

The majority now saying that they want the troops to come home. Many of them listening to a woman named Jacqui Janes. She is the mother of soldier killed, Jamie Janes, last month in Afghanistan. And she has taken on the prime minister of this country in the first instance for writing a handwritten letter littered with spelling mistakes that she said was an insult.

Now, I want to point out here that Gordon Brown is partially blind. He does not have any sight in one eye whatsoever and the other is compromised. He apologized for this specifically to her. I want you to listen to what he said at a press conference this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORDON BROWN, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I feel for the mother's grief. I understand the pain that she is going through. It's a terrible, personal sadness and raises questions in her mind about what could have done. And of course, she' s got to think of the rest of her family, one of whom is a training instructor, a corporal, in the army. And so, I understand very well the sadness that she feels. And the way that she has expressed her grief is something that I can also clearly understand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: An incredibly humbling moment for Gordon Brown. But, you know, this is exacerbated by the fact that he calls her to apologize for the letter. And in the 13 minute conversation with the prime minister that this mother recorded, she basically lets him have it and accuses him of not really getting out the British troops as they should be and putting into question as to whether or not her son would have survived the injury, a horrific injury, to him in Afghanistan.

You know, Stan, the point is here that through the voice of this mother, many Britains are hearing a lot of the same doubts about this mission. As I say, a majority now asking Gordon Brown to bring the troops home from Afghanistan -- Stan.

GRANT: Paula, thank you very much for that. Paula Newton joining us there from London on the return of the bodies of the latest British soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

And the war in Afghanistan is also on Barack Obama's mind. But the White House says the president has not yet decided whether to send reinforcements there. In a statement Monday, National Security Advisor Jim Jones took the rare step of denying reports that President Obama has privately decided to send nearly 40,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. Jones called the reports completely untrue and said they came from unreliable sources.

Afghanistan is also the hot topic in Berlin. On the day after Chancellor Angela Merkel led the celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Mrs. Merkel told the parliament that it's time to enter a new phase in Afghanistan and come up with a concrete strategy for German troops there to hand over their duties to Afghan forces.

Well, a former Taliban leader now says he thinks negotiations with the U.S. may be possible. In tonight's "PRISM" segment, we're taking a look at the very difficult question before President Obama, exactly what strategy to pursue in Afghanistan. Now, in a moment, I'll speak with a former CIA officer who believes that if the Taliban come back to power, al Qaeda would not be far behind. But first, Chris Lawrence's trek through the dusty back roads of Afghanistan and his exclusive interview with the Taliban's former foreign minister.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A man who served years in a CIA prison is emerging as a potential dealmaker, someone who can speak to the Taliban and American and European officials.

(on camera): Could the Taliban ever work with President Karzai's government?

MULLAH WAKIL MUTAWAKKIL, FORMER TALIBAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): They think Karzai's government is incompetent. They don't call it an independent government and I don't think they'll work with Karzai as far as I know the Taliban.

LAWRENCE (voice-over): And he does. Mullah Wakil Ahmed Mutawakkil was the Taliban's foreign minister in what's called the United States Retaliation for 9/11 State Terrorism. To reach him, we drove south through Kabul to a non-descriptor road. A dozen armed guards who did not want to be photographed showed us into his home.

(on camera): Why would the Taliban negotiate now when they have momentum?

MUTAWAKKIL (through translator): The common Taliban do not believe in the peace process. They don't trust it.

LAWRENCE (voice-over): But Mutawakkil says its leadership is open to the negotiation.

MUTAWAKKIL (through translator): We are not a danger to the world. We can be flexible.

LAWRENCE (voice-over): It's hard to tell whether he's offering opinion or floating an idea directly from Taliban leader Mullah Omar, his former confidant. Mutawakkil says it's possible the Taliban would not allow Afghanistan to be used for planning attacks on America.

MUTAWAKKIL (through translator): And from the beginning, the Taliban had a local agenda. Al Qaeda had an international agenda and this is the difference between Taliban and al Qaeda.

LAWRENCE: The Afghan insurgency compromises multiple groups with different areas of influence: Mullah Omar in the south, the Hakani Network in the Southeast and east of Kabul, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. He's a brutal war lord once backed by the U.S. and is independent about the Taliban and al Qaeda.

(on camera): Which group would you recommend talking with first?

MUTAWAKKIL (through translator): Only reconciling with Hekmatyar will not solve the problem. If they do not negotiate with the representative of Mullah Omar, it will be useless.

LAWRENCE(voice-over): Mutawakkil says the Taliban realize they can't turn back the clock to early 2001.

(on camera): Could they accept a government where women are granted rights, women can go -- are allowed to go to school?

MUTAWAKKIL (through translator): They will not believe in co-education but there can be separate education while wearing veils. This will be different.

LAWRENCE (voice-over): He says the current Taliban leadership is more focused on driving out foreigners than Islamic crusade but admits a lot of young Afghan fighters have been influenced by years of contact with foreign jihadists.

MUTAWAKKIL (through translator): The new generation of Taliban, the young boys who joined with them, they are different.

LAWRENCE (on camera): The Mullah told me that some American diplomats have already visited him to talk about Afghanistan's future. But he said the price for any deal could be taking the bounty of the heads of some Taliban leaders or even giving them control of some provinces.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Kabul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STAN GRANT, CNN INT'L. ANCHOR, PRISM: Now let's get some analysis on whether negotiation really is possible between the U.S. and the Taliban. Bruce Riedel is the author of "The Search for Al Qaeda: It's Leadership, Ideology and Future". He's also a former CIA officer and White House adviser on Afghanistan. He joins us now from CNN Washington.

And I want to start with a quote that is attributable to you, where you've talked about the difference between dithering and re-thinking strategy. In the case of the delay in announcing these troop reinforcement is President Obama crossing that line from re-thinking to dithering?

BRUCE RIEDEL, AUTHOR, "THE SEARCH FOR AL QAEDA: Well, I don't think he's crossed it yet. I think this is a very, very difficult decision for the president; made all the more difficult by the debacle of the recent Afghanistan presidential election. It is a decision that is going to shape his presidency and he's right to think it through thoroughly.

GRANT: But it is not just about the troops, is it? It is where they will be deployed. What they will be used for? When they will get out? And ultimately what the objective is here? Do you think that all of those things are yet clear?

RIEDEL: I think that you need a coherent strategy, as you just laid out. It is not just the number of troops, it is what their mission is. It is how long they are going to be there. Who they are going to be partnered with. And above all, the political approach that they are going to be embedded in. Is there going to be an attempt to try and divide and split the Taliban? To see if you can isolate the hardcore from those which might be willing to change their problems and their perceptions, if the war no longer looks to be going in their direction.

GRANT: We just heard, in that story, we played just a moment ago, that the Taliban is no longer about Islamic jihad, it is about driving out foreigners. Do you believe that is the case? And do you believe that the Taliban and Al Qaeda can be separated?

RIEDEL: I don't believe the Taliban and Al Qaeda can be separated. We have been trying to do that over a decade. I traveled to Kabul almost a decade ago, now, in an attempt to see if we could find moderate Taliban we could work with. I do not think you are going to split these two groups. What is remarkable about Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden is that for more than a decade they've worked together, despite considerable pressure from the outside to split.

What I do think is possible, though, is that some of the foot soldiers of the Taliban can be persuaded that the war is no longer in their interest. If we can achieve the momentum, if we can begin to bring security to parts of south and eastern Afghanistan that haven't seen it in years, we may change the calculation of fighters on the ground. That is to say they may now begin to see it is more dangerous to continue with Mullah Omar than it is to switch sides and to come over, or simply to go home and stop fighting. That is the kind of coherent, strategic picture that we need to present.

GRANT: But at the moment you would have to concede that Taliban is operating from a position of strength and the Karzai government, as you have pointed out before, because of the fraudulence surrounding the elections, because of questions about his legitimacy, are operating from a position of weakness. And Karzai is going to be the partner for Obama. Is it a workable partnership?

RIEDEL: Well, absolutely, the direction of this war is going entirely the wrong way. The momentum is with the Taliban. That is another reason why you are not going to see any break between the Taliban and Al Qaeda today. Why should they do it?

This failed election we just had has made this a whole lot more difficult. We need a partner which is legitimate and credible in the eyes of the Afghans, in the eyes of our allies, and in the eyes of the American people. What we got, instead, was a debacle. The administration now is going to have to try to make lemonade out of these lemons and try to pressure Karzai into bringing in members of the opposition who ran against him, in trying to reform the political system, in trying to root out corruption.

It is going to be an extremely difficult battle, but at the end of the day it is imperative. The alternative of walking away from Afghanistan mean returning Afghanistan, itself, to a medieval hell, and returning Afghanistan to being a base for jihadist attacks upon the United States and its allies around the world.

GRANT: Just shortly, in the time we have left, let's look at Pakistan, because that is the other side of the equation. We are continuing to see more attack in Pakistan. And despite the military moving on the Taliban, still questions about just how committed Pakistan is. What is your assessment of Pakistan and its role in this fight?

RIEDEL: Pakistan is absolutely critical to this. You can not have stability in Afghanistan without stability in Pakistan, and the opposite is true, as well. The good news is that the Pakistani military at long last is beginning to go after some of the militants, not all of them, but some of the militants. That is a step in the right direction. The bad news is the Pakistani government remains very, very weak. It is unclear whether President Ali Asif Zardari is going to be able to hold onto power much longer. The situation in Pakistan is very unstable, very complex, and very combustible.

GRANT: Bruce Riedel, a sobering assessment. We appreciate you giving us your time and your insight, there. Bruce Riedel, former CIA officer, and White House advisor on Afghanistan. He is also the author of "The Search for Al Qaeda, its Leadership, Ideology and Future." We thank you.

Now we want to hear from you. When it comes to Afghanistan, what does winning mean? Send your thoughts to my Twitter account. That is Stan Grant CNN.

Now in a little more than an hour, a somber ceremony will unfold in America's largest military post, as the victims of the Fort Hood massacre are mourned. The FBI asks, could the tragedy have been prevented?

Then, in Indonesia, a frantic search and a deadly mess as rain-soaked slopes give way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRANT: Welcome back.

In the U.S. federal investigators are reviewing their actions months after first hearing of Army Major Nidal Hasan. He suspected of killing 13 people last week at Fort Hood, Texas. But it was nearly a year ago the FBI addresses suspicions surrounding Hasan, before deciding he posed not threat.

Well, right now, preparations are underway for a memorial service for the victims at Fort Hood. And our Ed Lavandera is there.

And, Ed, the president also in attendance?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he will be here in attendance. In fact, just on the horizon, here, we just saw the president's Air Force One land here in the Killeen area. We understand that he will be visiting with families, privately, before the memorial service here is underway.

But this will be a massive memorial service on the Fort Hood post here in a couple of hours, where the highlighted guest will obviously be the families of the 13 people who were killed in the attack last Thursday, as well as many of the wounded, the wounded soldiers who have already been treated, and many of them released from the hospital. And they will also be in attendance, we're told. And there are still about eight soldiers, or so, we were told, at last count, that are still hospitalized. So they will not be attending.

But they are expecting several thousand people here on what is a gorgeous day in Killeen, Texas, for what the Army describes as a typical memorial service. And obviously, Fort Hood, Texas has these types of memorial services played out many times before here over the course of the last eight years, since 2001. So this is the type of service that they describe as one of the first steps in the healing process, to get many of these soldiers ready to continue on with their duties, for which many include deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq.

So, as they are dealing with all of this, Stan, a lot of these soldiers are also continuing their preparations for moving into a theater of operations overseas - Stan.

GRANT: Ed, thank you very much for that. Ed Lavandera, joining us there from Fort Hood, where a memorial service will be held for the victims of the killing last week there. And of course, President Obama expected there, to attend, as well.

Now too much rain and too many weak slopes. It is a deadly combination for Indonesia. New information on the search for landslide survivors.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRANT: Landslides are causing trouble on Indonesia's Sulawesi Island. At least 14 people have been killed. It is feared others are buried in debris. Rescuers have been searching for survivors. Officials say unrelenting rains pushed unstable slopes onto about 20 houses in the town of Palopo, over the weekend. Flooding in the area has made it difficult for workers to reach the worst-hit areas.

Well, Tropical Storm Ida, also made landfall Tuesday. Mari Ramos at the CNN World Weather Center, tracking what is a very, very busy and critical and dangerous time in the weather.

Mari.

MARI RAMOS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, so many stories going on. We were just talking about that back here. You know what? Let's go ahead and let me just show you the satellite image for that area, that you just showed with the landslides.

This is Sulawesi, right over here, the island, and Palopo is right over here, in this area right in there. Very difficult to get to and they are having a hard time. More rain is on the way. This time of year, fairly typical. They are going to get a little bit of a break. Most of the action seems to be back over toward western Indonesia, right now.

We are going to keep moving toward the west. And this right here is a tropical cyclone, very rare, tropical cyclones, in the Arabian Sea. But they do happen. And this is Tropical Cyclone 4A, expected to move inland, you know, in the next 24 hours or so. The track have shifted a little bit more toward the north, so that is what has kind of slowed it down just a little bit. But very heavy rain is expected across this area; including Mumbai, by the way. This is not expected to become a full-fledged typhoon- strength storm, but we are expecting very rough seas and that is expected to continue.

If you are traveling through northeastern China, be aware that there is a winter storm there, and we have snow in Beijing earlier, maybe a little bit more as we head through the next 24 hours or so. But the heaviest snowfall will here farther to the south and in some cases, significant snow, 25 centimeters of snow, Stan, could -additional snowfall, could be falling into some of these areas, along with very strong winds.

Speaking of wind, we head now to the Gulf of Mexico, right over here there is New Orleans, there is Pensacola, beach beautiful area there, where we are seeing this storm -what is left of it anyway - what is left of Ida, continuing to trail just northward. The center circulation is still in this area here, but most of the moisture, well to the north, that is brining us some travel delays here across the Southeastern U.S., including the world's largest airport, right here in Atlanta, rain expected, flash flood watches are in place across the area, because of the persistent rainfall, that continues to fall.

And last, but not least, let us go ahead and take a peak at (UNINTELLIGIBLE) weather, oh I have time for one. Let's see. It is raining so much my shoes turned into small boats and I'm trying to navigate. That is the word from Poland, southern Poland.

You know what? There are some warnings in place across southern Poland, so almost nothing to laugh about here. Because even here we are getting 20 to 40 millimeters of rain, up to 60 in mountains, as that moisture continues to trail to the north, here across much of Eastern Europe.

Back to you.

GRANT: Mari, thank you very much for that.

And that's it from me, Stan Grant, in Abu Dhabi. "World's Untold Stories", up next, after we update the headlines.

END