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Prism

Peshawar hit today by seventh Taliban bomb attack against Pakistani civilians and security forces alike, in less than two weeks

Aired November 19, 2009 - 12:00   ET

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

STAN GRANT, CNN INT'L. ANCHOR, PRISM (voice over): Another suicide attack in Pakistan. This time at a judicial complex in Peshawar, killing at least 19.

H1N1 flu: Fears at the Hajj as millions travel to Mecca. Saudi Arabia tries to put fool-proof measures in place to prevent the spread of the virus.

And in our "Prism Segment" tonight, a familiar face is inaugurated anew in Afghanistan, but can he really stem the tide of corruption around him?

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

Another deadly bombing in Peshawar, the city continues to be at the brunt of the Taliban's counter attack and retaliation for the Pakistan army's offensive against militants in nearby South Waziristan. Ivan Watson has more now on the latest in the string of bombings in Peshawar.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT (On camera): Thursday morning's explosion marks the seventh suicide attack to strike in and around the shell shocked city of Peshawar in less than two weeks. Police say that the bomber approached the gates of a compound of district courts. And when police moved to intercept him, he self detonated.

Let's listen to what one policeman had to say.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The boy went to the gate and there was an explosion. I fell down and didn't know what was going on. It was complete darkness. And the office and three or four constables were also blown away and people lay dead.

WATSON: Now doctors at a Peshawar hospital say at least 19 people were killed in this explosion, more than 50 wounded. Among the dead at least four police officers, often in the front line of these attacks.

In fact, the Taliban has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks that have targeted police stations, police checkpoints, and last week, the provincial headquarters of Pakistan's premier spy agency, the ISA, also located in Peshawar. The Taliban has also threatened to intensify it's attacks. This in retaliation for the Pakistani military's offensive into the former Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan. That is a mountainous region along the border with Afghanistan.

The Taliban says it has been mounting a strategic withdrawal. And, meanwhile , showing with these deadly attacks coming day after day, not only in Peshawar, but in other Pakistani cities, that it can still reach out and hurt different arms of the Pakistani security forces and kill a lot of civilians along the way. Ivan Watson, CNN, Islamabad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRANT: Across the border in Afghanistan, a suicide bombing just hours after Hamid Karzai is sworn in for a second term as Afghanistan's president. Our "Prism Segment" tonight looks at Afghanistan and President Karzai. Can he truly lead his country, or is his government too mired in corruption?

First, though, let's go to Sarah Sidner, in Kabul, with the latest on the attack and the inauguration.

And, Sarah, while Hamid Karzai is talking about delivery in his second term, yet another reminder just how difficult it is going to be.

SARAH SIDNER, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Stan. We got information from the ministry of the interior here in Afghanistan that 10 civilians were killed and 13 injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up as he was trying to target a police vehicle. Police spotted him, according to officials, he never made it to that vehicle, but ended up detonating himself and killing and maiming up to 23 people.

That came a few hours after President Hamid Karzai took the oath of office. This will be his second term in office, a five-year term. President Hamid Karzai talked about many things today. Really ticking off, sort of, the boxes that the West has been particularly concerned about. One of the big ones, obviously, security. He talk about the fact that he wishes that within five years, that the country, as he put it, "will be completely in the hands of the Afghans. Including the security of the country. But with a caveat, saying that right now he really needs the international community's help. Particularly, the U.S.'s help and helping to train these security forces here in Afghanistan.

He also talked about another hot button issue, and that was corruption, and what he plans to do about it. Let's listen to exactly what he had to say during his speech today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAMID KARZAI, PRESIDENT OF AFGHANISTAN (through translator) Corruption is a very dangerous enemy of the state. And we would like to take this topic quite seriously, so we could have a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) director, which will be dealing with the corruption, an anti-corruption unit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: He was speaking to hundreds of people who are inside the highly fortified presidential palace, including 300 dignitaries from around the world. Which included secretary of State from the U.S., Hillary Clinton, who was sitting there in the front row, watching and listening to what was happening.

He also, at the very end, did something interesting, he apologized, if he had offended anyone. Apologized if he was not doing a good job, and said he would try to do his best. That it was difficult to run a state - Stan.

GRANT: Sarah, thank you for that. Sarah Sidner joining us live there from Kabul.

Talk about the corruption challenges in Afghanistan, now just this week accusations surfaced in "The Washington Post" that an Afghan government minister accepted a $30 million bribe from a Chinese firm. The government denies the allegation, but there is no denying that confidence is low in Mr. Karzai, among many, key Western officials. Just listen to what the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs had to say recently.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADMIRAL MIKE MULLEN, CHAIRMAN, U.S. JOINT CHIEFS: The legitimacy really needs to be in the eyes of the Afghan people. That is really critical. And we know that, that certainly is, at best, in question, right now. And at worst, doesn't exist. And so I think it is really important for President Karzai to take steps to ensure that his government, at every level, is seen as legitimate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRANT: Admiral Mike Mullen, there. Now, amid the talk of corruption the U.S. is considering sending as many as 40,000 more troops to the war- torn nation. And British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has hinted corruption could also impact his country's troop commitment.

Saying, "I am not prepared to put the lives of British men and women in harm's way for a government that does not stand up to corruption.

Earlier I talked with Alex Thier, he is director for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the U.S. Institute for Peace in Washington. He just returned from Afghanistan. And I asked him why the U.S. and its allies expect any more from Mr. Karzai now, when he didn't deliver on his first term?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX THIER, U.S. INST. FOR PEACE: There is a lot of potential leverage that can be brought to bear on Hamid Karzai and his government, to demand results. The sad truth of the matter is that despite what we have said over the last five, or even eight years, we often haven't tried to hold the Afghan government accountable. Using our aid, our resources, our military, our intelligence resources, we can both support the Afghan government to do what it needs to do, while at the same time demanding accountability from them.

GRANT: But when you are talking about accountability let's just look at what you are actually trying to deliver here. We just had an election that has been shown to be fraudulent. We know that corruption exists. Inefficiency exists. The Taliban is on the rise. Hamid Karzai is bringing former warlords into his own government, and suspicion falling on members of his own family. That is a terrible, terrible recipe, isn't it?

THIER: Well, there are really two stories of Karzai over the last eight years. There is the good Karzai, who has appointed some excellent ministers, that the international community has effectively cooperated with, and we have managed to deliver a lot of assistance out into the provinces. National solidarity program has delivered projects to 22,000 villages. National health program has increased access to health all over the country. And so we have demonstrated over and over again that there is the potential.

But the bad Karzai, as he is now often perceived, is the person who brings warlords into his government, who condones corruption. And what we need to do is to support the good Karzai, to make sure that he is appointing the right people at the national and provincial level. And work against the bad Karzai, putting programs in place, putting an anti- corruption commission in place and using our leverage to make sure that he's less tempted to do those things, which ultimately undermine his government, and our entire mission, in the country.

GRANT: Does that support then mean sending another 40, 000 troops, when we know that the Taliban is increasing in strength, and we know from being on the ground in Afghanistan you can see that more troops does not necessarily mean more stability.

THIER: That is right. It very much depends on what the troops are used for. But we shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that we are sending 40,000 troops to support Hamid Karzai. Hamid Karzai is one man, one leader among many, in Afghanistan, that we need to rely on in order to make Afghanistan more stable.

The need for additional troops, as articulated by General McChrystal, is that in order to create security, so that good governance and development can flourish, and that we can win the Afghan people permanently onto the side of stability, that is the need for those troops, so that we can protect that population. It is not to prop up Hamid Karzai. Certainly sending troops just for Karzai would be a mistake. But we have broader goals in Afghanistan, and indeed, in the region, that necessitate our continued support for the stabilization of that country.

GRANT: Alex Thier, of the U.S. Institute for Peace.

Let's take one more point of view now. Our Christiane Amanpour talked exclusively with Afghanistan's Interior Minister Hanif Atmar. He says the government is attacking corruption.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANIF ATMAR, INTERIOR MINISTER, AFGHANISTAN: : What we are trying to do now is to send a very, very strong message to every corrupt official that the age of impunity is gone. Everybody now is to be held accountable for the authority invested in them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRANT: You can hear more of that exclusive interview tonight on "AMANPOUR". Christiane will continue our hard look at Karzai and corruption. Catch the show at 20:00 in London, 21:00 in Central Europe.

Now we also want to hear from you. Do you think that Hamid Karzai can deliver as president of Afghanistan? Send your thoughts to my Twitter account, that is StanGrantCNN.

Millions of Muslims are headed to Mecca. We will tell you why some are being checked at the gate.

And Silvio Berlusconi's so-called party villa may be on the market. We'll show you the high profile royal who is rumored to be taking an interest. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRANT: Leaders of Muslims are preparing for the trip of a lifetime, the annual Hajj pilgrimage officially starts next week. It is sometimes dangerous. People have been trampled in the huge crowds. But this year there is a new threat, the H1N1 flu. Saudi officials tell CNN 12 of 20 suspected cases have been confirmed, eight remained quarantined. And Isha Sesay reports, they are taking precautions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISHA SESAY, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: It is not quite the warm welcome they were expecting. Thanks to the emergence of the H1N1 swine flu virus, Hajj pilgrims this year are greeted by thermal screening equipment, when they land at Jeddah International Airport. Officials here are on high alert looking for potential signs of the H1N1 virus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The arriving pilgrims pass in front of the camera, if the equipment senses any person with a temperature above 38 degrees, a beeping alarm sounds.

SESAY: Thousands of pilgrims arrive by the hour. And from the moment they get off the plane, go through immigration, claim their bags, and eventually wind their way through customs, they are under the watchful eye of government officials. There from more than 100 countries, ranging from the very young, to the very old. And it is these groups that are considered among those at risk when it comes to H1N1. But Saudi authorities are not barring anyone from performing the Hajj this year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody ban. Nobody ban.

SESAY (On camera): A good thing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, a good thing, yeah, sure. Why we ban you? Why? He comes for Hajj, why ban this? OK, if a problem, I will take him.

SESAY: Doctor Gazoli (ph) is confident Saudi officials are taking the proper precautions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No I did not find any suspected cases, when the Hajj arrives through this camera. If there is any suspected cases, we have to take this Hajj, with this same gateway and take with an ambulance, to the special hospital. And ministry build it for that.

SESAY: While global health officials may be anxiously monitoring what the H1N1 virus will do at the Hajj, the pilgrims we spoke with are refusing to let such fear derail their sacred journey.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you start worrying about things like that, you would never do anything at all and you would (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Like I say, you know, I think it is more scare mongering than, you know, what is reality.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, we got vaccinations and we have masks, surgical masks, that we plan to wear, in Shala (ph), Makai (ph), Madinabad (ph), so hopefully everything will be fine.

SESAY (On camera): Millions of Hajj pilgrims are making their way to Saudi Arabia, by air, sea and land. But health ministry officials are keen to stress to us they have fool-proof measures in place to prevent the outbreak of an H1N1 epidemic. Yes, with such large numbers, eating, sleeping, and praying together in Mecca over the next couple of days, there is no doubt that this year's Hajj is much more than just a spiritual journey, it is a journey into the unknown.

Isha Sesay, at Jeddah International Airport, Saudi Arabia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRANT: Now some say it is another Madoff scandal in the making. Why billions of dollars maybe at risk and who is behind it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRANT: Welcome back. It's a scandal that is being compared to America's Bernie Madoff affair. Banks in the UAE have billions of dollars at risk in exposure to a couple of troubled Saudi business groups. "MARKETPLACE MIDDLE EAST" anchor John Defterios has the latest now from CNN London.

John, we are talking about the Saad/Al Gosaibi Group. How did it get to this point?

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN INT'L. ANCHOR, MARKETPLACE MIDDLE EAST: Well, Stan, this is a family trust broken with a big family group throughout the region, in particular, in Saudi Arabia. We're looking at exposure for 80 international banks and regional banks of some $15 billion, at least. And some banker privately say it could be double that amount.

What happened today is the UAE central bank basically said the exposure to the UAE commercial banks is about one-fifth of that $15 billion that they need to take the loss provisions by the end of the year. What has traditionally happened in the region is that the family companies, and their conglomerates, have borrowed extensively around the world and have met those debt obligations. But during this global down turn, the exposure, both Saad and Al Gosaibi, and their family relatives in between, the cracks came out. And in fact, we are paying the price right now.

GRANT: Are some questions being asked about the banks not doing enough due diligence, or was this just a case of being caught up in the global financial crisis?

DEFTERIOS: I think it is a case of both, Stan. Again, when you have family ties here and your word is your bond, the bond has been built over the last 50 years. And these things worked just fine. But, in fact, it appears as we see it right now, that these two groups extended themselves so far beyond their means, and they could not make the debt repayments.

And as a result, the central bankers within the region are trying to keep a lid on this. They don't want it to be another Madoff. But the reality is if you are looking at $15 to $30 billion worth of exposure, in that region, with that sort of population size, it is indeed a problem.

GRANT: Well, John, as you pointed out there, banks carrying a lot of debt. It is not stopping some, though, in this region doing a big of high- profile house hunting. Tell us about that.

DEFTERIOS: Yes, it is just very interesting. They would say the Abu Dhabi is not letting the tires cool after F1, if you want to put it that way.

One of its eight sovereign funds, this is the Aabar Fund, that is moving quite aggressively on many fronts. Number one, and primarily, it wants to increase its stake in Daimler, from 9 percent -- right now, it is the largest shareholder -- up to 15 percent. The group has already made a profit of $2 billion since taking that stake in Daimler back in March.

And more importantly, as a partnership they went in with Mercedes and Daimler, to take the purchase of Brawn, the F1 Team, linking to the F1 races, of course. And they want to rename that in this partnership, Mercedes Grande (ph). It is going to be without, of course, Jensen Button, who went to McLaren. But they are going to be prepared to spend probably about $200 billion in the next year, to upgrade the team, even though they won the F1 title this year.

GRANT: And, of course, I mentioned the house hunting. This villa that maybe on the market in Italy?

DEFTERIOS: Well, this is a very interesting story. And apparently, it is not a true story. "Corletta DeLasetta" (ph) has been reporting that the villa, and all the acreage around it, some 80 hectors, on Sardinia, was on the blocks here and the crown prince of Abu Dhabi was putting in a bid for 450 million euros, more than $600 million. I did speak to a spokesman for the Abu Dhabi government, number one, they said there is no one within the family at all, putting an offer on the table. No discussions taking place. Number two, they raised some questions why, in fact, the Italian newspaper, a very respected newspaper, by the way, did not get the name of the crown prince correctly. It could be perhaps, they are trying to float the property on the market. The price was so high, Stan, that in fact apparently one Russian tycoon stepped away. It is also interesting to see what Prime Minister Berlusconi does. He is on a skeet (ph) trip to Saudi Arabia, and in fact the spokesman I spoke to, said they are looking to see if the Italian prime minister will in fact deny the claims when he lands on Gulf territory.

GRANT: We'll keep an eye out for that. John, it is out of my budget and probably out of yours, as well.

(LAUGHTER)

DEFTERIOS: Just a little.

GRANT: Thanks very much for that, John Defterios.

You can catch John on "MARKETPLACE MIDDLE EAST" Friday night at 23:45 in Abu Dhabi, 20:45 in Central Europe.

Time for -we'll take a look at the global weather picture with Mari Ramos? No? Yes, Mari is there to bring us up to date on the weather - Mari.

MARI RAMOS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, just very quickly, I just want to give you a heads up on something that continues to be a big problem. And it is the weather across portions of Northwestern Europe.

Now, Stan, this is going to be a big concern. Those strong damaging winds expected to continue, and huge waves like that, not out of the question. But that is not the only problem. We have just 10,15 seconds of the video to show you right over here. Flooding a huge concern, weather warnings are in place because of the heavy rain. Up to 250 millimeters of rain across parts of the central U.K., as we head into - even into the weekend. So, still, through the rest of the day, today and into Friday, maybe even Saturday. We will still have more rain in these areas. Part of a larger weather picture also affecting Ireland, by the way.

We'll keep you posted. Back to you.

GRANT: Mari, thanks very much for that. And that's it for me, Stan Grant in Abu Dhabi. "MAIN SAIL" is up next, after we update the headlines.

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