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Prism

Abu Dhabi Gives Dubai World A Last-Minute Infusion Of $10 Billion

Aired December 14, 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): Abu Dhabi provides a $10 billion lifeline to Dubai.

A secret document says Iran is working on nuclear bomb components.

And in our "Prism Segment" tonight the Al Qaeda threat remains, but just how big is it?

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.

Our top story: Pulled back from the brink of default. Investors are breathing sighs of relief after debt-riddled Dubai World got a huge last- minute assist from Abu Dhabi. The oil-rich emirate reluctantly coughed up $10 billion in rescue money. That is enough to avert the debt crisis for the next year.

The reaction was immediately felt in the markets. Dubai's main index closed up over 10 percent, the ADX almost 8 percent.

But Dubai's debt troubles are far from over. "MARKETPLACE MIDDLE EAST" anchor John Defterios joins us from CNN London.

John, let's just look at the timing of this. It really did come at the last minute. And perhaps could have been don earlier. Take us through that.

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN INT'L. ANCHOR, "MARKETPLACE MIDDLE EAST": OK, Stan.

Indeed, I think the fact that it came in the 11th hour says quite a bit right now, from Abu Dhabi to Dubai. It is a message in itself that they didn't want to throw good money after bad, number one. Secondly, how do you spell relief going forward for Dubai? Clearly it is Abu Dhabi. So provide some clarity in the short term. But longer it does raise some questions. When does Abu Dhabi step in and when it does not step in. And where does corporate responsibility start in Dubai, and where does it end? If you are going to provide a d$10 billion cash injection for Dubai World, what happens to the future entities of Dubai, Inc., those other entities under the Dubai Holdings umbrella, for example, if they do need help in 2010.

GRANT: Yes, as you say, still so many questions. And let's just look at the statement that was put out, John. Particularly the language that was used, talking about the need for greater transparency and a united front in the UAE.

DEFTERIOS: Yes, let's take it -this is a statement that came out from the government of Dubai, specifically from Sheikh Ahmad bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who is the chairman of the Supreme Fiscal Committee.

The first quote, here, and this was up front and center, Stan. "First the government of Abu Dhabi and the UAE Central Bank have agreed to provide important support."

Then he goes on to say, "Today's actions, taken together, demonstrate a strong commitment as a global financial leader to transparency, good governance and market principles."

This is very important, these last few words. "Transparency, good governance, and market principles" because the feed back that Dubai got from many in the international community, and in fact, including on CNN and the guests that we have had on "MARKETPLACE MIDDLE EAST" recently, is that if you want to be a global financial center, you have to use the best rules of transparency and good governance. In fact, to attract capital and then to provide the comfort for restructuring to take place. So the message you would get through to Dubai, this is a message that is coming back. But again, where does corporate governance begin and end? And that is what is going to be unraveling in the next six to 12 months. What other entities are going to need help.

GRANT: John, thank you very much for that. John Defterios joining us there.

Now, to new fears over Iran's nuclear aspirations. They center on secret documents just uncovered, allegedly outlining work toward a nuclear weapon. The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency is looking into it. And our Senior International Correspondent Matthew Chance is following it all now from CNN Moscow.

Matthew, take us through what this document tells us about the planning and the intention in Iran, for a nuclear weapons program.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: What the document, Stan, says is that over a four-year period the Iranians have been developing a neutron initiator, which is a component, and essential component for a detonator for a nuclear weapon. It doesn't give the exact time frame about when this research and development took place.

But obviously, it is causing a great deal of concern. It is raising alarm bells amongst those that already have deep suspicions about Iran's nuclear intentions.

I spoke to one Western diplomat with close contact with the Iranians and the nuclear negations with that country. And he says that he believes that the document is authentic. He has described it as alarming. The IAEA, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency, apparently has a copy of this, according to the Western diplomatic sources. I spoke to IAEA officials as well. They say they are looking into the matter. But as yet they have not asked the Iranians for any, formally at least, for any additional information.

But clearly, again, this is another potentially smoking gun and more evidence for those who believe Iran is up to no good, when it comes to the development of nuclear weapons, Stan.

GRANT: Yes, Matthew, just on that, again, does it add to the case for those who are calling for greater sanctions. What about where you are standing right now, in Russia, which of course has been reluctant to commit in the past to tougher action.

CHANCE: Well, there has been no reaction from the Kremlin, from the Russians, to this latest apparent revelation. But certainly it does seem that international pressure is building for some kind of concerted action against the Iranians. They are already Security Council resolutions against the Islamic Republic. There are already sanctions in place, as well. But there is been a strong drive now, a strong push, lead by the United States and other countries, particularly European countries, who are deeply concerned about what Iran is getting up to about its nuclear intentions, for much tougher sanctions that would target, kind of, a much more sensitive areas of the Iranian economy.

So far, as you mentioned the Russians have been pretty cool on that. The Chinese, who also have deep commercial interests with Iran, have also been pretty cool on it. But it is evidence like this, along with the revelation a few months ago of a second uranium enrichment facility in Iran. Near the Shia holy city of Kom (ph), that are actually adding the pressure, and add on the pressure on the international community to actually do something. And I think that has been compounded by the release of this latest document, Stan.

GRANT: Matthew, thanks for that. Matthew Chance joining us live, there, from Moscow.

Well, more than 1,400 civilians have been deliberately killed in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. That is according to a new report from Human Rights Watch. What's more, the group says that is the death toll for the first nine months of 2009. The aid agency is calling for the United Nations to take urgent action to protect civilians. Our David McKenzie has more now from Nairobi, Kenya.

David.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Stan, the numbers are shocking, but by no means surprising. There have been a number of military operations, both Rwandan and Congolese, join operations in Eastern Congo this year.

The Human Rights Watch report, though, goes further. It says U.N. backed military operations have in fact lead to targeted killings and rape of civilians. You mentioned that number, 1,400 civilians killed, it also says more than 7,000 girls and young women have sexually abused during these operations. And the chief researcher of this report puts some blame squarely on the Congolese army, which is, in fact, a U.N. backed army.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNEKE VAN WOUDENBERG, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: We have documented that both the Congolese army, as well as the Rwandan Hutu militia, the FDLR, are forcing people at gunpoint to transport their weapons and ammunition, as they deploy to military positions. The Congolese army, in particular, are using civilians to transport their weapons, ammunition, and their baggage. Hundreds, if not thousands, of civilians have been taken at gunpoint to front line locations, often putting them in extreme danger. Some who have refused have been shot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKENZIE: Well, Stan, you know, the U.N. operation there is one of the biggest, if not the biggest in the world, right now, for peacekeepers. There are 19,000 Manuke (ph), that is the name of the force, the peacekeepers there. They are there to -the mandate is to protect civilians, and Human Rights Watch is saying that what they are doing is not only not protecting but potentially making it worse for the civilians in the war-wracked Eastern Congo, Stan.

GRANT: David, thank you very much for that. David McKenzie joining us on the line there from Nairobi.

Now another report, this one from the Medicine San Frontiers describes the suffering of people in Southern Sudan. The group says there has been an upsurge in violent attacks and increasingly, women and children are being targeted. MSF says 87 percent of the people they are treating suffer from gunshot wounds and that many more people are being killed. The aide group is calling on government authorities, international donors and relief organizations to recognize the full extent of the crisis. And work to ensure people's immediate needs are being met.

Staying in Africa, disturbing images of Somali militants enforcing a strict interpretation of Sharia law. It happened Sunday in a small town southwest of Mogadishu. We warn you the images you are about to see maybe disturbing to some viewers.

Witnesses say members of the rebel group, Hez Al Islam (ph), stoned to death two men accused of murder and adultery. A young woman received lashed for allegedly having an illegal sexual relationship with one of the men.

The militants gathered residents in the area, to witness the execution.

A new message from Al Qaeda slams U.S. President Barack Obama. In tonight's "Prism Segment" we look at the Al Qaeda threat eight years since the September 11 attacks.

New galaxies and hidden stars, that is what NASA is looking for. We will show you how they are planning to find them. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRANT: A new message from Al Qaeda slams U.S. Middle East policy and President Barack Obama.

The message from Ayman Al-Zawahiri accuses President Obama of cheating the Arab world by failing to advance the peace process.

Al-Zawahiri's message, posted on an Islamic webs site, is also highly critical of U.S. allies in the region, Egypt and Jordan.

Zawahiri also urged Muslims and Palestinians to wage holy war outside Israel and the Palestinian territories, and praised Muslim militants fighting on Pakistan. The authenticity of the Monday's message could not be independently confirmed.

Well, how big a threat is Al Qaeda? That is our focus this evening in our "Prism Segment". We begin with President Obama and the official U.S. policy on Al Qaeda. In his recent speech announcing the troop surge for Afghanistan, Mr. Obama stated the reasoning behind his decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our over-arching goal remains the same, to disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and to prevent its capacity to threaten America and our allies in the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRANT: While no one is ready to come out and declare Al Qaeda is not a threat, Steve Coll says, politically, the group has failed. In a July commentary in "The New Yorker" magazine, he writes: "Al Qaeda has been up and running for 21 years. By this point in the history of the Soviet Communist movement, Lenin had seized control of a great state.

And bin Laden? He is hunkered down along Afghanistan-Pakistan border, a fugitive `guest' with a price on his head, waiting for death. By the lights of its own announced ambitions in 2001, Al Qaeda has failed."

Then there is the story of Matthew Hoh, a decorated former U.S. Marine officer working for the State Department in Afghanistan, he was the senior U.S. civilian in Zabu Province, until he resigned in October, in protest over the Afghanistan war. In his resignation letter, Hoh wrote, "I have lost understanding of and confidence in the strategic purpose of the U.S. presence in Afghanistan."

"My resignation is based not upon how we are pursuing this war, but why and to what end."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW HOH, FMR. U.S. STATE DEPT. OFFICER: I believe that the people we are fighting there are fighting us because we are occupying them. Not for any ideological reasons, not because of any links to Al Qaeda, not because of any type of hatred towards the West. The only reason they are fighting us is because we are occupying them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRANT: Now, Al Qaeda means different things to different people, and represents a different threat in various parts of the world. CNN Security Analyst Peter Bergen is constantly monitoring developments with the group. We caught up with him in New York for his perspective.

PETER BERGEN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Well, it depends where you are sitting. The Al Qaeda threat to the United States is probably somewhat low. Certainly nothing like it was before 9/11. But, you know, if you are in Yemen, Al Qaeda is pretty vibrant in Yemen, if you are in Algeria, an Al Qaeda affiliate there is pretty vibrant. If you are in Iraq, Al Qaeda in Iraq, whose obituary has been written before, has shown an ability to attack in Central Baghdad, in very large fashion, the last several months. Al Qaeda in Pakistan is still somewhat vibrant, able to train people, able to train westerners. So, it kind of depends on where you sit.

GRANT: What is when we talk about Al Qaeda, now? What do we mean by that? Because we know that in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Al Qaeda has come to mean, many different things to many different people. It is an umbrella group, it draws militants from different parts of the world. If you are defining Al Qaeda, what is it?

BERGEN: Well, the problem with defining Al Qaeda is that, you know, it means a lot of different things depending on how you look at it. There is Al Qaeda, the organization that attacked on 9/11, that has been degraded, but still exists. There is Al Qaeda, the network, where groups, for instance, the Somali group Al Shabab (ph) has just said that it is affiliating with Al Qaeda, did so in September. There are people who are like-minded militants, groups like Bashkir Atoyba (ph), a Kashmiri militant group, that has taken on a more Al Qaeda flavor with its attack on -- specifically attacking Westerners and Jews in Mumbai, last year. And finally, you have people who sort of are aspiring to get into Al Qaeda, or act like Al Qaeda, and those people are sort of self-recruited, self- starting radicals. So there is a whole gamut when we talk about Al Qaeda. It is a short of short hand for a lot of different things.

GRANT: Peter, part of the Obama plans is to neutralize the Al Qaeda threat and try to separate Taliban and Al Qaeda. Is that possible? Has the Taliban and Al Qaeda morphed to such an extent that they are indistinguishable?

BERGEN: I think it is going to be hard to separate the Taliban from Al Qaeda, not impossible, clearly there are lower level members of the Taliban who have nothing to do with Al Qaeda. But at the upper levels, the Taliban leadership has protected Al Qaeda, both before 9/11 and after. The Al Qaeda central is now located in an area where the Pakistani Taliban have a great deal of control. Before 9/11, the Afghanistan Taliban was sheltering Al Qaeda. The leader of the Taliban Mullah Omar has recently made a couple of statements suggesting that he is not interested in fomenting trouble abroad, and the Taliban is largely a national phenomenon, which is great, and fine, but I'm a little suspicious of those statements, because they made exactly those kinds of statements, the Taliban before 9/11. They said that, you know, they had not interest in fomenting trouble in other countries, etc cetera, etc cetera, etc cetera. So we'll see.

But the idea, I think, that if somehow the Taliban came back to power, they would reject Al Qaeda, I think that is sort of wishful thinking. It certainly didn't happen on 9/11.

GRANT: Peter, just a final question. Looking at homegrown terror in the U.S., obviously, there is still an ability for groups like Al Qaeda, and others, to recruit from the U.S. And we have seen just in recent times now, of militants coming from the U.S., who are U.S. citizens, born there, or who have moved there and become U.S. citizens. Just how great a risk is it still in the U.S., from homegrown terrorism?

BERGEN: Well, in the United States, the number of homegrown terrorists plots of some seriousness has actually gone up in the last couple of years. I mean, if we had this conversation two years ago, Stan, I would have said that the risk was pretty low. But you have had American citizens training in Al Qaeda training camps in the year or so. You have had American citizens playing a very active role in the Lashkari Toybo (ph), the Kashmiri militant group. It looks like David Hedley (ph), and American citizen, played a critical role in the Mumbai attack, in terms of planning it, if the allegations against him are true.

You have had American citizens go to Somalia; about two dozen of them to participate in the jihad. You have now had, for the first time, American suicide bombers in Somalia. And so you have had a lot of different kinds of types of militants. You had Major Hassan, who did the Fort Hood massacre, killed 13 people, seems to have been motivated in part by Jihadi ideology. So, the situation has got worse in the last two years. I'm not saying that it is terrible in the United States, or anything remotely like that. But I am saying it feels a little different.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRANT: CNN Security Analyst Peter Bergen, there, now. Meanwhile the conclusion of the terror case in the U.S., a man in the state of Georgia has been sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for supporting terrorists. Prosecutors say he sent an e-mail seeking to join the Taliban in 2001, while living in Bangladesh. And authorities say in 2004 and 2005 he entered an agreement to provide material support to terrorists.

Europe is getting hit hard by a wintery blast. We are going to take a look at the weather soon. Mari Ramos will have details from our International Weather Center.

Also, just ahead, NASA launches a new eye in the sky, promising to reveal things previously invisible.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRANT: Space scientists will soon get to see the universe in a whole new light. NASA launched a new telescope Monday that will help uncover new objects, asteroids and comets in space. The Eide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, will use an infrared camera to detect objects that other telescopes, like the Hubble, might miss. The unmanned WISE will spend the next nine months orbiting Earth, mapping the universe.

Some one else who is mapping the universe, is Mari Ramos at the CNN World Weather Center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

GRANT: Mari, thank you very much for that.

And that's it for me, Stan Grant in Abu Dhabi. Stay tuned for "Autumn of Change" as CNN returns to Bulgaria for a personal look 20 years after the fall of the Communism. That is up next after we update the headlines.

END