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Prism
Obama Intends To Close Gitmo, Send Detainees To Illinois Facility
Aired December 15, 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): Dozens of detainees still held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, could be sent to a jail in the United States.
`Tis a nightmare before Christmas. British Airways taking legal action to try to stop a holiday time strike by its cabin crews.
And in our "Prism Segment" tonight could a one-state solution be the answer to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
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, the Obama administration is getting set to take a big step in fulfilling a campaign promise to close the controversial U.S. detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. White House Correspondent Dan Lothian joins us now with that story.
And this, a controversial development, Dan.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: (AUDIO GAP) looking for countries willing to open their arms to these detainees, because the president very much wants to close down the Guantanamo Bay facility in Cuba. But a lot of countries have been pushing back, so increasingly the United States has been looking internally to find places where they can house some of these detainees.
A senior administration official told me a few weeks ago that this facility, the Thompson Correctional Facility, in Illinois was a very attractive target, if you will, because it was a relatively new facility. It was built in 2001 and has been barely used at all because of fiscal problems in the state. And so they thought that could be retrofitted and really turned into a facility that was just right, not only to house federal inmates, but also some of these detainees.
Well, later today the administration will be announcing that they will be -they are planning to buy that facility and then transfer up to 100 detainees from Gitmo to that facility. We don't have a date yet on when that transfer will happen, but it has been confirmed that that will indeed take place.
There obviously are a lot of concerns. In particular, some people believe that there are some safety issues here. That it impacts national security. That it will be a threat if you have these high-value inmates brought to the United States, on U.S. soil.
On the other hand, some people see this as a boon for that region's economy. Some 2,000 jobs could be created, when those inmates are brought to Illinois. And it could inject up to $1 billion into the local economy as well. So they see it really as a plus, helping that town, that region survive.
Now, I should point out, the administration did put out a statement earlier today. And I'll just read part of it. They said that in, "Closing the detention center at Guantanamo is essential to protecting out national security and helping out troops, by removing a deadly recruiting tool from the hands of Al Qaeda. Today's announcement is an important step forward as we work to achieve our national security objectives."
So, the administration very much not seeing this the way the critics are, who might believe that this is a threat to national security. The administration believing that this could really help national security, by having them housed here in the United States, Stan.
GRANT: Dan, thank you very much for that. Dan Lothian joining us live there from the White House.
Pakistan's latest tremor of violence struck the city of Dera Ghazi Khan today; 22 people were killed by a suicide car bomb in a crowded market. The bomb detonated outside the home of a senior opposition politician who said he was the target of the attack. Police dispute that claim. About 20 shops in the market were reduced to rubble by the blast.
The tragedy came as one of the top commanders in the U.S. military was visiting Pakistan. General David Petraeus urged Pakistan's military to keep up the pressure on the Taliban. And he tied the Pakistan army's success against domestic militants to the U.S. battle in Afghanistan. In an interview with CNN the general praised the military's determination to weed out the Taliban fighters on Pakistani soil.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTCOM: Pakistan has demonstrated enormous determination in going after the extremist elements that are threatening their state. Obviously, we are supportive of that. We went to assist in every way we can, recognizing though that they are the ones doing the fighting, not our troopers. We want to assist that. We want to encourage that and over time we want to very much continue the nascent process of coordination of what it is that we, our ISAF partners, Afghanistan partners are doing on the Afghan side, and what the Pakistani forces are doing on their side.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRANT: Tuesday's violence was mirrored in neighboring Afghanistan where at least 13 people were killed today in two attacks. A bombing near the home of the former vice president in Kabul left eight people dead and some 40 wounded. The explosion happened as Afghan officials were conferring nearby at an anti-corruption conference.
Meanwhile, another explosion killed five people at a guard post in the Southeast.
In Iraq six bombs in two cities and a growing death toll. Militants set off a string of explosions in Baghdad and Mosul that have killed at least eight people, dozens more are wounded. The Baghdad blast targeted government ministries. I Mosul the bombs when off near a church, a school, and a hospital. Some officials say the recent upsurge in violence is aimed at destabilizing Iraq ahead of parliamentary elections set for March.
Time is running out in Copenhagen. That is the new warning from U.N. Chief Ban Ki-Moon. World leaders are showing up now to wrap up a two-week climate change conference. The goal is an international treaty limiting greenhouse gas emissions. But divisions are deep and negotiations are far from over. Ban Ki-Moon says it is time to quick the blame game and get down to business.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) We must do much more. Developed and developing countries, this is a time when they should exercise their leadership and this is a time to stop pointing fingers. And this is a time to start looking in the mirror, and offering what can they do more, both the developed and the developing countries. I'm sure that they can, and they must, do more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRANT: Well, for more our Phil Black is right there in Copenhagen.
And Phil, China and the developing world, on one side, the rest on the other. What is the possibility of a successful outcome?
PHIL BLACK, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Well, that really is the key question here today, Stan. We are being told by everyone at these talks that things have not progressed far enough.
As we speak, a ceremony is currently underway. Tonight the beginning of the high level phase of this conference. Government ministers are now leading the negotiations. National leaders have started arriving here and they will have all assembled here within the next few days. That really is the deadline for getting an agreement together.
So, the ministers that are leading the negotiations have been told the next 48 hours are absolutely vital. They have to focus and work very hard if there is to be any chance of coming together on the sort of agreement that this conference was designed to achieve. We are told that there are still key differences on key issues, and those differences between the parties are not getting smaller, Stan.
GRANT: Let's just look at what those key differences are, Phil. Right from the start China and the developing world are saying why should we pay for a problem we haven't created and put our economies at risk. The rest of the world saying look, you are going to be a big contributor to this in the future. How do you get around something as fundamental as that?
BLACK: Well, exactly. I mean, that position really is essentially accepted by both sides but it is in the detail. It is the degree to which the developed world will accept responsibility. How much are they now prepared to cut reductions, take that economic hit, how much money are they prepared to pay the developing world to deal with climate change develop into low-carbon societies?
And equally so, to what extent is the developing world now prepared to move forward, grow, be allowed to grow economically, but not as if there was no climate crisis, whatsoever.
They must be seen to act significantly enough to the point where it satisfies Western nations. So they must grow into low-carbon societies while still not acting in precisely the same way.
Todd Stern, the chief negotiator for the U.S. delegation here, essentially says that these two sides are moving together, albeit very, very slowly. And it is a simple reality that a negotiated agreement cannot come together unless you get these big major developing countries to come to a consensus with the Western industrialized nations as well, Stan.
GRANT: Phil, as always, thank you very much for that. Phil Black joining us live there in Copenhagen.
Well, the climate change conference has protestors raising their voices half a world away in Australia. Green Peace activists scaled the Sydney Opera House to post their message Enough of the politics already, get to work on an actual agreement. Police were quick to remove the banner. Five people who climbed the building were arrested and charged with trespassing.
A lot of air travelers maybe in for a rough holiday season. British Airways cabin crew has voted to strike and at one of the worst times possible. But the airline says it is taking legal action. Our own travel expert, Richard Quest, is watching all of this from CNN London.
And, Richard, you have this impasse between the unions and British Airways and caught in the middle, what, up to a million travelers?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INT'L TRAVEL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the planes will be naturally full at this time of the year. And it is estimated that somewhere around just over a million passengers who were planning to fly British Airways, now find their travel plans seriously in jeopardy.
And tonight, Stan, although BA says that there may have been irregularities in the vote, that some may not have been eligible to vote, they are going to the courts, to try and get an injunction to stop the strike from taking place.
The raw fact of the matter is that at the moment many passengers are in limbo. They don't know whether they should go and book somewhere else. They don't know if they have got the money. And they certainly don't know if their flight will go over the 12 days of the BA potential strike.
GRANT: Yes, Richard, so who is most effected? Which major hubs?
QUEST: The places that are most effected, obviously, the London Heathrow, the world's single busiest international airport, the crossroads of the world. But there are a few, you have got all those other airlines that will have connected with British Airways. You have, for example, Iberia's hubs down in Madrid. You have BA hubs in Los Angles, in New York, right the way across to Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Cape Town. Anywhere, in fact, particularly where BA would have multiple flights, you are going to get thousands of people who are affected.
Now, if you then extrapolate this out across the one-world alliance, to connecting flights, you start to see that this becomes extremely complicated.
Give you an example, a BA passenger, London to Hong Kong, Cafe Hong Kong to Beijing, or somewhere else in Asia. A BA flight from Los Angeles to London to, then, Iberia to Barcelona, you start to get an idea this strike has got tentacles that will reach into many parts of the aviation world.
GRANT: Indeed. Richard, thanks very much for that. Richard Quest joining us there, live, from London.
Well, an awful lot is riding on it, especially since nothing has ridden on it yet. Boeing's latest offering is being hampered by years of delays. But in about four hours the new 787 Dreamliner will take to the skies for the first time. Company officials say the aircraft will use less fuel, saving airlines and passengers a lot of cash. Boeing says it already has orders for more than 850 of the aircraft.
And arrest warrant leads to a diplomatic spat. We'll tell you why Israel and Britain are at odds. That is straight ahead.
Plus, in tonight's "Prism Segment", seeking harmony, is a one-state solution a viable option in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? That is all coming up. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRANT: Israeli is lashing out at a British court after it issued a warrant for the arrest of Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni. It is not clear when the warrant was sent out or on what specific grounds, but there are reports that she was targeted for her actions as foreign minister during the recent conflict in Gaza.
The Israeli government calls the warrant absurd and says it won't tolerate Israelis being treated like war criminals. Israel's foreign ministry says the warrant was later canceled after officials learned Livni was not in the U.K.
Outgoing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has again sharply criticized Israel's settlement policy, saying, it has crippled the peace process. At a meeting of Palestinian leaders Abbas also reiterated that Palestinians would ask the United Nations to recognize the borders of an independent Palestinian state. Abbas said that by refusing to halt all settlement activity Israel has brought peace negotiations to a standstill.
Which brings us to our "Prism Segment" this evening: Is it time to consider other alternatives? Could a one-state solution offer a more viable chance of peace than the two-state solution? We begin with some comments from Tony Blair, the Middle East quartet envoy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH MIDDLE EAST QUARTET ENVOY: I spend a lot of time in Israel and in the Palestinian territory. There is no doubt in my mind at all, that a majority of people, both Israelis and Palestinians, want to see a two-state solution. But their doubt over the past years has been whether it is possible to have it. But their commitment, in principle, to getting it has not diminished. So, our task, if you like, is to set the context in which they think this can be done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRANT: Officially, the two-state solution is the diplomatic benchmark, but increasingly academics and Palestinians are discussing the one-state solution as a real alternative. Correspondent Paula Hancocks puts the question of a one-state solution to Israelis and Palestinians for more perspective.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Imagine, one country, no walls, no borders, two people's living in peace. It might seem like a line out of John Lennon's song, "Imagine". But the idea of a one- state solution for Israelis and Palestinians does have its followers.
Human rights activist Omar Barghouti says one state for two people is the only moral option.
OMAR BARGHOUTI, PALESTINIAN HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST: One system did happen in the past, when there was no colonization, when there was no racial discrimination, we did have coexistence. If you take out the roots of the oppression, there is no reason why people can't coexist. At the human level, at the personal level, there is no reason why.
HANCOCKS: One-state advocates point to the continuing growth of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, despite a temporary freeze on new permits, as one reason two states cannot work. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat suggested recently a single state may become inevitable.
SAEB EKRAKAT, CHIEF PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR: But with the continuation of settlement activities, the two-state solution is no longer an option. And maybe the Palestinians should refocus their attention to the one-state solution, where Muslims, Jews and Christians can live as equals.
HANCOCKS: That is rejected as a scare tactic by Israeli officials. Israel would never willingly accept a one-state solution. They say it would be a demographic time-bomb that would eventually make Jews a minority in the country.
DANNY AYALON, ISRAELI DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER: The one-state solution cannot be, because just as they have the right for self- determination, so do we have the right to self-determination. We have determined ourselves as a Jewish democratic state.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we are trying to achieve --
HANKCOCKS: Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said two years ago that if the two-state solution collapses the state of Israel is finished.
The official consensus on all sides is the two states for two peoples, all sides saying it must not be a allowed to fail.
(On camera): Earlier this year, a poll by peace movement, One Voice, finds that more than half of Palestinians polled did not support a one- state solution, along with two-thirds of Israelis polled. So, most on both sides are holding out hope that two-state solution is still possible.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRANT: A closer look now. Just what is the one-state proposal? In its simplest terms the one-state solution, also known as the bi-national solution, would combine Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. It would give citizenship and equal rights in the combined entity to all inhabitants of all three territories, regardless of ethnicity, or religion.
An opinion piece published in "The New York Times" in January 2009, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi wrote, in part, "A just and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians is possible, but it lies in the history of the people of this conflicted land and not in the tired rhetoric of partition and two-state solutions. If they can see beyond the horizon of the recent violence and thirst for revenge toward a long-term solution then these two peoples will come to realize that living under one roof is the only option for a lasting peace."
According to the International Peace Initiative, Palestinian sentiment has had a major shift on this issue since the year 2000, when Palestinians opposed the compromised peace proposals that came out of Camp David. In a poll of Palestinians, conducted this past summer, a clear majority, 55 percent, favored a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, separate from Israel. And 11 percent favor either of the other alternatives under discussion. The one-state solution, or a confederation with neighboring Jordan and Egypt? The rest, at 34 percent, favored none of these options, or didn't know which they preferred.
Finally, Israeli opponents of the idea argue that a one-state solution would erode the notion of Israel as a Jewish state. Israeli President Shimon Perez, last month said the following, "Any one who rejects the two-state solution won't bring a one-state solution. They will instead bring one war, not one state; a bloody war with no end."
A Jerusalem Media and Communications Center poll conducted in 2000, soon after the outbreak of the second intifada, found 18 percent of Israeli Jews supported a bi-national or one-state solution.
Different voices on the one-state solution, for peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis, our "Prism Segment" for you.
Now thousands of people are moving out of the way of the Philippines' largest volcano, because seismologists say it is ready to blow.
And no bones about it, Australian scientists are wowed by a pretty clever invertebrate. I'll explain what it is doing, in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRANT: A big evacuation is underway in the central Philippines. Authorities are moving tens of thousands of people to safety after a volcano started erupting in Albay Province, southeast of Manila. The Mayon Volcano has been spewing ash and oozing lava. Scientists say a full blown eruption could happen in weeks, even days. Mayon last erupted in 2006.
Well for more on that and the weather around that area, we'll check in with Mari Ramos in the CNN World Weather Center.
Hi, Mari.
MARI RAMOS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hello, Stan. You know, one of the things that happens when you have a volcano, especially when you have a volcano this size, is that we have to look at the weather closely. One of the latest -the last disaster that happened with this volcano was that it had an eruption and all of this debris was on the sides of the volcano, and then they had a typhoon that came by. When the typhoon came by it dumped some very heavy rain.
This is the location of the volcano, you can see it here on Google Earth. There is Lake Astu (ph), about 15 kilometers away. It is about 300 kilometers south of Manila. Well, you can see how steep the volcano is. So whenever there is that kind of debris that forms over the volcano, and then it rains, it is a big problem.
More than 45 villages and towns have been evacuated around the volcano, in that seven kilometer perimeter so to speak. We are not seeing anything significant as far as weather here, which is definitely good news. The weather, like I said, could trigger landslides, lahares (ph), debris flows, and that is a concern.
We do have some scattered rain showers a little bit farther to the south but we are not expecting any widespread heavy rain, which is at least a little bit of good news.
The eruption, still, like you said, quite possible and that is what they are monitoring very, very carefully. They have had 83 different tremors in the last 24 hours, in that area, so very active indeed.
(WEATHER REPORT)
GRANT: Thank you, Mari. You want to stick around and have a look at this. If you have time, Mari.
It is a fish that is pretty much doomed. A scientist in Australia has discovered an octopus that uses tools. This veined octopus has collected a couple of coconut shells in order to make a hiding place on the sea floor off Indonesia. Researchers say it is the first example they have ever come across of an invertebrate using tools.
Yikes! It is only a matter of time before this octopus has its own Twitter account or maybe eight Twitter accounts. And a lot to tell us, by the looks of that, as well.
That's it for me, Stan Grant, in Abu Dhabi. "VITAL SIGNS" coming up next, after we update the headlines.
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