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Will Obama And Iranian President Meet?; Kenya Working To Identify Terrorists; Obama Has Message For Iran; Iran's President Won't Be At Luncheon; Bodies Trapped In Rubble In Kenya; Mall Siege is Over; Obama and Clinton Push Obamacare

Aired September 24, 2013 - 13:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Could a historic meeting between these two presidents be in the works? Stand by.

Right now, Kenyan officials say forensics' experts are working to determine the nationalities of the terrorists behind the mall massacre. They say the deadly hostage crisis is almost over but a lot of questions remain. We're going live to Nairobi.

Also right now, we are only six days away from a possible government shutdown in the Senate. Debate is underway on a bill to keep the government running but a Republican senator is keeping up his fight against Obamacare.

Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. We're reporting live today from the United Nations where history potentially could be in the works. President Obama took to the podium at the United Nations this morning to lay out his foreign policy agenda. He hit most of the major highlights from chemical weapons in Syria to nuclear weapons potentially in Iran and the prospects for peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

On Iran, the president talked about the difficulties of resolving issues quickly but he did express optimism that the two nations potentially could find some common ground.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't believe this difficult history can be overcome overnight. The suspicions run too deep. But I do believe that if we can resolve the issue of Iran's nuclear program, that can serve as a major step down a long road towards a different relationship, one based on mutual interests and mutual respect.

Since I took office, I've made it clear in letters to the supreme leader in Iran and, more recently, to President Rouhani that America prefers to resolve our concerns over Iran's nuclear program peacefully. Although we are determined to prevent Iran from developing any nuclear weapon. We are not seeking regime change and we respect the right of the Iranian people to access peaceful nuclear energy.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLITZER: Let's talk a little bit about the press's -- president's direct message to Iran. Joining us from inside the United Nations, our Senior White House Correspondent Jim Acosta. Also here with me outside the United Nations, our Chief National Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto.

Jim, let me start with you. The fact that the president in this speech directly said that the secretary of state, John Kerry, has now been directed to go ahead and establish this dialogue, direct dialogue, one-on-one dialogue, shall we say, with the Iranians, that's a big deal.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: No question. It's an enormous investment of the president's political and diplomatic capital in a very public way to direct him to pursue this agreement, a nuclear agreement. And remember, Obama has done this before. Early in his term, he extended his hand, outreached his hand to the Iranians and it was turned away.

So, he was taking a risk before. He's taking a risk again. I think it's a sign of his confidence that the Iranians are sincere in at least a different approach. But, as always, the test remains, and the president repeated this in his speech, that this -- these words, these conciliatory words, as he said it, are followed by action.

BLITZER: Jim Acosta, what are we hearing about the possible meeting? And I say possible. A lot of us expect it to happen. But what are we hearing right now? They're at -- at least the president is at this luncheon with other --

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Right.

BLITZER: -- world leaders inside the U.N. Do we know if President Rouhani, for example, is going to be there? I assume if he's there, there will be an exchange between these two presidents.

ACOSTA: That's right, Wolf. I mean, there was a lot of speculation going into the luncheon that perhaps this was the golden opportunity for presidents Obama and Rouhani to meet with each other, even briefly.

But I can tell you, Wolf, in just the last few moments, the pool notes from the White House T.V. pool, to our viewers who don't know what that is, all of the networks get together and they create a pool and one reporter represents that pool to make sure information gets out to all of us because we can't all be in the room or around the president at the same time, and that pool note, Wolf, says that President Rouhani, quote, will not -- "will not be at the luncheon." This is according to a United Nations handler who assists the White House T.V. pool with this information. She did not give a reason. She said they did not RSVP. So, it appears from that pool note that President Rouhani will not be at this luncheon.

But we should caution note -- caution, Wolf, as you know from these notes, sometimes they are updated. This is preliminary information, and we want to caution our viewers that perhaps this could change and President Rouhani could make a surprise appearance. But according to what we are being told right now, President Rouhani will not be at this lunch.

Now, there is still plenty of time throughout the afternoon for this encounter to occur. President Rouhani does not speak to the United Nations until later on this afternoon, somewhere between 4:30 and 5:00 is the latest guidance in terms of when he might speak.

And, Wolf, we should note that the Obama administration has been saying all week long that they're open to some sort of face-to-face encounter. And, as a matter of fact, I heard from a senior administration official earlier this morning that they believe the White House has now left the door open for this face-to-face encounter, or handshake, or whatever it is, with President Rouhani, essentially saying that it is now in the Iranian's court whether or not to accept that gesture -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And I know there is a limited amount of time though after the luncheon before Rouhani addresses the General Assembly. The president's got other activities he's got to do during the course of today. He's got other meetings and he's also going over to meet with the former President Bill Clinton. Later tonight, he is supposed to fly back to Washington. So, we'll see if they can work out some sort of meeting.

Let me play you another clip. Here's another sound bite from what the president said at the U.N. General assembly earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The roadblocks may prove to be too great but I firmly believe the diplomatic path must be tested. While the status quo will only deepen Iran's isolation, Iran's genuine commitment to go down another path will be good for the region and the world and will help the Iranian people meet their extraordinary potential in commerce, in culture, in science and education.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Clearly, Jim Sciutto, the president is reaching out -- sending an olive branch to the Iranians. Remember, there hasn't been a meeting between the president of the United States and a president of Iran in more than three decades.

SCIUTTO: This would be truly historic. And he's using language that are important to Iranians. He talked about mutual respect, something that was also in his Cairo speech four years ago when he reached out to the Muslim world. And that's really the footing that Iranians find very important here because they don't want to be batted around by the American, carrot and stick. They want to know that they're dealing on an equal level in some ways. Now, the Americans are going to want something in return here which he's repeated many times and the U.S. officials have repeated many times which is a sign from the Iranians that this is going to be followed by real action. And, again, that's the real test. The other thing, with the Iranian president not showing up to the lunch, I think it does reemphasize the point that the White House has put its help out here. It's now up to the Iranians. Are they willing to take that risk or will President Rouhani decide he's gone far enough for his own political base at home?

BLITZER: Right.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

BLITZER: Because he's got issues back at home. He's got (INAUDIBLE) who would be pretty upset if he shook hands or saw the president.

SCIUTTO: No question.

BLITZER: So, he's got his own political problems, not only the American president but the --

SCIUTTO: Absolutely.

BLITZER: -- Iranian president as well.

BLITZER: Jim Sciutto, thanks very much. Jim Acosta, thanks to you as well.

The new Iranian president takes the spotlight later this afternoon here at the United Nations. President Rouhani has vowed to revamp Tehran's image around the world.

Barbara Starr takes a closer look now at the man who is inspiring hopes for better U.S.-Iran ties.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): All eyes are on Hassan Rouhani, Iran's new president, still largely a man of mystery as the U.S. tries to figure out whether he is really willing to give up what the U.S. believes is a nuclear weapons program as he told NBC in an interview.

HASSAN ROUHANI, PRESIDENT, IRAN, (translator): We have, time and again, said that under no circumstances would we seek any weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons.

STARR: Leading President Obama to a historic step, ordering Secretary of State John Kerry to pursue a nuclear deal with Tehran.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't believe this difficult history can be overcome overnight. The suspicions run too deep. But I do believe that if we can resolve the issue of Iran's nuclear program, that can serve as a major step down a long road toward a different relationship.

STARR: But will Rouhani deliver or is it all a charm offensive? Rouhani has called for the end of what he has says is the age of blood feud in a "Washington Post" op-ed. He even has a Twitter account, posting pictures of himself arriving in New York for the United Nations' meeting and wishing Jews this month a blessed Rosh Hashanah.

These days, Rouhani is viewed as a fairly moderate cleric but experts say, look at his background.

He lived in exile in Paris with Ayatollah Khomeini, the force behind Iran's revolution. He is viewed as completely loyal to Iran's current supreme leader. There is caution about moving too fast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think a normalization of relations between the United States and Iran is unrealistic. After 35 years, that's going to take more time.

STARR: And for both Obama and Rouhani, it may take time for the same reason, each has the challenge of politics.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Obama has to be very sensitive to concerns about Israel's national security. And in Tehran, President Rouhani can't appear too conciliatory toward the United States and he certainly can't appear too friendly toward Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (live): So, why would Rouhani be doing this? Of course, everyone believes he is doing it because he wants to get the crippling economic sanctions lifted off the Iranian people. That was part of the reason he got elected to office. But, look, there are significant additional concerns even beyond the nuclear program, Iran's attitude and treatment toward Israel, Iran's support for international terrorism around the world, as the U.S. sees it, and, of course, Iran's continued support for Bashar Al Assad inside Syria -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Those are pretty huge issues indeed. Barbara, thanks very much.

Protesters, meanwhile, are making their voices heard outside the United Nations. Check it out. These are some of the pictures of a protest against the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani. Several hundred people have gathered there. Earlier, the former mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani, spoke to the crowd.

Other news we're following including Kenya's president. He declares three days of mourning for the victims of that shopping mall massacre and he says they're working to determine the identities and nationalities of the attackers. We're going live to Nairobi as soon as we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Kenya's president says bodies are trapped in the rubble of the shopping mall massacre, including those of some of the attackers. He addressed the nation just moments ago.

Security forces say they are in full control of the mall. They say they're carrying out a sweep of the building to make sure it is now safe. As the ordeal plays out, we are also hearing more from survivors of the attack. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DORCAS MWANGI: In the midst of all the chaos, I was actually able to contact my mother who contacted the rest of my family. They were texting me what was going on. My dad was with the police and my brother was also not too far away. My brother sent me a Muslim prayer. He was informed that -- by a casualty in hospital that they were shooting non-Muslims. They were shooting those that did not know the Shahadah prayer. So, my brother sent me that prayer to memorize which I did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Zain Verjee is joining us now live from Nairobi.

Zain, what more are we hearing from Kenya's president? What more do we know right now about the attack? Is it over? Is it continuing? What's the latest?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (INAUDIBLE) as we say in Swahili here, it's over. President Uhuru Kenyatta, a short while ago, said, Wolf, that the terrorists have been defeated.

Here are the main things, the headlines of what he said. He said five terrorists were killed with gunfire. There are 11 suspects that have been arrested in connection with the four-day siege. Also this is important, he said reports that a British woman and two to three U.S. citizens were involved in this attack are being investigated. He said that they cannot confirm this yet and forensic teams are out to try and figure out whether or not that's the case. So the implication being is that they're doing - they're doing these forensic tests because these people could be deceased. So we're going to wait to hear more information about that and see what happens.

There's going to be three days of mourning. Wolf, Kenyans here are really relieved that he came out and said it. He was supposed to set - he was supposed to make a statement a while ago, but they had to be really confident that it was really over and it seems as though now it is, Wolf.

BLITZER: And, what, the bottom line, the latest numbers I heard, 62 people confirmed dead, nearly 200 injured. But there are still a lot of people who are unaccounted for that are missing. Is that right, Zain?

VERJEE: Yes, there are 65 people still missing. Now, Wolf, the one thing that was not mentioned in any kind of specificity, which is what we need to know, what people are waiting to hear is, what happened to the hostages? What happened in the situation? Were they rescued? Were they not rescued? Are there injuries? There was total silence on that front.

So we're going to wait and see what happens. The three stories have collapsed on one side of the Westgate Mall. So the bodies are going to be trapped. There's also going to be concerns as the clean-up crew we saw go in a short while ago of booby traps and anything else that could be rigged. So they're going to have to go through it very slowly. So it would take a long time for bodies trapped to be pulled out.

BLITZER: Zain Verjee doing excellent reporting for us from the scene of this massacre. Zain, thank you so very much.

Other news we're following, including the Obama administration tapping into a Clinton star. Some star power. Stand by. Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, they're getting ready to meet here in New York later today. They are joining forces to push for Obamacare. We have new details. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: In the U.S. Senate, debate has now started over a spending bill intended to keep the government running after the first of next month. We are now only six days away from a possible government shutdown. The House passed a bill last week but it included cutting out funding for Obamacare. That's something Democrats in the Senate simply won't sit for.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has threatened to filibuster any effort to strip out the Obamacare provision from the House spending bill, but he doesn't seem to have the support he needs from his own par party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER: I just don't happen to think filibustering a bill that defunds Obamacare is the best route to defunding Obamacare. All it does is shut down the government and keep Obamacare funded and none of us want that. That would be the result of filibuster.

SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: They have no interest in fixing problems or making it better, only blowing it up. They don't come up with one single idea of how they might make it better. They don't come up with anything that they've proposed, here's our idea that could be better. No, let's get rid of it all. Actually, that was the - I'm reminded that was the position of their candidate for president a year ago. If he got elected president, he would do away with it. What did the American people say? I recall how that election came out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Ted Cruz, by the way, is scheduled to have his turn on the Senate floor later this afternoon. We'll stand by and listen to -- hear what he has to say.

Here are some things that would affect you if the federal government were to shut down next Tuesday. If you need a new passport to travel, then you would have to wait. The last time the government shut down in the 1990s, more than 200,000 passport applications were not processed. Getting a gun permit would take longer. Potential home buyers and small businesses wouldn't be able to get federal loans. Plus, there would be no trash pickup in the nation's capital. On the bright side, your mail, your Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, veteran's benefits would still be delivered. We'll see what happens.

President Obama will turn to a former president to push his signature health care law. Later today he's joining Bill Clinton at the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative here in New York. This is the second time President Obama is enlisting the help of the former president as new insurance exchanges get ready to go live next Tuesday.

Polls show Obamacare is getting less popular. A new CNN/ORC poll shows 39 percent of Americans favor the deal that Republicans are trying to repeal. Compare that to January when that figure was 51 percent. Our chief political analyst Gloria Borger is joining us now from Washington with more on the prospects of what's going on.

Gloria, this is a - this is an important moment for the president of the United States. In a nutshell, how much of a problem does he have?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, look, the numbers you just pointed out show what an uphill battle he has to convince the American public that Obamacare is going to work. And as you point out, those exchanges start October 1st. You've got until March 31, 2014, to enroll. And the administration has to convince as many young, healthy people as possible, Wolf, to enroll in these exchanges or else the plan itself would be in danger.

On the political side, they've got Republicans in Congress saying they want to kill the funding for Obamacare. So they really have a public education project that they've got to embark upon. And as you point out today, you know, Bill Clinton and the president will be together to start that project and to tell people how the Clinton family and the Obama family have joined together for the last 20 years to try and push universal health care reform.

BLITZER: Yes. So the president is going to be going from here over at the United Nations over to the Clinton Global Initiative meeting here in New York.

BORGER: Right.

BLITZER: And I take it what's going to happen over there is the former president, Bill Clinton, Gloria, he's going to interview or question the president about Obamacare.

BORGER: Right.

BLITZER: Although, knowing Bill Clinton, as you and I do, I suspect that Q&A will probably be more A&A than Q&A. But, go ahead, give us -

BORGER: Right.

BLITZER: Give us a little perspective.

BORGER: Right. Well, you know, don't forget - and I think you showed a clip of it, at the convention last time around where Bill Clinton became the explainer in chief and he explained why Barack Obama should be re-elected. Some say better than the president himself did. That's what they're kind of hoping will occur with health care reform.

Bill Clinton is hugely popular in this country, Wolf. He's also trusted. People will listen to him. And he is a great explainer. So he will question the president, but you can be sure they're not going to be the kind of questions you or I might ask. They're going to be leading, positive, explanatory questions so the two can have a conversation with the American public about why they should support the president's Affordable Care Act and not try to repeal it or take the money away from it. And certainly why you shouldn't try and shut the government down over Obamacare, which is, of course, the fight we have going on right now in Washington.

BLITZER: Yes, or the fight that's going to happen in mid-October over raising the nation's debt ceiling. That could be a huge political battle as well.

All right, Gloria, thanks very much. We'll see how this conversation goes between these two presidents, President Obama and President Clinton.

BORGER: I'm interested (ph).

BLITZER: President Obama has had a lot on his plate lately and a former president is expressing some empathy for the current president. We're talking about George W. Bush. He says he knows a lot about that kind of pressure and says President Obama needs an outlet. President Bush spoke to the Golf Channel host, Jimmy Roberts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIMMY ROBERTS, GOLF CHANNEL: Why is golf such a hot button issue?

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: You know, I see our president criticized for playing golf. I don't. I think he ought to play golf.

ROBERTS: Why is that?

BUSH: I know - well, because I know what it's like to be in the bubble. And I know - I know the pressures of the job. And to be able to get outside and play golf with some of your pals is important for the president. It does give you an outlet.

ROBERTS: It's a good release then?

BUSH: I think it is. And I think it's good for the president to be out playing golf.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: President Bush himself quit playing golf, by the way, some two years into his first term in office while American troops were then fighting in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Didn't think it was appropriate to play golf while men and women were in harm's way.

Up next, will the U.S. hit the reset button with Iran? There's word that Iran's president will not be at this current U.N. luncheon. There you see the president inside the luncheon with other world leaders. President Obama is there. But there is word that President Rouhani of Iran is not there. Maybe he'll surprise us all and show up. Will there still be some sort of encounter between these two presidents? Stand by. We'll try to find out.

Also, we're going live to Tehran. Our own Reza Sayah is on the ground for us in the Iranian capital. We'll get reaction from there. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)