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Google's New Structure; Amnesty International Proposes Decriminalization of Sex Work; Trumps Comes out Swinging; Iraqi Parliament Supports Government Reform Package. Aired 11:00a-12:00p ET
Aired August 11, 2015 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:26] BECKY ANDERSON, Stalemate in Syria. Mounting violence in Turkey. And political change in Iraq. All the while, the fight against
ISIS drags on.
Tonight, as this region's tensions come to a boil, can cooler heads prevail?
Also ahead...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, 2016 REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES: It's going to go down as one of the dumb deals of all time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Trump comes out swinging again, this time critical of the Iran deal.
And that is not all. We'll hear more from the U.S. Republican presidential hopeful later this hour.
Plus, should prostitution be decriminalized? We talk to both sides of the debate as Amnesty International is set to take a stance on the issue.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN ABu Dhabi, this is Connect the World with Becky Anderson.
ANDERSON: A very good evening. It's just after 7:00 here in the UAE.
As much of the Middle East swelters under unusually scorching temperatures. A number of crisis here are heating up as well.
In Syria, ISIS has launched fierce new attacks against rival rebels near the Turkish border.
Now activists say at least 25 rebels were killed in the strategic town of Mariah (ph). Across the border, Turkey intensifying airstrikes on
Kurdish militants after a series of attacks on Monday that killed six members of the security forces.
Now the PKK has claimed responsibility for one of those attacks, the bombing of an Istanbul police station.
And in Iraq, a unanimous vote in parliament meant to cool days of heated protests. Lawmakers have approved the prime minister's package of
reforms against corruption and government waste.
Well, we have reporters across the region covering these stories for you as you would expect tonight. Fred Pleitgen is live in Damascus, giving
us a very rare look inside this Syrian capital. Nick Paton Walsh is in Istanbul covering Turkey's war against both the PKK and ISIS. And Jomana
Karadsheh is in Amman following the Iraqi government's effort to ease widespread public anger.
Fred, let's start with you tonight. Earlier today, Saudi foreign minister -- the Saudi foreign minister was in Moscow calling for a
political solution in Syria. Do people you speak to in Damascus pay any attention to these moves be they led by Riyadh or Tehran or anybody else at
this point?
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they certainly do pay attention to meetings like that one. They pay attention generally
to foreign policy pertaining to Syria. But right now many of them don't have very much hope that any sort of political solution appears to be in
the cards.
And when you look at what was apparently said at that meeting between Sergey Lavrov and the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia, you can see how big
the rift is between the two sides that are trying to find some sort of diplomatic solution to this crisis.
On the one hand, you have the Gulf countries, of course first and foremost Saudi Arabia, that says they believe that Bashar al-Assad must go
if there is supposed to be any sort of solution to the crisis in Syria and also if there's supposed to be any sort of united front in the fight
against ISIS, whereas you have on the other side countries like Russia and of course first and foremost Iran as well who believe that Bashar al-Assad
is very much the legitimate president of this country and that it's the Syrians themselves who need to be the ones who decide, those were the exact
words of Sergey Lavrov.
And it is of course something that's making it very, very difficult for all of these factions to come together and to battle what all of them
say is their main enemy, which is ISIS. And the stalemate that you're seeing in Syria is of course one where turf is being traded -- very little
of it, but it is of course still a very violent one. In fact, here in Damascus today, we could hear artillery cannons being fired. Just a couple
of minutes ago, there's been a lot of violence in the past couple of days. But of course, we've heard in other parts of Syria where there has been
fierce and very intense fighting with ISIS being the ones that are making gains. So it seems as though at this point in time, even though all sides
agree that their main enemy is ISIS, they simply cannot agree on a single way forward to try and combat that extremist group, Becky.
ANDERSON: All right, Fred Pleitgen is in Damascus for you this evening.
Let's, then, get the latest on the violence in Turkey. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Istanbul and sent us the very latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[11:05:02] NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Six Turkish security personnel now in over 24 hours killed. The latest this
morning in Cernak (ph) where the violence was mostly congregate yesterday as well, a soldier shot dead on a military base.
Now Monday, we saw four Turkish police officers killed by remote control roadside bombs, also in Cernak (ph) and the soldier shot dead
whilst on an airborne helicopter.
A lot of violence there being blamed on Kurdish separatists by the Turkish authorities, the PKK predominately. They are one of two targets
that Turkey has in its renewed military activity in the south. The Kurds, yes, but also ISIS are now in Turkey's crosshairs. That will be pleasing
the United States who is part of that renewed activity, getting to put six F-16s and 300 personnel so far on the southern military base of Incirlik.
They begin bombing runs potentially in the days ahead.
But there's a deep confusion I think for the U.S. and it comes down to Turkey's policy here. Yes, they are after much pressure from the west
beginning military action against ISIS more coherently, more assertively, but at the same time they're hitting the PKK, the Kurds, their long-time
adversary, separatists in the south.
Now that of course is perhaps OK in terms of U.S. policy, because the PKK are prescribed by terrorists, by the United States, but at the same
time some Kurdish allies of the PKK, the YPG, are in fact fighting on the ground inside Syria against ISIS. The (inaudible) ground troops, if you
like, that are being supported by U.S. airstrikes.
The picture inside Syria is beyond complex. It was before this latest episode. But the potential confusion over quite where the Kurds sit in
U.S. campaign against ISIS, or certainly how Turkey perceives that role -- they are deeply hostile towards the PKK -- is going to complicate all
military activity moving forwards.
And we now see that the violence we've seen in the past 24 hours here in Istanbul, blamed the U.S. consulate on a (inaudible) Marxist-Leninist
group, two female gunmen who didn't hit their target. One injured and arrested, and an attack on a police station, they're not blamed on ISIS.
So, still Turkey I think coming to terms with the scope of the adversaries its facing right now and potentially what may come in the
future if ISIS do make good on the promise they've made to bring attacks here and to the Turkish mainland.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Istanbul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: All right.
Well, that is Nick Paton Walsh for you in Istanbul.
Let's cross now to Jomana Karadsheh who is in Amman, Jordan this evening. She's covering the Iraqi government's reforms meant to root out
corruption from there. And clearly Iraq front and center in this roiling Middle East, Jomana, and the prime minister of Iraq getting the support he
needs now in his decision to drop a series of government posts, which in the past of course have been divvied out by virtue of religion or ethnic
identity in favor of promotion by merit.
But how will he implement that reform? And will the consequence be less corruption and more effective policymaking going forward?
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, there are two things going on here with this reform package. One is going to be
overall in this political system that has been in place for more than a decade as you mentioned where it's a quota system based on sect, based on
ethnicity, trying to remove that because this is what many Iraqis blame for the current situation. It really, they feel it has failed them.
And on the other hand, you also have the issue of corruption, which within government many feel that people are given jobs not based on their
qualifications. And many other problems they also blame on corruption, especially when it comes to basic services. We're talking about billions
of dollars that have been spent in Iraq for more than a decade now and not much to show for this money that has been spent when it comes to basic
services, especially electricity and health care.
The big question, as you mentioned, Becky, is how is Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi going to implement this. It's not going to be easy. The
vote was much smoother and really not the kind of parliament session that we have seen take place in Iraq where you see these kinds of votes, where
you see debates, you see argument. It was very swift and very smooth.
But it is what comes next that is going to be a very tough process. How is he going to implement this. The big question that many are
wondering.
But a lot of cautious optimism amongst Iraqis that we have spoken to hoping that Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi will be able to provide them
what his predecessor have failed to so far provide. He's got a golden opportunity right now: the backing of Iraq's highest religious Shia
religious figure Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, and also the support of the streets.
But again, Becky, it's a very dangerous situation with these protests as we have seen, politicians are taking them seriously. They realize that
there will be consequences if they do not act. And the street is going to be sitting and watching for results, not just promises.
[11:10:17] ANDERSON: Jomana Karadsheh on the story for you tonight. Thank you, Jomana.
Lest we forget that the conflict across the Middle East affects men, women, and children ruining lives, a reminder that on of its human face. A
staggering number of Syrians have fled that country since the war broke out. Close to 4 million, according to the UN's latest count. Some are in
migrant camps as far away as France that have been in the news so much recently.
CNN's Kellie Morgan looks at the long journey made by one Syrian man who like so many others is now stuck in limbo.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLIE MORGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A Syrian father of two shows us where he sleeps in Calais' so-called Jungle. These are his only
belongings. So different from what he had.
ABU MOHAMMED, SYRIAN REFUGEE (through translation): I owned my house, also in Damascus. I had a happy life.
MORGAN: Now, Abu Mohammed, which is not his real name, says he lives in fear of the Syrian government and ISIS.
MOHAMMED (through translation): Our home is destroyed. We spent a year with Daesh. We escaped from them. There were too many restrictions. Even in
religion. For them, it's just a cover.
MORGAN: Raqqa remains the capital for the Islamic state and is a target for coalition air strikes.
MOHAMMED (through translation): Today, our children have lost their smile. They only know fear, the sounds of bombs, explosions. Today, they
live in terror.
MORGAN: Abu Mohammed fled Damascus on July 1st. He crossed into Lebanon and a day later arrived in Turkey where he stayed for two weeks
before boarding a boat bound for Greece. After four days in Athens, Abu Mohammed crossed into Macedonia where he took a train to Serbia before
walking to Hungary. He then boarded a train to France, arriving in Calais 28 day the after he left home.
MOHAMMED (through translation): We got lost at sea. We nearly drown. We encountered gangs, bandits.
MORGAN: After traveling more than 5,600 kilometers, this is not the destination Abu Mohammed envisioned.
MOHAMMED (through translation): Here at the camp, we sleep on the ground. There's nothing else. They offer us only one meal a day. Some
charities offer us some help, nothing else. We have to queue up for the bathroom. We have to be there between 12:00 and 3:00 or you miss out.
MORGAN: He hopes to get to the U.K., just 33 kilometers across the English Channel. So close but very far.
MOHAMMED (through translation): I'm not worried about my own life, but the future of the young children who need education. Education is
important, especially for Muslims. It is the path to paradise.
MORGAN: A path that, for now, remains closed.
Kellie Morgan, CNN, Calais, France.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: And you can find more reporting from Kellie and her team on CNN.com such as this piece highlighting a day in the jungle, a makeshift
tarpaulin roofs stock the camp and their inhabitants dream of a better life in England. That story and a lot of others on the website CNN.com.
Well, still to come this hour here on Connect the World with Becky Anderson, selling sex. Should it be a crime? Well, a leading human rights
group has stirred up an old debate with a draft proposal that has taken many by surprise. Details coming up on that.
And Google is putting itself and its side ventures under a new parent company called Alphabet. The ABCs of who it is set up about 15 minutes
from now. This is CNN. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:16:50] ANDERSON: You're with CNN. This is Connect the World with me Becky Anderson. Welcome back.
Donald Trump is candid. He's controversial. And right now he is still the person with the biggest spotlight in the U.S. presidential race.
The billionaire says he has smoothed things over with Fox News after his provocative comment about Megyn Kelly, one of the moderators at last week's
Republican debate.
Trump also did a lengthy interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo a little earlier today, touched on ISIS and Iran at one point. Here is a sample of
what Mr. Trump had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You have talked about the military -- you say you'd had it to ISIS. The Iran deal stinks. People are going to
want to know...
DONALD TRUMP, 2016 REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What did you say I'd hand what to ISIS?
CUOMO: You would hand it to ISIS, you would give it to them, you know, you would really take them on. You said...
TRUMP: So your definition of hand it is a lot different than -- no, I would go in and knock the hell out of them. There's no question.
CUOMO: How would you knock the hell out of them?
TRUMP: I would take the oil away. I'd take their money away. I'd take their source of funding away. I'd make sure...
CUOMO: How do you take the oil?
TRUMP: I'd make sure that Saudi Arabia and by the way Iran, which gives plenty of money to ISIS, I would make sure -- believe it or not, Iran
is funneling money into ISIS, too, and Iraq is going to Iran just like I predicted in 2004.
CUOMO: How do you do it, do you put troops on the ground?
TRUMP: I would go in and take the oil and I'd put troops to protect the oil. I would absolutely go in, I'd take the money source away. And
believe me, they would start to wither and they would collapse.
CUOMO: But you have to get the oil. And you know, Iran would say we're actually one of the ones who are fighting ISIS for you in a lot of
places. And that's why they got some leverage at that deal table.
TRUMP: ...that deal is such a disaster with Iran.
Do you know, even if the deal isn't approved, if the deal isn't approved they still get the money, which is something I heard the other
day, which is -- they're going to be so rich, so powerful, so mean they're going to be so angry.
CUOMO: But that's not exactly how it works. If they don't do what they need to do there is a snapback.
TRUMP: It's the dumbest deal. It's going to go down as one of the dumb deals of all-time -- and one of the most dangerous deals ever signed.
CUOMO: There is a snapback provision, though, that if they don't do what they're supposed to do then the sanctions get back in. I mean, that's
one of the things...
TRUMP: No, no, no, but I'm talking about the $150 billion, and all the other money they're going to be getting. Chris, they're getting a
fortune. They're getting tremendous...
CUOMO: There's no question. There's no question they're going to get money.
TRUMP: ...they're still getting much of what they wanted to get.
CUOMO: The question becomes what was a better deal? What would you do? You know you can't sit down.
TRUMP: What I would have done? First of all, I would have doubled the sanctions. Then I would have said before we start I want our prisoners
back. Then after that I would have made a good deal. And there wouldn't have been...
CUOMO: But your allies -- your allies aren't with you on the sanctions. They want to do business.
TRUMP: That's part of leadership, you've got to get the allies with you. The different people that are involved aren't going to be with you,
you know why because they can't -- they have no respect for our president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, that was Donald Trump speaking with my colleague Chris Cuomo earlier on today.
CNN's Athena Jones now with us from Washington. And that was certainly wideranging interview, not least touching on foreign policy,
which has been rather ignored, it has to be said, in the presidential campaigns of candidates on both sides of the political divide. So, what do
you think we learned from the leading Republican presidential candidate, Athena?
[11:20:00] ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Becky.
Well, we learned a bit. As you said this was a wideranging conversation. It was about half an hour long. And we haven't really heard
Trump really pause and try to give thoughtful answers in some of these -- into some of these questions. And so, yes, we heard him touch, for
instance, on China. This is a favorite topic of his. He mentioned the devaluation, the news today that China is further devaluing its currency
saying that that's going to be devastating to the U.S. and the U.S. companies won't be able to compete with China. So that's a familiar point.
But we hadn't heard his views -- much about his views, for instance, on Ukraine. He said, look, why is the U.S. have to be involved? Why can't
Germany step up? Why can't Europe go and fight -- help the Ukrainians fight the Russians, why must the U.S. be the policeman of the world.
On Iran, we've heard him and other candidates blast the Iran deal, the nuclear deal the U.S. struck with its allies and Iran. He said that he
would negotiate a deal that's 100 times better. How? In part by doubling the sanctions.
But you're pressing, you heard Chris Cuomo press him on, but how would you get that done, you have to negotiate. He seems to express this view
that by sheer will and might that he, just becuase he would be the president, could make different things happen than the current president.
He said he'd get the allies to go along with him, because they'd respect America because he would be president.
So, we heard him talk about a wide range of things. And it's been interesting to hear him speak a little bit more fulsomely about his views
on some of these issues. He doesn't really explain, still, how he'd go about accomplishing what he said he's going to accomplish, but at least it
becomes a little bit clearer where he stands.
ANDERSON: Very briefly, whether you buy his attitude towards Iran, Russia, ISIS or not, the point is, it did remind us that foreign policy is
pretty wanton in these presidential candidates' debates and narrative isn't it? Why is that? And this has to be very brief.
JONES: Well, certainly, you're right. I mean most of the talk of foreign policy has focused on either the Iran deal, which is, you know,
current events, or on ISIS also a current battle being waged.
But the fact is if you ask American voters what they care about the most, the economy is still number one. And so that could be perhaps one of
the explanations for why there's been less focus on foreign policy.
But honestly, even the economy hasn't been, you know, so much the chief focus, it's very much been about Trump, what he said, what he hasn't
said, what the backlash has been, that's what's been taking up the oxygen so far, Becky.
ANDERSON: All right. Good stuff. Thank you.
Live from Abu Dhabi, this is Connect the World with me Becky Anderson. Coming up, as the U.S. congressional delegation gets Israel take on the
Iran nuclear deal, President Barack Obama picks up a key vote of support back home.
First up, though, affordable housing meets Italian chic. A real estate legacy built from Expo 2015 in this week's One Square Meter.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN DEFTERIOS, EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: This is the heart of Milan, De Adomo (ph) in the city's grand marble galleria the Vitorio Amanuele II
(ph).
But a fifteen minute drive into suburbia, you'll find this modern structure, home to Milan Expo.
Expo 2015 is an ode to food, with a focus on how to feed the world. 10 million tickets have already been sold with a target to double that.
Running in parallel to this expansive exhibition is a revival of Milan itself in an effort to move beyond finance and fashion. We've seen two
major global brands, Google and Nestle, take long-term leases and there were a dozen major property investments leading up to Expo 2015.
But there will be a huge void in this zone known as Row Perro (ph) when the fair leaves town at the end of October. Plans are already under
way for the area known as Expo village currently hosting the fair's visiting delegates to become an affordable housing project called Casina
Merlanta (ph).
Developer Euro Milano has enlisted architect and urban planner Mario Cucinella to move the concept away from the gray, low income structures
built in the 1960s and 70s.
MARIO CUCINELLA, ARCHITECT: Beauty is one of the (inaudible) of our life, no? And I think we need to improve that quality, design quality in
colors and materials.
DEFTERIOS: 11 buildings will house nearly 700 apartments. More than a third will go up for sale. 31 percent in a lease-to-buy arrangement and
another 31 percent for low-income renters.
This building looks a little bit stark by Italian standards, but there's a reason behind it, eh?
CUCINELLA: It's really the idea for people to have space now for reading, now to sharing with friends.
DEFTERIOS: The flats are open and spacious, but decidedly no frills.
Mario, you thought it was important to kind of keep the aesthetics here. How did you make sure that these things work.
CUCINELLA: The idea was to replicate the idea of other Italians cities' colors. You know, in historic (inaudible) and Italy, you know, you
see the cities are risotto (ph), every building different colors.
DEFTERIOS: But real estate strategists say nice structures can only carry this project so far, that an anchor tenant is needed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're talking about an area of 1 million square meters of which 60 percent are going to be green and 40 percent are going
to be covered (ph). That would mean 400,000 square meters. I would say that would definitely need an anchor.
DEFTERIOS: Ideas on the table include moving a university here where there's room to grow. Creating a high tech or bio-tech research center and
hosting government back office operations.
CUCINELLA: I think Expo will be an opportunity if the university or we be transforming and it'll be a (inaudible) park is another destination
not only for Milan, for the region now because I think we need some attraction on a very large scale.
DEFTERIOS: The clock is ticking. There's not much time to secure a big tenant before the Expo ends. After that, it will become just another
empty space.
John Defterios, CNN, Milan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[11:30:41] ANDERSON: You're watching Connect the World. I'm Becky Anderson. The top stories for you this hour here on CNN. Republican
presidential candidate Donald Trump says the Iran nuclear agreement will go down as, quote, one of the dumb deals of all time. During an interview
with CNN he also said he would use troops to protect oil installations that ISIS has taken over.
The Greek finance ministry says the main terms of a third bailout package have been settled. Greece hopes to unlock billions in time for its
next debt payment to the European Central Bank, which is due next week. But a final deal needs to be passed by lawmakers in Greece and in Europe.
In a surprise move, the People's Bank of China has devalued its currency. The yuan has been allowed to depreciate by nearly 2 percent
against the U.S. dollar. Now this sudden devaluation is the largest in two decades.
Google getting a major change. The company's founders have formed a new parent company called Alphabet. Google will still be the biggest
business within the group. Other divisions will become separate sub- companies under the Alphabet umbrella.
So what's it all about? CNN Money's Paul La Monica joins us from New York. How significant is this move, Paul? What does it mean for the
company that has hundreds of millions of users and stakeholders?
PAUL LA MONICA, CNN MONEY: I'm not so sure it's going to mean much for users of the Google search engine and YouTube and other consumer
products, but is a very big deal for investors and people that follow the company.
What Google is really doing here by creating Alphabet is they're hopefully going to give everyone a lot more transparency about how some of
these things that may seem a little crazy, to be honest, are doing. Things like, you know, a contact lens that measures glucose level in tears, that
will be under one of the arms of Alphabet. You have something like Nest, a company that they bought not that long ago that makes connected internet
devices like a thermostat, that's one big thing.
Hopefully, everyone will now know just what Google is spending on these projects, but also what kind of revenue and profit they're making,
because all you really get from Google's financials right now is that the search engine makes money.
ANDERSON: What do investors think?
LA MONICA: So far, Google's stock is rallying. It's the best performer in the S&P 500 today. And that stands out because the whole
market is tanking on concerns about China after the yuan devaluation, so this is definitely interesting that Google has held up while the broader
market is falling, including their competitors like Apple and Facebook.
ANDERSON: Yeah, fascinating. All right, Paul, thank you for that.
LA MONICA: Thank you.
ANDERSON: U.S. President Barack Obama is one vote closer to seeing that the Iran nuclear deal will survive a tough fight in the U.S. senate.
Brian Schatz, a Jewish Democrat, has announced his support, becoming the 16th Senator to get on board.
Well, Mr. Obama needs as much Democratic backing as possible as most Republicans oppose the deal, and that includes the outspoken Republican
frontrunner for the White House.
As you heard, Donald Trump is again slamming the Iran agreement, mincing no words when he spoke today on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: If you look at what's going on with Iran, with this horrible deal that was made in Iran, this incompetent deal that was made with Iran,
I mean even if we don't approve it they're going to get the money, can you believe that. If the deal doesn't get approved, they still get the money.
Iran is going to be so rich and so powerful and so strong, and what we've done is we've set them on the way to literally it could be destroying the
world. That is one of the dumbest deals -- I think that may go down, and may ultimately horribly go down as one of the dumbest deals in world
history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: U.S. lawmakers from both parties getting Israel's take on the Iran deal. And it is no secret where that government stands.
A congressional delegation is meeting with top Israeli officials during what is a weeklong visit.
Let's get more now on what is this intense lobbying, intensive lobbying underway on both sides of this debate.
White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski is live in Martha's Vineyard for you where President Obama is on holiday. We're also joined by
Trita Parsy, president of the national Iranian-American Council.
Michelle, let's begin with you. This was always going to be tough for the president. We're looking at a mid-September crunch point, and we're
going to discuss why a little later on. But is he going to get through at this point?
[11:35:20] MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The White House says repeatedly that they feel confident they will. I mean, even if it does get
to the point where congress votes disapproval of the Iran deal, there's still that one extra step, a presidential veto of that vote. And we know
that's going to happen if congress disapproves it. So the next step, then, would be congress trying to override that presidential veto. And that's
the final hurdle that analysts and the White House say they don't think would be met at this point, that there is enough support there.
And when you look a the numbers -- and day by day everybody is looking at that -- they call it the whip count, how many people are in support and
opposed in congress. So, in the House of Representatives, Republicans would need 44 Democrats to go along with them. Right now, even after all
of this publicity coming from those who are opposed, it's only about nine Democrats on board in opposition with Republicans.
And in the U.S. Senate, Republicans would need about 13 Senators to -- on the Democratic side -- to go along with them. And right now, they have
one that's been a very vocal opposition, though. Senator Chuck Schumer who is poised to be the next democratic leader in the senate.
And now that we've heard from him, it really underscores how important this is, and how disputed even among Democrats. I mean, he spelled out
three reasons why he's opposed saying that in opinion inspections aren't stringent enough, that it's not 24/7 access, that it could take three weeks
in some cases for inspectors to get to suspicious sites, that 10 to 15 years down the road Iran would be basically ready to break out if it wanted
to, and that Iran would be flush with cash once sanctions are lifted so that they could continue to destabilize the region, threaten neighbors, and
even possibly threaten the United States.
Here's some of what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER, (D) NEW YORK: What is the solution? Some say the only answer to this is war. I don't believe so. I believe we should go
back and try to get a better deal. The nations of the world should join us in that. We have something called secondary sanctions, which got them to
the table the first time and can be used again.
This deal has too many flaws to support, and therefore, I must oppose it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSINSKI; Now, the White House could not see this deal more differently than that explanation there, saying that this is the best
possible deal that negotiators could have gotten. The thought there is another better deal out there that's possible, the president has said
that's like chasing a fantasy.
And the White House feels that, you know, even if 10 to 15 years down the road Iran did try to go for a nuclear weapon, that breakout time would
be longer than it is even today. The U.S. would be able to identify that and respond to it, Becky.
ANDERSON: Thank you, Michelle.
All right, as we've been discussing, then, the U.S. congress is in the thick of a lobbying battle over this Iranian nuclear deal. Lawmakers have
until September, let me remind you, September 17, to vote on a resolution either approving or disapproving the agreement.
Republicans who control both the House and the Senate, of course, say they have enough votes to block it.
Well, if that happens, President Obama has promised to veto the measure. Congress would then have a chance to override his veto, but that
takes a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers, something that rarely happens. And to do that, Republicans will need to attract the support of
at least 10 of the 44 Democrats in the Senate.
You just heard from one of them, but he's the only outstanding Democrat at this point on the anti's side.
Right, let's speak to Trita Parsi now who is joining us I believe tonight out of Washington.
Is there any sense out of Tehran that there is concern that the Republicans may sway the day, what, mid-September, this deal ain't going to
happen?
TRITA PARSI, IRANIAN-AMERICAN : I don't think they're going to be able to pull it off, but I think the White House is doing the right thing
by playing it safe knowing very well that they cannot let their eyes off the ball and really push hard, as the president has been doing, making sure
that other organizations as supporters are out there with their grass roots at all of these town hall meetings that are taking place in August, because
there are plenty of senators and lawmakers that have not made up their minds yet.
So, no one is taking this for granted. At the end of the day, this has been a marathon, but now we're at the last sprint of that marathon and
you just can't take victory for granted.
ANDERSON: One of the Republicans who has been very outspoken on this deal, Republican Hoyer, has said the sanctions, in my opinion, brought Iran
to the table and the first steps will be to, a, keep sanctions in place and, b, perhaps to make sanctions even tougher. So I don't agree that we
should set the country on a path to war.
This is the argument about whether, you know, what would happen if this deal didn't go through.
At this point, you are suggesting that you think this is the -- we're into the last stretch as it were.
What will the Iranians do at this point if the Republicans were to win the day on this one? This is hypothetical, of course.
PARSI: Well, there's actually going to be some folks on the hard line side in Iran that would be very happy if the Republicans undermine
this, because essentially what would happen is that it's the United States that breaks the consensus, and it would be the United States that would be
outside of the international consensus when it comes to this deal.
The only country in the world that has actively opposed this is Israel. The EU is on board, everyone else is on board. Everyone is just
waiting for congress to get its act straight so that the dividends of this deal can be -- come into effect.
And what is happening right now is that if the Republicans were to shoot this down, the Iranians will be off the hook. None of the
restriction -- and there are plenty of restrictions that would come through this deal, none of them would come into effect. And the Iranians would get
de facto sanctions relief without having to do any of the things that they had to commit themselves in that deal. So it would truly be an own goal
for the United States if the Republicans were to kill this deal.
ANDERSON: The dumbest deal in history says presidential wannabe Donald Trump. I've got to ask you, how does that sort of narrative
rhetoric go down in Tehran, do you think?
PARSI: I'll be frank with you, I think there's plenty of folks in Iran that are happy that the Republicans are criticizing this because that
way the Iranians can say that they actually got a good deal, that this is something that they can use against the critics of the deal inside of Iran
by pointing to how much difficulty Obama is having in selling it.
But reality is I think Donald Trump probably should be sticking to real estate, because 10 years from now we're going to look back to this and
we're going to actually quite positively surprised about how good of a deal that was and what an achievement it was for the administration to be able
to pull all of these countries together -- Russia, China, the EU and manage to negotiate with Iranians, overcome 35 years on non-diplomacy and enmity
and actually get what is an astonishing deal.
ANDERSON: Trita Parsi is the president of the National Iranian- American Council on your air this evening viewers. Thank you.
Live from Abu Dhabi, this is Connect the World with me Becky Anderson. Coming up, could scenes like this be a thing of the past? We hear from
both sides on whether selling sex should be decriminalized. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:45:18] ANDERSON: This is CNN and Connect the World with me Becky Anderson. Welcome back here in the UAE. It is a quarter to 8:00 in the
evening.
It is one of the oldest industries in the world. But should selling sex be a crime? Well, Amnesty International has reignited a fiery debate.
It's voting on a draft proposal calling for the decriminalization of sex work.
Here's a look at what Amnesty's draft proposal says, "states must ensure that sex workers are entitled to equal protection under the law and
are not excluded from the application of labor, heatlh and safety and other laws."
That is a direct quote from the report that is being voted on.
Let's bring in Niki Adams. She is a sex worker and a spokeswoman for the English Collective of Prostitutes joining us from our London bureau.
And in Albany, New York, is Taina Bien Aime from the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women.
Let's start with you Taina. Amnesty says decriminalization will make things safer for sex workers. That's got to be a good thing, hasn't it?
TAINA BIEN AIME, COALITION AGAINST TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN: Well, there are two parts to Amnesty International's argument. The first part, with
which we agree, is that people in prostitution, people who engage in selling sex, must be decriminalized. This is a very vulnerable population
and we agree that they should not be traumatized, brutalized by law enforcement, police or anyone else.
Where Amnesty International goes awry is that they want to decriminalize the exploitative exploiters, the pimps, the brothel owners
and the buyers of sexual acts in order to protect women, which defies common sense and international law.
ANDERSON: Nicky, pimps get to benefit. It doesn't sound like a great prospect going forward, does it?
NIKI ADAMS, ENGLISH COLLECTIVE OF PROSTITUTES: Well, it depends on what you are talking about. I mean, you're talking about, for example,
brothel keeping law in the United Kingdom and in the U.S. where if one sex workers works with a friend she gets prosecuted for brothel keeping.
That's the kind of law that we want abolished.
And in New Zealand they have decriminalized prostitution, they did it in 2003, and they did a very thorough review of the law five years later
and they found that there had been no increase in prostitution, no increase in violence, that sex workers felt more empowered to report violence to the
police. And I think the premise -- I think Amnesty's policy is extremely good, because it deals with every aspect of what we're discussing. It
deals with the fact that criminalization causes enormous harm to sex workers, not just the criminalization of actual sex workers themselves, but
also so-called third parties. It says all that associated criminalization met compromises safety and actually undermines the actions that we take as
sex workers to keep ourselves self. So we can't work together, for example.
On the street, we face saturation policing, but get no protection from rape and other violence.
But it also calls on states to try and help women out of prostitution. That's really revolutionary. I mean, that's a fantastic thing that Amnesty
are doing, because they're actually calling on states to provide resources, because we're facing a massive problem with poverty here, and I know you
are in the states too. I just came back from the states. I cam back from California where one in six people are suffering from hunger, and that's
the reason that women are going into prostitution, and that's what needs to be tackled if you want to deal with the levels of prostitution and the
increase in prostitution.
ANDERSON: Taina, do you not buy this as an argument?
AIME: Well, we agree once again that women in prostitution must be protected, but by their birth they are inherently entitled to human rights
protection and freedom from violence and freedom from human rights abuses.
However, we know there is evidence, and growing evidence, that decriminalization of the sex trade as we are seeing in Germany, in The
Netherlands...
ADAMS: That's not decriminalization.
AIME: ...is actually harming.
ANDERSON: That's legalization, I think, isn't it rather than decriminalization.
ADAMS: Yes, that's right.
AIME: There are...
ANDERSON: Taina, I think you're looking at -- there is a difference, let's get this right.
AIME: Yes, the difference?
ADAMS: Yes, there is a difference. Because you know in Germany it's state-run prostitution. And that's not the system we want. That doesn't
give sex workers power, that gives the bosses power. What we want is for a decriminalization as has been brought in, in New Zealand with verifiable
success.
[11:50:05] AIME: Well, we are finding in New Zealand is that the young, the aboriginal population, the indigenous population, is
overwhelmingly represented in the sex trade. Legalizing brothel owning, legalizing pimping and decriminalizing the buyers of sexual acts is a sure
guarantee to violate women's rights organizations.
And what Amnesty is doing is straying -- if it votes on decriminalizing the sex trade, what it is doing is straying from its very
mission to protect human beings from violence and to help them live a life of dignity.
Amnesty has refused to listen to survivors of the sex trade. They have refused to listen to women's rights organizations. They are
refusing...
ADAMS: But they're listening to current sex workers.
ANDERSON: Taina, let me -- Niki, let me jump in here for a moment. They have, though, listened to the Human Rights Council, the UN
Conventional against Transnational Organized Crime and many other organizations. I think our viewers might be very surprised are supporting
what has been this two year consultation process by Amnesty.
I mean, Niki, let me just come to you here, because some of what we are talking about here may really shock many of our viewers. And Taina is
making some very good points, isn't she. The difference, of course, is about whether you will regulate or not an industry. And decriminalization
versus legalization is something quite different.
ADAMS: It is very different. But the thing that Amnesty has done is put sex workers, current sex workers who are experiencing human rights
violations right now in terms of lack of protection, lack of safety, denial of justice, they put sex workers experience front and central to their
policy. And I think that that indicates a real change because I think we've had enough, really.
Sex workers have been illegal workers for so long. We've been prevented from speaking on our own behalf. And this is the first time
really that we feel that we are being treated with respect, that our -- the human rights violations that we suffer have actually been recognized.
And there are no current sex workers that support the criminalization of clients, because we know that that actually...
ANDERSON: How do you -- you can't have spoken -- hang on, you can't have spoken to every sex worker around the world. And we do, though...
ADAMS: No, that's true. OK.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: Huge exploitation by those who were trafficked. I mean, really.
ADAMS: Yeah, but trafficking is trafficking -- yes, no, no, that's true. Trafficking is very different from prostitution. Amnesty makes it
very clear that what they're talking about the consenting sex -- exchange of consenting sex for money between adults, not children, and not
trafficking.
They actually call on states to take very strong measures against trafficking. And to conflate the two is to treat all sex workers as
victims and that has been a major problem up until now, because the majority of sex workers are not suffering that kind of exploitation.
And actually it's a diversion because it means that if you criminalize clients, police resources get poured into arresting and criminalizing
clients and letting rapists off the hook. And when we come forward and report violence, instead of seeing our attacker brought to justice, we
often get prosecuted ourselves for prostitution. So it actually undermines our safety to criminalize clients in this way.
ANDERSON: Taina, I want to get to you, because you're from the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, which is an incredibly important
organization. Just respond, if you will, to Niki.
AIME: You know, the sex trade is the entity that violates and discriminates and abuses women, and by women I mean anyone who identifies
as women. There are a number of myths that have been set forth. One, one, is that to quote the brilliant Bridget Perrier, who is a native Canadian
and survivor of the sex trade who says why is the 2 percent speaking for the 98 percent.
We know that the typical age of being sold into the sex trade is between 12 and 14 years old in this country and much younger in India. So
you do not graduate to become a consentual, quote, unquote sex worker at 18. It does not exist.
And also the other myth is that this is a consensual sex act. What men are purchasing is violence. They are purchasing sexual harassment.
They are purchasing sexual violence. They are purchasing an act through which they can exert their sexual fantasies. So that -- however dark.
And we see in Germany where what Amnesty is proposing...
ADAMS: ....prostitution is just absolutely not true. I'm sorry. It's...
ANDERSON: Guys, I've got to take a very short break at this point.
Guys, I'm going to stop you. We're going to take a break. We'll carry this conversation on another time. Thank you very much.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:56:48] ANDERSON: Tonight's Parting Shots for you produced in space. Astronauts on board the International Space Station consuming red
romaine lettuce grown in space. One of NASA's goals is to find out how to grow food in space for future long-term missions.
Well, the growth system was tested on Earth and the plants checked for safety. Half of this harvest will be sent back for more testing just to be
safe.
The astronauts will clean the lettuce with citric acid food wipes, I'm told, before eating it.
Unusual, isn't it?
I'm Becky Anderson. Thank you for watching.
END
