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Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield

Hurricane Joaquin Batters Bahamas as a Category 3; Benjamin Netanyahu Addresses United Nations. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired October 01, 2015 - 12:00   ET

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


[12:00:00] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Ashleigh Banfield starts right now.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hurricane Joaquin getting bigger and badder by the minute. The Category 3 storm bearing down on the Bahamas right now and could soon be battering the United States coastline.

Also this hour, Moscow claims it's targeting ISIS strongholds, but that is not where those bombs seem to be falling. A second day of Russian air strikes in Syria sending shockwaves across the Middle East and the west.

And in Afghanistan, Afghan fighters, backed by U.S. air power, say they have taken back that key town from the Taliban. But the insurgents insist they are not done yet.

Hello, everyone. I'm Ashleigh Banfield. Welcome to the program. We are keeping a close watch on the United Nations, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to address the General Assembly this hour, any moment, in fact, and no doubt he's probably got a lot to say in light of the latest comments from the Palestinian president, as well as the Iran nuclear deal, and, of course, these most recent Russian air strikes that have happened in Syria in the last 48 hours.

But we're going to begin with this breaking news, and that is Hurricane Joaquin raging as a Category 3 storm, potentially headed into a Category 4. Right now, it is circulating over the Bahamas with maximum sustained winds of 125 miles per hour. Its current track, current track, puts it hauntingly close to where Hurricane Sandy made landfall in 2012. Following suit with Virginia, New Jersey's governor, Chris Christie, has just declared a state of emergency in that state. But on Twitter he stressed, quote, "we are prepared. I need everyone not to panic." And at a news conference just last hour, Governor Christie recognized that people there are still traumatized by the effects of Hurricane Sandy.

I want to bring in meteorologist Jennifer Gray, who's at the CNN Weather Center in Atlanta.

You know, to see that there are fears that this could be the next Superstorm Sandy, is that hyperbole, Jennifer, or is that actually possible?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, I do want to say that all storms are completely different, you know, and also there's still a lot of uncertainty with this storm. If you are anywhere from South Carolina all the way up to through the northeast, you definitely need to be keeping your eyes on it over the next couple of days. But no storm is the same.

This storm, right now, has maximum sustained winds of 125 miles per hour, gusts up to 155. As you said, approaching the central Bahamas as a Category 3. We could possibly see more strengthening as we go through the next 24 hours. And then this storm is expected to weaken as we go through Saturday, Sunday, even into Monday.

The cone of uncertainty right now has it making landfall anywhere from North Carolina coast all the way up to Maine. That is a large area. And when you are about five days out, the storm only stays inside the cone about two-thirds of the time. So there is about a 30 percent chance that this storm could make landfall outside the cone or even stay out to sea. Some of the models are still forecasting that.

This has been the problem. The models are everywhere. We have forecast models making landfall at the Georgia/South Carolina border. We have them making landfall right around the Virginia/North Carolina border, all the way up to New Jersey/New York. The models are not agreeing at all. Some of the models still taking it out to sea. That's why it's still too early to say exactly where this storm is going to hit, if it even is going to have an impact on the U.S. at all.

One thing is for sure, though, we have this knowledge. We need to be aware. If this storm does make landfall in the mid-Atlantic, we are talking about massive amounts of rain, as well as the wind, the beach erosion. That part of the country has already seen up to a foot of rain during the past seven days and so any additional rainfall will be trouble.

So, Ashleigh, we'll stay on top of it.

BANFIELD: Jennifer, thank you for that. I'm going to scoot away from you for a moment, if I can, right up to New York and the General Assembly at the United Nations, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is getting ready to address this assembly. And there are a lot of assumptions as to what he is about to do. Iran is usually a favorite topic. However, with a coalition and a deal in the works involving five nations and the United States, that may fall by the way side in favor of the most recent news, which is these air strikes in neighboring Syria and the Russian involvement. Let's listen in.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you greetings from Jerusalem, the city in which the Jewish people's hopes and prayers for peace for all of humanity have echoed throughout the ages.

[12:05:15] Thirty-one years ago, as Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, I stood at this podium for the first time. I spoke that day against a resolution sponsored by Iran to expel Israel from the United Nations. Then, as now, the U.N. was obsessively hostile towards Israel, the one true democracy in the Middle East. Then, as now, some sought to deny the one and only Jewish state a place among the nations. I ended that first speech by saying, gentlemen, check your fanaticism at the door.

More than three decades later, as the prime minister of Israel, I'm again privileged to speak from this podium. And, for me, that privilege has always come with a moral responsibility to speak the truth. So after three days of listening to world leaders praise the nuclear deal with Iran, I begin my speech today by saying, ladies and gentlemen, check your enthusiasm at the door.

You see, this deal doesn't make peace more likely. By fueling Iran's aggressions with billions of dollars in sanctions relief, it makes war more likely. Just look at what Iran has done in the last six months alone. Since the framework agreement was announced in Luzan (ph), Iran boosted its supply of devastating weapons to Syria. Iran sent more soldiers of its Revolutionary Guard into Syria. Iran sent thousands of Afghani and Pakistani Shiite fighters to Syria. Iran did all this to prop up Assad's brutal regime.

Iran also shipped tons of weapons and ammunitions to the Houthi rebels in Yemen, including another shipment just two days ago. Iran threatened to topple Jordan. Iran's proxy, Hezbollah, smuggled into Lebanon SA-22 missiles to down our planes and Yahud (ph) cruise missiles to sink our ships.

Iran supplied Hezbollah with precision guided surface to surface missiles and attack drones, so it can accurately hit any target in Israel. Iran aided Hamas and Islamic jihad in building armed drones in Gaza. Iran also made clear its plans to open two new terror fronts against Israel, promising to arm Palestinians in the West Bank and sending its Revolutionary Guard generals to the Golan Heights, from which its operatives recently fired rockets on northern Israel. Israel will continue to respond forcefully to any attacks against it from Syria. Israel will continue to act to prevent the transfer of strategic weapons to Hezbollah from and through Syrian territory.

Every few weeks, Iran and Hezbollah set up new terror cells in cities throughout the world. Three such cells were recently uncovered in Kuwait, Jordan and Cyprus. In May, security forces in Cyprus raided a Hezbollah agent's apartment in the city of Larnaka (ph). There they found five tons of ammonium nitrate. That's roughly the same amount of ammonium nitrate that was used to blow up the federal building in Oklahoma City. And that's just in one apartment, in one city, in one country. But Iran is setting up dozens of terror cells like this around the world.

[12:10:07] Ladies and gentlemen, they're setting up those terror cells in this hemisphere too. I repeat, Iran's been doing all of this, everything that I've just described, just in the last six months, when it was trying to convince the world to remove the sanctions. Now, just imagine what Iran will do after those sanctions are lifted. Unleashed and unmuzzled, Iran will go on the prowl, devouring more and more prey.

In the wake of the nuclear deal, Iran is spending billions of dollars on weapons and satellites. You think Iran is doing that to advance peace? You think hundreds of billions of dollars in sanctions relief and fat contracts will turn this rapacious tiger into a kitten? If you do, you should think again.

In 2013, President Rouhani began his so-called charm offensive here at the U.N. Two years later, Iran is executing more political prisoner, escalating its regional aggression and rapidly expanding its global terror network. You know, they say actions speak louder than words. But in Iran's case, the words speak as loud as the actions. Just listen to the deputy commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Quds force. Here's what he said in February. Quote, "the Islamic revolution is not limited by geographic borders." He boasted that Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Yemen are among the countries being, quote, "conquered by the Islamic Republic of Iran," end quote. Conquered.

And for those of you who believe that the deal in Vienna will bring a change in Iran's policy, just listen to what Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, said five days after the nuclear deal was reached. Quote, "our policies towards the arrogant government of the United States will not change." The United States, he vowed, will continue to be Iran's enemy.

While giving the mullahs more money is likely to fuel more repression inside Iran, it will definitely fuel more aggression outside Iran. As the leader of a country defending itself every day against Iran's growing aggression, I wish I could take comfort in the claim that this deal blocks Iran's path to nuclear weapons, but I can't, because it doesn't. This deal does place several constraints on Iran's nuclear program, and rightly so, because the international community recognizes that Iran is so dangerous. But, you see, here's the catch, under this deal, if Iran doesn't change its behavior, in fact, if it becomes even more dangerous in the years to come, the most important constraints will still be automatically lifted by year 10 and by year 15. That would place a militant Islamic terror regime weeks away from having the fissile material for an entire arsenal of nuclear bombs.

That just doesn't make any sense. I've said that if Iran wants to be treated like a normal country, let it act like a normal country. But this deal - this deal will treat Iran like a normal country, even if it remains a dark theocracy that conquers its neighbors, sponsors terrorism worldwide and chants "death to Israel, death to America."

[12:15:14] Does anyone seriously believe that flooding a radical theocracy with weapons and cash will curb its appetite for aggression? Do any of you really believe that a theocratic Iran, with sharper claws and sharper fangs, will be more likely to change its stripes? So here's a general rule that I've learned and you must have learned in your lifetime, when bad behavior is rewarded, it only gets worse.

Ladies and gentlemen, I've long said that the greatest danger facing our world is the coupling of militant Islam with nuclear weapons. And I'm gravely concerned that the nuclear deal with Iran will prove to be the marriage certificate of that unholy union. I know that some well- intentioned people sincerely believe that this deal is the best way to block Iran's path to the bomb. But one of history's most important yet least learned lessons is this, the best intentions don't prevent the worst outcomes. The vast majority of Israelis believe that this nuclear deal with Iran is a very bad deal. And what makes matters even worse is that we see a world celebrating this bad deal, rushing to embrace and do business with a regime openly committed to our destruction.

Last week, Major General Salahi, the commander of Iran's army, proclaimed this, quote, "we will annihilate Israel for sure. We are glad that we are in the forefront of executing the supreme leader's order to destroy Israel," end quote. And as for the supreme leader himself, a few days after the nuclear deal was announced, he released his latest book. Here it is. It's a 400-page screed detailing his plan to destroy the state of Israel.

Last month, Khomeini once again made his genocidal intentions clear before Iran's top clerical body, the assembly of experts. He spoke about Israel, home to over 6 million Jews. He pledged, quote, "there will be no Israel in 25 years," end quote. Seventy years after the murder of 6 million Jews, Iran's rulers promise to destroy my country, murder my people, and the response from this body, the response from nearly every one of the governments represented here has been absolutely nothing, utter silence, deafening silence.

[12:20:27] Perhaps you can now understand why Israel is not joining you in celebrating this deal. If Iran's rulers were working to destroy your countries, perhaps you'd be less enthusiastic about the deal. If Iran's terror proxies were firing thousands of rockets at your cities, perhaps you'd be more measured in your praise. And if this deal were unleashing a nuclear arms race in your neighborhood, perhaps you'd be more reluctant to celebrate.

But don't think that Iran is only a danger to Israel. Besides Iran's aggression in the Middle East and its terror around the world, Iran is also building inner continental ballistic missiles whose sole purpose is to carry nuclear warheads. Now, remember this, Iran already has missiles that can reach Israel. So those intercontinental ballistic missiles that Iran is building, they're not meant for us, they're meant for you. For Europe, for America, for raining down mass destruction anytime, anywhere.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's not easy to oppose something that is embraced by the greatest powers in the world. Believe me, it would be far easier to remain silent. But throughout our history, the Jewish people have learned the heavy price of silence. And as the prime minister of the Jewish state, as someone who knows that history, I refuse to be silent.

I'll say it again, the days when the Jewish people remained passive in the face of genocidal enemies, those days are over. Not being passive means speaking up about those dangers. We have, we are, we will. Not being passive also means defending ourselves against those dangers. We have, we are and we will.

Israel will not allow Iran to break in, to sneak in or to walk into the nuclear weapons club. I know that preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons remains the official policy of the international community, but no one should question Israel's determination to defend itself against those who seek our destruction. For in every generation, there were those who rose up who destroy our people. In antiquity, we faced destruction from the ancient empires of Babylon

and Rome. In the middle ages, we faced inquisition and expulsion. And in modern times, we faced pogrongs (ph) and the Holocaust, yet the Jewish people persevered. And now another regime has arisen, swearing to destroy Israel.

[12:25:00] That regime would be wise to consider this. I stand here today representing Israel, a country 67 years young, but the nation state of a people nearly 4,000 years old. Yet the empires of Babylon and Rome are not represented in this hall of nations. Neither is the thousand year reich (ph). Those seemingly invincible empires are long gone. But Israel lives! The people of Israel live.

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

The rebirth of Israel is a testament to the indomitable spirit of my people. For 100 generations, the Jewish people dreamed of returning to the land of Israel. Even in our darkest hours, and we had so many, even in our darkest hours, we never gave up hope of rebuilding our eternal capital Jerusalem. The establishment of Israel made realizing that dream possible. It has enabled us to live as a free people in our ancestral homeland. It's enabled us to embrace Jews who have come from the four corners of the earth to find refuge from persecution. They came from war-torn Europe, from Yemen, Iraq, Morocco, from Ethiopia and the Soviet Union, from 100 other lands. And today, as a rising tide of anti-Semitism once again sweeps across Europe and elsewhere, many Jews come to Israel to join us in building the Jewish future.

So here's my message to the rulers of Iran. Your plan to destroy Israel will fail! Israel will not permit any force on earth to threaten its future.

And here's my message to all the countries represented here. Whatever resolutions you may adopt in this building, whatever decisions you may take in your capitals, Israel will do whatever it must do to defend our state and to defend our people.

Distinguished delegates, as this deal with Iran moves ahead, I hope you'll enforce it, how can I put this, with a little more rigor than you showed with the six Security Council resolutions that Iran has systemically violated, and which now have been effectively discarded. Make sure that the inspectors actually inspect. Make sure that the snap back sanctions actually snap back. And make sure that Iran's violations aren't swept under the Persian rug.

Well, of one thing I can assure you, Israel will be watching, closely. What the international community now needs to do is clear. First, make Iran comply with all its nuclear obligations. Keep Iran's feet to the fire. Second, check Iran's regional aggression. Support and strengthen those fighting Iran's aggression, beginning with Israel. Third, use sanctions and all the tools available to you to tear down Iran's global terror network.

[12:30:01] Ladies and gentlemen, Israel is working closely with our Arab peace partners to address our common security challenges from Iran and also the security challenges from ISIS and from others.