Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Iran-Saudi Conflict Examined; Israeli Manhunt for Gunman Detailed; Donald Trump Campaign Updated; A Look at Midwest Flooding. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired January 11, 2016 - 04:00   ET

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


[04:00:16] GEORGE HOWELL, HOST, CNN NEWSROOM: Violent protests and stinging backlash to Saudi Arabia's execution of a Shia cleric, the very latest ahead on reaction across the Arab world.

Plus, he is said to be armed and dangerous and still on the loose. Police in Tel Aviv now stepped up the search for a man who shot and killed two people and wounded eight at a pub on Friday and the flow of migrants it continues, this crisis carrying well into 2016. We'll take you to the organization and talk to that organization behind the latest rescue.

From CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm George Howell CNN Newsroom starts right now.

And a very good day to you. We start this hour in the Middle East. The backlash and protests after Saudi Arabia executed 47 people accused of terror acts. Among those killed, this man, Sheikh Nimr al- Nimr, he was a Shiite cleric and very critical of the Saudi monarchy.

Some of the sharpest reaction comes from that nation's regional rival, Iran. On Saturday, crowds in Tehran protested at the Saudi embassy there. You can see demonstrators after they broke into the embassy. Some 40 people were arrested there and then there's this photo. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Hamadani compares Saudi Arabia to ISIS there saying that both execute those who oppose them.

And then from Iraq, top leaders there are showing their disagreement. Iraqi Vice President, Nouri al-Maliki says, "The execution will "topple" the Saudi regime."

Following all of this, our Becky Anderson who is live in Abu Dhabi with the very latest. Becky, good to have you with us, what more are you hearing?

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right. Well, the execution of the Saudi Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr is a multilayered story, George with wide ranging ramifications. On the personal level, it is the story of an outspoken cleric who really understands these ramifications of the execution of the Saudi Shia cleric named al-Nimr.

It's tough. The execution, as I say, along with 40 other people, 46 other people in a single day, a story which we -- as I say, you know, cannot be overestimated, a vocal critique of the rulings monarchy in Saudi Arabia which is a majority Sunni nation. Al-Nimr was especially critical during the Arab Spring-inspired protests back in 2011 when thousands of Saudis in the eastern part of the country took to the streets to demand greater freedoms and more economic opportunities.

Following al-Nimr's arrest in 2012, there were demonstration that led to violence and death. Now, on Saturday video footage showed dozens of protesters taking to the streets in the eastern part of the country chanting against the monarchy, which is extremely rare. As you know in Saudi there's also been a diplomatic backlash across this region, George. Iran strongly condemning the execution of al-Nimr, George?

HOWELL: Just to talk Becky a bit more, talk to us if you could just about the implication given that this happened when it comes to finding more stability in the region. How important how to settle this respect (ph).

ANDERSON: Yes. Well, the impact will definitely be felt in places like Yemen and in Iran -- Sorry, I mean, Syria where Iran and Saudi Arabia of course are locked in this proxy competition for power and for influence. Remember only recently the two countries did finally agree to sit across the same table in Geneva to talk about the possibility of peace there. But will they now be able to do that? Well that is a very, very big question and we're also watching for and listening out for any concerns across the Gulf region as a whole are relatively rested Shia population in Bahrain. For example, we've seen demonstrations there against activity by Saudi in the past.

So, yeah the impact at this point one that we really need to watch for, George?

HOWELL: Becky Anderson, live in Abu Dhabi to give us your reporting there and your expertise from the region, Becky, thank you so much for your time today.

[04:05:01] Let's press further on this and the diplomatic fallout from this mass execution. I'm joined now by Christopher Dickey, he is the world news editor for the Daily Beast. Christopher, good to have you with us.

So, when you look at what happened in Tehran with the protests at the Saudi embassy. When you consider the reaction from that nation's supreme leader, where do things go now between these two regional rivals?

CHRISTOPHER DICKEY, WORLD NEWS EDITOR, DAILY BEAST: Well, I think we also have to ask where does it go for Europe and the United States who are caught up in this mess. But we're really looking at not only two religious rivals but two theocracies. Iran, a theocratic republic, Saudi Arabia, a theocratic monarchy, both of whom say God is on their side. Is that something that the United States should get messed in the middle of and in fact it is something the United States is in the middle of right now.

Then you add to that, the problem of the so-called Islamic state saying no, god is on our side and all of them executing people, beheading people. The Iranians don't behead them, they hang them. But basically, it is a bloody theocratic mess in the Middle East and it's only going to get worse as these different factions plan to fight it out.

HOWELL: I want to talk about Saudi Arabia claiming that those who were executed were involved in, as they describe it, terror acts and critics will point out, they say instead that they believe the people who were executed instead paid the ultimate price for speaking out against the monarchy. What are your thoughts?

DICKEY: Well look, a lot of the people who were executed, a lot of the 47 people beheaded on the second were people who were involved with al-Qaeda and with attacks in Saudi Arabia almost 10 years ago or more who have been rotting in the Saudi jails and basically just waiting for this to happen.

In the case of Nimr al-Nimr, the Shiite sheikh or Ayatollah, some say, you know, he was not involved in that kind of violence or subversion. And this is an absolute affront to Iran which clearly the Saudis knew it would be. You know, the problem here too is that the persons who is most responsible for this is the crowned prince of Saudi Arabia, Muhammad bin Nayef who is very close to the Americans. He was running counter terrorism operations for Saudi Arabia and deeply in-depth with the Americans in those efforts.

HOWELL: Christopher, I want to talk also about the proxy war. So, you know, we understand, as you mentioned, you know, the 40 -- many of the 47 involved according to Saudi Arabia in terror acts. But when it came to the death of Nimr al-Nimr, this is something that has caused a great deal of a reaction and when it comes to the proxy wars to what se see in Yemen, what we see in Syria, how does this affect any efforts to find stability on those fronts?

DICKEY: It's going to make it infinitely more difficult. And basically, if we're going to extricate Syria from the mess it's in or try to, we have to have much better coordination among a whole array of different countries and interests. You've got the Russians and the Iranians on one side, the Americans sort of on the same side as the Saudis on the other. You've got the Turks playing a complicated game there, the cutters is as well. There's a wild proxy conflict of shifting sides in Syria trying to calm that down, trying to get everybody working in the same direction of establishing peace there and ending slaughter that's killed more than 200,000 people and driven millions of refugees out of the country and a lot of them many into Europe, all of that takes cooperation.

This kind of thing absolutely military is against the operation and in fact, creates more reasons for these very proxy forces to continue using the Syrian battleground to try to kill their rival's vaccines (ph).

HOWELL: Christopher Dickey joining us live via Skype from Paris, Christopher thank you so much for your insight on this situation and when it came...

DICKEY: Thank you. HOWELL: Of course, sir. Thank you. And when it came to Yemen, as Christopher mentioned and the proxy war there, ceasefire between Saudi -- the Saudi-led coalition and Houthi rebels in Yemen has now ended. That ceasefire started back in December alongside peace talks sponsored by the United Nations. Saudi Arabia's state news agency says the rebels violated the truce several times there. The Houthi- run news agency blamed what it calls Saudi aggression for a recent violence. Almost 6,000 people have been killed in the fighting since March.

Now on to Israel where a manhunt is under way in Tel Aviv. Authorities there are looking for a gunman suspected of killing two people outside of a pub on Friday. And now we know that that suspect has been identified as a 31-year-old Arab-Israeli. He is considered armed and dangerous.

[04:10:04] Police raided his home on Saturday. A candlelight vigil was held for the victims of this attack. The suspect's father says he notified authorities after seeing his son's image on surveillance video. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, (Through Translator): My son, I heard he was in Tel Aviv and did what he did. I did not raise him in this manner and I am sorry for what he did. When I found out of the incident, I personally, on my own arrived to the police station and assisted all security bodies with all directions.

First of all, I thank you and secondly, I wish all wounded to get well and I send my condolences to everyone whether a Jew or an Arab.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: CNN correspondent Ian Lee is following the story live for us in Jerusalem this hour on the investigation, Ian, good to have you. So, we just heard from the suspect's father, what more do you know about this suspect and his background?

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, George we just were up in his hometown talking to his uncle. His uncle describes someone who was very disturbed, someone who had psychological issues, someone who had been previously on medication and was in a clinic being treated for that, especially when he was in jail, arrested in 2007 for trying to steal a gun from an Israeli soldier. That's when around that time is when he started receiving his treatment.

And his family is very concerned. They don't know if he's taking his medication. They want to have the police arrest him. They want the police to take care of him. Their main concern now though right now is that this could end deadly that either someone could kill him or he'd take his own life. They said that they urge him, wherever he is, to turn himself in, that this should end and end peacefully, George.

HOWELL: Ian, I'd like to talk about the situation when it comes to the general public. Investigators are saying that this suspect is armed and dangerous. What more are they telling people in that area?

LEE: Oh, this case is really bizarre for police. It doesn't fit any of the molds of either criminal or terrorism. Usually a terrorist attack, the person is caught or killed right at the site. This person's been on the run for almost 48 hours and Israel has about half the police force looking for him. They have a lot of security cameras. This is unusual that they haven't been able to find him, which makes some lead to believe that he possibly could have had help escaping. But the Israeli police very much still going door to door, street by street looking anywhere, abandoned building, trying to find him.

But in Tel Aviv right now, there is a sense of fear. People are keeping their children away from schools, people are afraid to go outside because he's still on the run and, as we say, he is armed. The police are considering him armed and dangerous although, despite all that, the police still very much urging people to go along with their normal routines, telling them just to be extra alert. If they see anything, report it. But this manhunt is really a puzzling quite a few.

HOWELL: For the manhunt that is still underway for a suspect who is considered armed and dangerous, Ian Lee live for us in Jerusalem following it all and Ian we'll stay in touch with you.

Now on to Afghanistan. Dozens of taliban prisoners are free thanks to a raid by Afghanistan's counter terrorism unit. Afghan units rescued 59 prisoners in a helicopter assault against the taliban on Saturday in Kabul. No deaths or injuries were reported there. A similar raid last month freed some sweet 60 prisoners.

And in Iraq, special operations forces say troops have recaptured about 85% of the city of Ramadi. Iraqi forces have been working since Monday to clear the Anbar province capital after they declared Ramadi fully liberated from ISIS. Hundreds of families still remain trapped in the city and troops are still trying to find pockets of ISIS fighters there.

You're watching CNN Newsroom, and still to come, Donald Trump has based much of his campaign on criticizing the current U.S. president and now he vows to undo a key executive action. We'll have the latest on that next.

Plus, the weather is a bit drier in the U.S. this weekend. More flooding is coming down river.

[04:14:37] The story ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: In the U.S. race for the White House, presidential candidate Donald Trump didn't shy away from talking about the chaos in the Middle East at a rally on Saturday. The Republican frontrunner spoke at length about Saudi Arabia and Iran, as well as ISIS's reign of terror. Not surprisingly, he also managed to blame it all on his opponents. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In Tehran, they're burning down the Saudi embassy, you see that. Now, what that is Iran wants to take over Saudi Arabia, they always have, they want the oil, OK? They've always wanted that. You watch, I predicted a lot of things you have to say including get the oil, take the oil, keep the oil, right?

I've been saying that for three years and everybody said oh, "I can't do that. I mean, this is a sovereign country." There is no country. They have a bunch of dishonest people. They've created is. Hillary Clinton created ISIS with Obama.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: And Mr. Trump continued going after President Obama throughout the rally, taking aim at his impending executive action on guns.

Our Phil Mattingly has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Saturday night in front of a capacity crowd in Biloxi, Mississippi, Donald Trump laid out a new target, President Obama's looming executive action on guns.

[04:20:01] Now Trump accused the President on waging an assault on the Second Amendment and says this is what he'd do to the President's executive actions.

TRUMP: So he's going to sign another executive order having to do with the Second Amendment, having to do with guns. I will veto that. I will unsign that so fast, so fast.

MATTINGLY: Now, Trump did not minced any words about his plans there or against his rivals, taking shots at Marco Rubio, Hillary Clinton, Jeb Bush and a familiar array of countries that he plans to do better deals with when and if he takes office.

One interesting fact though, he pointed out that Republicans are at a structural disadvantage when it comes to national elections. He said maybe it's only him that can actually bring in states that Democrats traditionally win giving Republicans a better chance at the White House. Phil Mattingly, CNN Biloxi, Mississippi.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: In the central United States, record high floodwaters are now receding, but the danger in many places is far from over. Surging water is flowing downstream and that's putting millions of people on alert. CNN's Jeremy Roth has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JEREMY ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very little celebrating the day after New Year's in parts of Missouri, Saturday. Instead, residents are cleaning up the debris left behind by a massive and deadly flood that is still posing a threat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got to get that debris out of there.

ROTH: The governor, touring some of the hardest hit regions as several interstate highways are now back open in the St. Louis area. Water levels have fallen several feet but many homes are still far from drying out.

And while Missouri is in the recovery process, states like Illinois are nervously anticipating more flooding and more damages. In Alexander County where the Mississippi and Ohio rivers meet, the water is expected to crest Sunday more than 3 feet above major flooding stage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You live in the water you can expect anything than I'd never once ever expected it to be this high.

ROTH: According to officials, water has already gone over the top of one levee and a second levee has a good potential of overtopping. The flooding has forced evacuations in the southern part of the state. Governor Rauner activated members of the Illinois National Guard to assist local authorities as a precautionary measure.

BRUCE RAUNER, (R), GOVERNOR, ILLINOIS: Some communities that actually been hit harder than the '93 flood. Most, fortunately, it's not quite as bad but this is one of the worst.

ROTH: I'm Jeremy Roth, reporting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Let's bring in meteorologist Karen Maginis to explain what's happening. Karen, you know, we just heard from the folks there and, you know, you can take the preparations but it's just so hard to stand there and wait and watch. Not knowing how high that water is going to go.

KAREN MAGINIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And it isn't typically an event that lasts just a day or so. This will go on for months. You saw them cleaning up. There's a declaration -- a presidential declaration that allows them for a speedy cleanup across the region. But the rivers that are still at or above flood stage still hundreds of them across the United States, eastern half of the U.S. from the Carolinas to the Mississippi Valley region and to the Ohio River valley.

So many hundreds of states, but believe it or not when we were looking at the peak of this event, we were looking at many, many hundreds of rivers that were out of their banks. And one of the other things that the people right across the Central Mississippi valley will have to deal with are very cold temperatures at or just above the freezing mark at least at night. And their homes have been destroyed, a lot of businesses have been destroyed, their automobiles, some of the interstate have been shut down. They're open now but it's just trying to get their lives back together. But we haven't seen the end of it.

Take a look at Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Now that 95% of the city is surrounded by these walls. The great flood of 1993 by which all of these floods have been based upon or gauged from, now that changes because we saw this super event that took place between December 26th and the 28th that produced about 250 millimeters of rainfall or just about -- between 200 millimeters and 300 millimeters they're just about 10 inches of rainfall. It was devastating. But only about 5% of the city remains vulnerable to the floodwaters.

And then we have this, the levee. This is on the Illinois side of that structure that you see, that is the levee. It was overtopped yesterday and that constant erosion of water allowed this to breach. Now, a lot of private land or farmland is very vulnerable and those levees now will not protect those suburbs of that city along that levee. It has been devastating for a broad area for this winter.

HOWELL: For sure, Karen. And then looking at that image, you just got a sense of how powerful, you know, mother nature is.

Karen Maginis, thank you so much.

[04:25:02] We move on now to the United Kingdom where Prime Minister David Cameron is promising to work to bolster flood defenses there. This comes as communities across the UK struggle to recover from unprecedented flooding. Both Scotland and Wales saw their wettest December on record. The rainfall will continue through the weekend, but by Monday, the country will finally see some relief.

And in Turkey, a major winter storm dumped heavy snow across parts of that country. One city along the black sea coast picked up about 92 centimeters of snow, that's about 36 inches of snow. The storm also dropped about 30 centimeters in Istanbul or about 14 inches. Hundreds of flights were canceled and schools were closed in many cities. More snow and rain is expected into next week.

You are watching CNN Newsroom and still ahead, dozens of Syrian refugees are rescued after their boat wrecked on a Greek island. Ahead, we will speak to the director of the group who saved these stranded migrants.

Live from Atlanta and broadcasting around the world this hour, you're watching CNN Newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: Hello and welcome back to our viewers. Here in the United States and around the world, you're watching CNN Newsroom, good to have you with us today. I'm George Howell.

The headlines we're following for you. Fears of violent backlash are now growing after Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shiite cleric along with dozens of others convicted of inciting violence. Protesters threw fire bombs at the Saudi embassy in Tehran. Iran strongly condemned the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and Amnesty International calls these deaths appalling. [04:30:08] Meanwhile, a ceasefire between a Saudi-led coalition and Houthi rebels in Yemen has now ended. According to Saudi Arabia's state media the rebels violated the ceasefire on multiple occasions. The Houthi-run news agency blamed what it calls Saudi aggression or recent violence

Israeli authorities hunting for a fugitive. A gunman on the run suspected of killing two people and wounding eight others outside of a pub in Tel Aviv on Friday. The suspect has been identified as a 31- year-old Arat (ph) Israeli. His family says he has a psychological disorder.

U.S. Republican president candidate Donald Trump, he did not mince words about his defense of gun rights while speaking at a rally in the state of Mississippi on Saturday. He vowed that he would quickly undo President Obama's forthcoming executive action on guns saying he would unsign them immediately if he wins office.

Now to the migrant crisis in Europe, several dozen Syrian refugees were rescued after their boat ran aground on a remote island in the GNC (ph). Ten of the refugees were injured and one passenger, a baby boy, drowned. He is the first known migrant death of this year.

The shipwrecked refugees were rescued by the Migrant Offshore Aid Station or MOAS, a privately owned organization based in Malta that helps migrants stranded at sea.

Martin Xuereb is the Director of MOAS and now joins us from Malta. It's good to have you with us sir. We just want to get a sense of what that rescue was like. Tell our viewers what happened.

MARTIN XUEREB, DIRECTOR, MIGRANT OFFSHORE AID STATION: Well, first of all the rescued happened because of the global (inaudible) that have allowed MOAS to expand. It's important to say that it's the public donations that are saving lives.

In this case in particular, we were out on station along the Samos (inaudible) easy cause access and we were informed by members of Medecins Sans Frontieres that had been informed by fishermen that there was this boat in distress and it has fractured, it has going to ground in one of the smaller inhabited islands.

Luckily, they were in the area. We were close. We got to the station and in no time. By the time, unfortunately, the boy had been swept away. He had been swept away from the migrant craft earlier. But all the others were wet, cold, some of them hypothermic but they were relatively safe aground.

However, our intervention and the intervention, that's only of MOAS but those -- that play the part of fishermen, the Hellenic Coast Guard, Medecins Sans Frontieres ensure that no one else perishes.

HOWELL: You know, to see these images and to hear your story, the story of this particular rescue to be in your position, the position of your group to put your hands on this and try to help people. Talk to us about what you're seeing there across Europe when it comes to trying to better process and to better manage this migration of people.

XUEREB: Well, the situation in the Mediterranean is truly catastrophic. I mean earlier this year we've seen many people using the central Mediterranean route and then in summer and now it continues now using the (inaudible) route.

These are people that feel no other option but take to the water. O mean, we were -- we then had to take the dead boy and the mother, a very young mother with us from the island of Agathonisi to Samos, an island close by where they were handed over to the Greek authorities. And it's really is heartbreaking to see the sight.

We had them on board for a few hours and this young mother, who was full of expectations for her young child, but she truly had no other option but to leave Syria and this is where its all ends for this boy, for this young 2-year-old boy. Luckily there was another child younger who are doctors on board managed to bring back to life, giving CPR. So there's hope, there's sadness all at one go.

HOWELL: And people continue to make this very dangerous journey despite the fact that some countries are very -- and publicly welcoming to the migrants and some are not. What is the statue (ph) you get from people just about how Europe is dividing regarding this issue?

[04:35:04] XUEREB: Well, people keep doing it, the migrants, the refugee keep doing it because they truly feel that this is the only option that they have. So, we need to look at the situation or make ourselves even for a few minutes, make ourselves look at the situation and consider the situation from their perspective. Not from the perspective of someone who has just enjoyed cracking bottles of champagne (inaudible) we are.

I mean this is a reality. People tell us when we take people on board. They tell us that they'd rather be living their life in their homeland, but this is a situation that they have to deal with and we need to somehow or other realize that this is a global issue that requires global solution. And this is important that whether it's the -- it's the NGOs inside -- I'm very happy to know that we work very well. We coordinated very well in this particular instance with the Hellenic Coast Guard, with the rescue coordination center in (inaudible) with the Hellenic Coast Guard in Samos, with (inaudible) and the local fishermen.

I'm very happy that this is happening. But it is not enough as long as people are drowning. Then it means that not enough is being done.

HOWELL: Your work continues as people continue to make this very desperate journey and regrettably, we understand the death of a little boy. The first known death of the year when it comes to the refugees. Martin Xuereb, thank you so much for your time today.

When it comes to this migration, excuse me, of hundreds of thousands of refugees, the crisis is definitely dominated the headlines over the past year. Some of our correspondents sat down to discuss this refugee crisis and what they learned while covering it. And what they think the future holds for the people who are fleeing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These masses of people marching to Europe like that, I don't think I ever would have imagined a scene like that.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When they get to grief and the boat, they just keep...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah.

DAMON: ... on coming and coming. There's this logic out there of -- why don't the just stay in Lebanon or Turkey, you know, they're safe.

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I suppose the question is, would you? I mean, would you? I mean, I think that's what people forget.

DAMON: No, because you need a life. You need to be able to build a life. You need to be able to build a future for your children. And you're not going to have a future sitting in a refugee camp or in a country where you can't actually get a job. You can't pursue your education. You can't pursue your life. And you know what; sadly, the reality is they're not going to go home. The war in Syria isn't going to end in anytime soon, and if it were to end tomorrow, I mean, the country is...

NICK PAYTON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is awful consequence for the decades to come there that the dentist, the architects, the boring people who do those important jobs are not going to be there.

ELBAGIR: Yes.

DAMON: Yes.

WALSH: And they're not going to want to go home, and they're going to be doing that job in Germany.

DAMON: This isn't necessarily, you know, the poorest of the poor that are making this journey.

WARD: No.

DAMON: They can afford it.

WATSON: You know, this was like -- a lot of these folks were middle- class people...

DAMON: Syria's, you know, lower...

WATSON: ... who are coming from the safe parts of Syria.

DAMON: Syria's poorest of the poor sadly are the ones that are either still in Syria because they can't afford to leave and getting bombed just about every single day, or they are the ones who are stuck in the refugee camps. It's not a cheap journey.

WALSH: But it's so universal; it's the sheer volume of people doing it for totally understandable human reasons.

WATSON: There's no way the way the refugee trail unfolded was good for any of the refugees and migrants, or for any of the European states. It kind of weakens...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

WATSON: ... European institutions. It weakens the boundaries and borders.

ELBAGIR: But it also became a debate.

DAMON: And that idea of, you know, Europe, or even America, it's meant to be a democracy. It's meant to uphold all these ideals and values; and to be treated like trash, that's how they felt. They felt like they were being treated like trash.

WARD: That's the heartbreaking moment...

WATSON: I think it depended on the country or the border.

DAMON: Sure. Yes.

WATSON: You know, that's not entirely fair...

DAMON: Yeah. Yes.

WATSON: ... because there were people who welcomed these migrants.

ELBAGIR: Yes, and people who made very difficult political decisions.

WATSON: Exactly, but it also created more of a pull factor and that's -- was that better?

ELBAGIR: Yes. But then we had that conversation in the U.K., where the conservatives said if you stop saving them, they will stop coming. And then you have to debate what that does to your humanity? Can you really watch thousands upon thousands of people washing up on shores?

DAMON: But also, why does it have to get that bad for people to react? Why does it have to take that image of (inaudible) on the beach for people to begin to react?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Some of our correspondents giving their thoughts on the situation. You're watching "CNN Newsroom." Still ahead, one of the busiest airports has one of the most lack of security requirements for aviation officers.

[04:39:51] Ahead, we'll have the details of a CNN Investigation. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm George Howell. Fair to say it is a busy travel weekend in the United States with a lot of people headed home after the holidays. But in the city of Chicago, passengers at both Midway and Chicago's O'Hare airports may be surprised to learn some aviation officers are not only unarmed, but the are told to run away if there is an attack. Here's CNN's senior investigative correspondent Drew Griffin with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN'S SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Take a look at the passenger terminals at Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports and you will see what appear to be police officers. But take a closer look. Not one of them is carrying a gun.

In the event of an active shooter or terrorist strike here, you might be surprised to hear how they've been told to react. Not fight back. Not try to neutralize the threat but instead to run.

You guys are police officers. But you don't have guns. You're unarmed. Do you feel safe when you're working?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, sir. Not safe at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely not.

GRIFFIN: GRIFFIN: Do you feel almost as if you're a sitting target?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.

GRIFFIN: It's not for lack of training or licensing or experience. Aviation police officers are all sworn officers in the state of Illinois. They get the same training as Chicago police, and many are military veterans or have second jobs in suburban police departments. These two officers, speaking in silhouette for fear of being fired, say all they want is to carry a gun like any other law enforcement officer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the floor. On the floor, now. On the floor.

GRIFFIN: Just two years ago at Los Angeles International Airport, a man with an assault rifle killed a TSA officer, wounded several others, before being shot and wounded by an armed police officer. If the same event took place in Chicago's two airports, the nearly 300 unarmed aviation police would be defenseless to stop it.

[04:45:00] So in the event of a -- let's say it's a terrorist attack, let's say it's a shooter, what are you supposed to do?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Run.

GRIFFIN: Run?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hide. GRIFFIN: Hide?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And seek shelter.

GRIFFIN: This internal Chicago Aviation Department document obtained from aviation department sources outlines the policy. If evacuation is not possible, hide. We must also ensure that unarmed security personnel do not attempt to become part of the response. Here's the training video officers say they were instructed to watch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If evacuation is not possible, you should find a place to hide where the active shooter is less likely to find you. Block entry to your hiding place and lock the doors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're nothing but casualties if you tell us to run and hide. And how can the public look at us if they see police officers running and hiding. That goes against the very oath that we were sworn to -- that we took.

GRIFFIN: It's the Chicago police that carry guns at both airports since they are the primary law enforcement agency. If there's a major incident or an arrest, aviation police tell us they must wait for Chicago police to show up, a unique arrangement among major U.S. airports.

MATT BRANDON, SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION LOCAL 73: It doesn't make any sense.

GRIFFIN: Matt Brandon is an official with the union that represents aviation police officers.

So basically, they're just -- I mean, no disrespect to those officers, but as their role at the airport, they're glorified security guards?

BRANDON: That's exactly right. And my question to the city is, you send these men and women to the Chicago Police Academy to be trained as police officers, to be able to respond as police officers, to be able to act as police officers.

GRIFFIN: The Chicago police department has 231 armed officers assigned to O'Hare and Midway, and the city says that's enough. So, too, does the Chicago Aviation Department about its unarmed force. And the staffing level of armed police is for the most part similar to other major U.S. airports.

If you compare the top three busiest airports in the U.S., Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson has 178 armed police, Los Angeles, 572, while O'Hare has budgeted 175. The numbers do not include additional security, such as private security personnel.

In an e-mail to CNN, the aviation department says the multi-level security has proven effective in stopping and preventing crime and that violent crime incidents are extremely low. But there's been no explanation why the nearly 300 aviation police officers here are unarmed. The department is declining to discuss security measures. CNN has surveyed large U.S. airports and found Chicago's use of unarmed aviation police officers is unique, and according to Miami's security expert Wayne Black, absurd.

WAYNE BLACK, PRESIDENT, WAYNE BLACK & ASSOCIATES: You've got sworn law enforcement officers at a U.S. airport that are trained to hide if there's an attack. That's crazy. Airports are targets of terror activity. What are they going to do if somebody runs in with a gun and there's no law enforcement officer there?

GRIFFIN: In October, a man caught with these knives attempted to get on the airfield and actually told the officers he knew they were not even armed. The gun issue has been part of an ongoing dispute between the officers and their chief, Richard Edgeworth. Chicago's aviation police recently took a no-confidence vote against Edgeworth, calling him incompetent, and someone who exerts control through intimidation and fear.

Despite the vote, Edgeworth's boss says he has the full confidence and trust of the aviation department. Edgeworth has repeatedly refused to even answer numerous phone calls from CNN, and when we approached him to ask our questions, he did what his officers are supposed to do if anyone approaches them armed.

GRIFFIN: Excuse me? Hi, Chief Edgeworth? Drew Griffin with CNN.

RICHARD EDGEWORTH, CHIEF SAFETY AND SECURITY OFFICER, CHICAGO DEPARTMENT OF AVIATION: Oh, how are you?

GRIFFIN: Good to see you. We wanted to ask you why your officers aren't armed? Why that the only...

EDGEWORTH: Yeah, I don't have any comment.

GRIFFIN: ... aviation police officers in the United States that apparently are not armed? Wouldn't the public be better protected if they were armed and were able to engage a threat instead of -- sir? Instead of having to run and hide?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: That was CNN special investigations unit correspondent Drew Griffin with that report. Still ahead here on CNN Newsroom, get ready for it. It is Putin mania. With citizens and tourists alike snatching up souvenirs of the Russian leader. There is even a calendar. We'll tell you all about it, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: The Russian President, Vladimir Putin seems to be more popular than ever and in stores in that country there is plenty of merchandise on the shelves to prove it. From t-shirts to even calendars and a men's fragrance. Patriotic citizens are buying up the souvenirs of the Kremlin leader. CNN's Matthew Chance checked it out and even tried out the cologne.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The fans of Vladimir Putin, there's no shortage of stuff with the Russian president image all over it. This Putin t-shirts have been around for awhile but they're still popular New Year's gifts.

All right. So this is the most popular one. This is semi popularly t-shirt.

DANIL PERTLOV, SHOP ASSISTANT, "HEART OF RUSSIA: They are nice and popular.

CHANCE: No, OK. How well do these t-shirts sell?

PERTLOV (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): They sell really well. Maybe tourists buy them but our compatriots buy them as well. They love Putin.

CHANCE: Despite a deep economic crisis and international isolation over the wars in Ukraine and Syria, Putin's ratings are doing well too.

So what about spending the entire year with President Putin? Well that's what this 2016 Putin calendar is promising with every month revealing a carefully chosen image of the Russian leader.

This one has him in Siberia with a horse in the forest. Here, he's smelling a flower and this third one over here, he's working out in the gym.

[04:55:00] But photographs aren't all you get with this calendar. You get Putin's words of wisdom too. Some are characteristically hard line like this one for the month of October, "No one will succeed in gaining military superiority over Russia", Putin says.

Others hint at a softer side. "Dogs and I have very warm feelings for one another", says the Russian leader for November.

One group of Putin supporters has put together an entire book of Putin's best known remarks and one-liners, publishing a limited edition which is set to go on sale next year. The book is called "Words Changing the World". And its publishers say, "It makes the perfect holiday gift for patriotic Russians".

And if reading Putin isn't enough, you can now smell him too with a new men's fragrance that's just hit the shops here in Russia.

All right. Well, here is it. It's called, "Leaders Number One". But make no mistake with the profile of Vladimir Putin on the side and the words inspired by Vladimir Putin. It's pretty clear which leader they're referring to.

Now, the advertising bump says that it smells of citrus fruits and pine needles, a mixture of hard and soft, just lake the President Putin himself. So I suppose, I should give it a try, shouldn't I? Let's have a smell.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you like it?

CHANCE: I'm impartial on it but I can see how it wouldn't be to everybody's taste.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: I think I'll stick with my Austin, Texas, Tom Ford. We thank you for joining us. I'm George Howell at the CNN Center in Atlanta. I'll be back after the break with more news from around the world. You're watching CNN, the world's news leader.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)