Return to Transcripts main page
iDesk
U.S. Warplanes Strike ISIS Camp in Libya; ISIS Using Child Soldiers; Republican Make Final Appeals before Primary; Second Day of "Brexit" Talks; Last Respects to U.S. Justice Scalia; "Trump-Free" Living on Canadian Island. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired February 19, 2016 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN HOST: Ahead at the INTERNATIONAL DESK, U.S. warplanes strike an ISIS camp in Libya.
Donald Trump says he doesn't like fighting with the pope.
And Britain negotiates its future with the E.U.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CURNOW: Hi, everyone, welcome. I'm Robyn Curnow, you're watching the INTERNATIONAL DESK.
The air war against ISIS has now turned to Libya. The aim to take out a high profile operative and stop a possible terror attack in Europe.
We are learning more about U.S. airstrikes overnight on an unusual ISIS training camp. Let's get right to CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.
Hi, there, Barbara, thank you for joining us.
What more do we know?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Robyn, what U.S. officials are now saying is two U.S. F-15s flying warplanes out of Lakenheath, England,
overnight struck early today in Libya, a training camp not that far from the border with Tunisia.
This was a training camp they have had under surveillance for some time and they were very concerned about it. This Tunisian operative was there. The
man said to have been believed, a man named Chouchane, said to have been believed involved and responsible for recent attacks in Tunisia last year,
including the attack at a beach hotel and the attack on the Bardo Museum.
But the training camp had caught the eye of U.S. intelligence. There were as many as 60 operatives there, foreign fighters, and they believe that
they were training for a possible external attack.
The U.S. officials say they don't have a location of where they might have been planning to attack but they can't rule out it might have been Europe.
They can't rule out it might have been not back across the border in Tunisia.
What they were seeing at this camp was advanced training in firearms and maneuver tactics, so this, combined with that top Tunisian ISIS operative
being there, went to a lot of alarm bells about what was going on. They got approval and moved against this camp earlier today -- Robyn.
CURNOW: Barbara, many Western analysts we've spoken to here on the show, many of them military, have been warning of the dangers of a disintegrating
Libya for awhile.
Is this a start of more engagement in Libya?
We know some special ops and reconnaissance teams have been on the ground.
So what is next?
STARR: Well, they have been in and out on the ground but with no government, real central functioning government in Libya yet. There's some
efforts made to establish one. It's hard for the U.S. and allies to find an actual party on the ground that they can partner with and work with.
So the top priority right now is to get that political equation in place. But at the same time, they know that ISIS is moving in, establishing camps,
recruiting foreign fighters to Libya and they don't want to let that get out of hand.
So it's our understanding that the U.S. military strategy right now is to have attack options, strike options, ready to go when these very specific
targets emerge.
When there's intelligence about operatives or a potential plan or plot to attack, that's when the U.S. feels it can move against those ISIS targets
still, while trying very urgently on the diplomatic side to get a political structure in place in Libya, getting a government in that country, getting
control over the country.
The U.S. believes is very crucial to getting ISIS out of there -- Robyn.
CURNOW: OK. As always, Barbara Starr, thanks so much for your reporting.
Let's get more on this. Charlie Winter is a terror expert from Georgia State University. He has a new report today out about ISIS and child
soldiers. We're going to talk about that in a moment. I just want to what Barbara was saying there.
You watch and monitor ISIS a lot online.
How entrenched and established are they in Libya?
Do we know?
CHARLIE WINTER, GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY'S TRANSCULTURAL CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE INITIATIVE: ISIS has been trying to get a foothold in Libya for a
long time now. It's not simply something that's happened over the last year. It's not something that simply happened since the caliphate was
announced in 2014, either. It's been something where it's been building the infrastructure for a very long time.
And there have been certain areas in Libya that do have a fairly strong ISIS presence. But as well as ISIS, there are a great many other militias,
other jihadist factions as well, which are all thriving in this climate of instability, which is why I completely agree with the U.S. government that
the idea of diplomacy and finding a political solution to the stalemate in Libya is the key to resolving this issue.
And, yes, surgical strikes like ones that do and tackle and target an individual or individuals known to be training for something, I think
that's a good policy with regards to that specific security threat. But there's no solution to what's happening without more stability politically.
CURNOW: Yes. And that's pretty difficult.
OK. Let's move on. I want to talk about your new report --
[10:05:00]
CURNOW: -- on child soldiers in ISIS. You have co-authored it. And the results were first published in the "CTC Sentinel." Now we want to analyze
what you said and it turns out that you found out that the deaths of 89 children eulogized in ISIS propaganda has intensified, particularly over
the last year.
The majority of them were killed in detonating vehicle-borne explosives or as soldiers in the battlefield; 60 percent of them were teenagers between
12 to 16; 6 percent were younger than 12; 36 percent of them died in Syria and 51 percent died in Iraq. The rest were killed in Yemen, Libya and
Nigeria.
So ISIS has a training institute. You've watched that, monitored it. They are quite good with the propaganda as terms of this training institute for
young soldiers but your investigation seems to point to this acceleration, which is what's concerning.
WINTER: Yes, well, what's particularly concerning is the fact that not only is ISIS operationalizing children in this way but it's doing so in
accelerating rates. And it's bucking the child soldier norm. It's not using children uniquely to fill its ranks or to engage in operations that
adults can't do.
It's using them right alongside adults and eulogizing them in the very same way. And we are seeing an accelerating rate of children being used in
suicide bombings or in run-of-the-mill, conventional operations as well. And just yesterday, in fact, there were five more children and youth that
were eulogized by the official ISIS propagandists, bringing the total for February already very high.
CURNOW: We have done a lot of reporting on this at CNN. And I just want to play our viewers some of that reporting. Here's Nima Elbagir.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This 12-year-old boy was featured in the Al Farouq Institute propaganda video. He says he was
training to be a suicide bomber.
Now reunited with his mother, he's asked us not to broadcast his face or his voice. He's asked that we call him "Nasir," not his real name.
"NASIR," ISIS CHILD SOLDIER (through translator): There were 60 of us. The scariest times for us all were when the airstrikes happened. They'd
lead all of us underground into the tunnels to hide. They told us the Americans, the unbelievers, were trying to kill us but they, the fighters,
they loved us.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): This, of course, was all part of the indoctrination. His ISIS handlers would tell him they were now his only family.
"NASIR" (through translator): When we were training, they would tell us our parents were unbelievers, unclean, and that our first job was to go
back and kill them, that we were cleaning the world of them, of all unbelievers.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): "Nasir" says the youngest of the boys was 5 years old, none of them exempt from the grueling training.
"NASIR" (through translator): We weren't allowed to cry but I would think about my mother, think about her worrying about me and I'd try and cry
quietly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: So we hear there about these training institutes.
Do we know how the suicide bombers, the martyrs are selected from these groups?
WINTER: Well, specifically in the case of children and youth, we don't know the specifics of that. But we do know that there's a martyrdom
register, which is essentially you sign up to put in your interest in carrying out this suicide operation --
(CROSSTALK)
CURNOW: But an 8-year old is not going to sign up.
WINTER: Exactly, I mean --
(CROSSTALK)
CURNOW: -- or a 12-year old, even.
WINTER: -- ISIS doesn't broadcast the details of how it selects children to engage in these operations. But I wouldn't be surprised. There's lots
about ISIS which is totally abhorrent and I wouldn't be surprised if they took advantage of the fact that children can't make decisions for
themselves but think that they are.
CURNOW: And we do know that some of these children have consent, parental consent to be there.
WINTER: Absolutely. Just today, in fact, a video was released, showing a young child who had engaged in a suicide operation in Aleppo province.
There's an interview about his journey to the point at which he decided to embark on a suicide operation.
And in the video, he says farewell to his dad, (INAUDIBLE) entrance to his vehicle-borne IED. It's very peculiar and troubling and a deeply worrying
situation that not only is ISIS doing it but it's brazenly boasting about it. We haven't really seen this with other jihadist organizations or other
militias, this level of boasting.
CURNOW: And there's a level of boasting online, using it as propaganda.
How did you analyze?
How did you manage to quantify the number of children?
WINTER: So we spent a good bit of time building a database and coding all of these photos that are being released by ISIS over the course of the 30-
month period between January 2015 and January 2016 and we coded the database to 24 variables.
So we could get as much detail from what is essentially just one piece of data, so one photograph, things like what the child's nationality was, we'd
get that from his kunya (ph), his nom de guerre. We'd get the target, the target type, the location. And all of these different details --
[10:10:00]
WINTER: -- and in our database, we get then kind of analyze it descriptively and quantitatively and see -- pick up the kind of broader
trends over the course of the year.
And the key thing, I think, that I'm taking away from this study is the fact that children are not only fighting alongside adults but it's
accelerating at a rate which is really, really quite significant. And it's in the last few months that that rate has really begun accelerating.
CURNOW: OK. Thank you so much. And I understand this is just the beginning of your studies. There's a lot more to try and figure out.
Charlie Winter, as always, thank you so much.
WINTER: Thank you.
CURNOW: We're now up against the deadline world powers announced last week for a so-called cessation in hostilities in Syria and yet it's still
unclear whether the fighting will stop or even slow down.
The Syria task force is scheduled to meet later today to iron out details that could lead to a pause in the fighting. U.S. and Russian diplomats
announced the partial truce last Friday.
Many groups fighting on the ground weren't part of their discussions. The U.S. State Department says its diplomats held an unannounced meeting with
their Russian counterparts last night but as of now, it's not clear if anyone will lay down their arms.
And Saturday is a big day in the race for the White House. Republican voters head to the polls in South Carolina and Democrats caucus in the
Western state of Nevada. We'll update you on the races in both states. That's next.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CURNOW (voice-over): You're looking a at live pictures there of the U.S. Supreme Court. The body of Justice Antonin Scalia lying there in repose.
A private ceremony has just wrapped up, attended by family and friends. A public viewing is to begin soon.
Visitors will stream in throughout the day to pay their respects to a man who dominated court arguments and helped shape American law for almost
three decades.
And his casket there, lying on a podium, the same podium borrowed from Congress that also held Abraham Lincoln's coffin, and it's also not very
far away from the courtroom where he did dominate that court for so long.
We know that President Obama and the first lady will visit the Supreme Court today to pay their respects. They will not, however, attend the
funeral mass tomorrow. We'll have a live report a little bit later on in the show.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CURNOW: OK. Republicans and Democrats head to the polls in two different states on Saturday for the next major contest of the presidential campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW (voice-over): Jeb Bush was up early for a rally in Spartanburg, South Carolina, this morning. He's campaigning with his mother, Barbara,
and trying to improve his poll numbers ahead of Saturday's --
[10:15:00]
CURNOW (voice-over): -- Republican primary.
Democratic voters will caucus on Saturday in Nevada. Hillary Clinton and rival Bernie Sanders are battling it out for the state's Latino vote.
CNN wrapped up a two-day Republican town hall in Columbia, South Carolina, on Thursday. And as Athena Jones reports, Donald Trump was quick to pull
back from some harsh rhetoric he had about Pope Francis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On night two of CNN's GOP town hall, Donald Trump, toning down the rhetoric in his feud with the pope
but turning up the heat on former president George W. Bush.
DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He started something that destroyed the Middle East. It started ISIS.
JONES (voice-over): The billionaire questioning Bush's reasons for going to war in Iraq but dancing around a previous claim that Bush's
administration lied about their knowledge of weapons of mass destruction.
TRUMP: Well, a lot of people agree with what I said. And I'm not talking about lying. I'm not talking about not lying. Nobody really knows why we
went into Iraq.
I don't know what he did. I just know it was a terrible mistake --
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: And was it a mistake for you to say in that debate that you thought he lied?
TRUMP: I'd have to see the exact word. Look, I don't know. I would probably say that something was going on. I don't know why he went in.
JONES (voice-over): Trump dismissing an interview with Howard Stern in 2002, where he made comments supporting the war.
COOPER: He asked you, are you for invading Iraq.
You said, yes, I guess so, you know, I wish the first time it was done correctly.
Is that accurate?
Do you remember saying that?
TRUMP: No, but I mean, I could have said that. Nobody asked me. I wasn't a politician. It was probably the first time anybody asked me that
question.
JONES (voice-over): The front-runner backtracking after calling Pope Francis "disgraceful" for questioning his faith. The pope criticized
Trump's continuous calls to build a wall as "not Christian."
TRUMP: And he also talked about having a wall is not Christian. And he's got an awfully big wall at the Vatican, I will tell you.
I think it was probably a little bit nicer statement than it was reported by you folks in the media. I have a lot of respect for the pope. I think
he has got a lot of personality.
JONES (voice-over): His rivals, Jeb Bush and John Kasich, having mixed reactions to the pope's remarks.
GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), OHIO: Here's what I will say. We have a right to build a wall but I got to tell you, there are too many walls between us.
We need bridges between us if we're going to fix the problems in Washington because all they do is have walls.
JEB BUSH, FORMER GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But I don't question people's Christianity. I think that's a relationship they have
with their Lord and Savior and themselves. So I just don't think it's appropriate to question Donald Trump's faith. He knows what his faith is.
And he has a -- if he has a relationship with the Lord, fantastic. If he doesn't, it's none of my business.
JONES (voice-over): Bush taking an apparent dig at Trump later while listing the good things about being a self-proclaimed introvert.
BUSH: Listening allows you to learn and then you have a chance to lead.
And rather than being a big blowhard and just talking all the time, what are you going to learn when you're talking?
Nothing.
JONES (voice-over): With his mother, former first lady Barbara Bush in the audience, Jeb gushed about his family.
BUSH: It's a blast being with George because I love him dearly. I realized pretty quickly in my life if I could be half the man my dad was,
that that would be a pretty good goal.
JONES (voice-over): And so did Kasich, the Ohio governor sharing how he grew in faith after losing his parents in a car accident.
KASICH: It's really where I found the Lord. Life is -- it's so rocky. It's so fragile. We have to build our homes, our lives, our homes on solid
granite, not on sand. And I have found that, even though the pain still comes, there's where I have to go.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Athena Jones reporting there.
Well, Donald Trump still leads the polls in South Carolina. But by how much depends on the polls. CNN's Phil Mattingly joins me now from the
state capital of Columbia.
Hi, there, Phil. Let's just talk about this spat with the pope. All the candidates seem to be treading lightly or lighter here. No one seems to
want to take on the Holy Father.
But does this conversation have any political consequences?
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's really hard to tell, Robyn. We went into yesterday and if you would have told me there will be a fight
between Donald Trump and the pope, well, frankly, after the last nine months, I might not have been that surprised. But it was a strange turn to
what is generally a raucous primary down in South Carolina.
The big question is, will there be some mass defection from Donald Trump in the wake of this?
First, he ratcheted it down quite a bit yesterday during the CNN town hall, as you just heard. But second off, South Carolina has the 49th most
Catholics in the U.S., based on state population. So that Catholics would leave en masse for Donald Trump right now or have some kind of major impact
on the race, I don't think that's very likely.
One of the most interesting things, Robyn -- and you've seen this quite a bit -- over the last couple months, every time people predict people are
going to run away from Donald Trump based on a comment, they tend to end up staying and actually growing in support. So I don't think it's going to
have a marketable impact or a marked impact on this race -- Robyn.
CURNOW: Yes, no, you're right on that point. Let's talk, though, about religion. Religion is a very big part of this race. Evangelicals,
everyone says they are going to play a part in South Carolina.
[10:20:00]
CURNOW: But evangelicals are not just one big voting bloc, are they?
MATTINGLY: That's exactly right. They're not monolithic. And I think that's one of the more interesting dynamics in this race. And it was this
case in Iowa, where evangelicals also play a large role in the voting, but also in South Carolina, is the expectation is somebody like Donald Trump,
based on some of his past statements, based on some of his flubs when it comes to talking about his Christianity, just the lexicon that he uses
doesn't necessarily track with what we're used to hearing.
You wouldn't expect him to attract the evangelical vote. Yet in some polls he's 2-1 over Ted Cruz in some of those areas. That is where a key fight
is playing out between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz for those evangelical voters.
A lot of top evangelical leaders have gotten behind Ted Cruz's campaign, trying to chip away at Donald Trump's numbers over the last couple weeks.
If Ted Cruz is to move closer to Donald Trump over the next couple of or 24 hours, really, it will be in large part because he was able to harness some
of that evangelical support -- Robyn.
CURNOW: Yes, and South Carolina very much a signpost as to perhaps the rest -- how the rest of the South might go.
Let's talk about another proportion of the electorate where you are. People who were in the military, are in the military, somehow linked to the
military.
And this whole conversation Donald Trump is having about the Iraq War, a war that many of those voting will have fought in or lost comrades in, that
this war was a huge mistake, how does that play into all of that?
MATTINGLY: It's another issue, Robyn, where we're really interested to see the exit polling here because you would think this was what Donald Trump
has done when it comes to the Iraq War, what he's done when it comes to 9/11, goes completely against Republican orthodoxy on how those issues are
discussed within the Republican Party.
Will it have an impact on his votes, will voters really take this into account come tomorrow?
Now according to a number of the established campaigns, obviously Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida whose brother was the president then; Marco
Rubio; John Kasich; this should hurt him.
Marco Rubio just held an event behind me about an hour ago, says his favorite part in South Carolina is asking the veterans to raise their hands
at his events, where there's a number of hands that go up. So there's a chance this could have a negative impact.
But again, Robyn, as we've talked about a lot, you just never know when it comes to Donald Trump's numbers.
CURNOW: No, you can't predict anything here. Thanks so much. Phil Mattingly, who is trying to unpack it all for us but it is. It's new
territory for all of us, isn't it? Thanks so much.
We'll take a look at the Democratic caucuses in about 20 minutes to see just how big the stakes are there in the U.S. presidential race. You're
with the INTERNATIONAL DESK.
An English breakfast is dragging on into dinner as European Union leaders work to keep Britain in the E.U.
Will they strike an elusive deal?
We're live in Brussels with CNNMoney's Nina dos Santos, next.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CURNOW: European Union leaders are back at the negotiating table after all-night talks to keep Britain in the E.U. CNNMoney Europe editor Nina
dos Santos joins me now live from Brussels.
Hi, there, Nina. We understand David Cameron only got to bed at 5:00 am.
How long is he willing to stay to get a deal?
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNNMONEY EUROPE EDITOR: He's made it clear, Robyn, that he's willing to stay as long as necessary. He tweeted earlier today that
he has warned the wife and kids that he may not be home before Sunday, much to the annoyance of the press pack, as you can see behind me, because we
have hundreds of journalists from all corners --
[10:25:00]
ELBAGIR: -- of Europe here, hunkered down.
And when he originally arrived here on Friday, they thought, well, maybe things would be wrapped up by this time today. But it doesn't seem as
though that's the case at all.
And what's really interesting is that as these negotiations have continued, what we have at the moment is various E.U. countries in their own
individual bilateral meetings to try and see eye-to-eye before the whole lot of them come together over the table.
If it's afraid to say we have had all sorts of jokes coming out about the ever-changing menu. Not so much what's on the discussion table but what is
on the table nutritionally because these leaders were supposed to have ironed out their differences, come together for a working breakfast, which
is supposed to be an English breakfast, by the way.
Then they were supposed to have a lunch, then they were supposed to have a tea and we have just learned in the last couple of minutes or so from
Donald Tusk's spokesman that now the leaders have been told it's probably likely that they are going to have to book hotel rooms here in Brussels and
come back for a dinner.
Now just a couple of moments ago, I was looking over this balcony and I could see the Estonian prime minister, sneaking off to one side, leaving
the building with his entourage. And we have seen other leaders start to decide to depart.
But the key sticking issue that is being negotiated over there in that room remains among four Eastern European countries and David Cameron, talking
about an emergency break to migrant benefits for people who come into the U.K.
And then we still have France holding out in certain positions and Greece, also deciding to play tough on issues of border control.
So, at the moment, it doesn't seem as though we have a deal and people are preparing themselves for perhaps the whole weekend.
Apparently the Polish prime minister I saw on Twitter had been asked, "Did you have to cancel your weekend plans?"
And he apparently replied meekly, "I have no weekend plans."
CURNOW: Yes, Well I think they could have been warned of this E.U.'s not known for its brevity or for winding things up fast. But this does
redefine the relationship possibly or test the ties of the union. So very important decisions being made. Nina dos Santos, thanks so much.
There is fear and concern in Nairobi as wildlife officials track two escaped lions. The pride got loose from a national park in the Kenyan --
near the Kenyan capital overnight. That park is protected by electric fences so it isn't clear how the big cats got out.
One lioness and a cub have been recaptured unharmed. The two still on the loose are believed to be in an area that is densely populated with numerous
apartment buildings. People are being asked to call a toll-free number if they spot the lions.
Still ahead, the U.S. prepares to say goodbye, a final farewell to a member of the Supreme Court. We'll go to Washington after the break.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:30:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
Welcome back, you're watching the INTERNATIONAL DESK. I'm Robyn Curnow. Here's a check of the headlines.
(HEADLINES)
CURNOW: And in the U.S. family, friends and fellow justices are saying a final farewell to Antonin Scalia. Justice Scalia is lying in repose in the
Supreme Court building where he served for three decades.
The public will pay its respects throughout the day. His funeral is Saturday. U.S. President Barack Obama will be among the mourners today but
he won't be attending the funeral.
For more on this, let's bring in Jonathan Turley. He's a law professor at George Washington University.
We saw these very somber images of the justice's casket there, held on a podium that also held the coffin, the casket of Abraham Lincoln. This is a
man who had a profound effect on American jurisprudence but also legal life in the U.S.
JONATHAN TURLEY, GWU: He did. He left an enormous legal legacy but also a vacuum on the court. This is the ultimate conservative icon. He was the
intellectual force on this court. He will be hard to replace.
And it's a very sad time for the court members themselves. Even though they were deeply divided along jurisprudential or ideological lines, they
were actually quite close, including the attraction of opposites, as they say.
You have Justice Ginsberg and Justice Kagan, who couldn't be further from Scalia in terms of his view of the law, and yet they were very close as
friends.
CURNOW: Yes, they were called, particularly Justice Ginsburg and him were called sort of an odd couple. And you say it does leave a vacuum. And the
timing of this is what is so sad.
This is a man, who family and friends are there, remembering, mourning for but it's the first time -- I think there was a -- it was about 50 years
when a sitting judge of the Supreme Court didn't die on the bench. And the fact that he died now in the middle of a presidential election has really
huge political ramifications.
TURLEY: This is exceptionally rare, as you note. And it's occurring at a time that could be -- could not be more divisive politically and more
really confrontational.
The fact is that the Republicans are correct, that anyone appointed by President Obama's likely to significantly change the landscape of the
court. There -- we have many cases that are currently held by a 5-4 conservative majority, from guns to affirmative action, to abortion issues.
All of those could potentially flip, even with the appointment of a moderate. And so the stakes could not be higher. And it's all occurring,
of course, during one of the most divisive and passionate presidential campaigns we have seen in this country.
CURNOW: Indeed, as you know, there could be a shift to a more liberal court. The U.S. hasn't seen that, I think, in a generation.
So how do you think this will make an impact on ordinary voters in South Carolina, for example, who are going to vote in a primary?
Do they look at these pictures?
How does the impact of the death of this one man make a difference in how somebody is going to vote?
TURLEY: Well, this is what Justice Scalia always said he didn't want to happen. He admitted that he wanted to wait to leave the court when he was
assured that someone would be appointed of his same ilk. And it would be perfectly nightmarish for many on the conservative Right to think of
President Obama making that choice.
In terms of the voters, I think that it's more likely for conservatives to be energized during this campaign. They have the most to lose.
[10:35:00]
TURLEY: Not since Justice Marshall was replaced by Justice Thomas have we seen such a sharp ideological change in the making.
And conservatives, I think, are rightfully concerned about that and I expect that they are going to go to the polls.
Now there's a good question as to whether President Obama will appoint someone that will energize the Democratic ranks. The Republicans have said
they will not let a nominee get through.
So the president can either appoint someone he thinks can get through or he can appoint someone that's sort of in baseball we call a sacrifice fly,
someone who --
(CROSSTALK)
CURNOW: -- essentially.
TURLEY: -- exactly, someone who is going to really energize the base. And there's some in that category.
CURNOW: So is there a lot of jostling now?
How competitive to get a Supreme Court position?
Obviously it's the job of a lifetime. And one of our cnn.com writers said that it was probably also potentially the worst job in Washington.
TURLEY: Well, it's most certainly the job of a lifetime; you get lifetime tenure and you're one of nine. But there's a question of who would really
want this particular job.
It's sort of like joining the Navy to be a target buoy because this hearing is really going to damage a nominee any way it goes. You'll have lots of
groups that will try to pick apart a nominee.
So some people may say, for the grace of God, I'd like this cup to pass from my lips. But there are always people willing to take that chance.
It's not clear how this will play out. The White House believes that the GOP will back down, that they will approve a nominee, particularly if it's,
as expected, a moderate.
But many in the Republican ranks are saying that they will not let that day come when President Obama selects the replacement for Nino Scalia.
CURNOW: Jonathan Turley, thanks so much for your perspective.
You're watching CNN. More news after the break.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CURNOW: Welcome back, you're watching CNN. I'm Robyn Curnow.
The Democratic race for the U.S. presidential nomination comes to Nevada this Saturday. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton will be facing off in
caucuses in the Western state. Our Jonathan Mann explains what's at stake, why Nevada is important.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
JONATHAN MANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Nevada caucuses could turn into an old-fashioned Wild West showdown.
SEN. HARRY REID, MAJORITY LEADER: Look at Nevada, it's a microcosm of our country. It is what America is all about.
MANN (voice-over): It's the first caucus on the campaign calendar held in the Western U.S. Democrats turn out February 20th, Republicans three days
later. It's new to the process. Nevada's first caucus was just in 2004 but now it's seen as a critical battleground for Bernie Sanders and
Hillary Clinton, fighting to win over an electorate more diverse than Iowa or New Hampshire --
[10:40:00]
MANN (voice-over): -- with more Hispanic and African American voters.
While the state is geographically large, the race will likely be won or lost in just one city: Las Vegas. Sin City and the surrounding Clark
County are home to three-quarters of the state's population.
Recent history suggests Nevada is Clinton country. Hillary Clinton narrowly won the vote in the 2008 caucus. Bill Clinton carried the state
in both the 1992 and '96 elections, helping him win the White House both times.
The Sanders campaign hopes to change, spending millions on TV ads in both English and Spanish and adding at least 50 staffers in 11 offices across
the state. Nevada senator Harry Reid tells CNN the race is his home state is too tight to call.
REID: I expect it to be very close.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think it's a toss-up?
REID: I think it's going to be very close.
MANN (voice-over): Oddsmakers agree, giving both Clinton and Sanders a 50- 50 chance of winning. We'll find out which candidate hits the Nevada jackpot on Saturday.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Well, Jonathan Mann has a show every week that covers the candidates. POLIMANN is on Saturdays at 7:00 pm in London. Be sure to
watch every week for the entire campaign season.
It's not uncommon to hear Americans threaten to move to Canada when they don't support a newly elected president. Now one Canadian island is
capitalizing on that. A radio deejay there is promising a Donald Trump- free zone for anyone willing to relocate. Jeanne Moos has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Donald Trump deals with protesters --
TRUMP: Get him out.
MOOS (voice-over): -- he doesn't mean out of the country but for those who want to voluntarily leave --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, Americans. Donald Trump may become the president of your country. If that happens and you decide to get the hell out of
there, might I suggest moving to Cape Breton Island.
MOOS: First of all, where is Cape Breton?
MOOS (voice-over): It's in Nova Scotia, along Canada's Eastern Coast.
Boy, is it beautiful.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And nobody has a handgun.
MOOS (voice-over): Cape Breton Radio deejay Rob Calabrese (ph) is no Donald Trump fan. His iftrumpwins website started as a joke.
Come on up to Cape Breton.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where women can get abortions, Muslim people can roam freely and the only walls are holding up the roofs of our extremely
affordable houses.
MOOS (voice-over): There are answers to questions like, "How do I emigrate to Canada?"
Though often.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They want to know if they can bring their cats to Canada.
MOOS (voice-over): The website has been flooded with hundreds and hundreds of inquiries.
MOOS: Would you consider moving to Canada if Donald Trump were elected president?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm thinking Berlin.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would do it in a heartbeat. I would.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I'm an American. I'm going to stay here no matter who's president.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm moving to Europe if he's elected president.
MOOS (voice-over): But in Cape Breton, they need people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely. We have an unsustainable population decline.
MOOS (voice-over): Housing is a bargain. We saw 3-bedroom waterside houses selling for $200,000, even $25,000. Sure, Rob has gotten some angry
emails from Trump supporters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why want anyone want to move to Canada, especially some isolated known-for-nothing place like Cape Breton?
MOOS (voice-over): Well, it's known for something now.
Cape Breton's motto, "Your heart will never leave."
TRUMP: Get him the hell out of here, will you, please?
MOOS (voice-over): Jeanne Moos, CNN --
TRUMP: Bye-bye.
MOOS (voice-over): -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: She always manages to get a laugh, doesn't she?
Well, that does it for us here at the INTERNATIONAL DESK. Thanks for watching. I'm Robyn Curnow. And I'll be back in just over an hour.
"WORLD SPORT" is next.
END
