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In Saudi Arabia, Missiles, Arrest, And A Resignation; Saudi Foreign Minister Speaks To CNN Amid Shake Up; tackling Corruption In The Kingdom; Behind Resignation Of Lebanon's Prime Minister; Kingdom's End Game On Iran. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired November 06, 2017 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:01:04] LYNDA KINKADE, CONNECT THE WORLD, CNN: Hello and welcome to "Connect the World." I am Lynda Kinkade. Well, was it single missile

fired or an act of war? The resignation of a friend or a leader forced out? Clearing out corruption or crushing opposition? The hugely important

kingdom in Saudi Arabia and waging war both within and without. All led by its ambitious all powerful 32-year-old crowned prince. There is nowhere

better to start than "Connect the World" for the real scoop on this international exclusive. The kingdom's foreign minister has spoken to our

Becky and about this anti-corruption campaign. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADEL AL-JUBEIR, SAUDI ARABIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: I can assure you that the kingdom of Saudi Arabia takes very seriously the issue of corruption waste

and this management. We want investors to have confidence in our system. We want companies to know when they come to compete in Saudi Arabia, they

can compete fair a square with any other company and not be subject to people using influence or their position in order to extract better deals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: We got a lot to cover this hour. Let us got our colleague John Defterios, he joins us now live from Abu Dhabi. John, a lot of government

ministers and prince's and business leaders detained in Saudi Arabia. Just give us a sense of how the international community is reacting

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Well, Linda, it's an extra ordinary move. This is an effort to be transparent and root out corruption

but there is a question of a consolidation of power. It is talked about an overhaul in terms of the communities. Princes, city ministers, foreign

ministers and even leaders in the business community. But as one top adviser to the crown prince told me this is a last chance to try to reform

Saudi Arabia, and open up society, getting women to drive in June 2018 is just part of it. Transparency in corruption is another key element of the

reforms by Mohammad bin Salman, the young crown prince.

It's fascinating to watch who actually was taken in here. Let us look at some of the bigger names and the implications of it all. Prince bin Talal

worth about $17 billion saw some of his wealth eroded in the last 24 hours, because of his arrest by some $1.1 billion. A prolific investor, the

(inaudible) in Paris, the Four Season hotel chain and other projects. Investor at apple, twitter, news corps and Citi group. The son of King

Dallah, the former ruler of Saudi Arabia was running the National Guard. He is now been relieved of the duties and rested. In fact many of those

connected to this arrest were related him or had very close ties. The co- owner of NBC the media group which also owns a very popular Arabic news CNN here in the Middle East taken in and the older brother of Osama Bin Laden

also arrested.

He had a joint project to build the largest tower in the world. One kilometer high that sits outside Jeddah. It's worth $20 billion. So a big

question mark over that Lynda. I spoke to a specialist in the gulf economies at the London school of economics. He said reigning in the

princes is a good idea it sends the right signal. Attacking the merchant class is a different score all together, because it could freeze up the

economy in the future. We heard from the Attorney General this evening who put out a statement just over an hour ago trying to clarify the position of

the king and his son, the crown prince. He was suggesting this is the end of phase one of the corruption campaign.

Not the beginning of it. But the end. But for the international community they are looking in from the outside, they clearly want to know how many

phases are there to go. You're trying to build this economy out, but of course you don't want this to be a never ending process. I think that is

what the Attorney General is trying to get at this evening with that statement, Lynda.

[10:05:07] KINKADE: John, this is a country that of course has almost a quarter of world's oil reserves, so certainly a lot of business interests

there. What is the biggest risk from a business perspective?

DEFTERIOS: Well, the biggest risk is in the past Saudi Arabia has embarked on my different reform programs. In fact, you go back to the 1970s.

They've had a series of five year reform plan that were never delivered. Mohammad bin Salman, we sat on an off the record briefing with him, just

two weeks ago, they had the big investment conference in Riyadh is clearly out to change that. He has some very big plans. He wants to create a $2

trillion wealth fund. That would be double the size of the one in Norway. They want to take it out to the public market at 5 percent in 2018. Will

that include an international component? That is the big question. They want to be a top 20 economy by 2030 when the so-called vision 2030 is

completed. But you have to be very concerned to your question here what happens in the near term. They're projected to not have any growth in

2017. 0.1 percent according to the international monetary fund. Perhaps 1 percent in 2018. This is an economy that was growing 6 percent when we

sold oil at $100 a barrel. We've entered a new phase of Saudi Arabia right now. The real question mark is will this be a transparent process in the

fight against corruption, can he deliver the reforms he is suggesting, can he deliver on the three mega projects including the new neon city. He is a

man of confidence. He acts much older than 22 years old. This is quite a shock to the system to see so many arrests reaching into so many different

layers of Saudi society.

KINKADE: A huge shock to the system. John Defterios good to have you with us covering all those developments there. We are going to the heart of

Saudi Arabia now. My colleague Becky Anderson is in Riyadh and is going to take it from here, Becky?

BECKY ANDERSON, CONNECT THE WORLD, CNN: Lynda thank you, we are just back from that interview with the foreign minister which you will see

momentarily. The changes in Riyadh here are shaking things up domestically of course, but other events in Saudi Arabia are rocking the region.

Lebanon Prime Minister saying he fears for his life. Just hours ago Hariri met with Saudi King Salman two days after he announced his resignation from

Riyadh. This the Lebanese Prime Minister announcing his resignation on Saudi back TV here.

Now come the claim and counterclaim of who is behind it. Hariri attacking Iran and Hezbollah talking about disorder in Lebanon as a result of their

activities, their involvement, Tehran insisting Saudi Arabia and the U.S. are behind it. Let's go to CNN Senior international correspondent Ben

Wedeman in Beirut. What's the latest you are hearing there about the Prime Minister Hariri and his situation?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're hearing there's a possibility that he could be coming back to Lebanon within the next few

days and in fact, we heard the justice minister (inaudible) that his resignation will only be considered if it was voluntary. So there is some

Lebanese speculating that Saudi Hariri surprise announcement that he was quitting his job was not his own. That it was made under duress.

Certainly, we heard last night, Becky, from the Secretary General Hezbollah who suggested that his resignation announcement was dictated to him by

Saudi officials.

However, we did see as you mentioned before that Hariri did meet with King Salman today. He also took a picture of himself and posted it on twitter

meeting with the newly appointed Saudi ambassador to Lebanon, so perhaps he is not under some form of house arrest or detention as some Lebanese were

speculating. Really people continue to be confused as to what was really behind his decision to resign. Because you recall that he made two visits

to Saudi Arabia within the span of five days. After the first visit, he returned indicating that his government which includes ministers from

Hezbollah had the support of the government of Saudi Arabia. That Saudi Arabia was behind him. Then he returned on Friday and then the next day

making this announcement to resign. So there's still a lot of confusion. The attitude it appears of the government here is that until he returns to

Lebanon, everything is on hold. So confusion reins at the moment here in Beirut. Becky.

[10:10:19] ANDERSON: I just got back from an interview with the Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Ben, and he said that he was absolutely free to

leave. That interview is coming up as we discuss the circumstances around Saad Hariri's resignation here. When we step back for a moment and look at

the bigger regional picture, how significant is do you think, what is unfolded in Riyadh over these past 48 hours?

WEDEMAN: Well, certainly this suggests that Mohammad bin-Salman, the crown prince, his ambitions are huge in terms of trying to reform Saudi society,

trying to basically fire over the bow of Iran to try to stem the growth of the Iranian influence, but I was speaking with one analyst today who said

that the Saudis, when it comes to hard middle eastern politics are relatively newcomers. Traditionally they were low key. Behind the scene

using their money to try to get their way. It's only recently they've become of more aggressive. Going back to the days of Cyrus the great,

almost three millennial go, Iran was a regional power and it is a master at state craft, something that the Saudis are relatively new, certainly just

Johnny come lately compared to Iran and the Iranians have the ability, the resources, the economy, the experience to run circles around the Saudi.

And also the Trump administration which itself seems to be trying to figure out a policy when it comes to Iran that is really in the point of

formation. So certainly the coming of sort of trying to confront Iran to stop Iran is a tall order at this point. Keeping in mind, for instance,

that the Iranians, they have been backing Hezbollah since it emerged after the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon since the 1979 revolution in Iran,

Iran has been a firm backer of the regime in Damascus. In Iraq they have very close ties going back to thanks to the United States eliminating their

nemesis, Saddam Hussein in 2003. So Iran has a long-term vision and strategy for the Middle East that is been in place for decades, Becky.

ANDERSON: In Beirut for what is a packed show this hour. We are live from Riyadh for you following these dizzying events here in Saudi Arabia and the

impact that is being felt throughout this region. We will take a very short break at this point. Back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:16:10] ANDERSON: You are back with us in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, a City you'll know, marooned in an ocean of sand. Right here,

right now this place is spinning so dizzyingly fast that it's shaking up the entire region, indeed the world. Take how we started the show clips of

this kingdom's turmoil. A single missile fired or an act of war. In resignation of a friend or leader they forced out. Question, clearing up

corruption here or crushing opposition. This place hugely important as it waging a war both within and without charging (inaudible) under the

leadership of its ambitious and powerful 32-year-old crown prince. Let's hear in full as promised from a man in his inner circle. This country's

foreign minister. This is a fascinating conversation right here.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

AL-JUBEIR: Saudi Arabia has announced a zero tolerance policy for extremism. And it has also announced the zero tolerance for corruption

mismanagement. If we want to achieve our objectives as 2030, we must make sure we have transparent, efficient and accountable government. And this

is why, the supreme commission where established headed by his royal highness the crown prince to deal with the issue of corruption and waste

and mismanagement. We have to do that if we want to have our country move forward and if we want our system to be efficient. With regards to the

resignation of the Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri, it was very clear that his belies undercutting him every time he is doing Iran's bidding that led

the Lebanese political system to become paralyzed. That the issue of government that could act independently was a sham. It was Hezbollah

calling the shots and he basically said enough is enough I'm not doing this and we support him fully in that decision. With regards to the missile

that was launched on Saudi territory, it was an Iranian missile launch by Hezbollah from territory occupied by the Houthis in Yemen. The missile is

very similar to a missile that was launched in July and the town of (inaudible). It was manufactured in Iran. It was disassembled and smuggle

into parts -- into Yemen and it was assembled in Yemen by operatives by the revolutionary guards and Hezbollah and then it was launched against Saudi

Arabia. This is what happened. We see this as act of war. Iran cannot lob missiles at Saudi cities and towns and expect us not to take steps vis-

a-vis Iran under U.N. charter article 51 of the U.N. Charter. The Iranians cannot sit there and interfere in the affairs of the country, whether in

Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq and expect to get a free pass.

ANDERSON: You are calling this an act of war, not a potential act of war, but an act of war, correct?

AL-JUBEIR: This is a very, very hostile act and this is not the first time that missiles have been lobbed at Saudi Arabia. Iranian missiles provide

by Iran's proxies, who are the Houthis and what are Hezbollah, they are subsidies of the Iranian revolutionary government.

ANDERSON: Do you have?

AL-JUBEIR: We have the missiles. The aluminum came from Iran. The guiding systems are from Iran. The cables have Iranian letters on them.

The suicide notes that they used in Yemen are Iranian. The computers have Iranian letters on their keyboards. The headquarters of the coalition to

support the government in Yemen yesterday had an extensive press briefing where they put out all this evidence. There is no doubt that these

missiles and these suicide boats came from Iran.

[10:20:02] ANDERSON: By calling this an act of war, what is Saudi Arabia's intention towards Iraq?

AL-JUBEIR: I'm saying that the Iranians committed an aggression against Saudi Arabia where an Iranian missile was fired at Saudi Arabia more than

once by Iran's proxies. What do you call this? And so the Iran's have violated the U.N. Charter. The Iranians have violated international law by

targeting and allowing their proxies to target civilians in Saudi Arabia. And we have said that we reserve the right to respond in the appropriate

manner at the appropriate time against this hostile aggression by Iran.

ANDERSON: This weekend's extraordinary sweep of high profile members of the royal family, businessmen, and government officials has been criticized

as a power play, a consolidation of power by the crown prince who said this is an anti-corruption probe, and we are going for those at the top. There

will be no escape. What do you say to those critics whose see this as a purge effectively on his opposition?

AL-JUBEIR: I say nonsense. Saudi Arabia has a zero policy when it comes to supporting terrorism and extremism. Saudi Arabia now has zero policy

when it comes to corruption and our vision 20130 calls for efficient accountable transparent government. We cannot afford to have corruption

and waste and mismanagement, reduce our ability to improve the lives of our people. That is why the supreme anti-corruption commission was established

headed by his royal highness the crown prince and is now engaged in doing its work.

ANDERSON: Was it just by default that people like the prince, who is so well known around the world, got caught up in this?

AL-JUBEIR: There is a reason why everybody was brought in or detained and will be questioned and will be investigated. And these have to do with the

commission. And I'm sure that when the investigations are complete that people will know what the reasons are. But I can assure you that the

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia takes very, very seriously the issue of corruption, waste, and mismanagement. We don't -- we want investors to have confidence

in our system. We want companies to know that when they come to compete in Saudi Arabia they can compete fair and square with any other company and

not be subject to people using their influence or their position in order to extract better deals for themselves.

ANDERSON: With the wide reaching sweep will worry the investment community internationally. Does that make sense?

AL-JUBEIR: We don't believe so. We believe that it should instill confidence in people and show them that we are very, very serious about

tackling this issue which as I mentioned earlier, we don't want this to stifle our economic growth or to stifle the confidence of investors in the

kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

ANDERSON: I just want to get back to Yemen and its people specifically, because there has now been a closer of air, road, and sea access in to

Yemen, which is to all intense a blockade. This will only exacerbate an already catastrophic humanitarian situation.

AL-JUBEIR: the coalition has said that they will take to account issue of humanitarian supplies to Yemen people. Our objective is to make sure that

we facilitate the entry into humanitarian assistance into Yemen, but we want to ensure that the Houthis and the Iranians cannot use the port or

other ports in Yemen in order to smuggle missile technology, missiles that are disassembled and then reassembled in Yemen and weapons that harm the

Yemen people and that harm us. The coalition is looking at mechanisms that make the inspection regime in Yemen more efficient while at the same time

increasing the capacity to bring in humanitarian supplies into Yemen.

ANDERSON: You are saying those humanitarian supplies will still get access. The NGO's bringing them today will be getting access.

AL-JUBEIR: What I'm saying is that our objective is to increase the flow of humanitarian sentence in Yemen, but do it in such a way that Iran and

its militias and its proxies cannot use that access in order to smuggle weapons and technology that can be reassemble into missiles in Yemen, that

will then be used against us.

ANDERSON: The leader of the Lebanon base Hezbollah group has said that Saudi Arabia forced the Lebanese Prime Minister to resign. Did you?

AL-JUBEIR: Nonsense. Hezbollah did by its actions. Hezbollah did by hijacking the political system in Lebanon. Hezbollah did by threatening

political leaders, Hezbollah did a series of assignations that they committed over the years.

[10:25:14] ANDERSON: Is he free to leave?

AL-JUBEIR: Of course he is. He is in Saudi Arabia. He is a Lebanese Saudi citizen. To this morning he met with a custodian. Yes. He is a

Saudi citizen.

ANDERSON: The irony of Saad Hariri resignation here in Riyadh on Saudi backed TV will not be lost on those who say that Riyadh Saudi Arabia is

meddling in other people's affairs. Just as Saad Hariri accused Iran of doing the same in Lebanon to which say what?

AL-JUBEIR: I think, this follows the argument he made in the previous question which is that we forced him to resign, but we didn't. Where he

announces his resignation is his business. We supported Saad Hariri becoming Prime Minister. We supported the policies he wanted to implement

in Lebanon, but at every turn we found that Hezbollah put road blocks in his way and that Hezbollah made it difficult for people to govern and the

political climate in Lebanon had descended and became so tense that it reminded him of what happened just before his father was assassinated in

2005 and he basically said enough is enough, I'm not going to do this.

ANDERSON: The wider story here, foreign minister, is the kingdom's very muscular and very visible approach to Iran and witness these latest

allegations of interference in Yemen, the isolating of Qatar because of its relationship with Islamic State, crisis which is now act an impart this

allegations that Saudi Arabia was force to step down. What is the end game here with regards to Iran? Is it regime change? Is it war?

AL-JUBEIR: Well, the objectives Iran to conduct itself as a proper nation. It has to respect international law. It has to respect international

norms. It has to respect the principle of noninterference in other countries. It has to respect the principle of good neighboring. Since the

(inaudible) revolution, what has Iran done? It attacks more than a dozen embassies inside Iran. It assassinated diplomacy member countries, it

conducted terrorist operations in Europe, South America and the Middle East. The list goes on and on and on. And we are saying enough is enough.

ANDERSON: With the kingdom's position with regard to Iran, surely it would be just more sensible to have a GCC that felt robust at present. That

isn't happening. We know that. Five months in and we are at an impasse it seems. There seems to be no way out. They have said if he walks a mile,

he will walk 10,000 miles to meet them, but he says the red line is Qatar's sovereignty. To which you say what?

AL-JUBEIR: I think the Qatar's on denial and the denial from the introspections so they can fix the problems. This is not a crisis. The

Qatar issue is very small. We have huge issues to deal with. Terrorism and extremism, Iran's aggressive behavior, supporting Iraq, Syria, Lebanon,

Yemen, working on Libya. These are huge issues. The Qatar issue is very small and it shouldn't occupy people's attention. What have they done

since we took this step? They signed an MOU financing with t U.S. which they refused to do for years. They allowed American treasury officials

into their banking system which they hadn't done for years. They changed their laws to allow the production of evidence provided by foreign

government which was not the case for many years.

They supported -- they reduced their finding for radical groups in Syria and Libya which opened the door for political settlements there. And they

reduced their support for Hamas which allowed Hamas was forced Hamas to give up. Now we have to see. They have known warrant list who are running

Iran, go around raising money and sending to terrorist groups. That has to stop. They cannot interfere in the affairs of other countries by funding

opposition movements and trying to cost mischief. And so if the countries, didn't have a problem as they say with all due respect, why did they take

all these steps that I just mentioned? They still have a way to go. But they cannot fix their problem unless they acknowledge that they have a

problem.

ANDERSON: It sounds to me as if you do see some light at the end of the tunnel. That you do see some of them compromise.

AL-JUBEIR: It is not about compromise, when it comes to terrorism and extremism, and harboring fugitives, there can be no compromise.

The policy is a policy of zero tolerance. Al-Jazeera for example has been a platform that allows radicals to justify suicide bombings. This has an

impact on our youth -- on our youth.

ANDERSON: Do you regret not the end, because that's clear. The demands were there. But the means by which you went about trying to get Qatar to

change?

AL-JUBEIR: I believe that the steps that the four countries have taken are now forcing Qatar to begin to do -- to take steps that previously...

(CROSSTALK)

AL-JUBEIR: That's not our policy. Our policy is behavior change. Our policy is stop supporting terrorism and extremism. Our policies don't

harbor fugitives. Don't interfere in the affairs of other countries.

Don't spread hate speech and incitement through your media platforms. That's our policy. And I think all countries in the world agree with that

policy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Live from Riyadh, you've been watching my exclusive interview with the foreign minister here on what has been just a remarkable 48 hours

or so. What goes on in Riyadh does not stay in Riyadh as you are well aware. Lot's more ahead in this show, taking a very short break at this

point, back after this.

[10:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: All right. Welcome back. Just after half past 6:00 here. This is Connect the World. I'm live for you in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia tonight.

Well, just a couple of months ago, U.S. President Donald Trump made his first trip to the Middle East to this city, Riyadh as president of course.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Now he is rallying allies in Asia to take a tough stance on North Korea as he continues his diplomatic tour there clinking glasses,

close out the Japan leg of the trip as Prime Mister Shinzo Abe gave a full throated endorsement of Mr. Trump's Pyongyang plans. The U.S. president

also delivered a warning declaring that the era of strategic patience is over when it comes to North Korea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Mr. Trump's next stop is South Korea. And what he has to say there is of great interest to Pyongyang. CNN's Will Ripley just touched

down in the North Korean capital and he is getting government reaction to President Trump's trip. Have a listen.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Becky, we just arrived here in Pyongyang and had a meeting with local government officials who were authorized to

speak on behalf of the North Korean government.

And what they say is they are very closely watching and listening to President Trump as he makes his trip throughout Asia and Japan right now.

Soon he'll be heading to South Korea and especially sensitive place for the North Koreans because the U.S. president will be speaking literally miles

from where I'm standing right now in the center of the North Korean capital.

What he says will be very important. The North Koreans, they felt that before this trip that the Trump administration's war rhetoric had really

amped up. And they're also keenly aware that there are three aircraft carriers off the Korean Peninsula.

There are naval exercises under way right now. And the North Koreans say, they feel like the United States is pushing the situation in this region to

the brink of war. It's an expression that we've heard time and time again.

The North Korean officials I met with, said that the U.S. president should stay away from doing anything crazy in their words because they say North

Korea is prepared to respond and respond powerfully.

Now, it's been more than seven weeks since North Korea has conducted any sort of live military test. Whether be in missile launch or a nuclear

detonation and there's been a lot of warnings as of laid, from the North Korean government that a test could be -- could be eminent. We don't know

when.

We don't know what exactly is going to happen. What we have seen even just over the weekend are headlines, in the local paper like this of North

Korea's Leader Kim Jong-un visiting a cosmetics factory.

And we've seen a lot of images of him inspecting various civilian sites. It might seem strange with everything else happening that something like

this would be the lead story.

But in many ways, an image like this is reassuring the North Koreans because it reminds them that their leader is still focused on developing

the economy as well as developing the country's military. A promise that he made several years ago and a promise that he reiterated in his speech a

little over a month ago.

The question though, how long will this pause last because North Korea has said that very soon, they will need to conduct more tests to in their words

round off their nuclear program and perfect that ICBM, that intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching anywhere in the

mainland United States. Becky.

ANDERSON: Will Ripley reporting for you. Well, a small Texas town is in mourning after an unimaginable tragedy. Sutherland Springs, home to less

than 700 people is now the site of the deadliest mass shooting in Texas' history.

Twenty-six people attending Sunday morning church services were killed when a gunman opened fire on the crowd of worshippers. The youngest victim was

only 5-years-old, the oldest, 72.

And officials say the suspect is a 26-year-old gunman who used an assault rifle that he bought legally. CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Sutherland Springs

with more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: CNN is learning more about the man believed to have opened fire at this small Baptist church in Sutherland

Springs, Texas.

Law enforcement sources tell CNN the suspected killer is 26-year-old Devin Patrick Kelley, who once served in the U.S. Air Force. Kelley was court-

martialed in 2012 for assaulting his spouse and child. He served a year in prison. In 2014 Kelley was discharged from the Air Force for bad conduct.

GOV. GREG ABBOTT, (R) TEXAS: We are dealing with the largest mass shooting in our state's history.

LAVANDERA: Police say the suspect began his rampage around 11:30 a.m. Sunday morning. Dressed in all-black tactical gear and a ballistic vest,

he began firing from outside the church during Sunday service.

[10:40:00] He then entered the church and continued his assault, killing dozens. This video taken last Sunday shows just how small the congregation

is. The pastor's own 14-year-old daughter, Annabelle Pomeroy, is among the dead.

Eight members of one family were also killed including a pregnant mother. At a nearby store, employees recalled hearing shots ring out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was semiautomatic fire. This was rapid fire. We were flabbergasted.

LAVANDERA: A law enforcement official tells CNN that Kelley legally purchased the Ruger AR-style rifle used in the attack back in April of

2016.

But when filling out the paperwork for his background check, Kelley indicated he didn't have any disqualifying criminal history. Police say a

local resident confronted the gunman at the church.

FREEMAN MARTIN, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: As he exited the church, a local resident grabbed his rifle and engaged that suspect. The

suspect dropped his rifle and fled from the church.

LAVANDERA: The suspect fled the scene, but that resident and another man pursued him for 11 miles at high speeds.

JOHNNIE LANGENDORFF, SUTHERLAND SPRINGS RESIDENT: Gentlemen with the rifle came to my truck as the shooter took off and he briefly -- he briefed me

quickly on what had just happened and said that we had to get him. And so that's what I did.

LAVANDERA: Johnnie Langendorff says the suspect lost control of his vehicle, crashed on the side of the road, and that's where police found him

dead, inside his car with a gunshot wound. President Trump reacted to the massacre half a world away during a press conference with the Japanese

prime minister.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This isn't a guns situation. Fortunately, somebody else had a gun that was shooting in the opposite

direction. This is a mental health problem at the highest level.

LAVANDERA: Now this small, tight-knit community comes together to remember those killed and hurt in Sunday's carnage.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's so much love for one another. There's no room for hate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Live from Riyadh this hour. That was Ed Lavandera. After a very short break, we will cross to Washington to see how the shocking

events of the past 48 hours here are being viewed there.

[10:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: All right. Welcome back. This is Connect the World. I'm Becky Anderson. We are in Riyadh tonight looking at the fallout of a very Saudi

shakeup here where those two talk about the crack down -- the anti- corruption crack down and U.S. relations.

The author of Saudi Arabia on the Edge, an adjunct scholar at the Middle East Institute, Tom Lippman -- Tom, if one thing has been clear in the U.S.

policy towards the Middle East under this new Donald Trump administration, new I say year.

And it is that the refreshing of alliances with old friends is paramount, not the least those with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. How will events do

you think over the past 48 hours or so here affect or impact relations with Washington?

TOM LIPPMAN, ADJUNCT SCHOLAR, MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE: In the short to medium term, by which that could be next week, you know, I don't see that

the events in Saudi Arabia should have any direct relationship, any direct impact on this long standing relationship, security partnership between the

United States and Saudi Arabia.

These events seems to me are about who is going to run Saudi Arabia and in what way, and they don't seem to affect the military sales relationship,

the military training relationships that are in place. They could eventually but so far, I don't see that.

ANDERSON: I want to take a look at the wider context here, this anti- corruption crack down led by a commission which is headed by the young crown prince has really shaken this city and country to the core. So many

big names caught up in that, of course.

Then you see Saad Hariri's resignation there, the former Lebanese prime minister who made that announcement on Saudi backed TV here in Riyadh

suggesting, he was fed up with interference from Iran in his own country's politics.

The irony is many would say that he makes an announcement here from a country that critics will say meddle in other people's affairs. And then

of course we had these ballistic missile attacks shot down, of course but so close to the Riyadh airport.

When you take a look at this weekend's events within the sort of wider context and this very muscular approach that Saudi is taking on the

international stage, vis-a-vis Iran, what happens next?

LIPPMAN: Well, look what's happened here. In the two enough years since Salman became king and his son, the young man who is not -- who is the

crown prince now, since he became king, the crown prince has been on an aggressive campaign, some would say a reckless campaign, to strengthen an

energize Saudi Arabia's international policies.

Saudi Arabia was always a country that preferred diplomacy and cash to direct confrontation. The threat from Iran, real or perceived as

exemplified by the war in Yemen has changed the equation for the Saudis.

And they are -- they now see events with Lebanon and Hezbollah as part of this sort of Shiite encirclement that inspired and orbed by Iran, those are

encircling them. But I think it's essential to separate those considerations from what happened on the domestic front in Saudi Arabia

over the weekend.

Because what you have here, what's being presented as a crack down on corruption in my opinion, that's a total smoke screen for what this is --

is an abrupt and consolidation of power by the crown prince and the elimination or neutralization of rivals, actual or potential. And that's

what's going on in Saudi Arabia.

ANDERSON: Well, I can tell you that having just spoken to the Saudi foreign minister and putting these criticisms or the power play here by the

crown prince, the criticisms that this is you know, an effort to ruling of his opposition.

[10:50:00] I mean, the foreign minister said simply this to this to me, this is a policy of zero tolerance for anybody's mishandling their

business, mishandling the economy, a zero tolerance for terrorism and for terrorist funding, so that was certainly the line from the foreign

minister, zero tolerance to those who might be involved in graft.

LIPPMAN: Please, I have great respect for the Foreign Minister Al-Jubeir whom I knew when he was a young diplomat at the embassy in Washington but

explain to me how what he said would apply to removing the commander of the navy, for heaven sake.

If you had round -- if they had rounded up all these prominent businessmen, including (Inaudible), and the head of the Bin laden construction group and

said they were suspected of eruption in various ways, fine.

But crown prince removed the economy minister who was appointed by his own father. They removed their own economy minister and they removed the head

of the National Guard who the last security force that the crown prince did not control.

I believe the entire corruption story is a smokescreen for what amounts to a consolidation of power that really is contrary to decades now of royal

tradition in Saudi Arabia.

ANDERSON: The views of Tom Lippman, out of Washington this evening. Well, this hour we are live from Riyadh. Thank you, sir. Much more ahead after

this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: A very warm welcome back. The British prime minister has called for a new culture of respect as reports of sexual harassment and improper

behavior continue to cloud Westminster.

The accusations have already cost the former defense secretary Michael Fallon his job. Diana Magnay is down at Westminster for you. Diana, this

is snowballing. How bad can it get for the prime minister already under pressure, of course -- significant pressure since the calling of a snap

election and this whole Brexit deal?

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This makes a very weak prime minister look even more weak as some of her most senior ministers sit with

accusations have seize hanging over them.

Mainly Damian Green who is her de facto deputy who is under investigation by a senior civil servant in the cabinet office for alleged sexual

impropriety, of allegedly touching a journalist's knee while talking to her about sexual affairs in parliament.

[10:55:00] And then sending her an inappropriate text a year later and now also accusations of pornography was found on his computer -- a computer in

his office back in 2008. Now he rigorously denies all of this.

But it is all under investigation. If she loses Damian Green, if any of this is proven, that really puts her in a very weak position in her cabinet

having lost her defense secretary last week, Michael Fallon, given the fact that she is weak as it is. A little earlier she had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: What has been revealed over the last few weeks has been deeply troubling and has understandably led to

significant public unease.

We're going to mention the able to work free from the threat of fear of harassment, bullying or intimidation, but for too long, the powerful have

been able to abuse their power and their victims have not felt able to speak out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MAGNAY: And she is actually about to chair a meeting of all the party leaders to try and discuss how best to improve the system so that these

kinds of accusations can be reported up anonymously, to an independent to leave the party and to change the culture in Westminster essentially.

Becky.

ANDERSON: Dianna Magnay, outside that iconic Palace of Westminster in London. Well we are about to wrap up our time here in the Kingdom.

Just before we go, this building behind me, changing color as we speak, as colorful as the owner, the very flamboyant Prince Al-Waleed, right now he

is being held detained, a crack down here in just the last 48 hours, costing him more than $1 billion. Ouch.

I'm Becky Anderson. That was Connect the World. From the team here and those working with me from around the world, it is a very good evening.

END