Return to Transcripts main page
NEWS STREAM
An appeal for bipartisanship and a show of equality; A Disturbing New U.N. Report Has Found That North Korea Is Moving Its Nuclear And Ballistic Weapons To Hide Them From Potential U.S. Military Strikes; America's Top Military Commander In The Middle East Said He Was Not Consulted Before Pulling Mr. Trump Announced That The U.S. Would Be Pulling His Troops From Syria; As Donald Trump Is Seeking An Exit From Afghanistan, Vladimir Putin And Russia, They're Stepping In; The Head Of U.S. Central Command Now Says The Military Is Looking Closely At Allegations That Surfaced In An Exclusive CNN Report About The Trail Of U.S. Weapons Inside Yemen. Aired: 8:00-9p ET
Aired February 06, 2019 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We must reject the politics of revenge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST, "NEWS STREAM" (voice over): An appeal for bipartisanship and a show of equality.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We have more women in the workforce than ever before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT (voice over): But at the State of the Union, Donald Trump is not backing up on his key issues.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Walls work and walls save lives.
STACEY ABRAMS, FORMER GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE OF GEORGIA: America is made stronger by the presence of immigrants, not walls.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT (voice over): The date is set.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Chairman Kim and I will meet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT (voice over): But a new U.N. report suggests North Korea is hiding nuclear weapons, and touting progress against ISIS.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Today we have liberated virtually all of the territory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT (voice over): But on the ground, the fight is far from over.
LU STOUT (on camera): I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong and welcome to "News Stream." Donald Trump marks the halfway point of his presidency with
the State of the Union address that appealed for unity while attacking the Democrats.
Now, in one of the longest State of the Union speeches on record, Mr. Trump slammed what he called ridiculous partisan investigations and declared the
situation on the southern border an urgent national crisis. He also announces the upcoming summit with the North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un that
will be held at the end of the month in Vietnam.
But the President failed to mention the 35-day government shutdown nor the potential of another closure in the days ahead.
We did see an active unity among female lawmakers as many of them wore white outfits in solidarity and as a nod to the movement that earned women
the right to vote a century ago. This year saw a record number of women elected to Congress. Let's break it all down with CNN's Joe Johns who
joins us live from the White House, and Joe, President Trump, he may have started on this conciliatory bipartisan note, but he is still standing firm
on deeply divisive issues.
JOE JOHNS, SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, CNN: That is absolutely right, Kristie, this was the President's first State of the Union address since
Democrats, the opposing party took over control of the House of Representatives and he did throw in those unifying themes, those calls for
bipartisanship that Americans have come to expect from the State of the Union address.
But this still is Donald Trump. He was calling in many ways for compromise on his terms. There were a number of contradictions in the speech and the
President did not move the ball much in terms of policy and the things that divide the country the most.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
TRUMP: We must reject the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS (voice over): President Trump calling for unity and bipartisanship, but showing no sign of compromise on hard line issues that have left
Washington divided.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: As we speak, large organized caravans are on the march to the United States.
The lawless state of our southern border is a threat to the safety, security and financial wellbeing of all America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS (voice over): With the threat of another government shutdown looming next week, the President referring to the situation at the border as an
urgent national crisis. And, again, calling on Congress to approve his wall.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The proper wall never got built. I will get it built.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS (voice over): Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate, Stacey Abrams rebuking the request in the Democratic response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABRAMS: The shutdown was a stunt engineered by the President of the United States. America is made stronger by the presence of immigrants, not walls.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS (voice over): With House Speaker Nancy Pelosi behind him for the first time, President Trump issuing a stark warning to the new Democratic
House Majority.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: An economic miracle is taking place in the United States and the only thing that can stop it are foolish wars, politics or ridiculous
partisan investigations.
If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS (voice over): How Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff later signaling he is not backing down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADAM SCHIFF, CHAIRMAN, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: We're going to do our job, but we are not going to turn and look the other way when we see
corruption or malfeasance and we are going to get to bottom of what Russia has done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS (voice over): Democrats, many dressed in white in a nod to the suffragettes stayed seated for most of the speech, a striking contrast with
the Republican counterparts on the other side of the chamber.
The tension inside the room broken by this moment of levity.
[08:05:07]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: No one has benefited more from our thriving economy than women who have filled 58% of the newly created jobs last year.
(Cheering and Applause)
TRUMP: You weren't supposed to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS (voice over): Freshman female Democrats seizing the moment and celebrating their achievement before garnering the President's praise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Don't sit yet, you're going to like this. We also have more women serving in Congress than at any time before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS (voice over): The President throwing red meat to his conservative base by calling on Congress to prohibit late-term abortion. But appealing
to Democrats on issues like criminal justice reform, lowering prescription drug prices and fighting HIV/AIDS and childhood cancer.
Abrams signaling that Democrats are open to working with the President.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABRAMS: Even as I am very disappointed by the President's approach to our problems, I still don't want him to fail, but we need him to tell the
truth.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
JOHNS (on camera): On the foreign policy side, the President also defended his decision to remove U.S. troops from Afghanistan as well as Syria
saying, "Great nations do not fight endless wars." The President also confirmed that he will have a second summit with North Korean Leader Kim
Jong-un. Our understanding is that will occur in Vietnam.
There's still some question as to the specific venue. We have been told here informally that it might be Danang City. However, that hasn't been
confirmed, which suggests to us that it could still be under negotiation - - Kristie, back to you.
LU STOUT: Got it. So many takeaways from this major speech. Joe Johns reporting live from the White House. Joe, thank you. And joining us now,
senior political analyst, John Avlon in Washington. John, good to see you again.
Donald Trump, he may have appealed for unity, but, you know, that is, come on, squarely at odds with him and this presidency.
JOHN AVLON, SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST, CNN: Well, it sounds great if you've been ignoring the last two years. It is a traditional Presidential
message. It is the only way he's going to get anything done, given the fact he's got to deal with the reality of a divided government.
And as Joe pointed out, some policies can really can and should get bipartisan support. But, again, the President is talking out of both sides
of his mouth, you know, talking about open borders and illegal immigrant murders and socialism, while he's talking about the need to reason together
in the spirit of cooperation and compromise.
The real first test of this is going to be whether he can agree to a balanced plan about the border wall that can also give a pathway to
citizenship to these Dreamers. Otherwise, we could be facing another government shutdown here in the United States in less than ten days' time.
LU STOUT: Yes, and more on the border wall. Was the U.S. President hinting that he is going to go ahead a declare a national emergency?
Because he was kind of laying the case for it in this speech.
AVLON: I mean, he's been playing footsie with that case of national emergency for over a month now, which I think undercuts an incredible claim
that it's an emergency. It's really a tactical move. And I think the reason he keeps kicking the can on it is he knows he will lose in court.
That seems to be his Plan B. But I don't think he's done himself any favors.
The better solution would be for both Republicans and Democrats to come up with a plan to the President, far right and far left won't be happy, but
we'll get something done, a little something for everyone. That is the way democracy is supposed to work at the end of the day.
LU STOUT: Yes, showdown over the wall looming over the presidency, also the Mueller investigation. There's an interesting poll quote from the
State of the Union, Donald Trump said this, quote, "If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation. It just
doesn't work that way," unquote. What does that reveal to you about the President's frame of mind right now?
AVLON: The power of a rhyme. The President was clearly delighted that he had come up with a rhyming way to express his deepest desires. "We can't
have legislation and investigation, that's just not the way it works." Well, Mr. President, that is the way it's going to work. There are a lot
of investigations going on right now. They are not going to stop just because you would like them to. That's just the reality he's going to have
to deal with over the next two years of his presidency.
LU STOUT: Let's talk about a pallet cleanser. There was a really nice moment when the President gave the women of Congress, many of them wearing
white, a shout out, and they cheered and that seemed to take President Trump by surprise.
AVLON; Yes, it was a great moment, although there's an irony. You know, the President declared one of the great signs of progress of the nation
that more women are serving in Congress now than ever before. Sort of glazing over the fact that the reason there are more women in Congress than
ever before is so many women ran on the Democratic ticket this time around to oppose his policies.
[15:10:03]
AVLON: This is nothing I think he could take credit for, but it is, in fact, a fact that we've got more women in Congress than ever before, a
hundred years after they got the right to vote.
LU STOUT: And can we finally talk about the Nancy Pelosi hand clap? Because if there was one photo, one animated GIF, one meme that emerged
from the State of the Union, it was that. But is it significant?
AVLON: It's a clap at trying to clap back. Look, Nancy Pelosi's face was certainly animated behind the President on a number of items and she's
really stepping into her role, second time as Speaker, as a very tough, honest critic of the President. So, you know, that clap at was certainly
meme-tastic. But I think it reflects the fact that there remain really deep disagreements beyond all the bunting of bipartisanship we heard last
night between the Democrats and where Donald Trump stands at.
LU STOUT: That's right. It underscores the division. John Avlon, always a pleasure to have you.
AVLON: Thank you.
LU STOUT: Take care. Thank you so much. Now, during his State of the Union address, the U.S. President gave himself credit for diffusing long-
term nuclear tensions with North Korea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: If I had not been elected President of the United States, we would, right now, in my opinion, be in a major war with North Korea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: And while the second summit with North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un is just a few weeks away, a disturbing new U.N. report has found that North
Korea is moving its nuclear and ballistic weapons to hide them from potential U.S. military strikes.
And joining us now for more is CNN's Will Ripley. And Will, we finally have official word on the next Trump-Kim Summit, but this new report is out
and it's calling out Kim Jong-un for concealing his nuclear weapons. Give us the details.
WILL RIPLEY, CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Yes, some people are even questioning why three weeks from now, President Trump is going to sit down again with Kim
Jong-un given the fact that his own intelligence agencies know that North Korea is expanding its missile bases.
We have seen these satellite images. There is this new U.N. Security Council report, the contents of which were shared to CNN by a diplomatic
source saying essentially that North Korea is bolstering its nuclear program, using civilian airports even to assemble and test ballistic
missiles.
Now, granted it is not a violation of any written agreement with the United States, but some say it does go against the spirit of that agreement that
was signed in Singapore.
LU STOUT: And the same U.N. report also goes after North Korea for saying it is rendering U.N. sanctions ineffective. How?
RIPLEY: And that is probably the most, I guess, damning part of this report because North Korea is not really doing any -- not violating any
agreement when it comes to their nuclear program, but if they are, indeed, brazenly violating sanctions, we're talking about these ship to ship oil
transfers.
One of them, the U.N. report says was valued at almost $6 million. If North Korea is doing that, that directly goes against these sanctions that
are in place to try to prevent income from coming in and helping North Korea grow its nuclear program, this source telling CNN. Essentially, the
sanctions are no longer effective.
LU STOUT: These are such damning findings from this U.N. report, and yet, Donald Trump is still selling this idea that his brand of North Korean
diplomacy is working. But really?
RIPLEY: He called it his bold new diplomacy. Although, keep in mind, Presidents before have tried and failed to negotiate and come to some sort
of a deal with North Korea. Now, things are different in the sense that he does have a good relationship with Kim Jong-un. That is true.
And yes, North Korea has not launched one of their missiles more than a year, but what is abundantly clear to the United States government, to the
United Nations is that even though North Korea is not displaying and testing these missiles overtly, they still have all of the weapons that
they had at the beginning of the diplomatic process.
Now, North Korea would say, "Hey, they blew up the entrances to the tunnels at their nuclear test site, Punggye-ri. I was there back in May witnessing
these very dramatic explosions, but a lot of experts say that the steps that have been taken thus far are basically cosmetic and easily reversible.
LU STOUT: Got it. Will Ripley, as always, thank you so much.
RIPLEY: Thanks, Kristie.
LU STOUT: Now, Donald Trump chose not to repeat his false claim that ISIS has been defeated in Syria and just ahead, we're going to go live to the
region to show you what is happening on the ground in the fight against the terror group. Plus, Mr. Trump hails U.S. talks aimed at ending America's
longest running war. We have a live report, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:15:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: When I took office, ISIS controlled more than 20,000 square miles in Iraq and Syria just two years ago. Today, we have liberated virtually
all of the territory from the grip of these blood thirsty monsters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Donald Trump there addressing a key international challenge, the war in Syria. Now hours before Mr. Trump's State of the Union address,
America's top military commander in the Middle East said he was not consulted before pulling Mr. Trump announced that the U.S. would be pulling
his troops from Syria. And General Joseph Votel says that the fight against ISIS is not over. And that echoes what CNN's Ben Wedeman has been
hearing from Syrian democratic forces on the ground. He joins us now live from Northern Syria. Ben, what have you heard?
BEN WEDEMAN, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Yes, Kristie, I mean, really it's hard to find anybody outside of perhaps the Oval Office
who thinks that this war has come to an end or is about to come to an end given that General Votel even said that somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000
ISIS fighters are still on the loose in Syria.
There are not just in this one last enclave just down the Euphrates River from us. They are in sleeper cells throughout much of, at least, the
northern and eastern part of the country. So it is very clear to anybody who comes anywhere near this part of Syria that this last battle for the
last enclave of ISIS a certainly a significant one, but the war is far from over.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WEDEMAN (voice over): Fighters are loading up for the final battle against what's left of the so-called Islamic State, now holed up in a tiny corner
of land in Eastern Syria.
With coalition air support, the U.S. backed Syrian democratic forces have driven ISIS out of all but a sliver of territory along the Euphrates River.
It is easy to see plenty of movement inside the besieged enclave just a half mile away as gunfire echoes across no man's land.
"The active fighting stopped a while ago," these soldiers say. And that, "Is that incoming or outgoing," I asked? "Outgoing," he responds. He was,
however, mistaken.
WEDEMAN (on camera): So the soldiers here have told us, it's been quiet for the last, at least week or so, but just at the moment, the soldier was
telling me that there was an incoming round landing right over there. So quiet, I guess in this instance, is a relative term.
WEDEMAN (voice over): Agnan Afrin is commanding the anti-ISIS forces at the front and warns against assuming the war is almost over. "ISIS isn't
finished yet," he tells me. It's still in this area. It's still fighting. It still has sleeper cells in the areas we've liberated.
When ISIS was at its height, one of its supporters favorite slogans was "The Islamic state remaining and expanding." That now seems like a very
long time ago.
[08:20:04]
WEDEMAN (on camera): As the Islamic state collapses, they're leaving behind their spare change, so to speak. This, a five Durham coin now not
worth anything.
WEDEMAN (voice over): Worthless, like the debris of utopian delusion.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
WEDEMAN: And, of course, it's not clear when the final push to take this enclave will occur. The worry is, of course, that there may be as many as
1,500 civilians in addition to 500 ISIS fighters still inside -- Kristie.
LU STOUT: And, Ben, no matter what President Trump has said, we are getting these strong signals from the U.S. that the fight against ISIS is
not over in Syria. We heard from the head of Central Command, even the U.S. Senate which overnight approved a bill urging Trump to keep U.S.
troops there. Is word of that apparent turnaround trickling out to forces there in Syria? Would it make a difference at this point?
WEDEMAN: Well, the forces here in Syria, at least the U.S. backed Syrian democratic forces, are concerned that without the U.S. presence here, there
are about 2,000 U.S. troops here in addition to the USAir cover. There's a very good chance that ISIS will be able to take advantage of the vacuum
left behind to reassert its power.
Keep in mind that in Iraq and in Syria, ISIS was able to grow and flourish in the absence of strong central governments. And in the absence of an
American troop presence here, there's a very good possibility that in Iraq, in some parts of Iraq and in some parts of Syria, you could see ISIS rise
again -- Kristie.
LU STOUT: Yes, the last thing we want to see is remnants of ISIS regaining strength in Syria. Ben Wedeman reporting live for us from inside Northern
Syria. Ben, thank you so much.
Now, Mr. Trump also addressed another major international issue facing his presidency -- Afghanistan -- and peace talks aimed at ending the 17-year
conflict.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: In Afghanistan, my administration is holding constructive talks with a number of Afghan groups, including the Taliban. That after two
decades of war, the hour has come to at least try for peace and the other side would like to do the same thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LU STOUT: Now separate from the U.S. effort, Moscow is hosting peace talks between the Taliban and Afghan leaders, including former President Hamid
Karzai. But one top official is noticeably absent, the sitting Afghan President.
Ashraf Ghani says no peace deal can be finalized without involving his government as the decision maker. Now, CNN's Matthew Chance joins us now
from Moscow with more. And Matthew, again, the meeting in Moscow separate from the ongoing U.S.-Taliban peace talks, so what's happening here? Does
Russia want to help or is it playing spoiler?
MATTHEW CHANCE, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Well, I mean, officially, of course, the Russian government is not involved in organizing
this two-day conference. It's influential members of the Afghan diaspora here in Moscow that have done it, but of course, really pulling the strings
behind the scenes, you see all sorts of signs of Kremlin and Russian Foreign Ministry involvement. What's their intention?
Well, I mean, I think it's fair to say that the Russians want shape the outcome - shape outcomes in Afghanistan, in a world in which the United
States and its NATO allies have pulled out of that country. A couple of reasons for that, they've got genuine national security concerns in
Afghanistan.
That region is a major exporter of illegal drugs, of course to Russia and Islamic fundamentalism, as well, and they want some sort of control over
that situation. But I think it's also - and perhaps this is more important, that Moscow senses an opportunity to reassert itself and
reinsert itself into that area of international diplomacy as United States leaves. They're moving in to become kingmakers, to become power brokers
and to really sort of show that they are back on the international stage.
I mean, that's one of the overarching priorities of Russian foreign policy to say, "Look, we are back in the international arena. We're a force to be
reckoned with." We've seen that in Ukraine. We've seen it restated again in Syria, as well. And I think this is the latest iteration of it in
Afghanistan -- Kristie.
LU STOUT: That's right, and as Donald Trump is seeking an exit from Afghanistan; Vladimir Putin and Russia, they're stepping in. Matthew
Chance reporting live for us from Moscow. Matthew, thank you.
You're watching "News Stream" and still ahead, made in the USA and falling into the wrong hands in Yemen. We are following the exclusive report from
CNN that even has America's top general in the Middle East saying it is time to take a closer look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:05:10]
LU STOUT: I'm Kristi Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching "News Stream" and these are your world headlines.
U.S. President Donald Trump delivered his second State of the Union address alternating between calls for unity and divisive policy positions,
particularly on immigration. He reiterated his demands for tougher security at the southern border, claimed credit for the boom in the U.S.
economy and talked about efforts to end the U.S. military's engagement in Syria and Afghanistan.
The President also said that he would meet North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un for a second summit in Vietnam later this month. Mr. Trump insists his
relationship with North Korea is a good one, but a disturbing new United Nations report indicates that North Korea is moving its nuclear ballistic
weapons to hide them from potential U.S. military strikes.
Pope Francis has admitted for the first time that priests and bishops have been sexually abusing nuns. The Pope made the stunning acknowledgement
while returning to the Vatican after his historic visit to the UAE. He called it a problem that the Vatican has been working on for some time.
The head of U.S. Central Command now says the military is looking closely at allegations that surfaced in an exclusive CNN report about the trail of
U.S. weapons inside Yemen.
General Joseph Votel's comments at a Senate hearing came just one day after the report by CNN's Nima Elbagir. It revealed that American weapons sold
to Saudi Arabia and the UAE are now in the hands of militias and fighters linked to al Qaeda. Nima gave us this inside look.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
NIMA ELBAGIR, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: It's absolutely incredible. We're driving past and it's like a graveyard of American
military hardware. And this is not under the control of coalition forces. This is in the command of militias.
ELBAGIR (voice over): Which is expressly forbidden by the Arms Sales Agreement with the U.S. On the outside of these mine-resistant armored
vehicles, MRAPs, there are stickers proudly proclaiming them as property of Alwiyat al Amalqa, a militia allied to the coalition.
We zero in on the serial numbers tracing them back to U.S. manufacturer, Navistar, the largest provider of armored vehicles for the U.S. Army.
We're told to stop filming, but we're able to find another vehicle. This one even has the export stickers from Beaumont, Texas to Abu Dhabi in the
United Arab Emirates.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[15:30:10]
LU STOUT: Nima and her team traveled to Yemen for that report. She joins us now live from London with more reaction to what they discovered there,
and Nima, after your report, U.S. lawmakers, they are demanding answers. They cited your report in this U.S. Senate hearing. What is the head of
the U.S. Central Command saying in response?
ELBAGIR: Well, General Votel confirmed for us that in these actions, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are in violation of their arms sales agreements with
the United States and that had been a real point of contention because we heard from a senior UAE official who acknowledged to us that they had been
distributing this weaponry to these militias, but they also said that as these militias were fighting under the supervision, as they said, of the
coalition, that this meant that they were allowed to transfer.
General Votel has now said categorically, that is not the case. He raised another concern where he said that his worry was perhaps this was "booty"
as he called it that had been captured by enemy fighters, and I just want to be really clear here, Kristie, that that was not the case. That was not
what we found on the ground. What we found was consistent, repeated and frankly alarming evidence of quite a substantial amount of high tech U.S.
weaponry being distributed without really any fail-safes to these proxy militias on the ground, Kristie.
LU STOUT: Yes, this was not spoils of war. This was U.S. weaponry being redistributed to the hands of enemies in Yemen, and you appreciated your
report, your findings to the U.S. Department of Defense. They said that they're launching an investigation. When is there going to be action? How
soon can they act to stop more weapons from getting into the hands of militants?
ELBAGIR: Well, this is actually going to come to a head pretty quickly. We have within this week an expectation that the Secretary of State, Mike
Pompeo, is going to be recertifying to Congress as to his State Department's position on the way in which the coalition, the UAE and Saudi
Arabia are prosecuting the war in Yemen, whether they have taken enough measures to protect civilians, but also crucially whether they are in
violation of their arms sales agreements with the U.S. that's due by February 9th.
We reached out to the State Department in light of our reporting and they haven't commented, but all of the senators that we've been speaking to say
that they are going to use a lot of what we have been able to show to really push the State Department on this. Can the U.S., in good faith,
recertify that the UAE and Saudi Arabia are genuinely not violating U.S. arms sales agreements?
And there's another key aspect to this, Kristie, that is important to note, that many of these proxy militias have been accused of human rights
violations and that's incredibly worrying that U.S. hardware is in the hands of people who are believed to be abusing the populous.
LU STOUT: That's right. This will just continue to fuel the cycle of violence in Yemen. Nima Elbagir, a big thank you to you and your team.
Such important report and it's already making such a big impact. Take care.
You're watching "News Stream" and still ahead on the program, robots are beating humans at around games. We're going to be meeting an engineer
using AI to make this happen.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:35:00]
LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong, welcome back. This is "News Stream." Now Qatar is gearing up to host the World Cup in 2022. But
already, some of Europe's top football clubs have descended on the country for the winter training camps.
In this edition of "Iconic Qatar," we meet a footballer with World Cup ambitions.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
MESHAAL BARSHAM, FOOTBALL PLAYER: My name is Meshaal Barsham. I'm 20 years old. I'm a goalkeeper for Qatar national team.
I was like seven years old and I wasn't into goal keeping, but one day, the coach said like, "Who wants to be a goalkeeper?" And I was raising my hand
to be a goal keeper and that's how I started.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Meshaal is a graduate of Doha's Aspire Academy which finds and develops young athletes while providing them with
an education.
MEHRAN KAMRAVA, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, QATAR: It is a residential academy that is mentored by professional coaches and it is only a matter of time
before this academy produces the next Messi, simply because of the sheer volume of the kids that are going through this academy.
BARSHAM: The facilities here are one of the best in the world.
Good morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, good morning, Meshaal. Welcome.
BARSHAM: This morning, we went through our treatment with the physios because I had a small injury min my shoulder. We have the gym facilities
and we have the pool area. We have the ice baths, sauna for recovery.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): He currently plays with the leading local club, Al Sadd, and the under 23 Qatar national team, but this is his prize,
to play for his country in this stadium during the World Cup in 2022.
BARSHAM: We are now in Khalifa Stadium, it's one of the World Cup stadiums. It's the first one to be built and it has 40,000 seats. When I
walk in here, I just feel like the World Cup is just today. I just can't wait to be playing that, to be a part of the team shouting for Qatar,
Qatar, Qatar.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): The World Cup will take place in the month of December when average temperatures in the Gulf are around 25 degrees.
It's the reason why some of Europe's top teams descend on Qatar annually for their winter training camps. Among them is Paris Saint-Germain and
Meshaal is being given an opportunity to meet with PSG goalkeeper and reigning World Cup Champion, France's Alphonse Areola.
BARSHAM: So what do you think about our stadium here is Qatar.
ALPHONSE AREOLA, GOALKEEPER, PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN: It's really nice and really huge and always great to visit it and hope that we will be there in
a few years.
BARSHAM: Yes, I hope we will be a better team, yes.
AREOLA: Against you, maybe.
BARSHAM: Do you have any advice that you can give me to improve?
AREOLA: Just to work and dream, dream, because the dream is like the - it's your objective.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Now that Meshaal has met one of his sporting heroes, he is more determined than ever to make his dreams a
reality.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
LU STOUT: Now, when humans play the game of Jenga, it takes skill, a little luck and a steady hand. Now, engineers at M.I.T. are now hoping
robots master the game and the robots are coming up with some clever strategies of their own. Nima Fazeli is a PhD candidate in the Mechanical
Engineering Department at M.I.T. He joins us now via Skype. Nema, thank you for joining us.
NIMA FAZELI, PhD CANDIDATE IN THE MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT AT M.I.T.: Hi, thank you for having me.
LU STOUT: We see the robot is behind you. Now, for years, AI can already beat us as chess, at Go, at these types of games. So why did you take so
long to build that robot, a robot that can learn how to play Jenga?
FAZELI: Great question. Thank you for asking. So at its heart, Jenga captures many of the challenges that we face in manipulation and sort of
when robots have been learning to play chess, they've been learning to play Go, they have always been dealing with a situation in which they can really
see the entire information from the game and every move that they make is deterministic. They can decide any movement that will happen.
Jenga is difficult because basically when you take an action, you're learning about the world, about blocks that move, blocks that don't move
and understanding how the mechanics of the world works as well. So there's a lot of uncertainty, there's a lot of missing information that the robot
has to learn first before it actually can play the game effectively.
LU STOUT: Yes, so how do you let the robot learn? How did you train the robot to do this?
FAZELI: That's right. So the robot basically has access to sort of like a representation of the physical world and this representation is basically a
clean slate. It is basically, it doesn't know anything before it learns.
And so just through interaction, through an acceleration phase, the robot goes and pokes at tower, plays with it a little bit and sees how it behaves
and sort of fills in this representation, kind of fills out a descriptive representation of the world.
And so once it's learned how the world works mechanically, that's when it can really play the game.
[08:40:10]
FAZELI: That's when it can go in, poke blocks, say, oh, this is going to move. I should keep pushing this or I should move it like this. Or this
is not going to move, I should probably stop pushing this block at this point and move on, and so that's kind of how it plays the game.
LU STOUT: So your lab has basically built this tactile learning system. Are there big applications beyond Jenga, like in manufacturing?
FAZELI: Yes, so we are hoping that the technologies that we are developing here will be useful in particular for industrial automation. So this is
basically where you have really big production lines and you have, right now, many workers doing a very, very boring and often ergonomically
uncomfortable things like assembly.
And so the objective is to have robots kind of fill in or help out and so for example, in an assembly, you'll have like a process where you're trying
to put the back of your phone on to your phone. there's a sort of -- there's a visual part of information, a tactile part of information, and
so you want to have your robot go in there, try to just fit it, get it right and move on. And we want to have rapidly learning systems so that
they can keep up with the demands of manufacturing lines these days.
LU STOUT: Theoretically, that is really cool, but in real world terms, is this a robot that is not going to just beat us at Jenga, but also take our
jobs because it's going to hurt?
FAZELI: No. Basically, the idea is that it will take over some of the things that are really not necessary for people to do and free them up to
do other things. So in many ways, it will be a collaborative robot, it will be able to interact with other people. It will be able to work
alongside other people and sort of free up people to kind of do the more difficult, more interesting things that right now they're not able to do
because they're bogged down in very menial work.
LU STOUT: Like playing chess. No, wait, anyway, let's continue the conversation another time. Nima, we'll leave it at that. But thank you so
much for sharing your findings with us and your robot right behind you. Take care.
FAZELI: Thank you.
LU STOUT: Now, here in Hong Kong, we have been celebrating the second day of the Lunar New Year with this dazzling fireworks display, and it was a
big show this year. Hundreds of thousands of people were expected to gather outside to watch. According to the "South China Morning Post,"
Wednesday also marked the hottest second day of the Lunar New Year since records began back in the late 19th Century.
And that is it for "News Stream." I'm Kristi Lu Stout, but don't go anywhere, "World Sport" with Amanda Davies is next.
(SPORTS)
[09:00:00]
