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Biden: U.S. Will Withdraw From Afghanistan By September 11, 2021; IAEA: Iran Has "Almost Completed Preparations" To Enrich Uranium; Top Japanese Official Does Not Rule Out Canceling Olympics. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired April 15, 2021 - 05:30   ET

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


[05:30:00]

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We cannot continue the cycle of extending or expanding our military presence in Afghanistan hoping to create ideal conditions for the withdrawal and expecting a different result.

I'm now the fourth United States president to preside over American troop presence in Afghanistan -- two Republicans, two Democrats. I will not pass this responsibility on to a fifth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: CNN's Nick Paton Walsh was based in Afghanistan at the height of the conflict. He is live in Kabul with more.

You're there where this has been 20 years of U.S. war there. Here in the United States, banner headlines in the -- in the major newspapers, right? This is a very big deal here. There are -- there are a whole generation of Americans who have -- know nothing other than an America at war in Afghanistan.

What is -- what is the reception there?

NICK PATON WALSH, INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Here, I think there are many Afghans deeply concerned about what comes next in the months ahead. That's where this decision's wisdom will be seen.

I have to be honest. Listening to Joe Biden, I think he accepts that it will be ugly. I don't think he believes that this is necessarily going to lead to dancing in the streets and general harmony across Afghanistan -- quite the contrary.

But for him, I think he's calculated and made a clear point. The one percent of Americans who have been involved in this war -- well, the 99 percent who just have an opinion on it -- they have been bearing the brunt here.

And if he's not able to have the questions he asked of his military leaders -- why are we staying, what can we achieve -- if he doesn't get good enough answers then he can't keep asking Americans to come here and potentially die here as well. There's been over 2,000 deaths so far. He said he carried a card in his pocket with the exact number with him every day.

So a deeply personal decision as a commander in chief and one that, longer-term, strategists might say look, frankly, America needs to fight tomorrow's wars, not keep fighting yesterday's wars. And they've tried everything from surging, withdrawing troops down, to counterterrorism missions only, to peace talks. The one thing they haven't tried is not being here and that may change the dynamic. And if it doesn't, frankly -- well, what else could be done?

Key, though, the months ahead. Afghan officials deeply concerned that the mission the U.S. came here to actually achieve may not necessarily be as complete as they'd like to feel. And even Bill Burns, the CIA director, said the capacity to gather intelligence and go after terrorists here in Afghanistan will be diminished by them not having this 2,500-strong troop presence.

Afghan officials have been saying to me look, al Qaeda in a good shape here. They are embedded within the Taliban. They may well see, possibly, the departure of the U.S. here as a rallying cry to bring more recruits in -- to gain in strength. And I think that's what we'll see, certainly, in the months ahead is whether that is the case.

ROMANS: Sure.

WALSH: It is entirely possible in 2021 to conduct counterterrorism missions without having 2,500 U.S. boots on the ground here -- from the air using intelligence intercepts and local Special Forces. The Afghans doing a lot of the fighting here as well.

But it is the key few months ahead that we'll see quite what this means. Joe Biden left a lot of wiggle room, really, in that speech for potential actions by the Americans in the months ahead. They could have troops here for diplomatic security.

He said that if they were attacked or their partners were attacked as they withdrew, then the U.S. would strike back. That could potentially mean that Afghan forces' attack on the Taliban could be supported by U.S. airstrikes or even U.S. troops in the months ahead. So there's a lot of potential rephrasing there.

And key, too, to his policy is the continued funding by the U.S. of the Afghan security forces. So while I think there's been a bit of a gulp by many senior Afghan officials here of hearing this news -- and I understand it wasn't massively telegraphed by the United States towards them -- that they will probably feel some sense of relief of that continued funding. But, you know, it's going to be important to see how they play into this peace process --

ROMANS: Sure.

WALSH: -- if, indeed, it takes off on Saturday week in Istanbul. The key here is the Taliban's messaging which was, two days ago, we don't want to go to the peace summit yet -- and just yesterday, ahead of the Biden speech, get out of Afghanistan within 16 days. They essentially want the Biden administration to stick to the May the first deadline put forward by former President Donald Trump -- then- President Donald Trump. Biden says he'll start withdrawing on that date and end by September the 11th.

A lot could go right, a lot could go very badly wrong --

ROMANS: Yes.

WALSH: -- within that period of time. But as I said at the start, I do think President Biden accepts that this is an ugly decision that had to be made and that not necessarily, anything good is going to come from it.

ROMANS: You know, Nick, he didn't declare a military victory here, but he did say that they accomplished one objective that -- to ensure Afghanistan wouldn't be used as a base where terror plots originate.

[05:35:01]

Is it too early to say he is right? I mean, if the withdrawal of the United States leaves a vacuum that then al Qaeda can fill -- you know, we just don't know that outcome yet, right?

WALSH: Yes. And look, it's fair to say, certainly, that I can't find any official currently suggesting that there are terror plots against the United States being plotted in Afghanistan as we speak. Could they be in the future? That's entirely possible. Would the U.S. with its 2021 counterterror capability be able to find that out and respond to it first, entirely possible as well. So he's correct to say that.

Is it no longer a safe haven for terrorists? Well, I think his own Treasury Department answered that on January the fourth when it put out a statement saying al Qaeda is growing in strength here with Taliban support.

So they're still here, certainly. Whether they're hibernating and preparing for something else, we'll find out in the months ahead.

But he said there's no way there could be a military solution here and, you know, he's right to some degree. They really have tried everything here, and so seeing if diplomacy could possibly work may be the best move strategically for the U.S., if not on the short-term here for Afghans now worried about what comes next.

ROMANS: All right, Nick Robertson (sic) in Kabul. Thank you so much. Nice to see you this morning.

All right. Iran has nearly completed preparations to enrich uranium to a level that hasn't been seen since it signed that nuclear deal in 2015. Today, Iran and the United States resume indirect talks in Vienna to revive that agreement days after that attack on an Iranian nuclear facility. Fred Pleitgen has reported extensively from Iran for us. He is live

this morning in Berlin. Bring us up to speed, Fred, on the importance of this.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it's very important, especially since it comes right after that incident that happened at the Natanz nuclear facility. And I think what the Iranians are really showing is their defiance in the wake of that incident.

Essentially, what they're saying is that they are about to go to that 60 percent uranium enrichment. And we've heard from the International Atomic Energy Agency. They told CNN that the Iranians are very close to having that process in place.

Now, the way they want to do that is also really interesting. Because what the Iranians are saying is that look, in that incident -- which, of course, they blame on Israel even though the Israelis have not confirmed whether or not they were behind it -- they are going to use some new and advanced centrifuges. And, of course, that is a big concern to the U.S. and a big concern to some of the other partners that are already -- or that are still in the nuclear agreement.

But if you look at the negotiations going on right now, they certainly haven't become easier after that incident. It was quite significant, Christine that Iran's supreme leader -- he came out yesterday and he talked about this issue. Of course, he would have to sign on anything that the Iranian negotiators would latch onto. He is the supreme authority in that country.

And he said he doesn't want protracted negotiations. And he also said something that the Iranians have been saying for a while, that Iran wants sanctions relief before it comes back into full compliance with the nuclear agreement.

Now, of course, we know that the U.S. has said that it will not make any unilateral moves to entice Iran to come back into full compliance. That's why the negotiators there on the ground -- once again, they're compartmentalizing all of this, talking to the U.S. about sanctions relief, talking to the Iranians about coming back into compliance, and then trying to marry those positions together.

Of course, it's a very difficult process. But again, both sides continue to say -- and even now continue to say they want to salvage the nuclear agreement, want to bring the U.S. back in, and Iran back into compliance, Christine.

ROMANS: All right, Fred. Thank you so much for that analysis. Nice to see you this morning.

With the U.S. facing a broad reckoning on injustice, Congress is now pushing ahead on two fronts to deal with America's historically poor treatment of minorities.

CNN's Daniella Diaz is live for us on Capitol Hill this morning -- Daniella. DANIELLA DIAZ, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Christine, the House Judiciary Committee voted late last night to advance a bill that if passed by the House would create a commission to study reparations of Black -- for Black Americans that were the descendants of slaves in this country.

This bill would specifically examine slavery and discrimination in the colonies and the United States from 1619 to the present and recommend the appropriate remedies. This bill was actually introduced in 1989, but this the first time that it's advanced out of committee and will be put to a full House vote.

And, of course, this comes as the racial injustice -- protests of 2020 -- really show that this has given this reparations movement new wind, which is why Congress has taken -- Democrats have taken this action in the House in Congress.

But I want to emphasize that the likelihood of this passing through the Senate is very slim, very low. It's unlikely that they will get 60 votes to break a filibuster if this reaches the Senate for this to pass. So even though this advanced out of committee it's likely not going to pass through Congress because Republicans are against this measure, Christine.

ROMANS: You know, Daniella, when the House takes up that bill, the Senate had a rare bipartisan vote to advance a measure to address anti-Asian hate crimes. Not everybody was on board.

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DIAZ: That's exactly right, Christine.

So the Senate, also yesterday, advanced a bill -- they passed a bill, majority-supported, that would address the surge of Asian-American hate crimes in this country. You know, this really shows the broad support behind Congress on this issue. It passed the House; now it's passing the Senate.

Because of this uptick in Asian-American hate crimes in this country because of the pandemic, honestly, this bill would assign a Justice Department official to expedite reviews of potential COVID-19-related hate crimes and establish an online database if it passes.

And Republicans were originally not behind this legislation. They said that it would publicly ineffective. That was their argument.

But that changed when Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell got behind the legislation. His wife is Asian-American and she served in former President Donald Trump's cabinet. And he said he would get behind this legislation if Democrats and Republicans could agree on amendments on this issue.

But again, not all Republicans supported this. There were six that didn't support this legislation, including Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, Rand Paul. So not every single Republican, despite its broad support, came behind this legislation. But, bottom line is that this really shows that Congress is taking action on these issues of racial injustice in this country, Christine.

ROMANS: All right, nice to see you this morning, Daniella. Thank you for walking us through all of that.

All right, record earnings for America's big banks in the first quarter thanks to an improving economy and a booming stock market.

Goldman Sachs said revenue more than doubled compared to the first quarter of last year -- $17.7 billion. Look at that profit -- almost $7 billion.

JPMorgan posted a profit of $14.3 billion, the highest quarterly profit ever. The bank's profit was boost primarily by $5.2 billion in credit reserves it stopped hanging onto as the economy improved.

Wells Fargo's profit also grew but the bank struggled with subdued interest rates and weak demand for new loans.

The economy is steadily recovering. People have been rushing to take out mortgages to buy homes. There's also less concern customers won't be able to make good on loan payments. All of those positive signs for big banks.

We'll be right back.

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[05:46:31]

ROMANS: All right, slave trade on Snapchat. A group of students at a North Texas high school pretended to auction off Black classmates on social media for between $1.00 and $100.00. The high-schoolers have been disciplined for cyberbullying and harassment.

The Aledo, Texas School District says "There is no room for racism or hatred, period. Using inappropriate, offensive, and racially-charged language and conduct is completely unacceptable."

Bernie Madoff has died in federal prison in North Carolina. Madoff was serving a 150-year sentence as the architect of the largest Ponzi scheme in history -- the largest financial fraud ever. The cause of death was not released.

Last year, a judge denied his request for an early release after Madoff said he had a terminal illness and less than 18 months to live. Madoff was 82.

Kimberly Godwin has been named the next president of ABC News. She becomes the first Black executive to run a newsroom for a major American broadcast network. Godwin will oversee programs like "GOOD MORNING AMERICA," as well as newsgathering operations and digital ventures. Godwin will leave CBS News to start her new job next month.

Let's get a check on CNN Business this morning. Looking at markets around the world this Thursday morning. It looks like Asia closed mixed and Europe has opened slightly higher here.

On Wall Street, a check of stock index futures here leaning higher. Stocks finished mixed Wednesday. The Dow and the S&P just falling short of record highs. The Dow closed up 53 points. The S&P and the Nasdaq down.

A reminder that today is not tax day. You have until May 17th to file your federal income taxes. Many states have also extended their deadlines.

A big day on Wall Street for crypto going mainstream. You know, for years, Bitcoin and cryptocurrency was seen as illicit, right?

But cryptocurrency arriving in a big way with Coinbase's Wall Street debut. The digital currency exchange's value soared to $86 billion its first day of trading, the highest-profile cryptocurrency company to go public. Coinbase riding a wave of Bitcoin optimism. It brought in $1.8 billion in revenue last quarter. That's more than it made in all of 2020.

It was a big test for legitimacy of crypto. It seems to have passed for now.

The global chip shortage dealing another blow to Ford. The automaker said it will temporarily shut down five plants in the U.S. and one in Turkey because it just can't get the chips they need.

Ford plans to update just how costly the shortage will be for its business at the end of the month. Last month, it said the shortage could cost up to $2.5 billion.

The pandemic cut demand for new cars, automakers cut their orders for chips, but the demand surge for computers and gaming systems -- that caused a shortage when auto production ramped back up, leaving automakers to compete for chips.

A key figure in Japan's ruling party admitting the Olympics could be canceled if the nation's coronavirus situation worsens.

CNN's Selina Wang live in Tokyo for us. Hello, there. Selina, this doesn't mean we're any closer to officially canceling the games but clearly, this needs to run around fast here.

SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Christine, that's exactly right. And it is extremely rare to have a high-ranking government official publicly addressing the topic of an Olympic cancellation. This is seen as taboo. It's something officials have been avoiding.

And Toshihiro Nikai is an extremely influential figure in Japanese politics. He's the secretary-general of the ruling party. He was asked in a local T.V. interview if an Olympic cancelation was a possibility and he said of course -- adding, quote "What is the purpose of an Olympics if it's going to spread the infection?"

And, Christine, that is exactly the question that many people here in Japan have been asking. Hosting the games this summer remains deeply unpopular among the public here.

[05:50:04]

The situation is just getting worse and worse when it comes to COVID. I've spoken to many infectious disease experts who say the possibility of the Olympics becoming a super-spreader event is only increasing.

The country is struggling to contain a fourth wave of COVID cases. On top of that, you have less than half a percent of the Japanese population fully vaccinated.

And even though we know foreign spectators are banned from the games, this is still going to involve at least 11,000 athletes coming from more than 200 countries. They will be tested regularly but they are not required to quarantine. Not to mention, they are likely going to come into contact with tens of thousands of untested Olympic volunteers.

Now, Toshihiro Nikai later watered down his comments, saying that he hopes the games go off successfully. But still, Christine, his comments really struck a chord with the public and it really just shows this gap between reality and the narrative that Olympic officials have been pushing and organizers have been pushing, which is one of complete confidence --

ROMANS: Yes.

WANG: -- that these games are going to go off safely and successfully in less than 100 days, Christine.

ROMANS: Less than 100 days.

Selina Wang in Tokyo. Thank you for that.

So over here, we had our second no-hitter of the baseball season last night and it was almost a perfect game.

Andy Scholes has this morning's Bleacher Report. Hey, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (via Cisco Webex): Yes, good morning, Christine.

The White Sox's Carlos Rodon two outs away from the first perfect game we've seen since 2012, but one pitch ruined the bid. Now, Rodon, a former third-overall pick, had Tommy John surgery two years ago. This season, he's been incredible.

In the ninth inning, Rodon getting some help in the field. Jose Abreu stretching out to barely beat the runner to keep that perfect game alive.

Next batter, though, Rodon hits Roberto Perez -- I mean, just barely in the foot -- to ruin the perfect game. You can imagine he was disappointed there.

But, Rodon able to gather himself and get the next two batters to secure the no-hitter. And the celebration was on. The second no-hitter we've seen in baseball in the last five days.

All right, Twins shortstop Andrelton Simmons, meanwhile, has tested positive for COVID. This comes after the single-dose vaccine was made available to the Twins last week but Simmons declined to get it.

Last month, he tweeted, in part, "For personal reasons and past experience, I will not be taking it or advocating for it. I hope I don't have to explain myself."

Now, the Twins say Simmons has mild symptoms and is recovering at home.

All right, the Minnesota Wild holding a moment of silence in their return to the ice in honor of Daunte Wright. They decided not to play Monday night after Wright was shot and killed by police on Sunday.

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JARED SPURGEON, CAPTAIN, MINNESOTA WILD: This community and this city is going through some tough times and we, as a group, said we all agreed upon that. And our wishes are with Daunte and his family.

IAN COLE, DEFENSEMAN, MINNESOTA WILD: It's tough to digest. I think taking a bit of a pause there to genuflect and look at it and try to figure out how best to digest it and what action to take -- I think that's -- I think that was a good move at the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yesterday's game was moved up to the afternoon in anticipation of potential curfews. The Wild beat Arizona in that one five to two.

All right, to the NBA.

Mavs down two to the Grizzlies in the closing seconds. They get the ball to Luka and he hits the leaning three at the buzzer for the win. Take another look at this shot. Just incredible that Luka was able to make it from that angle.

LeBron was watching. He tweeted, "Wow, Wow, Wow! C'mon, Luka. You ain't serious, man!"

Now that was a great shot.

And now, this shot was good, too. Dodgers hosting the Rockies. Third baseman Justin Turner just sneaking a ball over the leftfield wall and right into some guy's nachos. Nachos just splattered all over him.

But get this -- the Dodgers, they went and found him still cheesing. Turner not only, Christine, bought him some new nachos, the guy also got a new hoodie from the Dodgers.

ROMANS: Perfect.

SCHOLES: So quite the night for that fan right there. Homerun ball, got nachos twice, and a new hoodie. It doesn't get any better than that, right?

ROMANS: Oh. One of my secrets, I love ballpark nachos -- love them, love them, love them. Not sure my bank account always does, though, you know.

Nice to see you. Thanks, Andy.

SCHOLES: All right.

ROMANS: Thanks for joining us, everybody. I'm Christine Romans. "NEW DAY" is next.

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[05:59:30]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Former police officer Kim Potter has been charged with second-degree manslaughter.

BEN CRUMP, ATTORNEY: The family of Daunte Wright will get to have their day in court.

SYBRINA FULTON, MOTHER OF TRAYVON MARTIN: An arrest is just step one, but we have to get a conviction and we can't give up on that.

BIDEN: It's time to end America's longest war. It's time for American troops to come home.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Biden announcing that he'll withdraw all U.S. forces from Afghanistan by September 11th.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) al Qaeda in Afghanistan is significantly degraded.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan is a grave mistake.

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ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, welcome to our viewers.