Return to Transcripts main page

Wolf

Relations Tense between Obama, Netanyahu Ahead of Joint Congress Speech; Ukraine Marks 1-Year Anniversary of Civil War Start; White House Responds to Giuliani's Controversial Comments on Obama; Record Cold Temperatures in U.S. as Niagara Falls Partially Freezes

Aired February 20, 2015 - 13:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer, reporting from Washington.

In less than two weeks, a lot of eyes will be on the joint meeting of the United States Congress -- you'll be able to see it live here on CNN -- on March 3rd when Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu scheduled to make a controversial address about Iran and the nuclear program.

Let's bring in David Ignatius, "The Washington Post" columnist and associate editor.

David, you're just back from Israel. How tense right now is this relationship between the prime minister of Israel Netanyahu and the president of the United States?

DAVID IGNATIUS, COLUMNIST & ASSOCIATE EDITOR, THE WASHINGTON POST: Wolf, I can't remember there ever being such open disagreements. The tension is high enough that U.S. officials say that they are not briefing the Israelis full detail of the negotiations sessions of Iran, which they had been doing consistently until early February. The reason they made the decision to change is they felt Prime Minister Netanyahu's office leaking details that he was receiving about those negotiations and using them to undermine, in their view, U.S. efforts to reach a settlement. So there's a sharp disagreement. It's going to come to a head next month with the speech, and we'll all be watching.

BLITZER: I know you met with a lot of Israeli officials when you were there, including the minister of intelligence. You write about that in your new column. What's the Israeli argument? Why are they saying that they're saying and doing what they're doing?

IGNATIUS: I did interview the minister of intelligence -- has been intimately involved in the discussions about Iran strategy. And what he told me was that although this Obama-Netanyahu dispute is often seen as a personality clash, that it really has been building for more than two years and is about the fundamentals of what Israel thinks matters in terms of dealing with the Iranian nuclear threat. Briefly, he said that Netanyahu has always felt it was a mistake to let any enrichment of uranium and after the agreement in November 2013 allowed that, he initially thought it would be a small, symbolic level of enrichment, several hundred centrifuges, and by the Israeli county, it turned out to be thousands. And the Israeli press says that the United States has offered Iran at least 6,500 centrifuges under this agreement as part of an overall package deal. The administration has its own arguments, but that was the core of what he told me. This is too many centrifuges, putting Iran too close to breakout capability. I effect, it accepts Iran's status as a threshold nuclear state. In their view, closer than a year from breakout time to making a bomb and it puts Israel at too much risk.

BLITZER: The U.S.-Israeli relationship is critically important, obviously, to Israel. This is becoming a big issue in the Israeli elections right now, scheduled for two weeks after this March 3rd speech on March 17th. How's it playing over there in Israel?

IGNATIUS: There are a lot of Israelis who worry that Netanyahu has, in effect, played politics in America by arranging this special invitation from GOP House Speaker John Boehner. He has sided with the Republicans in this very polarized, divided Washington, and that's not traditional Israeli policy. The Israelis have counted on bipartisan support from Democrats and Republicans alike, from administration to administration. And Netanyahu's been severely criticized during the election campaign in Israel for changing that. The Labour Party candidate blasted him. His running mate has blasted him. I heard those attacks while I was there. I think it's fair to say that Israelis in general are worried that Netanyahu may have put at risk the relationship with the United States, at least while Obama is president.

BLITZER: Yeah. All right. I recommend your columns. Go to Washingtonpost.com.

David, thanks for joining us.

IGNATIUS: Thanks. Great to be with you.

BLITZER: We'll have live coverage of the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's address before the United States Congress on March 3rd, assuming it takes place and he doesn't cancel that address. We'll see what happens. Still some time for the Israelis to make some decisions.

Up next, one year after the revolution, the protest that brought down a government and sparked a civil war. We're going live to Ukraine's embattled east.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Today, Ukraine marks a somber anniversary. It remembers the start of the revolution that toppled the country's pro-Russian president. It was a year ago that the anti-government protests began in the capital Kiev. Dozens were killed in the demonstrations. Today, the effects are especially being felt in eastern Ukraine where the fighting has not end despite a cease-fire agreement.

Our senior international correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, is joining us live from Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.

One year after the protests began, Nick, the landscape seems to be different in the east. But what are you seeing right now on the ground as far as this so-called cease-fire is concerned?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The violence is continuing. We have heard explosions behind us here in Donetsk. Less intense than yesterday, but ongoing, Wolf. And I have to say, when we remember what it was like a year ago to stand in central Kiev and see people being shot around us, brought into the hotel we were staying, that itself seemed like an extraordinary peek in an otherwise peaceful country. I covered a decade earlier a similar protest in the same square that was peaceful and brought about a change of government. People felt then that something extraordinary was happening to Ukraine. But nobody then believed we could now be in a stage where I'm standing here in one of the key cities in the east, Donetsk, that has been racked by intense shelling.

The shelling yesterday, separatists say, killed a woman on the outskirts. We know Debaltseve, the key city everybody was arguing about in these cease-fire negotiations, is now clearly in separatists hands. We saw that ourselves yesterday. And we saw the devastation there.

The question is, when does the violence stop? We are technically still in what both the presidents of Ukraine, Russia and France and Germany call a truce. But the violence has not stopped. It's had a lull here in Donetsk certainly, but raised around Debaltseve. Do we, now see the separatists have the borders of what they thought was going to be the state to get in Minsk, do we see a further lull in the violence, or are they continually going to be ambitious for more territory? I think that unfortunately that's the more likely situation we're in. Many separatists emboldened, confident, very well equipped, and eyeing the rest of the Donetsk region, a large territory, where they may be heading in the weeks ahead, Wolf. Very troubling.

BLITZER: Ukrainian officials say at least 20 Russian tanks, bus loads of troops, they've crossed the border to join the fight. What are you hearing?

PATON WALSH: Well, you know, when you look at the separatists forces, it is clear they're not just minors out of work and got a vast amount of weaponry from somewhere on the street. There's a lot of organization. There's clearly a state backing them. That can be of no doubt at all. And you see a Russian flag many places. Too often that's symbolic. But it's often too obviously in your face to know there's not an extreme Russian support for the movement here.

But the question is, exactly what point does the Russian military come in and assist more overtly here or declare its presence properly? There's no air power used in the war yet since the cease-fire collapsed in September. That's key because that's clearly Moscow's desire, to keep all it's going technically off the books, so to speak. But the question is, what happens to Mariopole. It's a key town of nearly half a million people. It's been emptied out by the violence around it. If there are a build-up of armor around it or troops, there could be a very bloody battle ahead of us here. And, of course, if Mariopole does fall to separatists -- and that's a very big if, because it's a huge town -- then that potentially opens up a way to a land corridor by Crimea, annexed by Russia early last year. That is an extraordinary development for Europe's borders here. We're seeing them redrawn very quickly here in ways we haven't since the 1940s -- Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Nick Paton Walsh, a very gloomy assessment.

A quick break. Much more news right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: All right, this just coming in to CNN. The U.S. Justice Department will seek what's described as an emergency stay in that Texas immigration ruling, the ruling that put immigration programs under the president's executive order on hold, thanks to a Texas federal judge. The White House now says it's taking the action to allow eligible undocumented immigrants in the United States to start applying for benefits. That was put on hold following the Texas judge's decision. The White House previously had already announced the government would appeal that ruling by the federal judge in Texas but now they're going one step further, asking for a stay so that they can go ahead and take action on the president's executive orders. We'll see how it plays out legally in the courts.

Also, the White House just reacting in more detailed terms to former New York City Mayor Giuliani's controversial comments alleging that the president of the United States does not love America.

Here's the White House press secretary, Josh Earnest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: More generally, I can tell you that it's sad to see when somebody who's attained a certain level of public stature and even admiration tarnishes that legacy so thoroughly. And the truth is I don't take any joy or vindication or satisfaction from that. I think really the only thing that I feel is I feel sorry for Rudy Giuliani.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Strong words coming from the White House press secretary.

Gloria, we were talking about this earlier. Rudy Giuliani, he is not backing down at all. He is doubling down, tripling, interview after interview. He's declined an interview -- he's standing by controversial comments that the president the does not love America.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: First of all, I think Josh Earnest's response struck exactly right tone. He responded more in sorrow than in anger. He paid homage to Rudy Giuliani's important role, post-9/11, and said that it was sad. What you see is a Republican Party that's help rushed to criticize

Giuliani, which in and of itself is an interesting fact, given the fact they were trying to broaden the tent.

Scott Walker, for whom he was doing this event --

BLITZER: Wisconsin governor.

BORGER: The Wisconsin governor didn't say anything. The candidate who came out and said Giuliani should not have said that is Marco Rubio of Florida.

If the Republican Party wants to tell the American people that it is a party that welcomes everybody, that it doesn't want to get into food fights over who loves America and who doesn't love America, everybody could agree that anybody who runs for president or who is president probably loves America. And that that is not a conversation they want to be having within their own party or the American public. And I think Rudy Giuliani has done his party a disservice here.

BLITZER: As I said yesterday, what irritated a lot of people is when he said, Rudy Giuliani, that the president of the United States was not brought up to love America. He was raised, a lot of his childhood, by his grandparents. The grandfather served in World War II. The grandmother worked in a munitions factory. They clearly love America. They're patriotic. They were patriotic, loving people. To say that he was raised not loving America is outrageous.

BORGER: Whatever you think of the president's politics -- and obviously Rudy Giuliani disagrees with him -- Barack Obama is an American success story. He's a success story that people can point to and say look at this man's background, look at the where he came from, look at how he was raised, and he became president of the United States. If he can become president, maybe you can, too. I think there are a lot of Republicans, presidential candidates going out of their way, Wolf, to not sound negative like this, to not criticize Obama personally, but take on his politics. And I don't think this does one ounce of good for the Republican Party or Scott Walker.

BLITZER: All right. We'll see what Jeb Bush has to say. He hasn't reacted yet.

BORGER: Not yet. And I tried to get Kasich to react because I interviewed him before Giuliani, and he declined.

BLITZER: We'll see what all these Republican presidential hopefuls have to say.

Gloria, thanks very much.

Still ahead, a very different story. Record cold temperatures in the United States. They've transform a famous landmark. There it is. Niagara Falls, frozen. We're going there live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Beautiful Niagara Falls has been a destination for tourists over all of these years. Extreme cold in the northeast now has created a beautiful icy sight at the falls. Look at that picture there. That might come as a surprise when you consider it's colder there than it is in parts of Antarctica.

We have reporters brave enough to battle the cold and ice. Ryan Young is standing by.

You're on the Canadian side of the falls, Ryan. I understand it's three degrees, negative 17. What's going on?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That wind chill is so much better than it was this morning at around 5:30. It's warmed up because the sun's come out. That's the American side over there. You can see some of the freezing. Look at the big structures of Ice. This can get up to 10 stories high in certain places this time of year. To look this direction at the falls, that is the most beautiful part that everyone's flocked they're look at. We've been watching this all day as people come from all around to say they're looking at this because it's a tourist attraction, like a winter wonderland. More than 20 million gallons flowing over the edge. Sunrise, we had more than 40 people standing here taking pictures along with us because they wanted to see this. We have so many fans of CNN around here, a lot of folks have been coming out here because of our reports to check the site. You see them lined up, taking pictures, selfies, kissing around here. It's been a fantastic sight during the winter. Even as cold as it is, people are enjoying themselves.

BLITZER: I grew up in Buffalo. I used to grow to Niagara Falls all the time. It's only a half a mile from my house. I used to go in the winter to see the sights. This isn't unusual for those of us who grew up in western New York, but it's an amazing sight.

Ryan, you're from Florida, Miami, so you don't necessarily appreciate how beautiful Niagara Falls is right now. But people from all over the world are coming to see what's going on, right?

YOUNG: I have to be honest, this has been a beautiful sight for all of us, especially when it was lit up last night with the colors. All of have us been taking pictures. The pictures have been going viral across the country because people want to see this. If you're going to spend winter some place, man, this is absolutely beautiful to see.

So, Wolf, of course, this is your hometown. This is wonderful.

BLITZER: All right. We love Niagara Falls. We love the whole area.

If you haven't been there, I recommend it. It's one of the great, great wonders of the world.

Ryan, welcome to CNN.

YOUNG: Thank you.

BLITZER: You've only been there a month. But we're happy you're part of our team.

Ryan Young, joining us from beautiful Niagara Falls.

That's it for me. I'll be back at 5:00 p.m. in "The Situation Room."

For our international viewers, "Amanpour" is next.

For viewers in North America, the "Newsroom" with Brooke Baldwin starts right now.