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Wolf
Hurricane Joaquin Heads towards East Coast; Netanyahu Slams Iran Nuclear Deal, Addresses Israel/Palestinian Peace Process; Taliban Drives Some Out of Afghanistan. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired October 01, 2015 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:30:00] LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: If they're going after ammunition dumps and headquarters, they would be using cluster munitions. They're just killing a lot of people.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: A very dangerous situation.
All right, Rick Francona, Phil Mudd, Paul Cruickshank, thank you very much.
Up next, at least two states have declared states of emergency here in the United States as Hurricane Joaquin turns westward, threatening an already vulnerable East Coast of the United States. We'll check the newest path of this hurricane.
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BLITZER: Hurricane Joaquin is gaining strength, with 80 million people here in the United States bracing for a potential direct hit. Right now, the category-3 storm is bearing down on the Bahamas with winds hitting 125 miles per hour. Take a look at these pictures from the islands. The water covering roads, flooding some homes and cars. The storm also could wreak havoc along the U.S. east coast, where towns from Virginia up to Maine, they're already dealing with record rainfall from a different system. Both Virginia and New Jersey, those two states have already declared states of emergency. In Pennsylvania, Red Cross workers are packing emergency bags like these to hand out. In North Carolina, they're moving sand and fortifying the coast.
Our Jennifer Gray is tracking Joaquin for us.
Jennifer, what could the impact be of this massive storm? I know there are various estimates where it could hit.
[13:35:30] JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know what, so true, a lot of these areas in the mid-Atlantic and northeast have received so much rain. Some areas, about a foot of rain in the past seven days. If we add any rain on top of that, we're going to be looking at the possibility of massive flooding, especially from another system unrelated to in the Carolinas. Right now, here's where the storm is. 125 mile per hour sustained winds, approaching the central Bahamas. Gusts of 155. So this is a very powerful major category-3 storm. We could possibly even see strengthening to a category 4 by Friday. And it is going to lose strength while it's out in the open ocean as it travels to the north. We're looking at Monday possibly off the coast of Carolinas. What's interesting here, a lot of people focused on the center of the cone. Don't do that. Look at the cone at its entirety. The West side of the cone is North Carolina. The north side of the cone is all the way up in Maine. Anyone from the Carolinas, all the way up through the northeast, needs to be on the lookout for this storm. You need to stay updated, because the forecast can change very, very quickly. I do want to point out quickly that the models are not agreeing at all. That's why there's a lot of uncertainty with the storm, Wolf. It can still stay out to sea. We're going to keep a close eye on it, anywhere from the Carolinas to Maine needs to be on guard -- Wolf?
BLITZER: The so-called European model has been pretty accurate involving other recent storms. What does the European model suggest?
GRAY: The European model has had this storm out to sea the entire time. It's really been an outlier when you're talking about forecast models. Now, though, the GFS, the other model that we look at quite a bit, is actually coming in line a little bit more with the Europe model. And so that's going to be interesting what the national hurricane center does at the 5:00 p.m. eastern time advisory. Because the models are starting to agree a little bit more. The GFS in red, the Euro in blue. This one's always been out to sea. Now the GFS is trending a little bit more to eat. It's going to be interesting to see what happens over the next 24 to 48 hours. Keep in mind, South Carolina under the gun because of a separate system that could bring a lot of rainfall this weekend. Some estimates, 12 to even 20 inches of rain in South Carolina.
BLITZER: Wow, that's huge.
All right, thanks very much, Jennifer, for that.
By the way, the White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the president, President Obama, has been briefed this morning on Hurricane Joaquin by his Homeland Security adviser, Lisa Monaco. The White House Press Secretary saying FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has begun increasing its staffing and deploying teams to the areas that could be affected. They've begun prepositioning supplies like water food and blankets in areas that appear to be in the storm's path. Stay with CNN for complete coverage. And we'll have that latest estimate at 5:00 p.m. eastern in "The Situation Room."
Up next, a passionate speech on the floor of the United Nations. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slamming the Iran nuclear deal and, quote, "deafening silence by his fellow United Nations members." We're going to assess what he said. Much more when we come back.
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[13:42:55] BLITZER: "Deafening silence" and a passionate speech in the United Nations. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the response from many countries as Iran's ruler promised to destroy his country. The prime minister issued a direct warning to Iran's government and he had a specific warning for the United Nations as well: "Don't be silent in the face of these threats," he says, to Israel. Very strong words from the prime minister.
Let's bring in Nicholas Burns, the former undersecretary of state for political affairs.
You've watched and listened carefully to the entire speech. It was about 45 minutes. What's your initial reaction?
AMB. NICHOLAS BURNS, THE FORMER UNDERSECRETARY OF STATE FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS: Wolf, I thought in many ways it was a very effective speech. He was right, prime minister Netanyahu, to shine that very bright light on the hypocrisy of many member states of the United Nations. The fact that just two weeks ago, the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, once again threatened to destroy Israel. As Prime Minister Netanyahu said, objectionable that countries are not speaking up to defend Israel. I thought it was the best part of his speech.
BLITZER: What about the part of his speech where he said that with the sanctions lifted and Iran about to start getting tens of billions of dollar, the Iranians are going to use that money not only to go after Israel but to go after others, to support the regime of Bashar al Assad, to support other terrorist groups, in his words? How concerns are you about that?
BURNS: Well, then again, I think that was another very effective point that he made. It's one that the Obama administration really needs to take into consideration. We're going ahead with the nuclear deal. But at the same time, Iran is funding the Houthi rebels in Yemen and, of course, sending fighters in Syria today to back up President Assad. The U.S., Turkey, the Arab countries in Europe, really need to combine in a major containment of Iranian power in the Middle East. As we go ahead with the nuclear deal. And I think the Israeli position on that quite sound.
Wolf, where he didn't get it right in my judgment is his continuing to campaign against the nuclear deal itself. That has been settled in the United States. The United States is going forward because President Obama was able to gather the requisite number of votes. I think it's ineffective for the Israeli prime minister to try to keep that distance between the United States and Israel. They need to close rank against Iran. I think he's perpetuating what has really been the worst and the most bruising conflict between Washington and the Israeli government in many, many decades, since the Suez crisis of 1956.
[13:45:34] BLITZER: It's been a very tense time between these two leaders, Netanyahu and Obama. We'll see if they can improve that relationship when they meet at the White House in November. The prime minister invited by the president.
It was significant, I think, too, and I wonder if you agree, that in talking about the Israeli/Palestinian peace process, he specifically said -- I know your ears probably perked up -- he said Israel supports the two-state solution, demilitarized Palestine along with Israel, and he said he's ready to meet with the Palestinian Authority's Mahmoud Abbas without preconditions tomorrow. What do you make of that? BURNS: I was interested in that formulation. When you think about it
in the aftermath, it's not a very effective argument to say now is the time for peace when Abu Mazen, the leader of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, has been ready for negotiations for well more than 10 years. The fact is with the settlement reconstruction of the West Bank, with the continued refusal of the Israeli to treat Abu Mazen in a serious way, the allegations made against Abu Mazen just simply weren't true, many of them today. So I thought he really missed a point to say something serious that might actually encourage the Palestinians to come back to negotiations.
BLITZER: All right, Nicholas Burns, thanks very much for joining us.
BURNS: Thank you, Wolf.
BLITZER: Still to come, a desperate situation unfolding in Afghanistan as a soldier leaves the battlefield behind to save his family from the Taliban. We'll have his incredible journey and story when we come back.
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[13:51:26] BLITZER: In northern Afghanistan today, security forces say they have retaken Kunduz but battles continue around that major city as troops try to take back the Taliban. Government officials say Afghan forces are in control of key positions in the city. But the Taliban claim they are gaining ground.
The persistence of the Taliban in Afghanistan and fears that ISIS may get a foothold and has driven some out of their own country.
One former soldier made the journey through several countries before arriving in Germany. He documented his plight, sharing the details with our senior international correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You can't imagine what's going through Wahid's head as he sat in a Munich cafe. The fears he's overcome and those he still has for the safety of his family. Let me take you back to where he was two months ago.
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PATON WALSH: This is the front line of what was once America's longest war. Here, Abdul Wahid Saeed Hali is still fighting it.
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PATON WALSH: He filmed his Afghan Army unit battling a resurgent Taliban in the worst clashes outside Kunduz. But now America is leaving, they are left wanting for basics and losing.
ABDUL WAHID SAEED HALI (through translation): Once the Taliban surrounded us in a base for 12 days. Our dead bodies began to stink. Our wounds are bleeding. We didn't have food or ammunition to fight. But we had to watch officials tell local TV that we did and were no longer under threat.
PATON WALSH: Back in August, Wahid confided in us in Kabul telling us how Army money was often spent not on basics like fuel but instead on perks for commanders, like grilled chicken. How three-fourths of his unit had fled. No comment from Afghan officials.
He quit the Army but soon realized he would have to flee Afghanistan, too.
The Taliban and ISIS knew where he lived, even rang to recruit him. Staying brought that threat upon his family.
The nightmare journey through Iran, Turkey, Greece, to Germany was, he felt, the safer option.
HALI (through translation): Better than being killed by the Taliban or have them behead me in front of my family or kill me in front of my children.
PATON WALSH: First came a simple flight to Tehran. But then at the Iranian border, smugglers led them to a cave where 100 migrants huddled with no food, water or toilet. Smugglers here sell them water at inflated prices.
One night, they took 50 on a four-hour march to the steep mountainous border. The climb was easy for an Afghan soldier, and he led the way.
HALI (through translation): When we got closer to the mountaintop, the Iranian police saw us and start shouting. Some ran away. Others ran to the top with me. The police start shooting. But I knew the bullets were fired in the air. So I told people keep running. But the bullets got closer and closer. So we hid behind some rocks. I got 15 people out and across. We walked for 18 hours.
PATON WALSH: In the next pictures, we see Wahid's smile is not that simple. In Turkey, smugglers shaved his beard for this, the trip to Greece. But they also held him captive until his family wired them money.
Wahid knows what fear is, and he felt it on this boat. 30 people drowned days earlier in high winds.
Here the 1,800 Euros, double the price they spent on a good boat, has paid off. They've arrived in Europe, the Greek island of Kos. He remembers filming these pictures and thinking, I'm here and I'm alive. Yet he only cried once on his journey, and that moment was still ahead of him.
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PATON WALSH: This is the border between Hungary and Serbia. Migrants, refugees, call them what you will. The Hungarian police won't let them cross.
UNIDENTIFIED MIGRANT: Open! Open the door! Open the door!
PATON WALSH: Anger builds. Around him, young men lash out and they're soon hit with tear gas and water cannons.
[13:55:00] HALI (through translation): I didn't see one, but tens of women and children in the tents who were crushed by protesters escaping the tear gas and water cannons. Serbian police quickly sent ambulances. I could not film the scene, though, as I was crying, not because of the gas but because of what was happening to these poor people.
PATON WALSH: Tire fires are lit. The police and their fence hold.
This is an Afghan who helped NATO fight the Taliban as they said that would keep Europe safe. But now Hungary and both Europe and NATO has a front line against him, keeping Wahid out no matter if it means he's sent back to face the Taliban again.
In Munich, where he arrived through Croatia and Austria, small worries here now vie with larger ones at home.
He must register in Germany, but will that stop him going to Belgium, where he has friends and thinks asylum is easier?
But in this alien city of beer festival and autobahns, a bigger fear haunts his every step. Only his brother knows where he really is.
HALI (through translation): The Taliban think I've gone back to the army. They've taken the phone. So when I try to call my wife, they can force me to go to them. My wife is ill now, but she can't go to the doctor. She's afraid to leave the house. I love all my children the same, two sons and a daughter, but I miss her the most. She's always on my mind.
PATON WALSH: Separated from his family by a journey he barely survived but they would likely not, a new life, but left haunted and incomplete by the old.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Munich.
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BLITZER: So many more stories like that. Thanks for watching.
More news right after a quick break.
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