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Wolf

Russia Accuses U.S. of Bombing Aleppo, Syria; War Makes Getting In, Out of Aleppo Deadly; North Korea Executes Military Leader; Clinton, Sanders Debate Tonight; Mark, Scott Kelly Participate in Twin Study. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired February 11, 2016 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00] BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: -- hundreds of thousands of people at risk, really just barely subsisting in this city. The Russians engaging in some -- at some points, in more than 100 air strikes in a 24-hour period, according to U.S. estimates. So no indication yet that the Russians, for now, have any plan to back off -- Wolf?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Barbara, thank you. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.

With bombs raining down, shells piercing the landscape, getting in and out of the city of Aleppo can be deadly.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen is the only international journalist there. He was given exclusive access to the frontlines where Syrian forces are battling rebels.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Years of urban combat have laid waste to the old town. Syrian army snipers scan the terrain for possible movement on the other side.

(on camera): We're right on the front line in the Syrian government's offensive against the opposition. And the soldiers here tell us they still frequently see rebels on the other side, but they also say they often pick them off from the snipers' nest.

(voice-over): This soldier tells me, morale has never been higher.

"Thanks to god, everything here is under control," he says. "Our fingers are on the triggers, ready to destroy the rebels."

Bashar al Assad's forces have made major gains in the Aleppo area in recent weeks, while the opposition rebels say they're simply being slaughtered.

But for years, this battlefield was in a stalemate. The front line right around Aleppo's ancient citadel.

As Syrian and Russian war planes hover overhead, the commander knows who to thank for the new-found momentum. "It's only a matter of months until we win," he says. "Thanks to the

Russian support flown from the Syrian air field, we will defeat the rebels once and for all."

Aleppo was Syria's largest and one of its most historic towns. Tourists from all over the world used to flock to the old town before it was engulfed by Syria's brutal civil war.

(on camera): The old town of Aleppo is a UNESCO world heritage site. Some of these buildings are hundreds if not thousands of years old. And as you can see, most have been completely destroyed and burned out.

(voice-over): But now Assad's troops believe they are on the verge of a decisive victory. The commander warns the U.S. not to interfere.

"We are steadfast," he says. "You cannot defeat the Syrian army, because we are determined to win and we're loyal to President Assad."

Amid this divided and destroyed city, Syrian government forces believe they're dealing a crushing blow to the opposition, one that could end this five-year civil war that's destroyed so much more than just the landscape.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And our senior international correspondent, Fred Pleitgen, is joining us now. He's back in Damascus.

Fred, the Syrian government's strategy right now to take Aleppo, what else can you share with us about that?

PLEITGEN: Well, I mean, it certainly is the case a lot of what Barbara was talking about. You could see that on the ground. You can see the fact that the Syrian military is attempting to encircle Aleppo to the places where the opposition holds sway at this point. They want to cut that off. They believe they have already largely done that, but they still want to fortify their positions even more.

I was also able to go, Wolf, to the North of Aleppo and the area near the Turkish border. And the Syrian military there says it wants to advance towards the Turkish border and get to the Turkish border to make sure rebels inside Aleppo can't get any more supplies.

The other thing that really stood out, Wolf, was the major presence there and the sway you saw there of Hezbollah and of Iran, as well. There's Iranian flags on a lot of the buildings. There's pictures of Iran's supreme leader. There's also pictures of the leader of Hezbollah, as well. If you talk to Syrian soldiers, they will tell you that it was, indeed, the Russian air force that has made a major difference on the battlefield. And they say it's not just the air strikes. It's also the fact that they're getting aerial intelligence from drones from the Russians as well, that's making their artillery $, fire more accurate also. And that's something they say they simply haven't had in the past. So it's certainly the case that Hezbollah, Iran and Russia, the

Syrians do acknowledge they played a major role in the offensive that's going on right now.

BLITZER: And who is helping the rebels?

PLEITGEN: Well, the rebels, at this point in time, not getting very much help at all. I mean, they are holed up mostly in the old town of Aleppo. And it's interesting also, because you have various rebel factions, some at odds with each other. That's something one of the Syrian military commanders told me, that you have more moderate factions of the army and hard-line factions, like the al Qaeda wing of Syria, called Jabat al-Nusra (ph). So it's very difficult for the rebels to put up the unified front, and also at this point in time, very difficult also for them to get supplies, for instance, inside Aleppo.

Now, in the area of Turkish border, that is something different as well. They could probably still get supplies through there. But, of course, the situation for them, a lot more difficult than it has been in the past.

And the government, along with Russian air power, is continuing to press that offensive. We could hear a lot of thuds from bombs being dropped. We could hear a lot of air strikes. We could hear a lot of fire, especially in the night when we're in Aleppo. So you can really see how the rebels in that area very much on the defensive at this point in time -- Wolf?

[13:35:28] BLITZER: Fred Pleitgen doing exclusive reporting for us. Be careful over there in Syria, Fred. We'll continue to check back with you.

Fred Pleitgen is back in Damascus now, but he was on the outskirts of Aleppo.

Still ahead, North Korea executes a top military chief, and that's sparking new speculation about the leader Kim Jong-Un's stability on control of the military forces in North Korea. We're about to take a much closer look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:40:11] BLITZER: "The reign of extreme terror," that's how some are describing the systematic disposal of senior North Korean officials by the leader, Kim Jong-Un. Now we're hearing one Kim's chiefs of staff, Ri Yong-gil, is dead. It's believed he was executed for misuse of authority and treason. South Korean intelligence believe at least 80 top officials have now been killed on Kim's orders.

To talk about this and more, we're joined by "The Daily Beast" columnist, Gordon Chang. He's also the author of "Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On the World."

Gordon, what does this latest execution of this top military official tell us about Kim's control of the North Korean military?

GORDON CHANG, COLUMNIST, THE DAILY BEAST: I think it undermines the general narrative which has been maintained by South Korea and U.S. Intelligence communities that Kim quickly consolidated command of the army, as well as the rest of the political system, when he took over four years ago. I don't think you can maintain that now, because we have seen three four stars in the last 13 months either killed or disappeared. And that says there is fluidity in the political situation in Pyongyang.

BLITZER: Does he run the risk of a coup?

CHANG: I think to a certain extent he does. The North Korean military understands that the regime's legitimacy depends on a Kim at the top. But nonetheless, this particular Kim has taken away their control of money, exports. And so that is a big deal. Plus, also, he's put party functionaries in key military posts. And along the way, he's killed military officers, which means that everyone knows they're playing for keeps. So in a situation where a senior officer thinks he's being targeted, he has very little to lose to go against Kim Jong-Un. So one of these days, I think that we will see the military try to move against Kim.

BLITZER: He's also, Kim, ratcheting up tensions, last month, with the nuclear test, the test of a ballistic missile. South Korea suspending operations at the industrial complex inside North Korea, not far from the border. Today, the North announced it would expel all the South Koreans from the facility. This is usually a bellwether for relations on the Korean peninsula. And I suspect this deterioration is going to escalate.

CHANG: You know, it certainly will, because the industrial complex, very important for the North Koreans. You have about 54,000 North Koreans employed there. There's been an average of about $90 million a year in the last three or four years, $515 million since it was opened in 2004. So this is material for the North Koreans.

And at this point, the Pyongyang realizes that because there's been what it considers to be such an affront to the authority of Kim Jong- Un by South Korea, by closing the zone, they've got to do something. You know, we saw six months ago what happens when you have some minor incidents in the demilitarized zone which separates the two Koreas. This is a much bigger deal so therefore the consequences, I think, are going to be much larger.

BLITZER: Yeah, let's not forget nearly a million North Korean troops not far from the DMZ, nearly a million South Korean troops, some nearly 30,000 American troops right in between, along the DMZ, as well. A very, very tense situation that we're monitoring right now.

Gordon Chang, thanks very much.

CHANG: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Just ahead, countdown to a political showdown. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, they meet in a major debate tonight. Our political panel getting ready to examine what's at stake for both of these candidates. That happens when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:47:40] BLITZER: Live pictures coming in right now of Senator Marco Rubio, in South Carolina, Myrtle Beach, holding a town hall.

All of the Democratic and Republican candidates getting ready for the South Carolina contest.

We're counting down to tonight's Democratic presidential debate between Bernie Sanders and Senator Clinton. Sanders is trying to build on the momentum from his big win in New Hampshire. Hillary Clinton is trying to rebound from her loss.

For more on what's at stake at tonight's debate, let's bring in CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist, Maria Cardona; and political strategist, Jonathan Tasini, and the author of "The Essential Bernie Sanders and His Vision for America." He supports Bernie Sanders.

Jonathan, what's at stake in the debate tonight?

JONATHAN TASINI, AUTHOR: Well, I think every time I'm asked that, I say the same thing. For Bernie, it's pretty straight forward. He wants to be known to more Americans across the country. He doesn't have to look around for slogans or figure out what the next poll- tested slogan should be. He's very straight forward in terms of the principle he's held for 30, 40 years. And he wants to explain how he wants to change the rigged economy and corruption in Washington, free health care, and all the things he's talked about in the debates before.

BLITZER: Hillary Clinton, Maria, has to come back from the stunning defeat in New Hampshire. What does she need to do tonight?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think she needs to focus on her message of actually trying to get things done. This is one thing that Senator Sanders has not been able to answer in any of the debates or any of the interviews he's done, which is everything that he's talking about sounds great, but how is he actually going to pay for it? Hillary Clinton does all of those things, works for proposals that will help middle class families, that will help African- Americans, Latinos, immigrants, but she does it in a way that she pays for it all. So I think facts matter. We are Democrats. Facts should matter to us. And those are the things she will be talking about tonight.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: The former White House press secretary, Jonathan, I just want to read specifically what he said, Jay Carney. He said, in his mind, "I don't think there's any doubt that he wants" -- the president -- "wants Hillary to win the nomination, and believes she would be the best candidate in the fall."

He's stayed neutral so far, but you do you agree with him on that? TASINI: No. I actually think that the polls are showing that Bernie would be stronger candidate. He would draw Independents in the way that an establishment candidate, a person who has been paid by Goldman Sachs, $225,000 for one speech, $600,000 for three speeches, the Clintons have gotten, $153 million by CNN's count for speaking fees from large banks, all sorts of drug companies, insurance companies. These are the people that actually corrupt the process in America. And I think that's really what Bernie will talk about. And that's what -- he would be the strongest candidate in the fall, because Americans are sick of the corruption in politics. And I think that's true of both parties. Bernie has polled stronger against both against Trump, against Rubio. He would be the one that would energize Independents, young people and new voters.

[13:50:32] BLITZER: Maria, you support Hillary. Go ahead.

CARDONA: I think that tonight is also going to underscore why Democrats and a lot of those Independents that Bernie Sanders is bringing in that support President Obama should support Hillary Clinton. She has focused on how to build upon all of the progress that President Obama has given our country.

And two other quick facts, Wolf. Bernie Sanders supporters love to talk about, and he himself loves to talk about how he has no super PACs. He has a super PAC of nurses supporting him and running ads on his behalf. The second part is they love to talk about how Hillary Clinton is not credible when it comes to talking about issues of criminal reform, of mass incarceration, because she was the wife of the president who signed the 1994 crime bill into law. Bernie Sanders voted for that bill, campaigned on it, campaigned as being tough on crime, and talked about the --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: All right, very quickly, Jonathan.

CARDONA: -- Americans would be hurt by it.

(CROSSTALK)

TASINI: If the debate comes down between the support that Hillary Clinton gets from Goldman Sachs -- she actually did win the Goldman Sachs base in New Hampshire -- the only income level she won, above $250,000, versus working nurses, who are the core in the hospital, the way people are cared for, if it comes down to that at that debate, we would win that hands down.

CARDONA: You can't win on purity if you're not pure.

(CROSSTALK)

TASINI: We can run on nurses versus Goldman Sachs, that's an easy debate.

CARDONA: And she's worked for working class people all of her adult life. TASINI: Nurses versus Goldman Sachs, slam dunk. I'll take that any

day.

CARDONA: Working class people, working class people.

BLITZER: Excellent discussion. Thank you very much.

CARDONA: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN will be simulcasting the PBS "News Hour" Democratic presidential debate later tonight, live, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 9:00 p.m. eastern, right here on CNN. For our viewers in the United States, you can also find it on your local PBS station.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:56:32] BLITZER: Scott Kelly is coming home from space after the longest stint in orbit of any American astronaut in history. Today, marks 321 days since Astronaut Kelly and his crew launched from Kazakhstan to the international space station. And in his career, 500 days in space.

This latest mission was designed to research the effects of long-term space travel on the human body.

Joining us now is our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Sanjay, you just spoke with Scott Kelly after, what, almost a year in orbit. What did he say to you?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's got a lot to say, as you might imagine, Wolf. Just amazing to be able to talk to him like that.

You know, he's part of a twin study. He's got his twin brother back on earth. Kelly -- a lot of people know Mark Kelly, Gabby Gifford's husband. They're comparing the twins, trying to determine, how does aging take place differently, what is the impact on the body, bones, the heart, fluid changes, all these things.

He talked a lot about how he keeps himself occupied up in the space station as well. I was really curious, you always see those amazing images of earth from the international space station, and I wanted to ask him, almost from a medical perspective, when he looks at earth, how does it look, does it look healthy, does it look sick, are there areas for improvement.

Listen to how he answered that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT KELLY, AMERICAN ASTRONAUT: In certain parts of the world at times that you don't expect or other, you know, weather conditions. When you look at the, you know, atmosphere, I wouldn't say it looks -- the thin veil of the atmosphere on the limb of the earth, I wouldn't say it looks unhealthy, but it definitely looks very, very fragile. And, you know, just kind of like this thin film. So it looks like something that we definitely need to take care of.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: Just interesting, Wolf. I mean, he's got this very, very unique view, this vantage point of that. He described pollution in certain places of the earth, these weather patterns, as you heard him say, and also the thinning of the atmosphere, almost like the thinning of someone's hair on someone's head, although this is obviously more serious -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Did he mention any side effects he has already noticed from being in space for almost a year?

GUPTA: One of the big ones, it's something he's dealt with before, as well as other astronauts, is the impact on vision. It's interesting, in some ways, despite the fact that overall time is moving more slowly, very minuscule difference but moving more slowly for him. He, in fact, his body is aging more quickly. So the eyes were a big one that was noticeable for him.

But also the lack of gravitational pull on his body, on his bones, makes his bones more brittle, not as dense. There's fluid shifts around his heart. There's all these things he may not be fully cognizant of.

But he's being measured every day and he's having those measurements, again, compared to his twin brother who's living on the earth.

BLITZER: Are they fraternity or identical twins?

GUPTA: They're identical twins.

BLITZER: Amazing.

GUPTA: A really rare situation, both astronauts, identical twins, this rare opportunity to study them.

What this is really about ultimately, Wolf, I think, is Mars. That's what it's really about. Takes about nine months to get to Mars. He's been up there 11 months, just showing you can be in a craft for that long. Obviously, his mission is coming to an end. If he were going to Mars, his mission would just be starting.

BLITZER: All right, Sanjay. Excellent report. More coming up in our 3:00 p.m. eastern hour as well.

Sanjay Gupta reporting.

That's it for me. Thanks for watching. The news continues next on CNN.