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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

U.S. Major General Killed in Insider Attack in Afghanistan; Gaza Cease-Fire Sets Stage for Cairo Talks; Ukrainian Forces Advance to Edge of Rebel Stronghold Donetsk; Second American Ebola Patient Arrives in Atlanta for Treatment; Sierra Leone Unable to Contain Ebola Outbreak; New Post-Snowden Leaks U.S. Secrets and National Security Documents

Aired August 05, 2014 - 21:00   ET

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

ANDERSON COOPER, AC360 HOST: Good evening. We're coming to you live from Jerusalem, Israel tonight. Thanks for watching our special extended 360 coverage.

In this hour, Russian troops massing on the border with Eastern Ukraine, whatever their intent they are now ready to move on very short notice if ordered.

Also, the second America Ebola patient comes home, her prognosis on that drug cocktail that's been called near miraculous by medical professionals, as well as a look inside one of the hardest hit Ebola clinics in Western Africa.

Also, of course the very latest on the cease-fire here which continues to hold, the peace talks expected to begin in Cairo tomorrow, the enormous devastation in Gaza and how people there are living in the middle of it all, and what the Israeli government thinks it accomplished.

We begin though with the shock waves and sadness spreading tonight after an attack on NATO troops in Afghanistan, the attacker an Afghan Soldier. His most notable victim, U.S. Army Major General Harold Greene killed by gunfire, the highest ranking American killed in war time since Vietnam.

Chief National Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto has the details. He joins us now. So, what do we know, Jim, with the latest?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, this took place at the Premiere Academy in Afghanistan for training senior officers, one, important because it would be presumed to be a safe place but also it is central to U.S. plans, coalition plans for transitioning security control in Afghanistan from the coalition to Afghans. This was a senior delegation including not only an American general but a German general as well as senior Afghan commanders in a routine visit when an Afghan soldier, I'm told a soldier who underwent a very rigorous vetting process which is in place now for Afghan soldiers to prevent this kind of attack open fire on them, killing that American General Harold Greene, injuring a German general as well as senior Afghan commanders and eight U.S. Soldiers as well. COOPER: What -- Was this Afghan, you know, part of the Taliban? Do we know, because they have not taken credit for it yet?

SCIUTTO: They haven't. We don't know that he was a former member. We do know that he passed a vetting process designed to weed out either members of the Taliban or people with sympathies to the Taliban. This is going to be part of the investigation. There had been a so-called green on blue attacks in the past which were not connected to the Taliban. But personal grievances et cetera, that's something they will be examining but it's still an open question at this point.

COOPER: And what about General Greene? What do we know about him now?

SCIUTTO: A military man, 34-year veteran, married in fact to a retired court colonel, and he was essential to the leadership leading this transition. He was the deputy commander of what's called the Combined Security Transition Command responsible for helping transition security control in Afghanistan to the Afghans. And this academy where this took place also essential to that plan. This is where the senior officers are trained not just by Afghans but by Americans, by British, and other coalition members.

So, to have it happen there just shows the challenges going forward. But to be fair, I should note, Anderson, that these kinds of green on blue attacks they have dropped significantly in the last couple of years but this one shows that that threat certainly mitigated but not eliminated.

COOPER: Yes. Jim Sciutto, I appreciate the update, thanks.

There's some 30,000 American troops still in Afghanistan. The numbers dropping and soon may drop much further making the problem self defense the so-called Force Protection that much more difficult. It is far from the first time that American and other NATO service members have come under this kind of attack as Jim talked about. At their peak in 2012 according to Foundation for Defense and Democracies, they accounted for some 15 percent of all coalition fatalities in Afghanistan.

Nathan Hodge reports on the region for the Wall Street Journal. He joins us tonight from Kabul.

Nathan, the incident today, what kind of an impact do you think it has had or is going to have on U.S. forces and coalition forces on the ground?

NATHAN HODGE, WALL STREET JOURNAL REPORTER: Well, yes, the coalition forces are in the process of flying down and reducing their overall equipment here. And that leaves a lot of questions about the overall vulnerability, what the military likes to call Force Protection as its numbers dwindle here.

Now back in 2012, there was really what you could almost consider an epidemic of these so-called insider attacks with them happening with an alarming frequency. The military did say that it was able to change some of its routine, its tactics, and its procedures so that they could reduce these kinds of attacks. They also wanted to focus on something to ultra sensitivity with the use of the likelihood that hopefully misunderstandings would provoke an incident like this.

So, they have said that they have really gotten a much more of a grip on the problem with the recent months. But there's very little that they could do in a case like this.

COOPER: Have you been to this facility in particular? I mean, I'm wondering are a lot of people armed there? How does it work?

HODGE: Well, I've been to a number of Afghan training facilities and there are several training facilities that are on the grounds or on the territory of this larger center. And very often, what you see is it's not necessarily even like aligned for our training range. You'll see it's a classroom setting where, you know, aspiring officers are there with their instructors and there aren't weapons (inaudible).

And very often when you see someone like, you know, two or three-star general traveling on to Afghanistan, they are going to have an entourage. They're going to have heavy security moving around with them even though once in the room though they'll shed the body armor. They will shed their helmet. There will be plenty of, you know, gestures towards openness and trust. But, you know, it's highly unusual to see this kind of attack on such a senior, senior U.S. officer.

COOPER: And the Taliban has yet to claim responsibility. If it wasn't them, who else might it be?

HODGE: The Taliban have claimed responsibility in the past for some of these insider killings. And in this case, they identified in the statement that they put out that this was just an Afghan soldier. So, it's hard to say whether or not this person was motivated just by some sort of opportunism, whether or not they had deliberately infiltrated the ranks of the Afghan security forces so they could carry out precisely this kind of attack. The attacker was killed at the scene, so we may never get an answer. But in many cases yes, the Taliban have been credit for it although sometimes they may claim credit for the attacks that they didn't necessarily organized.

COOPER: A devastating day. Nathan, I appreciate you coming on. Thank you.

HODGE: Thank you. Anytime.

COOPER: Well, let's dig deeper now with investigative reporter David Rohde who spent seven months in Taliban captivity. David, it's good to have you on.

So, the killing of General Greene and again there's a lot we don't know about his killer. Were you shocked that an assassination -- an assassin could get that close to someone of such high rank at a facility like this? I mean, this is an officer -- this is an office or academy. DAVID ROHDE, KIDNAPPED BY THE TALIBAN, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, REUTERS: It is a big surprise and there was a success that they were able to reduce the number of killings in sort of half of what they were in 2012 compared to 2013 was half the number in 2012. So, this is a big surprise. And this and other attacks -- this is a positive development for the Taliban. It's a big propaganda victory for him -- for them. They've had major attacks in Kabul in the last few days and also in Kandahar, their former heartland in Southern Afghanistan.

COOPER: Even if it's proven not to be a Taliban, you know -- Taliban sponsored attack, it's still a victory for the Taliban you're saying?

ROHDE: Yes. They are claiming and they are praising the soldier. They are saying this, you know, brave Afghan patriot turned his weapons on the evil occupiers. I mean, again, this is the first, you know, senior American general killed since the Vietnam War. That's a huge, you know, achievement for the Taliban. It will help them with the recruiting and help them with this sense and we see this building and they are alarming signs in Afghanistan of a big Taliban offensive that seems to be, you know, growing and growing week by week.

COOPER: And again, we don't know the motivation of this Afghan soldier who did this. Again, whether he was part of the Taliban or whether disgruntled in some way or somehow changed his opinion of U.S. forces or coalition forces. But how have they've been able to bring down the level of these kinds of attacks, is it just through more careful vetting that the Afghan Forces are now doing?

ROHDE: I think there is more vetting. There's these guardian angels they call them, they are guards that move around with the senior officers and they'll fire on any one who maybe threatens a coalition soldier. But the biggest thing is separating foreign forces from Afghan forces. And that really helps the Taliban because it makes training more difficult. There are these cultural differences. There are suspensions between the two sides.

So, the success of this tactic is to divide American soldiers from Afghan soldiers. This is going to increase that divide. There'll be even more vetting, even more division, more suspicion of Afghans, and that, you know, unfortunately helps the Taliban.

COOPER: And it certainly raises questions about, you know, what happens when U.S. forces finally do leave or would turn over security fully to Afghan forces? And especially given what we've seen happened in Iraq with a huge number of security personnel they have in Iraq. We've seen that military essentially just crumble on the battlefield and not because of a -- basically a lousy officer cord not being able to actually stand up and fight.

ROHDE: Now that's--you're exactly right and that's the critical issue in Afghanistan. Already in this sort of remote provinces closer to the borders, you see the Taliban taking former American bases, you see them taking, you know, towns, and again recently they had hundreds of fighters mounting different attacks in Kandahar provinces where, you know, the spiritual homeland of the Taliban recently. These are all alarming signs. It's not as bad as what's happened in Iraq. But it shows why it's so important to get the Afghan army to perform better. And can, you know, as the Obama administration has talked about, can you pull all American troops out of Afghanistan? That's very unclear at this point.

COOPER: Yes, David Rohde, I appreciate you being on again, David. Thanks.

ROHDE: Thank you.

COOPER: We're going to focus next on the cease-fire here in Israel and in Gaza, what each side believes it accomplished in nearly a month of fighting and whatever you think about the conflict, the terrible price of so many people are paying for it now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Welcome back. As I said, we are live from Jerusalem tonight.

We're now a little more than 20 hours into the cease-fire here. A delegation from Israel arrive a short time ago in Cairo for talks, in direct talks we should point out, using the Egyptians as intermediaries that should get underway tomorrow.

In Gaza City in the meantime, the morning called to a prayer. It's just a few moments away and the destruction is sobering.

Martin Savidge is there for us. I understand it's quiet there in Gaza obviously tonight with the cease-fire, what's it been like on the ground since the cease-fire all day long?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, today, it was pretty much a relief for many people. They wanted to find out if in fact this cease-fire would work. There have been so many before that it failed. So, to get up and to find out that actually no there weren't rockets launched out of here and no there was no artillery coming back in in retaliation.

That made people feel pretty good about it. There were a lot of people out on the streets. The stores began to open. There were a lot of deliveries taking place, trucks moving about full of merchandising goods. So, there was that sign that this city believes at least for a while has bought some time and people can go about trying to do the things they might normally do.

What is massed in all of this, in this city is the destruction. There a lot of very high rise buildings that are still standing but are devastated you just can't tell from a distance. And then when you go into the neighborhoods closer to the border with the Israel there, you find complete devastation.

And so, you've got people now who are starting to go back and the realization starts to sink in and that is, "Was it worth it?" Over 1,800 lives had been lost, 10,000 homes damage or destroyed, many families without a home, many families wiped out and the cost is going to be considered over and over here as people take stock of what has happened. And that's really what's going to be going on in day two. Are they going to be saying, "There has to be something that comes out of this other than just a status quo."

Anderson.

COOPER: And it's not just day two, I mean, it's month two and, you know, the power is out just day to day life now for so many people. So many people are still displaced. I mean, you had more than 220,000 people in various U.N. shelters and some of them have nowhere else to go.

SAVIDGE: Right. That was the big question. We saw people starting to leave the shelters today and it's like, "Where are they going?" A lot of people are going to find family members could be extremely extended family members. We also don't know the extended damage, you know, say part of the south where there was a lot of fighting going on in Rafah.

So, this is part of that taking stock, but you're right, infrastructure damage is significant and that stuff takes years to be rebuilt and it cost lots of money, you need cement, you need bricks, you need factories. Day two were wiped out as a result of the military campaign. So, they're going to be starting from zero.

COOPER: Yeah. And so many questions from me and about this cease- fire, Martin Savidge, thanks.

It's quiet. It gives everyone a chance to take stock of the human cost of the fighting as Martin said, and the political and military losses and gains and what comes next.

Two views now. First is Israel's Former Ambassador for the United States, Michael Oren.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: From a political standpoint, what was really achieved here and will this be any different than all the other cease-fires we have seen in the wake of action like this over the last, you know, eight, nine years?

MICHAEL OREN, FMR. ISRAEL AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Well, from a political standpoint and a military standpoint, Anderson, Hamas has not achieved any of the goals that had set out in starting this war whether it would be opening up the border crossings, easing or removing Israel's maritime blockade, paying salaries for 40,000 employees of the palace of the Hamas administration in Gaza. None of that was achieved.

Hamas has a very low bar for success here. All of those -- all it has to do is not fail. All it has to do is survive against Israel and you get some type of success.

COOPER: You know, all of those things you talked about the reopening of the border crossing of fishing rights, payment of salaries, I mean, all of those -- those are things which as far as Hamas and the Palestinian factions are concerned are on the negotiating table. Israel wants a demilitarization of Gaza. How does that -- What does that actually look like though?

OREN: What Israel's goal is prevent a reoccurrence of the pattern that has taken shape over the last, you know, the last year, the last decade not just with Hamas but also with his Hezbollah. Israel wants to break that once and for all. And the demilitarization could take place if there is an international action that demands the Hamas gives up its rockets much the way that the international community demanded that Bashar Assad, the Syrian dictator, gave up his chemical weapons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Former Ambassador Oren.

Another voice now from a man who have seen violence flare, peace talks come and peace talks fail, Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Mr. Erekat, the situation obviously on the ground in Gaza is dire to say the least. What do see is going to take to try to start to rebuild Gaza? And what kind of an impact, if any, do you think that's going to have on negotiations?

SAEB EREKAT, CHIEF PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR: Well, I think, Anderson, what we need now is first to sustain the cease-fire, the next 72 hours are crucial. And then at the same time, we are working to extend the cease-fire for -- to make it permanent. And meanwhile, we spoke to the U.N. agencies today and the U.N. personal, there is totally humanitarian disaster in Gaza. The U.N. is considering declaring the Gaza Strip as a catastrophic zone. And this is very relevant sustaining the cease-fire means alleviating the suffering of people and this goal is hand and hand.

COOPER: You're appealing for donations from countries around the world though, some are going to be skeptical. I mean, Israel says that Hamas has spent a $100 million and use concrete, those donated from Israel and rebar and instead of building buildings have been building these tunnels underneath the border. What guarantees can you give that whatever money is given to the leadership in Gaza Strip that it's actually going to be used for rebuilding and not for just rebuilding tunnels?

EREKAT. This is are Israeli critics. You know every much, Anderson, that most of the money that was donated to Gaza was not given to Hamas. Nobody was dealing with Hamas to begin with. The money that was made together was ...

COOPER: So, how did they build the tunnels then?

EREKAT: ... given to U.N. agencies and American NGOs, your -- well, they had tunnels open from Egypt, you know. And I'm not going to go ...

COOPER: But they were tunnels to Israel as you ...

EREKAT: ... into the details now but the point ... COOPER: But you know there were ...

EREKAT: What?

COOPER: ... that there were tunnels to Israel that were very elaborate that had cement and rebar and Israel says that was donated supplies.

EREKAT: No, this was smuggled from the tunnels from Egypt. Most of the donation that came by the international community were building schools, hospitals, roads, electricity grids and so on.

Now, does this justify Israel in the destruction of Gaza? That's not my point, Anderson. My point is that we need to turn the page. We need to look at the Israelis in the eye and tell them we as the Palestinian government, we recognize the State of Israel right to exist 1967 (ph) lines. Please, we need a partner in Israel that can stand tall and say we recognize the state of Palestine right to live in peace and security next to the state of Israel.

COOPER: Are all the Palestinian factions on board with that idea, because obviously to many who want peace, that idea sounds very good, but are all the Palestinian factions on board? I talked to a New York Times reporter he said he talked to a Hamas official just today who talked about Hamas maintaining their military wing separately in Gaza separate from any Palestinian authority or unity government which is on the ground.

EREKAT: Number one, Anderson, yes we have 26 political parties and factions in Palestine. We don't see eye to eye. Palestinians don't have to see in the eyes of their president to speak it through his tongue (inaudible) we're a democracy. So, yes, there are Palestinian factions who refuse to recognize Israel.

As much as there are Israeli parties in the Israeli government who even refuse to recognize that there are Palestinians not -- given the Palestinians state but not Palestinians. But the fact is the Palestinian government, the Palestine Liberation Organization, we have recognized the state of Israel right to exist and that's where the organization stand.

We call upon the Israeli government to reciprocate and to recognize the state of Palestine and to join in a meaningful peace process that will end this Israeli occupation. And once this Israeli occupation ends, once we have a Palestinian state in the west bound Gaza and east Jerusalem, we commit to an authority, one gun and the rule of law and that's what's needed.

You need to have a strong Palestinian government that will come through ballots not bullets, that come through the elections which we intend to convene for all Palestinian parties and that's the way forward and that's the way to make peace. It's that the way of maintaining the occupation and sustaining the attacks and the settlement activities and the dictations and so on.

COOPER: Saeb Erekat, I appreciate your time tonight. Thank you. EREKAT: Thank you, sir.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: And the cease-fire as it stands now supposed to last for 72 hours. Negotiations set to begin tomorrow in Cairo, on Wednesday. Again, the first step will be to try to extend the cease-fire beyond 72-hour to see what we can be resolved.

Up next, gun fire in Donetsk Eastern Ukraine, our own Nick Paton Walsh is there. He joins us with new developments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Welcome back. There is breaking news in Ukraine tonight. Gun fire in the key city of Donetsk, a Russian rebel stronghold, the question is will it stay that way, a Russian rebel stronghold? Ukrainian forces could soon be launching a major offensive. And now, after a major build up, Russia is in a military position to do the same.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Donetsk tonight. He is taking cover and I spoke to him a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Nick, it looks like your lighting your own shot. What's going on right now on the ground?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Forgive me for whispering, Anderson, but it's so quiet here in Central Donetsk. We have to keep our voices down. But intermittently we've heard heavy gunfire now and what looks like the very center of Donetsk. It seems like an exchange fire, RPG's being used too. And that comes after the anguish of the Ukraine military and clearly been advancing towards the city center, mostly from the direction just over my shoulder here.

The last few hours of explosions had been on the skyline to the distance over there. But the key changed just in the last half an hour, we've heard sustained automatic gunfire here in Central Donetsk. A real sign, I think, the militants must be they're extraordinarily edgy or perhaps in their worst situation and exchanges of gunfire with the Ukrainian military if they are in fact this close to the city center.

Anderson.

COOPER: How close is the firing to you, Nick?

WALSH: I'd say two, three blocks away maximum. Pretty close indeed. We are pretty much in the very center of Donetsk here. The militants have been filling out in the past few days. We drove in yesterday. It was clear they were advancing, retreating back down one of the main highways here into central Donetsk. And that matches with -- we'll be seeing about Ukrainian Military positions moving fast towards the city center. The question really is, Anderson, as we know there's been a doubling in the number of Russian troops on the border here to about 20,000 in just the last week. Does that suggest Moscow wants to intervene to assist the separatist militants its backing thus far here? Or are we looking at a separatist movement here which is in its last stages as the Ukrainian military advances.

Anderson.

COOPER: Your location is known obviously to the Pro-Russian rebels. It is also known to any Ukraine forces who might be coming into town?

WALSH: As far as we know yes. It's pretty well-known location where or other organizations as well. So, as far we're hearing some voices in the distance that is why I'm keeping my voice down. But, yes, as far as we are aware this pretty well-known location.

Anderson.

COOPER: And Nick, finally investigators are still recovering remains and personal belongings from the crash site, correct? They're still able to do their work?

WALSH: That's correct. Yes. We understand from one official close to the investigation that in fact the Ukraine and rebel frontlines are now adjacent to a particular vital part of the debris effectively savaging it in a no man's land between their frontlines. Those frontlines constantly changing but as of today that has severely impeded the ability of the investigators to carry out their job. One of them telling me in fact they had to slow because rebels were in fact telling them couldn't advance because mines were in the way.

Anderson?

COOPER: Nick, I'm going to let you go. Be careful, Nick. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: We talked to Nick just shortly before we went on air and that's when we recorded that interview. We continue to monitor him. We're obviously very concern about him and his team and everybody else in that location. For more on the story now, you can go to cnn.com.

Coming up, the second American Ebola patient arrives in the United States for treatment at Atlanta's Emory University Hospital and the latest on her condition, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: The family of an American missionary who is infected with Ebola said they think she has a fighting chance now.

Nancy Writebol arrived in Atlanta from Liberia today. She is now at Emory University Hospital along with her colleague who is also being treated for Ebola. And just last week, her family was making funeral plans. Now, they say they have hope. Our Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins me now live from Atlanta.

So, what do we know about how she's doing?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've heard that she's settling in here, you know. She was obviously medically stable enough to make this, you know, pretty significant journey, as a matter of fact journey from Africa to Atlanta some 6,000 miles.

Doctors here have a few things they are going to want to do with her. Assess the damage, the impact of this viral illness on her body overall, how much of an impact that it had on her heart, her lungs, her kidneys, her liver that's part of what's likely happening now.

But as you mentioned, Anderson, it's in stark contrast to how her husband described their condition just a few days ago when he was thinking about making funeral arrangements before she was on the plane. She had regained her appetite. She was actually asking for certain dishes and I point that out only because it bodes well in terms of her medical prognosis.

Anderson, she did received two of three doses of this experimental serum and those experimental medications. The first one did not seemed to have as dramatic an impact on her as it did on her colleague Dr. Kent Brantly. But the second one did have more of a profound impact on her and as I said again, she became stabilized enough for this journey today.

Anderson.

COOPER: So, it's really that serum which doctors believe has been contributing to her improved condition?

GUPTA: Yes. You know, I think the doctors are pretty optimistic that that did have a role for both her and Dr. Brantly. You know, this is a really fascinating thing. I'll tell you, this is -- what we're talking about has never been done in humans before. Dr. Brantly was the first. She was the second.

So, this isn't a study at this point. This is just a couple of stories, a couple of anecdotes but they both seemed to have an improvement and they both have been in pretty dire straits. You know, Dr. Brantly had phoned his wife at some point unclear, unsure of himself whether he was going to survive. The doctors that were caring for him thought the same thing. When he got this medication, he seemed to improve pretty rapidly within an hour. And by the next morning, he went from nearly dying to being able to stand up, take a shower on his own and then get on that prearranged jet to Atlanta and a similar sort of story with her and not as dramatic in improvement but still an improvement.

So, we need more patients. This is an unusual situation typically you test safety, test how effective something is and then make your conclusions. This is just a couple of patients so far. COOPER: The serum, can it be used, Sanjay, to help others in West Africa? I mean, can it be scaled up? And if so, can it be done quickly?

GUPTA: I think so. We look into this today. The type of medicine they received was actually based on a mouse model. It's called a monoclonal antibody. We inject a mouse with Ebola, you let the mouse's cell sort of fight the virus and you get those cells out of the mouse's body to make the medicine. I'm simplifying a bit but that's the general principle.

There are other ways to create those same sorts of antibodies. You can use existing plants and inject those plants with a gene that forces the plant to make those same antibodies and then take the antibodies from the plant. That would be a way to scale it up more quickly. But again, let me caution, Anderson, this is not on through a clinical trial process. These are the first two humans in the world to use it. They're going to want to a little bit more data before offering it to the masses.

COOPER: All right, Sanjay, thanks for reporting.

Bruce Johnson, he's the President of Christian Mission Group that Nancy Writebol is affiliated with. He joins me tonight.

Bruce, I know you said earlier that Nancy is weak. We saw her wheeled on a gurney. She's now been at the hospital for a number of hours. She was able to eat some regular food before she left Liberia, I understand.

BRUCE JOHNSON, PRESIDENT, SIM U.S.A.: Yes. A matter of fact, on her way to the airport or when she got to the airport she asked for some yogurt. That was always a good sign where the appetite is returning a little bit and helping her to gain some strength.

COOPER: And what kind of interaction has her family been able to have with her at this point. Has anyone really been able to see her?

JOHNSON: You know, in talking with her husband David and also her two sons. She has been able to talk with them particularly with her two sons back here in the U.S. by cellphone, by e-mail and so forth. So, that's been a lifeline for her and her husband David.

COOPER: I mean, I can't imagine just what she has been going through. The sense of, you know, being in isolation, the sense of loneliness and not being able to, you know, touch your loved one and not being able to have that kind of human contact. You know, at sum of personal level, what is she like? What do you want people to know about her?

JOHNSON: When the test came back positive, they isolated her in her own home. Her husband left. And David told me he even forgot his power cord for his phone because he had to move out so quickly. So she's been comfortable in her own home. And David, her husband, when I called on Sunday he was standing outside her window. And she and David and their attending physician were just having a time of prayer out there. COOPER: For her family, I can't imagine what they have been going through. I understand they were actually planning her funeral at one point.

JOHNSON: Well, you know, he was being realistic. When a loved one has this kind of disease, you need to, you know, consider this might not go the way that we wanted to. But on the other hand, their faith really sustain them, they were getting messages from people around the world, their friends, the SIM family are just encouraging them, standing with them. So that really lifted their spirits.

COOPER: In just a bravery of, you know, and the work that missionaries do in all times is extraordinary. But, I mean to go willingly and knowingly go to an outbreak like this even though it's not necessary what she was trained to do but just feeling there was a need for her to be there, really kind of reflects on the person that she is.

JOHNSON: Yeah. And particularly, when they went in 2013, there was not an outbreak of Ebola at that time. And so, it continued to spread. It hit Liberia, but they did not leave. They wanted to stay that's why they're there to serve the people of Liberia to help in anyway and that really conveys their spirit.

COOPER: Yeah. Well, Bruce Johnson, I appreciate you being on tonight. Thank you so much.

JOHNSON: Thank you, Anderson.

COOPER: Bruce Johnson by the way is President of SIM USA.

Coming up, an exclusive report from what is ground zero for the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Our David McKenzie goes to treatment center in Sierra Leone, what he found there when 360 continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: I want to take you to ground zero now for the deadly Ebola outbreak at the treatment center in Sierra Leone on West Africa where despite the effort of dedicated groups like doctors without boarders, the virus is out of control. Hundreds have died already. There seems to be no end in site.

Our David McKenzie got the exclusive access to the treatment center. Here's what he found.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Taking incredible care to combat an unprecedented outbreak.

STEFAN KRUGER, DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: Lads, Ebola can lead to death with just one drop of infected fluids. So, that's why we take every possible proportion to prevent that.

MCKENZIE: Already, dozens of doctors and nurses have died in this outbreak. Still, doctor Stefan Kruger says he had to come.

KRUGER: I really just think this is where they need us. And there's a really big lack of resources and at the moment, the truth is in Kailahun (inaudible) there'd be nothing. For me, that's a good enough reason.

MCKENZIE: But at Kailahun, they are losing the battle. Ebola has hit four countries, the numbers of infections continue to rise, and this outbreak is out of control.

In the last two weeks, they've doubled their capacity here for confirmed Ebola patients. And they're doing all they can to help those who are sick. But they are absolutely at capacity here.

Will the level of effort that it is right now stop this disease?

ANJA WOLZ, EMERGENCY CORDINATOR, DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: No. To be up here? No. And it's really difficult because we are warning behind the (inaudible), we don't where we are staying and it's really not -- it was waiting for us because we don't have a capacity to go everywhere.

MCKENZIE: But here, they do what they can. In the high risk zone, this woman calls out for help. She has Ebola, so does her son.

Ebola is so deadly, it's killing our citizens, it's killing our country says (Tennenn Nalon). Her husband and son died of the disease. Seventy percent of confirmed cases here will die too.

So, she's confident.

To talk to Tennen, we must stand a few feet away. The street protocols protect us. The cruelty is they isolate her. Still, Tennen believes her 12-year old daughter has not who will make it and so will she.

We are feeling much better, she says. We are strong and we're going to fight.

What happens when we actually beat this disease?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I mean, that's a real highlight of everything that we do here. Everybody comes to watch the passion come out of isolation. It really I think it be able to start to continue doing that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: And David McKenzie joins me now live from Sierra Leon. An incredible piece, David, I mean, the loneliness of those who are, you know, infected who are fighting this, fighting for their lives not only that physical isolation but the -- I mean, the emotional isolation, losing loved ones, not being able to touch their loved ones. I mean, it's in store of contrast of the improving conditions of two American patients flown out of West Africa. Have you heard from doctors there? How are they reacting to the treatment in care given to Dr. Brantly and Nancy Writebol?

MCKENZIE: Well, look, the doctors here, Anderson, said that everyone should get the best care that they can. But I have to be frank with you. Some of them have expressed displeasure with the amount of attention given to those doctors, not because they don't want them to do well but because they say that the real focus should be here in West Africa, that -- their words not mine. They say that this is where -- the real trouble is here.

And because of the protocols that are put in place in countries like the U.S., there's no real risk in America. But here, they've been health workers and doctors who died and there are dozens because they're trying to help patients. Now, you saw then the piece, Anderson, we were walking around without protection in the low risk zone. They have a whole series of steps here to allow people to do their work, but they have to be very careful.

And you're so right that isolation of the patients, that fear factor for them is just so horrifying and that woman there was so strong to say, you know, I'm going to fight this, I'm going to win even if it's against the odds, we're going to get through this. And ultimately, this is the disease and illness like any other, that's a very scary one and people just want to get better.

COOPER: David, a remarkable reporting.

Well, to talk about Ebola, it used to have a kind of other whirly ring to it. Now, the arrival of those two infected patients, the concerns about that patient in New York who's been tested for the virus that brought it home figuratively and literally. Some though have known this killer or others up close for years.

Dr. Daniel Bausch, he's Associate Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the Tulane University Health Sciences Center.

Dr. Bausch you were just in Sierra Leone working directly with patients fighting Ebola, can you take us inside the situation there? I mean, I can't even imagine confronting the horrors and the risks so directly as you did.

DR. DANIEL BAUSCH, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL MEDICINE, TULANE UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCIES CENTER: Yeah, it is indeed a very difficult situation of this in one of the treatment centers there where you may have heard the nurses have been on strike. And so perhaps the most striking images, one day, I went in with another doctor from WHO (inaudible) major. There were two doctors in the ward and all the nurses were on strikes, we had 55 patients, no nurses, two doctors.

COOPER: Wow. What do you say to the patients? I mean, they've got to be terrified, they don't, you know, there is so much mystery surrounding this illness. They know the fatality numbers on it. What do you say to them?

BAUSCH: Yeah, it's a very difficult time, Anderson, because you have not only the patients of course many patients who are very sick but other patients in that particular setting just asking for simple things, asking for food, for water and we've tried, you know, our best to attend to them as we could but a very difficult time as a healthcare worker. One of the most difficult times I've had.

COOPER: You're also wearing a fully protective outfit, that's got to be -- I mean, you're just on a practical basis. That's going to be incredibly hot and there's also got to be -- I mean, you're a professional but there's got to be a certain amount of fear about becoming infected yourself so many healthcare workers have.

BAUSCH: Yeah, it is hot. It's uncomfortable. It's -- You can't really stay in a treatment center isolation ward for too long in one time and, you know, two to three hours is probably about the max that one can do. I think there's a certain level of fear of course, you know, if we were going to a let that be an impediment to us, we would find different jobs but it is an impediment in terms of knowing what you can do. There's a lot of things that you would like to do to try to help the patients there on procedures that ideally one would do to help them but you have to take into account the risk to you as a healthcare worker as well and sometimes for forego those.

COOPER: Why is this situation in Sierra Leone reached such a crisis proportion?

BAUSCH: We start with these are the poorest countries in the world that are not equipped to deal with this sort of public health emergency. And then this outbreak has going on for so long already and it becomes so big that we outstrip the resources of the international partners that usually contribute. So, I myself, the WHO, CDC, other organizations, they only have limited resources to do this.

And in Sierra Leone, for example, I myself that (inaudible) or doctors without borders, they've been able to put up one treatment center but the other treatment center in Kenema where I was, they just didn't have the resources to staff and men.

COOPER: Dr. Bausch, I really admire what you're doing. I appreciate you talking to us tonight. Thank you.

BAUSCH: Thank you very much.

COOPER: There's one more happening, tonight Randi Kaye has a 360 Bullet, Randi?

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, former Taliban captive Bowe Bergdahl will meet Wednesday with the army general leading the investigation into his disappearance. Sergeant Bergdahl was held by the Taliban for five years and released in May in exchange for five senior Taliban members held at Guantanamo Bay.

At least 13 people were hurt, one badly when two double-decker tour buses collided in New York's busy Time Square. The force of the crash brought down a light pole which struck a man in the leg just missing his head. The driver of one bus says he was having break problems. And in historic move at the NBA, meet Becky Hammon, six-time WNBA All- Star. She is joining the champion San Antonio Spurs as an assistant coach, becoming the first paid female assistant coach in the league.

Anderson.

COOPER: All right. Randi, thanks very much.

Up next, it seems Edward Snowden isn't alone, there's a new leak or allegedly sharing U.S. secrets. Details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: There's word tonight of another national security leak or possibly inspired by Edward Snowden. Investigative Reporter Glenn Greenwald hinted at his or her existence. And today, officials confirmed it.

We're talking to Justice Correspondent Evan Perez who joins us now.

So, how concerned the government officials about this new leak or in any information that he or she may have had access to?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, they are very concerned. The issue here is obviously -- there's only -- we've only seen one document or a couple of documents that were published today by the intercept on Greenwald's website.

The person who leaked this document obviously had access to a Pentagon computer system which is the same computer system that Chelsea Manning Bradley -- former Bradley Manning had access to. And that -- as you remember caused the leak of hundreds of thousands of classified documents which the U.S. has caused a lot of damage to National Security.

So, so far we don't know how serious the damage is. They are obviously very concerned though.

Anderson.

COOPER: Didn't the government improve security after Snowden? I mean, do we know how this happened again or did it happen before Snowden and is only now coming to light?

PEREZ: Well, you know, it's not clear exactly when this document was leaked. We do know that it was dated from August of 2013 which is after Snowden fled the United States to avoid criminal charges.

And, yes, the U.S did improve its computer security system because obviously Snowden exposed a huge vulnerability. But the problem is that there are still about three million people that have access to secret documents in the U.S. government. So, that's a lot of people who could easily get access to this stuff and make it at anytime.

Anderson.

COOPER: All right. Evan, I appreciate the update.

That does it for us from Jerusalem. We'll see you again in one hour at 11 p.m. Eastern for another edition of 360.

"CNN TONIGHT" starts now.