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The Amanpour Hour

Interview With Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX); Interview With Democratic New York Congressional Candidate John Avlon; Lebanese Hospitals In Line Of Fire As IDF Targets Hezbollah; Interview With "The Diplomat" Actress Keri Russell; Interview With "The Diplomat" Creator Debora Cahn; When Middle East Peace Seemed Within Reach; "Still/Here" Returns To Brooklyn Academy Of Music. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired November 02, 2024 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:39]

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. And welcome to THE AMANPOUR HOUR. Here is where we are headed this week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. DAN CRENSHAW (R-TX): In the end I want people to think about one thing which is what matters to you and your family at the kitchen table.

AMANPOUR: In the final furlong, Republican Congressman Dan Crenshaw lays out Trump's vision for America.

Then --

JOHN AVLON (D-NY), CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: People -- if the Reagan Republicans, Bush Republicans want to turn the page on this craziness. They want to move past this tribal divide.

AMANPOUR: The New York race that could swing the balance of power in Washington. Democratic congressional candidate John Avlon joins us.

Plus is southern Lebanon becoming the next Gaza? CNN's investigation into Israel's bombardment of the country's hospitals.

And --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The call is coming from inside the house and three Americans just got blown up inside the house.

AMANPOUR: With the world in need of diplomacy more than ever before, Keri Russell and Debora Cahn on their love letter to the U.S. State Department with Season 2 of "The Diplomat".

And from my archives --

KING HUSSEIN, JORDAN: We are going to try to establish a just, honorable peace in this area.

AMANPOUR: The last time Middle East peace hung in the balance when Benjamin Netanyahu was first elected Israels prime minister. My 1996 conversation with an Arab peacemaker, Jordan's King Hussein.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Welcome to the program, everyone. I'm Christiane Amanpour in London.

In just three days, America will choose -- Kamala Harris or Donald Trump? It's an election shaped by one of the most divisive campaigns in history.

One candidate speaks of the need for unity, restoring hope and turning the page while the other calls for revenge and retribution framing his political opponents as the enemy from within.

Now, it appears to be boiling down to a referendum on democracy, women's rights and the all-important economy.

And the world is watching keenly, too, because one candidate's fundamental belief in tariffs as a major economic tool threatens to upend the global order.

Donald Trump has promised even more aggressive tariffs if he wins a second term, this time on every other country in the world, especially China, but even on allies.

As for the benefit to American consumers, most economists, including a couple of Trump allies assess that they would be offset by much higher prices on trillions of dollars of imported goods. Experts warn of high inflation again and trade wars.

On so many levels, Trump's MAGA legions have made the party unrecognizable to the Republican mainstream, like conservatives Dick and Liz Cheney and a raft of Trump's own former cabinet secretaries who are now backing Harris.

My first guest, Texas Congressman Dan Crenshaw did vote to certify Joe Bidens election in 2020, but he is still enthusiastically supporting Donald Trump. Here's our conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Congressman Crenshaw, welcome to the program.

CRENSHAW: Thanks for having me.

AMANPOUR: Look, I wonder whether you -- you are a vet, you've been a Navy SEAL, you've served your country. And I think Donald Trump's use of the military, the language he uses, for those who've been injured or been killed in combat, losers, et cetera, and as importantly, when he threatens to use the military and the National Guard against what he calls the enemy within, are you comfortable with that? This is actually a very big question in a democracy, whether you

actually set your military against your own people, which is, as far as I know, I think it's anti-constitutional in the United States.

CRENSHAW: Yes, it would never happen. I'm not sure what, what quotes you're referring to. I know -- I know Trump speaks off the cuff and fires before he thinks about it, right? That happens a lot.

Does it mean he's going to do it? Of course not. And you might be able to justify those fears a little bit more if you'd never seen him govern, but you saw him govern for four years.

[11:04:45]

CRENSHAW: And it turns out that in those four years we had pretty normal lives. We had a pretty good economy. We actually had pretty good foreign policy too, despite the -- many of the fears about what he was going to do on the foreign policy front. He actually governed well.

Trump tends to understand the weight of the office that he holds and he does listen to advisers.

The reality is, is that those four years compared to Kamala Harris' four years, I mean, they're night and day.

Look, in the end, I want people to think about one thing, which is what matters to you and your family at the kitchen table.

And those things are the basics, right? It's how expensive is your food at the grocery store? How fast is your -- how fast are your wages increasing under Trump? The lowest quintile of earners' wages increased like 15 percent overall 8 percent. Under Biden, zero, because inflation canceled it all out.

Mortgage rates doubled under Biden. You know, the list goes on. And all of this is indeed connected to policies that they put in place.

AMANPOUR: You probably saw "The Economist", which is a very centrist, you know, economic newspaper here, had a front page, a cover saying, the American economy is the envy of the world, it's the strongest in the world.

We know that the economy added nearly 16 million jobs, 6.3 million higher than before the pandemic. This is under Biden. The unemployment rate dropped, stayed lower. Crude oil has increased production.

The U.S. economy has continued to expand under Biden, growing at 2.8 percent in the second quarter.

So the economy, according to the rest of the world -- clearly people are hurting. But in general, the United States economy is the envy of the world.

So I just wanted to put that out there for people to understand. CRENSHAW: Look, on the economy, I just want to say one thing. You have

to connect policies to good economic outcomes. You can't just say, look, somebody is president now, the economy is doing better. And I appreciate you at least said it right. Biden didn't create those jobs, the economy did, which is exactly right.

So, we are growing in many ways and we are doing better but that's despite those policies. And I can make the exact opposite argument under Trump when you have tax cuts, when you have less regulations, all of these are pro-business, pro-growth policies.

And so the outcomes, are anticipated to be good, and exactly that, they were.

AMANPOUR: OK. So, from what I gather, you describe yourself as a Reagan Republican. So, that is, I guess in today's landscape, more moderate than the MAGA Republicans, that's for sure.

And I just wonder whether you're comfortable then, there is so many -- I mean like scores, dozens of Nobel Peace Prize winning and other expert economists who've said that Trump's tariffs, Trump's tax, and other policies would cause a huge inflation spike. And that is a tax, you know, on America, as we know, on Americans.

But also, that these people who work for him, from Milley to, you know, McMaster, to Mattis, to Bolton, to Kelly, to all these names, all these people who've served their country, they're all coming out against him.

I'm still trying to figure out why you think this is the best course for the future.

Liz Cheney, Dick Cheney, you know, these are stalwarts of the party. They're voting for Kamala Harris.

CRENSHAW: Yes, look, when I get my ballot and I'll vote sometime this week probably, early voting, here's what my ballot's going to say. It's not going to say would you rather have Reagan? That's not what it's going to say. It's not going to say do you think Trump is the most perfect leader ever? That's not what it's going to say.

It's going to say, do you want to vote for Trump, or do you want to vote for Kamala Harris? That's what the ballot's going to say.

So, that's why it's so easy to vote for Trump. Because look -- and I mentioned this before. This is a unique election in that we have two candidates where we have four years from each and the outcomes associated with each of those policies from four years, and we can compare them side by side, because those four years are right next to each other.

That's quite the opportunity for Americans to be objective about that -- about how they're going to vote. And on every measure, and you can pick out -- you can pick whatever topic you want, I'll happy -- I'm happy to discuss it. Trump wins out on each of those, whether it's foreign policy, whether

it's domestic economic policy, immigration policy for sure. These are the top of the list for American voters on the policy issues.

And so, I extricate myself from the personality wars and I look objectively at what the policies are, and how they're going to affect me and my children for the next 50 years.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Coming up later on the show, the congressional race that could bring the House back to the Democrats.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AVLON: 40 of 44 cabinet officials who worked for Donald Trump are warning that he's a threat to the republic. Take that seriously. Take that real seriously.

And that's the prism with which I think we should look at this election that the message America sends to the world if you reward someone for trying to overturn an election on the back of a lie that led to an attack on the Capitol.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:09:50]

AMANPOUR: Candidate John Avlon on what's at stake in the Empire State.

Also ahead, in a world full of war, "The Diplomat" who wants to fix it all. Creator Debora Cahn and lead actress Keri Russell join us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSSELL: This show is meant to be a love letter to the State Department.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:14:53]

AMANPOUR: Welcome back to the program.

Now, viewed from overseas, it is not just the presidency but who controls Congress that is so important on a host of foreign policy issues.

While New York state is a Democratic stronghold, five out of six key swing seats there are currently held by Republicans.

My next guest, John Avlon, a Democrat fighting to win a seat in New York's first congressional district out on Long Island. If he and a couple more win they could flip the House of Representatives. He is also a former CNN senior political analyst and he talked to me

about the issues that matter most to the constituents he seeks to represent.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: John, I don't know whether you heard my previous guest, Dan Crenshaw, basically said, you've got your ballot, if it says Trump and Kamala Harris for sure, you put the two of them up against each other on immigration, economy, foreign policy and the like. And there's no contest, Trump wins.

What's your counter argument?

AVLON: I think that was a fact-challenged argument driven by partisan obligations on the part of the congressman, much of his record I respect.

But I mean, character counts and the idea that we were living in some nirvana four years ago, our nation, as with much of the world, was on the way to a million COVID deaths, there was a skyrocketing unemployment, you know, are you better off you were four years ago? No question. We're better off than we were four years ago.

But more to the point, the idea that Trump wasn't able to do much damage. I mean, put on your history lesson lens. You know, we had an attack on our Capitol on the back of a lie that Trump propagated.

If a Democratic president had lied about an election, tried to overturn it that led to an attack on a Capitol, I think Dan Crenshaw would be condemning that person and he'd be right to do it.

We need to stop this situational ethics. We need to put country over party, principles over party.

And the fact is 40 of 44 cabinet officials who worked for Donald Trump are warning that he's a threat to the Republic. Take that seriously. Take that real seriously.

And that's the prism with which I think we should look at this election, that the message America sends to the world if we reward someone for trying to overturn an election on the back of a lie that led to an attack on our Capitol.

And then there's everything else from questions of reproductive freedom to rebuilding the middle and rebuilding the middle class and the policies in action and why we need to make that change.

Because one of the many arguments of this election, it seems to me, is that if God forbid, from my perspective, Donald Trump is re-elected, Democrats controlling the House is a vital check and balance.

AMANPOUR: I want to ask you, because you bring up the democracy piece, and obviously that's what Kamala Harris has been, you know, doing. Do voters, let's say where you are, trying to get -- you know, trying to win this seat, do they feel that is the most important issue for this election or is it about the economy?

What are you hearing about the issues that matter most right now?

AVLON: First of all, democracy is foundational. I think people are exhausted by the chaos. They want to move towards common ground.

But there's certainly kitchen table issues that have more immediacy as to affordability. You pointed out that American economy is the envy of the world, and I'd say the diner conversation around the economy has changed.

But there's still a lot of frustration around affordability, particularly here on Long Island. And that's where we talk about restoring the state and local tax deduction that Trump brought back -- took away, or you know, expanding the child tax credit.

But also, reproductive freedom. This is a fundamental issue and we're seeing very high turnout among women in particular in early voting.

I believe that decision should be between a woman, her doctor, and her God, not the government.

And my opponent, for example, supports a 12-week abortion ban, said he'd vote for it, cheered the overturning of Roe v. Wade. That's incredibly out of step with the vast majority of voters here. Even a majority of Republicans are pro-choice here in the New York's First District.

So, that's a driving issue as well.

And there's frustration about border security for sure.

AMANPOUR: Can I ask you about your own race? Because as we said, not just because I'm interviewing you, but it looks like, you know, these districts in New York and your district could be amongst those that have a big ripple effect and might lead to flipping the House if you win.

So, you've gotten very close. Your district has been a Republican district, red for 10 years. The polls say the Newsday/Siena College poll has you only three points behind, and we put this up. LaLota, your opponent at 47 percent, Avlon, you, at 44 percent.

And Representative Steve Israel says the fact that this district is even in play is pleasantly surprising for national Democrats. So, talk to me about it.

[11:19:50]

AVLON: This is a swing district. It was held before Lee Zeldin a Republican. It was held by Tim Bishop, a Democrat. It's actually been held by Democrats a majority of the time.

But this is a classic swing district. It's a purple district in a blue state. And I think that's exactly where we can make some gains, because it demands the politics of addition, not division. There're actually more registered Independent voters in our district

here than any other district in New York State.

And I think you're seeing the enthusiasm for Donald Trump has fallen. The hardcore supporters are still intense, but there is not that broad-based support that there was.

Instead, we have Republicans for Avlon, which has been an important part of building that broad coalition. Because people -- if they're Reagan Republicans, Bush Republicans -- want to turn the page on this craziness. They want to move past this tribal divide.

And I think that's one of the reasons we're seeing momentum. You know, that poll you showed was a week ago, but it showed clear momentum in our direction, and that's neck and neck within the margin of error.

So, I like very much where we are. I believe we are fighting the good fight. And it's really about putting country over party.

AMANPOUR: Really interesting. Thank you so much for your perspective.

John Avlon running for Congress in the First District of New York for the Democratic Party.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Up next, is Lebanon the next Gaza? CNN's investigation into the IDF's targeting of hospitals inside that country. Tamara Qiblawi reports.

[11:21:10]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

AMANPOUR: Welcome back to the program.

We turn now to the war in the Middle East. Lebanon has been forced to shut down a third of its healthcare facilities, the WHO says. As Israel continues bombing the country as it says it's targeting Hezbollah. The Lebanese prime minister says an unprecedented humanitarian crisis is unfolding.

Last week, a deadly Israeli strike hit near Beirut's largest public hospital, killing 18 people and severely damaging that building. But the IDF insists that it struck a quote "Hezbollah" terrorist target.

It's a similar scenario to what has unfolded in Gaza in Israel's war against Hamas where no target appears off-limits, including medical facilities.

CNN's Tamara Qiblawi has this investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAMARA QIBLAWI, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIONS WRITER: A ball of fire lights up the night sky. Seconds later, loud booms reverberate through Lebanon's capital, one of many explosions rocking Beirut's southern suburbs nearly every night for the past month.

In Lebanon's largest public hospital, glass shatters and there's panic as an Israeli bomb hits the vicinity. ER nurse Mohammad Fouani (ph) was there when the explosion came without warning.

MOHAMMAD FUOANI, NURSE, RAFIK HARIRI UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: When the explosion happened the ground shook and I fell over my patient. We have been through a lot but this event was the worst thing we ever experienced.

QIBLAWI: In the day the horrors come to light. Meters away from the hospital, the epicenter of the Israeli strike. A desperate scramble to get men, women and children out of the rubble.

This is Hezbollah's seat of power, a major flashpoint in Israels bombing campaign. But this is also home to some one million people and most of whom are now displaced.

Israeli strikes across the country have damaged 34 hospitals according to health authorities. Eight of these have been forced to close.

Now, while the majority of hospitals were not directly hit, they were inside a blast radius known as a kill zone.

Let's look at this more closely. The bombing campaign focused on three areas. The southern suburbs of Beirut, the Beqaa Valley and country south, which borders Israel.

We analyzed over 240 Israeli airstrikes in the first month of Israel's countrywide offensive. Our team measured the potential reach of fragments from each one of these attacks.

Experts call this a kill zone. A 340-meter radius around the target with shrapnel can tear through buildings and people.

This calculation is based on the types of bombs we know Israel is using in Lebanon today. In the southern suburbs of Beirut, our analysis found that every single hospital was within the kill zone of an airstrike. And health authorities say that every single hospital has been damaged as a result.

In the Beqaa Valley, two hospitals were found within these killed zones. In the south, where whole villages have been (INAUDIBLE) by Israel's bombardment, there were six.

CNN was able to verify 19 hospitals that fell within these kill zones. Health authorities say that a fifth of Lebanon's hospitals have been damaged.

Many fear this is only the beginning with dozens of Lebanese health and emergency workers killed in just a month according to the health ministry.

There are echoes of the apocalyptic situation that is still playing out for hospitals in Gaza. Dr. Thaer Ahmad (ph) is an American doctor who was working in Gaza earlier this year. He's in Lebanon now and he says he's getting flashbacks.

[11:29:48]

DR. THAER AHMAD, DOCTOR: There are no red lines. There is no respect for international humanitarian law. We saw that in Gaza for the past 13 months and we are seeing it in Lebanon.

Are we heading in that same direction? Are we actually going to see this repeat itself?

QIBLAWI: Responding to CNN's findings, the Israeli military said it operates in strict accordance with international law. It accused Hezbollah of being deeply embedded in civilian areas deliberately close to medical facilities.

Lebanon is no stranger to war, but its health workers say that they have never been more vulnerable. And yet they say they feel they have no choice, but to carry on.

Tamara Qiblawi, CNN -- London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Coming up, the explosive new season of "The Diplomat".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can we find the Home Secretary? I'd like to be able to tell the ambassador whether her husband is alive or dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: I speak to star Keri Russell and creator Debora Cahn after this short break.

[11:30:52]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

AMANPOUR: Welcome back.

Now, as the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine rage on and western powers continue their subtle diplomacy, a hit Netflix show dives into some topical (ph) issues the world is currently grappling with from Russian aggression to relations with Iran.

"The Diplomat" is a fictional take on life as the U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain with award-winning actor Keri Russell attempting to uncover the source of a deadly plot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUFUS SEWELL, ACTOR: You dug up a conspiracy inside this government. RUSSELL: You think you are playing chess, but actually you are playing

checkers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is not a vice president.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is running with scissors right into my staff and me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The vice president is on her way to London.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does she know about me?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: I spoke to her and to the show's creator Debora Cahn about the new second season and I started by asking Keri Russell about what drew her to the show.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSSELL: We've said before, and we really mean it, this show is meant to be a love letter to the State Department and the people who do this incredible work.

But it was like the specificity of this character that she created within that world. You know, the messiness, the foul mouth, the crazy marriage. And so, all of the fun with the smarts and the political stuff, but the specificity of this really messy, bossy, fun person.

AMANPOUR: You know, the sort of subplot is that she's being groomed potentially to be the next vice president.

So, I'm going to play a little clip because it's starring -- this one has Allison Janney, the wonderful Allison Janney, as the vice president and your character, Keri, the ambassador, is talking to her about -- it's kind of like an interview, a job application.

Here we go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSSELL: I'm no one's first pick is my point. I know I have a lot to learn. If you have any advice, I'd love to hear it.

ALLISON JANNEY, ACTRESS, "THE DIPLOMAT": Billy says your DCM's got a lot of experience. He's been giving you a crash course?

RUSSELL: Yes.

JANNEY: What have you covered?

RUSSELL: He's fantastic. We haven't had a lot of time. So, far, he's sort of hung up on the packaging. I'd rather focus on policy and, I don't know, the Senate.

JANNEY: Packaging? RUSSELL: My clothing, my hair, which he finds particularly upsetting.

JANNEY: He's right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: That is hilarious. I really didn't expect her to say, "he's right". And I saw you laughing while you were, you know, anticipating that -- you know, that punchline because you know Allison Janney was in there. She of course, was the beloved CJ of the White House spokesperson fame during "The West Wing".

And you, Debora, cut your teeth, right, during "The West Wing" writing.

DEBORA CAHN, CREATOR, "THE DIPLOMAT: Yes. I feel like so much of the way that I write was shaped around writing for Allison. There's so much that she can do. She can sort of do it all at the same time.

And the idea of bringing these two titans of the acting world together to work with each other and off each other seems like way too good to be true and I am still shocked that it actually happened.

AMANPOUR: So much of the season, the first season, was about will they, won't they bomb Iran? I mean, talk about topical.

The storyline was, you know, about that, about Russian mercenaries who reared their ugly head.

So I want to play this because this is a clip where ambassador, Keri, and her chief of station, i.e., the CIA station chief, discuss a big reveal of that season one. Here we go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSSELL: Lankov put together the attack on the carrier, but the Kremlin did not hire him. I think the prime minister did.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What?

RUSSELL: Of this country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Slow down.

RUSSELL: They are British police. This is a British hospital. Our people are not safe here.

[11:39:50]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kate, you think the British prime minister --

RUSSELL: Ordered a strike on his own warship, which may or may not be connected to the bomb that just went off in his own city.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You think he ordered that too?

RUSSELL: I think the call is coming from inside the house. And three Americans, including my husband, just got blown up inside the house.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: That's pretty dramatic, Keri.

RUSSELL: Yes, it is. I mean, you know, it is where -- it's a show full of suspense and drama and that's that whole arc. I mean, you know, where -- it is fictional, and we're not saying anything about the British government currently.

But, you know, it's exciting.

AMANPOUR: And you got some advice and assistance from the current U.S. ambassador to the U.K., who famously, you know, tells, because this is true, that she's been ambassador under, I don't know, at least four British prime ministers, in a pretty telescope period of time.

So what specific kind of feedback did you get from Ambassador Hartley? And you went to Winfield House, or to the embassy, right, for this?

CAHN: I think what was most interesting was having conversations with her again about kind of what happened earlier that day, every time we met her, and she would sort of casually drop how she had, you know, perhaps met with a dissident who was struggling to get a message out.

It all is very mundane for her, and every conversation could have been a story on the show.

AMANPOUR: And Keri, because she is actually the opposite of your character. She is beautifully quaffed, looks great, fabulously dressed. And like you, she's a real policy person.

RUSSELL: Absolutely. She knows her stuff. She is effortless. I mean, she is so graceful, so easy with every single different kind of person she could have in her orbit. You know, she just moves back and forth, in and out of it so easy.

AMANPOUR: And just finally, you know, part of it does also show you all trying to do your best to save the world, save your country from mad leaders, either at home or where you're stationed or abroad.

What do you make of it happening right now?

CAHN: It's terrifying. I think, simply put, it's -- hopefully, it's sharing the idea that there are a lot of people who work for the government. We worry -- I certainly worry that the decision that's going to be made in a few days is a world-building or world-ending one.

But I think what I find a lot of comfort in, as I learn about this world, is there are just thousands of people working for our government, most of whom have great intentions and great values.

RUSSELL: Absolutely.

CAHN: And we are proud to have them out there every day doing a sort of a more of a retail version of American democracy in the world than perhaps what we see here at home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: And all episodes of "The Diplomat" season 1 and 2 are streaming now on Netflix.

Up next, from Israel's deadly wars in the region today, flash back to a time when Middle East peace was emerging and Jordan's King Hussein told me how the election of a young Benjamin Netanyahu might affect those negotiations.

[11:43:24]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

AMANPOUR: Welcome back.

With Israel's ongoing wars in Lebanon and Gaza despite a new push for a cease-fire, Middle East peace could not feel more imperiled. It is 30 years since Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and Jordan's King Hussein did make peace and a lasting one at that.

It happened just a year after the Oslo Accords and the iconic handshake on the White House lawn between Rabin and Palestinian chairman Yasser Arafat. A deal that proved peace was within reach in this turbulent region.

Both of those accords took guts, strong political will and bold decision making. But that dream of regional peace and a two-state solution came crashing down with the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin by a Jewish gunman in 1995 and his replacement by a new conservative government led by a young man named Benjamin Netanyahu seven months later.

Deeply concerned Arab nations immediately convened an emergency summit in Cairo, Egypt to discuss whether Netanyahu would also be their Israeli partner for peace as Rabin had been.

After covering Netanyahu's first election, I flew in to cover that Cairo summit and I spoke to several leaders there, including Jordan's King Hussein.

Here is a little of what he told me about the prospect of peace under new Israeli leadership.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: This summit perhaps would not be being held if your original peace partners Mr. Rabin and Mr. Perez were still there? You knew them very well. You went into negotiations and settlement. How has the atmosphere and situation changed?

[11:49:50]

KING HUSSEIN: I think that what has happened, to be very frank about it all, is that the area lost a most impressive person in the person of the great Prime Minister Rabin.

After that, Perez I've known for many years and I have always considered him a friend and I admire his mind and his -- but a variety of reasons brought the change and Israel in terms democratic country and the people exercising their rights chose the person of the prime minister who they confidence and maybe hope will assume possibilities for the coming period.

Terrorism didn't help. It frightened people. So there have been combination of circumstances that brought about this change. But the goal is still there and I don't think it has changed and will never change until we succeed in bringing about the comprehensive peace into the --

AMANPOUR: Let me ask you this. There have been some Arabists, some writers who have suggested that there is a certain powerlessness amongst the Arab states. And that for instance the whole issue of what happened with the Israeli incursion into Lebanon. It was not widely condemned as it might have been had it been the reverse kind of process.

What can the Arab nation, as you have spoken about at this summit, do to make sure that Israel carries on in the way in which you entered this peace process?

KING HUSSEIN: To be very frank, the Arab nation is not helpless. And this should be very, very clearly understood.

If we speak about peace it's because we are committed to it. We want to leave something behind that is worthy of us and worth of the people who are to follow us in this entire region.

That is a commitment we have. But we are not helpless. We are not going to just take whatever or leave it. We are going to try to establish a just, honorable peace in this area and the foundations are there and have been recognized in terms of 242 and 338 and (INAUDIBLE) for peace and the security and rights of all to live in peace and security in this region.

AMANPOUR: Do you see in the future the peace process as it exists right now slowing down, proceeding at the same pace that it has been, freezing? Everybody's asking that question.

KING HUSSEIN: I think we will have a little lull, let us say, but it won't be long before we resume again. I really hope that this will be the case.

AMANPOUR: And do you think Mr. Netanyahu will meet soon with, for instance, the Palestinian leader?

KING HUSSEIN: I don't know when he plans to meet with the Palestinian leader but I think that it is obvious that there will be meetings in the near future. I certainly look forward to meeting him before long and I think he'll be meeting obviously with President Mubarak and then he'll be moving to the United States as well.

So there is a lot of activities and I don't think much has changed in terms of the commitment to peace.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Since then, in the absence of leaders like Hussein and Rabin who were willing to commit to peace, a larger regional agreement at a two-state solution had never been further away.

And yet the U.S. and the global consensus is that is the only way to end this forever war.

Coming up, exploring identity and mortality through dance. My conversation with renowned choreographer Bill t. Jones at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. That is after the break.

[11:53:32]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

AMANPOUR: And finally, 30 years ago this week, a groundbreaking multimedia dance work called "Still/Here" opened at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and ignited a storm of controversy.

Choreographer Bill T. Jones' first staged "Still/Here" at the height of the AIDS epidemic and he was keen to highlight that it is a piece that aims to confront everyone's mortality even today.

Here is what he told me when we sat down together at BAM as the show makes its return to the stage there three decades on.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL T. JONES, CHOREOGRAPHER: I said the next piece I make was going to be without conflicts. Let's choose a topic that we can agree on. You as a woman have your gripes I'm sure about the culture and I as a black man have mine. Gay people, trans people -- but what can we not disagree on? What could we not disagree on? And that is our mortality.

So I wanted to find a work that would let us be able to breathe spiritually and also be relevant to the lives of people who might see it.

AMANPOUR: So just to be clear, the mortality that you are talking about, the the context was the AIDS epidemic?

JONES: It's life. The context was life.

AMANPOUR: What do you want people to know about mortality?

JONES: It's that it belongs to us. And it can be ennobling (ph) and it's one of those challenges that frighten the hell out of us, but it is ennobling if we can way to live with it. This is piece to make people -- help people to live, not to mourn.

[11:59:45]

JONES: This is about us and that is the challenge of making art like mine that asks people to have a strong aesthetic point of view, but at the same time to be open and brave enough to talk as human beings full of fear, like most of us are.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: And that is all we have time for this week. Don't forget you can find all our shows online as podcast at CNN.com/audio and on all other major platforms.

I'm Christiane Amanpour in London.

Thank you for watching. And I will see you again next week.