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The Lead with Jake Tapper

North Korean Mystery; ISIS in Control; Passenger Removed After Ebola Joke; U.S. Official: Iraq's Anbar Vulnerable to ISIS

Aired October 10, 2014 - 16:00   ET

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

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: How long before Kim Jong-un's picture winds up on the back of a North Korean milk carton, if they had milk? I'm Jake Tapper. This is THE LEAD.

The world lead: The head of the Centers for Disease Control says if the world does not do more, Ebola could become the next AIDS. But now that we know doctors turned away Thomas Eric Duncan from the hospital, even though he had a 103-degree fever, we will ask the American woman who caught Ebola and survived, did doctors do too little too late?

Plus, a Syrian city shrouded in smoke, more bombs whistling through the sky as American jets try to save a city under siege, and now the United Nations warns of a civilian massacre if ISIS gains control.

Also in world, North Korea and South Korea playing tag with heavy machine guns, and Kim Jong-un still nowhere to be found. The Dear Leader's disappearing act has the world asking, who's in charge?

Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

We're going to begin with the world lead and a warning that the Ebola crisis is at an absolute tipping point. That warning comes from the former U.K. foreign secretary, who's on the ground in the Ebola hot zone in West Africa, seeing with his own eyes the dying and the dead who have not been properly buried.

Fears are growing in Europe right now as well, with seven more people hospitalized in Spain. That's where nurse's aid Teresa Romero, the first person to contract Ebola outside West Africa, is fighting for her life.

The death toll from the frightening virus was updated today. Ebola's now killed more than 4,000 people. More than 8,000 confirmed cases remain.

CNN's Isa Soares is live for us in Madrid, Spain.

Isa, what do we know about these seven people and their possible contact with Teresa Romero?

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Jake.

Yes, seven people admitted last night, what we do know is they had contact at various times with her since she's been ill. We know two doctors basically were part of the team that treated the missionary who died here so not long ago, also that one of the doctors, one that actually saw her at the first hospital that she was admitted to before anyone knew that she had Ebola.

We're also told that she had contact with people -- two of the people here are beauticians. Now, when I say beauticians, one of them is a lady who actually waxed her. One is a hairdresser. One is someone who waxed her. Really, these are people who have been asked to monitor their temperature, but now have taken the decision to come in themselves because they feel this is an environment and a controlled environment.

It's their decision. They weren't brought in out of alarm or so forth. They came in because they wanted to. It's important to note that so far, none of them are showing any symptoms, Jake. Now, one of those doctors who is actually here, who was admitted yesterday, came out in a very alarming account of what happened at the first hospital. He was one of the first doctors who saw her before they did the first test on her before finding out she had Ebola.

And he basically said in this account that he gave to the press and to the health ministry that the suit that he had, the sleeves were too short. So skin, his bare skin was in contact with her. He basically said, look, I told the authorities that she was doing badly with vomiting and no one paid any attention to me. It took them eight hours to move her -- Jake.

TAPPER: Isa Soares in Madrid, Spain, thank you very much.

There is encouraging news for the American photojournalist being treated in Omaha, Nebraska, for Ebola. Doctors at the Nebraska Medical Center say Ashoka Mukpo's condition has slightly improved, but they cautioned he is no way out of the woods. Mukpo of course was infected while working in Liberia. He's been given an experimental drug and a blood transfusion from American Ebola survivor Dr. Kent Brantly.

It's not clear yet what if any role those blood transfusions might play in an Ebola patient's recovery, but one American who survived the virus says she's more than willing to donate her blood if it would help save a life.

And I'm joined now by her, Nancy Writebol, and her husband, David. They're live from Charlotte, North Carolina.

Nancy and David, first of all, let me say, we're all so glad that you're well. And it's just one of the rare good-news stories in this whole Ebola crisis.

You, Nancy, were working with Ebola patients in Liberia as a nurse's assistant when you got infected. You say you were wearing protective gear while interacting with patients and cleaning medical supplies. You say you're not 100 percent sure how you got Ebola. Do you have any idea? What is your best guess?

NANCY WRITEBOL, EBOLA SURVIVOR: Well, I wish I could tell you the answer to that, Jake. I don't really know. It's very possible that I even came in contact with a family member

outside of the Ebola unit. It's possible I came in contact with just one of our other Liberians who might have had Ebola. It's hard to say really how I contacted it.

TAPPER: In light of your circumstance, your case, do you worry about medical workers who help Ebola patients, not just in Africa, but all over the world?

N. WRITEBOL: Well, think it's really important to remember that when people are suited up -- and we used to say that probably the safest place to be in a country where Ebola is in a crisis, the safest place to be was at the Ebola isolation center, because you were suited up, and you know that you had a level of precaution taken, and you knew that everybody else around you was taking that same precaution.

So it's more when you're out in the communities.

TAPPER: David, describe what it was like for you in those days, those horrific days immediately following Nancy's diagnosis, particularly, sir, since you also weren't sure if you had contracted the disease at that point.

DAVID WRITEBOL, HUSBAND OF NANCY: Well, yes, being isolated from taking care of my wife was the hard thing, and also having to tell her that she was fighting for her life with a deadly disease, and then trying to keep my mind clear and communicate with our sons and others back home.

I didn't really worry that I would be coming down with it. I took my temperature three and four times a day, and monitored that very closely and reported it, so that in case I did develop a fever, then we would be able to take appropriate steps in that.

But just to watch the love of my life struggle with that is a very, very difficult thing.

TAPPER: Well, we're so glad it ended happily.

Nancy, you were asked to give blood to help the Texas Ebola patient, Thomas Eric Duncan, who died earlier this week. You were not a match. We learned today that Duncan had a fever of 103 degrees when he was sent home from that Texas hospital after his initial visit.

What physical state were you in when your fever spiked? Can you imagine being turned away from health care workers at that point?

N. WRITEBOL: Well, actually, it's really interesting because I, too, experienced fever right away.

And I called our doctor and said, I think I have malaria. So, it -- malaria spikes with a fever. You feel achy. You have a headache. And so she said, Nancy, come back up to the hospital. There's nobody here in the doctor's office. And I will check you.

And I went back up and they did the malaria test. It was positive. And I went home, and so went home with malaria medication and for four days, I stayed at home with malaria medication and took that. But the fever never went away.

And so it's really easy to wonder what it is that you're dealing with, whether it's malaria or typhoid. It can be all sorts of things.

TAPPER: That's really interesting. I don't think I realized, that you also were initially sent home with a different diagnosis, just the same way Thomas Eric Duncan was.

It makes me concerned about whether medical workers -- or at least this has hopefully changed in the last couple of weeks, but are on their toes looking out for Ebola.

David, just a last quick question. We have read a lot of stories recently about African immigrants being stigmatized, ostracized because of what's happening in West Africa. Has your family experienced any of that in light of your wife's diagnosis?

D. WRITEBOL: Yes, it's kind of interesting. Even after Nancy got out of the hospital, we experienced people who were a little bit reluctant to get close to us. And they were happy to see that we were well, but they didn't want us to shake hands with them or to embrace them and that. So, yes, we have been seeing that happen from time to time.

TAPPER: Nancy and David Writebol, thank you so much for talking to us and we're so happy for you once again. Best of luck to you.

D. WRITEBOL: Yes, thank you, Jake.

N. WRITEBOL: Thank you. Thanks.

TAPPER: In just hours, several airports here in the United States will begin testing travelers for Ebola. How worried are the airlines about this killer disease? Well, one passenger found out when he joked about having the Ebola virus. And that's next.

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TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

The national lead now. Ambulances surrounded a flight moments after it touched down in Las Vegas today over concerns that a sick passenger possibly had Ebola. It happened just hours ago at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas.

The scare, thankfully, turned out to be a false alarm. But it's a reminder of how edgy travelers are during this Ebola crisis, which is probably why last the thing you should do on a plane or a train or anywhere in public, for that matter, is make a joke that you have Ebola. Hah-hah.

One passenger on a U.S. Airways flight bound for the Dominican Republic, well, he learned that lesson the hard way.

And CNN aviation correspondent Rene Marsh is live from Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., with more.

Rene, this so-called joke caused quite a disruption.

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so-called joke not so funny for the people on board. We all know, there are certain things you should not say when you are on the plane. Things like, "I have a gun", "I have a bomb". And now you can add to that list, "I have Ebola." That is what one man said and this is the response it triggered.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARSH (voice-over): A dramatic scene on a U.S. Airways flight to the Dominican Republic. Four emergency workers in blue protective suits board the plane responding to a disruptive passenger. Witnesses say the man was coughing on the flight and reportedly said, "I have Ebola, you're all screwed."

The man appears to say, it was just a joke. But he was escorted off the flight, infuriated passengers stuck on the tarmac for more than two hours.

MARK DOMBROFF, ATTORNEY: I believe that a court in today's environment isn't going to find it to be a particularly funny comment, no more so than the person on board the aircraft who says, "I have a bomb, only kidding."

MARSH: It's one of many in-flight scares since Thomas Eric Duncan landed in the United States and was diagnosed with Ebola. In the past week, CDC quarantine officers surrounded a sick passenger at Newark Airport.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was quite scary.

MARSH: And a woman on an American Eagle flight in Midland, Texas, was checked out after vomiting. None tested positive for the virus. Today in Dallas where Duncan died from Ebola, a congressional panel examined the nation's response.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But it would seem to me that much of what we are worried about right now could have been eliminated because the protocols were in place.

MARSH: CNN has learned Duncan's temperature was 103 degrees when the hospital released him.

Temperature screening for passengers arriving in the U.S. begins Saturday at New York's JFK airport and expands to Chicago, Atlanta, Washington Dulles and Newark next week.

DR. TOBY MERLIN, DIVISION OF PREPAREDNESS & EMERGING INFECTION: We are already at the point where we believe that all stops need to be pulled out in preventing the growth of the disease in Africa.

(END VIDEOTAPE) MARSH: Well, we do know that the flight crew, they did reach out to the authorities. That's why you saw that hazmat crew make their way on board.

However, a passenger telling CNN -- a passenger who was on board, saying that while this man was coughing and when he said that he had Ebola an hour before landing, this passenger tells us that the flight crew did not separate this man from everyone else, did not give out masks to either the man or any of the surrounding passengers. So, a bit disturbed about that.

The airline, though, telling CNN that they did follow all CDC guidelines -- Jake.

TAPPER: Rene Marsh, thank you so much.

Coming up, the streets of one Syrian city overrun by ISIS terrorists. Brand-new video from the terrorists themselves showing off their weapons and tactics. How are they slipping by these coalition air strikes?

Plus, once again, Kim Jong-un, MIA at a high-profile event. Now, one South Korean official says he has reason to believe the leader is holed up near a hospital. That's coming up.

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TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

More now in our world lead -- the terrorists of ISIS are taking control of more and more parts of that key border town, Kobani, right near Turkey. And a United Nations envoy is telling "Reuters" that thousands of people, quote, "will most likely be massacred if Kobani falls".

Human rights groups say these Islamic extremists now control almost half the city, including the governmental square and the surrounding security zone. And ISIS just released this video that reportedly shows its forces inside Kobani fighting Kurdish and Free Syrian Army forces. CNN has not independently confirmed the authenticity of the video.

Meanwhile, on the other front of the war, Iraq, sources tell CNN that they are concerned that Anbar province just west of Baghdad could also soon fall to ISIS.

For that part of the story, let's bring in our chief national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto.

Jim, what can you tell us?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: U.S. officials have been telling us for a number of days that Kobani, while it's very visible, is not strategically important. Anbar you could say is the opposite. It's pretty much invisible to observers, but it is very important, particularly to the security of Baghdad. And I'm told by that it's very vulnerable right now.

They say that ISIS is continuing to make advances there, despite a tremendous number of Iraqi forces fighting them and that those Iraqi forces now, I'm told, are, quote, "backed up" against a wall. They are in danger of being cut off. And, you know, it's interesting as well, Jake, that U.S. officials will say they don't have great visibility there. One reason being, they don't have U.S. military advisers at the front lines. So, a lot of them are relying on better intelligence than they've had before over flight.

But a lot of this, they have to rely on accounts from Iraqi forces on the ground and those aren't always as comprehensive as they'd like to be.

TAPPER: All right. Jim Sciutto, thank you so much.

I'm joined now by retired General Wesley Clark, formerly the supreme allied commander at NATO. His new book is "Don't Wait for the Next War" and it has just been released.

General Clark, thank you so much for joining us.

I know you're in close contact with the Pentagon. So, let's start with this new information about Anbar possibly be vulnerable to fall to ISIS. How important is this part of Iraq and what in practical terms would that mean to the overall coalition efforts to halt ISIS?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET), FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: Well, it is important. It's not going to be decisive. Baghdad's very important. Baghdad is defended by a very strong Shia militia plus the remnants of the Iraqi army which is Shia-dominated. It will fight.

We still got tribes in Anbar that are on the fence and undecided. They're Sunni tribes. They're not fighting against ISIS. Some aren't fighting at all. And I think one has realigned itself with the government at this point against ISIS.

So, the fight is still on. We can get aircraft overhead but we don't have close air support. We have battlefield air interdiction and the Iraqi forces have to fight. And the fact that they might be cut off, this has happened again and again and again in the last weeks in Anbar province.

And there is a problem in terms of the leadership in the Iraqi army, in terms of organizing strike groups and punching through and relieving these besieged forces that are cut off. They've failed to do that on a couple of previous occasions. So, this is a matter of significant concern.

TAPPER: General Clark, your book is about the fact that the United States should have more of a long-term strategy and not just go from war to war. And I imagine that -- you wrote this before the recent crisis with ISIS. But it's certainly proving the point you're making.

What would argue with president had U.S. top adviser, what would you tell him to do to do about ISIS? CLARK: Well, my point in the book, first, is you've got to have a

long-term strategy for the country. You've got to build up the economy. You've got to be able to handle multiple crises and have the resources to do it and work against some big problems like cybersecurity, et cetera.

In this case, I think what you have to do is the coalition strategy is the right strategy. It's hard to get it moving in time. But you've got to have soldiers on the ground and then you've got to have someone who can govern the space after you kick ISIS out.

So, we've got to work with the Turks. We've got to work with the Kurds and the Iraqi military. Maybe we have to put some Special Forces guys up closer. But we sure don't want any American combat troops on the ground there.

ISIS motivation is partly religious. And we would just be a recruiting magnet for more terrorists to come in and fight against American troops. And we proved previously we cannot govern in the region. So, we really don't have any alternatives.

This issue of putting American soldiers in there on the ground, it's a rush driven by politics. But it's not good strategy.

TAPPER: In Syria, as I'm sure you heard, a United Nations envoy says thousands might be just massacred if this border town of Kobani is allowed to fall. Is that something that the United States can allow to happen? Is there no choice since the U.S. has no combat troops on the ground and the U.S. government doesn't think it has any reliable allies in that area?

CLARK: Well, I've heard both sides on Kobani. I've heard most of the civilians are out and what's left are mostly fighters in there. But be that as it may, Kobani, it's miles from the ocean. It's in a foreign country. There's not easy access to it except through Turkey. You can't get forces there by just parachuting them in from Fort Bragg and expect to make a significant difference. Over time, they've got to have mobility, they've got to have logistics, they've got to have fire support.

So, this would be reopening a chapter that was closed. This is like Iraq war redux. You can't do it with a brigade, because you got to get logistics to the brigade and that means forward-operating bases, columns of trucks, more improvised explosive devices and more casualties.

So, I think, yes, we want to do something. We want to do everything we can to prevent that crisis that's emerging in Kobani. We want to encourage the Turks to do something. I'd like to see us put air cover over that part of Syria so that Turks would have the rationale covered so that they could intervene successfully. I'd like the Free Syrian Army to go in and say, we'll govern if you'll just give us a chance and protect us from the barrel bombs and the air strikes that Assad's forces keep raining down. We're going to have to come to terms with putting some kind of political structure in place in Syria or the alternative will be if we're successful against ISIS, we're going to turn the country back over to Bashar al Assad.

TAPPER: Right.

CLARK: Now, if that's an acceptable outcome, fine, but we've been saying it's not an acceptable outcome.

TAPPER: Right.

CLARK: And I don't think it will be. So we've got to pull the pieces of this together fairly rapidly. But let's not panic yet. There's a lot going on behind the scenes that we don't see.

TAPPER: General Wesley Clark, thank you so much. And best of luck with your book.

CLARK: Thank you.

TAPPER: Coming up, he has an air of mystery even when we do see him in public. But after a month of hiding, the rumors are rampant about Kim Jong-un's disappearance? Is it disagreement with the military to blame?

Plus, it costs the same as some houses but, hey, it steers itself. The newest car from luxury automaker Tesla, coming up.

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