Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

CIA Report: Netanyahu Likely To Defy U.S. Pressure For Post-War Plan; CNN Analysis: U.S. Weapons Used In Strike On School In Central Gaza; Alex Jones Agrees To Liquidate Assets To Pay Sandy Hook Families; Low-Calorie Sweetener Xylitol Linked To Heart Attack, Stroke. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired June 07, 2024 - 13:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:34:21]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: As President Biden calls for an end to the war between Israel and Hamas, a new CIA assessment reviewed by CNN finds that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to defy U.S. pressure for a post-war plan in Gaza.

The June 3rd report gives clues into the Israeli leader's mindset, concluding that "Netanyahu believes he can maintain support from both his top security officials and far-right members of the government by discussing the future of Gaza in," quote, "vague terms."

Meantime, Israel's military has struck another U.N. school overnight. This time, in northern Gaza. Officials there say the school was sheltering displaced Palestinians and three people were killed.

[13:35:05]

The Israeli military says it used precise munitions to target a storage container inside the school they claim was being used by Hamas.

Israel says it was also targeting Hamas when it launched this airstrike on a U.N. school in central Gaza just one day earlier, an attack that killed at least 40 people.

New CNN analysis of that strike reveals that U.S. weapons were, in fact, used.

Let's discuss all these angles and more with CNN military analyst and retired U.S. Army Major General James "Spider" Marks.

General, thanks so much for being with us.

Let's start with this assessment from the CIA. Why do you think Netanyahu feels comfortable -- comfortable defying foreign and domestic pressure on this potential post-war plan for Gaza?

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I think what this describes is that Netanyahu finds himself caught in a vice and that he's got these immense internal pressures both -- from both sides of his political arena there.

The right-wing saying we've got to push harder and the other side saying we've got a legitimate opportunity to end the hostilities and return these hostages back home, irrespective of a guarantee of what state those hostages would be in.

And then internationally, I think -- globally, the world is fed up to here and they want this thing to end, almost irrespective of conditions. They just want the killing to stop and let's try to figure out what Gaza after next looks like.

So I think he's caught smack dab in the middle of that and that he's getting the -- getting the support a United States and other international and regional partners. But he knows that he's at the very end of that support at some point -- at this point.

The discussion now is, when does that cut off? When do people say, OK, time-out, enough?

We've got to figure out what the next steps look like in terms of some moderated sanctions, ceasefire that then allows the discussion of what the Gaza after next needs to look like. What does reconstruction look like?

We're going to have this horrible, horrible, realization of what the status of the hostages look like. But what does this strip of land need to intake -- you know, what -- what does normal look like going forward? Certainly not what we've seen in the past.

SANCHEZ: To get to that point, the assessments suggest that Netanyahu will only engage seriously after meeting key security benchmarks. One of them being the elimination of a specific Hamas commander.

How do you think this might prolong the war? Is there any timeframe, in your mind?

MARKS: Well, that's an incredibly high bar, isn't it? I mean, if that is the deciding point in terms of the next steps going forward, the killing or the capture of the individual that's been named, that individual makes it incredibly difficult for Israel to do anything other than chase after him.

Let's assume they have good intelligence. Let's assume that they may be able to do that. But that should -- that should not be a precondition for what needs to look -- what this -- what Gaza needs to look like, and what a ceasefire needs to entail going forward.

This is -- this is an incredibly difficult task. You shouldn't hinge your entire operational success on that one very specific target outcome.

SANCHEZ: General, do you think there's any kind of pressure or even an incentive in the form of that potential normalization deal with Saudi Arabia that could reshape Netanyahu's thinking? MARKS: Well, you know, great point. You would hope that there would be behind-the-scenes discussions with the Saudi state. Hey, look, man, we want to get onboard, Abraham Accords made sense, we were about to recognize Israel, and then 7 October happened so we put it on the back burner, but we are enthusiastic about moving forward.

So the leverage is Saudi Arabia steps up and says, look, we'll -- we'll embrace you. You've got to stop this madness. And then we can figure out what Gaza looks like going forward. We get our arms around that.

But that makes, to your point, the horizon for some type of a conclusion -- not a conclusion -- a resolution of some of some sort that might even be an interim solution that much longer to achieve.

I mean, that's a really messy discussion, with a bunch of preconditions as you've described, that would be essential to reach that point.

SANCHEZ: General, I also want to ask you about the strikes on these U.N. schools. Israel, again, pointing to its use of precise munitions when it's been criticized for carrying out a strike with dozens of civilian casualties alongside what they claim to be some 30 or so Hamas militants.

[13:40:06]

Do you think Israel is properly weighing it's stated goal of targeting Hamas alongside protecting civilian life?

MARKS: Well, you have to be able to look at the results of what's taken place. That's a fulsome conversation.

I can tell you that collateral damage assessments are done very, very thoroughly. And the application of precise munitions -- they are precise munitions. They hit where they are directed to hit. There's no slippage.

So it's the understanding in terms of what underlies that, what is the intelligence that supports that particular strike? And what this really shows you is the incredible brutality of this type of warfare.

Although we describe it as precise, but also the messiness, the intelligence challenges to surround all of these targeting requirements.

So I -- I mean, the short answer to your question is, I think the IDF -- the IDF has imbedded in a targeting process, legal steps that are essential and must be met. So that's the intent. That's the training. That's the delivery. What happens on the business end always gets messy.

SANCHEZ: General James "Spider" Marks, appreciate the insights. Thanks for joining us.

MARKS: Thank you, Boris. SANCHEZ: Of course.

Still to come, a selloff. Right-wing conspiracy theorist, Alex Jones, has agreed to liquidate his assets. What this means for Sandy Hook families to whom he owes more than $1 billion in damages.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:46:08]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Conspiracy theory profiteer, Alex Jones, is one step closer to paying up. He has agreed to liquidate his assets in order to meet his billion-dollar obligations to the families of the Sandy Hook tragedy.

Courts ordered Jones to pay damages after he lost two defamation cases filed by loved ones and first responders of the mass shooting. They have yet to see a dime from Jones.

For years, he peddled the lie that the 2012 massacre was staged.

CNN's Oliver Darcy is here with details on this.

All right, Oliver, this liquidation means that Jones will be giving up his stake in the online platform, Infowars, which he has held for so many years. Does this also mean that these families will actually get paid or is Jones going to try to weasel out of this again?

OLIVER DARCY, CNN SENIOR MEDIA REPORTER: Well, the hope is that they'll get paid. Like you said, they haven't seen a dime since juries in Connecticut and Texas awarded them $1.5 billion in damages.

And let's remember why they awarded those damages. They awarded those damages because Jones, for years, tormented these families. It wasn't only that these families couldn't feel like they could protect the legacy of their loved ones who died during the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012.

But afterward, for years, they were tormented by -- by hate messages. They were on the receiving end of harassment. One of the family members even testified during one of the trials that they had their house shot at as a result of all this harassment led by Jones, whipped up by Jones.

And so the hope is that they will start to see some money. I think it's pretty difficult to imagine a scenario where they get that 1.5 billion. But they'd like to see some of that money, I think.

And the hope is that by him liquidating his personal assets, that will happen.

I think Jones also starting to realize that he's actually going to have to pay for his really reprehensible actions. Over the weekend, he spoke in really candid terms about what was happening. And he even started to cry on the broadcast.

I think we have a tape of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX JONES, OWNER & HOST, INFOWARS: We're going to beat these people. I'm not trying to be dramatic but it's a real hard fight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DARCY: Obviously, those tears don't really inspire much sympathy given the actions of Jones. But I think they do point to the fact that he realizes that this is going to be something he's going to actually have to pay for -- Brianna?

KEILAR: Yes. I mean I don't even know if I saw tears. I saw crying. I was looking for tears, honestly, there, Oliver.

But talk to us a little bit about the legacy of Infowars.

DARCY: I mean, Alex Jones has owned this platform since the late 1990s and he's used it as a vehicle to really push a lot of conspiracy theories into the public domain, whether it's about 9/11, whether it's about the Boston bombing, he has really used this to poison the public discourse.

And he's used it to make -- he's done that to make a lot of money to the tune of millions of millions of dollars he's profited off of these conspiracy theories that have not only been, not based in reality, but often, frankly, quite hateful.

And so he -- he might end up losing ownership of that platform -- Brianna?

KEILAR: Yes. He's hurt so many people, people who were already hurting so deeply.

Oliver Darcy, thank you so much for that. We do appreciate it.

[13:49:39]

And coming up, President Biden's brother is about to testify in Hunter Biden's gun trial. We're going to head back to Delaware.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: An ingredient commonly found in baked goods, syrups and sauces, multivitamins, and even toothpaste is now being linked to heart attack and stroke, potentially even death.

It's called Xylitol and you probably have it in your house right now.

CNN health reporter, Jacqueline Howard, joins us to discuss the details of this research.

So, Jacqueline, what is Xylitol?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Yes, Boris, well, this is a commonly used sugar substitute. And in this new study, researchers at the Cleveland Clinic found that high amounts of Xylitol is associated with nearly twice the risk of heart attack, stroke and even death.

Now, we do need more research into what's driving this association. But other studies on other types of sugar substitutes have found similar associations.

[13:55:02]

When it comes to Xylitol, though, the researchers also point out that it is also linked with the formation of blood clots in the body. And maybe that has something to do at this association. A blood clot travels to your heart or to your brain, that can cause a heart attack or a stroke.

But what's really concerning about this, Boris, we know that the consumers who often seek out products containing Xylitol are consumers who are trying to manage their blood sugar levels. They're looking for sugar-free products or reduced sugar products.

And these are often consumers who may already have diabetes, already have cardiovascular disease. So if it's a true association that Xylitol can increase your risks of heart attack and stroke, these are consumers who are already at an increased risk.

And we are seeing more and more people with cardiovascular disease. It's actually estimated, by the year 2050, more than half, about 61 percent of adults in the United States, will have cardiovascular disease.

So this is an area that's so important for many, many people out there -- Boris?

SANCHEZ: Yes, really important find.

Jacqueline Howard, thanks so much for the update. Appreciate it.

Ahead on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, great news for workers in the latest jobs report. But could this make it harder to fight inflation? We have details just moments away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)