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Secretary Kerry in Geneva for Meetings; White House Reacts to Putin's Op-Ed; Strong Reaction to Putin Op-Ed; Seven Inches of Rain Overnight in Boulder; Battle Over Gun Rights Rages On

Aired September 12, 2013 - 09:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Also, Vladimir Putin lashing out calling America a bully.

SEN. ROBERT MENENDEZ (D), Foreign Relations Committee Chairman: I got an e-mail with President Putin had to say. I almost wanted to vomit.

COSTELLO: The Russian president in a "New York Times" op-ed questioning American exceptionalism and sending a warning to President Obama.

Plus, Six Flags sued. The family of Rosie Esparza taking the park to court after she plummeted 75 feet to her death.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It could be something with the ride, the operator, the weight, the design.

COSTELLO: The suit claiming Six Flags builds extreme roller coasters that are bigger, faster, and ever more dangerous. Just how safe is your family?

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello, thanks for joining me. We do begin with breaking news this morning out of Syria.

According to Russia's nongovernmental news agency Interfax Syrian President Bashar al Assad confirms his country will indeed hand over its chemical weapons. And according to Interfax Assad says the threat of attack by the United States did not affect his decision to give up the weapons.

Also this morning, in an op-ed that stunned many here in the United States, the Russian President Vladimir Putin essentially called America a bully. This comes at a time Russia is in negotiations with the United States over Syria.

Putin's op-ed is in today's "New York Times." He says, quote, "It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional. Whatever the motivation."

A straight shot at President Obama's primetime address on Tuesday night. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: America is not the world's policeman. Terrible things happen across the globe. And it is beyond our means to right every wrong. But when with modest effort and risk we can stop children from being gassed to death and thereby make our own children safer over the long run, I believe we should act.

That's what makes America different. That's what makes us exceptional.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Putin also defends Russia's response to the crisis in Syria, saying, quote, "From the outset, Russia has advocated peaceful dialogue, enabling Syrians to develop a compromise plan for their own future. We are not protecting the Syrian government but international law."

No doubt this opinion will be on the minds of both John Kerry and his Russian counterpart today. In just a few hours they'll meet in Geneva for more discussions about Syria.

As for reaction to Putin's op- op-ed, Democratic Senator Robert Menendez says he almost vomited when he read it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MENENDEZ: I have to be honest. I was at diner and I almost wanted to vomit. The reality is, I worry when someone who came up to the KGB tells us what is in our national interest and what is not. And, you know, it really raises the questions of how serious this Russian proposal is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto is in Geneva with more on the talks between the United States and Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: On the flight in I was constantly testing U.S. officials' confidence in this process and I think it's safe to say they're coming with a healthy dose of skepticism but they say that they wouldn't be coming here if they didn't have some confidence that this could move forward.

But very quickly, they're going to move in from the 30,000-foot level down to the ground level. And that's why they've brought with them chemical weapons experts, security experts, so that they can start building a plan to see how they would reliably catalog Syria's chemical weapons, collect them, and then destroy them.

As one U.S. official said to me onboard, we can test if the Russians mean what they're saying and, probably more importantly, if the Syrians mean what they're saying in terms of removing these weapons from their control.

The outcome from this meeting not a final plan, not a 10-point plan, but at least the outlines of a plan for going forward that the Americans can bring back to their allies, the French, the British, the Chinese, as a possible way to move forward and one of the first tests, U.S. officials say, is how forthcoming are the Syrians going to be about their chemical weapon sites, how much are they going to share so that the Americans and Russians can work out a plan to catalog those weapons, collect them, and then destroy them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: That was Jim Sciutto reporting. I want to take you to Washington now and the White House. Our senior White House correspondent Brianna Keilar is there.

Let's go back a second to Putin's op-ed. Any reaction coming out of the White House this morning?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we're told by an administration official that it's actually irrelevant. And I know that a lot of folks here in Washington, you heard Senator Menendez, a key Democratic chairman in the Senate, they're really disgusted by what they heard Putin said.

And I think a lot of people, Carol -- Carol, zero in on the fact that you have Putin kind of contesting whether the regime actually used the weapons. This is something that the U.S. has said is basically a moral outrage. To them it's very obvious that the regime used the weapons. And so they've questioned Russia on that assertion in the past.

However, now you have White House officials saying that this is irrelevant. What Putin is saying. And that's because you have to focus, they say, on the fact that he's invested in the process. Despite the fact that there is this op-ed and it may be offensive, he is also, they say, saying he's committed to getting those chemical weapons out of the hands of Syria and into the hands of the international community, or to destroying them, and so that is sort of the positive focus that they're putting on this -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Brianna Keilar. Reporting live from the White House this morning, thanks so much.

Joining me now is Edward Djerejian. He is the former U.S. ambassador to Syria and Israel, and director of Rice University's Baker Institute for public policy.

Sorry for stumbling over your name, sir. I apologize.

EDWARD DJEREJIAN, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO SYRIA: I'm used to it.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: I'm so sorry. I want to get right to those reports out of Interfax this morning. Bashar al-Assad saying he will indeed hand over chemical weapons but not because of any U.S. threat. Is that a credible statement?

DJEREJIAN: Well, it's a face saving statement. You know, Syria is, compared to the U.S., the United States and U.S. power, it's a no contest. It is a face saving gesture on his part.

COSTELLO: And do you think he -- do you think he actually will do it, though? Because some people said, yes, he can say that but he can also hide some of those chemical weapons within his country.

DJEREJIAN: Well, that's the real challenge of this Russian proposal is whether it will be effectively carried out under verifiable conditions, under international supervision, and on a prompt timeline that is not dragged out, and is not a formula for excessive delay whereby nothing is really accomplished on the destruction of the CW capabilities that he has.

And he continues to really confront his own people with his relatively superior military forces against the opposition. So this has to be something that is very effectively managed by the international community, especially the United States and Russia, and that is the -- the devil is going to be in the details on this.

COSTELLO: I think that's absolutely true. Going back to the statement from Bashar al-Assad this morning, how does this enter into the discussions that will be going on later today between Secretary of State Kerry and the Russian foreign minister?

DJEREJIAN: Well, I think Secretary Kerry's major mission is going to try to put the -- to really cross all the T's and dot the I's on what exactly this Russian proposal means and what the Syrians have actually committed to in their discussions with the Russians on carrying out the -- opening up their chemical weapons inventories to the international community for inspection, for control, and then dismantlement.

This is a major effort. That's why I think as you had in your story line this morning the delegations have experts with them. And this is very important because one has to start this on a -- on a rapid track. It cannot become a formula for delay so that six months from now we're facing the same problem and the United States president is going to once again be contemplating or have to contemplate military action because nothing has been done.

COSTELLO: Well, let's talk about military action, because the United States wants that on the table. Russia wants that off the table. You could -- you could sort of read between the lines with what Bashar al- Assad said today. You know, I'll hand over my weapons. But wouldn't Russia be saying to Syria, well, we're going to get that military thing off the table. You don't have to worry about that anymore?

DJEREJIAN: Yes. And that actually is I think a bit contrary to our own interests because the very fact of the United States contemplating military force against Syria obviously focused the minds of the Russians and the Syrians, and they did come up with this proposal. That both sides have been discussing in recent weeks. So I think the potential and the threat of military action will continue to focus their minds to actually get an agreement done on chemical weapons dismantlement.

If you take away that threat, I think it will really not be an inducement to the Syrians or the Russians to move forward. Now Putin's op-ed that you mentioned, it's really a fascinating op-ed. It's a beautiful piece of propaganda by the Russians but it's really muddled. But the major message he has in that op-ed is that the use of force today can only be done under the principle of self-defense if you're being attacked under imminent attack, or with United Nations Security Council approval.

So Putin is laying down his interpretation of international law that you cannot do it independently. The United States does not have the right to independently attack Syria or any other country. That's his major -- message in this op-ed. But when you look at the whole op-ed, it's rather muddled because he talks about that which is a major message but then he talks about American exceptionalism and criticizes American exceptionalism. I find that really bizarre coming from the Russian president.

COSTELLO: We're going to talk a lot more about that later.

Edward Djerejian, thank you so much for joining us. A former U.S. ambassador to Syria. We really appreciate it.

DJEREJIAN: My pleasure.

COSTELLO: Also this morning, the heavy rain is finally easing up in Boulder, Colorado, but major flash flooding is turning streets into fast-moving rivers. And we're not kidding. A storm center for parts of Colorado dumping seven inches of rain into the early hours this morning. At least two people have died.

Creeks are overflowing their banks. There are reports of cars submerged in flood waters. Dams cannot hold back all the water. And the University of Colorado had -- has had to cancel classes. Flooding got so bad firefighters were in rescue mode. They were busy rescuing people and animals.

This dog, he was freed from the balcony not far from the university campus. And the problem will continue with the possibility of five inches of rain, five inches of rain falling by tonight.

Ana Cabrera is on the phone from Boulder.

Tell us more, Ana.

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Carol. We are in Boulder, but it's areas just west and northwest of Boulder, within the county, that really have seen the hardest hit. I can tell you, I'm standing at an intersection in (INAUDIBLE), just starting to get light here in Colorado. And we're seeing water rushing over some of the main drag roadways.

Several road blocks are in place right now preventing people from crossing because there is just tons of mud and debris on the roads within the city. Now further west and northwest where we know about at least one of the fatalities occurred, they are seeing even greater damage and destruction.

Rescue crews now just getting an opportunity to really assess what they're trying to get through to try to get the people who need to be rescued this morning. I'm told they're seeing really walls of debris and mud, cars flipped over. We know of houses that have collapsed. That was the situation in which one person has died in a town called Jamestown just a little bit northwest of Boulder within the county.

Across the state really flash flooding has been a concern all night long. The other death coming from the Colorado Springs area south of Denver. And we know of at least one dam that has broken which is in Larimer County, north of Denver and north of Boulder. So you can see just how widespread this flash flooding problem is.

COSTELLO: Ana --

CABRERA: As you mentioned --

COSTELLO: Ana, Ana.

CABRERA: -- there have been several inches of rain --

COSTELLO: Ana.

CABRERA: -- and it's going to continue today.

COSTELLO: Ana, I'm sorry. I'd like to interrupt because we're watching these dramatic pictures of a water rescue that's going on right now. This is from our affiliate in Colorado, KCNC. This is south of Boulder.

Ana, can you still hear me? And do you have access to these pictures?

CABRERA: No, I don't have access to those pictures --

COSTELLO: That's OK.

CABRERA: -- but I have seen some of the still photos from that area that you're talking about.

COSTELLO: OK. Let me -- let me explain to you exactly where this is. Highway 287 and Dillon Road, apparently a road washed out. Three cars are now in the water. One of them upside down. Firefighters are -- I can see them in a rubber raft and they're trying to right the car.

So can you just explain to me what this area is like?

CABRERA: Well, this is an area that is a suburb of Denver, I would say. It's about half way between Boulder and Denver. So there are some more rural type roads out there but it's still a community in which a lot of people live and commute. So there's a great population area in that area.

I'm not as familiar with that specifics road. And as you're hearing in the background, sirens. We are seeing rescue crews now working their way through trying to get up into the foothills here in Boulder County. Again, they are having some problems as well getting to the people trapped in this area.

So -- so again, this is something we're seeing across the county. As you mentioned those pictures of roads collapsing, that's another issue. I was told by the public information officer for the county of Boulder that they are getting calls left and right, as he described it, really by the dozens from people saying, we need help, and that unfortunately the rescue workers weren't able to get to a lot of these people who need help for much -- for many hours because it was so dark, they're dealing with steep terrain in some cases.

You can see in that particular scenario that you've spoken of, that we have pictures of, with the roads collapsing and so there are physical barriers in their way. And so it's going to be a situation that continues to develop throughout the day and perhaps over the next several days.

COSTELLO: OK. And we're looking -- it appears there is someone inside that car. That car was on its top, submerged in water. I'm not sure if that's a rescue worker or maybe the driver of the car but I know these rescue workers -- it looks like the driver.

You can see the rescue workers handing him a life jacket right now. I just can't imagine how frightening that would be, just unbelievable. I was hoping as I was watching this there would be nobody inside that car. But as you can see, apparently there was.

Let's watch this play out. This is fascinating.

You can see how dangerous this is. You see how fast the water is moving. So the rescue workers, you can see the tether there. They're tethered to someplace on the ground to keep them in place to keep them from being washed away as they try to get this man out of the car. Oh, my.

Ana, you still with me?

CABRERA: I'm still with you, yes. And --

COSTELLO: I'm just watching this. Let me tell you what I just saw. This car just -- they had turned it over to get this man out and the car is on its side.

So, tell us, Ana, how fast the water is moving in parts of Boulder, Colorado.

CABRERA: You know, it's moving very quickly. Boulder Creek is one of the more well known areas in Boulder. And it is moving at 3,000 this morning. I'm told that's many times greater than normal this time of year and many times greater than it is able to hold. The water has over flown, the banks, the Boulder Creek, itself, is an area they have seen flash flooding in the past.

So, they have set up areas to try to catch the water that overflows the creek itself. And so far, at last check, that part was holding. However, there are several tributaries coming down through the mountains. Boulder is a community literally in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. And so the people who live in and around Boulder are in homes that are in the mountains. And so, they are seeing water rushing down not just from necessarily a creek, itself, but just coming down through the four mile canyon area, a big fire, that was a story --

COSTELLO: Let me interrupt for just a second, Ana, because they finally got this poor man out of the car and they have him on the bank of -- I don't know. Maybe it's a creek, maybe just a flooded area. I'm not quite sure. But it looks like a creek.

They had this man. He's lying on the side of this body of water. They're looking at him to see if he's OK. The good news was they got that door open while the car was upside down and they managed to pull him from the car. He stumbled to the bank. Now, they're getting him to his feet.

I hope he's OK. He looks like he's going to be OK. You wonder why we admire rescue workers so much. That was absolutely amazing.

All right. They're putting him on a stretcher. He is up. He's talking, all good signs. But he seems weak in the knees. Of course, after a traumatic experience like that I don't think anybody would be positively steady on their feet.

You know, when you hear warnings, as you're driving down the road in flooded conditions to be careful and not drive into deep waters, please heed those warnings. I don't know if that's what happened in this case. But please, when it's dangerous weather outside like that, please be so very, very careful.

REPORTER: Check, check, check.

COSTELLO: You heard that check, check, check in the background. That's the local reporter from KCNC getting ready to file a report.

So, let's listen to what the reporter has to say.

So strange to look at this. You think about flash flooding and the roadway appears to be clear now but, you know, at one point that roadway had to be -- I don't know, feet deep with water. That's how those cars got washed into that nearby body of water. We don't know, but it seems like that's what happens.

All right. Getting ready to put him in the ambulance and take him to the hospital to be checked over. Boy, I sure hope he is OK, but look at this.

Oh, that was just so frightening. They had just almost gotten him out through the window and then the car overturned again. And then firefighters were sort of scrambling there but, of course, maintained their composure. You can see the water is moving so quickly that vehicle actually moved.

Somehow firefighters managed to get the door open on this vehicle while part of it was submerged. You'll soon see the man stumbling out of the car.

There are two other vehicles in that body of water. Evidently they got those people out safely. But those cars weren't turned upside down in the water either. If they were luckier that this poor man.

If you're just joining us, this man was successfully rescued from his submerged car. He is now in an ambulance and being taken to the hospital. This is an area south of Boulder on Highway 287 and Dillon Road, for those of you who live there, you know what I'm talking about.

Indra Petersons is in our weather center.

And, Indra, the road nearby is completely clear now but we see those rushing waters and that body of water. Tell us how this might have happened.

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I mean, this is an incredible amount of rain, Carol, in a very short period of time. We're talking places like Adams County that got six inches of rain in two hours.

Last night around Boulder, they had four inches for rain in four hours. And you have that amount of rainfall in a short period of time, you're always going to be seeing flash flooding like this. A lot of people are saying, why are the thunderstorms so large? Why are we getting so much compared to normal, considering in a month, which is kind of normal this time of year?

Well, what's actually going on there, Carol, is we have a low in the Pacific Northwest that is just a little bit now sagged to the South. With that low we're pulling all of this moisture in going clockwise or counter clockwise around that low. Now, keep in mind, here's the high pressure. Everything is going clockwise around that high.

So, really, you have these strong winds coming out of the South pulling in all this tropical moisture to the region. So that's the reason we're getting these enhanced rainfalls, these really large thunderstorms. The cold air from that low is triggering those thunderstorms. That's why we're talking about these flooding concerns.

Unfortunately, this is the bad news -- we're talking anywhere from 3 to 5 inches of rain still possible into the forecast. They're already dealing with the flooding. More is on the way.

And, Carol, this is something I stress all the time. Flooding is actually one of the biggest killers of all weather events combined. It only takes 6 inches to sweep you off your feet. Two feet of water will sweep away a large SUV.

We see it over and over again. People are always under estimating the power of flooding. And, unfortunately, it looks like we're continuing to see that today. Hopefully more people get the message and stay safe.

COSTELLO: Yes, already in the course of the flash flooding in Boulder, Colorado, two people have been killed. This situation, thankfully, turned out OK. At least it appears that way now.

Rescue workers managed to get the poor man out of the car and to the hospital, and hopefully he'll be OK.

We're going to take a quick break. We'll be back with much more in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The battle over gun rights rages on. In one state, a big defeat for gun rights activists. And in another, a stunning loss for gun control activists.

CNN's George Howell is here to break it all down for us.

Good morning, George.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning.

What a reminder about those swing states and how things can change very quickly.

First of all, in Colorado, where voters reminded politicians they are on thin ice when it comes to gun rights laws. And in Missouri, an effort to override a governor's veto of a bill that would have banned federal gun laws in the state came this close to becoming law.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL (voice-over): A controversial measure, attempting to nullify federal gun control laws in the state of Missouri failed to become law. This, after a push by some legislators to override the governor's veto fell short by one vote in the state Senate.

DOUG FUNDERBURK (R), MISSOURI REP.: This bill does not eliminate our ability to put reasonable regulations in place. But it does prevent the federal government from enforcing unconstitutional infringements on Missourians of their Second Amendment rights.

HOWELL: The proposed law would have given citizens the right to take legal action against law enforcement officers who enforce federal gun laws and make it illegal to publish the names and addresses of gun owners in the state.

CHIEF SAM DOTSON, ST. LOUIS METROPOLITAN: Basically putting a sign on Missouri that says, OK, criminals, it's OK to come to Missouri. We won't prosecute to the fullest extent of the law like Illinois, like Kansas, like Arkansas, like every other state in the Union.

HOWELL: In the state of Colorado, it was a different story. Gun rights activists are celebrating the unprecedented recall of two Democratic state senators who got the boot this week for backing some of the nation's strictest gun laws.

JOHN MORSE (D), FORMER COLORADO STATE SEN.: What we did was the right thing. I said months ago, if doing this costs me my political career, that's a very small price to pay.

HOWELL: Still scarred by the mass shootings in Columbine and Aurora, it was a huge blow for gun control advocates in Colorado who vastly outspent the competition and still lost.

(END VIDEOTAPE)