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Day Two of Crucial Syria Talks; Rainfall Creates Havoc in Colorado; Fire Ravages Jersey Shore; Kerry Calls Syria Talks Constructive; John Kerry Travels to Jerusalem Next; Al Qaeda Leader Speaks; U.N. Secretary-General Comments on Syria; United Airlines Cut- Rate Ticket Glitch

Aired September 13, 2013 - 13:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, evacuations are underway in Colorado because of what's being called biblical proportion flooding. Officials say a wall of water and debris may be surging towards Boulder.

Also right now, business owners along the New Jersey shore are picking up the pieces. A devastating fire destroyed an area of the iconic boardwalk that just recently reopened after Superstorm Sandy.

And right now, crucial talks on the crisis in Syria are in day two. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian's foreign minister, they are trying to work out a plan for Syria to give up its chemical weapons.

I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. Mass evacuations are being carried out right now in parts of northern Colorado inundated by raging flood waters. Walls of water, some as high as 20 feet, have ripped through canyons that have brought down entire mountainsides. The town of Lyons is completely cut off by floodwaters and the National Guard began evacuating all 2,000 residents early this morning. The Colorado governor delivered this message earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOHN HICKENLOOPER (D), COLORADO: The one overriding thing I tell -- try to say every single time we speak is stay out of your vehicle if possible. Stay home if your home is in a safe place, obviously if you're being told to evacuate, then you need to evacuate. But be ready, be prepared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: George Howell is joining us now live in Boulder. George, at least three people have been killed. Do officials believe that number will rise? What are you getting?

We have lost our connection, unfortunately with George Howell but we're going to try to reconnect. This is obviously, obviously a very dangerous situation unfolding in Colorado right now. We'll have the latest from George. That's coming up.

But there's some other stories that we're following right now. I want to pick up on what's happening in New Jersey. We'll pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and we'll go back to work. Those are the words from the New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on the devastating boardwalk fire in Seaside Heights. This was the scene yesterday as business owners watched in horror as their stores went up in flames. The Boardwalk had just reopened this past summer after Superstorm Sandy devastated this area not even one year ago. And this was is the scene this morning. Look at this. A four-block stretch of businesses just gone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN SUNDERMANN, OWNER, BIG HEARTED JOHNS: I had called my other sons to come and said, hey, listen, you know, just to be prepared because the last time, we didn't think anything was going to happen with the storm. Well, we got devastated. I said, just go in there and try to get my computer out. Let's try and get some other stuff out. They managed to get stuff out. The building was -- smoke was blowing down. We never thought that the building would burn. It started eight blocks away. And it just rapidly went down. I never ever thought the building would burn from a fire that started that far away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Chris Welch is joining us live from Seaside Park right now. What do we know about the investigation, first of all, into the cause of this fire?

CHRIS WELCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's the big mystery at this hour, Wolf. That's the question on everyone's mind. You know, we heard from Governor Chris Christie, the only time we heard from him today, at a press conference just a short time ago. No news, no information yet as to that cause. The only thing we know, we know Ocean County prosecutors have investigators on the scene here at the site of this massive, massive fire. You were looking at those pictures.

This was a fire that spread very rapidly. It spread very quickly northward and some folks are saying, you know, this was -- this is the type of day that you wouldn't typically see a fire just erupt like this. It was a rainy day. It was a stormy day. So, I think that's raising a lot of questions. But, at this point, Wolf, we don't have definite answers as to what caused this.

BLITZER: And the fire just exploded in effect. It went on and on and on, block after block. Explain what was going on because the weather clearly played a significant role.

WELCH: Oh, absolutely. And you know what that was? It was the wind. We were talking sustained winds of 15 miles per hour. Gusts over 30 miles per hour. And it was carrying this north. We're talking several blocks, about four blocks of Boardwalk completely damaged. You can see behind me what happened here to these buildings, these charred remnants of the buildings. And what happened was the embers kept traveling and blowing, really. They would -- they actually created a fire break and they did that by digging up some of this new Boardwalk, of course, new since hurricane Sandy ruined it. They tore up the new boardwalk to try and create a break. Well, then the fire jumped that break because of these flying embers. They had to create a second break. It was that second break four blocks north of here that finally stopped it.

BLITZER: Chris Welch in New Jersey for us, thank you very much. Horrendous situation there. Let's get back to the terrible flooding in Colorado right now. We've reconnected with George Howell in boulder, Colorado. George, tell us what the latest information, I know at least three people have been killed.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, and you know, what we're seeing right now, it's a matter of evacuating certain communities an evacuation that's happened in Lyons, Colorado. And you know, we're hearing from the governor that they're looking at different communities to figure out where they need to make sure people get up to higher ground. Even though we have sunlight right now, even though it's not raining, it's the amount of water that came down in the last 24 hours that is still the big problem.

And you can see even here on this street, here on Iris Street, there's still a good steady flow of water. Not nearly as strong as it was this morning, I can say. In fact, you've got people who are out and about looking at what's left over, a lot of rocks, a lot of free branches. This is the sort of thing that -- if you're in standing water, this is the sort of thing that can really knock you over or take control of your car if you get in too deep.

So, you know, right now, it's a matter of cleaning up -- cleaning up all of this mess and making sure that people who are low lying areas that they get out up to higher ground so that they're safe until this water passes through.

BLITZER: George, as you know, President Obama signed an emergency declaration for Colorado last night. When do we expect those floodwaters to recede completely?

HOWELL: Could take a day or two, I would presume, because there's a lot of water. I mean, what you're looking at here is minor compared to other things that we've seen overnight. This was a lot higher. It subsided a lot. But there were other areas that were hit really hard as well. So, it could take a couple of days and certainly you've got communities, you've got people whose homes have been damaged. They will be waiting pore that help. And, you know, obviously it will take some time for that to come through as well. It's a process but people here are patient. They expect though that they will get some sort of help with it.

BLITZER: Let's hope. All right, George, thank you. George Howell on the scene in Colorado.

Let's move over to the crucial talks on the crisis in Syria next extending now into day two. The secretary of state, John Kerry, describing the talks today as, quote, "constructive." He's meeting with Russia's foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, on a plan for Syria to give up all of its chemical weapons stockpiles. Kerry says both sides want a diplomatic solution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATES: I will say, on behalf of the United States, that President Obama is deeply committed to a negotiated solution with respect to Syria and we know that Russia is likewise. We are working hard to find the common ground to be able to make that happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And officials say there's also some hope that this meeting could jump start Syria peace talks, Kerry and Lavrov planning to meet once again later this month in New York around the time of the United Nations general assembly. But a big disagreement is over the U.S. threat to use military force which clearly still hovers over all of this.

Matthew Chance is covering the talks for us. He's in Geneva right now. Matthew, the Syrian president, Bashar Al Assad, wants the U.S. to eliminate the threat of a military strike. The U.S. clearly says, no. How serious of a roadblock potentially is this?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think, Wolf, it's pretty serious not least because the Russians also have made it clear that they don't believe a country like Syria can be expected to disarm if another country in the United States is planning any kind of military action against it. So, they believe it is working against the prospects of Syria making its chemical weapons put under the control of the international community.

And so, that's where they're lobbying so hard against it. And it's difficult to see how they're going to get over it. It's unlikely, really, when you think about it, that the United States is going to take the military option entirely off the table. The Russians, on the other hand, and they have a security cancel veto, have made it clear they won't support any resolution at the U.N. Security Council in New York if it includes any kind of automatic trigger for military action by the U.S. and allies if Syria doesn't say what it -- does what -- doesn't do what it says it's going to do in terms of surrendering its chemical weapons.

And so, I think there's a possibility American may retain the option of carrying out strikes if it chooses to do so, but that might not make it into any U.N. Security Council resolution -- Wolf.

BLITZER: We'll see if they can finesse the language in a Security Council resolution to deal with this sensitive issue. Clearly, the issue of chemical weapons will be on agenda when they meet in New York in about 10 days or so at the general assembly when the general assembly convenes. But it's not just chemical weapons. They're also going to be talking about a broader peace plan for Syria, right?

CHANCE: Yes, they had meetings today with the U.N. and Arab League special envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, and talked then about how they -- they both want this issue of a wider political settlement in Syria to be discussed at a -- at a peace conference called Geneva 2 to be held obviously here in this Swiss city. But the two different approaches, again, the Russians on the one hand saying that that process should be discussed in parallel to the issue of chemical weapons.

The United States, U.S. Secretary of State Kerry making a slightly different point saying it will very much depend on the outcome of these discussions about chemical weapons here in Geneva today and tomorrow on whether or not a date can be agreed for a future political peace talk conference between all the parties in Syria. And so, there's slightly -- slight differences on that issue, too.

BLITZER: As you know, the State Department announced that the secretary of state, John Kerry, will travel to Jerusalem and meet Sunday with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. I know Syria will be high on the agenda but the Israeli-Palestinian peace process presumably they'll review that as well.

CHANCE: Yes, absolutely. This is a process very much got under way at the instigation of the U.S. secretary of state last month. It's been dogged by various problems, not least the building or the announcement that more settlements will be built by Israel. That's angered the Palestinians.

There's been a lot of trust issues as well. They're going to be discussing the final status issue, the sort of final border, the status of Jerusalem, the return of refugees. All those things that have stood in the way of a Middle East peace agreement between the Arabs and the -- and the Israelis and the Palestinians and the Israelis. They're also going to discuss Syria. Obviously, the outcome of these meetings here in Geneva will be undoubtedly relayed by the secretary of state to the Israeli prime minister.

BLITZER: It certainly will be. Matthew Chance in Geneva for us. Thanks very much. And, of course, we'll continue to cover the secretary of state once he gets to Jerusalem on Sunday.

Other news we're following, the Taliban claiming responsibility for an attack on the United States diplomatic consulate in Afghanistan. It happened Herat Province. Militants fired on security personnel before a truck bomb went off. The front gate of the U.S. consulate was damaged. No Americans were injured but Afghans definitely were.

The head of Al Qaeda is delivering a new directive to his followers around the world. We're going to tell you what he wants them to do to the United States, specifically. That's coming up.

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BLITZER: The head of Al Qaeda is delivering a new warning to the United States in an audio message posted on the Internet the day after the anniversary of 9/11. Ayman al Zawahiri called on his followers to launch a large attack on the United States. He specifically referred to the Boston bombings as an example of the kind of strikes he wants. Ayman al Zawahiri also wants, and I'm quoting now, "to bleed America economically" by making the country spend more money on security.

Let's bring in our national security analyst Peter Bergen, who spends a lot of time studying these terror threats from al Qaeda and others.

How much credibility does Ayman al Zawahiri have?

PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: In some circles, a lot, and in many circles, very little.

BLITZER: Can he deliver? When he tells his supporters, got out there and crush the -- bleed the United States economically - we know this has long been an al Qaeda objective.

BERGEN: Right.

BLITZER: That's why they went after the World Trade Center because they thought they could crush America economy.

BERGEN: Yes, and that attack was very damaging but - to the American economy. The American economy's very large. So even that attack cost $500 billion. At that time, the American economy was $13 trillion. So it's 4 percent.

BLITZER: If you think about $500 billion -

BERGEN: Well -

BLITZER: That that one attack cost Americans -

BERGEN: But the idea is to bleed us economically. It's very naive about the size of the American economy. We're spending, historically, relatively -- even though we spend a lot on military, 4.5 percent of GDP, during Vietnam, 1968, we were spending 10 percent of GDP.

BLITZER: So - but when he sends out an Internet video or message like this -

BERGEN: Yes.

BLITZER: Saying go ahead, do Boston bombing marathon type bombings in order to undermine the United States, does he have the charisma, shall we say, the authority to go out there and convince people, you know, individuals, to just go ahead and do this?

BERGEN: I think he's been more effective than certainly I and others thought he would be. I mean a number of al Qaeda affiliates pledge allegiance to him after bin Laden died and he's also brought new people into the fold. For instance, al Qaeda in Syria, which he mentions in this most recent statement.

BLITZER: So what - what do you think the U.S. should be doing about this specific latest threat coming the day after the 12th anniversary of 9/11?

BERGEN: There's really nothing much that can be done. I mean he's released, you know, about 30 tapes in the last three years with very similar kinds of messaging. You know, it's a sign of their weakness that they're trying to encourage lone wolves. What they would really like to do is, you know, do a 9/11 style attack, but they're sort of defaulting to getting sort of disaffected young men hopefully to do something. But that's it.

BLITZER: I spoke to Ray Kelly, the New York City police commissioner, on this 12th anniversary of 9/11 this week, and he said something that was surprising to me. He believes the actual terror threats to New York today are bigger, more serious than they were before 9/11.

BERGEN: Well, he's in a good position to make that assessment. I'm not quite sure I would agree with him personally, but that's his job.

BLITZER: He says they've - he went through about 16 terror plots over these past few years that they've managed to thwart -

BERGEN: Right.

BLITZER: And he says he knows there are a lot of, quote, "lone wolves" out there who are ready to try to deal a terror strike.

BERGEN: But the difference - yes, I mean look at what happened in Boston. It was a, you know, tragic catastrophe but they killed four people. It wasn't killing 3,000 people in one warning. I mean lone wolfs is a natural ceiling (ph) to the capacity of what a lone wolf can do.

BLITZER: Peter Bergen, thanks very much for some serious analysis, as usual.

BERGEN: Thank you.

BLITZER: We've got some breaking news. Nick Paton Walsh is over at the United Nations right now.

Nick, I understand the secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, has just spoken out on Syria's use of chemical weapons?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. I believe he was talking at a woman's rights forum on the sidelines of the General Assembly here, but said some quite remarkable stuff. Let me paraphrase it for you, this is what we (INAUDIBLE), actually, the words he said. Referring to the chemical weapons inspectors report done inside Syria that's due out most people think on Monday, he says, "our team will come out soon with the report, but I believe the report will be an overwhelming report that chemical weapons were used, even though I can't say this publicly at this time."

He goes on to say, and this is probably not related but in the same breath, referring to Bashar al Assad, "he has committed many crimes against humanity and therefore I am sure there will surely be a process of accountability when everything is over."

Now, we soak to the U.N. spokesman moments ago and just said, look, you know, can you elaborate a bit more on these remarks because the U.N.'s been consistent. They won't give a timeline about the report. The U.N. spokesman said, you know, actually, the reports are still being analyzed, being put together. Ban Ki-moon, the secretary- general, hasn't actually seen it. So people questioning, where did he get adequate indications to make these very firm remarks. Of course, most people observing the situation inside Syria are pretty sure that chemical weapons were used. It's just interesting that he will say that this independent and credible report the U.N. say has already concluded that to his satisfaction. So many will be examining these comments. I think in some ways they took the U.N. slightly off guard by saying these. And it's clear from what he said he wasn't necessarily sure he was speaking in public. And it will, of course, perhaps politicize a little more than the U.N. would like the report emanating on Monday if the secretary-general has drawn these conclusions in advance of its public release.

But certainly now all eyes on that report. We do know from sources it will be adequately detailed and suggest a narrative of what happened on the 21st of August around Damascus. Remember, those are the attacks which started the U.S.'s call for military intervention rolling and sparked this crisis. People now looking to see precisely what level of detail the Monday report can reveal and whether that, in its nature, will suggest perhaps who was responsible, though it isn't the U.N.'s job to assign blame.

Wolf.

BLITZER: Nick Paton Walsh, thanks very much.

Certainly if the secretary-general of the United Nations says that Bashar al Assad has committed crimes against humanity, that -- to me, that sounds like potentially going to the international criminal court for war crimes, some sort of tribunal against the Syrian president. We'll see what clarifications come out of the secretary-general's office probably within the next few hours.

We're going to have much more on the situation in Syria later here in the CNN NEWSROOM. But first, the ultimate fare sale. Passengers get round trip flights on United for as low as $5. A bargain for them, but a costly mistake for the airline. What's going on? We'll tell you.

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BLITZER: After a little bit of a down day yesterday, stocks clearly back on the rise today. Let's take a look at the latest numbers right now. You see they're up about 67 points on the Dow Jones industrials. Overall, it's been a very good month for the markets. The S&P 500 up about 2 percent, at least so far this month.

Could be the next best thing to winning the lotto, getting an airline ticket for next to nothing. Happened yesterday for passengers booking on United Airlines. As Christine Romans tells us, while it's a bargain for travelers, it's certainly a costly mistake for the airline.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, a cheap airline ticket doesn't get cheaper than this, zero. That's what happened for some passengers Thursday afternoon. United Airlines says it accidentally posted fares for zero dollars. Add in some minor airport charges and a round trip from New York to Houston was just $5. How about round trip from say San Jose to Boston? $10. For a ten spot you could also buy yourself Washington, D.C. to Honolulu. News of this booking bonanza spread on social media, of course. And soon after, United slammed its reservation system shut with this message, "United.com is currently undergoing maintenance. Flight search and booking are unavailable for all flights, including MileagePlus award travel. We're working to restore these as quickly as possible."

United hasn't said how many tickets it sold at these rock bottom fares, but the biggest question for consumers is, will United honor the cut rate tickets? So far the carrier hasn't decided if it will make good on the ultra cheap tickets. CNN reached out to United but has not received a response.

Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you, Christine. I'm sure we will sooner rather than later.

The chemical shell game in Syria, a new report says an elite military unit is hiding chemical weapons around the country, even as Syria agrees to turn over those very same weapons. We're going live to the Pentagon. That's next.

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