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U.S. Military to Evacuate Americans in Iraq; More Young People Illegally Crossing the U.S.; Bowe Bergdahl Back in the U.S.

Aired June 14, 2014 - 16:00   ET

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

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it's been a while, hasn't it, since we've heard these words, a U.S. aircraft carrier headed to the Persian Gulf and it is not an exercise. The "USS George H.W. Bush" carrier group now steaming to waters off Iraq in case military power is needed to help protect American people and interests. That's what the Pentagon is saying about this deployment and this is why.

Now this red area we're going to show you there, those areas marked in red that's where the extremist Islamic group called Isis has been fighting, bombing, killing and intimidating its way to controlling every major city and town from the Syrian border south. You can see them there close to Baghdad. As well Iraq's second largest city has fallen to the group as we've been reporting all week, and, yes, the capital not far away.

Iraq on a major military recruiting drive this weekend. Not just the government recruiting either. Militias are recruiting. They all need people, lots of them, to quickly pump up the number of those who can hold a weapon and potentially fight. The prime minister said thousands of Iraqis have stepped up to serve.

Now, the U.S. President, Obama, making it very clear that whatever happens in Iraq, no U.S. troops will be involved at least not on the ground. But now, something else, something a little bit unexpected. We are told that several hundred troops from Iran are ready to fight alongside the Iraqi army to stop the advance of those Isis fighters.

Iran not confirming that, but U.S. officials say an Iranian general was in Iraq in the past few days, perhaps advising, perhaps planning more. No one knows for sure.

Now, senior international correspondent Arwa Damon is in (INAUDIBLE), in the Kurdish area of Iraq. You're in one of the places where the Iraqi military says things are OK, and that is because of the Kurdish fighters, not the types who are down weapons and uniforms and flee. What is happening outside of the Kurdish area, though?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Michael, the minute you leave the border of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan you effectively enter either territory controlled by Isis and its allies or territory where additional the Kushmarge (ph) have deployed additional troops to (INAUDIBLE) of Kirkuk to prevent Isis and the other various groups, other Sunni insurgent groups from taking over. What we've seen transpiring since ISIS initially stormed into Mosul,

hardly seeing anything of a fight from the Iraqi security forces stationed there, has been the organization and its various allies which include former Sunni insurgent groups that were very active here during the U.S. invasion of Iraq and Sunni tribes fighting alongside them as they've moved in something of an arc down towards the capital, Baghdad.

A lot of heavy fighting place taking place in Diallah province at this stage, Michael. And as the Iraqi security forces throughout these predominantly Sunni areas have largely fled their positions they've been abandoning a sizable, massive arsenal of weaponry ranging from heavy machine guns to mortar rounds, rocket launchers. Not to mention all sorts of humvees purchased from the Americans and various other military vehicles.

So they're acquiring quite the weaponry at their disposal right now at this stage, Michael.

HOLMES: At the heart of conflicts like this, of course, politics. You know, we got a situation where the ISIS fighters have been able to move so fast, so fast because they've had the support of Sunni tribes, not just Sunni tribal leaders but former Saddam loyalists, also Baathists and other insurgent groups that might have been laying low.

They've had support on the ground and nobody to fight. In fact, people to hold once they've gone through. That's not going to be the case once they get to Baghdad. What sort of preparations are you hearing of in Baghdad? One of the things that concerns a lot of people is the resurgence, the regrouping of militias like (INAUDIBLE) militia.

DAMON: That's right, Michael. The (INAUDIBLE), the radical Shia cleric already putting out a call for people to stand together and unite. Various other significant religious leaders putting out that same message as well, not to mention the massive recruitment that seems to be under way.

What we're hearing and we have been speaking to a number of people is that once this advance reaches Baghdad, if, in fact, it does get that far, that is when this is really going to take on a much different level of confrontation. The bloodshed almost unimaginable at this stage, Michael, as the Iraqi security forces there at least the Shia members of the Iraqi security forces there, will most certainly stand up and fight alongside these various militias who have quite a lot of experience under their belts when it comes to warfare and unconventional warfare as well.

This has the potential to bring about bloodshed that this country has not yet seen. And having said that, Michael, we already know that Iraq has seen more than its fair share of bloodshed and killing. The prospect of that is hair-raising to say the least.

HOLMES: And the delicate nature, as it has been all throughout the war, really, of the sectarian divide between Sunni and Shia. Now, if Shia forces, government forces, are able to stop ISIS at the outside of the city, what must be of concern? You were there in 2006, 2007 - I was for a while as well - and we saw that sectarian blood letting. The bodies on the street every day killed in horrific ways, pure Sunni-Shia hatred.

Now, even if ISIS is kept out of the capital, what would it take for that conflict within the city to start again?

DAMON: Well, not a lot, Michael. And I think if you were to pull up a map of what Iraq looked like in 2006 with the various territories that were controlled either by Al Qaeda or the Sunnis versus those that were controlled by the various different Shia insurgent groups, that's pretty much what we're seeing emerge right now, what most certainly is going to be reemerging especially when it comes to Baghdad.

There is going to be nothing that is going to stop the slaughter at this stage. The Iraqi security forces are crumbling along sectarian lines. The entire country is disintegrating. Iraq as we know it potentially is no longer going to exist. To try to stop that is going to take a level of political maturity by the various leaders that at this stage they are not displaying, nor have they historically shown any sort of indication that they are going to be displaying.

When you speak to Iraqis who are really caught in the middle of all of this, they are so angry. They're so frustrated. They're so desperate. They feel like they've been abandoned by everybody. They've been abandoned by the Americans, by their own government. And at this stage they are victims of the politics that is happening and of these various different factions, Michael.

HOLMES: Arwa, appreciate your insights and your breadth experience in that part of the world. Thanks so much. Arwa Damon there in Erbil.

I want to tell you that coming up in our next hour at 5:00 p.m. Eastern we'll actually going to be dedicating the entire hour to the crisis in Iraq. We've got a team of CNN's most senior international correspondents. They're going to be with us to break down what is happening there. How it all came to be. What happens now. How dangerous the situation has become.

We have three very experienced people who spent many, many years in the Middle East covering this war and elsewhere as well. So, do be sure to join us at the top of the hour 5:00 p.m. Eastern. We're going to break it all this down for you, what is happening now and the history that brought us here. Back to you, Ana.

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: (INAUDIBLE) All right. Michael, of course, that situation tends to say the very least, not American troops on the ground but there are a lot of American citizens living and working there in Iraq. They're now getting out of the country as the security situation is growing less certain.

Among those evacuating U.S. contractors who are there in Iraq to help the country buy military equipment, in fact. Now, Alexandra Field is following this angle. Alexandra, how many people are we talking about here? What is the situation? Where are they going? ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, (INAUDIBLE) security reasons, the State Department isn't assigning a lot of specifics, they are telling us that we're talking about a group that numbers somewhere in the hundreds, they haven't given a timeline for these evacuations but they are trying to get these contractors to safety.

What we're seeing here is these are actually the companies that employ the contractors. They're the ones who have chosen to evacuate their employees. The evacuations are happening for contractors who ware working in Balad where we have seen the violence ratcheted up in the last few days.

Our own Anderson Cooper actually spoke to one of the contractors who was in Balad. He was evacuated after ISIS opened fire. Here's what he says -

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY, U.S. CONTRACTOR: The local national security forces they pretty much just dropped their weapons and walked off base. Not the Iraqi army, the Iraqi Army stayed and fought, they did what they were supposed to do. But if it wasn't for the villages on our perimeter, we might not be talking to you right now because the villages stood up and they helped out the Iraqi army tremendously. They can be very smart and they can be very fast and they can be very threatening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: And Tony was evacuated safely. We did also speak to his wife who is here in Texas, she like so many of the other family members of these contractors just really eager to see their loved ones back here at home and out of this increasingly volatile situation.

CABRERA: Again, we're talking about U.S. contractors but we also know there are U.S. diplomats. There are people at the embassies, the consulates there. Now are they evacuating as well?

FIELD: At this point, the State Department said they are keeping a close eye obviously on the security situation there but at this point there's been no change to the staffing at the embassy or the consulates. Of course, we know that a lot of this could change but for now, this just really applies to contractors who are working for companies that have gone ahead and made the decision to do these evacuations.

CABRERA: Alexandra Field, thank you so much for staying on top of that.

Hundreds of children crossing the country illegally into the U.S. each day. A majority are coming from Central America, and CNN is there right now. We'll have a live report from Honduras right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: The numbers are staggering. At least 60,000 unaccompanied children are expected to illegally cross the U.S. border this year. Some as young as four years old and border control is not equipped to properly care for all these children. The majority coming from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. These leaked photographs of a border patrol holding facility in Nogales, Arizona are showing the crammed cells there without enough food, beds, even toilets or showers.

The number of children making this journey alone has doubled. Each year since 2010. So, this means we're on track to see as many as 130,000 next year. Let me bring in CNN's Rosa Flores in (INAUDIBLE) Honduras, and, Rosa, you spoke to some of these unaccompanied children who came to the U.S.. They were actually returned yesterday. What was their experience like? Tell us about their journey both to the United States and then the return home.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, some of these stories are so traumatic. We spoke to one young boy yesterday who said that he was kidnapped. He was robbed. He was blindfolded. Thrown into a house and held for ransom and wasn't released until his family delivered thousands of dollars.

Now, this happened in Mexico, so this is the dangerous trek that we've been talking about for days now. It's the trek between Central America and the United States. We also learned how this pipeline of minors just keeps on moving and delivering into the United States. It's a modern type of coyote or human smuggler, but now they're called guides. And they give these youngsters tours to the United States, so they're actually bused in droves in just commercial buses. They are taken to city to city, and they're actually instructed and they're given money.

And here's how it works. So, they get on these buses. If they by any chance are stopped by immigration these tour guides tell the kids, OK, you have to say that you're alone. Here's a little cash. Pay the officer and just tell him you're alone, you want to get back on the bus. And then they also promise these minors that once they get to the United States that the gates of the U.S. are open and they can get there and either reunite with their families and find work or something. Ana, we know that that's not true.

CABRERA: Unbelievable. We're hearing from an immigration attorney at least one of them here in the U.S. who talked to 1,000 children saying these children tell her they're trying to escape violence in Central America, that that is the main reason they are coming to the U.S.. Is it desperation? Is this a valid explanation of really what's going on?

FLORES: You know, San Pedro Zula, the city that we are right now has been dubbed the murder capital of the world for three years in a row, and take a look around me. It looks absolutely beautiful, but if you look beyond my shoulder here, there's this green pasture-looking area, well, that is actually a sugarcane field.

Beyond that is one of the most dangerous areas in all of Honduras and what's happening there is there are two gangs that are fighting for the territory. The green pasture, that's where they drop the bodies. That's the violence that these kids are seeing on the streets. Many stories of dads being killed, sons being targeted, so son decides to go to the United States.

CABRERA: And it's a risky journey at that, so the risks to come to the U.S. they're thinking is less than the risk of the violence there in their own country.

Rosa Flores in Honduras, thank you so much for your great reporting there.

Bowe Bergdahl back in the U.S., he's walking, speaking English, enjoying able to eat peanut butter, just a simple pleasure. But he hasn't yet seen or even called his family. We'll talk about his reintegration process after five years in captivity, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Let's take you to Ukraine now. A flurry of high-level phone calls today to the president of Russia after a Ukrainian military plane went down with 49 people aboard. Everyone was killed. A nearby traffic camera capturing the crash here.

If you watch closely you see that bright light there in the distance. This is one of the worst such incidents since the unrest began. The Ukrainian government said the Russian-made plane was about to land when it was shot down by pro-Russian insurgents with anti-aircraft guns. Presidents of France and Germany both called President Putin to express their concerns. Also U.S. secretary of state John Kerry called his counterpart there in Moscow to urge political dialogue.

Bowe Bergdahl is back here in the U.S., but it's not yet clear when he's going to finish his reintegration treatment. Bergdahl the last U.S. prisoner of war in Afghanistan is recovering at the medical center there in San Antonio. Military officials say he's walking. He is speaking English. He's enjoying peanut butter and he has not yet reached out to his family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. BRADLEY POPPER, ARMY PSYCHOLOGIST: Family support is a critical part of the reintegration process, making sure the family understands the reasons why we do it and the decompression and we understand and support that process. Overall it's the returnees' choice to make that decision when, where and who they want to regain socially and I believe the family understands that process at this point in time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: CNN's Martin Savidge is live in San Antonio. Now, Martin, it's been two weeks, yet Bergdahl we understand has no idea about this controversy surrounding his rescue. Is that right?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, it's what military officials say that he hasn't been made aware. There's a reason for that and it isn't because it is Sgt. Bergdahl and the controversy surrounding the prisoner swap. It is that that is standard procedure. It is not allowed usually or generally. Those who are released after long times of captivity to expose them to media, they really try to carefully control their environment.

And again, it's not that they are trying to keep anything from anyone, it is that it can be overwhelming to go from absolute isolation or being in a very remote region for a long period of time to suddenly be back with everything that is American, back with everything that is modern life.

As one military official put it to us last night, the colors are very bright for Bowe Bergdahl, meaning almost everything is sensory overload. So they say there will be a time as he improves that he will have access to the media and see the reporting but right now this is not that time, Ana.

CABRERA: Are you hearing, is it common for prisoners who have been in captivity not to talk to their family immediately upon being rescued?

SAVIDGE: This is, of course, the obvious that is hanging over his return to the United States, because many anticipated that his family would be here. I know that I was told by the military the standard would be his family would arrive first and he would arrive possibly the next day and everyone felt that the reunion which the military considers part of his recovery is going to happen quickly.

They are not in San Antonio as you already heard, apparently the sergeant does not want to meet with his family at this time. There are clearly issues they are working through. The military considers those private and the family has asked that the media respect their privacy so, you know, you can imagine father's day tomorrow, you've got your son back in this country.

CABRERA: Wow.

SAVIDGE: But right now he's not ready.

CABRERA: Kind of a heartbreaking situation. There's more to it, that's for sure. Martin Savidge live in San Antonio, thank you.

Coming up, the U.S. takes on Ghana in the World Cup opener on Monday, but the U.S. coach says, "they probably won't win." We'll explain next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: In Brazil, clashes are happening on and off the World Cup field. Violence which has been simmering there for months is now erupting around the venues. Today the streets, again, lined with protesters furious over the millions spent on the World Cup while so many there live in poverty.

In the latest protests, Brazilian police fire tear gas trying to hold back a small group trying to work its way towards the stadium packed with spectators. Joining me now, Amanda Davies, CNNi sports anchor and correspondent.

Amanda, the U.S. is going to play Ghana on Monday at their opening round. Are we expecting anti-American protests? AMANDA DAVIES, CNNI SPORTS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Ana. Yes,

we've been seeing protests every day of this tournament so far. What we've seen today, in (INAUDIBLE), not as bad as those in Sao Paolo on the opening day on Thursday. We've had about 500 protesters involved in a peaceful demonstration because of the economic concerns. Eleven people were arrested.

But we do understand by - via social media, the likes of Facebook, that there are specific anti-American protests that are planned for Monday in about 2 1/2 kilometers away from the arena (INAUDIBLE) where the USA are playing Ghana. We understand that people are going to protest against FIFA, the World Cup spending, and American capitalism because the U.S. vice president Joe Biden has said that he will attend the game with the Brazilian president, Dilma Rouseff.

And we've already seen some very poor receptions at the games that she has attended so far. But so far the protests are relatively peaceful.

CABRERA: Interesting. It will be interesting to see how the U.S. team responds to this big distraction, of sorts. Thank you.

Amanda Davies, we appreciate it.

HOLMES: OK. Coming up in the next hour, 5:00 p.m. Eastern, dedicating the entire hour to the crisis still unfolding in Iraq. We've got a team of senior international correspondents who have been in the Middle East for many, many years covering this war and other stories. They know the region. They're going to be with us to break down what is happening in Iraq, how it came to be, and what happens now.

Also just how dangerous this situation has become. Do be sure to join us top of the hour 5:00 p.m. Eastern.

In the meantime I'm Michael Holmes at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

CABRERA: And I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. Right now, keep it right here for "Sanjay Gupta, MD."