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John Boehner Says Forget Iranian Partnership; Selfie Video Helps Woman Gain Correct Diagnosis; Pope Francis To Cut Back Significantly On Appearances Next Month; Honduras Sends Message To United States

Aired June 18, 2014 - 14:30   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Bottom of the hour. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Decisions, decisions about Iraq being made right there at the White House. Top congressional leaders are due there in 30 minutes for what's being reported as a discussion with the president about trying to halt this march of hard-core Islamic fighters before they get to Baghdad. House Speaker John Boehner said this morning he wants to hear a plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I can just imagine what our friends in the region, our allies would be thinking by reaching out to Iran at a time when they continue to pay for terrorists and foster terrorism, not only in Syria, in Lebanon, but in Israel, as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Mr. Speaker, on Iraq, you said you want to hear from the president. Are there certain parameters what you think is acceptable for U.S. involvement, whether it be 275 security people, whether it be special --

BOEHNER: What I'm looking for is a strategy that will guarantee some success and keeping Iraq free and propping up the democracy that we fought so hard to get there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Here's what else he said. House speaker John Boehner said forget working with Iran, an idea that's been floated, because Iran, as we look at the map, neighbors right there, next to Iraq. And like the U.S., it backs Iraq's Shiite government.

Fareed Zakaria, host of " FAREED ZAKARIA GPS " joining me now from New York.

And Fareed, let's begin. I just mentioned Iran. Let's begin there because, you know, the cruel irony is that Washington has tried for years to keep Iran out of Iraq. Is the notion of U.S. and Iran discussions desperation?

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, and FAREED ZAKARIA GPS: Well, I don't think it is desperation. I think it's unfortunate that it's happening in these kinds of crisis circumstances. But I think, you know, the setup explained it all very well.

The truth of the matter, though, is Iran has been influencing and supporting this government from the start. Many people believe that Iran has had more influence with Mr. Maliki than we have. Remember, Maliki is a Shiite, just like the Iranians. He lived in Tehran for many, many years, over a decade, when he was in exile from Saddam Hussein. And Iran has funded most of the major Shiva parties.

So Iran already has lots of influence in Iraq. We don't have the ability to change that. The question we could ask is, are there some areas where we have similar or shared interests, such as keeping these hard line Jihad terrorists out of the main population centers of Iraq?

BALDWIN: I think we do.

ZAKARIA: I think we do. And let's remember that Iran and the United States similarly shared some strategic goals in Afghanistan. Iran didn't like the Taliban. We didn't like the Taliban. They kind of helped us when we ousted the Taliban in 2001 and 2002. So I don't think this is unprecedented. The Bush administration I indirectly had some channels in Iran and this time around may be more direct.

BALDWIN: OK. I also want to just talk about the narrative here. Because the way the president frames it, Washington is backing this imperfect government in Baghdad against this callus, dangerous terrorists. And then you have others saying, that's wrong. They're just saying, plain and simple, Sunnis versus Shiites, sectarian warfare. My question to you, terrorism, sectarian, why is that distinction so important?

ZAKARIA: It's a good question. It makes you see how confusing and muddled the situation is. Here's why are. Because what we're looking for is the good guy. We're trying to figure out who are the good guys we support. It turns out there are no good guys in Iraq. The good guys, you know, the government of Iraq is itself very sectarian. It's a Shi'a government that has been oppressing the Sunnis. The Sunnis are hard line Sunnis. I am increasing turning toward terrorists and Jihadis, so they're clearly the bad guys.

BALDWIN: But nod all Sunnis are bad.

ZAKARIA: Or all Shi'a. So what the president is saying, if you guys can get your act together and create an inclusive government, we're willing to provide you with military assistance. We're willing to try and back you. But we don't want to do it in a context where we will be seen as just supporting one side in a civil war.

So I think the president is right to try to condition America's support on, at the very least, the strong appearance, if not the reality, that we are not picking sides in a sectarian war.

BALDWIN: OK. Then there is this opinion piece. We have read it. Dick Cheney, Liz Cheney, as well, they written this opinion piece in the "Wall Street Journal," this excoriating the president, saying he doesn't seem to care about Iraq, which is prompting some, Fareed, to say slow your roll Dick Cheney, because you helped lead America into Iraq. And by the way, you've got some things fundamentally wrong. So here first, let's go back. Dick Cheney, this is before the invasion, way, way back in 2003.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think things are gotten so bad inside Iraq from are the standpoint of the Iraqi people. My belief is we will in fact be greeted as liberators.

I'm confident our troops will be successful. And I think it will go relatively quickly. But --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Weeks, months?

CHENEY: Weeks rather than months.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So you have the now weeks, months, years, now a decade in Iraq, still broken. Is there anyone who supported the war, Fareed, who is suspect, who is credible?

ZAKARIA: Well, I think the biggest problem here is that the Bush administration, after the invasion, really exacerbated all the sectarian differences we're now seeing. So clearly, invading Iraq was a mistake. But my point is, in the first month after the invasion, when they were still declaring victory, the Bush administration disavowed the Sunnis and empowered these hard line Shi'a rulers.

So now it's a little odd for people like vice president Cheney and Paul Bremer, the former ambassador of Iraq to say we should try to get Maliki to include the Sunnis. Well, you're the guys who put him in power in the first place. You're the guys who disempowered the Sunnis and created or exacerbated these sectarian differences.

So it's -- it was a very odd critique, given that in many ways, there were key policies of the Bush administration right after the invasion that exacerbated these sectarian tensions and the civil war that we are now living with.

BALDWIN: Are you surprised oh -- let me ask you this, the Paul Bremers and the Dick Cheneys, these people who are coming forward now. A, are you surprised by the fact they're coming forward, pinning these opinion pieces, coming on national TV, and b, no onus.

ZAKARIA: Well, I would -- you would hope there would be some sense of, you know, being willing to say, look, we got some things wrong. And we got some things right. I look at, you know, my own experience with Iraq. I got a bunch of things wrong, I got a bunch of things right. But I think that the odd thing here is, all of history begins in 2011 for Dick Cheney, when Obama decides to have the troops withdraw. Forgetting the Bush administration, actually, negotiated the document that said all U.S. forces would leave Iraq in 2011. That was not Obama. That Obama simply ratified it and continued in that sense a Bush administration strategy.

So, again, there, it's a sort of strange historical amnesia that forgets that it was George Bush who said all-American troops would leave Iraq in 2011.

BALDWIN: Fareed Zakaria, always love having you on and your perspective. Thank you so much. Make sure you watch "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS," 10:00 a.m. eastern on Sundays right here on CNN. Appreciate it.

Now this. This woman experiences slurred speech, trouble moving her left arm, leg. The doctors say you have stress. So she then recorded her symptoms on her cell phone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the sensation is happening again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Turns out it wasn't stress. It was a mini stroke. How her stroke selfie helped diagnosis her symptoms. She'll join me live, and Elizabeth Cohen will weigh in on how more and more young people and especially women are getting strokes. We have to have that conversation, next here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Ever had something go just randomly wrong with your body? You go to the doctor. The doctor says you're fine. That's what happened to Stacy Yeppes. But her gut, her instinct, told her she was not OK. And it wasn't just a little stress. So she decided to document her symptoms when it happened again. Pulls out her phone and records exactly what was happening to her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STACEY YEPES, LEAD TO STROKE DIAGNOSIS: It's 6:42, and the sensation is happening again. To smile, they said. Smile. It's all tingly on the left side.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Never seen anything like this. Stacey Yepes was having a mini stroke. She joins me live from Toronto. With me in studio is senior CNN medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen.

So, we'll talk to you, Elizabeth in just a minute.

But first, Stacy, first, welcome to you. My goodness, I read that you actually had three of these mini strokes. Three days in a row. And just let's back up. When you first went to the hospital, what did they say to you?

YEPES: Well, they ran some testing, and at the end of the three-and- a-half hours of being there, they came out and told me that it was stress and that I need to learn to manage my stress. BALDWIN: And what were you thinking when you heard that?

YEPES: I just kind of, you know, laughed to myself, and thought, this is not stress. I couldn't believe that the diagnosis that they came up with.

BALDWIN: So then talk me through this decision. Once these symptoms are overcoming you for a third time, you pull out your cell phone. Why did you do it?

YEPES: Because I needed somebody to be able to show somebody what was happening. Because I knew this wasn't stress. You know, having been to emergency, I was so shocked that a doctor dismissed it as stress. And yet everything that I can recall from public service announcements and things that I've seen on TV, I knew they were stroke symptoms.

BALDWIN: Good for you.

I mean, Elizabeth Cohen, you talk all of the time about being an empowered patient. I have you as my will of voice in my head and so she followed her gut. She knew it, and tends up it was suffering TIAs. What is that?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That is a Transient Ischemic Attack, and it's in layman's terms, it is a mini stroke. So you have this sudden attack like Stacey did. And they may last just, you know, three or four minutes and then they go away. And in and of themselves, they're not always harmful, but a strong indicator you're going to go on and have another stroke.

And so, I want to give these symptoms here as a public service. Because when they happen, you need to know so you can be empowered like Stacey was.

So first, you can remember the acronym face. Fast, rather. The F is for face. Does your smile droop on one side? The A is for arms. Does one drift downwards? The S is for speech, is it slurred or strange? And then the T is time. I can't emphasize this enough. That you want to get to these quickly. Sometimes, you know, there is incredible treatments they can give you. But if you're too late, they can't give to you. And I'm glad to say that Stacey has shared she is doing great now.

But it's -- you know, this is scary stuff. You don't want to mess around with a stroke. And I will be honest, it makes me crazy when I hear about ERs patting people on the head and saying you need to manage your stress better. Yu know, Stacy shared with me before. She said, I'm divorced, I have a tough job. I know stress, and this isn't stress.

BALDWIN: This was much more than stress.

Stacey, how long did they last for you? Just a couple minutes, or --

YEPES: Each one lasted approximately seven to ten minutes.

BALDWIN: Seven to ten minutes. And so now we're talking commercial break, you said you're OK. How are you feeling today?

YEPES: I'm feeling good. I, you know, sought treatment at another hospital and was referred to the unit at Toronto western. And so I'm being followed by them and monitored and on medication now to keep this at bay and to prevent any future stroking.

BALDWIN: Thank goodness. Stacey, we wish you well. Quickly, Elizabeth, because recent studies, I'm thinking, I'm hearing about young people and specifically women having strokes.

COHEN: Yes, some even showing that over a 15-year period, a tripling in the rate of strokes for young women. One of the reasons might be just the increase in obesity. A stroke is a brain attack. So whatever would make you more vulnerable to a heart attack, like being overweight, could also be leaving to this.

BALDWIN: Acronym, FAST. Thank you so much. Something for us to keep in mind sadly.

Elizabeth, Stacey, we wish you well. Thank you very for coming on.

And coming up, speaking of health, where is the Pope? He's cancelled his popular Wednesday appearances through the month of a July. A lot of questions, is he sick, is he worn out from going non-stop, a lot of travel, maybe, and maybe he needs a vacant. We will talk about that.

Also ahead, six-times gold medal winner Amy Van Dyken, swimmer, talks about being paralyzed after an ATB accident and the conversation she had with her husband next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We have heard from paralyzed Olympic swimmer, Amy Van Dyken, who is pretty optimistic and upbeat, but in moments today, breaking down, really, especially when she was describing saying goodbye to her husband. She wasn't sure she would make it through surgery on her severed spinal cord. She is married to former Denver broncos' punter, Tom Rouen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMY VAN DYKEN, PARALYZED OLYMPIC SWIMMER: There was a good chance that I wasn't going to make it out of surgery. So it was one of those things where I looked at my husband and basically said "I love you, goodbye, you know. Please continue on with your life. I allow you to date, which was hard to say." But we said our goo good-byes. And to do that and be here now and to be with him is the most amazing thing. So, yes, this injury sucks. And yes, things hurt. But I'm alive. And I'm so thankful to be alive and so that's why I can be positive about it. You know? It helps get me through the pain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Van Dyken was injured in that ATV accident a little less than two weeks ago in Arizona. She left back in hospital today bound for extensive rehab in Denver. The 41-year-old says the challenge of relearning how to do everyday things is like a rebirth. She won six Olympic gold medals. We wish her the best.

There are new fears surfacing today regarding the Pope's health. Listen. Lots of rumors. Fueling the rumors, the Vatican announcing Pope Francis is significantly cutting back his appearances for next month. He is skipping his daily mass. The concerns began actually last week when the Pope suddenly cancelled two days of meetings.

So John Allen is our senior Vatican correspondent. He joins us on the phone from Detroit.

And John Allen, I mean, the Vatican very clearly denying any kind of reports or rumors that the Pope is not in perfect, you know, health, saying that he just typically wants maybe a little time off, a little vacation in July. What do you make of this?

JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Well, you know, Brooke, there is an old saying in the Vatican, the Pope is never sick until he's dead, that they always want to minimize any concern about the Pope's well-being.

I think it should be said but we don't want to overdramatize what is going on here. What the Vatican has said, he's cancelling his public appearances in July, which is the exact same thing he did last year, because, of course, Francis is not taking the Pope's normal summer vacation in August (INAUDIBLE) outside of Rome. Once again, he'll stay on the job. Part of the month in the Vatican and part of the month, a grueling trip to South Korea, the program for which the Vatican just released today. So I don't think there is any suggestion of any specific illness here, Brooke.

But I do think it is quite clear the Pope is simply a little bit exhausted because he has been keeping up a schedule that would run any of us into the ground, let alone a 77-year-old man. And I think quite frankly, just needs some downtime.

BALDWIN: Can you say you blame him? I mean, you've been chasing him around. It sounds like, around the world, John Allen. You were on that plane leaving the Middle East. Now there are these reports, though, and I would hate for anyone to be watching us so closely.

"The Daily Beast" is reporting some weight gain and they're saying he has gained as many as 20 pounds since taking office. You know, we know he only has part of a lung, maybe this is a sign the Pope could be slipping into some form of chronic heart failure. Are you hearing any worry in that vein?

ALLEN: No, what I'm hearing, Brooke, is worry this is a Pope who has a tendency to significantly overextend himself. I mean, consider, for example, that in Rome on Sundays, generally speaking, there are only two things you to. You go to mass and then you go out to eat. The last three Sunday, we assume Pope Francis would go out to Rome's Olympic stadium to spend three hours, the 52,000 charismatic Catholics. We have seen him conduct an unprecedented peace summit, bringing together the Israeli and Palestinian president and we seen him a head down to the Rome neighborhood to (INAUDIBLE) to spend, again, several hours with an ecstatic crowd, one of the most important movements in the catholic church (INAUDIBLE). And this is not normal people activity.

But this is instead Francis trying to take -- maximum advantage of the time he's got. I think the circle around him isn't worried that he's sick. I think the circle around him is worried that he's doing too much. And they're scrambling to figure out how to get him to slow down.

BALDWIN: As you mentioned, they did announce that Korea trip, which is encouraging. Maybe he just needs a little R&R.

John Allen, don't we all. Thank you so much for calling in. We appreciate it, as always.

Coming up, Honduras sends a message to the United States, do not deport our children. We'll take a look at this ongoing battle over tens of thousands of kids crossing the Texas/Mexico border, illegally.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: They should be sent back as soon as it can be determined who the responsible adults in their families are. Because there are concerns about whether all of them can be sent back, but I think all of them who can be should be reunited with their families.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That was Hillary Clinton, just last night on our own CNN town hall in Washington. Today, the Honduras foreign ministry is asking the U.S. to keep those kids.

Here's the problem. Unaccompanied minors from Honduras and two other Central American countries have been flooding across the U.S. border with Mexico, tens of thousands of them this year so far, some of them as young as four. And they're creating a humanitarian crisis.

CNN's Rosa Flores who just returned from Honduras, telling their stories, what more do we know about this from Honduras today?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, the president has come out and clarified its position, the position of the Honduran government, saying that he has created an interagency committee that's going to be led by the first lady of that country to repatriate these children. So a lot going on.

And here's how he says that the plan would play out. So the first lady would identify about 13,000 children that are Honduran. They're in these shelters. So you know that 60,000 of we have been hearing of the total, well, they believe that about 13,000 of them are Honduran.

The first lady would also call for all of the parents to start gathering their documents so they can claim these children, and then for the deportation process to happen. So it almost seems like they want to buy themselves a little time for the deportation process. So let's talk about that process. It's not as easy as we think,

Brooke. The first thing that has to happen is immigration needs to get involved and identify the minor, the individual. Then that individual goes into the custody of ORR, which is the office of refugee and resettlement. And they process the child. They give them shelter, vaccination. And after that entire process goes through, then, the deportation could or could not happen, depending on the immigration case. And that, of course, is in immigration court -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Please stay on it for us. Excellent reporting from Honduras, Rosa Flores. Thank you for joining me.