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Secret Serum Likely Saved Ebola Patients; Israelis Shun Talks for Truce in Cairo; Russian Military Exercises Near Ukraine

Aired August 04, 2014 - 10:30   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Wow. So why don't they test it out on these people who are dying in West Africa, people with no hope of survival?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that may be the next step, and again, you know, we're talking about this real-time now. Carol, this is -- all that we're telling you has just happened over the last couple of days now.

So I think typically the process is you put these through a trial process. You make sure that it goes through safety trials. You go through effectiveness trials. And then you -- and then after that you make it more widely available, but this may have been available to Dr. Brantly and Ms. Writebol under what is known as compassionate use.

We don't have a lot of good options. Patients have that real risk of dying. Do we have anything that might work? It could fit into that criteria and maybe as a result of what's been seen so far here with just a couple of patients it could be mad more widely available.

It is hard to administer -- Carol. I mean it's frozen. You have to thaw it out. You have to administer it -- easier sometimes in big hospitals than in remote villages. But, you know, this is something I think they are already starting to look at.

COSTELLO: I hope so. Dr. Sanjay Gupta -- thanks so much.

Remember, you can watch "SANJAY GUPTA, M.D." every Saturday afternoon at 4:30 Eastern and Sunday at 7:30 Eastern right here on CNN.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, an Israeli soldier seems to flash the victory sign amid clashes in Gaza. But as Palestinians meet with Egyptians to discuss how to form a lasting truce, Israel is absent by choice. We'll talk about why -- next.

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COSTELLO: All right.

We told you a short time ago that that humanitarian cease-fire has ended between, you know, the Israeli-Gaza conflict and it has ended. We understand an air strike has been carried out by Israel into Gaza City and I'm just going to read our urgent wire coming over.

This is from the Israeli Defense Forces. It confirms Israeli forces carried out an aerial strike on a refugee camp in Gaza City. This is from Colonel Peter Lerner. He told CNN the strike did not violate the humanitarian cease-fire as it was an ongoing operation. Lerner said the IDF was targeting terrorists from Islamic jihad. The Palestinian health ministry spokesman said 15 people were injured, the majority of them children.

We're trying to get more information on this for you. Of course, we'll pass it along.

An official Palestinian delegation is now in Egypt in a bid to strike a deal and stop the violence in Gaza. Here in the United States, the Obama administration is urging Israel to do more to avoid civilian saying the U.S. is quote, "appalled by what the administration called a disgraceful shelling of a U.N. school this weekend.

This morning, State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki spoke to CNN about the ongoing tensions and what it will take to deescalate the situation.

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JEN PSAKI, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: Every day the world is watching as innocent civilians are killed, as children are having shrapnel pulled out of their back. I think we can all look here and make it an evaluation there's more that can be done.

That doesn't change the fact that we believe Israel has the right to defend itself. We want to do everything to support Israel's security, but we're looking at devastating situation here in Gaza and there's more that can be done.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: Do you think the United States can do anything to end this until Israel is satisfied it has gone far enough with the tunnels and what it sees as the demilitarization of Gaza whatever the costs are, whatever the duration?

PSAKI: Well, it isn't up to the United States. It's always been up to the parties, but Chris, I think when you look at the situation you have on the ground, what we want and what we're calling for, what the U.N. has called for, what the international community has called for is a prolonged cease-fire to have a negotiation about those key issues.

We support demilitarization. That's not an issue that can be addressed or worked out in a matter of 24 hours or 48 hours. It's something that there needs to be a longer discussion about. So that's the point we want to get to. The Egyptians have indicated they are willing to host it. So let's see if we can get back to that discussion.

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COSTELLO: All right. Let's talk about that discussion. CNN's Reza Sayah, joins me now from Cairo, the site of those talks. Reza, Israel is not sending a delegation to this meeting. But what are some of the conditions being discussed for a cease-fire? REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol -- these conditions are not new.

If you are familiar with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over the years, you know that these are conditions and demands that the Palestinians have put forth on several occasions.

Briefly, let's take a look at them. They include the immediate end to aggression by Israeli forces, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Palestinian territory, the lifting of the economic blockade on Gaza, the Palestinians also want the border crossings open not just to Israel but also to Egypt -- the Rafah crossing. They also want the release of prisoners who were rearrested in June. And they also want the international community to help rebuild Gaza.

These are conditions that were formalized yesterday by a Palestinian delegation that came to Cairo in two teams. First it was Saturday, the seven-member team representing the Pashtun movement came to Cairo from Jordan. And then yesterday you had the Hamas delegation arrive from Qatar.

Ideally if you want legitimate negotiations, you want your counterpart here. You want your Israelis here -- obviously they're not here. They made it clear at least publicly that they're not prepared to come to Cairo to hold talks. But if you are an optimist you might say that the Israelis are watching and perhaps there's a way that the Palestinians can convey their conditions or demands to the Egyptians and in turn the Egyptians can pass along these demands to the Israelis.

At this point, there's no indication that that's going to happen, Carol, but what is clear, is that the world is watching the fighting in Gaza, the staggering death toll, the disparity between the people dying in the Palestinian territory and Israel. And they want someone to step in and get these two sides to stop fighting and get them here to Cairo to start talking. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Reza Sayah reporting live from Cairo, Egypt this morning.

Joining me now to talk more about this, Fran Townsend, CNN national security analyst and former Homeland Security Advisor to President George W. Bush; and Robert Dineen, senior fellow for the Middle East and African studies with the Council on Foreign Relations -- welcome to both of you.

FRAN TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Hi Carol.

ROBERT DINEEN, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Hi.

COSTELLO: Hi.

Fran, I want to start with you, some analysts say Arab nations are split in this current conflict. Extremists and Hamas supporters on one side with more moderate Muslims, who see Hamas as a threat on the other silently siding with Israel. Could that be a reason -- that last part -- be a reason why Israel isn't participating in these talks in Egypt at the moment?

TOWNSEND: You know, there is a good history here where Egypt just played the role of sort of mediator. So, I don't think that's the reason behind the split as you called it. Look, Jordan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, they all have their own domestic internal threat from Islamic extremists that they are worried about. And this is sort of a proxy fight if you will, with those Sunni nations on one side and then you've got Qatar and Turkey and Iran on the other supporting Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic jihad.

You know, we've seen this battle play out in Syria. We see it with ISIS in Iraq, in Syria. These Islamist, extremist forces really are destabilizing throughout the region and inside individual countries. I think that's why you see the Jordanian and others, really worried about this and not supporting Hamas and the Palestinians at this point.

COSTELLO: We lost Robert's chat. We're hoping to get him back. So I'll ask you another question, should Israel go to Egypt and participate in these talks?

TOWNSEND: You know, look, the whole peace process, this cease-fire process has not gone very well. That's to put it mildly. You know, the last one lasted 90 minutes that Secretary Kerry brokered. Why? Because Israeli soldiers were killed.

So I don't blame the Israelis for standing back right now. The Palestinians have got to come to some sort of place where they can articulate a unified set of demands or a position and let the Egyptians (inaudible) for the Israelis -- where they can evaluate -- (inaudible). I don't blame the Israelis for not --

COSTELLO: Well, could it also be that Israel just isn't done yet. I mean there's some indication that Israel is withdrawing but that's not so much the case right now, in fact another air strike took place moments ago?

TOWNSEND: That's right, Carol. Look, there's tragedy on all sides of this and I must say while everyone abhors the civilian casualties, we have to remember part of the reason behind the civilians casualties, this doesn't rest solely with Israel.

We know for a fact that Hamas that's built these tunnels in residences. We understand weapons, caches and rockets are fired from homes, in schools -- and so, look, Hamas bears a certain burden to the civilian casualties We're seeing in Gaza as well.

And so look what that says to us is the importance that Egypt can play in terms of mediating a cease-fire is critical here and they may be the only people who can have the credibility to talk to both sides.

COSTELLO: All right. Fran Townsend thanks so much for joining me. And that air strike I spoke of actually took place at 3:00 a.m. Eastern time this morning.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, according to reports, Russia announced military exercise near the Ukrainian border today. Could this be a sign of strength or does President Putin really want war with Ukraine?

We'll talk about that next.

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COSTELLO: According to Reuters, Russia announced military exercises near the Ukraine border today. So does Vladimir Putin really want all-out war to break out in Ukraine or is it a show of strength by Vladimir Putin and his military in the wake of new sanctions by U.S. and EU leaders?

Also consider this, the deputy prime minister of Russia, sent out this tweet this morning. You can see President Putin with that big wild animal and you can see beside him is a picture of President Obama holding a poodle. I guess it's the caption -- some sort of caption contest put out by the government of Russia.

I don't know how else to explain it. CNN's Elise Labott has more on this. So what is this tweet about, Elise?

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ELISE LABOTT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Putin's annexation of Crime and his support for the pro-Russian separatists in the Eastern Ukraine has raised his popularity with the Russian people. His ratings haven't been so high since he went to war with another former Western neighbor, Georgia in 2008.

For years Putin has made keeping Ukraine from joining the European Union and NATO -- a major strategic goal. But the recent ouster of pro-Russian president Victor Yanukovych has really weakened his influence there. One way to stop Ukraine from joining the west is to make it too unstable by keeping this insurgency running.

But sticking with the separatist brings Putin problems on the international front. There's no smoking gun against Russia for the downing of Malaysian Airlines 17. But the Western World says Putin's support for the separatists has led to this tragedy.

The U.S. and Europe have already imposed sanctions against Russian companies. Entire sectors of the Russian economy could be next. It's already been teetering on the brink of recession for months and the damage done to Russia's world image from the conflict will take years to undo.

In a choice, between a peace and your Russian Public and antagonizing the best, it appears Vladimir Putin has no good options.

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COSTELLO: All right Elise Labott is with us from Washington now. And CNN senior international correspondent Nick Peyton Walsh is live in Donetsk. Elise, I want to actually start with you so you can talk about this strange tweet, tweeted out by a member of the Russian government this morning. LABOTT: Well, Carol, I think what they're trying -- the caption was

that we have different values and different allies, but I think the message -- when you look at President Obama holding a poodle and President Putin holding a cheetah, I think they're trying to show that one is one is a strong leader and one is a weak leader. And clearly they've been talking around this issue for certainly some time. But I think they're just trying to do it in a more light-hearted way, certainly mocking the United States and the U.S. President.

COSTELLO: I don't think this situation is ah-ha funny.

LABOTT: Certainly it isn't. But certainly this is also an effort to try and deflect some of the serious issues that the international community has with President Putin. He's trying to laugh it off and show that he's not affected maybe by the sanctions or the international outrage, but clearly it's something that he feels that is annoying to him and is trying to just blow it off in a very casual way.

COSTELLO: Very strange. OK. Nick, what are you hearing about these military exercises from your standpoint?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well there have been military exercises along the Ukrainian-Russian border for months now. These more recent ones have one exercising -- obviously designed to try I think and put Ukraine further on edge, many thinking exercises are like that are a kind of precursor to a full-on invasion. But we should be in no real doubt.

You know, people have been thinking is Putin going to invade Ukraine promptly. He hasn't really needed to. He mentioned this -- an all out war. Well, (inaudible) all-out war going here for weeks, if not months.

I'm in Donetsk right now where social media is suggesting the Ukrainian army is already in the city, not proven. But that's got people here really on edge. We drove in the city this morning. And along the roads, the Ukrainian army is advancing extraordinarily fast.

There are less and less militants here over time and a key separatist leader was supposed to give a well-publicized press conference at 1:00 today has been canceled quote, "for technical reasons". So a real sense of change on the ground here." Is this is potentially a big humiliating defeat for Vladimir Putin. Well yes, it is. Certainly many say he sponsored here, collapsed spontaneously and vanishes into the night like many think it might just be about to do.

That's a big problem for him. He has to appease national sentiment back home. The people who think him holding a tiger is a great idea and shows he's strong. That Barack Obama's poodle suggests he's beholden to Congress and adequately authoritarian.

You have to appease them somehow. But the idea of sending his troops across the border that's just going to bring in a whole lot of sanctions; it's going to put the Russian economy already on the fritz. Really back into an ice age -- Carol. COSTELLO: All right. Nick Paton Walsh, Elise Labott -- thanks to both of you. I'll be right back.

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COSTELLO: All right. Tropical storm Bertha is now officially a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 80 miles per hour. That's according to the National Hurricane Center. The tropical storm became a hurricane just moments ago. A rather weak hurricane and I'm glad to say that. It's somewhere between Bermuda -- I'm sorry, the Bahamas and Florida. And as far as Indra Peterson says there's no danger to the United States. And we hope it stays that way. We'll have more on that coming up.

But first, CNN Heroes.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: country's violent history has created very violent (inaudible). Gangs are everywhere. Kids are exposed to drugs, to violence, and to the lack of opportunities for them to improve their lives.

I was a teacher in the same community that I grew up. My students were dealing with the same problems that I was dealing 20 years ago. I wanted to change that. The best thing for me to do was open my house doors and bring them here.

Eight years later, I'm still running the program in my family house. We provide classes so they can find their own passions. We give them a decent plate of food. Children are powerful -- just they don't know that yet. So I created a safe place for them to realize that they are truly can change bad aspects in their lives and their community.

In a violent country, the only weapon we can have is love. I still believe that we can change this country. I see potential in kids, dreams, and ideas. They are the ones in charge of writing the future in Guatemala.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello.

"@THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND MICHAELA after a break.

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