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U.S.-Israeli Relations; Nigerian Doctor Tests Positive for Ebola; Russia Increases Number of Troops on Border; NATO Forces Fired On

Aired August 05, 2014 - 09:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

It has been called the most dysfunctional relationship in the history of U.S./Israeli ties. I'm talking about the one between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu. The latest crisis in Gaza is shining a bright light on the two leader and their rocky history. It's being played out on the world stage. White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Israel needs to do more.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To hold themselves to their own standard.

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The shelling of a U.N. facility is totally unacceptable and totally indefensible.

KOSINSKI: Statements made repeatedly now by the Obama administration on Israel's actions in Gaza, culminating in this from the State Department Sunday, "the United States is appalled by today's disgraceful shelling." Now, that's not to say the U.S. hasn't also verbally slammed Hamas. And the White House's take on U.S./Israel relations today?

EARNEST: The nature of our relationship is strong and unchanged.

KOSINSKI: But what's also unchanged is the tension that's been there. Analysts say President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu despise each other.

AARON DAVID MILLER, FORMER U.S. MIDDLE EAST PEACE NEGOTIATOR: There's a fundamental sense of mistrust.

KOSINSKI: Former State Department insider Aaron David Miller calls the relationship the most dysfunctional ever. Each side thinking the other is ignoring their interests.

MILLER: I think the president looks at Netanyahu, he doesn't feel that there's much respect for American interests. And the prime minister looks at the president and considers him bloodless and insensitive when it comes to really understanding Israeli needs.

KOSINSKI: Remember that supposed to be private exchange between the then French president and Obama in 2011. Sarkozy saying, "I cannot bear Netanyahu. He's a liar." Obama responding, "but I have to deal with him even more often than you." Nothing like an open mike to tell the world how you're really feeling.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: And a strong friend of the state of Israel.

KOSINSKI: On Netanyahu's part, he welcomed Obama's rival, Mitt Romney, with open arms before the election and delivered the president a rather uncomfortable seven-minute lecture in the Oval Office, while cameras rolled.

NETANYAHU: As I told you in our conversation, we don't have a lot of margin for error.

MILLER: There's great frustration. The administration's tendency is to make a statement. But the louder they speak and the tougher the rhetoric, without some follow-up, the greater the gap in the president's credibility. He has less than 1,000 days remaining in his presidency. He has to choose what issues he wants to push and what fights he wants to have. And picking one with the Israelis, frankly, or at least responding to Netanyahu, is not a smart fight.

KOSINSKI (on camera): The relationship between these two nations remains strong clearly. The challenge is lasting progress when personalities clash at the top behind the scenes of a conflict.

Michelle Kosinski, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: So let's talk more about this. David Gergen is a CNN senior political analyst and former adviser to President's Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton and John Avlon is a CNN political analyst and editor-in-chief of "The Daily Beast."

Welcome to both of you.

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Did you see the body language between the two men in the story?

AVLON: Yes.

COSTELLO: It was bad.

So, David, "The National Journal" puts it this way. It describes the relationship between Obama and Netanyahu as one of the most dysfunctional between allies anywhere in the world. Is that true?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, that depends on what you mean by dysfunctionality. At the personal level, yes, they distrust each other and they actually, in many ways, loath each other. Obama thinks that Netanyahu is bull-headed and not a team player and Netanyahu thinks Obama's weak and unreliable as a friend, and right from the beginning of the relationship.

You know, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton tried very hard over their time in office to maintain a very good relationship with the Israeli prime minister. And for -- by and large, succeeded. And President Obama came into office and said, look, it didn't work. So, you had a good relationship. It didn't work on the more important side.

But the dysfunctionality goes to the personal side. On the policy side, on what they actually do, we've been pretty close together. I mean it's not accidental that the dome, the Iron Dome, protected Israel throughout this last episode. And that yesterday President Obama signed a $225 million bill giving more money to the Israelis for Iron Dome.

COSTELLO: Well, I was just going to ask you, just because two people hate each other doesn't mean they can't effectively negotiate, right?

AVLON: Can't work together. I mean this is the paradox at the heart of the Israeli-U.S. relationship right now. The Obama administration has given unprecedented amount of military aid to Israel. More than -- more than Clinton, more than W. So there's been an enormous support on the security, on the military side, direct tangible benefits that, as David just said, have actually had a material effect with regard to Iron Dome in this most recent fight.

And so the paradox of the personal tensions and the political tensions, administration leaders calling out Israel in ways that are hard to imagine in previous administrations, though we've had tensions before between administrations with Israel and the United States, against the backdrop of unprecedented aid. So it does need to be seen in a sense of perspective and the personal relationship is not as important ultimately as the policy and the aid and the cooperation.

COSTELLO: It does seems to me, though, that Israel always has the upper hand in the end. Do that - I mean --

GERGEN: Well, they certainly have the upper hand in Gaza right now. That's why we have a cease-fire. You know, they've got a whip hand (ph) more than anything else.

COSTELLO: No, I mean with the United States. And I'll give you an example.

GERGEN: Yes.

COSTELLO: Senator Rand Paul, right -

GERGEN: Yes.

COSTELLO: He was kind of backtracking a little bit. This is how Senator Rand Paul reacted when he was accused of a lack of support for Israel. So let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAND PAUL (R), KENTUCKY: I haven't really proposed that in the past. We've never had a legislative proposal to do that. So your - you -- I'll answer the question. You can misstate my position, but then I'll answer the question, OK? That has not been a position, a legislative position. We have never introduced anything to phase out or get rid of Israel's aid. That's the answer to that question.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Now the question was, and we should have included the question. The question was, did you ever suggest, you know, taking away financing away to finance the Iron Dome and to take away defense money from Israel. And Rand Paul, in that instance, said, I never did that, no way, because, of course, he's thinking of running for president, right?

GERGEN: Right.

COSTELLO: Well, except that he actually did suggest that. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, ANCHOR, CNN'S "THE SITUATION ROOM": What about the 2 billion or 3 million that goes every year to Israel? You want to eliminate that as well?

SEN. RAND PAUL (R), KENTUCKY: Well, I think what you have to do is you have to look. When you send foreign aid, you actually send quite a bit to Israel's enemies. Islamic nations around Israel get quite a bit of foreign aid, too. It looks like --

BLITZER: Egypt gets a lot of -- Egypt gets almost the same amount.

PAUL: Almost the same amount. So really you have to ask yourself, are we funding an arms race on both sides? I also have a lot of sympathy and respect for Israel as a democratic nation, as of a, you know, a fountain of peace and a fountain of democracy within the Middle East. But at the same time, I don't think funding both sides of an arms race, particularly when we've got to borrow the money from China to send it to someone else, we just can't do it anymore. The debt is all consuming and it threatens our well-being as a country.

BLITZER: All right. So just to be precise, end all foreign aid, including the foreign aid to Israel as well. Is that right?

PAUL: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK. So again I'll ask you, doesn't Israel have the upper hand always in the end?

AVLON: That's not my takeaway from that exchange. My takeaway is that Rand Paul early on was trying to make an intellectually coherent argument for, if someone's concerned about the debt, then reduce it. Then reduce -

COSTELLO: (INAUDIBLE).

AVLON: I know. But, you know, let's pretend for a second, but saying, you know, foreign aid, everything should be on the table, including the $3 billion that goes to Israel (INAUDIBLE) and now he's running for president, and the guy who came in, with the libertarian sort of philosophy driving his politics, is now trying to prevaricate and forget such a thing as videotape. That's awkward right there.

GERGEN: You know, he's moving to the mainstream. He's running for president.

AVLON: Yes.

GERGEN: Welcome to the NFL, you know?

AVLON: Yes.

GERGEN: This is -- if you want to play the game and win, you --

COSTELLO: Can you ever envision, David, a United States president saying we're not going to give any more money to Israel?

GERGEN: Not in - not in the near term. It's $3 billion a year. But let me just go to the point. I do not think that we should be so complacent to think that in the negotiations that are coming up over Gaza, and especially on the Iranian talks, that the U.S. and Israel, that this personal distrust is going to come into play. It could well come into play on the negotiations and it is already at play in the Iranian thing. This - the Iranian subject is the really big one and we could really split with Israel, in part because Netanyahu does not trust Obama to come up with a good deal.

AVLON: And something extraordinary is happening, which is the Arab state's actually not siding with Hamas in this conflict -

GERGEN: Yes.

AVLON: In part and in the larger context their distrust of Iran. Look, there was a reason people that run for president and American presidents tend to move towards Israel, and that is because there's a reason they're our strongest ally in the world next to England. You know, you've got a regional democracy, a lot of shared values, a lot of shared commitment, a lot of shared sympathy for the threats, the security threats we face as nation states. So that's a rational relationship. That's not simply being held captive.

COSTELLO: OK, point taken. John Avalon --

GERGEN: But -- could be rocky.

Hey, by the way, congratulations becoming editor-in-chief of "The Daily Beast." That's terrific.

AVLON: Oh, well, thank you. Thanks. COSTELLO: I never congratulated him either.

AVLON: I appreciate that.

COSTELLO: You know, before you guys go, I did want to touch on Mr. Brady, who died and, you know, I remember that as clear as day. I was in college when President Reagan was shot and I just wanted to get your insight, especially yours, David, since you knew both men.

GERGEN: I was in the White House that day when Jim Brady was shot. And, you know, it was - it was a tumultuous day, very traumatic, and especially so because when we were down in the Situation Room, the report came in from the Secret Service to Don Regan (ph), the Treasury Secretary, Secret Service, worked for Treasury, that Jim Brady had died. And we were all shocked and we had a prayer and his daughter was driving to the airport in Denver when she heard it on the radio. And it turned out the reports were false. And it was - it was very messy.

But I think more remarkable from that was, I don't think any of us ever expected Jim Brady to survive, much less become a hero in a wheelchair, which is what he did. And I think John knows so well how he championed gun rights. He, you know, almost losing his life to excessive violence from a gun, a $29 gun, he spent the rest of his life trying to protect others.

COSTELLO: And he did - and he did it - he did it effectively, you know, in a way that no one else really in the recent past has managed to do, right?

AVLON: Built broad coalitions, not only bringing Bill Clinton championing the Brady Bill, but also in itself and forgotten, Ronald Reagan. You know, we have these really dumbed down debates in our country about contentious issues, but in part because of Jim Brady's leadership, he was able to build broad coalitions and Reagan was a strong supporter of the Brady Bill and other reasonable gun regulations that today would be consider verboten by the convergencia (ph).

COSTELLO: John Avlon, David Gergen, thanks so much. I appreciate it.

We want to update you now on that plane that was escorted by the Royal Air Force into England's Manchester Airport. Officials say flights have resumed. There's no longer a threat. The all clear coming after that passenger plane operated by Qatar Airways was escorted due to a report of a possible suspicious device on board. One passenger was removed from the flight when it landed but everything appears to be OK right now.

I'll be right back.

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

COSTELLO: It is a busy morning this morning. More breaking news to pass along to you, this time out of Miami.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

COSTELLO (voice-over): The founder of the Miami Clinic tied to performance enhancing drugs within Major League Baseball to players like Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun has now surrendered to the DEA. Tony Bosh is charged along with ten other people. The charges include illegally dispensing PEDs and other illegal substances. The defendants will appear in court later this afternoon. Of course we'll keep you posted.

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COSTELLO (on camera): Vladimir Putin is raising tensions and flexing Russia's military muscle along Ukraine's border according to NATO.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

COSTELLO (voice-over): Russia is beefing up its forces by the thousands. Some 20,000 troops are now spread across the area. Last week there were just 8,000 troops. The controversial move comes as Ukraine's military continues its offensive to take back territory from pro-Russian rebels.

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COSTELLO (on camera): CNN senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh joins me live from the rebel-controlled city of Donetsk. Hi, Nick.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Carol, it is a big deal. Senior NATO officials saying that in the last week alone, the number of Russian troops on the border with Eastern Ukraine has risen by about 60 percent to now 20,000. That includes a whole range of assets that Russia could use, if it takes that decision many have been worrying it might do to cross into Eastern Ukraine. Special forces, a lot of artillery, anti-aircraft weaponry as well, logistics, the whole array, and it comes at a time when the separatists here backed by Moscow are under increasing pressure.

You join me in a city that is really eerily quiet, has been for days. The Ukrainian army close indeed, we've seen them simply on the highways, pushing the separatists back closer and closer towards the center here. Even reports yesterday they have everyone very jittery on social media. In fact Ukrainian troops were inside the city potentially. Why is that important? Well, the prospect of a big loss for the separatists here, of them really being under pressure and there's a lot of rhetoric from Moscow about the rights of ethnic Russians here being violated about them being killed. That could force Moscow's hand, perhaps satisfy domestic opinion in Russia to launch some sort of military intervention here.

Many think that's being unfavorable for them, because of the threat of sanctions from Europe and the United States, that's been held out for a long time now. But we're in the crunch time now. Either the Kremlin does something, or it backs off. It's pretty clear the Ukrainian army are on the offensive. We don't know how much longer separatists are going to hold out in Eastern Ukraine, but we do know Russian troops are increasing on numbers substantially on the border. Carol?

COSTELLO: Nick Paton Walsh, reporting live for us this morning. Thank you. Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a Tea Party-backed candidate with family ties to President Obama looks to pull of a huge upset today. CNN's Dana Bash is following a bitter Kansas primary battle. Hi, Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Definitely put this in the category of "you can't make this up." He is Obama's second cousin and he calls himself the next Ted Cruz.

We'll talk about whether or not he actually thinks he can pull off an upset against a fellow Republican after a quick break.

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

COSTELLO: Alright. We have an update now on that breaking news out of Afghanistan. I told you near the top of the hour the terrible incident in Afghanistan, in Kabul city where terrorists dressed up in Afghanistan military uniforms, opened fire on NATO forces. We now understand that included Americans. So, lets head to Washington and check in with Jim Sciutto. He's been on the phone with his sources. What have you found out?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. A sad toll for American forces in Afghanistan. I'm told that one American has been killed. 15 Americans wounded in this attack at Camp Qargha in Kabul. Camp Qargha is a training facility for Afghan security forces, just in the capitol there. Actually started by the British.

Circumstances of the attack I'm told that this was a terrorist in the uniform of a member of the Afghan military. It's still not certain yet whether it was an actual soldier who turned his gun on the Americans or if it was a terrorist, a militant, a member of the Taliban who acquired a uniform and then carried out this attack. He had a light machine gun, a Russian machine gun bigger than, say, an AK-47, the Russian equivalent of an M-60 which is a very significant machine gun, to carry out this attack.

And as we were talking earlier, Carol, these so-called blue on blue attacks, or attacks within the Afghan security forces against coalition forces, have become an increasing problem. The numbers down somewhat last year, but its always been a concern. We don't know yet if this was a terrorist, like I said, who dressed up as a member of the Afghan security forces or was actually a member. But either way, really a difficuly problem for coalition forces and for American forces there.

We don't know the condition of those 15 American wounded vary. So, we'll have to keep on top of this to see if any, the death toll changes in this, but right now it is just one American confirmed killed. 15 wounded. Regardless, a very serious attack against U.S. forces there

COSTELLO: Alright, Jim Sciutto. We'll check back with you in the next hour of NEWSROOM. Also breaking this hour, a Nigerian doctor in Nigeria has come down with the Ebola virus. He's now in an isolation ward in a Nigerian hospital. He's the 8th person that's tested positive for Ebola in Nigeria.

Of course, in other parts of West Africa the Ebola outbreak is much more serious. As you can see, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia are dealing with hundreds of cases. But in Nigeria, only four cases and one death.And now this doctor has come down with Ebola and he's been isolated. Of course we'll continue to update the Ebola story throughout the next hour of NEWSROOM which starts after a break.

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