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U.S. Airstrike; Christians Flee Threats; Cease-Fire Ends

Aired August 08, 2014 - 14:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Here we go. Top of the hour on this Friday. I'm Brooke Baldwin, live in New York. We have special coverage of two huge breaking stories on CNN. The U.S. launches its first airstrike in Iraq. What was targeted and could more airstrikes be on the way? We have coverage throughout the region coming up.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Jake Tapper, live in Jerusalem. The 72-hour cease-fire between Israel and Hamas came to a violent end. Rockets are flying once again. So, how is that impacting any sort of cease-fire talks in Cairo, Egypt? We will go live to Egypt to get that update.

BALDWIN: Jake Tapper, we will see you momentarily.

Meantime, let me take it from here. We'll get you first to what is happening in Iraq where today American war planes are back in the skies. The U.S. launching airstrikes on an Islamism militant target in Iraq. President Barack Obama authorized this. And not even 12 hours later, two FA-18 jet fighters dropped 500-pound bombs on ISIS artillery outside of Erbil less than three years after American forces pulled out.

This situation in Iraq has really - really we've been covering for months, has been spiraling out of control. These terrorists, these ISIS militants, are pushing into Erbil and the formally stable Kurdish region there in the north where the U.S., by the way, keeps a consulate. The president says he's trying to protect Americans in the war zone and stop, his word, genocide. The genocide he is referring to, the tens of thousands of religious minorities, children, mothers, fathers here who have absolutely been driven out of their homes to flee. Many of whom are now stranded and dying.

We've been talking so much about this mountain and we're trying to get photos. But for now, take a look at this Google Earth animation. This is the mountain to which we're referring where U.S. cargo planes have dropped off now 8,000 meals and more than 5,000 gallons of water. People there are starving. And some of them are dying of dehydration.

Let's go to the Pentagon to CNN's Barbara Starr.

Barbara, let's just begin with the big news with regard to today's airstrike. Tell me about it. What kind of artillery target was this?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, this was an ISIS artillery position outside of Erbil. They were shelling the Kurdish forces that were protecting the U.S. personnel in Erbil, so the U.S. went after it under the president's authorization. Two U.S. Navy FA- 18s taking off from the deck of the aircraft carrier "George H.W. Bush" in the Persian Gulf dropped 500-pound bombs on this position.

But I want to tell everyone, not just any 500-pound bombs, these were laser-guided, GPS-guided bombs and, actually, quite specialized to go after mobile targets, targets on the move. That's the kind of weaponry that ISIS has. Interestingly, the first time this particular kind of bomb was used was back in 2008 in Iraq. So it comes full circle.

We also know at this hour this mission was likely videotaped, gun camera, nose cone footage by the FA-18s. That footage has not yet been released. We know that people, military personnel, are looking at it, seeing if they want to declassify it, what the video may exactly show. But all of these types of air drop -- air attack missions generally are filmed by the gun camera in the fighter jet.

Should we expect more strikes? You bet. U.S. war planes in the sky conducting combat air patrols, looking for ISIS on the move. Expecting more air drops. They did make some progress, of course, overnight with the first initial massive air drop in those mountains, but there may be 40,000 people up there and they are going to need food, water and supplies around the clock.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: We're thinking of those some 40,000 people and also wondering just about the pilots talking about the air drops. What is in the ISIS arsenal as far as weaponry goes. Do they have the capability? Do they have surface to air missiles? Do they have machine guns that could potentially take one of those planes down?

STARR: Well, you're looking at two categories of planes. You're looking at high-speed, higher altitude fighter jets. Perhaps unlikely that ISIS can get to them. Not -- you know, nothing is foolproof, but perhaps less likely that ISIS can get to those U.S. Navy fighter jets. They escort the lower-flying, slower-flying transport planes when they make those airdrops of humanitarian supplies. If ISIS is up in those mountains, they do have, it is said, some shoulder-fired weapons, some models of shoulder fired anti-air weapons that could potentially put those aircraft always within range. But the military does take precautions, very classified precautions, to try and avoid, obviously, coming within range of any kind of threat like that.

BALDWIN: Barbara Starr, thank you so much, at the Pentagon.

I want to stay on this here and just bring in two very smart voices to discuss the military operation and ISIS in and of itself. Joining me again today, CNN military analyst and retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling and Politico Magazine contributor Michael Weiss.

So welcome to both of you.

And, general, I mean, you were just full of incredible information. You've been to this part of the world. You have been on Sinjar Mountain. But let me just begin with these airstrikes. We know that the U.S. had to move in swiftly, of course, with the element of surprise. Just what's the message the U.S. is trying to send here?

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, Brooke, first of all, good afternoon.

And I think the first message is, this is the first time ISIS has been accosted by some significant air power. Those F-18 strikes, even though it was a simple one, truthfully, it was a laser-guided, a GBU, probably a 12 that they allowed to drop on those positions. It's a great effect. It will certainly say, hey, there's some support now for the Peshmerga, for the Kurdish region. And I think that's an important signal to send.

As I think one of the reporters said earlier, things have been a little bit different, a little bit more subdued in the Kurdish region this morning after that strike (ph) last night and I think it certainly sent a signal to the ISIS forces that were getting a little rowdy in that area.

But I want to go back to what Barbara said a minute ago about the air drops.

BALDWIN: Yes. Yes.

HERTLING: That was a great mission. Those guys in the C-17s - guys and gals in the C-17s and the C-130s who do those delivery of parachute packages in very precise locations with also global guided units. They have some very unique GPSs in those packages that will put a large container of humanitarian assistance right on the spot. Those Air Force pilots who did that are pretty skilled, as well. That mission all took place before the media got ahold of this last night. So I think that was part of the security involved in this operation.

BALDWIN: Understandably, you certainly don't want to give the bad guys on the ground the heads up.

I'm coming back to you, general. But, Michael, I mean we've talked about this before because we've been covering ISIS in-depth over the past couple of months -

MICHAEL WEISS, CONTRIBUTOR, POLITICO MAGAZINE: Right.

BALDWIN: Really since the beginning of the year. But ISIS itself, can you just remind all of us, level of sophistication? We know --

WEISS: Yes.

BALDWIN: Brutal as brutal can be. But they're pretty sophisticated.

WEISS: They are. I mean they operate more as a conventional army now than a transnational terrorist organization. I mean it's important to remember, they grew out of what used to be known as al Qaeda in Iraq, right?: And actually they're no longer even called ISIS. They're just called the Islamic state. It used to be the Islamic state of Iraq and Alsham (ph), which is Syria. These guys have metamorphacized (ph) into something very vast, very powerful and very scary. Now, we've seen images of all the material and military equipment they've confiscated from the United States that were left on Iraqi bases.

BALDWIN: Right, using our U.S. weapons.

WEISS: Right. Now I think it's important to emphasize, a lot of this equipment, particularly the heavier and more sophisticated stuff -

BALDWIN: Yes.

WEISS: Is not easy to use. They require a lot of maintenance. You need specialists to kind of man this stuff. So what worries me more about ISIS is the unlimited supply of AK-47 ammunition -

BALDWIN: Got it.

WEISS: Mortars, artillery that they have and the things that they've been bringing to bear against the Peshmerga. I think that's why the U.S. is now striking these areas. I mean this is only about an hour's drive away from downtown Erbil, which not only do we have U.S. personnel on the ground there, but that has been historically one of the safest, more secure cities in all of Iraq. And it's a success story of not just U.S. occupation, but prior to that, the no-fly zone that we manned in the early '90s. So I mean this is gravely worrying.

BALDWIN: So now ISIS perched precariously close.

WEISS: Absolutely.

BALDWIN: Thus the airstrikes, the beginning of multiple, as many people are talking about.

General, I guess my follow-up on Michael's point about the sophistication level and the AK-47s and whatever it is they have that they're using, you have to wonder about retaliation. What they could do with this first round of airstrikes. And we mentioned yesterday, I think it's worth mentioning again that hydroelectric dam near Mosul. What could they do? What are they capable of?

HERTLING: Well, I've been to the dam at Mosul, as well, Brooke, and, in fact, took a bunch of reporters up there in 2008 to show them that this is a pretty secure area. Now there are certainly things that can release water. But if you're getting the image that someone's going to put a hole in the side of something that looks like the Hoover Dam, that's not going to happen. This is a big waterway. There could be releases of water that could certainly flood some areas, but it's not going to be catastrophic. And I don't think ISIS is going to want to do that anyway.

BALDWIN: You don't think it would be catastrophic, because I have heard other very smart people come on this show saying, absolutely they have that capability and it could flood Baghdad.

HERTLING: Well, I don't think that could be possible, to be honest with you, having seen the lake.

BALDWIN: OK. Good.

HERTLING: But there certainly could be some flooding in the plains, in the northern Miniwa (ph) plains. It's not going to reach Baghdad. I don't think it's even going to reach some of the other cities that were mentioned. And especially in the August time period, I would suspect that that dam and the lake behind it is relatively low. That's not a concern, but the fact that they have possibly taken it over to control the hydroelectric power, that's a different story altogether.

BALDWIN: I'm also wondering -

HERTLING: I do agree -

BALDWIN: Go ahead - go ahead, general.

HERTLING: (INAUDIBLE). I certainly agree with Michael in terms of what he said. I would be much more concerned with the small arms weapons, with the Humvees that they had, the transportation assets. I heard a report that a Kurdish official said that they were firing M-1 tanks at them. That concerns me a little bit because I don't think I would want an ISIS fighter behind the sights of an M-1 tank because they wouldn't know how to use it or how to hit something. It would be more dangerous than hitting a target if you put someone in that machinery.

BALDWIN: What about Kurdish military, Michael, to you? What about the Peshmerga -

WEISS: Yes.

BALDWIN: And resupplying or helping supply them to fight this fight?

WEISS: Well, there was some speculation this week as to whether or not the U.S. has been arming the Peshmerga.

BALDWIN: Yes.

WEISS: And I know representatives from the KRG, the Kurdistan regional government, said, no, no, no, this isn't the case. Well, George Packer (ph) at "The New Yorker" reported this week that, in fact, we are doing that, we're just doing it covertly. I mean you have to keep in mind, the Peshmerga, while probably still the most formidable fighting force on the ground in Iraq, they are answerable to the KRG and not to Baghdad necessarily. We don't want to go around the central government. It's all about maintaining the - well, I would say the illusion of Iraq's unity, right? We can't go behind Maliki's back, we have to go - but, you know, look, my guess is, if we're now giving them air support, we're probably also covertly running material and arms.

BALDWIN: OK.

WEISS: And also it's sharing intelligence directly with them.

BALDWIN: OK.

WEISS: Yes. BALDWIN: Come back, we'll be talking about this for a little while.

WEISS: Sure. Any time.

BALDWIN: Michael Weiss, I appreciate it. And, General Hertling, as always, truly appreciate your expertise. Gentlemen, thank you.

Let's focus now on the innocent men, women and children facing death at the hands of ISIS. Many are Christians in Iraq who have been told to convert to Islam or they'll be killed. The United Nations says there are 200,000 of them seeking sanctuary anywhere they can in Iraq's Kurdish north. Our Ivan Watson caught up with some of them in Erbil.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Let's just show you what's at stake right now. This is 40-year-old - 40-day-old Ishua (ph), and he is one of an estimated 100,000 Iraqi Christian displaced people, refugees, with his mother Islas (ph) and two-year-old sister here. They have fled their home in the last 48 hours and have spent their second night in this church. This is just one family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Look at those little ones there. For days, humanitarian workers from the organization UNICEF have been trying to sound the alarm to get the international community to pay attention to what is happening. This humanitarian crisis catastrophe. UNICEF representative for Iraq has just been in this region. He will join me live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Breaking news here as we talk about the humanitarian crisis underway in Iraq. I want to focus now on the innocent men, women and children facing death at the hands of this Islamic militant organization. Many of these people you're looking at here, they are Christians who have been told either convert to Islam or be executed. The U.N. says there are 200,000 of them seeking asylum really anywhere they can in the northern part of the country. The Kurdish north. Ivan Watson is there. He caught up with some of them in Erbil.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis are on the run right now and hundreds of them have taken shelter here in a place of worship.

This is St. Joseph's Church. It's in the Christian town of Ankowa (ph), which is in the northern Iraqi region of Kurdistan. And this is where hundreds of people have been sleeping for the past two nights after quite literally running for their lives with little more than the clothes on their backs. The scenes that we're seeing here, it is just a drop in the bucket.

Across this city, across this Kurdish safe haven, we have seen similar scenes in youth centers, in other churches, in gas station parking lots. People are running for their lives. And according to the patriarch of the Caldian (ph) Christian community of Iraq, among the exodus are more than 100,000 Christians who tell us that they've been given a choice by the militants from the Islamic state of Iraq and Syria, either convert to their brand of violent, harsh Islam or face the sword.

You going to stay here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

WATSON: For how long?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. How much - and how - day. I don't know. It is safe (ph) in here.

WATSON: This is a bad situation. This is very bad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Very bad.

WATSON: Uh-huh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And food a little. And water a little.

WATSON: And no future?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No future. A future (INAUDIBLE) USA can feed (ph) help our people to go to USA.

WATSON: You cannot stay in Iraq?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No. No. No --

WATSON: It's too dangerous?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, life (ph) in Iraq.

WATSON: Christian leaders in Iraq are warning of the threat of genocide against this ancient Christian community. And it's not just the Christians who are under threat. Basically any religious or ethnic minority. That includes Yezidis, that includes Shiite Muslims, that includes the Turkamins (ph), the Bashak (ph). They are all on the run right now, terrified of this strict and very violent interpretation of Islam implemented by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.

And this is the situation right now. Women like Elas (ph), her family, have slept for the second night in this church with their 40-day-old baby right here. And, sadly, this is probably just the very beginning of this humanitarian crisis.

Ivan Watson, CNN, Ankawa (ph) in Iraqi Kurdistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BALDWIN: Forty days old. No home. No roof. Just sitting there in a church waiting to see what happens next.

We will be talking, in a matter of minutes, to someone who's been working with UNICEF, who has been to this Sinjar region of Iraq, who can talk specifically about these people who he has known, who he has come to meet about how dire the circumstances are on the ground and what the Iraqi people want the U.S. to do. We'll talk to him coming up here from Iraq.

Also ahead, President Obama, when he was then Senator Obama, he campaigned in the war in Iraq. And that was 2008. Now he's authorizing airstrikes to fight ISIS. Coming up, are these airstrikes enough or will the U.S. need to do more?

Plus, the fighting in Gaza and Israel gears back up as the cease-fire ended. We'll take you live to the region for the very latest just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We will take you back to the humanitarian crisis underway in Iraq where tens of thousands of men, women and children are being forced to either convert to Islam or be killed or flee. We'll take you back to that. But first, our other major story today, the end of the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. And for that, let me take you to my colleague, Jake Tapper, live in Jerusalem.

Jake.

TAPPER: Well, the 72-hour cease-fire ran out earlier today. And, of course, it didn't take long for Israel and Hamas to start firing on each other with Islamic militants in Gaza starting the breaking of the cease-fire before it expired. Egypt, of course, trying to get these two sides back to the negotiating table. There are those who are pushing for a cease-fire who say they're encouraged by the fact that the Palestinians are still there. Israel, on the other hand, says they will not talk, they will not participate in cease-fire talks at all while they are under fire. The Israeli defense forces say that Hamas or other Islamic extremist groups in Gaza have fired at least 50 rockets on Israel. Palestinian health officials say that Israeli airstrikes have killed five people, including a 10-year-old boy in Gaza as Israel continues with its air campaign.

Let's go now to my colleague Reza Sayah in Cairo.

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jake, obviously these talks have been dead for roughly 13 hours now. And the fighting is going on in Gaza. But there are some groups making an effort to get these two sides to stop fighting, get them to start negotiating again. Earlier today, the U.N. condemned the flare-up in violence in Gaza and called the two sides to get back to Cairo and start negotiating.

Of course, it was Egypt that brokered the initial 72-hour talks that failed. They're back in this game, too, pressing both sides to get talking again. In a statement earlier today, the Egyptian foreign ministry told both sides to put the safety of civilians first and get back to the negotiating table.

It was interesting, in that same statement, the Egyptian foreign ministry claimed that on a lot of issues, and a lot of points, these two sides were in agreement, and they were only in disagreement on a few points. And when we put that to a Palestinian official, he pretty much rejected that. He was surprised that the Egyptians said they agreed on anything, suggesting that these talks were not as fruitful as the Egyptians said they were.

In another positive sign, the Palestinian delegation is still here in Cairo. And delegates say we're willing to talk if our core demands are answered, Jake. But the glaring problem is, even if these two sides get back talking together, the obstacles, the sticking points are still there. Obviously, Hamas wants its core demands met. They want a sea port, an easing of the blockade, to give them a semblance of a respectable life, they say. And, of course, Israel says that's not the time for that. We want to disarm Hamas. We want to talk about security first. So a lot to sort through, but at least some optimism that there's still a chance for these two sides to get negotiating again.

TAPPER: Reza Sayah, thank you so much.

Brooke, you know, it's interesting, those who are pushing for the cease-fire talks to resume are encouraged by even the smallest hints such as the fact that the Palestinians are still in Cairo, or even the fact that even though there has been bloodshed, rockets fired into Israel, airstrikes against Hamas in Gaza, that that violence has been relatively low intensity compared to other points in this conflict. It is a low expectation, but it is what some people see as encouraging, Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK, Jake Tapper, we'll check back in with you in a couple of minutes. I appreciate your reporting throughout this past week from Israel and from the region.

But let's go back to what's happening in Iraq.

It was actually just a couple of months ago, it was back in June, when ISIS began its fight toward the capital city of Baghdad. If President Obama had authorized airstrikes then, might that have prevented the violence in the fighting we're currently seeing? The tens, the hundreds of thousands of people persecuted. We'll discuss that.

Plus, hear from an American who fought several tours as a Marine, both in Iraq and Afghanistan. What does he think about the current situation on the ground in Iraq? That's just ahead.

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