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Cease-Fire Ends in Gaza; U.S. Launches Airstrikes in Iraq

Aired August 08, 2014 - 15:00   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: And we are at the top of the hour. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Watching two huge stories unfolding as I speak. First, the United States dropping bombs and airstrikes against ISIS militants in Iraq. And not too far from there in Gaza, a fragile cease-fire has now crumbled with missiles and rockets flying once again between Israel and Hamas.

But first to the strikes on Islamic extremists in Iraq today. You have these two F-18 jet fighters dropping 500-pound bombs on these ISIS targets in Iraq, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaking just before that happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: ISIL's campaign of terror against the innocent, including the Yazidi and Christian minorities, and its grotesque targeted acts of violence show all the warning signs of genocide. For anyone who needed a wakeup call, this is it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let me explain that wakeup call for Washington. You see the map. ISIS right is storming Irbil. You see that's where the U.S. Consulate, a number of Americans, about 40 Americans are there.

Irbil is located in this formally stable Kurdish region. And this is home to that conflict. The president of the United States says, of course, he's trying to protect the Americans there. As far as the genocide, you heard Secretary Kerry and it was also a word the president used last night, tens of thousands of religious minorities forced out of their homes, many of whom are now stranded.

They are dying of dehydration, lacking food on this mountainside. It's tough to get pictures of this remote part of Iraq. So, we're going with this Google Earth animation just to show you this Sinjar Mountain where U.S. cargo planes have dropped off now those 8,000 meals and more than 5,000 gallons of water.

Joining me now from the State Department, Elise Labott, our global affairs correspondent.

So, Elise, first to you just as far as the news coming out now. Just can you walk me through the airstrikes themselves? And what exactly did they hit?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, hitting ISIL targets on their way to Irbil, Brooke.

And that's one of the main reasons that the president did authorize these strikes, not only because Americans were there. Obviously, that's the most important, but this Kurdish population, the Kurds are very good allies considered of the United States. And the president thought he wanted to make sure that this strategic area wasn't taken.

But then the humanitarian situation really getting bad for those Yazidis. Let's take a listen to Deputy Spokesman Marie Harf at the State Department just moments ago about the rationale for why now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIE HARF, SPOKESWOMAN, STATE DEPARTMENT: In this case, we have a large U.S. Consulate in Irbil, which is a key component driving all of our policies protecting our people. That's a huge part of what's driving this decision.

QUESTION: I'm asking the Yazidi specifically. They're in Sinjar. That's a far piece away from Irbil. Even Mosul is closer to Irbil to Sinjar.

HARF: Right, but the decision the president made yesterday was not just about the humanitarian situation in Sinjar. But let's be clear. You heard him use the phrase referring to this potentially being genocide. We have a situation where tens of thousands of people could starve to death. And we have the ability to do something, we're going to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LABOTT: Now, Brooke, you know the president's been very reluctant to take a kind of wider action in Iraq until the Iraqi government got their political situation together, until you have this prime minister sitting where there can be an inclusive government that the U.S. really thinks is the solution to beating back ISIS.

But the truth of the matter is, they just were running out of time. This humanitarian situation not really giving the president enough time and space to do a more -- the more considered military strategy that he was hoping for.

BALDWIN: Elise, though, the pushback is the why now? Because, as we mentioned a moment ago, talking about Fallujah, Fallujah fell to ISIS back in January. What is this State Department saying about the intervention so many months later?

LABOTT: Well, that's what a lot of the president's critics are asking, particularly Republicans on Capitol Hill, but also privately within the administration and former U.S. officials asking, well, if the president would've taken some action when ISIS was running on Fallujah, would we be here today? The truth of the matter is, we don't know. ISIS has been continuing

to gain ground. I think the president did leave the door open for wider, this kind of wider military action if and when that Iraqi government gets together. But the -- he's just basically running up against the clock. This group is not going to stop. And the question is, is this going to be enough, Brooke?

Look, these small airstrikes, this very small, limited, targeted operation is not going to stop ISIS in the country. They're continuing to gain ground. And the question a lot of people are asking is, are we going to have to go after these guys sooner or later?

And a lot of people say the question is not if, but when.

BALDWIN: Right. Taking the fight to the Islamic State.

LABOTT: Absolutely.

BALDWIN: Elise Labott, thank you so much in Washington.

You know, ISIS has been killing, as I mentioned, its way across Iraq for months and months. So, the whole why, why now? Why airstrikes now? Will that be enough? A lot of questions.

Let's bring in Robert McFadden, former special agent in charge NCIS, senior vice president of the Soufan Group, a strategic consulting firm, and General Mark Kimmitt, retired U.S. Army.

Gentlemen, welcome.

And, General, let me just begin with you here. When we first just hear about these initial airstrikes with the ISIS targets and the drops of, you know, food, water, medical supplies, is that enough? It's not.

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT (RET.), FORMER U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR PLANS AND STRATEGY: Well, on the issue of the humanitarian assistance, I think the U.S. Air Force has a lot of experience on how to do this. We have been doing it for many, many years. I'm not too worried about that.

I do have some concerns about the operational aspects of dropping a couple of bombs on a couple of artillery units and that may find ourselves in a much more protracted military situation.

BALDWIN: How do you mean?

KIMMITT: Well, my sensing is that this is the beginning, but it's certainly not the end. Oddly enough, ISIS has been a boon to Prime Minister Maliki.

He's demonstrated to the Kurds they're not able to be militarily independent. And quite frankly, this notion that we were going to work the politics first and then the military assistance second has been turned on its head. So I think this is the beginning of a longer campaign where the U.S. is going to have to continue to provide assistance for some period of time.

BALDWIN: And Bob just talking to a couple of other guests saying it can't just be the United States, it has to be regional, it has to build a coalition to get in and not just stop ISIS but destroy ISIS.

The other question, the next question is with these airstrikes probably the beginning of several makes me wonder about the thirst for retaliation from ISIS. And you're saying for now they're just hitting the deck.

ROBERT MCFADDEN, FORMER MILITARY INVESTIGATOR: Well, that would be the reaction because, though they have some pretty sophisticated weaponry they have acquired, particularly in Syria and then with the gains in Iraq, some anti-aircraft artillery, still, it's no match for U.S. high-performance aircraft, and even Iraqi air force, though with limited capabilities.

So the initial intuitively if not the reporting bearing it out is that they're going to be seeking cover.

BALDWIN: But aren't they using some U.S. weaponry? Although I understand some of it's pretty sophisticated and they may not be trained.

MCFADDEN: Right. There's no indication that it's anything even remotely resembling the kind of sophisticated weapon, let's say, for a completely different situation that the Ukrainian rebels have, a very advanced air defense system. No indication they have anything like that.

Still, though, to give an example of the AAA, the anti-aircraft artillery, high-performance aircraft from the Iraqi air force within the last 24 hours, some of that AAA caused the Sukhoi aircraft to divert its flight path on some bombing, strafing missions and then, actually, one of them was reported to have crashed.

Again, there's no relative comparison to the U.S. Air Force and Navy air capability. But, still, it's something, you know, for a wider conflagration to be concerned about.

BALDWIN: General, what about the Kurdish military force, the Peshmerga? What about helping them fight the fight,resupplying them?

KIMMITT: Well, actually, we ought to be thinking about this in a wider context of fighting ISIS as a whole.

And, frankly, there's no better way to do it than on two fronts, on the Kurdish front from the north and the ISAF front from the south. ISIS is not only a threat to Iraq, it's not only a threat to the region, but it's a threat fundamentally to the United States of America.

So the best thing we can do is support the Iraqi security forces and the Kurdish forces to push ISIS back to the point where it's no longer a threat to Iraq, and then eventually no longer a threat to Syria. BALDWIN: Should we as Americans, Bob, be concerned as U.S. is going

in and targeting ISIS that ISIS turns around down the road be it the near future or down, down the road and targets the West?

MCFADDEN: Yes.

Yes. First, any implacable, extraordinarily extreme group like this, you can't rule anything out. OK? It can be a potential lethal threat, OK? However, some perspective, ISIS -- and a quick note for the readers. When the State Department refers to ISIL, ISIS, same thing, just a different...

BALDWIN: Yes.

MCFADDEN: ISIS has been hyper-focused on gaining territory in Syria and Iraq, OK, again, not that you can rule out that it may turn its lethal power somewhere else. But that's where it's been the focus.

But there's always a however on this. A few weeks ago, you remember the warnings for travelers coming in from New York and other places to turn on laptops or...

(CROSSTALK)

MCFADDEN: ... cell phones.

BALDWIN: Right. Right.

MCFADDEN: Apparently, there's some good reporting with some of the bomb-making expertise that has come in from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, although implacably opposed right now to ISIS in the fight for the broader extremist movement.

It's one of those things where you just never know. But for perspective in the recent history, ISIS has been focused in the region.

BALDWIN: OK. Bob McFadden, thank you very much, Soufan Group. Appreciate you. And General Mark Kimmitt, thank you so much, sir, for us. I appreciate it.

Coming up next, we do have some video I just want to get to you of this action. We keep talking about the airstrikes. We have video of a U.S. airstrike in Iraq. We are also getting that turned around. We will have that for you after the break.

Also ahead, when we talk about these men, women and children, these Iraqis fleeing for their lives, some 200,000 of them being told by ISIS when ISIS storms their village, or city or town, convert to Islam or die, and so for days and weeks, humanitarian workers at UNICEF have been trying to sound the alarm, get the international community to pay attention to this crisis on the ground.

And a UNICEF representative for Iraq has been in the region. He will join me on what he has seen and experienced himself next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We are just now getting some video turned around from -- you from Iraq of a U.S. airstrike. This is the U.S. airstrike we have been talking about for the last, what, 12 hours on the militant group ISIS.

See the plume of smoke? I know it's -- there we go. It's a closer shot, so you can see the aftermath. Here's what we don't know. This is important to emphasize. We don't know exactly where this location is yet. What we do know just based upon our intelligence, it's Northern Iraq. But as soon as we get more information, we will pass it along to you, one of those airstrikes that we have been reporting on that President Obama spoke about last night from the White House.

And thousands of families have fled ISIS' deadly rampage. They fled Sunday taking refuge on this mountain, on Sinjar Mountain there in Northern Iraq. They have been facing a terrible choice, the choice being this. Come down from the mountain and face certain death at the hands of ISIS or stay and face dying of thirst or starvation.

The U.S. has begun dropping food and water and some medical supplies on this mountain in this race against time and terror. I want you to listen to what U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said about ISIS' threat to ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq. He spoke, actually, from Kabul, Afghanistan, moments before those U.S. jet fighters started bombing is artillery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRY: ISIL's campaign of terror against the innocent, including the Yazidi and Christian minorities, and its grotesque targeted acts of violence show all the warning signs of genocide. For anyone who needed a wakeup call, this is it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Marzio Babille is one of the few aid workers who has made it to the Sinjar district and has for days been sounding this alarm really for the world to pay attention.

So Marzio is the Iraq representative for UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund and he joins me from Erbil.

Marzio, thank you so much for being with me.

MARZIO BABILLE, UNICEF: Thank you.

BALDWIN: This is pretty stunning that we're able to talk to you. I mean, you are one of really the first people who we have been able to talk to who has been to this district, seen the people who now have fled ISIS. Can you just tell me what you have seen?

BABILLE: At the very beginning of this crisis (INAUDIBLE) there was a wave of displacement from Mosul westbound (INAUDIBLE) Sinjar is the last city for the mountain reach of Sinjar Mountains and then (INAUDIBLE) opportunity (INAUDIBLE) Kurdish forces to reach Sinjar all eight times, out of which, I have been there for twice, opportunity to reach (INAUDIBLE) we brought food (INAUDIBLE) drinking water (INAUDIBLE) for child protection, and particularly to support the hospital over there.

BALDWIN: Marzio, let me cut you off, because I want to hear more from you, if there's any way to we can get a more secure line calling in on the phone. I'm having a tough time hearing you on Skype.

But I want to make sure we can get you in, because the world needs to hear about these men, women and children who are in the midst of this humanitarian catastrophe.

Guys, can we work on that?

So, meantime, we will stay on Iraq, talk about this huge hydroelectric dam. He just mentioned Mosul a moment ago. This is the dam right there on the Tigris River. It now appears to be, the latest word we have at CNN, under the control of ISIS. What that means for the fight, especially now that the U.S. has begun airstrikes, that's ahead.

Also, the Gaza blockade a key sticking point in these peace negotiations in Egypt. We will explain the significance for both sides. You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right. And he is back.

Marzio Babille, we were just talking before. Technology was not so hot. So we have got him on the phone now. He's with UNICEF and he's one of very few people, one of these aid workers who has been in the Sinjar area, where we now some 40,000 men, women and children are stuck and really dying on the top of this mountain.

So, Marzio, since I have you on the phone, do you know how many people are on top of this mountain right now?

BABILLE: We estimate, together with the government of Kurdistan, no less than 30,000, which is still an estimate.

We have evidence of some good news, because few families have gotten the opportunity to reach safe havens. And, actually, there's an increasing number of people from the mountain reaching Dohuk province in northwestern Kurdistan, where they are attended to and have found medical care, water and food provided by UNICEF, UNHCR, and also (INAUDIBLE) support.

There still is high concern in the rising number of child deaths on the mountain by dehydration, unfortunately. Temperatures are extremely high, and the lack of water is extraordinarily problematic.

We still consider that the only option for which there is no time to waste is the humanitarian corridor over land. We need a humanitarian corridor over land to reach not only the top of the mountain or the crevices or the caves where these families are hiding, but also the villages and the hamlets at the bottom of the mountain reach, where there are, again, dispersed population of Yazidis.

BALDWIN: Marzio...

(CROSSTALK)

BABILLE: ... is both humanitarian and moral.

BALDWIN: You brought up two points. I just want you to get you to focus a little bit to the point that some people are being rescued, which is news to me, and I want to ask you about that.

But first, the children, I was reading today, because apparently the landscape, the topography, it's incredibly rocky. So, children who have died, parents have been forced to bury them in very shallow graves on this mountain. So, that's horrendous in and of itself. Number two, how have they been rescued? Is it Peshmerga?

BABILLE: The information we still have and the verification is that there has been two different options.

One option has been simple, that people got themselves through alone, by their own means, walking down at the appropriate time, probably networking with others through mobile phones and getting the opportunity where there was no problem or no particular security issue.

These families got them down alone, and then they were rescued by probably military groups present in different areas. The second issue is that obviously we have an account of these tremendously horrifying visual of children buried within the mountains, not to forget that the mountain reach is surrounded by stone desert that is obviously inhospitable.

We still think, as a humanitarian community, that in addition to the airdrops that have become more precise, more targeted and actually have reached people in need, we need massive extrication of these people, a stability area or perimeter where we can provide medical care, food and shelter to them before it's too late. Time is running out.

BALDWIN: It is. And the fact that they need more than medical supplies and food and water, I think, is crucial and perhaps what we're seeing from the United States is just the beginning of what you're asking for.

Finally, just to help bring it home, I mean, to think of these people who are forced from their homes, who have no choice to either convert to Islam or to be killed, those were able to leave, flee the mountain where their children are dying, what are they telling you about those choices?

BABILLE: I think that the only choice for these people is to move north to Dohuk, where there are many other Yazidi families, approximately 180,000 people who were obviously lucky because they moved earlier and they have been rescued earlier. We are mounting a massive support and humanitarian assistance

operation with local NGOs, Kurdistan government, who are exhausting very rapidly opportunity to deploy teams, resources and food.

But the good news is anyway that people have an opportunity as well to reach people and families by ethnicity. One point I would certainly stress to you is that we progressively are seeing segmentation by ethnicity. There is a breakdown of social cohesion, not only in Sinjar, on in security bases, and, therefore, Yazidis join Yazidis and this is extraordinary push for their own resilience, because the Yazidis are a people. And we need to support them to exist.

BALDWIN: They sound like a resilient people hoping to survive at the moment at the top of a mountain.

Marzio Babille with UNICEF, thank you so much for your work. This cannot be happening. Thank you so much.

BABILLE: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Coming up next in Iraq, there is a dam, and this dam is holding back millions of gallons of water. It is now reportedly under the control of ISIS. What could that mean for surrounding cities? What could that mean for Baghdad and the progress of this terror group/

We will discuss that. Stay with me. You're watching CNN.

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