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U.S. to Announce Afghanistan Troop Drawdown; COP25 Extended as Climate Talks Deadlock; U.S. Working with Allies after North Korea Test; Lebanon's Business Leaders Declare Tax Strike. Aired 3-3:30a ET

Aired December 15, 2019 - 03:00   ET

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

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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. From Studio 7 at CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Michael Holmes.

And here on CNN NEWSROOM, the U.S. could announce in the coming days that it is pulling some troops from Afghanistan, thousands of them. The Taliban applauding the move.

A prominent U.S. senator, Lindsey Graham, tells CNN plainly he is not going to be a fair judge in the impeachment trial against the U.S. president and will do everything he can to make it die quickly.

Lebanon's crisis shows no sign of slowing down. Police and protesters clash in Beirut as business leaders say they will not pay taxes anymore.

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HOLMES: Welcome, everyone.

New developments in America's longest war. Thousands of U.S. troops expected to be withdrawn from Afghanistan. That is coming up to us from a senior Trump administration official. The move has been in the works for quite some time apparently and is being welcomed by the Taliban as quote, "a good step."

Here is White House correspondent Jeremy Diamond.

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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Trump administration is preparing to announce the withdrawal of about 4,000 troops from Afghanistan. That would take the total number of U.S. troops, which is currently estimated to be between 12,000 and 13,000, into the range of 8,600.

That is the number that the president himself floated back in August, when he said that the U.S. was likely going to be drawing down the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. So this is something that has been in the works for quite some time.

But now a senior administration official is indeed telling me that is the plan, to move forward with this troop withdrawal and that it could happen as early as next week. Of course, the timing, of course, is still very much in flux. That was the note of caution that I got from this senior administration official.

All of this, of course, coming as the U.S. has restarted those peace talks with the Taliban following President Trump's visit to Afghanistan over the Thanksgiving holiday. That was the president's first visit to Afghanistan during his presidency.

And while he was there, he suggested that the Taliban were now open to a cease-fire. That is not something that the Taliban leaders have so far admitted to and in fact they were quite caught off guard by President Trump's comments.

The question, though, is, of course, how this will all play in the negotiations; the withdrawal of about 4,000 troops could be viewed as a unilateral concession by the United States and certainly will have an effect on those peace talks with the Taliban -- Jeremy Diamond, CNN, the White House.

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HOLMES: Sam Kiley is with us from Abu Dhabi.

Is this drawdown likely part of those negotiations?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's part of Donald Trump's promise to the American people during his election to draw down on the troops. Whether they are directly connected to the negotiations is in a sense not quite the point.

I think they will definitely have an effect on those negotiations. The concern in the Afghan government circles are that the premature, in their mind, perhaps, drawdown of U.S. troops there could mean that they are more vulnerable to pressure from the Taliban.

This is a concession made ahead, even, of the promise of a ceasefire from the Taliban and, bear in mind, Michael, that there have been almost weekly attacks attributed or claimed by the Taliban, particularly inside Kabul. It is a very spectacular, bombing attacks, maintain the level of pressure.

At the same time, the Taliban have argued all along that they want to see a total withdrawal of the U.S. troops from Afghanistan in return for peace and in return for joining the political process. That process was suspended by Donald Trump after a series of bomb attacks in the autumn. He out of the blue announced during his own visit that those talks

were being resumed. Very interesting that the U.S. envoy leading these talks was in Pakistan on Friday, a Pakistani buy-in to the principles behind those talks, particularly in terms of the Pakistani ability to pressurize the Taliban into playing ball in any future peaceful dispensation, absolutely essential.

So, clearly things are back on the move but very hard to tell whether that withdrawal is directly connected or just part of Trump's ambitions to get out.

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HOLMES: And as you know, well the Taliban control so much of the country now and, as you point, out they have shown the ability and will to carry out major attacks in population centers.

How would they agree down the road to some form of power sharing rather than just take over again, which they probably do, if the U.S. was not involved?

KILEY: I think the issue is really would they again be able to take over not the whole of the country but the south of the country. I do not think that, given the size of the forces, the levels of, training the amount of equipment now that the government forces have access to, notwithstanding some of the government forces' failures in the past, the north of the country is not actual Taliban territory and would resist any kind of Taliban takeover very aggressively.

I think what the Taliban have signaled is that they are prepared to join the political process. The extent to which they would be prepared to subject themselves to democratic oversight, to elections, that remains to be seen, even if there was a peace agreement.

And they are parts of Afghanistan really rather more popular arguably than the central government, because they have the reputation for a lack of corruption and culturally they are not so much out of sync with the local population, particularly the Pashtuns of the south.

But in the, north it will be a whole different story, so the real question is with Afghanistan get plunged back into the civil war or even divide itself in the most extreme circumstances, Michael.

HOLMES: Yes, something a lot of people fear, Sam Kiley in Abu Dhabi.

Another sign of progress in resolving the U.S.-China war. China holding additional tariffs on U.S. goods that were set to kick in today. That follows the announcement that both countries had reached an interim trade deal, phase one, as the U.S. president likes to call it.

The U.S. also hit pause on tariffs on Chinese goods that it was going to be putting into effect.

Meanwhile, one of Mr. Trump's staunchest supporters, Republican senator Lindsey Graham, is pushing for a quick impeachment trial in the Senate. CNN's Becky Anderson sat down with the senator on Saturday at a conference in Qatar known as the Doha Forum.

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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: A veteran of U.S. Middle east policy, senator Lindsey Graham was invited here to the Doha Forum in Qatar, essentially to talk about the roiling Middle East region. But the audience here as eager as anyone else to get his views on the impeachment inquiry. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I don't want to call anybody, I don't need to hear from Hunter Biden, I don't need to hear from Joe Biden. We can deal with that outside of impeachment.

I don't want to talk to Pompeo, I don't want to talk to Pence. I want to hear the House make their case based on the record they established in the House. And I want to vote.

ANDERSON: The Senate has a constitutional duty in holding this trial and comprehensively evaluating the case, agreed?

GRAHAM: No, it does not say that the Constitution. It says that the Senate will -- I am trying to give a pretty clear signal I have made up my mind.

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GRAHAM: I'm not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here. I am telling you right now, if Mueller had found something against Trump, I would have been his loudest critic and I told the president to his face.

What I see coming, happening today, is just a partisan nonsense.

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ANDERSON: There is a concern here in this region that the U.S. under Donald Trump is an unreliable partner. So I asked Lindsey Graham whether he thought the U.S. president was misunderstood and what he thought the world should know about Donald Trump.

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ANDERSON: So you no longer believe, as you did during the 2016 campaign, that Donald Trump is a shallow, race baiting, xenophobic, a religious bigot and a complete idiot when it comes to Middle East policy.

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GRAHAM: Good question. I said all of those things, clearly I was not a fan of his campaign, right?

But here is the way it has to work. When you lose, accept it. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Becky Anderson, CNN, Qatar.

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HOLMES: Well, we now know the identities of some of the people killed in last week's horrific volcanic blast in New Zealand. Police have named five victims. One is on your screen there, 21-year-old Krystal Browitt from Australia. Family and friends leaving flowers, balloons, messages at a dock near White Island; 16 people have been confirmed dead.

Police continue their search. Contaminated waters, low visibility and, of course, another eruption all combining to slow down recovery efforts.

Now the U.N. climate conference in Madrid could be in danger of ending without a clear-cut plan of action to combat climate change.

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HOLMES: Even though the Chilean cabinet minister presiding over it insists, quote, "we are almost there."

COP25 was supposed to conclude on Friday with the nation members agreeing to ambitious plans to implement the Paris climate accord. Closing statements are coming any minute now after two weeks of talks led to a stalemate.

The event has drawn climate activist to Madrid. One protester telling Reuters, quote, "Even if they reach an agreement, it is still not enough. This is the 25th COP they have had and nothing has really changed," unquote.

North Korea has carried out two tests at a missile launch site just days apart.

What does that mean for Kim Jong-un and his nuclear ambitions?

We will discuss when we come back.

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HOLMES: Welcome back.

North Korea's top general says the country's latest round of testing was a great success and told the U.S. they would spend the rest of the year in peace if it does not rattle Pyongyang.

North Korea conducted what it called a crucial test on Friday at its Sohae facility. It was the second test there in the space of a week. Not clear at the moment exactly what was tested.

Earlier this, month North Korea warned it would send the U.S. a, quote, "Christmas gift," the contents of which would depend on the outcome of ongoing talks between Washington and Pyongyang.

Joining me now is Paul Carroll, a nuclear weapons expert and co- founder and former senior adviser of N Square.

Great to have you with us. "The Wall Street Journal" says that Kim watchers think this could be a long-range missile engine test that Pyongyang says can hit the U.S. mainland.

What is your take on this latest test?

The timing and perhaps what it signifies about North Korea's intent.

PAUL CARROLL, N SQUARE: Yes, well, thanks for having, me, Michael, there are a few things important keep in mind here. This is the second rocket engine test of some sort that we have seen in what is called the Sohae facility.

And that is important because this is the very same facility that the North agreed to scale back, after one of the summits with Trump. This was supposed to be a demonstrable act of good faith, OK, we are going to scale back facilities and not test anymore.

Well, since those summits and the dissatisfaction of the North of any real progress and negotiations, this is clearly sort of a double whammy; not only are they testing rocket engines again but they have claimed that the tests they are conducting are sort of souped up, if you will, and they are going from a Chevrolet to a Cadillac.

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CARROLL: What that means exactly, we don't, know but it is clear that the arc of these developments is that North Korea is not taking their foot off the gas when it comes to their nuclear weapons and missile programs.

HOLMES: When you think back to the Singapore summit, it was a huge win for Kim Jong-un propaganda wise. He got everything he wanted but he never actually agreed to anything and indeed has moved on, as if that meeting never happened.

Has Donald Trump been played from the get-go?

CARROLL: In my opinion, I would say yes. There is a lot of watchers and those who would say, oh my, gosh we are giving away the store and not getting anything in return and I tend to be on that side of the equation.

What I mean by that is, you're going to have the president of the United States putting forth the entire legitimacy of that office and the diplomatic legitimacy of a face-to-face meeting with the leader of North Korea, arguably the most isolated and anachronistic dictatorship on the planet today, which covers instant legitimacy for Kim.

And he really gets nothing in return. To be, clear the North does act like all nations -- and I should say Kim Jong-un, acts in his own self interest. He is not irrational; not completely unpredictable. When he does something, it is for a reason.

And they have had agreements in the past, missile launch moratoria before. The key is, for the United States to remain consistent and engaged. And what has happened with the Trump administration is that President Trump has, thought, we have one or two nice shows, that is, enough move on.

Clearly, recent tests have shown that is not the case. You have to stick with it.

HOLMES: Yes, he seems to not really care if they are midrange or short-range missiles but Japan and South Korea care a lot.

In the very words of Donald Trump, it was all about complete denuclearization by North Korea.

Do you think North Korea ever contemplated such a thing or ever would?

CARROLL: I think, I would say, if we were having this conversation five or six years ago, I would say, yes, I think North Korea would've considered a point in time when they would've relinquished their nuclear weapons program, if a number of conditions had been met.

But you're right, the North has never used the word denuclearization, period. They have said denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. For them, it is a package deal. It means the U.S. will not deploy or send nuclear weapons to the region anymore. It is also code for scaling back on our presence of U.S. military forces there.

So we are talking past each other when it comes to that specific word, denuclearization but there was a point in time and I think we are past it, unfortunately, when the North might have considered deep reductions in their capacity to make nuclear weapons if they had what they felt were ironclad agreements and guarantees from the U.S. for their security and for the rollback of sanctions.

Unfortunately, I think we are past that part. We are living in a world now where we need to manage and minimize the North's nuclear threat. I don't think we are at a point where we can see it vanish.

HOLMES: Fascinating and slightly worrying conversation.

CARROLL: My pleasure, Michael, have a good evening.

HOLMES: All, right Lebanon's economy in big trouble. Protesters are back on the streets of Beirut as businesses feel the pressure of the country's economic crisis. What they are doing about it when we come back.

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HOLMES: The Lebanese Red Cross says 14 people have been injured in the latest clashes between protesters and security forces in Beirut. They are part of a wave of demonstrations that have swept the country since October.

Tensions are running high as politicians failed to agree on forming a new government and that is making Lebanon's economic crisis even worse. And Lebanese business leaders say they are so fed up with government inaction over the crisis that they are taking action of their own.

CNN's Ben Wedeman brings us the story from Lebanon's capital.

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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lebanese business leaders declare they won't pay, they can't pay taxes anymore. After almost two months of mass protests over official corruption and incompetence, the private sector is in deep crisis.

WEDEMAN: The Lebanese economy is beginning to go into freefall. In the last two months, the currency has lost a third of its value. Last week the caretaker labor minister received a request from 60 companies to dismiss their entire staffs.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): Supporters of the tax strikes say they cannot do business as usual.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My biggest fear nowadays is not to be able to pay salaries to my staff.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My number one problem are the ministers, the government is not doing their job.

MICHELL SALIBA, MIKE SPORTS: He is killing this, country we don't know what is next.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): Michell Saliba's family runs a chain of sporting goods stores, with banks are severely restricting access to dollars, reporting goods is nearly impossible.

SALIBA: We let go all new recently joined staff members which had been joined for less than three months, previously let them go.

WEDEMAN: How many?

SALIBA: Around 25 to 30 but on top of that, we had to decrease 25 percent salaries to everyone, in the company, from our CEO, down the hierarchies.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): It is not so much a crunch as a crash. DAN AZZI, FINANCIAL ANALYST: We continue to ignore the problem and stay in denial, that means that we are going to run out of basic stuff.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): Financial analyst Dan Azzi says Lebanon needs to learn to live within its means. It currently imports almost everything, from food and medicine to high-end items and produces very little.

AZZI: One thing I suggested is big tariffs on things like V-8, V-6 cars. If you go to Paris, you don't see like Range Rovers like you see in Lebanon, you don't see it in London as many as here.

So if we cut down on V-6, V-8 cars, by making them very expensive, we have 350,000 domestic helpers in our houses. I mean, how about we start doing our own dishes.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): Some are already starting to leave. At the Philippine embassy in Beirut, hundreds of domestic workers are applying for government financed flights home. Employers are now only paying in devalued lira, which these workers cannot wire home to their families without taking a major loss.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm getting now like one-fourth of what I used to get before, due to bank problems.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): Lebanon's winter of discontent is going to be a stormy one -- Ben Wedeman, CNN, Beirut.

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HOLMES: Firefighters are continuing to battle dozens of bush fires in eastern Australia but now the west coast is battling them as a heat wave is fueling dangerous conditions. We will take a look at the conditions with Derek Van Dam when we come back.

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HOLMES: Eastern Australia has been enduring months of wildfires and now the western side of the country dealing with them as well as a new heat wave moves in.

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HOLMES: Well, for the first time, ever the winners of the world's top beauty pageants are all black women. That is Miss Teen USA, Miss USA, Miss America and Miss Universe, I hope I did not miss one there.

The latest is Miss World. It was awarded to Jamaica's Toni-Ann Singh on Saturday in London. She tweeted that the crown belongs to all the girls around the world, adding that all of them have a purpose.

Good for them.

Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM, everyone. I am Michael Holmes. I'll be back with your headlines in just a moment.