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Protesters Clear Out After Attacking U.S. Embassy In Baghdad; Kim Jong-un Warns There Will Never Be Denuclearization If U.S. Keeps Up Hostile Policy; Giuliani says, I would testify in a Senate impeachment trial. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired January 01, 2020 - 10:00   ET

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

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN NEWSROOM: -- the country has in decades.

[10:00:01]

Some 2,500 firefighters battling more than 100 bushfires across the country, more than 12 million acres of land have been burned over just the last few months with around a thousand homes now destroyed. Persisting heat and dry winds fueling the fires, and this is expected to worsen by this weekend.

Good morning. I'm Jim Sciutto. Good morning to you, a Happy New Year to you. I'm Jim Sciutto in New York. Welcome to a special holiday edition of Newsroom, and we are following breaking news this morning.

Protesters outside the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, they appear under orders to clear out. Our team on the ground providing this video of embassy security personnel on the roof of the embassy taking down flags that had been put up by protesters. This follows two days of attacks by Iran-backed paramilitary groups. Just hours ago, this was the situation there, looking much more dire. Embassy personnel fired teargas, rubber bullets as demonstrators tried to climb the embassy compound's walls. More than 100 U.S. marines deployed to Baghdad overnight to help protect the embassy, boost security there.

Also this morning, another story we're following, three historic face- to-face summits, and nothing to show for it. Overnight, North Korea's Kim Jong-un warning the world that he will not denuclearize, and, in fact, plans to unveil a new strategic weapon very soon. How President Trump is responding, in just a moment.

First, let's go to CNN's Arwa Damon. She is at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. She's been watching events unfold there over the last hour. You said in the last hour those protesters being cleared. What do you see there now?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they most certainly have cleared out at this stage, Jim. The Iraqi security forces are in the area now, and there is a fairly lengthy cleanup operation that is underway. Of course, a lot of questions as to where those Iraqi Security Forces were 24 hours ago or even this morning when those protesters were attempting to scale the walls of the embassy. But we did talk to one member of the Iraqi Security Forces who said, look, what were we supposed to do? If we had tried to confront this particular group, it would have ended up potentially being extraordinarily more violent and more difficult to rein in. And, Jim, that is because of who these particular protesters are and who they're affiliated with. The vast majority of them are members of or supporters of what's known as the PMF, the Popular Mobilization Force.

This is a paramilitary force that was formed in response to ISIS taking over huge swaths of Iraq after the Iraqi Security Forces fled. It is a force that is mostly made up of former Shia groups who were very close to Iran who, in fact, back in the days of the U.S. occupation of Iraq were carrying out some very lethal attacks against U.S. forces. They now are ostensibly under the umbrella of the Iraqi Security Forces themselves. Although as we saw from what unfolded here over the last 24 hours, not necessarily fully under the control of Baghdad or even under their own leadership.

We spoke to the spokesperson for Kata'ib Hezbollah. That is the group that the U.S. had targeted on Sunday. The group that the U.S. says was responsible for those various strikes on U.S. installations that on Friday led to the death of a U.S. contractor near the city of Kirkuk.

Now, this spokesperson for Kata'ib Hezbollah said, look, we have taken the decision, we've issued the order for everyone to withdraw because America should have received our message. He did, however, say that their main demand that the U.S. withdraw from Iraq, that was still very much under the table, but he said that they were going to allow that process to play out in parliament for the time being.

So we do have a situation right now where it does appear to be fairly calm. But, look, Jim, there is Iraq, these situations can flare up once again at any moment. And when we look back at the bigger picture, this country increasingly, constantly becomes more and more of a proxy battlefield between Washington and Tehran.

SCIUTTO: Those militias can be easily ordered back into action at any time. Arwa Damon there in Baghdad, thanks very much.

Let's go now to the Pentagon, CNN Correspondent Ryan Browne. So in the last 24 hours, you have a Marine contingent deployed to Baghdad. Now, you have the 82nd Airborne going in to respond to this. The embassy assault appears to be over. Does this change the Pentagon's reaction plans here?

RYAN BROWNE, CNN PENTAGON REPORTER: Well, no change as of yet, Jim. The Pentagon had done a series of measures to respond to the events on the ground in Baghdad. As you mentioned, they flew in the 100 Marines into the compound to help bolster security, a crisis response unit.

[10:05:01]

They flew apache helicopters over, they fired these flares, these warning flares, as a show of force to the demonstrators. And that these demonstrators have dispersed, they've ordered these 750 paratroopers from the 82nd into the region to respond if the crisis worsens.

They've actually also put several thousand additional paratroopers on standby here in the United States. It's likely if the situation does -- if tensions do reduce, it's likely that those additional forces may not be sent.

But, again, we have -- as Arwa mentioned, there were a series of events leading up to the embassy situation. You had these rocket attacks, some 11, according to U.S. officials. And the U.S. is pointing to some of these military maneuvers as one of the reasons that these protesters have begun to -- these protesters have begun to disperse.

Brian Hook, the top State Department's representative for Iran, saying that President Trump took decisive action and that's why the situation is calmer today. They're also thanking Iraq. They've lobbied Iraqi officials, President Trump spoke with the Iraqi prime minister, Secretary Pompeo spoke with the prime minister and the president, trying to get them to get the Iraqi security forces on board. As Arwa mentioned, they had kind of vanished in the days -- in the moments leading up to that attempt to storm the embassy. Now they appear back in force helping secure the site. So it's a potential diplomatic victory.

But, again, a lot of eyes on whether or not this militia backed by Iran but part of the Iraqi Security Force, whether they do some other provocation, whether they retaliate in some other way, they'll be watching that closely.

SCIUTTO: Remarkable for you to note that the Iraqi Security Forces, they left, did they open the door to the Iranian demonstration there? Ryan Browne, thank you so much.

Joining me now to discuss further, General Wesley Clark, he's the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander. General, we wish you a Happy New Year. Thanks so much for joining us this morning.

GEN. WESLEY CLARK, FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: Thank you, Jim. Same to you.

SCIUTTO: Take a big picture look, if you can. The Trump administration seems to lurch from military action, as we saw over the weekend, these airstrikes on Iran-backed militias, to more diplomatic comments. The president saying last night on New Year's Eve, well, he wants peace here. Do you see an articulated U.S. strategy as it comes to Iraq right now, or is it reactionary to each crisis as it comes?

CLARK: Well, this is a reaction that the United States has made. I'm glad we used diplomacy. I'm glad to see the Iraqi government being able to get its security forces engaged in this point. But this is like bite the Iranians, this is like landing a left jab in a 12-round boxing match. I mean, this is just one more punch.

So they've taken out and attacked some Saudi oil facilities. They were put back in place. They've shot down -- they've shot down the -- sorry about that -- SCIUTTO: That is the best reaction to a ring I've seen on the air. Nicely done, General. Go ahead.

CLARK: Thank you. They caught it too.

They've shot down a drone. This is a strategic problem, and the United States has to work this strategically. So the way to work it strategically is with allies.

Now, Iran has its own issues in the world. It's got its foreign embassies abroad. It's got citizens abroad. It's got its terrorist units abroad. This is where we need our allies to help us. And we're going to have to eventually come back and talk about that Iranian nuclear agreement.

So the U.S. response was appropriate. It was -- it looks effective thus far. But the Iranians showed they could deliver the punch, they just pull back the fist here temporarily. So we have to be strategic about this. And that's the real challenge for the Trump administration and the United States.

SCIUTTO: Well, it's a good point because in a number of these attacks, it is Iran showing what it could do in the event of a larger conflict, right? It can threaten U.S. forces. There was a U.S. contractor killed. It could surround the U.S. embassy, threaten U.S. diplomatic staff. It could threaten Saudi oil facilities. It could shoot down $110 million U.S. drone. It could threaten shipping there. It's -- puts some bombs on tankers. It's flexing its muscles.

The president has said if there would be a larger military conflict with Iran, it would be over quickly. It would be quick and easy. Is that an unrealistically rosy prediction there from the president?

CLARK: Well, it depends on how you define over. Can you go in and -- and bomb some stuff in Iran, get in and out with aircraft, sure. But could you actually change the government, put a government in place that represents the various groups of the Iranian people, establish peace and stability in the region, that's an entirely different problem.

Iran is a huge country, it's got a population of 80 some-odd million, you don't have enough U.S. forces, NATO forces or forces in the western world to be able to actually occupy the country. And you can be sure that there would be a lot of resistance to any U.S. action. So you might pound them into what looks like submission in a few days, but they've got other means to come back.

[10:10:06]

So no -- I mean -- this is tough talk, but the war is not the solution. The president knows it. But we've got to have a strategy.

And the problem with the strategy is that he's -- President Trump is on a dilemma because he pulled out of the Iran agreement, our allies want the Iran agreement back. Russia has even warned that the Iran agreement -- the Iranians want the agreement back. So if we're not going to get -- if we're not going to go to war, then what's the strategy? And simply breaking the economy through sanctions is not doing enough so far to cause the Iranian government to say, okay, we give up on all our interests in the world. They're not going to do that. So we need a strategy.

SCIUTTO: Let me ask you how the American -- you mentioned how allies view the deal. Of course, they want to stay in it. How should viewers at home view it? Because three years ago when the U.S. was in the deal, Iran's nuclear program was under severe restrictions. It could not enrich uranium, very low level -- far below the level needed to construct a nuclear bomb.

Now, they're doing that, they've passed the limits, they've got more uranium enriched on their soil. Are Americans safer today or less safe from the Iran's nuclear program than they were when the U.S. was inside the nuclear deal?

CLARK: Well, I think it's more fragile today. Iran has always had the capacity to break out in maybe a year, maybe less than a year, as they're starting up more of these centrifuges. And they've taken these actions. But on the other hand, it was never the United States that was an immediate threat from Iran's nuclear program. I guess they could have built a nuclear device, put it on a freighter, tried to get it into a U.S. harbor or something.

But this was more about regional stability. It was about our allies in the region, it was about Europe. It was about worldwide U.S. interests. And, unfortunately, where we are right now is we took a step away from that agreement, but somehow we have to either go around that step or reenter the agreement with new incentives and new disincentives to bring Iran back to the table. Because, simply, a diplomatic standoff like this, where you're not talking, you're trading jabs back and forth, that doesn't look like that's going to bring the solution we want.

Iran is going to keep the pressure on, and the administration probably is going to try to wait this out through the election year. And Iran's incentive then is to keep the -- if the sanctions are hurting -- to hit more, do more right jabs and try to get the administration to make a mistake.

SCIUTTO: And some of those jabs prove deadly. General Wesley Clark. Thanks very much.

CLARK: Thank you, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Still to come this hour, Kim Jong-un says that North Korea could soon resume nuclear and missile testing, also announcing his country has a new strategic weapon. Will President Trump's historic one-on-one meetings with the North Korean leader all for nothing?

And the president's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, says he is willing to testify. What that could mean for the impending Senate impeachment trial, next

And a new bill that intends to curb those annoying spam robo calls signed into law by President Trump this week. What does it cover, really, and will it help?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:15:00]

SCIUTTO: The North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-un, has begun the New Year with an alarming message for the world. According to state-run North Korean media, Kim says that the country could soon resume nuclear weapons testing. Kim says he no longer feels bound by the country's self-imposed weapons testing halt adding, quote, the world will witness a new strategic weapon in the near future. He even called out the U.S. specifically saying North Korea will never see denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula if the U.S., quote, persists in what he called its hostile policies.

CNN Correspondent David culver is following the story. David, what should we make of the North Korea's comments as the New Year starts?

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Perhaps -- yes, perhaps most revealing, you'll remember, Jim, this Christmas gift that we were warned about from North Korea. Well, it sounds like it's this hard- line approach now with the U.S., particularly over denuclearization talks. It doesn't abandon the talks altogether, but it sets the bar a bit higher. CNN first reported that. And it seems that they're going forward with these remarks.

Important to understand the context of these remarks, as well. This is not just a public address. These were made amongst Kim's top brass, party leadership. And it shows a level of frustration, anger, even desperation which may also be indicative of the internal struggles he's facing amongst his own leadership. I say desperation because he goes into those many threats against the U.S. but also saying that sanctions are hurting. He points out and quite transparently that there is a deep struggle there, and that they're feeling it.

And he points to the U.S. as the reason why they're dealing with that. And it's also kind of a cry for help to the neighbors, Russia and China, in particular. In the past two weeks, we saw both of those countries go to the U.N. National Security Council and say, hey, maybe we should ease sanctions a bit on North Korea. Of course, the U.S. has been vehemently opposed to going forward with that.

And North Korea saying that they will go forward with developing this new ultra modern weapon, perhaps as their way to retaliate, they're a little vague as usual as to what that is.

[10:20:05]

But we have seen recently, particularly amongst satellite images, that there's movement once again in these regions where they have been testing long-range missiles, ICBMs. So perhaps that would be part of the ultra modern weapon that they're threatening, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Alarming in either case. David Culver there, thanks very much. Despite Kim's warning, President Trump still touting his personal relationship which he sometimes referred to as a love affair with the North Korean dictator. They have met now three times in person. One of those meetings even occurred for a moment across the line, steps inside North Korea.

Let's go to CNN National Correspondent Kristen Holmes. She is in West Palm Beach.

So, Kristen, the president still placing a lot of faith in his personal relationship with Kim despite the facts that Kim has made no concessions despite these three summits now.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: that's right, Jim. So we have a president who is really downplaying these threats, and in addition to that, is really offering muted praise for this dictator. You have to look at these two things next to each other. You have an erratic, dangerous dictator saying that his rogue nation is never going to denuclearize, that they are going to develop a new strategic weapon. And on the other side, you have a U.S. president who is essentially brushing off those remarks, and as you said, touting the strong relationship between the two leaders.

Take a listen to what President Trump said last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Look, he likes me, I like him, we get along. He's representing his country. I'm representing my country. We have to do what we have to do. But he did sign a contract. He did sign an agreement talking about denuclearization. And that was signed, number one sentence, denuclearization, that was done in Singapore.

And I think he's a man of his word. So we're going to find out. But I think he's a man of his word.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Yes, a man of his word, so strange words for, again, a dangerous and erratic dictator. But this is just the latest chapter in the bizarre and tumultuous relationship between President Trump and Kim Jong-un. Remember where we started with this administration. It was fire and fury, it was name-calling, it was missile tests.

And then after, as you said, three meetings of what President Trump described as really a love affair, it seems as though we are inching back toward that starting line, really erasing what happened in the middle. The only difference is that, right now President Trump has a re-election bid looming overhead and he does not want a failed foreign policy heading into November.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Well, does that put pressure on him for some sort of a short-term deal, how many actual concessions from North Korea, that's the question. Kristen Holmes, thanks very much. A dire situation this morning for Hanukkah stabbing victim, Joseph Newman. His family released a statement saying that doctors now are not optimistic about his chances to regain consciousness from his injuries. Newman was one of five people stabbed during a Hanukkah celebration in New York. He was stabbed in the head. And the knife, we are being told now, went into his brain, alarming news to hear. The family is urging Jews across the country to share their own experiences with anti-Semitism using the hash tag #MeJew.

The GOP might not call witnesses at President Trump's impeachment trial, but the man at the center of the Ukraine scandal now says that he himself is willing to testify. Would Rudy Giuliani's testimony actually be good for the president?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:25:00]

SCIUTTO: The president's personal lawyer says he learned a lot during his latest trip to Ukraine, though even Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has raised concerns about Russian intelligence influence in that information. But while Rudy Giuliani is not expected to play a formal role defending the president in a Senate impeachment trial, he could bring that information to light as a witness.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S PERSONAL ATTORNEY: I would testify, I would do demonstrations, I'd give lectures, I'd give summations or I do what I do best, I try the case. I'd love to try the case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Well, to this point, the president is not asking him to try the case.

Let's discuss now with CNN Legal Analyst Shan Wu and CNN Political Analyst Rachael Bade. Good morning. Happy New Year to both of you.

SHAN WU, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Happy New Year.

RACHAEL BADE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Happy New Year.

SCIUTTO: Rachael, politically, would it be good? We know that Rudy Giuliani sometimes speaks off the cuff to a degree that the president's allies say is not helpful to the president. Does the president want Rudy Giuliani to testify in a Senate trial?

BADE: Yes. The notion that President Trump or, more importantly, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is defending his majority in 2020, would want to put Rudy Giuliani in the witness stand for the president's trial is sort of comical. I mean, you talk to these Republicans privately in the Senate. They want nothing to do with Rudy Giuliani. They want him to stop talking, stay away from the T.V. They know that he was a central player in this whole scandal that became, you know, the central focus for impeachment of Trump. And so this would not be in Trump's interest to put Giuliani on the stand. But it would be a major gift for the Democrats. I mean, we've heard from Democrats in the house and in the Senate now who want to hear from people who are closer to the president about what specifically his instructions were to Giuliani.

[10:30:01]

He can't get any closer than Giuliani himself. So I'm sure Democrats would love this. McConnell will not let it happen, I can almost assure you --