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Rockets Target Another Iraqi Base Housing U.S. Troops; Growing Unrest In Iran; Heartbreak In Canada; Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) Defends Impeachment Delay, It's About A Fair Trial; Australian Prime Minister Expresses Regret Over Handling Of Wildfires; Royal Family To Meet Monday To Discuss Harry And Meghan's Future. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired January 12, 2020 - 14:00   ET

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

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST: And it seems to me that Washington is abusing its position by keeping diplomats out.

Thanks to all of you for being part of my program this week. I will see you next week.

[14:00:12]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. And thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We start with this breaking news from Iraq where another Iraqi Air Base, which houses U.S. troops is hit with rocket fire just four days now after the last attack on a base in Iraq and roughly 40 miles from Baghdad.

Today's attack hit Balad Air Base, which is about 70 miles away from the Al-Asad Air Base, the site of that first rocket attack last Wednesday.

That attack was in retaliation for the U.S. killing of Iranian General, Qasem Soleimani. CNN's Arwa Damon is in Baghdad for us.

So Arwa, neither of these attacks hit U.S. troops that we have heard of or contractors who are stationed there. But what is the latest on how this happened?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, it is first of all, worth noting that attacks against these locations are fairly common. We do have initial information of a number of mortar or rocket strikes happening at the Al-Balad Air Base.

At this stage, no reports of casualties among U.S. forces or contractors there, but some injured among the Iraqi Security Forces.

Remember, all of these locations also have Iraqi Security Forces at them. And earlier, we were up at the Al-Asad Air Base. This is the base that was hit by those Iranian ballistic missiles. Now, those strikes did not cause any casualties among U.S. forces, but when you go and you see for yourself the damage that was caused, when you realize how powerful these missiles are. It is pretty astounding that no one was hurt.

And here's why, Fredricka. Earlier that evening, they began to put together a picture based on Intelligence -- we don't know exactly what it was -- that a ballistic missile attack was coming.

The decision was taken to disperse the troops on the base and put those who they could, whose roles were not essential when it comes to force protection in bunkers. The base happened to have Saddam era bunkers at it.

Other forces had to stay protecting the perimeter. You had a situation where missiles were raining down. A lot of them hitting areas that had the troops not been moved from there, they actually would have been in, but while all this is happening, you also had young soldiers guarding the perimeter.

Those who we spoke to, this was their first deployment and they had to fight that instinct to flee and stay and face forward because at the same time that all of this was unfolding, there was also that ongoing threat of some sort of a ground assault.

The forces who we spoke to there said that, yes, of course, it was a terrifying experience. It changed many of their perspectives, because remember, this is a military that is not used to being on the receiving end of this type of firepower. They are used to be the ones who are actually delivering it.

In this situation that they were in, there was nothing that they could do to fight back. The base was not equipped to fight back against this kind of a strike. So they had to take the best protective measures. They could hunker down, drive around the base when they could, some while these volleys were happening to try to see if there were any casualties or any wounded.

This base is still on high alert, Fredricka, because the threat from Iran proxies on the ground still exists.

WHITFIELD: And so, Arwa, the claim of responsibility for this attack at Balad?

DAMON: No claim of responsibility, Fredricka. But that, again, is not entirely uncommon. In fact, we very rarely, if ever hear claims of responsibility for the rocket attacks against locations like the Balad Air Base, the green zone that gets hit on a fairly regular basis.

And that perhaps is the difference between that -- one of the many differences between that and what we saw at the Al-Asad Air Base.

Iran, if you'll remember came out and said yes, this was our counterstrike. Now, we have concluded our attacks, but Fredricka, that doesn't mean that Iran's proxies on the ground don't still want their revenge. They are promising that they do unless U.S. forces leave.

WHITFIELD: Right. All right, Iran claiming responsibility last Wednesday at the attack, but today still unclear. No definitive idea of where it originates. Thank you so much, Arwa Damon. Appreciate that.

All right, also today, growing unrest in Iran as protesters take to the streets following Iran's admission that is accidentally shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane. Some even calling on the country's Supreme Leader to step down.

Meantime, President Trump is sending a strong message to Iran today tweeting, "A warning to Iranian leaders not to kill the protesters," saying, 'The world and the U.S. is watching." And that comes as the White House is still trying to explain why it decided to kill Iranian Commander, Qasem Soleimani without congressional approval.

And today, Pentagon Chief, the Department of Defense Secretary Mark Esper stood by the administration's latest reason for that attack that Soleimani was targeting four U.S. embassies, but Esper failed to offer up any proof of that belief.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Was there specific Intelligence the Iranians were plotting to target four U.S. Embassies?

MARK ESPER, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: There was Intelligence that they had -- that there was an attempt to target the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. What the President said with regard to the four embassies is what I believe as well. And he said he believed that they probably -- that they could have been targeting the embassies in the region. I believe that as well as the other National Security team members.

TAPPER: Was there specific Intelligence that he was plotting to attack four U.S. Embassies? Did you see any Intelligence like that?

ESPER: I'm not going to discuss Intelligence matters here on the show. Let me just say this --

TAPPER: The President did though.

ESPER: It's the President's prerogative, but what the President said was he believed, he said he could have been targeting. All of those things that I believe as well that the National Security team believes as well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Probably and could have been. That is -- that sounds more like an assessment than a specific tangible threat with a decisive piece of Intelligence.

ESPER: Well, the President didn't say there was a tangible -- he didn't cite a specific piece of evidence. What he said is he probably -- he believed --

QUESTION: Are you saying there wasn't one?

ESPER: I didn't see one with regard to four embassies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: For more on all of this, CNN's Kristen Holmes is at the White House. So Kristen, it wasn't just Esper. No administration official appearing today on the Sunday shows provided any concrete information as to support the existence of this imminence -- the imminent threat coming from Iran. How problematic is this for this administration?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, this is a big problem. What we've seen is mounting pressure from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to give some sort of evidence that the killing of Soleimani, the second most powerful man in Iran was necessary and was justified.

And it seemed as though the administration today was going to set the record straight. They put out two of their top officials. We saw of course, National Security adviser, Robert O'Brien, as well as the Defense Secretary, Mark Esper.

And instead of setting the record straight, they seem to dance around the question of what exactly President Trump was talking about when he said that there was evidence that Soleimani had planned imminent attacks on four U.S. embassies.

Now both of them seem to be very cautious. They did not want to contradict the President. However, they used words like tangible, non- tangible, belief, thinking, essentially Esper saying that the President believes this and so does he, but that there was no evidence to back it up.

Now, the only consistent part of the narrative was about imminence. Both of these top officials saying that the threat was imminent, even though they did not provide any evidence. Listen to Robert O'Brien here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT O'BRIEN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: We were very concerned about the situation and we had exquisite Intelligence, and the Intelligence show that they were looking at U.S. facilities throughout the region, and that they wanted to inflict casualties on American soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, as well as diplomats.

The threat was imminent.

I think imminent generally means soon quickly, you know, in process.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay.

O'BRIEN: So I think those threats were imminent, and I don't want to get to the definition further than that, but we took the measures necessary to protect American diplomats.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And remember Fred, how important this argument of imminence is to this administration. They are using that for the reasoning that they didn't get congressional approval, for the reasoning that they didn't brief any Members of Congress.

And I want to note one other thing here that National Security adviser, Robert O'Brien said. He said that he didn't want to compromise any of this information by disclosing the Intelligence.

But we have to remember that President Trump in the past when we have seen these even covert operations -- military operations -- he has been the first one to give away a lot of these Intelligence details.

So a lot of questions here surrounding what exactly happened. And again, whether or not this attack whether or not taking out Soleimani was necessary.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kristen Holmes, thank you so much.

All right, let's discuss all of this now. Joining me, two people with a wealth of knowledge about the Middle East, Matthew Rosenberg spent 15 years as a foreign correspondent in Asia, Africa and the Middle East and was expelled from Afghanistan in 2014 because of his reporting. He is now an investigative correspondent for "The New York Times."

And Jason Rezaian is a "Washington Post" journalist who spent nearly two years in prison in Iran. Good to see both of you.

Jason, you first. You wrote an op-ed for "The Post" that this was a make or break or rather, this is a make or break moment for the Iranian regime. What do you mean?

[14:10:10]

JASON REZAIAN, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, Fred, there's still so much that we don't know about the taking down of the Ukrainian International Air flight. Iran obviously has accepted responsibility of it, rather late in the game. But there's still so many questions internally inside Iran.

The regime there has a real credibility problem with the people of Iran. People are out in the streets again tonight protesting the shooting down and the story which looks to a lot of people like a cover up.

So I think that they're going to face increased amount of protests in the days and weeks to come, as they have over previous months and it's hard to say where it's going to go.

WHITFIELD: And Matthew, the reports are that people in the streets in Iran protesting largely because of and as a result of Iran admitting that it made this grave mistake and brought down this passenger jet.

And we know in the past, you know, protesting can be deadly. Why might this be handled differently by the government?

MATTHEW ROSENBERG, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: You know, I think any government that faces protest like this has to be exceedingly careful that, you know, you can push repression too far and it will backfire and stoke more dissent.

And it's been terribly a tricky balance --

WHITFIELD: But they didn't seem to -- but traditionally, or I should say historically, there have been instances where Iran didn't seem to worry, the government didn't worry about that, and people were killed for protesting.

But you think the handling might be different, particularly because of, you know, the sequence of events that have occurred, particularly in the last two weeks?

ROSENBERG: Absolutely. You know, this isn't a pro-democracy protest. This is a protest over the government making a terrible mistake of shooting an airliner. That is potentially much more broad based, and I think the government knows that.

WHITFIELD: So President Trump's National Security adviser, Robert O'Brien talked about the role, the administration's maximum pressure campaign is playing on Iran this morning and this was his take.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT O'BRIEN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The people of Iran are going to have -- hopefully have the ability at some point to elect their own government and to be governed by the leaders they choose. I mean, we hope that around the world, but that's not our policy and we're going to support human rights.

The best thing we can do for the Iranian people and for the world, is to continue our maximum pressure campaign to ensure that the Iranian regime never obtains a nuclear weapon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So Jason, do you think Iran sees this as, you know, pressure campaign and a maximum pressure campaign and that it is taking considerations, you know, as it determines what it wants to do next?

REZAIAN: Fred, I think we have to look at multiple Irans. The Iranian regime feels that their back is against the wall right now. But the people, the Iranian people in the midst of all of this have suffered greatly, suffered greatly from a lack of access to a lot of medicine, devaluing currency because of the sanctions.

So it's a little bit more complicated than saying our maximum pressure campaign will result in free elections and in greater regard for human rights in Iran.

I don't think that Iranian people see the through line from the beginning of that process to the end of it yet. And I don't think that the Trump administration has clearly defined their plan other than let's make life on the Iranian regime hard. WHITFIELD: Yes. And their scrutiny, you know, Matthew, in other ways

of the United States, the Trump administration, you know, facing increasing criticism over its decision to kill Iran's Qasem Soleimani, trying to define what is imminent, where were the threats, and why not White House officials are defending that strike using some pretty specific messaging. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: We were very concerned about the situation. We had exquisite Intelligence.

I think when we tell the American people that there was exquisite Intelligence and there was going to be impact on Americans, we had to stop that.

MARK ESPER, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: We briefed Congress, the Gang of Eight who are the legitimate representatives of the Congress in affairs like this when you had exquisite Intelligence.

There was a reference in this -- in this exquisite Intelligence to an attack on the United States Embassy in Baghdad.

MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Washington rely on the capable men and women who are delivering exquisite information to the Executive Branch.

ESPER: The exquisite Intelligence that we're talking about that led to the decision to -- that was, I should say, one of the factors that led to the decision to strike at Soleimani --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So Matthew, what is exquisite Intelligence? And you know, what does this mean?

ROSENBERG: I mean, it's quite a descriptor. It certainly sounds like it comes from one person who is not any of those people.

I mean, what is explicit Intelligence? I think we'd all like to know. You know, one of the things, we're concerned about attacks. We believe there's attacks. I mean, there's believing and there's knowing, and I'm not clear that that case had been made both in classified briefings to Congress or to the public.

The Intelligence may have been exquisite, but there's still tremendous questions about exactly what these attacks were. Why this action had to be taken. Why it was decided to take it now after two different Presidents, Republican and Democratic -- both thought that it was going too far and too risky to do.

[14:15:10]

WHITFIELD: And, Jason, this administration is saying the message here from the White House is there is room for negotiation. There is room for diplomacy, for talks with Iran. Do you see that happening, particularly after all that has transpired recently?

REZAIAN: Hard to see, Fred, how it could happen in the short term. I mean, just last week, the U.S. decided that Iran's Foreign Minister couldn't travel to the United States to give a speech at the U.N. If they're actively seeking out diplomacy, I think now would be a decent moment to engage in it so that we could avert another war in the Middle East.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jason Rezaian and Matthew Rosenberg, good to see you both. Thank you so much.

ROSENBERG: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, next, heartbreak in Canada. The country mourning the loss of 57 Canadians killed when Iran mistakenly shot down that Ukrainian passenger jet. The youngest victim just one years old.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw Kurdia's toys and her red shoes. I was just devastated. We just -- we -- I don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A live report, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:20:36]

WHITFIELD: Vigils, prayers and grief across Canada as the country mourns the 57 Canadians killed in the plane that was shot down as it left Tehran.

Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau will attend a vigil later today, and says the country and the families want answers and justice.

CNN's Paula Newton is in Toronto. Paula, you spoke with a family member who is suffering a devastating loss.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, Fred, in each one of these tragedies there's always a few stories, right, that just get you. You just can't believe what people have to cope with in all the loss in their families, and that's the story Amir Arsalani.

He lost his sister's family. His sister, his brother-in-law, and I can't tell you Fred how devastated he is about the loss of his one- year-old niece. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For hours at a time, Amir Arsalani's only comfort is silence. The joy in what could have been all gone -- AMIR ARSALANI, SISTER, BROTHER-IN-LAW AND NIECE DIED ON UKRAINIAN

FLIGHT: My sister's family is gone.

NEWTON (voice over): Only the pain is left. Amir's sister, Evin, her husband, Hiva Molani, and their little girl, Kurdia lived their last moments on Flight 752. They were returning to Canada from their native Iran after a family wedding.

ARSALANI: I will never know what really happened, what they went through.

NEWTON (on camera): Do you worry about what their last moments were like on the airplane?

ARSALANI: Of course. Of course. What she said and what would he said to her, if they had the moment to kiss each other goodbye. If they did, they said they love each other together. You know, this is just unbearable.

NEWTON (voice over): For hours, he scanned images of the crash site and found this.

ARSALANI: This is hers.

NEWTON (voice over): He says, they're Kurdia's.

ARSALANI: I saw Kurdia's toys and her red shoes, just devastated. We just wait. I don't know.

NEWTON (voice over): And then there's what happens next? Going into his family's home in Canada and facing all the memories it holds.

ARSALANI: And now I have to go to Kurdia's room. All her baby pictures. What I'm supposed to do with their belongings here, with their house, with their clothes with their everything? That's it -- like at one point I have to go through it, but thinking about just gives you anxiety.

NEWTON (voice over): After days of private grief, Amir now seems determined to speak up. He says it's the only way to honor his family. He is grateful Canada is pushing for an investigation, but he says the Iranian government must pay for what they did. Especially he says, for the murder of his one-year-old niece.

ARSALANI: She was an angel. Like how can you do that?

NEWTON (on camera): They say it was an accident.

ARSALANI: It was not an accident.

NEWTON: What does justice look like for you and your family?

ARSALANI: We say eye for an eye. I know it's not a possible way. What are they going to do? Give us money? Give us a piece of land? Give us -- put a street under their name? I don't care. I can care less. I want them back. If I can get them back. They have to leave. They have to go.

NEWTON (voice over): Amir is now watching the protests in Iran with hope just as he watches this video over and over. I love you, she says.

Four days Amir has only had tears. Now, he says his family deserves more from him and from Iran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Yes, I mean, Fred. Look, Kurdia was the youngest person on that flight, the youngest victim and it just is so heartbreaking, as you can see from that story.

I want to point out that he is watching what is happening in Iran closely. He has not gone. His parents are there to try and bury the family.

His mother couldn't even bear to hear that anyone of them was on another airplane and what these families are coping with is really intense and profound and that's beyond, right, Fred, all of the logistics they have to get through and all the help they are trying to get from both the Canadian government and Iran.

WHITFIELD: Heartbreaking. All right. Paula Newton, thank you so much from Toronto. Our prayers go out to them.

Straight ahead, defending the delay. Speaker Pelosi speaks out saying her decision to keep the Articles of Impeachment from the Senate is putting pressure on Republicans, but is it really?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:04:13]

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi now says Democrats will vote Tuesday at the earliest on when to send the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate.

That vote will set the stage for the third impeachment trial of a U.S. President. Pelosi has held on to the Articles for three weeks now, as Democrats have pushed for witnesses and new evidence to be introduced at the Senate trial, despite getting no assurances from Senate Republicans that they will allow testimony of witnesses.

Today, Pelosi defended her delay tactic and warned Republicans the American public will hold them accountable if they attempt to, quote "cover up."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): It's about a fair trial. They take an oath to take -- have a fair trial, and we think that would be with witnesses and documentation.

So that dynamic has -- now, the ball is in their court to either do that or pay a price.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:30:09]

WHITFIELD: Joining us right now, Patrick Healy, a Politics Editor for The New York Times and a CNN Political Analyst, and Peter Beinart, a Contributing Editor for The Atlantic and a CNN Political Commentator. Good to see you both of you.

All right, Patrick, you first. Speaker Pelosi believes Republicans will pay a political price if they decide not to call witnesses at the Senate impeachment trial. Do you agree?

PATRICK HEALY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think she's been really effective in framing the idea of a fair trial versus an unfair trial. While she has not been able to get much leverage on Mitch McConnell, which she and other Democrats knew going into this, she and the party, for the last three weeks, have really put the onus on what is a fair trial.

And the reality is if there is a lack of witnesses, a lack of ability to go to further evidence, there will be -- you know, there will be swing voters, there will be independent voters who will kind of look at this and see, you know, maybe a takeaway that it's McConnell and the Republicans just sort of ramming this to their preordained conclusion.

WHITFIELD: So, Peter, Pelosi's delay tactic was designed to pressure moderate Republicans. GOP Senator Susan Collins now says she's meeting with a small group of GOP senators to consider witness testimony. But Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has shown no indication that he will actually allow witnesses.

So do you see that Senator Collins just might have leverage along with some other GOP leaders to have him reconsider that?

PETER BEINART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It depends how many Republicans she can get to join her. She alone is not enough. I think they really need four in order to be able to have the threat of voting with the Democrats and being able to, you know, overturn McConnell's will in terms of the rules.

Look, the history of this, however, is that, to be frank, Susan Collins generally caves when she's up against her own caucus. So I think the chances that Republicans are actually going to call witnesses are very slim. Maybe you could say that Pelosi, by holding this, has increased the chances a little bit because we now have John Bolton say he would testify. But, I think, generally, I think her bluff has been called.

WHITFIELD: Patrick, McConnell also said he wants to base Trump's impeachment trial on the Clinton model, which, of course, Pelosi disputes, saying, the difference is, and Clinton, they were deposed. And in this case, this White House stopped a lot of the witnesses from testifying. Listen to what she says. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PELOSI: It isn't the same thing, at least six reasons, and I could take the whole program going on how it is different.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOUS, ABC NEWS HOST: What's the biggest?

PELOSI: The biggest one is that the witnesses were all deposed. Those witnesses that eventually came were all deposed. The president has not allowed the witnesses to be deposed for the House or for the Senate yet. So the evidence was there. It was just a question of bringing it more to the forefront. So that is a very major difference.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, Patrick, she's also laying out bias. You know, she's laying out that there is some bias from McConnell by making the comparison of the two impeachment trials as well.

HEALY: Yes. McConnell's comparison to Clinton really falls apart given the degree to which the Trump White House, Trump administration officials either stonewalled or refused to participate or blocked evidence from being put forward.

You know, while some rules are similar, you know, in terms of what the Senate is talking about now versus the Clinton trial, the lead-up to it is very different. You know, the Clinton folks actually did engage quite a bit with, you know, with what Republicans were trying to do.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll leave it there for now. Peter, unless you have a final word on that.

BEINART: I agree. I think the comparison of McConnell is totally bogus.

WHITFIELD: Okay. All right, Peter Beinart, Patrick Healy, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

BEINART: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:35:00]

WHITFIELD: All right. Just right now, we're just two days out from the next presidential debate and only 22 days away from the first Democratic contest, which means it is crunch time.

Today, candidates are canvassing Iowa, trying to muster up some last- minute support, and for former Mayor Pete Buttigieg, it seems to be working. At the 11th hour, Democratic Congressman Dave Loebsack just announced that he is backing Buttigieg for president, handing the former mayor his biggest Iowa endorsement yet.

CNN's Kyung Lah is live for us in Davenport. So, Kyung, how significant is this for Buttigieg?

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, when you consider that there are only three members of Congress here in Iowa and one of them has decided to endorse Pete Buttigieg, that is certainly significant. This is his biggest Iowa endorsement. The second congressperson a candidate is Abby Finkenauer. She has already come out in support of Joe Biden. That leaves only one up for grabs. So you can see these endorsements at least here in Iowa are spread out among the top tier.

And if you look at the polls, you can see voters are also spread out among the top tier. And when you spend time, like we have, in coffee shops and some of these voter forums, like the one we're at here and you talk to people, what they'll tell you is that a lot of them are still shopping around. Even these many days, as close as we are to the Iowa caucuses, we talk to people at a Joe Biden event. We found people, yes, hardcore supporters, volunteers, but some people who were undecided and others saying they may back Joe Biden right now but they're still willing to switch at the last minute.

[14:40:07]

Here is what they told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: So you picked up a commit to caucus card.

SAMANTHA PIECZYNSKI, IOWA VOTER: Yes, I did, but I haven't decided who I'm going to caucus for yet.

LAH: When do you decide?

PIECZYNSKI: I decide at the caucus, because I don't know -- whoever I'm with, I don't know if they're going to be viable.

LAH: And how solid would you say your choice is now?

KEITH EUNING, IOWA VOTER: Towards Biden?

LAH: Yes.

EUNING: More than 50 percent.

LAH: Is it possible you could change your mind?

EUNING: Very possible, very possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: Yes, he said it twice, very possible.

And then you toss in this week's news with Iran, you toss in the fact that there may be an impending Senate impeachment trial, this debate coming up in two days, Fredricka, it's a lot to take in and certainly in this caucus state, in the first in the nation caucus state, a lot of variables. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And a lot of action already. All right, Kyung Lah, thank you so much.

And don't forget, of course, you can watch the last debate before the Iowa caucuses right here. Watch the CNN Presidential Debate in partnership with the Des Moines Register, Tuesday, 9:00, only on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:45:00]

WHITFIELD: Australia's prime minister is expressing some regrets over the handling of his country's wildfire crisis that has claimed more than two dozen lives. Scott Morrison now admitting that there were things he, quote, could have handled much better, end quote, after facing heavy criticism for his initial response. He says he will propose a national review to study how the government should respond and offer support to those affected by such disasters in the future.

This as officials airdropped thousands of pounds of food, like carrots and sweet potatoes, from planes to feed the wildlife affected by the fires.

CNN's Will Ripley joins me now from Norwa, Australia, where Americans are offering a helping hand as well. Will?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: His, Fred. Yes, you mentioned the Australian prime minister who, like President Trump, has been a long-time climate change skeptic. But he has been forced to confront the reality because his country, even though it's one of the last -- really one of the countries in the world that's doing the least about climate change and yet is now leading on the frontlines of a disaster that is directly linked to climate change, analyst say.

And Australians, they have been so overwhelmed, they requested help from the United States. And we spoke with some of those firefighters who were on the ground here right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: Hovering over Australia's hellish inferno, this American angel, a 52-year-old heavy lift helicopter nicknamed Georgia Peach built in 1967 for the Vietnam War. Today it battles bush fires, dousing them with enough water to fill three large swimming pools every hour.

But in New South Wales, Australia's hardest hit state, these helicopters sit idle, giving American firefighters who came here to help a rare day off.

Today's weather is not allowing you to fly. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

JAY KARLE, BATTALION CHIEF, U.S. FOREST SERVICE: It's a good thing.

RIPLEY: Why?

KARLE: Well, can never compete with mother nature.

RIPLEY: Colorado firefighter Jay Carl says, rain, lower temperatures and higher humidity are slowing the fire's progress.

JAY KARLE: What this will do is it will kind of put the fire in a sort of a comatose state for a few days.

RIPLEY: Nature can do more for the fire right now than we can?

KARLE: Yes.

RIPLEY: He knows that break may be short-lived. Recent rains barely made a decent in Australia's historic drought. Just a few days of extreme heat could be catastrophic, reigniting burnt area the size of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island combined.

Is there any way to have enough resources to fight a fire this big?

SUPERINTENDENT MARK WILLIAMS, NSW RURAL FIRE SERVICE: Not of this magnitude and not of this intensity.

RIPLEY: For the first time, Superintendent Mark Williams takes us inside Nowra's the fire control center. We see Australians and Americans working together. The two nations have agreed to share fire resources.

WILLIAMS: I've been to the United States and Canada on numerous occasions with firefighting. So it's great to have that reciprocal effort now coming back to assist us in our times of need.

RIPLEY: More than 150 fire specialists from two dozen U.S. states are in Australia, some traveling more than 16 hours. These Americans got a hero's welcome when they landed in Sydney last week. Even the city's iconic opera house lit up its sails for all the firefighters risking their lives.

BART KICKLIGHTER, FOREST FIRE CHIEF, COLOMBIA RIVER GORGE NATIONAL SCENIC AREA: If felt very good. I was very proud to be able to come over here and help.

RIPLEY: Bart Kicklighter from Oregon says the two nations are sharing manpower and brain power at a critical time.

Have you ever seen anything of this magnitude?

KICKLIGHTER: No. We have large fires, of course, in the United States and all over the world, but this is just unprecedented.

RIPLEY: He's never seen a fire so fast, so big, so hot, an ominous sign of what could lie ahead, not just for Australia but the U.S. and the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE) RIPLEY: It really says something, Fred, when you speak with firefighters with decades of experience and every single one of them says they've never seen a fire like this. They did compare the characteristics of this fire here in Australia to the kind of fires that we see in the United States, in places like Southern California.

[14:50:06]

And that is pretty frightening because the trend is undeniable. Every single year, these fires grow more intense, they put more people, more property, more lives in danger. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, incredible. Will Ripley, thank you so much.

So much more straight ahead in the Newsroom, but, first, here is this week's Wander Musts.

MARK WOYTOWICH, LOCAL AUTHOR: Olympia is the greatest little town that a lot of people still haven't visited yet.

Olympia is halfway between Portland and Seattle. It's a state capital.

A short distance from downtown are three beautiful waterfalls all part of Tumwater Falls Park.

The Monarch Sculpture Garden is fantastic, it's free, and it's great for kids.

SHINA WYSOCKI, CHELSEA FARMS OYSTER BAR: My parents started Chelsea Farms about 30 years ago, which is a clam, oyster and geoduck farm. My brother and I opened the restaurant three years ago. Of course, the raw oysters draw a lot of people in.

Each oyster is an expression of the bay that it's grown in, so all the bays have different flavors. Geoduck is the world's largest burrowing clam. If I were coming to Olympia and I were going to eat one thing, I would eat the geoduck, because there are very few places that you can get geoduck fresh and it really is super Pacific Northwest.

HEATHER RINGWOOD, WHITEWOOD CIDER CO.: We are one of Olympia's first cidery and Olympia's tiniest, probably. Our Teeny-Tiny Taproom is 192 square feet on the inside. It's basically our winery tasting room so we have a place to serve our ciders.

It's tiny but it's cozy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:55:00]

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. More questions than answers now about what's next for Harry and Meghan.

The royal family is set to meet tomorrow for the first time since the couple's shocking announcement. In the room is expected to be Prince Charles, Harry and William, and then apparently the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan, will be joining them by phone because she remains in Canada.

Meantime, CNN has learned that Meghan has reportedly signed a voiceover deal with Disney before the couple disclosed plans to step back from their royal duties to pursue private interests.

CNN Royal Commentator and Historian, Kate Williams joining me now from London. Boy, this suspense just keeps building, Kate. It's amazing.

Okay. So what's it going to be like, this meeting involving Prince Charles and the two sons, but then, apparently, Meghan is going to be in the room but then by phone? She remains in Canada.

KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, you're so right, Fredricka. This is a huge story. I do think that our prime minister can't wheel through London and no one would notice because the entirety of Britain is gripped by this story and what's going to happen.

And now, of course, tomorrow is this, well, what we're being told is a meeting, but it really is a crisis summit. The queen has called a summit.

Now, it is very rare to have royal meetings of such. They actually don't see each other in the way that perhaps you might expect usual families too. They don't see each that other much. And this is a crisis summit. Harry has been called in, William is coming from Kensington Palace to Sandringham, and Charles is coming from Scotland. And the Queen has called them all to Sandringham and there will also going to be courtiers there. And what they are going to do is get a solution.

The queen set them on Friday morning. There's nothing the queen likes less than stories that go on and on. She wants them to be stopped. So on Friday morning, she said, I need a solution within 72 hours, so I am expecting some kind of solution blueprint for the future of Harry and Meghan to be laid out within the next couple of days. So it's big news, big news for the royals.

WHITFIELD: It is big news. Isn't it also very sad, particularly when you hear that Prince William has expressed his personal grief and sadness over this very public now royal rift, reportedly telling the U.K. Sunday Times that the royal family is no longer a team. I'm quoting him.

And he's also quoted as telling a friend, I have put my arm around my brother all of our lives. I can't do it anymore. Oh, my gosh.

WILLIAMS: I think it is sad, I think it is heartbreaking, and I think it's particularly heartbreaking for Meghan and Harry themselves. I mean, let's face it. They came into this. They came into the royal family wanting to take on full roles.

That was what they talked about in an engagement interview. And they had their wedding in just 2018, and in less than two years, they really have, let's face it, been chased out by all this coverage, the racism, the sexism. There's been so much coverage here in Britain. WHITFIELD: So is it chased out primarily by that, the kind of publicity, or is there chasing out an unwelcoming within the palace, within the monarchy?

WILLIAMS: Well, that is the really important question, Fredricka. You're right, you put your finger on it there, because it's obvious too that there has been a lot of racist and sexist coverage in the media.

[15:00:01]

But there has been talk now. There was talk in the Sunday paper that Meghan and Harry could do an interview.