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U.S., U.K. to Help Australia Build Nuclear-Powered Submarines; Japanese Defense Minister Says China Is Challenging Territorial Integrity; SpaceX Sends First All-Civilian Crew into Orbit; Taliban To U.N.: Recognize Islamic Emirate, Lift Sanctions; Future of Women's Rights under Taliban Rule. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired September 16, 2021 - 02:00:00   ET

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

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM and I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, Australia's allies help beef up security. The new alliance with the U.S. and the U.K. that is sending a clear message to China.

The Pakistan prime minister's candid take on why relations with Washington are deteriorating. It's a CNN exclusive.

Plus the journey of a lifetime: four average citizens making history as they blast off into orbit.

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CHURCH: Good to have you with us. The U.S., U.K. and Australia have announced a new security patch that will put Australia on a path to build its own nuclear powered submarines. Nuclear propulsion technology is extremely sensitive and the U.S. has only shared it once before with Britain back in 1958.

Expanding that capability to Australia is clearly intended to counter China's rising military and economic dominance in the Indo-Pacific. Just take a listen.

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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This, this is about investing in our greatest source of strength, our alliances and updating them to better meet the threats of today and tomorrow.

It's about connecting America's existing allies and partners in new ways and amplifying our ability to collaborate, recognizing there is no regional divide separating the interests of our Atlantic and Pacific partners.

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BORIS JOHNSON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: Only a handful of countries possess nuclear powered submarines. And it is a momentous decision for any nation to acquire this formidable capability and perhaps equally momentous for any other state to come to its aid.

But Australia is one of our oldest friends, a kindred nation and a fellow democracy and a natural partner in this enterprise.

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CHURCH: France is furious over the new trilateral agreement. That's because it was planning to build a fleet of conventional submarines for Australia. Now Australia confirms that the $65 billion deal is off.

France also has long ties to the Indo Pacific and says it should have been included in the strategic pact.

"The American choice to exclude a European ally and partner such as French from a structuring partnership with Australia at a time when we are facing unprecedented challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, shows a lack of coherence that France can only note and regret."

CNN's Kristie Lu Stout joins us now with more from Hong Kong.

Good to see, you Kristie.

What are the details on all of this and how is China responding?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: China and its embassy in Washington has reacted angrily to this new pact between the U.S., U.K. and Australia, with China calling on these nations to, quote, "shake off this Cold War mentality."

On Wednesday, the 3 nations announced the joint strategic partnership for the Indo-Pacific region, aiming to work together on cyber, advanced technology like artificial intelligence and quantum computing and to help Australia acquire nuclear powered submarines.

U.S. President Joe Biden has gone out of his way to emphasize that these are not nuclear armed submarines but nuclear powered submarines. But they will be conventionally armed.

The U.S. President said that the aim of this is to ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region in the long term. But the Chinese, they see it otherwise. They see this as being a deeply provocative move. Let's bring it the statement from you from the spokesperson of China's embassy in Washington.

Quote, "Countries should not build exclusionary blocs targeting or harming the interests of third parties. In particular they should shake off their Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice."

This is the latest step by the U.S. and its allies to encounter the rising technological and military power that is China. We know that next week the United States will host an in-person summit of the Quad. This is the security alliance involving the U.S., Japan, Australia and India.

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STOUT: It is widely seen as a counterpoint to China and a recent visit by Vice President Kamala Harris, to engage with allies here like Singapore and Vietnam. But analysts say, make no mistake about it, this announcement represents a very significant moment in the timeline of U.S.-China relations. Take a listen to this.

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MALCOLM DAVIS, SENIOR ANALYST, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE: I think it's very significant.

If you look at the withdrawal of the U.S. and its allies from Afghanistan, the justification for doing that, or at least one of the main justifications was a need to focus on the Indo-Pacific region. And of course, everyone understands that's about China.

It's clearly setting down markers; it's setting down the case that the U.S. won't stand by and allow China to assert dominance over the region at the expense of the region's security and freedoms and liberties.

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STOUT: Rosemary, just last week, when U.S. President Joe Biden and the Chinese president had a 90 minute phone call, a phone call described by U.S. officials as being candid, as being familiar, U.S. officials also added that Joe Biden did not mention any word about this new joint security pact -- back to you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Kristie, many thanks for those details.

We are learning new details too about North Korea's latest ballistic missile launches. Its state-run news agency reports they are part of a new railway borne missile system, deployed for the first time on Wednesday.

Pyongyang says the projectiles accurately struck their target 800 kilometers away in the waters off the Korean Peninsula. Japanese defense officials tell public broadcaster NHK, the missiles fell inside Japan's exclusive economic zone.

Japan's military has started its first large-scale nationwide military drill in nearly 3 decades. It includes more than 100,000 personnel, 20,000 vehicles, 120 aircraft and will last until late November.

The military says the aim is to strengthen deterrence and respond to an uncertain security environment. Let's go now live to Tokyo and to CNN's Blake Essig.

Good to see you, Blake.

What is the significance of the timing of this large-scale military drill and what's expected?

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Rosemary, it has been a busy week for Japan's defense minister. As you've mentioned, Japan has started a large-scale nationwide military drill for the first time in 30 years.

And with all that is going on in the region, it is incredibly important at this point to deal with all of the challenges that Japan is currently facing. Just this past week, North and South Korea each tested new missiles. Taiwan conducted military drills and a Chinese submarine was spotted near the Japan's southernmost islands.

All while this is happening, I had a chance to sit with the defense minister to talk about the security challenges facing Japan in the Indo Pacific, arguably one of the most volatile regions on the planet.

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ESSIG (voice-over): for years, North Korean missiles have posed a serious threat to Japan's national security. That threat hasn't gone away.

Recently, North Korea has test fired several missiles, including long- range cruise missiles capable of striking almost any potential target in Japan.

And even more concerning, ballistic missiles that on Wednesday fell into the waters between Japan and the Korean Peninsula. Well, Japan's defense minister, Nobuo Kishi, says the ongoing hostility from North Korea is a big challenge. He says it is in Japan's biggest security concern.

(on camera): As Japan's minister of defense, what threat keeps you up at right?

NOBUO KISHI, JAPANESE DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): China has been regularly challenging Japan's territorial integrity. These actions are making it a fait accompli. In response to such moves, we have to demonstrate our will to protect the lives of Japanese citizens, as well as their livelihoods and their territory.

ESSIG (voice-over): The inherent part of Japanese territory minister Kishi is referring to is located here in the East China Sea about 1,900 kilometers from Tokyo. It's this uninhabited island chain known as the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. That's seemingly a red line for Kishi and one that could serve as Asia's next military flashpoint.

(on camera): What is Japan doing to contain China and stop them from changing the so-called status quo in the East, in the South China Sea, specifically in the waters surrounding the Senkaku Islands?

KISHI (through translator): The Senkaku Islands are an integral part of Japanese sovereign territory, both according to international law and looking historically.

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KISHI (through translator): There is no territorial dispute relating to the Senkaku Islands between Japan and other countries.

With regards to the Chinese coast guard vessels approaching our territory, Japanese coast guard must respond first and show that the government of Japan is determined to defend our territory with a greater number of Japanese coast guard vessels than that of China.

ESSIG (voice-over): And according to Minister Kishi, that's exactly what Japan is doing in an effort to maintain peace and stability in the region.

To put that into perspective, over the past five years, compared to the previous five, a report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute shows Japan has increased its major arms imports by 124 percent.

And Kishi recently laid out plans to deploy troops and missiles on Ishigaki, as well as other southern islands, as tensions grow between Beijing and Taipei along the Taiwan Strait.

KISHI (through translator): Taiwan is located at the nexus of the east and South China Seas and it is geopolitically and strategically important. That's why Taiwan's peace and stability is not just important for this region but to the international community as a whole.

With regard to Japan's energy lifeline, more than 90 percent of the energy Japan uses is important through the sea around Taiwan. So it's important to maintain the maritime order and have free and open Indo- Pacific.

ESSIG (on camera): How committed is Japan to the defense of Taiwan versus China?

KISHI (through translator): Japan is not directly committed to the defense of Taiwan. However, we think it is very important to have stability on the Taiwan Strait.

ESSIG: You said that Japan is not directly committed to defending Taiwan. What is the difference between directly and indirectly?

KISHI (through translator): Because we are close geographically, what could happen in Taiwan would likely be an issue for Japan, in which case, Japan would need to respond accordingly.

ESSIG: A military situation Kishi admits has been shifting in favor of Beijing in recent years, one that he plans to keep a close eye on while still hopeful for a peaceful resolution.

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ESSIG: And when talking about North Korea and the threat to national security that it poses to Japan, the defense minister told me the provocations by North Korea don't happen on a daily basis as opposed to what we're seeing with China in the East China Sea.

That's why China rises to the level -- to say that it's China that is the number one security threat to Japan at this point.

CHURCH: All right, Blake Essig, joining us live from Tokyo, thanks for that report.

For the first time in spaceflight history, an all civilian crew is now orbiting the Earth.

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CHURCH (voice-over): There they go. That was the SpaceX rocket taking off on Wednesday, with no professional astronaut on board. The four person crew is led by billionaire Jared Isaacman, who funded the mission, dubbed Inspiration4. They will be in orbit for the next 3 days. SpaceX hopes this will be the first of many similar tourist missions, paving the way for a new era of space travel.

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CHURCH: CNN's Kristin Fisher has a closer look at the mission from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

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KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE & DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: It was a spectacular and a successful nighttime launch from the Kennedy Space Center. And what makes this Inspiration4 mission so extraordinary is how ordinary the crew. Is none of them are professional astronauts.

And yet they will be orbiting the Earth for the next three days before splashing down into the Atlantic Ocean. On, board a 29 pediatric cancer survivor and physician's assistant at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

There's also Dr. Sian Proctor, who applied to be an astronaut back in 2009, came this close, didn't make the cut. She was devastated. Now she gets to achieve her lifelong dream.

There is also another person who was watching a Super Bowl commercial, entered a sweepstakes. His friend got the golden ticket but gave it to him.

And then the commander, a billionaire business man and entrepreneur, a pilot. And he is the brain child for this mission. He went to SpaceX back in October about something completely different, mentioned in a passing comment, saying, if you want to send me to, space I'd be. Game

Now here he, is in orbit. Less than a year. Later

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JARED ISAACMAN, INSPIRATION4 FLIGHT COMMANDER: I wouldn't say pressure because pressure would mean I'm nervous about the outcome here.

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ISAACMAN: I think that responsibility is really the word, right?

And that this is a big responsibility. And we have to execute really well and get this right so that the door can stay open for all the other missions to follow.

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FISHER: Jared Isaacman talks a lot about opening up space travel to everyone and democratizing space. This is central to SpaceX's founding mission, to make humanity multi-planetary, to colonize Mars.

To do, that you have to prove that your everyday person is capable of dealing with the rigors of orbital spaceflight. That is exactly what the Inspiration4 crew will spend the next days doing -- at the Kennedy Space Center, Kristin Fisher, CNN.

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CHURCH: With the country they now rule in crisis, the Taliban are calling for recognition and a lifting of sanctions but they are also disputing reports of deep divisions within their ranks.

Plus, several top American gymnasts made their voices heard on Capitol Hill Wednesday, calling out the FBI's failures during the Larry Nassar investigation. Hear some of their powerful testimonies. That is ahead.

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CHURCH: The Taliban are calling on the United Nations to recognize the Islamic Emirate, end the blacklist against the group's leaders and lift all sanctions. The militants promised the U.N. humanitarian aid efforts will, quote, "proceed normally and without delay."

This comes as the Taliban are trying to present a united front. The group's cofounder and acting deputy prime minister appeared on television Wednesday to deny rumors he had been injured in a dispute at the presidential palace last. Week

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar also denied there are divisions between factions of the Taliban and the Haqqani Network.

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MULLAH ABDUL GHANI BARADAR, AFGHANISTAN DEPUTY MINISTER AND TALIBAN CO-FOUNDER (through translator): Praise be to God I am fit and well. And with regard to the media claiming that we have internal disagreements, that is not true at all. Praise be to God, we have a lot of kindness and mercy amongst us such that might not even exist in a family.

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CHURCH: CNN's Anna Coren is following developments for us from Hong Kong. She joins us now live.

Good to see you, Anna.

What are you learning from all of? This

ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: There are deep divisions within the Taliban. There is no secret of that. So they might want to put up a unified front and certainly Baradar, who is considered the most moderate of the Taliban, who was in charge of those U.S. negotiations, he is going to protect. This

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COREN: But the truth is you have the Haqqani Network, which is a hardline network that was responsible for the suicide bombings and mass destruction throughout the years of conflict. We know that there is a hard line to the Taliban. So they might present themselves as a new and reformed but that simply isn't the case.

The 33 mullahs, who are now the shadow cabinet ministers, they're majority Pashtun. We are not seeing any representation from any ethnic minorities. None of the positions are women. This is something we've spoken about.

The Taliban are a month into this. So wanting legitimacy from the outside world when they promised being an inclusive government fell flat. They are complete lies. Not one country, Rosemary, has recognized the Taliban government, a government facing a humanitarian crisis.

We heard from the United Nations secretary general, saying this is a perilous hour for Afghanistan. They managed to raise $1.1 billion in funds from donor countries. But that aid is going to have to be distributed -- food, medical supplies, tents, blankets, the sort of things that people desperately need.

We heard from the World Food Programme that has said 14 million people are facing starvation. And food will run out by the end of the month.

Interestingly, Rosemary, speaking to some people still in Kabul, according to the shopkeepers, they say the Taliban are in charge, they don't have to worry about security. The crime has dropped. Electricity -- when we were there in July, there was rolling outages.

Now electricity has been restored. Garbage is being taken away. So look, there clearly are some things that are functioning and moving. But for a country that was so dependent on foreign aid, there are people who will go hungry and will starve unless that aid arrives.

CHURCH: So many millions really are at risk of starving at this juncture. Anna Coren, joining us live there, many thanks.

In the past few weeks, women across Afghanistan have taken to the streets to protest against Taliban rule. Now many are living in fear and in hiding, worried that, much like their rights and freedoms, their lives could also be at risk. CNN's Nic Robertson has more from Kabul.

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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: In happier times, Taranom Seyedi saved children from abuse, paid for it with profits from a construction company she built. Now, she is in hiding from the Taliban, in fear for her life.

TARANOM SEYEDI, AFGHAN HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST (through translator): They are trying to threaten us and execute us secretly, as they did to many of my female friends.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Her crime: in the Taliban's eyes, protests, taking to the streets two weeks ago, demanding equal rights. She was beaten and bruised.

Ever since, Taliban death threats have stalked her. So much fear she now hopes, if death comes, it's fast.

SEYEDI (through translator): I am not afraid of death; but I wish when they find me, they kill me quickly. If they torture me first, then they will kill me without any honor. Everyone wants to die with dignity.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Before the Taliban, she was well-known, popular, ran for parliament, might have been elected if not for endemic corruption. She hoped her high profile might save her, now has no idea what to do.

SEYEDI (through translator): How long can I be brave?

How long do we have to fight?

In fact, fight with whom?

With whom to talk?

With whom to discuss?

We are in darkness with no way to get to a brighter future.

ROBERTSON: Across the country, many more women like Seyedi hide in fear of the Taliban. They share older news social media posts that they say show arbitrary abuse that are both hard to verify and the Taliban deny.

For now, they are the only way the women can protest their plight.

MAHBOUBA SERAJ, AFGHAN WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Everything, everything that we knew, everything that we built, everything, especially the women, everything is at stake right now because we are actually facing a situation that, we are so disliked by a group of people who are actually running this country, they can't even look at us. ROBERTSON (voice-over): Mahbouba Seraj is Afghanistan's highest profile women's rights activist.

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ROBERTSON (voice-over): She returned from the U.S. when the Taliban were ousted two decades ago. She won't leave again, she says, will stay here to defend women, get the world's attention.

SERAJ: They're going to make problems. They are going to raise their voices, they're going to start -- you know, they can -- the world is becoming a very small place now.

ROBERTSON: These are brutal guys with guns, who turn them on crowds.

SERAJ: It's true.

But for how long?

They are going to be killing everybody?

Is that what they want to do?

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Seyedi is facing an agonizing choice. She is the breadwinner, her parents -- brother's family and the abused children she rescued depend on her.

SEYEDI (through translator): They need me, so I need to be strong and that's really hard.

ROBERTSON: But to stay is to risk death.

SEYEDI (through translator): We tried a lot to have a better Afghanistan, to have a better life, to have a better future. In fact, me and my friends didn't expect that one day, we will be forced to leave our own country. But they took everything from us. ROBERTSON: What happens now, she says, depends on her calls for help

to the U.S., the U.K., Canada and others. If she does leave, Seyedi vows to fight on -- Nic Robertson, CNN, Kabul, Afghanistan.

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CHURCH: Coming up, next an exclusive interview with Pakistan's prime minister. He sat down with CNN's Becky Anderson to talk about the Taliban and his country's relationship with the United States.

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CHURCH: Pakistan's prime minister says the best path to stability in Afghanistan is to engage with the Taliban.

Imran Khan sat down for an exclusive interview, his first with CNN since the Taliban took control in Kabul. He has criticized the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and told our Becky Anderson that he hasn't had any communication with President Joe Biden.

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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: You haven't spoken to the President of the United States since the collapse of the country to the Taliban?

IMRAN KHAN, PAKISTAN PRIME MINISTER: No, I haven't.

ANDERSON: He hasn't called you since coming into office, correct?

KHAN: He's a busy man.

ANDERSON: Pakistan is a major non-NATO ally and yet no call between you and the U.S. President.

Do you see this as punishment for supporting the Taliban while they were killing U.S. troops?

KHAN: You have to ask him why he's too busy to call.

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ANDERSON: The fact is Washington, it seems just contrast Pakistan. There are calls by lawmakers to reassess the relationship with Islamabad now, to reassess its status as a major non-NATO ally. This was the exchange during the U.S. secretary of state's congressional testimony on Afghanistan on Monday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We used to always hear diplomatically that we have a complicated relationship with Afghanistan -- I mean, with Pakistan. I would say it's often complicitous.

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I think you're very right to point out to the role that Pakistan has played throughout the past 20 years and even before. And it is one that is involved hedging its constantly about the future of Afghanistan. It's one that has involved harboring members of the Taliban, including the Haqqanis.

ANDERSON: Is that true? And what's your response?

KHAN: They are ignorant. I was listening to them. I have never heard such ignorance. They are absolutely clueless, number one, about what happened in Afghanistan. They were all in the state of shock. The State of Pakistan was under attack for being an ally of the U.S.

ANDERSON: Let me --

KHAN: Even now, we're supposed to take on also the Taliban.

ANDERSON: How do you qualify the U.S. Pakistan relationship this day? And what sort of relationship do you want to see with the U.S.?

KHAN: Unfortunately, you know, our relationship during this whole -- the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan was a terrible relationship. What I would like a relationship with the U.S. now like the U.S. has a relationship with India. You know, and not one-dimensional relationship where they're paying us to fight, we want to normal relationship.

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CHURCH: Imran Khan, speaking to CNN's Becky Anderson. And we will, of course, have more of that interview next hour. For now, let's bring in Christine Fair. She is an expert on South Asia politics and teaches security studies at Georgetown University.

Thank you so much for joining us.

CHRISTINE FAIR, PROFESSOR OF SECURITY STUDIES, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Well, thank you for having me.

CHURCH: So, how surprised were you to find out in that CNN interview with Pakistan's prime minister that not only did President Biden not call him since the collapse of the Afghan government and the withdrawal of U.S. troops, but they haven't spoken to each other at all since Biden took office?

FAIR: I mean, quite frankly, I think that's completely appropriate. Biden, when he was vice president, and I would say, the Bush administration never quite understood that Pakistan was duplicitous, that it was taking money from us on the one end and giving it to the Taliban on the other. The Bush administration could never really wrap its head around that.

But the Obama administration came in, there had been a series of assessments the entire summer before the election. The Obama administration had hired Bruce Riedel (ph), who was a very well-known critic of Pakistan, to do the assessment of all those assessments.

So, Biden came in as vice president along with President Obama with a pretty clear understanding that the reason why we were having so many problems in Afghanistan was actually because of Pakistan. So, I'm not surprised that Biden had no interest in speaking with Prime Minister Khan. And there is another reason too. He's actually not a relevant player in Pakistan. I mean, he's not even the mayor of Islamabad.

For all intense and purposes, the persons that drive all the policy that affect American interest is not the prime minister, it's the army chief, and it's the ISI chiefs, the intelligence chiefs.

CHURCH: Right. And clearly, that comes out in this, the sense of being shut out. In that interview, you didn't get that sense of bitterness over the relationship between Pakistan and the U.S. Prime Minister Khan says his country has suffered as a result of becoming an ally of the U.S. since the 9/11 attacks and even before that, he says not only being accused in the region of being a collaborator with the U.S., but also having his own country attacked by, he said 480 U.S. drones. What's your reaction to all of that?

FAIR: One of perpetual sob stories that Pakistan tells is that it has been a victim of its relationship with United States. I could give you 17 years of history to demonstrate that this is simply not the case. What we have had is a relationship where we have overpaid Pakistan, and Pakistan has repeatedly been a marginal satisfier. This relationship where we pay Pakistan a lot to do things that we know it's not going to do but which we, at least, have some minimal expectation was really cast in the 1950s. And that relationship persists to date

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I think one of the most frustrating things I have with Pakistani narratives like the one that Imran Khan is currently parroting, and these are very consistent, I mean, there's nothing new in what he said, was that, for example, the Jihad in Afghanistan to oust the Soviets was somehow an American ruse. Actually, that is so far from the truth, Pakistan began this Jihad in Afghanistan in 1973. And we weren't really paying attention to what was happening in Afghanistan. In fact, President Carter sanctioned Pakistan in April of '79 for a progress in its nuclear processing.

So clearly, we were not planning to suck Pakistan into some great Jihad if we had just sanction them. And I could go through these kinds of analysis for every docket (ph) of our relationship. The consistent thing about our relationship is that we overpay Pakistan, and it is a marginal satisfier. And this is the relationship that has been going on since the '50s.

CHURCH: Right. And Imran Khan has been critical of the U.S. troop withdrawal of Afghanistan, but at the same time, he can't understand why Washington doesn't trust Pakistan. He accuses the U.S. of being ignorant when it comes to understanding how Pakistan operates and its relationship with the Haqqani Network in Afghanistan. How extensive is that breakdown and understanding, and will trust always be difficult between the U.S. and Pakistan because that is where Osama bin Laden was hiding out in the end?

FAIR: Right. So, let's be really clear about that interview. Everything that he said was completely undermined by the fact that he asserted that the Haqqanis are a tribe amongst Pashtuns. It is just not true. That's not where the Haqqanis even got their name.

So, I don't even know where to begin with such a ball fiction. He knows full well that Pakistan working Zalmay Khalilzad, the special representatives for Afghanistan and Pakistan, this was a desired outcome, right? Zalmay Khalilzad for purposes that we will perhaps in the coming years better understand and I suspect they were largely for personal gain, essentially negotiated to hand Afghanistan back to the Pakistanis.

So, when he claims that this was an outcome that was injurious to Pakistan, it's absolutely fiction. And I can say this with extreme confidence because Pakistan has been pursuing this policy of what it calls strategic depth, which is where Pakistan wants Afghanistan to essentially be Pakistan system. It's been doing this since the earliest years of independence.

And so, I think one of the geniuses of Pakistan is that it is able to get the United States to do exactly what it wants it to do while claiming that it is in fact the victim in this process and demanding compensation for the same. You know, I have to give the Pakistanis credit for being able to pull off this Hail Mary virtually every time.

CHURCH: Christine Fair, thank you so much for your analysis. We appreciate it.

FAIR: Thank you.

CHURCH: And coming up, the FBI director is apologizing for his agency's failure to properly investigate former USA gymnastics doctor, Larry Nassar. We will hear from Christopher Wray and several of Nasser's victims. That's next.

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CHURCH: America's top gymnast are demanding justice over the FBI's botched investigation into sexual abuse allegations against Dr. Larry Nassar. Back in July, a Justice Department inspector general report found that FBI agents failed to properly document complaints by the accusers, and then later lied about it.

On Wednesday, Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney and Maggie Nichols testified on Capitol Hill calling out the system that so badly failed them.

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SIMONE BILES, U.S. GYMNAST: To be clear, I blame Larry Nassar and I also blame an entire system that enabled and perpetrated his abuse.

MCKAYLA MARONEY, U.S. GYMNAST: Today, I ask you all to hear my voice. I ask you to please do all that is in your power to ensure that these individuals are held responsible and accountable for ignoring my initial report, for lying about my initial report, and for covering up for a child molester.

MAGGIE NICHOLS, U.S. GYMNAST: This conduct by these FBI agents, including a special agent in start, who are held in high regard and expected to protect the public is unacceptable, disgusting, and shameful.

ALY RAISMAN, U.S. GYMNAST: If we don't do all we can to get these facts, the problems we are here to address will persist. And we are deluding ourselves if we think other children can be spared the institutionalized tolerance and normalization of abuse that I and so many others had to endure.

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CHURCH: These women are among the hundreds of athletes assaulted by former USA gymnastics team Dr. Larry Nassar. He pleaded guilty to some of those cases in 2017 and is currently serving up to 175 years in prison. FBI director, Chris Wray, testified he felt heartsick and furious about how the agency failed and Nassar's victims.

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CHRISTOPHER WRAY, FBI DIRECTOR: I am not interested in simply addressing this wrong and moving on. It is my commitment to you that I and my entire senior leadership team are going to make damn sure everybody at the FBI remembers what happened here in heartbreaking detail. We need to remember the pain that occurred when our folks failed to do their jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And World Sport will have more on the gymnast and their testimony coming up next. And I'll be back at the top of the hour with more CNN Newsroom. Join us then.

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