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Former Secretary Of State Madeleine Albright Dies At 84; Russia Launches Devastating Attacks In Ukraine Despite Assessment Troops Are Stalled; Officials: Belarus Troops Could Join Fight In Ukraine; Now, Final Day Of Questioning For Ketanji Brown Jackson; Jakob Kern, Executive Director & Organizer For Ukraine Crisis, World Food Programme, Discusses Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine Threatening Food Security In Ukraine And Across The Globe. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired March 23, 2022 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: She was the very first woman to hold that position. A strong diplomat known to never mince words.

And remembered by many for the unique pins and broaches she would wear to send subtle messages to world leaders.

CNN's Richard Roth looks at her legacy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As a diplomat, where tact and treading gingerly on contentious issues are the norm, Madeleine Albright was never one to mince words.

MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: This is not cajones. This is cowardness.

ROTH: Whether it was her colorful use language condemning Cuba for shooting down U.S. pilots or her strident assessment of the leader of Iraq.

ALBRIGHT: I don't think the world has seen, except maybe since Hitler, somebody who is quite as evil as Saddam Hussein.

ROTH: The Iraqi dictator was said to be so incensed by Albright's verbal attacks he published a poem in Iraqi newspapers calling her an "unrelenting serpent."

Albright's response was one of quiet defiance. From that moment forward, she wore a brooch in the shape of a serpent at every meeting with the Iraqi leadership.

And she began using her pins, as she called them, as a way of sending subtle messages without saying a word.

Born Marie Jana Korbelova to a Czechoslovakian diplomat, Albright and her family fled the former Czechoslovakia after the Nazi invasion in 1939 and later found safe haven in the United States in 1948. She became a U.S. citizen, married media tycoon, Joseph Patterson

Albright, and had three children, all while working on her PhD and learning multiple languages.

In 1982, Albright took a prestigious position as professor of international affairs at Georgetown University.

But it was the shock of her husband asking for a divorce around that same time that changed the course of her life.

ALBRIGHT: There was an identity crisis. As it turns out, I think those next 10 years were the ones that were the most influential.

ROTH: She poured herself into her work, becoming foreign policy adviser to then-presidential candidate, Bill Clinton, in 1992.

Clinton, in turn, tapped her for the post of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations after he won the White House.

As U.N. ambassador, Albright became known for her tenacity and determination to elevate U.S. interests at the U.N. through what she called aggressive multilateralism.

ALBRIGHT: We must summon the spine to deter, the support to isolate, and the strength to defeat those who run roughshod over the rights of others.

ROTH: She pushed hard for U.S. boots on the ground in the Balkans. The U.S. administration chose diplomacy instead, a decision that came at a costly human price.

An even bigger regret, the failure of the U.S. to intervene to stop the Rwandan genocide in 1994.

ALBRIGHT: I, Madeleine Korbel Albright --

ROTH: Lessons learned from her past and the present as Albright cemented her place in history becoming the first ever U.S. female secretary of state on January 23, 1997.

When the Kosovo conflict erupted in 1998, Albright lobbied forcefully for NATO intervention.

The NATO-led effort helped Kosovo gain independence from Serbian control. And the ICC indicted the Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic for war crimes.

ALBRIGHT: Never again will there be massacres and mass graves.

ROTH: Through it all, Albright's experience as a refugee who found the American dream was omnipresent in her life.

ALBRIGHT: My life reflects both the turbulence of Europe in the middle of this century and the tolerance and generosity of America throughout its existence.

ROTH: In her later years, Albright's comments in support of Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, backfired.

ALBRIGHT: There's a special place in hell for women who don't help each other.

(CHEERING)

ROTH: She apologized for the timing of her so-called undiplomatic moment in a "New York Times" op-ed and seized the opportunity to make a passionate case for gender equality by saying:

"My hope is that young women will build on the progress we have made. But that will happen only if women help one another. And for those who do that, there will always be a special place of honor."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Madeleine Albright was 84 years old.

[14:34:09]

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: A shipment of U.S. military aid to Ukraine has been delivered according to a U.S. Official. The rest of the $800 million package will arrive as soon as possible.

What are we talking about here? These are the antiaircraft systems, the armed drones, other critical defenses to help the Ukrainians fight Russian forces.

The Ukrainian troops are pushing back and holding territory in some areas. They have regained control of the town of Makarov near the capital.

Ukrainians say they're putting pressure on Russian troops in Bouka (ph). And Ukrainians in Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and Kherson, they're also fighting back.

We've also just learned what I told you at the top of the show that 15,000 -- up to 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since the invasion began four weeks ago. That's according to two senior NATO military officials.

Let's discuss with retired Army Brigadier General Steve Anderson.

General, welcome back.

Before we go to the map, I want to ask you about this assessment that we've head. It's the current assessment -- it has been for some time now -- that Russians had been stalled in this approach toward the capital and in other areas in the country.

[14:40:07]

But how do you reconcile that with the bombardment, these devastating attacks we're seeing across the country?

BRIG. GEN. STEVE ANDERSON, U.S. ARMY, RETIRED: Well, thank you, Victor, for having me.

It shows you what a desperate man will do when he can't impose his will.

His military is not doing what it needs to do. Therefore -- I mean, in the first phase in this operation, he attempted to do a blitzkrieg, as we know, and it turned into a sit-krieg.

So then he adopted the next phase, essentially what we're no now, the bomb and the submission phase. I submit to you it's going to fail just like the first phase did.

But what's really good news about the delivery of the supplies from the United States in this military aid package is that perhaps they can now support counteroffensive.

We just saw perhaps the victory in Makarov, retaking that city. We've seen also some activity in Kherson that was successful.

And this is really good news for the Ukrainians because they need to negotiate with Putin from a position of strength.

It's not going to happen until they push him back and they conduct a successful counteroffensive.

There are three indicators -- if you'll let me continue here, Victor, just a bit --

BLACKWELL: Go ahead.

ANDERSON: -- that are going well for them.

Which is the first is that the will of the Ukraine people is very, very good. It continues to be good. They continue to resist.

The second is that the Ukrainian logistics system appears to be going well. We thought early on it would be a race between the logistics systems of the West versus the Russian's logistics system.

We can see now their logistics is terrible. The roads have been shut down. They've lost 700 trucks.

They had 14 rail brigades. None of those are in the action. None of the rail resupplies has happened effectively. They don't have any airports that are operating effectively.

Whereas the Ukrainians are able to get everything they want for their people, including food and water.

The third indicator is that the Ukrainian morale and leadership is very, very strong. And of course, that contrasts with the struggling Russians. Of course, good logistics contributes to good morale. It's hard for a person to fight when they're not appropriately fed, if they're thirsty, cold, and they're out of ammo.

Of course, victory -- (INAUDIBLE) -- a great deal. But you see the Russians, they lost five general officers. They have no non- commissioned officers. All their decision making is centralized.

All that is indicators that they have really low morale. I mean, the American Army would never leave a fallen comrade.

So the delivery of these systems, in particular, support to an emerging counteroffensive is hugely important and needs to continue.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about the Russians and what could come next,

Because we learned from U.K. Ministry of Defense that the Russians potentially are now moving in from Kharkiv, moving troops here in toward the center of the country.

And could possibly try to surround troops in the east, the Ukrainian troops.

Also we know that Belarus, they could join this fight as well with their troops.

Is it your expectation that the troops coming in from Belarus would go toward the capital, as they've been trying for four weeks trying to encircle Kyiv or, as we've seen the increase in attacks out west, that they would head toward Lviv?

ANDERSON: My assessment is that they're going to be used anywhere they'd be used anywhere they'd be more effective out in the West.

We're only talking about 20,000 troops here. We're talking about two enhanced brigades, maybe two reserve brigades. I don't think they'll have a big impact.

First of all, they have a pretty poor reputation in the military community.

The other thing is command and control. How is this going to work? Are they going to report to the Russians? How are they going to integrate what they're doing with what the Russians are trying to do?

In the American Army, we fight as a combined arms team. We integrate air and artillery and mechanized forces and infantry. We conduct maneuver warfare.

Whereas it looks like the Russians, I suppose the Belarusians as well, they understand nothing but brute force warfare.

And they're going to have the same problems as the Russians in operating in Ukraine because they've got a very resilient enemy they're fighting, Ukrainians, who know what they're doing.

They know every nook and cranny in the terrain. And now you've got people coming down from the north.

I mean, they can't just pull it up on Map Quest or Google Maps. They don't know where they're going.

And they're going to run into people that do and they're going to know how to flank them, how to resist them, and how to kill them.

BLACKWELL: As we've heard from other military experts, troop levels are not the biggest problem for the Russians right now. As you talked about, many of their logistic challenges as well.

Brigadier General Steve Anderson, thank you.

All right. This is the final day of questioning in the hearings for Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson.

And it has featured some contentious exchanges between Judge Jackson and Republicans on the committee. Including one moment in particular with Senator Lindsey Graham.

[14:45:02]

We're going to bring that to you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: At any moment now, the Senate Judiciary Committee will continue with round two of questioning of Supreme Court nominee, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Today, Republicans continued to cast her, or tried to cast her, as a judicial activist. They questioned her stance on court packing, her times as a public defender and again, her sentencing record as a judge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): It seems as though you're a very kind person. And that there's at least a level of empathy that enters into your treatment of a defendant.

[14:50:03]

That some could view as a -- maybe beyond what some of us would be comfortable with respect to administering justice.

JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON, U.S. SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: My attempts to communicate directly with defendants about public safety.

Because most people who are incarcerated via the federal system and even via the state system will come out, will be a part of our communities again.

So it's to our entire benefit, as Congress has recognized, to ensure that people who come out stop committing crimes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: With me now, CNN Supreme Court report, Ariane De Vogue.

Ariane, we saw what appeared to be a bit of frustration from Judge Jackson today, especially in this exchange with Senator Graham.

I think these are live pictures. Questioning now resuming for the afternoons.

But what moments stood out to you today?

ARIANE DE VOGUE, CNN SUPREME COURT REPORTER: You're right. They continue to press her of being soft on crime. She continues to push back on it.

And today, we say a little of that.

And she said, I come from a family of law enforcement. My brother was in law enforcement. My uncles were in law enforcement. I grew up being worried about their safety. I believe in public safety.

She was trying to push back hard on that notion that she is somehow soft on crime.

She also talked about something else interesting today. She was asked about the meaning of her nomination, the fact she's the first black woman to be nominated to the Supreme Court.

She was pretty eloquent in her response, referring back to her parents.

Take a listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACKSON: My parents grew up in Florida under lawful segregation.

And what that means is that when they were coming through middle school and high school, they were not allowed to go to school with white students.

And I do consider myself, having been born in 1970, to be the first generation to benefit from the civil rights movement.

From the legacy of all of the work of so many people that went into changing the laws in this country so that people like me could have an opportunity to be sitting here before you today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DE VOGUE: Right there, again, you're seeing her stressing the historic nature of her nomination.

She sat for 13 hours yesterday. She's supposed to go until 7:00 p.m. tonight. So two very long days so far.

BLACKWELL: Ariane, I just got a note from our producer that she is now being questioned by Senator Ted Cruz.

We know that, yesterday, his questioning focused, in large part, on Critical Race Theory. His questions about her thoughts on that. And also he said, at one point, he saw in Judge Jackson what he thought was an activism and advocacy for sexual predators, questioning her sentencing in those cases.

We'll, of course, bring you the latest from this round of questioning.

Ariane De Vogue, for us there. Thank you very much.

DE VOGUE: Thank you.

Well, food and medical supplies are running low in cities across Ukraine. Officials warn the consequences of Putin's war could be global and threaten food security across the world. We'll talk more about this, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:56:39]

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Listen to this. It's hard to believe that every second a child from the Ukraine arrives in a European Union country. That's according to UNICEF and the E.U. chief.

Russia's war is creating a historic humanitarian crisis. And seven million people are still displaced within Ukraine.

You're looking at now evacuees reaching Zvaracia (ph) through one of the agreed-upon humanitarian corridors.

These corridors are also crucial. They are critical for getting aid to people who remain trapped in cut-off areas like Mariupol.

But the World Food Programme warns that food supply chains in Ukraine are now falling apart.

So let's discuss now. Jakob Kern is here. Jakob is the executive director of the World Food Programme. He's the organizations emergency coordinator for the Ukraine crisis.

He joins us now in Ukraine. He joins us now. He's in Poland.

Thank you so much. I appreciate you joining us, Jakob.

Some towns in Ukraine --

JAKOB KERN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & EMERGENCY COORDINATOR FOR UKRAINE CRISIS, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME: Thank you.

LEMON: -- only have three to four days left of food left. That's according to aid groups. The aide group from Mercy Corps, I interviewed someone from Mercy Corps just an hour or so ago.

What's your biggest concern here? KERN: Well, our biggest concern is to get access to the people that

need it the most. That's the people like in cities in Mariupol, in encircled cities.

And if you ask across Ukraine, half the people are saying are about how to get food. And food is in the top three concerns, next to security, obviously, and fuel for transportation and fuel for cooking.

So it's access we need to reach these people. You talked about the corridors so far. The corridors have been mainly to get people out but they have not been allowed to bring supplies in.

If you talk to city of one million people, we will talk about 20 trucks a day that will have to go in to provide food for the entire population.

LEMON: Let's talk more about those corridors, specifically. Because Ukraine says Russia is refusing opening humanitarian corridors around her Kherson. Now 300,000 people there almost out of food and medical supplies.

Jakob, what type of change in strategy is necessary to reach these folks?

KERN: We access, we need it from both sides. We need a commitment from both sides to stop fighting, to stop the hostilities for 48 hours, 24, 48 hours to give us a window to safely deliver food in.

And also bring people, our own people and other people out of the city.

These windows are crucial for safe delivery of food to places like Mariupol.

And we need that commitment from both sides to let us do that in a safe manner.

LEMON: Jakob, the European Union president said that Putin's war threatens food security across the world. It's not just Ukraine.

What could those consequences look like in your estimation?

[14:59:56]

KERN: The most-dire consequence would be higher food prices. Russia and Ukraine are, combined, 30 percent of the wheat production in the world.

Ukraine is the fifth-largest producer worldwide. And in the top three for sunflower oil.