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Quest Means Business
ISIS Claims It Inspired Berlin Truck Rampage; Merkel Pays Respects at Scene of Berlin Attack; Russia And Turkey Pledge Investigation Cooperation; Russia 'Determined to Fight Terror' After Envoy's Assassination; U.N. Urges End to Extrajudicial Killings; China Returns Seized U.S. Underwater Drone; Dow Positioning to Take a Run at 20,000; MH370: Searchers Almost Certainly Looking in the Wrong Place. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired December 20, 2016 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:00:08] RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening. I am Richard Quest in New York.
And the latest developments tonight, ISIS is claiming it inspired the terror attack in Berlin as the German police are now warning citizens to
be, in the words, vigilant. Well, obviously, we're following the situation in Germany and we'll be there in just a moment.
Also, of course, tonight, the body of the assassinated Russian ambassador to Turkey has returned home. Turkish officials placed the blame for his
murder on the Fethullah Gulen movement.
And we'll get the latest on the evacuation of Aleppo. According to one side, it's due to be completed in the next day. Others suggest it might
take somewhat longer.
So, it's going to be a very busy hour ahead and we need to begin in Berlin.
Hala Gorani is near the scene of the attack in the German Capitol. Good evening, Hala.
HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Good evening, Richard. I am in Berlin. Indeed, we're coming to you live.
Germany is still reeling really after that truck plowed through a crowded Christmas market in that apparent terrorist attack.
Now, there are a lot of developments to bring you this hour. The first is a new claim from ISIS online. The group says it inspired the rampage that
left 12 people dead Monday night and so many more were critically injured.
Also, a short while ago, German authorities released a suspect that they had in custody since yesterday. That means that the man police are calling
a dangerous criminal remains at large.
Paul Cruickshank is CNN's terrorism analyst. He is in London. Let's first talk about this claim of responsibility from ISIS's media agency as it's
called. What should we make of it?
PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, Hala, they're claiming they inspired the attack or responded to that calls for attacks in the west but
they're offering no evidence whatsoever to back this claim up that they indeed inspired this attack.
And as far as the investigation is concerned in Germany, our investigators haven't publicly articulated any evidence to suggest that this was Islamist
terrorism. They don't have a suspect right now in custody. They let the - - a suspect go because they didn't think that they were involved in the attack. So they really don't know what kind of individual, what kind of
group was responsible for this at this point.
Now, the MO of the attack, a truck attack, is only consistent with the kind of calls ISIS has been putting out in recent months, four truck attacks in
the west. But we don't yet know whether it was indeed somebody who was inspired by ISIS or even by Islamist idealogy who carried this out, Hala.
GORANI: So, where that does that leave the investigation? I mean does that literally mean we're back at square one here more than 24 hours after
the attack?
CRUICKSHANK: Well, unless the Germans are keeping their cards very close, it may well be that there are very few leads at the moment when it comes to
the investigation that the -- apprehending the people who was responsible.
They are asking the general public people who were in that area to supply them with video before, during and after the attack that periods (ph) that
perhaps so they can spot somehow the attackers on that tape and that could then help them identify somebody. But they have not put out any picture of
any suspects or anything like that which leads you to believe that perhaps they haven't been able yet to get any visual images of who was responsible.
They don't even know how many people were responsible. And they don't know, frankly, if they were even male or female at this point given what
they publicly articulated, Hala.
GORANI: All right. Thanks very much. So many more questions out there, perhaps even more questions than we had yesterday, which leaves us with
very little to go on in terms of who is responsible for this attack.
It all puts the issue of migration back at the forefront as far as the politicians are concerned even at this early stage in the investigation.
Some are calling German Chancellor Angela Merkel's policy on migration into question. Mrs. Merkel says, it would be especially disgusting if someone
given asylum by Germany was confirmed to be behind the attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGELA MERKEL, CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY (through translation): We must assume that this was a terrorist attack. I know that it would be especially hard
to bear for us if it was to be confirmed that the person committed this act was given protection and asylum in Germany. This would be especially
disgusting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[16:05:00] GORANI: All right. Again, this is not something that is backed up by any proof. It's not something that's been announced. Put simply, we
have no idea who did this.
Earlier, I spoke to Mayor Reinhard Naumann of Berlin's Charlottenburg District where the attack took place right where we're coming to from. I
asked him what should be done to help make people feel safer here.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAYOR REUNHARD NAUMANN, CHARLOTTENBURG DISTRICT: We are in a difficult situation. Of course, before the opening took place of the Christmas
market, we were in a close contact with the police and all experts about security questions. And what you said is totally right. Would you go to a
Christmas market with fences and wall around? Of course not. So, we have to realize that an open society is vulnerable.
GORANI: Yes, it's vulnerable.
NAUMANN: Yes.
GORANI: But still, you have to now come up with something because people will not be able to enjoy themselves if they think, well, there's a real
risk that a copycat attack or a similar attack will happen. What do you propose?
NAUMANN: We need more coming together, everyone. More have a look around. And at least, we need the very intense work of the police and all security
experts.
GORANI: So, not walls or poles or metals poles.
NAUMANN: No, that's not possible.
GORANI: You don't think of any physical barrier. What do you say to the people who will criticize you --
NAUMANN: Let me say an answer to the question about the physical barrier.
GORANI: Yes.
NAUMANN: The way -- what's the way for the fire brigades if something happens.
GORANI: Right, right.
NAUMANN: So, this was a security way. Even if there would be a barrier, you can make a round and going directly towards the --
GORANI: But what do you say to the critics who will tell you and inevitably you will hear this, you knew or officials knew or the police
knew there was a threat and yet this happened? What went wrong? What will you answer to that question?
NAUMANN: Nothing went wrong, really nothing. I'm a little bit astonished about all people who are knowing that afterwards. We had the bombs in the
tube in London. We had Paris. We had Brussels. In a free and open-mind society, you don't have enough security.
What we need is building bridges. What we need is -- that's my serious opinion, not to take all refugees in a corner and thinking every one of
them is now a criminal, going to the trucks and to murder brave people in Berlin or otherwise. We need more -- yes, more building bridges coming
together and of course, that's the power of the recht das.
GORANI: Now, that I don't know.
NAUMANN: The power of the --
GORANI: What is recht das?
NAUMANN: The power of the law.
GORANI: Oh, yes.
NAUMANN: Yes, the power of the law, if you talk to responsible people to put them in jail.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: And there you have a local mayor telling me putting up physical barriers is not going to make people safer. That they -- in his opinion,
people, they should build bridges rather than put up walls. Of course, that's a debate that's going to be a big one for Germany after this attack.
Police in Berlin though are warning their citizens tonight. It is possible that the perpetuator of this attack is on the run and could be dangerous.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): It is possible that there is still a dangerous perpetuator on the run. And, of course, people are
worried. I believe people who live in this city should be vigilant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Our Senior International Correspondent Fred Pleitgen is in Berlin as well, part of our team covering the events here in the tragedy of the
Christmas market. Tell us more about where we stand on this investigation.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Hala. Well, look, at this point, the police isn't even sure how many people might be
involved in all of this they say, but obviously they have this man in custody who is from Pakistan. However, they let him go earlier today
because they said they simply didn't have enough especially forensic evidence inside the cab of that truck to link him to what happened here.
And then also what they say that most of his alibis checked out as well. And then, they had to let him go.
[16:10:01] Now, what they're saying right now is they're looking into possible further people who might have been involved in this. But they
don't know whether it was a group, whether it was an individual who might be behind all this. And the interesting thing is also that the authorities
here are saying that, of course, they're working to apprehend whoever may have conduct this but at the same time, we're not really hearing very much
in the way of raids taking place. We're not hearing very much in the way of a possible dragnet operations trying to apprehend people.
So, it really looks as though the police is trying to do all of this away from the public eye and really is trying to apprehend this person as best
they can. But at the same time, what they're also saying is they're calling on the people here in Berlin to remain very vigilant. They
obviously say don't go into panic mode but at the same time, they also say if you see anything suspicious, don't act on your own, call the police
because obviously whoever is still out there might potentially be armed and is most certainly dangerous.
GORANI: It's very different from what we saw in the aftermath for instance of the Charlie Hebdo attacks. We had a huge manhunt there culminated in
this dramatic takedown of the two terrorists. After Brussels as well, you were reporting on all this raise in Mullenbach and other places. Here
though, we're not seeing that at all?
PLEITGEN: You're absolute right. And it is really a big difference especially if you look at for instance the Paris attacks where only a few
hours after those took place, we obviously had that big action there in Saint-Denis. If we look back at the Charlie Hebdo attacks where you had
those police actions going on really throughout a large part of France, that certainly isn't something that's taking place here.
At the same time, you really don't feel as though this is a city or even a country where you feel panic. I mean you still see a lot a people out in
the street. You still see a lot of people who are quite shaken by this attack but at the same time, of course, are still going out. They are
still going out and about and are still willing to go to Christmas markets even though I have heard that some have actually been shut down today after
obviously what happened here yesterday.
But you're absolutely right. It really seems as though the police work that's going on here is a lot more subtle. One would believe that perhaps
they're trying to work off intelligence, maybe also working off a lot of the forensics that they've obviously gotten so far.
But at the same time, it is certainly the case that we're not seeing for instance, big police raids. We're not seeing large movements also of
police vehicles around Berlin or around other parts of Germany because we also have to keep in mind that whoever does conduct this attack, if he got
away initially would be -- would have a very easy time than traveling on.
This is obviously a hub for railway right here, just a couple of feet away from where all this happened. There's also a huge bus terminal as well.
So certainly, anybody who would've done this could have gotten away pretty far, pretty quickly Hala.
GORANI: OK. Fred Pleitgen, thanks very much covering the story along with our team here on the ground. Richard, it has to be said. It is a lot
calmer than you would except after this attack today. People are pretty somber.
The people you see milling around behind me are mainly walking to some of these memorials where they're lighting candles and laying down flowers, you
know, trying to sort of show their solidarity with the victims and those people who went through this horrific attack.
So, it is quieter. But if you think that there's potentially an armed gunman on the run in the city, I do find it also remarkable that people are
out at all, Richard.
QUEST: Hala, before you'd go, I was very interested in what the man was saying to you when you asked him bluntly what went wrong. And he said,
nothing went wrong. In a free society, it is incumbent that, you know, people have to be allowed to go free.
And, you know, maybe it's not a failure of intelligence whatever, but nothing went wrong. I thought that was interesting to hear him say that.
GORANI: I mean, it is interesting. But I think -- I mean, there is a middle ground there. You can leave a free life and more or less a lot of
people to congregate and have people get together, but also take some precautions.
I mean, you see for instance some of these barriers around embassies, around ministries, you see sometimes these discrete sort of like metallic
pylons that are placed outside of sensitive potential targets.
Is this something that, you know, Berlin, Germany, other places around Europe are just going to have to start doing now where you can't prevent an
attack on a soft target, but perhaps you can mitigate the impact of a mass casualty attempt like this one.
If you had something like this around the market like this one, perhaps it could've minimized the number of people who were killed.
QUEST: But --
GORANI: Yes.
QUEST: But Hala, there are 80 Christmas markets in Berlin alone. Now, you know, it won't be -- there won't be beyond the wit (ph).
GORANI: That is true.
QUEST: There won't be beyond the wit of the terrorist to work out well. We can't do it in Berlin. We'll do it in Munich, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt,
even the Rudesheim. You know -- I mean, this is the conundrum the authorities face.
[16:15:05] GORANI: I mean obvious -- but you make a great point. I mean obviously, you cannot barricade yourself behind blast walls your entire
life. At some point, you have to go about your business and live your life.
Although for very high profile soft targets like this Christmas market behind me, it's very well-known, tourists flock here, it's a symbol really.
You know, in Berlin, one of the very well-known Christmas markets.
This is perhaps a place that is now going to have to deal with the reality that in order to discourage copycat attacks or to protect the people who
come here in the coming years, I don't know if it will reopen really before Christmas, I very much doubt it, that you're going to have to take some of
these precautions and that this is kind of the new normal perhaps.
QUEST: Hala Gorani, thank you Hala. Keep well -- keep warm I should say in the cold of Berlin. Thank you.
Now, the other major story, it's all related to the same questions of Aleppo in Syria as we'll talk later in the program, the body of Russia's
ambassador to Turkey has been flown home tonight.
Soldiers carried his coffin off the plane which should arrive from Ankara. Russia says -- is determined to fight terrorism in the wake of the
assassination.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Russia and Turkish authorities are working together to investigate the killing of Andrei Karlov, the ambassador to Turkey, who was gunned down
yesterday at the opening of an exhibition, an art exhibition in the Turkish capital.
And Ambassador Karlov's body has now arrived in Moscow. The coffin was draped in a Russian flag and was received by the Russian and Turkish
foreign ministers. Turkey is --
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): After the incident during the talk with Mr. Putin, we agreed this is a provocation and there isn't any
dispute.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): On behalf of my country and my nation, I send and repeat my condolences to Mr. Putin and to all the
Russian people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Now, Turkey's foreign minister has spoken to the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry telling him that Fethullah Gulen's organization was behind
the assassination.
Russia and Turkey are key players in the Syrian conflicts. Earlier today, both foreign ministers and the Iranian counterparts met in Moscow. They
agreed on what they called a plan to overcome the stagnation in Syria. Russia's foreign minister also spoke about the killing of Ambassador Karlov
in Ankara and saying Russia is determined to fight terrorism.
CNN's Clarissa Ward is with me from Moscow. Clarissa, the awfulness of -- and the heinous act of the murder in this way, but it raises the question
how Russia responds and how it uses the term terrorist and terrorism to prosecute its course?
[16:20:18] CLARISSA WARD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think so far, Richard, what we're seeing from Russia is actually a fairly
measured tone in terms of its response to this. They have gone so far as to branded as an act of terrorism. That's not entirely surprising.
I think Russia typically does not necessarily get into the minutiae of the motivations behind certain things and whether lone wolf actors or --
working on behalf of organizations and taking into context everything that's happening in Aleppo, I think Russia sees things in much more
manichean stark black and white terms.
There are good guys and bad guys. And yesterday, a bad guy shot one of their guys who they see is a good guy, therefore it's terrorism.
But when it comes to the subject of the delicate Turkish-Russian relationship which this time a year ago was in an all time low, but which
in the last six months has really steadily began to warm up.
We've seen Iraq push (ph) more really take effect particularly since the failed coup attempt. I think what's interesting is that you're seeing now
Russian President Putin and the Turkish President Erdogan singing from the same song sheet here saying this was a provocation that was designed to
derail the relationship that was designed to -- work cooperation on the subject of Syria and we will not allow that to take hold.
Clearly, an attempt by the Kremlin to deescalate the situation, though of course Russian investigators will be looking for a lot of answers as to why
the ambassador was killed and whether there's a larger network behind it, Richard.
QUEST: In this regard and bear in your mind as we're about to talk about in just a moment the extraction of rebels and civilians, so those who are
left from Aleppo. The evacuation is almost complete. I wonder how does Russia take it out if you like on the rebels further, what does Russia do
to show the strength that Putin for which he is renowned?
WARD: Well, I think the fear in terms of how they proceed on the ground in Syria now that Aleppo has essentially been bombarded to a point where
hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes and those rebel fighters have been pushed back into neighboring Idlib, the
anticipation on the ground in Idlib which is one of the last provinces in Syria that is largely run by the rebels. The anticipation is that Idlib
will now bear the brunt of Russia's firepower and the regime's firepower and that all focus will now be on taking that province back from the rebels
as well and further bolstering the regime of Bashar al-Assad and its claim to have complete control and sovereignty over Syria.
And I think it was interesting today we saw with this meeting between the Russian and Iranian and Turkish foreign ministers here in Moscow. That
meeting is essentially looking at trying to come up with some kind of a roadmap forward in Syria. And what was interesting is that the focus was
very clear in the words of Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister.
He said, the objective or focus of what we're doing now in Syria or what we should be even discussing is not regime change. It's no longer a question
whether the regime of Bashar al-Assad should go. The question now is, how do we fight terrorism? The focus is on fighting terrorism.
And as we know for the Russians, terrorism is a euphemism that has been used essentially to describe anyone who is part of the opposition that is
fighting against the regime of Bashar al-Assad. So, I think we can expect to continue to see heavy bombardment with a particular focus possibly,
Richard, on Idlib.
QUEST: Clarissa Ward, senior international correspondent who is in Moscow for us tonight. Clarissa, thank you.
Now, the evacuation of civilians and rebels that Clarissa was talking about from Aleppo, it could be completed as soon as Wednesday according to
Turkey's foreign minister. More than 37,000 people according to the minister have left the city so far.
The IC or the Red Cross disagrees and said it's about 25,000. Muhammad Lila is the correspondent in this -- at the border between Syria and Turkey
joins me now. Look, 25,000, 37,000, I mean, we can pass the numbers. The reality is who's going to be left if anybody is left in Aleppo and what
happens after that in Aleppo?
MUHAMMAD LILA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the answer is quite simply when the world wakes up tomorrow morning, all of the rebels are expected to be
evacuated from that eastern part of Aleppo. They had been hold up in just a small handful of neighborhoods completely surrounded, no other way out.
[16:24:58] I like the word that you used earlier, Richard, you talked about an extraction. That's essentially what it is when you have people trapped,
you have to force a corridor to get in and open that corridor, get people out safely and that's exactly what's happening. It's also turned into a
little bit of transfer if you will and it's not something that we talk about too much.
But in exchange for these people in Eastern Aleppo being released from their siege, the government's siege, there are a few hundred people
perhaps, maybe at the most a few thousand who are being released from villages that have been encircled by the rebels. So, it's become really a
transfer operation and that's why it's been delayed a little bit.
But the sources on the ground are telling us that come tomorrow, all of Eastern Aleppo will be cleared of the last remnants of the opposition
there.
QUEST: So if they -- help me understand and help the viewers understand, if they're being transferred to Idlib province and as Clarissa said that
probably means the Russian and Syrian focus of attack shifts to Idlib, where did they go after that?
LILA: So, that's the million dollar question, and the answer to that has to do with Turkey's role in Syria. Turkey is right across the border.
Turkey neighbors Idlib province. Turkey has a great deal of influence in Idlib province mainly because they back a group called the FSA, the Free
Syrian Army, that's a group that America was supporting.
And for some points early in this conflict. But Turkey has really been supporting and Turkey is setting up refugee camps in Idlib, Turkey is
helping build some of that infrastructure in Idlib. So, the hope is that Turkey now seemingly is on good relationships with Russia, may be able to
work out some kind of deal to create a safety zone or a buffer zone where the people who have left Aleppo can go to Idlib and not have to worry about
being bombed again.
QUEST: All right. People always criticize us in business journalism for the complexity of what we talk about. But listening to you and listening
to Clarissa and listening to this situation, you know, I'm left with this, whatever happens, there's no good answers.
And there's -- every the potential for this thing to get considerably worse. And Muhammad, when you put it all together, the thing is an unholy
mess.
LILA: And you know what, I think those of us that have been covering this for quite some time have been saying the same thing. It is so complicated.
I mean, look, Richard, if you and I wanted to talk about all the groups that are still fighting in Syria, we'd be here all night.
We could write a book on all the groups and other ideologies and how they differ and how they fight each other and how some of them are rebels and
some of them are opposition and some of them are terrorists and -- I mean, it's so complicated. But I think the things to remember, the turning point
that we're at right now with this evacuation of Aleppo is very simple.
And the simple fact is this, after more than four or five years of a very bloody conflict, President Assad of Syria is now going to be in control
fully of Syria's major cities. That's what it comes down to.
QUEST: And we're grateful that you put it in blunt terms. I'll tell you, we are -- as I said, we're always criticized for being complicated in our
business coverage and economics, but this puts us into a different league. Thank you sir. Thank you for that.
Now, we -- in fact, as we continue tonight, we're going to show you how the relationship between the assassination of Russia's envoy to Turkey, the
Christmas market terror attacks in Berlin, two terrible events. We're going to show you how Syria and Aleppo is the connecting factor. And we
speak to a former U.S. ambassador to Turkey next.
It's Quest Means Business and we're live in New York.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:30:58] QUEST: I'm Richard Quest in New York. This is CNN News Now.
ISIS is now saying it has inspired the deadly truck attack on the Berlin Christmas market. It's released a statement claiming the rampage was
carried out by in their words a "soldier of the Islamic state."
Meanwhile, German police have released the suspect that they arrested on Monday saying they could not link him to the truck. The truck's driver
killed 12 people and then wounded dozens more.
Just a past few hours, the body of the Russian ambassador Andrei Karlov arrived in Moscow, a day after he was assassinated in Ankara.
Turkey's foreign minister reportedly had told U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry that the organization of Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen, this in
the U.S. was behind the killing. Now, the government have been identified as a Turkish police officer.
The UN is urging the Philippines to investigate President Rodrigo Duterte for murder. The president boasted last week that he had killed suspected
criminals when he was mayor of Davao City to set an example to the police. UN Human Rights Chief says the killings Duterte described violate
Philippine and international law.
China has returned to the U.S. the underwater drone that it seized last week in the South China Sea. Both Beijing and Washington have confirmed
the hand over. The Pentagon says the U.S. will continue to investigate what it calls the unlawful seizure in international waters of the
Philippines.
Now, let us reflect on the shocking event of the past 24 hours and try to put it into some sort of perspective and show you where the key role, the
two events that took place and how they all linked to Aleppo and to Syria. And we're going to do that over at the wall.
Now, you already had me talking to both our correspondents, Clarissa and Muhammad Lila about the events. Well, look, before we talk to the
ambassador who's going to give us some perspective, let's just remind ourselves how this all fits together.
First of all, you have the shooting in Ankara, but it is the Russian ambassador that is shot in the Turkish capital over, of course, relations
and what is happening and the way Moscow is attacking the rebels in Syria and as part of the Syrian regime with Aleppo.
Secondly, you have over in Berlin, you have the Christmas market attack, but that of course is also related to the events in Aleppo, and indeed it
is linked, of course to the recurrent disputes between Berlin and Moscow over the course of how this whole thing should be treated in relation to
Syria.
So all of these, you have Turkey with its own relationship, both to Moscow where it's trying to do deals and the refugees, do not forget the refugees
that have come from Syria up through into Europe.
Why am I showing all of these? Because whichever of these events we are talking about, all roads lead back to Syria and to Aleppo. And I can
simplify this extremely easily just by going like this. Everything relates to Syria.
Now, the killings in the events coming at the time and Russians are key player at the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime to take control.
Let's talk about this to the ambassador who joins me.
Now, Ambassador, you have been ambassador in many of these parts of the world. You are well-experienced in this part of the world. And as I look
at it tonight, the whole thing just get ever worst.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It certainly is getting worst. Richard, thanks for having me try to explain your unholy mess.
What I can say is one word you left out is critical here, Iran. We're seeing an Iranian match through the region most obviously but not only in
Syria. This is generating huge reactions in the Sunni Arab world and beyond, in Israel, in Turkey, and elsewhere. It's the cause of these
refugee flows to Europe. It's also the proximate cause of the growth of ISIS.
It was Iran's ally, Assad in Syria and its ally, Prime Minister Maliki in Iraq that produced the pressure against the Sunni population that led to
the development of ISIS as we know it today. This is in part, although it's being carried out in the west such as in Berlin.
A reaction to this situation in the Middle East where Russia has leaped in on the side of Iran and the Syrians and America stayed on the sidelines
with only loop (ph) one methods against ISIS and almost nothing to contribute to the Syrian conflict.
QUEST: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this is the result you get.
QUEST: All right. Well, back to my map. And if we've got Iran that is also playing a role here, and we can put the -- the role that is likely to
confuse things even more, how then does anybody extricate themselves from the situation as the Assad regime, once again, takes back control of the
majority of Syria, refugees continue to head up towards even with the deal with Turkey, and Iran becomes ever more aggressive, how does this thing
sort itself out?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three-part process, Richard. First of all, we need to accelerate the effort to take down ISIS in Mosul and Iraq and then on
Raqqa. That's a separate issue. Secondly, we need to work with Turkey, the Arab states, if necessary with Israel to let the Russians and the
Iranians know we're not going to let Assad help by them overrun that entire country. That will create another wave of terror, that will create more
assassinations, blamed on the Russians and others in Syria.
QUEST: OK, all right, all right. Let me interrupt you here, Ambassador. How do you tell Russia and Iran that you're not going to allow them to
create a proxy state in Syria which de facto they've just about already done when you've got a president or a president-elect in Washington who's
basically got an America first policy and is not going to want to get his hands dirty in this part of the world?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you've just hit the nail on the head Richard. I can only propose how to get from point A to point B. I can't motivate
either the current president or the new one, both of whom don't seem to get this.
QUEST: If you then take the scenario, and I think we may have to agree, the Europeans are impotent at being able to have any form of leadership.
And I see you're nodding with me on that. And you've got an American president who says he's going to eradicate ISIS.
Now, to your point, ambassador, you've got Moscow, Iran all working through Syria which arguably Moscow is also going to help towards the eradication
of ISIS in its truer sense not in the Syrian sense. So, ambassador, what happens next between Russia and the United States over ISIS?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to take a sorting out. Russia and Iran are interpreting anybody who opposes the Iranian, Assad regime in Syria and
elsewhere as terrorists. It's not just ISIS. By the same token, their main focus is to expand power in the region. ISIS in some respects has
been helpful and at times they've helped them.
The new -- Trump administration is focused on the one hand on fighting ISIS, yet it also wants to oppose Iran, it cites the nuclear agreement.
That's the list of our problems with Iran. It's what they're doing all over the region right now. This is going to require a major sorting out
inside Washington before we can even talk to any of these actors.
QUEST: And as long as Washington does not lead and I mean, we can argue we say for the last eight years under the Obama administration hasn't lead in
the traditional sense that you would have wished, what happens?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody flops around in the way you see. Germany, it will not -- it has fighter planes operate against ISIS. They don't drop
bombs, Richard, they just take pictures. That's how feckless the west is acting and how it's looking to everybody else in this entire conflict.
QUEST: Ambassador, good to see you sir. Thank you for joining us. I appreciate your bluntness and your directness and into with us. We needed
it. Thank you, sir.
There are many frightening elements about the attack in Berlin especially following a similar attack in Nice. The world must now be wary that
something as common as a truck or a lorry as I would call it and would use as a weapon of terror. We're going to explore that, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:42:04] QUEST: A terror attack on the Berlin Christmas market is, well perhaps obvious, it's especially alarming because the weapon was something
anyone could use, it's a truck or a lorry. And it's a tactic that's been seen more often than we think. CNN's Tom Foreman explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eighty-six people dead, more than 400 injured. The attack in Nice, France, five months ago, proved how
deadly a big vehicle can be. In that case, it was a huge rented truck traveling close to 60 miles an hour plowing through holiday revelers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had a choice to either jump to my right or jump to my left because the truck was swerving so I had to make a decision which way
to jump. I decided to jump to my left, and thank God, I did because if I didn't, I would have been dead.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Purposeful attacks using vehicles have happened plenty in recent years. At the University of North Carolina, in 2006, a
man rams his SUV into a crowd. Luckily no one dies.
But in the Netherlands in 2009, a car slams into a parade, and eight people are left dead.
In Canada, in 2014, a pair of soldiers are run down in a parking lot and one dies.
That same year, in Israel, a driver veers off the road and steps on the gas to hit people waiting for a train. Two were killed.
And in France, a pair of incidents, one right after the other, leaves 20 people injured and one dead.
In each case, questions of terrorism were raised. And the prevalence of such attacks prompted Homeland Security to issue this warning during the
holiday season a half dozen years ago.
Vehicle ramming offers terrorists with limited access to explosives or weapons an opportunity to conduct an attack with minimal prior training.
Among the warning signs, vehicles reinforced with homemade metal plates on the front and large trucks in heavily traffic pedestrian areas at unusual
times, especially if they are driving erratically.
Still just last month, it happened again. At Ohio State, a young man ran into a crowd with his car before he was shot by a police officer and became
the only fatality that day.
JOHN EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: There is plenty of available evidence to indicate that this individual may have been motivated by
extremism and may have been motivated by a desire to carry out an act of terrorism.
FOREMAN (on-camera): The simplicity and effectiveness of these attacks are clearly why terrorist groups keep pushing them on the internet, knowing
that all it takes is one radical to get one started, and yet it requires a whole lot more resources to detect such a plan or stop it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: CNN's Tom Foreman. Now, for that, it's getting out so closer but it -- oh closer because anybody can't quite make it, 25 points of 20,000.
The market was up all day even higher at certain points but it still couldn't reach the 20,000.
[16:45:10] Now, we'll talk about that after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Ever so close but not quite yet. The Dow ended the session just 26 points so shy of the milestone of 20,000, and all sorts of reasons and, of
course, for the market. And this is the way the market traded up 91 at 19,974.
And the United States has got the issue of Donald Trump which, of course, he's not just weighing on the market but he's actually giving something
very big boost.
In China, you have the government which is spending on infrastructure and investors diverting money away from housing, so somewhat perversely.
In Britain, you have a Brexit rally under way because companies are doing better on the back of greater exports as a result of a weaker pound. The
devaluation of the pound is better for companies in the short term.
OPEC has finally agreed to cut production by couple of million barrels a day. As the prices gone up, the market has gone with it. And whichever
you look at it, low interest rates particularly in the European Union and the Eurozone and then the UK have turned people -- and keeping people
invested in the markets.
Somewhat perversely, the upholding terror attacks, investors at least in the short term do not seem to think there's going to be a global economic
impact but, of course, it's very early days. At the moment, these other factors are certainly overshadowing the terror activity.
So, look at the Dow so far to date. And the Dow is up nearly 15% this year to date. And of that 15%, nine of it comes here in the Donald Trump's
election victory. So, let's put all of these into perspective. Joining me to talk about it is Rana, CNN Global Economic Analyst, Mohamed El-Erian,
the Chief Economic Adviser at Allianz.
And I'm going to start with you, Mohamed. The picture is rosy. There were no storm clouds, god forbid, except for the terrorism and so, why should I
be worried?
MOHAMED EL-ERIAN, CHIEF ECONOMIC ADVISER, ALLIANZ: You should be worried because the markets have gone a very long way in pricing in three things,
all based on announcements, not on implementation often.
First, the prospects for high-economic growth which means higher corporate earnings.
Second, the prospects for high inflation which means companies will have more pricing power.
And third, the notion that money is going to come back into the States and be put to work.
[16:50:00] So, these three things have been priced in. And as you say, it's not just that we're up 15% this year. We've had 17 record high since
the election, Richard.
QUEST: Right.
RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: You know, it's interesting because I don't really fundamentally believe in this rally. I have to say,
you know, there have been so -- and I know I'm going to go out on a limb here but there have been so many reasons.
QUEST: Mohamed El-Erian has just given you strong reasons to believe in this rally.
FOROOHAR: No, but, you know what, he said, and this is absolutely true, this is a financial rally so far but we haven't really seen the proof of
whether or not all that money is going to come back from abroad and really be invested to Main Street.
If you look at what's happening on Main Street right now, nothing has changed. You still have a demographic picture that's kind of, eh, you have
a productivity problem, you have technology disrupting jobs higher up the food chain. That's true not just in the U.S. but globally. Nothing has
changed, it's just that everyone is so excited that Donald Trump is going to be able to pass stimulus plan but we don't know if will yet. We do know
we'll probably get tax cuts. We may end up getting a Reaganesque mix of tax cuts and deficit spending that leave us with problems later on.
So, I'm going to be cautious about this right now.
QUEST: Oh, come on, tell me why she's wrong, Mohamed.
EL-ERIAN: No, she's not wrong. I mean, I was explaining why the markets have priced that in. What's critical is the handoff from the financial
side --
QUEST: Right.
EL-ELRIAN: -- which can go up and down a lot because people can change their minds tomorrow to the real economy where people make long-term
decision. They invest in plant, in equipment, in people. So, that handoff is critical.
But, what the markets are seeing is finally, there's one party in control of both houses of Congress and therefore, you may actually get some policy
actions. Now, ironically, Richard, a lot of what the president-elect is proposing was in fact pursued by President Obama but he couldn't get it
through Congress.
QUEST: So --
FOROOHAR: Yes, that's going to be a bitter pill for Democrats.
QUEST: So, the core question as we come to the end here, does it have legs, this rally? Start with you Rana, does it have legs even if they're,
well, the weakly and spindly by your definition?
FOROOHAR: If you have a decent infrastructure program that can be passed through so you have real fiscal stimulus in areas of the economy that need
it, not just a fiscal stimulus package that becomes a kind of a back- scratching for Donald Trump's friends then, yes, possibly. But if you end up having a trade war, if you end up having a much stronger dollar that
derails any efforts --
QUEST: 14 year high the dollars saw today --
FOROOHAR: Yes exactly. That's going to -- and that's going to make it difficult to have this kind of manufacturing boom. What that means
politically in the U.S.? Who knows? I think we just end up with tax cuts and deficit spending. Now, this is a fake recovery built on share by box
not on real investment.
QUEST: And, Mohamed, you get the final words. The irony of it, of course, is that with the prospect of high deficits, the dollar that should be
weakening and yet at the same time, it's strengthening because the international situation is so grim that it is truly though the haven.
EL-ERIAN: Yes. And a federal reserve is raising interest rates.
QUEST: Yes.
EL-ERIAN: Others are not so. That attracts money in. And keep your eye on the dollar. I think Rana is absolutely correct. It's important that
the dollar not derail this and it could derail it in two ways. One, by tightening financial conditions. And two, by fueling protectionism. So
the dollar is going to play a very important role in answering your question.
QUEST: We'll look at the dollar. Thank you, Mohamed El-Erian, have a wonderful holiday season. Thank you, sir. And to you, Rana --
FOROOHAR: Thank you.
QUEST: -- a wonderful holiday season wherever and whichever you may be celebrating before again, thank you.
Now, we keep an eye on the dollar.
The Australian authority says search crews are most likely looking in the wrong place for MH370. The new report places the search area north east
where teams have been looking. The experts decided that after examining, over three-day meeting, the various debris. But time is running out, the
investigation is due to wrap up in the next two months and the families are calling for the search to be extended pretty much, which is exactly what
the experts are saying.
The plane was bound for Beijing where Matt Rivers is there and filed this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on-camera): Well, experts have been increasingly pessimistic about the odds of finding the plane in the
original search area for some time now as the search has dragged on and on and on. We know that 110,000 square kilometers of the original 120,000
square kilometers search area has been looked through so far and what this report says is that there is a 95% chance in this investigator's estimation
that the plane is not in the original search area.
Now, this report also brings up something new. And that, if investigators were to continue this search, this report says, they should look in a
25,000 square kilometer area northeast of the original search area. They say that given the evidence that they have right now, things like a
wreckage that is washed up in other parts of the world as well as drift patterns and the last known satellite information from the plane that that
is the last possible area that this plane could possibly be.
[16:55:07] But family members who have been going through this search for such a long time now are just incredibly frustrated. And that's probably
not a strong enough word but we did reach out to several Chinese families who had people on board.
I'd like to read you some of their statements. And the first person we spoke to Jiang Hui, his 73-year old mother was on the plane and he said
that, "I am glad that they finally realized their mistakes. I hope all governments could give us more information and be more transparent. I hope
they will be more scientific on their estimate."
Another person, Lin Xiaolan, her 27-year-old son was on the plane. And she says that they have no idea how much they've hurt the families of those on
board. They've been stringing us along all of this time. It is a waste of our time and our emotions to follow their search.
And this admission that investigators were not looking in the right place met with a lot of frustration possibly because we've heard things like this
from investigators so long.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The new research has been released today, further emphasizes that we are searching in the right direction.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're still optimistic that we will find the aircraft in the (INAUDIBLE). And there's still nearly 35,000 square kilometers
still to cover.
RIVERS (on-camera): But here's the thing, even though this report says that there should be a new search area that 25,000 square kilometer area
should be searched, officials in charge of this investigation have said that this search will not be continue without clear-cut evidence about
where this plane is and this report nearly provides a suggestion as to where the plane might be. No clear-cut evidence that without that,
Australia's Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation said that the search will be over once the original search area is completed. And that
will likely happen by January or February of 2017.
Matt Rivers, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: And I'm Richard Quest in New York. Around the world, around the clock, the news continues. This is CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
