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Apology From The U.S. Military; Reason Behind Migrant Surge Along U.S.-Mexico Border; Completion Of Civilian Space Mission. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired September 20, 2021 - 04:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: A lot of international news to catch you up on as we start the week, I`m Carl Azuz. Welcome to the show. First, we`re
reporting on an incident that the U.S. military is calling a quote "horrible tragedy of war". On August 26th as American combat troops were
winding down their withdraw from Afghanistan, a terrorist attack killed more than 170 people at an airport in the Afghan capital. Among the victims
were 13 U.S. service members.
A terrorist group called ISIS-K said it was responsible for the bombings. Three days after that, the U.S. military said it had launched a strike
against a suspected member of ISIS-K. An American drone destroyed a car. U.S. officials said they believed a terrorist bomber and explosives were
inside it, but witnesses said civilians were killed in the strike.
Now, America military officials are apologizing for the drone strike and calling it a horrible mistake. An investigation has revealed that instead
of a terrorist, the attack killed an aide worker and nine other civilians. Lawmakers in the U.S. government say they plan to find out what mistakes
were made in the lead-up to this strike, and the Biden Administration is reportedly trying to determine how it can continue to target terrorists in
Afghanistan without making similar mistakes.
The U.S. government says it does have the tools for successful strike missions, but intelligence and military officials say they`re infinitely
harder without U.S. troops on the ground in Afghanistan. The U.S. intelligence community and the military have worked together for years to
take out terror groups, but it appears that a CIA warning about this particular incident came too late.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEXANDER MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: On the heels of the Pentagon admitting on Friday to a tragic mistake that left 10 Afghan civilians dead
in a drone strike in Kabul last month, we are now learning in the final seconds before the hellfire missile from a drone tore through the car of an
aide worker. The CIA issued a warning that civilians were likely in the area including possibly children inside the vehicle, that`s according to
three sources speaking with CNN. It was the military that was in charge of the strike, and it`s unclear whether the CIA knew that the military had
decided to pull the trigger.
A miscommunication adding to the intelligence failure of this operation that led to the deaths of 10 people from a single family that the top U.S.
general had called a righteous strike. On Friday, the head of Central Command General Frank McKenzie which oversaw the war in Afghanistan,
admitted that the civilians were not connected to ISIS calling the strike a tragic mistake. This is what General McKenzie told CNN when asked how it
went from righteous strike to what we know now.
GENERAL FRANK MCKENZIE, CENTCOM: We knew from the very beginning there`s a possibility of civilian casualties. I think we still thought we had good
reason to have taken that strike, and it took us gathering the facts to change that. We took -- we didn`t -- I`ve got, as you will understand and
appreciate, we didn`t take the strike because we thought we were wrong. We took the strike because we thought we had a good target. It takes a little
while to uncover some of those things.
MARQUARDT: General McKenzie said that they had intelligence that a white Toyota Corolla would be involved in an eminent ISIS attack when they
tracked the Toyota Corolla of 43 year old aide worker Zamarai Ahmadi to the compound where he lived near the airport. That`s when the strike happened.
Almost three weeks later, the U.S. military now apologizing and saying it`s considering paying reparations to the family as it reviews how future
strike will be carried out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: At part of America`s southern border with Mexico, there`s been a surge in the number of people who`ve entered the United States illegally.
Over the weekend, officials counted more than 14,000 people at a make shift camp at the Del Rio International Bridge. It connects Mexico with the U.S.
state of Texas, but most of the undocumented migrants who`ve gathered on the Texas side are from Haiti.
The Caribbean island nation is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Earlier this year, the Biden Administration announced that
Haitians would have temporary protected status in the United States, what that does is allow people to legally work in the U.S. if their home
countries have experience armed conflict or natural disasters.
Haiti has seen its share of disasters. An earthquake the struck there in 2010 was estimated to have killed hundreds of thousands of people. In July
of this year, Haiti`s president was assassinated, and in August a new earthquake struck the country killing more than 2,000 people. Shortly
afterward, the Biden Administration temporarily suspended deportation flights to Haiti. It stopped sending many Haitians who`d illegally entered
the U.S. back to their home country.
Critics say news of that in addition to the temporary protected status of Haitians contributed to the increase of illegal crossings into Texas. The
Biden Administration says it has resumed and will increase the number of deportation flights to Haiti and that America`s borders are not open. But
the situation at the Del Rio Bridge has added to what critics call, a crisis of undocumented migrants at the U.S. border with Mexico.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sky conditions clear. (Inaudible) GPS helicopter (inaudible).
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So all of these people just cross.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
FLORES: I mean, this is hundreds of people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it`s not hundreds. It`s thousands.
FLORES: This stretch of the U.S. southern border is rising eyebrows. Have you ever seen anything like this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing. This is (inaudible) we`ve ever seen down here.
FLORES: Migrants, mostly Haitians say officials, crossing the Rio Grande into Del Rio, Texas from Mexico. You can see at least 30 different spots
where migrants are rushing over into the United States. Men, women, children, flocking to the area under the international bridge that connects
Texas to Mexico, where more than 12,000 migrants are waiting to get processed by Federal Immigration Authorities according to the Del Rio
mayor.
BRUNO LOZANO, MAYOR OF DEL RIO, TEXAS: This is setting the nuclear bomb alarm that this is no longer sustainable, acceptable.
FLORES: The local mayor, a Democrat, pleading for the Biden Administration to boost resources, saying that at the current rate it will take two weeks
to process these migrants. And signs they`re having to settle in are visible from the air. A make-shift camp is going up and the mayor says at
least one woman has given birth. Most of the migrants will be expelled or placed in removal proceedings say Federal authorities, who also say more
resources are coming and that it`s already providing water, towels and portable toilets.
Buses like this one with dozens of people are dropped off at this migrant shelter everyday. This group is asked if they`re vaccinated against COVID.
About half the adults raise their hands, some holding proof they got the shots. All this is as the Department of Homeland Security faces a series of
challenges, including more than 200,000 migrants encounters last month. The abrupt resignation of two top DHS officials, the Afghan resettlement effort
and now this sudden spike of migrants in Del Rio.
JOE MARTINEZ, SHERIFF OF VAL VERDE COUNTY, TEXAS: These people are desperate. They`re determined and they`re determined to get here.
FLORES: Has a humanitarian crisis unfolding at the southern border of the United States. To better understand what`s going on under the bridge, I
requested an interview and a ride-along with customs and border protection. Those requests were denied. Rosa Flores, CNN, Del Rio, Texas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: After three days in orbit, at an altitude of about 350 miles over our heads, four non-astronauts splashed back down to Earth on Saturday evening.
It was the first time an entire crew went to space without a professional onboard. There wasn`t much they had to do flight wise. Their SpaceX Crew
Dragon capsule was fully autonomous. So the civilians passed the time listening to music, observing how their bodies responded to space, phoning
home to their families and watching the Earth go by.
There were a couple of technical problems that had to be addressed with a temperature sensor and a waste management fan. The trip likely cost more
than $200 million. It was funded by one of the passengers, a 38 year old billionaire who also helped raise a similar amount of money for St. Jude
Children`s Hospital.
10 Second Trivia. Which of these European landmarks was completed the most recently? Brandenburg Gate, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Arc de Triomphe or St.
Basil`s Cathedral. The Arc de Triomphe in Paris was completed in 1836 making it the youngest landmark on this list.
The extraordinary arch has seen a lot over the past 185 years, but we`re pretty sure this is the first time it`s been draped in silver, blue plastic
fabric and red ropes. It took several months, $16.5 million and 270,000 square feet of polypropylene and the arch will stay wrapped for two weeks,
but why? This is the vision and a tribute to two famous artists who specialized in large scale events that interrupted everyday life. So now
that that`s all wrapped up, was the "archwork" worth the effort.
It sure took a lot of "Monet". It wasn`t "Mattisi" and we don`t know if it will ever have "Gogan", but if you`re the type who`s "Degatta" make a
statement in every "Cezanne" maybe that is your "art" of triumph. We`ve told you how the only way to get your school mentioned on CNN 10 is to
subscribe and leave a comment on our You Tube channel. Tates Creek High School knows all about it. Shout out to our viewers in Lexington, Kentucky.
I`m Carl Azuz.
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