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Texas Ebola Patient Dies; Kobani on Verge of Falling; Claim of ISIS Members Caught Trying to Cross U.S. Border; Pushing Turkey to Join ISIS Fight; U.S. Airstrikes Will Not Save Kobani; Airstrikes in Kobani; ISIS Trying to Cross Border

Aired October 08, 2014 - 13:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States, sadly just became the first person to die of Ebola in the United States.

Also, Kobani now on the verge of falling. A lot happening right now on the border between Syria and Turkey. One Kurdish intelligence official warning, and I'm quoting him now, "a terrible slaughter is coming."

And one U.S. Congressman now claiming ISIS members have actually been caught trying to cross the southern border of the United States. The Department of Homeland Security has just issued a formal statement categorically denying that. We're going to try to get to the bottom of this bombshell claim.

Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 p.m. in Washington, 6:00 p.m. in London, 8:00 p.m. in Jerusalem, 9:00 p.m. in Moscow. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

We begin with breaking news. The sad news out of Dallas, Texas today that Thomas Eric Duncan has lost his battle with Ebola. The 42-year- old Liberian man died this morning, 10 days after being diagnosed with the disease. We're also learning about new significant changes to U.S. policy on flights coming out of the so-called Ebola hot zones in Africa.

Our correspondents are covering all angles of this very important story. Elizabeth Cohen is in Dallas. She's outside the hospital where Duncan was being treated. Rene Marsh is over at Washington's Dulles International Airport.

Elizabeth, let's start with you. What are doctors saying about Duncan's death? What are the -- what are the details? What are they telling us?

DR. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, all they've told us is what's contained in a press release. They have not told us anything else. And I want to read that press release. It is indeed very heartfelt. It says, it is with profound sadness and heartfelt disappointment that we must inform you of the death of Thomas Eric Duncan this morning at 7:51 a.m. Mr. Duncan succumbed to insidious disease, Ebola. He fought courageously in this battle. Our professionals, the doctors and nurses in the unit, as well as the entire Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas community are also grieving his passing. We have offered the family our support and condolences at this difficult time.

So, Wolf, we really don't know what his final hours were like. We do know that just yesterday, the Reverend Jesse Jackson and a family member were here and said they saw some small reasons to be hopeful. His temperature was normal. His blood pressure was going up which, in this case, was a good thing. But I know they had a lot of questions. Why was he sent home when he said he traveled to Liberia and had signs of the disease? Why did it take almost a week to get an experimental medication when other patients in the U.S., it happened much faster? Why didn't he get blood donated from an Ebola survivor as many other Ebola patients have in this country -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And his family, Duncan's family, I know they're all pretty upset about what they thought was not necessarily the best treatment he was receiving. What are you learning about this?

COHEN: Yes, they had a -- all those questions. They -- you know, when I spoke with the family members, they wanted to know, hey, what happened? We showed up September 25th. He said he'd been traveling to Liberia. He had a fever. He had abdominal pain. Both of those are signs of Ebola. Why wasn't he then admitted? He was then admitted September 28th. And that doesn't sound like a long time, but for Ebola, that's quite a bit of time because it moves so quickly.

They also want to know -- they said they had to pressure the hospital into giving him an experimental medication. They didn't give it to him until he had been in the hospital for almost a week. Wolf, that's much slower than other hospitals have done when they've had Ebola patients. And finally, I was talking with his nephew just today. And he said, I don't know why he's not getting a blood transfusion.

The patient in Nebraska, as we speak, is getting blood donated -- not a transfusion. But is getting blood donated from Kent Brantly. When we asked for the same thing, we were told that wasn't proven and effective so they weren't doing it. But certainly with Ebola, hospitals are doing everything they can even if it's not proven and effective. The family wants to know why he didn't get that treatment.

BLITZER: Elizabeth, stand by. I want to go to Rene Marsh. She's outside Washington, D.C. at Dulles International Airport. A big announcement today about new screenings at major U.S. airports. Tell us what you've learned, Rene.

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION AND GOVERNMENT REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: We now know from the White House, Wolf, that these enhanced screenings will begin this weekend at JFK airport in New York. Now, a source -- two sources telling me, in addition to looking for temperatures or screening passengers coming from west Africa, screening them for what their temperature is, they will also be receiving a CDC questionnaire once they deplane, asking very detailed health questionnaires.

Going back to temperature-taking, sources are telling me they will be using -- and they meaning CBP, Customs and Border Protection, they will be using something like this. This is a laser thermometer. No need to touch the passenger. You simply put it up to the individual's forehead and you will be able to tell what their temperature is once they arrive here on U.S. soil.

Again, we know these ramped-up measures starting this weekend at JFK. It will then eventually expand to other major international airports. We're talking about five major international airports.

Also from sources, they're telling me that the Coast Guard corpsmen will be deployed to help over the next couple of weeks. They want to, essentially, ensure and coordinate with transit countries that those questionnaires are being given out on both ends, Wolf. So, that's the big announcement here. We will begin just as soon as this weekend to see those ramped-up measures at U.S. airports -- Wolf.

BLITZER: A major step at U.S. airports. I assume, eventually, at Washington Dulles Airport where you are as well. All right, guys. Elizabeth, we'll get back to you. Rene, we're staying on top of this story. Much more coming up later this hour.

But I want to quickly get to the war on ISIS and a city on the brink of falling right now at the Syrian border, a town of Kobani. That's right next to Turkey. If it were to fall, ISIS would control a huge swath of land from Raqqa in Syria all the way to the Turkish border, That's more than 100 kilometers, about 62 miles. Of course, though, as this battle for Kobani, though, rages, President Obama is getting ready to head over to the Pentagon later on this afternoon to meet with top U.S. military leaders. He'll be briefed on efforts to try to defeat ISIS.

The U.S. wants Turkey to do more to take on ISIS as well. Turkey has deployed tanks along the Syrian border, but its forces have yet to join the fight.

Our Elise Labott asked secretary of state, John Kerry, about that just a little while ago. The secretary says that's a priority for the coalition coordinator, General John Allen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: General Allen is literally only on his first trip right now in the region. He will be going to Turkey tomorrow. He is going to have long meetings through tomorrow and Friday, which we hope to determine exactly how Turkey will now enter this having resolved their hostage crisis. Clearly, on their border, this is of enormous concern to Turkey and they recognize that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But where are they?

KERRY: These things have to be done in a thoughtful and careful way so everybody understands who is doing what.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Senior administration officials concede Kobani is likely to fall and fall soon. But they say that's not necessarily a major concern for the United States. They say the strategy is to defeat ISIS in Iraq first. Still, the U.S. coalition has stepped up air strikes against ISIS targets in and around Kobani. The U.S. military's central command says at least six strikes overnight took out vehicles, artillery pieces and an armored personnel carrier.

An ISIS truck bomb targeting Turkish fighters in Kobani exploded today, that according to activists and Kobani residents. But they say the truck detonated before it could reach its target.

In the meantime, the latest coalition air strikes have allowed fighters in Kobani to push back against ISIS. Our Senior International Correspondent Arwa Damon has been tracking the latest developments along the Turkey-Syria border.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, right before the sun went down, there were two fighter jets clearly visible flying above Kobani. We've been hearing fighter jets pretty much throughout the day, and we saw at least three coalition air strikes. We believe they were air strikes because of the sheer size, intensity and sound of the explosions, distinctively different than the usual artillery exchange we have been observing taking place between ISIS and the YPG fighters.

Now, the fighters with the Kurds, the YPG, they are telling us that the air strikes conducted over the last 48 hours or so around Kobani have allowed the Kurdish fighting force to push ISIS back to a certain degree. They say the air strikes forcing ISIS to move forward on foot giving the Kurds an advantage because of the familiarity they have with the streets. ISIS, at this stage, believed to be still on the perimeter of Kobani but the Kurds gaining a certain degree of momentum.

But we're still hearing those calls for additional strikes, those calls for Turkey to allow a weapons corridor to be established. There is a lot of anger and frustration, though, because on the one hand, the Kurds believe the coalition should have carried out these air strikes well before ISIS was even able to gain a foothold into Kobani. And a lot of frustration with Turkey, too, for not coming to their assistance -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Arwa Damon on the border between Turkey and Syria. Arwa, we'll get back to you.

Still ahead, a bombshell claim by a California Republican Congressman. We're going to tell you what he's saying about ISIS fighters and his allegation that they're actually trying to come into the United States through Mexico.

And what happened to the thousands of civilians still in Kobani? We're going to discuss fears of a massacre. They are very real fears, if that city were to fall to ISIS.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: There's been much discussion about the military and the operational significance of Kobani. But what about the human toll, if that city along the Turkish-Syrian border were to fall into ISIS hands completely? While some 200,000 civilians may have already fled the city and neighboring areas, thousands of people are still stuck there and there are serious fears of a massacre. Those fears right now rising.

Joining us now to discuss, retired Army Lieutenant General Michael Barbero, the former deputy commanding general of the U.S. forces in Iraq, and Jeffrey Goldberg, the Correspondent for "The Atlantic" here in Washington.

Let me start, first, with a statement that the Pentagon just made as the Pentagon spokesman, the admiral John Kirby. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, REAR ADMIRAL, U.S. PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: Air strikes alone are not going to do this, not going to fix this, not going to save the town of Kobani. We know that and we've been saying that over and over again. And yet, we continue to get questions of, why aren't you doing more and how come they aren't more effective? Well, we've been honest about the limits of airpower here. The ground forces that have to -- that matter the most are the indigenous ground forces. And we don't have a willing, capable, effective partner on the ground inside Syria right now. It's just a fact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right, let's talk about that. General Barbero, what do you think? There's nothing the United States can do to save these people in Kobani?

LT. GEN. MIKE BARBERO, FORMER COMMANDING GENERAL U.S. FORCES IN IRAQ: I was in Erbil last week, Wolf, --

BLITZER: That's in northern Iraq.

BARBERO: -- in Northern Iraq in the Kurdish region. And they're absolutely convinced there will be a massacre in Kobani, and they're frustrated with the United States because of the diminishing returns from the air strikes, too few, too late. And that they're not getting the heavy weapons that they've been asking for weeks. Their minister of Peshmerga has written, again, --

BLITZER: That's the Kurdish forces.

BARBERO: -- the minister of Peshmerga, the Kurdish forces, has, again, written Secretary Hagel with a list of requirements and what they need.

BARBERO: The minister of Peshmerga, the Kurdish forces, has again written to Secretary Hagel with a list of requirements and what they need. Heavy weapons to be able to fight ISIS. They'll fight ISIS, but they're outgunned and overmatched (ph).

BLITZER: And the people in Kobani are largely Kurds.

BARBERO: Largely Kurdish and there - they talk openly about their fears for a massacre there.

BLITZER: And you wrote about this, Jeffrey, an article that was very powerful. Legitimate fear that these Kurds, these are Syrians but they're Kurds, that they could be massacred if ISIS were to take control of this town.

JEFFREY GOLDBERG, CORRESPONDENT, "THE ATLANTIC": Right. It's not only Kurds. There are Christians up there, Turkmen, Arabs too. I mean they are people who have run away to Kobani from other parts of Syria because those parts are even worse or have been even worse. And, yes, and what makes this so horrible for the people who are worried about Kobani is that this is a town that sits right on the Turkish border, which means, in essence, that it sits on the border of NATO. Turkey is a NATO power. The Turkish military is watching this happen, and that's something that Admiral Kirby did not allude to, is that there is another force right there that could stop an ISIS massacre, and that's called the Turkish army. But they're not interested.

BLITZER: Turkey, which is a NATO ally, they have the largest military force in the -- hundreds of thousands of troops. They have tanks along that border with Syria. If they made a decision to send in forces to rescue these people in Kobani, they could do it relatively quickly.

BARBERO: They could. And two points, Wolf. First, the Kurds went to Turkey first, when they were first attacked by ISIS and asked for assistance and the Turks said no.

BLITZER: Why? Why would they say no?

BARBERO: Well, a different agenda, different interests that Erdogan has and he's --

BLITZER: Erdogan's the president of Turkey.

BARBERO: Part of his fear is this united Kurdish effort. And he's, you know, -- and the second point is, the Turks conducted military operations in Iraq in 2008 to go after the PKK, the Kurdish faction that was fighting them. So it is bewildering and very angering to the Kurds that the Turks have ignored their requests.

BLITZER: And Turkey's a NATO ally but they're staying out of it, at least for now, because there's no great love, Jeffrey, between the Turks, the Turkish government of President Erdogan, and the Kurds, whether the Kurds in Turkey, the Kurds in Syria or the Kurds in Iraq.

GOLDBERG: And not only that, I mean Erdogan wants Assad gone. I mean this is this 3-D chess problem that you have. He's focused on getting rid of Bashar al Assad, the enemy of ISIS. And so, you know, from a certain perspective, they -- the Turks are looking at ISIS as maybe not the worst thing in the world because they're opposed to Assad. Meanwhile, this town is in danger of a massacre. And we've seen what happens when ISIS goes into towns. This is predictable.

BLITZER: You - you -- you're a military guy. You understand the role of airpower.

BARBERO: Right.

BLITZER: There are air strikes and there are air assaults (ph).

BARBERO: Right.

BLITZER: If there are five or six air strikes and they destroy a few vehicles, an armored personnel carrier or a tank, that's a very limited air strike.

BARBERO: Right. Right.

BLITZER: But if there are hundreds of air strikes in a day, that could obviously make a big difference. But the U.S. is reluctant to do so out of fear there could be civilian casualties.

BARBERO: That and there are air strikes and there's an air campaign. And we're half in, half out. And the admiral at the Pentagon said it, there are limits to air strikes, especially when you broadcast what you're not going to do, what you're going to do. And if you have a smart adversary like ISIS, that's going to change that. You go into this death spiral of diminishing returns.

BLITZER: And you know there's no appetite in the United States for the U.S. to get involved militarily, even if a humanitarian massacre is on - is about to take place.

GOLDBERG: Well, I'd like to dispute that a little bit. If the pictures that come out of a place like Kobani are truly awful, people's heartstrings do get tugged. And, by the way, we're already involved. We've already, you know, we've already ramped up. We are bombing them. And we do have troops on the ground, obviously in Iraq, working this problem already. The problem with air strikes, without having ground spotting going on, without having special operations people in there to tell the planes where to drop the bombs, tell them where the missiles should go, is that it's very, very ineffective. It is, as the general told me before, it's an intelligence problem.

BLITZER: All right, we're going to speak later this hour with the deputy minister of Kurdistan, Qubad Talabani. He's going to join us from Erbil. So we'll talk to him about what's going on as well.

General Barbero, thanks very much for coming in. Jeffrey, thanks to you as well.

Still ahead, we're taking a closer look into a claim by a United States congressman that ISIS fighters have actually been caught trying to sneak across the U.S. border from Mexico. Stay tuned for that.

Also, how U.S. troops are helping in the fight against Ebola, in one country hit hardest by the deadly virus. We'll go live to Liberia.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A United States congressman is making a startling claim. The California Republican, Duncan Hunter, now saying ISIS fighters have been caught attempting to sneak into the United States from Mexico. Hunter says they were trying to cross the border into Texas. Tom Foreman is joining us now.

Tom, tell us exactly what he's saying. Tell us that the Department of Homeland Security, as we know, has just issued a very strong statement categorically denying this allegation. What do we know?

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf, well, let's listen to what he has to say because it really was a bombshell and it was said on Fox News and it is explosive. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DUNCAN HUNTER (R), CALIFORNIA: I know that at least 10 ISIS fighters have been caught coming across the Mexican border in Texas. There's nobody talking about it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you know that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: So there you have the basic claim that he is making here. And if this is true, everyone would be talking about this. ISIS fighters have been caught coming across the Mexican border into Texas. So why aren't they? Well, this idea has been kicked around on conservative websites a good bit. It's been picked up by some other politicians as well. There is some legitimate concern that terrorists could come across the border. But why is this idea not getting any real traction?

Because of what Homeland Security is saying about it. And what they are saying is very unequivocal. They are simply saying that it is "categorically false and is not supported by any credible intelligence or facts on the ground." They're saying there's simply no evidence of this happening and there's no suggestion that these are actively trying to come across the border, ISIS fighters, into the United States right now and certainly none of them have been caught.

Wolf.

BLITZER: And the other allegation out there some are raising is that Ebola could come across the border from Mexico as well into the United States, right?

FOREMAN: Yes. This is a version of the same thing, Wolf, where basically what people have done is taken a lot of fearsome things and they've conflated them. They've pushed them all together. So in this case what they've said is, what happens if you have some people who come across the border who are bringing Ebola with them, who are illegal immigrants, we don't even know they're here and they have this? Well, again, could such a thing possibly, maybe, somehow happen? Possibly. But there's an awful lot that says it is almost impossible to happen. First of all, there is no Ebola outbreak in Mexico. And, secondly, people who are sick with Ebola, who are contagious, they're usually too sick to even sit up, let alone sneak across a border, hike through a desert, go across a river, hide in a car, all of the things that would be necessary to make this happen. So like the ISIS claim, this, too, appears to be patently false.

Wolf.

BLITZER: And do we know if the congressman, Congressman Duncan Hunter, has reacted to that categorical denial from the Department of Homeland Security?

FOREMAN: We have no reaction yet to the denial from them. Just his basic statement from last night of what he - what he laid claim to.

BLITZER: And - so we'll find out if he's sticking by that bombshell claim if, in fact, this -

FOREMAN: Absolutely.

BLITZER: All right, Tom, thanks very, very much. Tom Foreman will have more later in "The Situation Room."

Coming up, we'll have more on the Ebola crisis. We're going live to Liberia where the United States military has just established a mobile testing lab and an Ebola care unit. Stand by for that.

Also, the U.S. says Kobani, Syria, now falling to ISIS and saying it's not necessarily a major U.S. concern. But the Kurds, they have a very, very different view. We'll discuss it with the Kurdish deputy prime minister when we come back.

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