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Wolf
U.S. Troops Fight Ebola in Liberia; CDC's Frieden Compares Ebola to HIV/AIDS; Critical Elections Coming Up in U.S.
Aired October 10, 2014 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Outside, Liberians have come to watch. They have been coming every day, we are told, watching and waiting.
MAJ. GEN. DARRYL WILLIAMS, COMMANDER, U.S. ARMY AFRICA: We'll do a lot of tangible things and we'll build this hospital, we'll build these Ebola treatment units, we'll provide these labs and tangible things, but there's a lot of intangible nature to this fight and you want to get people the resiliency, the hope that they can continue on and fight this and see this through.
ELBAGIR (on camera): And that they are not alone?
WILLIAMS: And that they are not alone.
So what you see over here are the actual building blocks that were our soldiers and where they will live.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): President Obama has pledged up to 4,000 troops, pre-packed and ready to roll out their space here for 600 but more still need to be found. Another task on a very long list.
The general's optimism, though, is filtering down to his men.
(on camera): What did you think when they asked you to come out here?
UNIDENTIFIED SOLIDER: I thought, let's do it. I'm ready to go. Within 24 hours, we were here.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): There is no getting away from the magnitude of the task ahead. Torrential rains ravage an infrastructure and a disease that is now an epidemic, a mission like none they undertaken.
WILLIAMS: We were brought in to provide our unique capabilities and we will fill the gaps. The United States military, the Department of Defense is here to see this mission through.
ELBAGIR (on camera): However long it takes?
WILLIAMS: For however long it takes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Nima is joining us now live from Monrovia, Liberia.
Nima, this is an amazing story. Do you see any evidence that other European countries, Asian countries, South American countries, are doing what the United States is doing, sending 4,000 military personnel to build these hospitals and try to fight this disease?
ELBAGIR: Well, the Brits have stepped it up in Sierra Leone and other countries are coming on board. There is definitely a sense that we are at a tipping point. This is a window of opportunity. You said 4,300. Imagine how much worse this could get. And with the U.S. coming in and U.K. coming in next door, it's seen that perhaps the leadership could be provided for other countries to see, this is possible, this is worth the risk, and it's definitely, definitely needed -- Wolf?
BLITZER: I know you've spoken with a lot of U.S. military personnel, including that general you just spoke with. They are saying all the right things but are they nervous? Are they worried? I'm sure their families back in the United States are deeply concerned.
ELBAGIR: You're right. But you get the morale going and it's difficult on so many levels, the sheer scale of the operation with USAID, Department of Defense and then the U.N. and other agencies, so I do have a sense that that is quite possibly a concern because this has to run smoothly. By talking to the individuals, they are all happy to be here. But you do get glimpses of the worry. And one recruit who had just graduated, this was his first deployment out here and his poor mother back in New York calls him every day crying but he wants to stay, Wolf, and that gives you a sense of how this really pulls you in and you see the needs on the ground, it's difficult to not to want to help.
BLITZER: I salute all of those men and women, not only the U.S. military but people from around the world coming to help. These are courageous people.
And Nima is one of our courageous journalists as well. Nima Elbagir, on the scene.
Be careful over there. We'll check in with you later today and throughout the days to come.
Still to come here, with so many people worried about the spread of Ebola, one doctor offers her input on how to stay safe.
And a North Carolina Senator admits to missing a key hearing. How could this affect the midterm elections, more than three weeks away, the balance of power in the U.S. Senate? Our political panel getting ready to weigh in on critical elections in the United States.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: The Ebola crisis and its growing impact around the world seems, if you believe some, almost unprecedented. Listen to what Dr. Tom Frieden, the director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, had to say about it. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. TOM FRIEDEN, DIRECTOR, CDC: I will say that in 30 years I've been working in public health, the only thing like this has been AIDS and we have to work now so this is not the world's next AIDS. We can do that. I think exactly as was said by all of the three presidents, speed is the most important variable here. This is controllable and this was preventable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Let's bring in my next guest, Dr. Seema Yasmin, a staff writer at the "Dallas Morning News." She's a professor of health at the University of Texas, Dallas, as well as a former CDC detective.
Doctor, thanks very much for joining us.
What do you think of Dr. Frieden's assessment that this is on par with the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the '80s as we witnessed the panic then?
DR. SEEMA YASMIN, STAFF WRITER, DALLAS MORNING NEWS & PROFESSOR OF HEALTH, UNIVERSITY OT TEXAS, DALLAS & FORMER CDC DETECTIVE: It's a very sobering message, Wolf. It takes us back to 1981, 1982, and the key missteps and lessons we learned. Mainly, there was a delay in responding to this epidemic. Many cases weren't counted to begin with. We have to play catch up and we're seeing the same thing. And I think that's why Dr. Frieden is making this parallel between the Ebola epidemic from the 1980s.
BLITZER: What's the key to stop the spread of Ebola?
YASMIN: Sadly, we have to break the chain of transmission. You do that in two ways, Firstly, by quickly isolating people. And secondly contract tracing. Find out anyone they had contact with, check them, isolate them if need. That's hard work, Wolf. What you want to do is prevent these things from happening in the first place. That means having a good public health system for every country in the world to prevent epidemics like this from happening.
BLITZER: The airport screenings at the five international airports in the United States that are about to go into effect this weekend, two major airports in the U.K., will that really make a difference?
YASMIN: It depends on who you ask. Some experts say, look at what happened with SARS in 2003. We instituted airport screening back then and it didn't really make a difference. However, an important component of that work is relieving public fears. If we can calm people down and say we check people as they enter. And even if it catches one or two potential cases, Wolf, it could be a worthwhile measure.
BLITZER: More than 4,000 people have died. That's more than 50 percent of the more than 7,000 who have come down with Ebola. But a lot of people think those numbers are way, way low, that there are a lot of others who have died that are not being reported and others who have contracted Ebola that aren't being reported as well. What's your assessment?
YASMIN: Yes, Wolf, I think that's a correct assessment. Probably for every one case that we are counting that we are seeing, there could be five or six unreported cases. That's not unique to Ebola, though, Wolf. We see that with other epidemics as well. Surveillance systems are only so good at capturing the exactly number of people infected. There are probably many, many more, which is tragic to think when the numbers are already so shockingly high.
BLITZER: And you've suggested that this outbreak of Ebola actually started earlier, right?
YASMIN: Absolutely. There's some evidence that it didn't start in March, as we've been hearing. It could have actually started in December of last year. And it could have been misdiagnosed as an outbreak of cholera at that point. We're sending in troops, we're sending money. Really, this is too little, too late. We're nine or 10 months into the outbreak and we're going to have to step up even more to bring it under control.
BLITZER: One final question. Those 4,000 U.S. military personnel who are now being deployed to Monrovia, Liberia, their families obviously are worried. How much danger are they?
YASMIN: Sir, it really depends on what kind of work they are doing. We know some are going to be working in laboratories. Some may have patient contact in mobile Ebola testing units. Wolf, they will be offering training to local health care workers as well. So we hope that they stay safe. We hope that other front-line workers don't fall victim to this very deadly disease.
BLITZER: Dr. Seema Yasmin, thank you for joining us. Appreciate it very much.
Coming up, she's running against the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell but she won't say whether or not she voted for President Obama in the 2012 election. We're taking a closer look at how some key races are shaping up with the midterm elections now less than four weeks away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: The midterm election is a little more than three weeks away. The stakes are very high, control of the United States Senate, the balance of power in Congress. Let's take a closer look at the key races.
In North Carolina, the Democratic Senator Kay Hagan admits she missed a classified hearing on the threat to United States, including from ISIS, to attend a fundraiser in New York. Hagan is under a lot of fire from her Republican opponent who trails her by a very small margin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOM TILLIS, (R), NORTH CAROLINA SENATE CANDIDATE: Hagan thinks that a cocktail fundraiser hosted on Park Avenue by a Wall Street executive is a better priority than doing her job in Washington.
SEN. KAY HAGAN, (D), NORTH CAROLINA: What had had happened at that hearing, it was scheduled early in the day and then the votes were scheduled and that hearing then -- that hearing then had to be postponed later that day. So, yes, I did miss that one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Let's bring in our chief political analyst, Gloria Borger; and chief Congressional correspondent, Dana Bash.
Gloria, it sounds like an unforced error, politically speaking, on the part of Senator Kay Hagan.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, Hagan owned up to it, and it certainly does not look good for her. I mean, look, we know -- Dana knows better than most -- that Senators have to miss things all the time and make choices.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right.
BORGER: And that this was rescheduled. This is something that happens constantly. But when you're in the middle of a campaign, somebody can find something like this, point it out, now we're in the middle of a war against ISIS and it looks terrible for her.
BASH: I think what is fascinating is that this is one example of a narrative like this that is being pushed by both parties across the country and it really speaks to what the heart of the each is in this midterm election, which is that people are, not surprisingly, so done with Washington. And this actually surprised me. Sources in both parties but primarily Democrats, actually, have told me that this poll's off the chart. So when I say "this," it speaks to the voter anger that Washington isn't doing anything. So, yes, this is something that -- or I should say our Ted Barrett has been on the forefront --
BLITZER: Our congressional producer.
BASH: Our congressional producer. But Democrats are doing it too. And I was with Alison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky, and I'd say, what color is the sky, and she would tell me that Mitch McConnell missed all of his agriculture headings.
(CROSSTALK)
BASH: And there's a real --
(CROSSTALK)
BASH: -- because it is a theme.
BORGER: It is a theme that is running in a lot of races. You know, first thing, if you're not an incumbent and you're running against an incumbent, the first thing you do is check attendance records. You check when they were there, what committee hearings they missed, what was important. It's a very sort of 101 op research.
BLITZER: Did she mislead reporters by suggesting she missed that classified briefing to attend another hearing?
BASH: Whether or not they misled is unclear. They say -- and it is true -- that she, Hagan, has been upfront about this from the beginning. It took a little bit of time to get the facts out but they are being very upfront about it as is she.
One thing I will add, she was at a public hearing in mid-September. This hearing we're talking about, this briefing was way back in February. In September, she asked about the Khorasan group in public and not a lot of people had even heard of it.
And the other thing I will say, the Republican who is running against her, Thom Tillis, Kay Hagan repeats over and over again, he happens to be the speaker of the House in North Carolina. The key thing is, this is emblematic of --
(CROSSTALK)
BORGER: And it's the downside of incumbency.
BLITZER: Let's move over to Kentucky right now.
The Democratic challenger to Mitch McConnell, Alison Lundergan Grimes, was asked who she voted for in the last presidential -- well, let me play the clip. Here's Alison Grimes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you vote for President Obama, 2008 and 2012?
ALISON LUNDERGAN GRIMES, (D), KENTUCKY SENATE CANDIDATE: You know, this election isn't about the president. It's about --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know. But did you vote for him
GRIMES: -- getting Kentuckians back to work. And --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you vote for him?
GRIMES: I was actually a '08 delegate for Hillary Clinton and I think that Kentuckians know I'm a Clinton Democrat through and through. I respect the sanctity of the ballot box. And I know that the members of the editorial board do, as well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you're not going to answer?
GRIMES: Again, I don't think that the president is on the ballot as much as Mitch McConnell might want him to be.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BLITZER: Why can't she simply say I voted for Democrat Barack Obama for president in 2008, 2012? Or, if she didn't, I voted for John McCain or Mitt Romney, or maybe a third-party candidate.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: Why can't she answer that?
BORGER: OK. Just as Hagan owned up to missing this hearing, Grimes is inexplicable to me. She can go on to say he's disappointed me. He's are mistakes he's made. I'm not Barack Obama, as she said in her ads over and over again. I don't understand why she won't answer a direct question because it makes her look evasive and it makes her look hypocritical unless she can say, yes, I voted for Barack Obama and here's why that was wrong.
BASH: Exactly. This again speaks to a broader problem that Democrats have particularly since she's running to unseat a potential Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell. She is running in a state where President Obama is incredibly unpopular. She's been trying to move away from him for a long time but she's had problems articulating that. I was with her and tried to ask her not whether she voted for him but where she thinks she's different from him and wouldn't answer specific questions.
This is two-fold. One, her problem with Obama. Two, the problem she has is that she is a little bit too scripted and too programmed and that hurts her in a time when she needs to be honest and everybody wants authenticity.
BORGER: Right. Right.
BLITZER: As I said earlier, two unforced errors by two Democratic candidates. And at stake, the majority in the United States Senate.
BORGER: Exactly.
BLITZER: We'll see what happens in three weeks and a few days.
Guys, thank you very much.
BORGER: Thank you.
BLITZER: We'll take a quick break. More news right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: A memorable day for Angelina Jolie. In a private audience with Queen Elizabeth, Jolie was presented with a title of Honorary Dame. After the private meeting, Jolie's husband, actor Brad Pitt, and their six children, were presented to the queen. Congratulations.
In finally this, an Australian street brawl caught on tape. It's a viral sensation viewed more than three million times. What's so special about this fight? It brings kick boxing to a whole new level.
Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There's as rumble in the street. No, not two guys like that. Two guys like this.
(MUSIC)
MOOS: No wonder the man who shot this put it to music from "The Nutcracker." That seemed to be where a lot of kicks landed.
Two male kangaroos, boomers, they're called, fighting for dominance or fun in suburban setting north of Sidney, Australia.
(MUSIC)
MOOS: It's not so much like boxing but rather ultimate fighting. It was described this way in the world deadliest series.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A favorite tactic using forepaws to grab the opponent and quickly kicking with their huge clawed hind feet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: If you want to see the coolest move, watch this? As he raises his legs to kick, freeze it. Stands on his tail, momentarily supporting his whole body on that bony muscular tail. They fight like a silent pair of dinosaurs from "Jurassic Park," quiet but deadly.
A trained boxing kangaroo named Killer Willard took on his handlers during a demonstration at a Cleveland TV station.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wait a minute.
This is my husband.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: Now, who is the last guy you would ever imagine boxing a kangaroo?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOODY ALLEN, ACTOR: You'll watch me fight the Australian light heavyweight champion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: A young Woody Allen who mesmerized his opponent in this '60s variety show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: Woody threw a few pretend punches and the boomer lunged and had Woody in his clutches, but no harm done.
Same for the brawl in Australia. It seemed pretty much a draw, one knock down but no knockouts.
(CHEERING)
MOOS: But who needs a leg to stand on when you've got a tail?
Jeanne Moos --
(BELL RINGING)
MOOS: -- CNN --
(MUSIC)
MOOS: -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Very, very nice. Thank you very much, Jeanne, for that.
That's it for me. Thanks very much for watching. I'll be back 5:00 p.m. eastern in "The Situation Room." Among my guests, Senator Rand Paul. A wide ranging interview. We go through a lot of issues, including how he feels the federal government is dealing with Ebola, ISIS and other issues. By the way, he's in Ferguson, Missouri. Stay tuned for that.
For our international viewers, "Amanpour" is next.
And for our viewers here in North America, "Newsroom" with Randi Kaye starts right now.
