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Hala Gorani Tonight
Obama: "Gaps Of Trust" Prevent Syria Deal With Russia; Dozens Killed In Coordinated Attacks Across Syria; U.K. Brexit Minister Lays Out Vision For Leaving E.U.; Trump Struggles To Clarify Mass Deportation Stance; France Vows To Slowly Dismantle "Jungle" Camp; CNN Obtains Trove Of Documents On ISIS Attack; New Version Of Song Focuses On Police Violence, Refugees. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired September 05, 2016 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[15:00:23] HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Hala Gorani. We are live at CNN London. Thanks for being with us. This
is THE WORLD RIGHT NOW.
Quote/unquote "Gaps of trust" between the United States and Russia are preventing a ceasefire deal for Syria. That's the bottom line from the
American president, Barack Obama, after he met with Russian president, Vladimir Putin, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in China.
These pictures should give you an idea of the mood in the room. Mr. Obama described the 90-minute conversation as candid, blunt, and businesslike.
That's diplo-speak for something. He said they agreed more talks are necessary to pave the way for a desperately-needed humanitarian truce.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We have had some productive conversations about what a real cessation of hostilities would
look like, that would allow us both, the United States and Russia, to focus our attention on common enemies like ISIL and Nusra. But given the gaps of
trust that exist, that's a tough negotiation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: What about President Putin, what did he say? Our Fred Pleitgen is live in Moscow with more on what the kremlin is saying. Yet another
diplomatic failure with civilians and ordinary Syrians once again caught in the middle. What is being said in Moscow about this?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, another instance, Hala, where the two sides have only been able to agree to keep
talking and really haven't achieved very much. Remember, they wanted to get the get a ceasefire going during the G20, but it seems earlier today
and yesterday, both sides were saying, look, it's just not coming together.
Now they're saying maybe they can reach something in the next couple of days. It was interesting because Vladimir Putin, who had press
availability shortly after President Obama painted I would say a more positive picture of the interaction that the two had.
He said that the two were both clear and understood each other's mutual problems, the challenges they faced on each side. He says he believes that
some sort of cessation of hostility or agreement over Syria can be achieved within the next couple of days. Let's listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): It seems premature for me to talk about any details of our agreements on Syria. But I hope
very much that in case agreements are reached, and I have grounds to believe that they will be reached in the nearest few days.
We can say that our joint work with the United States in fighting terrorist organizations, including the ones in Syria, would be significantly improved
and intensified.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: Hala, the Russian state-run news agency has reported that the Russians believe that there could be another meeting between U.S. Secretary
of State Kerry and the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, in the next couple of days. Russians are saying they're optimistic that some sort of
agreement can be reached.
But as President Obama noted, there are still those issues of trust between the two sides especially with the U.S. when it comes to civilian casualties
in Russia's air campaign in Syria -- Hala.
GORANI: Just so we're clear, what are they discussing here? A very short cease-fire, right? That's what they're not even able to achieve, when
meeting face-to-face on the sidelines of the G20?
PLEITGEN: Well, they've achieved some local ceasefires in Syria in the past, but those were obviously always short lived. What they're talking
about now is a longer term and wider ceasefire, but also cooperation in combating groups like Al Nusra or the group that used to be known as Jabhat
Al Nusra and ISIS.
There's big problem between Russia and the U.S. on that front where the Russians are saying, look, we think a lot of groups on the ground are
actually affiliated with al Qaeda, with Jabhat Al Nusra and therefore many of them should be bombed by the U.S. and by Russia.
[15:05:04]Whereas the U.S. saying, look, there is a lot of groups that are actually vetted by us that Russia is bombing and we want that to stop.
It's very difficult for them to find some sort of mutual understanding.
And then you have the issue, for instance, in Aleppo and is now encircled again by regime forces is trying to get humanitarian corridors into that.
Russians are a saying maybe they can secure the humanitarian corridors. The U.S. doesn't really trust Russians to do that.
So there are still a variety of issues that are open, both in terms of fighting what Obama calls common enemies, but also, of course, relieving
the Syrian population, which should of course be first and foremost for both of these nations.
GORANI: All right, it sure should be. Thanks very much, Fred Pleitgen is live in Moscow.
Every day that goes by without a ceasefire and more Syrians die, a series of attacks claimed by ISIS took a horrific toll today. State media
reporting at least 40 people were killed in coordinated explosions across the country.
Here is some of the aftermath. We want to talk now with a member of the White Helmets, a volunteer search and rescue group that rushes to the scene
of attacks to try and save lives.
Ismael is on the line from Aleppo, Syria, we're giving only his first name for security reasons, obviously. Ismael, thanks for being with us. First
of all, describe some of what happened just in the last 24 hours in Aleppo.
ISMAEL, WHITE HELMETS (via telephone): Aleppo City is under siege, and the bombing is still the same. We have heavy bombing, actually, in Aleppo
City. Just today we have massacre in one of the neighborhoods in Aleppo City. We have three men were killed.
And up until now, the rescue team are trying to pull out the bodies who are stuck under there. The situation in general has become worse since two
days ago, the siege again on Aleppo city. Nothing goes in and nothing goes out.
People tried to -- people are now so scared about their future and what is going to happen in the future. They're looking for some bread. Today,
people are asking what is going to happen. They hope that something, a peaceful solution --
GORANI: Can I ask you, Ismael, one question, when you hear that President Obama and President Putin met on the sidelines of a big international
summit and that they couldn't agree on any kind of deal that would halt the bombing and the fighting, how do you react to that?
ISMAEL: Actually, what is happening in Aleppo City, the bombing and the situation has become worse. Every day people are being killed by bombing,
by Russian air strikes, by U.S. forces. Our reaction, we do not trust you anymore more than a half million were killed by videos, witnesses,
everything, and no one cares about the people in Aleppo City.
GORANI: You're saying you don't trust President Obama. You don't trust any of the other world leaders?
ISMAEL: Actually what's happened, yes, Aleppo City, the people in Aleppo City in specific, and the people -- all cities in general do not trust
anyone anymore. When they ask, they're just asking for some help, to deliver some humanitarian aid for the people.
The injured people who need to be treated in the hospital, no way, no way, the besieged cities like Daraya, people died of starvation. This is
happening again in Aleppo City. One of the kids told me yesterday he is so scared about the future, maybe he will see the other kids who died in the
other parts of Syria.
GORANI: Can I asked you about this journalist, Ahmad Alhamodin, who worked many years as a freelance journalist in Aleppo, founder of the media center
there, we have his picture. Did you know him? Tell us about him.
ISMAEL: Actually I know him well. His name, his nickname, Shamil Ahmad (ph). He was one of the team who established the media center. He
documented the crimes. He documented the bombing. He tried to say something in his pictures and videos, that the people in Aleppo City are
being killed. He sacrificed his life to help his own people.
[15:10:07]And he left three kids behind. His wife died before him, three days in the hospital. His little baby, when his wife gave birth in the
hospital, and he died, he didn't know that his wife died before him.
Now his kids now in Aleppo City are under the siege. The other baby in Turkey and that's all the situation, he tried to help us in this situation.
GORANI: We really extend our condolences. I wanted to make that clear as well. You have our sympathies. Ismael is a White Helmet rescuer. He goes
in and pulls people out of the rubble after bombings in Aleppo.
Ismael, thank you very much for joining us. We really appreciate your time. We hope that you're able to stay safe there in Syria.
Now, in the two months since Britain voted to leave the European Union, the new prime minister, Theresa May, has continuously used the same phrase to
describe the vote, "Brexit means Brexit."
But amid rising pressure from home and abroad to explain exactly what that means, the new Brexit minister attempted to lay out the government's vision
to a raucous session of parliament in London.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID DAVIS, BRITISH SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EXITING THE E.U.: Naturally people want to know what Brexit will mean. Simply it means leaving the
European Union. So we, we will decide on our borders, our laws, and the taxpayers' money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Well, as you could hear, the statement wasn't received well by everyone in parliament. Opposition Labour Party members accused the
government of making it up as they go along.
Let's get more from our Richard Quest, joining us from New York. So Brexit means Brexit, it means leaving the E.U. OK, we know it means leaving the
E.U., but what's the government's plan?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": We don't really know, and they don't know either. That was the thrust of today's parliamentary
hearing. It's worth pointing out, this was the first day back for parliament.
So it's not surprising that the speaker did have to call order on many occasions. Everybody wanted to have a bit of a joust. What has happened
over the summer is the government has put in place the various building blocks to create the wall of strategy that they will use.
They even had a meeting at checkers, the time minister's country residence, to decide. Now they have to put that negotiating strategy into some form
of cohesive policy to get on with it.
And there you have the real problem, Hala, because Brexit means Brexit, which in its most simple terms means leaving the European Union. But what
does it mean about freedom of movement?
What does it mean about U.K. citizens living and working overseas? And crucially, what does it mean about access to the single market? On these
issues, all the --
GORANI: But you had a referendum question asked of Britons asking would you like to stay in the E.U. or leave, without those questions have been
answered beforehand. It's murky and will be for a long time.
So much so that Japan's government has issued a strong warning over the impact of Brexit. It issued a series of requests. It says, in light of
the fact that a number of Japanese businesses invited by the government in some cases have invested actively to the U.K., which was seen to be a
gateway to Europe, and have established value chains across Europe.
This letter reads on, "We strongly request that the U.K. will consider this fact seriously and respond in a responsible manner to minimize harmful
effects of these businesses."
So essentially in plain English, if things change too much, Richard, we're taking our business elsewhere. This could be a disaster for the economy,
no?
QUEST: Forgive the plug, Hala, but you'll hear the Japanese ambassador on "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" in 45 minutes from now talking about that. Yes,
this e-mail, this memorandum is the closest thing to an undiplomatic, what are you going to do or we will leave, that you're ever going to get from
diplomats.
Not only that, Hala, Japan is the first country out of the gate. Everybody is saying the same thing to Theresa May, the British prime minister, we
know you need time.
[15:15:06]We know you need to put in place your negotiating strategy, but we need to know where we're going to stand. And that's the problem,
because the referendum, as you know, was only on the simple issue. It wasn't about the mechanics.
GORANI: But let me mention to our viewers that the pound quickly has gone up because we had one piece of economic news that wasn't as bad as it was -
-
QUEST: An important piece.
GORANI: This is the PMI, a survey of confidence, essentially and it was up in August and down to a seven-year low in July. So people who think Brexit
was a good idea are saying, see, we told you you're not falling off a cliff and the pound is up 3 cents.
QUEST: Ignore it. It's a way too soon. This is a dead cap bounce, pure and simple, from a very low level. Hala, there is no way at this point any
of us can have any idea of the medium term financial implications of Brexit. The PM admitted as much on the plane to China.
GORANI: That's true, when you don't know what's going to happen, you don't know how things will unfold. That's for sure. And we look forward to your
interview with the Japanese ambassador. Thanks, Richard, see you at the top of the hour.
Still to come, the two American presidential candidates are campaigning in key battleground states, in some cases the same state, even meeting up on
the tarmac. Two ships in the night. More on the U.S. election, coming up.
And Calais blockade demonstrators targets a key French port with the migrant crisis at the heart of their protests. All that and more coming
up. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: In America, Labor Day has come. That means they are off. The American presidential candidates are entering the home stretch to Election
Day. It's a day to honor American workers technically and officially, and the presidential candidates themselves are hard at work.
Hillary Clinton is campaigning in two states today. She'll also attend a Labor Day celebration in Illinois later today. Her first stop is
Cleveland, Ohio, it's an important swing state, where she arrived on her new campaign plane with vice presidential running mate, Tim Kaine and her
campaign press corps.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am so happy to have all of you with me. I was just waiting for this moment. No, really, I'll come
back and talk to you more formally, but I wanted to welcome you onto the plane.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Donald Trump is also in Ohio today and also in planes. His campaign is still sending confusing signals about his immigration policy,
sort of contradictory messages, specifically his stance on mass deportations for undocumented migrants. CNN's Phil Mattingly has that
story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[15:20:05]PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump's campaign still struggling to explain his immigration policy.
GOVERNOR MIKE PENCE (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think Donald Trump's been completely consistent.
MATTINGLY: Giving little clarification of their nominee's conflicting statements how to handle the 11 million undocumented immigrants.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't know who will be left. We don't know where they live, who they are.
CHRIS CHRISTIE, NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR: After the 2 million to 3 million get put out of the country because they're committing crimes, hurting
Americans, selling drugs, doing things that are illegal, once those people are dealt with first, and I think everyone agrees on that issue, then we
can deal with the remaining 8 million people.
MATTINGLY: Another top supporter of Trump says he no longer wants mass deportations.
RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Donald Trump, as he expressed in one of his interviews recently, would find it very, very difficult to
throw out a family that's been here for, you know, 15 years, and they have three children, two of whom are citizens. That is not the kind of America
he wants.
MATTINGLY: A comment that runs contrary to Trump's own words when he laid out his immigration plan after a visit to Mexico.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: For those here illegally today, who are seeking legal status, they will have one route and one route only,
to return home and apply for reentry like everybody else.
MATTINGLY: And new criticism following Trump in Detroit this weekend. Trump reaching out to African-American voters at a predominantly black
church. Some critics question the sincerity of the visit.
TRUMP: For centuries, the African-American church has been the conscience of our country. So true.
MATTINGLY: All this as Hillary Clinton is losing ground to Trump in the latest national polls. Dogged by the FBI publicly releasing its report on
her use of a private e-mail server as secretary of state.
TIM KAINE (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She's apologized for that. She said it was a mistake and she's learned from it.
MATTINGLY: Clinton's running mate now slamming Trump with a new attack, referencing Watergate, drawing a parallel with Trump's seeming invitation
for Russia to hack and release Clinton's e-mails.
KAINE: Contrast the Hillary situation, where the FBI said there's no need for legal proceedings, with an attack that is being encouraged by Donald
Trump on the DNC by Russia similar to what led to the resignation of a president 30 years ago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, we're just 64 days away from Election Day. Let's bring in CNN's political director, David Chalian, in Washington for more on what the
candidates plan to do in the remaining two months.
All right, so let's first talk about strategy right now. It may be Labor Day, but both candidates know it's no time to sit back and relax -- David.
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: That is certainly true. Listen, there are probably about ten states will see these candidates nonstop for
the next nine weeks. We've got 64 days left. Both candidates understand their critical challenge.
Number one, they're both viewed largely unfavorably by the American people. So what each of them is hoping to do, because they don't think they'll be
able to completely change the impression that's been formed on the American people.
So what they'll try to do is put their opponent in the spotlight as much as possible. Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton want this election to be a
referendum on opponent, because they think that does themselves better politically.
GORANI: But we've seen over the last several weeks, after that post- convention bounce, the gap between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump has narrowed considerably in national polls. By the way, these are live
pictures of Hillary Clinton on yet another campaign stop today. So Hillary Clinton must be looking at these numbers and thinking, OK, I really want
this trend to stop now. What does she need to do?
CHALIAN: Yes, what we're seeing now is that the race has kind of returned to where it was before the convention. So back to back conventions,
Hillary Clinton got the last word at those conventions, if you will, and she emerged from her convention, which was largely seen as successful, at
the same time that Donald Trump ended up in this big, brutal controversy going after the gold star family, the Khan family.
That really divided the Republican Party and caused Donald Trump a serious few weeks of problems. Now the campaign is resettling where it was before
the convention, which is really where it is, a tight race between these two nationally.
I think Hillary Clinton, looking at all the battleground state polls, has a slight advantage in getting to 270 electoral votes, but this is not a done
deal by a long stretch.
GORANI: And let's talk a little bit about debate prep, because the first debate is really just around the corner at the end of this month then you
have two more events in October. Donald Trump, also on his campaign plane, talked about his preparations for the upcoming debates. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[15:25:00]TRUMP: I think I'm preparing somewhat like I prepared for the other debates. I think I'm preparing -- I enjoyed the debating process,
obviously I did well in the debates, according to the polls, the online polls that they did right after the debates, and I think I'm doing the same
thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you doing a lot of prep work?
TRUMP: I'm doing some. I'm doing some. I've seen people do so much prep work that when they get out there, they can't speak. I've seen that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: David, he sounds pretty relaxed.
CHALIAN: He does sound pretty relaxed and that's because he's coming off of a pretty good couple of weeks. He totally revamped his campaign team
and has been able to drive a message sort of aimed at Hillary Clinton much more consistently than be consumed by self-inflicted wounds and
controversies that he had started before.
So in that sense he definitely appears relaxed. But listen, you hear him talking, he does not plan on preparing for these debates as a traditional
candidate would and he didn't do that in the nomination season.
We'll see if that holds all the way through to September 26. I can't stress enough how big a moment that first debate is going to be because
there's such interest in it. There's going to be total huge viewership.
And a lot of people are going to be tuning in for the very first time. For Donald Trump, that's a hugely important moment because he has got to prove
himself presidential. Hillary Clinton has got to prove herself an agent of change. We'll see how that comes out.
GORANI: David Chalian, as always, thanks for being on. We appreciate it.
CHALIAN: Thank you.
GORANI: All right. When we come back, in Germany growing opposition to Chancellor Angela Merkel's open door refugee policy, showing at the polls.
Those are not cheers from Angela Merkel's party. Elections in her home state ending with her party finishing in third place behind the anti-
immigration alternative party, which finished second.
Ms. Merkel conceded that decisions on immigration played a role in the results, but she insists even today she made the right choices for Germany.
Now speaking of asylum seekers and migrants, protesters have been blocking a key highway in and out of Calais, causing major disruptions at the French
port. Truck drivers and farmers are calling for the French government to close the migrant camp there, known as the jungle.
They say migrants and criminal gangs have been trying to stow aboard vehicles bound for the U.K. France says it will slowly dismantle the
jungle, but as far as the protesters are concerned, that's not nearly fast enough.
Let's bring in Jim Bittermann from Paris. So Jim, we are seeing all these protests. The French are saying why are we having to deal with all these
migrants when all they want to do is go to the U.K.? It's up to Britain to shoulder some of this responsibility.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, Hala, although Britain would say in return that they've already spent $15 million, 12 million pounds, in
order to bolster the defenses, bolster the police forces in Calais, trying to help the French out.
But there is a growing movement within France saying, hey, if these guys want to go to Britain, let's let them go, let the Brits handle it and move
the board to Britain rather than have the official border on this side of the English Channel.
Now, today that protest lasted about 12 hours. After about a four-hour meeting with the administrative head up in that area, basically they've now
called off their demonstration, further demonstrations.
But the anger is still there and the truckers and farmers and local townspeople will have regular weekly meetings to talk what is exactly being
done and they want a date certain that this camp is going to be dismantled.
There's between 7,000 and 9,000 of these asylum seekers who are causing all sorts of problems for the truckers and the farmers and the local merchants
-- Hala.
GORANI: So you dismantle it, what happens with the people who live there? Presumably they're going to go somewhere else, and these criminal gangs
that are taking advantage of people's desperation will continue to operate.
BITTERMANN: Well, what the government has been trying to do over time and in stages is to resettle the various asylum seekers in refugee centers
across the country and moving them out from Calais.
What's happened, though, is there have been more coming in than moving out, the population has grown in the last couple of weeks. It's a situation
that is not that easy to resolve.
But the government says it's going to do it and it's going to fix a date. They're just not going to announce the date because of security reasons --
Hala.
GORANI: Many of these people don't want to stay in France. So we'll see if they go along with that plan. Jim Bittermann, thanks very much, live in
Paris with the latest on that crisis in Calais.
What's happening in Calais has caught the attention of many, including the entertainer, Will.I.Am, who recently visited migrants there.
[15:30:04] Coming up, we speak to Will.I.Am live. But first, new exclusive details about ISIS and their operatives and how they planned attacks in
Europe. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Welcome back. A look at our top stories. U.S. President Barack Obama says gaps of trust with Russia are preventing a ceasefire agreement
on Syria. He met with President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in China.
Many people have spoken about this particular picture and some of that body language that doesn't suggest a lot of warmth between the two men. As the
meeting came to a close, no agreement was hammered out. Mr. Putin says he believes a deal on Syria, though, can be reached within a few days. We'll
see if that materializes.
Also among all the other stories we're following, twin bombings near Afghanistan's Defense Ministry have left dozens of people dead. The attack
on the Afghan capital, Kabul, killed 24 people and wounded more than 90 others. Authorities say the second blast was a suicide bombing. The
Taliban are claiming responsibility.
In Tel Aviv, two people are dead after a parking garage suddenly collapsed. Twenty more people are injured. The four-story underground garage was
under construction.
Health officials in Singapore have confirmed 16 new cases of the Zika virus. That means that the total number of cases there has jumped from
zero to 258 in just a week. Authorities are fumigating affected areas to kill mosquitoes that transmit the virus. Zika has been linked to birth
defects in babies of infected mothers.
Now to some stunning new details about the terrorist attacks in Paris last year. CNN has gained access to thousands of pages of documents in the
investigation into the attacks, and they reveal a sophisticated and meticulous operation. Our Clarissa Ward has spent months following the
story. Here is her exclusive report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): November 13th, ten ISIS operatives attacked Paris targeting bars,
restaurants, concert hall, and the stadium, shooting as many people as they could before blowing themselves up. By the end of the massacre, the worst
terrorist attack in Europe in a decade, 130 people were dead.
Now, for the first time, CNN has gained access to thousands of pages of documents and photos from the internal European investigation, which shed
new light on the sophisticated network ISIS uses to coordinate terror attacks across Europe.
[15:35:10]The documents reveal another suspected terrorist never before made public who investigators linked to the cell that carried out the Paris
attacks. He was on the loose in Europe for more than six months.
Other ISIS operatives are right now believed to be living among ordinary citizens in Europe plotting other strikes directed by senior ISIS handlers
in Syria according to multiple sources.
Within days of the shocking rampage in Paris police learned that two of the three suicide bombers at the Stad de France Stadium entered Europe by
posing as Syrian refugees.
These surveillance photos never seen before publicly show the bombers as they approach their target. This is the moment they detonate their
devices. But according to the documents two more men were part of the ISIS cell.
They traveled the same refugee route as the suicide bombers, blending in with thousands of people from wore-torn countries. Their names are Adel
Haddadi (ph) and Mohammad Usman (ph).
They were eventually arrested and records of their capture and interrogation obtained by CNN show how ISIS supported the attackers
throughout their mission, this is their story based mainly on multiple interrogations of Haddadi.
Early October, six weeks before the Paris attacks, the documents show their journey began in Raqqah, Syria, the capital of the self-declared ISIS
caliphate.
The men didn't know each other's real names or what their mission would be. According to the documents, Haddadi later tells investigators he only knew
they were being sent to France to do something for the good of God.
Much of their journey was directed by a shadowy ISIS leader in Syria known only as Abu Ahmad who arranged meetings, cell phones, money, and
transportation for them.
Jean-Charles Brisard is a French expert on terrorism. We asked him to analyze the documents obtained by CNN.
JEAN-CHARLES BRISARD, FRENCH CENTER FOR ANALYSIS OF TERRORISM: Abu Ahmad is clearly an ISIS operative. He's key in sending those individuals, these
foreigners, into the Paris attacks because he's the one who recruited them, who funds them, who trained them, who provided electronic devices to them,
telephones, he was always in contact with them.
WARD: According to the transcripts of interrogations, Haddadi and Usman along with the two Paris attackers traveled from Raqqah across the Turkish
border onto the coastal city of Izmir, switching vehicles, picking up cash, passed from one smuggler to the next along the way.
They receive instructions from their ISIS handler in Syria through encrypted apps such as Telegram and WhatsApp. Throughout their journey
they're only given enough money and information to get to the next stop.
PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: ISIS is accelerating its international attack and planning. It's increasingly sophisticated in the
way it does this. It set off an intricate, a logistical support system for these terrorist cells throughout Europe.
WARD: In the middle of the night the team makes the treacherous crossing to Greece in a boat filled with dozens of refugees. They picked up by the
Greek Navy along the way.
The two bombers who would eventually attack the Paris stadium make it through and start moving steadily north toward their target, but Haddadi
and Usman's fake Syrian passports are discovered.
They're arrested and they're money is taken. They are held in Greece for about a month. Greek officials would not say why they were released, but
authorities believed that delay was significant.
They would not have a chance to become part of the Paris attacks. Haddadi tells investigators they contact their ISIS handler, Abu Ahmad, who
arranges another 2,000 euros for them.
Flush with cash, the pair continue along the refugee route. As they work their way across Europe, Usman, identified by investigators as a bomb maker
from a Pakistani terror group, passes the hours doing something strikingly un-Islamic, looking at porn. Documents show he visited almost two dozen
porn sites on his phone.
November 14th, the day after the Paris attacks, Haddadi and Usman arrived in Austria, apply for asylum, and they end up in this refugee center where
they stayed for weeks.
(on camera): According to CNN's sources, authorities now believed that Haddadi and Usman were not only part of the same terror cell as the Paris
bombers but also that they were planning another attack. The documents show that they were in contact with people in several European countries
and were researching travel to France.
(voice-over): Investigators believe they were waiting for a third man to join them, a mysterious ISIS operative called Abid Tabaouni. Tabaouni has
not been publicly named until now.
[05:40:02]Like Usman and Haddadi he traveled from Syria along the refugee route, carrying a phone number linked to the terror cell of the ringleader
of the Paris attacks, according to the documents, as well as a photo of Islamic State fighters standing before their flag.
December 10th, nearly a month after the Paris attacks, Tabaouni finally arrives at the refugee center where Usman and Haddadi are. Later the very
same day, police raid the center. Usman and Haddadi are arrested.
Here's what happened next according to the documents, in the scramble, Haddadi tries unsuccessfully to get rid of his sim card. Tabaouni is
nowhere to be seen. Haddadi denies knowing him, but investigators find this, Tabaouni's cellphone charging right beside Haddadi's bed.
It has Haddadi's phone number saved in it. Also in that phone, a photo taken just 30 minutes before the raid that shows Tabaouni sitting on a bed
in the refugee center right next to where Haddadi and Usman slept.
BRISARD: We can assume Tabaouni was also part of the same plot and was instructed to carry out an attack.
WARD: From the time he slipped away last December, Tabaouni has been a wanted man, according to CNN sources who also confirm he was finally
arrested in July. The documents show this is the Facebook page Tabaouni had on his phone and in recent months it appears he was publicly posting
updates from Belgium.
Investigators are now analyzing 1,600 pages of data from his phone. And sources tell CNN they are moving to extradite him to Austria and to tie him
to Haddadi and Usman and the Paris attackers.
(on camera): Are you concerned that there may be many others who used the same route who you just didn't know about?
BRISARD: Yes. We've seen that in the recent weeks. Several of them, individuals who carry out individual attacks, inspired attacks, were coming
back from Syria using the same route.
WARD: So there's a possibility that there are many more that you just don't know about?
BRISARD: There is a high possibility.
WARD (voice-over): The documents show Haddadi's phone has also proven to be a treasure trove for investigators, revealing an ISIS network that
fanned out through southern and northern Europe. He had dozens of contacts.
Some gave advice on crossing borders and evading the law. One tells Haddadi that he was able to sneak into France by hiding in the bathroom of
a train.
December 15th, five days after the raid, ISIS handler, Abu Ahmad reaches out to his operatives, Haddadi and Usman, perhaps wondering about their
silence. How are you, he writes, what's become of you? There is no reply.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Clarissa Ward joins me now live with more. Where are these guys now?
WARD: So from what we know, Adel Haddadi and Muhammad Usman, who were both arrested at the refugee center, have subsequently been extradited to Paris
because they are believed to be explicitly involved in the Paris attacks.
Now since our piece was published this morning, Austrian media has done more pushing of the prosecutor's office there, and they are citing the
prosecutors as saying that Tabaouni, who is the third suspect who was on the loose for seven months, who was arrested in Belgium just in July, that
he has now been extradited to Austria.
But what's interesting, Hala, that you don't necessarily see in the piece, because we were going through tens of thousands of pages of documents, is
that there were many others involved in this as well. There were two others who were arrested in the refugee center with Haddadi and Usman were
arrested. There was --
GORANI: Posing as refugees and suspected of planning attacks?
WARD: Exactly, posing as refugees, suspected of being involved in attacks, and the difficulty that authorities have when they're going through all of
this information on their cellphones and all these different people who they had contact with.
Haddadi, for example, was in regular contact with a technician at a nuclear research facility in France. The French put this man under observation,
but you can't just prosecute someone and send them to jail --
GORANI: Hang on, one of these guys was in regular contact with the technician at a nuclear plant in France? What about it?
WARD: The French put him under observation, meaning that they're watching him. They're keeping an eye on him. The difficulty that investigators
have is the network is quite substantial, and there are so many different linkages. It's very difficult for them to ascertain which of the linkages
are harmless or arbitrary and which of them are more sinister.
GORANI: Right. And this month delay probably made all the difference in at least in how many men participated in the Paris attacks initially.
WARD: Certainly.
GORANI: Clarissa Ward, thanks very much for your great report. Don't forget you can get all the latest news, interviews and analysis from the
show on our Facebook page, Facebook.com/halagoranicnn.
[15:45:07]This is THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. Still ahead, finding new meaning in a pop classic. We speak to Will.I.Am about why he is reworking "Where Is
The Love" for a new generation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: They made their name with a song that tackled issues from gang warfare to the war on terror. Now 13 years on, the Black Eyed Peas are
giving their pop classic, "Where Is The Love," a modern makeover.
(MUSIC VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: The new version features dozens of new stars including Mary J. Blige and Usher. As you see from this clip, the video focuses on two
stories we've covered extensively here at CNN International.
The Black Lives Matter Movement in the U.S. and the refugee crisis in the Middle East. Pop music and politics have a long running relationship, but
what does the group hope to achieve by remaking this breakthrough song?
Who better to ask than Black Eyed Peas front man, Will.I.Am., who joins me from Los Angeles. Thanks for being with us, Will.I.am. Your video starts
with that harrowing image of Alan Kurdi, that young Turkish boy dead, face down, dead on a Turkish beach. Why did you choose to focus on refugees and
police violence?
WILL.I.AM, MUSICIAN AND CAMPAIGNER: The things that happen in culture that shock us to the core, and we ask ourselves, like why is that possible in
this day and age, with so much progress? As, you know -- we've made so much progress, but yet we still do these horrible things to each other.
We still have people living, you know, behind, like it's -- not even 19, they're in the dark ages. How is that possible? It's like, I really -- I
really don't understand. My heart just can't figure it out and we cry.
And so this song, we wanted to, you know, remind people not to forget. We see it on the news, we're heartbroken, and couple of days later, we forget
again.
So this song is meant for people to remember the things that are still happening in these war torn countries, in these inner cities in America.
There are people that are still trying to figure out how solutions are going to be brought to them.
[15:50:02]GORANI: Right. But this is an environment where in many countries around the globe, there's sort of fatigue about the Middle East.
People aren't always welcoming of refugees, they feel like, look, we can't take any more of these people in. How will that song play out in the
current political environment in the United States, but also in other countries in Europe?
WILL.I.AM: Well, I visited Calais, I went to the jungle. And, you know, a lot of times you can listen to what the news tells you about, you know,
refugees. These people are people. They've fled their country because of -- you know, they need to be safe.
They wanted -- they're not the people that are causing the problems, right? So I went there, and just to see it for myself. And I met, you know,
people that are lost, people that are still fighting just to have an equal opportunity.
And I met there with the campground organizer and told her I would try my best to -- you know, anything I can do, what do you guys need most? She
said, we need underwear and water.
GORANI: We saw a picture of you there in Calais, viewers are seeing you that day in Calais.
WILL.I.AM: So the things, they need basing things. It's amazing that they want cards to talk to their families at home. They wanted water and clean
blankets to sleep on and underwear, and feminine hygiene.
So the least I can do -- so we brought like gallons of water over to the refugee camp, just the basic things for survival. I'm not saying this song
is going to solve the problem. But it can help bringing awareness and raise money to folks living there can live not so hard. Imagine not having
water.
GORANI: I was at the jungle as well, in Calais, and I have to say, it's not something you would expect to see in France of all countries. But
where is this money that you're going to raise, who will it benefit?
WILL.I.AM: OK. So that was the tricky part. It's only one song. So it's not like billions of dollars are going to be raised to solve all of these
problems. The money coming from this particular song on iTunes and Apple music goes to education.
If you go to wheresthelove.com, you can fund the Alton Sterling Fund, the Alan Kurdi Foundation, the Dallas Police Officers, the Calais Refugee
Crisis Charity, Trayvon Martin Foundation, the Official Freddie Gray Foundation, Michael Brown's Foundation, Sandra Bland Legal Fund, The Garner
Way Foundation, the One Post Foundation, Give For France Foundation, Sam's Foundation, Turkish Philanthropy Funds, Belgium Red Cross.
So we wanted to bring attention to these things that still need, you know, support. And, you know, there's a lot of people that walk around with
their phones, and their heart wants to aim it to a place where it can solve problems.
But if no one's reminding them, as they're thumbing through and refreshing their Instagram and Snapchat, we wanted to have something in pop culture to
remind them that they're still needed, don't just pay attention when something pops off. Keep and sustain your heart. Love is not disposable.
GORANI: You're right, it's about directing attention and reminding people of the problems, police violence, refugees, and victims of war. You got
quite the array there of major celebrities and big name singers to participate in this video. Dozens of them. How did that -- how did you
manage that? How did you go about asking each one of them?
WILL.I.AM: So the first version of "Where's The Love," Black Eyed Peas and Justin Timberlake in 2001 after 9/11. Since then there have been horrific
things happening in society. We wanted to keep people's attention on the issues.
So Mary J. Blige came, and P. Diddy came, the Game came. From then we had the snowball where everyone wanted to join in and aim their hearts towards,
you know, opportunity, you know, awareness, raising funds for kids in inner cities, and, you know, shedding the light on issues still going on in the
world.
GORANI: All right. Will.I.Am., thanks very much for joining us. We appreciate it. The new version of the song is available for download on
iTunes and elsewhere. You can go to Will.I.Am. Foundation's website and whereisthelove.com as well. Thanks very much, Will.I.Am.
[15:55:06]WILL.I.AM: We also want to open up the song now to have a "Where's The Love" Arabic version, Asian version, U.K., Europe,
specifically for those territories. So be on the lookout for us opening up for everyone else.
GORANI: We will, thanks very much, Will.I.Am. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: During the weekend, a huge fire broke out on the River Thames and it looked like London burning. Look at this inferno. Thankfully it was a
replica of old London, burned to mark the 350th anniversary of the great fire of London.
Apparently a third of the city burned down 350 years ago. The 120-meter- long stretch was set alight in a stunning display to commemorate this infamous disaster in 1666.
The fire began in a bakery, rumor has it may have been a French baker, that's what I heard, reduced 13,000 buildings to ashes. It left 100,000
people homeless. The city was of course rebuilt, but this time, smartly, using stone.
This has been THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. I'm Hala Gorani. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
