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Hala Gorani Tonight
U.S.-Russia Tensions Mount In Syrian Conflict; U.N.: Aid Reaches Damascus Area; Protests Over Police Killing Of African-American Man; Boat With 450 Migrants Capsizes, Crew Arrested; Curbing The Threat From Global Extremism; White Working Class Concerns In Pennsylvania Town; Meet Afghanistan's Newest Muppet, Zari; Great British Bake Off Crumbling?; Family Of Black Man Fatally Shot By Police Talking To Media. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired September 22, 2016 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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[15:00:22] HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. I'm Hala Gorani. We are coming to you live from CNN London. Thanks for being with us on this
Thursday. This is THE WORLD RIGHT NOW.
Well, you've probably seen over the last 24 hours just how tense it was in Charlotte, North Carolina overnight. Officials are bracing, potentially,
for another night of unrest after that controversial police shooting. We're live in Charlotte in just a few minutes. Stay tuned for that.
We begin this hour with Syria where the stakes are getting even higher. The dark arts of blame and spin seemed to be getting a workout from New
York all the way to Damascus. Who exactly is making a casualty of the truth and possibly the fragile ceasefire? All of that is yet to be
determined.
As far as Syria's president is concerned, he says the U.S. is to blame.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BASHAR AL-ASSAD, SYRIAN PRESIDENT: We are ready to be committed to any halt operation, which was called a ceasefire, but it is not about Syria or
Russia. It's about the United States and the terrorist group that is being affiliated to ISIS and al Qaeda, to United States, Turkey, and Saudi
Arabia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Bashar Al-Assad speaking there. By the way, we're waiting on John Kerry as well to speak a little bit later this hour. We'll bring you that.
Now the leaders involved in the conflict are pointing fingers variously at Moscow and Damascus. In Aleppo, though, on the ground yet again another
air strike killing more civilians.
Here's what we know. John Kerry is meeting with the International Syria Support Group as it's called in New York. These pictures are from a little
earlier in the day.
The U.S. secretary of state may bring up the idea of a no-fly zone over Syria. At this hour, it is impossible to tell exactly what is going on
with the ceasefire and yet another blow to the truce. At least six people have been killed in airstrikes in Aleppo according to activists.
Now they also tell us that Syria is seeing a major escalation in airstrikes from the regime and Russian war planes, but I do have something hopeful
perhaps to share with you tonight.
It appears as though some humanitarian aid according to the U.N. has reached the greater Damascus area enough to help 7,000 families. We're
covering the story for you from New York right now. Our Elise Labott is joining us.
First of all, let's talk about what to expect from John Kerry because Elise, this idea of grounding Assad's war planes, I put it to his chief
adviser. She said forget it. It's just not happening, why is he bothering to bring it up?
ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think what he is trying to do, Hala, is really test the Russian intentions here, whether
they're willing to put that kind of pressure on President Assad to ground his air force, and that will show whether or not Russia is serious about
implementing the ceasefire, or will expose the lack of influence that Russia has over the regime.
You know, even though the U.S. believes that it's Russia that conducted that airstrike on that humanitarian U.N. convoy on Monday, it still feels
that Russia is the one that bears the brunt of stopping the regime.
And so I think what the secretary is trying to do is, you know, see if Russia is willing to get this going and test their intentions to see if
they can ground his air force.
And I don't think we are talking about a no-fly zone in a traditional sense. That would imply that the U.S. is ready to shoot down anything that
violates that no fly zone, and Secretary Kerry has been quite clear the U.S. is not going to do that.
So I think Secretary Kerry is trying to get something going with a very bad hand, the U.S. does not have a lot of leverage if the Russians say no.
GORANI: Right. There is no accountability, no enforcement, and the Syrians are saying they will not do it.
[15:05:01]Fred Pleitgen is in Damascus. What are you hearing from government officials over there about what is being discussed in New York?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I mean, well, we heard today from President Bashar al-Assad in a very wide ranging
interview with the "Associated Press," Hala, of course, him saying that he doesn't believe that a no-fly zone is something that's going to be
workable.
Certainly what we're also hearing from the Syrian military, speaking to some officials here, they also say that is something they just think is
absolutely out of the question here on the ground.
Now he did say in that interview with the "Associated Press" that he felt that the Syrians could adhere to a ceasefire, to a cessation of hostilities
in the future.
They of course blame the U.S. for not reigning in the rebels and for the ceasefire basically falling apart because of that. At the same time, of
course, you also have the violence here in Syria escalating once again.
Hala, you had about 50 people, according to opposition sources, killed in Aleppo yesterday. Also several people killed again today so certainly it
as though seems from our vantage point that the violence here in Syria very much picking up.
Probably not at the levels it was when the cessation of hostilities went into effect, but certainly still a very, very violent time now.
And you just sense that the all-around mood is not necessarily one where many people hear, regular Syrians that we speak to, believe that the
ceasefire can in any way, shape, or form be salvaged -- Hala.
GORANI: And Elise, that's the question, though, I mean, what can you salvage from this when the parties can't even agree on what to call the
conflict itself, on what is going on, and on who is responsible for the violence. Everybody is pointing fingers at everyone else.
LABOTT: That's right. And what is so interesting, Hala, is there is so much talk about Syria and deals between the U.S. and Russia, or deals that
include some of these other -- you know, you have these international Syrian support group, which is, you know, a couple dozen nations getting
together to talk about the future of Syria.
And the Syrian themselves are not involved in any way, and so this is really, you know, it has become a proxy war, and so in such a big sense.
And so the U.S. really -- the only leverage that is has is to try and get the Russians to cooperate.
The Russians have been asking for this joint military cooperation to go after terrorists groups like ISIS, al-Nusra Front and the U.S. is saying,
listen, we might be willing to do that, but if you're not going to stop the Syrians from bombing Syrian civilians, if you're not going to stop
yourself, if you're not going to let that aid through, forget it.
And the Russians are accusing the U.S. of not adhering to their one responsibility, which is to separate these opposition fighters from more
extremist groups like al-Nusra so that they can target the terrorists and it's clear who the terrorists and who is not a terrorist.
Now they can't agree on who should be on this list and the U.S. doesn't even have any leverage over the opposition. The only thing they can really
do to the opposition is say if you don't get out of the way, you're going to be bomb to you have an incentive to cooperate. So the U.S. is trying to
pull all this together with very little to work with.
GORANI: Elise Labott, thanks very much. Fred Pleitgen is in Damascus this evening. We'll stay in close touch with you as well.
There has been plenty of debate in the west on what to do for and about Syria. The American president, Barack Obama, has been talking about how
much the conflict ways on his mind.
Plenty to cover with Josh Rogin, our CNN political analyst. So the president, Barack Obama, gave an interview to "Vanity Fair," here is what
he had to say about Syria.
Let's bring it up. Thank you very much. "I would say of all of the things that have happened during the course of my presidency, the knowledge that
you have hundreds of thousands of people who have been killed makes me ask myself what might I have done differently along the course of the last
five, six years."
That is something that's really weighing on his mind. A lot of people said, though, that he had many options that maybe he didn't choose much
earlier on, Josh?
JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right, Barack Obama talks about Syria crisis haunting him, but if you look at the context in the interview, he is
talking about it as a means of saying that as he wraps his brain and thinks back over the last eight years, about what he could have done differently,
he doesn't believe that he did anything wrong.
That's the message that the Obama White House and its top officials have been giving, people around Washington for the last few months who have been
complaining that this seems to be a failed policy, right?
Barack Obama's basic frame is that all of the ideas that brought to him including by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, David Petraeus, and many,
many others, would not have resulted in anything better, and he could not think of something better to do.
[15:10:04]Therefore, he did the best he could in a bad situation. This is an attempt by Barack Obama to defend his legacy and not to regret it. I
wonder if history will buy that explanation.
GORANI: Yes, it will be interesting because you know, ten years down the line and we know earlier on especially after that chemical attack in Syria
in 2013, many people, including his own secretary of state were advocating for much stronger intervention, but here is the thing, Josh, do we have a
technical problem there?
ROGIN: We're back.
GORANI: OK, Josh is back, in a few months there will be a new president. Coming up with a deal now, making long lasting decisions now, is not really
in the interest of any of the parties, right? How would a Hillary Clinton presidency be different from Barack Obama on Syria?
ROGIN: Well, I think you have it exactly right. What this ceasefire negotiation and preservation attempt by the administration represents is
their last ditch effort.
But all the actors including the Syrian regime, including the Russians, including the opposition know that this administration is almost out the
door so they have very little incentive to do anything.
Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, no matter who wins the presidency will have a mandate and a need to change the policy dramatically. For Donald
Trump that looks like a lot more bombing and not a lot of diplomacy.
For Hillary Clinton, she's promised a no-fly zone and increased aid to the opposition, the exact two things that Barack Obama has rejected.
So if you're any actor in the Syrian crisis, your calculation is clear, just wait out the Obama administration, it's only a couple more months.
GORANI: Right, because, I mean, a no fly zone or increased bombing is a big escalation of the U.S.'s military involvement in Syria.
ROGIN: Exactly, and that escalation is exactly what the Obama White House has avoided. They've learned their lessons about Middle East intervention
from the Iraq war and they saw that as the fundamental mistake in modern U.S. foreign policy --
GORANI: Such a different case though, you can't apply -- it's the same with Libya, that didn't work, why would it work in Syria.
ROGIN: And you can over learn those lessons and the message that many people in Washington are giving to the Obama White House now is OK, there
are risks to all of those actions. They all have costs, and they might not all work, but they are also risks and costs to inaction.
If you look at the policy of avoiding intervention and you look at the result, which as the president points millions of refugees, hundreds of
thousands of deaths, and a deepening crisis, that's causing spilling over to the region in the world then that policy is also having dire
consequences not just for Syrians but for all of us.
GORANI: Because whoever is in the White House come January cannot ignore Syria any more, right? I mean, you're talking millions of refugees.
You're talking territory held by ISIS. It is also the case in Iraq where offensives are about to take place to retake Mosul, but essentially you
either deal with it or it can only become worse and worse.
ROGIN: Yes, there is a theory among some people, including the president, that this crisis can be contained and it's not in America's core interest
and therefore, we shouldn't sacrifice large amounts of blood and treasure for something that we ultimately can't control.
The other theory, the one that seems to be gaining momentum based on the fact that I see, is that, no, this crisis can't be contained and that the
longer that ISIS has a stronghold, the more they will be able to plan attacks against the west including the United States.
The longer that Assad stays in power, the more they'll be a magnet for terrorists and the crisis will deepen. The more that everyone bombs Syria,
the more refugees will flood into Europe and eventually to the United States.
So this problem is only getting worse. It can no longer be ignored by the international community. There is no real chance that the Obama
administration is going to change course at this late date.
But we do see two very different options from Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, and those will have two very different outcomes depending on who
gets elected in November.
GORANI: All right, I think the crisis has not been contained. That's one thing we can say for sure given the last two years. Thanks very much, Josh
Rogin, always a pleasure.
Let's turn our attention to Charlotte. I was telling you about what happened there at the beginning of the hour. Tensions there very high in
North Carolina over the fatal police shooting of an African-American man.
Now the police chief in the city of Charlotte says he will not release dash cam video of the incident to the public. Though, he hopes to accommodate a
request by Keith Lamont Scott's family to see it.
Anger over Scott's death boiled over again yesterday night. Our reporter, Boris Sanchez, was in the middle of it all. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They put out pepper spray. People are running from it. Jerry get out of there. Jerry, get out of there. The
situation is totally out of control. Anderson, at one point --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: It did get dicey there. We're going to get an update from Charlotte in a moment. First, though, we want to remind you of the very
different accounts of how and why Scott was killed by the police. Here's Polo Sandoval.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[15:15:06]REVEREND BJ MURPHY, NATION OF ISLAM: They said he had a gun. Somebody said he had a book. We need to do our own independent
investigation to see if that is actually true.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two very different accounts emerging about what led police to fatally shoot Keith Lamont Scott in the
parking lot of his apartment complex. Police say Scott had a gun when he was confronted by Officer Brentley Vinson.
CHIEF KERR PUTNEY, CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG POLICE DEPARTMENT: Mr. Scott, as I said, exited his vehicle on with a hand gun as the officers continued to
yell at him to drop his handgun. He stepped out, posing a threat to the officers, and Officer Brentley Vinson subsequently fired his weapon
striking the subject.
SANDOVAL: But Scott's daughter insists her father did not have a gun alleging that if he did, police planted it. Moments after the shooting,
she offered her account in an emotional Facebook live stream.
LYRIC SCOTT, KEITH SCOTT'S DAUGHTER (via telephone): You can't do this. My daddy is definitely disabled. What (inaudible) gun he have here in the
damn car, reading a book. It happened because he was black.
SANDOVAL: Charlotte police have not released video, but maintained that the evidence recovered at the scene proves their story.
PUTNEY: A weapon was seized, a handgun. I can also tell you that we did not find a book that has been made reference to.
SANDOVAL: These conflicting accounts offering little comfort to Scott's wife. She issued a statement late Wednesday night asserting, quote, "After
listening to remarks by Charlotte-Mecklenberg Police Chief Putney today, we have more questions than answers about Keith's death. Rest assured, we
will work diligently to get answers to our questions as quickly as possible."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, by the way, the police chief said that even though this video hasn't been released that there is no, quote, "definitive visual
evidence" either way. There is no clear cut narrative that he can make out or make an announcement on from this dash cam video.
Let's go live to Charlotte to find out what's happening there now. Ryan Young is there for us. So Ryan, what -- I mean, there must be still
concerns after what happened last night that there will be a repeat tonight.
RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There certainly are concerns right now, but there is no plans for any protests as we are talking right now. In fact,
we have been scrubbing social media to see if there will be a large gathering.
There have been several people who walked by us who said, yes, there is one is coming, but they don't want to put it out there. They wanted to be a
surprise.
So you hear those kind of things as people walked by. But we're on the intersection right now near where the man was shot last night that left him
in critical condition.
We talked to protestors, they think that is when everything took a turn when the crowd went from a peaceful protest, started walking around. In
fact, up the street here there is a bar where a young lady told us, they've locked themselves inside that bar for about an hour to make sure everything
was clear.
They barricaded the doors and then they went out the back. So you have people who are faced with a little bit of terror. As we look down this
direction, there is a parking garage over here where a man actually went inside and was attacked by several people and they took his clothes. All
of this going on and there is a lot of people calling for calm at this time.
GORANI: By the way, the family of Keith Lamont Scott is scheduled to hold a news conference in about 30 minutes or so, what are we expecting from
them?
YOUNG: Well, you know, there is a lot of people who said their statement last night went a long way saying we don't want people protesting in his
name. Not protesting -- they don't want them to do the rioting that they were doing last night.
That's something they made clear. So you're hoping maybe they come out and call for calm and that's one thing people have been talking about. We have
seen people walking by with signs, they're still protesting. There is still a heavy police presence. We have not seen the National Guard just of
yet, and of course, there's been no curfew put in place.
GORANI: All right, thanks very much, Ryan Young in Charlotte, North Carolina with the very latest there on tensions in that city.
A lot more to come this evening, hundreds are feared dead in the capsizing of a boat packed with migrants bound for Europe. Now the boat's crew has
been arrested.
And we'll return to the crisis in Syria, I'll talk about how the civil war is creating a breeding ground for extremism with an American diplomat.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:21:25]
GORANI: The crew members of a migrant boat that capsized Wednesday off the coast of Egypt have been rested. They could face charges of human
trafficking as well involuntary manslaughter.
Hundreds of people are feared dead. Anxious relatives lined the beach hoping for good news, but rescuers say they have not found any more
survivors in the water. There is basically no hope left for them.
Of the 450 migrants believed to have been on the overloaded wooden vessel, only 163 survived. The boat was trying to reach Italy when it capsized
about 12 miles from the Egyptian shores. They didn't even get that far.
Our Ian Lee has more from Istanbul, Turkey. You have more details on the last moments on that boat, Ian?
IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. CNN has been able to talk to survivors and we're also hearing accounts on state media about those final
moments. A boat capsized early yesterday morning. They were able to get an SOS out to the Egyptian Coast Guard, according to one survivor, but they
were in the water for seven hours.
They were treading among oil and bodies until the first vessel, a fishing vessel was able to spot them and then the rescue effort started.
We are hearing that there were men, women, and children aboard this vessel when it went down. You have 163 people that survived. The death toll now
is at 51 people, but there is over 200 people unaccounted for.
A lot of these people coming from various African countries including Sudan, Somalia, a lot of Egyptians on this boat as well. This is a ship
that was supposed to carry 150 people, but it was about 450 according to survivors.
And this search and rescue operation moving more now to body recovery. A lot of those people wondering what happened to their loved ones. There was
a lot of Egyptians there, family members are waiting on shore for any word from their loved ones.
There are four crew members who have been arrested. They are facing manslaughter charges, but this is a problem that Egypt has dealt with for
quite some time. About every week you always hear these stories of 200, 300 migrant boats that have been intercepted, but you do get these
tragedies from time to time -- Hala.
GORANI: Who are these traffickers? How much do they charge per person, and how were they found and arrested?
LEE: You know, this is really where this controversy is beginning in Egypt because you talk to the people in these villages, and these traffickers are
known to the villagers. People know who they are.
A lot of these villages are fishing villages, but due to over fishing, they have shifted to human trafficking and drug smuggling. And so the villagers
say that there is some corruption going on with the local authorities that allow these boats to take migrants, take them into the water.
And so that is why they say that some of them do get some protection, and so to really clamp down on this, it will take a concerted effort from the
Egyptian government, but for the migrants, a lot of these people are going to Italy.
That is the major port of entry into Europe for these boats and for these people there. A lot of them are just looking for a better life. They are
spending $3,000 for a foreigner to get on one of these boats.
[15:25:06]For Egyptians, it's closer to $4,000. For a lot of people this is their life's savings. They want to get to Europe. They want to make a
better life, and this is the only way they see that they can do that -- Hala.
GORANI: It's really tragic. Thanks very much, Ian Lee in Istanbul.
Now to the latest on that investigation on the New York and New Jersey bombings in the United States. The wife of the suspected bombing suspect
is reportedly back in the United States.
Her husband, Ahmad Rahami, is accused of setting a bomb Saturday in New York that wounded 29 people. His wife reportedly met with U.S. officials
in the United Arab Emirates and we understand she is cooperating.
Meanwhile, Rahami remains unconscious after surgery. Investigators still haven't been able to question him about the bombings. He was shot in an
altercation in a New Jersey drive way.
Coming up, as the war rage rages on in Syria, they have become a breeding ground for extremism, groups like ISIS, of course. I will ask the U.S.
undersecretary of state in charge of counterterrorism about that.
And it was once a Syrian opposition stronghold, but now the Damascus suburb of Daraya is a very different place. CNN takes a look inside.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: A look at our top stories, the United Nations says an aid convoy has reached the countryside outside Damascus. It's enough to help around
35,000 people according to the U.N. It comes as rebel-held districts of Aleppo experience an increase in airstrikes.
Iran's president has harsh words for the U.S. and Saudi Arabia today at the U.N., and his address to the General Assembly, Hassan Rouhani, said the
U.S. is not living up to its end of the Iran nuclear deal. He also criticized the American administration for freezing some Iranian assets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HASSAN ROUHANI, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The United States is fully aware that there is a recognized multilateral agreement, and any
failure on the part of the united states in implementing it would constitute an international wrongful act and would be objected to by the
international community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Everyone is still on edge in Charlotte, North Carolina because of another unrest yesterday over the fatal police shooting of an African-
American man. The police chief says he won't release dash cam video of the incident to the public, though, he hopes to fulfill a request by Keith
Lamont Scott's family to see it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[15:30:00] PUTNEY: Our practice has been not to release but to allow for the party who feels they've been mistreated in any way to see that. A
request has come our way to do just that and we are going to honor that request, but there are other things that are going on too about just to be
quite frank with you whether there is going to be an outside investigation, and at that point, it would halt what we are doing moving forward as far as
releasing anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Let's return to our top story. The blame game over the state of a fragile ceasefire in Syria. And yet another blow, activists tells CNN that
at least six people have been killed in airstrikes in Aleppo. There is no ceasefire in Aleppo and in many other parts of the country. That is a
fact.
And more than five years of war in Syria has created a fertile ground for the growth of terrorist groups. This map gives you an idea of how
confusing the situation in Syria is.
They are the regime-controlled areas, the rebel-controlled area, the areas where ISIS has a stronghold, the area where the Kurds are operating.
Let's bring in Sarah Sewall, she is the U.S. undersecretary for Civilian Security. She is at the U.N. Thank you very much for joining us. Why is
it so difficult to come to some sort of agreement for at least a period of calm?
No one is asking for a permanent resolution now, but just a period of calm in Syria. Why can't world powers achieve even that?
SARAH SEWALL, U.S. UNDER SECRETARY FOR CIVILIAN SECURITY: Well, Syria has been an intractable problem for a long period of time, and Secretary Kerry
has made it clear that the humanitarian situation demands a ceasefire.
There are no illusions on the U.S. side about the ease of implementing a ceasefire given the ability of parties to exercise cynical decision making
and use pretexts to attack targets on the ground.
But Secretary Kerry has also made it clear that we have no choice given the scale of the humanitarian crisis, but to keep working to make that
ceasefire more effective and ultimately to reach a negotiated political solution to the Syrian crisis.
GORANI: But Secretary Kerry literally has no leverage. I mean, that's no exaggeration. The best proposal he has is just nicely asking the regime of
Bashar al-Assad to stop flying over rebel held areas. There is no accountability and no mechanism in place to enforce it. I mean, it's kind
of a bewildering proposal, isn't it?
SEWALL: Well, I think that part of the international politics is trying to find solutions where they seemed impossible. This is something that
Secretary has worked on from day one.
The leverage that we have comes from our own engagement and both the political situation, but also in supporting the moderate opposition on the
ground and in our humanitarian assistance efforts, which we do through the United Nations.
Our focus now has to be on those who are suffering on the ground in Syria and that is why pursuing the ceasefire even in the face of difficulties is
so critical.
GORANI: All right, well, of course, nobody wants this to succeed more than the people on the ground in Syria, but so many have said to us in our
reporting even in the region that they look at the Secretary Kerry's proposals, at the United States, and invariably what I hear is why isn't
America doing more?
Why has America said -- this is what I'm hearing from Syrians themselves. Why is the United States in these negotiations essentially giving away some
of its power to Moscow in all of this? What would you answer to that question?
SEWALL: I would fundamentally disagree with your characterization of the situation. Just this morning, I met with a group of representatives from
the Syrian Civil Society, women who were speaking about their efforts on the ground to promote peace and reconciliation.
And they were thanking the United States for its continued leadership and efforts in that regard. Everyone and no one most than the United States is
frustrated with the intransigents of key parties and the continued violence inflicted by Bashar al-Assad on his own citizens.
The work of diplomacy is to convince people that the long term interest are served by resolving issues through political dialogue, and that is what
Secretary Kerry is trying to do.
Part of the reason for that emphasis on refugees and migrants here at the U.N. General Assembly this week is because of some five million Syrian
refugees adding to the 21 million refugees and migrants worldwide, the largest number since World War II.
And here in New York, we're seeking to find and in fact it has important success in addressing that issue, to include an additional $3 billion to
help support humanitarian response, new resettlement opportunities for twice as many individuals in the coming years.
[15:10:10]And education and job opportunities for those like Syrians who have been displaced to neighboring countries as refugees.
GORANI: And until all of these problems are solved, you will continue to have a problem with extremist groups like ISIS. Fundamentally, until ISIS
is wiped out or somehow neutralized, all of this will continue -- and by the way also the regime bombings of these rebel areas that have killed many
more people. All of it this will continue until there is a real resolution.
SEWALL: Well, I think there are two different elements to the fight against terrorism. I mean, obviously, with the counter ISIL coalition, the
United States and its partners are exerting leadership to fight ISIS militarily.
Just as the United States lead efforts to disrupt and defeat al Qaeda. But one of the things that we've learned is that terrorism takes many forms,
and when terrorist networks are disrupted, or when terrorists are moved out of particular areas, they often regroup and reform.
That is essentially how we got ISIS. So one of the most important developments and a key topic here at the General Assembly in New York is
how can we harness peaceful tools, tools like development assistance, enhancing community resilient, to prevent the spread of violent extremism
to the next generation and to new areas.
And so this is a very hopeful sign in a world in which we don't always see many hopeful signs. The international community is coming together to say
we need to think about the next generation.
So we need to think about the kids that aren't being educated, the communities that are vulnerable to recruitment by violent ideologies of any
stripe, and we need to harness our efforts internationally with the resources that we have to prevent the threat from continuing to morph,
change, and grow as we have seen in the past decade plus.
GORANI: All right, well, one can only hope that some of that becomes reality. Sarah Sewall, thanks very much, the undersecretary of state for
civilian security, for joining us from the U.N.
Back inside Syria, it's really a different picture, the Damascus suburb of Daraya under siege before striking a deal with the government. Daraya was
once a symbol of the revolution. CNN's Fred Pleitgen was there and found out that it's not that at all anymore.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It looks like so many places in war torn Syria, and in many ways it tells the
story of the ongoing war in this country, unspeakable violence, no real winners, many losers, and a society torn apart.
(on camera): Daraya was under siege and under heavy bombardment for years. And as you can see, there is almost not a single building here in this
district that's still intact, and you can only imagine how dire the situation must have been for the people trapped inside.
(voice-over): Now Daraya is abandoned under a deal that gave rebel fighters free passage to other opposition controlled areas in exchange for
government control of Daraya. That brought many civilians to the shelter outside Damascus. Many of the children unable to forget the horrors they
witnessed.
It was very dangerous and bombs kept falling all around us, this boy says and this girl adds it was a very bad situation. We had a house in Daraya,
but that was destroyed and now we have nothing.
Daraya was one of the first hot spots in Syria's war, under siege and bombardment for nearly four years until finally the evacuation deal was
reached. What is left is a battered skeleton of a town and the remnants of a brutal battlefield.
(on camera): This entire area is retiled with an elaborate tunnel system that even has air vents. Now these tunnels helped the rebels move within
the battlefield from one position to the next.
Syria's government called this and similar deals around the country reconciliation. The opposition calls it cleansing. The 17-year-old Diana
chose to go into the displaced camp while her husband left to go to rebel- held Idlib Province and never saw their 10-day-old baby.
He chose to go to Idlib, she says, and I was my pregnant. It was my due date when we left. I had the baby on the way here. Daraya is quiet now,
silent, empty and lifeless as many former residents wonder if their once bustling town will ever thrive again. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Daraya, Syria.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Check out our Facebook page, facebook.com/halagoranicnn, for the very latest from the program there. All right, we are going to take a
quick break. When we come back, we continue our look at one of Trump's bases of support, the white working class.
[15:40:06]How one Pennsylvania town is dealing with an increasing Hispanic population, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: This week, CNN is taking a closer look at a group of Americans who are often credited with helping fuel Donald Trump's rise in politics. The
white working class, those without college degrees. The Pennsylvania town of Redding has seen the Hispanic population there grow to 58 percent.
Randi Kaye went there to see what the white working class residents feel about it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Burks County, Pennsylvania, about an hour outside Philadelphia, there are rolling hills
and sprawling country sides sprinkled with farms, but in the county seat of Redding, Pennsylvania, the landscape looks something like this.
An area long ago settled by German immigrants now home to an ever growing number of Latinos. About 60 percent of Redding's population, and not
everyone is happy about that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think if you come here, you got to try to fit in. Be an American.
KAYE: Randy Gartner and his wife, Liza, live just outside of Redding. They're voting for Donald Trump and think that those who are here illegally
should leave.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I agree with him about deporting these people. To me they broke the law. It's no different than somebody who robs a bank.
KAYE: Their concern goes beyond immigrants taking jobs, they are driving wages down. For them it's cultural. Listen to this story about immigrants
living nearby.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One night the police were called because they heard screaming in there. Well, here they were butchering a goat in the bathtub.
They are bringing their culture here and it's just not the way do things here. You're not in Mexico anymore and it's a culture shock I think for
some of us.
KAYE: Lisa is concerned about immigrants bringing crime to their area, too. But statistics don't back that up. Police data shows violent crime
has declined in Redding over the past five years. And in the U.S. violent crime declined 48 percent from 1990 to 2013 while the undocumented
immigration population tripled.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want to get shot walking out of my front door.
KAYE: In downtown Redding, we found others concerned about crime, too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they can assimilate in to survive, it often leads to crime and that part we don't need.
KAYE: Like nearly half of the white working class, William Hughey thinks immigrants are a burden on the community.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Instead of pulling against our system, they need to work and contribute to the assets of the country.
KAYE: In Redding, restaurants that used to serve traditional German dishes have been replaced with Latino fair and signs are now in both English and
Spanish.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you're going to come into this country, you should be able to speak the language.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would like if they came legally and not try to change me. This is my country. If you don't like my country, you're
welcome to leave.
KAYE: Brenda Hughey told me during a recent trip to Walmart, she felt she didn't belonged.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No one was speaking English. I'm like, OK, I need to get what I need and leave.
KAYE: Did you feel like --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I felt uncomfortable.
KAYE: Many people we spoke with here don't believe all immigrants are bad people, mainly those who were undocumented.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you come here and you want to start a business, great, that's what we need.
KAYE: Like so many younger generation white working class, this resident thinks a more diverse community is a good thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have some friends that I know are not in the country legally and they are good citizens.
KAYE: Good people perhaps, but still not welcome by many in Burks County. Randi Kaye, CNN, Redding, Pennslyvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: We'll bring you the stories of white working class Americans who feel left behind all this week. Some of whom say they will vote for Donald
Trump. Head to cnn.com/whiteworkingclass to explore the unique concerns of this group and how their worries are impacting the election.
Some new details are emerging about the movements of the New York and New York bombing suspect, Ahmad Rahami. Investigators say Rahami returned to
his family home after the bombings in New York's Chelsea District on Saturday evening.
They believe he saw his family member there, and they have told police that Rahami was behaving normally at the time after all of this. Rahami
himself, by the way, remains in the hospital. His wife has returned to the United States. She was in the UAE for a time. She was cooperating with
investigators there. She says she knew nothing about her husband's actions and she's now back in the country.
In war torn Afghanistan, it can be hard to instill children with a sense of hope about the future, but that is just what the producers of Afghanistan's
"Sesame Street" are trying to do. We all grew up with "Sesame Street" in London, but this is not the "Sesame Street" of my childhood.
In Afghanistan, they've even developed an Afghan character, a young girl, who aims to concur the world. Ivan Watson paid her a visit.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meet Zari. She is the new resident of Sesame Garden. It was the Afghan version
of the popular children's television show "Sesame Street." She is the first and only Afghan muppet on the program and I got a chance to meet her.
(on camera): So this is Zari. I'm going to ask her how old she is.
ZARI: Six years old.
WATSON: You're six? Who is Zari?
SIMA SULTANI, PUPPETEER: She is naughty and intelligent and so cute.
WATSON (voice-over): Sima Sultani and 23-year-old Mansoora Shirzad (ph) are the puppeteers who bring Zari to life.
WATSON (voice-over): Do you think it is important that Zari is a little girl?
MANSOORA SHIRZAD, PUPPETTER: Yes, there is lots of rules for girls here, lots of challenges, and we want to show the people that it's not impossible
for a girl to do anything that she wants.
WATSON: How do the children react when Zari comes into a school?
SHIRZAD: They want to touch her, hug her, kiss Zari.
WATSON: That's beautiful.
SHIRZAD: Yes.
WATSON (voice-over): There is a whole team that puts together the show including (inaudible), the Afghan voice of characters like Grover and
Cookie Monster.
(on camera): How does Cookie Monster sound in Afghanistan?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible).
WATSON (voice-over): It's not easy to make children's television here in the studio while facing the very real dangers of the war outside. Last
January, a Taliban suicide bomber killed an editor of the show, (inaudible) along with at least six others in an attack targeting one of the TV
station's buses. The producers avoid references to the conflict saying the TV show provides a safe place for children.
SHIRZAD: We wanted to have this idea for the children that it's not just about war in our country, and we want to make them happy and make them
laugh.
[15:50:03]WATSON: There is magic to how these talented Afghans bring Zari to life and the proof is on the faces of the children. Ivan Watson, CNN,
Kabul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Coming up, more people in the U.K. watch the TV show "The Great British Bake Off" than the Olympics. But now another star is leaving this
famous baking tent and fans fear the entire show could be crumbling.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: There is more bad news for fans of "The Great British Bake Off." It is a television phenomenon here in the U.K. We have an update about
what's going on with its cast. Our breaking news on television here, millions tuned in each week for a baking competition that's become a
national institution.
But now Judge Mary Berry is saying goodbye to the show, which is heading to Channel 4 from the BBC. Only one of the head show's four original stars is
left, is any of the show left? Here is Clare Sebastian.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLARE SEBASTATIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For seven seasons, those three words have kept both the cakes and the TV ratings rising with a
dozen amateur bakers, a healthy dose of innuendo and (inaudible) a tent, the "Great British Bake Off" became an international hit and attracted more
viewers in the U.K. than the Olympics.
That sweet smelling success brought suitors and the BBC was outbid by commercial rival, Channel 4. Soon after the bottom started to fall out.
First the show's popular presenters dropped out, and now iconic cookery writer and national treasure, Mary Berry says she won't make the move,
either. And with fellow judge, Paul Hollywood, now the only one left, viewers on Twitter were blunt.
Official one said "Channel 4 has spent 75 million pounds on a tent and Paul Hollywood." Another adding, Paul Hollywood's unfortunately --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: We are going to interrupt this piece in just a moment, a state of emergency has been declared in the U.S. city of Charlotte, North Carolina.
The unrest sparked by the fatal shooting of a black man while the family of Keith Lamont Scott and their lawyers are talking to reporters. Let's
listen in.
JUSTIN BAMBERG, LAWYER FOR SCOTT FAMILY: -- the family had every inattention of being here, but they're in a moment of grieving and quite
frankly emotionally they weren't ready. And I would apologize for that, but I don't see a reason to. At the end of the day, this is about the
family.
The family is grieving the loss of someone they care very deeply about. And honestly, this family has questions and they deserve answers. This
community deserves answers. We're hearing this side of the story, that side of the story, it seems like every which way you look, there is a
witness who says "I saw this," there is a witness who says "I saw that."
We're made aware that the police apparently have video footage that may have caught some of the incident that is the subject of us being here
today, and the family requested to be able to view that video.
[15:55:04]Later on this afternoon, we will in fact review that video and we hope to have some additional answers. When we look at what happened to Mr.
Scott, and when we look at what has happened around the country with individuals being shot down and killed by law enforcement, we can't talk
about those incidents in isolation because we have to look to the root problems.
When you look at the fact that there has been rioting in Charlotte, North Carolina. There has been property damage in Charlotte, North Carolina.
There have been individuals injured here in Charlotte, North Carolina, and many of us wonder why.
Let me make this very clear. This family, this family does not agree with rioting or innocent individuals being injured or killed, but they do
support citizens and their right to voice their frustration, to voice their anger.
When you look at those who take to the streets, and you look at those that raise their voices and take certain actions whether you agree with them or
not, you have to be willing to step back and understand why they feel the way that they do.
You see in this country we do have a problem and it has to be talked about. Regardless of the facts of how these situations play out at the end of the
day. Many citizens in this country feel as though many minorities, when they are encountered with the police, they're guilty until proven innocent.
They're threat until they prove that they're not a threat, and many feel they're inhuman until they're proven to be human. That is the underlying
problem.
I ask for calm. We ask for calm here in Charlotte. We don't want to see people getting hurt. We want you to voice your opinions, but we don't want
you to destroy the very community that you live in.
The family doesn't want that, either. However, feel free to voice your opinion. Feel free to speak up against the things you see as injustice
against the injustices that's have unfolded and been u uncovered.
Feel free to do that because that is your right, but do it in the right way. Again the family wants answers, the family deserves answers, and we
will continue to work and investigate the facts until all of the accurate facts come to light. Thank you very much.
EDUARDO CURRY, LAWYER TO SCOTT FAMILY: Right now, this family is in deep mourning. They lack the answers to bring closure to their lives. They
have hired us to do an in-depth investigation to ascertain the due process of Keith Lamont. They asked us to look into the situation to see whether
or not what happened Mr. Scott was lawful and legal, and we intend to do so.
We're here, the land cries out for an answer, the blood once again of a black man has been shed. Are we our brothers' keepers? We intend to find
that out. Thank you all for coming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is the family feeling about the video being released to the public?
BAMBERG: We don't know what is on the video. We know what law enforcement says is on the video. In terms of it being released to the public, they
can't answer that until we have the opportunity to see what it shows. We talk about it. We've seen videos leaked online of individuals losing their
lives before the family --
GORANI: The lawyers for the Scott family, a gentleman who was killed on Tuesday by police, his family says he was doing nothing wrong. The police
say he was shot lawfully.
The family was meant to appear with their lawyers here in Charlotte, North Carolina. They did not make an appearance. Their lawyer saying they're
just in grief, too emotional. They say they want answers about what happened to Keith Lamont Scott.
All right, we're going to hand it over now to my colleague, Richard Quest. I'm Hala Gorani. Thanks for watching. I'll see you tomorrow. "QUEST
MEANS BUSINESS" is up next.
END
