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Hala Gorani Tonight
At least 300 dead in double truck bombing in Mogadishu; US split from allies on Iran deal; Women on Twitter speak out with #MeToo; Phenomenon turns UK's sky blood orange; Passengers criticize AirAsia crew after in-flight issue. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired October 16, 2017 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:01:00]
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone and welcome to our viewers joining us from around the world. I'm Hala Gorani.
It has been the story of the summer, a huge storm brewing in the Atlantic Ocean wreaking havoc as it makes landfall, but this storm, Ophelia, is not
happening in the Caribbean or the United States, it is creating havoc right here in Europe.
Take a look at some of the images. Winds from the storm have been blamed for fanning these deadly fires in Portugal and Spain. At least 39 people
had been killed in the two countries, dozens more injured. You could see the dramatic images.
We see these often, but this time it is so much more severe. This map shows just how big a problem these fires are and how much of Portugal is
affected. It isn't just the Iberian Peninsula being battered.
This is hurricane force wind in Ireland. At least three people killed there. People have been in there, hundreds of thousands without power as
the storm hurtles through. It is the strongest storm the region has seen in decades.
So, we are seeing these severe weather systems in the Caribbean and parts of the United States and now in Europe. Let's go live to Portugal. Pedro
Santos Guerreiro is the editor-in-chief at the "Espresso" newspaper. He joins me live now from (inaudible) in Portugal. Thanks for being with us.
First, what's the situation now. Are these fires at all under control in Portugal?
PEDRO SANTOS GUERREIRO, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "ESPRESSO" (via telephone): Weill, not all the time, but the situation is much more calm now than it
was several hours ago. The situation is better. The scenario is quite devastating.
GORANI: Yes. It appears, as though, I mean, Portugal gets these fires every year especially when the weather heats up, but this appears to be a
lot worse than usual. Do we have any idea why?
GUERREIRO: Well, yes, I mean, it's the second huge fire that we (inaudible) summer. We have a huge fire back in June where 75 people died
and now we have the (inaudible) fire, which has killed another 35 so far.
And bear in mind that June is before summer and October is after the summer, and this happens because of weather conditions quite abnormal,
quite unusual of intense heat and dryness, and this, of course, is related to climate change.
And this demands that not only we face this problem and act accordingly in Europe and in the global view, but also that countries are ready for them.
I'm sorry to say that Portugal isn't.
GORANI: Right. And when you say Portugal isn't, I mean, let's talk about the first responders, the emergency workers, they are doing everything they
can. Do they give us any idea when they might be able to control these blazes?
GUERREIRO: It's not easy for me to say about our country. I mean, Portugal is a wonderful country, a modern Western Europe country. It is a
great people, but the record shows that there are dramatic flaws both in prevention and firefighting.
I mean, we have been amateurs in prevention, in forest policies and actions to prevent fires to get them controlled and we do have an amateur simple
protection system that have proved like professional firefighters and corrupt leadership.
And this is why just today the government is being under the pressure. The prime minister is about to address the country now is under inclusive
criticism from everyone in order to put forward policies and money in this issue.
The prime minister has said yesterday, night, that we will have more tragedies like this because of weather conditions like I said, and it's
quite shocking to hear this more. About 100 people have died in Portugal this year because of fires, burned, asphyxiated or running to or running
from fires. And there has to be a better answer than this.
[15:05:11] GORANI: Yes. There are certainly these extreme weather conditions and deadly fires in Portugal worse than usual. Thanks very much
Pedro Santos Guerreiro for joining us from Portugal.
He was talking about the actual weather system itself. The weather system, the storm is called Ophelia. It had an impact right here in London. I'll
tell you about that later.
But before we do that, let's go to Ireland now. That's where Phil Black is, in the town of Kilkee on Ireland's west coast with the latest on the
impact there. What are you seeing in Ireland? What is the impact of Ophelia where you are?
PHIL BLACK, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's been quite incredible over the course of the day, Hala, as the storm has made it is
way up on Ireland's west coast. As the storm has passed through each town, each county, that's when the impact has been most sharply felt.
That's when the winds were at the strongest is what we experience here in (inaudible) area today. There's been that human cost that you touched on.
Three people have lost their lives. Two people in separate incidents where trees fell on their cars.
Another person died in a chainsaw accident, trying to clear away fallen debris. There's been the structural damage first to homes, buildings,
roofs rip from buildings, lots of trees have fallen and of course, power losses.
Some 360,000 homes at least without power could be for a day or two or perhaps even more are being warned today. All of this the authorities say
justifies the very strong language that they've been using in warning about the risk, the lives, and the property that this storm has posed.
They really want to try and minimize that risk. It's why they've been telling people to stay indoors and it's absolutely necessary. That warning
remains in place. Schools are being closed today. They'll be closed again tomorrow.
Public transport has been shut down for the better part of the day. We'll see some of that reopening tomorrow if the conditions allow. And of
course, then there's the cleanup, which is already underway here in the Southwest as local official begin to deal with the damage that has been
(inaudible) very quickly by this very powerful storm -- Hala.
GORANI: All right. Phil Black in Kilkee, Ireland, thanks very much.
Now to this and the numbers are absolutely staggering, and the human cost, Somalis jamming hospitals desperately searching for missing family and
friends. Days after a twin suicide bombing killed at least, and this number is mind-boggling, 300 people in Mogadishu.
Dozens of injured people were airlifted to Turkey for medical treatment after Saturday's explosions. The culprit still hasn't been identified, but
the attacks follow a pattern set by the terrorist group, Al-Shabaab.
CNN's Farai Sevenzo have the latest, but first a warning, you may find some of the images in this piece disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FARAI SEVENZO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A massive truck bomb went off in the heart of Mogadishu's downtown K5 Junction Saturday shortly after
3 p.m. Somali security forces say they had been tracking the vehicle when it exploded.
Ten minutes later, a second truck bomb exploded. It was the force of the first blast that have the deadliest effect. People on buses, pedestrians
and many others at a nearby mall were killed.
Buildings within the scope of the blasts were completely destroyed including the Safari Hotel and the concern now is for the missing and where
do frantic rescue efforts will reach them on time.
In the aftermath of the explosion, flames continue to burn as Mogadishu residents witnessed this latest devastation to their troubled city. The
attack (inaudible) suicide bombings, which have been regular occurrences here since the Islamic insurgence began in Somalia a decade ago.
As the day is set on a tragic Saturday, it became apparent that this was the worst bomb blast to hit the Somali capital in the scale end loss of
life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): What happened yesterday was incredible. I have never seen such a thing before and the death toll is
uncountable. Corpses were burned and no one could recognize them.
SEVENZO: A new government led by President Muhammad Abdulai (ph) from (inaudible) since elections back in February say they have been taking the
flights to terrorism with the help of African Union troops and U.S. drone strikes.
The Somali president called for three days of national mourning and Somalis rush to hospitals to donate blood for their injured. Mogadishu's hospitals
are now full of critically injured people.
Many who have lost limbs and others who are badly burned. Terrorism in this East African country that the terrorism of the East African country is
far from over. In Somalia's capital Mogadishu is confirmed on the frontline.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, Farai Sevenzo is reporting on developments in Somali from neighboring Kenya. He joins us now from Nairobi. No claimant
responsibility, but obviously suspicions and the finger of blame pointed squarely at Al-Shabaab?
Developments in Somalia from neighboring Kenya, he joins us now from Nairobi.
[15:10:05] No claim of responsibly, but obviously, suspicions and the finger of blame pointed squarely at Al-Shabaab?
SEVENZO: That's absolutely correct, Hala. I mean, the thing is, I've been thinking about this during the course of the day, and that they are usually
so quick to claim little explosive bombs against African Union forces, something like five people.
They are forever telling us that they've raided a Kenyan defense forces in Southern Somalia and there's been an obvious, pregnant silence of this
complete tragedy, which if the numbers continue to rise would turn out to be the worst terrorist attack since 9/11, where at the moment we are just
over 300.
We have to go to 382 to beat a terrible bombing that occurred in Baghdad, but the reason is because the police were tracking this vehicle on Saturday
afternoon and then it went off in the middle of the busiest thoroughfare where the very people, Al-Shabaab seeks to recruit the people with
sympathies they depend.
Where they're shopping on a normal Saturday afternoon so the silence by whoever perpetrated this could be some serious soul-searching about what
they have done because the scale is so huge, Hala.
People are still being dug out of the rubble and we cannot understand why for people who are always so keen to claim responsibility for such
atrocious acts. There's been such a deafening silence.
GORANI: Well, I mean, that is a head scratcher, isn't it? Because, I mean, you think that if your Al-Shabaab, a terrorist group that's sending
truck bombs into civilian areas that you want to kill as many people as possible. So, I mean, what are some of the theories with regards to why,
in this case, there's been no claim.
SEVENZO: You know, there are several things that we've been trying to piece together. On Friday, the 13th of October, the two ministers in
charge of the Ministry of Defense and the army offices suddenly resigned without any say so of why they've done that.
And 24 hours later, this bomb went off. Now (inaudible) problem for Somalia has always been its own division within its own ranks. This is a
country of clans, of people loyal to different areas.
And in fact, since 1993, there's been an arms embargo against it. You may think that's strange. Why an arms embargo against a country fighting
terrorism. That's because the people who are selling arms cannot trust the Somalians to take these arms and not turn them on their allies.
They say Navy SEALs who are fighting on their behalf so -- and even when we reported that a bomb was gone up in a hotel. We later find out that it was
actually one of the receptionists who was a suicide bomber.
So, these things need to be fixed for Somalia to take control of their own security -- Hala.
GORANI: All right. Farai Sevenzo, thanks very much as always reporting live there on this absolutely shocking twin attack in Mogadishu, killing
more than 300 and the death toll continues to rise.
Now if you fought for a city and wrestled it from the clutches of ISIS, wouldn't you want to keep control of it? That's how Kurdish Peshmerga
fighters feel about the strategic oil-rich city of Kirkuk.
As you can see the Kurdish flag has just been replaced by the Iraqi one and the Iraqi Security Forces have control of large parts of the city driving
hundreds of families to flee.
Peshmerga commanders tell CNN at least 16 members of the Kurdish forces are dead and 50 wounded after confrontations with the central government
security forces.
Our Nick Paton Walsh, just to give you a sense of context here, within Kirkuk back in 2014 when the Peshmerga defended the territory against ISIS
and spoke to this commander.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The commander describes how near last month ISIS militants came. They came on
us from the border, he says and from this village as well, really hard. It took us three days and two nights to hold them back.
These lines will hold, they say, but they have little faith in the Iraqi Army to help and out here, the West declarations of support sound like
whispers while ISIS are close enough to shout at.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: So, why did Iraq's prime minister order his forces to take control of Kirkuk? Well, oil certainly has something to do with it, more than 6
percent of the world's oil comes from that area.
The national government released a statement on Twitter saying it was committed to, quote, "preserving the integrity and unity of Iraq."
Let's get the Kurdish perspective. Karwan Jamal Tahir is the Kurdistan regional government's representative here in the U.K. Thanks for being
with us. What is your reaction? Because basically Baghdad is saying Kirkuk is not in your autonomous region. It's an oil-rich city. It's not
going to be part of any future Kurdish state. They want it back.
KARWAN JAMAL TAHIR, KURDISTAN REGIONAL GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE TO U.K.: Well, thank you for having me. After 2003 when we have voluntarily
contributed to a newly Iraq, we contributed politically and economically.
[15:15:08] And obviously we have (inaudible) you know, put aside all the defenses that you had before and settle the issue according to the
Constitution. Therefore, within the Constitution, we suggested an article to settle the dispute in Kirkuk.
And so very straightforward three stage normalization senses and referendum. However, Iraqi government since day one they put obstacle of -
-
GORANI: But the Iraqi government doesn't want Kirkuk to be part of the Kurdish region. It's very obvious why. It's an important city. It's got
lots of oil reserves and Peshmerga obviously fought ISIS, rooted ISIS out of Kirkuk. But now the Iraqi central government is saying you can't have
it.
TAHIR: But as I said, there's a Constitution, Iraqi Constitution, we respected we wouldn't be in this position and Kirkuk supplement would be
resolve in 2007. As I said the Article 140, we wanted to do this in a peaceful and --
GORANI: What to take control of Kirkuk?
TAHIR: Not to take control of Kirkuk, but give opportunity to the people of Kirkuk to decide in a referendum as I said three-stage normalization
senses and then referendum for the Kirkuk people to decide whether they want to be part of a federal government or part of Kurdistan region.
GORANI: (Inaudible), you know him. He was the former Iraqi ambassador to Washington, D.C. Today, he was on CNN and in fact he's blaming -- in fact
he's of Kurdish descent. This is what he had to say about why Abadi (ph), the Prime Minister of Iraq did what he did today. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUKMAN FAILY, FORMER IRAQI AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: (Inaudible) this all came about because of the referendum so I think there was a missed timing from
the KRG government -- Kurdish government emphasizing on the referendum and unfortunately, we have to come to the stage.
The prime minister has to protect power. At the end of the day, he is governing the country. He has to protect within the Constitution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: So you saw it, Ambassador Faily there is saying, he has to project power. The prime minister of Iraq is saying, you, the Kurds will not keep
Kirkuk. This is part of Iraq.
TAHIR: Well, as I said, Prime Minister of Iraq cannot decide who owns Kirkuk or who have the authority on Kirkuk. Constitution should be a
governing --
GORANI: But this is the fact on the ground. The Iraqi forces are there. They've taken oilfields. They probably taken the airport as well.
TAHIR: Well, that's Iraq, what we are living in because at the beginning of 2003, we wanted to settle all the differences --
GORANI: But we are in 2017 now. So where do we go from here?
TAHIR: Well, I think this is not a good payback to the Kurdish people or Kurdish Peshmerga when we fought ISIS and for the last three years we --
GORANI: This is the crux of it, isn't it, sir? You believe the Peshmerga fought against ISIS bravely when the Iraqi Central Army did not. And
therefore, you deserve some territory for that?
TAHIR: We are not claiming that. We are not saying we deserve some territory because we only fought ISIS. We didn't invade Kirkuk when the
Iraqi forces left their post and weapon in June 2014. We filled the gap. We fought for freedom of all Iraqis.
We put protected everyone in Kirkuk of all the disputed area (inaudible) Arab, everyone. We protected everyone.
GORANI: Do you think Kirkuk should be part of a future Kurdish autonomous region?
TAHIR: Well, historically, Kirkuk is a Kurdish -- has a Kurdish --
GORANI: It has a large Arab population that wouldn't be happy about that - -
TAHIR: Well, there is Arab population in Kirkuk and bear in mind that during Arabization process back in '80s and '90s during the dictatorship in
Iraq and people, Arab people were brought to Kirkuk and the Kurdish people being expelled from the city Kirkuk.
GORANI: It's in anyway a new dangerous front and we hope that there isn't, you know, the kind of crisis that would lead to large-scale bloodshed.
TAHIR: This is unjust fight and this is unnecessary and illegal fight because I'm just -- because we have fought ISIS for the last three years
and Iraqi forces now they are making use of the weapons that's been equipped and given by United States against the Peshmerga who were fighting
ISIS.
[15:20:04] And unnecessary because we were willing to negotiate and before the referendum we called for negotiation and after the referendum we
essentially called for negotiation with Baghdad and Baghdad prime minister rejected all the --
GORANI: I get it. Thank you for your point. And here we are today in a very difficult and tense situation. Karwan Jamal Tahir, thank you very
much, the Kurdish regional government high representative to the United Kingdom. We appreciate your time.
Still to come, the American president is leaving Congress to deal with the Iran deal and again threatens the real possibility of the total pull out.
How is Iran reacting to all of it? We are live in Tehran.
And a dinner with a lot to talk about, Theresa May is in Brussels dining with E.U. leaders. Can you guess what the main course is? Of course, it's
Brexit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: American allies and adversaries are speaking out against President Donald Trump's announcement that he wouldn't certify Iran's compliance with
the nuclear deal. Mr. Trump, though, appears to be standing firm in his promise to decertify the agreement.
He doubled down on that promise during a cabinet meeting at the White House just a bit ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We'll see what phase two? Phase two you might be positive or it might be very negative,
might be a total termination. That is a very real possibility. Some would say that's a greater possibility, but it's also could turn to be very
positive. We'll see what happens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Meantime, the Europeans are saying they are sticking to this deal. So how is Iran reacting to all of this? Our senior international
correspondent, Fred Pleitgen, is live in Tehran. What are you hearing where you are from officials there?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's interesting, Hala, because a lot of the officials here are obviously also
hearing some of that international debate about the comments that were made by President Trump.
One of the things that you are hearing from the Iranian government, specifically from the foreign minister, is that he says look, if the
Americans really go through with this and kill the nuclear agreement, he believes that no one would trust America in the future.
They obviously see that the Europeans are saying, look, this deal is not only working. They also say that it's really the best alternative compared
to all the other things that could be on the table, specifically losing the nuclear agreement.
They say that the IAEA is not only saying that Iran is abiding by the nuclear agreement, but also the strictest verification regime that they
have anywhere in the world. Now the Iranians for their part, though, are also saying that look on the one hand, yes, they want to remain in the
nuclear agreement.
They will abide by the nuclear agreement, but if in fact the US levies sanctions on the Iranian then they will leave the nuclear agreement and
that would not only mean that some of the things that are going on right now, the checks in some of the facilities will end.
But the Iranians say that they could very quickly then ramp up their nuclear program once again. Now the Iranians have always said they're not
seeking to get a nuclear weapon, but they do say that they believe that they have the right to a nuclear program that could wrap things up very
quickly once again as we are hearing from officials here.
[15:25:13] So, on the one hand, they feel like if anybody is isolating themselves right now it's much more Washington, the American specifically
the Trump White House and much less the Iranians.
They are seeing that support that they seem to be getting from the Europeans who seems to want to want to stick by the deal. The Russians are
saying the same thing. The Chinese are saying the same things.
So, right now we do see an Iranian government that feels a lot more bold than it would have maybe a couple of weeks ago. The other thing that
always has done, Hala, which I think is also quite remarkable.
It seems to have united some of the hardliners here in this country that were against the deal from the very beginning and the moderates who are now
jumping to each other side defending themselves and defending this country from what they see as some of the attacks that were levied by Donald Trump
-- Hala.
GORANI: All right. All against this Donald Trump move it appears. Thanks very much, Fred Pleitgen is live in Tehran.
Britain's Theresa May has crossed the channel to Brussels for a private dinner with key European leader, quite a long way to go for a dinner, but
as you can imagine they had a lot to talk about. She traveled there with the Brexit secretary, David Davis and it's just a few days since the E.U.'s
chief negotiators had Brexit talks disturbing deadlock.
Let's go live to Brussels. Bianca Nobilo is there. What does the prime minister hope to achieve because Europe has been quite clear? You need to
talk about the divorce belch before we discuss anything else.
BIANCO NOBILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, Hala. There are those three big roadblocks for the U.K. and the E.U. and that's citizens' rights, the
border with Northern Ireland, and the Brexit bill.
But today this dinner was an encouraging sign. We didn't know that it was going to happen, but both the U.K. and the E.U. said that both sides have
been expecting it for some time.
We've just had a joint statement from both of the leaders. We saw Theresa May leave not that long ago and the dinner was actually slightly longer
than they expected. It ran to about 120 minutes.
They said that the dinner took place in a constructive and friendly atmosphere that they discussed a range of topics from the Iran deal to
Article 50. Now what both sides did agree on at the dinner today is that talks needs to accelerate in order to meet these targets and make progress
in the Brexit negotiations.
And that's timely because later this week the E.U. 27 are going to be meeting and the best case scenario Britain will be after all those heads of
state of the E.U. meet, that they agree that they are willing to make some form of progress and maybe start talking about a transition deal and a
future trade agreement with the U.K. And the U.K. is desperate to move into that phase of negotiations -- Hala.
GORANI: We'll see if the U.K. will get its wish, but it's been wishing for that for quite a while and hasn't gotten it. Thanks very much, Bianco
Nobilo in Brussels.
Staying in Europe and to Austria now where history could be being made in more ways than one. The 31-year-old Sebastian Kurz is set to become the
next chancellor following Sunday's election that would make him Europe's youngest leader.
That's not necessarily why this is noteworthy. He is also expected in Austria to form that country's first far-right governing coalition in more
than a decade. He is campaigning on things like stripping immigrants of their benefits and on a strong anti-immigrant agenda. In Austria this
election that is a message that resonated.
Still ahead, Somalia's capital comes face-to-face with terror again. We'll get perspective on the deadly suicide bombings from an American lawmaker,
who recently traveled to the horn of Africa in a live interview next.
Plus, as the U.S. threatens to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, where does this put America and its allies (inaudible). We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HALA GORANI, CNN HOST, THE WORLD RIGHT NOW: The Somali capital is reeling from the deadliest attack in the country's modern history. In fact, it's
one of the deadliest terrorist attacks since 9/11.
Double truck bombings killed at least 300 people on Saturday in Mogadishu, but we've heard they're still digging people out from under that rubble.
The culprit still hasn't been identified. Oddly, even though Al-Shabaab is suspected, there's been no claim of responsibility even though attacks
follow a pattern by Al-Shabaab.
I want to bring in a Texas congressman Marc Veasey right now, a Democratic lawmaker who traveled with a delegation to the Horn of Africa back in
August and can provide some insight into the American take on these deadly bomb blasts in Somalia. He joins me now from Fort Worth, Texas.
So, you tweeted earlier that President Donald Trump's rhetoric is making the world unsafe. In what way? What did you mean by that exactly?
REP. MARC VEASEY (D), TEXAS: I don't think there's any question about the fact that the president and him seeming unstable right now is not the
message that you want to be sending bad guys like Al-Shabaab or any other terrorist network.
They need to see that there's stability in the United States. They need to see that the American public is standing behind our leaders and have
confidence in what they're doing and that the rest of the world thinks that likewise.
And I think that by, again, just the instability that you're seeing out of the White House that it really does help make the world unsafe and that he
really needs to sit down, talking with Gen. Kelly, talk with Gen. Mattis about how he can appear to be more confident and more knowing -
GORANI: Sorry to jump in, you can understand how Americans would be reluctant to get involved in a country like Somalia or involved to get in
any kind of country where there is an active fight against terrorist groups wherever it is on the African continent, in fact, even in the Middle East.
There is that reluctance now. It's embodied by President Trump. He won an election partly for saying I'm not going to get the country into this type
of thing anymore. Did you understand that hesitation from Americans in general and what would you suggest the US do to try to sort of alleviate
some of the issues in that part of the world?
VEASEY: Well, let me say this. I stand firmly with the international community and helping Somalia. They are trying to get their country turned
around. And it's that, as the United States, that we do everything that we can to help them in that effort because if we can help them bring more
stability to their country, it won't allow groups like Al-Shabaab that has committed to attacking US presence overseas wherever they can.
It will give them less of an opportunity to be able to conduct these types of strikes.
GORANI: But how would you do that?
VEASEY: And we do have military personnel in the area.
The way how we do that, the number one way that we do that is by governance. I mean, we have to help Somalia be able to self-govern. There
are parts of Somalia where Al-Shabaab is able to roam around freely and run a quasi form of government.
We need to cut them off from that. I mean, they have a good president right now, I think, and is very early in his tenure, in President Mohammed.
Of course, he worked for the New York Transit Department for many years and has dual US citizenship from when he was in Buffalo, New York.
And so, he understands the importance of governance not only from a military standpoint, but from a local standpoint. The local security
forces there, the local police there, have to be able to make sure that these types of attacks don't take place, so we can rely less and less on an
international military effort to help keep stability in the country.
[15:35:12] GORANI: There was a lot of criticism of the president for not reacting to the deaths of four American Green Berets killed in Niger. It
was two weeks ago. He today finally answered a question about it, saying he was going to call the family members of the four Green Beret
servicemembers. What is your reaction to that?
VEASEY: I actually sent out a tweet about that also. It was very troubling that he didn't respond earlier. And you may remember, in
Afghanistan, when the mother of all bombs was dropped and the president really didn't seem to say whether or not he had OK-ed it, but that the
military was sort of in charge of it.
And again, the president needs to convey to the public that he has a vast and good understanding of knowledge about what's happening internationally.
The biggest thing that needs to happen in Africa is that we need to be able to support our troops and be able to get them to safety after they've been
harmed within that, what the military calls, that golden hours.
Africa is very fast. And when attacks like what happened in Niger are conducted, it can be very hard for them to get the medical assistance that
they need.
But in order for whatever we're doing there in an assist capacity to support our troops, we - again, that has to be an area that the president
takes seriously, that he's looking into and that he's giving the military everything that they need in order to be able to take care of our troops.
GORANI: I want to get your reaction on Iran. What was striking is that, over the last several days, the president having decertified the deal with
Iran, is that here in Europe, European Union foreign ministers all basically banded together and said we urge America to reconsider.
We will honor the deal because we signed this deal and we can't just sort of go back on this agreement after having essentially negotiated it and
gotten it to its conclusion.
Do you think America is - what do you make of now America's role in the world, threatening to back away from this agreement?
VEASEY: Oh, I think that is very, very dangerous. First of all, I don't think that is good for Israel, for it to seem like that America has pulled
out from that part of the world, even if we are continuing to give Israel assistance.
We need to be engaged. We need to be fully engaged.
GORANI: Well, Israel is probably happy -
VEASEY: - working with our European partners.
GORANI: Israel is probably happy the president is decertifying this deal.
VEASEY: I have seen the tweets by the prime minister. But, again, from a long-term perspective, if it looks like that we are going into these things
unilaterally and trying to solve these problems on our own without assistance from our European partners in the Middle East, then I think that
it is a huge mistake.
It sends the wrong message. And it just shows that we're starting to retreat. And what will that lead to next? What other parts of the world
will we retreat from next? Where else will we have sort of a hands-off approach.
We need - again, President Obama put together the best deal that he possibly could. It certainly wasn't a perfect deal, but it was the best
deal that he possibly could to stop the Iranians from being able to immediately put together some sort of a nuclear weapon. And we need to
work within that framework.
And him just wanting to try to fulfill some campaign promise by decertifying this deal, I think, is very dangerous. And long-term, I think
that it - again, it hurts our credibility with being able to put together other deals with places like North Korea, to stop them from being able to
get a nuclear weapon in the future.
GORANI: Right. We've heard that from others as well. Why would anyone else sign a deal?
Marc Veasey, representative from Texas, really appreciate your time. Thanks for joining us live from Fort Worth.
VEASEY: Thank you.
GORANI: You just heard Marc Veasey talk about the fears that the US is retreating from some major foreign issues, especially in the Middle East,
parts of Africa as well.
For more on this, let's turn to CNN global affairs analyst Aaron David Miller. He joins us from Washington. Thanks for being with us.
And when you see European Union foreign ministers urging Congress to stick to this Iran agreement, saying why would anyone sign a deal with us in the
future if all it takes is a change of president in the White House, do you think we're starting to see the emergence of kind of a two-speed Western
world here?
AARON DAVID MILLER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I've worked for half a dozen secretaries of state, hours and days, voted for hours and days, never
seen anything quite like this. I think this is the first time that the president - this administration is going to ignore or undermine European
interests and it won't be the last time.
[15:40:00] Europe is simply not central to this administration's calculations. I think the president believes that by creating additional
pressure, while distancing himself from the agreement, which is precisely the point of throwing it to Congress, he could somehow create a kind of
building wall of pressure, which creates disincentives for the Europeans to join him in either opening up the accord or negotiating a supplemental one
with Iran. I think it's a strategy that's likely going to fail.
But the reality is that this president has reserved the right. And the Constitution and Congress essentially have given him the right to walk away
from this agreement, should he not get what he wants.
So, I think we're in a slow-moving, but highly-fraught situation, that could, in fact, see a cycle of dysfunction created that would mean the end
of the JCPOA, which is frankly, however flawed, this agreement is functional.
GORANI: The Europeans are saying they're sticking with it. We're even seeing big European companies already doing business inside of Iran.
They're going forward as if this deal will hold, whether America sticks to it or not.
MILLER: Well, I think that's a nice thought on paper. And I would urge them frankly to continue to speak with one voice and to maintain the best
talking points they can with the administration.
But in the end, it remains a reality that, if the president doesn't get what he wants, he can take the United States out of the deal. And however
compelling, no matter how much leverage the Europeans have, that is going to be a significant blow to this JCPOA.
And I think it will, in fact, start a cycle of dysfunction because remember how - this isn't -- in the minds of this administration, this is not just
about what's in the four corners of the agreement.
The administration tends to open up several new fronts with respect to containing, if not trying to rollback Iran's influence in the region as
well, and that's going to put the two countries on something of a collision course.
What if Congress will go along with this is another matter. The Europeans will not.
GORANI: I get that. But, I mean, rolling back Iran's influence when, in many cases, it's American actions in the Middle East that have allowed
Iran's influence to spread, right? Not intervening in Syria, essentially opening the door to Russia and its allies in Tehran to basically prop up
the Assad regime, their influence on the Iraqi government.
All of these things weren't a reality before Western action, specifically American actions, in the Middle East. So, now rolling that back when the
Iran nuclear agreement is about nuclear program, not conventional weapons -
MILLER: I mean, I'm not here to argue the consistency and logic of American policy. It's filled with anomalies, contradictions and
hypocrisies, like most large powers or even European ones. Policy is never entirely consistent.
But it remains a reality. Elections matter. And this one has created an approach to foreign policy that I frankly - it's unbelievable,
unprecedented in my 25 years in government and, frankly, by and large, not in American interests.
And we're going to have to figure out a way - the administration is going to have to figure out a way, hopefully, to pursue this course and keep
American national interests uppermost in his mind.
I'm dubious, however, whether or not that is going to be the case. I mean, you had McMaster - if you're McMaster, a guy - thinking warrior, a guy who
reads reality, right, who wrote a book on Vietnam, pointing out the mistakes and transgressions of a dysfunctional policy that ignores history
and reality, say yesterday that, in fact, President Trump has restored strategic competence to American foreign policy.
I like this guy, McMaster. He's a smart guy, but this is not strategic competence, Hala. This is, I would argue, strategic, in many respects,
malpractice.
GORANI: And we didn't even get to Kirkuk.
Aaron David Miller -
MILLER: Just another headache, Hala. Just another headache.
GORANI: Exactly. Just another flashpoint, a new front line. When one ends, another one begins. Thank you very much, Aaron David Miller. As
always, a pleasure having you on the program.
Still ahead, what were once murmurs are now a roar. And one rarely heard in Hollywood for that matter. The latest on Harvey Weinstein scandal
coming this time from Britain. We'll explain after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:47:02] GORANI: Now, a transatlantic investigation. The business is on the edge and there's an online campaign like no other.
The scandal over movie producer Harvey Weinstein is quickly becoming one of the biggest in Hollywood history. Right here, in the UK, police are
looking into new allegations of rape, while France is moving to strip Weinstein of his Legion of Honour.
In Hollywood itself, the Academy expelled Weinstein over the weekend. And now, his former company says it's in talks with a private equity group
about a potential sale.
The very idea of going public might once have seemed impossible to many of the women coming forward. And that simple fact inspired actress Alyssa
Milano to post this on Twitter.
She said, suggested by a friend, if all the women who've been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote me too as a status, we might give people a
sense of the magnitude of the problem.
Milano's hashtag #MeToo has now gone viral with women from the entertainment world and beyond joining her, from Lady Gaga who addressed
being raped in her songs "Till It Happens to You" to my colleague at the BBC Rajini Vaidyanathan who says she was harassed at the start of her
career.
Let's get more on the Weinstein scandal and its repercussions. Let's speak to Hadas Gold. She's in New York. And the #MeToo hashtag has gone viral
and we've read - I spent a large chunk of my morning just reading the tweets of anonymous women. I was just curious to see how many experiences
were being shared. It's really gone all around the world.
HADAS GOLD, CNN REPORTER: It definitely has. And Twitter has confirmed to CNN that this #MeToo hashtag has been tweeted already over half a million
times just as of a few hours ago. So, it's probably gone up even more since then.
And it's all of these stories. Everything from just on-the-street harassment to even worse. And I was getting chills reading about these
stories because a lot of us have experienced this type of thing and it's giving a lot of courage for a lot of women to come out and publicly say
what's happened to them.
And a lot of this has also come from Hollywood, as you were saying, because this was a Hollywood story to see these very famous actresses, very famous
musicians come out and say, yes, even though I am now powerful, I'm now very famous, this also happened to me and it happens to a lot of women.
GORANI: Yes. And I think a lot of women will feel they perhaps have a voice if it happens to them.
Now, there should be another hashtag called #TooSoon or, better yet, #NeverDoIt. That's what James Corden did at an amfAR charity dinner where
he joked about - or he used Harvey Weinstein to get some laughs from the audience and many of them didn't sound like they were laughing at all.
Let's listen to what he did over the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES CORDEN, HOST, THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN: It's so beautiful, Harvey Weinstein has already asked tonight up to his hotel to
give him a massage.
It has been weird this week, though, hasn't it, watching Harvey Weinstein in hot water. Ask any of the women who watched him take a bath, it's weird
watching Harvey Weinstein in hot water.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: So, that's James Corden there, Hadas. He issued a statement after that because he got a lot of backlash over it.
"To be clear, sexual assault is no laughing matter. I was trying to make light of Harvey's inexcusable behavior, but to shame him, the abuser, not
his victims. I'm truly sorry for anyone offended. That was never my intention."
[15:50:14] GOLD: Right. You can hear that he wasn't getting a lot of roaring laughter just from that video. It kind of landed with a thud. And
Rose McGowan, who is one of the women actresses who has come forward about her allegations against Harvey Weinstein, was not pleased at all with his
performance.
And maybe it is too soon, maybe this is one of the situations in a few weeks or months. We'll see more jokes about it. But it didn't feel right.
And also, for a lot of people, those jokes, they didn't get across, I think, James Corden based off of his statement, which is to shame the
abuser. It just didn't quite work.
And we're seeing a lot of people run into this sort of situation where they're trying to talk about it, they're trying to use - I mean, even SNL
over the weekend did a skit about it and some people really loved it and some people did not.
It's clearly a very hot topic issue because it's very sensitive for a lot of people.
GORANI: There's been a lot of - there have been a few statements issued to clarify what people have said about Harvey Weinstein. Donna Karen, for
instance. She was asked on the red carpet. She said women have to be careful how they present themselves.
And then, obviously, Woody Allen. Woody Allen, who said if someone winks at someone in an office setting, then it becomes a witch-hunt against them.
So, he's clarified his statement as well. Tell us about that.
GOLD: So, Woody Allen, he was asked about the situation. And while he did say, he feels so sorry for all of these women, he feels sorry for Harvey
Weinstein to see his family and Harvey Weinstein go through all of this, also said that he hopes that this just doesn't turn into some sort of
witch-hunt where any sort of move, like he said, like any sort of wink that a man might make at a woman in the office is immediately called sexual
harassment.
Obviously, Woody Allen has his own interesting history with all this. So, that even made it even more sensitive, which is why he had to come out and
clarify even further.
GORANI: All right. Hadas Gold in New York, thanks very much. We'll continue following this Harvey Weinstein story, especially now that on this
side of the Atlantic in Britain, some investigations have started into alleged assaults in Europe.
Coming up, this was the sky over London outside our office just a few hours ago. It turned orange. Looks like a sandstorm. We'll explain why after
this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: Earlier I told you about how Tropical Storm Ophelia is causing havoc in both Ireland and Portugal, but it has brought a strange phenomenon
to the United Kingdom.
This video was shot by a CNN producer as the sky turned dark and a strange color, sort of like this lemony orange, it was 3 PM when this was shot.
So, you can imagine it felt like the end of the world, some apocalyptic sort of end of the. But it was just outside the office, not too far from
the (INAUDIBLE).
So, how did that happen? Tom Sater is at the CNN weather center to explain.
So, in the Middle East, when you see that, you assume - you usually right away assume it's a sandstorm. What's going on over London at 3 PM?
TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. No, you're exactly right. In fact, that's one element that many may not be thinking actually exists.
It's more than just smoke from Portugal and Spain.
If sub-Saharan dust that Ophelia have kicked up from Africa, taking it all the way up to the north near Scotland - in fact, we're going to have the
pictures like this for the next maybe 24 hours. It's going to take a while for the wind to kind of blow this sub-Saharan dust and the smoke out of the
area.
[15:55:12] Some call it blood orange, some look like blood red. But let's talk about this, because Ophelia, not only the strongest hurricane this far
east in the Atlantic in recorded history, but to the north. It made it up to Category 3 status.
Now, it's post tropical, which means it doesn't have a warm core. We won't get into that. But here are the fires across the Iberian Peninsula. We'll
follow those strong winds wrapping around Ophelia.
And you can even see, Hala, this is a little bit browner in this area on your eastern flank here. Much wider when you have that reflectivity of the
more clear - more purer cloud cover.
But, again, warmth was another big story. You 22 yesterday - like, 20 degrees yesterday, 22.2 today. And now, you've got this - it doesn't look
very impressive, Ophelia, but it's still kicking up the winds. And so, that dust in that - Saharan dust - the smoke getting picked up will slide
towards Scandinavia. They may have some pretty sunsets as well.
The winds are going to lighten up, which is some pretty good news. However, again, no one wants to remember, 30 years ago today, with the 22
fatalities, losing a loved one.
But notice the winds, 190-kilometer-per-hour gusts. We have topped that. We have found just a little while ago a light house just off the coast
where we had near landfall, 191 kilometers per hour. Even in Dublin, 105.
A number of flights to and from Dublin, from Liverpool, Manchester as well, they had not what they call emergency landings, but they had cautionary
landings because the smell of smoke in the cockpit.
Now, these warnings are to continue for another day and schools are out for good reason. We need to assess the damage on some of the roads and, of
course, the routes to school and businesses. They are still fighting the fires, but they're going to get help because the secondary band of rain,
Hala, moves in. That's great news for Portugal and for Spain. They're going to get another batch of rain.
The bigger story may be the nice little summerlike period that you've had with the beautiful skies close to Halloween. Maybe we'll get another batch
of that little bit later. But, again, quite a sight over the skies.
Again, 70 percent smoke, 30 percent Saharan dust.
GORANI: All right. Thanks very much, Tom Sater.
SATER: You're welcome.
GORANI: Just have a few minutes to tell you about this. And the flight crew of one AirAsia flight is being criticized by passengers for how they
reacted when the plane they were flying in rapidly dipped 6000 meters.
(VIDEO PLAYS)
GORANI: Passengers on the Perth to Bali flight said some crew members screamed and looked shocked. In an email, AirAsia told CNN that the flight
was diverted after technical issue. Yikes!
I'm Hala Gorani. Thanks for watching. "Quest Means Business" is up next.
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END
