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Hala Gorani Tonight
U.S. Senate Reaches Compromise To End Shutdown; House To Vote After Senate Reaches Deal To Reopen Government; Turkey Targets U.S. Backed Kurdish YPG In Syria; Protest As Pence Delivers Speech At Knesset; Pence: "The Iran Nuclear Deal Is A Disaster"; Davos Theme: Creating A Shared Future In A Fractured World; Germany Coalition Talks Aimed At Ending Deadlock. Aired 3-3:30p ET
Aired January 22, 2018 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:15]
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome, everyone. We are coming to you live from London this evening. I`m Hala Gorani.
Tonight, we are waiting to hear this hour from the American President Donald Trump after lawmakers announced a deal to end the three-day
government shutdown. Earlier, Democratic senators agreed to a compromise basically to temporarily reopen the government.
A vote on final passage is expected later today. The bill will then head to the House. These are all procedural steps that are expected that is
expected to pass. Of course, the Republican Party control the House of Representatives.
Then it will go to Donald Trump`s desk for his signature and that will officially end the government shutdown. While the deal needs the
president`s approval to make it official, the leader of the Democrats, the opposition in the Senate, said Mr. Trump deserves no credit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENATOR CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: President Trump`s unwillingness to compromise caused the Trump shutdown and brought us to
this moment. The facts are well known. Since our meeting in the Oval Office on Friday, the president and I have not spoken, and the White House
refused to engage in negotiations over the weekend. The great deal-making president sat on the sidelines.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: That was Chuck Schumer. Now the president, as far as I can tell has not tweeted yet. We haven`t heard from him, but there was a statement
from the president read out at the White House press briefing just a few minutes ago. In it he said, "I am pleased the Democrats and Congress have
come to their senses."
Let`s get more, CNN congressional correspondent, Sunlen Serfaty joins us from Capitol Hill and CNN White House reporter, Stephen Collinson joins us
from our Washington bureau.
So, Sunlen, explain to our international viewers what happens now, when does this government reopen officially?
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. That`s a big question up here. The wheels are turning towards reopening the government. Most likely we
will see that happen officially tomorrow morning. A few things have to happen before then.
One, the Senate has to actually vote on this. They voted for cloture, which is a procedure. Basically, one step before they have to vote on it
later today. Then it gets sent over to the House and the House will vote on it later this afternoon and potentially early evening.
And then it will be officially passed, President Trump needs to sign this into law and that would reopen the government, turn the levers back on to
keep the government open and operating.
Of course, at the end of the day, what you have is just a three-week spending plan and three weeks of government funding kicks the can down the
road a little bit more that, you know, many lawmakers up here telling us that we bought ourselves sometime, but these big issues still remain. So,
despite, you know, basically, it gets kick down that road for a few more weeks.
GORANI: Yes. So, wait, we are going to do this all over again in three weeks?
SERFATY: Potentially, yes, not exactly the same terms on the table. Of course, the big issue that`s really halting this to be was over DACA and
the protections for DREAMers. That has not gone away, and certainly, there are some Democrats feeling like they got more assurances from Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to actually bring it up to a vote.
So, they feel that was what they were able to extract from the majority leader, but the same issues, the same party politics still exist. But
again, right now, at least, once they officially vote, the government will reopen for another three weeks.
GORANI: All right. Stephen Collinson, will this be seen as a victory for the president, Donald Trump, will it be seen as the Democrats folding or
will he get some heat for having presided over a shutdown in the first place?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: I would say all of the above. You can certainly argue that it was a victory in the short time for the
president since he did nothing to change his position on the DREAMers, those 700,000 people brought the U.S. illegally as children, who face
losing their legal status in March.
And the Democrats basically caused the government shutdown to try to force the president`s hand, and they were not able to do it. They got an
assurance from the Republicans that there will be a debate on this issue in Congress.
But that is the short term and the long term the issue of the DREAMers is still there, and sooner or later whether it is in three weeks` time. For
now, the president is going to have to come to a decision whether he is going to use his political capital.
And he is the only person who can do it, who could get a deal from the Senate through the House to convince those Republican congressmen to vote
for something they see as honesty. Is the president prepared to use his political capital to get done?
The take away from this weekend is that so far, he is not and there is not going to be a resolution to this issue until the president changes his
attitude I think.
[15:05:09] GORANI: And Sunlen, just one final question to you. What -- I mean, we know this is temporary that the government reopens for a few weeks
now, but why -- what broke this particular impasse this time? What was the political will behind it?
SERFATY: The will was that -- was about look essentially for everyone, both parties. The fact that the government is shutdown is not a good thing
for anyone and over the weekend, there are certainly was a flurry of negotiations.
But in the end, it does appear that Democrats took the deal because they felt that the assurances made by the majority leader to hold about an
immigration, to be discussing DACA and the protections for DREAMers was enough for them.
You know, I had one Democrat tell me just a short time ago the fact that that promise was made in such a big stage. The fact there is no much
attention on this vote today really feels that that would hold the majority leader`s feet to the fire.
So, Democrats felt that they have the assurances, but (inaudible) not too much changed over the weekend.
GORANI: Sunlen Serfaty, thanks very much on Capitol Hill. Busy day, I will let you go. But Stephen, I want our viewers to listen to the
voicemail. If you called the White House over the weekend, talk about hyper-partisan on both sides accusing the other of being partisan.
The White House voicemail if you called over the weekend during the shutdown actually ran this message. Listen.
VOICE MAIL: Thank you for calling the White House. Unfortunately, we cannot answer your call today because Congressional Democrats are holding
government funding including funding for our troops and other national security priorities hostage to an unrelated immigration debate. Due to
this obstruction, the government is shut down.
GORANI: Well, had this ever happened before during a shutdown?
COLLINSON: Certainly not heard it, but it is testimony I think to, A, how political this White House is about everything and B, how toxic this issue
of immigration is and how divisive it is, and why a lot of people live in Washington for a long time and watched repeated efforts to find common
ground on immigration are quite skeptical that another three weeks are really going to change the dynamics of this conversation.
You know, immigration is something that is absolutely existential to both parties. Conservatives in many cases are against more legal immigration,
let alone illegal immigration, and Democrats -- the Hispanic vote is germane to their chances of winning future elections.
They have to have a deal on DACA so you see how that voicemail shows how extreme this debate is in many ways. Vice President Mike Pence was in
Jordan earlier this weekend and he gave a speech in front of U.S. troops hitting Democrats for shutting down the government.
That was seen by many people in Washington as a step too far basically, politicizing the military so you know it is just a sign of how difficult
this is going to be for any deal in the Senate to get passed the White House if that is the way the White House is leveraging this issue.
GORANI: Stephen Collinson, thanks very much in our Washington bureau. And just a quick note to our viewers, reiterating what I said at the top of the
hour, which is that we are expecting the House to vote as well on this legislation. We expect the president as well to sign the papers.
After that you will have officially the reopening of the U.S. government. Even, though, of course, the expectation with the Republicans controlling
the House of Representatives is that this will go through and clearly, the president will end up signing the paperwork that he needs to in order to
end this shutdown, which came on the first anniversary of his inauguration.
And I believe the earliest shutdown for any president so one year in. Now, we`ll have a lot a lot more and by the way, of course, that`s a shot in
Washington, D.C. We`ll have a lot more on that later in the hour.
But as the U.S. looks to a possible deal to get the government running again in Syria, an escalation by Turkey could raise tensions for
Washington, why? Turkey is actually bombing Kurdish positions, the YPG, one of the US` closest allies in the fight against ISIS.
Turkey`s president says the YPG is a terrorist organization and on Monday, he said there is no taking a step back from the ground and air offensive in
Northern Syria. So, what is going on there? Sam Kiley has our story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Day three of Turkey`s invasion of Syria`s (inaudible) Province, targeting Kurdish
militia, adding another layer of conflict already shattered nation. These troops are from the Free Syrian Army fighting alongside Turkey.
[15:10:05] But the Kurdish fighters they are attacking have been Western allies armed and trained by the U.S. in the fight against the so-called
Islamic State.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We ran out of armor and food. We got there 11 of us wounded in the legs and the stomach, but we took three
hostages from the PKK, thank God.
The Turks release video of the moment a missile launched and the destruction of a Turkish tank. CNN cannot independently verify it, but the
Kurds are outgunned, and Turkey is a vital NATO partner.
So, the U.S. response to attacks on this American backed Army is muted.
REX TILLERSON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We are concerned about the Turkish incidents in Northern Syria. Having said that, in a statement I issued
yesterday, we recognize and fully appreciate Turkey`s legitimate right to protect its own citizens.
KILEY: Turkey`s president is insisting that there was no going back.
RECEP TAYYIP ERDGOAN, TURKISH PRESIDENT (through translator): We will handle a friend. There is no stepping back from a friend. The Turkish
border towns are being hit from Kurd areas by rockets, a sign that the Kurds will not go quietly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Let`s bring in Sam Kiley. He is live in Istanbul. So, this is yet another front. I mean, this patchwork of conflicts in Syria shows no
sign of ending, Sam.
KILEY: No, it doesn`t. This is the second major incursion by Turkish ground forces and their allies in the Free Syrian Army. Arab fighters who
were originally formed to fight (inaudible) regime, many of whom now have been whipped in under the Turkish flag.
They have in the front today to the east of Afrin (ph) alongside Turkish troops to try to create pincer movement in this Kurdish enclave, Kurdish-
dominated enclave in Northern Syria.
You`ll recall that a few months ago, the Turkish invaded and took the town of (inaudible) on what was called "Operation Euphrates Shield." This is
now called "Operation Olive Branch."
Slicing away areas of Kurdish domination along their border because they have long argued that these Kurds notwithstanding the fact that they have
been integral to the fight against the so-called "Islamic State," nonetheless, represent a terrorist`s threat to Turkey.
And President Erdogan of Turkey insisting ultimately that they are going to sweep right away along to get rid of all of those Kurdish areas, which
includes the area known (inaudible) all the way to the border with Iraq.
Now that would bring them very strongly into a degree of conflicts, certainly political conflict with the Americans, who are talking about
establishing a 30,009-man border unit to guard that very border area from principally the YPG.
But also including other elements of the wider group known as the Syrian Democratic Forces that alliance dominated by Kurds, but nonetheless,
including Arabs that drove ISIS out of their capital, Raqqa.
GORANI: All right. So here you have two NATO members in indirect conflict. The White House today said, Sam, you know, exercise restraint
Turkey, not exactly saying stop it. They are just saying do not go all out. What are Turks likely to -- what is their likely response to this
message from Washington?
OK. I believe we`ve lost audio contact with Sam Kiley. So were just to leave it there, I guess, but there you have it a significant development,
not the first time Turkey intervening in Syria, very concerned about these YPG Kurdish fighters. They see them as an existential terrorist threat.
Of course, some of these fighters allied with U.S.-backed forces are the ones that drove out ISIS from parts they controlled inside Syria, indirect
conflict between two NATO members, and yet again, caught in the middle in Syria, as is always the case, a long-suffering civilian population.
We`ll have a lot more on this story later. Still to come tonight, the U.S. vice president hears cheers and boos as he addresses the Israeli
parliament. We`ll tell you what some lawmakers did not like in the Pence speech.
And we`ll go live to Davos as the world economic forum prepares to open and where heavy snow maybe putting a freeze on some of the protests. We`ll be
right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:16:43]
GORANI: Well, after tense meetings elsewhere in the Middle East, the American Vice President Mike Pence is now in Israel where he received a
warm welcome from Israeli leaders. Pence addressed the Knesset calling on Palestinians to resume peace talks with Israel.
He also got thunderous applause when he said the U.S. will move its embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv sooner than expected.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In the weeks ahead, our administration will advance (inaudible) the United States Embassy in
Jerusalem and that United States Embassy will open before the end of next year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Not everyone was pleased with the Pence visit. Some lawmakers in the Knesset broke out in protest at the start of his speech. Let`s get
that part of the story and Oren Liebermann joins me from Jerusalem. What were some lawmakers in the parliament unhappy about?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is just the appearance of Vice President Mike Pence here and the sort of welcome he got from the vast
majority of the Israeli government. He was greeted as the man of the hour, the first leader in Jerusalem to talk of Jerusalem as the capital of
Israel.
But the Arab members of Israel`s parliament, we knew they had planned some boycott or some sort of protest of Pence and we got a sense of that the
moment Pence took the stage to start speaking.
They immediately stood up, started protesting and held up signs that said Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine. They were quickly ushered out of
the Knesset (inaudible) chamber and Pence continued his speech.
But that speaks of a much wider anger, not only among Arabs here in Jerusalem, but across the Middle East. In fact, it`s worth pointing out
that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and other Palestinian leaders boycotted Pence here and the entire American delegation.
Abbas was in Brussels meeting with E.U. foreign leaders, trying to forge a different kind of process, a different path to peace there -- Hala.
GORANI: Yes. It`s interesting that Abbas is in Europe saying to Europeans help us while the vice president of the United States, Mike Pence, is at
the Knesset. He did not just talk about the opening of the embassy in Jerusalem, I am sure it was music to the ears of some in the Knesset what
we said about the Iran deal. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PENCE: Two and a half years ago, the previous administration in America signed a deal with Iran that merely delays the day when that regime can
acquire a nuclear weapon. The Iran nuclear deal is a disaster and the United States of America will no longer certify this ill-conceived
agreement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: So, it looks like -- I mean, obviously we know that the Prime Minister of Israel and his party and many in Israel dislike that Iran deal
intensely. Is it being interpreted as -- in Israel as the U.S. announcing that it is going to pull out of it?
LIEBERMANN: Pretty much yes. That part of the speech could have been written directly by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu it sounded like.
Netanyahu has been the most vocal critic of the deal and in fact, his phrase fix it or nix it was pretty much adopted by the Trump administration
a month after Netanyahu said it last September.
So, this is a certification, a reaffirmation of how much the Trump administration doesn`t like the deal and this is where the U.S. and Israel
are truly in lockstep moving forward together, pushing against Iran.
[15:20:11] What happens in the future? Well, that is up to Trump himself. It is not up to Pence, but that was exactly what Israel wanted to hear that
Trump is not going to certify it again.
So, there they are moving together, working together, and there is no doubt that Netanyahu and Israel or at least the Israeli government are trying to
see Trump take stronger action against it.
It`s also worth pointing out, Hala, that Netanyahu`s message was not to the Israeli people or the American people there, it was the European leaders
telling him, look, take seriously Trump`s threat that he is going to cancel the deal and work to fix it. Despite all of the European leaders saying,
look --
GORANI: I get that, but the Europeans have been very clear. They`ve said this is -- they brokered it. They wanted it stay as is. So, what do the
Israelis exactly want the Europeans to do?
LIEBERMANN: They are trying to get, and you are exactly right that not only have the Europeans said we are keeping the deal as is, we think it`s a
good deal. The Russians have said it as well that they like the deal as is.
But this is where the U.S. and Israel are almost seem happy be isolated with where they stand on the deal trying to change it in some way, despite
all of the opposition they faced because everyone else seems happy with the deal as is and their opinions don`t seem to be moving at all there.
GORANI: All right. Oren Liebermann, thanks very much. Vice President Pence isn`t the only the U.S. official talking about the situation in the
Middle East. The secretary of state, Rex Tillerson is in Paris today.
After brief a visit to London earlier, he is trying to get European support for economic sanctions that would punish Iran for its ballistic missile
program. Now without new sanctions, President Trump has said he will pull out of the nuclear deal in four months.
Tillerson says he is making progress with the European allies and there will be more talks next week. But as we`ve been discussing with Oren there
is a rift here. There is a rift between the United States and Europe on this Iran deal.
Tillerson`s next stop on his European visit is Warsaw, Poland, and then he`s off to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The American
president, Donald Trump, is also expected to attend. That is, if the U.S. government opens today, which is expected to.
But there is so much snow at the resort that local officials have denied a request from left-wing protesters to demonstrate. Security officials say
the heavy snowfall means they will not have room for protesters.
The protesters say it`s an excuse designed to keep them away from world leaders. No amount of snow could keep Richard Quest away from Davos. I
saw a picture of you doing is snow angel. You looked happy as a clam in the snow, Richard, but the theme of this year`s Davos gathering is a
fractured world or paraphrasing or something to that effect.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Right, right. It is -- it is basically a shared future -- solutions for shared future in a
fractured world. On this question of the snow, I have to say, Hala, that, you know, 16 odd years of coming here and I have never really seen it quite
like this.
Now I have seen snow here for six, nine, 10 hours, but we`ve had this for three days, pretty solid, as you can see, never again, we`ve never really
had this much snow just building up as fast as they managed to clear it.
But anyway, that is another issue for another day. On the question of the Davos theme, what we have got here is a general consensus that things are
not going that well and the issues they are going to be discussing is how to put it right.
But at the same time, you got economies that are growing and stock markets that are record highs. How you square that circle will be top of the Davos
agenda.
GORANI: And is there talk at all that we may at a stage -- because I`m hearing from some leading economists in Davos that there -- you know, there
could be -- the ingredients are there potentially for some sort of maybe not a stock market crash, but for a decline now finally after all these
years of a recovery in economic -- are there any concerns there?
QUEST: Yes. Of course, there are. There are serious concerns that -- not about a correction or some sort of calamitous fall of the stock market. I
think there was a genuine concern that there could be a slowdown ahead.
And if that slowdown were to be worse, then central banks do not have the headroom for lowering interest rates. So, yes, there is a concern about
this, but I think the really serious --
I mean, just look at the markets while we can talk -- just look at the market, Hala, it starts off down. It has a bit of (inaudible), goes down
and then roars up --
GORANI: Is that necessarily an indication of a healthy economy or just means corporations get lower taxes, less regulation, and there you go?
That is what happens to stock prices?
[15:25:09] Does that mean we`ve shielded ourselves from potentially a very bad fall economically?
QUEST: Economically or stock market --
GORANI: Economically -- no because the Trump administration routinely refers to the stock market level as a signal, as a sign that the economy is
healthy, but is it really?
QUEST: The U.S. economy is healthy. Yes. We can argue and disagree or discuss whether it is the cleanest dirty shirt in the linen basket, but the
reality is low inflation, low unemployment, reasonable growth that (inaudible) percent and interest rates inching up to try and sustain that
recovery.
Is it as good as it could get? Probably not, but it`s probably as good as it is going to get with -- if you want to practice safe economics, I think
that is what they are doing at the moment. At least the fed provided the president does not go off (inaudible).
GORANI: Always practice safe economics. I was going to say as next hour, you are obviously going to be live. What`s coming up on the program?
QUEST: We got the chairman of PWC, the chairman of KPMG. We`ll have the head of the International Union, Philip Jennings will be giving us a good
run for our money, and we`ll be asking the question just how fractured are we in this world.
Tomorrow or this week, we`re talking, Hala, we`re going to get you onto our fracture board. I`ll show you tomorrow.
GORANI: I cannot wait. I`ve never been on a fracture board. First time for everything. Thanks very much, Richard. We`ll see you at the top of
the hour.
Now a major step toward ending political deadlock in Germany, a new phase of talks begin tonight between the German Chancellor Angela Merkel`s party
and the Social Democrats. Atika Shubert has more from Berlin.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Coalition talks go ahead on Monday night. This clears one hurdle for Chancellor Angela Merkel
as she tries to build that coalition government five months after the election in September.
Of course, she failed on her first attempt. This is her second try. She goes back to the social Democrats. Now, she has ruled together with the
Social Democrats for the last out of her 12 years in power.
But there is a problem with this so-called grand coalition that would leave as the largest opposition party in parliament, the alternative for Germany
party. This is a party that is vociferously anti-immigration, nationalist, and far right.
Some political leaders had even said some of its members are neo-Nazis, and this would give them a very national platform by which to express these
highly controversial views. Now in terms of when we are likely to see a coalition government in place, well, it`s going to take weeks for those
coalition talks.
And even if an agreement is hammered out, all of the party members of the Social Democrats must vote whether to accept or reject the agreement. all
440,000 of them. So, this is a process that could take weeks or months. March is the earliest we are likely to see a coalition government in place
in Berlin. Atika Shubert, CNN, Berlin.
GORANI: Thanks, Atika.
Former international football star, George Weah has been sworn in as the new president in Liberia. Liberians lined up outside the stadium in
Monrovia to watch his historic inauguration. Weah told the crowd he spent his life in stadiums, but never like this. This is Liberia`s first peaceful
transfer of power in more than 70 years. Weah succeeds Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Still to come, Turkish forces advance inside area, we have the latest on that operation and what it means for the country.
And we`ll take you to Tokyo, a city taking no chances with North Korea. How the government is prepping its citizens for possible attack. We`ll be
right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HALA GORANI, CNN HOST, HALA GORANI TONIGHT: Well, we are going to have more on Turkey`s operations in northern Syria.
But just to remind you that, this evening, we are expecting the House of Representatives in Washington DC to add its votes to the decision, the
legislation that would allow the US government to reopen.
The shutdown is on effect, technically speaking, but we`re expecting all of this to go ahead. The president will then sign all of this and officially
the shutdown will be lifted.
But this is all potentially temporary because what`s at the core of the disagreement between the Democrats and the Republicans and that is major
immigration issues like the DREAMers, those men and women who were brought to the US as children illegally. That has not been resolved. There`s been
no compromise on that.
But we have a few weeks of an open US government. So, there you have it. And we`ll be going live as well to the White House and Washington if and
when the US president speaks.
Turkey`s operation in northern Syria against the Kurdish group, the YPG, is in its third day. It calls its incursion Operation Olive Branch oddly. It
is a complex situation with many different players.
The US has backed the YPG in the fight against ISIS. So, Turkey`s actions could inflame tensions between Ankara and Washington.
Meantime, US Vice President Mike Pence has received a mostly warm welcome in Israel. He arrived there Sunday as part of a broader Mideast tour,
though, he did receive some protest action in the Knesset, in the parliament from Arab Israeli lawmakers.
Let`s get more insight on all this. Aaron David Miller is live in Washington. So, let`s start with what Turkey is doing. So, Turkey has,
obviously, its big existential enemy, is the Kurdish YPG. It considers that group to be a terrorist group. It is attacking these positions inside
of Syria. Technically, the YPG fought alongside US-supported forces against ISIS.
So, you have indirectly, Turkey and the United States pitted against each other here.
AARON DAVID MILLER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: You do. Although, I think, Hala, that one of the stunning takeaways is despite the crowded
battle space, the complex and crowded battle space, which involve a number of external actors, some of which are pursuing agendas that are quite in
conflict - Iran, the US, Russia, Turkey being the major four.
What`s extraordinary to me is the degree to which either through luck and/or discretion, and I think it`s not luck, it`s discretion, we`ve been
able to avoid serious conflicts. And it`s now been up and running a year. And I think this operation - Operation Olive Branch, clearly misnamed -
although, from the Turkish perspective, presumably, it`s designed to bring some measure of peace and security to a discrete area along the border.
This demonstrates to me that neither the Russians nor the Americans nor the Turks nor the Iranians, frankly, want a conflict. And I suspect, having
been warned not to move west near the river that the Turks are respecting at least American redlines and have convinced the Russians basically to
actively facilitate their operation.
GORANI: What are the Americans willing to kind of accept here from the Turks because the White House statement is exercise restraint. What does
that mean that they want?
[15:35:09] MILLER: Well, you`ve been around here observing the conflict to know that when the US government cautions parties to exercise restraint,
it`s almost a throwaway line.
I think the administration is prepared to accept the fact that this was done primarily Turkish sensitivities toward Kurdish militias operating
along their border, notwithstanding, for domestic political reasons, and in effect, they`re giving the Turks space to operate.
Otherwise, you can end up with a very nasty situation. Plus, the Russians have basically acquiesced to this. We haven`t heard much from the
Iranians. I suspect this will play out relatively peacefully. I do not believe the Turks are interested in the conflict with US forces.
And I suspect these redlines will be respected.
GORANI: It takes just one flip, as you know better than most, for things to go terribly wrong. But also, what are we looking at? Are we looking
now at the carving of Syria, various forces, actors and proxy battles essentially carving up the country rather than influence?
MILLER: I think you have broken the code that Syrian borders may remain intact. Sykes-Picot may remain alive and well, but the internal governance
is going to reflect a high degree of centralization, in which a variety of groups, including the Assad regime and a number of external actors backing
their various patrons create a situation where there will be zones of interest and influence.
The odds of a centralized, coherent, cohesive Syrian central government ruled from Damascus strikes me as almost unimaginable right now.
GORANI: And that`s a disaster for the civilians, of course. And I just want to get your thoughts on Mike Pence and Israel. Did you read what he
said about the Iran deal as an announcement? As an official announcement that, that`s it, in a few months the US is going to be withdrawing from
this nuclear agreement?
MILLER: I mean, I think the president started the 120-day clock ticking with his own statement. And I suspect he`s punted now to both Congress and
the Europeans with a kind of find me a solution which somehow improves and reforms the agreement in three or four discrete areas or I`m taking a walk.
And the problem now is the president has laid out so publicly and so clearly the redlines that he needs preserved that it strikes me as almost
impossible to imagine - the Iranians will not negotiate this and that leaves the president with a put up or shut up situation, which is never a
situation you want to be in, particularly given the fact that we have no alternative and however flawed this agreement may be, it was functioning.
GORANI: But also, I mean - and Abbas is in Brussels, which is interesting. He`s speaking with Federica Mogherini and others, saying to the Europeans,
help us in the situation that we find ourselves in.
The Europeans don`t want to pull out of this Iran deal. They want to keep it going, which essentially just cements and solidifies the diplomatic and
strategic rift between the EU and the US here and the Trump administration, it should be said.
MILLER: I think that`s true. And since you have an agreement, which is P5+1, not just between the United States and Iran, you could well face a
situation in which the United States somehow withdraws, leaving the Europeans with the very difficult task, though perhaps manageable, of
maintaining the accord together with Iran.
I don`t know, Hala. I mean, I`ve given up trying to predict the logic, coherence, irrationality of the Trump administration`s foreign policy,
which at times resembles a Marx Brothers movie.
GORANI: Aaron David Miller, thanks so much for joining us live to talk about all these interesting developing stories on this day.
Despite some calming of tensions on the Korean Peninsula in recent weeks, Japan is still preparing for the worst. Tokyo held its first simulated
missile attack since World War II Monday.
Will Ripley is in Tokyo.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right now, we`re inside Tokyo Dome. And just minutes from now, they`re going to begin
really a rehearsal for what is Japan`s nightmare scenario - a ballistic missile North Korea traveling toward a densely populated area.
And, of course, it doesn`t get any more densely populated than the greater Tokyo area, home to some 35 million people.
This is a nation that is prepared for natural disasters of all kinds. But they haven`t had drills like this, drills to prepare for a possible bombing
attack since World War II.
This is a simulation of what`s supposed to happen if an actual missile is approaching Tokyo.
People get a message on their phones, called a J-alert, and it tells them they need to either go underground to a subway station like this or inside
a sturdy building.
There have been dozens of exercises like this here in Japan over the last year, but this is the first time they`ve held one in Tokyo. And a lot of
the people we`re speaking with out here say it`s frightening.
MIYAKO MITAMURA, TOKYO RESIDENT (through translator): We don`t know what North Korea has on their mind. It is very frightening to think about what
will happen if Tokyo is severely damaged.
TOSHIKO MATSUMOTO, DRILL PARTICIPANT (through translator): There are many North Korean missiles flying towards us lately. So, I want to be read for
it.
RIPLEY: But these protesters here say this is different. They say the Japanese government is politicizing the threat from North Korea because
they are trying to change Japan`s pacifist constitution, trying to make the Japanese military have a more prominent role around the world.
These people say this drill is larger than it needs to be and, essentially, the government trying to mentally prepare citizens for war.
HIROYUKI SUENAGA, JAPANESE CABINET OFFICE COUNSELOR (through translator): We know there are various opinions about this. And the reality is that
missiles have been flying over to Japan and the government believes it is important for people to understand what kind of actions that the public
must take.
ROLLINS: Last year, two North Korea missiles flew over this country and many more came very close.
But things have been quiet lately with those inter-Korean talks and the upcoming Olympics. But the question on many people`s minds here in Japan,
for how long?
Will Ripley, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Tense times there in Japan.
Dozens of Russian athletes are making one last ditch attempt to compete at the Winter Olympics in Korea. The Court of Arbitration for Sport is
hearing appeals from 39 of these Russian athletes who were accused of doping during the 2014 Sochi games.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Olga Zaytseva says her race days are behind her, but the fight of her life is dead ahead.
This Olympic biathlon champion has been banned for life by the International Olympic Committee, punishment for allegedly doping during the
2014 games in Sochi, Russia.
Zaytseva says she`s retired and isn`t fighting the ban to compete again, but to prove to her children that she is not a cheater.
OLGA ZAYTSEVA, FORMER RUSSIAN SPRINT ATHLETE (through translator): It`s a real smear on my clean career and I want it gone. I want my children to
never see or hear anything about this. This can`t be what they remember.
NEWTON: Zaytseva has already been asked to return her silver medal from the Sochi Games, but she is appealing, along with 41 other Russian athletes
who say they didn`t dope.
(on-camera): Can you say that you are clean? That you have always been clean?
(voice-over): I am clean, she tells me, and I always have been clean. Always.
JIM WALDEN, ATTORNEY, WALDEN MACHT & HARAN LLP: We heard the I`m clean, I`m clean, I have been tested a hundred times.
NEWTON (voice over): American lawyer Jim Walden speaks for Russian whistleblower Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, who will give evidence against the
athletes. He doesn`t only represent him. He is trying to keep him alive.
WALDEN: The Russians have made it clear that they will do anything to try to find him and silence him.
NEWTON (voice over): Dr. Rodchenkov was the head of the Sochi lab during the 2014 games and he detailed an epic Russian state-sponsored scheme to
swap drug-tainted urine samples for clean ones.
He is now in a US witness protection program, but will testify from a secure location.
WALDEN: Dr. Rodchenkov indicated quite clearly that, at some level, the athletes probably had no more choice than he did to participate in this
doping system.
NEWTON (voice over): Russia says the doctor gave the drugs to the athletes and they weren`t aware that they were even taking anything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): The fastest man all day.
NEWTON (voice over): Nikita Kriukov is a gold medal winning cross country skier, also banned for life. He says he didn`t dope knowingly or
otherwise. But with the Pyeongchang Olympics just weeks away, he still doesn`t know if he can compete.
NIKITA KRIUKOV, RUSSIAN CROSS COUNTRY SKIER (through translator): I hope this will be a fair hearing and they will listen not only to my words, but
to the evidence we will give them, because there is no truth or evidence that I am guilty.
NEWTON (voice over): Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren will also testify. His report for the World Anti-Doping Agency laid bare a Russian state-
backed system that allowed more than a thousand athletes to cheat.
Russia denies this.
RICHARD MCLAREN, LAWYER, WORLD ANTI-DOPING AGENCY: We checked the DNA and the DNA is consistent with their DNA. There is no doubt, in my mind, that
they are their samples and they were the samples that they produced when they were at the Olympic Games in Sochi.
NEWTON (voice over): For now, Zaytseva`s medal remains on her wall. It may be silver, she says, but it means as much as gold to her, and she is
determined to prove she won it without cheating.
[15:45:08] Paula Newton, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Check out our Facebook page, by the way, Facebook.com/HalaGoraniCNN. We post some of our show content on there.
And a lot more to come this evening. Can music succeed where political diplomacy has fallen flat on the Korean Peninsula? A very popular North
Korean singer is headed to the South. We`ll tell about that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: First sport, now pop music appear to both be doing the work of political diplomacy on the Korean Peninsula.
The head of a popular North Korean girl band is in Seoul. As our Ivan Watson reports, not everyone is very happy about the visit, though.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A North Korean delegation is here visiting the South Korean capital. And as you can see,
there is a huge police presence. This is all ahead of the upcoming Winter Olympics.
Now, the delegation includes a North Korean musician named Hyon Song Wol. She is the closest thing Pyongyang has to a pop star. She leads an all-
female musical group and she has been the focus of intense media attention here. Some media outlets have even been reporting on what she ate for
breakfast and how she likes her coffee.
The visit of the North Korean delegation isn`t popular with everybody here in Seoul. The small group of anti-North Korean protesters here, they tried
to burn a North Korean flag and the police won`t let them do it.
Also, tens of thousands of South Koreans have signed a petition opposing the move to fuse the North and South Korean women`s ice hockey teams.
The North Korean delegation has been scouting venues like this stadium, looking for places where they could perform during the upcoming Winter
Olympics. Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee has agreed to allow North Korea to expand its team of athletes who will be participating
to at least 22 athletes.
They will be accompanied by hundreds of musical performers, a Taekwondo demonstration team, cheerleaders and, of course, North Korean government
officials. The South Korean government has invested heavily in this sports diplomacy. They have taken to calling the upcoming Winter Games the Peace
Olympics.
Ivan Watson, CNN, Seoul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: More to come, including taking grab-and-go to a whole new level. What Amazon is doing in a cashier-free store? It`s the future, guys. What
this will look like maybe. We`ll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:51:33] GORANI: Well, we`ve been across the world for you this hour. Let`s take a look at one of the most colorful neighborhoods in Tokyo,
famous for its thrift shops and fashion scene.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LILY, WRITER: I`m Lily. I`m a writer. I write about Tokyo girls, love, sex. It`s kind of like "Sex and the City" Japanese version, Tokyo version.
Tokyo is my city. I love this city because all the new things, like, come into Tokyo, but it`s little different than New York.
This is Harajuku. Harajuku is more of like a young hip culture, more like a fun part of Tokyo. Colorful and playful.
This is a vintage thrift store. And I like Chicago because it`s so pretty (ph).
Kawaii. It`s a big city. People dress funny, like, in their own style. Call somebody in there. That`s why maybe they express passion wild.
I feel like this is fake Tokyo candy. We call it a salad shop. I don`t know how to say it in English, but it means it`s not the original one,
original gram, but the (INAUDIBLE) goes all over the world, including Japan (INAUDIBLE).
I really like to come to this really cool select shop (ph) and then check out the new brands because this is where I know the trend. I always like
to meet the new brands in this one shop. That`s what I like about it.
This is so cute and I want to buy it. So unique. Can I try it on?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Well, speaking of shopping, picture this scene. You walk into your grocery store, you pick up what you want and you walk right out. No
lines, no cashiers even. Actually, that sounds fantastic.
It sounds, obviously, like shoplifting, but it`s not. Retailing giant Amazon thinks this is the future of food shopping and it`s just opened its
Amazon Go store in Seattle.
Rachel Crane is in New York with the details. So, how will this work then without cashiers? How will they recognize what you`ve taken and charge you
for the products, the goods?
RACHEL CRANE, CNN SPACE AND SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, this is not your typical shopping experience. I mean, we`re talking no shopping carts,
no long checkout lines, no cashiers, no baskets. Of course, you will find your typical grocery items, like prepared foods, also meal kit, meal prep
kits, as well as beverages and beer and wine.
And this is how it works. The way that they - the way you enter into the store is you scan your Amazon Go app and it`s preloaded with your credit
card. And then, you walk around the store, picking the items that you want, putting them in your bag. If you don`t want it, you can put it back
on the shelf and hundreds of cameras in the store know the products that you have chosen. And then, you just walk out.
And that is what this technology is called, Just Walk Out. And then, minutes later, you get a receipt of the items that you have chosen.
[15:55:09] And in regards to the shoplifting, Hala, some journals actually tried to mess with this system and see if they could shoplift some items.
And actually, they hid it in their bag and then, just minutes later, they were charged by Amazon for the items that they walked out with.
GORANI: OK. It`s facial recognition or how does it work? And how does it recognize each person?
CRANE: Right. So, the technology, of course, that they`re using, Amazon is being somewhat cagey about, but they say that they`re using
sophisticated computer vision, machine learning as well as AI.
This array of hundreds of cameras in the store, of course, is tracking what you`re putting in your bag and you`ve scanned your Amazon Go app as you
walk into the store. So, it has your credit card on file.
GORANI: So, when - this is a pilot case? This is only one store. When will others appear and pop up elsewhere?
CRANE: Right. So, Amazon says that they may open some more stores. But, right now, they say that they are laser focused on this store in Seattle
and perfecting it.
But, of course, Amazon did buy grocery giant Whole Foods last year for $13.7 billion. Now, they have not said if they will be implementing this
technology in those stores. At least not yet, they have not mentioned that.
GORANI: All right. Thanks very much for joining us, Rachel Crane in New York with details. Sounds like a good idea to me, but then there`s
something weird, I guess, about being followed by all these cameras, feeling like all your details are accessible in the cloud somewhere.
Anyway, I guess, that`s the way of the future. Thanks very much, Rachel Crane.
I`m going to update our viewers on what we`re waiting for going forward. My colleague Richard Quest is in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic
Forum.
But as we`ve been covering all day, there is a lot of activity in Washington. The government shutdown appears to be coming to an end.
That`s a shot of the capital there in Washington DC. The Senate has passed a measure that would allow for the lifting of this shutdown.
We`re waiting on the House of Representatives. That was expected to happen around now, but it`s now potentially going to happen closer to the 4 or 5
p.m. Eastern hour, though, don`t hold me to that. Those are some of the schedules that we are potentially look at. The president as well will be
speaking.
I`m Hala Gorani. See you tomorrow. "Quest Means Business" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
