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Hala Gorani Tonight
Trump Blasts Omarosa As Low Life; Omarosa Releases More Audio; Erdogan Fires Back At The U.S. Over Sanctions; Turkey Looks For New Alliances After Dispute with U.S.; Cancer Patient Awarded $280 Million Against Monsanto; Schoolboys' Final Moments Captured On Video; U.S. Defense Secretary Calls For Investigation In Airstrike; U.K. Homeless Program Under Fire By Advocates; Seattle's Airport Officials: All Security Protocols Followed; In Middle East, Opinions On Trump Echo Familiar Divide. Aired 3- 4p ET
Aired August 13, 2018 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:00] HALA GORANI, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Live from CNN London, I'm Hala Gorani. Tonight, President Trump is hitting back hard trying to
undermine the credibility of a former aide who has just released a tape of conversations at the White House. Also tonight, the Turkish president said
the United States has stabbed his country in the back as the economy keeps on crashing there. And the funerals take place for dozens of children
killed in an air strike in Yemen, CNN obtains their heartbreaking final hours filmed by the children themselves.
Donald Trump says he knows it's not presidential to take on, in his words, a low life like his former aide Omarosa Manigault Newman. Yet, he's doing
just that after she released secretly recorded audiotapes from inside the White House. The administration is in damage control mode trying to
undermine the former reality TV star's credibility. But it's also facing serious questions about national security. After Omarosa taped the moment
she was fired by chief of staff John Kelly inside the situation room. You're not supposed to have devices in there. She released that recording
and this one of President Trump the next day. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Omarosa, what's going on? I just saw on the news that you are thinking about leaving. What happened?
OMAROSA MANIGAULT NEWMAN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE STAFFER: General Kelly came to me and said that you guys wanted me to leave.
TRUMP: No, nobody even told me about it. Nobody. You know, they run a big operation, but I didn't know it. I didn't know that. Goddamn it. I
don't love you leaving at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Mr. Trump is speaking at a military base. These are live images coming from Fort Drum. We're monitoring his remarks. We'll see if he has
anything to say about this situation, about other big news stories, perhaps what's going on in Turkey. Perhaps, of course, related to the military,
the U.S., the level of U.S. engagement in conflict, and war efforts abroad. Omarosa has given shifting explanations for the circumstances surrounding
her firing, and critics say she has a history of shaping events to suit her own purposes. Not unlike the president.
Let's bring in CNN White House Reporter, Jeremy Diamond. It's remarkable hearing that recording of the president telling her his former aide and
former reality television star Omarosa that you hadn't been told about this firing.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right. And there's questions about whether Omarosa was being truthful when she said just
yesterday on a Sunday talk show that the president knew that she was being fired. That he had delegated that authority to John Kelly and in fact, the
president later told Omarosa just that. And then today, we see this tape from the president suggesting that he did not know about the firing. So,
some questions now about both of their credibility in the wake of these audio recordings.
But certainly, with Omarosa, she's making a series of really damning allegations against the president. One of which is not yet on a tape
that's been released which is that she heard the president on an audio recording saying the "n" word, a racial epithet. That has yet to be
proven. It's coming back to this issue of credibility. What we're having this week and we're launched for a long period of this going on as Omarosa
suggests she has more to come yet is a lot of he said/she said involving two actors here. Both of whom have serious credibility issues.
GORANI: But does she claim this -- Omarosa, she's not a household name outside of the United States. She was on "The Apprentice." A longtime
celebrity friend of Donald Trump from his reality television days. But does Omarosa claim that she has a recording of the president using the "n"
word?
DIAMOND: She claims that she has heard a recording that's in somebody's else's possession in which the president uses the "n" word during one of
the -- during production of "The Apprentice." This has been something floated out there for some time. It was rumored such a recording existed.
It has yet to surface and several of the people who Omarosa said in her book confirmed the authenticity have since said it's not true.
Since her book was published she heard the tape herself but in the book she says that she only had it confirmed through a third party. So, a lot of
questions here again surrounding that. But, yes, Omarosa is extremely close to the president and for several years, he really helped make her a
household name in the United States through this "Apprentice" reality television show.
[15:05:00] He brought her along on the campaign. Brought her into the White House and that's why we're seeing the president suggesting that
Omarosa did no work at the White House. It raises the question why for about 11, 12 months she was working as a senior most official in this White
House.
GORANI: Right. Why did he bring her in? Why did he hire her? He said he'd surround himself with the best people. Jeremy Diamond, thank you.
My next guest worked in the White House and attended many meetings in the situation room. She says the administration's damage control effort is too
little, too late. Samantha Vinograd was a former aide to the national security adviser.
Sam, thanks for being with us. You worked in the White House for four years. You've been to many situation room meetings. What should we make
of this recording that Omarosa released to NBC news of the moment she was fired by the chief of staff?
SAMANTHA VINOGRAD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Well, it's unprecedented. I spent so many cell phoneless hours in the situation room
because the fact of the matter is that when we worked at the White House and I would imagine when most of the people working under the Trump
administration go into the situation room, their primary objective is to safeguard sensitive content and sensitive information by bringing a
recording device, whether it was a cell phone or recording pen or anything of that nature into a secure space. You're knowingly opening up that room
to undisclosed or unauthorized listening devices, whether it be a foreign intelligence service, a criminal organization or otherwise.
So that's why when you walk into a secure space, whether it's a situation room or even an office in the White House, that is supposed to be secure,
you leave all electronics at the door. But Hala, there's not a security guard that stands guard outside of these spaces. The system is based on
trust and the people entering these spaces are trusted to leave their electronics at the door and to safeguard that information.
GORANI: And this is the recording by the way that was released in the last 24 hours. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWMAN: Does the president -- is the president aware of this?
JOHN KELLY, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Let's not go down the road. This is a nonnegotiable discussion.
NEWMAN: I've never had a chance to talk to you. So, if this is my departure, I'd like to have an opportunity to understand --
KELLY: We can talk another time. This has to do with some serious integrity violations, so I'll let it go at that. So, the staff and
everyone on the staff works for me, not the president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: So, Sam, I read online, I've been away for two weeks. Why are you focusing, some people asking journalists, on this reality television
star's, you know, recordings and the release of these recordings. This is someone who is just trying to sell books. But a point that I think you
were trying to make in some of the tweets that you put out is that this is dangerous for national security, right? Because that means what? That the
White House -- what's going on in the White House if this is happening?
VINOGRAD: It means that Chief of Staff John Kelly who in the recording call has said Omarosa worked for him, which isn't true, has not created an
environment where there's respect for analytically driven rules on security. We have this issue with security clearances a few months ago and
people without adequate clearance. Omarosa was a senior White House staff member. Bringing unauthorized devices and breaking rules into secure
spaces.
So, to me, the damage control is too little, too late. It's coming from the White House right now because there is a signal being sent all around
the world, and signal is a bad word here that it's not secure. If you are a foreign intelligence service and sharing information with the U.S.
government, you now know that that information is being discussed in spaces that could have recording devices in them. So, I think we could see
intelligence sharing diminished because of that. And the whole world knows that John Kelly has lost control of his ship and no one is paying attention
to the security rules.
GORANI: Also, I'm just -- I don't know how these things work. Why is she getting fired in the situation room? Is that typical?
VINOGRAD: I don't know. It's not typical. I've never been fired from the White House, so I don't know where it happens, but General Kelly may have
chosen to do this for a variety of reasons. He didn't seem to get into any sensitive conversation that couldn't have happened in a non-secure space
when he was in the situation room but we really don't know.
[15:10:00] But, Hala, there are other offices in the White House also secure. It's not just the situation room. And Omarosa could have brought
a recording device into other secure spaces at other times and we just don't know about it.
GORANI: All right. And Maggie Haberman of "The New York Times" has reported that she has spoken to a source in the White House who has also
said they have a recording from inside the White House that is not Omarosa. That means according to "The New York Times" that there's a second person
who has managed to tape sensitive conversations inside the White House.
VINOGRAD: How terrifying. I mean, that's an appalling idea for me as a national security professional because it's very possible that Omarosa was
just the tip of the spear and who knows who recorded what and what level of classification? It adds to the anxiety around the world that sensitive
information could be disclosed at any time.
GORANI: Sam Vinograd, thank you.
The president is back in action. He's at a military event in New York, and he's been talking -- he has not addressed the situation, the release of
those recordings. He might and if he does, we'll tell you what he says. He's been talking about the unemployment rate and also stirring a few fake
news accusations here and there. Nothing unusual so far. It's a stab in the back. That is how the Turkish president is describing U.S. sanctions
against his country. Recep Tayyip Erdogan is not mincing his words. There is a political clash between Washington and Ankara hit Turkey's currency,
it is hitting it very hard. The lira plunged as much as 11 percent against the dollar hitting a record low. President Erdogan points the finger of
blame squarely at the United States. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT ERDOGAN, TURKEY (through translator): On the one hand, you're a strategic partner. On the other, you shoot yourself in the foot. On the
one hand, you're a strategic partner with us in Afghanistan when everybody else was leaving. You are a strategic partner in Somalia. You were a
strategic partner in NATO. On the other hand, you stab your ally in the back? Is this acceptable?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: All right. Emerging Markets Editor, John Defterios is here to break this down. The lira has basically collapsed.
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Yes, it's a currency crisis. No way around it. We're looking at nearly a 15 percent drop since the
start of 2018. But since the sanctions went into place, a drop of between 26 percent. We opened down 11 percent today right before I came on the set
with you. I noticed the drop is 8 percent.
So, it's a big hit in a span between Friday morning trading and where we're closing this evening in Europe. No doubt about it. If I was the average
Turk, I'd be pretty baffled because over the weekend and on Friday, the president said, look, sell gold, sell dollars but support our currency.
Then he came out today when talking to the Turkish ambassadors saying no reason to panic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: This currency will recover. We have the right action plan in place. They threw all sort of guns at it. The finance minister, head of
the capital markets authority, the bank supervisory board. They don't act like it's an emergency at all. They have a 100-day plan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: And the real problem lies with the president himself. He doesn't want to go to the IMF. He doesn't want to raise interest rates and
points clearly to the United States but also to the currency speculators around the world. Let's take a look. It's an economic disaster analysts
say caused mainly by the man in charge. Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan defiant on Monday, quick to blame everyone else but himself for an
economy in the firing line and a currency on the brink.
RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, PRESIDENT, TURKEY (through translator): Do not worry about it. Be relaxed about it. We did not make concessions from the rules
of free market economy. Nobody should listen to speculations that say otherwise.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: The Turkish lira continues to crumble dropping nearly 20 percent in the past week of trading. It's a result of years of
mismanagement at the top, critics say. Lavish spending on airports and bridges. Symbols meant to burnish Erdogan's image and earn him re-
election. Now a soaring current account deficit, inflation of nearly 16 percent and corporate debt priced in lira and rising.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fall of the Turkish lira is only the beginning of a real economic crisis, of a possible recession in Turkey. We would need to
see complete change in economic policies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: That change is unlikely as Erdogan now tightens his grip over the country's central bank after reelection in June and installed his son-
in-law as finance and treasury minister.
[15:15:00] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERDOGAN (through translator): Don't panic about the dollar. This has nothing to do with the dollar. If they have their dollars, we have our
god. Stay calm.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: The lira's tailspin is starting to rattle global markets with European banks hit particularly hard. And there's a political plot twist
as well. Last week President Trump said he would slap new tariffs on Turkey in punishment for Erdogan continuing to jail an American pastor
named Andrew Brunson. Over the weekend, Erdogan showed no signs of backing down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERDOGAN (through translator): You can never bring this nation in line with the language of threats. We understand the language of law and rights but
not threats.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: He singled out the U.S. and currency speculators for waging economic war against Turkey. Casting no blame on his own economic policy.
GORANI: What's remarkable is that tourists in some parts of Turkey now because the lira is so low, are flocking to luxury shops to stock up on
their Louis Vuitton, Hermes and the rest of it. We have video of this. Chanel, standing in line because the lira is down 45 percent in the last
few months.
DEFTERIOS: If you're looking for a silver lining, for the tourists that decided to go into Turkey, this is peak time for that. It's like a 45
percent discount because the dollar and euro and British pound, the Russian ruble is stronger in this climate. They are trying to get their tourism
back up so this could be actually a positive story for them because after the 2016 coup attempt, the tourism arrivals dropped down to 25 million.
Back up to 40 this year. The target for the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic is 50 million visitors with $50 billion in revenues. This
plays both ways with the currency correction. They don't want a collapsing currency but it does help currency. That's one area.
GORANI: It's helping luxury shops. Not for Turks is my guest but for visiting tourists. John Defterios, thanks.
My next guest is the author of "The New Sultan: Erdogan And the Crisis of Modern Turkey." Thank you for joining us. Why is Erdogan doing this?
He's seeking no help. He's been told it's about the pastor, this pastor that's detained. His name is Andrew Brunson. He's told by Trump, release
him and, you know, we will go back to the old tariffs. He's not doing any of that. Why do you think?
SONER CAGAPTAY, AUTHOR: Having written Erdogan's biography, I'd argue Erdogan is known for his tenacity. He loses his temper quite often but
also very determined. And in this case, I think he is an excellent politician in showing that in the sense that Erdogan did not want this
crisis but now has a crisis with the United States in his hands.
And at the same time, unrelated to the crisis, Turkey's economy, which had been weak for a while, is collapsing. Erdogan can be blamed for economic
collapse or blame it on the United States. At this stage he doesn't want to de-escalate with Washington or escalate either. But sanctions, although
they are not causing Turkey's lira to collapse, are compounding the effect, and he thinks he can get out of this by blaming the United States for
economic collapse.
GORANI: Why do you say he's a good politician on this one? Because he can blame the United States, of course, but the reality is a collapsing
currency and 45 percent in just the last few months you could qualify it as a currency that is collapsing. Higher inflation. Major issues with
purchasing power. People who are paid in Turkish lira are suffering tremendously. This is going to have to weaken him. I mean, as much as he
--
CAGAPTAY: This would have weakened elected leader any other place - but a pro-type of populist leaders globally, Erdogan has been polarizing Turkish
society for nearly two decades after coming to power in 2003. He's built a base that loves him and adores him and thinks that he's the best thing
since sliced bread and they're ready to buy into his rhetoric that Turkey is under economic attack.
GORANI: That sounds very familiar, by the way. That sounds very familiar. It's the way people describe another leader, the president of the United
States.
CAGAPTAY: Erdogan is definitely the pro-type of populist leaders globally in the sense he's demonized, mostly leftist secular voters who don't vote
for him and they loathe him for that. He's also built a conservative base, many that he's lifted out of poverty. If and when the Turkish economy
collapses, does this space, half of Turkey, do they blame him or buy into his narrative and blame the United States?
[15:20:00] He might get away with it because he also controls over 90 percent of the media, and this suggests he can spin the narrative in the
way that he likes. And his base also believes that Erdogan is on an historic mission to make Turkey a great country. When he says Turkey is
under attack, it becomes believable because he suggests he's under attack because Turkey's adversaries do not want him to make Turkey a great power.
It's related to his narrative that he's after a great mission. He's going to deliver it and, therefore, he's under attack and it's going to be
interesting to see what happens next.
GORANI: Now the relationship between the United States is more complex than just one of aluminum and steel imports and exports.
CAGAPTAY: That's correct.
GORANI: Of course, there's a very tight military alliance here. The United States relies on Turkey to, for instance, the Incirlik Air Base for
its jets aluminum and steel imports and exports.
CAGAPTAY: That's correct.
GORANI: Of course, there's a very tight military alliance here. The United States relies on Turkey to, for instance, the Incirlik Air Base for
its jets to take off on bombing missions over ISIS territory. So, Turkey has some leverage here. Is it going to use it?
CAGAPTAY: It has leverage, and I don't think it will use it. I think that although there is a political crisis escalated to presidential level, and
you have economic sanctions, the two sides are very careful to not carry to this into the military area. Turkey benefits a lot from cooperation with
the United States, including from a recent deal that allows Turkey to take territory occupied by Syrian Kurdish militia which is linked to the PKK
which Turkey has been fighting.
Turkey does not want that deal to fall apart. At the same time, the United States, as you mentioned, relies on Turkey for a basis for operations in
the middle east and I think the two countries are very careful so that they want to compartmentalize or fire wall military cooperation from the ongoing
crisis and that's very good because when the day comes for the two countries to reset their relationship, they'll need something on which to
build that. I would argue the military cooperation will be the basis of a restart in the U.S./Turkish ties.
GORANI: Sonar, always great having you on the show.
Still to come -- this weed killer is used all over the world but a major court verdict has just linked it to getting cancer. We'll have that story.
And a musical festival descends into chaos. Hundreds are injured, some very badly, in Spain. We'll have the alarming pictures, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:25:00] GORANI: A couple stories to bring you up to date on. North and South Korea are continuing peace talks. We've learned the leaders of both
nations will come together for a third time this year. From both countries, there will be official, they'll meet in the demilitarized zone.
They agreed on another more formal summit in September, next month. South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un will meet this time, however
in Pyongyang.
In Spain, hundreds have been injured at a music festival in the country's northwest. More than 300 people were hurt after a wooden platform over the
sea collapsed. Take a look at these images. This is cell phone video shot directly after. It's a chaotic scene as you can see. This happened around
midnight during an outdoor concert in a coastal city. Authorities told CNN that only one person suffered very serious injuries.
In California, one man's victory against one of the world's most powerful chemical companies could set a precedent for thousands of other cases like
his. A San Francisco jury ruled that Roundup, the world's most popular weed killer, gave a former school groundskeeper terminal cancer and they've
ordered the herbicide's producer Monsanto pay him more than $280 million in damages. Monsanto says the product does not cause cancer and that it is
going to appeal the verdict. The news has sent shares in Monsanto's parent company Bayer falling. Let's go to New York where Clare Sebastian is
covering this story. So, what happens now?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Monsanto is appealing. They haven't done so yet. Still pretrial motions to get through. I spoke
to the lawyer for the plaintiff today. He says this is going to be an expensive process for Monsanto. As they go on this process if they drag it
out, they could be liable for interest on the damages that they owe to his client. He says that could be $25 million a year. That could be an
expensive process.
We've seen in the past that verdicts like this have been overturned. Johnson & Johnson and their talcum powder. It's by no means clear this
will continue as this verdict has suggested that these damages will be paid but it's a very heightened emotional issue on both sides.
GORANI: Now the question I have is, this is a court of law that determines that the company is liable. And that their product caused this man's
cancer. But governments all over the world are still, you know, allowing this product to be marketed. So, they are saying essentially, we think
that this product is not dangerous enough to warrant its, you know, to justify our banning it, right? So where could this go beyond the
courtroom, or can it?
SEBASTIAN: I think that's why you see that share price fell so sharply and people were genuinely surprised to see this verdict. It flies in the face
of the U.S. environmental protection agency which has approved glyphosate, the active ingredient in it. As to whether it could change anything,
that's as yet unclear. The EPA hasn't given any signal they'd be willing to change their stance. Europe had a -- this is extremely controversial.
It was approved last November amid widespread opposition from several governments, including France. One member of the European parliament today
who tweeted there should be a precautionary step here that even if it isn't proven to have a link to cancer, they should take that precaution.
So that's the really interesting part here. The science has been inconclusive. Several studies have said it doesn't cause cancer. Several
others have said it could, including from the World Health Organization. Does that even matter going forward with the potential impact on the
company from other possible lawsuits and the cloud hanging over this product?
GORANI: Right. Certainly, I'm sure people have many questions now after this court ruling in California. How safe it is for them or their family.
A jury in a court of law has determined it can be that damaging to one's health. Clare Sebastian, thanks very much.
New heartbreaking video shows the moments before Yemeni children are killed in an air strike on their school bus.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:030:44] GORANI: CNN has obtained cell phone footage showing the final moments of a group of school boys in Yemen. Before, many of them were
killed in an airstrike by the U.S.-backed Saudi-led coalition.
It was filmed by one of the students, Osama Zaid Al Hamran (ph). It shows the classmates jostling and yelling during roll call on the bus and playing
chase with friends. The trip was a reward for the school's graduating summer class. Their teacher told CNN the boys had been sleepless with
excitement for days.
Less than an hour after the video was shot, Osama and many of the children seen in the video were dead. Some of the scenes in Nima Elbagir's report
are graphic and very distressing, but they reflect the reality of this horrible tragedy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They're taking roll call. They probably needn't bother. This is a day we're told the students
had excitedly been awaiting for weeks.
The little boy filming, Osama, swings the cell phone around to film all his friends. They're due to graduate today after two months of summer school.
First stop is a shrine to the Houthi masters. It may not seem like a fun day out, but in a city ravaged by war, this cemetery is one of the few
remaining green spaces.
The children scatter in a game of chase. Less than an hour later, most of the children you see in this video were dead. Osama's phone was found in
the wreckage of the bus and with it, the children's last moments.
CNN obtained the footage from local Houthi officials. This attack on the school bus carrying children by the U.S.-backed Saudi-led Coalition in
Yemen has drawn condemnation.
The coalition maintains the attack hit a legitimate target. Trainers and recruiters of child soldiers. Still, the Coalition is investigating and
says it is fighting to reinstate Yemen's legitimate president after his overthrow by the Iranian-backed Houthi militias. Three years on though,
and the devastation in Yemen continues.
The surviving children struggle to piece together what happened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I could see my friends, then I found one of them. I helped him get up and told him to run, but he stopped
and said I will go find my brother. He kept looking for his brother but didn't find him.
The scope of the tragedy still too difficult to absorb. Hussein Hasan (ph) is a medic, the first at the scene.
HUSSEIN HASAN (through translator): As I was nursing people, I lifted a body and found it was Ahmed's face. I carried and hugged him, he was my
son. It was a scary situation. Very scary. But may God give us patience from his strength.
ELBAGIR: Many of the bodies found after the attack are so mutilated that the process of identifying them has been drawn out and torturous.
While the men busy themselves digging little graves, waiting to be filled one by one.
You can hear the joy in Osama's voice. Ali, Muhammad, he calls out chasing behind him. Wait. Let's take a picture. And the camera goes dead.
Nima Elbagir, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Very difficult images to watch. So these are kids, they're in a school bus. They're excited. They couldn't sleep the night before because
of how excited they were about this school trip. And so many of them are dead.
The horror on the ground in Yemen is raising many questions once again about the U.S. and UK's role in this Saudi-led Coalition, not just those
countries. France sells a lot of weapons as well to Saudi Arabia.
[15:35:10] Now the Coalition confronted with this horror, even though one of its spokespeople said that no kids had been killed but confronted with
the war of these images that went around the world, the Coalition says that it has opened an investigation into the attack, something that the U.S.
Defense Secretary James Mattis says he supports. Listen to him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES MATTIS, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I have dispatched a three-star general into Riyadh to look into what happened here and if there
is anything we can do to preclude this in the future, even while we support state department's call for an investigation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GORANI: Barbara Starr is standing by at the Pentagon with more details.
There's been so much anger, Barbara, around the world because there have been reports that the U.S. doesn't just sell weapons to Saudi Arabia, that
they help them practically and strategically with refueling, with intelligence reports, that type of thing. What is the U.S.' involvement in
this coalition campaign?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hala, this has been going on for some years and it is a good part of what you just said. The U.S.
military will provide refueling services outside of Yemen, the air space, obviously, for the coalition aircraft. The U.S. doesn't conduct strike
missions against the Houthi rebels itself but will refuel coalition aircraft, Saudi and Maradi that may be conducting those strikes.
The U.S. has been working with the Saudis as well to try and get their military better focused on learning how to avoid civilian areas and
civilian casualties. So they will assist with targeting and show the Saudis what are legitimate, if you will, Houthi targets, missile called
military targets so they don't hit civilian targets.
What Mattis made the case was there's something called dynamic targeting. That's means when something comes into your view very quickly, a vehicle on
the road, a school bus, a missile being launched, something like that that emerges very rapidly that the aircraft pilot may not have full intelligence
on, they make a decision, they strike it. Even with orders from their headquarters.
The U.S. doesn't assist with that rapid targeting, but they do assist the Saudis in trying to determine Houthi positions and where they should
regularly strike.
Now what Mattis is saying is time to do a little fact finding. What exactly went on here? How did they come to strike this target?
GORANI: But to be perfectly blunt, this has been going on for years. The U.S. has assisted with intelligence for years and yet a school bus of kids
was just bombed. Could this lead to a rethinking of the extent of the help that the United States provides?
STARR: Let's put it this way. The United Nations has called for an investigation. The state department has called for an investigation. The
Pentagon effort, somewhat supporting it. But the world community in the last, more than three years or so that this has been going on, you know,
sees video, gets outraged and the fact is the world community moves on, don't they?
There is going to have to be considerable political and military pressure to try and get a political resolution to this problem. The U.S. is
supporting the Saudis and Emirates against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. That's the basic lay of the land in the battlefield on the
ground.
What would change that is very hard to see. The U.S. administration not likely to back away from its support for the Saudis and Emirates. Not
likely to back away from its opposition to the Iranian-backed rebels on the ground, the so-called rebels. There's a lot of talk about finding a
political solution, but they haven't done it.
GORANI: And also, let's be clear, this is not a Trump administration policy. I mean, this predates Donald Trump. This was during the Barack
Obama years as well.
STARR: Absolutely. This has been going on for a long time. And the tragedy, as always is the civilians. Yemen, I have visited there. I have
to tell you, the many people I've met were nothing but lovely and welcoming. This is a country with rich history, rich culture, rich
religious, multi-religious tradition. It is such a world tragedy as to what has happened here.
Mattis, I will tell you, is making the point he's trying to talk to the special envoy. He has expressed concern about what appears to be an almost
uncontrollable cholera epidemic. The United Nations talking about this all the time, but it is like so many of these situations. Something, some sort
of outrage, some sustained outrage from the world community. Maybe it was required that sustained outrage to get this situation resolved.
[15:40:06] GORANI: And you're so right about Yemen. Really one of the most fascinating and beautiful countries in the Middle East, at least
before this war.
Quick last question on Afghanistan, because there's something very significant happening there right now, and not good news by the way for the
United States and its allies there. The Taliban are making a major comeback.
STARR: Well, this is a very interesting question. As we've all been seeing, plenty of evidence that there's been a multi-day battle in Ghazni.
This started last week and has not let up. And now there are U.S. military advisers on the ground trying to assist Afghan forces in pushing the
Taliban back. This is one of the areas where the Taliban has been trying to make a resurgence, go into the city and take strategic buildings.
Police stations. Security centers. Population centers and try and make an inroad and terrorize civilians once again.
There are multiple reports of significant casualties amongst Afghan forces in Ghazni. The U.S.-led coalition will tell you that it's not nearly as
bad as the reports make out that they are still -- the Afghans are in control of Ghazni, but there has been bitter fighting for many days now in
this major afghan city and U.S. forces are in there now trying to help the Afghans. Hala.
GORANI: Barbara Starr, the never-ending war in Afghanistan. Barbara Starr, thanks so much at the Pentagon, as always.
Still to come tonight, out of the shadows, the U.K. has a new ambitious plan for getting its homeless off the streets. We'll talk with an advocate
for the homeless next on what ideas are being put forward and whether they'll be effective this time. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GORANI: In the U.K., it's called rough sleeping. The sleeping on the streets without a home. Well, basically being homeless.
Now, the government has unveiled a multi-pronged plan for tackling this problem. It funnels resources into fighting mental illness and addiction.
And has an ambitious goal of doing away with homelessness in England in less than a decade. Some advocates say the plan won't work, though. ITV's
Martin Stew reports the number of people on the streets has been skyrocketing here.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The (INAUDIBLE) in a tent. It got ransacked and all the stuff got ruined.
MARTIN STEW, ITV NEWS REPORTER: An outreach team in Milton Keynes keeping an eye on those forced to sleep rough.
DARYL GREEN, HOMELESS: I would get robbed every night or beaten up (INAUDIBLE) it's horrible.
STEW: Daryl Green is one of the thousands in this country with no home and very little hope.
GREEN: I've got depression. Just feel like killing myself.
[15:45:07] STEW: It seems whichever town or city you're in the U.K., you're never not far away from someone who has to sleep rough. And
statistics back that up.
In England when the coalition government came to power in 2010, there were 1,768 rough sleepers. That number has risen every year since and by 2017
it had nearly tripled to 4,751.
Today, the government had outlined plans to get every one of them off the streets by 2027.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our sleeping numbers have gone up. I know that there are challenges that we need to meet which is why our strategy today focuses
on how we prevent, how we intervene, how we ensure that people recover.
STEW: Of the 100 million pounds earmarked, half will go towards affordable housing and a third will fund mental health support, including for those
addicted to the synthetic drug spice. Charities have welcomed the extra support, but say it's just a small step in the right direction.
POLLY NEATE, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, SHELTER: Rough sleeping is the tip of the iceberg of homelessness and you can't end homelessness unless we see a huge
amount more social housing being built.
STEW: Labor says the plan is feeble and the promised money isn't all new.
JEREMY CORBYN, BRITISH LABOUR PARTY LEADER: This is a crisis and it's a moral crisis. We've got to deal with it. The government has given it no
new money. Very limited aspirations. We will deal with it.
STEW: Back in Milton Keynes as they prepare for another night exposed to the cruelty of the streets, any help is welcome. But many fear they may
not be able to wait nine years for it to happen.
Martin Stew, ITV News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: So you can see that program to eliminate rough sleeping homelessness is already under fire. Jon Sparkes of the group Crisis is
with me in the studio.
So homelessness, obviously, not just a London big British city problem, it's a big city problem all around the world. Is this going to be enough?
Is there something different about this that could work finally?
JON SPARKES, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, CRISIS: This is going to be a start. 100 million pounds to help people who are actually sleeping on the street.
Whatever the issues, they have mental health addiction. SO it's a good start. Some prevention and also helping people to move on. It's a good
start.
GORANI: Is it about money though? So many of the people who end up on the streets have gone through terrible tragedies. Addiction. They might have
mental health issues, as you mentioned. What does the money -- is it a strategic shift that you need here? How do you appeal to them too? They
need to want to get better and find shelter.
SPARKES: The money will provide resource to help people to do what they need to do. I think what the government need is follow the evidence.
Housing first is an approach that works. Whether people have a mental health issue or addiction, the approach that says -- give them security of
the house and then get the wrap-around support they need rather than trying to treat it on the street. They just need to follow the evidence.
The other thing that the approach is making, but it doesn't do, is of course deal with the root causes of this.
GORANI: What are the root causes of it?
SPARKES: Say in the U.K., for example, a massive shortage of social housing. Welfare system which has been cut and frozen to the point where
it no longer covers the cost of housing and some people, particularly migrants, locked out of the benefit system altogether. These are the root
causes. Tackle those and we can solve the problem.
GORANI: So a lot of people, not just in London and big cities here, but all around the world, well look at a homeless person and say they did this
to themselves. They drank themselves to this -- to reach this level. They took the drugs. What do you say to that people who say that about
homelessness?
SPARKES: Well, I've certainly not yet met the person who chose to be homeless. So I certainly haven't met them. And who says what comes first?
People's lives go into a spiral decline. They don't get the support they need. Whether they started drinking or started drinking before they became
homeless or as a consequence of being homeless, we can still support them. It doesn't make them any different to other human beings. We can still
help them out of that problem.
GORANI: All right. And lastly, 100 million pounds sounds like a really tiny sum of money. I mean, to someone who's not an expert on this issue.
But is it?
SPARKES: It's a small amount of money. They can do a lot of -- they can get a lot of resource, a lot of people. You can't get many homeless for
that. And you can't change the welfare system for that. So you can make a difference to the people on the streets tonight but you're not going to
make a difference to the number of people who end up on the street.
GORANI: All right. Jon Sparkes of the group, Crisis, thanks so much for joining us on CNN. We'll be right back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:50:13] GORANI: Now to an incident in the U.S. over the weekend that's troubling on many levels. Airport officials in Seattle say all security
protocols had been followed when an employee stole a passenger plane.
Authorities will start analyzing the flight data recorder and human remains of the man who stole the aircraft soon. Dan Simon has more on the search
for answers. Dan?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hala, investigators are still trying to figure out how that 29-year-old ground service worker managed to steal an
airplane at one of the nation's busiest airports, fly it around for more than an hour doing some terrifying stunts before tragically crashing it
onto a small island.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God! Is he OK?
SIMON: It's just after 7:30 Friday night at SeaTac Airport when Horizon Air ground worker, Richard Russell steals the passenger Q4000 turboprop and
takes it for a deadly joy ride.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, he's just flying around, and he just need some help controlling his aircraft.
RICHARD RUSSELL, MAN WHO STOLE AND CRASHED A PLANE: I mean, I don't need that much. I've played some video games before.
SIMON: A calm air traffic controller tries to persuade Russell to attempt a landing. Advising that a military airbase is in his vicinity.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is the runway just off your right side in about a mile. Do you see that? That's the -- that's McChord Field.
RUSSELL: Oh, man. Those guys will rough me up if I tried landing there. I think I might mess something up there, too. I wouldn't want to do that.
SIMON: But it becomes increasingly clear.
RUSSELL: This is probably like jail time for life, huh? I would hope it is for a guy like me.
SIMON: That Russell has no intention of making it out alive.
RUSSELL: I think I'm going to do a barrel roll and if that goes good, I'm just going to nose down and call it a night.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guys, he's coming this way. Do we leave? What do we do?
SIMON: Russell who officials believe had no experience flying a plane makes treacherous loops as armed F-15 scramble to prevent massive
casualties on the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, Rich. This is Captain Phillips (ph), congratulations. You did that. Now let's try and land that airplane
safely and not hurt anybody in the ground.
RUSSELL: All right. Oh, I don't know, man. I don't know.
SIMON: Moments before crashing into a small forested island, the 29-year- old says his good-byes.
RUSSELL: I've got a lot of people that care about me. And it's going to disappoint them that -- to hear that I did this. I would like to apologize
to each and every one of them. I'm just a broken guy. Got a few screws loose, I guess. Never really knew it until now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIMON: Now, people who worked with Russell tell me none of this adds up with the person they knew. They described him as a good friend, a very
hard worker and somebody who had a great sense of humor. They did not detect any mental illness. Hala.
GORANI: Dan Simon, really sad story. Thanks very much.
U.S. President Donald Trump has fueled demonstrations and protests from all sides of the political spectrum and not just in the United States,
obviously. We saw it in the U.K. a few weeks ago, you might remember.
His polarizing style provokes strong and differing emotions for many Israelis and Palestinians alike. Oren Liebermann has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These would be some of President Donald Trump's most loyal voters.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today, we officially open the United States embassy in Jerusalem.
LIEBERMANN: If they could only vote in the U.S. No country has been so open and so loud about supporting Trump as Israel.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you for hosting us.
TRUMP: Well, you're welcome.
LIEBERMANN: Led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has hailed those ties in every meeting with American officials.
[15:55:00] BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: We have no greater ally than the United States. That's clear. But I think you have
no better ally than Israel.
LIEBERMANN: Trump has cemented his status in the minds of many Israelis following his visit to the Western Wall. His opening of the U.S. embassy
in Jerusalem and his recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The political bromance looks set to continue with both leaders touting the
best relations ever between Israel and America.
Despite the strong ties, there is a risk to the unabashed love fest, warns an analyst, Yoaz Hendel.
YOAZ HENDEL, ISRAELI MILITARY HISTORIAN: If President Trump eliminates a President Obama legacy, probably the next Democrat president, doesn't
matter who it's going to be, will eliminate Trump heritage and maybe legacy and maybe we are part of it.
LIEBERMANN: Palestinians have had an equally strong, if very different reaction, to Trump. Rallies against Trump have become increasingly common.
At first, Trump and Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas showed signs of cooperation, but those soon faded as the Palestinians froze contacts with
the American administration. Abbas hasn't looked back since.
MAHMOUD ABBAS, PRESIDENT OF PALESTINE (through translator): We have cut all contacts with American administration after Trump's decision on
occupied Jerusalem. And those who do not like it should hit their heads against the wall.
LIEBERMANN: Abbas has shown little, if any, flexibility in his refusal to work with the Americans. Instead turning to the international community.
The Trump administration is still working on its secretive Israeli- Palestinian peace deal to be presented at some point in the future. Right now, only one side is listening. Oren Liebermann, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GORANI: Before I go, I want to show you some incredible body cam video out of the U.S. If you have pets, this video may hit close to home. It shows
police racing against time. They are rescuing cats and dogs from a shelter threatened by wildfires in California.
The Vacaville Police Department says its officers worked with staff and volunteers to get them out. According to the local SPCA, all 60 of their
animals got out. They're all safe and in foster homes at the time being. Quite an operation. They're all OK. We'll end on this positive note.
Thanks for watching CNN. I'm Hala Gorani. "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:00:57] RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Closing bell ringing on Wall Street. Dow Jones industrials down 126 points. The market off
sharply. The NASDAQ is also down and the S&P 500.
END
