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Jordan's Three Day Surge; Jordan Committed To ISIS's Destruction; Fighting Continues in Donetsk; Leaders Plan New Ukraine Peace Talks in Minsk; Coalition Involvement in Fight Against ISIS; US Will Not Commit Ground Troops to Fight ISIS; Billionaire Thomas Barrack; Brands Without Borders; Investing in Africa
Aired February 08, 2015 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are determined to achieve the objectives of this war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: Punishing ISIS at the heart of its power base: the city of Raqqa is pummeled by Jordanian jets for three days.
This is a country determined to win.
We're live in Amman to take stock of the huge task ahead as Jordan gears up for a long fight.
Also this hour, that fight shared by countries across the region. We'll take to the front lines in Iraq and ask how other Arab states are stepping
up against ISIS.
And as violence rages in eastern Ukraine, leaders there preparing another peace push. We have the view from Moscow and Donetsk. That is just ahead.
Well, terror came home here in Jordan this week with that horrific ISIS video of the pilot being burned alive. Those terrible images strengthening
the kingdom's resolve and its now playing a prominent role in the coalition's effort to sweep ISIS from the Middle East with a punishing show
of firepower.
The Jordanian air force chief says his country has made more than 50 bombing runs in just three days. And this may be just the beginning of
what's been achieved.
Well, Jordan says in those 56 sorties it has significantly degraded the terror group's capabilities.
Well CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is just back from the briefing and she joins me now.
What did we learn from the chief of the air force here today?
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As you mentioned, Becky, they're saying this is just the beginning what they're doing. Over the past
three days between Thursday and Saturday they have hit 56 targets that they say they've hit and destroyed.
And it was a combination of on day one it was training facilities and preparation facilities. On the second day, it was logistics, supply
centers, arms and ammunition depots. And on the third day, yesterday, they say they say they struck 19 targets of where ISIS fighters eat and sleep as
he described it.
And they're really determined, they say. They're not going to stop right now. This is a mission that began over the past three days they say to
avenge the death of Moaz al-Kasasbeh.
ANDERSON: Is it clear just how much has been done, as it were? We get the numbers. We get the target. But just how much has been achieved today? And
what happens next?
KARADSHEH: Well, according to the chief of Jordan's air force, all coalition airstrikes, since they began back in September, so far, 5,500
sorties have been carried out, 20 percent of them by the Jordanians. They say 7,000 ISIS fighters have been killed and 20 percent of the fighting
capabilities of ISIS have been hit in these strikes.
Here's what the air force chief today told reporters about about Jordan's mission right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. MANSOUR AL-JBOUR, JORDANIAN AIR FORCE CHIEF: The war against DAESH is going to continue. We are determined to achieve the objectives of this war
and not only to degrade DAESH capabilities, we are going to destroy DAESH. And that is the aim, the crosshair of our weapons is at that target. And
definitely we are going to achieve it.
Thank you so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KARADSHEH: And Becky the general was saying that the -- this sort of intensity of airstrikes is not necessarily going to continue like this. It
could be more, it could be less. It just depends on the mission and what is required.
ANDERSON: Did he say anything more about the allegations by ISIS and an American hostage was killed in Raqqa recently.
KARADSHEH: The only thing they said was Jordanian airstrikes so far from the beginning of the mission they say have not hit any civilian targets. No
civilians have been killed, they say, in their airstrikes and no civilian property has been damaged.
There was no questions. We could not ask any questions at the briefing, but I spoke to a senior military official afterwards who said that Jordan has
already dismissed these allegations when they first came out, says there is no proof that this was a Jordanian airstrike.
ANDERSON: Jomana, for the time being, thank you very much indeed. Jomana Karadsheh joining us this evening.
And we'll be looking at more sides of this story over the next 14 minutes. I'll be asking the former deputy prime minister here just what exactly are
Jordan's priorities in the near future and in the longer term.
We're also looking tonight at other Arab states, who is also stepping up and why? And we'll see what else the U.S. plans to offer Arab allies as it
yet again says it won't send ground forces.
Well, another front in the fight against ISIS is of course northern Iraq where Kurdish forces are in a deadly back and forth standoff with the
terrorist group around Kirkuk. ISIS continues to strike in and around the oil rich city, but Kurdish fighters are forcing them back with a series of
counter attacks as CNN's Phil Black now reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: An ominous symbol declaring a threatening presence: the black flags of ISIS flying above its fighters'
fortifications. This is the view of ISIS positions from just across a short bridge just behind the defenses of Kurdish fighters.
They're known as Peshmerga. And they're digging in here after ISIS recently surged north with a major offensive to try and take the city of Kirkuk.
The ISIS flag is just there. You can see how close these opposing lines are.
The Kurdish fighters, they repelled that ISIS attack. They've taken back most of the territory. But they tell us that almost every night ISIS still
tests their defenses. And the fighters here really believe that in the next few days there's going to be another major push forward.
These Peshmerga are beyond their traditional lands, outside the official borders of Iraqi Kurdistan. But they're all that stands between ISIS and
its goal of taking another major Iraqi city, this one rich in oil.
The commander Fati Mohammed (ph) tells me ISIS attacked in thick fog and also set oil wells on fire to hide their advance.
When conditions cleared, he says, his men and coalition airstrikes killed hundreds of ISIS fighters.
The bodies of some lie nearby hastily covered with earth.
The threat is not only at the edges of Kirkuk. These Kurdish security forces also patrol its inner streets, because ISIS has shown it can hit the
heart of the city.
Last week, gunmen stormed the temporary headquarters of local police, detonating a car bomb outside. No one, but the three attackers was killed,
but their ability to strike backs up what security forces here suspect: ISIS already has people inside the city.
Captain Azad Hamid tells me he's sure ISIS members have entered the city pretending to be refugees. On front lines across northern Iraq, ISIS has
been losing ground to the Peshmerga, but this new offensive and the proximity of that flag to a key city shows ISIS has suffered little damage
to its confidence or ambition.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Phil Black joining us now live from Irbil where he's been traveling along the front lines with the Kurdish Peshmerga.
Phil, does this feel like the beginning of a very big push by Peshmerga fighters and with support, of course, from the U.S. and allies -- other
Arab allies?
BLACK: Becky, what it feels like is the pause just before the next big push on Mosul itself.
What we've seen from the air are in fact -- what we've seen from very close to Mosul, the sustained airstrikes around there. What we've seen at various
front lines around this region are Kurdish forces dug in and really having already pushed ISIS back considerably, they're now holding defensive lines
keeping them from moving further into this territory once again.
What they appear to have done successfully is really set up a perimeter not just around Mosul itself, but one that protects all of this Kurdish
territory, and in fact the Kurdish fighters, the officials we talked to, they explain this as phase one of the operation if you like, this
containment of ISIS, this protection for the Kurdish territry and really cutting off Mosul.
What comes next is that operation to free Mosul itself. The timeframe for that, well, there's a lot of speculation about just when that could begin.
Some U.S. officials have suggested as soon as April. The Kurdish fighters on the ground who say they're willing to play a part, but they don't want
to lead it, they don't want to do the heavy lifting.
They think it could take much longer, because what it comes down to is rebuilding the Iraqi army, rebuilding, retraining, remotivating this
military force so that it can take that Arab city. That's the same military force that initially fled and abandoned Mosul when ISIS first moved into
this region.
So it is a big asking -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Phil Black reporting for you.
Well, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France are planning to meet in Belarus on Wednesday in another attempt to forge peace in eastern
Ukraine. They agreed to new talks after the crisis topped the agenda at the annual Munich security conference.
There, the U.S. emphasized it is united with Europe on how to stop the fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russia separatists.
Secretary of State John Kerry sought to eliminate concerns of a rift in the west after some in Washington suggested arming Kiev, which European leaders
are against.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We are united. We are working closely together. We all agree that this challenge will not end through military
force. We are united in our diplomacy.
But the longer that it takes, the more the off ramps are avoided, the more we will be forced to raise the costs on Russia and its proxies. This much I
can assure you, no matter what the United States, France, Germany and our allies and partners, no matter what, we will stand together in support of
Ukraine and in defense of the common understanding that international borders must not, cannot be changed by force in Europe or anywhere else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, senior international correspondent Nick paton Walsh is in Donetsk. And joining us live now.
During those discussions in Munich, Nick, reports that the Ukrainian military was trading fire with pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine.
What is the situation where you are?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's been consistently very noisy here for the past two days. Around the outskirts
and actually closer towards the center of this the capital of the self- declared Donetsk People's Republic, the separatist kind of stronghold, so to speak.
A lot of impact hitting separatist territory saw today. One civilian house where a man was killed, an area where two days ago a woman was killed, and
also another house today where a woman was badly injured but the house significantly damaged by the impact of artillery rounds.
These are civilian areas being hit.
Sometimes, there is a separatist military target, vaguely nearby, but there's certainly not enough care being put in by the Ukrainian military
or, as they would say, whoever is firing those shells.
You can hear behind me now in our other microphone some more impacts of the artillery rounds hitting this city.
But we have nothing like a backdrop for peace talks here, just continued violence -- I would say escalating shelling.
And the fear I think among some, given the date set now for this potential for diplomatic talks in Minsk on Wednesday, a possible escalation of
violence maybe as both sides try and shape the ground ahead of those talks here -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Nick, is the Ukrainian plea for arms a genuine request to fill a need, or is this more about political brinkmanship at this point?
WALSH: There's absolutely no doubt the Ukrainian army needs help. We've seen them around on the roads. They have mechanical problems. They are
significantly worse equipped than the Russian-backed separatists they are fighting, often in fact say NATO and Ukrainians, they are in fact genuinely
the Russian military themselves.
So they need help certainly. And many say they put up a very valiant effort in defending the areas they're trying to push separatists away from at the
moment, but the question is practically how would U.S. assistance really work? It will take months to get the kind of anti-tank, anti-aircraft radar
capabilities they want in the field or that will require U.S. trainers coming in and actually teaching the Ukrainian soldiers how to deal with
that, or would it simply be a case of a lengthy drawn-out process of Ukrainians being shown how to use the equipment themselves.
A lot of questions that need to be answered. But at the end of the day, I think perhaps, that noise from Washington, so heavily telegraphed, make a
phoned almost towards Moscow that they're thinking about arming the Ukrainian military, perhaps designed to influence negotiations rather than
genuinely introduce (inaudible) at the back of field any time soon, Becky.
ANDERSON: Nick Paton Walsh reporting for you.
Still to come this hour, as international leaders press for a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, Russia could play a key role in a plan for peace. Will it,
though? We'll take you live to Moscow.
And after a swell in support for the war against ISIS, Jordan's former deputy prime minister joins us to discuss whether that support is
sustainable.
That's coming up. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: You're watching CNN. This is Connect the World with me Becky Anderson. Welcome back. We're in Jordan for you. And having been here on
the ground for several days now.
Priorities going forward are I guess becoming clearer. Moaz al-Kasasbeh's murder galvanized this nation ins support of Jordan's role in this fight.
Can the government rely on this united front given the very real and vocal objections that people here have voiced in the recent past?
Secondly, Jordan does need help. It is a small, not particularly wealthy country, with resources stretched from the influx of refugees from Iraq and
indeed from Syria. Put it bluntly, they need more money and military might.
And there is clearly a need here to build grass roots support to fight extremists and their ideology. And let's not forget that this is a country
that has produced more than it's share of radical fighters in the past.
Ayman Safadi, former Jordanian deputy prime minister joining me now here in Amman.
Significant challenges ahead if, as the chief of the air force, said today DAESH is to be destroyed.
AYMAN SAFADI, FRM. DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER OF JORDAN: And that is determination of Jordan. Obviously, the brutal murder of Moaz al-Kasashbeh
is really a turning point in how the public looked at ISIS. In the past you had people who were saying probably even though they not sympathized with
DAESH, they were saying this is not our war. We should not really get involved beyond our borders.
I think when people saw how ISIS killed the Jordanian pilot is such a brutal, unprecedented way, really, that was a turning point. And if you've
been here a few days I'm sure you've interacted with a lot of people and have seen how strong is the sentiment against ISIS and how strong is the
resolve to be behind the States and go get them.
ANDERSON: That's the resolve from the government. And clearly the...
SAFADI: And the people.
ANDERSON: ...and the support is there from the people as well at present. The problem, though, is this isn't it: economic and financial -- economic,
financial. And military assistance is what this country needs next. Is it getting it?
SAFADI: And even beyond that, if I may, Becky, it's that Jordan is understandably at the forefront of the world now after its own son was
killed in that brutal way, but it should not continue to be perceived as Jordan's war alone. As time goes by, I think this needs to be very clearly
expressed as an Arab war. All Arab countries have to come in and support. I think the deployment of the Emirati F-16s in Jordan (inaudible) extremely
well here in Jordan as a message of solidarity and as a message of actual support and as a declaration that this is not just Jordan's war, this it
our war.
All Arab forces that really celebrate this model.
I think the King of Bahrain is coming tomorrow, as well, with a strong delegation also to send that message.
I think what we should -- what Jordanians would be expecting -- what the country needs -- the will is there, the determination is there, but
obviously the tools are limited. They will need to get support partly from the Arab world, one in terms of, again, going out, clearly as saying this
is our war, because it is. And then everybody rallying their resources.
And that public support for the war on ISIS now, which is not just in Jordan. I think after the murder beyond Jordan needs to be galvanized in
some sort of systematic, effective effort, come and help, stand together, develop a plan, dedicate resources.
And you're right. I mean, the war effort is going to be extremely expensive for Jordan. And it has refugees issues to deal with. Over 1.5 million
Syrian refugees in Jordan now.
All these are going to put strain on the state. And I think it's going to need all the help it can get.
ANDERSON: Talk me through where you believe Jordan stands so far as its relationship with the United States in this fight, in this coalition fight?
I know that the government officials here have voiced a lot of contentment as it were as to how the U.S. has shown its support, has played its
enormous role in this coalition. But what is it that Jordan needs next from the States?
SAFADI: Look, Jordan and the U.S. are officially on very, very good terms. They're partners in the coalition. They work together against terrorism
from the early days of al Qaeda in Afghanistan all through. I think, you know, my personal opinion is that the U.S. needs to do more to ensure that
this war is really effective in delivering strong blows to ISIS, which means dedication of more resources, more military equipment, supporting the
Jordanian military, providing them with whatever advanced technology that would enable them to be more effective in hitting ISIS.
Jordan is going to go after ISIS to the end. It has become almost personal to Jordan, to almost every Jordanian after the murder of Kasasbeh.
So, they need help. The U.S. can help with arming the Jordanian armed forces, accelerating whatever cooperation, military programs that exist,
and they do exist, and ultimately I think it needs to do more.
And probably my personal view is to revisit the target of the operation. We cannot afford to wait for ISIS to continue to operate in the brutal way
that it has done for three years or five years.
We have stopped them and stopped them as quickly as they can. And look I mean, 5,000 sorties in six months is really insignificant compared to other
operations we've seen in Afghanistan. This is not just a brutal enemy. This is an able enemy. It has grown. It can project power. You need to dedicate
more resources and get rid of it as soon as possible.
ANDERSON: And when you're talking about resources, there is a show of lethal force in the air at present. Locally in Iraq and in Syria there are
foot soldiers on the ground, but they are not part of the coalition, as it were, that's flying these sorties. What about putting boots on the ground?
Because the Americans have said once again today it's not an option for them at this stage.
SAFADI: Look, if you want to end this war, ultimately you're going to have to put boots on the ground. Air force is not going to do it. And Iraq is
going to be a little bit easier with the Peshmerga, with the Iraqi armed forces, a little bit of support they can do it.
In Syria, that's where you have the major problem, because you have a very chaotic situation. You have people getting it both ways, from the regime
and from ISIS. In Syria, if you want to commit boots on the ground it will have to be a global kind of effort. U.S., Arab, it also has to have a
political component with an end in sight to the crisis.
Because let's say you come in to Raqqa (ph) and you hit ISIS there, who is going to deal with that territory? I mean, are you going to give it back to
the regime, or are your going to occupy it yourself and manage it? That is a (inaudible).
I think when you talk about Syria, you're not going to be able to defeat ISIS completely unless you resolve the Syrian issue, which has to be a
political solution to Syria as...
ANDERSON: You are staying with me, but just very briefly, because we'll talk again in 20 minutes time, what about challenging this extremist
ideology? As I pointed out, you know, Jordan has had its fair share of Jihadist fighters leaving here to join this war. And, you know, it's --
there's a festering problem here, however small it is.
SAFADI: Look, there are root causes of extremism that need to be addressed properly -- political frustration. In Jordan, particular failure to resolve
the Arab-Israeli -- the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, that is always with emotions. The sort of sectarian politics of Iraq in the last few years. The
war in Syria, the sectarian nature of the war in Syria. All that has kind of created fertile ground which extremists have been able to prey and to
use.
So ultimately, as you go after ISIS militarily, which is a priority, as you go after improving conditions through which you'll attack them, you have to
also look at the ideology and the root causes of the problem. And I think we need to be much more assertive as an Arab world in general by when we
declare that this is our war, we declare it's our war militarily, we declare it's our war culturally, intellectually and by everybody coming out
strongly, courageously, openly and saying those people do not represent our culture, do not represent Islam, have nothing to do with it and start
really coming down strongly on sympathizers and justifiers whether at schools, whether at mosques, whether through the media, you have a lot of
that, these need to be tackled. And ultimate success is going to require a comprehensive solution that
tackles political causes, military, you know, kind of threat as well as the cultural and ideological battle.
ANDERSON: You're with me in, as I say, in about 15, 20 minutes time. For the time being, thank you very much indeed.
Jordan's involvement in the fight against ISIS hasn't been a popular decision with everybody here, but as we've just been suggesting, it is a
fight that is a long-term fight for this country going forward.
We are going to take a very short break at this point. When we come back, live from Amman of course, as Jordan takes the lead in the fight against
ISIS we look at the involvement of other Arab states. First though, this week's digital state takes a look at highly efficient high tech cities.
That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID KIRKPATRICK, AUTHOR: I don't think the world today is as different from the pre-digital state as it ought to be, but it's clear that
governments when they're enlightened are starting to do some very efficient, radical new things that improve the functioning of services as
well as the functioning of democracy.
Technology is just changing so quickly. I mean, it's really only a few years we've all had these smartphones. Even something as simple as
coordinated street lights, that sort of coordination is a very elementary form of digital empowerment and digital connectedness changing the
efficiency of a city.
I think there's vast opportunity to use the internet of things to improve the efficiency of cities. Google Maps in New York City now will tell you
where the subways are and how soon they will next arrive and how long it would take right now -- I have a Fitbit on right here. Many of us do
already measure a lot of things about our daily life -- our steps, our sleep, our heart rate, et cetera.
The idea that an ambulance in New York City now has a tablet that's taking all kinds of measurements of your vital signs as you're in the ambulance on
the way to the hospital and able to forward that to a doctor that's awaiting your arrival, that's a fantastic development.
Today I think a lot of people are starting to realize that the empowerment of the individual through smartphones and first PCs and now smartphones
creates a conduit for input from the citizenry to the government that really allows a fundamentally new structure for democracy, but very few
governments really are taking advantage of that.
The ultimate egovernance ultimately is when we get rid of polling places and voting booths and people just vote digitally probably from their
smartphones and elections are real time and possibly all the time.
One thing that's already being planned are connected chips in seatbelts that can detect when your heart rate is slowing that suggests you might be
falling asleep when you're driving and then would cause the seatbelt to vibrate to wake you up.
Generally the question of efficiency versus autonomy is kind of a big dichotomy of the future. You know, people want to basically live their
lives under their own control privately. I think that's very American.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson, out of Amman in Jordan. The top stories this hour.
Jordan says it has dealt a blow to ISIS's capabilities in dozens of bombing runs over Syria this week. The strikes are in response to the group's
killing of a Jordanian pilot.
Egypt says the retrials of two Al Jazeera journalists will begin on Thursday. They're accused of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. A third
journalist was freed last week.
Nigerian officials are postponing next Saturday's presidential election due to security concerns. The new date is March the 28th. The decision to
reschedule comes after an increase in attacks by Boko Haram militants in recent weeks.
Iran's Supreme Leader says he is willing to accept a deal to scale back his country's nuclear program, but it must be fair. Iran and Western powers
have given themselves until June to come up with a final deal to end sanctions on Iran if it curbs its nuclear activities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI, SUPREME LEADER OF IRAN (through translator): We support progress in this, and if a good deal is reached, we will support
it. I will support it, and I am sure that the Iranian nation will have no disagreement with a deal in which its dignity is preserved, its respect is
preserved, and its interests are maintained. But these features must be observed without a doubt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Meanwhile, Iran's foreign minister has been meeting with top Western diplomats at the annual Munich security conference to discuss a
potential deal. He says he does not believe in extending nuclear talks, but wants to act now to strike an agreement.
At that same gathering in Munich, US Secretary of State John Kerry denied that a split has emerged between Washington and European nations on how to
deal with the conflict in Ukraine. Concerns arose after US senators criticized Germany and others for being against sending weapons to the
Ukrainian military to fight pro-Russian rebels.
Meanwhile, Russian president Vladimir Putin says he is working towards a new round of peace talks with the leaders of France, Germany, and Ukraine,
but he says they need to agree on a, quote, "number of points" first. CNN's Matthew Chance is in Moscow with more. So, what is it that Putin wants at
this stage, Matthew?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's not entirely clear, Becky. In fact, that's been the big question posed to
Vladimir Putin since the onset of this process to try and forge a diplomatic solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
We know that he's made these comments. The aim at the moment is for the leaders of the four countries -- Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany -- to
meet on Wednesday in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, to finalize or to further discuss the outline of a plan that would bring such a diplomatic
solution to that conflict.
Although again, Vladimir Putin saying that would only happen if certain measures have agreed by all the parties. And so, some question marks still
over whether that will proceed. At the moment, it seems that it will.
In terms of the details of the plan, nothing's been made really public at this point, except for one idea that's been -- that's been floated out by
diplomats that the peace plan could include a large demilitarized zone around the current front line in the conflict to ensure that the fighting
comes to an end.
That's something that's been part of the previous attempts to forge an agreement as well. And indeed, the whole discussion, the whole peace plan
that's on the table right now isn't too dissimilar to the peace plan that was agreed in Minsk, again, back in September, which failed to bring the
conflict to an end, Becky.
ANDERSON: Matthew Chance in Moscow. Thank you, Matthew. I'm going to get you back to our top story this hour, the now very personal fight that
Jordan is waging against ISIS. The Jordanian military has been relentless this weekend in bombarding ISIS targets, supported by allies, of course.
Here's a look at the involvement of the rest of the coalition forces.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): It was a grisly video, showing Lieutenant Colonel Moaz al-Kasasbeh being burned alive, gruesome even by ISIS standards. Well
now, it has galvanized the Arab world in the battle against extremism. Regional countries, led by Jordan, are stepping up their participation in
the coalition attacking ISIS.
HUSSEIN AL-MAJALI, JORDANIAN INTERIOR MINISTER: This is definitely not the US's war. This is definitely our war.
ANDERSON: The UAE has also announced it will send a squadron of F-16s to fly side-by-side their Jordanian counterparts as they carry out airstrikes.
Muslim clerics, too, have joined in, trying to discredit the group's ideology.
SHEIKH SHAWKI IBRAHIM ABDEL-KARIM ALLAM, EGYPTIAN GRAND MUFTI (through translator): We tell the youth, Islam did not carry a message of sabotage
and destruction. It only came to serve humanity, to achieve world peace, and to bring mercy to the world.
ANDERSON: Atrocities committed against Sunni Muslims by ISIS are unifying Arab leaders to find a common strategy. But beyond the strong rhetoric, a
lot of challenges need to be overcome.
For one, many experts believe aerial bombardments alone won't dismantle the so-called caliphate that now stretches from Syria to central Iraq. But
there's no indication that countries like Jordan are willing to put boots on the ground at this stage, and relying on the forces already there has
its own shortcomings.
In Iraq, the country's weak army has mainly relied on Shia militia backed by Iran to drive out ISIS from key positions, a strategy that may further
sideline the Sunni minority. In Syria, a US plan to train so-called "moderate fighters" that can take on the extremists is still weeks away.
All along, ISIS expands its tentacles of terror. In Egypt's restive Sinai province, militants loyal to the group killed at least 30 people last week.
In Libya's capital, Tripoli, gunmen linked to ISIS recently attacked a hotel frequented by foreigners. And on Saudi Arabia's border with Iraq, a
raid by militants claiming to be aligned with ISIS left three guards dead.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, from Abu Dhabi to Amman, Arab capitals do recognize the threat. What's less clear is how they will deal with it going forward.
Ayman Safadi, former Jordanian deputy prime minister, is still with me.
And just before we talk, I want to go straight to some sound from the States today. This was Jen Psaki talking a little bit earlier when
questioned about whether the US themselves will be prepared to put ground troops in in this fight. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEN PSAKI, SPOKESWOMAN, US STATE DEPARTMENT: We've been clear that we're not considering sending ground troops in. That's not going to change.
Obviously, every country makes their own decision, and we certainly generally support them in that.
Our view is that the ground troops are going to be primarily Iraqi forces fighting against ISIL in Iraq, which we've seen some success with. The
opposition forces, we're starting our train and equip program next month fighting against ISIL in Syria.
Obviously, different countries will make their own decisions. The United States is not planning on sending ground troops in, no.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The White House says the United States is not planning on sending ground troops in, and they go on to say that every country will, though,
make their own decisions in order to support the efforts on the ground. So, will other Arab nations, Jordan included, send people in?
AYMAN SAFADI, FORMER DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER OF JORDAN: Look, I think ground troops is out of the question for Jordan at this point. I think it doesn't
make sense for Jordan to go it alone. I think any such effort would have to be a collected effort, the US has to be involved. It has the biggest and
the most sophisticated equipment, capabilities.
Other than that, I really do not foresee any Arab country going it alone in that. Unless it's a collected effort packaged within a broader sort of
political strategy as well, I don't foresee that happening anytime soon.
ANDERSON: The diplomatic talk is always that it's about getting Iraqi forces trained up to work the story on the ground in Iraq. And you and I
have just discussed how difficult things are going to be in Syria going forward. Iraqi troops to Jordan to be trained up? That was certainly a
promise some months ago. Is that happening?
SAFADI: As far as training, I think Jordan has trained Iraqi soldiers before, and it will do that in the future. I don't think that's a problem.
The question in Iraq is in addition, in parallel with the military advance, I think you need to make sure that the coalition process, the political
process has to go forward. Again, you've got the political context and the security-military context.
In Iraq, I think, if we're able to lead a push forward with plans to make the governments more inclusive, to address the concerns of the Sunni
population of Iraq, I think we'll see traction very, very quickly.
ANDERSON: The report that I filed just ahead of this talks to this being a wider fight than just the fight against militants in Iraq and in Syria.
There is a fight going on in Egypt, in Libya. Saudi has its own problems as well.
If this isn't an allied effort by Arab states going forward, and quickly, can you see nations beginning to fight the good fight, as it were,
themselves and just getting very specific and very much held within borders, and that meaning that the fight across the board, the ideological
fight, gets sort of left behind, doesn't it?
SAFADI: Look, it should not, because again, first of all, we've got ISIS, a terrorist group that's killing people every day. That has got to stop.
That's a priority right now. If we don't kill them, they're going to kill us. That's the simple fact, and I think that's why the military effort
needs to be supported, beefed up, and provided with every possible support it needs.
Other than that -- and that's why we say it's our war, it's a Jordanian, Arab, Muslim war, because the US is not going to be able to address the
ideological component of the war. This has to come from within the Muslim nation. And that's where we need a lot of effort. And again, it needs
coordination and peace.
ANDERSON: And inclusion, of course. The Muslim Brotherhood, for example, isn't banned here, and I spoke to a member of the party here just
yesterday. It is, though, banned, for example, in Egypt and in the UAE. If you are excluding political Islam, isn't it going to be more difficult to
fight radical Islam, extremist ideology going forward?
SAFADI: That's another situation. I think while inclusiveness is needed, also clarity is needed from other parties that claim to be representing
modern Islam. The Muslim Brotherhood has different circumstances in each country, really, depending on the broader political condition.
In Jordan, for instance, the Muslim Brotherhood had been part of the political system, they were in parliament, they were in government. They
chose to boycott the process, that was their decision. Before the brutal murder of Moaz al-Kasasbeh, they were in the gray area. They would condemn
the act, but they would not condemn the movement.
After Moaz, I think they condemned the movement. They do that because they genuinely believe that is the case or because, again, the government
wouldn't accept them if Jordan declared that. Ultimately, everybody -- there's no room for gray areas here. Everybody has to come out and really
declare where they stand on that.
Muslim -- Islamic -- political Islamic parties across the Arab region, that is their fight. Because we're fighting this fight, again, partly in defense
of Islam. They need to step up into that fight, and they need to come with a very clear narrative saying very clearly, those guys do not represent the
religion, do not represent Islam.
ANDERSON: Always a pleasure, thank you very much, indeed, for joining us.
SAFADI: Thank you so much. Thank you.
ANDERSON: I'm Becky Anderson, that was CONNECT THE WORLD, thank you for watching. From the team here in Amman in Jordan, it is a very good evening.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS BARRACK, CEO, COLONY CAPITAL: My dad was a brilliant man, but like all Lebanese immigrants, he was a tiny little merchant. All I'm trying to
do is follow in his footsteps and sell a little bit bigger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN DEFTERIOS, HOST: Musings of a modern-day billionaire investor. This week on MARKETPLACE MIDDLE EAST, Lebanese American Tom Barrack of Colony
Capital talks family, fun, and future investments.
Also, business without borders. The latest trends and techniques in the world of global branding.
From politics with princes to hotels and horses, Tom Barrack has a rich and longstanding relationship in the Middle East, much of which he owes to his
Lebanese background.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARRACK: I think I can suffer more pain than most people, which Lebanese are good at. Crisis management is a daily occurrence.
DEFTERIOS (voice-over): The self-made billionaire and founder of Colony Capital, a leading property equity real estate company, is an expert at
taking risk, whether he's purchasing some $200 million in Middle East property, barreling through rolling waves on his surfboard, or buying and
then selling Paris Saint-Germain football team in France.
BARRACK: For a private equity fund to own a soccer team in Paris was not a great idea. When they would lose a game, there would be signs saying
"Yankees go home."
DEFTERIOS: But it is the hospitality sector that is Barrack's specialty, and here in the Middle East, there are plenty of opportunities on offer,
especially when you partner up with Prince Al Waleed bin Talal, one of the world's richest men.
BARRACK: It's capital intensive, so locals usually in the growth cycle of a country don't like hospitality. They like trading, commodities, logistics,
five times return.
So, with Prince Al Waleed, it was really saying I'm better off, I need a brand, I want a Fairmont or a Four Seasons or a Swiss hotel in my own
region, but the way I'll get there is I'll make in investment in that entity, then I'll use the entity with my local contacts to marry the bricks
and mortar, and he's done it brilliantly.
DEFTERIOS (on camera): The sovereign wealth funds -- this is interesting, it's often overlooked -- but Colony Capital does a lot of work with the
Qataris. But why did you connect with the Qataris in this platform to take them west, if you will, for those brands?
BARRACK: Well, they were going west. So, their selection process, as we had Fairmont, for instance, which was an investment between Prince Al Waleed,
the Qataris, and ourselves, we had the benefit of buying Raffles and merging it with Fairmont in which they were an investor.
So, we became partners, we became married in an entity in which we then discovered that we had other fish to fry, so to speak. And as it always
happens, relationships beget relationships.
DEFTERIOS: So, the strategy coming from a private equity standpoint, if you wanted to bring brands into play here, what's the DNA of a brand that can
withstand, say, the complexities of the different countries in the Middle East, and what works and what does not?
BARRACK: So, the first thing is having a business which is borderless. So, hospitality, for instance. Tourism, which necessitates infrastructure,
transportation, customs, passports, fulfillment, logistics. The ability to have a brand with locals so that you can partner with the adventure through
a very complicated bureaucracy. Which is the key to the Middle East and the key to Africa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEFTERIOS: Tom Barack of Colony Capital, again, on building a global business. Well, being borderless is not just for the multinationals. Many
small and medium-sized enterprises right here in the Middle East are looking to go international. Amir Daftari, now, on the dos and don'ts of
trying to create a brand without borders.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIMON HUDSON, CEO, BRNDSTR INC.: If you were going to create the brand and speak to somebody in a matter of minutes and say what you're company's
called, are they going to understand what it does from the initial words?
AMIR DAFTARI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Simple enough question, but creating a brand that can go global can be a tricky business,
especially in the Middle East.
HUDSON: This region has been used to naming their companies after the family and growing the empire. However, when you're looking to go abroad,
these are not punchy or quirky enough that other people would recognize.
DAFTARI: Simon Hudson and his team help companies create a name that will resonate anywhere in the world. The branding guru is a big believer in the
power of social media. For him, the difference between success and failure boils down to just a few things.
HUDSON: Good name, good branding, own all of the digital spaces, and ultimately know what our key message is.
DAFTARI: So, those are the branding rules, but is anyone following them?
DAFTARI (on camera): So, this is S'wich, a gourmet wrap-slash-shawarma restaurant. Now, these guys have got the cool abbreviated name, they've got
the funky logo, and they're all over social media. But is it paying off? Let's find out.
FADEL BELMAHDI, CEO, S'WICH: How are you doing?
DAFTARI (voice-over): Fadel Belmahdi is the man in charge, and despite his emphasis on branding, he says to really be a borderless business, there is
something far more important to consider.
BELMAHDI: You will not get anywhere without a great product, and the branding comes as -- it's as important, but it's below the product. Trying
to match also the tone of voice of the brand in our social media, which is something very quirky, very funky.
A lot of people actually have been posting about us, because our food -- like I said, our food is good. Dubai is our home market, but eventually, we
want to become the universal shawarma of the world.
DAFTARI: Conquering the world one shawarma at a time. It's a big ask, especially for a small enterprise that's less than a year old. But with a
new restaurant launching in just a few months, brand S'wich believes it has its business strategy all wrapped up.
Amir Daftari, CNN, Dubai.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEFTERIOS: As SMEs try to go global, one of the most important and potentially lucrative opportunities is Africa. Up next on MARKETPLACE
MIDDLE EAST, what it takes to break into the continent and be successful.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEFTERIOS (voice-over): The Dubai Creek is where the UAE established its trading credentials along the ancient Silk Road. Goods still travel the
old-fashioned way for South Asia and beyond. But today, it's Dubai's airline, Emirates, that blazes a trail to open trade links.
The carrier is now serving 26 cities for passenger and cargo services in Africa, one of the biggest footprints on the continent. Emerging market
economist Charlie Robertson says after years of international aid, it will be that type of trade and investment that will keep Africa growing rapidly.
CHARLES ROBERTSON, CHIEF ECONOMIST, RENAISSANCE CAPITAL: I think the GDP itself is going to become -- going from something like $2 trillion to $4
trillion to $8 trillion as it doubles each decade. The space, the size, more and more countries are going to look attractive as markets, because
they'll have reached a sufficient weight.
DEFTERIOS: China is one of the biggest investors. It continues to put a high priority on African resources, specifically oil and strategic
minerals, to fuel its economic expansion. And Middle East players are not far behind.
DEFTERIOS (on camera): UAE trade officials say that the six Gulf states have piled in about $30 billion into Africa over the last decade alone,
with energy, banking, telecoms, and hospitality leading the way.
HAMAD BUAMIM, CEO, DUBAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: There are plenty of opportunities to acquire infrastructure, and with infrastructure acquired,
leaderships and vision. And that's the leadership part that the governance and anti-corruptions and putting things in solid control is required.
DEFTERIOS: Nevertheless, some foreign investors are enticed by Africa's 5 percent average growth. No one more so than Colony Capital's Tom Barrack.
BARRACK: Europe is still on the decline, and we're in a distress cycle. America is going through an industrial revolution to a technological
revolution. Revenues are really flat, businesses are doing OK because of their balance sheet, but not on the growth revenue side, so where is their
growth? Africa happens to be high on the list.
DEFTERIOS (on camera): Take these partnerships you have here in the Middle East and abroad, take that model and apply it to the faster-growing
economies of Africa?
BARRACK: I think that's the first place you start, with local partners. So, taking that investor group that is used to navigating these difficult
waters, and in both those business they are. But in each country, the local guide through the bureaucratic morass is a local. And so that's the first
step.
So for instance, in Nigerian Lagos, our first project is Eko Atlantic, which is the eighth wonder of the world. The government and a private
family, the Shaguris, have reclaimed five square kilometers of land.
So, we now have a project to develop a new city, like Dubai City, taking and borrowing the experience of how Dubai did it, which was brilliant. So,
it's a great opportunity to take teams of investors that have this risk tolerance.
And why do they have this risk tolerance? Because today, central banks everywhere are printing money, so sovereign wealth funds and investors are
flush with money. There's monetary inflation, although there's not much real inflation.
And as a result, the denominator is much bigger, so they can take a percentage of that in risk assets. And for sure, Africa has a higher risk
premium than the rest of the developed world, but it also has a higher multiple on equity.
So, the reason everybody's now starting to look at it is saying our base is much bigger, so the big private equity firms have a multiple of billions
under management, and saying we're going to have growth, we're not going to have it in developed Europe.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEFTERIOS: Tom Barrack once again, on why it is the right time to go into Africa. While the continent holds a great deal of potential, African
leaders suggest a lot more needs to be done. For example, Ghana's president told me of the total African trade, only 11 percent is done amongst the
countries themselves.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN DRAMANI MAHAMA, PRESIDENT OF GHANA: Put together, all of us will have a much bigger market than we would have if we stayed within our own
national boundaries. And so, it's a win-win for all of us, and all of us realize that we must work towards it.
DEFTERIOS (voice-over): The faster they can boost trade and reduce corruption, the more international investment will flow in to drive growth
and create opportunities for investors like Tom Barrack.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: And that's our special look at the Middle East going into Africa. For more about our program or to see those interviews again, visit
our website, cnn.com/mme. And you can reach out and send us a message on our Facebook page as well.
And that's all for this edition of CNN MARKETPLACE MIDDLE EAST. We'll see you next week.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
