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EU Migrant Crisis Deepens; Iran Celebrates Sacred Defense Week; India's Top Car Manufacture Has Global Dreams; Heavily Armed Rangers Search for Rhino Poachers. Aired 11:00a-12:00p ET
Aired September 22, 2015 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:18] BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: Bedding down wherever they can, however grim the background. The EU's migrant crisis deepens as ministers
meet in Brussels. And all the while Europe bickers over a plan the UN is already calling unworkable.
We'll have live reports from Brussels and the Croatian border in just a moment.
Also ahead, a front row seat at a display of military might. CNN has a special report from Iran as it celebrates its army and looks toward a new
era of relations with the west
And...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCKENZIE: Litter, footprints, broken branches, it all could mean that poachers are around.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Hunting the hunters. We're out on the job with the men tracking South Africa's rhino poachers and using warfare tactics to do so.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is Connect the World with Becky Anderson.
ANDERSON: Just after 7:00 here in the UAE. Right now European interior ministers are meeting to discuss a crisis that is being shared
across the continent while also dividing it. The influx of refugees and migrants continuing at an alarming pace for these European leaders. Nearly
35,000 people have arrived in Croatia since the country began allowing them in just last week.
EU nations disagree on how to respond with some opposing the idea of mandatory quotas.
Well, today's talks in Brussels are an attempt to reach a coordinated plan ahead of what is an emergency meeting of EU leaders on Wednesday.
We're covering all sides of the story for you on this as we have been doing for weeks. In a moment, we'll hear from Ben Wedeman whose on the
ground at the Croatia-Hungary border. First to our international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson who is in Brussels.
And Nic, can we expect any sort of consensus on a European plan, whatever the face of that is a this point?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Becky, what we know right now is that the divisions are deep within these European nations.
We heard from the French interior minister as he went into the building saying that they would try hard to get something that they would
do everything they could to get something, that they will try to get an agreement. Only if that doesn't tell you how difficult the position is,
try finding a diplomat that will give you stronger words than that.
Look, what we know at the moment is that you have a situation where Hungary, where Poland, where the Czech Republic, where Slovakia don't want
to go -- don't want to buy into this quota system about how to divvy up this 120,000 refugees that are coming into Europe.
The 120,000 figure already way short of the estimated half a million migrants and refugees that really come into Europe so far this year alone.
That number is expected to go up further.
The British have also said that they don't -- that they don't believe that the quota system is the right way to go forward. You have the German
Chancellor Angela Merkel today saying that we must do more to solve the crisis in Syria and to stop the refugees trying to come from the camps
outside Syria into Europe. That's a conciliatory language from her, certainly what we've heard over recent weeks, which has really been pushing
an open door policy in Germany and telling other European nations to follow -- to follow this way.
We heard here as well from the German interior minister as he went in, his language also sounding quite conciliatory like the German chancellor
saying that they will -- you know, they will work towards a solution. This is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS DE MAZIERE, GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER (through translator): Germany is willing to find a solution. We need solidarity and
responsibility. I hope the same goes for all other countries. Europe cannot afford today's meeting not to come to an agreement. I will work
hard, but I have to add that this will be only a component of the treatment and solution of the refugee issue as a whole, but of course we need a
decision on the distribution of 120,000 refugees.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: So, what they want to do is try and alleviate the pressure on the front line European nations Greece and Italy principally here to
give them some respite and recourse for -- to know where they can send refugees onto.
That's what the quota system is all about, but at the moment, Becky, to your question, no, it's not clear if that's all going to be hammered out
by tonight.
[11:05:06] ANDERSON: Talk of quotas and it is easy to forget that there are men, women and children at stake here. Thank you.
Let's turn to Ben Wedeman. He is standing by at the border of Croatia and Hungary. 2,400 men, women and kids in just half a day in Croatia,
35,000 in the week. What's Croatia doing to accommodate these new arrivals, Ben?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Croatia has set up camps in various parts of the country, certainly along the Serbian
border to provide as much as it can for them. They're helped, of course, by aid groups and others, the Red Cross who were trying to do their best.
And then essentially what Croatia is doing is what Serbia is doing, what Greece and Macedonia are doing, which is basically showing them the
road, providing buses where they can, and move them along.
Now here on the Hungarian-Croatian border we saw earlier today 600 people, mostly Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans who crossed over the border into
Hungary. And of course Hungary until last week took a very hard stand. It closed its gates on the border with Croatia. Now they're open again. And
of course what we've seen is that we do have Humvees with .50 caliber machine guns mounted on top. And the fence here in this was completed by
Hungarian troops. And during the processing of the migrants and refugees who came in here today, we saw fully armed combat troops who were
overseeing the whole process.
So, definitely Hungary is taking a strong rhetorical stand. We've heard Hungarian officials today talking about migrants and refugees
crashing open the gates to Europe.
But as you can see behind me, the gates to Europe are wide open. The Hungarians are providing transportation for migrants and refugees from this
border up to the Austrian border.
And really this problem in the last few days is really landed in the laps of the Austrian authorities who we've seen have been doing a fairly
efficient job in bringing them in, taking care of the migrants and refugees and moving them on. But of course, we're hearing also that Germany has
halted rail service between Austria and Germany. And therefore there may be another bottleneck building up in Austria.
But the countries along the way are doing what they can, but certainly when you're talking about Serbia, Macedonia, Greece and Croatia, their
abilities are severely limited -- Becky.
ANDERSON: All right, Ben.
I want to get back to Brussels then. And Nic is still there. And our viewers will have been seeing a strap on the bottom of their screen.
What do you make of reported comments from the head of German intelligence, Nic, saying that hardline Muslims are recruiting new
refugees?
ROBERTSON: I think what we understand at the moment is that this is a concern more than a reality. It's a very real concern. And certainly
there has been a tendency by some more right-wing political groups to say that a lot of ISIS members will try to use the camouflage of refugees to
smuggle themselves into Europe.
Look, the real danger from ISIS, the reality is, is that when they're all there in Iraq and Syria that they form networks, Pan-European networks.
When they want to get somebody from, let's say, Syria into Germany, they use their own networks. They won't put them in, or unlikely to put them in
with the sort of tenuous routes that the refugees are taking. That's a risk for them.
But counterterrorism security officials inside Europe are very concerned about this influx, about how ISIS could use it. ISIS has stated
that it wants to target inside Europe. These refugees are coming from where ISIS is strong. So the concerns in that context are real.
But at the moment, German intelligence officials, a notion that radical Islamist Salafists will be going into Mosques there and trying to
radicalize people, radicalize these recently arrived refugees, that's a concern at the moment, more than something that they have strong solid
concrete evidence on a wide scale, Becky.
ANDERSON: All right. Nic and Ben, thank you.
And we're going to do more this hour on this story. It is incredibly important.
We're going to speak to the UN special representative for international migration, that's a man by the name of Peter Southern. And
he's going to talk about the divided European response to this crisis. He's also just returned from Calais in France and will tell us about the
struggle that migrants are still facing there.
Pope Francis is closing out his trip to Cuba with just over an hour to go before he boards a plane to the United States. Let me get you some live
pictures.
The pope, addressing the crowd as we speak, gathered at a cathedral in Santiago de Cuba. Earlier he celebrated the third and final mass of his
trip to the island nation. He called for a, quote, revolution of tenderness. Interesting use or a turn of phrase. Urging Cubans to sow
seeds of reconciliation.
Well, it's been another bad day for German car giant Volkswagen. Stocks have plunged for the second day in a row as the company tears up its
profit forecast for the year. It's now setting aside more than $7 billion to become a potential penalties after it was caught rigging pollution tests
in the United States. And it looks like the scandal could be much worse than first thought. Volkswagen now says 11 million cars worldwide could be
affected.
Well, let's get the latest from New York. Maggie Lake is there for us.
This stock is tanking. What is the company saying?
[11:11:02] MAGGIE LAKE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Becky, actually the CEO -- they spent the morning the denying reports that the CEO
was going to be ousted or stepping down and the CEO, Martin Winterkorn actually just posting a video on Volkswagen's website. It's in German.
And so many people are trying to see it that the site is crashing.
But evidently he is saying that the irregularities with their diesel engines contradict everything Volkswagen stands for, that he does not have
the answers to all the questions yet, but they are working relentlessly to establish what happened. And he's apologizing saying I'm endlessly sorry
that we betrayed the trust of millions.
Again, these are reporting coming in. Everyone is scrambling to try to translate it as that site struggles to keep up with the traffic.
This is, of course, one of Europe's biggest car makers, one of the world's biggest car makers. And this is growing by the minute. As you
said, 11 million cars, slashing their profit forecast. With that fall today, the stock a value dropping by a third in just the last two days.
So, this is a massive problem for Volkswagen. And remember, here in the U.S., diesel about 20 percent. They're facing an investigation from
the Department of Justice, a house hearing now -- we know congress is going to be calling a hearing on this. And a possible criminal probe.
So, the company very much trying to get in front of the scandal that is taking the stock down, Becky.
ANDERSON: Could this, do you think, spread beyond Volkswagen?
LAKE: I think that's what investors are really unnerved at. Auto stocks -- among the losers driving markets down today -- and we are seeing
losses in other auto stocks as they try to figure out just how wide this is going to be, and whether other companies are going to be pulled into this.
In World Business Today just a couple of hours ago, I spoke to the CEO of Renault/Nissan Carlos Ghosn. He's also the president of the European
Automobile Manufacturers Association. And I asked him would he welcome a European-wide and industry-wide investigation into emissions. This is what
he had to say. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLOS GHOSN, RENAULT-NISSAN ALLIANCE CEO: The last thing the industry wants is a breach of trust between the industry from one side and
the public from the other side. So everything that can be done in order to make sure that the trust is always there and it's stronger, we are
favorable to it. We are favorably as a company, but also we are favorable to it as an industry.
It's very important -- you know, it's very important that this trust continues and this trust being reinforced.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAKE: So, Becky, a credibility issue, reputational issue for Volkswagen and perhaps the industry as a whole
ANDERSON: Maggie Lake is in New York on a story that isn't going away, I can tell you that. Thank you, Maggie.
Still to come tonight: hunted and slaughtered, I'm going to take you to South Africa to witness the blight of rhino poaching and then new
measures being taken to help stop it.
First up, though, as the EU discusses sharing the burden of refugees, we speak to the UN special representative for international migration who
says the EU simply needs to step up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:16:23] ANDERSON: Sleeping among the dead: men, women and children resting in a place called no man's land on the Serbia-Croatian border.
Knocking on the European Union's door, but forced to find shelter among graves and tombstones. Truly desperate scenes.
But European countries remain divided over the crisis. EU ministers meeting in Brussels right now at the interior and justice level to discuss
a plan to relocate 120,000 asylum seekers who are already in Europe.
But the people keep on coming. The United Nations refugee agency says even if an agreement to share the burden is reached, it is not enough.
According to the UNHCR, almost half a million have come to Europe already this year with no end in sight in the city through 2016.
Well, for more I want to bring in Peter Sutherland now, the UN's lead for international migration, joining me from London.
It does seem absolutely remarkable the interior and justice ministers meeting ahead of EU leaders on Wednesday discussing whether or not there
should be quotas for some 120,000.
We already know there are nigh on 500,000, half a million people now on the continent looking for refuge.
What have you made of Europe's response so far?
PETER SUTHERLAND, UN SECY GENERAL'S SPECIAL REP. FOR INTL. MIGRATION: Well, clearly Europe has been in disarray for months. It's vital that
unity be reached in regard where Europe is going.
If there isn't a common policy reaction to this, and there is a fracturing of the basic consensus about the rights of refugees in Europe,
this will be disastrous for Europe.
I think that the figure of 120,000 is very small, inadequate, but it would better than nothing.
I think that the idea of sharing between different countries is absolutely necessary. It's unfair that some are carrying a not only
disproportionate amount of the burden.
ANDERSON: Yeah, but there is not consensus at this point.
Let's see what comes out of this meeting.
Peter, Germany says it's expecting a million asylum seekers this year alone. Let's put that into perspective for our viewers. That is more than
one person for every 100 other people living in the country today. The OECD says that is the highest ever yearly intake by a developed country,
equaling more than 1 percent of the population.
Is this an example that should be forced on others?
SUTHERLAND: Well, first of all, the way that you put that suggests that this is something that is inconceivable. It is not. 1 percent of
population is easily handleable. And could be handled by the other European countries.
Germany and Sweden are leading the way in their generosity in respect of taking people. This is an unprecedented crisis, comparable to anything
that we've seen since World War II. It is now a time to step up to the plate, as some countries are doing, and others definitely are not doing.
ANDERSON: I want to show you something that the Czech prime minister ahead of today's talks said, and I quote, "we will strictly reject any
attempt to introduce some permanent mechanism of redistributing refugees."
That seems fairly conclusive, doesn't it?
SUTHERLAND: Well, there are a number of points that have to be borne in mind there. First of all, he was talking about a permanent system.
We're dealing with a system problem that is not permanent, but it will last for some time. Secondly, he didn't discount the possibility, which I think
is the most likely outcome myself of a voluntary agreement amongst countries. If voluntarily the same amounts are taken as would have come
through the compulsory scheme, which I believe would have been preferable, then the objective will be gained.
I think that the attempt today will be to deal with that issue by getting an agreement even if it is on the basis of voluntary commitment
rather than compulsory commitment.
[11:20:48] ANDERSON: The problem is this, isn't it, there's no consensus on even where to start at this point? But there are half a
million new men, women and children who need whatever happens to be accommodated, and then need a plan going forward.
Have you heard any talk yet of what happens beyond this quota system, if indeed that is what is agreed upon?
SUTHERLAND: There are, I think, quite a number of plans that the European commission has been proposing and which I think are good in terms
of the future. But this is a phenomenon linked to a war. Every time there has been a war in the history of mankind, there have been enormous numbers
of refugees. We have to handle it. We have to find a way of dealing with it. And throwing our hands in the air and saying this is very difficult is
not a humanitarian response that fits in with human rights.
We have to protect refugees.
It's not a question of the problems of member states that can be taken into account with out taking into account the migrants themselves.
ANDERSON: Peter, I am sure that you have seen the German intelligence head reported as saying that Islamists are targeting refugees and migrants.
Do you think this will fuel resentment towards these people?
SUTHERLAND: Well, the first I saw of it was when I was waiting in the room before I came in for this interview on your screen. So I don't know
how serious this is, or the evidence of it.
If it is true, it's a serious issue, there's no doubt. But it's not an issue, which should prohibit the countries of Europe taking their moral
responsibilities to people who are in deep distress. It's a matter of handling it properly and analyzing migrants as they come in from whatever
part of the world.
I think it's deeply dangerous to play this up as a major issue unless there is evidence that is based upon. I don't know anything about an
unnamed official saying that there were Islamists or ISIS supporters in refugee numbers. It may be there, it may not. If it is, it's serious, I
concede.
ANDERSON: Peter Sutherland says Europe needs to step up. He is he UN secretary-general's man on international migration. And Peter we will have
you back. Thank you.
Live from Abu Dhabi, this is Connect the World with me, Becky Anderson. Coming up, the tool of warfare that has taken military
technology to new heights, but is also raising concerns about civilians caught in the crossfire. I'm going to get you an inside look at the world
of drones.
First up, though, a closer look at one of the world's most important fashion capitals and how locals are reacting to some ultra modern
architecture.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[11:25:41] JOHN DEFTERIOS, EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Central Milan: Italy's beating heart of fashion. On its northwest flank, the city is
giving rise to a different genre of design.
High impact buildings, dreamed up by those with those with a wow factor. It's called City Life. And CEO Armando Borghi (ph) lays out the
landscape.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In front of us will be (inaudible) residential, which has been finished two years ago. It's almost totally (inaudible).
DEFTERIOS: Hadid as in Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. Daniel Libeskind of New York is the project's master planner.
DANIEL LIBESKIND, ARCHITECT: We didn't want to just reproduce, you know, what was here before, but it really created a 21st Century momentum
for a great city.
DEFTERIOS: Supporting the development at its core is the Alliance tower, a creation of Japan's Arata Izozaki (ph). By 2017, the German
insurance giant will be the anchor tenant.
In a country with so much world heritage, Citylife certainly offers a break from the past and something refreshing. But with 136,000 square
meters of office space, there's another new dimension, and that is intense competition to the older buildings in the city center.
This is being seen as the second bookend of structural modernity in the last couple of years.
On the opposite side of town, there's Porta Nuova (ph), which has this unique apartment tower Bosco Verticali (ph), or the vertical forest.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe that Milan can handle these two projects, because demand from institutional investors is growing. And I
think it will grow even in the future.
DEFTERIOS: Citylife offers space for that growth with 360,000 square meters. But it has gotten off to a lumbering start for residential sales.
Of the 536 units on the market, less than 200 have been sold since 2009. And they can be pricy for Milan, at $7,700 to $11,000 per square
meter.
CEO Borghi (ph) profiles the type of buyer he's targeting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A person who has traveled a lot around the world, has seen what architecture could be also a form of art and wants to live in
a house with a very architectural impact.
DEFTERIOS: I met two who chose the city life, both international executives who wanted room to spread out with a view.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like when I sit outside on the terrace I can see both parts of Milan, which everyone knows. And then on the other side you
have this modern building.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have the skylight, the new Milan skylight. So with Porta Nuova (ph) you have the Alliance tower and the light
(inaudible) is really fantastic.
DEFTERIOS: So, what's the chief executive's view? Italians may take their time, but will warm up to what can be defined as cool and ultra
modern.
John Defterios, CNN, Milan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:31:12] ANDERSON: Well, a final farewell from Pope Francis who is wrapping up his momentous trip to Cuba. These are live pictures. The
pontiff celebrating mass near Santiago earlier. The communist country's second largest city. And he is getting set now to depart for the United
States where over the next few days he will speak to congress and the UN General Assembly.
The last images for you then of the pope in Cuba as he gets set to depart for the United States. And a trip there which will culminate, as I
say, in New York.
In European interior ministers are meeting now in Brussels on the migrant crisis overwhelming parts of Europe. They are discussing how to
resettle thousands of refugees. Some EU nations have said that they are against mandatory quotas. EU leaders plan to hold an emergency meeting on
the crisis on Wednesday.
Yemen's president has returned to the country after six months in exile, that is according to the country's foreign minister. President Abd
Rabbuh Mansur Hadi is said to be in the port city of Aden, which is under the control of the Saudi-backed coalition. He fled Yemen back in March
when rebels took over the capital Sanaa.
German car giant Volkswagen is setting aside more than $7 billion to cover potential penalties after it was caught rigging pollution tests.
Now, the scandal is believed to have much wider implications than initially thought. The company says 11 million diesel powered vehicles could be
affected worldwide. VW stock prices have fallen for the second day in a row.
Well, Iran is putting on a massive display of military might as it kicks off its sacred defense week, as its known. We just received these
pictures from our CNN crew in Tehran. The country is celebrating its military strength even as some top commanders say the recent nuclear deal
with world powers will weaken the armed forces.
Well, our Frederik Pleitgen has been reporting from Tehran for almost two weeks now. He joins us live with the very latest.
And these are pictures that you sent to us a little earlier on. Just describe the atmosphere if you will.
FREDERIK PLETIGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it certainly is an atmosphere where you feel that the top military commanders,
but also the top political leaders feel how important this week is.
On one hand it's a week where they commemorate the beginning of the Iran-Iraq war in 1980, but of course with the current atmosphere around the
nuclear deal and some top commanders have criticized the nuclear deal you do feel that in this year it has taken on a special importance.
Now there was a speech by President Hassan Rouhani at this sacred defense week kickoff parade where he said that the Iranian military is
stronger than ever before. He said that he feels the Iranian military is the top force fighting ISIS.
But of course as we've said, there are some people within Iran's military that are concerned about the future. Let's have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PLIETGEN: A massive show of force as Iran kicks off its sacred defense week under the eyes of President Hassan Rouhani. Rouhani praised
the army for its efforts fighting ISIS, while top commanders laughed off any notion of cooperation with the U.S. in the battle against the
extremists.
"You must be dreaming," the military's chief of staff tells me. "The Americans are the ones who created ISIS. American officials are
hypocritical in two ways. They lie in politics, and they lie in security."
"The Americans have a totally different nature than us," this top revolutionary guard commander says. "And these differences will never
allow us to cooperate, even if we have common interests."
While Hassan Rouhani said the military would become even stronger after the recent nuclear agreement, some top commanders have been highly
critical of his talks with the west and the deal.
The sacred defense week commemorates the beginning of the Iran-Iraq War in in 1980, but this year it has special significance, because many in
Iran's military leadership fear that the country could be weakened because of the nuclear agreement.
Iran's military faces sanctions that prevent the country from acquiring a lot of sophisticated equipment. The generals wanted those
restrictions lifted with the nuclear agreement, but most of them will initially remain in place.
The commander of the besiege militia tells me he's generally wary of the deal.
"I think the Americans have built tricks into the deal to deceive us," he says. "We have to be very careful. We can't fall into their trap."
The head of Iran's ground forces is more positive.
"It took some trust to sign the nuclear agreement in the first place," he says. "But the trust building needs to continue and the Americans
should really change their threatening language."
As Iran celebrates the martyrs of past wars and the military's current strength, some of its leaders are concerned about the future of the force
as the country embarks on a new phase in relations with the west.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[11:36:26] PLEITGEN: So, as you can see, Becky, some very different opinions here in Iran, especially when it comes to fighting ISIS,
especially when it comes to the civil war in Syria than what you hear from many western leaders, or for that matter from any other countries in the
Gulf as well.
But of course, one of the things, one of the questions that we had to ask while we were there, was about Russia's new involvement in Syria as
well of course, with those additional war planes coming in to Latakia. The Iranians said that they very much welcomed that. They believe that it
could potentially be a gamechanger. They, of course, see themselves very much in line with what the Russians want in Syria. Of course, both of
these countries very much in support of the Syrian President Bashar al- Assad.
The war in Syria, the fight against ISIS, really was the top issue at that parade today, aside of course from the possible repercussions of the
nuclear agreement. So certainly you can feel that these military leaders, they do have a lot to talk about, and there is a very robust debate going
on here in this country as to how to move forward, Becky.
ANDERSON: Fred Pleitgen is in Tehran for you.
And Fred's reporting a rare chance for all of us to see firsthand what's happening in the Iranian capital and elsewhere.
In case you've missed some of his reports, do use the website. You'll find everything from Iranian views on the U.S. presidential race to women
trying to break gender barriers on the back of a motorbike. That is CNN.com very much worth having a read and a watch.
Well to a form of warfare now that in just over a decade has been used in conflict zones from Yemen to Pakistan, Syria to Somalia: drones.
But there's new controversy over their use. A Somali man is taking legal action against the U.S. and Germany after his father was accidentally
killed by an unmanned drone, that is according a legal group representing him.
Well, the U.S. flies armed drones from sights like this one in Djibouti in the fight against al Shabaab militants. Drones also used for
surveillance and intelligence gathering.
The Somali man who is being represented by the Open Society Justice Initiative says his father was an innocent bystander in an attack in 2012.
His complaint also includes Germany saying it hosts two U.S. military facilities involved in strikes on Africa. It's not just the U.S. who use
drones, of course, other countries do as well. But a new documentary explores all sides of drone warfare from young pilots recruited at gaming
conventions, to people living under the threat of strikes in countries like Pakistan.
We spoke to the film's director about why telling this story was so important. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRANDON BRYANT, FRM. U.S. DRONE OPERATOR: It just feels like we're going to like a bad science fiction novel. If we dehumanize war, if we
take the human aspect out of it, what's to stop us from just sending a bunch of automaton robots into another country and let them wipe out the
entire population?
ANDERSON: As a former U.S. air force drone operator, Brandon Bryant's job was to target suspected terrorists day in, day out.
BRYANT: We were the ultimate voyeurs, the ultimate peeping toms. No one was going to catch us. And we're getting orders to take these people's
lives. It was just point and click.
ANDERSON: Drones have been used by the U.S. since 9/11 as the next level of warfare against suspected terrorist groups like al Qaeda and the
Taliban.
[11:40:04] BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to make sure that people understand actually drones have not caused a huge
number of civilian casualties. For the most part, they have been very precise, precision strikes against al Qaeda and their affiliates.
ANDERSON: Well, despite these reassurances, human rights groups like Amnesty and Human Rights Watch have raised concerns about the number of
civilians killed in drone strikes.
Drone is a new documentary exploring the consequences of such anonymous attacks on the communities targeted and the operators themselves.
TONJE HESSEN SCHEI, DIRECTOR, DRONE: Drones are sold as this perfect weapon in the war on terror where you have a very, very precise weapons
system that almost surgically removes, you know, the top leaders of al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations.
What we're not hearing, though, is how many civilians are actually being killed in the drone strikes.
ANDERSON: The U.S. government has never revealed its count of overall drone deaths. Figures by watch dog group vary widely. For example, the
Bureau of Investigative Journalism reports that a total of around 520 CIA drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen between 2004 and 2015 killed between
500 and 1,000 civilians.
The New America Foundation estimates around 350 to 400 civilians killed in 531 drone strikes to date in Pakistan and Yemen.
Exact numbers of deaths are unknown and the drone program receives staunch support from Capitol Hill despite the civilian casualties.
CHRIS WOODS: Is there a war between the United States and Pakistan? No. Is the United States bombing in Pakistan week in, week out? Yes, it
is.
Nowhere has been more observed and more bombed by the CIA than was Waziristan. Thousands of people have been killed by drones in a covert
operation by the United States and haven't been charged. They haven't been arrested. They haven't been indicted, they've just been killed.
SCHELI: Well, I think what the drones allow is to remove sacrifice from warfare where you -- your own soldiers are not at risk. And I'm
afraid that is lowering the bar for going to war. And it's also allowing for extra judicial assassinations on a very, very high level that we
haven't seen before.
ANDERSON: Brandon Bryant's days as a drone operator are over, but the memories of killing will remain.
BRYANT: It was horrible. Sometimes it plays itself over and over again in your head so much that you just imagine who these people were.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, you'll find that posted on our site, on our Facebook site and our blog later after this show.
Live from Abu Dhabi, this is Connect the World with me Becky Anderson. Coming up, I'm going to take you on a night patrol in a South African
national park to show you how conservationists are trying to stop rhino poachers.
And it's a country on the move in the latest in our special series on India. We're looking at why it's set to become one of the world's major
car producers. That's next. Taking a very short break. Back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:45:47] ANDERSON: Well, tonight it's part three of our special series focusing on India. For those who have been there, you know that
it's a country that is always on the go. Across India, millions are moving to urban areas, which are becoming more crowded. And despite the man
challenges such rapid urbanization is bringing, it's also fueling a booming car industry. This from CNN's Mallika Kapur.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALLIKA KAPUR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The team at Mahindra and Mahindra are calling this the TOV3OO, launching their newest compact
SUV in an industrial town outside of Mumbai, the Indian car maker is gearing up for a tough market.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why will anyone buy a car anymore? People are going to buy things they love.
KAPUR: It's a question Anand Mahindra is tackling at the helm of one of India's most popular auto brands, steering through a market that's
rapidly expanded into the world's fifth largest, on track to take the third largest slot by 2020.
I know this is a make in India product, a fully made in India product. What does that tag mean to you?
ANAND MAHINDRA, MAHINDRA AND MAHINDRA: It obviously make me feel warm inside, warm and fuzzy. But I have to say, Mallika, that we are seeing
ourselves less and less as an Indian maker. Our goal is to be seen as a global car maker.
KAPUR: Mahindra is a rare manufacturing success in a country not typically known for making cars. And while the man and the brand have
international dreams, locally there is a demanding and raw market brewing.
MAHINDRA: Because if you look at the penetration rates in India, it's something absurd, it's something like 15, 17 -- 15 to 17 cars per 1,000.
KAPUR: It's so low.
MAHINDRA: Compared to even 70 in China.
KAPUR: correct.
MAHINDRA: So, forget the U.S, which is a whole 900.
KAPUR: That's a different...
MAHINDRA: That's a different ball game. But when you look at what can happen here, we are simply at the cusp.
KAPUR: So, few Indians own cars, so the country is seen as one of the most attractive growth opportunities for the global industry. And for
years, Mahindra has capitalized on this, tailoring their product to the needs of a rising Middle Class.
Is there anything about this car that's been designed for the Indian market? The Indian consumer?
RAMKRIPA ANANTHAN, CHIEF DESIGNER: This target customer we are looking at macho, bold and is looking for a big, imposing SUV. And as you
know, our (inaudible) is really small. It's some four meters. So we had to make the design so that it has the imposing character even though the...
KAPUR: It had to be within four meters.
But today, macho and bold might not necessarily matter. In an industry that appears to be changing lanes, not through design...
You talked earlier about the issue of access. Can you explain that to us some more?
MAHINDRA: An age where people -- and mostly younger people -- are going to want access to transportation and not necessarily want to own the
medium of transportation. And I'm obviously referring to things like Uber and Ola (ph).
KAPUR: Ola (ph) in India, yea.
MAHINDRA: And that's going to transform the industry. But that does not mean that there will be an extinction of the car owner, of the person
who wants to own a car. The question is, what kind of car will he or she want to buy?
KAPUR: For Mahindra, the answer is easy: a business model where love is the strategy.
Mallika Kapur, CNN, Chankhan (ph), western India.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, we've got a lot more for you on growing India this week here on Connect the World as we bring you insight into that
fascinating country. Tomorrow we are taking you to (inaudible) as we head to one of India's holiest cities, Raranathi (ph) to meet renowned silk
weavers whose historic trade is under threat.
As growing India Wednesday, 7:00 p.m. in Abu Dhabi. You can work out what time that will be locally, I'm sure, wherever you are watching.
Live from Abu Dhabi, this is Connect the World. It is 49 minutes past 7:00 as we speak. Coming up, heavily armed and well trained
conservationists in south Africa are using military style tactics to help save an animal hunted to near extinction. Up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:51:56] ANDERSON: Rhinos are under threat. A lucrative black market in the sale of rhino horns has fueled illegal poaching.
Now these rhino horns were seized at the airport in Hong Kong where experts say they could have brought smugglers more than $5,000 an ounce.
We are talking an enormous amount of money.
Activists hope that World Rhino Day, which is being marked today, will bring greater attention to the illegal trade and efforts to stop it. It
clearly continues. Our David McKenzie, then, shows us what is being done in South Africa. And I've got to warn you, his report does contain some
graphic images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Heavily armed rangers in South Africa looking for rhino poachers, but searching everyone.
They've come to lay a trap.
MARK PRESTON, PROTRACK ANTI-POACHING: As far as I've been told, they're coming this way. They're going to be chased this way. And I'm
going to box them in here.
MCKENZIE: Here, conservation is looking a lot more like a bush war.
[08:40:05] CHEYNE VAN ROOYEN, PROTRACK ANTI-POACHING: We've always try to look and try to put ourselves into the poacher's shoes and trying to
think like a poacher.
MCKENZIE: To do that, Rangers like Josiah Malloy (ph) train for months to read the signs of the bush.
He's saying that anything out of the ordinary, it's important to look out for it and call it in, because this is out in the bush. Litter,
footprints, broken branches, it all could mean that poachers are around.
Poachers normally work in small groups with a heavy caliber weapon to shoot the rhino, small arms to protect against rangers.
Sometimes they hack the horns while the rhino is still alive.
Those horns are more valuable than gold, fueled by Asian demand where they are falsely believed to have medicinal qualities.
And the poachers are moving deeper into South Africa. No longer confined to the country's eastern border, the war is now coming from
within.
VINCENT B ARKAS, PROBACK ANTI-POACHING: Unfortunately, the feet from the ground with a gun that kill a poacher, I believe is the wrong way
forward. We're causing more resentment, more hatred towards our wildlife, towards conservation as a whole than we are any good.
MCKENZIE: But he says all they can do now is train like a military force, and fight fire with fire. But they're outmanned, outgunned, and
often out-maneuvered.
PRESTON: Sometimes the information is good and you knock the guys. But it doesn't happen every day.
MCKENZIE: No arrests tonight, but no rhinos taken.
David McKenzie, CNN, Baluli (ph), South Africa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, your Parting Shots then tonight we're going to stick with this issue, because the problem is huge. Over 1,200 rhinos
slaughtered across the country last year alone, according to government figures. For more on what is being done, then, to stop that, I'm joined
via Skype by Les Carlisle from Cape Town. He's a project manager for Rhinos Without Borders.
And Les, I actually want to start with a good news story out of all of this, because I know that you sent us some video of a new born baby rhino
in the Okavango Delta and here are those pictures. And just talk us through the significance of what we are seeing on our screens.
LES CARLISLE, RHINOS WTIHOUT BORDERS: The most amazing sort of reinforcement of hope is when things breed. We've seen constant slaughter
in rhinos all the time. And here we have a group of rhinos that have been reintroduced into Botswana in April. And this was the first calf out of
that reintroduction.
So it's incredible news and on World Rhino Day. We couldn't have timed it better if we'd written a script ourselves.
ANDERSON: The problem is this. Supply equal demand, correct, correct? I mean there is a business in how on Earth do you stop this rhino
poaching?
CARLISLE: Well, I think that's a challenge that we all face. And I think that there's no silver bullet to these problems. I think we're going
to have to find locally crafted solutions to local problems. And I think everybody is going to have to do everything they're doing better and more
of it at every level whether it comes to demand reduction in the Asian countries or whether it comes to security of the actual populations in
Africa. We're going to have to improve everything we do.
And most importantly, we're going to have to constantly hammer away at the middle lines, at the conduits that actually transport the products out
of Africa into the Asian markets. It's trying to break that chain I think that's going to have the most success.
And the chain is convoluted and different in every area. So, there's no single solution to this problem. It's going to have to be more of
everything, plus a whole other thing that we're currently not doing.
We've taken this role of wanting to translocate rhinos and create satellite populations all over the place and spread the (inaudible) as part
of the strategy. And I think that's critical.
ANDERSON: Les Carlisle is out of Cape Town in South Africa, sending us today what are some really optimistic pictures there you see on the
right of your screen a new baby rhino. And one of the sanctuaries there. Rhinos Without Borders. But clearly defining the challenges ahead.
I'm Becky Anderson. Les, thank you.
That was Connect the World. Thank you for watching from the team here in Abu Dhabi as ever it was a very good evening. CNN continues after this
short break. Don't go away.
END