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Priest Killed in Terror Attack; At least 19 Killed in Attack on Disabled Facility in Japan; Michelle Obama Steals Show at DNC Convention; The New Face of Rio de Janeiro; Solar Impulse 2 Completes Historic Journey. Aired 11:00a-12:00p ET
Aired July 26, 2016 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:21] BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: Tonight, terror in France. There is more bloodshed in Europe as a priest is brutally killed in his own church.
We'll get you the very latest developments and analysis, all this hour.
Plus, a deadly stabbing rampage leaves Japan in shock. 19 people are killed at a residential home for the disabled.
And...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It started with a bang.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Just days to go until the Olympics. Will Brazil be ready? Our special report from Rio is just ahead.
It is just after 7:00 here in the UAE. Hello and welcome to Connect the World. I'm Becky Anderson.
We begin in France with where the country is grapping with yet another terror attack inspired
by ISIS. Now, this is the latest in a wave of violence across Europe in just days. And it seems even a place of sanctuary is no longer safe.
Two men stormed a church in northern region of Normandy. They held five people hostage, killing one of them, an 86-year-old priest, and
seriously wounding another.
The situation ended when police shot the terrorists dead.
One person is in custody in connection with the attack. President Francois Holladne called it
a, quote, cowardly assassination.
Jim Bitterman is live in Paris with the very latest -- Jim.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Becky, in fact we are hearing more details, among other thing, that there is a police raid
going on right now about 500 yards away from that church at the home -- the believed home of the one of the assailants.
Clearly, someone who knew the church well because this was right in his neighborhood. This took place in a town of about 28,000 people. And
to show you -- give you an idea how small this church was, there were only five people in the mass this morning -- a priest, two nuns and two
parishioners.
One of the nuns managed to escape and described for our colleagues at BFM in fact what had
happened. She said that the assailants came in forced the priest to his knees, slashed his throat, attacked one of the other parishioners. And he
was able to escape and alert the police to this. That allowed the police to move one of their SWAT teams from Rouen, which is just a short distance
away from St. Etienne. They were able to move the SWAT teams in and as the assailants were coming out of the church they shot both of them dead --
Becky.
ANDERSON: One of the headlines I've just seen printed in one of the British newspapers "In a summer of hate, France is under attack." I guess
that's fair at this point, Jim?
BITTERMANN: Well, I think that's certainly what the president would say. In fact, he did say just about that when he appeared on the scene
there. They clearly must have known that this was a terrorist attack from the very beginning because the president and interior minister left Paris
for this hour-and-a-half to two hour ride up to this church and got there almost immediately after things were resolved.
So they must have known that these terrorists -- this was a terrorist event. And he said something similar to what you are saying, basically
that France is at war with the terrorists, and no means would be left aside in order to fight the war. He also said that the French should be aware in
a the terrorists would not give up and so they had to be confronted at every turn.
So making some sounds like perhaps France might up its ante a little bit in the Middle East in terms of the ISIS fight in the Middle East.
There already are French aircraft involved bombing targets in Syria and Iraq.
So, yes, I think this has put the country on edge. And I think people are really concerned that virtually no place is safe now after the attacks
of the last two weeks -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Jim Bittermann is in Paris. Jim, thank you for that.
Journalist Stephan De Vries is in the town where the attack happened. Stephan, what can you tell us from there? Describe the atmosphere, if you
will.
STEPHAN DE VRIES, JOURNALIST: Well, the atmosphere is eerie, of course. It is a very small town with a lot of small houses. People are
wandering, walking around the streets, talking to each other on the corners and clearly very impressed and very saddened, of course, what happened in
there usually very, very quiet town in the west of France.
So that's the situation right here. Of course the center around the church is still sealed off by a lot of very heavily armed police forces.
There is a lot of media as well, a lot of journalists. But the city, the town, is very, very quiet, actually. And you feel the tension. You feel
the sadness, the disbelief about what happened earlier this morning.
[11:05:34] ANDERSON: Let's talk about what happened because -- and those behind this attack. These were characters known to the police. They
were electronically tagged. They had made comments about wanting to go to Syria in the past.
Yeah, go on. Tell us what we know to date.
DE VRIES: Well, what we know, not for sure, because it has not been officially confirmed by the police, but allegedly one of the two attackers
was indeed -- had been arresting for traveling to Syria, for attempting to travel to Syria, had been arrested in Geneva earlier this year in May, and
then handed to France. He was indeed carrying an electronic ankle bracelet. This is -- these are reports -- unofficial
reports by police sources. So at least one of the two was known to the police forces. And well the latest information -- that has not been
confirmed either, that's what Jim was saying earlier as well, that probably one of the two guys came from this same village. So, he knew the church.
He attempted to travel to Syria. He was known to the police services and then he committed this attack in his own town.
ANDERSON; And this is -- describe this town for us. This is a smallish town. People would have known each other, correct?
DE VRIES: Absolutely. The street where I'm standing in right now it's about -- I can see the church, it's about 200 yards from the church.
These are all small individual houses with small gardens in front of them. People are -- children are riding a bicycle, playing with a ball. There is
knots a lot of traffic. It's very quiet. It's in the western part of the country, Normandy, known for its -- well, you know, forests, trees. It's a
very peaceful neighborhood, a very popular area as well for holiday.
So it is not at all an area you would idea with terrorism or even with crime. The crime rates is not especially high here.
So it is a huge contrast between what has happened early this morning and what I'm seeing now, lush green hills with a very, well, lovely little
church in front of it.
ANDERSON: Stephan, we appreciate your reporting tonight. Stephan De Vries is on the scene
for you in what is that small town in northern France. You can find the latest on this attack on our website. Our reporters and teams right around
Europe covering every angle of this story for you. And they are putting it all into perspective looking at all the attacks that have been battering
Europe over the last few months at CNN.com. We'll keep you bang up to day in the way only this network can.
Again, that is CNN.com.
Well, meanwhile, neighboring Germany still reeling from the country's first ISIS-linked suicide bombing carried out by a Syrian failed asylum
seeker new a music festival where he had been turned away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I saw a person about 20 yards from me and who was watching me. He made several phone calls. He seemed
hectic and nervous and kept looking left and right and behind himself to see if someone was watching him. He then kept looking at me to see if
maybe I would leave my post so he could get in. I turn by back to him 20 or 30 seconds then looked back and he was gone, and then the explosion
happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, the premiere of Bavaria said Tuesday that, quote, Islamic terrorism has arrived in Germany.
My colleague, Atika Shubert reports on a week of horror.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A train stabbing, a mass shooting, a machete attack, and now a suicide blast, four attacks in one week. Three carried out by refugees, all in the Bavaria region. The
attacks appear unrelated, but Germany is on edge, says Bavaria's interior minister.
JOACHIM HERMAN, GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER (through translator): Yes, this was also for me personally a very terrible week as I think it was for
most people in Bavaria. The attack last Monday on the train in Wurzburg, then the rampage in Munich Friday night. And now again an attack.
The attacker in Ansbach was a 27-year-old Syrian refugee with a history of suicide attempts, according to police. His asylum application
had been rejected. Police say he packed a rucksack with explosives, but also screws and ball bearings to inflict maximum damage.
His target: a local music festival. He tried to enter, but had no ticket. Eyewitnesses told police he sat down in a nearby bar, leaned
forward, then exploded. He killed only himself, but wounded more
Police searched his apartment looking for explosives and any links to terror groups.
This is where he lived. It's about maybe a half hour walk to where he ultimately died in that explosion that he set off. That's his apartment
right there. And we've had a chance to speak to his neighbors, other refugees also staying here in Germany. And what they say is they didn't
see any signs of him becoming extremist or even being worried in any way. They described him as friendly and happy.
[11:10:48] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was happy always, always. Just one week ago I saw him. He was happy.
SHUBERT: did he ever mention any extremist jihadist groups like ISIS, like al Qaeda, anything like that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, he didn't. He didn't. He told me that he left his country, because of the civil war in Syria. If he was extremist,
he could have joined to those groups in his homeland. Why he was here?
SHUBERT: Across the street, German neighbors say it won't change their views on refugees. They welcome them. But they are scared.
This neighbor said, "it doesn't change our opinion on refugees, but we can see what's going on in their minds. Most refugees are so friendly to
us, but these events are just so shocking and that scares us."
The Ansbach attacker appears unrelated to the Afghan teenager who took an ax to train passengers in Wurzburg, or the Syrian refugee who hacked a
woman to death with a machete in Reutlingen to an train.
Police say the Munich shooter was a bullied teenager, German-Iranian, with no connection to any of the other attacks. But the growing number of
victims from this string of violent germans fearing even more violence.
Atika Shubert, CNN, Ansbach, Germany.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: And a lot more on the attacks in Europe throughout this hour. Just ahead, though, allegations that Russia is trying to meddle in
the U.S. presidential election. We'll update the investigation into the hacking of Democratic Party emails and get some perspective from award
winning journalist Glen Greenwald.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, anticipation is building fora big night ahead of the Democratic National Convention. Hillary Clinton's name will be written in
the history books as the first woman ever nominated by a major party for U.S. president.
The convention got to have to a raucous start from Monday. Despite the theme of united together, some Bernie Sanders delegates interrupted
speeches in chants of anti-Clinton booes.
Bernie Sanders tried to quiet the storm in his primetime address. He took the stage to deafening applause.
...president AND said he is proud to support her campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, VERMONT: Any objective observer will conclude that based on her ideas and her leadership, Hillary Clinton must become the
next president of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, another show stopper, first Lady Michelle Obama. She gave a deeply personal speech talking about family and praising Hillary
Clinton's values while taking subtle swipes at Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY: We try to guide and protect our girls through the challenges of this unusual life in the spotlight. How we urge
them to ignore those who question their father's citizenship or faith, how we insist that the hateful language that they hear from public figures on
TV does not represent the true spirit of this country. How we explain that when someone is cruel or acts like a bully, you don't stoop to their level.
No. Our motto is when they go low, we go high.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Let's get more from my colleague, Hala Gorani who is live at the convention site in Philadelphia.
That was day one. Set us up for day two.
Well, we are expecting Bill Clinton, of course, the husband of Hillary Clinton, to address supporters and delegates here. But you ran a bit of
that Michelle Obama speech, and certainly that was absolutely the most -- I want to say the most successful speech, the most watched, the most tweeted
about, talked about speech. She certainly stole the show even though the keynote speaker was Bernie Sanders.
And there were some issues with some of his supporters, unhappy that Bernie Sanders is calling
on those who supported him during the primary process to throw their support behind Hillary Clinton.
I'm going to get, though, right to my next guest, Jim Messina who is a former White House deputy chief of staff, ran the campaign for Barack Obama
in 2012 and is now the head of the Messina group. Thanks very much for being with us.
I want to start by asking you, first of all, how do you top Michelle Obama now? Even Bill Clinton, perhaps even Barack Obama, won't come close
to that.
JIM MESSINA, MASSINA GROPU: Look, I think Michelle Obama gave one of the more important speeches in the last 30 years in Democratic politics. I
remember eight years ago when I was with her when she did her first speech how nervous she was. And she literally shaking. And then eight years
later, last night I was tearing up. I was so proud of her.
And what you are seeing just an explosion of support. And I think she did a very important thing for Hillary Clinton, she explained very clearly
why it doesn't matter whether you are a Democrat, a Republican or an independent why this election is so important. And I think this speech
last night will be the most important speech of the convention.
GORANI: Because Hillary -- I mean, in a way I do wonder, will Hillary Clinton have issues now because she will be compared to Michelle Obama and
how charismatic and popular her speech was? I mean, could that be an issue?
MESSINA: Well, look, I think Hillary Clinton, this is her convention, this is her moment to make her case to the American public. During her last
campaign, her husband, Bill Clinton, would call me every 10 days during the Obama campaign and tell me one thing over and over: "all presidential
elections are always about the future." And Hillary has to lay out a clear vision of what that future will look like under her presidency. And I
think that's what she's going to do.
GORANI; Now, you used technology a lot. This was already in 2012. And the world has moved on quite a bit from the technology we had in 2012.
Here you have Donald Trump, 10 million plus Twitter followers. He uses social media so well. How does the Hillary campaign try to sort of compete
against that?
MESSINA: Look, I tell people all the time, if you don't follow Donald Trump on Twitter, if you don't watch him, you are missing a master class on
social media.
But I think think American presidential elections are about something bigger than that. They really are, as Bill Clinton said about message,
about the future. They really are about a vision. Americans understand this is a really important decision. And Hillary has a great social media
operation, a bunch of people who used to work with me, with Obama, are helping her.
But it's not about tactics, it's about message, it's about a vision for the future.
GORANI: But look at her polls, though. Her unfavorability rating is sky high. It's actually, according to a CNN/ORC poll released yesterday,
at its highest ever recorded. 68 percent think she is not trustworthy.
MESSINA: Well, Hala, you and I -- you know this from my background, I think all public polls should be shot. None of -- they are all garbage.
They are all trying to measure a moment in time and not an overall -- these elections in America, America is now the most partisan country in the
world. Only between 7 and 10 percent of Americans are really undecided in this election. And those people are going to look at a vision and compare
these two candidates, and they are not going to do it on the Twitter feed.
I tell people all the time, no swing voter has ever been on Twitter.
GORANI: Yeah, OK. Well, let's talk about that background that you just referenced there. You advised David Cameron in this referendum in the
United Kingdom. Of course he was pro remain, Brexit won. You were one of his advisers. What went wrong here?
MESSINA: Well, I think two things. One, what you are seeing throughout the world, you are seeing it with Donald Trump on the right,
you're seeing it with Bernie Sanders on the left, you saw it in Brexit is palpable anger at the system, anger at politics. I think voters decided to
send a message despite the economic contrasts. Every poll was wrong in that election, as you know. That's why everything all polls are garbage.
I think what you are seeing is people throwing away sort of conventional wisdom and trying
to send a message to politicians. And I think that's why Michelle's speech was so important last night. She tried to address that in a very specific
way and talk about the real economic consequences of this election.
GORANI; Clearly, you think Hillary Clinton is going to win in November.
MESSINA: Look, I think this campaign is in three stages. Number one, when no one thought
Donald Trump could win. Number two right now the race is going to be tied throughout the fall and look very, very close. But in the battleground
states there is really only eight to ten states that really matter in this election. And in those states, you have a higher minority population,
younger population and I think those voters distrust and cannot stand Donald Trump and I think Hillary is going to
clean up in the battleground states.
GORANI: Jim Messina, thanks so much. Really appreciate your time.
Becky we'll have a lot more, of course, from the Democratic National Convention here in Philadelphia on a special edition of The World Right Now
at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. Back to you in Abu Dhabi.
ANDERSON: Hala, thank you very much, indeed.
Well, Russia's foreign minister is dismissing claims that Moscow is behind the hacking of Democratic party emails, a saga you will remember
that very much overshadowed the start of this convention and saw the end of the party chairwoman. When asked by a reporter about the scandal today
Sergey Lavrov said I don't want to use four-letter words.
CNN's Jim Sciutto explains why Russia has emerged as the prime suspect.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. officials believe the hack of DNC e-mails bear the hallmarks of
Russian cyber activity. The FBI is now investigating. But experts on Russian cyber attacks say the timing of the release, on the eve of the
Democratic Party convention, points to a possible attempt to influence the U.S. election.
JIM LEWIS, CYBER EXPERT, CNS: They've certainly used hacking in the past to get political results. It's their modus operandi. They use hacking
to shape opinion to get political results. So it fits with what they've done in the past.
SCIUTTO: Hillary Clinton's campaign manager took the allegation a step further saying the release was intended to help her rival, Republican
candidate Donald Trump.
ROBBY MOOK, HILLARY FOR AMERICAN CAMPAIGN MANAGER: I don't think it's coincidental that these e-mails convention here and that's disturbing.
SCIUTTO: The cyber security firm Crowd Strike, which analyzed the attack, found digital fingerprints pointing to Russia, including time
stamps matching Moscow's time zone and some coding in the Russian language.
Democratic Party officials and others have also pointed to Trump Campaign Manager Paul Manafort's past work for the pro-Russian former
president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, as well as Donald Trump's own public expressions of support for Vladimir Putin.
TRUMP: I respect Putin. He's a strong leader.
SCIUTTO: Reported financial ties to Trump's businesses and Russian backers, and comments last week that he might not come to the aid of NATO
allies under attack if elected president.
Donald Trump's son dismissed the alleged ties outright.
DONALD TRUMP JR, SON OF DONALD TRUMP: I mean, I can't think of bigger lies but that exactly goes to show you what the DNC and what the Clinton
camp will do.
SCIUTTO: Russia has accused the U.S. of political tampering of its own. Moscow believes the U.S. orchestrated the pro-democracy protests in
Kiev in 2013, which deposed President Yanukovych in favor of a more pro- Western Poroshenko.
Some see potential Russian payback in the attack on the DNC.
LEWIS: They want to undermine our information hegemony and win the battle in the information space. This is just another part of that effort.
Jim Sciutto, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, for more on this hacking scandal, I want to bring in journalist Glenn Greenwald. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his reports on
classified documents leaked by the NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden. He's also been highly critical of U.S. national security policy, including the
country's mass surveillance programs.
He's now a co-founder and journalist with The Intercept. And with us tonight out of Rio de Janeiro.
Thank you, sir.
We know that the FBI is investigating this hack, Glenn, and it is reported that FBI officials believe it was the work of the Russian
government. How difficult would that be to prove?
[11:25:22] GLENN GREENWALD, THE INTERCEPT: Well, I would hope that the lesson
from the Iraq war and other similar debacles is that the more consequential an accusation is, the more information we should acquire before we actually
get rid of our skepticism and believe it.
Even in that report that we just heard that you played, although there were people accusing Trump of being linked to Russia and Russia being
behind the link the reporter said accurately there is no hard evidence that links Russia to this hack.
There's an interview this morning in Slate with former high level Justice Department official, current Harvard law professor Jack Goldsmith
in which he says, quote, the truth is, there is no public evidence linking Russia to this hack.
So there is a long history in the United States, quite ugly history, of trying to link political opponents to the Kremlin and accuse them of
having disloyalty to the U.S. because they are controlled by Russia.
ANDERSON: Right.
GREENWALD: And that seems to be a lot of what this is as well.
ANDERSON: OK. Should this turn out to be Russian intelligence services, would it surprise you?
GREENWALD: It wouldn't surprise me because it's very common for countries to hack into each other's computer systems. The reporting we
were able to do as part of the Snowden archive showed that the U.S. frequently does this. Professor Goldsmith this morning listed all the
democratic elections in which the U.S. has interfered in order to get the results it wanted. So, it wouldn't shock me if Russia was engaged in cyber
attacks on the U.S.
But I just wouldn't believe it either until I see actual hard evidence that it's true.
ANDERSON: How widespread, Glenn, is the rigging of major political campaigns globally?
GREENWALD: I mean, there are certainly all kinds of examples during the Cold War of both the United States through the CIA and the Soviet Union
through the KGB trying to interfere in the political affairs of other countries in order to generate outcomes that it wants. But typically when
that's done it's done a lot more professionally and a lot more competently than seems to be the case here where supposedly this really sophisticated
nefarious high level Russian agency did a hack on the DNC, but failed to cover its footprints. That seems a little difficult to believe, but it's
certainly common that the U.S. and Russia, both under the Soviet Union and since its fall, try to get information on other countries, hack into
computer systems, and manipulate political outcomes.
ANDERSON: Right. And we can agree that somebody infiltrated these DNC emails, and we are not talking about motivation here, we are just
talking about whether the Russians were capable of it, and you have suggested they are.
How difficult is it to prevent that, that rigging of a political campaign, the infiltration of for example, the DNC? Certainly the FBI has
warned of it, or U.S. intelligence agencies, have warned of it. How difficult is it to prevent it? Is it possible or impossible these days?
GREENWALD: It's not easy, but it is doable. Of course one of the issues with the other email scandal of this campaign, which was the one
about Hillary Clinton installing the server at her house, was that sometimes people who have the responsibility to safeguard important
information are careless or reckless about protecting it and leave it vulnerable to these kinds of attacks.
Ironically, there was an article on BuzzFeed about four months ago that said that both the RNC and the DNC are failing to take important steps
to protect themselves from cyber attacks. And one of the emails that leaked, so ironically, was a DNC official mocking BuzzFeed for suggesting
that they don't take important enough steps to protect their information.
So it's not like there is anything that's a 100 percent foolproof, but there definitely are steps that
organizations should and can take in order to protect this information from being hacked.
ANDERSON: Fascinating. Thank you, sir.
All news headlines just ahead for you. Plus, we'll bring you the very latest on the terror attack in France. Live reports are ahead. Stay with
us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(HEADLINES)
[11:34:14] ANDERSON: Well, this situation is becoming too familiar for President Hollande. Since the Charlie Hebdo attack last year there
have been ten actual or attempted terror attacks in France.
In total, 245 people have died in attacks since then, including 84 in Nice just earlier this month.
Let's get you back to Jim Bittermann, who is in Paris for you this evening.
This is no doubt a tragedy, by no means dismissing that, but are some finding political opportunity here, Jim?
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Becky. And just before we get to that, I just wanted to show the pictures of this
raid that is taking place right now just about 500 yards from that church where the attack took place this morning, we believe this is the home of
either the family or the assailant -- one of the assailants involved, that were involved in the attack this morning, the police are trying to track
down any kind of links that the assailant may have had. There were two assailants at the church, one of whom was under surveillance by the police.
He was wearing an electronic bracelet after an attempt to go to Syria for training. He was turned over to the Turks, the Turks turned him over to
the French, the French put him in jail. He was let out of jail and put on -- and was given an electronic bracelet which was supposed to keep track
him.
But apparently, according some of the reports that are coming out now, he had permission to leave his perimeter around his home for a few hours
each morning. And apparently it was during those hours this morning that he committed the attack.
In any case, getting back to what you were saying, that fact, the fact that he was wearing an
electronic bracelet is going to arouse a lot of political firestorm here, I think. Already the politicians
are pushing back. Marie Le Pen, the leader of the Front Nationale Party has said that this attack today is just the result of 30 years of laxness
on the governments of both parties that have just not done enough to fight against terrorism.
Nicholas Sarkozy, the former president, he said that we have to do a complete rethink of strategy against terrorism. Some people are coming up
with all kinds of suggestions, which would impinge on civil rights. For example, one politician here suggested that anyone looking at jihadist websites should be put under arrest, or at least
brought to some kind of an official recognition or brought to the attention of police if you just look at a jihadist website.
Other people are calling for an end top double nationality, which is to say French nationality and nationality from somewhere else in the world
especially if it happens to be in the Arab world. So, that's something that has been called for here for some time now.
And in this case, I don't think it would have made any difference at all, at least from what we know of the assailants. They are believed to
have been born and grown up very close to where the attacks took place -- Becky.
[11:37:19] ANDERSON: Jim Bittermann in Paris. Jim, thanks for that.
Let's get a sense for the bigger picture now and the context of these attacks with Haras Rafiq. He is the managing director of London-based
counter extremism think tank Quilliam.
I was in Paris, what was it ten days ago now, reporting on the Nice attacks of Bastille Day. And I remember talking to people who are -- were
and will continue to be shocked when these events happen. But many people I spoke to in France said that they weren't surprised. What else can
authorities do at this point?
This is -- people describing this as a summer of hate, of anxiety. But we're talking 18 months here, of numerous attacks. Let's start with
what you think authorities can do at this point.
HARAS RAFIQ, MANAGING DIRECTOR, QUILLIAM FOUNDATION: Well, first of all, there needs to be the recognition of the problem that we're facing.
This isn't just isolated terrorist attacks in France or in Germany, this is -- we're living in a time of what we call a global jihadist insurgency.
And we have been talking about this now for years. And to some extent, the words that we have been saying have been falling on deaf ears.
But we're living in that time, and we need to face up to the problem. This problem, for any insurgency to thrive, exist, survive, it needs a
particular type of oxygen, it needs the ideology, it needs the ideas. That's what we need to counter, that is what we need to nip in
the bud.
Currently, one of the things -- sorry.
ANDERSON: Go on. go on. Sorry.
RAFIQ: Sorry. Sorry. Yeah.
Currently, what the authorities have been doing, especially in France, is just focusing on the sharp end of the problem, a little bit like
treating the symptoms, a little bit like giving the antibiotic when somebody is recognized as supporting or becoming a jihadist or a terrorist,
and not focusing on providing the inoculation, and that's something we need to do more of.
ANDERSON: OK. So, let's talk about that then. How do you provide the inoculation at this point?
RAFIQ: Well, there is a number of ways we do it. If you look at what we have in the UK, we have a number of -- policies -- we have something
called the counter-extremism strategy. What we have recognized is that this problem, this phenomenon, cannot be fixed by law and war. You know,
the fact these terrorists have been -- we've seen nearly one attack every single day this week. And they keep pushing the envelope.
Today's attack was particularly poignant. What they have done today is they selected a target where they have actually declared a war on
Christianity. We have he got Bagdadi, the leader of ISIS, who has been calling for a war on Rome, and Rome here now is Christianity. And this
really has a resonance of hundreds of years of history.
So, what we need to do is really deconstruct the ideology and the narratives that they use. And we need to recognize that youngsters -- you
know, the typical age range, Becky, of somebody going out in the west to join ISIS in Iraq and Syria is in between 14 and 25, and
at least 10 percent of them are women. So, we need to focus on who these guys have got contact with and interaction with.
ANDERSON: Yeah, all right. And this is a conversation we have been having for years, it seems now. Pre-ISIS, when we were talking about al
Qaeda. And I'm wondering at this point whether it is this complicated, or perhaps it's a little easier than this. Oxygen of publicity. The media
continues to cover these attacks. Perhaps we all have to naval gaze a little bit more going forward. I don't know.
Is that perhaps -- would that provide a bit more of a -- something we get our teeth into? Would that be part of the solution?
You know, these guys are not heroes to anybody. And we have to understand that. Can we simplify in anyway and just say do we not just go
after these nutters more aggressively at this point?
RAFIQ: Do you know Gilles de Kerchove, who is the head of the EU counter-terrorism, said in an open forum that I was -- I was sharing a
panel with him in Prague about a year ago. And he said the shortest time that he has seen somebody becoming radicalized from showing sympathy or
empathy for islamist extremism to becoming operational is two weeks.
Who do we go after? If we actually want to go after somebody, how do we go after somebody who might be on the fringes, how do we go after
somebody who might be thinking about it? ISIS does not radicalize anybody. I have been doing this 12 years now. ISIS -- this belief -- you mentioned
we talked about al Qaeda 10 years ago. We talked about ISIS inspired extremism now.
ISIS and al Qaeda didn't inspire extremism, extremism inspired them. What ISIS does very well is to take people who have been radicalized with
our society by islamist ideology that creates a particular world view and gives them an outlet, gives -- just picks from them, cherry picks from them
a small number of people.
We now have remote radicalization, which is becoming remote operationalization. How do we go after people like that?
We need to nip this in the bud. We need to make sure -- we talk about counter narratives. You know, lots of experts talk about this. It's not
enough. Deconstruct the narrative, counter the narratives, but also promote the alternatives.
And by the way, you know, one of the things that I'm concerned about right now is we have this
attack today in France. Think of an ordinary person in Europe or the west who is Christian who has never met a Muslim who now suddenly thinks, you
know what, I'm angry. I'm upset. All Muslims are like this, all Islam is like this.
ISIS and al Qaeda and other groups, islamist groups, want to take people out of the gray zones, want to take people out of the middle, create
this polarization. We, the ordinary citizens of the west, need to take control of the middle ground.
Of course we're going to have the odd person who is going to go out and go from zero to hero, this instant gratification, as you mentioned,
this exposure on the media, people want to push the envelope. Of course we're going to get the odd person.
But this is a generational struggle. And we don't get this right and nip it in the buds and tackle this from a civil society perspective, we
are still going to be having the same conversations in ten year's time.
ANDERSON: I agree with you.
Thank you, sir.
Moving on tonight. In japan, at least 19 people were stabbed to death at a facility for the disabled west of Tokyo. A former employee is
accused in what was a deadly attack. Officials say the 26-year-old broke into the facility through a window and turned himself in an hour later
carrying a bloodstained knife and cloth.
CNN's Ivan Watson reports from Japan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Becky, this sleepy community in Japan just about an hour's drive out of Tokyo still very much reeling after the
deadliest massacre that this country has seen in generations. And it unfolded before dawn at this disabled person's
home here, which has a population of about 149 residents.
Before dawn, one of the former employees, police say, broke into the building and then began
murdering patients one by one with a death toll of at least 19 people killed, and some 26 people wounded, among them 13 very seriously wounded.
The ages of the victims range from about 18 years old to all the way up to 70. The people here, they are living here with a variety of
different kind of physical and psychiatric disabilities.
The police and the government have identified the killer as a 26-year- old former employee of the disabled persons' home named Satoshi Uematsu who actually turned
himself in to police within hours of the attack taking place.
He appears to have had a history of psychiatric problems. He had worked here for years, but in February -- mid-February, he delivered a
letter to the chairman of the lower house of the Japanese parliament. And that letter included, according to the public broadcaster, NHK, a call for
basically killing disabled people in Japan.
The contents of the letter of so much concern to authorities that the man was actually picked up by police several days later and taken to a
psychiatric hospital where he remained until March, when he was discharged after his condition reportedly improved. Only four months later, he then
carried out this devastating attack here.
We've spoken to some of the childhood friends of Satoshi Uematsu who have expressed shock
at his involvement in this deadly attack. Some big questions now about what kind of follow-up there may have been after his discharge from this
psychiatric hospital, which just four months later led to what some are describing as the deadliest massacre Japan has seen since World War II --
Becky.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[11:46:56] ANDRESON: Ivan Watson reporting.
Live from Abu Dhabi for you this evening, this is Connect the World.
Coming up, an Olympics full of wow moments or a woeful disappointment? We're going to bring you Rio's new look ahead of the games. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Right. We're now just ten days away from the Olympics opening ceremony. And from doping scandals to plumbing problems, the run
up to the games as you will be well aware has been plagued with issues large and small. But as well as a brave face, the host city is putting a
new face on. Shasta Darlington reports on Rio's revitalization.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Designed by renowned street artist, Cobra, using 3,000 spray cans and more than 200
gallons of paint, a massive graffiti mural is under way.
"There are a lot of problems in Brazil, inequality, politics, health services," he says. "But it's important to bring the Olympics here. It
brings a legacy, it changes the city, improves it."
It started with a bang, wiping out a highway overpass along the port, a sketchy place to avoid at all hours, now transformed for the 2016 Olympic
Games into with a cultural hub in the heart of Rio.
"The reforms have improved the city," she says. "But I'm not sure it was a top priority for society."
There's the eye-popping Museum of Tomorrow. And in place of cars, a new tram.
(on camera): The train was built to help get around downtown, but it's turned into a tourist attraction itself.
(voice-over): But the transformation has been over-shadowed by the collapse of a seaside bike lane meant to be part of the legacy, killing two
people. And a new metro line, still unfinished, far over budget. Also concerns the suburbs were left out of the big Olympic plan.
The mayor insists it can't solve all the problems, but it is a different city now than it was years ago.
[11:51:29] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It has brought great change to Rio, if you compare Rio to Rio.
DARLINGTON: An hour's drive north to a working class suburb with few frills and fewer public spaces. But here, an empty lot has been turned into
a park ahead of the game. Kids cool off in the shadow of the Olympics rings. During the games, they're going to turn it into a live sight with
giant screens.
For these boys at the skate park, it's been a game changer.
"Before, a lot of people just stayed at home," he says, "or got involved in things they shouldn't."
Now, they've got their own games going on.
Shasta Darlington, CNN, Rio de Janeiro.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Live from Abu Dhabi, you are watching Connect the World with me, Becky Anderson.
Coming up, an around the world flight that has landed straight into the history books. We're going to take a look at the remarkable journey of
Solar Impulse 2.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: A little more than 100 years ago on December 17, 1903 this plane leaped into the air, sort of, and managed to stay there. That
powered flight lasting just a few seconds etched the names of the men who built it into the history books: Orville and Wilbur Wright.
Well, today, July 26, may very well be remembered in a similar way in years to come, that is because Solar Impulse 2 has just completed the first
round the world flight powered solely by the sun.
It touched down into history right here in Abu Dhabi. For your Parting Shots tonight, our Jon Jensen has more on what was this
unprecedented journey.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[11:55:06] JON JENSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The long journey of Solar Impulse 2 is finally over, and aviation history has been made.
The solar powered plane landed in Abu Dhabi completing the first-ever round the world flight on an aircraft without using a single drop of oil.
This is really a story about determination, of modern day explorers using technology to set out and achieve something that has never been done
before.
BERTRAND PICCARD, PILOT, SOLAR IMPULSE 2: I am exhausted. I am so happy.
JENSEN: The plane is as light as an SUV, barely room enough for just one pilot at a time.
Their original plan was to crisscross around the globe in some five months. It took them 17. Delayed by bad weather, even damage to the
plane.
There were long, lonely nights.
One leg lasted 117 hours, breaking a record for the longest solo flight ever.
ANDRE BORSCHBERG, PILOT, SOLAR IMPULSE 2: (inaudible) opportunities as to the best way to move forward.
JENSEN: Despite the odds, the mission was a success. So will Solar Impulse change the
way you and I fly commercially? Probable not any time soon.
But for the Solar Impulse 2 team, changing commercial aviation wasn't the goal. Their's was a 35,000 kilometer journey of exploration and
imagination, a chance to highlight renewable energy as an alternative for the future and to prove that a plane can circle the globe powered entirely by the sun.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Remarkable.
And for more on the stories that we brought you today and others of course do head online. You can find out how Facebook is also using a solar
powered plane to provide Internet in hard to reach places. It's a great story. And it's at Facebook.com/CNNConnect.
I'm Becky Anderson, that was Connect the World from the team here it is a very good evening. Thank you for watching. CNN continues after this
short break. Don't go away.
END
