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Connect the World
Washington Woes; Suspect Was Inspired By ISIS Videos; Manafort Holds Multiple Passports, Fake Name And Email; White House Downplays Charges In Russia Probe; Blackwater Founder Considers Future. Aired 11-12p ET
Aired November 02, 2017 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:00:12] BECKY ANDERSON, CONNECT THE WORLD, CNN: It is 7:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi, 11:00 in Washington, a city where the President`s pronouncements
are incensing many. A City facing near paralysis by partisan politics. A city on edge by ever-widening Russia probes. I`m Becky Anderson. You`re
watching "Connect the World."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have to get much less politically correct. We`re so politically correct we`re afraid to do
anything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The President ought to stop tweeting and start leading.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What we`re talking about is a cataclysmic change, what we are talking about is the beginning of cyber warfare.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: A very good evening to you. We begin with some disturbing new video captured in the aftermath of the Halloween attack in New York. We`ve
reported on how the attacker used a truck to mow down pedestrians and cyclists on a bike path. It stopped only after it hit a school bus filled
with kids. Have a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (BEEP) oh, my god. Are you ok? Oh, my god. Oh, my god. Hey, can you call 911? I`ve got- oh, my god. Oh my god. Ok. I
need an ambulance right here. Right here. He got t-boned.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: You can hear the panic and fear in the voices of those first responders, as they saw the full extent of the damage and realized the bus
had children inside it, too. Those kids were among those injured in the attack which left eight people dead. Authorities say the suspect in
Tuesday`s attack is charged with providing material support to ISIS, violence and destruction of motor vehicles. The 29 year-old Uzbek national
is said to be speaking freely. We`re told he started planning the attack a year ago and was inspired by ISIS videos. Meanwhile U.S. President Donald
Trump wading right in to the criminal case that prosecutors are making against the Halloween terror suspect. CNN senior Washington correspondent
Joe Johns reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Diversity lottery sounds nice. It`s not nice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Overnight, President Trump tweeting that the suspect in New York City`s terror attack should get death penalty. The
President also saying he would consider the suspect labeled an enemy combatant by the White House to the controversial prison at Guantanamo bay,
Cuba.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Send him to GTMO. I would certainly consider that, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Mr. Trump continuing to politicize Tuesday`s tragedy to advance his immigration policies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We want to immediately work with congress on the diversity lottery program on terminating it, getting rid of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: The President calling for an end to the diversity visa lottery program that allowed the New York City terror suspect to gain entry into
the U.S. in 2010 and demanding that congress get tougher on vetting for immigrants coming to the U.S., shifting the country away from a family-
based system toward a merit-based one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We have to get much less politically correct. We`re so politically correct that we`re afraid to do anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: The President blaming New York`s Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer for implementing the program and endangering the country. Schumer helped
craft the bill that was signed in to law by President George H.W. Bush in 1990, but in 2013, Schumer was also part of a bipartisan group known as the
gang of eight that pushed to end the diversity program.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHUCK SCHUMER, INCOMING SENATE MINORITY LEADER: The President ought to stop tweeting and start leading. It`s less than a day after it occurred
and he can`t refrain from his nasty divisive habit. He ought to lead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: President Trump also venting his frustration at U.S. courts, insisting they are too slow and too lenient.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We also have to come up with punishment that is far quicker and far greater than the punishment these animals are getting right now. What we
have right now is a joke and is a laughingstock.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Press secretary Sarah Sanders mischaracterizing the president`s remarks when ask by a reporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[11:00:02] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said that the system of justice.
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, DEPUTY WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He said the process. He said the process has people calling us joke and calling us a
laughingstock.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: The President`s comments and tweets after the New York attacks starkly different from his response to the mass shooting in Las Vegas that
left 58 dead and injuring hundreds more. The President then dismissing the idea of discussing gun control as inappropriate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We`re not going to talk about that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: It took 24 hours for the President to reach out to New York`s leaders after the attack, but the governor making clear the president`s
tweets are distraction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW CUOMO, NEW YORK GOVERNOR: The President`s tweets, I think, were not helpful. I don`t think they were factual. They tended to point fingers
and politicize the situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEO)
ANDERSON: A distraction at the very best. Extremely controversial at worst. CNN political reporter Dan Merica joining us now live from
Washington. And just how would you describe what we are hearing from Donald Trump a President already under an awful lot of pressure, coming out
with these really controversial statements, wading in to what is quite frankly, not his business at this point.
DAN MERICA, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Becky, that is exactly right. The President took a unique tact this morning, saying he called for the
death penalty for the 29-year-old Uzbek national who is allegedly behind the Halloween attack in New York City. Uzbek national is being charged in
federal court. So, death penalty is an option, even though New York State does not have the death penalty. What was striking to me was the fact that
the President`s initial response to this was political, as Joe Johns noted in that piece when it came to the Las Vegas shooting, he avoided talking
about gun control politics.
Yesterday, he immediately jumped on Senator Chuck Schumer for that diversity visa lottery program. Now, there is a bill currently backed by
Trump and also backed by Republican Senator Tom Cotton in congress that would get rid of that program and go to what President Trump wants, a merit
based system. The reality is that with all that congress has to do, tax reform coming out today, also repealing and replacing Obamacare, among a
number of different things, it is unlikely that bill would even come up for a vote. And for it did, it`s unlikely that it would have enough votes to
pass. Becky?
ANDERSON: Dan Merica is in Washington. Dan, thank you for that. While much of the focus over the past few days has been, and rightly so, on that
terror attack. And Mr. Trump`s response another issue remains firmly on the minds of the staff at the White House, the investigation into whether
there was collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. New York Times reporters say President Trump told them that he is not under investigation.
He is not angry or personally affected by the latest developments. My colleague, Jim Sciutto, has the latest on where things stand right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Today, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy, Rick Gates, are under house arrest after
prosecutors argue they might try to flee the country. A new court documents, Special Counsel Robert Mueller accuses the pair of, quote,
history of deceptive and misleading conduct and pays the picture of them as globe-trotting millionaires with extensive, quote, international
connections and financial resources. Both Manafort and Gates pleaded not guilty to charges related to their lobbying for the Ukraine government.
The documents note that Manafort has three U.S. Passports, each with different numbers and has applied for ten separated passports over the last
ten years. Within just the last year, Manafort has travelled to cities around the world, Panama City, Cancun, Havana, Grand Canaan Island, Madrid,
Dubai, Shanghai and Tokyo, on trips to Mexico, Ecuador and China, Manafort registered a phone and e-mail account under a fake name. Manafort engaged
also both frequently traveled to cypress, home to many of their offshore bank accounts. Prosecutors say it is difficult to estimate the current
value of Manafort`s fortune since Manafort`s himself has reported widely disparate amounts in his financial disclosures. Ranging from $19 million
in 2012 to $136 million in 2016.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACKIE SPEIER, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Paul Manafort has a long reputation working on campaigns, on Presidential campaigns. The fact that
he is an outlaw to the extent that has been disclosed so far is deeply concerning, I think, to all of us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: CNN has learned then candidate Trump did not dismiss the idea of meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin when his foreign policy
adviser, George Papadopoulos suggested it at a meeting in March in 2016.
[11:10:02] He didn`t say yes and he didn`t say no, according to a person who is in the room at the time. However, Attorney General Jeff Sessions,
who is also present for the meeting, rejected the idea, according to this source. This, despite the fact that in sworn testimony last month,
Sessions insisted that he was not aware of any campaign staff or surrogates communicating with Russians.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN AL FRANKEN, (R) MINNESOTA: You don`t believe that surrogates from the Trump campaign had communications with the Russians? Is that what you`re
saying?
JEFF SESSIONS, ATTORNEY GENERAL: I did not and I`m not aware of anyone else that did. And I don`t believe it happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: The White House has said that President Trump himself does not remember the March meeting with Papadopoulos, the foreign policy adviser
and that adviser only attended one meeting. But CNN has learned he attended at least one other foreign policy meeting, though the president
was not present. Jim Sciutto, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO)
ANDERSON: Let`s get you to a Moscow correspondent today, Oren Liebermann. Does Russia continue to suggest one that there is no evidence of collusion
and two, the U.S. it said in the past it`s tearing itself apart with this investigation?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORESPONDENT: Very much so to the first part, specifically when it comes to Manafort and Gates, because the indictment
for the two it doesn`t really mention Russia, it talks about Manafort and Gates working on behalf of a Ukrainian Pro-Russia Party. But that is far
as it goes. Russia was quick to point out that has nothing to do with us, they also pointed to a factual error in one line there and said if this
error is here she essentially dismissed the entire indictment, but what could become interesting is Manafort`s connection to a Russian oligarch.
These two have a relationship, though sometimes rocky and often have had legal disputes, the relationship itself goes back more than a decade when
the two worked on what they called business and personal issues.
We know that they were at least talking fairly recently, because shortly before President Donald Trump accepted what was then the nomination and
became the Republican Presidential candidate, it was Manafort who reached out once again to this Russian oligarch or one of his aides and said I
would be happy to brief him on political standings today. Part of the problem is that this oligarch is considered very close to Russian President
Vladimir Putin. That is important to note that none of this came up in the indictment. Now that Manafort has been charged with other crimes,
financial crimes, Robert Mueller could be digging in this direction. The question is, what, will he find there that could perhaps link Manafort and
the Trump campaign to Russia.
ANDERSON: Oren in Moscow for you. Mr. Liebermann thank you for that.
Let me get you up to speed on some of the other stories on the radar right now. Myanmar de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi has finally visited the
countries conflict Rakhine state, home of the Rohingya Muslims. This is the first time she visited the state since an outbreak of violence in all
this force more than 600,000 Muslims began to flee.
A Spanish prosecutor is seeking European arrest warrant for Catalonia`s depose president this after he defy the order to appear in a Madrid court
Thursday overcharges related to the Catalan independence bid. He has been in Brussels since Monday.
And Collins dictionary`s word of the year is actually two words fake news," usage of the term grew by 365 percent since 2016. Other short listed words
include, fidget spinner, (inaudible) and Antifa.
To the U.K. now where the very halls of British power are engulfed by scandal. The Prime Minister has been forced to replace one of our most
senior lawmakers. Defense Secretary Michael Fallon, he quit Wednesday after admitting his behavior towards women had, quote, fallen short during
his career. Gavin Williamsons have now replaced him, his term not likely to stop here. Westminster braced for more revelation as allegations swirl
within British political circles. Diana Magnay is in London with more. Theresa May, the Prime Minister, has an awful lot on her plate. She could
have done without this. What`s news?
DIANA MAGNAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She really could have done. But clearly what she has been trying to do by appointing Gavin Williamsons as her chief
whip to the post of defense secretary as to make this cabinet changes seamless as possible rather than reshuffling people in. He hasn`t gone
through a junior minister role. It is elite to go from chief whip to cabinet position.
[11:15:06] Also the chief whip role is very important to this time when Theresa May needs every vote that she can get in the parliament and the
chief whip`s role is basically to corral MP`s to do the parties bidding. He has moved into that role. As long as it can be contained to these
shifts, then I imagine that the Prime Minister will be very, very happy. But the trouble is, as you mentioned, Becky, there is a certain pace to the
revelations that are coming out. Damien Green is under investigation as is another minister, Mark Garnier. Even though she is probably hoping there
won`t have to be any more changes, she can`t rely count on it. Beck?
ANDERSON: Is this a government teetering?
MAGNAY: Not if it stays as it is now. If she is able to take her cabinet which is mutinous on the subject of Brexit, as you know, stable, and if she
is able to keep this majority in the parliament. What would have to happen for the government to fall, she has a majority of 14. She would have to
have seven MP`s lose not only minister roles if they were minister, but also their position in parliament. That would have to mean that they had
done something extremely grave. Some of the allegations that are circling now are pretty grave against unnamed people. But they are, at this stage,
unsubstantiated. Though her government is extremely fragile, she doesn`t need this kind of upheaval. It will have to go a lot farther for the
government to be brought down. Becky?
ANDERSON: Diane Magnay outside number 10 for you tonight. Still to come on this show a key security player in this region who could be eyeing a
future as a U.S. Senator. That`s next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: All right welcome back it is just about 20 past 7:00 in Abu Dhabi this is "Connect the World." From what is are Middle East
broadcasting now for you, the founder and former CEO of Blackwater is considering a big career change to break into U.S. Politics. Erik Prince
says he is exploring a run for the senate. He is now chairman of frontier services group. Last time I spoke with him, here is what he said about his
current line of work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIK PRINCE, CHAIRMAN, FRONTIER SERVICES GROUP: The Company I am running now is Frontier Service Group, it`s not Blackwater at all. None of our men
are armed. We do logistics, we deliver groceries, including frozen groceries from Cape Town all the way up through the Democratic Republic of
Congo.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:20:00] ANDERSON: Erik Prince is back with us in the studio, passing through the UAE. Let us just be clear to suggest that your main business
is running groceries through Africa, sir, is to somewhat underplay and, dare I say, sabotage the work that you do. What are you doing in town?
PRINCE: It is a true statement. We deliver lot of groceries, medevac and things in the challenging parts of Africa.
ANDERSON: Yes. You also do an awful lot of the other things. Let`s just consider what those are. There are immediate reports that the four Arab
countries imposing a ban have hired what`s been termed Blackwater-linked private contractors to carry out military action in Qatar. Are you
involved in any of those plans?
PRINCE: 0.0, never asked. Never consulted. I don`t know anyone that is involved in anything to do with that all.
ANDERSON: And if you were asked, your answer would be?
PRINCE: It would still be no, but I can tell you that that is nothing I`m doing anything with. What I have been pushing hard the last few months was
to try to change, I think, a failing policy in Afghanistan. Just right there, right down to the last weekend. I think the President, his initial
instincts that he stuck with for the first eight months were to change course in Afghanistan and do something effective instead of something very
expensive. Right now the U.S. is spending more than the entire U.K. defense budget just in Afghanistan. Just for perspective, that is about
the equivalent of $52 billion, the equivalent of the U.S. state department budget.
ANDERSON: Let us talk about your ties to the Trump administration. You brought up the options or suggestions on foreign policy for Afghanistan.
You`re the brother of the education secretary, Betsy DeVos. There are reports that you were actually working in the shadows of the
administration. You`re admitting you had some policy ideas about Afghanistan. The right-wing publication Breitbart says that you confirm
that you were invited to a high-level strategy session on the war in Afghanistan, but national security adviser H.R. McMaster blocked you from
attending. Is that true?
PRINCE: I believe that is. I wrote a Wall Street Journal article last spring to lay out a different approach. The President liked it, said learn
more about this. Ended up making a very detailed plan that would be 8 percent of what we are spending there now, that will keep relentless
pressure on the terrorists in Afghanistan and keep the Afghan forces up right, actually more upright than they are now. And save the U.S.
taxpayers over $40 billion.
The problem is now you have the Pentagon trying to classify, meaning make secret, and the Afghan casualty counts. That is bad. That is really bad.
After 16 years of war, when the U.S. Secretary of defense has to land in Kabul and get on a helicopter to fly 2 1/2 miles to the U.S. Embassy,
because it` not safe, that is a problem.
ANDERSON: You`re close to Steve Bannon, a former chief strategist to President Trump.
PRINCE: I met him years ago when I was doing my book tour.
ANDERSON: It sounds as if you`re pretty close. You`re mates, right?
PRINCE: I wouldn`t say mates, but we agree on most things.
ANDERSON: Was it -- was it at Bannon`s behest that you were talking to the Trump administration or were you more like a volunteer like George
Papadopoulos was being described?
PRINCE: No. It was actually at the request of the President when he said learn more about this. I ended up meeting with Secretary Mattis and other
defense folks. In the end they keep want to go back to the same default of more money and more troops. After 16 years I think it`s time to make a
tactical change. When the winds change on a sailboat you tact the boat. We haven`t tact our policies at all.
ANDERSON: You are famous for using contractors in war and conflict. Those, one assumes, that is the idea that you are propagating for
Afghanistan. Would you say the same thing about, for example, Niger?
PRINCE: For example in Afghanistan, there is already 29,000 contractors are there. My plan takes it down to 6,000. It`s a significant reduction
in contractors and a reduction in active duty troop members.
ANDERSON: What about somewhere like Niger?
PRINCE: I am sure there are a lot of contractors out there. Like 800 U.S. guys, personnel, stationed in Niger. The problem with the Pentagon is they
move with a very large, but very expensive footprint. Sadly, the default reaction has already been, from the sad loss of troops there, is to pull
back, right? The commander has issued guidance to all forces deployed in the area to pull back and restrain. That can`t be the attitude we have
toward ISIS, and the al Qaeda and the rest of these crazies after 16 years. If they hurt us, we have to come back at them three times as hard. That is
the only thing they understand.
ANDERSON: We know that special counsel Robert Mueller is casting a wide conclusion with Trump associates and Russia. You, yourself had made
headlines, this question is not going to surprise you, but bear with me on this. After news emerge, you had a secret meeting early this year in the
Seychelles, with Vladimir Putin, The Washington Post reporting, you were trying to establish a back channel of communications between the Russian
President and Donald Trump. Have you been contacted by special counsel Robert Mueller to clear this one up?
[11:25:22] PRINCE: No, not at all.
ANDERSON: Should you be?
PRINCE: No. Not at all. This incidental meeting occurred months after the U.S. Election, I was there for another business meeting and the people
I was meeting with said you should meet this guy. He might be interested in doing business with you going forward. It lasted about as long as one
beer, which is not very long.
ANDERSON: Do you agree with Trump that this whole Russian investigation is a hoax and fake news?
PRINCE: Well, I would say it`s a fishing expedition in the sense that they go after Manafort for things that were two and three years prior to any
involvement in the Trump campaign.
ANDERSON: It`s getting murky, though isn`t it? There`s no evidence of collusion, per se, around Manafort and Gates at this point, but it is
looking murky.
PRINCE: I think when Mueller is reaching hard to charge somebody on a Farrah violation, if he had any kind of collusion that would be his lead
indictment. There were zero indictments for that.
ANDERSON: You are considering a run for office. This wouldn`t just be any race. You are eyeing the seat of Wyoming Senator John Barasso, a high
ranking Republican in the senate leadership. I think I`m correct in saying, Donald Trump`s former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, reportedly
recruited you for this, even though you don`t call him mate of yours, as part of his war on the Republican establishment and those considered
disloyal to Mr. Trump. The thing is Barasso actually supports the majority of what the president is up to, which leads skeptics to question the real
motivation here. So I`ve got two questions for you. Just lay out for us, if you will, what your relationship is with Steve Bannon with regard to
this possible run and, tell me, are you going to do it? Because you said you`re considering it.
PRINCE: I am considering it what I will tell you is that Wyoming election Republican was 75 percent of the vote. Wyoming deserves a very active,
aggressive advocate for what Wyoming stands for. I don`t know that we`ve and that. I think the President won Wyoming with 68 percent or 70 percent
of the vote. We have a senate that has not effectively done anything under President`s agenda.
ANDERSON: It sounds to me like you`re really considering this, like really considering this.
PRINCE: I do my homework on everything.
ANDERSON: You had a home in Wyoming, correct?
PRINCE: I had a home there for 25 years. I was a full-time resident there for a while I was on the SEAL Teams. It`s a magnificent place.
ANDERSON: Can you name all 23 counties?
PRINCE: Not right now, I cannot. But I don`t think I could name them of Michigan or Virginia, two other places I`ve lived in life either.
ANDERSON: If you`re going to run, will you come and tell me first.
PRINCE: I wouldn`t count on it.
ANDERSON: Erik Prince, in the ever-moving world of U.S. politics today. This news just in to CNN. Sam Clovis, former Trump campaign official has
withdrawn his name from consideration for a post in the agriculture department. We respect Mr. Clovis` decision to withdraw his nomination,
house press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement to the poll. Clovis had recently been linked to the investigation by special counsel
Robert Mueller into Russian links to the Trump campaign. You are still watching "Connect the World." I`m Becky Anderson.
Coming up, U.S. lawmakers released Facebook ads reportedly created by a Russian troll farm. We`ll look at some of the posts made to disrupt the
U.S. 2016 presidential elections. That is coming up, stay with us. We are at UAE it is half past 7:00 there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:30:00] BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: It is a big day in Washington. Republican lawmakers have just unveiled their long-awaited tax reform plan.
A day after missing at what was their self-imposed deadline, for the cut tax and jobs back, it is the first major tax overhaul since 1986.
President Donald Trump that promised the biggest tax cuts ever. So, does this new plan fit the bill? Richard Quest, breaking all down for us from
the New York Stock Exchange. This is the big one we were promised. What are we getting?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It`s extremely complicated but the long and short of it is, Becky, that winners will be uncertainty parts of the
country. They will get the full benefit of the cuts in taxes by seven brackets down to four brackets of taxation.
They will get the full whack of it but depending on where you live, if you`re on the East Coast or the West Coast, where the local and state
income taxes are high, you could be worse off. This is a classic tax plan that will be welcomed by the heartland of Republicanism but club as many
Democrats.
ANDERSON: That`s fascinatingly. It is the first time in 31 years. It has been the effort at a major tax overhaul. How like is this to get through?
QUEST: Oh, something will get through -- something will get through, whether it is the full blown tax reform package and it is quite
revolutionary. Some -- some sacred cows are one and truly sacrificed here.
For example, mortgage interest relief which has now being reduce, the deduction of state and local income taxes, the deduction of special
interest. So Donald -- so the Republicans, Paul Ryan, Kevin Brady, Donald Trump at the top, they are going for it.
And if it gets passed, it will be a middle class tax cuts for many people. However, we`re a long way from this and the idea that this can be on the
president`s desk by thanksgiving which is three weeks ago, and away, and it could be signed by Christmas, I think is almost fanciful.
ANDERSON: Yes, all right. Well, look, that may be fanciful, what is absolutely clear is that the stock market -- certainly the U.S. stock
market has been holding groundbreaking new records in anticipation of this amongst other things.
Look, it`s down slightly but so little -- we are already talking about. But we`re way above that 23,000 level. You know, the market is lively, are
they?
QUEST: They do and the market is lively because the other side of this is the corporate tax side of it. You and I are just talking about, you know,
the personal income tax. The corporate side down to 20 percent on the corporate rate, this will be very much like a change in rules on how
companies tax to encourage them to bring their profits back to the United States.
So yes, there is pretty much agreement that the existing corporate tax structure is a nonsense, it works against the United States, almost
certainly, that will be passed in some shape or form.
[11:35:00] ANDERSON: Richard Quest in the house for you today, breaking down the numbers. Thank you, sir. We are getting a glimpse of Facebook
ads created by Russian trolls with an aim to disrupt last year`s U.S. presidential election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: American Senate has released some of the 3,000 ads. Now, this is important, they focus on immigration, religion, race and of course, that
vote. In this one, Hillary Clinton`s potential victory was compared to a victory for Satan.
The ad targeted conservative users who had expressed interest in Christianity. But the ads went by both ways. The page called Black
Matters, that pretended to be part of the Black Lives Matter Movement, promote a Trump is not my president event in New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Our senior media correspondent Brian Stelter joins us from New York. And because there has been so much going on, that`s been donating
the headlines.
These -- these executives from these huge social media groups that have been speaking Congress, men and women in the state is sort of slightly been
over looked. This is absolutely fascinating stuff. What`s coming out of this?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I`m glad you are bringing the spotlight back to this because these revelations about last year, about how
Russian interference was happening on Facebook and Twitter last year is not being still with us today.
We have seen bots and trolls try to do this in other countries earlier this year and there`s an expectation, this can happen in the U.S. midterm
election next year and onward from here. So what we saw on Capitol Hill this week were Democrats and also some Republicans but mostly Democrats
trying to press Facebook, Google and Twitter.
Trying to say what are you doing and are you doing enough to try to account for how your platforms are used to spread propaganda by foreign actors.
The answers were pretty unsatisfying.
I think the lawmakers left these two days of hearings, pretty disappointed, and honestly, I think the executives from Google, Twitter and Facebook left
pretty frustrated as well. These companies and these lawmakers speak two different languages. There is not really an agreement on how much
responsibility these companies actually have.
ANDERSON: Always a pleasure, Brian, thank you. These social media from Russian trolls, just one of many issues the tech industry is dealing with.
CNN.com is where you can get slash divided for a special series, Divided We Code. CNN tech senior correspondent Laura -- Laurie Segall explores the
threats and challenges tech companies are facing right now.
You are watching Connect the World. I`m Becky Anderson, we are out of Abu Dhabi for you. This is our programming hub in the Middle East. Coming up,
a city in ruins, a refraction of the lives this fight, destroyed.
[11:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: All right, ISIS` de facto capital, Raqqa has been liberated but celebrations, well, not so much. They have been muted. The devastation on
the streets of what is now a ghost town, still felt in the hearts of so many who have fled.
In June, we spoke to a mother and daughter, Wafa and Maha, Syrian refugees torn apart by the war against ISIS. Here is what Maha told her mother
then.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through a translator): Mom, I have nightmares. I dream that they come after me to kill me. I see them everywhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, conditions haven`t improved much Maha, now stuck in limbo in a camp in Syria with her sick son. We followed up on their situation
and see how a social media application has become the refugees` only life line. Have a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through a translator): Hi mom, how are you? How is your health? We have left -- we have left Raqqa but it was hard to escape,
we won over ISIS.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through a translator): Sweetheart, let me know if you are all right and how Odal is doing, tell me, where do you sleep, where do
you eat, what do you eat, what do you drink, where are you now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through a translator): We stay at night in the refugee camps that were set up by the Kurdish forces. But my son got ill
because at the infected water, he`s very ill, we sleep in the car.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through a translator): My eyes, why are you and Odal sleeping in a car? I`m dying.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through a translator): Hi mom, I can`t sleep there in the camp, I`m afraid. I`m afraid they might fight again and that Daesh
comes back, or maybe they are undercover saving the Kurds. I don`t know, but I`m afraid.
Hi mom, today I moved to (Inaudible), I`m in (Inaudible) now. It is calmer here because we are some distance from the shelling and fighting.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through a translator): I die each day I didn`t hear anything from you. I didn`t want more heartache. Honey, don`t cut off
communication.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through a translator): Mom, I`ve found a room in Yarmouk Farm but there`s no internet connection, electricity or water here.
I will only be able to talk to you guys once a week or 10 days.
Hi mom, how are you? Mom, please get me to Turkey by any means because I can`t stand the situation anymore. Get me out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Maha`s life story as where -- well, how social media was so crucial to many more on Syria. It`s just one angle of the story, how it`s
been co-opted by Jihadist to propagate their violent messages, also, a clear and important element.
And in Europe, one Belgian entrepreneur believes technology can actually help guide young people away from violent and extremism. Samuel Burke went
to find out how ISIS attack or the inspiration to create the tech incubator Molenbeek.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAMUEL BURKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a night that`s painfully hard to forget, terror on the streets of Paris, a series of attacks across the City
of Lights, the most gruesome.
[11:45:00] The massacre at the Bataclan Theater when 90 people lost their lives. The manhunt led investigators to the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek
between the tree-lined streets and low-rise apartments, three of the Paris attackers lived here.
IBRAHIM OUASSARI, MOLENBEEK ENTREPRENEUR: I never think these people of my area can do something like that, never. So I start some reflection.
BURKE: Ibrahim Ouassari was born in Molenbeek to Moroccan parents. He knows how much of a struggle it is economically for young people in this
area. So he decided to teach what he knows how to do best, coding. Opening a community center called MolenGeek. There`s just one requirement
he looks for in applicants.
OUASSARI: We don`t need people with a lot of skills. We need people want to share, want to be real part of this community. They want to learn and
want to change something in their life.
BURKE: There`s nothing old school about the lessons taught here. All the instruction is done in small groups and in one-on-one training. When
Belgium`s vice prime minister heard about the program, he immediately asked Ibrahim to come to his office. A week after their meeting, the Belgian
government began supporting MolenGeek.
ALEXANDER DE CROO, BELGIUM DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: This is someone who has grown up himself in Molenbeek, who -- that`s -- those young kids really
look up to him and see him as an example, really as a role model.
BURKE: What are the measures of success for MolenGeek? How do you know that it`s working? Is it working?
DE CROO: One of the measures is just to see how many people are part of that -- of that community. And we have seen that month after month more
people are coming there.
BURKE: They`ve had to even turn down people who want to join the program.
DE CROO: Exactly. So that shows that there`s definitely an attraction to what they`re -- they are doing. We see that there`s projects that are
being brought outside as well and that are starting to try to be -- to be businesses.
BURKE: Has anybody gone on and created their own app, their own company?
OUASSARI: QuickLyric is an application downloaded more than half million times.
BURKE: And what do the app do?
OUASSARI: It gives you the lyric of the music.
BURKE: Money hasn`t just come in from the government. Big tech companies like Google had helped fund the school. A Samsung executive whose overseen
that company`s investment in MolenGeek, says what`s key for them is to actually remain hands off.
LUKAS SCHMEINK, VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS, SAMSUNG: We enter this strongly from a corporate social responsibility perspective. And that
perspective we stay loyal. And so -- otherwise, you`re starting moving around and then -- and then it becomes blurry what you came to do here.
BURKE: Ibrahim was even asked to speak at the U.N. where he shared best practices for public-private partnerships. His biggest problem now isn`t
getting neighbors to finish the program. He faces the biggest hurdle any successful startup does.
OUASSARI: Scale up and to have more support because we have a lot of requests and...
BURKE: And there`s so much demand.
OUASSARI: Yes, we have a -- so much demand.
BURKE: Now he`s looking for ways to replicate his neighborhood coding school around the world. The only regret? That it couldn`t have been done
sooner. Samuel Burke, CNN, Molenbeek, Belgium.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: We are out of Abu Dhabi for you tonight. This is Connect the World. Coming up, it was the letter that will the course of Middle East
history forever. Now, 100 years on from the Balfour Declaration, we look at the political landmark coming in forms this region to this day.
[11:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, there was sense, the past met the future in London, when the prime ministers of Israel and Britain commemorated a landmark piece of
Middle East history. It has now been one century since the Balfour Declaration. A letter sent by the British government to support the
establishment of a national home in Palestine for the Jewish people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, it may be one simple letter but the effect of that piece of text echoes around the Middle East over and over. On Parting Shot send
tonight authored by my colleague Ian Lee, as this look at the Balfour Declaration 2017.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It`s a royal reveal of sorts in Bethlehem, a queen of England impersonator unveiling new fancy art work. A master
ceremonies reads a note from the artist.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We hope, you will join us in clapping as you Royal Highness unveil a special message from us, to you, the Palestinian people.
LEE: Edge in the west bank wall or -- sorry, E.R. are reference to Queen Elizabeth. A dystopian party outside Banksy`s Walled Off hotel in
Bethlehem. Children from the town`s refugee camps, invited for tea and cake.
For people outside of Israel and the Palestinian territories, the Balfour Declaration might seem quite obscure but not here in the region. Here,
it`s relevant and they take it quite seriously. As a Palestinian, what does the Balfour Declaration mean to you?
WISAM SALSAA, DIRECTOR, THE WALLED OFF HOTEL: It made a catastrophe in the Middle East. Balfour was very generous man that offered the land of the
(Inaudible) belongs to him. How you not taking that should not celebrate Balfour Declaration. They should apologize and go to Palestinians.
RUWAIDA AL AZZEH, SCHOOLGIRL (though a translator): The declaration to me is illegal and is against Palestine. I don`t believe in it and I will
fight it until the last day of my life.
LEE: To understand the significance of the Balfour Declaration for Israelis, what better place to go that Balfour`s floor where they are
celebrating with pageantry and song.
OK, so there is a little theatrical license on display but this lighthearted performance gets to the root meaning of the declaration for
Israelis.
SARAH FRIED, TEACHER: Wow. As a Jew, it means that I can have my own space until we feel secure. So it was very important because this was
first step towards the Jew state.
LEE: The children act out the long road to state land. Later they tell me the declaration supported the Jewish Diaspora`s fundamental questions of
home and safety.
NOGA BENAN, SCHOOLGIRL (ph): The Balfour Declaration means to me a lot because it just made me live here in Israel.
JOEL MAIR, SCHOOLBOY: If it wasn`t his declaration I won`t be here standing now. I`ll be -- maybe I won`t be born even.
LEE: And it`s not just Israelis and Palestinians marking this anniversary. A group of people from Britain, some of whom are behind me, trek over 3,000
kilometers from London to Jerusalem to condemn the declaration.
JACK ROSE, RUNNER, AMOS TRUST: So we`re doing this 100 years later to show just how sorry we are for the Balfour Declaration and we do not agree with
in what seem them to do at all.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They have this point in time find some way to right the wrong which are continually happened, all of the Palestinian people.
LEE: So a short letter, just over 100 words, continuing to reverberate 100 later, for better or for worse, his legacy, defining a region. Ian Lee,
CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: What you have seen, 100 years later, a vital, 67 words still insight in Syria`s emotion. While, some took to the streets, many have
taken out their phones to tweet marking the occasion, under the hashtag, Balfour 100.
Here is what some of those who been tweeting said the declaration of erasing people`s land and life from the map as one Palestinian activist
refers to it on the platform that encourages 140 characters simply, what a shame it is to celebrate Balfour 100.
But to all who believe in equal rights, the Jewish people and all the others, Balfour 100 is an occasion for celebration, said a spokesperson for
the Jewish agency for Israel. But one user simply put it, the divide and rule tactic employed by British colonialism from around the world has left
a deep imprint that is felt to this day.
[11:55:00] Well, powerful words from all sides no matter where you stand and you can definitely count on us on Connect the World to bring you the
news, fact first from all angles. You can out more about Maha and Wafa for example and many more incredible stories of perseverance like this, all of
that and more on our Facebook page. Of course, Facebook.come/CNNconnect, it is yours.
Almost 8:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi which means that that is the backend of our show. CNN of course continues after this short break. Quest Express
is up next. That was Connect the World from the team here and those working with us in London -- (Inaudible) is in Atlanta. Thank you for
watching. See you tomorrow.
END
