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U.S. forces at Risk of Being Isolated in Syria; SDF Commander Suggests Kurds Could Ally with Russia; U.S. Sending 1,800 Additional Troops to Saudi Arabia; Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge Smashes Two-Hour Marathon Barrier; Turkish Offensive Fuels Fears of ISIS Resurgence; Female Iranian Fans Make History Attending Football Match. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired October 13, 2019 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
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DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They've been fighting with the Kurds for many years or centuries they've been fighting with the
Kurds. And it's like some people go to lunch. That's what they do. They fight with the Kurds. It's time for us to leave.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Turkey nearly bombing U.S. special forces apparently by accident.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): This hour they say they are being left to the slaughter by America. We hear from the Syrian Defense Forces.
Plus, said to be as historic as putting a man on the moon, you are watching the first-ever human being to finish a marathon in less than two hours flat
and he joins me this hour.
First up, let's get you the very latest on the Turkish operation in northern Syria. New reporting from CNN that remaining U.S. forces are now
at risk of being isolated. A U.S. official says the situation on the ground is deteriorating rapidly.
The remaining American troops are preparing to withdraw further as Turkey advances. This after pro-Turkish forces have cut off the main road to the
Kurdish city of Kobani. It's the crucial link of the eastern and western parts of Syrian-Kurdish territory.
Well, within the last couple of hours, we have heard from the Turkish President Erdogan. He says the operation will go 30 to 35 kilometers into
Syrian territory. Our Arwa Damon is on the Turkish side of the Syrian border.
And you have witnessed the fallout, the civilian fallout once again of what is this military operation -- Arwa.
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we have, unfortunately, sadly, but that is one of the many realities of war, that
civilians do end up caught in the middle of all this and in the crossfire.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAMON (voice-over): The wails of all-consuming sorrow echo throughout the gravesite in the early morning. A woman cries out for her dead son.
"He was too young. He was too young to die."
Others unwilling to let go of those they loved, those taken away too soon, too senselessly.
Buried here is 50-year-old Hussain Chukud (ph), a father of five, killed when a barrage of rounds fell in front of the grocery store he owns. And
all eight people, civilians, were killed. Six of them buried here in the small cemetery up against the Syrian border in the shadow of the Syrian
city.
They were members of Turkey's ethnic Kurdish minority, a minority with a tormented past, a painful present and an uncertain future.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The Turks fire and the other side retaliates. When that happens, who does it hit?
It hits us. We just collect our dead and bury them.
DAMON (voice-over): He said goodbye to his cousin, who was a father of four.
DAMON: This is one of his four kids, the 4-year old. But he has a newborn as well.
DAMON (voice-over): He describes his cousin as a happy man, whose only problem was that he was Kurdish. Many of those here also have relatives on
the other side. Families on both sides of this border are caught in the crosshairs of an offensive whose consequences are unknown.
The cemetery clears out quickly. Even in their sorrow, people are afraid of gathering in large groups, lest more rounds fall again.
For Turkey, the YPG, the Kurdish-led fighting force in Syria, poses an existential threat Ankara is determined to destroy, no matter the cost.
The YPG is an offshoot of the PKK, which has been designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the E.U.
The PKK has been battling the Turkish state for decades. Nusaybin is in Turkey's southeast, a region whose population has been caught in Turkey's
war on terror before.
DAMON: We are being told there used to be single-story homes here but they were destroyed in the most recent clashes, very fierce fighting that broke
out between Turkey and the PKK. That was back in 2015. And many of the homes here were subsequently destroyed.
What people are telling us is, about a month ago, the Turkish government gave them keys to these apartments. They had only just returned. Now they
have found themselves in the middle of a war zone once again.
[11:05:00]
DAMON: This is a video right after the strike. It's very hard to look at.
DAMON (voice-over): A mother and her two daughters died. They were barely teens. The Kurdish population along both sides of this border know war.
They know fear and uncertainty. And that war often blurs the lines between those who are armed and those who are innocent.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DAMON: And, Becky, as this offensive moves forward, the situation inside Syria is not necessarily in anyone's control at this stage. Behind us, you
have the Turkish town and behind that a Syrian border town, where throughout the day -- and we have been here for the better part of it -- we
have been hearing sporadic explosions as well as bursts of gunfire in other parts of Syria. The consequences of this have been even more devastating.
Nick is on the line for us on the southern side of that border.
Nick, you have been in the thick of things, it's chaotic. Pro-Turkish forces, they've cut off the main road to the Kurdish city of Kobani. The
Turks have been very clear about the scope and scale of this offensive, warning of it for months.
What options do the Kurds have at this point?
You've witnessed what's going on on the ground, what's the atmosphere?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The atmosphere I think is a complete disarray and panic, frankly. You said the Turks were
clear about what they were going to do for months. Yes, they absolutely have.
But this is way, way more than anybody expected they were actually going to be doing. Certainly the highway we were on and you saw in our report
earlier, in my understanding, where we were was significantly further in than the 30-35 kilometer distance, which Erdogan had just been speaking
about.
Certainly the town in which jets flew and with the casualties later on today, that is way out of the area which they are talking about. Now a
military strategist might say actually pushing that far in is about protecting the area.
You essentially want to try to hold it. But cutting off that highway took many of us by surprise actually. Certainly if you're speaking to any
American officials across in Washington, they would be looking at the map not having thought that Kobani would be cut off from the east or the
highway would be something which they would target.
The second option, too, is the level of extremism within the ranks of those Turkish backed Syrian rebels, certainly the fear they express amongst
Kurds, is extraordinary. It's remarkable for the U.S. to say to me that they considered those Syrian rebels to be, quote, "mostly extremists,"
former ISIS and Al Qaeda.
A lot of moderates, which Turkey has often tried to suggest it ranks the Syrian rebels they have been retaining quite some time. Remember the only
reason that the Americans chose the Syrian Kurds with their complicated, at this point, relationship with Turkey to fight ISIS with allies is they have
spent years trying to find moderate Sunni Syrian Arabs to fight ISIS for them.
But your question, Becky, what is the option for the Syrian Kurds?
The first thing they will be doing is picking up (INAUDIBLE) Damascus, the Syrian regime. They've had an uneasy accommodation with them in the year
before the fight against ISIS and their alliance with the United States, that can probably be rekindled.
But frankly, the Syrian regime is not known for its sympathy, for its generosity and more likely they have now been waiting for this to pan out
and see exactly how far back the Syrian Kurds get pushed before they have to discuss what assistance they will give them.
There's certainly now, I think, a lot of people on the move. We have just come back from one of the towns further south (INAUDIBLE) and that town
(INAUDIBLE) has seen a lot of people pack up and leave (INAUDIBLE).
Things are moving very fast here. And I think the violence is way more intense than anybody initially expected when they first thought Turkey was
going to move in.
ANDERSON: Nick Paton Walsh on the ground in Syria for you.
Well, the few remaining U.S. assets, thank you, Nick, are being pulled in from Syria. More American troops are being deployed to Saudi Arabia. The
order was given for 1,800 additional soldiers to be sent.
That, added up with other deployments, makes for about 3,000 U.S. forces having their orders either extended or authorized within the last month.
CNN's Matthew Chance is in Riyadh and joins me with the latest decision to send more U.S. troops to the kingdom.
What is the perspective there?
[11:10:00]
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, look, the fact that 1,800 additional troops were announced a few days ago
is significant. Because you can add it to the other 1,200 announced in recent weeks. It brings to 3,000 the number of additional American forces
that have been deployed to Saudi Arabia in the past month alone.
So that represents a significant step up and enlarging of the U.S. military footprint in this country. And that's I think a reflection of the concern
in Washington about the deteriorating security situation in this region.
The standoff between Saudi Arabia and its regional rival, Iran, the latest iteration of that, of course, the apparent attack on an Iranian oil tanker
a couple days ago off the coast of Saudi Arabia. About 96 kilometers from Jeddah in the Red Sea, hit by two missiles, apparently.
Originally, initially, the Iranian tanker company blamed the Saudi Arabians. The Iranian authorities later clawed back on that. But the
Saudis really tightlipped about exactly what happened up until today. I got the opportunity to speak to minister of state for foreign affairs in
this country, Adel al-Jubeir, and I asked him whether this was Saudi's attempt to strike back after Iranian -- or attacks blamed on Iran by its
office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: This ask for CNN television, you've blamed Iran for the recent strikes on Saudi oil facilities last month.
And the attack on an Iranian tanker off the coast of Jeddah a few days ago, is that Saudi Arabia striking back?
ADEL AL-JUBEIR, SAUDI FOREIGN MINISTER: Of course not. We don't behave in such behavior. We blamed Iran, because the missiles and the drones were
Iranian made. We know that the strike came from the north, not from the south.
We have -- we asked the United Nations to provide investigators. A number of other countries have joined this investigation in order to determine
where the launch took place from. And once the investigation is complete, we will publicize the results and we will look at whatever --
(CROSSTALK)
CHANCE: Are you categorically denying Saudi involvement in the tanker strike?
AL-JUBEIR: We don't engage in such behavior. Besides, the conflicting reports about this, the national Iranian oil company says nothing was
struck. Something else, something was struck. People say there is leakage of oil. Others say there is no leakage of oil.
So the story is not very clear yet on this issue. But what I can tell you is we don't engage in such behavior at all. That's not how we operate and
that's not how we have operated in the past.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: Well, that was the first reaction that we've had from any Saudi official about the attack on that tanker. And of course, it was, from
Riyadh's point of view, a categorical denial -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Matthew Chance is in Riyadh for you.
Well, earlier today, I spoke with Saudi prince Turki al Faisal. I asked him about U.S. troops coming into his country. Here's what he had to say
about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE TURKI AL FAISAL, SAUDI ARABIA: The deployment is not coming to Saudi Arabia in a state of war. It's a continuation of the strategic
partnership between the kingdom and the United States to stand by each other in times of need and definitely after the attack on the Aramco
facilities by Iran.
ANDERSON: How does the ratcheting up of U.S. troops in the kingdom equate with the message from Riyadh about deescalation with Iran at present?
AL-FAISAL: Well, the Iranians have to be the better judges of that. If they want trouble, the kingdom and its allies are ready for that. If they
want to come along and be a constructive partner in achieving peace and security in all the regions around us, then there is room for this
question.
ANDERSON: Is Riyadh in back channel conversations with the Iranians?
Or should Riyadh be working to mediate its relationship with Iran at this point?
AL-FAISAL: Well, I don't know of any back channel engagements with Iran. We have not struck Iranian oil facilities. We have not sent either experts
or troops to fight on Iranian soil or to kill Iranians in any fashion or way.
And so, for us, our goodwill is there. There is no sign of goodwill on the ground from Iran. Unless and until that happens, I don't think the kingdom
or any other country in the area will engage with them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Turki al Faisal speaking to me at the Beirut Institute Summit in Abu Dhabi.
[11:15:00]
ANDERSON: Coming up, as Turkey's offensive advances, I'll be speaking to the spokesman for the Kurdish forces on how they intend to defend their
people in Syria with the group saying Russia could be a new ally. That is coming up.
Plus, we hear from the man who shattered the 2-hour marathon barrier. Eliud Kipchoge joining me next. Stay with us.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) to go, Eliud Kipchoge, let's keep an eye on the clock, into the final 20 seconds, Eliud Kipchoge, whoa, (INAUDIBLE)
1:40.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, there's his wife.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eliud Kipchoge storms into the history books in Vienna 1:59.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Storming into the history books indeed.
That is the moment Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge achieved a first for humanity, becoming the first ever to run a marathon in less than two hours. Now that
is a barrier once thought impossible to break.
While it wasn't a standard race so it doesn't stand as an official world record, it is still a huge deal. The man, himself, Eliud Kipchoge is
joining me now from Vienna.
Now that you have drawn a breath, sir, how are you feeling?
Has it sunk in, yet?
ELIUD KIPCHOGE, MARATHON RUNNER: Oh, thank you very much. I am feeling really happy. I am the happiest man in this universe to make history and
to break the world barrier.
Remember, most of the people have been saying that the marathon barrier will be broken in the year 2075. And I told them against all barriers.
Here in Vienna yesterday, it's the day I met history. And it's for the sake of humanity and making history and kicking out the (INAUDIBLE) so
human beings (INAUDIBLE).
[11:20:00]
ANDERSON: Listen, we're looking at images, as you speak, of your family. We understand it's the first time your family actually came to see you run.
I think you'd crossed the finish line, the first person you found was your wife.
Why don't they normally come to see you, out of interest?
KIPCHOGE: It's no particular reason. But you know the system in Kenya is different with (INAUDIBLE) and my kids are always in school when I am
running. So normally it can be a concern that they should stay away and concentrate on their studies --
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: That's wonderful.
KIPCHOGE: But I decided they should come here to be among these two meccas (ph) here in Vienna.
ANDERSON: That's wonderful. As you went for the moon, as you described it, and made it, why wouldn't you want your family there?
You have been going for a sub-2-hour marathon now for some time and fallen just short of breaking the barrier in official competition multiple times,
here's what you had to say about a year ago when you spoke to one of my colleagues, Richard Quest. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD QUEST, CNNMONEY EDITOR AT LARGE: Somebody will run under two hours.
Will it be you?
KIPCHOGE: It might be me. It may be another person. But I know a human being can run it in under two hours.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: We will have to guess what you said because I'm not sure our viewers could actually hear that. Apologies, viewers, for the -- oh, they
did hear it. It's just I didn't hear it. Explain what changed this time around.
KIPCHOGE: Sorry?
I did not get your question.
ANDERSON: What has changed? What changed since 2017?
KIPCHOGE: The picture naturally is the experience that I am enjoying from 2017, so but the training has been the same. Their picture is the way I
think. That's the modality and it's a huge and massive experience that I am enjoying as I'm running in Malta and missing it only by 26 seconds.
That's a big change.
ANDERSON: You alluded to Roger Bannister, the great Roger Bannister, who made history. You said it took you another 65 years. I've tried it but I
have done it. The first man to run a mile in under 4 minutes. But you say that you know that this record will be beaten and will be beaten soon.
Are you absolutely determined that will happen?
KIPCHOGE: Utterly history, they say history repeats itself. In 1954 --
(CROSSTALK)
KIPCHOGE: -- broke the 4-minute barrier, then two weeks down the line, 14 athletes actually come under 4 minutes. So yesterday, I really could come
under two hours in marathon. And I'm really expecting to change their minds and accepted that anything you put in your heart and in your mind and
saying them out loud can become a reality.
And I'm expecting most of them to come in under two hours.
ANDERSON: Tell me about the technology that you used in this race. The pace car as far as I understand it, sort of fired a laser beam, which
helped you, along with your pace makers, to keep up the pace at which you knew you needed to compete in order to break this record. Just walk me
through that.
KIPCHOGE: Oh. They say technology crossed with development so all has developed and technology has developed it. So we used the car to
(INAUDIBLE) on the right pace on the right time and it worked well. And I can say I'm happy with how people think. That's why I always say no man is
limited. Those --
(CROSSTALK)
KIPCHOGE: -- technology of a laser. And I had people nearby who (INAUDIBLE).
ANDERSON: How close are you?
I mean, you've won 10 of your 11 marathons. You hold the official world record marathon time of 2:01.39.
How close are you in a regular marathon to beating two hours?
And how soon will that be?
KIPCHOGE: I don't want to say it now because it's still --
(LAUGHTER)
KIPCHOGE: -- it's not televised. I'm going to say I'm going to --
(LAUGHTER)
KIPCHOGE: -- concerned with purely on recovery fast.
But I trust and I'm (INAUDIBLE) that in future I might be the runner (INAUDIBLE).
ANDERSON: Amazing.
[11:25:00]
ANDERSON: You've explained what this means for you and for your family.
What do you think this means for Kenya, sir?
KIPCHOGE: Yes, breaking under 12 (INAUDIBLE) in Kenya. Yesterday, the whole country come at a standstill. The day before yesterday, (INAUDIBLE)
and from the head of state, that's President Uhuru Kenyatta, I received from the ministers, were seeing (INAUDIBLE) and all of Kenya here to give
me more and more help. And I can tell you that the whole country was celebrating. I can say (INAUDIBLE) two hours was certainly a unifying
factor in the whole country. And I trust that Kenya will be in unity. Kenya in future will be in animation (ph).
ANDERSON: This is a wonderful, wonderful story. Eliud, a lot of people have been programming their treadmills, trying to keep up with your pace.
I just want to show our viewers, one of our producer's husbands, who gave it a go. He only got about 400 meters, which isn't bad, to be honest.
You, of course, did a lot further than that.
What's your advice to would be sub-two-hour marathon runners, sir?
KIPCHOGE: I'm sorry?
ANDERSON: What is your advice to amateur runners?
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: How can they set themselves a target?
KIPCHOGE: I tell my advice to amateur runners is get out of the door of your house. If you go (INAUDIBLE) 10 kilometers, 5 or 6 kilometers,
remember, putting your mind at your finish at the distance. The only thing is to reach that distance and come back. It's about both participating,
it's about finishing the distance. That's all about amateur running.
ANDERSON: He went for the moon and he made it.
Eliud Kipchoge, you made marathon history, sir. We can't wait to see do you that in a regular race. Until the next time, from all of us at CNN,
congratulations, what an awe-inspiring story and, rightly, people around the world celebrating your success.
We will take a short break. We are right back after this.
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[11:30:00]
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ANDERSON: "You are leaving us to be slaughtered." Those are the words from the Syrian Democratic Forces commander speaking to a senior U.S.
diplomat.
Now this comes as the U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper says the United States will withdraw remaining troops from the war-torn country.
That news coming as a very graphic video has been circulating online. It is sickening to watch. I'm telling you this now to give you a moment to
look away because this video appears to show Turkish-backed militia shooting Kurdish prisoners.
The men shouting in Arabic, "Film me shooting him," and, quote, "Pigs, prisoners, kill him."
It appears to be filmed in a popular area a Kurdish politician and civilians were found dead on Saturday. Again this is very graphic.
Well, CNN cannot independently verify the videos. An activist told "The New York Times" that incident happened on Saturday, a Turkish-backed
militia, the Syrian national army says it will investigate.
Well, joining me now from northern Syria is the SDF spokesman, Kino Gabriel.
What we have just seen is extremely graphic.
What more do you know about who is in this video?
KINO GABRIEL, SDF SPOKESPERSON: (INAUDIBLE) the commission but the people who are in it, apparently they are members of the Syrian National Army,
(INAUDIBLE) committing this crime that a number of the (INAUDIBLE) and civilians on the road (INAUDIBLE).
And (INAUDIBLE) some people have managed to take control over the road or the highway that is (INAUDIBLE) and other parts of Syria. And there are
those that -- there are those which manage to (INAUDIBLE).
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: Sir, you --
GABRIEL: -- of course, we cannot expect such a group to now (INAUDIBLE) --
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: All right.
GABRIEL: -- other places in Syria where these groups operate should not be in north (INAUDIBLE) in Syria.
ANDERSON: OK. This telephone line is quite difficult to understand you but I'm going to persevere because this is important.
As you understand it, what is going on, on the ground now?
How many fighters and civilians have been killed?
And are you shocked by the intensity of this offensive?
GABRIEL: Well, (INAUDIBLE), we have announced a bit of (INAUDIBLE) from fighters and (INAUDIBLE) of the operations, mostly women and children, and
especially in the area of (INAUDIBLE).
(CROSSTALK)
GABRIEL: -- (INAUDIBLE) injured.
[11:35:00]
GABRIEL: There had been an airstrike over a civilian convoy attribute to (INAUDIBLE) support the people who are still there (ph) and it got the
airstrike (ph) and the (INAUDIBLE) that we have (INAUDIBLE) civilians killed and almost 75 (INAUDIBLE) hundreds of thousands of civilians who --
(CROSSTALK)
GABRIEL: -- and their homes from the outlying --
ANDERSON: OK.
GABRIEL: -- the area (INAUDIBLE) and (INAUDIBLE) the area to the south.
ANDERSON: Sir, this telephone line is almost impossible to hear you on. I'm going to take a very short break. I want to see if we can redial and
get a better line to you.
Folks, taking a short break. Back after this.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We have helped the world superpowers. And now they have abandoned us. I ask all the countries of
the world to do something for the Kurds. The United Nations and the world superpowers are responsible for us. If they don't help us, Turkey will
slaughter us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: A Kurdish civilian speaking there in Syria, calling for world leaders to take action. According to United Nations, 130,000 people have
been forced to flee their homes as Turkey or Turkey allied militia advance, their future now hazy. A reality known all too well in a country in its
eighth year of war.
[11:40:00]
ANDERSON: Well, Misty Buswell is the Middle East policy director for the International Rescue Committee, sadly all too familiar these images for
you.
How rapidly is this humanitarian crisis unfolding at this point?
MISTY BUSWELL, INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE: Well, the last few days have been an absolute nightmare for civilians in northeast Syria. We have
actually seen now that 200,000 people have been displaced in just the last four days.
And they are trying to seek relative safety further south in areas further away from the border. But we've seen people fleeing with just the clothes
on their back. Some people being forced to shelter in schools because they have nowhere else to go and others staying out in the open because there's
just no shelter at all.
ANDERSON: So you are saying there is no real idea about where people are going and they are getting very little support at this point, correct?
BUSWELL: Well, most people are fleeing south away from border areas and humanitarian agencies are doing everything that we can. We are able to
support many of the people who have fled, you know, into areas away from the border and my organization, International Rescue Committee, is
providing health services and support for mental health for people who have traumatized by the experience.
But it is an incredibly difficult situation on the ground and, you know, starting to hear reports of health facilities being attacked and water
stations not being able to provide services. So the situation is spiraling downward.
ANDERSON: Viewers, I'm going to apologize again for the quality of this call or this interview sound, but we are going to persevere, because it's
really important. You are looking at images from northeastern Syria as Misty and I talk.
Turkey's President Erdogan has threatened to send Syrian refugees to Europe if Europeans go against this offensive. In the first instance, Turkey
wants the 3.6 million refugees that it hosts are present to be relocated in this area just to the south of its border.
What would happen if Mr. Erdogan was to open the gates as it were, Misty?
BUSWELL: Well, it's hard to know exactly what would happen. We do know that many, many, I think over 85 percent of the many refugees who have been
given protections so far in Turkey, are not from these areas in Northeast Syria.
So it is quite unlikely they would want to go back to those areas and, you know, they have a right to return when they want and to the areas of their
choosing.
ANDERSON: We've got some pictures from Friday, that I want to show viewers, they show the wives of ISIS fighters arriving at the al-Hol camp,
it's home to some 70,000 people, according to the United Nations.
My colleague, Arwa Damon, saw the anger of these women firsthand earlier this year. I want us to have a listen to part of her reporting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAMON (voice-over): A spirit of vengeance seeps into the next generation.
You tell them their father was killed by the infidels.
Hatred and enmity is magnified by the wretched conditions.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See, you think it's a camp. But it's a prison.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Today in a different camp over 750 people affiliated with ISIS as we understand it have escaped. You have been on the ground for some
time. You have witnessed the horrors.
How concerned are you and your organization for the resurgence, the possible resurgence of ISIS at this point?
BUSWELL: Well, we are -- we know that people have suffered in northeast Syria and Iraq three years under ISIS control and lived through really a
lot of horrors.
And I think that then the idea that we could see a destabilization that could lead to a resurgence of ISIS is absolutely unthinkable and would be
devastating for the, you know, women, children and men who are living in northeast Syria but also beyond, into Iraq and across the region and even
far beyond that (INAUDIBLE).
[11:45:00]
ANDERSON: I'm going to try one more question with you and see if the coms still work. My colleagues on the ground have said, quite frankly, the
scope and scale of this military offensive, long vaunted, long planned, it seems, by the Turks, has been bigger and more spectacular than anybody on
the ground actually thought.
What is your organization's biggest concern short-term?
BUSWELL: Well, I think our biggest concern is for our -- for the civilians living in northeast Syria and whether or not we can continue to provide aid
and you know that people are protected during this offensive.
We want this offensive to stop because we know that that's the only way that civilians will be protected and that parties to the conflict have an
absolute obligation to ensure that civilians are not, you know, suffering from the impacts of conflict.
But sadly that has been a primary hallmark all across Syria from day one it that it is really civilians who are paying the highest toll and the highest
price for the conflict in Syria.
ANDERSON: With that, we will leave it right there. We thank you very much, indeed, for joining us. Misty Buswell is the International Rescue
Committee's Middle East policy director.
Well, earlier, I spoke to the former U.S. Army general and director of the Central Intelligence Agency back in the day, David Petraeus. I asked him
about the threat of an ISIS resurgence from this Turkish offensive. Here's what he told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: You cannot take your eye off the Islamic State. We've seen this in the past. If you take your focus off of
Al Qaeda in Iraq, all of a sudden, it will be back in the form of the Islamic State.
If there were a breakout, if these detention facilities, in which the captured Islamic State fighters, many of them foreign fighters, whose
countries don't necessarily want them back, obviously, that would augment what is already out there and allow them to regroup and to cause problems
of a very significant nature, once again.
ANDERSON: The Europeans are clearly very concerned and that has been being my partisan criticism of Donald Trump's decision in Washington.
Are you surprised by that?
And when he talks about wanting to get out of these endless wars in the Middle East, what's your analysis of what's going on in his mind here?
PETRAEUS: Well, look, I think, again, it's understandable to want to get out of endless wars. His predecessor wanted to do the same. And we saw,
though, that what happens, if you completely remove your forces from one of these endless wars, the endless war may actually get new longevity.
So again, I think that there needs to be a strategy in many cases for staying but doing so in a way that it minimizes the costs in blood and
treasure to the U.S. and the coalition and so forth and to the host nation forces as well.
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ANDERSON: That's U.S. Army general and director of the Central Intelligence Agency David Petraeus, speaking with me earlier on.
Coming up, history made as women get to attend a football match in Iran. I'll talk to one activist about what needs to happen next -- after this.
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ANDERSON: Well, just a few days ago Iran routed Cambodia 14-0 in a World Cup qualifier in Tehran. However, the real story wasn't the action on the
pitch but the people in the stands.
For the first time in 40 years, Iran let female fans into the stadium for the match, 4,600 were allowed to purchase tickets and those tickets, well,
they went fast. The president of FIFA, who had called on Iran to lift the ban, praised it as a positive step forward.
But activists say that is not enough. They say the cap on the number of women is discriminatory and violates FIFA's constitution. I am joined now
by Maryam Shojaei. She is an Iranian activist and the sister of an Iranian football star. She has been calling to the international community to push
Iran to let women watch football matches.
She joins us now from Istanbul.
We do welcome you to the show. Let's do the good news first. The fact that women were allowed in, 4,600 or so got to see what was a remarkable
match. Every single team would want a huge female following if they're going to score 14 goals against their opponents.
A history-making event, correct?
MARYAM SHOJAEI, ACTIVIST: Yes, it was.
ANDERSON: And you, of course, have been an activist for some time.
Tell me, how does it feel to you?
SHOJAEI: I had a conflicted feeling because the lift wasn't complete, as we know. So many women were not allowed to purchase tickets because the
tickets were limited and there were so many empty seats at the stadium.
ANDERSON: Well, FIFA has told CNN in a statement, "We reaffirm our position that the number of women in the stadium needs to be determined by
the demand for such tickets, without any arbitrary limitation being imposed."
They say, "Further details on the next steps to be implemented to ensure the future access of women to the stadiums."
Is that good enough from FIFA?
SHOJAEI: Meanwhile, we have been calling for a permanent, immediate and complete -- this problem to be solved. So this is not -- what we have seen
on Thursday was not a complete access for women. There were so many women who were not able to purchase tickets.
And FIFA says it stands firm on this issue and we would love to have proof of its continued efforts.
ANDERSON: I know you will continue with your efforts to ensure that more is done. For the time being, we thank you very much, indeed, for joining
us. Miriam there, struggling a little bit with the sound, I think, out of Turkey today.
We have had some technical gremlins, I'm afraid. But we have battled through for you. That's two hours, our extended show here out of Abu
Dhabi.
Finally, in the capital of Spain, the king of Spain and a crowd of onlookers watched in disbelief as a parachutist misjudged his landing
during the National Day parade, this the scene in Madrid.
The skydiver was swooping down dramatically, apparently in control, when his chute suddenly snagged onto a lamppost. That brought the jump to an
abrupt end and left him dangling. He appeared OK but frustrated.
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ANDERSON: Well, as he tried to untangle himself, remarkable. He's all right.
I'm Becky Anderson. That was CONNECT THE WORLD from the team here in Abu Dhabi and those around the world, it is a very good Sunday evening. Thank
you for watching. CNN continues after this short break. Don't go away.
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