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Crisis In Iran; Building A Modern Oman; U.S. Imposes New Sanctions On Iran; Eight Rockets Hit Iraq's Balad Air Base; UAE's "Bee the Change" Initiative Goes Global. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired January 12, 2020 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): In the streets of Tehran, grief turned to outrage after an about-face from Iran admitting that it shot down
a Ukrainian passenger jet.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Very simply what the Iranian people have seen from their leadership over the
past few days is that the leadership does not care about them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you confident that this was actually an accident?
JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: This is one of the issues that we certainly need better answers to.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): When I became certain that this incident had indeed happened, truthfully, I wished death for myself. I
wished I was dead and did not have to witness such an accident.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: This hour, Iran's government trying to contain the fallout over the downing of a passenger plane over Tehran. It is not
only facing the scrutiny of the world but its own people, too.
With one tragic blunder, Iran has turned a wave of popular support into a tide of anti-government fury. This as it deals with what comes next with
the United States. Let's walk you through the very latest.
In Tehran, anti-government protests by Iranians angry at the regime for shooting down that Ukrainian passenger jet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON (voice-over): These crowds demanding Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, step down. This coming at a critical time for the
regime as it tries to map a route out of the crisis with the U.S.
Meanwhile, the White House apparently seizing this moment. President Trump tweeting out this message in Farsi.
"To the brave longsuffering people of Iran, I've stood with you since the beginning of my presidency and my administration will continue to stand
with you. We are following your protests closely and are inspired by your courage."
We are across the developments in this story. CNN's international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, is with me here in Abu Dhabi. CNN
international correspondent Arwa Damon is live for you in Baghdad. And Kristen Holmes is standing by at the White House.
Let me start with you, Nic. An admission of guilt by the Islamic Republic of Iran is almost unheard of, it has to be said. We were trying to think
back to the last time that we could remember such and it was, I think, back in 1998. This might have been no different, had it not been for evidence
that became abundantly clear to the international community.
ROBERTSON: Iran has zero credibility on the international stage. For several days they said that they didn't shoot down the airliner.
International countries were putting forward evidence that that wasn't the case. They had nowhere to turn.
Their biggest existential threat is, they believe, U.S. troops in the region and they're going to need all this international goodwill that they
think may be out there for them in sort of pushing off the United States.
So calculation, you have to come clean on the airliner being forced down. But of course, that is having a huge backlash not only internationally,
pressure on them but domestically as well.
People feel you could have branded these aircraft and you didn't, therefore you didn't care about us and that's why these protests are happening.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Chants of death to the supreme leader, angry blowback for the downing of Ukrainian passenger jet gathering momentum in
Tehran. Thousands protesting just hours after Iranian officials finally admitted mistakenly shooting it down.
"I will kill who killed my brother," someone shouts.
The vast majority aboard flight PS-752 were Iranian, the best and the brightest. Their death, a spark, igniting tinder-dry middle class
frustrations.
Police tossed tear gas to scatter the crowds. The anger, quite simply, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei doesn't care about his people. The
crowd telling him he no longer has a mandate to lead. Anger, too at the powerful IRGC. Another big slapdown for Iran's leadership.
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ROBERTSON (voice-over): Protesters avoid walking on American and Israeli flags painted on the ground some years ago by the regime out of disrespect.
Iran's leadership now facing growing external as well as internal pressure.
TRUMP: Iran's admission that its own armed forces unintentionally shot down Flight 752 is an important step towards providing answers for
families. But I noted that many more steps must be taken.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Demands the airplane investigation be international, open and transparent. President Trump heaping on his
pressure, too, tweeting, "the world is watching the protests. There cannot be another massacre of peaceful protesters as happened last year."
And in the midst of it all, the British ambassador, arrested at the protests, held for several hours. The British foreign secretary calling it
a flagrant violation of international law.
Fallout over the downed plane now becoming a perfect storm for Iran in the global spotlight, with international investigators poking around as
domestic protests grow and sanctions increase.
Iran's recourse to violence neutered by fear of escalation. And still, no real diplomatic off-ramp in sight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON: And at dusk today, it does seem that the Iranians, Becky, are taking a different tack. Pro-regime people having a prayer vigil at the
same site of the protests. This is what we want the international community to see.
ANDERSON: Let's get to Kristen who is at the White House.
The U.S. president has been pretty active on Twitter. He has issued another warning to Iran, telling its leaders in a tweet, "Do not kill your
protesters. Thousands have already been killed or imprisoned by you and the world is watching. More importantly, the USA is watching."
Kristen, it would be easy to accuse the U.S. president of seizing the moment here. In fact, many people are accusing him of exactly that.
You could also argue that the U.S. president, sitting back, watching what is going on, this is a country which didn't -- didn't accept what had
happened, lied its way through the first 48 hours of the downing of this jet, has people out protesting against it once again.
The U.S. president simply sitting back and saying, we are watching you. Many might agree with some of what the U.S. president's narrative is today.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, absolutely, Becky. But I do think you need to look at this at both a macro and a micro level. Just moments
ago we heard from the Defense Secretary, Mark Esper, and national security adviser Robert O'Brien as they try to fumble their way through the
intelligence that led to the U.S. airstrikes on Soleimani.
This has been an ongoing theme that we've seen for the last week. Focusing on the protest is a way for the president to shift attention. We still have
multiple lawmakers asking what exactly happened, when are we going to see the intelligence that led to this strike, why was it necessary at this
time.
We heard from all of these officials, some saying they believe embassies were under attack, as the president has said. They're using words like
"believe," "think," not words like this is what we saw when it comes to intelligence. So while it might be that that's what the president is doing,
sitting back and just saying that we are watching you, it also is very clearly shifting the narrative here. He has stopped focusing on Soleimani
and clearly is focusing on Iran.
The other thing here is just to remember the narrative that we've seen over the last week, President Trump issuing this attack. We still, again, do not
know what led to the imminency of this attack, why it had to be done then.
And then we see Iranians united in the street against America. We hear them chanting, death to America, weeping and wailing about their military leader
that was killed.
Now a complete 180 for obvious reasons. Becky, this is a better narrative for President Trump. He gets to now not have death to America but instead
essentially an undermining of the Iranian regime.
But it is important to note here the broader context when it comes to President Trump, when it comes to the president and the Middle East.
President Trump is sitting here, saying do not kill your protesters. The Iranian people are great people, essentially praising them.
But this is the same president who, just earlier in the week, was threatening to bomb cultural sites, cultural sites that are likely not just
important to the Iranian government but to the people of Iran.
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HOLMES: This is also a president who, within his first month of taking office, banned Iranians from coming into the U.S. He ran on a platform of
the so-called Muslim ban.
So if you do want to take a step back and say this is him just saying the U.S. is watching you, that could very well be. But you have to look at the
larger context here. President Trump essentially picking and choosing when he wants to support Iranians, when he wants to support the people, the
protesters, and when he just simply doesn't.
ANDERSON: The perspective in Washington for you. Kristen, thank you for that.
Arwa, I want to get you up now from Baghdad. New information from you on the ground in Iraq on the number of missiles that hit that U.S. base last
week.
What can you tell us?
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, we just got back from the al-Asad air base. While we were up there, we were told by
the military that, in fact, 10 missiles hit their side of the al-Asad air base, one impacted on the Iraqi side.
Remember, none of these strikes caused any casualties. And we had been reporting this from afar.
Myself, I was in Baghdad. Up until we got to the base and actually saw the damage and realized just how bad it could have been, that was when you
become aware of just how chaotic and potentially devastating that night could have been for U.S. forces in Iraq. Here's a glimpse of what we saw.
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DAMON: This is the crater left behind by one of them. There are so many stories that we're hearing of heroics, so many stories that we're hearing
of really extraordinary close calls.
Those who lived through this say that it's clear that Iran wasn't that concerned with trying to save U.S. lives. A lot of these impacts did happen
in places where they could potentially have caused significant U.S. casualties.
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DAMON: And the reason that there were no U.S. casualties is multiple. They had advance warning, Becky, in the evening, before the strike took place.
They began putting together intelligence. We don't know exactly what it was but the picture they were building was that there was going to be some sort
of ballistic strike.
Bear in mind, though, the al-Asad air base is not necessarily readied for that kind of a strike. They don't have the weaponry in place to shoot down
these kinds of missiles.
By and large, while they were expecting some sort of a retaliation, they thought it would perhaps be a ground assault by Iran's proxies or some sort
of intense rocket and mortar attack.
So they began scrambling to try to figure out how to get ready for this threat. They dispersed the troops and many of them took shelter,
ironically, perhaps, in Saddam Hussein-era bunkers.
But many of them remained out in the open because they had to man positions along the perimeter. Again, remember, they were also expecting some sort of
a ground assault.
And you continuously saw images while you were there of areas that had been hit. These are areas that would have been populated had they not received
that advance warning and cleared U.S. forces out of them.
The troops once they actually got the all-clear began to try to take stock of what had happened. At one point the fear of finding out who had been
hurt or killed was eclipsed by the relief of realizing that no one was. They immediately began to get back to work, because they continue to remain
on high alert because they are anticipating even more potential threats to be coming their way.
It's also worth remembering, Becky, that U.S. forces are not used to being on the receiving end of this type of weaponry. They are used to being the
ones delivering it. Everyone who we spoke to there is saying that what happened that night was life-changing but they are still determined to
remain in the fight.
ANDERSON: Extremely revealing. Arwa, thank you for that. Arwa is just back from that base. I want to bring Nic back in, who is our international
diplomatic editor.
What do we understand at this point to be the latest on how long there will be a U.S. presence in Iraq?
ROBERTSON: Indeterminate. Secretary of state Mike Pompeo said that he's not talking to the Iraqi prime minister about pulling out. The president of
Iraq from the Kurdish region in the north. But nevertheless, the president of the whole country has said he doesn't think this is the right time for
U.S. troops to pull out.
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ROBERTSON: There's questions raised about the legitimacy of that vote in parliament. It was an interim caretaker prime minister, if you like. And
if you look at some of the images of the vote, there were enough people that seemed to be sitting there with their arms crossed that they didn't
raise their hands.
So there is certainly grounds within the United States, within the administration, to say technically this was not a vote to push us out.
Let's talk about it.
The narrative now is to get NATO involved. Pompeo has said that there are now NATO planners involved at the U.S. State Department. So we can see that
changing.
Ultimately, the United States is not going to want to keep troops in the region forever. It is going to want its interests in the region protected
and it does see Iraq as a separate national entity to Iran and wants to see that kind of future.
ANDERSON: Might want to keep our troops in the region, when the latest report out of one organization in Boston suggesting that, since 9/11, the
cost of wars fought by the U.S. in the Middle East and Asia is $6.4 trillion. NATO is how Donald Trump suggested NATO's Middle East presence
might be defined going forward.
ROBERTSON: Becky, you can buy a lot of diplomacy with $6.3 trillion.
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ANDERSON: That from our international diplomatic editor, Mr. Nic Robertson, who's in the House, and always delighted to have him here in Abu
Dhabi.
The British ambassador to Iran says -- going back to the Iran story briefly -- that he was briefly detained in Tehran after a vigil turned into an
anti-government protest. He said he left the vigil for the Ukrainian plane crash victims when chanting began. He was released when his identity was
confirmed.
Just ahead, the Iranian foreign minister is paying his respects in Oman, a country friendly to both Tehran and Washington with so much uncertainty
hanging over the Middle East. The death of Sultan Qaboos couldn't have come at a worse time.
Plus Manila's airport suspends all flights and towns are ordered to evacuate as ash spews from a volcano in the Philippines. Details on that
are after this.
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ANDERSON: You're looking at the funeral procession of a towering man here in the region of the Middle East. Sultan Qaboos bin Said died at the age of
79. He ruled Oman for five decades and was amongst the longest-serving Arab rulers.
The new leader of Oman promises to carry on the legacy left by the sultan, one of peace building and neutrality. Over his long reign he was known as
serving as a mediator between regional rivals like Saudi Arabia and Qatar and nuclear rivals like India and Pakistan.
Leaders from all over the world are offering their condolences. The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he is deeply saddened by the loss and the
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called him a visionary leader and a beacon of peace. We take a look back on his life now.
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ANDERSON (voice-over): Sultan Qaboos bin Said took the throne in 1970 after overthrowing his father in a bloodless coup. It signaled the end of
an era of isolation with the new sultan as the architect of the modern Oman.
The seafaring nation in the crux of Asia and Africa had long enjoyed trade with traditional partners in South Asia and beyond but Oman's new ruler
decided to tap the country's modest oil wealth to fuel his ambitions.
He also sought to solidify ties with Western allies. A graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England, Sultan Qaboos once served in
the British army. Often seen in public parades wearing his military uniform, he presided over an absolute monarchy but was seen as relatively
progressive.
A symbol of his country's deep-rooted relationship with the United Kingdom and evidenced by Queen Elizabeth II's state visit in 2010 to commemorate
Oman's 40th National Day.
His last public appearance was during the visit of Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, in December. Unlike his Gulf Arab neighbors, Oman also had a
cordial relationship with Iran, an alliance that served the West when Sultan Qaboos secured the release of American hikers held by Iran in 2011
and British sailors in 2007.
Under his leadership, Oman played an important role in mediating the escalating tension between Iran and its Arab neighbors. His diplomatic
outreach included Israel. He welcomed Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2018, the most striking step in the Gulf's rapprochement with
Israel.
A monarch who ruled with a firm hand but also a man of culture. A lover of classical music, Sultan Qaboos inspired the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra
and built a 1,100-seat opera house to stage his love of music.
Once divorced, Sultan Qaboos had no children and no direct heir at the time of his death. His successor will have the challenge of carrying on the
legacy of a man much loved by the majority of his country.
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ANDERSON: Well, joining me now is someone with a deep understanding of what Sultan Qaboos really did for Oman and this wider region.
Professor Houchang Hassan-Yari from Sultan Qaboos University is with us.
We thank you, sir, for joining us. Just describe the atmosphere in the country at present, if you will.
HOUCHANG HASSAN-YARI, PROFESSOR, SULTAN QABOOS UNIVERSITY: As you can see, the transition was going on extremely smoothly and there was no problem at
all.
So obviously the country is mourning the loss of His Majesty, who ruled over the country for close to 50 years. And consequently the Omani
population lost their father and Oman lost a very fine son.
ANDERSON: At the time of his succession over 50 years ago, Oman is reported to have possessed only 12 hospital beds, six miles of surface
roads and three primary schools, all of them for boys. Radios banned, civilians not allowed to drive.
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ANDERSON: The gates of Muscat were closed every evening and residents were required to carry lanterns if they went out after dark, a reminder of the
country back then in the national newspaper published here in the UAE and clearly describing the influence of Sultan Qaboos over the years.
How are Omanis themselves remembering their late leader?
HASSAN-YARI: They remember their leader in two ways really. One when we talk about the internal issues, as it was in your presentation and your
report, he was a very progressive leader.
If you look at the universities, for example, now the majority of students are female. So he was very supportive of female progress in the country in
terms of education, health care and so forth.
As you mentioned again yourself, he created a very modern educational system. The health care system that did not exist before. But also he
created, with very little revenue, he created institutions, he modernized the country and consequently, from the perspective of the Omanis, he was
the leader to took them from almost the 7th-8th century to the 21st century.
The institutions that he created, obviously with the help of his colleagues, are very progressive in a sense that the country went through a
number of elections, municipal elections, parliament and so forth.
So in that sense we can say the Omanis remember him as a great reformer, a very wise man, who changed the entire dynamic in the country.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: Right.
HASSAN-YARI: Externally Omanis are looking at the war and see that their country is basically the only country in the region or one of the very rare
countries in the region where peace and security exist. And Oman doesn't have any territorial dispute with the neighbors so in that sense you can
say that the Omanis --
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ANDERSON: Sure. One of the great moderates, it has to be said. We live in the region and it's tough to find anybody who doesn't agree with that line,
that he was one of those great moderates, so few and far between, it seems in this region.
In his first public remarks as the new leader, Oman state news quotes Haitham Bin Tariq the new sultan saying, "We will follow the same line as
the late sultan and the principles that he asserted for the foreign policy based on peaceful coexistence amongst nations and people and good
neighborly behavior of noninterference in the affairs of others."
The late sultan held so many positions, from finance to foreign affairs. And this is a region at present which is in difficult times, let's call it
that.
How big a challenge will the new leader have to maintain a similar policy here of moderation, of Oman playing this really strategic role when it
comes to mediation, for example, between the Gulf and Israel, between Israel and others, between -- you know, between the U.S. and Iran back in
the day?
How difficult will that be?
HASSAN-YARI: I believe that there is no doubt that the challenges are there. But the good news is that the new sultan used to work with His
Majesty for many, many years. So in that sense, they know each other.
And this is why, when the new sultan took over, he made it very clear that there will be a continuation of the grand policies that His Majesty
established.
And if you look at the pillars, for example, of foreign policy of Oman, as you mentioned, they're one of the most important thing -- one of them, is
positive neutrality in a sense that Oman doesn't want anybody to interfere in its own internal and external issues and he doesn't want to intervene in
other countries' affairs.
So this is -- but the other issue related to this is really, as you mentioned, again, the role of mediator that Oman used to play
significantly.
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HASSAN-YARI: You don't expect from a small country, in terms of economy, population and so forth, to play such a huge international role. So the
expectation is that His Majesty -- he will continue to do what was started and reinforce the position of Oman as a mediator, as a peacekeeper and
peace creator country in the region while maintaining good relations with the hostile entities.
For example, this is a place that the Syrian government and opponents of the Syrian government that used to come here to negotiate, Houthis and
others, come here to talk.
You mentioned the case of Americans, Iranians and consequently the nuclear agreement and so forth. So we expect a continuation. We expect more
economic development now that the country is -- because I have to remind ourselves also that he was the one in charge of Vision 2040 --
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ANDERSON: With that, sir, I'm going to have to leave it there. I'm sorry to cut you off. I've got to take a very short break. Sir, thank you. Your
points are extremely well made and important analysis. I've got to take a very short break and going to be back after this.
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ANDERSON: The familiar death to America chants in Iran have turned into an anti-government, death to the dictator chorus.
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ANDERSON: Thousands of protesters taking to the streets in Tehran, calling government officials liars for having denied shooting down a Ukrainian
passenger plane. What began as a somber gathering to honor students killed in the crash quickly turned into a passionate rally for regime change,
calling out the country's military and those who run the Islamic Republic.
Let's bring in Trita Parsi, the author of "Losing an Enemy" and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.
He says the downing of the Ukrainian airliner illustrates that the force supposed to protect Iran is often what threatens the country most.
Joining us now from Washington, just expand on what you meant in that tweet from earlier.
TRITA PARSI, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, QUINCY INSTITUTE FOR RESPONSIBLE STATECRAFT: Well, what I think we've seen in the last decade is that, on
the one hand, Iran is under external threat. That's very, very clear right now, mindful of the risk of war, mindful of a systematic geostrategic
conflict that has been going on for quite some time.
At the same time, the forces that are supposed to be protecting it -- in this case the IRGC although the IRGC was created primarily to protect the
regime -- nevertheless are oftentimes the ones that are most dangerous to the country.
I think that was captured in some ways with the downing of the Ukrainian airliner, in which 200-plus -- or 176 civilians died. I think what you're
seeing right now at the university in Tehran and other parts in the capital is people are absolutely outraged of the incompetence that lie behind this.
And the fact that for at least 2.5-3 days the government was lying or sending out misinformation about what actually had happened.
ANDERSON: Iranians no strangers to a government who has lied or misinformed in the past.
Talk to me about the types of people who we are now seeing protesting in Iran. You tweeted that, in contrast to the last round of protests, which
were, of course, before December, in October and November time, which were mainly outside of the big cities, male and working class.
Protests now are being led by the middle classes, by students and by women.
What do you think this tells us and how worried should the regime be, if at all?
Some are calling this, for example, Tehran's Chernobyl moment.
Should that be the case, it comes with the what's next, of course.
PARSI: Yes, I think what it shows is that it is a deeply divided country across class lines in the sense that the earlier protests, that were
primarily driven by young male 19 to 24 years old, lower class, working class, poorer sections of the country, outside of the big cities, you saw
the middle class, the protesters that were the engine of the green movement, for instance, sitting those protests out for various reasons.
Part of it was because they were afraid this could lead to a serious situation. But also becomes there seems to be several different Irans
inside of Iran. What we're seeing now is, around the universities, I think it's probably because many of the people who got killed on the airplane
were students.
So these are student-led protests. In order for this to really grow to something that will be a much more potent threat to the government, these
party -- these class lines need to be crossed in the sense that you will see protests that are constituted of both people from the middle class,
both people from the working class and it's not segmented in the manner that these protests have been thus far.
ANDERSON: You have long argued that the U.S. campaign of maximum pressure on Iran is misguided, that it isn't working.
Would you argue at this point that the behavior of the regime is perhaps more effective in promoting these protests against the regime than any U.S.
sanctions will ever be?
PARSI: U.S. sanctions have overwhelmingly affected the ordinary people. People are angry about that.
But when they see Trump going out there, boasting about how he's crushing the lives of Iranians, ordinary Iranians, when they see him going out and
saying he thinks it's completely fair game to target Iranian culture sites, even though he walked that back, what it does, it sends a very clear signal
to the Iranian public, he is not their friend.
And him then making misery out of their lives economically means that a lot of that anger will be guided towards the United States and Trump rather
than the mismanagement and the corruption of the Iranian government.
In fact, sanctions would likely not have been this painful had it not been for the fact that the country is already so mismanaged and there's so much
corruption in it. Corruption makes sanctions more effective.
[11:40:00]
ANDERSON: With that, we'll leave it there. Trita, thank you.
PARSI: Thank you so much for having me.
ANDERSON: Flights are on hold and towns are being ordered to evacuate. This as ash spews from a volcano in the Philippines. Details on that are up
next.
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ANDERSON: Let's have a look at this. An intense lightning bolt strike near a volcano in the Philippines. A resident captured it on video and posted
this to social media.
Ash has been spewing from the volcano over the past 24 hours. Now that volcano is causing all kinds of disruption in the Philippines. All flights
suspended after Manila International Airport says ash spews a kilometer into the air.
Authorities have issued evacuation orders for three towns and say the volcano is showing a rapid increase in activity and the alert level is now
at 3. This means the volcano could have a hazardous eruption within a matter of weeks. Minor earthquakes are being reported near this as well.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ANDERSON: Well, the death toll continues to rise as bush fires devastate Australia. A 60-year-old firefighter died on Saturday while fighting a
blaze in the state of Victoria. He was hit by a falling tree. At least 28 people have now been killed this fire season.
More than one million hectares have burned in the state of Victoria alone. Australian prime minister Scott Morrison admitted there were things he
could have handled much better in the crisis during a television interview. Those were his words last night. He also said he will propose a review of
the disaster, including the government's response.
[11:45:00]
ANDERSON: More breaking news just coming into CNN. The Iraqi military says eight Katyusha rockets have hit the Balad air base north of Baghdad. A
statement says four Iraqi air force officers were wounded.
The airbase hosts U.S. forces and foreign contractors. We'll have more on this as we get it. Reaction from our Nic Robertson after this short break.
Stay with us.
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ANDERSON: Some breaking news just coming into CNN. We're just getting more information on this. But this is what we know at this point.
The Iraqi military says eight Katyusha rockets have hit the Balad air base north of Baghdad. A statement says four Iraqi air force officers were
wounded. The airbase hosts U.S. forces and foreign contractors. I've got Nic Robertson with us here in Abu Dhabi, who has spent, I have to say,
weeks and weeks if not months of his life at times in Iraq.
What do we know about this airbase and about what we understand to be this most recent attack?
ROBERTSON: So eight Katyusha rockets, which means they would have been fired from potentially 5 to maybe 15 kilometers away. This air force base,
massive, very like the al-Asad one that was targeted just a few days ago.
It's a very big base, so it's sprawling. It has a military hospital. The U.S. used to use it for flying drones out of. If you were trying to hit
specific targets with the rockets, it's slightly imprecise in that regard.
But I think what makes this attack significant to me is the al-Asad base was kind of remote. The Balad airbase is near the down of Balad. This was
the badlands for U.S. forces in the sort of late 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009 years. So it means specifically that a unit using the Katyusha rockets
could be in an urban environment in one of the towns or villages nearby, fire the rocket, shoot and scoot and be off and they would be hard to
capture.
ANDERSON: What do we understand to be the latest with regard to U.S. forces staying or leaving Iraq?
ROBERTSON: Secretary of state Mike Pompeo says that they will stay. That's the intent. There's an intent as well to increase NATO's presence there,
President Trump said so.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there are NATO officials at the State Department at the moment coordinating that. We know that the president of
Iraq, who is Kurdish from the north of the country, nevertheless president of the whole country, he says that he believes U.S. forces should stay.
There are questions being asked about the legitimacy of the vote in the Iraqi parliament a week ago today because it was a show of hands. There was
designated a quorum of people presenting. Sunnis weren't there, Kurds weren't there.
[11:50:00]
ROBERTSON: And there was a question mark whether there was a big enough show of hands for a vote to carry and by a caretaker prime minister.
However, this is whether or not U.S. troops should be there.
It is not only an issue for the Iranians, it's now a divisive issue for the Iraqis. It's divisive because the Sunnis didn't attend, the Kurds didn't
attend, the majority of Shia seemed to vote for it. That puts them at odds already. We know those divisions existed but this issue will exacerbate
that tension.
ANDERSON: Getting the U.S. out of not just Iraq but the region has been the M.O. of the Iranian regime for 40 years. There is nothing new in calls
for the U.S. to get out of the Middle East by Tehran and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Before this latest hit on Balad air base and we know very little at this point -- you have been clear about what we do know -- the U.S. Defense
secretary was speaking earlier to our very own Jake Tapper. He was talking about more possible threats from Iran, alluding, of course, to the strikes
on the base in Iraq last week. Have a listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK ESPER, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: In terms of direct state action, it is far less of a threat today than it was some time ago. But I think they
will continue this malign behavior that they have throughout the world for 40 years.
I think our watchword is vigilance. We have to remain vigilant. What we have to do is get back to a position where they will come sit down with us
and we can talk about how we get Iran to act like and behave like a normal country.
That's what all of us want. That's what the regional partners want and the European partners want, to get Iran to behave like a normal country. No
nuclear weapons program, no long-range ballistic missiles, no hostage taking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Some will say good luck with all of that. That was Mark Esper speaking.
Is Iran less of a threat today than it was 10 days ago?
ROBERTSON: Specifically today, yes, because they're in disarray. They have international investigators running all over. They're under scrutiny.
There's popular protests on the streets of the country. They have lost a key, key vital interlocutor.
Can they regroup and recalibrate?
Yes. That calibration will have to take into account what Soleimani had been doing, which was, as the United States escalates sanctions, he had
been escalating, you know, retaliatory actions to the point of attacking U.S. bases.
Now today we're looking at a base where U.S. forces have been attacked again.
The question is going to be, if it was not the Iranians behind it, then who was?
There are spoilers there. There could be fragmentary ISIS groups and spoilers out there so it becomes harder to say did Iran send those rockets
into that Balad air base.
ANDERSON: More on that as we get it. Thank you, Nic. That's what we know today, that rockets fired at the Balad air base, which is just outside of
Baghdad. Thank you.
Folks, before we go, I want to shine a light on a topic that is important to us and I truly believe it's important to you as well, wherever you are
watching in the world.
This time last year, this city of Abu Dhabi was gearing up to host the first ever Special Olympics in the Middle East.
People of determination, people with special needs and intellectual disabilities, how the UAE describes people, were put front and center. A
year on, that legacy living on its initiatives, like the Bee the Change Campaign, which helps those with special needs in the workforce. And now
they are taking idea that global. First stop, London. Have a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KIERA BYLAND, BRITISH SPECIAL OLYMPICS ATHLETE (voice-over): People with determination, all we want to do is be a part of society in the moment. In
the last few years that hasn't been happening.
But finally we've been given that choice and that opportunity to feel that we're part of society and actually help as well, that we're not just to the
side. It's not, oh, there, there; poor you. You can actually do something.
Bee the Change is about supporting people with determination, helping them be empowered, inspire other people and helping them get jobs. That's why
it's such a great thing to do is because they have done that in Abu Dhabi and it's about time we do it here in our own country because there's so
many athletes I speak to.
And I know they want to get jobs but, because of their disability, they need extra support.
MANSOOR ABULHOUL, UAE AMBASSADOR TO THE U.K. (voice-over): So important that we continue the momentum of the Special Olympics, the huge success
that set off much more inclusivity throughout society.
[11:55:00]
ABULHOUL (voice-over): People of determination is a term that is incredibly significant in the UAE. It became popularized because we see it
as an alternative to people with special needs.
And it's important that it signifies what these fine individuals can achieve and are capable of. It's so important that governments do support
this. The UAE is supporting this and we hope this will lead other governments to do that.
BEAR GRYLLS, SURVIVAL INSTRUCTOR: You are such inspirations, inspirations to me, inspirations to (INAUDIBLE).
GRYLLS (voice-over): We've got kids from local schools, we've got some heroes from the Special Olympics. We've got this great growing happy Bee
The Change Campaign. It's about inclusivity, building community and doing things that are good for our mental health and our physical health.
BYLAND: If you have a dream, you can achieve it. As we all learn in different ways, we achieve in different ways. That should not matter.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Bee the change, folks.
I'm Becky Anderson. That was CONNECT THE WORLD. Wherever you are watching, we wish you a very good evening.
END
