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Quest Means Business
War Against ISIS; Airstrikes Target Terrorist Groups; US, Arab Allies Hit ISIS Targets in Syria; Iraqi Inclusive Government Crucial; Syrian Kurds Flee to Turkey; Family of Alan Henning Issues Statement to ISIS; US Stocks Fall on Syria Strikes; European Markets Fall; G20 Finance Chiefs Pledge to Boost Growth; US Treasury Fights Tax Inversions; Airlines United to Reduce Climate Impact
Aired September 23, 2014 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE CLOSING BELL)
MAGGIE LAKE, HOST: Stocks fall on Wall Street as America goes to war against ISIS. It's Tuesday, the 23rd of September.
Not America's fight alone. President Obama praises the support of Arab allies in launching airstrikes on Islamist militants in Syria.
A frightening prediction on Ebola. Doctors warn we could see half a million cases by January.
And IAG chief executive's message to to governments: trust us, don't tax us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIE WALSH, CEO, IAG: If you tax us, we're not going to do anything to improve the environment. Taxation has been proven to be ineffective
when it comes to environmental action.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAKE: I'm Maggie Lake and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
Good evening. Tonight, the war against ISIS has begun in Syria. The United States, along with a coalition of five Middle East nations, launched
airstrikes against the extremist militants in the north and east of the country. The joint effort targeted ISIS headquarters, training camps, and
combat vehicles. The Pentagon released images showing the aftermath of a strike on an ISIS finance center.
Separately, the United States took action against another terrorist organization in Syria, Khorasan. US officials say the group of seasoned al
Qaeda operatives were plotting attacks against the United States and Europe. The US ambassador to the UN, Samantha Powers, has told the United
Nations that the strikes are justified as Syria's government was unwilling or unable to prevent those attacks.
Nevertheless, President Obama stressed that in the battle against ISIS, the United States is one of many players.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are joined in this action by our friends and partners, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates,
Jordan, Bahrain, and Qatar. America's proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with these nations on behalf of our common security. The strength of this
coalition makes it clear to the world that this is not America's fight alone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAKE: Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr reports on the strikes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MISSILES LAUNCHING)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Overnight, US and partner nations carried out 14 intense strikes against ISIS strongholds
in Raqqa, Syria, and other northern cities.
(EXPLOSION)
STARR: The attacks destroying or damaging multiple targets, including training compounds, headquarters, and command and control facilities and
briefly knocking out power in the region.
(MISSILES LAUNCHING)
STARR: US forces launching Tomahawk land attack missiles from the sea.
(FIGHTER JET TAKING OFF)
STARR: Bombers, drones, and fighter jets continuing the assault by air.
(FIGHTER JET TAKING OFF)
STARR: Including an F-22 Raptor, a new Air Force tactical plane that can conduct air-to-air and air-to-ground combat with near impunity. The
airstrikes targeting key ISIS positions, including the city of Raqqa, where they are essentially based. The attacks, meant to degrade their ability to
command and control, resupply and train, according to a US military official.
Five Arab nations -- Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain -- joining in the fight, four of them helping attack
by air alongside US warplanes.
In January, ISIS turned Raqqa into their home base, creating a terrorist safe haven, the militants controlling the city: power, water,
schools, and banks. Two countries not taking part in the attacks at present? Turkey, who'd previously joined the coalition against the
terrorist group, and Syria itself.
(EXPLOSIONS)
STARR: Then there is, buried in the press release from the military, a report that an imminent attack against the US was thwarted in Syria
overnight, according to US officials. Eight airstrikes were conducted by the US west of Aleppo against the terrorist group Khorasan, a network of
seasoned al Qaeda veterans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAKE: I'm joined now by two of our senior international correspondents. Ben Wedeman is in Erbil, Iraq. Arwa Damon is on the
Turkey-Syria border. Ben, let's start with you. President Obama making pains to point out this is a coalition-led effort. What's the reaction
where you are?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, here in the northern part of Iraq and Kurdistan, the reaction has been by and large
positive. Kurdish officials have been urging the United States and its allies to take firmer action against ISIS, or the Islamic State in Syria.
They now, of course, since the beginning of August, US forces have been in action, US airplanes in action over northern Iraq and other parts
of Iraq, conducting about 190 airstrikes. The French conducting several over the weekend.
And so, now Kurdish officials are saying they would like to see the sort of intensity and breadth of US and coalition airstrikes on ISIS
targets within northern Iraq itself and other parts of Iraq. One of their criticisms is that until now, the US airstrikes have been really tactical.
As Kurdish or Iraqi forces have moved forward, the United States has provided some air cover.
But they would like to see an intensification of the US air involvement, the coalition as well, over parts of Iraq as well. Maggie?
LAKE: And Arwa, we just heard in Barbara's report, Turkey not taking place in the action we saw currently. They are, however, dealing with a
flood of refugees coming into the country.
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Maggie. Turkey so far not taking action because they say up until this
weekend, 49 Turks were being held hostage by ISIS.
The president alluding that perhaps we could be seeing more aggressive action on the part of Turkey and that they also have been dealing with well
over 150,000 refugees flooding in from Syria's predominantly Kurdish north as ISIS advance rapidly, taking over dozens of villages in that area since
Friday.
The scenes at the border, we saw earlier today, absolutely heartbreaking. People had been waiting to be allowed into Turkey since the
morning. The searing heat, the sandstorms that were being kicked up, children without water, a lot of mothers breaking down, talking about just
how difficult it is to leave their homes.
When it comes to reaction to the US airstrikes, well, one Syrian activist that we spoke to inside Raqqa said that he most certainly welcomed
them, but that at the same time, ISIS fighters fighters within that stronghold seemingly changing their tactics, more prominent in the streets
amongst the civilian population, taking over some civilian homes as well.
And we're also trying to confirm various reports we've been hearing just recently from a number of Syrian activists that there have been
civilian casualties in these US airstrikes, especially the airstrikes that took place west of the city of Aleppo in Idlib province as well.
The sense that we were getting from the Syrian activist that we just spoke to was that this morning, there was a lot of optimism that finally
the US and this coalition it has built were taking some sort of action to at least begin to alleviate some of the suffering that nation has gone
through. But now there are great concerns about the potential civilian death toll that may also be taking place, Maggie.
And Ben, President Obama taking great pains to try to let everyone know, especially the American people, that this is going to be a long
effort. This is not going to happen overnight, this is going to have to be a sustained campaign. Critical to that is going to be the government's
ability in Iraq to reach out to the Sunni population there.
WEDEMAN: And of course, they don't have a very good track record when it comes to that, Maggie. Of course, you have a new prime minister in
Baghdad, Haider al-Abadi, who's supposed to be more inclusive, more open towards Sunni involvement in the political process.
But you still hear a lot of voices of complaints coming from the Sunnis that even though he's sent out some more positive messages, for
instance ordering the Iraqi army to stop bombarding civilian areas, Sunni civilian areas.
But beyond that, there isn't really any indication that the body politic in Baghdad is really ready to make the kind of fundamental reforms
initiatives that perhaps the United States would like the Iraqi government to take. There's still a lot of mistrust between the Kurdish politicians
and, of course, those who are leading the Kurdish regional government here in the north and Baghdad as well.
So, there are a lot of political divides within the Iraqi body politic, and they're not going to be narrowed anytime soon. It's going to
take time. And in a time of crisis, it may not be happening fast enough. Maggie?
LAKE: Absolutely, and that's such a critical part of the story. And Arwa, finally, you mentioned the fact that trying to get information about
civilian casualties. We've seen this flood of refugees already.
What is the fact that we now have active bombing campaigns, we have maybe different tactics from ISIS. What is that going to do to the sheer
number of people that we now have on the move, on the run, essentially?
DAMON: Well, it depends on what the US and its allies essentially end up doing next, bearing in mind that the Syrian refugee crisis has been
ongoing for well over three years right now, and the countries bordering Syria are really crushed under the strain that is being put on them by the
refugee crisis.
We have to wait and see how ISIS is going to react to what has been taking place. And there's so much that is unknown at this stage. These
refugees as they're coming across, some of them are saying, look, we need more bombing, we need more targeting of ISIS.
Then there's the added dynamic of the reality of the ongoing war inside Syria, the war of the opposition, the rebel forces, against the
regime itself. That also plays into all of this. So, the one scene that comes out when you do keep speaking to these refugees is that fear of the
uncertainties the future is going to hold, that fear of being unable to go back home for months, perhaps even for years.
And of course, not knowing exactly how the dynamics are going to play out in Syria, and then more broadly speaking, how these dynamics of this
bombing campaign are going to play out for the region as a whole.
LAKE: Absolutely. And from your reporting, fear of their basic needs being met, for not only themselves but their family. Arwa Damon for us
tonight and Ben Wedeman. Thank you both so much.
And in the past few minutes, the family of Alan Henning, the British man currently being held by ISIS militants, has released a new statement.
It reads in part, quote, "We are at a loss why those leading Islamic State cannot open their hearts and minds to the facts surrounding Alan's
imprisonment and why the continue to threaten his life." They go on to call, once again, for his release.
Coming up, G20 finance chiefs are discussing how to boost growth around the world. We'll be live with the secretary-general of the OECD
next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LAKE: US stocks fell Tuesday after the US and several Middle East countries launched attacks against ISIS and Syria. There are also several
other factors at play. Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange. And Alison, a weak day, but we really saw this start yesterday. What's
going on in the minds of investors?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: A lot of it, especially today and some yesterday, it was really all about the news flow. Today
specifically those US airstrikes hitting Syria. So now the question is, will those geopolitical headlines be strong enough for a deeper pullback.
Investors are trying to stay focused on the better trend of data that we've been getting, the strong earnings. And today, they've also been
focused on the US government's crackdown on inversions. That's when a US company buys a rival overseas then moves its headquarters there to benefit
from lower taxes.
We saw shares today in some smaller drug companies take a beating. There's a merger in the works for AbbVie and Shire. That may be in
jeopardy now that there are those restrictions on tax benefits. The merger may not be as attractive as it once was. Another thing that played a role
in the Dow's drop today, lower volume. Maggie?
LAKE: All right, Alison, we're going to talk about that tax issue in just a moment as well. Thank you so much, Alison Kosik for us.
Well, European markets fell Tuesday on data showing weakness in the EU economy. French business activity contracted this month, and growth also
slowed in German manufacturing.
G20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs have made a pledge to rev up global growth with more infrastructure spending. They're meeting in
Australia at the moment. Angel Gurria is director-general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. He is on the other
side of the world at that big event at the United Nations. He's had a lot of traveling, too, and he joins us now.
Thank you so much for being with us on this busy week. Investors are clearly very concerned about Europe, and we're not talking about the
periphery anymore. We're talking about core Europe. Seems to just be stagnating. How worried are you about growth in the region?
ANGEL GURRIA, SECRETARY-GENERAL, OECD: It's a very important concern. This is 25 percent of the world's economy, the single largest trading bloc.
And the euro area in particular is still losing jobs.
So, there's a lot of repair. And the legacy of the crisis was tremendous. Low growth, high unemployment, growing inequalities, a very
serious deterioration of trust. And of course, the cylinders of growth, which are trade, credit, and investment, are all rather sluggish.
On the other hand, there is this commitment in the G20 that they say will go for a 2 percent additional growth over four to five years. And
that is very positive. It's the first time in G20 they're talking about growth rather than about crisis or about recovery.
And basically, we ran -- or not totally, but ran a lot of the room on monetary policy. Ran out a lot of the room that we had on fiscal policy.
So, it's mostly focusing on structural policies.
LAKE: Yes, I want to ask you about that. The ECB is doing what it can, clearly. It is embarking on further strategies. The financial crisis
was tough, but the UK is recovering, the US is recovering. Do they have the wrong policies in place in Europe? Do governments need to be doing
more to stimulate growth?
GURRIA: Yes, Maggie. There's only so much the central banks can do. I think we owe a lot to the central banks. They -- we would probably be in
a much deeper trough if the central banks had not reacted so fast and so thoroughly.
But there's a limited -- space in which they operate, that's interest rate, exchange rates. When you talk about structural change, we're talking
about education, we're talking about innovation, we're talking about more competition. We're talking about regulations. We're talking about
flexibility in the labor market, flexibility in the product market.
We're talking about research and development, we're talking about the tax structures, we're talking about health systems. We're talking about
the way you deal with infrastructure, et cetera. These are the things that are going to keep growth in the medium and in the long term going. And
that --
(CROSSTALK)
LAKE: But let's talk about --
GURRIA: -- can only be done by --
LAKE: -- that innovation.
GURRIA: -- public policies, not by central banks. This is not by central banks --
LAKE: That's right.
GURRIA: -- this is by public policies.
LAKE: That's right, and we've seen a lot of inaction on the public policy front. Let's talk about innovation. A lot of people would like to
see innovation in clean energy. You are there talking about the climate at the UN. What is the price of inaction? We have a lot of rhetoric every
time we have one of these summits, but very little action. What price is that? What cost to the global economy?
GURRIA: Maggie, the price of inaction is the highest price of all. Every single known course of action is less expensive than the price of
inaction. The price of inaction is going to have enormous consequences. We have no more questions today about the science.
And we also know that the economic consequences of inaction are enormous, and therefore, the question is, why do we not do something about
it? We did not know that the financial crisis was coming and the extent of the financial crisis. But had we known half of what we know about climate
and the environment, we would have probably avoided its worst consequences.
Well, we know a lot more about the environment, a lot more about climate. Why is it possible -- or why is it not possible that we get going
with it? We've already started late. We've lost a lot of years.
And we -- remember, we have to go for the second half of this century to a zero net emissions coming from fossil fuels. Otherwise, we will not
make that target of maximum two degrees warming, and the consequences can be very devastating
LAKE: Absolutely. Well, we can only hope that leaders will take this very seriously and act on that crisis. Angel Gurria, the secretary-general
of OECD, thank you so much for joining us this evening.
GURRIA: Thank you, Maggie.
LAKE: Now, we mentioned the US crackdown on tax inversions. You heard Alison talking about it. The way it works is US companies buy rivals
in other countries, move their own headquarters there in order to enjoy lower taxes. Now, that's the idea anyway.
We've seen a few examples of this just in the past couple of weeks. Now, a US food fast giant really grabbed headlines, Burger King. It said
it will by the Canada-based doughnut chain Tim Horton's. The new headquarters would be in Ontario. Chicago-based drug maker AbbVie agreed
to buy Ireland's Shire PLC. That new company would be headquartered in Dublin.
The new rule changes make it a lot harder for companies to keep their cash offshore. It will also make ownership thresholds somewhat stricter,
and there will be no more of fattening up of foreign partners by including so-called passive assets, like securities. In most cases, they will no
longer be counted.
Well, Willie Walsh says the aviation industry is united in an unprecedented way on the issue of climate change. The IAG CEO says
airlines can't do it alone. That's next on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LAKE: The CEO of International Airlines Group, which controls British Airways and Iberia, says he wants government help. Willie Walsh is focused
on climate change, and he told the UN, governments need to do more to help the airline industry curb its environmental impact.
Here's the plan. The industry has agreed to cut airline emissions by half by the year 2050. To help, Walsh's company, IAG, is planning to add
new fuel-efficient aircraft to its fleet, and he's pressuring governments to set up a carbon trading system and provide incentives for airlines to
change their gas-guzzling ways.
Richard spoke to Willie Walsh and asked him to define his message from the airline industry to governments around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALSH: My message is very simple. We recognize that we have a role to play. Unusual for an industry. We're actually completely united on
this. This is strange. The airline industry has got together and agreed on measures to address our impact on the environment.
And we've set ourselves what I believe are very challenging targets to ensure that we play our part in ensuring that going forward, aviation has
less of an impact on climate change than we have today.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL: But you need help, or what is it you need from government?
WALSH: Yes, we need a framework from governments. Part of the solution is a global mechanism for carbon trading. It's not good enough
that we have these regional devices.
Because you get this patchwork quilt of overlapping regulations, which never work in the interests of the industry, never work in the interests of
the consumer. And I would argue don't actually work in the interest of the environment, either.
So, what we want is we want a global scheme that covers aviation. And the only way we can do that is to get governments to agree to construct one
and to apply it in an even fashion across the world.
QUEST: This is about a trading scheme, an ongoing scheme. It's going to be very difficult to get that level of agreement that will allow you to
implement. So, why are you going for this?
WALSH: Yes, I agree it will be very difficult, but not impossible. And I think we've got to push for something that is difficult but will make
a difference. And we believe that this is the only option to ensure that the industry can play its full part.
We can do certain things as an industry. We're investing collectively trillions of dollars in new aircraft that will be much more fuel-efficient
than the aircraft that they will replace. They'll also be quieter. They will produce less noxious emissions acting on local air quality.
So, the industry will play its part. We're pursuing and spending a lot of money developing sustainable bio fuels. What we want is we want
assistance from regulators and governments.
QUEST: Money.
WALSH: Well, not money, actually. What we want is, we want schemes that will incentivize in the same way as they're incentivizing sustainable
fuels for cars.
So, why is it that governments are prepared to pay for research and development to have more efficient cars knowing that airlines, aviation,
aircraft, really depend on a carbon-based fuel, on a liquid fuel for some foreseeable -- for the foreseeable future.
QUEST: Airlines have a target on them in terms of political regulators and lobbyists.
WALSH: Yes. And the industry has got to push back against that. And the industry has got to demonstrate that we as an industry can do a lot.
And almost shame governments into responding. Because we've come up with the formula.
We've come up with the targets. These targets are aggressive. No other industry that I'm aware of has actually set such challenging targets
for themselves. And what we're saying is, now, OK, regulate us. But regulate us to ensure that we achieve these targets.
If you tax us, we're not going to do anything to improve the environment. Taxation has been proven to be ineffective when it comes to
environmental action.
QUEST: Why do you think the airline industry has managed to become the whipping boy of this climate issue.
WALSH: I think the real reason is, although our contribution today you could argue is small at around 2 percent, slightly over 2 percent, the
problem is, people recognize that that contribution is going to grow.
As other industries can see a way to replace carbon-based fuels, we cannot as yet identify a ready solution to that. And that's why, I think,
people recognize that going forward, our contribution to man-made CO2 will increase unless we can come up with measures to accelerate the
decarbonization of the air transport industry.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAKE: Coming up, US officials believe militants were plotting against the US and Europe, and we're not talking about ISIS. More on the latest
threat from an al Qaeda-linked terror group after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LAKE: Welcome back, I'm Maggie Lake. This is CNN, and on this network, the news always comes first.
The Pentagon says US airstrikes in Syria are, quote, "only the beginning" in the battle against ISIS. US officials said the strikes
against militant command centers were very successful. The United States was joined by a coalition of Arab nations, including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia,
Jordan, Qatar, and the UAE.
Iranian president Hassan Rouhani has said there is no legal basis for the airstrikes on Syria. Speaking to reporters, Mr. Rouhani says the US
strikes could not be legal unless they were invited by the Syrian government or authorized by the UN.
Israel says it shot down a Syrian warplane flying in its air space. The plane was spotted over Israel's Golan Heights region and may have been
involved in the conflict between the Syrian government and rebel forces raging just across the border.
And in the past hour, the family of Alan Henning, the British man currently being held by ISIS militants, has released a new statement. It
reads in part, "We are at a loss why those leading Islamic State cannot open their hearts and minds to the facts surrounding Alan's imprisonment,
and why they continue to threaten his life. They go on to call once again for his release.
U.S. intelligence indicates al-Qaeda-linked terror group Khorasan had plans to carry out attacks in Europe and on American soil. The United States
targeted the groups in airstrikes in Syria on Monday. The U.S. made this move on its own without coalition support. Officials say the group was
working on explosive devices that would be hard to detect. Evan Perez is our U.S. justice correspondent and he joins us now. Evan, we were led to
understand today the briefing that these threats were imminent. What do we know?
EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, Maggie, we know that they were in an advanced stage of preparation for these attacks. Now they don't know
exactly what was the targets, they do believe that these were aimed at aviation, that there would be probably flights into Europe or into the
United States. This is a repeated target for al-Qaeda, and these are master bomb makers that have now taken residence in Syria, some of them
from Pakistan and the Fatteh region, some of them from Yemen, and they are believed to be focused on attacking the West, not necessarily the Assad
regime which is the focus of most of the al-Qaeda presence there.
LAKE: Evan, do we know about the timing of this? I mean, it obviously coincided with these other airstrikes where we're having to take great
pains to point out these are two different campaigns really.
PEREZ: Right.
LAKE: Why now when they seem to have an awful lot of intelligence given the sort of precision that they targeted them with?
PEREZ: Well, right. I mean, they apparently have been watching this group for about a year. And, again, this is a little bit of an offshoot from the
al-Qaeda groups that are present there. Jabhat al-Nusra which is focused mostly against fighting the Assad regime, and in some respects, fighting
also ISIS. But the concern here was simply one that if they let this go beyond where it was, that they would be very difficult to stop. It'd be
very difficult to detect. And it appears that the U.S. took the opportunity that it was already striking these ISIS targets and also went
into Western Syria to strike these Khorasan targets. We don't know exactly what date or what timing of these planned attacks, but they believe they
were imminent.
LAKE: And the fact that they felt they would be hard to detect is chilling indeed. Evan Perez, --
PEREZ: Right.
LAKE: -- thank you so much. U.S. military alone took aim at the Khorasan group. Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson explores who
they are and why they are targeting the West.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
(BOMBING SOUNDS)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: These are the first images of the aftermath of the U.S. and Arab allies' attack on the Khorasan
group, an al-Qaeda affiliate training jihadists to attack in Europe and the U.S. until last week. Khorasan was barely known.
JAMES CLAPPER, U.S. DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: This - the Khorasan group, so-called, -- which I guess is out there is potentially yet another
threat to the homeland.
ROBERTSON: The Khorasan training camps and bomb making facilities around Aleppo in the North of Syria are believed to host foreign fighters
recruited to return home to fight rather than join the jihadists in Syria and Iraq. These strikes intended to take out Khorasan's leadership, how
successful not yet clear.
REAR ADMIRAL JOHN KIRBY: One of the things that we were trying to do - to disrupt their ability was to go after their leadership.
ROBERTSON: One of those figures - 33-year-old Muhsin al-Fadhli, a senior al-Qaeda figure - has a $7 million U.S. Department of Treasury Bounty on
his head. He is believed to be recruiting European and American jihadists to learn bomb making and fighting skills from as few as 100 veteran al-
Qaeda jihadists.
PROFESSOR PETER NEUMANN, KING'S COLLEGE, LONDON: It's really not about the numbers. It's about the expertise they bring to the table. Because these
guys draw on the entire international network of al-Qaeda, if they can now draw on the foreign fighters that are present in Syria, that would indeed
be an explosive combination.
ROBERTSON: Al-Fadhli is believed by U.S. officials to have organized the finances for an al-Qaeda attack on a French oil tanker in October 2002.
The MV Limburg was attacked in the waters off Yemen, killing one crew member and injuring four. In recent years al-Fadhli was believed to be
hiding in Iran, but now is believed to have emerged and seems set to reassert al-Qaeda's relevance and take on ISIS' growing global jihadi
dominance.
NEUMANN: Khorasan and al-Qaeda which are not part of ISIS, for them attacks on the West are a priority, they do have the expertise, and though
they are much smaller than ISIS, they have to be dealt with because in the short term at least, they are the greatest threat to the U.S. homeland.
ROBERTSON: It is this that makes them such a threat to the West. Nic Robertson, CNN London.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
LAKE: ISIS and Khorasan present double threats for the U.S. president to deal with. Our chief U.S. security correspondent Jim Sciutto is outside
the United Nations for us tonight. Jim, the Pentagon saying that the strikes are only the beginning. This is a double threat - an enormous
challenge for this administration and an awfully complicated one.
JIM SCIUTTO, CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: No question, Maggie. And it gets to the point where the danger is. You have Syria with this
three-year-long civil war, it is a lawless place in - and it's also a tremendous magnet for foreign fighters from all over the world including
the West, and not just for foreign fighters taking part in that civil war, but also for a group like al Khorasan, an al-Qaeda offshoot, that goes
there intentionally to take advantage of that safe haven - to be able to train, plan and potentially launch its attacks outside of Syria including
against the West. It's a real measure of just what a witch's cauldron Syria is because of that lawlessness - gives such an opportunity for these
terror groups to grow. And in the weeks leading up to this, we were talking about ISIS all the time, and now you see that it's not limited to
ISIS, and that really gets at how long and how serious and difficult this task is going to be.
LAKE: The President making great pains to talk about this coalition, preparing the world for the fact that this is going to be a long battle. A
lot of military observers on our air today, Jim, saying that there has to be a ground strategy as well. How much are we hearing from the
administration on that and does that solely rest on trying to arm the rebels in Syria - the free Syrian arm? Do we have more clarity about that
or is that where a lot of the questions remain?
SCIUTTO: Well the answer is right there. In Syria at least the ground force is going to be moderate Syrian rebels that are going to be trained on
Saudi soil, there's going to be a U.S. element to that. In the training, 5,000 is the number - they hope to have that number done in a year. But
just to give you a sense of scale, in Iraq you've had a U.S.-led air campaign underway there for six weeks now. In Iraq you have well more than
200,000 forces that you could call on - 120,000 Kurdish fighters, some 200,000 Iraqi fighters, with it being the judgment of U.S. military
advisors about half of those Iraqi forces can help take back land from ISIS.
But during that six weeks' campaign, not a single square inch of land has been taken back from ISIS. They've stopped their advance, but haven't
taken back the land. So now you look at Syria, yes you have a robust air campaign underway, but you don't really have a ground force at this point
to supplement that air campaign, and that gives you a reminder just how long the air campaign inside Syria will have to be to disrupt and destroy
ISIS which is what President Obama says his goal is.
LAKE: Jim, if you just stand by for us for a second there, we have some news just coming in to CNN, and then I want to come back to you. A key al-
Nusra front leader was killed in airstrikes, we are hearing. He's described as Abu Yousef al-Turki, also known as "the Turk." He was
reportedly killed in overnight airstrikes by a U.S.-led coalition - that is according to a statement from the group -- a tweet from an al-Nusra account
posted today reads, "al-Turki was killed by airstrikes against al-Nusra front by the Crusader air forces." The tweeted statement also described
al-Turki has a sniper and a leader within al-Qaeda. Jim, again, this news just coming in. Do you have any reaction to that? What do you make of
that and how important will that be?
SCIUTTO: Well we do know from the Pentagon that while they were not targeting specific leaders - whether it be an al-Nusru or a Khorasan or an
ISIS-stated target to this, but they were targeting command and control centers where they expected some of that leadership to be. And if this
report turns out to be true, -- oftentimes there are conflicting reports with militant groups when leaders are said to be killed - but if it turns
out to be true, that would be very credible in light of the targets that were selected for the first night of this air campaign.
And remember, that is just the first night. They're going to continue, and they're still doing their own battle assessments to see bomb damage
assessments - BDAs as they're called to see how many hard targets - fixed targets - you know, machinery, weapons, etc. were struck as well as human
targets. But none of those leaders were specifically targeted - just the command and control center.
LAKE: (Inaudible). Thank you so much, Jim. After the break, a serious warning from the Centers for Disease Control. Hundreds of thousands of
people could contract Ebola in the next few months.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LAKE: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning the number of Ebola cases could explode over the next few months. The CDC says
the tally could rise to 1.4 million in Sierra Leone and Liberia by January. That's if no new action is taken to combat the virus. The group warns
Ebola cases are vastly underreported. Sierra Leone has not closed all of its borders with Guinea and Liberia.
Streams of infected patients are already overwhelming Ebola care centers in West Africa. CNN's Elizabeth Cohen reports from one hospital in Liberia.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
ELIZABETH COHEN, SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT FOR CNN'S HEALTH, MEDICAL AND WELLNESS UNIT: Inside this ambulance, three Ebola patients including a
teenager, all of them denied entry to one of Monrovia's overcrowded Ebola treatment centers. The ambulance weaves through traffic, trying
desperately to get care where it's been promised. The city's newest Ebola hospital opened just hours before - The Island Clinic.
But when we arrive with the ambulance, we find a hospital not ready. The patients in the ambulance we followed are strong enough to walk in. But
there are ambulances already here (tearing) patients who are too weak to enter the hospital on their own. Two patients stay curled up in a ball.
These men can't move either. We're told he's not wearing clothes below the waist because of the intense diarrhea caused by Ebola.
Male, INTERPRETED BY COHEN: "Try to come down and walk a little," a worker tells the man.
Male 2, EBOLA VICTIM, INTERPRETED BY COHEN: "I'm too tired," he says.
COHEN: Then summoning up his energy, he tries. For now, he's left where he falls. This little boy tries to walk in too, but then he collapses as
well.
Male, INTERPRETED BY COHEN: "Get up and go inside," workers tell him. "You'll only get food if you go inside."
COHEN: Another worker says, "Let him rest," and they agree that's best for now. The workers tell us staff inside is suiting up in their protective
gear so they can carry the patients in. The Island Clinic is supported by the Liberian government and the World Health Organization. We showed our
video to Peter Graff with the WHO. His first reaction?
PETER GRAFF, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: I mean, it's horrible. I mean, that's - I think what the lesson is here is that people still come too
late, they are very, very sick and that's when you get scenes like this. It's much better to come when you feel the first signs and symptoms and get
yourself tested.
COHEN: Many people do try to get there earlier and they're turned away over and over.
GRAFF: That's why I'm so glad that we now opened this clinic.
COHEN: I mean, the hospital was open - why weren't they --
(CROSS TALK)
GRAFF: Very good question. I don't have the answer. I mean, yes, they should have.
COHEN: Graff says perhaps the reason is the hospital became overwhelmed. Almost all of the 120 bed were already filled within the first day.
GRAFF: This is just shocking. I mean, I mean of course this is exactly what we should try to (inaudible) future. I mean, it's horrible.
COHEN: This is something you're going to check on?
GRAFF: Of course I will.
COHEN: When? (ph)
GRAFF: Immediately.
COHEN: When we left the hospital, the boy and the man were still on the ground, a symptom of a system overwhelmed and a new hospital apparently
unprepared.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
LAKE: We'll be back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LAKE: GM is moving its crown jewel Cadillac to New York. We're only talking about the headquarters - that's an office of around 100 people.
Product development, engineering and manufacturing will all stay in Detroit. GM CEO Mary Barra talks about the move today at the Clinton
Global Initiative. Poppy Harlow caught up with Barra at the event and she joins me now. Poppy, great to see you. How was Mary Barra and was she
able to actually talk about something other the other crisis hitting GM?
POPPY HARLOW, JOURNALIST FOR CNN: Yes, the recall -
LAKE: Yes.
HARLOW: -- that's gone on and on and on. That's an interesting point that you make, because this is the first time, Maggie, that I saw the head of
General Motors actually asked questions by reporters not tied to the ignition switch recall which know had led to at least 21 deaths.
They're moving Cadillac to New York because she calls it sort of the center of the luxury that people need to focus just on Cadillac and be here makes
sense. It's a luxury car and this is the market for it. But she was on a panel with Jack Ma - the founder of Alibaba today - and some other world
leaders at the Clinton Global Initiative. We had a chance to talk to her afterwards, and one thing I asked her is that nine months into her tenure,
as CEO of this company, what are the lessons she's learned, given the huge crisis she's been dealing with? Here's her answer.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
MARY BARRA, CEO, GENERAL MOTORS: I don't look at this as a lesson learned, but the way we've approached this is we're going to do the right thing,
even if it's hard. We're going to be focused on the customer. I think you've seen a transparency from the company that, you know, we'll continue
to have. I think me personally, I've become -- and I think I see it's a positive. You can ask my team if they think it is. I'm more impatient.
Because I know what the company can be, I know where we're headed, I feel very good about the future of General Motors, the people of General Motors
that are just so talented, and I want to work fast to get there. So, it's made me more impatient, but I think that's a - it's a - biased reaction.
HARLOW: To follow up on that, the Ken Feinberg death toll now from the ignition switch defect stands at 21. He told me last week it is going to
go higher. How does that make you feel and what's your reaction to hearing that?
BARRA: Well, first of all, the whole event is tragic. If I could turn back the clock and have it not happen, that's absolutely what I would've
done. As I've said before, I can't change that, but what I can do is what we're going to do going forward. And that's why we're committed to reach
every single person. I think Ken is completely independent in the work he's doing. I have tremendous respect for him. And we're going to do the
right thing.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
HARLOW: And of course Ken Feinberg is the attorney leading that victim compensation program tied to the recall. We know at this point, Maggie,
he's gotten 675 claims of people saying they or their loved ones were either killed or injured in these crashes. He's reviewing them. So far in
the midst of that, at least 21 deaths he has deemed to be GM's fault, and about 18 injuries. One reporter asked her today is this a re-launch of
Mary Barra. She's getting an award in New York City tonight. Is this sort of the chance to rebrand herself, not just tied to this crisis forever.
She said very - in a way you would expect it. `This is not about me, this is about the company, about GM, about the worker.'
LAKE: But I think it does speak to the fact that she seems to have weathered this - well, handled it well maybe, although the verdict is still
out. We have to wait for those to run its course because she wouldn't have been invited to be on this panel -
HARLOW: Right.
LAKE: -- as you pointed out with Jack Ma. I mean, this is - these are big events, and she's showcased there. Has she talked about at all - do we
know about the people that she's been leaning on who have been giving her advice?
HARLOW: Yes.
LAKE: I imagine that she's had to sort of reach out on a crisis point.
HARLOW: Sure, because she's someone who's worked at GM for her - pretty much for her - entire career - more than 30 years. So, she's been within
that company. Interestingly, Warren Buffet has sort of evolved as this champion of Mary Barra. He had lunch with her, he just bought a Cadillac
and talked publically about it. He told me in Omaha at the Berkshire annual meeting, that he was very impressed with how she's been handling
things. I asked her about sort of had she gotten sage advice from Warren Buffet who himself went through the crisis at Salomon Brothers, you'll
remember. And she said his advice was quote, "Do the right thing, get it right, get it fast." That's pretty good advice.
LAKE: It absolutely is, and she does seem to be moving very quickly. And we've even heard from attorneys. They do so far feel like the process is
working in terms of Ken Feinberg. So, so far she seems to be on the right track. All right, interesting stuff. Poppy, thank you so much.
HARLOW: All right. Thank you.
LAKE: President Barack Obama says now is the time to answer the call and take action against climate change. The President made those remarks at
the U.N. Climate Change Summit just a few hours ago. He said countries need to cut carbon emissions now if they want to prevent, quote,
"irreparable harm" to the earth.
Achim Steiner is the executive director of the United Nations Environmental Program. He joins me now live from the United Nations in Europe. Thank
you for - so much for - being with us. I think the first question we have to ask is are you concerned that what was supposed to really be the focus
of this meeting on climate - is now going to be overshadowed by the fight against ISIS, by the Ebola epidemic - these other massive issues that are
taking center stage?
ACHIM STEINER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, U.N,. ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM: Well, we live in challenging times and I think what you see here at the United
Nations is an effort by nation states to cope with multiple challenges. And I think today climate change has indeed taken center stage, but it
doesn't mean that other issues are not also happening around us. And (secretary) general and heads of state and government are indeed using the
annual meeting here to address all of them.
LAKE: We heard, we just read some of the comments U.S. President Barack Obama made. The U.S. has been criticized for not doing more - for not
being a part of these global agreements. What - were you encouraged by what you heard from the President? What's your reaction.
STEINER: I think we have over 125 heads of state and government here today. President Obama I think set a very ambitious note, and I think many
others have followed suit. What we are listening to today is leaders from all over the world essentially acknowledging that acting on climate change
is not only an issue in the climate change context, it's actually something that will help our economies. And that may surprise many people.
LAKE: Is that going to change the dialogue? Because I think we hear this rhetoric every time we talk about climate change, and yet as we saw from
the protesters on the street in New York, there was a lot of frustration that that does not translate into action.
STEINER: Well, we all know that on current trajectories we are not going to meet the targets that science has indicated to us. So, what is at the
heart of the discussions here is how can we accelerate efforts? And I think if you had been in the halls here today, not only with heads of state
and government, but in fact with hundreds of COs, then you would've seen a different conversation emerging. We're not only talking about climate
change as a threat, we're actually seeing more and more risk translating to economic decisions and we're also seeing opportunities, be it in the field
of renewable energy where, for example, few people realize that last year the world invested almost half of its capital in terms of new electricity
generating capacity in renewables. Unthinkable ten years ago. The market for energy efficiency is rapidly expanding - it's a trillion-dollar market.
That's why also CEOs of companies are here and I think we are seeing in a sense public sentiment driving also economic decision-making and
rethinking.
LAKE: It does seem like business is on the side of finding a solution, but there's some that argue that you need to just decide on one standard -
either it's taxes or cap and trades - they both don't work, it leaves too much room for complication and for basically fudging. Is that needed? Do
you just need to come up with one standard?
STEINER: Well, sometimes the ideal is the enemy of the good, and we know today that a carbon price would be the simplest signal into the economy.
But we live in a world of 193 nations, many different realities, so, the search that is underway for a number of years now is to find an appropriate
mix of policies. And I think what we're seeing this week here is in a sense a rethink as to how nations can work together and assist each other.
We've seen pledges to the Green Climate Fund, we've seen commitments by countries that are being announced. And climate change has really
beginning to be something that is as much part of economic policy as it is of trying to address climate change and global warming.
LAKE: A pragmatic but optimistic. Achim Steiner, we appreciate you joining us tonight. Thank you so much. And we will be right back with the
latest on those airstrikes in Syria.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LAKE: We want to recap our top story tonight. The Pentagon says U.S. airstrikes in Syria are "only the beginning in the battle against ISIS."
The United States along with a coalition of five Middle East nations launched airstrikes against the extremist militants in Syria. The Pentagon
released images showing the aftermath of a strike on an ISIS finance center. In the past hour, we've learned that a key al-Nusra front leader
was killed in those airstrikes according to a statement from the group. Meanwhile, these are new amateur pictures supposedly showing some of the
aftermath in the city of Raqqa although CNN cannot independently verify these images. We will have much more on this story in the hours ahead on
CNN. And that is "Quest Means Business." I'm Maggie Lake. Stay with CNN for "Amanpour."
END
