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U.S. Military Fighting Ebola in Liberia; Qubad Talabani Talks Kurd Fight for Kobani Against ISIS; Intrigue Growing over North Korea's Kim Jong-Un; Democrats Don't Want Obama Campaigning for Them

Aired October 8, 2014 - 13:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer, reporting from Washington.

We learned just a little while ago that Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States, has died. Doctors at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas say the 42- year-old Liberian man died this morning 10 days after being diagnosed with the virus. Duncan had been on a ventilator, dialysis for failing kidneys. He'd received experimental drugs four days ago.

We're also learning about plans to prevent an Ebola outbreak here in the United States. Sources telling CNN five U.S. airports, international airports, will begin screening the body temperatures of passengers entering the United States from several West African countries with Ebola outbreaks. The fever screenings will start at New York's JFK International Airport and then expand to airports in Newark, Chicago, Washington-Dulles and Atlanta. The screeners are set to begin as early as this weekend.

Meanwhile at the White House, President Obama will hold a conference call with state leaders on Ebola readiness. That happens in about 45 minutes. Later, the president will head over to the Pentagon to discuss U.S. military plans to help contain the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Those plans include sending as many as 4,000 U.S. military personnel to the so-called hot zones in Africa.

More now on the fight to stop the deadly Ebola virus. Hundreds of U.S. troops are on the ground already in Liberia. They're battling to contain the outbreak. The Pentagon also opening up mobile testing labs in that country.

Our reporter, Nima Elbagir, caught up with the U.S. Navy personnel in Liberia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CASEY, INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS EBOLA TEAM LEADER: This is what we do in our day job, I guess you could say.

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. Naval personnel delivered to Liberia, the day job has become testing for the Ebola virus. Their lab just minutes from international medical care center. The U.S. has four such labs in the fight against the virus. CASEY: It's a complete game changer. Patients were afraid at one

point of coming to an Ebola treatment unit because they are afraid of becoming infected. Some patients only have minor symptoms and they're not convinced they have Ebola. So they might avoid coming because they're afraid they'll become infected here. Now that we have the lab, patients can get the results back within hours.

ELBAGIR: Perched on top of a hillside, the ICM treatment facility feels very far away from the crowded beds and dingy hallways of the Liberian government's.

This 19-year-old waited a week for an ambulance. He was carried here bleeding by his father.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

ELBAGIR: Today, he's recovering after telling us he thinks he's going home.

For the naval scientist stationed here, it's hard and difficult work. But it's worth it.

LT. CMDR. BENJAMIN ESPINOSA, TEAM LEADER: In one aspect, we're all humans. This is a humanitarian crisis. We want to help. But this isn't just a regional threat. This is a continental and a global threat if this were allowed to continue to propagate.

ELBAGIR: But there will always be those they couldn't save. The IMC treatment center opened less than a month ago and already a line of graves has snaked through this clearing in the jungle, and more are being dug.

President Obama has authorized up to 4,000 troops. 200 have arrived in country. 600 are expected before the end of the month. But will it be enough?

COL. JIM CZARNIK, COMMAND SURGEON, JOINT FORCES COMMAND: There's no question in my mind that we are making an impact. There is no better fight worth fighting than the one in Liberia right now. Soldiers are used to moving towards the sounds of the guns. These are the loudest guns that the world has heard in a long time.

ELBAGIR: How quickly they can translate the gains here across the country will go some way to silencing the guns for good.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And Nima joining us live from Monrovia.

Nima, an amazing report. Tell us about the risks for those people, whether they're American military personnel or others working in those labs.

ELBAGIR: Well, President Obama has committed that the troops that will come here on the ground will not be directly in contact with Ebola patients. But the reality is, while you are here in the communities, you might be interacting with someone you don't know has Ebola. So there is a risk. But we saw firsthand some of the measures in place. They are basic but effective. You wash your hands with bleach. People try and not to touch each other in any way, shape or form. And anyone who shows the signs of the disease which would make them contagious, you take that step back. That's what the military are doing.

But you heard the colonel at the end of the piece there. There's a sense that in a way the military -- this is no different a fight than the one that the military is waging in Iraq and waged in Afghanistan. This is as much about protecting American lives, they say, as it is about protecting the lives of those here on the ground. As the Thomas Eric Duncan case has shown us, there is no way to be safe until the situation here is under control. And when you're with those troops out there, that really -- it comes home to you -- Wolf?

BLITZER: As you know, Nima, we just learned that Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian, had died, in fact, in Dallas, Texas, the first person to come down with Ebola inside the United States, at least to be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. You went to his home in Monrovia, Liberia, that's where you are right now. What are you hearing over there? What's going on?

ELBAGIR: Yeah, we've been here a few days. A picture really is starting to come together of how this all happened. Thomas Eric Duncan rushed to the aid of his pregnant neighbor and then got on a plane. He didn't believe she had Ebola. Nobody did. Otherwise, they wouldn't have tried to help her. He left the country on September the 19th, the same day she died and she was buried normally. None of the Ebola -- the usual Ebola precautions were taken. She had a large funeral. And since then, the authorities here have been trying to piece this puzzle together. It took them a while. It wasn't until October the 1st, a full 11 days that they instated quarantine in his home and told people she had Ebola. Duncan got on that plane, went through the screening processes and he passed and he did not knowingly bring the disease to the United States.

BLITZER: What a sad story, indeed. It is a sad story. We'll be following it throughout the day here on CNN and the days to come.

Nima Elbagir, one of our courageous journalists reporting live from Monrovia in Liberia. Be careful over there. Thank you very much.

In North Korea, meanwhile, more intrigue right now as the world wonders where the leader, Kim Jong-Un, is. There's speculation that leadership is still in the family.

And the fight for Kobani in Syria, the largely ethnic Kurdish city may be on the brink to falling to ISIS. There could be a massacre there. We'll discuss the impact with a top Kurdish official.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Activists say at least 45 ISIS fighters have been killed in U.S.-led coalition air strikes around the Syrian city of Kobani. Despite that, senior U.S. officials now say they expect the city to fall. One Kurdish official says ISIS terrorists were pushed back to the edge of the town on Wednesday. The Kurds are playing a significant role in this overall fight against ISIS.

Joining us is the deputy prime minister of the Kurdistan regional government, Qubad Talabani.

Qubad Talabani, thanks very much for joining us.

What are you hearing about what's going on in Kobani right now? A lot of your fellow Kurds are in deep trouble.

QUBAD TALABANI, KURDISTAN REGIONAL GOVERNMENT DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Thanks, Wolf. Thanks for having me on.

The situation in Kobani is grave. Fighting is intense between the Kurdish forces there and ISIS. We are hearing the coalition strikes have had an impact, have suddenly boosted the morale of the Kurdish forces. But as some of your guests were saying earlier as well, they -- there needs to be more strikes for these strikes to be effective enough to drive ISIS out and to have the Kurdish forces that are fighting this fight on the ground to not only push ISIS out of the city but out of the danger zone there.

BLITZER: If ISIS were to take over this town of Kobani, would there be a massacre of Kurds, Christians, Arabs, others in the city?

TALABANI: Of course, we're expecting a massacre, but primarily, because the Kurdish fighters there are not likely to leave their posts. They will fight until the last bullet. They've been in this fight for a long time, even before ISIS came into Iraq. The Kurdish fighters in Syria have been fighting ISIS with success so they know how to fight ISIS. But right now, the siege is significant. And they are awaiting more coalition air strikes to be able to turn the tide in this battle.

BLITZER: What does the Turkish government tell you when you appeal to them for help? They're only a few miles away. They have a huge military right across the border. What are they saying to you?

TALABANI: This is the time for Turkey to be on the right side of history. They need to be more involved here. They cannot sit there on their border and watch Kobani fall. We're speaking with them. I know others are also in communication with them. So it's a very difficult predicament for everybody here. But I think the coalition that is fighting ISIS now and those that have signed up to fight ISIS must come together and fight ISIS wherever they are, be they in Iraq, Kurdistan or in Syria or in the Kurdish parts of Syria.

BLITZER: Qubad Talabani is the deputy prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, joining us.

Qubad, we'll stay in close touch with you. Good luck to all the folks in Kobani and elsewhere right now. It's a horrible situation.

TALABANI: Thank you. BLITZER: Still ahead, why many Democrats are now distancing themselves from President Obama just before the midterm elections less than a month away. Our chief political analyst, Gloria Borger, is standing by to weigh in.

In North Korea, the intrigue building right now. Who's leading the country? We'll discuss.

But first, a sneak preview of CNN's "Roots," our "Journey Home" special which airs all of next week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: CNN, all next week, they traveled the world to chase the story but not just anyone's story, their own.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to be a journey of surprises.

(SINGING)

ANNOUNCER: The story of how they came to be.

ANTHONY BOURDAIN, CNN HOST, PARTS UNKNOWN: I had a great, great, great, great grandfather come over to Paraguay around the 1850s.

ANNOUNCER: The stories of their ancestors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is where my great grandmother was given up for adoption.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, A.C. 360: My grandparents' report card from 1944.

ANNOUNCER: Their history.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: These records go back 40 generations.

(SINGING)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When we found out that there's people here related to us, that's when it felt real to me.

ANNOUNCER: And now they share those stories with you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like going back in time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My colonial ancestors were on the wrong side.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was like coming home.

ANNOUNCER: Join the familiar faces of CNN as they trace their "Roots," all next week, starting Sunday on CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Now to a twist in the ongoing mystery of what's going on in North Korea. Just days ago, three high-level North Korean officials made a surprise visit to South Korea for talks and said they're willing to meet again. The so-called olive-branch diplomacy is happening as the world continues to wonder, where is the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Un. He hasn't been seen in public in five weeks.

Brian Todd is all over this story, watching it for us.

The intrigue seems to be growing by the day.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Growing by the day, Wolf. And now we have word from a group called the North Korean Intellectual Solidarity. This is a group of defectors saying that Kim Jong-Un's younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, 26, 27 years old, that she may be running the country in Kim Jong-Un's absence. There you see a photo of her. She's often seen behind him, walking behind him in these official state photos, sitting behind him at functions. This group didn't reveal the source of its information. We can't confirm it. We're running it by U.S. and South Korean officials to see what they say about it. Analysts say that she has unfettered access to Kim Jong-Un. But they're also saying she's probably not running the country as the head of government but probably still doing some very important tasks, like maybe a White House chief of staff might do. But her emergence now is another fascinating component to this story.

BLITZER: What else do we know about her?

TODD: 26, 27 years old. She is the youngest of seven siblings that their father, Kim Jong-Il, had by four different women. For her father, she handled important jobs. She was an advanced logistical person, inspecting sites before he would go there. She handled administrative work for him. Analysts say she probably does the same thing for her brother, but also now she does some policy-related things, she gets intelligence briefings. She takes on a higher profile inside the government, more responsibility, and she's only 26, 27 years old. To think that that young lady might be running things or at least handling very important functions in his absence, again, lends a real air of mystery to this and it might even worry some people. That's an inexperienced person.

BLITZER: She's a little young --

TODD: Yeah.

BLITZER: He's only 30 or 31 years old --

TODD: He's 31.

BLITZER: -- Kim Jong-Un. It's not as if there's a huge age difference. Until recently, she was pretty much under the radar.

TODD: Absolutely. She's only emerged in recent years. She went to boarding school with Kim Jong-Un in Switzerland. They stayed at the embassy under assumed names. Fascinating history there. She went to school with him in Switzerland and then came back. And she might have studied at the University of North Korea and then went to work for her father in later years and did some of those tasks we were talking about. Completely under the radar and one of seven children that he had by four different wives. Easy to get lost in the mix there.

BLITZER: We'll learn more in the coming days.

Friday there's a big Workers Party event that Kim Jong-Un attends every year. If we don't see him there on Friday, that's a big deal.

TODD: That will be a big deal. All eyes are on that anniversary on Friday to see if he's there. A big ceremony. Very important to the country. Tonight, on "The Situation Room," we'll have much more on the sister and her possible role.

BLITZER: Fascinating developments. Intrigue and mystery in North Korea.

TODD: Absolutely.

BLITZER: Brian Todd, thanks very, very much.

For our international viewers, we have headlines from around the world.

For our viewers here in North America, is he helping or hindering Democrats in political trouble? A closer look at President Obama's impact on the upcoming midterm elections when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: It's been called the Obama Factor. Democrats worrying about midterm elections and how they'll be affected by the president's overall low approval ratings, and for good reason. The Republicans potentially could take the majority in the United States Senate. Right now, Democratic candidates from three key battleground states -- that would be Iowa, Colorado and Virginia -- do not, repeat not want the president of the United States, who is a Democrat, campaigning for them.

Our chief political analyst, Gloria Borger, is with us right now.

These are states that the president carried, I believe, both in 2008 and in 2012. Yet, these Democratic candidates, who have problems getting elected, they are reluctant to let the president come in and campaign with them.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. Don't forget, Iowa was the place that first gave birth to the Barack Obama. We now know that was a crucial win for him in the caucuses when he first ran for the presidency. If you look at his approval ratings in all three of these states, his disapproval is over 50 percent. That's a real problem. I think what we're seeing now is that candidates are saying, you know what, I can no longer run on that Obama brand that was so dependable, that brought out younger voters, that brought out minorities, that brought out women, particularly young single women. I can no longer depend on that as something to hitch my star to. I have to run on my own as an independent candidate with my set of issues. It's not just because it's the sixth year of a presidency but because you have a president whose overall popularity is in the low 40 percent range.

BLITZER: What do they want him to do? Stay away from those states?

BORGER: They want him to stay away. They don't want the big hug pictures. They want him to raise the money, which he'll be happy to do. Now, when you talk to the White House about this, they say the president will be going out in the future to some states. We don't know where yet. We know that Michelle Obama is going to be on the campaign trail. We know that Hillary Clinton is going to be on the campaign trail. We know that Bill Clinton is going to be on the campaign trail. They believe that those three people would do better for Democratic candidates right now than the president.

The president himself must be frustrated by this because he feels like, with good reason, that he has great economic news that he wants to talk about. That there's a recovery. Unemployment is down. It doesn't have traction out there and he's also dragged down by the foreign policy issues.

BLITZER: You did a great interview with Leon Panetta.

BORGER: Thank you.

BLITZER: Critical of the president. Robert Gates was also critical. Now Jimmy Carter, just turned 90, former president of the United States, also a Democrat, he told the "Ft. Worth Star Telegram," "First of all, we waited too long. We let the Islamic State build up money, capability and strength and weapons while still in Syria. Then, when ISIS moved into Iraq, Sunni Muslims don't object to them being here and a third of the territory in Iraq was abandoned."

Even Jimmy Carter is criticizing --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: He was criticized for his foreign policies during his presidency. But he's taking a swipe at the president himself.

BORGER: That's a large swipe at the president. In effect, he's saying what Leon Panetta was saying, was that you let this problem fester for whatever reason, perhaps inertia at the White House, but you shouldn't have let this fester as long as you did.

In fact, a majority of the American public actually agrees with Jimmy Carter on this. A recent poll on CBS said that by about two to one people thought that the president did a bad job of assessing the threat that ISIS poses. You've got the public now saying, wait a minute, you were kind of asleep at the switch here. And that's effectively what Jimmy Carter is saying and he's a Democrat and a former president.

BLITZER: Criticism of the president coming in now, sort of piling on from a lot of quarters as we're learn a month away from midterm elections.

Gloria, thanks very much.

BORGER: Sure.

BLITZER: I'll say one nice thing about the former President Jimmy Carter on foreign policy, he did a remarkable job obtaining Israeli/Egyptian peace treaty --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: -- that peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, the largest of all of the Arab countries, remains in effect to this very day.

BORGER: Right. You're right. You're absolutely right.

BLITZER: His bringing Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin together on --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: On that foreign policy issue, it worked.

That's it for me. Thank you for watching. I'll be back 5:00 p.m. eastern in "The Situation Room."

"Newsroom" with Brooke Baldwin starts right now.