Return to Transcripts main page
NEW DAY SUNDAY
Americans Freed From North Korea Back In U.S.; U.S. Airstrikes Target ISIS Leaders; Americans Imprisoned in North Korea Come Home; Remembering Destroying of Berlin Wall; CNN Hero Arthur Bloom
Aired November 9, 2014 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: We are so glad to have you. What a great show, great thing that we get to talk about today although there is still so much mystery around it. But you are looking at the first pictures here of Kenneth Bae and Matthew Todd Miller as they finally come home, stepping foot on U.S. soil with family there on the tarmac.
They are greeted to their arms and their hugs, and it's a really wonderful thing to be able to wake up to. This is what was happening as you were sleeping.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely. Put away the politics. Now it's all about a family -- two families reuniting and what a Thanksgiving they will face.
PAUL: so let's talk about this a little bit more. We know that Miller and Bae are waking up, you know, as free men for first time in many months, seven months for Miller and two years for Kenneth Bae.
It was interesting to hear what Bae said when he thanked not just the U.S. for getting him home and State Department and the president specifically but thanking North Korea.
SAVIDGE: Right. That was a surprise. In fact, we have sound as they touchdown in Washington State last night. Let's listen to some of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNETH BAE, RELEASED FROM NORTH KOREA: I just want to say thank you all for supporting me and standing by me in this time. And it's been just amazing blessing to see so many people being involved getting me released the last two years. And not to mention -- not only mentioning for thousands of people who are praying for me as well.
So I just want to say thank you all for supporting me, lifting me up and not forgetting me. At the same time, I also not forgetting the people of North Korea and thank you for supporting my family as well during this tremendously difficult time for my family. And there are so many people that have been supporting them to stand strong during this time.
(END VIDEO CLIP) PAUL: Before reuniting with his family on the tarmac, you hear him there speaking publicly about those who worked tirelessly for his release and how grateful he is for that.
SAVIDGE: That was interesting to hear his voice. The 25-year-old Miller, who was accused of tearing up his visa, he did he not make a public statement. Both men were released after a secret visit to North Korea by the director of National Intelligence, James Clapper. Clapper had delivered a letter said to be from President Obama to North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Un that is described as short and to the point.
PAUL: Happening less than a month after American, Jeffrey Fowle, was set free in an exclusive interview with our affiliate, WDTN, Fowle said he was so relieved that both men were coming home and this is the advice he gave.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFFREY FOWLE, FREED AMERICAN: Keep your head up. Keep the faith. Stay positive. It will be good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: It is short but also to the point. We're covering this story from all the angles like only CNN can with a team of experts from around the world.
So let's begin with CNN and Will Ripley, who is in Tokyo. Will, you were recently in North Korea. You spoke to both men exclusively. We played some of that yesterday. It's fascinating to look back. What are your thoughts now hearing them speak back on U.S. soil?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, you see an example of Kenneth Bae and Matthew Miller's very different reactions to this whole ordeal in North Korea. Kenneth Bae and his family have been out there in front of the cameras, very vocal, social media, traditional media, any way that his family can get the message out.
And as you saw, Kenneth Bae not afraid to step in front of a large row of cameras and give some comments after he got off the plane. Matthew Miller, on the other hand, has been very private throughout this whole ordeal.
Even when I spoke with him in North Korea a couple months ago, when I asked him if he had a message for his family, he didn't want to talk about what he said to his family. He only wanted to talk about his message to the U.S. government.
Even when I asked him about his motive for entering the country, he wouldn't discuss that either. You certainly see the contrast between these two Americans. But now both of them are back home with their families
SAVIDGE: And that brings out the point, why do you think that we did not hear from Matthew Miller last evening as he was getting off plane? RIPLEY: Well, unlike Kenneth Bae, who was a missionary operating in North Korea accused of a Christian plot to overthrow the regime, Matthew Miller's alleged motive was different. He was accused of tearing up his tourist visa and seeking asylum.
North Korea believed that he was actually trying to infiltrate that country to expose alleged human rights violations that had been laid out in the United Nations report, a scathing report accusing North Korea of abusing tens of thousands of prisoners in these political prison camps, claims that North Korea denies.
So perhaps because of the nature of those charges or just the fact that his family is also very private, they put a sign on their door saying they didn't want to talk to the media. They were not interested in putting their story out there in front of the world.
SAVIDGE: I want to read you what is coming out of North Korea, Will, and this is really a release that came from them and what was said in a letter.
And it goes, quote, "President Obama made repeated requests and an earnest apology and assured a guarantee that there would be no recurrence of similar incidents. The two imprisoned Americans were sincerely repentant of their crimes and behaving themselves while they were serving their terms." So what do you make of that statement?
RIPLEY: Well, that statement, Martin, was e-mailed to me several hours ago from a source that I've been keeping in touch with via e- mail since I left Pyongyang. I can't stress enough that is pretty unprecedented that we now as a news organization are able to send an e-mail to someone inside North Korea and receive a response that same day about a major news event.
When I spoke to producers here who have covered North Korea for 20 years or more, that's never been possible until now, so it certainly goes to show that North Korean government is trying to take a more protective approach in getting their side of the story out there again in light of not only the controversy about their nuclear program.
But also this United Nations report and the very real threat that a growing number of countries are calling for their leader, Kim Jong-Un to stand before an international court to go on trial for criminal charges and human rights abuses.
SAVIDGE: Now very interesting. We look forward to a future e-mail coming from North Korea. Will Ripley, thank you very much.
PAUL: Now President Obama, interestingly enough, with the timing here, is on his way to China for a week long Asia trip. He did say earlier that the U.S. is so grateful both men have returned to the U.S. safely, praised the director of National Intelligence as well, James Clapper, for his role in bringing them home. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It's a wonderful day for friends and family. Obviously, they're hopeful for their safe return. They're doing a great job on what was obviously a challenging mission.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: Officials say Pyongyang's latest move will not change the U.S.' position on the nuclear program. President Obama is expected to discuss the issue with Chinese officials during his visit to Beijing.
SAVIDGE: We're joined now by forbes.com columnist, Gordon Chang. He is also the author of "Nuclear Showdown, North Korea takes on the World." He is joining us live from Toronto. Let's begin by taking a look and listen to new sound that has come from Kenneth Bae.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BAE: I also want to thank President Obama and all the people at the State Department for working tirelessly hard to get me released as well. I want to thank the North Korean government that allowed me to come home and be united with our family and for our loved people.
It's been amazing two years. I learned a lot. I grew a lot. I lost a lot of weight in a good way. But I stood strong because of you. And thank you for being there in such a time as this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: So Gordon, obviously, it's so good to see a happy and healthy and even making a couple of jokes here and there. But I don't think it was missed on anybody that he took the time to thank not just the U.S. but the North Korean government as well after this ordeal. What do you make of that?
GORDON CHANG, AUTHOR, "NUCLEAR SHOWDOWN (via telephone): I think that he wanted to do that because he really was happy that they let him go. And he realized that it was important in the long scheme of things to thank North Korea because there might be other Christian missionaries like him who will be detained. He wants to make it easier for them in the future.
SAVIDGE: You know, I wanted to ask you, I still find it fascinating the involvement of James Clapper, the U.S. director of National Intelligence. And we were talking about the subject of why now? I'm wondering we did mention just coming in that the president is on his way to China. China, of course, is closely connected to North Korea. Do you think that any of that plays into the timing of this release?
CHANG: I don't think the Chinese really have much influence in this because off the rupture in relations between Beijing and Pyongyang, which is now more than a year old. I'm sure the Chinese tried to help, but I don't think that they were actually instrumental in any way.
Because North Koreans have demonized them for various reasons and so, therefore, they're just not going to be able to pull the levers of power that they once did. If anyone had any influence on this, it was the United States, perhaps South Korea, and certainly the Swedes because we talked to the North Koreans at least formally through the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang.
PAUL: Do you think that, real quickly, do you think that Kim was still the sole string puller in this whole negotiation?
CHANG: No, I don't think so. I think that there has been shifting responsibilities in power. We've seen too many executions and unexplained deaths to think that he is consolidated his power. Too many purges continuing. That's a real side of instability.
PAUL: All righty. Gordon Chang, we so appreciate your insight. Thank you for being with us today.
SAVIDGE: In other news, U.S. troops in Iraq trying to kill ISIS leaders, some of the top ones. We'll see if their mission was successful and we'll also talk to our military analyst about the strategy.
PAUL: And like it or not, the cold is coming, folks. Look at some of these pictures and you know cold brings it with ice and snow. Jennifer Gray is tracking the arctic blast that big chunk of the U.S. has a bulls eye on it for this one.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAVIDGE: Going directly after ISIS leaders, U.S. Central Command says that a series of airstrikes yesterday pounded the convoy near Mosul. That is Iraq's second largest city in an attempt apparently to kill the leaders of that terror group.
However, it's unclear whether the group's top commander Abu Baker Al Baghdadi was actually in that convoy. Joining me now from Bloomington, Indiana, is CNN military analyst, Major General James "Spider" Marks. Thank you, sir, for joining us this morning.
MAJ. GENERAL JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Thank you, Mark.
SAVIDGE: Let me ask you this is the military making the leader a top priority? Is that really an effective strategy?
MARKS: Well, he is a target. He certainly is a priority on the target list. The key thing is going after the leadership is a necessary step, but it's not sufficient. The sufficient strategy is airstrikes across the board in terms of going after very key targets both in Iraq and in Syria.
But also the application along all those elements of power, there has to be a very strong effort to address the Sunni grievances in Iraq and across the region where it simply is not going to work. ISIS will continue to get a foothold.
So you can kill leaders all day and they will be replaced. It's not unlike going to -- you probably heard, you know, you could take out the leadership in the Pentagon. The Pentagon will continue to exist and be quite effective.
In fact some would say maybe even more effective. But the point is, you can go after leadership, but you have to have a very large foundation of strategy underneath.
SAVIDGE: Well, while I got you here, I want to ask about the new deployment that's been announced now, 1,500 or close to it additional troops that will be sent to Iraq to help fight against ISIS. What do you think of this?
MARKS: Well, I think it's necessary. It's absolutely necessary and clearly the context of this new deployment is that this is good money after good money. Clearly, there's been momentum on the part of the Iraqi Security Forces. They've had a few key victories all be it small.
So it's necessary to reinforce that momentum if you will. If the Iraqi Security Forces were completely collapsing, you'd see a far different strategy. It would have been far more aggressive, earlier.
But what you see is some success. So that's a good thing, but it needs to be done. Again, there are rules that will govern the way that these troops will be engaged in terms of their training mission and their advice mission to the Iraqi Security Forces.
It's more than just more the same. This truly is an expansion of the mission. This is incrementalism. If you set a time line for that, it won't work. But if you're willing to continue the strategy and continue this approach over the course of time, it will be effective.
And that's what you see right now in our military leadership saying this -- we can get this done. We just have to give us strategic patience and take the time necessary to get the job accomplished. It's not going to be done overnight.
SAVIDGE: All right, we'll continue to follow it. Major General James "Spider" Marks, thanks very much for joining us this morning.
MARKS: Thank you, Martin.
PAUL: And we do want get you caught up with the "Morning Read."
SAVIDGE: Today marks the 25th, can you believe it, 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is taking part in ceremonies. Here she is placing flowers in a preserve segment of the wall. The fall of the wall in 1989 became a powerful symbol of the end of the Cold War. If you were alive then and watching, it was amazing.
PAUL: President Obama is on his way to China, the first stop in an eight-day Asian diplomatic trip as we've been saying. He is set to attend a series of summits beginning with the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum in Beijing. The president will also visit Myanmar and Australia where he is expected to discuss trade and human rights issues.
SAVIDGE: In sports, they may be called America's team. But today the Dallas Cowboys face off with the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. It will be the last of three NFL games that have been played this year at Wembly Stadium. Kickoff is at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
PAUL: And in science -- do you see what that is? Astronauts onboard the Space Station had a little fun with the Go-Pro. This time they put that cameras, as you can see, inside a bubble of water. Remember this is space so water floats. We've seen it before. What we haven't seen is what it's like to be inside the bubble. Now you can say you learned something this morning, bubble cam from space.
SAVIDGE: Absolutely amazing what they can do up there.
In weather, here comes the cold. Thanks to the jet stream dragging down frigid air from Canada. Temperatures are already beginning to plunge. By midweek, expect the arctic blast to spread snow and ice from the Northern Rockies across the northern plains and into the Great Lakes. If you haven't done it already, dig out everything warm you got and get ready to put it on.
PAUL: Yes, but people need to know where that is, how long it's going to last. We have a live report for you on all of that coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good Sunday morning, are you ready for some cold air? It is coming, especially the northern plains and the Great Lakes. We're going to have this huge dip in the jet stream as we go throughout this week. You see the hot pinks and purples. That is very, very cold air.
We're talking temperatures, high temperatures in the teens in Rapid City, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, don't get out of the teens. Temperatures on Monday, high temperatures will be 24. Minneapolis staying below freezing Monday through Thursday.
Chicago, temperatures will stay in the 50s and dive down to right around freezing and below on Thursday. Look at the south and the northeast though. It doesn't really affect us as much. Temperatures are going to stay a little warmer, high temperatures in Atlanta on Thursday, 56. High temperatures in New York City will be 48 on Thursday.
So it's really not going to have as much of an impact on the northeast. This is really for the plains and also the Midwest, 8 to 12 inches possibly in Minneapolis. This isn't going to be a huge snow maker, mainly just for the northern plains and the Midwest.
PAUL: Eight to 12 inches. That sounds like a snow maker. Yes, I guess, for certain people. Thanks to you, Jennifer. We can consider ourselves warned. Thank you.
SAVIDGE: Back on U.S. soil and free, American Kenneth Bae had these words to describe his time in captivity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BAE: And also I'd like to thank North Korean government as well allow me to go home. It's been amazing two years. I learned a lot. I grew a lot. I lost a lot of weight in a good way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: Not the diet I'd recommend. Bae thanking the country that imprisoned him. We'll talk to an expert on North Korea and Bae's release coming up.
And then check this out, a bright green and orange fireball lit up the sky over Texas. More on this possible meteor sighting just ahead.
PAUL: But first, what does it take to be a top deejay? Well, in this week's "One to Watch," three of the stars in dance music show how it's done.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dance music is the fastest growing genre reckoned to generate over $6 billion a year. Festivals are sprouting up across the world, selling out in seconds and attracting hundreds of thousands of fans to a party punctuated by nonstop music and spectacular sets.
It stars of producers and composer of the tracts and the deejays who mix and perform them to vast audiences. Top deejays are in great demand of producers of dance music across the world.
ARMAN VON BUUREN, DJ, PRODUCER: Before this, it was a few deejays. Now it's a massive festival. You no longer need somebody else to promote your music. You can literally be out there and produce your own tracks and play them on stage.
When I started, it was about being a good deejay. It's still the case. But there's no way you can become famous only as being a good deejay. Now, that's an amazing producer in order to get the crowd following you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's your connection with the audience and with the crowd through your music. The song selections and the different emotional peaks, and you're there conducting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL: You should watch the full show at cnn.com/onetowatch.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAUL: It is the bottom of the hour. And we're so grateful for your company. I'm Christi Paul.
SAVIDGE: I'm Martin Savidge in for Victor Blackwell. Great to be with you this morning. Here are the five things you need to know for your new day. Let's start with number one. The last two Americans being held prisoner in North Korea are back home. Take a look at the emotional scene as they met their families after landing in Washington State. Kenneth Bae and Matthew Todd Miller were both found guilty of crimes against North Korea and have been serving multiple year sentences in labor camps.
PAUL: Number two, let's go to Iraq. U.S. airstrikes near Mosul targeted ISIS leader. This is according to a spokesman for U.S. Central Command. Warplanes attacked a convoy in a series of strikes. But it's not clear whether the group's top commander Abu Bakr al- Baghdadi was in that convoy.
SAVIDGE: Number three, President Obama says Loretta Lynch is his pick for attorney general. She's a two-time U.S. attorney for the eastern district of New York. The president described juror as "tough, fair, and independent." Lynch would be the first African-American woman to have the nation's top law enforcement job.
PAUL: Number four, Pennsylvania jury convicted a university professor of killing his wife with cyanide. Authorities say Robert Ferrante secretly mixed the deadly poison with creatine, which his wife has been taking apparently in an effort to get pregnant and have their second child.
SAVIDGE: Number five, possible meteor falling to Earth lit up the skies over Texas this weekend. The bright orange and green fireball was founded in Laredo right on the border with Mexico. The weather services local cops even received reports of the ground shaking overnight due to a possible meteor landing. How about that?
PAUL: That is something. As is this. Now that Kenneth Bae and Matthew Todd Miller are back on American soil, the big question on a lot of people's minds is what's next here?
SAVIDGE: Earlier today, Bae thanked his supporters, even joking about his two years in captivity. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNETH BAE, RELEASED FROM NORTH KOREA: It's been amazing two years. I learned a lot. I grew a lot. Lost a lot of weight, in a good way. But I'm standing strong because of you.
PAUL: All right. Want to bring somebody who's got some unique perspective on this. CNN's Will Ripley, he is Tokyo right now, and had a chance to speak to Bae and Miller in an exclusive interview earlier this year. So, Will, what do you make of the reports, first of all, that -- that North Korea instigated this conversation. That they requested the U.S. and the cabinet - a cabinet level official to talk?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Christi, it's really not surprising when you think about the fact that the North Korean government clearly had an agenda when they made these three detained Americans available to CNN when we happen to be in the country on a completely different assignment. And not only were they made available, but they all reiterated that they wanted a special envoy from the U.S. government to come to Pyongyang and help secure their release and now here we are just over two months later and that has indeed happened. And all three of them are now home.
SAVIDGE: Tell us about the letter that allegedly proved that Obama sent to North Korea. How symbolic is that? And what exactly could it have said?
RIPLEY: So it was a short letter, we're told, that essentially named James Clapper as the special envoy, the director of National Intelligence as the special envoy to Pyongyang to secure the release of the two Americans. A short letter, a couple of sentences. Probably not too significant from the United States government perspective. But from the North Korean perspective, anything official from the president of the United States is very significant. They have a display hall outside of Pyongyang where they have a small bowl that Madeleine Albright brought on her visit to the country. They have that on display. They also have a CNN pen that one of our crew has brought on a previous trip on display behind glass. So, the significance depending on which government you are talking about varies.
PAUL: You know, a lot of people are wondering why Matthew Todd Miller didn't speak when he exited the plane overnight. Can you give us a little more insight into how you would characterize him? You have the unique opportunity to sit down, to speak with him even though it was in a very controlled environment. What was your take away about this man?
RIPLEY: Well, it was certainly out of the three interviews, Matthew Todd Miller held back the most. There was some questions he didn't want to answer. He didn't want to talk at all about any sort of message that he had to give to his family. He said I spoke with my family privately, and we'll leave it at that. Meanwhile, you see his family in California with a very similar response. This entire time they had a sign on their door telling reporters to stay away, unlike Kenneth Bae's relatives, a sister especially who came on CNN a number of times. There was a social media campaign. So the two families, Miller and Bae, they certainly handled things very differently. So it would surprise me, frankly, if Matthew Miller now that he is released does decide to grant an interview. If he does though, it will be interesting to hear his perspective why did he truly go into the country and tear up his visa which is what North Korea found him guilty of doing.
PAUL: All right, Will Ripley, thank you so much for sharing this morning.
SAVIDGE: Moving on to other news. Today marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. German chancellor Angela Merkel is taking part in the ceremonies at the city's Brandenburg Gates. We will take you there live next. And then President Obama is headed to Asia. We'll take a look at the political impact his trip could have on the U.S. economy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAUL: 40 minutes past the hour, and President Obama heading to Asia for a week-long trip. He boarded Air Force One early today. Took off from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. The president's first stop, Beijing for the APEC summit tomorrow and then he'll head to Myanmar on Wednesday morning and Friday evening he'll go to Brisbane, Australia for the G-27.
SAVIDGE: CNN chief business correspondent Christine Romans takes a look at the impact President Obama's triple have on the U.S. economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Obama travels to China Monday. It's a political trip with huge implications for the economy. Secretary of State John Kerry sums it up well.
JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The U.S./China relationship is the most consequential in the world today. Period. And it will do much to determine the shape of the 21st century. That means that we have to get it right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Here are three reasons the U.S. -China relationship is so critical. First, trade. The U.S. trade deficit with China is the largest in the world. The U.S. imports more from China than from Canada, Mexico, Japan, Germany. China has become America's factory for the U.S. imports so much more from China than it exports. The trade deficit is hundreds of billions of dollars. Where do all of those dollars go? The communist leadership is flushed with cash to invest in oil fields, factories, buildings and it lands the rest to the U.S. government to finance American borrowing. You could say China is America's banker. Second, China's economy is now slowing after a decade of breakneck expansion, thanks to those government investments, widespread construction and an expanding middle class. But home prices are slowing, lending is getting tighter. If the China bubble were to burst, China is so big it would hurt everyone. Number three, cyber spying. A top concern of the Europeans, business owners and the White House. The summer Attorney General Eric Holder charged five Chinese nationals with stealing company secrets from metal producers in the U.S. China has also been accused of hacking defense contractors and other very sensitive businesses. Officials in Beijing always deny engaging in any government-backed cyber espionage. But it's an issue many are urging the president to take up directly with Chinese leadership next week. Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
PAUL: Christine Romans, thank you so much. CNN by the way is traveling with the president. So, we'll bring you full coverage of his trip.
SAVIDGE: Next a live report from Berlin on the 25th anniversary of the fall of the wall. Stay right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAVIDGE: The sound of Germany celebrating the 25th anniversary of the night that the Berlin Wall fell. If you lived through it, you won't forget it. It was such a pivotal moment. On this day in 1989, people tore down what is known as the Iron Curtain that was separating East from West. The fall of the wall is seen as a symbol of the end of the Cold War.
PAUL: And it was such a profound moment in history. You want to take a look at some pictures here taken by CNN 25 years ago. As people hammered, chiseling at that wall, finally bringing it down. Look at that. And then there was this.
The mad dash to freedom as hundreds of people broke through the barrier separating east from West. We want to bring in CNN's Jim Clancy. He is in Berlin at the Brandenburg Gates. And before we talked, Jim, I want to listen real quickly to you covering the fall back in 1989.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The vast majority of East Germans don't want to leave homes, jobs, and families to go live in the West. But since the relaxation of the travel laws, one thing is clear ...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: Yes! That is Jim, the man you're seeing there now. And, Jim, I'm wondering what are your thoughts as you watch today's celebration after all of your unique experience there as well?
CLANCY: Well, you know, every time I see that kind of video, I'm reminded that I changed a lot.
(LAUGHTER)
PAUL: We all have.
CLANCY: In 25 years. At the same time, Germany's changed a lot. You know, this city of Berlin has changed a lot. We started out today about three, four hours ago. And it was only a couple -- you know, it seemed to me there was only a few score people that were here at the Brandenburg Gate. Now there are thousands. Daniel Barenboim is conducting the Berlin State Opera. And we've been listening to them play Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and "Ode to Joy." That has become a theme - really, a theme song for the unity of all of Europe. But if you go down in the crowd and you ask any of the people gathered here, they will quickly tell you that is German music. It is the soundtrack really of the end of the divide between East and West. "Ode to Joy" in every way seems to capture the exuberance, the joy, and the relief that people in this city felt that night when the wall was -- came down.
Of course, the entire wall didn't disappear all at once. But the openings were there. And it signaled the collapse of communism. And we can talk about the Cold War. We can talk about all of the other places where communism was crumbling, in Poland, in then Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, so many other places. But this behind me, this is the folk room of that East-West divide. And when we saw the change in Berlin, we knew that was key, the collapse of communism was already taking place in front of our eyes. It was the most exhilarating day of my life. It captured everything. It was unbelievable. Many of us did not think that the East Germans would ever open up that wall. At least not of their own volition. But they were forced into it, they were forced into it economically and politically. So, Christi, incredible day here. Thousands of people on hand. The orchestra just practicing a little bit. They'll be back on in about five hours-time. Back to you.
PAUL: Jimmy, you have such a personal perspective. We thank you so much for sharing that with us this morning.
SAVIDGE: Someone else who has an interesting perspective joining me now is John Emerson. He is the American ambassador to Germany who is live in Berlin. And John, you have a deep German heritage beginning with your grandparents. So, I'm going to ask you, what was it like when you first heard the news 25 years ago?
JOHN EMERSON, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO GERMANY: Well, it was extraordinary. I'd been to Berlin twice in 1975 and then again in 1988. I've been through the wall at checkpoint, Charlie. And I was in my office in Los Angeles. I always had my television tuned to CNN. And began to see some of these reports. And just couldn't believe my ears. Because having been to Berlin a very brief period before that, it never occurred to any of us that this could be happening. And it was exhilarating, but at the same time I had a nagging fear that we might see the same kind of thing that happened in Tiananmen Square just five months previously. But thanks goodness we didn't and it was a huge positive, exciting story for freedom loving people around the world.
SAVIDGE: You know, it absolutely was, ambassador. Any of us who grew up during, you know, the whole Cold War and the East-West divide was so significant. Today as we look 25 years on, how would you say that nation has reunited? And what has it meant for the United States?
EMERSON: Oh, it's big deal for the United States. I mean Germany is clearly one of our top few allies in the world. One of our most important allies in the world. Whether it's dealing with the Russian incursion into the Ukraine or the terrorism in the Middle East that is methastacizing throughout Europe in this form of foreign fighters or fighting the battle against Ebola or fighting for climate change, Germany is front and center in just about everything that we do. And that was extraordinary. They talked about the furstschaftwunder here. How the two countries reunited and so quickly Germany became a powerful economic force in the world and also an extraordinarily important and positive partner for the United States.
SAVIDGE: Yeah, indeed, a remarkable period of time not just for the United States, but as you say for obviously the country of Germany. John Emerson, ambassador. Thank you very much for joining us. We appreciate your insight.
EMERSON: I have a story -- OK. Thank you. Thank you so much.
SAVIDGE: No, please. If you got a story, we've got a moment.
EMERSON: Oh. OK. It - I was sitting next to the chancellor about a year ago at the 50 anniversary concert at the Berlin Filarmoni, which is their philharmonic hall here. And they showed a film of a concert that was held just a few days after the fall of the Wall when they played Beethoven's Ninth and "Ode to Joy." And she turned to me and she said that was such an emotional moment. And I asked her, I said were you there? And she said, I wasn't there. I was listening on the radio, you know, she lived in the East at the time. She said but the important thing was I knew I could be there. I thought that was very powerful.
SAVIDGE: It's a great insight. Ambassador, again, thank you for joining us.
EMERSON: Thank you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAVIDGE: Each week we're shining a spotlight on the top ten CNN heroes of 2014 as you vote for the one who inspires you the most at cnnheroes.com. And at least we hope you will vote.
EMERSON: Exactly. Well, this week's honorees has unique talents to help soldiers with the disability recover their lives. Meet Arthur Bloom.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARTHUR BLOOM: Music is my earliest memory. I never decided to be a professional musician. It was just what I've always done. It feels great to play music. But it's also a mechanism for healing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are on this normal morning patrol walking down a road. I had never been hit by an IED before. It felt like I got hit by a wrecking ball. I sat up, my legs were completely gone. What happens if you don't quite get killed, and you don't quite survive? You're somewhere in the middle. I was a shell of a man. Who I was, was gone.
BLOOM (on camera): Let's take it right before the melody comes in.
(voice over): Our organization helps wounded warriors play music and recover their lives. We match the injured troops with professional musicians who come visit at Walter Reed Medical Center and work with them on music projects learning music, writing and performing.
(MUSIC)
(LAUGHTER)
BLOOM (on camera): We're going to try to incorporate more metal.
(voice over): I'm not a music therapist. I'm a musician. By injecting music into this space, we can inject life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Something survived that horrible injury in Afghanistan. And that was my ability to play the guitar.
Arthur and his program changed my outlook on what is possible.
BLOOM: Music has no stigma. Folks you work with, but maybe music - there's nothing injured about the way to do it. It's just good music.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL: We have a lot more news to tell you about this morning.
SAVIDGE: The next hour of "NEW DAY" starts right now.
PAUL: You are looking at the first pictures of Kenneth Bae and Matthew Todd Miller as they come home to the U.S. after being released by North Korea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNETH BAE: And thank you all for supporting me and lifting me up and not forgetting me."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL: The reunion with the family, straight ahead.
SAVIDGE: And President Obama on the move this morning. He's heading to Asia. We'll take a look at why this strip is so important for the U.S.
PAUL: Plus, get ready. An icy blast is just around the corner for an awful lot of us. How cold that could get.
