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Middle East Faces Turmoil and Transition; Saudi King Abdullah Dies at 90; New Saudi King Salman Urges Unity; U.S. Pulls Some Embassy Staff from Yemen; U.S. And Cuba Hold Historic Talks; Jacobson Meets with Dissidents in Cuba; U.S. and Cuba Talks; Yemen Embassy Staff Reduced
Aired January 23, 2015 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 p.m. here in Washington, 6:00 p.m. in London, 8:00 p.m. in Jerusalem, 9:00 p.m. in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.
We begin with turmoil and transition, major transition, in the Middle East and the impact on the United States and the fight against terror. Here are some of the major headlines right now. A new king inherits the throne in Saudi Arabia following the death of King Abdullah. Saudi Arabia is a key U.S. ally in the Middle East. King Abdullah's half-brother, Salman Bin Abul Aziz, was quickly pointed to replace him.
The White House says President Obama will be calling the new Saudi king shortly. The king inherits a long list of challenges from Iran to Yemen to ISIS and a whole lot more.
Speaking of ISIS, the fate of two Japanese men held hostage by the terror group is uncertain. The deadline for Japan to pay $200 million ransom has come and gone. ISIS threatens to kill the men if Japan doesn't pay.
And Yemen, a key U.S. ally in the fight against terror, is now facing its own major troubles. Yemen's president resigned last night after the prime minister and entire cabinet stepped down. Still not clear who will take charge. The U.S. has reduced its embassy personnel staff in the capital of Sana'a because of security concerns.
Let's talk about all of this uncertainty in the Middle East. Here with us, our Chief National Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto, the Yemen Analyst and Researcher Sama'a Al-Hamdani, and CNN Business Correspondent Richard Quest who's joining us from Davos, Switzerland.
Jim, let me start with you. The resignations in Yemen right now. The U.S. relied on this Yemeni government to engage in drone strikes against suspected Al Qaeda terrorist in Yemen. That's going to be much more difficult now.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: This government, this former government, a very close, loyal ally, public ally, in the drone campaign. President Hadi would make public statements in support of the drone campaign which is a difficult thing for a leader in the region to do. So, the loss of that friendship, assuming he stays out of government, that would be a loss.
That said, the U.S. drone program there can operate independently, if necessary.
BLITZER: Can or can't?
SCIUTTO: It can if the U.S. believes that there is a danger there. If it has a target in mind in AQAP, it will strike it. And we've seen that before when they've had less cooperative leaders in place there.
But, of course, you want the cooperation of the partner on the ground. President Obama had said, just a few months ago, it cited Yemen as a success story. The combination of the U.S. drone story with a friendly government on the ground.
BLITZER: But that U.S. drone campaign, Sama'a, relied heavily on cooperation from the Yemeni government for intelligence, for information, on who was where. They had good assets in that part of Yemen. It's their country. Better than the United States, presumably.
SAMA'A AL-HAMDANI, INDEPENDENT YEMEN ANALYST: Yes, however, there were some mistakes that were taken place. Some of the intelligence that the government provided was not that accurate. And so, --
BLITZER: And the U.S. wound up killing innocent people, is that what you're saying?
AL-HAMANI: Yes, that happened several times. And so, it seems that the intelligence they got from the Yemeni government was not that reliable considering that the government that just resigned didn't have influence all over Yemen.
BLITZER: So, what happens next, Sama'a? What's going on? Because you're well plugged in over there.
AL-HAMANI: Yes. So, the president handed his resignation to the parliament which is the same parliament since 2003. The majority of this parliament belongs to the former president's -- President Sadat's political party which is the people's general Congress. And so, it seems that the parliament can reject his resignation, however it doesn't seem that that's the case, right now. The Houthi rebel movement wants President Hadi in place. They don't want to accept the -- his government's resignation. And, overall, it seems that it's going to take a period of three months to kind of have new elections and see who the next president will be.
BLITZER: But for the team being --
AL-HAMANI: The time being.
BLITZER: -- the Houthis, the Shiite-led Houthis, they're in charge. AL-HAMANI: Well, it seems like it because that -- they're in charge
on the ground. But, legally speaking, the vice president should be in charge. President Hadi did not have a vice president. So, legally speaking, the speaker of the parliament would be next in line but that doesn't seem to be the case.
BLITZER: Let's go to Davos, Switzerland. Richard Quest is our man on the scene over there. Let's talk about Saudi Arabia, the death of King Abdullah. Richard, this is a -- this is a major development, obviously. You spoke, I understand, with the secretary of state, John Kerry. What about the reaction over there at the World Economic Forum which you're covering?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, John Kerry was leaving after giving his speech and I just managed to grab a sentence from him. I asked him, did he see if he saw any difference, anything changing in U.S.-Saudi relations? He said, no, not at all, not from the conversations I've had, he didn't see any change. And that seems to be the view of many people here, because they knew that King Abdullah had been ill infirm for some time.
The new king, King Salman, had been effectively running things for quite some time. The new king has moved very quickly, Wolf, to put brother had been running things for quite some time. The king has moved very quickly, Wolf, to put in some of his own people, for example, as chief of staff, the head of security. But, crucially, he has left the existing ministers in place.
Now, this is all very good. But you know very well, Wolf, what can happen in the first few days is people choose to test the vacuum that might exist. And that's why we saw a spike in oil prices, just a small one, Wolf, but a spike in oil prices. The transition looked smooth but there's little doubt that it will be tested.
BLITZER: The Saudis clearly, Jim, they're critical allies of the United States in a whole host of areas, including oil for that matter. But the president is not planning on going and making a courtesy call to pay his respects, personally, to Saudi Arabia, is that right?
SCIUTTO: That's right. It's going to be the vice president, Vice President Biden. He didn't go to the funeral today but that follows protocol because, typically, the funeral, first of all, has to happen within 24 hours. But it's also a much smaller grouping, very quick. Typically, just leaders from the region come but Biden will be going in the next couple days to pay U.S. respects.
BLITZER: Some of -- the Saudis hate the Shiites in Yemen. They see that as a potential threat to Saudi Arabia, just as they didn't like the Shiite uprising that took plain in -- took place in Bokrane (ph).
AL-HAMANI: Yes, Saudi Arabia supported the six wars that were launched against the Houthi in Sada'a. And now, it seems, with the change, we have to sit and see whether Salman is going to be hard core Wahhabi or not. It doesn't seem to be that way yet but I think it's too soon to speak.
BLITZER: Some major changes unfolding right now. Guys, thanks very, very much.
Coming up, a rare one on one. I sit down with the assistant secretary of state, Roberta Jacobson. She's in Havana. She's leading the U.S. delegation in Cuba right now. A very controversial topic right now for many critics here in Washington. And I asked her whether the Obama administration is ready to remove Cuba from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism, the GOP resistance, even some resistance from some leading Democrats. And we also talk about that Russian spy ship in Havana that all of a sudden appeared.
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BLITZER: After more than 50 years of animosity, delegates from the United States and Cuba have taken the first historic steps now to re- establish relations. It comes after last month's dramatic announcement by President Obama and the Cuban president, Raul Castro, that the two countries would restore full diplomatic ties. While it certainly points to better prospects for Cuba's economy, for U.S. relations, in many parts of Latin America, there's still a long, long way to go.
Just a little while ago, I spoke with the U.S. assistant secretary of State for Western Hemispheric Affairs.
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And joining us now, the assistant secretary of state, Roberta Jacobson. Roberta, thanks very much for joining us. I know you've about had a lot going on in Havana these past few days. But, quickly, I understand you had a chance to meet with some Cuban dissidents earlier today. What did they have to say to you? What was their message?
ROBERTA JACOBSON, U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, I think, Wolf, their message, overall, was one of unity in being firm in their desire for democracy and human rights in Cuba. And even where there may be a diversity of views on the U.S. policy, they were unified in their belief that there needs to be change in Cuba to empower them as political actors and to bring greater freedom to Cuba.
BLITZER: Are they happy President Obama made this historic decision to normalize relations with Cuba?
JACOBSON: Well, there was a diversity of views, as I said. Some of them support the measures, some of them don't necessarily believe this is the best way to go. But, overall, it was a really positive conversation in that there's nothing like hearing from people themselves on the ground, incredibly brave and valiant people who have struggled, many of them for years been in and out of prison, what their challenges are and how we can work together in the future.
BLITZER: These first round of talks, I understand they went well, according to you. How much -- how much more time is necessary, do you believe, before there will be full diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba, U.S. embassy and Havana, Cuban embassy in Washington and exchange of ambassadors? JACOBSON: Well, I think the talks went well in the sense that you had
these first conversations, and, most importantly, both sides were able to put on the table what their needs were, what their requirements were, and the full range of agenda. But it is going to take more conversations. We think it's critically important that the Cuban people have free access without Cuban officials taking down names of those who enter our embassy.
We think it's critical that our personnel be allowed to travel more freely around Cuba. The Cuban government has things that they want to get resolved. So, I would say that it will take some time for us to work this part of things out. I don't have an exact time frame. But, remember, that opening embassies is just part of the normalization process. So, it is complicated but we'll move as quickly as we can and, obviously, both sides have to agree to the opening of embassies.
BLITZER: But you're talking about months, not years, right?
JACOBSON: Oh, certainly, certainly.
BLITZER: So, in the next several months. When is the next round of negotiations, the next round of talks?
JACOBSON: Well, we haven't fixed a date yet, but we would hope that they can occur in the next couple of weeks. We certainly would like to do so. I think there's a desire, certainly on the part of the U.S. administration, to have these conversations as quickly as possible. You certainly saw with the president's announcement and then the publication of the regulations by treasury and commerce within a month that we are moving quite quickly. That's a reflection of the commitment and the urgency that we feel and we hope the Cuban government feels the same.
BLITZER: Have you invited the Cuban diplomats to come to Washington for the next round of talks?
JACOBSON: We have invited them to Washington, but we still have to work on a date.
BLITZER: As you know, there's a lot of opposition, a bunch of Republicans and some Democrats as well don't like this normalization of relations with the communist regime of Castro in Cuba. Senator Marco Rubio has told me, on a few occasions, that he'll block any funding or try to block any funding for an embassy in Havana. He'll vote to reject, not to confirm any proposed U.S. ambassador to Cuba. What do you say to these critics?
JACOBSON: Well, I think that we certainly understand that there are criticisms. The president took actions that are fully within his power to take, that are the power of the executive branch, within the executive branch purview, and will continue to implement changes that are within the executive branch purview.
There are, obviously, things that will need to be done in consultation with Congress. We will continue to have those consultations. There are many members of Congress who have been supportive of the change in policy. We will have conversations with both sides -- both sides of the aisle, both chambers, and with opponents and supporters. But we will be able to move forward on diplomatic relations, for example, which are within the purview of the president.
And then, if there are things that we need to move forward with, such as the confirmation of an ambassador, which obviously requires the advice and consent of the Senate, we will do so in consultation with the members of Congress. That's all part of this process. And we hope to convince them that our ends and our goals remain the same and that the past 50 years have proven to us that the previous policy did not work but that, frankly, neither do we have any illusions about rapid change within this government in Cuba.
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BLITZER: I also asked the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson whether the Obama administration is ready to remove Cuba from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism. Stand by. You'll hear what she said.
Also, we spoke about that new Russian spy ship that is now docked in Havana. What is it doing there? She weighs in on that and a whole lot more. That's coming up.
Plus, new information. A powerful prosecutor is found dead just hours before he was set to testify in a very high-profile terror case. Sounds like a Hollywood script, but the drama is very, very real and it's playing out right now in Argentina.
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BLITZER: All right, this just coming in to CNN. The secretary of state, John Kerry, just announced he will be traveling to Nigeria on Sunday. One of the deadliest terrorist groups in the world, Boko Haram, operates in Nigeria. The secretary will be there to emphasize the importance of the insuring upcoming elections are peaceful, non- violent and credible.
Meanwhile, as the U.S. begins to try to restore full diplomatic relations with Cuba, many have asked if the secretary will travel to Havana. In this, the second part of my interview, I posed that question to the U.S. assistant secretary of state for western hemispheric affairs.
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BLITZER: Your boss, the secretary of state, John Kerry, he spoke about possibly visiting Cuba himself. Listen to what he said.
JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: When it is timely, when it is appropriate, I look forward to traveling to Cuba in order to formally open an embassy and begin to move forward.
BLITZER: Do you think that we're all months away from that?
JACOBSON: Well, I think - you know, I think nobody says that better than my boss, and he used the words "timely" and "appropriate." He knows better than anybody that when you have to move forward on something that has to overcome 50 years of distrust and difficulty, it's not easy and that it has to be something done by mutual consent so neither of us has unrealistic expectations.
We certainly don't anticipate that this will take years to get done, but it's very difficult to put a precise date on it because it depends not only upon us and how quickly we can get things done, but also upon the Cuban government, which has not always moved swiftly in response to things that we would like to get done. So we've just had our first round of conversations, and I've learned over the years that to predict how quickly things will go is sometimes not the best -- not the smartest move.
BLITZER: As you know, the Cubans, they want the State Department to remove Cuba from the lit of state-sponsored terrorist countries. Are you ready to do so?
JACOBSON: What we are doing is what the president asked the secretary of state to do, which is to review the designation of Cuba on the state-sponsored terrorism list and to do so within - represent him with a recommendation, as the process requires, within six months. We began that process immediately after the president's announcement and we will continue that process without prejudging the outcome of it. We did hear from the Cubans their request that they be removed from that list and we told them what I'm telling you, which is we've begun that process. We don't know exactly what the outcome will be, but we will do it as quickly as possible, understanding that it is both important to them, but more importantly has been requested by the president and by my boss, the secretary of state.
BLITZER: And one final question. This Russian spy ship that docked in Havana earlier this week, what's going on here?
JACOBSON: Well, what I can tell you, Wolf, is that, you know, I have no information on why that ship is here. It is certainly something that we have seen before in the past. The fact that Cuba has a relationship with Russia of longstanding is not exactly news, but I don't know the particular reason that it's here right now. So I couldn't really comment on the particular timing of it or why they're here. But it is something that has occurred in the past.
BLITZER: Roberta Jacobson is the assistant secretary of state for the western hemisphere. Thanks very much for joining us.
JACOBSON: Thank you, Wolf.
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BLITZER: Up next, protesters take to the streets of Yemen. They're demanding the return of their government. There's new information coming in. Stand by.
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BLITZER: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting from Washington.
There is major uncertainty right now in Yemen, and that has led the U.S. State Department to begin reducing its embassy personnel. Staff has been reduced but not yet completely emptied. The move comes in the wake of yesterday's resignation of the Yemeni president, the prime minister, indeed the entire cabinet.
Meanwhile, there are new pictures. These are the pictures, you're seeing them right now, purportedly of pro-government protesters. They're calling for the president, who quit yesterday, to stay in power.
