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What Happened to Yazidis after ISIS Took Over; Egyptian Air Strikes a Response to 21 Christian Beheadings; Cartoonist Lars Vilks in Hiding; Ukraine Cease-fire Appears to be Holding.

Aired February 16, 2015 - 13:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

ISIS fighters are gaining critical new ground in western Iraq. And Iraqi troops are in danger of actually collapsing there. That's the word from a senior Sunni tribal leader in the region. He had been warned that if the troops withdraw, Anbar could fall, quote, "within hours" to the north.

To the north, ISIS still has a strong grip over the predominantly Kurdish areas. It was just six months ago when ISIS arrived in the area, triggering an exodus from the town of Sinjar.

CNN's Phil Black takes a closer look at what's happened there since then.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sinjar is now mostly empty, blackened and battered by war. ISIS holds this town firmly.

From a Peshmerga position, above, we hear fast-moving aircraft followed by explosions below.

(on camera): From this position, you can see the smoke rising above the town. There is the occasional burst of small arms fire from down within its streets. And there is a surprising amount of traffic coming into the main road from the West, from the direction of the Syrian border towards Sinjar and is-controlled territory.

(voice-over): Cars and heavy trucks, an endless stream moving at high speed. Proof the coalition has not achieved its goal of stopping ISIS from moving fighters and supplies across the Syrian border.

The arrival of ISIS last August triggered a panicked stampede. Much of the population, hundreds of thousands, led up the slopes of neighboring Mount Sinjar. They found safety from ISIS, but no food and water, no shelter from the scorching heat. Some remain on the mountain. Most have moved on. Many others have disappeared.

This fighter says he hasn't seen his brother or nephew since ISIS entered the town.

At a large refugee camp in Kurdish Iraq, now full of people from Sinjar, we hear stories that help explain the disappearances.

Wajita (ph) and her niece, Deema (ph), were captured by ISIS. Wajita (ph) says, they killed the men. She saw her cousin beheaded. Both say they were moved repeatedly with other Sinjar women, first to Syria, then back to other ISIS areas in Iraq. Wajita (ph) says she saw women being raped again and again.

Deema (ph), just 13, says she was kept with other young girls who were told to embrace Islam and marry ISIS fighters. She tells me one girl refused and they cut off her hand.

Aunt and niece were held separately, but both escaped at different times while the guard slept.

Like almost everyone from Sinjar, they follow the Yazidi faith, a religion especially loathed by ISIS. Yazidis are now scattered across northern Iraq in camps like this, waiting for ISIS to be driven from their towns and villages. But Wajita (ph) and Deema (ph) say they will never go back to Sinjar

because they will never forget what they saw and would never feel safe there again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Phil Black is joining us now live from Erbil in northern Iraq.

Phil, the U.S.-led coalition, they've been targeting these air strikes in these air strikes against ISIS targets in the region lately. Does it seem to be having much of an impact?

BLACK: It has, Wolf, there's no doubt. Together those air strikes, along with those Kurdish Peshmerga fighters on the ground, they have successfully cleared thousands of square miles, driven ISIS out. But as we know, air power alone won't finish the job. And also, there's every sense that these Kurdish fighters are very much aware of their limits as well, because while they are prepared to clear small villages, open ground, they're not moving into big towns and cities. That's why they're not yet moving into Sinjar, for example. They are holding off, waiting, drawing perimeters around these towns, circling them, it would seem, waiting for the Iraqi army to finish its preparations, its retraining to be ready to rejoin and lead offensive operations to liberate these much larger urban areas.

In the case of Sinjar, this means there is no major offensive plan in the future, so it will be some time yet before the world discovers exactly the extent of the horrors that took place there, how many were killed, how many were taken -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Phil Black on the scene for us. Thanks for that report. Appreciate it.

Meanwhile, Egyptian fighter jets there targeting ISIS in Libya. Is Egypt's offensive now a potential game-changer? Our panel of experts standing by to weigh in. Their analysis of the war against ISIS and where it stands, that's next.

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BLITZER: Egyptian war planes has carried out a second round of air strikes against ISIS targets in Libya. The strikes are in response to the slaughter of 21 Egyptian Christians by ISIS.

Let's get some perspective on what this means. Joining us, retired Navy general, James "Spider" Marks, a CNN military analyst. Peter Bergen joining us, our national security analyst. They're both with me here in Washington. And international analyst, Bob Baer, is joining us from Colorado right now.

General Marks, Egypt now on the offensive against ISIS in Libya. Jordan on the offensive, as we know now, for a couple of weeks against ISIS targets in the region, in Syria, and not necessarily in Iraq, but maybe in Iraq. Is this a game-changer, what's going on right now, or is it just more of the same?

MAJ. GEN. "SPIDER" MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: No, no, no, it's a game changer. What you have, Wolf, clearly, is the momentum has built. The threat is now imminent. It's been defined as imminent. It's getting closer and closer. So the Egyptians going into Libya, at least they don't have to ask for permission to keep going into Libyan air space since it's totally uncontrolled. But they're clearly striking against targets, as they present themselves. And then with the Jordanians into Syria, that obviously is a game-changer. As long as we can maintain the pressure and keep this coalition together, it could be a game-changer.

BLITZER: So ISIS, what are they thinking? You studied these terrorist groups. They go ahead and they slaughter 21 Egyptian Christians. Most of them, they behead them, put it out there on video, show the whole world what's going on. They've got some guy speaking in English, talking about all of this. Do they think there's not going to be a reaction from the Egyptian military, which is still a pretty powerful military, largely U.S.-supplied, U.S.-trained?

PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I don't think they're rational actors. Beheading James Foley, the American journalist, caused a huge reaction. Killing the Jordanian pilot brought Jordan into the fight. This has brought Egypt into the fight. It's not an effective strategy to keep adding to your enemies, and that's what they've been doing. But they have an apocalyptic view that the end of the world is near and they're part of this kind of force for good that's going to help. Of course, that doesn't make any sense. But they truly believe that they are in a cosmic struggle in which they're on the good side.

BLITZER: Do they think, Bob -- do they want this kind of reaction, Jordanian reaction to the brutal burning of that F-16 fighter pilot in that steel cage? Do they want an Egyptian reaction to the beheading of these Egyptian Christians in Libya? And obviously, the beheading of the Americans and the killing of the Americans who were being held hostage. What is their objective here?

BAER: Well, Peter hit the nail on the head. It's apocalyptic. They want to go to war with Egypt, with the Egyptian military. The Islamic State is getting a lot of recruits from Egypt, from Jordan, and now from Saudi Arabia. I, oddly enough, read the obituaries in the Arabic press and there's a lot of Saudis dying in Iraq as well as Libya and other places. So what they're hoping is if they can draw the West and our allies, whether it's Egypt or Jordan into this, into a real confrontation, you know, crusaders against Islam, that these states will eventually fall. I think they're wrong. But this is the war they're fighting. So when they kill Coptic Christians, this goes against Islamic tenets. Christians are people of the book and you just don't kill innocent people like that. But they want to provoke us into a war of really putting boots on the ground, taking American prisoners, and the rest of it, and they think, at the end of the day, they can win this fight. So when Peter says apocalyptic, he's right.

BLITZER: General Marks, there's a lot of experts on Iraq -- and I've been speaking with them lately. They think is might be destroyed eventually inside Iraq. But not necessarily thanks to the U.S. and the coalition air strikes. Not necessarily, thanks to the Iraqi military, which is basically pretty much useless. Not because of the Peshmerga and the Kurdish fighters. But largely because of the Shiite militias backed by Iran. Tens of thousands of them are going after ISIS right now. They're having the huge impact. And if, in fact, ISIS is destroyed, the Shiite militias, backed by Iran, may emerge as the big victor in Iraq, to which you say?

MARKS: Odd story, isn't it? That now our biggest ally potentially in the region might be Teheran, in terms of what they've been able to accomplish in terms of the heavy lifting going against ISIS. It's not an outcome that we would prefer. It's clearly an outcome that is potentially inevitable based on what we see on the ground right now. I would challenge the efforts that are now ongoing by the United States and coalition partners as really doing a very -- just a heavy amount of lifting against ISIS in terms of containing them and not letting this spread geographically elsewhere, although we are seeing motivations and seeing successes in places like Libya. But if we can hold it there, we're good.

BLITZER: It's a complicated story with no clear end in sight, but we'll watch it, guys. Thanks very much.

We're now into day two, by the way, of that cease-fire in Ukraine. Observers say it's shaky, but holding for the most part. We're going live to Donetsk for a live update. Nick Paton Walsh is on the ground.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: All right, this just in to CNN on the Copenhagen shootings. The artist who was the possible target for the attack tells CNN he has gone into hiding. Lars Vilks was at a free-speech event at a cafe in Copenhagen when a suspected gunman opened fire. Vilks is on al Qaeda's most-wanted list for an illustration he made depicting the Prophet Muhammad. He spoke about that with our own Fredricka Whitfield. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I realize, as an artist, your drawing of the Prophet Muhammad was many years ago, in 2007, and there are other artists who have rendered pictures of the Prophet Muhammad and angered many in the Muslim community. There are other authors, Salman Rushdie, among them. And then, of course, the most recent with "Charlie Hebdo" being targeted as a result of the same sentiment. Do you feel responsible or do you feel that you have contributed to this sentiment that has inspired some people to resort to violence to express their anger about how the Prophet Muhammad has been depicted?

LARS VILKS, CARTOONIST (voice-over): Well, when you pose the question on the political responsibility, I mean, the religious symbols they are carrying, they are carrying political decisions that follow certain dogmas, so if you question the basic symbols of this, it's a part of a political conversation. And if you have people with guns who start murdering people, the thing you do is to start to put these people in prison because we cannot accept people murdering and trying in that way to stop the discussing our questions, which you do with the freedom of speech and in a democracy. So it's a responsibility. It's, of course, not one for following the rules and keeping a reasonable discussion going. It's those people who try to stop it with violence and murder.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: During the shooting, bodyguards moved Lars Vilks, the cartoonist, into a storage room. Denmark's prime minister praised security in Copenhagen, saying that the shootings could have been much worse and that, overall, the city was lucky.

We're almost two days into the cease-fire in eastern Ukraine. Officials say it's officially holding but there's been gunfire, even shelling in some areas. Fighting between rebels and Ukrainian forces had intensified in the days leading up to the cease-fire.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in the city of Donetsk for us, a city that's seen some of the worst fighting. Nick is joining us live right now.

Nick, from what you have seen there, have there been any violations of the cease-fire? How is it holding up?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, we've come down from the key town, which is at the heart of the disagreements around the cease-fire, and there was a lot of shelling around there that we could hear. Begging the question, what do you really cause the cease-fire when people haven't stopped firing? That, of course, is what people are wrestling with right now. There heard shelling on both sides and civilians are still cowering in basements, simply terrified to leave there. And, of course, the other issue as well being how to resolve the fact that there are hundreds and thousands of Ukrainian troops trapped inside that particular town. We spoke to some Ukrainian tank troops who had just come out and they said trying to go back in there, in their words, was a one-way ticket to their grave. An extraordinary dire situation. Very far from a cease-fire.

The monitors, the OSCE, say it's holding, apart from the bouts (ph). That's a serious issue because the bouts (ph) are always going to be the key town that both sides want so badly that would derail the cease-fire. That seems to be happening as we speak. And until there's a political solution that resolves the fate of those thousands of Ukrainian troops, we could see yet more violence and a very perilous situation ahead of us this week -- Wolf?

BLITZER: As you know, Nick, under the treaty, both sides are supposed to be moving heavy artillery out of the hot zones. What's the timetable for that to happen?

PATON WALSH: Well, that is supposed to begin to happen right now and, unfortunately, what we saw on the ground was, in fact, Ukrainian heavy weapons heading the opposite direction, back towards the front. There are also reports that the separatists still have their heavy weapons in place. Both sides seem to be waiting for the other to make the first move. In the previous Minsk agreement there was a moment of silence that pre-empted that withdrawal of heavy weapons. The last thing we're hearing now is violence -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Nick Paton Walsh, be careful over there. We'll stay in close touch.

We'll take a quick break and be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here in the United States, last night, a cultural icon celebrated its 40th birthday. I'm talking about "Saturday Night Live." As part of the televised celebration, they rolled out some of the classic characters like these.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING)

(LAUGHTER)

(SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: I love the Blues Brothers. For 40 years, they have lampooned our world. And I consider it a badge of honor that I have been spoofed by "SNL" a lot over the years. So which Wolf Blitzer do you prefer? Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Good evening. I'm Wolf Blitzer.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: I'm Wolf Blitzer.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Worse name, CNN Pentagon correspondent, Wolf Blitzer.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Wolf Blitzer, CNN news.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: I'm Wolf Blitzer, such an exciting name for such a boring name.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: What kind of a name is Wolf, anyways?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: It's so obvious the guy made it up for the war.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: I'm Wolf Blitzer and this is "The Situation Room."

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Homey, where you at?

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: I'm in "The Situation Room."

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Ha-ha, straight up.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: All right. Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: I'm going to do push-ups for everyone and I want you to count them out loud.

Blitzer, get up here and sit on my back.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: One, two, three --

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: No more on-screen crawl. The crawl is a privilege, not a right.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: My face is being haunted by the ghost of an old beard.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: It's like, hi, we now take you to our war correspondent, Howitzer explosion guys.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: So let me warn gun buccaneer, George Bush, and his henchman, Jimmy Carter, and Wolf Blitzer.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: You're watching "The Situation Room."

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Very funny stuff. Just laughing.

Today, by the way, is Presidents' Day here in the United States and, tonight, our North American viewers will get to see six CNN anchors testing their knowledge of presidential trivia. Don't miss "CNN's Quiz Show," Presidents Edition." It airs tonight for our North American viewers at 9:00 p.m. eastern.

That's it for me. Thanks very much for watching. I'll be back in "The Situation Room"

For our international viewers, "Amanpour" is next.

For our viewers in North America, "Newsroom" with Brooke Baldwin starts right now.