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Pentagon Drops Ban on Transgender Troops; Bombers Traveled from Syria; Funeral for Victims; Video of Airport Attack. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired June 30, 2016 - 14:00   ET

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


[14:00:00]

QUESTION: Has something changed? Would you support this proposal?

ASH CARTER, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Well, we do have a professional relationship with the Russian military to make sure that there are no incidents and no safety issues as we both operate in neighboring areas of Syria. But I -- I've said before, the Russians got off on the wrong foot in Syria. They said they were coming in to fight ISIL. And that they would assist the political transition in Syria towards a post-Assad government that could run the country and put that terribly broken country back together and give the people the future they deserve.

They haven't done either of those things. So I think while I'm still hopeful that they will do both of those things, and I think that's what Secretary Kerry's talks, which are very frequent with the Russians, are all about. But meanwhile, we have a channel which is focused on safety issues, and we maintain that. And that's -- that's a very professional working channel between us.

QUESTION: Can I follow up on that and ask you something else? It's a follow-on to Phil's question. You're well known to be skeptical of the Russians and some of the things that they have -- their military has done. So, really straight up, are you willing -- are you in favor now of an expanded effort for military cooperation with the Russians inside Syria?

Because most people in this town think you are not.

CARTER: The -- if the Russians would do the right thing in Syria, and that's an important condition, as in all cases with Russia, we're willing to work with them. That's what we've been urging them to do since they came in. That's the objective that Secretary Kerry's talks are aimed at. And if we can get them to that point, that's a good thing.

QUESTION: But may I follow up on two small items? Are you willing to include (inaudible) effort for the U.S. to begin airstrikes against al-Nusra? And may I also ask you about Raqqah? As the world has watched what's happened in Istanbul, how urgent now are you, beyond the usual discussion of accelerants, to see the Syrian-Arab coalition and the other fighters get to Raqqah? Because...

CARTER: Oh, very, very eager to get them to Raqqah. This is the same group that we've been working successfully with, that is they have been successful, and we've been enabling and supporting them, in -- to envelop and take, which they will, from ISIL the city of Manbij, which like Raqqah, isn't as well known, but Manbij is a city from which external plotting has been conducted by ISIL into Europe and into the United States as well.

And was part of the transit hub from the Turkish border down to ISIL in Syria. So that was an important objective. Those same forces, and that same approach, or really the same approach and some larger forces, actually, are the ones that we plan -- and I just was discussing this with General Votel and General MacFarland the other day, along with General Dunford.

Those are the forces that we are going to position to, again, envelop and collapse ISIL's control of Raqqa.

And the reason I want to do that, Barbara, as soon as possible is that Raqqa is the self-proclaimed capital of the self-proclaimed caliphate of ISIL. And it's important to destroy the ISIL in Iraq in Syria, because that's absolutely necessary.

It's not sufficient to avoid all kinds of radicalization and so forth, but it's necessary in order to eliminate the idea that there can be a state based upon that ideology. That's why we are so intent in our military campaign against ISIL on Iraq insurgent. So we would -- like to get Raqqa as soon as -- as soon as we possibly can, like everything else.

Chris?

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, a couple of questions about what this change will mean for the transgender servicemembers. First, can you verify that the health -- the military health care coverage will cover all aspects of transition-related care, including gender reassignment surgery?

And second, will the Pentagon add gender identity or transgender status to the military equal opportunity policy in the event that a transgender servicemember feels like they're experiencing discrimination?

CARTER: The answer to the first one is the medical standards don't change. The transgender (inaudible) like all other servicemembers, will get all medical care their doctors deem necessary.

They will have to do that with their -- subject to, if it's non- urgent medical care, subject to their commanders. Because, you know, if they need to be deployed, they need to be deployed. And it's normal that if you -- if you have, say, a procedure which is not urgent, that you have to defer that if you are being deployed.

So we don't have any -- we're not going to have any different medical policy for transgender servicemembers than others. Our doctors will treat them -- give them medically necessary treatment according to the protocols that are determined by the medical profession.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) MEO policy? Will you add transgender status for the MEO?

CARTER: You know, I don't know the specific answer to that. I certainly assume the answer is yes and Peter is telling me yes, that certainly stands to reason that -- that -- that we would. That makes sense.

Let's see. Cory. Cory is not here. How about Paul?

QUESTION: I wanted to follow-up on that question. So there's been some debate on whether the military would only cover hormone therapy versus covering full reassignment surgery. So will reassignment surgery be covered?

CARTER: This is for currently serving members. Again, that's going to be a matter that the doctors will determine in accordance with what is medically necessary. That's a decision that they make with their physician.

And the timing of it -- of any treatment, of any kind, like any other non-urgent medical care, will be something that their commanders will have a voice in for the very simple reason that we -- we -- we as, in this matter as in all matters, readiness and deployability are critical. Tom?

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, if I could follow-up very quickly. You said a current servicemember...

CARTER: Only because...

QUESTION: So incoming servicemembers who are transition (ph), would not be eligible for that transitional surgery?

CARTER: It depends, Nick. If someone who is transgender and comes out will need to and be required to have undergone transition and be stable in that state for 18 months before they can enter the military.

QUESTION: But the U.S. military will not provide that surgery. Is that what you're saying?

CARTER: They won't be in the U.S. military at that time because they won't have accessed until they have undergone transition. Tom...

QUESTION: Just wondering, if I could -- how many transgender troops have been dismissed under the old policy? And also, I'm wondering why Chairman Dunford isn't here to discuss this policy since it affects the uniformed military...

CARTER: I'll take the second part first. This is my decision. However, I have, we have arrived at it together, the senior leadership of the Department. They support this timetable, this implementation plan, as I indicated, I actually made some adjustments in it specifically to take into account some of the desire by some of the chiefs to have a little more time on the front end, particularly for the commanders in training guidance, and so I agreed to that because I thought that was reasonable. And I have a general principle around here which is very important which is that it's important that the people who have to implement decisions be part of the decision making and the armed services are the ones that are going to have to implement that, so it's very important that they've been (ph) part of this study, but now, they're a critical part of implementation, because they and I all agree, as I said before, that simply declaring the military open to transgender individuals does not constitute effective implementation. We have work to do and we'll do it and we'll do it together.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, in light of the events this morning at Andrews Air Force Base, are you getting a little fed up about all these false alarms for an active shooter? And why the communications problems this morning?

CARTER: Well, I wouldn't say fed up, because I think we have to take these things seriously when they occur, and I'm sure if a mistake was made here, if somebody inadvertently did, they weren't doing that on purpose, and it also shows a high degree of readiness and rapidity of responses. So it does appear, based on the information that I have at this moment, that this was mistaken, and that this was a drill that was going on that was mistaken for a real event, and a response was made, and that is something -- because it has happened before, that I think we need to pay attention to -- how to minimize the chances of false alarms like that. At the same time, I think it's important to have a reasonable level of awareness of the possibility of this kind of event and what to do, and I thought the response was strong and solid. So that's the good news. The bad news is, it appears to have been a mistake, and we'd like to reduce the number of mistakes made in this way, no question about it. David...

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, I'm still confused by your answer to Mik's question. Someone who is already in the military, if he is -- he or she is deemed medically -- if sex change surgery is deemed medically necessary, the military will pay for it?

CARTER: That's correct.

QUESTION: What happens now -- and then you explained the 18 month stable before you commit, but what happens to a service man --

[14:11:10] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, here we go. We're going to pull away from the Pentagon here. I'm Brooke Baldwin, live in Istanbul, Turkey, just after 9:00 p.m. tonight. And you have been listening to historic news really by Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who just announced this massive moment in the United States, the Pentagon lifting the ban on transgender troops from serving openly in the U.S. military effective immediately.

Secretary Carter laid out a list of reasons, and among them qualified and talented Americans willing to serve their country should not have to serve in fear. He says one general noted that as an army, they're sworn to protect and die for the principle that all people are equal. And so in turn, those in uniform should be willing to live with that very principle.

Secretary Carter says he is proud of the year-long review of this issue, that he is proud of all service men and women. He announced an implementation plan in stages over the course of the next 12 months, including immediate guidance and training for current service members. This move today removes one of the final barriers to military service for any individual, and it comes five years after the administration ended "don't ask, don't tell," which allowed gays, lesbians and bisexuals to serve openly.

Again, just want to underscore this here, this historic moment. The Pentagon lifting the ban on transgender troops serving openly.

Let me bring in CNN military analyst, Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona.

Colonel Francona, what are your initial thoughts on Secretary Carter's decision?

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well - well, I mean, we're talking about a very small group of people serving in the military. But the secretary has opened up a big can of worms here in the implementation of this. And I think that's evident from the number of questions he was getting on how we're going to do this.

And I think speaking as a retired officer, I think most service people have no problem serving with those who are qualified as long as the standards don't change. That's always been the big issue. But the implementation of this is going to take a long time to smooth out. I think one of the questions is very key here.

I think the secretary's trying to make some distinctions that don't exist. He said if you come into the military, you can't come in until you've had your gender stable for 18 months. There's no way to tell that. You can walk into a recruiting office and be in the military in very short order and then once in say, oh, by the way, I'm transgender and you're already in. These are the kinds of things that have to be worked out. And that's an education process.

But as far as the men and women serving in the military, just like, you know, with the - the lifting of the ban on gays and lesbians, bisexuals, this, too, shall pass. It will be assimilated and the force will accommodate.

BALDWIN: Yes, it sounded to me as though he was saying, putting a finite point on the transition 18 months after once, you know, the stability is established, anyone should and will be able to serve.

Colonel Francona, thank you so much for that.

Let's move on and talk about the fact that we are here again in Istanbul, in Turkey, and right in front of the Ataturk Airport, that has become the scene of one of the worst terror attacks in recent memory. A coordinated series of deadly bombings that we are now being told was likely directed by ISIS and specifically we're hearing today ISIS leaders. An attack that was, quote, "extremely well planned." This is coming to us here at CNN from a senior Turkish government source.

And we also have new video here that adds yet another layer of horror to this attack that killed 43 people. Before we play it for you, I just have to warn you, it is graphic to watch. But in the video you can see a man, reportedly it's an undercover officer, as he apparently asks one of these suicide bombers to show his I.D. The man then, in the video, turns and shoots the officer.

[14:15:07] These suicide bombers, we're told, traveled to Turkey from Raqqa in Syria. Keep in mind, Raqqa, unofficial capital of ISIS, the stronghold, came in to Turkey here, into Istanbul about a month ago, and bringing along with him the suicide vest and bombs used in that attack. It is in Istanbul that they rented an apartment, one of them leaving behind his passport. And that then led investigators to another piece of this puzzle here, where these attackers are from.

So from everything we have here today, and we've gotten a lot of developments, let me just bring in my colleague Ivan Watson, CNN's senior international correspondent with me here in front of the airport.

So let's just begin with what we know as far as - we don't have I.D.s specifically on these bombers, but we know, what, Russia, Kurdistan, Uzbekistan?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Let's correct that. Turkish government officials telling us -

BALDWIN: Yes.

WATSON: That the three bombers are a citizen of Russia, a citizen of Kyrgyzstan -

BALDWIN: Kyrgyzstan.

WATSON: And Uzbekistan.

We've reached out to the Kyrgyz government and they say that's not actually confirmed yet. So they're, at this point, disputing that.

BALDWIN: Pushing back.

WATSON: They're pushing back on that.

But the Turkish government saying that the explosive vests were brought in from Raqqa, from Syria, across the border, perhaps a month ago. And the apartment where these men are believed to have been living, where a Russian passport was found, according to Turkish government officials, is in a neighborhood called Fati (ph).

BALDWIN: Where is that?

WATSON: That's not that far from where we are right now, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Really?

WATSON: It's maybe a couple of miles drive from here as the crow flies. And it just indicates how easily people can live below the radar here in Turkey. Now, important to note, the Turks have been carrying out raids, both

here in Istanbul at a number of different locations, detaining about 13 people, and in the Turkish port city of Ismir (ph) detaining at least nine people there. So that suggests they're looking out across the country at a possible network that could have supported these suicide bombers.

BALDWIN: Let me ask you just because this is close to home. You're an American but you lived in Istanbul for 12 years. You have flown, I can only imagine, into that airport so many times. But we talked - we were talking before the show started about how, yes, ISIS has targeted, you know, foreign tourists. But this time feels different. Why?

WATSON: Because, in the past, ISIS is believed to have attacked foreign tourists and horrific casualties, Kurds and leftists, OK. The Turkish government is fighting a war against militants from the ethnic Kurdish population. So in the Turkish kind of mentality, a lot of Turks might have looked the - at this as attacks on others, not against us. That's over. By attacking this airport, the vast majority of the wounded, the casualties, are Turks, ethnic Turks, and they're going to see this very much as an attack on themselves. And that suggests, if, in fact, that ISIS carried out this attack -

BALDWIN: Yes.

WATSON: That they've declared war on the rest of Turkey, on the Turkish state, even though they have been attributed to bombings that have killed more than 100 people since last year.

BALDWIN: We'll talk about the significance of the Istanbul target, the airport. Ivan, thank you so much. Ivan Watson here in front of the airport.

Let's talk about those, though, who have lost their lives. The number of people killed at Ataturk Airport, the third busiest in Europe, the 11th busiest in the world. That death toll has now risen to 43. Forty- three people killed as they arrived here to set out on new ventures or perhaps returning home. Some just waiting in the airport for loved ones, and others airport staff simply at work doing their jobs.

Today, there are several funerals taking place for those innocent souls who were slaughtered in this airport. And for that, let's go to CNN's Matt Rivers, who attended one of those funerals.

Matt, tell me about the victim.

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, there is no such thing as a funeral that isn't sad, but the funeral that we attended today, this morning, was incredibly poignant and incredibly sad because of who was being mourned there. So there were four - four people that were being mourned. Three of them were sisters. A 24-year-old, a 16-year-old, and a 14-year-old. The fourth person that was being mourned was an eight- year-old who was the niece of all three of those sisters. This was one big family traveling from Saudi Arabia here to Turkey to visit family. There was eight of them in total. They had exited the airport. They were waiting for a cab, waiting for a taxi outside of one of the terminals, and all of a sudden there was an explosion. We spoke to the father and the grandfather of some of the people there. He said he heard the explosion, ran over, but it was too late for those four people.

So we went to that funeral today, along with dozens of other people from this area. We had a chance to speak very briefly with the father of that eight-year-old girl. He has in Saudi Arabia when he got the call that his eight-year-old girl had been killed in this attack. We spoke to him right before the funeral began. Here's a little bit of what he had to say.

[14:20:06] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUHAMMED AMRI, FATHER OF EIGHT-YEAR-OLD VICTIM: Before she go, she hugged me and she told me, father, come with us. I - I tell her - I tell her that I will come only that -

RIVERS: And if you wanted someone - if you wanted people to know something about your daughter, what would you want people to know about her?

AMRI: She was very lovely.

RIVERS: She's very lovely.

AMRI: Very lovely. But I lost her (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIVERS: And the entire time we were talking, he had his hand on her casket. That was right next to him. He was standing vigil at his daughter's casket and he was moving his hand back and forth very gently. And watching it, being in the moment, it reminds you of that kind of paternal instinct of just taking your hand and running it - you know, petting your daughter's head. You know, just running it down her hair. And it was incredibly poignant. And I don't even know if he knew he was doing it. But you could feel his pain. You could feel his sadness. And everyone around there was affected. And that is what you're seeing across this city after this attack. Funeral after funeral after funeral with families going through that exact same kind of pain that we saw at that funeral this morning, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Fatherly instinct. Child gone way too soon. Matt Rivers, thank you for sharing that story. It's important to honor the lives lost here at the airport.

Again, just a reminder, too, 94 people are still being treated in the hospital. And all these stories here in Istanbul coming up next here on CNN. A couple on their honeymoon trapped inside of this airport during the attack. They lived to tell their emotional story about what they saw. You will hear from them.

Also ahead, graphic new video showing one of the attackers shooting someone, reportedly a security officer checking his I.D. Where that moment fits into the timeline. And breaking tonight here from Istanbul, convoys of ISIS vehicles hit

by coalition airstrikes. Nearly 200 were destroyed. See where they were going.

You're watching CNN special live coverage. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:26:19] BALDWIN: And we're back here live tonight in Istanbul, Turkey. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you for being with me.

Just about 9:30 here in the evening. And we now are learning more about how technical, how calculating these three suicide bombers were. Just a warning, we're going to show you some video. It is - it is disturbing to watch, but it paints a picture of how - of how calculating and horrendous these men were.

According to the Turkish broadcasting service, Haberturk (ph), the footage from security cameras here at the airport shows one of these bombers shooting an undercover police officer after the officer stopped, as he would for anyone walking in this airport, asking to see I.D. It appears the gunman shoots the officer a second time before running away as the officer is on the ground in pain.

David Katz, let me bring you in, CEO of Global Security Group and a former senior special agent to the DEA and a federal certified firearms and tactical instructor.

First just on this video, what strikes you the most seeing who appears to be the attacker just shooting this officer?

DAVID KATZ, FORMER SENIOR SPECIAL AGENT, DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION: He's done it before. There's absolutely no hesitation. These are killers. They're not necessarily - I've heard reports that they were - they were highly trained, like special forces guys. That's not necessary. If you have a person who's committed to the ideology, willing to die and has no hesitation in killing other human beings, that's what you get and this is exactly what we see on that tape.

BALDWIN: You know, I was talking to a bunch of security specialists earlier today. We've been talking about this sort of new layer of information with regard to what you could call diversion tactics, right? So you have these three bombers. One goes in first, sets a bomb off. The second able to, you know, continue past that person because the security is down, and the third, is everyone in that fog and smoke and frightening scene, you know, your instinct is to run outside, and that's where that third bomber is waiting for them -

KATZ: Right.

BALDWIN: Where he detonates his suicide vest. What does that say to you about the level of sophistication and technicality of this attack?

KATZ: Well, it's clearly a coordinated planned effort. And this is not - this is not anything new. Multiple devices, multiple attackers are common - they're common all over the world. And what they do is, as you mentioned, they'll detonate a device, they'll start fire, they'll get people basically herded in a general direction where another bomber or an assailant is waiting. Another tactic is they'll detonate a device, wait for first responders to get on scene, then detonate killing police officers, medical personnel. So there's no - there's no shortage of incidents where these coordinated attacks with multiple attackers have done exactly that, trying to maximize the number of casualties. That's what we see here.

BALDWIN: Maximizing casualties.

Number two, we also learned from this senior Turkish official telling CNN that the actual explosive devices, these vests, were made outside of Turkey, right, and then they were brought in to be used by these three men two nights ago. Talk to me about how, you know, oftentimes you have a bomb maker, and then those who carry out the attacks.

KATZ: Well, yes, because the bombmaker is the prize asset of many of these organizations. It's not easy to successful make than kind of explosive vest. The actual - the actual manufacturing process often results in fatalities, not often enough, but often results in the bomb makers being killed. So when you have someone who's technically proficient, can make bombs for a number of people, and then disperse those individuals all over the world, like we have here, that's really - that's a significant change. They feel, clearly, that they can easily cross the border into Turkey with explosives, with weapons. There's no - there's no hindrance.

[14:29:58] And God knows - who knows where else they are. Are they in Europe? Are they among the refugee flood? Have they been able to get these or additional suicide bombers in other countries right now, today, waiting for the instructions to - to carry out an attack elsewhere?