Military Leader Of Syrian Kurds Tells U.S.: "You Are Leaving Us To Be Slaughtered"; Turkish Forces Blocked The Main Road Into Kobani Where U.S. Troops Are Based
PAUL: Twenty-three minutes past the hour. And new this morning, Turkish forces have blocked the main road now into the Kurdish city of Kobani. That's where U.S. troops are based.</s>BLACKWELL: CNN senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is on the front line of this fight. Nick, where are you and what are you seeing?</s>NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We've come back from driving down the main highway. That's after the border road was taken. It's the only main road that connects the east of this country where I'm standing and the west where Kobani, that's city fought deeply over with ISIS and where there are outposts of American troops one of which was recently shelled nearby where they are. Now, we saw as we drove down that road scenes of frankly damage, devastation and a SUV where a Kurdish female activist was shot dead allegedly by Syrian rebels backed by Turkey. And as we got closer down that road past towards Ain Issa, a town there, we heard gunfire down the street. There was panic. There were people screaming. Real sense of concern and alarm. And I heard from a U.S. official that that was because Syrian rebels backed by Turkey have moved into that road and put up checkpoints, blocking that road, essentially blocking Kobani from outside access. There are ways through the desert but no main highway like that and also possibly to any American troops that are in Kobani from getting out by road to the east. Now that was a startling revelation for us in the first place. Secondly to that we also as we were there sort of American convoy of four vehicles leaving Ain Issa, the town there. They didn't talk to us. And as they left out a key instant was when a Turkish jet flew very low below us and them as well essentially buzzing us on the ground. Sending a message really that they didn't want us there or possibly warning the Syrian Kurds that further intervention might be coming. The Americans they didn't let it go like that. They sent in two Apaches that circled around the town above us and American convoy clearly sending a message that the Americans would not necessarily be threatened. I hear from U.S. officials that their security is deteriorating very fast there. They're in fact saying that some of those Syrian rebels backed -- sorry. Syrian rebels backed by Turkey have changed uniforms and are now disguising themselves as Syrian Kurds. It is a startling turn of events. And as we left that particular area, slowly driving out on the road amongst really scenes of deserted houses, pandemonium to some degree. We saw startling revelation which was when we came across a Turkish armored convoy that had moved through the dust, through the desert, and was sitting itself on the side of the highway. I think you can see those pictures soon now. Sat there about a dozen of them, more reinforcements moving in from the desert to -- this is clearly showing the scope of Turkey's ambition and it's way bigger than anybody really thought. They were talking about maybe an 18-mile corridor along the Turkish-Syrian border. These armored personnel carriers would have to be at least 30 miles inside Syrian Kurdish territory. They looked -- a large number and the only thing you can conclude from that is they really intend to cut that highway off and that spells a huge disaster for the Syrian Kurds and this is</s>BLACKWELL: Far beyond what the U.S. officials expected. Nick Paton Walsh, there for us. Thank you.</s>PAUL: So, Mike Giglio with us now, staff writer for "The Atlantic" and author of "Shatter the Nations: ISIS and the War for the Caliphate." It hit shelves on Monday by the way in case you're interested. Mike, thank you so much for being with us. I want to get your assessment first of all of what just you heard and saw there from Nick Paton Walsh.</s>MIKE GIGLIO, STAFF WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: I just -- I think what Nick is saying is unfortunately predictable. This chaos and the abandonment of the Kurdish allies leading to a really unpredictable and violent situation was all foreseen ahead of Trump's decision. And the fact that it is playing out this way I think is really disheartening. And I think we are all just still waiting for some move from the U.S. government to try to control it but we haven't seen that yet.</s>PAUL: Well, "The New York Times" has an article today talking about the fact that to some capacity and to many, this is seen the U.S. pulling the troops as seen as a betrayal of the loyal partner. They say though that it goes beyond that. I want to quote this. In "The New York Times" it says, his inconsistent, meaning the president, President Trump's inconsistent and rapidly shifting positions in the Middle East have injected a new element of chaos into an already volatile region and have left allies guessing where the United States stands and for how long. What position has this left the U.S. in, particularly even with other foreign governments?</s>GIGLIO: I mean, that is really well put and if you think about the way this decision played out in Syria it was not planned in any way. So, if Trump had decided this months ago, given America's Kurdish allies the chance, for example, to pull back from these areas or to reach some kind of accommodation with Turkey we would see a lot different situation playing out. But instead he actually had them dismantle their fortifications in the belief that this might forestall an invasion. And so they're actually even weaker to face this invasion right now. And if you look at the way the war against ISIS has played out, Trump has taken credit for winning it but actually local forces are the ones who have won it. So, in Syria it's the Kurds. In Iraq it's the Kurds. And also the Iraqi special forces and military, America needs them to continue the fight. And if I was a member of any of these forces looking at what is happening in Syria right now, I would really be questioning that commitment and, you know, the U.S. has asked quite a lot of these forces. There is 10,000 Kurdish soldiers and their allies killed in the war against ISIS just in Syria. And I really think this threatens that entire alliance against ISIS in those countries.</s>PAUL: And is there a solid gauge of the status of ISIS right now?</s>GIGLIO: There is. "The New York Times" reported earlier in the end of the summer that U.S. officials believe there are 18,000 ISIS fighters still across Iraq and Syria. And just to put this in context of it ISIS is an iteration of the same Al Qaeda enemy that American forces fought during the Iraq war. Their natural roots are as an insurgency. So, the territorial caliphate that they had across Iraq and Syria is defeated. But ISIS is still a threat and they've just gone back to their roots as an insurgency. So, the day before Trump made this decision, U.S. and Kurdish troops in Syria were still fighting ISIS. They are trying to roll up ISIS networks. There are sleeper cells across Iraq, Syria and Turkey and they are still a major threat. And what is happening is that that fight has just basically stopped and now there is this new fight.</s>PAUL: Mike Giglio, thank you so much. We appreciate your expertise in this area and you sharing with us this morning.</s>GIGLIO: Thank you.</s>BLACKWELL: OK, so let me ask you this. A U.S. diplomat's wife granted immunity after a deadly crash in the U.K. may not be protected from prosecution after all. Why her decision to leave the country may end up forcing her return.