6,000 Federal Inmates Set for Release; U.S. Admits Mistaken Strike on Hospital.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Pamela Brown. And I want to start with a new admission of a deadly mistake, Doctors and children killed as the U.S. drops bombs on a charity hospital in Afghanistan, Doctors Without Borders describing scenes of devastation, being forced to operate on their own colleagues, as patients lie burned in nearby beds. And, today, General John Campbell was forced to answer questions about what he admits was the United States' decision.</s>GEN. JOHN CAMPBELL, COMMANDER OF U.S. FORCES IN AFGHANISTAN: To be clear, the decision to provide aerial fires was a U.S. decision made within the U.S. chain of command. A hospital was mistakenly struck. We would never intentionally target a protected medical facility. I must allow the investigation to take its course. And, therefore, I'm not at liberty to discuss further specifics at this time. However, I assure you that the investigation will be thorough, objective and transparent.</s>BROWN: And amid the promises of a full investigation came a pretty startling revelation about the future of America's longest-running war. The top commander suggesting President Obama's full withdrawal by 2017 may need to be reworked. So, joining me now from Kabul to discuss, Nic Robertson, CNN senior international diplomatic editor. So, Nic, the general statement today about what transpired in the moments before the strike pretty different from what we were told yesterday. Is that right?</s>NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is. There was a statement from NATO over the weekend that said it was U.S. forces with Afghan forces, and that it was the U.S. forces that were actually under direct fire from the Taliban. So, now a different picture emerges. It was the Afghan forces that were under direct fire from the Taliban. They were the ones who asked U.S. forces on the ground to bring in these airstrikes. We have also heard new details from Doctors Without Borders at the -- witnesses at the hospital, what they saw happen that night as well.</s>BROWN: And I want to talk about that, because, as we have learned, Nic, this was the only hospital in the region, but now Doctors Without Borders have pulled out of the region. And they aren't the only ones evacuating, right?</s>ROBERTSON: No, all the international non-governmental organizations have pulled out. Some of the local NGOs have pulled out. Two U.N. groups have pulled out. So, there's no humanitarian assistance in that town. It continues to be fought over. The Taliban are holding out in some areas of it. I was talking to people who fled the town today, including the M.P. from that town who has flooded as well. And they describe a very dire situation. The Taliban still controls all the roads around the town, despite the fact the army is in the middle of the town trying to take control of it again.</s>BROWN: Nic Robertson, thank you so much for your reporting. And let's talk more about this with Sahr Muhammedally, a senior program manager at the Center for Civilians in Conflict. Your group has actually assisted the military directives in Afghanistan and other war zones on how to prevent civilian deaths. When you see something like this happen, what's your reaction, a hospital getting bombed?</s>SAHR MUHAMMEDALLY, CENTER FOR CIVILIANS IN CONFLICT: Yes. It was a terrible, tragic event. And we -- immediately, our hearts went out of course to families and for Doctors Without Borders staff that has been so tirelessly working in Kunduz and providing emergency medical care. And I think it's important, I think, as John Campbell said earlier and as we announced that an investigation is under way both by the U.S. military, as well as by NATO. So, we need to learn exactly what went wrong in calling this airstrike. And I think this was just a terrible mistake, because you have to -- hospitals are a neutral space where anybody can go and seek immediate medical care. And it is interesting in Afghanistan, even as a lot of lessons were learned on how to prevent civilian casualties and after some very tragic events that took place, for example, in 2007 and 2008, when wedding parties were hit and 80 civilians were killed. But a lot of lessons were learned, new tactical directives and rules were -- and training that were implemented to ensure that civilians are better protected during the crossfire. So, it is a very tragic incident that happened. So, it's important to learn what went wrong when some of these directives and lessons were identified on how to minimize civilian harm. So, we're waiting to see what the investigation results are and hopefully they will be made public soon.</s>BROWN: Because, as the hospital has said, it gave over its GPS coordinates to let everyone know where it's located. In this case, we learned from General Campbell that the U.S. sent a special operations team to do recognizance of the area before the airstrikes, which is what we normally do. We do a rigorous review.</s>MUHAMMEDALLY: Right.</s>BROWN: From what you see so far, did the U.S. not follow any of the recommendations or directives you have given?</s>MUHAMMEDALLY: Well, I mean, they, themselves, have identified what happened when troops are under fire and how they should respond and what restraints they should impose on they use direct fire when they're under threat. So, we will have to see. It's very hard for us to speculate what went wrong and when the authorization was given to use fire in response to the threat. And new information is coming out that it was the Afghan forces who called in the airstrikes. So, we will have to see what information comes out.</s>BROWN: But the U.S. normally won't just -- even if they are called in, they will do their own review before striking a target.</s>MUHAMMEDALLY: That's true. Well, sometimes, when -- actually, when you're doing preplanned operations, you have a better idea of how to respond or you have a better idea where the target sets are. But when you are -- when self- defense instances, when you're reacting to under threat or you're under fire, then sometimes there are different rules of engagement that are applied and you are sort of reacting more on the spot. And that's -- and a lot of times, where even if you look at U.S. and NATO forces' operational data when a lot of civilian harm has occurred. But some of these new preventive measures that were implemented post-2009 and that are in effect, we will have to see what went wrong that they -- in this particular incident that were not followed. So, we will just have to see, rather than us speculating on what happened once the investigation comes out.</s>BROWN: Right. Exactly. And one thing that everyone has come out and really agreed on is that this was a mistake. In fact, I'm just being told in my ear moments ago Ashton Carter, the defense secretary, released a statement saying, "When we make mistakes, we own up to them." Still a lot more to learn a about this. Sahr, thank you for coming on to discuss.</s>MUHAMMEDALLY: Thank you so much.</s>BROWN: And we want to show you new images coming into CNN. The U.S. Coast Guard has just released these images. They're from the search area of that cargo ship that's been missing off the Bahamas since last week. Take a look here. The El Faro lost propulsion Thursday and was disabled at sea, leaving in floundering in the path of Hurricane Joaquin; 28 Americans and five Polish nationals were on board when the El Faro disappeared. Coast Guard patrols have found a 225-square-square mile debris field, including a damaged lifeboat and survival suits. And more breaking news at this it hour, tense moments today on board a U.S. jetliner. For the second day in a row, a passenger plane was diverted because of a medical emergency inside the cockpit. United Flight 1614 from Houston to San Francisco was diverted to Albuquerque after the co-pilot became ill and passed out. The plane landed safely and the co-pilot was able to walk off the aircraft on his own and was taken to a hospital. Just yesterday, an American Airlines flight had to be diverted when the pilot died in the cockpit. That plane, which was bound from Phoenix to Boston, was diverted to Syracuse, New York. You can imagine pretty unnerving for those passengers on board the plane. And just into CNN, the Justice Department is about to let thousands of federal inmates get out of jail. It announced that about 6,000 prisoners will be released at the end of the month. Officials say it will be the largest ever one-time release of federal prisoners. CNN justice reporter Evan Perez is working this story. We know, Evan -- we both cover the Justice Department. Criminal justice reform has been top of the agenda for Loretta Lynch. What are we learning about this? Why is this happening now?</s>EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is actually something that began under the former attorney general, Eric Holder. This is something that was on his mind, to tackle the disparity, for instance, in the sentences that people got for possession of crack cocaine vs. cocaine...</s>BROWN: Right.</s>PEREZ: ... if you recall. And the U.S. Sentencing Commission ordered that basically prisoners who had qualified for those harsher sentences be given new sentences. And so what we have now is the Sentencing Commission instructions are being carried out. Judges have looked at these prisoners and have decided that these people can now be let out. The average time that they have served is about nine years, Pamela. And according to people we have talked to, about a third of them are actually going to be deported. They are going to be turned over to ICE to be deported because they are not U.S. citizens. And this is all happening, obviously, as cities around the country are experiencing a surge in violent crime and murders.</s>BROWN: Absolutely.</s>PEREZ: So, this is something that the director of the FBI, Jim Comey, mentioned to reporters last week in a briefing we had at FBI headquarters. And he said, I'm very worried about this. This is something that's going to make me think a little more thoughtfully about this effort to do criminal justice reform, which is something that is now happening on Capitol Hill. The White House is behind this. This is all part of the effort to save money and the amount of money we save on imprisoning people.</s>BROWN: Right, but as you point out, Comey very concerned about the rise in violence and doesn't have a really good answer as to why it is.</s>PEREZ: No one really knows what's at work. This -- the juxtaposition of this very large release, as you said, the largest ever...</s>BROWN: Over a four-day period, right?</s>PEREZ: Correct. That's going to start happening at the end of this month at a time when cities are seeing this increase in crime. It's going to make some people think -- very, very concerned. Evan Perez, thank you so much. Good having you on. And up next, was Joe Biden the one fueling speculation about his own possible run for the White House and about his son's dying wish? The new questions about his plan one week before the first Democratic debate on CNN. Plus, why does Marco Rubio skip so many votes in the Senate? He's raising eyebrows with a new explanation and he's now responding to a campaign prank from front-runner Donald Trump. And new questions about the Oregon shooter's mother. What did she know about her son? Hear about online postings that shed some light on her fascination with guns and her troubled son.