Ghana's Key Role in Ebola Response; French Citizen Beheaded in Algeria; Europe Trying to Curb Extremists
QUEST: Welcome back. The world needs a broader effort to stop the spread of Ebola. That was President Obama's message to world leaders today. The disease has claimed more than 2,800 lives so far. If you look at the map, you'll get a chance and see exactly just where the deaths have taken place, the size and scale of the problem. And if you look at the cost of the share of the general of the -- of the GDP of the countries involved, you're starting to get an idea that even if the best prognosis is followed, it still makes for an appalling situation. If the worst prognosis comes to fruition, then it's catastrophic, which is why the US president warned the outbreak could kill hundreds of thousands more.</s>OBAMA: It's easy to see this is a distant problem until it is not. And that is why we will continue to mobilize other countries to join us in making concrete commitments, significant commitments to fight this outbreak and enhance our system of global health security for the long term.</s>QUEST: Now, Ghana's expected to play a central role in the whole area of this international force against and response to the crisis. The Ghanaian president is John Dramani Mahama. Mr. President, thank you, sir, for joining us.</s>JOHN DRAMANI MAHAMA, PRESIDENT OF GHANA: Thank you, Richard.</s>QUEST: You've criticized some of the measures being taken, particularly the travel restrictions. But you can see why.</s>MAHAMA: Yes. Initially, there was a panic response to Ebola. It was a new disease in West Africa, and people didn't understand the way it was spread. And so their initial responses were knee-jerk. And so there were border closures, there was suspension of airline flights. I think that now we have a better understanding of the disease. Our response should be more measured.</s>QUEST: More measured, but some -- you saw the CDC yesterday saying if this doesn't get on top of it, you're looking at half a million infections.</s>MAHAMA: Yes, that's a worst-case scenario if the world did nothing. But the world is beginning to do something, and so the worst-case scenario is not likely to play out.</s>QUEST: The world's not doing enough, in some views. What do you think, sir?</s>MAHAMA: The initial response was very slow, but I think that it's picked up. I visited Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone just about a week and a half ago, and the treatment centers are beginning to come up, the isolation centers are coming up. The governments have done a lot of work in putting in place screening procedures to ensure that they don't allow people to infect others.</s>QUEST: If we look at the map, you see that your country is just a country and a half away --</s>MAHAMA: Yes.</s>QUEST: -- from it. You're just Cote d'Ivoire away from one of the most-infected countries. You've got Nigeria on the other side of you. And if it goes over the top to Burkina Faso, you're also in trouble here. How can you prevent the escalation into your country?</s>MAHAMA: The World Health Organization has come with guidelines for our response to Ebola in terms of putting in place screening procedures and creating quarantine stations and getting prepared in case there's an eventuality. One of the most important instruments a country needs to have is surveillance, tracking, and tracing. To -- if an infected person came into the country, to be able to tell who he met and be able to quarantine those people as quickly as possible. That's what Nigeria did successfully. And today, I think Nigeria can say that it has successfully eliminated Ebola.</s>QUEST: Are you as confident as you can be -- don't worry, I'm not going to throw these words against you in six months' time -- but as you and I talk today on Wednesday, are you as confident as you can be that Ghana is safe?</s>MAHAMA: With the response that is taking place, Ghana offered the base for the operations of the new UN mission, and we expect that while the UN mission is being carried out, we would also benefit from the technical experience in terms of screening and protecting our population.</s>QUEST: Mr. President, I need to say thank you, sir, because we need to return immediately to the UN Security Council. The British prime minister, David Cameron, is speaking.</s>DAVID CAMERON, PRIME MINISTER OF BRITAIN: It is literally medieval in its character. The appalling murder of the French citizen, Herve Gourdel, is the latest horror, and the French president and the French people have all our sympathies. But one of the most disturbing aspects is how this conflict is sucking in our own young people from modern, prosperous societies, and the threat to our security from foreign fighters is far greater today than it's every been in previous conflicts. And I pay tribute to President Obama for his personal leadership on this critical issue. It is an issue that affects us all. The overall figures have been given. But let me say that from my own country, it is 500 of these fanatics have gone to Syria and Iraq. And the shocking murders of James Foley, Steven Sotloff, and David Haines by a fighter with an apparent British accent underlines the sinister, direct nature of this threat. British people are sickened that a British citizen -- a British citizen -- could be involved in murdering people, including a fellow British citizen, who had gone to Syria to help people in this way. It is the very opposite of what our peaceful, tolerant country stands for. So, we need a response that involves every part of government and society and every country involved in the widest possible international coalition. There are no easy answers or quick fixes, and I believe we'll be dealing with the effects of this threat for years. Because as has been said, this is not just about ISIL, it's about al- Shabaab, it's about Boko Haram, it's about al Qaeda. Everywhere there is conflict, everywhere there is poor governance, the poisonous narrative of Islamist extremism has taken hold. But I believe there are three things that we can do. First, we must reinforce our counter-terrorist efforts to prevent attacks and hunt down those who are planning them. For our part in the United Kingdom, we're introducing new powers to strengthen our ability to seize passports and stop suspects from traveling, to allow us to temporarily prevent some British nationals getting back into the country. To ensure that airlines comply with our no-fly lists and security screening arrangements, and to enable our police and security services to apply for stronger locational constraints on those remaining in the UK, but who pose a risk. But second, and I believe crucially, we must defeat the poisonous ideology of extremism that is the root cause of this terrorist threat. Yes, there are the websites and the preachers of violence and violent extremism, and of course, those must be taken down. But as the evidence emerges about the backgrounds of those convicted of terrorist offenses, it is clear that many of them were initially influenced by preachers who claim not to encourage violence, but whose worldview can be used as a justification for it. And we know what this worldview is: the peddling of lies that 9/11 was a Jewish plot, or the 7/7 London attacks were staged. The idea that Muslims are persecuted all over the world as a deliberate act of Western policy. The concept of inevitable clash of civilization. We must be clear that to defeat the ideology of extremism, we need to deal with all forms of extremism, not just violent extremism. That means banning preachers of hate from coming to our countries. It means proscribing organizations that incite terrorism against people at home and abroad. It means stopping extremists, whether violent or non-violent, from inciting hatred and intolerance in our schools, in our universities, and even sometimes in our prisons. In other words, firm, decisive action to protect and uphold the values of our free and democratic societies. And as has been said, we need to provide an alternative narrative, particularly for these young people. I was particularly struck by what you said, Secretary-General, that missiles can kill terrorists, but governance can kill terrorism. And we have to say again and again that this has nothing to do with the religion of Islam, a religion of peace, and we need Muslim country after Muslim country, and Muslim leader after Muslim leader to speak out as the king of Jordan did so clearly today, by condemning these people that say they speak in the name of Islam when they do no such thing. Third and finally, as well as the action we each take individually in our own countries, we must do much more working together to defeat this threat. The defeat of ISIL will only come about if we use all of the weapons at our disposal. Yes, sanctions against ISIL and al-Nusra, and I believe we should do more. But we must use our aid to feed and help the afflicted. We must use our diplomacy and political settlements to strengthen the countries of the region. And we need governments that represent all of their people and, yes, deal with their grievances. The United Kingdom is committed to meeting this challenge. Only a coherent, coordinated response can tackle what is truly a global and indiscriminate threat. It must be one part of a comprehensive strategy we have to dismantle and destroy ISIL. Our strategy must work in tandem with Arab states, always in support of local people, in line with our legal obligations, and as part of a plan that involves our aid, our diplomacy, and yes, our military. We need to act, and we need to act now. Thank you.</s>OBAMA: I think His Excellency, Prime Minister Cameron for his statement. I give --</s>QUEST: There we have David Cameron.</s>OBAMA: -- the floor now to His Excellency Mr. Tony Abbott --</s>QUEST: And now, let's go straight to Tony Abbott from Australia.</s>TONY ABBOTT, PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA: Well, I'm happy to be here at your urging, Mr. President. It is the weightiest of matters that brings us together today. And right now, thousands of misguided people from around the world are joining terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq because they claim Islam is under threat and because they're excited by the prospect of battle. But whatever they think or say, these terrorists aren't fighting for God or for religious faith. At the heart of every terrorist group is an infatuation with death. What else can explain the beheadings, crucifixions, mass executions, rapes, and sexual slavery in every town and city that's fallen to the terrorist movement now entrenched in eastern Syria and northern Iraq. A terrorist movement calling itself Islamic State insults Islam and it mocks the duties of a legitimate state towards its citizens. And to use this term is to dignify a death cult. A death cult that in declaring itself a caliphate has declared war on the world. So countries do need to work together to defeat it, because about 80 nations have citizens fighting with ISIL, and every country is a potential target. Last week, an Australian operative in Syria instructed his local network to conduct demonstration killings. And this week, an Australian terror suspect savagely attacked two policemen. Now, it's hard to imagine that citizens of a pluralist democracy could have succumbed to such delusions, yet clearly, they have. The Australian government will be utterly unflinching towards anything that threatens our future as a free, fair, and multicultural society, a beacon of hope, and exemplar of unity in diversity. Already, more than 60 Australians are fighting with ISIL and al-Nusra. More than 60 Australians have had their passports suspended to prevent them from joining terrorist groups in the Middle East.</s>QUEST: And there we leave for the moment the Security Council. The leaders echoing pretty much each other in terms of not only their commitment to work together -- Tony Abbott, there, of course, has made it quite clear that Australia will play its part in providing facilities, resources, and military assistance in the fight against ISIS. We've also heard from David Cameron. Let me now bring you up to date on another matter. We have a disturbing development from Algeria to report tonight. A video appearing to show a French tourist being beheaded has now been posted online, and as was said by the French president at the United Nations, France has confirmed it was Herve Gourdel, who was kidnapped on Sunday in the eastern part of Algiers. The video is titled "A Message of Blood for the French Government." A group of armed men behead Gourdel and are heard pledging allegiance to the leader of ISIS. Authorities across Europe are now trying to stop militants of European origin from returning home to carry out acts of terror. Not only in the United Nations today, of course, did the resolution try to prevent the outflow of terrorists and freedom -- so-called freedom fighters, but now, how to prevent them returning home if they do go to other countries. CNN's Atika Shubert visited the headquarters of Europol, the European law enforcement agency.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got attacked by a coalition of America and some Arab countries.</s>ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This masked fighter speaks in Dutch and English as he walks through the damage from coalition airstrikes in Idlib, promising to take revenge.</s>SHUBERT: A number of foreign fighters were reportedly killed in the attacks. But now, as strikes continue, there are worries that foreign fighters may attempt to return home by illegal means, undetected.</s>ROB WAINWRIGHT, DIRECTOR, EUROPOL: We're very concerned about the way in which they're able to travel across Europe in multiple forms from multiple routes to reach Syria. And of course, mostly concerned about the way in which their experience in Syria and Iraq radicalized them to such a point that they will come home and pose a clear terrorist threat.</s>SHUBERT: Europol, the coordinating body for law enforcement in Europe, has just finished Operation Archimedes. It's the largest assault on organized crime involving more than 30 nations. Over the course of nine days, at least 10,000 illegal migrants were checked. More than 107 were arrested for people smuggling. But Europol says more cooperation is needed to meet the challenge.</s>WAINWRIGHT: There are difficulties and challenges involved, and that's why the international police community have to work in a concerted way, to share their information across borders, to engage in multiple cross-border operations so that we can take the most suspicious of these travelers, who have a clear intent to carry out terrorist activities.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we will keep on fighting the enemies.</s>SHUBERT: Like this fighter, already thousands from Europe are believed to have traveled to Syria and Iraq to fight. Now, countries are grappling with the problem not only of preventing them from going, but what to do when they return. Atika Shubert, CNN, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.</s>QUEST: Africa is in the spotlight at the United Nations General Assembly. The continent's facing a rising threat from Islamist terror groups. As QUEST MEANS BUSINESS comes back, I'll discuss security with the finance minister of Uganda.