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Protest Memo Calls for More Strikes on Syrian Government; Putin Praises Trump, Warns U.S.; Russian Track & Field Athletes May Not Attend Olympics; U.K.'s Cameron, Corbyn Unite to Mourn Murdered M.P.; Funerals Begin as Family, Friends Mourn Orlando Shooting Victims. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired June 17, 2016 - 13:30   ET

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


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[13:31:00] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: "An important statement on U.S. strategy as far as Syria's concerned," that's what the Secretary of State John Kerry is calling an internal memo asking the White House to ramp up military action against Syrian President Bashar al Assad.

Aaron David Miller is with us. He is vice president of new initiatives, distinguished scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center, spent a career as a State Department official working on various peace initiatives.

How unusual is it that 51 State Department, mostly career diplomats, write this memo saying, Mr. President, you must start bombing Syrian President Bashar al Assad's positions, otherwise more and more innocent civilians are going to be dead.

AARON DAVID MILLER, VICE PRESIDENT OF NEW INITIATIVES & DISTINGUISHED FELLOW, WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER: There's two takeaways. One, it's unusual. Dissent Channel memos can be one, two or three individuals. This is 51, which required weeks if not months to organize to marshal their arguments. Two, someone, either authorized it or not, willfully leaked the memo. It turned the Dissent Channel into a station identification memo over deep frustration in the State Department with the Obama administration's policies towards Syria. That is the takeaway.

One other point, I don't think this is an issue for this administration. It's unlikely that the president is going to reconsider or essentially agree with what the diplomats are proposing.

BLITZER: Over this five-year civil war, hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed. Millions have been made homeless internally or externally. And what these diplomats, these career professionals are saying, Mr. President, you have to do something to stop. And most of those people, they say, were killed by Bashar al Assad's regime.

MILLER: Look, 450,000 dead. Let's say 40 percent of them are regime supporters, which means this is essentially a civil war. If we want to degrade al Assad's military capabilities or remove him, we could do that. The question is the eternal question, Wolf, how do you create a military strategy that leaves you with a sustainable set of political goals. We have seen what happens in places like Iraq or Libya when we don't think about the day or even the decade after. And in Syria, it's even more complex.

BLITZER: The argument is, if Bashar al Assad goes, ISIS could come in and take over the country.

MILLER: Or any number of groups that have agendas that are inimical to American interests. Plus, you have the Russians and Iranians who are involved to make big sacrifices on the ground. In the end, the question for this administration or the next, if the Russians and Iranians and Assad are prepared to die in defense of what they consider to be their vital interests and the questions is, are we.

BLITZER: This whole peace process, the whole cease-fire the U.S. and the Russians worked out, that has collapsed?

MILLER: To the degree that you can afford to temporary suspensions so you can get humanitarian aid to people who desperately need it, fine. But it's a convenient cover, I suspect, that the Russians have one foot in the tent, which is the political process, and a lot of feet out, where they continue their military activities.

BLITZER: One reason the U.S. is not launching air strikes against Bashar al Assad's regime is the Russians are deeply embedded there with the Syrian regime. This could totally lead to a U.S.-Russian confrontation.

MILLER: It could or, alternative, you could kill a lot of Iranians and that clearly, given the administration's --

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BLITZER: The Revolutionary Guard troops are there, a lot of Hezbollah from Lebanon have come into help Bashar al Assad's regime as well.

MILLER: And Iraqi Shias. So the question is, the administration has other equities it is trying to protect. Whatever happens, this is not going to go down well for the Iran administration. Years from now or a year from now, people are going to want to know, could the administration have done more. That's the key question.

BLITZER: Aaron David Miller, thanks for coming in.

MILLER: Always a pleasure, Wolf.

BLITZER: Very complicated situation and a very deadly situation.

Let's go to Iraq right now. ISIS is steadily losing ground in the battle for Fallujah, we're told. The terror group has suffered what's described as a major symbolic setback. Iraq's federal police have recaptured the building housing the mayor's office and raised the Iraqi flag over that neighborhood. But the fight for the city that, by no means, over. Iraqi forces say ISIS snipers have taken up positions in Fallujah's main hospital. ISIS has held Fallujah since January 2014. [13:35:18] Coming up, the Russian President Vladimir Putin offering

praise to Donald Trump and a word of warning to the United States. We have details. His exclusive interview with Fareed Zakaria is coming up.

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BLITZER: Russian President Vladimir Putin is weighing in on the 2016 presidential election here in the United States, and it's no surprise which candidate he is leaning towards.

Our senior international correspondent, Matthew Chance, is joining us from Moscow.

Matthew, the Russian president spoke at an international economic forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, on a panel -- this is a panel that was moderated by CNN's own Fareed Zakaria.

Update our viewers. What did he say?

[13:40:21] MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He talked about a range of issues, talking about how he wanted to build bridges back with the West. He said that Russia doesn't hold a grudge against Europe and called for the sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union on Russia to be lifted. He also basically criticized the West for ignoring Russia's interests, saying that there is no reason that NATO continued to expand, for instance, after the breakup of the former Soviet Union and noted that the U.S.- led missile defense system posed a threat to Russia. So a lot of the stuff that was said before.

But he was asked about the endorsement he apparently gave to Donald Trump some time ago and he tried to clarify that he was not endorsing Trump for president but was just pointing out some of his qualities. Take a listen.

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VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): Why are you juggling with what I said? I only said he is a bright person. Isn't he bright? He is. He is. I did not say anything else about him.

But there's one thing that I paid attention to and that I definitely welcome is that Mr. Trump said that he is ready to restore full- fledged Russian-American relations. What can they be bad about it? Don't you welcome it?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHANCE: So not a whole-hearted endorsement of the Republican candidate but, nevertheless, Vladimir Putin again talking in positive terms about Donald Trump.

BLITZER: Interesting. Matthew, on another subject, there is news about the Russian track and field athletes may not be able to compete in the 2016 Olympic Games this summer. Update our viewers on the latest.

CHANCE: The latest is that the IAAF, which is the world governing body for international athletics, has issued a ruling that there will not be any Russian track and field athletes going to the Olympics. It's huge, given that Russia, along with the United States, of course, is one of the biggest sporting powers in the world. Russia will not be competing in the key events, the long jump, the high jump, the running races, all those track and field events, at the Rio games, which starts in 50 days from now. That is an enormous blow to the Russians. They are extremely disappointed and they're angry about it as well -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Will the Russians send athletes for the other competitions?

CHANCE: Well, the ban on the track and field athletes just looked at them. So they have the potential to send athletes to take part in other disciplines. But at the moment, they are still reeling from not going to the Olympics themselves. They have not decided yet, they haven't announced yet whether they will send a team at all. Frankly, I can see the Russians backing out altogether. But we'll have to see what the sports ministry and the Kremlin has to say about that in the days ahead.

BLITZER: I'm sure there's deep anger in Russia right now. We'll see what happens.

Thanks, Matthew, in Moscow for us.

By the way, you can see more of Fareed's discussion with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, this Sunday, 10:00 a.m. eastern, right here on CNN. A special "Fareed Zakaria, GPS."

Meanwhile, Britain is mourning after the murder of a member of parliament. New details emerging right now about the man accused of killing Jo Cox.

The British Prime Minister David Cameron was joined by Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, in a rare display of unity. Both paid their respects to Joe Cox at a memorial service.

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DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Here we are today commemorating her life that's been lost. And of course, the most profound thing that has happened is that two children have lost their mother, a husband has lost a loving wife, and, of course, parliament has lost one of its most passionate and brilliant campaigners, someone who epitomized that politics is about serving others. Today, our nation is rightly shocked. And I think it is a moment to stand back and think about some of the things that are so important about our country.

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BLITZER: Cox was leaving a meeting with constituents when she was shot and stabbed by a man. She was also campaigning for Britain to stay in the European Union ahead of next week's referendum. It's unclear if that played a part in her murder.

CNN International's Richard Quest is joining us right now.

Richard, what have you learned about the man accused of this brutal crime?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We know that he is 52 years old. We know his name is Tommy Mair. And according to West Yorkshire police -- in the last hour, they've provided a statement -- he has been medically examined and he has been deemed fit to be in detention and fit to be questioned, because there had been suggestions that there was mental health issues in relation to Mr. Mair, but they seem to be put to one side for the moment.

[13:45:26] One important point tonight, Wolf, the West Yorkshire police say, "We are also aware of the inference of the suspect, Mair, being linked to right-wing extremism, which again is a priority line of inquiry."

Now what this comes about, Wolf, is because there have been numerous allegations and suggestions that Mair not only was involved in right- wing extremism with links to U.S. organizations, but those in the U.K. He is believed to have shouted "Britain First" when he launched the alleged attack. That is the name of one of Britain's right-wing extremist parties. But the party itself is denying any connection or any involvement.

So, Wolf, a very, very complex situation with still unknown and unverified political motivation for the murder.

BLITZER: Richard Quest, with the very latest. A horrendous crime, indeed. Thank you very much.

Coming up, the emotional reunion between a survivor of the Orlando nightclub shooting and the police officer who saved his life.

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[13:51:03] BLITZER: Funerals have begun for the victims of the Orlando shooting, one of the first happening today for Anthony Luis Deslaw (ph), who was just 25 years old. The bodies of two other victims have also arrived in Puerto Rico. Those victims were just 28 and 30 years old. These vigils and memorials are happening as family members and loved ones try to come to grips with what happened. For them, right now, simply waking up is a reminder that this is in no way a dream that 49 lives were brutally ended, that these people will never again laugh or dance like they did last Saturday night. They'll never get the chance to hear them say I love you one last time or see their smile. Perhaps their only comfort right now is that the people they loved, adored, respected will live on in their memories.

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ALEX OTERO, VIGIL ATTENDEE: Everyone is affected by this and everyone knows someone who knows someone that was affected by this tragedy.

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CORLISS TOMLINSON, VICTIM'S MOTHER: What could I say? That's my baby. I won't see him again.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She had everything going for her. Everything. Perfect student. Mannerism. Top notch.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We lost a great person. We lost a caring person. I don't understand why God took him away. I don't understand.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If anybody would have met him first second of knowing Eddie you fall in love with him.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's a mother of 11, just superhero.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We didn't deserve this. I mean, there are other families and probably families going through the same thing but this was our -- this was our family.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know I'm not without him. But I can tell you when I clean my home and listen to salsa he is right here.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Always smiling. Always, always there for you. Like I said, he was everyone's best friend.

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[13:55:26] BLITZER: Our deepest condolences to their families, their loved ones.

But amidst all of this grief, there's hope. Cameras capturing a touching moment when one of the survivors, Angel Colon, was reunited with the officer that saved him. The officer, Omar Delgado, pulled Colon to safety after he was critically injured.

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OFC. OMAR DELGADO, EATONVILLE, FLORIDA, POLICE DEPARTMENT: You stay out of harm's way, man.

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BLITZER: That's it for me. I'll be back 5:00 p.m. eastern in "The Situation Room."

The news continues right after this.

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