Laurent Fabius Resigns as French Foreign Minister; Reports from War-Torn Aleppo
CURNOW: France's foreign minister is stepping down. Laurent Fabius offhandedly confirmed to reporters at Wednesday's cabinet meeting that that would be his last. Fabius served nearly four years in the post. The former prime minister is being considered to head France's Constitutional Council, which is charged with upholding the constitution. Next hour, the U.N. Security Council is set to hold a closed-door meeting on the dire humanitarian crisis in Northern Syria. A Syrian government offensive around Aleppo backed by Russian airpower is forcing tens of thousands of people to flee to the Turkish border. CNN is now being given access to the regime-controlled western part of Aleppo. Our Fred Pleitgen has this exclusive report from the city that could change the course of the war.</s>FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are right in the heart of Aleppo. This is the Jamalia (ph) area and it's actually fairly close to the front line. But it's also one of the main places held by the Syrian government. Now as you can see in this area, there are a lot of products that are actually available. Food, also a lot of other products as well. However, the people here, it is very, very difficult for them. There's almost no electricity. Most of it comes from generators. And of course, because we're so close to the front lines, there is also shelling here and it's quite dangerous for the folks who live here. "I believe we already endured about 80 percent of the hardship," this man says, "and I hope the remaining 20 percent will end soon." "The situation is very tough right now," he adds, "but we are steadfast and we believe the power will be on the correct side." And this man says, "We have had very tough times. But thanks to the victory of the army, we have survived these hard times." Aleppo is also currently the key battleground in Syria's civil war. The Syrian government, under President Bashar al-Assad, has started a brutal offensive in this part of the country, also, of course, backed by Russian airpower and pro-Iranian militias as well. And they believe that if they are able to deal a crushing blow to the rebels in this part of Syria, that they could decide the Syrian civil war for themselves. Of course, that still is unclear. They don't know how solid their games are at this point or whether or not the rebels might try to launch a counterattack. But at this point in time Aleppo is certainly one of the toughest battlegrounds in the civil war that's been going on for about five years -- Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Aleppo.</s>CURNOW: Thanks to Fred for that report. And with regime forces, Iranian- backed militias and Russian warplanes closing in on rebel fighters, what kind of leverage does the U.S. have to influence the outcome? Well, let's bring in Andrew Tabler of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He joins us via Skype. Hi, there, Andrew. You have spent a lot of time in Syria. And as you saw from Fred's report there, there's two sides of Aleppo that we're seeing. How do you think that could change in coming weeks? Do you believe the Syrians can hold and take Aleppo?</s>ANDREW TABLER, WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY: I think the real question here is I think that Aleppo can be encircled. And I think that's what their regime's intention is at this point, the regime's ability to go in and retake and hold Aleppo is another matter. The regime lacks a lot of manpower. We'll have to wait and see. I think at the moment they are trying to use this juggernaut, Russian-Iranian regime juggernaut, to sort of cajole and to scare the opposition into surrender. I think that's what their game plan is at the moment.</s>CURNOW: OK. Well, we've just heard that the French foreign minister says he's going to resign. He -- in that speech, he kind of questioned U.S.' commitment to Syria. He said, we don't have the feeling that there's a very strong commitment -- commitment he's referring to from the U.S. He also said, "There are words but actions are different and obviously the Iranians and Russians feel that." Do you agree with him? What is the feeling in Washington -- and is there a sense that there's not a lot of commitment?</s>TABLER: I don't think there is commitment. I think it's pretty clear, it's not new. I think what's changed is that now the U.S.-backed rebels are losing at such a rate due to the Russian intervention that now it's very much a situation where Russia is looking very good and victorious in all this and Washington's foreign policy is in tatters. And I think that's what's behind the French foreign minister's statements. We'll have to wait and see what happens in the coming days as we have talks here in Munich and beyond.</s>CURNOW: You reference that; has the U.S. then abandoned the opposition rebels as an article of foreign policy, sort of alleged -- you know, rebels saying they won't surrender to Mr. Assad under any circumstances, that they are being pushed into a corner. So there's the fear that some might join more radical organizations. There might be a consolidation but not a particularly good consolidation.</s>TABLER: Sure. So there's a lot of things that can happen here. The regime and the Iranian forces, if they had the manpower to retake and hold all their territory, it would be one matter. They don't. So what is -- perhaps could happen here, we're not sure -- is that the rebels can either call a cease-fire -- which is, I think, what the Russians are trying to control them into doing -- or they can go over and join ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra and other groups, which will not surrender. And we'll have to wait and see. I would imagine do a little bit of both.</s>CURNOW: OK. So Fabius talks about Assad's brutality, Russian and Iran's complicity, American ambiguity. We've just heard from the Department of Defense, our Barbara Starr saying the U.S. is calling the situation dire. "The Washington Post" talks of an uncontrollable disaster. This is bad and there doesn't seem to be any exit strategy.</s>TABLER: There isn't. I think it's a situation where, at least in this conflict but particularly in the Middle East, the United States is withdrawing and "rebalancing," quote-unquote, in the wake of the nuclear deal faster than the other side can advance. I think Vladimir Putin and the Iranians saw this opportunity and now are exploiting it with, I think quite deep ramifications that if the northern offensive continues or if Aleppo is besieged or there's further conflict, it's likely to push even more refugees out of Syria into Turkey. And those are going to be heading --</s>TABLER: -- for Europe's shores very shortly in the spring as things warm up. That, in itself, has ramifications for not just the security situation in Europe but also European politics in the coming election cycles.</s>CURNOW: Yes, that's a good point. Andrew, thanks so much for joining us here on the IDESK. Appreciate it.</s>TABLER: My pleasure.</s>CURNOW: Well, we return to the U.S. presidential race after this. The outsiders deal big blows to establishment candidates in New Hampshire. Can they keep the momentum up in the next contest in South Carolina and Nevada? We'll have a live report.