The ground in baghdad. Tell us what the latest is. These protests are over outside the embassy, but they havent ended in baghdad, have they . Reporter no, they havent. What theyve done is move across the u. S. Embassy on the other side of the river. Now, kataib hezbollah, that is the group that the u. S. Targeted in the air strikes on sunday, said that they decided, or rather agreed to, move from in front of the u. S. Embassy because they, one, felt that their message to america had been delivered, but also because they said that they had an understanding that within a Week Parliament would begin debating, negotiating, a bill to deal with the u. S. Troop presence in iraq. They say their ultimate demand that the americans leave, that is still very much on the table. Not something that they are willing to back down from. And this group in particular is technically part of the Iraqi Security forces, because jim, theyre part of whats known as the Popular Mobilization forces, this Paramilitary Force that is predominantly made up of a number of different shia groups who were actually back in the days of the u. S. Occupation of iraq actively fighting the americans, who are very closely allied, tied to iran, whether its because some of them are directly getting their direction from tehran or because they are getting funding, weapons and training from the iranians. But they are part of this group, and this group is meant to be part of the Iraqi Security forces. So when the u. S. Carried out this attack, the Iraqi Government very much felt like it was an attack on its own forces, although the Iraqi Government does not necessarily have that much control over them. The Iraqi Security forces are now in front of the u. S. Embassy, are now once again manning those checkpoints, but where were they for the last 2448 hours when these protesters were attempting to scale the walls . So this country is still very much caught in between washington and tehran, jim. And does that lead to forcing those troops out of the country . Well see. Well be watching the parliament. Thanks very much. Joining me now to discuss, professor for the school of advanced International Studies at john hopkins and former u. S. Ambassador to both syria and algeria. Thanks to both of you gentlemen. If i could begin with you, you say that the air strikes by the u. S. Over the weekend, which sparked these protests, that the u. S. Helped change the narrative on the ground in iraq. Explain that. Prior to the december 27 confrontations, the focus in iraq, both in the capitol of baghdad, as well as provinces in southern iraq, were protests, large street demonstrations, against the Iraqi Government, and the protests frequently singled out iranian influence. There were actually iraqi protesters even in shia holy cities, specifically criticizing irans interference in iraq. But in the wake of the american air strike, the malitias, notably kataib hezbollah, have been able to portray themselves as victims of american aggression, and its true that the Iraqi Government itself urged the americans not to conduct these air strikes. So the narrative changed. Well, the narrative. Lets talk about irans position here now, because the Trump Administration has attempted to isolate and weaken iran, but in the midst of that policy, iran has gotten more aggressive. She shot down 110 million u. S. Drone, theyve attacked Saudi Oil Facilities and sparked these protests, and you noted, you tweeted in fact, that the next escalation in tensions will come on january 6th when iran takes another step away from jpcoa. Is the Trump Administrations policy failing . It has not really isolated iran. Iran has strong relations with china and russia and last week they did join navel exercises for the first time in the arabian sea and the persian gulf. I think whats happened is President Trump has put iran and economy under tremendous pressure, but has not been able to translate the pressure into some kind of a diplomatic track which would allow him to get another nuclear deal or to change irans regional posture. So iranians gradually have developed this attitude that they can push back against pressure and they can exert pressure of their own, so in effect theyre basically sending a signal that maximum pressure strategy is going to lead to war, and either the President Trump has to be willing to go to war or he has to change his track. Interesting. Calling his bluff, you might say. I wonder, just quickly, do you think that the Trump Administration, that President Trump specifically, has overestimated irans desire to go to the table here . No, i mean iranians are willing to go to the table, but they want to see relief of sanctions relief ahead of going to the table. They came close to having talks in new york in september, but President Trump was not willing to give anything before the start of the talks, where as the iranians wanted some kind of guarantees that if they started talks, they would see some kind of sanctions relief. Ambassador ford, the Trump Administration, the president will often say america is respected again, feared again. In the region when you watch the moves of iran, for instance, not just in iraq, but also in syria, russia, turkey, et cetera, you spend a lot of time in syria as ambassador there, do you see america as feared today, or that countries are attempting to take advantage . Well, i also spent four years working in iraq during the height of the war there. Of course the american presence in the middle east is different. I actually think its better not to have 150,000, 170,000 american soldiers fighting in iraq. Thats not a bad thing. I think thats a good thing that they are not there. The world is changing, the American Economy is not as big relative to the rest of the world as it used to be. Other countries are building up their militaries, and so its time to stop thinking about america as being the sole country that dominates regions like the middle east. Its time for a joint diplomacy where we work with other countries and other allies to build coalitions, to maintain a balance of power, to contain countries with aggressive intent if thats iran, then they would work with allies. And there are plenty of countries that still want to work with the United States. That is not the Trump Administrations approach. Their approach in effect is were strong enough, youre either with us or against us. Damn the alliances, as it were. Is that a mistake Going Forward . Yes, it is a mistake. First of all, you cant build alliances unless people know what your policy is, and where are they hitching their wagons to. The Trump Administration talks tough against iran, but is not willing to actually in force its position. At one level it speaks about regime change in iran, at another level it wants to have negotiations with the same regime in order to get another nuclear deal. And in a way, its not clear to the region what is american policy. I dont think the region is looking for 150,000 troops, they just want to know what does the United States want and how is it going to follow through with its policy. Thanks so much and happy new year to you and your families. Thank you. Same to you. Other news back here at home, today two major stories on the 2020 campaign trail. Democratic candidate Julian Castro has ended his bid. The Sanders Campaign announced a massive fundraising haul in the Fourth Quarter that could make some of his rivals on the democratic side nervous, bringing in more than 34. 5 million. All of this just weeks before the first voting of the 2020 campaign at the iowa caucuses. Hes not the only one racking up cash. The Trump Campaign says it brought in 46 million over just the past three months. Joining me now, cnn political commentator and correspondent ryan noble this morning. Thanks to both of you. Julian just a moment on that, he was the only latino in the race and we have seen this democratic field get less diverse. Lets be frank, there are still women in the race, you have andrew yang, but its becoming less diverse over time. Is that a problem for the Democratic Party . Not necessarily. I think its a problem for the candidates who want to champion the issues that Julian Castro was championing. The field as a whole, there will be some blow back. I think more to the point, Julian Castro, his main issue was immigration. Its an important issue. It is a critical policy question, but it doesnt move the voters the way Health Care Reform and Climate Change does. For the other candidates, you look at Julian Castro and he staked his campaign on a really important issue that touches the hearts of a lot of members of the democratic base, but apparently its not enough to sort of get you to the level where you can be a serious contender. Lets talk about Bernie Sanders. Hes been counted out before for legitimate reasons. He had a serious heart attack a number of weeks ago, but also the concerns that the progressive vote in the democratic royce being split between them and elizabeth warren. Thats a big number, though, for him. And the thing ive been struck by, eve always known that he can raise money and theres a base of support that was willing to donate to him, particularly small donations, 18 a contribution is what theyre averaging. Whats remarkable is how the field of contributors is growing. 300,000 new contributors to the bernie Sanders Campaign who have never donated to him before. So the biggest kind of knock on the Sanders Campaign is that hes got a very loyal but not necessarily growing base of support. Well, now you start to see his trend line in the polls start to go up and even more donors contributing to his campaign. Thats exactly the place that they want to be heading into the iowa caucuses, just a month away and growing. Thats exactly the place that you want to be in. No question. Quickly on other candidates, Pete Buttigieg, small town mayor until a couple of days ago, 24. 7 million in the quarter. Thats enormous. And andrew yang who has not made the debate stage, 16. 5 million, a lot of that money in the last few days his campaign says, of 2019. That breathes a lot of life into both of those campaigns. Well, i think that we have to start realizing that andrew yang is as viable, maybe even more viable a candidate as some of these establishment type candidates, is he more of a serious threat to win at least the iowa caucus than some of these other candidates because his fundraising numbers continue to be impressive and he is continuing to poll very well. Let me make this important distinction, jim, about the way these candidates are raising their money. Yes, Pete Buttigieg has raised 24. 7 million, but hes been willing to make the phone calls to the high dollar donors. These are all things that Bernie Sanders isnt doing. I think theres going to become a serious conversation within the democratic primary Going Forward, the argument that Pete Buttigieg is making that we cant compete with donald trump and the 46 million that hes raised without a primary opponent if we dont take advantage of every legal fundraising mechanism. But theres clearly a vain of support that says the only way were going to change money in politics is to do it ourselves. Sanders is making the argument he can do that without the in the heat of the race they might change their mind. Lets talk about donald trump, 46 million, a lot of money. 150 million for the year. If you stack it up and add up the Democratic Candidates, obviously as a group, theyre outraising him. But that is no small number and it does show the continuing strength of his support . Its a huge number. Hes got over 100 million in cash ready to be spent. There are all these outside groups. The 100 million doesnt count all of the groups that some of the Republican Party has put together to try and support his campaign. And frankly, it doesnt include any outside foreign support. That has been an important again and we dont know whats going to happen and it may in fact work to the benefit of donald trump. Rudy giulianis two associates now indicted, were specifically asking for foreign money to be donated to domestic candidates. I wonder, just drawing on your wisdom, is money overemphasized . Because a lot of candidates have raised a lot of money, sometimes more than their opponents, and went home. Sure. How you spend it, whether its smart money or not is what really makes a difference and its hard to determine just by looking at media buys and that sort of thing. We discovered four years ago that the Trump Campaign was buying tons and tons of facebook ads, which are almost untraceable and they were running thousands of them every given day to figure out the right color and wording and video images and so forth to throw at the people that they were trying to get at. Its not clear whether or not the social media capabilities of the Democratic Candidates are that sophisticated. If theyre not, they better catch up real quick. True. You go back to 2008, obama was praised for getting early on the train of the online donors, that kind of thing. But the field is constantly changing. If it were just about money, then we would already be anointing bloomberg or steyer. Donald trump was going to selffund his campaign, wasnt he . At one point. Thanks to both of you. Still to come, waiting on pelosi, the senate might have kept the month of january open for a trial, but Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell is making no impeachment plans yet. How long will this drag out . Plus he called the quid pro quo regarding ukraine crazy. Now bill taylor, the top diplomat in ukraine, a key witness in the impeachment trial, is out. Hes the second trump appointee to leave. Whats next in our relationship with the ally as it remains at war with russia . Streng energy whoohoo greattasting ensure. With nine grams of protein and twentyseven vitamins and minerals. Ensure, for strength and energy. Winter break tomorrow and as of yet, still does not have articles of impeachment delivered by the house. The president reportedly growing more anxious as the process drags on. With me now, democratic congressman of texas. Thanks so much for taking the time this morning. Thank you, jim. So lets begin, regarding impeachment, you tweeted that, quote, republican senator Mitch Mcconnell has pledged to cover up, according to trump, with a no witness pseudo trial. I wonder, without witnesses and theres no sign yet that the republican majority will allow witnesses to be called, should Speaker Pelosi refuse to send over the articles of impeachment at all . Well, i would certainly support her in doing that. The house has the sole responsibility under the constitution for impeachment to send over the articles when the majority leader, mr. Mcconnell, has declared that he will breach his oath, that he will not do impartial justice in accordance with the constitution, but plans to act in accordance only with the defendant in this case, would be no trial at all. So i think she could rightly say we have done our job under the constitution, the ultimate jurors will be the american people. They should consider what weve done. Of course in ensuing weeks, we may have additional evidence out there through investigative reporting and other disclosures that would justify sending it at a later time. Meanwhile, mcconnell loses his excuse for not acting on other important business, like the new United Statesmexicocanada trade agreement, which he could take up next week. What is the minimum democrats need to see for this to be a fair trial . Is the minimum Mitch Mcconnell approving witnesses such as former National Security adviser john bolton, others with direct knowledge of the president s involvement . Well, i think most of the witnesses that have been requested are all the president s men. Theyre not some Hostile Force out there unfair to the president , but theyre the people that gathered in the oval Office Around his desk to try to convince him to not use Ukrainian Military aid for his personal gain. And we should hear from them. I wouldnt select the number of witnesses or who they are. That would be a senate function. But at least to say were going to follow the oath and have a fair trial, not a sham proceeding. Theres no reason for the senate to consider our articles unless theyre willing to do that and we ought not to have the first impeachment trial in American History with no witnesses. Let me ask you, it sounds like you would be happy if the articles never made it to the senate here. Would you be . And do other members of the caucus feel the same way . Well, i would be happiest with a fair and impartial trial in accordance with the constitution and the oath that these senators take. Thats my strong first preference. But short of that, i dont think it helps to send over the articles if theyre not going to get fair and full consideration as they have been with president clinton, and of course president johnson and the impact of the house in forcing the resignation of president nixon. I want to talk about north korea, because you have spoken about this publicly. Here we are in the new year after three summits with the north korean leader. North korea is now threatening more, not less, nuclear tests, missile tests, et cetera. Youve called trumps policy on north korea a failed policy. What does the u. S. Gain from the president s diplomacy with pyongyang . Well, the next one he is writing right now is the art of the blunder. Its truly incredible that he could have provided so much public recognition, positive recognition of north korea in return for a few love letters flattering his ego. And what a contrast with what youve just been discussing in a very incisive discussion about our troubles in iran and iraq, that in north korea he cannot even get the first step, a weapons declaration, and a material declaration that we got in iran. The agreement that hes rejected, that has played a role in the current crisis, where he cannot even protect our embassy. When you look at the actions of iran, for instance, and iraq with these protests, other hostile acts, as well as north korea, do you see countries around the world fearing trump or taking advantage of him . I think many of them view him as a paper tiger. They certainly fear our military power. But they recognize that he acts so impulsively. As you know, jim, just before christmas 500 people in iraq had been killed, 19,000 wounded, largely through the action of iransupported malitias. And iran was being viewed as the source of the many problems that iraq faces, not the United States. Now President Trump through his impulsive action has completely reversed that. Bush and cheney had a horrible, dangerous policy to get us into iraq in the first place. President trump really has no policy at all. He doesnt seem to know what hes doing. No end game. We certainly want to protect american personnel, all of them on the ground. But to have this damage to the wasteful billion dollar embassy in baghdad and nowhere to go, President Trump clearly has to begin at least some back channel discussions with the iranians. He has coddled every other thug in the world, why not talk with the iranians . Had the u. S. Not responded to a u. S. Contractor on the ground there . Well, they should not have responded in the way they did. It should have been done in coordination with the Iraqi Government and recognizing that with this great outpouring of public support in iraq against iranian influence, now is not the time to make the United States the enemy instead of iran. Thank you very much and happy new year to you and your family. Thank you so much. Cnn has obtained new evidence of what people are calling an ongoing genocide in china carried out against hundreds of thousands of muslims. Were going to have a live update on what weve learned there. A cold. Its not just a cold if you have high blood pressure. Most cold medicines may raise blood pressure. Coricidin hbp is the. 1 brand that gives. Powerful cold relief without raising your blood pressure. When youyou spend lessfair, and get way more. So you can bring your vision to life and save in more ways than one. For small prices, you can build big dreams, spend less, get way more. Shop everything home at wayfair. Com proof i can fight moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. Proof i can fight psoriatic arthritis. With humira. Proof of less joint pain. And clearer skin in psa. Humira targets and blocks a source of inflammation that contributes to joint pain and irreversible damage. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections. Serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Humira is proven to help relieve pain, stop further joint damage,. And clear skin in psa. Want more proof . Ask your rheumatologist about humira. Working with6y. Zw sources in th community and analyzing hundreds of satellite images, cnnewql found more than 100 cemeteries that have been destroyed, most in just the last two years. Like this one in the, a[wxn distinctive white tombs levelled and the tomb of the unknown soldier dug up and paved over. Its kind of an insult to the culture. We are stronger together. They believe its a desecration that will have a backlash. It seems even the dead cant rest. Whats going on there is 1930s like genocide in the 21st century. I know the u. S. Government estimates more than detention camps for education. Tell us how you did this, because its hard to document this. You used publicly available satellite images . It was really a process of time. It took time. What we did is after we did previous reporting on the ongoing situation there, several months of the broader community, living in the u. S. , in the united kingdom, reached out to us and we got a tip this was happening, so we took that information from those individuals and said to the rest of the community that we were in contact with, where are the grave yards . Where are the cemeteries that your relatives are . And by gathering all that information and looking at certain cemeteries that are quite famous, we spoke to experts and we figured out the locations and then with the locations and the latitude longitud pe, you see in the report what happened. The government did not deny this was happening and thats their way of getting around it. They justify it saying theres development issues, its for the safety of the people in the community. But it just doesnt add up. These are rural cemeteries in the middle of nowhere. Thats where your own relatives were buried. Thanks very much. Still to come in hour, the top diplomat in ukraine, bill taylor, is out, how does the change in leadership affect the policy . Remember, ukraine remains at war with russia. Well discuss ahead. Our holding up of Security Assistance that would go to a country that is fighting aggression from russia for no good policy reason, no good substantive reason, no good National Security reason, is wrong. Remember that testimony during the impeachment inquiry in the house . Former ambassador bill taylor, the top u. S. Diplomat in ukraine, he raised those concerns about the dangers of a ukraine quid pro quo. Now hes gone. Today is taylors last day at his post. He had been appointed after President Trump fired marie yovanovitch, believing that she was not on the president s team. Im joined now with more details. Do we know who is going to follow him in there . Its a lot of disruption in a key post, in a key country that remains at war with russia. And we have to remember, jim, that ambassador taylor was just temporary. He wasnt even nominated to be ambassador. And now his number two, the deputy chief of mission, she is taking over and has been there around the same time as taylor. The timing of his departure is extremely suspicious, because mike pompeo, the secretary of state, was expected to be in kiev tomorrow. That trip was postponed, so that pompeo could monitor the situation with iran and those protests in iraq. But it would have been incredibly awkward for pcompeo o have been seen with taylor after the blaockbuster testimony from taylor in which he said he did witness a quid pro quo, he saw the Trump Administration holding back aid and a white house meeting in exchange for those political investigations. I just want to remind our viewers of one exchange that taylor had with one of the president s envoys to ukraine, ambassador gordon sondland, which in taylor texted sondland saying, as i said on the phone, i think its crazy to withhold Security Assistance for help with a political campaign. Sondland then responded, i believe youre incorrect about President Trumps intentions. The president has been crystal clear, no quid pro quos of any kind. Jim, youll remember all too well that when it was sondlands turn to testify, he reversed that, saying in fact there was a quid pro quo, and everyone was in the loop. Now, before his departure, taylor did post a fare well video. Heres just a little part of it. Think of the things that have happened since last june. A new opportunity to move forward on reform. There have been opportunities for many of the reforms that have been pending for years and years to be enacted. Progress toward peace, phone calls between president zelensky and president putin. Some upbeat music there, not exactly reflective of the tone of the relationship right now between the u. S. And ukraine. All of those positive notes that taylor is making, no mention of the impeachment inquiry. The circumstances around his departure or any quid pro quo, jim. Alex, thanks very much. Residents in colorado and nebraska are scared, after more than a dozen unmanned drones have been spotted, sometimes in groups. Who is behind this midair mystery . Well have more. Americans come to lendingtree. Com to compare and save on loans, credit cards and more but with the new lending tree app you can see your full financial health, monitor your credit score, see your cash flow and find out how you can cut your monthly bills. Download it now to see how much you can save. When you never lower your standards, only your fares, its a better class of sale. Emirates. Fly better. When you never lower your standards, only your fares, its a better class of sale. Emirates. Fly better israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu, under indictment, is asking the Israeli Parliament for immunity from prosecution in three corruption cases. He faces indictment on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing and has called the ongoing proceedings an attempted coup. So oren, will he get immunity . So far right now the indications are no. And well get to the proceedings and how this all works in a moment. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had 30 days to request immunity from parliament after the official indictment was unveiled. He waited until the last moment, submitting his request with just four hours to go until the deadline. But in his statement, which we heard last night, it did not sound like an immunity request. It sounded like a campaign speech. He started by ticking off his accomplishments and said he wants to lead the country for many years to come. Then he said the immunity law is designed to protect politicians from what he called a fabricated indictment. He then shifted after quickly saying he would request immunity, to attack on his rivals who he says have no plan to leave the country. They fired back immediately after netanyahus statement and said the choice now for voters is clear in marchs election, the third within 12 months as israel faces protracted political deadlock. They say voters can pick the interest of netanyahu or the national interests. Where do the Legal Proceedings go from here . This is where it quickly breaks down. Why is that . Netanyahus request for immunity has to be heard by whats called the house commit, except because theres no fully functioning government, because theres no functioning coalition, theres no house committee. So netanyahus request cant be heard. The Legal Proceedings against him, the criminal investigations he faces, the indictment he faces, all of that is now stuck. Israels political deadlock has become a legal deadlock at this point. And now a third election in two months. Thanks very much. Residents in rural parts of colorado and nebraska are on edge after a series of mysterious drone sightings over the fast several weeks. The faa tells cnn that multiple Government Agencies are investigating. County Officials Say the drones are operating within federal guidelines and they do not believe they mean any harm. They are certainly, though, ska scaring people there. Still to come, a shakeup in the 2020 democratic president ial and major fundraising just weeks away from the iowa caucus. Were going to break it down. Look, this isnt my first rodeo. And let me tell you something, i wouldnt be here if i thought reverse mortgages took advantage of any american senior, or worse, that it was some way to take your home. Its just a loan designed for older homeowners, and, its helped over a million americans. A reverse Mortgage Loan isnt some kind of trick to take your home. Its a loan, like any other. Big difference is how you pay it back. Find out how reverse mortgages really work with aags free, noobligation reverse mortgage guide. Eliminate monthly mortgage payments, pay bills, medical costs, and more. Call now and get your free info kit. Other mortgages are paid each month, but with a reverse mortgage, you can pay whatever you can, when it works for you, or, you can wait, and pay it off in one lump sum when you leave your home. Discover the option thats best for you. Call today and find out more in aags free, noobligation reverse Mortgage Loan guide. Access taxfree cash and stay in the home you love. Youve probably been investing in your home for years. Making monthly mortgage payments. Doing the right thing. And its become your familys heart and soul. Well, that investment can give you taxfree cash just when you need it. Learn how homeowners are strategically using a reverse Mortgage Loan to cover expenses, pay for healthcare, preserve your portfolio, and so much more. Look, reverse mortgages arent for everyone but i think ive been round long enough to know whats what. Im proud to be a part of aag, i trust em, i think you can too. Trust aag for the best reverse mortgage solutions. So you can. Retire better. Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining me. Im ryan noble in today for kate bolduan. And we are getting a fresh look at the financial strength of the democratic president ial field, a field that saw another contender drop out this morning. Well have more on that in a moment. First, take a look at this new financial snapshot and it is a bright one for senator Bernie Sanders. His Campaign Reporting that it raised 34. 5 million in the last three months of 2019, including contributions from 40,000 new donors on new years eve alone. It brings his total fundraising haul to 96 million. So lets put those numbers in