iraq was slit up according -- split up according to a diplomat who joins us from kurdistan. we have an analysis from general wesley clark. egypt ignores calls for our colleagues to go free answers demanded from the. >> rs - why wait two -- irs, why

did they wait two years to divulge emails. and mike tyson. i'm antonio mora, and this is "consider this". here is more of what is ahead. >> secretary of state john kerry meets with n.a.t.o. ministers after meeting with kurdish leaders. >> white house made it clear there's a political solution. >> there can be no future in iraq. >> i am sure he'd love the united states to become his air force. is he prepared to become a legitimate government. >> 1,000 people, mostly civilians have been killed in june. thousands have fled the fighting. >> we are here to help and will provide the support that you need until you have the ability to return to your home. protests of sentences of our colleagues. >> egyptian president abdul fatah al-sisi says he will not interfere with the court

decision. >> the campaign for media free speech must never end. we begin with a crisis threatening to tear iraq apart. i.s.i.s. was fought on tuesday, secretary of state john kerry went to kurdistan urging the president to help unify iraq and help to form a coalition government. >> as everyone knows, this is a critical time for iraq as a whole. and the government's challenge is the central challenge. the president seems to be looking past iraqi unity and to kurdish independence. meanwhile in washington, the full senate received a closed-door briefing from the state department and the office of the director of national

intelligence. the senator emerged saying air strikes may be necessary but agreed with the president that an inclusive iraqi government is needed. >> there is some hope that a new government could be formed soon. >> for more, i'm joined via skype by ambassador inside the government compound in kurdistan's capital. he served as an ambassador to croatia, director to afghanistan, and an advisor to the kurdistan regional government. great to have you with us. as i said, you are inside the government compound. you met with the president of iraqi kurdistan. he seemed at odd with secretary of state john kerry who met with him this week. secretary of state john kerry said a united iraq was stronger, but he said "we are facing a new reality, adding that it's difficult to imagine the new iraq staying together.

what does that mean. are kurdistan and the u.s. on separate payments? >> well, kurdistan prides itself on having been america's most reliable ali in iraq. really the only american ally in iraq. so when the secretary of state comes to kurdize tap, the kurdistan government, particularly the president has to work hard to find common ground. i think they had a good discussion about forming a unity government to deal with the crisis, but the situation that had existed on 1 june is dramatically different, as the president observed. kurdistan has a boarder of 1,050km with i.s.i.s. right now. and just 15km with the government of iraq.

its neighbours is a terrorist entity. the iraqi army dissolved that there's no prospect of reconstituting it. for that reason, he believes that the country has dissolved and the next step is for kurdistan to move to give the people of kurdistan a choice in a referendum for ipp dependence. >> you bring up the border with i.s.i.l., which is more than 1,000km. that's pretty much the distance between new york and detroit. can the curd - if they did decide to go independent. how easy would it be for them to hold off the terrorists, when they have an enormous bodder. >> the kurdish peshmerga, they have their own military. these are disciplined fighters. they have - they have not retreated in the face of attack from the terrorists. there have been clashes.

they held their ground. i think the general consensus is that they are more superior military force. the problem that they have is that i.s.i.s. is now armed with american military equipment. i learnt the same thing that i.s.i.s. has 1,500 armed american humvees. they have tanks, american tanks. the peshmerga don't have that kind of weaponry. the request they make is access to the same american weapons that the terrorists have. >> going back to talk about independence, is this the moment that the kurd waited for. they control kirkuk, the historic capital. the oil-rich city, the company. everywhere else is fracturing, and this is the only part of iraq that seems secure. is there much incentive to stay within the baghdad government. there are 5 million people.

now they have oil. wouldn't it be better for them to be on their own? >> every kurd wants on independent kurdistan. i never met one that wanted to be part of iraq as their first choice. there were three things that kept them becoming independent. one was disputed territories. they have that. that item is off the agenda. the second is financial. having taken kirkuk, they have the oil resources necessary. and the third factor was international recognition. turkey, who is by far and away the most important country for kurdistan said the spokesman for the ruling party says that they'll support the kurds, and i think generally while united states might not like kurdistan to be independent, there's a

great deal of understanding in the congression and administration as to why they'd take the step. i think the path is clear to independence, and i think people in kurdistan see it that way. people say independs is risky. staying in iraq... >> yes. >> a country dominated by terrorists or shiites. people who want to dominate, make iraq a shiite state - that is risky. >> quick final question. you think iraq will split up? >> it has split up. i think that was the president's point. it has split up. at some point the political structure, the legal structures will catch up with what is on the ground. >> good to have you on the show. appreciate your time. >> good to be talking about you. >> the u.s. sent military advisors to iraq to help the baghdad government deal with the crisis. for more, and what should happen

militarily, i'm joined from little rock arkansas by general wesley clark. general, good to see you. the first american military advisors arrived in iraq. president obama said he's sending as many as 300 advisor to help the roibies, is it enough. >> i think the united states is doing the right thing. we don't want a lot of ground troops, or any, in iraq. until there are targets and we know what is going on, there's not much we can do with air power or unmanned vehicles. third, this is not a military problem, it's political. 300 special forces troops on the ground - it sends the right message, telling iran that we are a relevant power in the region, we are a big dog, and iran better appreciate it, and then it says to the shia and

president nouri al-maliki, that the united states has the capacity to help if you have the will to bring the iraqi people back together again. >> so you bring up is bump of issues in the answer. i'll start with one - do you agree with secretary of state john kerry, who said on tuesday that it would be a complete and total act of irresponsibility to use air force and air strikes immediately right now. is it too early to be aggressive. >> i don't think the targetting is there for it to make sense, and i don't think the air strikes make sense until you fix the political leadership at the top - either new leadership, or demonstrable and credible change of attitude and performance. >> on the other hand, have we waited too long to be in position to take that action and let i.s.i.l. take control of pretty much the whole

north-western part of iraq? >> it was moving so fast, you know, in north-west iraq, day by day that unless you had troops on the ground and provided close air support. you would be behind in targetting efforts. so, no, i don't think we waited too long. this is a strategic moment. >> on the other hand you spoke out and compared the situation in iraq to what happened in rwanda during the clinton administration, that we didn't move too quickly, and, of course, that was one of the greatest humanitarian crisis of modern times. >> it's true. it was a humanitarian crisis that was almost without an opposing force. in this case you had the collapse of an army that re had resourced, led by a government that - although i don't know nouri al-maliki personally, i had been to iraq, i had sensed it, and there's a lot of arrogance in the government.

and there was a disinclination to take u.s. advice. so it wasn't possible to go in there and be the lone ranger the first day that something happened with i.s.i.s. he had to come to the realise agency that he needed help on a strategic level, not just a couple of airplanes, but he had to fundamentally revamp his approach to leadership. not sure that he's done that. >> you mentioned that it's important for the u.s. to send a message to iran, that we are still a power broker in that region. so hutch of whatever we do in the united states has to be a projection of american power and a message sent to the rain yaps in the rest of the region. >> whatever we do is a mess edge of power projected at the iranians, whether it was striking or withholding. the fact that we are there, we have assets in the region, the fact that we have capabilities

and the will to respond - all of that sends a message to iran. how concerned are you that this will be a regional disaster. reports on tuesday are that i.s.i.l., effect, controls all western - all of iraq's western borders. there is, you know, a threat to jordan, a threat to turkey. we have iran in the process, we have the saudis who are accused - some of the money people in suede arabia - supporting i.s.i.l., it is getting ugly not just within the borders of iran. >> it is ugly. this is up to the governments in the region. >> they are the ones on the ground affected. they have the loyalty of their own armed forces and populations and security forces. then this threat can be contained within iraq. if the government of turkey or other governments in the region that should be competent and capable and in charge are not, if their armed forces are

hollow, if their governments are not considered legitimate and providing loyalty, it could be a threat. but if it's that kind of a threat, u.s. ordnance delivered from the skies will not stop the threat. the nass know the united states -- nations know is the united states is there and will to help under the right circumstances. this is a region that is volatile. it will go through several different changes. it's struggling with age-old sectarianism. it has oil wealth in there, geostrategic aspirations by iran. it has israel there on the outlier. it has a revolt against bashar al-assad in syria. there are many, many things going on at the same time in this region. it's not a simple region. it's not going to be resolved from the presence on the ground.

this is something that countries themselves have to work through. >> general wesley clark, we appreciate you joining us to talk about the issues and provide us with your thought. thank you very much. the fighting that's tearing iraq apart is deepening the humanitarian crisis much the u.n. world food program has sent staff and plans for emergency airlifts to bring 550 metric tonnes of food to help 4200 displaced. 1.7 million iraqis are internally displaced, refugees in their own country. for more, i'm joined by executive director for the u.n.'s world food program, the largest humanitarian organization. it helps over 90 million people. you are the first senior u.n. official to visit iraq. what have you seen? >> i have seen families who have left their home with absolutely

nothing. seeking safety here in and around erbil. they are living in camps that have been provided by the government and are being supported by unhcr and the other u.n. agencies and n.g.o.s to meet basic need of food, water and shelter. >> i know the emergenciest is focussed on providing food for 42,000 people. the kurdish government says 300,000 people have fled the areas under its controls, and that is a fraction of the number of iraqis who need aid. is this just the beginning of your efforts? >> unfortunately, it's just the beginning. the reality is many of those who fled the conflict down in and around mosul have come up to the kurdish region, and many of them are living with host communities. those that had assets didn't go to the camps. what we find in these situations is very quickly, without jobs,

without support, they deplete the assets, while her not feeding them today, if the conflict goes forward, we will continue to need to increase and we'll feed them tomorrow. >> i know the people that work for you are courageous, they work wherever people are in need. can the world food program operate in areas controlled by i.s.i.l.? >> well, we are working with partners, and their local n.g.o.s getting into the area. we are providing them with food and support and transfer of food. they are distributing in the areas where international staff have a challenge accessing the communities. we are working with an opposition group that does not respect humanitarian law, human rights or the need of the international humanitarian community to support those that are the innocent victims, the

women, children, seniors. we are dependent upon partners, and hoping the government will do their share by providing us with access to the public distribution stocks that they normally distribute to this population, so we can ensure that people receive the food they need. >> talking about the terrorist groups, i was struck by something you wrote. referring to starvation being used as a weapon of war. you were writing about syria. how much can be done when no atrocity seems to be out of bounds for the warring parties? >> that's when humanitarians are at a very significant disadvantage and we need the international community to demand that no child go hungry, no child is used as fodder in war, that we have access to those who require assistance in order to eat. no person should, because of a

conflict when there is food available, have an inability to eat. and so we are asking the international community to not forget the victims. we often talk about the politics, we don't get involved in the politics. we talked about the conflict. we can't participate, we don't. we work with those that are the victims of the conflicts. we need the support of the international community to demand that humanitarians have access, so people can live. >> you clearly need a lot of help interest the international chuny, because this -- community, because this, what is happening in iraq is an extension. crisis in syria. in some months you provided aid to as many as 4 million people. can you sustain the efforts as the number of refugees keeps growing at a rapid pace. >> generosity of the international community has been as an individual overwhelming to

me, and appreciated by those we served. when i talk to mothers, the first thing they say is say thank you to the people helping you to heap us. what we can't forget is that though there are now three - what we call significant l 3 emergencies. central african republics, south sudan, syria and the emerging challenges in iraq. no child should be prioritised over another. no hungry mother should look into the eyes of her child, because the international community did not provide the assistance and support. i'm sitting here, just days away from the start of ramadan. we have received significant support from not just the traditional donors, but from golf region donors, and we are hopeful that they will continue, and the global community will continue to invest in the work required to meet the needs of those who are the victims of

these crisis. great feeds there. executive director of the u.n.'s world food program. we appreciate your time and efforts on behalf of all the needy people. thank you. >> thank up. now for some more stories from around the world. we begin in nigeria, boko haram terrorists reportedly kidnapped nearly 100 people on saturday. 60 women and girls and 30 boys abducted from villages in the north of the country. four were killed in a village, and a village destroyed, reminiscent of the kidnapping of 200 girls in april. nigerian authorities are yet to confirm the abduction. but the attackers have been identified as boko haram. next to london where rebecca brooks has been acquitted of all charges in the phone-hacking scandal that brought down "news of the world." brooks, editor of the rupert

murdoch-owned tabloid was accused of knowingly and deliberately allowing reporters to hack into phones of celebrities and politicians. andy coulson was not so lucky, found guilty of conspiring to intercept messages and is facing bribery charges. in belfast, queen elizabeth and her husband pril ip came face to face with a different royalty, touring the set of "game of thrones." she came face to face with her counterpart. the real queen had her eyes on the iron thrown. she decided against taking a seat. probably wise. it looks uncomfortable. that is some of what is happening around the world. coming up... >> they have not done a dam thing to help us. ..congress fuming over irs

scandal. egypt's president ignores vigils from around the world demanding the release of our colleagues. what options are left. harmeli aregawi is tracking top stories, what is trending? >> a minnesota facebook habits land him in gaol. i'll tell you more coming up. while you are watching let us know what you think:

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>> start with one issue ad guests on all sides of the debate. and a host willing to ask the tough questions and you'll get... the inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5pm et / 2pm pt only on al jazeera america switc

the grass is cut each day during the fortnight of the tournament to maintain optimal height. wimbledon had an all white clothing rule when white was a sign of wealth. the rules still make players wear predominantly white outfits and don't allow off-white or cream. andrei agassiz said he didn't play in the prime. he wasn't great on glass. others tried to push the all-white envelope. gussy moran caused an uproar wearing a short skirt and lace underwear. the club said she brought

vulgarity to the club. the sneakers and red underwear led to a clamp down on colour to the club. the prize money is the highest of all four slams - men's and women's champs getting $3 million, half for runners-up. if you lose in the first round you still make close to the median income in the united states. not a bad pay day for the privilege of playing at one of the world's great sporting event. coming up, why two of the biggest stars in basketball could change the balance of power over the next few months.

an ugly bit of controversy in brazil as uruguay eliminated italy. the star play awe lis swor es took a bite out of the opponent. this is the third time he has

bit ep another player in -- bitten another player in his career. the world cup hopes are alive and well. many of us watch the games against portugal. many wonder if soccer mania arrived in the u.s. joining us from san francisco, is dave zirren's, sports editor for "the nation", host of "age of sports nation", and an author. good to see you back in the u.s. i have to start with a world cup controversy. swor es is uruguay's best player. it looks like he bit the guy during the match against italy. f.i.f.a. has not made comments other than to say they will wait for an investigation. this is the third time biting opponents, first 2010 in netherlands. and in 2013 whilst playing for liverpool. he's called "the cannibal." uruguay scored the goal after

the incident. what will f.i.f.a. do? >> that's is a terrific question. f.i.f.a. has a bad reputation for giving light suspensions for star players, and adopting a double standard, even when the spotlight is at its brightest, when there are trending topics talking about players. this is the ultimate test of how much f.i.f.a. cares about the moral integrity of its sport of the you have suez, one of the five best players on the planet. and you have a demons trable event on the other, that shows that at the least he should be suspended for the remainder of the world cup. >> it's a terrible example for the kids and the acting as if it wasn't a bite, as if he had crashed into the guy's shoulder. it's worth saying na if your kid is biting the kid on the soccer field they probably have more

problems than suarez. >> let's move on to the americans and the dramatic tie on sunday. they are in good chance to move on. a 77% chance to advance. one way to vaeps is to beat germany or play to a draw with them, sending both teams to the next round. u.s.a.'s coach was germany's coach, and his assistant coach is germany's coach. conspiracy theorists and commentators believe they'll play deliberately to a draw. what is your thought? >> look, this is another example of the moral matters of f.i.f.a. if u.s.a. and germany wanted to, they could link arms and do the cancan or do the favourite songs

from the follies, and f.i.f.a. would do nothing. at worst in the rule book it says f.i.f.a. frowns upon collusion before a match. in reality, if there's a clear inclination that either team is not playing to their most potential, it's not fair to ghana or portugal and there should be a punishment. i don't think it will happen. the stakes for victory are high. whichever team comes up in the group will avoid having to play belgium in the knockout round. the belgium team. they didn't have the greatest first round of the world cup. but they are considered to be a dangerous team, and the opportunity to avoid them but it is an opportunity to play. the most-watched game ever. >> soccer is part of the u.s. landscape. people have been saying this for decades. it is here. >> let's talk basketball.

lebron james, he opted out of his last two years of his calent with the heat. he could test the market, stay with the heat. what is he up to? >> i think he's trying to push the heat, use his leverage to make them sign decent players. they had an incredibly thin team and ageing roster in the finals. this is his way of saying if you want to keep me i need to see what you are going to develop a roster around me. >> that means carmelo opts out to the mix. >> to do that he'd have to get the other members as a call to accept a lower contract to fit anthony in. there are all sorts of scenarios. lebron looks at the heat, sees a good owner, a terrific coach. i think this is where he wants to be. >> he has a beautiful house on

the water. not a bad place. >> and no state taxes. >> thank you, good to see you. >> that's all for now. the conversation continues on the website. or on facebook or google+. you can find us on twitter at aj "consider this". hi, this is al jazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler in new york. 11 on the east coast, eight out we west. this is the only live news cast. the battle of iraq intensifies. state of confusion, a report on the asiana airlines crash - the final seconds. founder of the