throughout this crisis in ukraine. and i think u.s. leaderships have been critical throughout that process. with respect to espect to more recently petro porashenko, the ukranian president insisting in warsaw i announced $1 billion in our initiative. a sizable portion of that will be devoted to implementing various aspects of this readiness action plan. we have already increased obviously rotations of personnel in the baltic states, for example. we have the air policing. we have the activities that are taking place in the baltic and the black sea, but this allows us to supplement it. it allows us to coordinate and integrate it further with additional contributions from

other partners, and what it signifies is nato's recognition that in light of recent russian actions as well as rhetoric, we want to make it crystal clear we mean what we say when we're talking about our article five commitments, and an increased presence serves as the most defective deterrent to any additional russian aggression that we might see. angela king? bloomberg. >> reporter: thank you, mr. president, what are your specific expectations for what regional actors like saudi arabia, yemen, and gordon can provide? is there a role there for iran as well? as you know secretary kerry said he expects the allied countries tocoless around a specific plan around september. do you agree with the time line

that he set out? and what concrete commitments are you leaving this summit with from the other nations that are here? >> let me start with a general point. there was unanemity that isil poses a significant threat and we have to take action. i did not get resistance or pushback to the basic notion to play in rolling back this savage organization that is causing so much chaos in the region and harming so many people, and posing a long-term threat to the safety and security of nato members. so there's great conviction that we have to act as part of the

international community to degrade and ultimately destroy isil, and that was extremely encouraging. beyond that, what we have already seen is significant support from a variety of member states for specific actions that we have been taking in iraq. keep in mind we have taken already a hundred strikes in iraq that have had a significant impact on degrading their capabilities, and making sure that we're protecting u.s. citizens, critical infrastructure, providing the space for the iraqi government to form. our hope is that the iraqi government is actually formed and finalized next week. that then allows us to work with them on a broader strategy, and, you know, some of the assistance has been in the form of air lift or humanitarian assistance.

much of it has been providing additional arms to the kurds and the iraqi security forces. there has been logistical support and reconnaissance support, so a variety of folks with different capabilities have already made a contribution. i'm confident we'll be able to build on that strong foundation, and the clear commitment and have the kind of coalition that will be required for the sustained effort we need to push isil back. now john kerry is going to be traveling the region to have further consultations with the regional actors, and the regional players, and i think it is absolutely critical that we have arab states and specifically sunni majority states that are rejecting the

kind of extremist nihilism that we're seeing out of isil that say that is not what islam is about, and are prepared to join us actively in the fight, and, you know, my expectation is, is that we will see friends and allies and partners of ours in the region prepare to take action as well as part of a coalition. one of our tasks, though, is also going to be to build capability. well, what we have learned in iraq is, yes, isil has significant capabilities, and combine terrorist tactics with traditional military tactics to a significant effect, but part of the problem also is, is that we haven't seen as effective of fighting force on the part of the iraqi security forces as we need. and we're going to have to focus

on the capable units that are already there, bolster them, bolster the work that the peshmerga has done. ultimately we're going to need a strong ground game, and we're going to need the sunni tribes to recognize that their future is not with the kind of fanaticism that isil events so they start taking the fight to isil as well. in terms of timetable, we are working deliberately. if you look at what we have done over the last several months, we have taken this in stages. first stage is to make sure that we are encouraging iraqi government formation. second stage was making sure that building on the intelligence assessments that we

had done, that we were in a position to conduct limited air strikes to protect our personnel, critical infrastructure, and engage in humanitarian activities. the third phase will allow us to take the fight to isil, broaden the effort, and our goal is to act with urgency, but also to make sure that we are doing it right. that we have the right targets, that there is support on the ground if we take an air strike, that we have a strong political coalition, diplomatic effort that is matching it, a strong strategic communications effort, so that we are discouraging people from thinking somehow that isil represents a state, much less a caliphate, so all of those things are going to have to be combined and as i said, it's not going to happen overnight, but we are steadily

moving in the right direction, and we are going to achieve our goal. we are going to degrade and ultimately defeat isil. the same way we have gone after al-qaeda. the same way we have gone after this al-qaeda affiliate in somalia, where we released today we killed the leader of al-shabab in somalia, and have consistently worked to degrade their operations. you know, we have been very systematic and methodical in going after these kinds of organization that may threaten u.s. personnel and -- and the homeland. and that deliberation allows us to do it right, but have no doubt, we will continue, and i will continue, to do what is necessary to protect the american people. and isil poses a real threat, and i'm encouraged by the fact that our friends and allies

recognize that same threat. julie davis. >> reporter: thank you, mr. president. i want to follow up on what you were saying about isil, and ask if -- if you think that the objective here is to destroy and degrade them, are those the same thing in your mind? is the goal to -- to ultimately -- secretary kerry said there is no containing them. so is the goal to ultimately annihilate them, and you talked about the importance of expertise on the ground and building up capacity on the ground. do you think -- since air strikes are not going to do it here, if ultimately action is needed in syria, can you realistically expect the free syria army to do what is needed on the ground to really destroy and not just push back isil? >> uh-huh. you can't contain an organization that is running rough shot through that much territory, causing that much havoc, displacing that many

people, killing that many innocence, enslaving that many women. the goal has to be to dismantle them, and, you know, if you look at what happened with al-qaeda in the fattah where their primary base was, you initially push them back. er you systematically degrade their capabilities. you narrow their scope of action. you slowly shrink the space, the territory, that they may control. you take out their leadership, and overtime, they are not able to conduct the same kinds of terrorist attacks as they once could. as i said, i think in my last press conference, given the nature of these organizations,

are there potentially remnants of an organization that it -- are still running around in hiding and still potentially plotting? absolutely. and we will continue to hunt them down the same way we're doing with remnants of al-qaeda in the fattah or elements of al-shabab in somalia, or terrorists who operate anywhere around the world, but what we can accomplish is to dismantel this network, this force, that has claimed to control this much territory, so that they can't do us harm. and -- and that's going to be our objective. and as i said before, i'm pleased to see that there's

unanemity among our friends and allies, and they are prepared to work with us in accomplishing that goal. with respect to the situation on the ground in syria, we will not be placing u.s. ground troops to try to control the areas that are part of the conflict inside of syria. i don't think that's necessary for us to accomplish our goal. we are going to have to find effective partners on the ground to push back against isil, and the moderate coalition there is one that we can work with. we have experience working with many of them. they have been, to some degree out gunned and out manned, and that's why it's important for us to work with our friends and allies to support them more effectively, but keep in mind that when you have u.s. forces, other advanced nations, going

after isil and putting them on the defensive and on the run, it's pretty markable what then ground forces can do even if initially they were on the defensive against isil. so that is a developing strategy that we are going to be consulting with our friends, our allies, our regional partners, but the bottom line is, we will do what is necessary in order to make sure that isil does not threaten the united states or our friends and partners. okay? one last question. colleen nelson, wall street journal. >> reporter: thank you, mr. president. some senate democrats who are facing tough elections in april have asked you to deny action on immigration. do you see any down side at this point to delaying until after the election?

>> i have to tell you that this week, i have been pretty busy, focused on ukraine, and focused on isil and focused on making sure that nato is boosting its commitments, and -- and in following through on what is necessary to meet the 21st century challenges. jeh johnson and eric holder have begun to provide me some of their proposals and recommendations. i'll be reviewing them, and, you know, my expectation is that fairly soon, i'll be considering what the next steps are. what i'm unequivocal about is that we need immigration reform; that my overriding preference is to see congress act. we had bipartisan action in the senate. the house republicans have sat on it for over a year. that has damaged the economy. it has held america back.

it is a mistake. and in the absence of congressional action, i intend to take action to make sure that we're putting more resources on the border; that we're upgrading how we process these cases, and that we find a way to encourage legal immigration and give people some path so that they can start paying taxes and pay a fine and learn english and be able to not look over their shoulder, but be legal since they have been living here for quite sometime. so, you know, i suspect that on my flight back this will be part of my -- my reading, taking a look at some of the specifics that we have looked at, and i'll be making an announcement soon. but i want to be very clear, my intention is in the absence of

action by congress, i'm going to do what i can do within the legal constraints of my office, because it's the right thing to do for the country. all right. thank you very much people of whales. i had a wonderful time. >> president obama at the end of the nato summit in wales with a question that is fascinating suggesting that he may take action unilaterally on immigration reform if congress which is back in session next week does not take action, the president saying he will make decisions soon. but as far as the headlines, the president for the first time since islamic state has been ratcheting up their attacks on both americans in north iraq seem to leave the door open now to the united states taking military action against islamic state in syria. the president said this would go in phrases. the first phase was to provide humanitarian relief for people under attack by the islamic state in iraq, the second phase

was to try to start pushing back, and a third phase which the goal is to destroy, degrade islamic state and the question about going into syria, the president said the goal here is not merely to keep -- to keep islamic state bottled up, to contain them, but the goal, the president said, is to go after them. he just seemed to make it very clear there is a very methodical systematic process that may take some time. i want to get some reaction from randall pinkston who joins us in studio. there is no much pressure that we see on the president. there he is in europe and he says everybody in nato agrees that islamic state is a threat to them. are they as on board in your estimation with the united states leading some sort of coalition against islamic state in terms of attacking them in syria? >> clearly, there are some questions among nato members about exactly what actions they

should take. take, for example, the whole issue in ukraine and crimea, some remembers are reticent to even criticize them. everyone knows that putin is basically ignoring the sanctions and as the president talks about ratcheting sanctions up, they don't seem to care. nato obviously has problems, but as they say this meeting of nato may have been the most important since the fall of the cold war. the president references article 5, an attack against a member of nato is considered a attack against them all. and now they are also looking at threats to non-member states. >> and the president said they have this rapid reaction force. the president said he also got nato members to agree to ratchet up their defense spending as a percentage of gdp above 2%.

what is the significance of that? >> i have a chart from "the guardian." the united states spends on defense, some 3 -- $400 billion a year, compared to the united kingdom, spending of about $70 billion a year. clearly, the u.s. is far outpacing other members of nato, and there are only four that reach that 2% mark. four out of 28 nations. so the call is for a of them to spend more on defense so they can be more robust in their response to all of the threats. >> and as far as now nato and the european union and the united states react to the ceasefire that is now in place between ukraraine and russia, i want to go to phil ittner. phil, i understand there is some push by the president and the british prime minister to make sure these sanctions go forward. the president suggesting it is

merely politics that there is russia on the very day european allies are considering more sanctions, there is russia agreeing to a ceasefire. where does this go? do the sanctions move forward at this point? >> well, they are in a holding pattern right now, a david, but you are right, it is interesting that that was brought up to keep the pressure on the kremlin at this point. this ceasefire, there is a lot of concern that it is only temporary, and can be counterproductive. but it is interesting just to quote president obama there, about the ceasefire, that the united states is hopeful, but skeptical, and i think that is reiterated around europe. we heard from david cameron saying we need to keep the

pressure on. david it is also interesting to note, however, we have heard a very quick response from the russians. we heard the russian foreign minister saying this kind of language is counterproductive and could damage any kind of peace process. so a lot of shots over the bow as far as where things go from here, but certainly the ceasefire being looked upon as a positive development, but is it only temporary, or is it going to lead to some sort of lasting peace? >> i want to bring in lisa stark into the discussion here. lisa the two headlines coming out that there is a ceasefire agreement, and the question about whether sanctions should continue, but also islamic state. it did sound like the president after getting hammered in washington because of a gaffe he made last week when he suggested the u.s. doesn't have strategy for dealing with the islamic

state. here he said not only do we have a strategy, but he seemed to be building the idea that they will attack. >> he certainly said they need to dismantle the islamic state, he made it clear that there will be no boots on the ground, but we need partner there to work on our behalf on the grounding, leading you to believe as you say that the u.s. is perhaps preparing to take some action against the islamic state in syria. and the president emphasized how unified nato is. he said there is a unity and support on the ukraine jani janish -- issue, and he is getting no pushback on the need

to fight the islamic state in the middle east. clearly a message that these countries are coming together and working to do what they need to do to tackle these explosive issues that the world is facing right now. >> between the conflicts in iraq and the challenges with islamic state, and everything else that nay -- nato has on its plate, it's a fascinating time for them to meet. >> david, yes. >> reporter: the fall of the berlin wall, the symbolic end of the cold war, marked the beginning of a new role for nato, the north atlantic treaty organization. initially nato was formed to counter the threat from the soviet union, and it's communist block nations. this was the political landscape at the end of the cold war, nato

nations in blue, the soviet union and itself allies in red. today the alliances are vastly different. but some of the old conflicts, the threat from russian ambitions in the ukraine, and new crises from libya to afghanistan to islamic state pose new challenges for the old alliance. >> our nato summit here in wales will be one of the most important summits in the history of our alliance. >> reporter: in the past two decades, nato has expanded its mission beyond its members. in 1995 and again in 1999, nato launched air strikes in the form of yugoslavia, after allegations of war crimes. after the attack on mer merck -- america in 2001, nato

joined the war on terror. in 2011, nato also intervened in libya, but both libya and afghanistan remain in turmoil. >> nato leaders remember the dead of previous wars, and say they are working to avoid another in ukraine. >> reporter: some member stays are urging a more aggressive response. >> i do believe the international community as a whole has an obligation to stop the islamic state from advancing further. >> reporter: nato secretary general says an expanded role for the organization will require more defense funding from member states, more training exercises, and new partnerships. and some of those partnerships will involve countries that are not members of nato including

israel, nigeria, and morocco, and the eastern block initiative. so nato alone will not be able to stop isil. >> randall thank you. great piece. if you missed president obama's news conference, some headlines, the president announced that the united states will contribute a billion dollars to a nato quick reaction force. a response to have 35,000 soldiers who have assist with what nato missions are on the table. the president also said -- he got an agreement from all of the nato members that they will strengthen their defense above and beyond what they have been doing now. regarding a ceasefire with ukraine, between russia and ukraine, the president said he was hopeful, but skeptical that the separatists aligned with

russia will low through, and russia will stop violating ukraine's territorial integrity, and the sanctions against russia should continue. and there is a widespread unanemity that the islamic state poses a real threat. and he vowed to go after islamic state. and he seemed to indicate this coalition would eventually go after islamic state in syria. i'm david shuster. stay with us throughout the day. the "stream" starts right now. today on the "stream" -- >> forget the drugs, mexican cartel is controlling a billion dollars in avocados.

hey, jennar fuzz mike troober munny sling... awwwwww scram! i'm crust mike jubby roll bond chow gonna lean up an kiss bet. peas charty get town down. [laughter] ♪ borf a liver tute face stummy wag ♪ pow pam sha-beeps stella nerf berms. saxa-nay nay? badumps a head. temexiss gurrin. juppa left. fluppa jown! brone a brood. what? catch up on what everyone's talking about with

the x1 entertainment operating system. preloaded with the latest episodes of the top 100 shows. only from xfinity. real reporting that brings you the world. >> this is a pretty dangerous trip. >> security in beirut is tight. >> more reporters. >> they don't have the resources to take the fight to al shabaab. >> more bureaus, more stories. >> this is where the typhoon came ashore. giving you a real global perspective like no other can. >> al jazeera, nairobi. >> on the turkey-syria border. >> venezuela. >> beijing. >> kabul. >> hong kong. >> ukraine. >> the artic. real reporting from around the world. this is what we do. al jazeera america. >> these young people deserve justice >> anatomy of a protest... >> ...the police look like they're getting ready to come down the street >> with militarized police departments >> forces their message... >> they're actually firing canisters of gas... >> a fractured community demands answers >> what do we want? >> justice! >> when do we want it? >> now! >> faul lines, al jazeera america's hard hitting... >> there blocking the door... >> ground breaking... >> truth seeking... >> we have to get out of here...

award winning investigative documentary series... special episode ferguson: city under siege only on al jazeera america hi, i'm lisa fletcher, and you are in the "stream." if you buy avocados, chances are you are supporting a mexican drug cartel. we'll break down how one of america's favorite fruits is green gold for organized crime. ♪ our digital producer wajahat ali is here, and bringing in all of your