little bit. there's a lot more to this story than just a soldier walking away. >> reporter: at question, were any u.s. troops killed while searching for him. some soldiers say yes. six troops were killed. the pentagon says there's no evidence of that. >> this just in. the u.s. military announced that major general kenneth dal will lead that investigation. thanks so much for watching. wolf starts right now. i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington. we want to welcome our visitors from the u.s. and around the world. the fighting in iraq threatens to explode into an all out civil war. the u.s. taking steps to protect several thousands american

citizens stationed in iraq while weigh out how to respond to the crisis. the terror group isis is doing a propaganda campaign. cnn cannot confirm the authenticity of the photos. a u.s. assault ship with 550 marines on board now moving into the gulf. the iraqi air force claiming to have killed more than 200 militan militants. we're using our resources to cover this story like no other news organization can. let's begin with three of our cnn reporters. arwa damon is joining us. jim acosta has the latest and

resa reports from tehran. let's begin with arwa. curdish forces in the north appear to be standing their own ground against these isis militants. what can you tell us about the very latest? >> reporter: that's right, wolf. the front lines are moving closer to baghdad with the fight seeming to focus on areas about an hour to the north of the capital. there are fairly significant battles under way between most and the syrian border. as isis was moving throughout this territory launching that massive offensive there really was one force that stood up to them. we can barely see beyond the

tree line. they are ready should isi circumstancisis try to advance. the iraqi army abandoned this and other positions even before isis arrived. it's contesting the resolve. they have attacked and we pushed them back. up to 200 fighters armed with

the welcomes and vehicles be iraq army used to have. we try to ask people if they saw isis down the road. the first two cars say there's nothing. it's hard to tell if people are afraid. the family in this car says yes just five minutes away. it was fine. they just asked for our ids. the family is leaving home and everything behind. security in the city was never reliant on the iraqi military.

they were having significant problem taking care of themselves. we just didn't trust them. as terrorists graups are gaining this strepts and capacity, the governor felt the ned to fortify the city ordering this at the end of 2013. there's still plans to build a fence, set up border posts and video surveillance. the city limits are controlled. the only force keeping the brutal isis onslaught at bay. it's no wonder that so many people across the country are so terrified. this is nation that's seen its fair share of violence over the past ten-plus years. when you talk to people now they'll tell you what they are seeing unfolding and the promise of even more violence to come makes what they have been

through seems like it wasn't all that bad. that's how serious the situation is. >> arwa day damon reporting from iraq. the obama administration is considering air strikes but in a yahoo news interview john kerry says that's just one possibility. >> they may well be one of the options that are important to be able to stem the tide and stop the movement of people moving around in open convoys and trucks and terrorizing people. when you have people murdering, assassinating in these mass massacres, you have to stop that. you do what you need to do if you have to try to stop it from the air otherwise. what are you hearing about these

next moves. >> the president wads briefed by his national security advisor. when asked whether this white house is approaching the crisis with the same intensity, a senior administration official told me they are approaching this crisis with the same urgency that they had last week and was doing so all weekend long. safe to say that the entire national security team for this president has been busy reviewing these options all weekend long and from what i understand from talking to senior administration officials the white house, national security team was looking at the pros and cons of various options that the president might take a look at. what we don't know at this point is whether or not the president has been presented with a final set of options. that is something that we're waiting to hear from this white house on. given what we saw over the weekend, security being upgraded at the u.s. embassy and baghdad personnel being relocated out of

that embassy and even the secretary of state making those diplomatic calls throughout the weekend, it does appear the white house is making the necessary moves and taking the necessary steps that will be needed to start moving towards some military response but at this point we don't know what, if any, military response there would be at this point. it seemed like there would be something this friday. as he said, this will take several days. several days are now passing. it's a new week. the president has just wrapped up a trip to palm springs, california and southern california. he's now wheels up on air force one heading back toward the white house. we're hoping to have some more details. >> thank you. thanks very much. we have heard con flicking

reports of iran's involvement in this crisis. two senior officials tells cnn the obama administration is exploring direct talks with iran over the situation. hundreds of revolutionary guard elite troops are already in i rook now. iran's president denying that and saying he could consider a request for help. what's going on. what does the president want? what's going on there? restro >> reporter: they want a stable iraq. this rising insurgency in iraq. it's so that's what happens what washington wants.

we do know there are military officials in iraq but we're told that they are only there for military guidance and strategy and training. could that change? could it will iranian government send in forces? it is possible if things escalate in iraq but the president is down playing that scenario. similar alliance took place in 2001. now there's talk it could happen again because these two countries who have been bitter rivals for much of 35 years sharing some very compelling comment pauses. obviously, the u.s. is a lot invested in iraq. a lot of blood. they don't want the background government to topple.

they don't want the insurgencies to come across iran. you look at this picture. on paper it would make sense for these two countries to unite. it hasn't happened yet but remarkable that the talk is taking place. >> there will be discussing in vienna this week between top u.s. and iranian officials over iran's nuclear program. will they also discuss iraq. we should find out fairly soon on that. we'll stay in close touch with you. next, is this tend of iraq as we know it? some are saying partitioning the country may be the only way to hold out a civil war. the chilling words of the isis leader as he left u.s. detention back in 2009.

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was drawn up could explode and three separate countries could emerge out of iraq? >> many leaders in the region who i had been interviewing and many u.s. commanders say it's really hard to avoid that reality. it looks like that's what's happening in a defacto way. one of the big problems is that part of that partition will be an al qaeda run state like part of iraq and syria. that is a major, major problem. i have not been so worried about this since 9/11 and since the taliban take over. >> tell us why. >> this is so fundamental. for ten years or more the united states has been battling to cripple and defeat al qaeda and they were doing a pretty good job in afghanistan and at the end of the surge in iraq. now all of a sudden this is coming back. if you have to even try to imagine what it might mean, the

words of the new york city police commissioner when he said we're terrified of blow back coming to new york city. that's 12 years after 9/11. it's because of the syria war which has been left to fester and now all of this stand back and not intervene has manifested itself in iraq. it doesn't look so much like it will be a sectarian civil war but a partition. >> you've been speaking to u.s. officials as concerned about this crisis. >> absolutely. you're already seeing the battle lines drawn along the ethnic lines. isis and its sunni allies have taken over a part of the country. up in the north they're making their own strike.

the battle lines already reflect those divisions. it also presents a dilemma for the administration as to how do they help. the iraqi military is seen as a shia militia. that's why a political agreement is so essential in these stages that when the u.s. comes in, it does. it's for a unified iraq and not for one side even inadvertently in what's becoming an ethic battle. >> the iranians might be able for cooperation with the united states. >> many, many adversary points and sometimes they have cooperated.

is responsible for the survival right now. when you have a situation that threatened the two, the united states and iran then perhaps there's sop opportunistic room for cooperation. nobody, not the u.s. and not the iranians want to see iraq break up. the big problem is how to stop the march of isis. nobody really believes, i don't think any way, nobody has said yet that they think isis could take the city's huge, complex and shia dominated as baghdad. they have made these lightning fast advanced. >> is the u.s. going to talk to the iranians on this? is there going to be some level of coordination? >> they left open the possibility of speaking to officials this morning. they talked about how in that context that the subject of iraq

will likely come up as well. they are clearly especially to it. >> thanks very much. you ready for tomorrow? >> very ready. hard questions, hard choices. this will be the subject of town hall with hillary clinton. lots of people will want to ask her questions about this deep, deep threat to our global security. >> we'll be watching every step of the way. >> and the american people chosen to ask questions. coming up, the colonel who watched the isis leader walk

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welcome back to our special coverage of the crisis in iraq. i'm wolf blitzer in washington. the prime minister is looking for volunteers to protect

baghdad. that's his latest move as he waits for the united states to decide if military intervention is coming. joining us now to discuss the impact is the former ambassador in iraq. from london the deputy national security advisor. thanks very much for coming in to all three of you. let me play a bit of what the president of the united states said last november when he welcomed the prime minister of iraq to the white house. >> we were encouraged by the work that the prime minister has done in the past to ensure that all people inside of iraq feel that they have a voice in their

government. >> he said he was encouraged. that was back in november. a lot of observers were saying then, when tom freedman wrote that nori is a jerk and the president's optimism at that time. what was he thinking? >> i don't know. i don't get it. just days after u.s. troops left and it's true that he did not approve an agreement to keep them there. he's been on a tear to create a shia dominated state. it's tragedy there and the whole world is paying for that. >> do you believe all of that optimism since the u.s. withdrawal is justified that things were moving in the right direction? that he was working a crew and that democracy was really in

play? >> he did a few good things. he cooperated with our surge forces in terms of getting with instability and conflict. during the second term there was real problem in bringing all iraqis together and working with them. our withdrawal has created a vacuum that's been filled by regional rivals. >> bambassador, you were there. you were in u.s. ambassador in iraq. was it really very legitimate to think this guy would do the right thing? >> yeah. kind of if i had the bad, i'll

have the good. we were able to do a fair number of things with them. we were able to cooperate with him on some things. he's not an instinctive plurist. most of the people around him on all sides really not that way either. there wasn't a whole lot to choose from. >> are you saying the country will be partitioned to three parts? >> no. i'm saying it won't be held together by jeffersonian, liberal rule of law, constitutional consideration. we the still hold the country together if we play our cards

right. >> all three of you standby. we'll have much more of this discussion coming up. u.s. embassy in baghdad now, can it be left behind if troops breakthrough. >> a top republican senator says why he doesn't think president obama's answers on iraq aren't good enough. on how to take care of me and my baby. luckily, unitedhealthcare has a simple program that helps moms stay on track with their doctors and get the right care and guidance-before and after the baby is born. simple is good right now. (anncr vo) innovations that work for you. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. what's your favorite kind of cheerios? honey nut. but... chocolate is my other favorite... oh yeah, and frosted! what's your most favorite of all? hmm...the kind i have with you. me too.

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welcome back our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. this is a cnn special report. militants are stepping up their propaganda campaign. an isis militant posted new videos on a facebook page showing five captured men being interrogated. another video shows one of the men after he was executed. a u.s. amphibious assault ship now moving into the persian gulf. iraqi forces strike back. the iraqi air force claimed to have killed more than 200 militants in air raid. that according to iraqi state television. let's bring back our panel.

some workers at the u.s. embassy are very nervous. the u.s. spent a million dollars building the largest embassy in the world thinking this would be the heart of a great democracy in iraq. now the few thousand who are left there military, contractors, others, a lot of them are worried this could be the end. >> thing is an important issue, an issue for the americans that are there. we have to think about

contingencies for withdrawing them safely. >> how worried should americans be that the 4 our 5,000 americans who are there could get caught up in a saigon evacuation. >> i think we have learned the lessons of benghazi. i don't really see isis taking baghdad. i do think t urgent business to help convene a regional meeting. this could easily be done. a meeting is going on in vienna right now between iraq and the united states. it can be and should be done. the action taken, there needs to be a political track and a military track to stop isis.

>> at what point does the president of the united states tell those american diplomats, contractors, personnel, it's time to get out? >> usually the president doesn't do that in one fell swoop, swol of. you reduce the number of personnel and change its competition. security forces are flowing in. people who are not essential to the immediate mission are flowing to other places so you don't have as many people to move. the danger isn't that baghdad will be overrun. the danger is that isis could surround and cut off and besiege all of baghdad. that's the problem facing the president right now. >> what would happen if that were to occur if isis surrounds baghdad? what would be the impact? >> if they can't drooi them out

and not good on the obviousive, either the iranians could come in in a big way or we'll have to use our fire power to drive them back. >> or the neighborhood could intervene. this is a regional problem and they're all affected. the idea that they could fall, not just fail. >> that's interesting. iraqi military despite the billions in u.s. assistance, weapons, training, crumbling in parts of iraq. some of these militia are coming to the aid.

>> the success or hope of building a professional military community with respect that we further undermine, i think if there's a political settlement, that may involve the prime minister to step aside so that the people that sunni areas can cooperate with the new government as they did during the surge period, they shifted sides from the extremists to the government and to the coalition. we need to do the same thing. >> was that surge successful because the u.s. taxpayers were basically paying off those sunni leaders. they were spending millions and millions of dollars just describing these guys. >> wolf, it was successful. it stopped the insurgency --

>> was it because of the money the u.s. was shelling out? >> it was because of more troops. it was because of more money. there were a dozen reasons. the end result was it succeeded. it gave iraq a chance to try to start a new. that chance has been squandered. >> it has. we'll continue this conversation. thanks to all three of you. president obama getting slammed on iraq be my top republicans. one standing by to join us to explain why he's demanding better answers from the commander in chief. the effects of the conflict spilling over the country's borders. he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet?

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welcome back to our special report, "crisis in iraq."

president obama is getting slammed by a whole bunch of republicans. senator james inhofe put out a very strong statement the other day. it reads the nation deserves better answers from president obama. the president needs to put forward a come prehence ifr strategy for iraq and the middle east. one that tells our military men and women that their blood, suite and tears over the past decade weren't in vain. senator inhofe joining us. thanks for coming in. >> nice to be with you. blood, sweat and tears came from a guy named bryan hacklor. he had many of his people in the marines killed. they are devastated over what's happened. >> i was there in 2005 when general petraeus was there. they weren't even thinking about a surge then. it looked like the marine had done a pretty good job and right

now it's hard to believe and heartbreaking to think about it. it's heartbreaking when you think of that blood, sweat and tears invested by the u.s. trying to secure some sort of semblance of democracy in iraq. what do you want president obama to do? >> first of all, we -- in 2009, 2010, and 2013 we sent some very strong recommendations to the president and said whatever you do, don't cut and run and leave them without any intelligence and other sources. he did it any way. >> what do you want him to do? >> i understand we do have some

tomahawks in the persian gulf. they can hit anything in iraq if it becomes necessary. i think we need to do some air strikes. the main thing is to offer them the support of having the intelligence and then the equipment that they need to have. we just walked away from it. >> the u.s. left behind a ton of equipment for the iraqi military and spent billions of dollars training them and gave them the help for nearly a decade. the first semblance of a little tension they take off their uniforms, they run away. the isis militants have captured dozens and dozens of hum vees, tanks, armored personnel carriers. there was no resistance. >> that's true for about a decade. we were giving them a lot of equipment. it was the abrupt withdrawal.

i know this because the oklahoma 45th was involved in the training over there. just all of a sudden take it away without leaving any of the chief, easy, no boots on the ground support >> you want the u.s. to send troops into iraq? >> no. he's doing that already. he's sending a bunch of marines into the green zone. that part is all right just protect the ones that are there and help them get out. >> you want cruise missiles and i assume drone strikes. a lot of these militants are in jeeps, tow trucks. they're just driving around. finding the right targets, you spend a million dollars sending in a tomahawk cruise missile, it could kill a bunch of civilians.

>> they will make sure they have target they can hit and utilize. we have to give them the support we also do. sg c >> can you trust nuri? >> he agreed to put some sunni in his cabinet and he didn't do that. he's partially to blame for the problems that we have. now their talking about joining in with iran on this thing which would be a horrible mistake. >> even senator lindsey graham suggested maybe it's time pr the u.s. to start discussing options with iran as awful as the u.s.-iranian relationship is. we have to leave it there. we'll continue this conversation on another occasion. we'll take a quick break. more news right after this. s fr. like 50,000 bonus points

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later, the isis insurgents in iraq, this man, spent four years in u.s. custody in iraq. and when he was released back in 2009, he said to the camp's commanding officer, and i'm quotesing al baghdadi now, i'll see you in new york. was he the dangerous militant then that he has become right now? let's bring in colonel ken king, former commander at camp buca,

case to face with al baghdadi when he said those words. thanks for joining us. >> good afternoon, wolf. thank you for having me. >> take us back to that last encounter you had with al baghdadi when he said to you, "i'll see you in new york. i'll see you guys in new york," the specific quote. what did you think at the time? was he referring to a another 9/11 attack in new york or what was his message to you? >> well, he -- first off, i was an army reserve commander, commanded an mp battalion, and we were responsible for the detention center at camp buca iraq. al baghdadi knew we were a new york unit from long island. and when we did our detainee transport missions up north to baghdad, because we released no detainees from camp buca. we always transferred north of baghdad for the iraqis to do disposition. as we handed them off to the next unit, the chain of custody,

he looked back to us, saw our patches and he said "i'll see you in new york." now, again, him knowing we were from new york, i believe that what he was saying at the time was that he thought that he would be out and released in short order. and apparently he was. and he is now in charge of isis. >> did you know, because he spent four years in u.s. military custody at camp buca. did you guys realize then that he was a brutal, brutal terrorist, someone who would go out and create this kind of terror organization? an organization that even al qaeda says is too extreme for them? >> well, we had many of the most dangerous folks in the world there at camp buca. and we had them in a certain area, identified them and put them in a certain compound. to be honest, he was not in that compound. he did exhibit certain events, and he did expect certain tendencies and behaviors, but while he was dangerous, he was

not one of the most dangerous. at least at the time. >> what was your impression of this guy? you got to see him in action under these military prison conditions. >> he was very intelligent, he's very savvy. again, when you spend a number -- a period of time within the detention center, you have nothing to do but to watch, to understand the rules, to look to be habits, et cetera. which is why one of the tendencies we did was to rotate our detainees through the compounds and rotate our guard forces, so that we did not have any habits established or they were able to take advantage of habits. but he was very aware of the rules. he was also very aware of the ramifications of violating the rules. number of times he tried to instigate a reaction out of my guard force and my soldiers and sailors were very professional, maintained discipline and self discipline at all times. and we did not let him escalate anything within the camp. and as a result, we had no escapes during our tenure.

>> colonel king, i want you to stay with us. i want to continue this interview. i want to take a quick break. much more with colonel king right after this. 62 and older about a great way to live a better retirement. it's called a reverse mortgage. [ male announcer ] call right now to receive your free dvd and booklet with no obligation. it answers questions like how a reverse mortgage works, how much you qualify for, the ways to receive your money, and more. plus, when you call now, you'll get this magnifier with l.e.d. light absolutely free. when you call the experts at one reverse mortgage today, you'll learn the benefits of a government-insured reverse mortgage. it will eliminate your monthly mortgage payments and give you tax-free cash from the equity in your home. and here's the best part -- you still own your home. take control of your retirement today. ♪

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we're back with colonel ken king, former commander at camp bucca, face-to-face with al baghdadi, the isis leader, when he uttered those words, "i'll

see you guys in new york." and just to repeat, when he said to you after four years of captivity, i'll see you guys in new york, you did not see that as a direct threat, another 9/11 threat, did you? >> i did not see it as a direct threat at the time. i saw it as a -- i believed he had confidence he would be released to the iraqi judicial system. however, that being said, looking at things today and recent developments, i might consider those things -- those same words under a different context now. >> i would too. i think with hindsight, it was clearly in my mind, at least, a direct threat. so when you hear about what's going on right now, colonel king, how frustrated are you? how angry are you that all the blood, sweat and tears, all the effort that u.s. military personnel did in iraq seems, at least now, seems to be wasted? >> well, i -- as we discussed earlier, wolf, i spent a year in '03, '04 as a civil affairs

officer during the first rotation. and we did a lot of the nation-building, returning to normalcy. and you're absolutely right. we spent a lot of time, a lot of effort there. when i -- when i found out that the iraqi ministry of justice had released al baghdadi, personal personally, yes, i was disappointed. because we built legal cases for all detainees for them to be adjudicated. and to see the fact that he was released was a bit personally disappointing. however, i must respect the decisions of a sovereign he government. >> the sovereign government in baghdad. nouri al maliki, turned out to be such a huge disappointment, right? >> yes. the release was disappointing to me. >> very disappointing. would you send u.s. troops back into iraq, under these circumstances? >> i -- well, that's a decision that's way above my pay grade, wolf. i -- however, i think there are a number of ways we can help somebody when they're asking for

help. the culture, as i was -- as i was exposed to it during '03, '04, '08, '09, a culture that action and force. it understands deeds over words. and i understand, again, watching the news, watching your reports, that iraq is looking for help. well, my experience has always been, when someone is looking for help, they will continue to ask for help until they get help. so the short anticipatswer is, think we should accepted troops in, that's really not my call. but i think there are a number of ways we can probably help the iraqi government if we deem fit. if we deem so. >> key word, if. all right, colonel king, thanks so much for joining us. thanks so much for your service to the united states. we deeply, deeply appreciate it. that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. i'll be back 5:00 p.m. eastern in swfigures "the situati