this is cnn tonight. i'm don lemon. soccer fans are glued to their tv sets, rooting and howling for their teams. tonight, a big victory for team united states. there's also breaking news in the great violent divider in the world. sunni islamic militants doing their very best to tear iraq into pieces, dividing it into sectarian regions where hate would dominate. militants from isis, the islamic state in iraq and syria are on a murderous rampage across iraq. and tonight president obama orders 275 american troops to support and secure the u.s. embassy in baghdad.

we'll have a full report for you coming right up here on cnn tonight. first, to the thrilling u.s. world cup victory tonight. vice president joe biden just a little while ago celebrating the team's win in the locker room. captain clint dempsey helped the u.s. launch their world cup run in record-breaking style, scoring 32 seconds into the game. in the second half, ghana ties the game and then the u.s. substitute john brooks heads into the win we are just five minutes to go. so joining me now is the host of world sports on cnn international who was at the game in brazil and richard roth, cnn's senior international correspondent a few miles south of us hanging out in nevada smiths, which is down in greenwich village. we'll get to the richard in just a second. i was on the air with you earlier, you were predicting ghana would win. what do you have to say for yourself? [ laughter ] hi, don, yeah, thank you very much for cutting right to the chase there and rubbing that one in. i got the score line right.

i said 2-1. i just might have had the wrong team winning. that was one heck of a game we saw from the usa. it was really just unbelievable and i'm telling you, i just left the stadium right this moment and i was speaking to some of the players afterwards and you can see they are not only elated after this victory but you can see that there's a huge sense of relief this was a must-win game for these guys and everybody in the stadium knew i would say there was about 90% of the people inside that stadium were definitely american supporters. my goodness, did they ever make sure to let these guys out there know. they are the loudest, most energetic fans ever. it was really incredible and i was speaking with kyle beckerman afterwards and he said that it gave him goose bumps as he was listening to the national anthem play and hearing the fans and it was really special and motivating having all of those fans behind him. it was really quite, quite the night. >> lara, tell us more about talking to the team.

that's quite an opportunity to get to do that. >> absolutely. this was -- ghana wasn't a pushover whatsoever. in fact, they were the slight favorites heading into this match. so for the usa to do this, i'd say they were pretty underrated heading into the youtube. this was a big game because now they have to move on and play portugal and germany. two very difficult teams. this win is not only three points -- which helps them move out of the group stage to stay alive in the world cup but this is a a win that gives them necessary confidence and that know how that they can do it. and like you said, the first goal, 32 seconds in by the captain, clint dempsey. there is the fastest goal in world cup history. then in the second half you have the dying moments of the game and this youngster, john brooks, out of nowhere, the last person you would possibly be think

would be scoring the game winner. he's a defender, scores with a header and it sealed the victory. it was just -- this is a confidence-boosting big win for the americans. >> don't ever underestimate the united states. i'm glad you said that. there were so many soccer fans in the stadium because people think there's not that much support here. many people do but there is. richard roth, you are a testament to that because you are possibly at the soccer epicenter of new york city right now. what was the fan reaction like where you are? >> well, don, imagine being in a packed rush hour new york subway train with strangers. transfer that here inside soccer mecca nevada smiths in manhattan where everyone has a common theme and goal. all of these usa supporters packed in with 90 minutes of tension. that's what happened here. huge eruption on that dempsey goal in that first minute then when john brooks, the substitute off the bench, scored the second goal, the crowd went nuts. after wards i asked supporters, what do they feel about the

match? >> amazing game. >> usa! usa! >> we played our hearts out and it showed. we won. >> we're coming for the world cup title! i told y'all, man! we got injuries and we're still coming back, baby! usa! we're number one! we're number one! usa! usa! usa! >> everybody's team. everybody's team, usa! >> everybody's team, usa, we got this. portugal, you're next! nothing on us. usa, baby! [ laughter ] >> now if you think san antonio spurs got revenge over miami last night, don -- i hear you laughing -- imagine what eight years of frustration for the united states with ghana because ghana eliminated the usa in the last two world cups. so there's more at stake. there were some ghanaians in the bar area here. everything good natured and now let's see what the u.s. can do in the future.

>> i'm laughing because i know when you let the microphone go like that you have to trust it's going to come back. richard roth thank you joining us from the west village. lara as well. thank you very much for joining us. joining me now are clint dempsey's brother lance and lance's wife ashley. you guys must be thrilled to death after 32 seconds in the game and he scores. what was that moment like for you? >> it was amazing we were screaming and yelling and then taking a breath and then just taking it all in. >> it was pretty unreal. >> at one point in the match it looked like clint sustained an injury to his nose. that must have been a tough moment for you as well. >> oh, yeah, i thought for sure he broke his nose, i've broken mine before. >> it was painful watching the slow motion replays over and over again. >> the slower they did it, the worse it looked? >> have you had a chance to talk to him since? >> no, i talked to my mom and

he's okay. might have an issue breathing out of one side of his nostril but he'll get it fixed but he's going to continue. >> lance, i hear that baby in the background. this must be a family affair for you. you guys must be over the moon. i'm sure you're very proud. >> oh, yeah. >> we are, we've got lots of babies in this family and i think they're all celebrating tonight. >> there was one point afghan -- after ghana tied in the game that people were worried the u.s. might not win. were you worried about that? >> it seemed like we were on the defensive for a while so i was worried and then they had some chances and then sure enough one of the chances went in and then it was just unbelievable how the newcomer defender brooks, how he

came and got the header and i'm sure had a breakthrough tournament that he dreamed about. so thank goodness for him and that was exciting to get redemption on ghana from the past two world cups. >> i said at the top of this newscast that the vice president was in the locker room to help team usa celebrate. and this is a picture of clint in the locker room with the vice president. that's a big deal. >> oh, yeah. >> it is a big deal. that's a pretty awesome privilege and i think everything he's getting to do is pretty amazing. i think he proved that every time he gets on the field. >> and who is that little mike -- tyke in the background? >> that's his nephew, beckham dempsey. >> beckham dempsey? >> oh, yes. >> named after who we think,

right? >> well, we thought the name was pretty awesome. and being a soccer fan, my husband disagreed. >> that was the name that convinced me. it convinced me. >> he's got to be born for stardom with a name like that. >> so david beckham was a catalyst but you thought it was a right name, correct? >> i know, i know. >> thank you, guys, thank you very much. lance damp zi and ashley dempsey the brother and sister-in-law of clint dempsey. congratulations to both of you. u.s. national team fans around the world and country celebrating tonight's victory so joining me tonight is alex morgan and abby wambaugh, u.s. national soccer team players and olympic gold medalists. they watched the game in hartford with the rest of their teammates, they have big smiles on their faces and from brazil is soccer writer matt negron, the creator of awayandhome.com. we'll start with the u.s. women.

abbey, alex, what a game, how do you feel watching the u.s. men battle through and winning? >> wow. what a game. i mean, so many positives to take out of the game and they started out well, you know? they responded well and we were just so excited at the bar we were at with all of our teammates. >> we were going nuts. it was exciting. obviously getting that early goal it felt like we were hanging on for dear life the entire match but, man, john brooks, are you kidding me? 21 years old, kid comes up and saves the americans' life in this game. it's awesome. >> and it's gonna because abby a lot of people might not know this but ghana has been a huge nemesis for the u.s. is this victory extra sweet considering gallon knocked the u.s. out of the last two world cups? >> absolutely. we all know in the u.s. soccer world we all know that ghana has knocked us out the last two rounds so getting this win, the three points, you know, it's sweeter against ghana.

but moving forward we want to keep securing points so that we can get out of the group. that's the most important thing and the way that jeremy's playing, the game against portugal, it gives us a great chance getting these three points moving forward. >> you have to remember the goal differential as well. the portugal/germany became we watched earlier today, that's huge for us to see that portugal gave soup many goals. >> alex, which player would you say was the most instrumental? was it john brooks, clint dempsey or someone else? >> i think it was all three subs that came off the bench. they lifted the energy of the team. john brooks came in and did so well. obviously with the header but in the back as well. obviously he -- i think he had one mishap but he recovered from it. in the back tim howard played really well. i think it overall was a great team effort. obviously there were some individuals that didn't play as well as we usually see them play but i think there might be some adjustments moving forward and like i said before, there's more positives to take out of this game. >> abby, the women's soccer team

has had a tremendous amount of success including taking home the world cup in the past but the men haven't quite reached that status, that height of success yet. could this be the year for them, do you think? >> well, i haven't picked -- i have them picked in our team pool. i have them picked going all the way. and i'm a firm believer that there's no greater time than the present to get things accomplished and if you have that belief in yourself and i jurgen has worked them pretty hard. it won't be easy but it's possible and i think tonight proves that not only to themselves but hopefully no their coaching staff moving forward so they can keep this thing running forward in the right direction they want it to go. >> ladies, we've got to get matt in here so stand by. just kidding with you, matt. last week the u.s. coach med headlines when he said that winning this world cup is just not realistic. do you think he is rethinking that after tonight's victory? >> it's tough to say. it's really hard when you look at the road ahead for the u.s.

men's team how they can even get out of the group let alone beating huge giants like the netherlands or brazil to get to the final. but that said, i think there's a lot to be looked at when you see all these fans who were at the game, they were singing the anthem so loud. they were clearly getting to the players. that's the type of thing that changes the way you look at the world cup when you actually see how the u.s. did and they didn't just win, they won in an incredibly dramatic fashion. so maybe they could get a little bit farther than was once thought. i don't know if they're going to get to the finals. i don't know if the coach thinks it's still possible but this win was important for them and the fans obviously. you saw those guys screaming and going crazy. you need that energy 24/7 for the next month. >> and way more u.s. fans in the stadium, correct? >> yeah. but at the same time, that's also because we're a lot richer country and we bought more tickets than anyone else in the world to go to the world cup. so it's a little hard to measure it based on that. but it still means a lot that

those fans are flying down to brazil to support a soccer team. >> absolutely. alex and abby, what's your message to the u.s. team? >> just build on that confidence from today. obviously the germany/portugal game gave them confidence and coming out of the gates and scoring and then scoring in dramatic fashion just building on that confidence. >> yeah, i would say probably just you have to keep moving forward. you used everything you possibly can from the game before to learn about that next game so you can go out and perform. secure as many points as possible. keep your players as healthy as possible. recover. you know, the first game is over with so now you can't be nervous. now it's about performance and getting points, getting through the group and at that point anything's possible. >> they should have the nerves behind them. let's hope so. fingers crossed. thank you very much abby wambach, mat negrin.

up next, the bloody insurgency in iraq. president obama orders u.s. troops to protect the embassy in baghdad. we're back in a moment. ♪ ben! well, that was close! you ain't lying! let quicken loans help you save your money.

nobody ever stomped their foot and asked for less. because what we all really want... ...is more. there's a reason it's called an "all you can eat" buffet. and not a "have just a little buffet". that's the idea behind the more everything plan. it's more of everything you want. for less. plus, get the droid maxx by motorola for 0 down. get more with our best plans on the best network. for best results, use verizon.

i got this. [thinking] is it that time? the son picks up the check? [thinking] i'm still working. he's retired. i hope he's saving. i hope he saved enough. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. whether you're just starting your 401(k) or you are ready for retirement, we'll help you get there. sfx: car unlock beep. vo: david's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. when folks think about wthey think salmon and energy. but the energy bp produces up here creates something else as well: jobs all over america. engineering and innovation jobs. advanced safety systems & technology. shipping and manufacturing.

across the united states, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. when we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. that's not a coincidence. it's one more part of our commitment to america. severe weather tonight in the nation's heartland. take a look at this amazing video. it's a rare and dangerous twin tornadoes touching down in northeast nebraska. so far one person has been killed, more than a dozen people

are hurt. first responders are still digging through damaged structures looking for more victims. the damage is far from over. the forecast is for more tornadoes overnight. we'll keep you updated on that. we'll get now to our other breaking news here, we're talking about iraq. president barack obama orders 275 troops to baghdad to help support and secure the u.s. embassy. he met tonight with his national security team to weigh additional military options to help iraq fight back against the bloody insurgency launched by sunni militants. joining me now is or very own anderson cooper, the host, of course, of "ac 360." he's in baghdad tonight as well as cnn's jim acosta, our senior white house correspondent in washington. anderson, to you first. the reports that isis extremists are advancing on the capital city, what's the atmosphere like in baghdad tonight? >> well, you know, it's tuesday morning here, dawn is just breaking, the sun is just coming up and it's certainly another

tense day in this nation's capital. there are check points all throughout this city. they have been been now throughout the last several days. those checkpoints have been fortified, are more heavily manned than they were just several days ago. but very real questions about the iraqi military and their capabilities to stop the advance of isis forces. just yesterday on monday in the northwest of iraq in a city called tal afar, shi'a and sunni turkmen, isis was able to take that city defeating iraqi forces. civilians are said to have fled into the desert and it's another remind of the failures iraqi military has had even though they outnumber isis forces something like 100-1. morale is low and they've certainly since the fall of mosul have been unable to stop largely these isis forces from advancing. >> anderson, if you could follow up on that, that's a good point. the iraqi troops outnumber the isis forces.

yet can you really pin it all on just morale? why don't they feel they can stand unto the isis forces when they outnumber them? >> certainly in an area like mosul which was the second largest any iraq and that's what fell first and that caught everybody by surprise, certainly shocked a lot of people with the government and nouri al maliki here, they didn't think the iraqi forces would fall that quickly and throw down their weapons, take off their uniforms and just try to make a run for it. that is a largely sunni city. iraqi forces are not particularly popular there. so that was an area, you could argue the iraqi forces didn't feel they could hold on to, didn't feel it was worth holding on to and thought it was better to just leave. the areas closer around the capital in baghdad, the 50 miles we were talking about, which is where isis forces are on the

outskirts, that would obviously be a lot tougher for isis forces to move on the city itself. these are -- these lines have been fortified just in the last couple 60 days. we've seen tens of thousands of volunteers, untrained civilians in many cases volunteering, though, to fight, to bolster iraqi military forces, to man checkpoints, to go to the front lines and try to take on isis. so there is a sense -- there's not a sense of sort of huge amounts of fear here in the capital. i think there was several days ago. but i think that's really kind of calmed down somewhat as news reports have shown these reports. it will be harder for isis to take the capital but they could make inroads elsewhere in the country. >> jim acosta, the president said to be meeting with his national security team tonight. is the meeting over? what are you hearing? >> that meeting did wrap up about a couple hours ago. we know the president met with a whole slew of advisors, don, and just looking at the list of

participants, this is one of the largest national security meetings i've ever seen read out by this white house. the vice president, he communicated in remotely from brazil, he's down there watching the world cup. but nearly every top national security and white house official you can think of, secretary of state john kerry, eric holder the attorney general, the secretary of defense chuck hagel, the chairman of the joint chiefs, the director of the cia, the director of national intelligence, samantha power, ambassador to the u.s. and so on. these are the kinds of meetings where decisions are weighed and made but from what i'm told by a senior administration official, the president has not yet made a decision regarding a strike on those isis militants in iraq but we do understand that among the options on the table they're talking about, yes, air strikes, whether they be via warplanes or drones. also boosting the training that is done by u.s. forces of iraqi security forces in that country and as you know earlier this evening the president authorized the deployment or sent a letter to congress saying he authorized a deployment of 275 troops to

baghdad to secure the embassy there. >> jim acosta, thank you very much. jim at the white house and anderson cooper. anderson, stay safe. jim, thanks again. as we have said, the insurgency is being led by the radical islamist group isis which is shorthand for "islamic state in iraq and syria." pamela brown takes a look at what's known about this extremely violent organization. >> reporter: publicized beheadings, targeted assassinations. a group so barbaric even al qaeda thinks it's too radical, though some are calling its leader the new osama bin laden. >> i ice has been among the most violent of any jihadist groups we've seen in the last several decades they do targeted assassination. they'll line up people and shoot them on the street. >> isis militants brutally taunt and execute iraqi soldiers on camera then publicize the bloody videos on social media. a new low in wartime propaganda

these photos posted on jihadist web sites but not verified by cnn reportedly show mass executions all part of a fund-raising recruiting an advertising campaign that show the world just how violent isis really is. >> this is an effort to demonstrate how dangerous these organizations are, at least in their own view, but it's a way to get the message out about who they are, what their goals are and ideally to attract individuals who may want to provide money to them but also recruiters from north africa or the west, including the united states or europe. >> reporter: many experts believe isis was born out of the iraq war, a counterterrorism official tells cnn from 2005 to 2007 it became a major counterweight to the u.s. military in large swathes during the war. >> this organization, isis, has from its very beginning used the war in iraq and u.s. military forces on the ground, large numbers of them, as its

principle source of recruitment, propaganda and resources to fight against the iraqi government. >> al baghdadi helped lead the group's insurgent is n syria. they stretch from the syrian city of aleppo to the outskirts of baghdad. right now, isis is marching toward the capital itself, rapidly commandeering territory and overpowering u.s.-trained iraqi troops. a counterterrorism official tells cnn its strategy is to dissolve the border between iraq and syria, creating one islamic fundamentalist state. >> they have the potential to sew chaos through the middle east. there's a lot of foreign fighters, even from europe and the united states, fighting with isis. >> the group has grown to at least several thousand fighters according to a u.s. official. the question is -- who is going to stop them? pamela brown, cnn, washington. >> pamela, thank you very much for that report. up next, we'll take a look at how the situation inside iraq

has gotten so out of control and what may be needed to bring order back to that country. we're moving our company to new york state. the numbers are impressive. over 400,000 new private sector jobs... making new york state number two in the nation in new private sector job creation... with 10 regional development strategies to fit your business needs. and now it's even better because they've introduced startup new york... with the state creating dozens of tax-free zones where businesses pay no taxes for ten years. become the next business to discover the new new york. [ male announcer ] see if your business qualifies. become the next business to discover the new new york. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] if you can't stand the heat, get off the test track. get the mercedes-benz you've been burning for at the summer event,

going on now at your authorized mercedes-benz dealer. hurry, before this opportunity cools off. ♪ humans. even when we cross our "ts" and dot our "i's", we still run into problems. that's why liberty mutual insurance offers accident forgiveness with our auto policies. if you qualify, your rates won't go up due to your first accident. because making mistakes is only human, and so are we. we also offer new car replacement, so if you total your new car, we'll give you the money for a new one. call liberty mutual insurance at... and ask us all about our auto features, like guaranteed repairs, where if you get into an accident and use one of our certified repair shops, the repairs are guaranteed for life. so call... to talk with an insurance expert about everything that comes standard

with our base auto policy. and if you switch, you could save up to $423. liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy?

take the nestea plunge. nothing refreshes like nestea. the question is in all of this, how did situation in iraq deteriorate to the point that sunni militants now control large areas of northern iraq? i'm joined now by bill richardson, the former governor of new mexico and former u.s. ambassador to the united nations. also bill kristol is the editor of the "weekly standard" and p.j. crowley is a former assistant secretary of state for public affairs and a professor at george washington university.

so hopefully you guys can answer how did it get to this. p.j., to you first. the war in iraq ended in december, 2011. at that time iraq was relatively calm, so how did we go from more or less a stable iraq to the predicament that we're in now? >> i think one of the key dynamics going on right now, particularly in the sunni part of the country is that sunnis fear the iraqi government dominated by shi'a political elements more than they fear isis. in 2008, 2009, the maliki government was handed an effective strategy through the sons of iraq, the sunni awakening in iraq you had a dynamic where the sunnis were cooperating with the central government, baghdad, in ways that it had not in many years. maliki, i think, has squandered that strategy and instead he's turned the institutions of state against the sunni tribes and now one of the reasons why isis has had vanced so rapidly through iraq is they have sympathy on

the ground. >> bill kristol, you say if we do nothing we'll face a full-scale sectarian war. that it will be syria on steroids. the president said he will send forces to provide security for the embassy and then he'll send another 100 or so more troops on standby. no combat troops on the ground. is that enough? >> i'm afraid it won't be. look, there are two reasons this happened. one, we got ought in 2011, we announced we were getting out before that and we lost our leverage with the maliki government. when we had leverage we were able to pressure maliki to be more inclusive, he wasn't, it made the sunni parts of iraq fertile hunting grounds so to speak for the terrorist group isis. the other thing that happened is the syrian civil war. this is the syrian civil war morphing into iraq. so those of us who argued for

getting into syria in 2011, everyone said oh, no, it's very it's complicated. neither side was perfect though there were pro-western types in syria in 2011 that in 2013 when the president said he wanted to go in after assad used chemical weapons, some of us supported him, he backed off, it was too complicated, there were bad guys on both sides. now we have 160,000 dead in syria and syria now exporting its chaos and civil war and disaster into iraq. >> but, bill -- >> so we can stand aside and have an iraqi civil war. >> here's the thing, though, the maliki government wanted us to leave it wasn't just the president saying we were going to pull out. maliki wanted us to leave. >> that's not -- >> hang on. my colleague here at cnn fenway park -- fareed zakaria said that was because they were being controlled by iran. >> right, this is called politics. iran was pressuring maliki not to let us leave there. the obama administration was pretty happy to get out so they didn't really contest iran's attempt to pressure maliki. maybe we could haven't done anything about it. maybe we had to leave.

i don't believe that's the case. we have an awful lot of influence and still have some on iraq. we could have insisted on a residual force. the real disaster the syrian civil war. you asked p.j. in the beginning what changed. what changed from three years ago is 160,000 people dead in syria and a syrian civil war that is metastasizing through the middle east and that's a horrible outcome not just for the middle east but for us. it means you've got iranian-backed terrorists on the one hand getting stronger and al qaeda backed terrorists getting stronger. >> i love your take but i have to get the governor in here. governor, what is your take and i want to talk about your op-ed. but what do you think about this? >> well, i think facts that are we offered to keep a residual force in iraq and maliki wouldn't give any legal protection to our troops. he didn't want us there. we've spent a trillion dollars, 4,500 americans have died there yet maliki refuses in any way to share power. he's fostered this sectarian violence, he's fired any kind of

sunni leadership. he's found a way to ann yen nate the whole country. so it's disintegrating and now we're in the very uncomfortable position of being allied with iran and i think we need to talk to iran, keep them out of any kind of military cooperation but the steps we are taking, for instance, protecting our embassy, we don't want another benghazi, that's important. training, that makes sense right now. maybe training some of the remaining iraqi army that is disintegrating and finding a way to get a diplomatic solution. find a way to force maliki to share power, to end this sectarian effort of violence that are occurring there. >> and governor -- >> and find ways to -- >> you're talking about

diplomacy but it seems the country has deteriorated in a way that diplomacy may not be the -- may not be what we can do right now. may not be feasible. quickly before we go to break here i want to talk to you. you wrote an op-ed in even and it said why we should exit iraq now. do you stand by that? some people are wondering if that was the wrong thing for us, withdrawing. was this a mistake? >> no, absolutely. i think it was a mistake to go in there. but i don't think you amplify that mistake by making mistakes now and i don't think we're making mistakes now. i would not proceed with military air strikes until we find some diplomacy that enables or forces maliki to end the sectarian violence. to unify the country, to share power. otherwise iraq is going to disintegrate. >> okay, governor, everyone hold that thought. we'll be back on the other side of this break.

just ahead, it was called the pottery barn rule -- you break it, you bought it. so what do we do next in iraq? ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] if you can't stand the heat, get off the test track. get the mercedes-benz you've been burning for at the summer event, going on now at your authorized mercedes-benz dealer.

hurry, before this opportunity cools off. ♪ ugh. heartburn. did someone say burn? try alka seltzer reliefchews. they work just as fast and are proven to taste better than tums smoothies assorted fruit. mmm. amazing. yeah, i get that a lot. alka seltzer heartburn reliefchews. enjoy the relief. so i get invited to quite a few family gatherings. heck, i saved judith here a fortune with discounts like safe driver, multi-car, paperless. you make a mighty fine missus, m'lady. i'm not saying mark's thrifty. let's just say, i saved him $519, and it certainly didn't go toward that ring. am i right? [ laughs ] [ dance music playing ] so visit progressive.com today. i call this one "the robox."

whether you supported the war in iraq or the troop withdrawal or both, there's no doubt that the u.s. war effort had some lasting implications here, so we're back now with bill richardson, bill kristol and p.j. crowley. it begs the question, p.j. crowley, do we have an obligation to go in to try to make things better in iraq? >> no and yes. obviously u.s. actions are based on u.s. interests. the fact that we gave iraq eight years, a trillion dollars, as bill richardson said, the lives of 4,000 soldiers, we've done what we could in iraq. but obviously the dynamic, as bill kristol said that you have now between iraq and syria -- does pose a significant national interest. i think we've got to do things on both sides of the border. we've got to strengthen the iraqi government. i think that probably means trying perhaps pushing maliki out of power after eight years and opening up greater political

space. and obviously i think that we have to do more to help the syrian opposition. but this is a challenge that's probably going to have to continue to unwind on both sides of the borders for several years. >> bill kristol, the u.s. may end up coordinating with iran, though not militarily. you say any coordination with iran is a mistake. why is that? >> i say any support for iran is a mistake. if we end up supporting an iranian-backed regime, sunnis throughout the middle east will lose all confidence in us. iran is not a friend of ours, iran is itself a sponsor of terror. it's a disaster for the u.s. if isis dominates a huge swath of syria and iraq and uses it as a terror center that should be stopped. it's a disaster for us if iran in effect expands its sway by 200 or 300 miles. that should be stopped. is it easy to stop those two things at once? no, is it in our interest to try? i think yes. >> you're one of the few people who believes that boots on the ground will be necessary. why? is there a better option?

>> well, it would be nice if you could do it with air strikes but i think you need special forces in there to work with the maliki government to get the iranians out and to support the decent parts of the government and pressure, as p.j. says, the maliki government to change, maybe pressure maliki out of there. you can't do any of the diplomatic pressure bill richardson talks about without a presence and a presence has to be partly a military presence. >> bill richardson, you want to respond to that? >> well, i believe that what we need to get iran to do is let them commit some troops. let them put their blood there. also let's find a way for iran to pressure their guy, maliki, the shi'a, to share power. and what should the u.s. do? i think send a high level delegation, maybe the secretary of state, to talk to maliki before it's too late, to set up a coalition government or to leave, or to leave as p.j. said. because he has exacerbated the situation. we want to find ways also in syria to help the opposition there because i think this is a

conflagration that is affecting the entire region. >> and p.j. crowley, final question to you. your own boss, hillary clinton, topping president obama in the polls on just about every issue on foreign affairs. 63% of americans believe she would do a good job compared to only 40% for president obama and then on and on she tops him on terrorism and just about nine major issues. what would you -- what would president hillary clinton do here, do you think? >> well, a president hillary clinton will face a situation in january of 2017 and it will be different than it is today. she has talked a great deal about smart power which is taking an integrated approach to challenges like this. military pressure has a role, diplomacy has a role. and also trying to find ways to strengthen the dynamic inside a country and try to find ways to have the -- iraqi sunnis share

power. this is the only approach that's going to work. one dimension by itself will not work. >> thank you very much. p.j. crowley, bill richardson and bill kristol, i appreciate your expertise on this. up next, the likely steps the u.s. may take to help stop the insurgents from tearing iraq into pieces. means keeping seven billion ctransactions flowing.g, and when weather hits,

it's data mayhem. but airlines running hp end-to-end solutions are always calm during a storm. so if your business deals with the unexpected, hp big data and cloud solutions make sure you always know what's coming - and are ready for it. make it matter. the last four hours have seen... one child fail to get to the air sickness bag in time. another left his shoes on the plane...

his shoes! and a third simply doesn't want to be here. ♪ until now... until right booking now. ♪ planet earth's number one accomodation site booking.com booking.yeah! woman: everyone in the nicu -- all the nurses wanted to watch him when he was there 118 days. everything that you thought was important to you changes in light of having a child that needs you every moment.

i wouldn't trade him for the world. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. if you're caring for a child with special needs, our innovative special care program offers strategies that can help.

welcome back. isis wreaking havoc on iraq and leading the country into bloody chaos. i'm joined now by folks who know a lot about it, retired colonel peter mansour, a former aid to general david petraeus and author of "baghdad at sun rise" a brigadier commander's war in iraq. also with me is jessica lewis, a research director at the institute for the study of war. she was stationed in iraq. and joe reider is a former undersecretary of the army. thanks for coming on tonight. jessica lewis, you were army intelligence officer in iraq for three years. what can you tell viewers about isis? was the group born out of the iraq war? >> yes. this is the group that we used to call al qaeda in iraq. it had renamed itself the islamic state of iraq in 2006

and last year in april, 2013, it expanded and into the islamic state of iraq and al sham, including an ambition to control syria as well. >> so people are wondering where did this new group pop up, it's really just al qaeda? >> this is the same aqi we knew and i believe they we rey generated the strength we're seeing now mostly in iraq and transitioned that force into syria. >> were they there before we got there for the war? >> well, the leader, zarqawi, was in iraq before we got there. but the majority of the activity that we saw that made this group so famous was discharged in the direction of the u.s. soldiers. >> so colonel mansoor, you were on the ground for the commander of the first brigade, the first armored division, the ready first combat team. are you surprised about what is happening there right now? >> well, i was also there during the surge as executive officer to general david petraeus. you know, after the surge we had significantly tamped down ethnosectarian violence in iraq

and the person that brought it back, quite frankly, is prime minister nouri al maliki. he has succeeded with his authoritarian and sectarian policies to alienate large swaths of the iraqi people, including most of the sunnis. so, no, i'm really not surprised given what has transpired since the withdrawal of u.s. forces at the end of 2011. >> you were there for the beginning of the invasion and also for the surge, maybe you can tell us about what options you heard our jim acosta at the white house talking about the president weighing some options. what do you think the president should do? >> i think the president said the right thing on the south lawn of the white house last friday when he said it's up to the iraqis to come up with a more inclusive government. that all iraqis can support and then u.s. military force can have some impact. but absent that, we would just simply be taking sides in a civil war and that's the last thing i think american people want. >> joe reider, what do you think?

do you agree with that? >> i do and frankly the someone solution i can see where we can declare victory and i think it would be valid and legitimate is what we want arab iraq to look like, don, is what kurdistan looks like today. i'd put a wing up there. i'd probably put a battalion up there. i'd declare it a protectorate. you've got $10 billion of turkish investment there. you've got all the marriott hilton moving in and in 2007 when peter mansoor was there you had 200000 soldiers paranoid kurdistan was going to become a country. now they're best friends. that's a place we can go. maliki has -- as peter outlined eloquently -- he's had eight years and he's mistreated the

sunnis. they hated al qaeda and i think they're going hate isis, too. but right now he's managed to bond ba'athists sunnis and people who are absolute implacable enemies. >> you remember during the iraq war when -- i think it was colonel colin powell who said you break it, you bought it. have we bought iraq? >> well, no, i don't think so. it's not up to us to save maliki from his own worst tendencies. like i said before, if it's a government worth supporting then we should support it. but i think the regional context is important here. turkey has been mentioned, but also iran.

iran needs to be on board with whatever political solution the iraqi elites come up with because absent then that they will simply inject more violence into the conflict. so in any sense that we talk to iran, it should be about the political composition of a future iraqi government and not necessarily about how are we going to militarily defeat isis. isis will self-destruct when the sunnis decide to stop supporting it. >> that's going to have to be the last word. thank you, everyone. we'll be right back.

geico's been helping people save money for over 75 years. they've really stood the test of time. much like these majestic rocky mountains. which must be named after the... that would be rocky the flying squirrel, mr. gecko sir. obviously! ahh come on bullwinkle, they're named after... ...first president george rockington! that doesn't even make any sense...mr...uhh...winkle. geico. fifteen minutes could save you

fifteen percent or more on car insurance. this week's cnn hero lad her first child at 1. now she's helping teen parents and their children get a shot at a better life. >> i was 17 when i was pregnant with my daughter and at 19 with my son. you ready to get up? ready to go to school? being labeled a teen mom, there are certain sigmas that you're lazy, you're going to end up on welfare. everyone has an opinion on what's the most beneficial for you. often it can feel like a downgrade from what you want to do. >> when a young person discovers a pregnancy, people stop talking

to them about college. we saw that we could be that voice saying yes, you can go to college. this doesn't have to be the end of your life. i knew from my own experience that college had transformed my life as a teen mom so i wanted that same success for other young parents we're going to get the other room set up for the kids. >> it becomes imperative for parenting students to have their band of cheerleaders behind them. >> i ended up getting my jeep eye to 3.8 which i didn't even believe that. >> we offer trainings on various topics. we're going to talk about balancing school and your role as a parent. >> the most important part of our program is the intense one on one mentoring from a caring individual for from the community. >> i won the college of science deans award. >> i knew you could do. >> it generation hope has really helped me believe in myself. they prepare us to have the skills for the future and we can pass those skills on to our kids. >> i'm motivated by the potential that's out there that's untapped.

i want to be able to help each and every one of them achieve their own success. >> that's it for us tonight, i'm don lemon. thanks for watching. "ac 360" starts right now. up next, a young woman makes a desperate plea for help. >> she was very shook up. >> before vanishing without a trace. >> we knew then something rotten had happened. >> police think they solved the case, until it takes a turn no one expected. >> it was hard for a lot of people to believe. >> i almost got sick. >> it was the ultimate betrayal. >> oh, my god. he was a monster in disguise. >> she got murdered for obeying the law. >> customers at the men's club in charlotte, north carolina, could occasionally get raucous, and the employees were trained to handle those situations.