on their hands," and now questions whether the blood drawn in the kidnappings and murders of the three teenagers prompted too much blood from too many other children. that's it for the lead. i'm jake tapper. turn youing over to wolf blitzer in "the situation room." >> happening now, breaking news. crises around the world. iraq air strikes. one of the military options no being considered by the obama administration for helping desperate christians and other minorities in iraq who are fleeing a murderous onslaught by i was terrorists. threats from gaza with the truce set to expire in a few hours, hamas is warning its fingers are on the trigger with iraq aimed at tel aviv. and ebowl lal spreading. another country reports a possible victim of the deadly virus. i'll speak live this hour with the director of the cdc, now on its highest level of alert. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room."

let's get right to breaking news. the obama administration is now weighing its military options including air strikes as hundreds of thousands of iraqis, christians and other minorities flee the brutal onslaught by the group known as isis which now calls itself the islamic state. they left their homes fearing slaughter. now many of them are actually facing starvation. our correspondents and guests are standing by with full coverage this hour. let's begin with senior white house correspondent jim across ta with the very latest. >> wolf, the white house is deeply concerned about this humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in northern iraq, those isis militants have chased some 40,000 members of iraq's ethnic minority religion and right now, the white house is weighing what to do. our jim sciutto has been reporting and elise la bot have been reporting the u.s. is considering possible air strikes and humanitarian air drops of supplies to those people in

those mountains, the mount sinjar area of northern iraq. we can tell you it has been develops very tight-lipped here at the white house. they have been behind closed doors. the president with his advisors all day long. we just saw the chairman of the joint chiefs, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff martin dempsey just leaving the white house in the last several minutes. we have video of that to show you. earlier today, one of the few glimpses we've had of the president outside of a bill signing he had regarding the va. the president engaged in what looked like a very animated discussion with white house chief of staff denis mcdonough. unclear what they were talking about. obviously if this type of action is on the table, that would certainly lend itself to some pretty tense discussions. but wolf, i was in the white house briefing room earlier today trying to pindown the white house press secretary josh earnest as to whether or not the air strikes are on the table. they are just not saying one way or the other which way the

president is leaning. it would be limited in scope and that there would be no boots on the ground in iraq. >> well, i'm not in a position to provide you a tactical assessment of the situation on the ground. i can give you insight into the president's thinking in general about the kinds of principles that would an apply to contemplated military action. that would include no combat boots being put on the ground in iraq. the president's been clear about that and that principle continues to hold. the president's also been clear that any sort of military action that would be take in iraq would be very limited in scope and very specific to addressing a coral american objective. >> and so what was clear in these exchanges that happened throughout the briefing is that the white house is not ruling out air strikes. they're not taking them off the table. and unlike what happened in june when we heard the president get very close to taking military action against those isis

targets, at the time, they were concerned about baghdad falling. those fears eased and so the president pulled back. this time around the white house is saying there's a humanitarian component in all of in that they may not be able to turn away from and that it may be possible to respond to that humanitarian crisis with some sort of military action. the other key component in all of this we heard some rumblings about this in the briefing room, as well. one of the key prerogatives for the president all along, one of the key things he's been insisting on is the iraqis start to form a more unified government. josh earnest saying earlier today they're seeing signs of that. that's another indication perhaps this white house is moving closer to taking military action in iraq or some of the conditions the president has set are starting to be met, wolf. >> jim, thanks very much. so what kind of military force could the united statesen actually bring to bear in iraq? let's go to pentagon correspondent barbara starr. what are you learning over there, barbara? >> let me follow up on and what

jim was saying. you just saw earnest say a u.s. core objective. what we're learning at the pentagon tonight is the pentagon is extremely worried about several dozen u.s. military advisors that are in the northern iraqi city of erbil. these are folks that have been up there for several weeks working on this assessment of iraqi forces. there are other teams down in baghdad. but these military troops are up in erbil. this is an isis area strong hold. the worry we're hearing is the concern that isis could make a move against them. a core objective, a true red line to the president any president of the united states is to protect u.s. military troops in the field. if isi is was to move on these troops in erbil where they're conducting this assessment, we're hearing that would be the reason the u.s. would then

engage in air strikes. that's piece number one of what is unfolding tonight. going back into iraq to protect the small number of u.s. troops on ground in erbil if, if in the coming hours, isis advances on them. the second piece of this, and it's not totally separate, is humanitarian air drops for those tens of thousands of people trapped in those mountains in northern iraq. they are desperate as we know now for food, water, any kind of help, any kind of supplies because isis has driven them into the mountains and is murdering them and they are dying from hunger and thirst. the u.s. looking at humanitarian air drops over that area, pallets of food, water, other supplies dropped out of the back of u.s. military transport aircraft but still a very difficult situation. there's concern isis is in the mountains and that isis could have the weapons to attack those people and attack u.s. aircraft.

it could be' long night. >> why not just pull out the americans from erbil right away? >> well, i think any of these things are possible. i want to echo what jim acosta just said. everyone tonight is being extremely tight-lipped. we are asking all of those questions and right now, people are being very tight-lipped about what is traps piring. we're getting the broad picture of their concerns. very interesting that they're saying they are very concerned about these american military personnel inner bill. they are not saying at the moment for obvious reasons what they plan to do about it in the coming hours. >> barbara, stand by. i want to go to the region right now. senior international correspondent ivan watson is on the ground in the northern iraqi city of erbil. that's clearly trying to kope with a desperate flood of refugees, a lot of iraqi christians and other minorities, but also a lot of shiites who are scared right now that they're going to be killed by these isis terrorists. what's the latest there, ivan?

>> reporter: that's right. i mean the united nations estimates that some 200,000 iraqis mostly from these diverse religious and ethnic minorities have fled north towards the kurd stan region basically for safety. the -- i'm very interested to hear that barbara is mentioning the u.s. leadership is not talking very much right now. the senior kurdish leadership also has gone quite quiet in the last couple of hours. not responding to questions about what exactly is going on. there has been a significant amount of fear here, wolf, since wednesday night when the isis militants advanced taking control of a town equalled guere about 35 miles sought southwest of where i'm standing right now to give you a sense of just the close proximity of some of these militants. that created fear that rippled through this city last night. it triggered a run on

supermarkets, for example, for diapers, for milk and entsome people some kurds packing. meanwhile, the humanitarian situation here deteriorating as an tens of thousands of iraqis from the christian minority from thia ziti minority, from the shia minority fled towards this way. there is nobody really to meet them. they feel are sleeping tonight in some cases under the stars in parking lots, in unfinished construction sites. the results of the incredible construction boom that erbil has enjoyed during ten years of relative stability that is now being shaken by the advance of the isis as militants just within the last 48 hours, wolf. >> and there's no sign i take it of any iraqi military there, are some of the forces the u.s. trained and spent hundreds of billions of dollars literally trying to get an iraqi military in place. there's no sign that the central government in baghdad has come

to the aid of these minorities, the christians, thia zitis, the others, is that right? >> actually, senior kurdish officials have told me that the iraqi air force was operating yesterday, wednesday, pounding bombing some suspected isis targets about 50 miles to the west of where i'm standing. but the kurdish leadership say the iraqi air force's capabilities are limited because one of their biggest priorities is protecting baghdad right now. not just the kurdish region to the north. the kurdish leaders also saying that they're seeing isis using former weapons that had been captured such as armored vehicles that had been captured from the iraqi army when it folded here in the north two months ago, that they're using them now against the kurdish peshmerga and that's why the kurdish militia had to pull back from some of these towns and

villages that they retreated from last night. that that pushed them back and that the kurdish peshmerga don't have good enough weapons basically to counter this heavy weaponry. that's why some of the top kurdish officials have been openly calling for the u.s. ornate tote to intervene using air strikes and or providing weapons and ammunition to their hard-pressed militias here. >> ivan watson, be careful over there. we'll stay in close touch with you. so how could a u.s. military involvement play out if in fact it happens? how risky would that be? let's dig deeper with military analyst retired lieutenant general mark hurtling. you spent a lot of time in iraq. what's your sense, u.s. air strikes, humanitarian air drops? this is a disaster that's unfolding and the central iraqi government is mia, missing in action. >> well, wolf, first of all, geography is important.

sin jar, which is the west of mosul, people keep talking about the mountains near sinjar. it's a rocky hill. and it is is your rournded by isis ice territory. what theya see tees have done, they've left their towns and gone to the top of the mountains. they surrounded. this is bastone if you revert back to world war ii history. it is going to be very difficult to support them with equipment, with food because you can't drop it on the top of a rocky mountain surrounded by isis fighters. when you look at the other side, more to the west, you're talking about the advances of isis into the kurdish region. i'm nor confident in the peshmerga in terms of holding and defending places like erbil. but still, isis certainly has gained a whole bunch of military capability in the last several weeks as we've been watching hamas and israel and the ukraine

yanisch. so this is a crisis. it certainly is. i think air strikes probably has been bantered around quite a bit in washington. i'm sure general dempsey has offered quite a few options beyond air strikes to the president and we're going to see probably real soon what some of those options might be. >> besides air strikes, the president has ruled out boots on the ground, ground forces. as far as saving the lives of hundreds of thousands of iraqi christians, yazidis, they've got a lot of u.s. weaponry they stole, weaponry the u.s. military left behind, what else can the u.s. do if there's going to be no boots on the background and you say air strikes have limited capability? >> i think the air strikes by themselves have limited capabilities in this area. i think certainly the reinforcement of the peshmerga would be an option. they seem to be increasingly outgunned by some of the

equipment taken from the iraqi army as you reported. but i think the peshmerga are terrific fighters. they will stand and defend and in fact, advance into these areas if given the right equipment. they have supported yazidis in the past and the turkmen, chaldeans, assyrians, all the religious groups up there. the kurdish government has been good in this regard. frankly, they've been fighting so hard for the last several months against isis, they're running out of equipment and resupply. that's certainly probably one of the options general dempsey has provided the president. >> the kurdish peshmerga are great fighters. unfortunately, they're very lightly armed, and not armed with sophisticated weaponry in part because turkey is a nato ally. general hert ling, stand by. because this is a critical moment right now. should the u.s. intervene to help these hundreds of thousands of iraqi refugees. so many of them christians, other minorities.

should the u.s. deal with the isis terrorists directly. joining us now is republican congress woman ileana ros-lehtinen. you want the u.s. congress woman, to start air strikes against the isis terrorists? >> absolutely. the iraqis have been begging for this for three months now. this is an administration that is disinterested, aloof. distant. they make leading from behind sound like a dynamic military strategy. we hope we would be leading from behind. we're dragging from behind. we have christians who are being wiped out because they will not convert to islam. and the picture is very clear. we could have a positive effect in this humanitarian crisis, not that one issue not that one thing that we do will make a difference. but put together, limited air strikes, drones, these humanitarian air drops, all of this could help not just this

ancient religious community but the what about the christians? you know, they're going to be slaughtered and we've seen evidence of this. isis will not rest until they establish this caliphate and they rule throughout the middle east. this could very well destabilize our partner, our ally jordan. and all of the neighboring areas. so the u.s. has a national security interest at stake. i hope that the president acts. if he wants to come to congress and ask for support, he should do so. i think that he will get it. but if he pictures this as a humanitarian crisis, then i say where was he in syria? many of us were supporting the president when he said we were going to doing limited air strikeses in syria. and then he pulled the rug from under us and said, nope, we're not going to do anything. now we've got isis taking over in iraq. it's time for the u.s. to stand up and use our military might in its limited way to help this

humanitarian crisis. >> are you with the president when he says no boots, u.s. boots on the ground? >> i think that the american public is very strong about that. we have -- we pulled out of iraq in a very bad way. and i hope we don't do that in afghanistan. i hope that we learned the lessons of just pulling out and leavinging this void of leadership so we can't afford to do that in afghanistan. let's learn lessons from iraq. no boots on the ground. but there is so much more that we can do, wolf. we're seeing this crisis unfold. they've been begging for us to get involved. and this aloof administration is nowhere to be found. we have been hearing about how this imminent air strikes is going to happen any moment now. you could dust off our talking points from our foreign affairs committee hearings from months ago and that's what the administrationing is conceding. let's do it. >> one quick question. where is the sierk military for a decade, the u.s. trained

several hundred thousand iraqi forces, helped them build an army, an air force. where are they will? because they are doing nothing and so much of the military hardware the u.s. left behind is now in the hands of isis. this whole government of nuri al maliki, that military ran away as soon as a few isis terrorists threatened them. >> there's no doubt about it, we left a lot of military hardware there not to mention millions of dollars that is also there now to be used by isil. we have this failed leader in maliki. we need to find a way constitutionally get rid of him and have a better government where the people will respond. they are waiting for that sound of a certain trumpet, and al maliki is in cahoots with iran and a lot of bad actors and is not helping the iraqis defend themselves adequately from isil. at least on this, on this topic, he's been begging us for help.

>> this is certainly not what president bush envisaged when he ordered troops to go into iraq in march of 2003 and get rid of saddam hussein and not what president obama fully with drew all u.s. forces from iraq although a lot of people pop always believed this it was inevitable given the tensions going on for hundreds of years between all of the ethnic groups in iraq. we'll continue this conversation down the road. let's hope the same scenario doesn't play out in afghanistan although everyone a lot of experts think it almost certainly will no matter when the u.s. completely pulls out of afghanistan. so much blood and treasure spent and lost in those countries. just ahead, much more on the crisis in iraq as the united states considers air strikes against isis terrorists. we're now threatening tens of thousands of iraqi christians and other minorities. can the deadly virus ebola be stopped? the directors for the centers

for disease control is here. we'll get the very latest on the outbreak. you're driving along,

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outbreak in history." i'll speak with the director in a moment along with dr. sanjay gupta. first elizabeth cohen is joining us. what's the latest on the ebola outbreak right now? >> wolf, there was a hearing on capitol hill today amidst questions of why this outbreak has gone on for so long and why so many people have died. in the meantime, two american patients are recovering. today the husband of one of the two american ebola patients shared had his thoughts on his wife's battle. >> i'm grateful and happy she's in a place that enables her to receive the best care possible. and that will give her every opportunity to get better and to recover. >> to hear the cdc tell it it, nothing, would to treat ebola. >> we've reviewed the evidence of the treatments out there, and don't find any treatment that's had proven effectiveness against

ebola disease. >> but what about the experimental drug given to dr. kent brantly and nancy writebol that likely saved their lives? they got the drug when african patients didn't. many critics now asking, why did the two americans receive the serum when hundreds have already died in west africa and many more at risk? currently, there's very little of the drug to give. the world's supply of that drug i imagine would fit in a tea cup. >> but that, of course, is fixable. they could with time make more. the ethical problems are much thornier. >> look, we've had two people who got it, but you want to wait a coup ol of weeks to see that they don't get terrible site effects, their livers aren't destroyed they don't die of some unexpected consequence. you also want to make sure you do a little more safety studies so you know what dose to give. >> dr. peter pyott and two other experts say patients in africa should get a chance to take the drug, writing in the "wall

street journal" they said, it is highly likely if ebola were now spreading in western countries, public health authorities would give at risk patients access to experimental drugs. the african countries where the current outbreaks are occurring should have the same opportunity. that's unlikely to happen anytime to know. asked if he considered sending the drug to africa when it becomes available, president obama had this to say. >> i think we've got to let the science consequence guide us. i don't think all the information is in on whether this drug is helpful. >> getting all that information could take a long time as africans continue to die of ebola. next week, the world health organization will convene an ethical review asking who should get this drug or should anyone be getting it knowing considering we know so little about the side effects. wolf? >> elizabeth cohen, thanks very much. we're joined by the cdc director

dr. thomas frieden. you just came from capitol hill. thanks for joining us. bottom line question first, how concerned should americans be right now about this ebola spread? >> if we're concerned about the world, we should be very concerned about africa. it is not a significant risk to the u.s., but there are some things that need to be done especially by health care workers. >> the u.s., thanks to you, the cdc, has now gone on the highest state of alert, level one. what does that mean? >> that's what we do internal to cdc. that doesn't mean other people should be concerned. we are surging. we're putting more than 50 disease control specialists into the region in the coming days and weeks to help these countries and the world health organization turn this around. but it is going to be a long, hard fight. >> let's say someone who has the disease, ebola, gets on a plane, flies from west africa to europe without any symptoms, flies to the united states and all of a

sudden, develops symptoms. how contagious would that be? how many more people could in turn be infected? first off, it's important to remember that ebola does not spread from people who don't have symptoms. and second, that it only spreads through bodily fluid contact. what we see in africa are two main engines of spread. first, in health care settings. so doctors, nurses, people who care for people even at home may become ill because they get exposed to bodily fluids and second is during the pural ceremonies which in some african countries involved washing the body and other things that are outbreak. that's driving the outbreaksing >> dr. freed, stand by. dr. gupta is going to join us in a moment. much more on what's going on. we're following the ebowlia scare. we're also watching another breaking story. the white house right now considering military options including air strikes in iraq. hundreds of thousands of people

are endangered right now especially iraqi christians, other minorities, shiites, isis terrorists are on the move. stand by. when you run a business, you can't settle for slow.

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go ahead. >> let me ask you you just off top, i was curious about we say that the patients don't start to become infectious spreading the virus till they are sick. we see that and ot website and everywhere. i wanted to get a little bit more detail on that. i mean we know what sick means. how sick are we talking about? we know you can't be a carrier of ebola, but could you be sick spreading the virus and still be able to move around, get on a plane, these sorts of things? >> what we really know is that when you begin to get sick and when have you fever, that's when you begin to shed the virus. and it's only by exchange of body fluids that we will see spread of ebola. that's why health care workers are at such risk. if you see the situation of the patient who went to liberia, he got sick on the plane. so far we don't know of anyone on the plane who may have gotten sick but multiple health care workers in lagos got infected. already one has died.

and those health care workers did not diagnose improperly, did not use any infection control and that is why we're so concerned about lagos in particular because they need to really scale up their effort to treat people effectively because whatever we find out about this experimental treatment, the fact is that basic supportive care, fluid management, are supportive care, antibiotics for other infections that patients may get, that can drastically improve outcomes and save patients' lives. >> these drugs out there, there's that one zmap, the drug experimental drug that was given to these two americans were brought to emory university hospital seems to have helped although we don't know the long-term impact. there's another drug techmira the fda changed its whole status. are these drugs promising and something that's going to cure people of this disease? >> we hope there will be drugs

available. right now we have no idea whether these drugs help, hurt or make no difference. and whatever happens to these two patients we're not likely to know anymore because the natural history of ebola is that many patients recover and so there's no way to know whether that recovery will have been if they do recover which we hope they do from these drugs or the natural history of the disease. but the most important thing to understand is we can stop ebola with our current tools. core basic simple tried and true public health interventions of finding patients, isolating them, finding contacts, tracking them, infection control and" who is, improving burial practices. when we do these things ebola goes away. but it's going to be a long, hard fight. >> sanjay has another question. before i let him ask the question, that kind of fine medical treatment exists in the united states but not necessarily in all parts of africa. >> absolutely. and one of the things that we're working hard to scale up with these countries are isolation wards where patients can get good supportive care because

that we know will take a difference. >> go ahead, sanjay. >> you're sending more cdc workers i understand to west africa over the next couple of weeks. you know, these health care workers that go to and from, they're a real interface. they are coming in contact with sick patients on the ground in west africa putting them at high risk. when they come back to the united states and there may be hundreds of these health care workers over next several months what, are we to -- how are they to be treated when they get back? i mean they've been taking care of sick patients with ebola. what will happen to them when they return to the united states? >> well, most of the cdc staff who go don't have direct patient care work. they'll work on organizing the outbreak response, making sure that we're operating effectively. and we are releasing guidelines that will help the u.s. government, the state department, the defense department, ourselves manage situations that may arise if people get symptoms or if people have been exposed because there

are tricky situations. this is an unprecedented problem. it's the largest most complicated the first time we've had multiple countries involved, the most urban outbreak, the first time it's been in west africa and the first time we've had to deal with it in the u.s. because of that, we're going step by step and doing whatever we can to keep the workers safe and to keep americans safe. >> dr. frieden, go ahead, quickly, sanjay. we're almost out of time. >> because we've had health care workers return before from ebola outbreaks. was there no guidance in the past? i mean, are they to take their temperature if they had a fever, would they be put into isolation? they seem like they could be a real concern here in terms of going back and forth to africa and coming in contact with sick patients. >> the best way we can protect our workers, the best way to protect americans is to stop the outbreak at the source in africa. that's going to make the biggest difference. for the individual situations of what we do with individuals we look at that on a case by case

basis based on protocols and principles but the bottom line is ebola is a scary disease and we need to use that fooer to make sure health care worker do infection control, to make sure that we will surge and stop the outbreak to make sure that doctors can on the front lines in this country ask people about travel and i hope that that fear doesn't outweigh our compassion. >> dr. frieden, thanks very much for joining us. i know you've got a lot going on. we're counting on you and your team of excellent public health officials at the cdc to help us get through this. thanks very much for joining you is. sanjay, you'll be back with us in the next hour. we've got more to discuss. >> thank you. >> up next, secretary of state john kerry goes off to afghanistan to address one crisis as other crises erupt in iraq. in gaza, in ukraine, in libya, and elsewhere, stand by. [announcer] word is getting out.

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mountainous area that isis is pushing through their lines toward the mosul dam trapping refugees on these mountain tops, that humanitarian air drops, drops of assistance to the people who are stranded are almost certain and could come very quickly. that there was active discussion today of air strikes that the united states would coordinate which would hit isis targets perhaps not in this immediate area but in other areas where they're advancing >> in other words, u.s. jet fighters are drones coming in from an aircraft carrier in the persian gulf or from inis your lick, the nato air bases in turkey, going in and dropping bombs? >> the u.s. has a lot of platforms that are available over the last few weeks. the u.s. has been preparing militarily for the possibility of direct action against isis. the administration had hoped that they would be able to broker a anew iraqi government to push out prime minister

maliki seen as a polarizing figure and get a new government the u.s. cos support. that hasn't happened in time. the christmas is upon them. they're having to take emergency decisions today. >> see what the president decides. remember when they were discussing air strikes in syria, didn't happen. we'll see if the air strikesings in iraq happen right now. i want to continue this many conversation. let me take a quick break. david ignatius is here. we're working the stories. will the u.s. begin air strikesings in iraq? stay with us.

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ignatius. critics of the administration believe the intelligence community, the white house, the pentagon, they misunderstood what isis is all about. not a good appreciation of their strength and capability. you say? >> i think there was some intelligence failure. i think it's more of a policy failure. our intelligence agencies were aware in february, march, april of the growing isis threat. at that time it was in western iraq. what they've seen and what really should concern people is that isis moves very strategically. they went right up to the gates of baghdad and then stopped knowing that this was the wrong time to pick that fight. they had instead moved in a direction i don't think the u.s. expected towards these kurdish mountainous areas, towards the mosul dam, towards strategic targets. it's a sign they are very clever planners, they have very good operational security. >> the president back in

january, president obama gave an interview to "the new yorker" magazine and speaking about al qaeda's, you know, organization, if you will. isis, these terrorists in syria and iraq and he seemed to down play how dangerous they were when he said the analogy we use around here sometimes and i think is accurate is if a jayvee team puts on lakers uniforms that doesn't make them kobe bryant. junior varsity. that was the quote that the president said then. seems to be haunting him now. >> it should haunt him. i think there was a tendency of the administration going all the way up to the top to think of the al qaeda problem basically had been solved when they had taken out core al qaeda, when they killed osama bin laden, there was an insufficient understanding that these new offshoots were in their way as dangerous as what the u.p.s. had faced a decade ago. many did underestimate mosul and

syria. >> think about this minority ethnic group, 40,000 of them, men, women and children on top of this mountain. they don't have food, water. many of them are going to starve or die very, very soon. and isis is surrounding them. they are not going up the mountain. they are going to die soon. that clock is ticking. how much time does the u.s., the international community, what's called that central government of baghdad which is useless how much time do they have to save these 40,000 iraqis. >> i think as we speak tonight, it's a matter of hours, you know. 24 hours, 48 hours at most. these people are in desperate conditions. i think that's what really came through the administration today, it led to urgent crisis meetings. they realized they had to do something. another point beyond the humanitarian suffering of the people in the mountain tops, the kurdish fighters the u.s. have been counting on to keep the

extremists back are just outgunned. they have been chased out of their positions along a 600 mile frontier with this islamic state. >> david ignatius, thanks for coming in. good work today. coming up more on the breaking news, possible u.s. military action in iraq. yes, you heard it correctly in iraq. plus the latest on the ebola emergency. our own dr. sanjay gupta will be back with us shortly. please choose one based oh, no on the cover.n that. here we go... woah! no test rides allowed. i can't show you the inside, but... trust me. are you kidding me? at university of phoenix, we think you should try before you buy. that's why we offer many first time students with limited to no college experience a risk free period. so you can commit to your education with confidence. get started at phoenix.edu

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happening now breaking news, u.s. air strikes under consideration right now as brutal i lammic fighters advance in iraq, attacking and killing christians and other religious minorities. also in the middle east, hamas says it's ready to launch its rockets into israel again in just a matter of hours if palestinian demands aren't met in peace talks. and new assessments of the ebola epidemic as u.s. health officials address americans fears that the deadly disease may spread here. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room". let's get to the breaking news tonight the possibility of new u.s. air strikes in iraq. one of the military options now being considered by the obama administration. the white house warning of a humanitarian catastrophe as isis terrorists seize more land, target christians and other religious minorities and many are dying right now.

we have our correspondents and news makers standing by. we're covering the breaking stories in iraq and indeed around the world. let's begin with our chief national security correspondent, jim sciutto. >> the pentagon told me no air strikes or air drops, this is a drop of humanitarian aid are under way right now in iraq. that said we know the white house is considering both they options and a decision could come as soon as tonight. why now? rapid developments on the ground. one, just to the east of mosul right here you have thousands of a religious minority in iraq under threat of a massacre. just to the east of there you have military advisers under threat from advancing isis. and isis broader advance across iraq. this is what their territory looked like in mid-june and now in august this territory now under their grip and u.s. officials telling me virtually

unchallenged at this point. these are the people the u.s. is rushing to protect, tens of thousands of minorities. they are is your rounded by isis fighters in a small iraqi town. only for some of them to die there of hunger and thirst. pleading for their lives inside the iraqi parliament a lawmaker collapsed with emotion. >> translator: over 500 men have been slaughtered. are women are being killed or sold as slaves. there's an attempt to exet exterminate us. >> reporter: the u.s. is considering air strikes on isis targets. the administration may under take emergency air drops to the

stranded people and opening up a humanitarian corridor. >> the cold and calculated manner in which isis has targeted defenseless iraqis solely because of their ethnic and religious identity demonstrates a callous disregard for human rights and it's deeply disturbing. >> reporter: isis is capable of alarming brutality, including mass executions of anyone who is not a sunni muslim or who will not immediately convert. all recorded for the world to see in slickly produced videos like this one. iraqi forces say they are striking isis positions in the northern stiffs tikrit and mosul. however isis is making further gains. today reclaiming the crucial mosul dam which supplies electricity to what's now become the capital of a self-declared islam caliphate.

a senior intelligence official tells cnn isis is well positioned to keep the territory it's captured. isis is not just a threat to the region it's a threat to the u.s. homeland. it's planning and training to attack the u.s. homeland. i received a briefing from senior intelligence officials today who made the points it's not just isis. you have isis operating in one failed state here. you have almurabitun. al qaeda in the arabian peninsula in yemen which is virtually a failed state has carried out three attempted attacks on the u.s. already and don't have that aspiration. somalia, al shabaab. there's less human intelligence on the ground.

two, these terrorist groups have changed the way they communicate following the snowden revelations not using cell phones or emails any more. that's a rob. in addition to that i'm told by senior official intelligence there's a risk of the government pulling back, closing the embassy in tripoli. when you close an embassy like that you lose eyes and ears on the ground. increasing threat to the u.s. while at the same time you have decreasing capability of tracking this threat. >> what a desperate situation unfolding right now. jim sciutto, thanks very much. we'll have more on this desperate situation. especially for the religious minorities who are trapped in iraq they are persecuted by these isis terrorists. our senior international correspondent ivan watson in the northern iraqi city of irbil. tens of thousands of christians and other minorities are in danger right now and 24, 48 hours, 72 hours it could be late.

what are you hearing? >> reporter: that's right. basically we're hearing about christians, shi'ites, basically anybody who is not a sunni arab is on the run after isis successfully captured a couple of towns and villages, extending its area of control. united nations now says that there are up to 200,000 people on the run since this offensive began within the last three days. tens of thousands of the vast majority of them fleeing to the kurdish controlled north and we watched as this stream of thousands of families came through the gate here into the kurdish city of irbil. they are traveling in the back of tractors, packed into cars, trucks. some on foot carrying babies, cradles over their shoulders. these are people who are clearly afraid that they could become targets of the isis militants, running from what they described as reports of fighting, of air

strikes, apparently by the iraqi air force on wednesday night. senior kurdish officials confirming to me isis took control of one town which is located about 35 miles away from where i'm standing right now in the heart of irbil and that has sent ripples of fear and panic through the population here. wednesday night the last run on supermarket, some kurdish families literally heading for the hills, prompting the kurdish leadership to come out to try to reassure the population to say the kurdish militia would hold fast, would try to hold back ti sis tide but at the same time the kurdish leadership making a public appeal to the u.s., to nato for air strikes to hold back the isis militants. we're now coming ever closer to knock at the gates of the kurdish north. wolf. >> ivan watson. i want you to be very, very

careful over there. thank you very much. irbil an endangered area. united states considers new military activity, action in iraq. many americans are reminded of the horrible tone from nearly nine years of war in iraq, almost 4,500 americans dead. more than 30,000 wounded. nearly $2 trillion spent. more than 100,000 iraqi civilians killed, some estimates as high as half a million iraqi civilians killed. in 2003 less than two months into the war president george w. bush very prematurely suggested the mission was accomplished. >> major combat operations in iraq have ended. and the battle of iraq, the united states and our allies have prevailed. >> in december of 2011 just hours before the ceremony marking the final u.s. withdrawal from iraq president obama made this promise. >> iraq's future will be in the

hands of its people. america's war in iraq will be over. >> after all of that are there valid reasons for the united states right now to intervene once again and get involved militarily in iraq? brian todd is joining us. >> wolf, u.s. intelligence officials telling ming tonight they have growing concern the islamic state also known as isis will expand its capability, expand what it's doing in the territory it holds right now and possibly direct attacks towards the west important,ly eventually towards u.s. interests. this comes as chilling new images surface of the potential of this group's threat. in a new propaganda video this man is referred toby isis as an american. he calls on muslims to join the fight. >> please all believers come.

come as soon as possible. >> reporter: a senior u.s. intelligence official says the intelligence community is tracking this man but cannot confirm he's an american. another man in the video identified himself as british. ing tonight there is growing concern among u.s. intelligence officials that the threat from isis could expand beyond the areas it controls now to include attacks on western and u.s. interests. the more immediate concern is about the isis threat to europe and what that might mean for what one official called a threat to the u.s. homeland. people associated with isis have been arrested in spain and france for plotting attacks and constructing explosive device. and they confirmed the shooter in the attack on the jewish museum in brussels in may was a member of isis. there's urgent calls tonight for the u.s. to help contain the isis threat. the kurdish foreign minister

said this to cnn. >> we need the united states and nato to interfere because we're fighting on behalf of all those who are against terrorism. >> reporter: u.s. officials say they are sharing intelligence with kurdish force but any u.s. military assistance would be channelled through the iraqi government in baghdad. experts warn arming the kurds directly comes with a risk. >> the risk of that equipment falling into the hands of isis. if you look what isis is using in the field right now a lot of that uss military equipment that was taken from the iraqi army. >> reporter: another risk, if the u.s. directly gives the kurds a lot of weapons and other military help and they make real gains on the battlefield the kurds might want to kick out not just isis but the iraqis as well and make a move to become independent themselves. that experts say will create another mess in that region. >> brian todd, thanks very much. go to barbara starr telegraph pentagon. you have breaking news.

>> reporter: u.s. official has told me quoting now an effort has begun for humanitarian air drops over northern iraq, planes are in the air at this moment. the parachute of supplies has not happened. that would mean they are not over the drop zone yet but, again, a senior u.s. official with direct knowledge of the situation says an effort has begun now tonight for humanitarian air drops for those people suffering so much in that area, that remote area of northern iraq without food or water for days, with isis advancing on them and causing great violence to the people who are trapped there. it is worth explaining how humanitarian air drops work in the u.s. military. it all sounds very peaceful but make no mistake there are also fighter jets in the air to protect the planes, these are either c-130s or cargo planes.

they push pallets, large pallets of food, water, medical supplies possibly out the back of the back ramp of these planes at altitude, they are on a parachute and drop to the ground. they have to have good weather to do this so they can hit the drop zone and, of course, not be too far off course with any wind in the area. they want to make sure they drop in an area where the people will know the supplies are there, but, you know, heaven forbid they won't get hurt by the dropping, large heavy pallets of equipment. they will be very concerned about isis in the area, any isis troops in the area that may have any kind of heavy weapons that could potentially try at least to target the aircraft. that is why you're going to have fighter jets in the air at the same time. what we don't know yet, wolf, is how soon the mission will be completed the. we expect to be briefed on it here in washington later tonight

once it's all over, once everyone is out of iraqi airspace. and we don't know what the next steps will be. there are tens of thousands of people up there in those mountains, one day of air drops of supplies doesn't fix the problem for them. this could go on for some time and let me also say as we stand here tonight the u.s. military very concerned it's got about 40 troops in northern iraq in irbil and that's an area also where isis is advancing. i can tell you the u.s. military keeping an absolute eagle eye every second on what's happening in irbil out of concern that isis could advance on that location where the u.s. troops are. >> you got to get those 40 american troops out of irbil, asap, as quickly as possible. they have to worry about shoulder fire, surface to air missiles that could endanger those cargo planes. barbara stand by i want to bring in senator lindsey graham,

republican of south carolina. senator graham, i know you're well plugged in with the pentagon. what are you hearing now? what's the latest information you're getting? >> well, that we have to do something. the time has passed just to do nothing. about three weeks ago i asked general dempsey a pointed question, is there any force within the region that could contain or defeat isis that represent as direct threat our homeland without american air power assistance and he said no. so that's the limit we have. if you believe these people are a threat to our homeland which i do there's no way to deal with them without american air power. there's nobody in the region that can do that without american air power. that's where we find ourselves. >> it's one thing to drop pallets of food and water which is critically important, especially the tens of thousands of religious minorities, christians and others, many of whom will starve to death in the next few days unless the u.s. helps. it's another thing to begin

launching air strikes on isis targets. you want those air strikes i assume to begin? >> like yesterday. isis is a direct threat to stability in the region. and to be honest with you, you go to be honest with people. senator mccain and i said you have to be serious with syria. if you don't hit them in syria you'll be right at it again. this thing has spread throughout the region and air strikes in iraq that are not followed up with air strikes in syria won't get to the root cause of the problem. >> we're told the iraqi air force launched air strikes against isis targets in and around this ir birch l area. is that good enough? >> well, they don't have the capacity. you heard the iraqi, the kurds and everybody in iraq saying our air force isn't capable of this. i'm going back to what general dempsey said. is there a military capability

in the region that can defeat these guys or contain them without u.s. air power and he said no. i would agree with that assessment. >> what about boots on the ground. the white house press secretary josh earnest today said under no circumstances will the u.s. send troops back in to iraq. is that smart? >> don't ever say what you won't do. if we do not contain this now and hit them using air power, this goes on six months and they go into lebanon and then jordan you're probably going to have to have boots on the ground. nobody wants that. the longer it goes and the stronger they get, the more aggressive the response. this doesn't get better by ignoring it. they are not going to defeat themselves. they are not going surrender. here's the question, wolf. how do you stop them? who is going to stop them? i think we have to be part of the team to stop them. good news is i think air power smartly employed could turn this thing around but if you keep letting it getting worse and

worse you have to use ground troops eventually if they continue to take over all of iraq and surrounding neighborhood. >> you know the american public have no appetite to get involved in iraq right now. >> sure. i would tell the american people this is the world as it is. everybody is war weary but i hope you're not so weary you won't defend the homeland. when the homeland security, fbi director tells us in congress, isis is a direct credible threat to the homeland they are gaining in strength, they are no longer a terrorist organization, they are a terrorist army, somebody has got to level the american people that our foreign policy is officials our homeland is at risk. so, i assume that the american people do not want to allow radical islam to grow in strength to hit us again and have another 9/11. if that assumption is right we need to act in coordination with regional powers not just by ourselves.

this is not about the humanitarian aspects of your story. this is about protecting ourselves from a growing threat from radical islam in syria and iraq. >> there are these ike inspired groups not just isis all over north africa and other parts of frooik whether boko haram, certainly in the arabian peninsula. they are all dangerous and potentially represent a threat to the u.s. homeland. >> smartly engage them. libya is about to be taken over. you have northern africa to become a safe-haven for terrorists. if we're not willing to fight these guys and contain them by having partnerships with people in the region we'll get hit again. we should have left some troops behind in iraq. more likely had than not this would never have happened if we had a 10,000 coalition force left behind. same thing will happen in afghanistan. i'm sorry the world is screwed up as it is.

i don't know what makes these guys tick. they are cutting people's heads off, crucifying christians and coming after us next. they are not ten feet tall. with some will and perseverance and determination and smart foreign policy both military and foreign assistance we can beat these guys but they will not give up. somebody has got to take to it them and that's is going to require to us be part of that team. >> what's so depressing, senator, the u.s. armed and trained a huge iraqi army, hundreds of thousands of troops and the first sign of any problem with these isis terrorists coming in they run away, abandon warehouses full of u.s. arms, stocks, and it's a disaster that we're seeing unfold right now that are so depressing when you think of all the u.s. blood and treasure that was invested trying to build up a capable iraqi military to protect their own country. they just couldn't do it for

whatever reason. senator, thanks very much. >> i blame maliki. >> he's turned out to be a disaster according to almost everyone watching that situation. >> absolutely. >> lindsey graham, senator from south carolina. thank you. still ahead the calm in gaza could end in hours. hamas vowing to resume its warfare with israel. new warnings about the uncontrolled spread of the ebola virus. top u.s. health officials sound alarm bells before congress and address americans fears of being infected. , carpenters and even piano tuners were just as simple? thanks to angie's list, now it is. we've made hiring anyone from a handyman to a dog walker as simple as a few clicks. buy their services directly at angieslist.com no more calling around. no more hassles. start shopping from a list of top-rated providers today. angie's list is revolutionizing local service again. visit angieslist.com today.

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advisors in the white house situation room. recapping the news, they are discussing what to do in iraq right now. senior u.s. officials sell cnn an effort has new begun on humanitarian air drops over northern iraq. the officials saying that u.s. fighter jets are also involved in the effort for the purpose of protection. u.s. cargo planes trying to drop some food, water, other supplies to iraqi minorities, especially christians, yazidis, other minorities who are in danger of being slaughtered by isis terrorists right now. we'll get much more on this story coming up. not far away elsewhere in the middle east, hamas officials say they are ready to go back on the attack against israel less than a few hours from now when the current cease-fire end, the three day cease-fire almost over. they are demanding concessions in peace talks. the negotiations are under way in cairo as we meet right now. they are trying to extend the truce.

let's get the very latest. jake tapper is joining us from jerusalem. what are you hearing, jake? >> reporter: well, wolf, as you know, tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. local time here in jerusalem and gaza and in cairo, egypt, that 72 hour cease-fire is set to expire. so, individuals with egyptian government, with the israeli government, palestinian authority have been talking about trying to extend the cease-fire to stop the bloodshed, stop the israeli strikes against hamas and the palestinian, stop the hamas and islamist jihad strikes against israel. this evening at about 9:15 or so, a spokesman for the kasam brigades, military wing of hamas which, of course, is one of the five parties of palestinians represented at these negotiations in cairo, he issued an address on television, and

basically said that if the demands of hamas remember not met by 7:59 tomorrow morning, then as far as hamas was concerned the cease-fire would be over. those demands would include opening the borders, allowing a seaport and lifting what the palestinians refer to as the siege which is an economic blockade of gaza. there's no indication that either egypt or israel is willing to go along with it but on the other hand when i interviewed some individuals from the palestinian authority, they are not breaking yet from hamas when it comes to the cease-fire and the threat to break the cease-fire when it expires or rather the threat to not extend the cease-fire, they are still unified. it's still unclear if hamas is doing this as a negotiating ploy or not but right now it looks as though this cease-fire is an endangered species, hamas the military wing saying they are

preparing for a long war, wolf. >> well, i assume they realize if they start launching rockets and missiles into israel at 8:00 a.m. local time which is 1:00 a.m. here on the east coast, the israelis will respond. they will make the point that all palestinians who will die after that cease-fire ends that's the burden of responsibility of hamas because they were the ones who brought the cease-fire. what do they say when you point that out to them? >> reporter: well, one thing i've been hearing quite a bit over the last few weeks is that there's something different about this conflict, this wave of the conflict than previous and that's the idea of israeli deterrence, the idea of israel will strike back and strike harder if you fire a rocket, israel will use its superior military technology and the pain for you will be worse than the pain you can inflict on us. that no longer is as effective or even effective at all and the

reason i'm told from palestinians is the hopelessness in gaza is so strong because of the severe economic problems, the catastrophes they are having in terms of unemployment, in terms of having any sort of life, any sort of hope. palestinians say and you don't have to agree that it's justified or not, but palestinians say that the hopelessness is so strong that deterrence is no longer there. and so that's something else that's a big factor in this, wolf. >> jake, thanks very much. jake tapper reporting from jerusalem. let's go to gaza city. martin savage martin savidge standing by. >> reporter: it's hard to tell what is bluster an what is real. more and more there's a sense that the reality is we could be very much back at a war footing

right after 8:00 tomorrow morning. certainly if you believe the comments that are coming from the leadership and particularly the military wing of hamas, there was a rally in gaza city today, several thousand people, not a mass rally, but really this is a rally in support not so much of hamas but of the negotiations going on. but it would appear now those negotiations really have not achieved much. not at least from the perspective of the palestinians. not from what they wanted which was some economic relief, the lifting of the sanctions and on and on. right now there is a sense of pessimism, and a fear that come 8:00 tomorrow morning it won't be just hamas but islamic jihad and other terrorist groups that signal the cease-fire is over and so are the talks and it may to be done by a rocket fire. >> yeah. if they launch those rockets the

israelis will respond right away and the three day calm will disappear very quickly. just ahead is the deadly ebola epidemic likely to spread to the united states. top officials update the congress and the nation. our own dr. sanjay gupta standing by live. thousands of international flyers could face some big problems. we'll tell you why.

this afternoon, top official of the aid organization samaritan's purse told congress the ebola crisis in west africa is uncontained and out of control. he called the international response a failure. at the same hearing the head of the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention called the crisis unprecedented. let's bring in our chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta. first of all, there's one drug out there just got some approval by the food and drug administration. what do we know about this, how effective is this specific drug? >> it's a fascinating time with regard to these drugs. obviously the situation in west africa putting some heat on trying to get these drugs available. this one is from techmera. it's called tkm ebola. it's an interesting drug. it was further along in the trial process than the drug we

have been talking about zmapp. this one was tested in human beings and did pretty well. they found in the animal studies it was 100% effective if it was given within an hour of the animal being exposed and in the human studies it was a safety study it performed really well. it was on a full clinical hold and the reason it was on a full clinical hold because as they went higher and higher in the dose, the humans starting to take it started to have some side effects. now it's on a partial clinical hold because they realize the dose they need to give humans shouldn't cause those side effects. this is part of trying to make these medications available. this is a company that did it in conjunction with the department of defense. they gave them $140 million to help develop these drugs. the question, wolf, is how much of it is out there, and there are people going to be able to start getting it quickly. we don't know the answers to

that yet. >> because we heard from thomas frieden director of the centers for disease control and prevention here in the situation room an hour ago you can only get the disease if you already have the symptoms, a high fever, for example. at what point, sanjay, should the u.s., other countries start checking incoming passengers from africa, let's say, west africa specifically to see if they have a fever? >> it's an excellent question. you know we've been down this road before a bit, particularly with sars several years ago, ten years ago. and they were measuring temperatures of passengers that were at that time leaving countries that were known to have sars and i think that's probably the key is you really want to try to screen people before they get on the plane, maybe after they get off the plane as well but i think the key intervention is before they get on the plane. you know, going to have to make some sense. people can have a fever for all

sorts of different reasons and 999 times out of a 1,000 it won't be like ebola, it will be much more benign. how do you figure out someone has something more common and someone has something more serious. it's a good step because a fever is a very good indicator with ebola that the virus is starting to take hold. >> dr. sanjay gupta helping us appreciate the enormity of this problem right now. thanks very much. the west african nafgs tion of sierra leone has been hit hardest. the army has moved in to isolate towns where the virus has hit hardest. david mckenzie is in the sierra leone capital. what's the latest over there, david? >> reporter: wolf, the latest is very extreme measures taken by the army. we've listened and talked to

witnesses on the ground in the eastern corridor of sierra leone and they say there are hundreds of army and police in that area creating a blockade, effectively sealing off parts of eastern sierra leone allowing no one to come in and no one to go out except health workers and essential government workers and supplies. how they will enforce that will be interesting to see, wolf, because even the internal borders here are very porous and movement of people is the key way ebola has spread across the region. >> be careful over there as well. we'll stay in close touch with you, one of our courageous journalists david mckenzie reporting from sierra leone. ahead thousands of international flyers may face big headaches because of russia's vladimir putin. we'll tell you what's going on. you're driving along,

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recapping the breaking news right now a senior u.s. official tells cnn an effort has already begun involving a humanitarian air drop over northern iraq. the source saying that u.s. fighter jets are involved tichb forth for the purpose of protection. u.s. military cargo planes now dropping food, water, other supplies, tens of thousands of minorities in iraq are in danger right now. christians, yazidis, others the u.s. starting to help. we'll see if it goes the next step and launches air strikes nope word on that. let's turn to another global crisis. new fall out over the battle involving ukraine. we're learning more about russia's retaliation for sanctions by the u.s. and europe and how it could affect people here in the united states, indeed around the world. international airline passengers could be seriously affected. let's bing in our aviation

correspondent. >> it's striking back and going after the bottom line of the united states, and europe. a food ban is already in place but next international flights could be banned over russian airspace and that could eventually cut into passengers bottom line. here's how. thousands of international flyers could soon feel the wrath of russian leader vladimir putin if the country bans u.s. and european airlines from flying over its airspace. russia's prime minister said thursday it's being considered. >> translator: it is a ban on use of airspace of our country. >> some of the world's biggest carriers direct paths to asia fly over cyberia but the ban would for the airlines to fly cold war routes around cyberia. passengers and airlines would feel the impact. >> it's a huge inconvenience. now hypothetically if we can't cross russian airspace, air traffic, the fuel increases to go around the times that will be

added for flights that we now enjoy, the transpolar flights. it's going to be a big problem. >> american, united airlines and delta airlines would all be affected. delta saying it might have to alter 12 of its routes between the u.s. and asia. but it's european carriers that will really feel it. in a seven day period air france, klm and lufthansa flew the most flights over the area, more than 400 according to flight tracking website. >> almost impossible to go from a european to asian route without crossing russia. >> russia announced its banning all milk, produce and meet from the u.s., europe, canada, australia, and norway. it's retaliation. this tit for tat is likely to hurt russians the most.

>> not only is he running their economy into the ground and their growth is predicted at zero he's denying them basic things like food. >> the ban on imports will hurt some businesses. the u.s. exported 1.2 billion to russia in agricultural products last year. that was less than 1% of all u.s. food exports. but for europe, russia is its second biggest customer. supplying about a quarter of russia's dairy and fruit and almost as much meat. >> neighbors, poland, lithuania, the closest european union countries will be impacted. he's trying to divide europe, trying to weaken resolve to don't punish russia for its actions in ukraine. >> and to that point putin's objective divide and conquer in europe gets hit. it exported $15 billion worth of food to russia last year compared that to the united states which exported $1.2

billion. so when you look at it we're talking about 15-1. really in the end here russia really gets hit hard when you look at these sanctions. >> they do. thanks for that report. just ahead a powerful popular democratic governor now facing his first major political crisis. we'll have details. but first this.

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the purpose of protection. much more coming up later. also the deputy prime minister of kurdistan's regional government says the iraqi air force bombed a number of isis terrorist targets in and around the irbil area. tens of thousands of iraqis many belonging to minority yazidis groups as well as christians are stranded without food or water because of the isis take over involving parts of iraq. one of the country's most popular democratic governors here in the united states is facing his first major political crisis just as he's asking voters to give him another term. our national correspondent is in new york with the details. >> reporter: it was a key theme in new york governor andrew cuomo's election campaign. >> so i'm proposing a clean up albany to fight corruption. >> reporter: once he became governor avowed to keep that promise. >> i appointed a commission to investigate corruption.

open up the newspaper even today you see more and more stories of individual legislators who have done bad acts. >> reporter: open papers now headlines alleging corruption not with state legislators but the governor's office, centers around that anti-corruption commission he created and then disbanded. sources close to the investigation confirm the u.s. attorney is investigating the disbanding of the commission and whether the governor's office interfered with the commission's work. interfered how? allegations of top cuomo aide tried to steer commissioners away from investigating a firm that worked for the gubernatorial kpin. one commissioner william fitzpatrick after talking with that aide he direct ad subpoena to an entity with ties to the governor be withdrawn. fitzpatrick said initially it was withdrawn then wrote we nonetheless decided to issue the sbpoena. according to fitzpatrick that

aide was larry schwartz. while sources say the governor himself is not the focus of the probe, neither nor schwartz would speak to cnn about it. >> the governor did this to himself. he said i'll set up this commission to stamp out corruption in new york state and then the allegation is that he, his administration was not willing to play by the very same rules. >> reporter: cuomo did defend the aide's actions in an event last month. he drew a distinction between interfere race, independence. >> the best evidence of independence is when someone from the second floor says well why don't do you this? and then the chairman says, i disagree, i don't want to do that. that's not a sign of interference. that is the demonstrable proof of independence.

>> why is that interference? >> it's called conversation and advice. >> reporter: i think this is the kind of tap the answering you can expect from people in public life, whatever the case. poll numbers show cuomo far ahead of his opponent and as for voters. >> they don't know what's going on with governor can cuomo. >> reporter: most we found knew very little at all. >> i didn't know. doesn't surprise me at all. >> reporter: as for why the governor disbanded the commission we called in and emailed his office to ask but got no response. cuomo has said the whole point of the commission was to use it as leverage to get anti-corruption legislation passed. cuomo did get the public trust act passed by the end of march and around that same time, wolf, he shut down the commission. >> jason carroll reporting from new york. thanks very much. you can follow us on twitter. go ahead and tweet me @wolfblitzer.

be sure to join us again tomorrow right here in "the situation room". if you can see us live dvr the show you won't miss a moment. that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room". the news continues next on cnn. next breaking news the president of the united states considering air strikes on iraq tonight. er with live at the white house and the pentagon. the reason 100,000 christians running for their lives in iraq, the terrorist group isis says they must convert toys lamm or die. we are live there. and the world at war from another ukrainian fighter jet shot down to the eboll jeh outbreak. let's go "outfront". good evening everyone. i'm erin burnett. "outfront"