@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" tonight the breaking

news. the united states considering military air strikes against iraq. kurdish regional government confirming to cnn moments ago that air strikes by the iraqi air force have already begun. the reason a crisis that's growing out of control. people there facing a desperate choice. constroert islam or die. that's what up to 100,000 christians are dealing with being forced to flee their villages or face persecution because isis, that is the muslim extremist group, the islamic state in iraq and syria that's trying to do, trying to take control of iraq. they don't agree with the religious beliefs of certain minorities including christians and telling them they must convert or die. humanitarian air drops from the united states have already begun providing supplies to these minority groups who are desperate in many cases not able to get access to water. president barack obama met with his national security advisors in the situation room this afternoon. the administration very concerned about several military

advisors on the ground as well. they are there to assist. now they can be in jeopardy. let's go to barbara starr. the pentagon paying close attention to the northern stiff irbil where some of those military advisers are located. are there lives at risk? >> reporter: there's about 40 military advisors in the northern stiff irbil. over the last 24 hours what the u.s. has noticed isis fighters, these militant fighters moving closer to irbil, moving into tier bill area, and moving at a much greater rate than they had seen before. they have a lot of capability to cause havoc on the ground with their fighters, with their weapons, with their ground weapons and vehicles. so the concern is about those 40 americans who are there. the troops have been there for several weeks. they are working to help iraqi government forces try and get back sort of into this fight against isis.

but if the situation grows any more dire for the americans the question will have to be confronted is do they try to evacuate them out of there sore it so dire the u.s. might undertake air strikes in irbil to problem text the americans. that would be very difficult. that's a very difficult target to hit. you see people on the ground. how do you know if they are isis, how do you know they are iraqi civilians. this is something they are watching minute by minute. >> barbara, what will enable them to make that decision? >> reporter: well, it's going to be driven by the intelligence that they do have about the situation that the american troops are in. there's a lot of intelligence gathering going on there in constant touch with them. this is something that officials, obviously, for security reasons, for the safety of the americans, they are being very tight lipped about it. they will tell you they are watching it around the clock and when they have something to tell us about the next step they will tell us.

the safety of the 40 american troops paramount. >> barbara starr, thank you very much. joining me now is the senior white house correspondent, jim acosta. a difficult situation for the president, a decision to make when he put these advisers in he was adamant they were advisors, there would not be boots on the ground in any situation. is this going to for the administration's hand on that issue of boots on the ground? >> reporter: no, erin i don't think so. josh earnest was very careful to say earlier today during the press briefing there will be no boots on the ground in any kind of military operation in iraq but make no mistake the white house is deeply concerned about this unfolding humanitarian crisis that's under way in northern iraq. while administration officials are not taking air strikes off the table, the question at the hour is how far the president is willing to go. the killing and mayhem unleashed by the iraqi militant group isis

may have reached a tipping point. after seizing cities and key assets the terror group have chased millions into the mountains of northern iraq where they are cut off from food and water. a situation so dire a yazidis member of the iraqi parliament pleaded to her fellow lawmakers this is a collective attempt to exterminate her people before she collapsed in the chamber. >> the situation is nearing a humanitarian catastrophe. >> reporter: an air drop of humanitarian supplies has begun. air strikes one isis is under consideration. >> are air strikes on the table? >> jim, i'm not in a position to rule things on table or off the table in this context. i can give you some insight into the president's thinking in general about the kind of principles that would imply military action. that would include no combat boots being put on the ground. >> reporter: behind closed doors in meetings with advisors the

president could be seen in the oval office with chief of staff. outside the white house protesters pleaded for action. >> i'm here today to tell everybody my family, my friends are trapped in mountains. they are starving to death. they are dying of starvation. obama, don't let this happen. >> reporter: last june the white house was on the verge of air strikes against asis when it was feared the group might take baghdad. >> in our consultations with iraqis there will be short term immediate things that need to be done militarily. >> reporter: the president pulled back when the iraqi capital did not fall. white house officials note the humanitarian catastrophe in northern iraq is urgent. much like the conflict in libya two years ago when moammar gadhafi's forces were moving in to take out rebels in benghazi prompting air strikes. the violence in iraq is not the picture of stability the president offered when he with drew troops three years ago.

>> iraq is not a perfect place. it has many challenges ahead. but we're leaving behind a sovereign, stable and self-reliant iraq. >> reporter: and as barbara starr mentioned just a if you minutes ago, erin, administration officials are concerned about those u.s. advisors that are stationed in the northern iraqi city of irbil. that could be a potential trigger for the president to launch air strikes. josh earnest the white house press secretary said as much during the briefing if american interests are at stake the u.s. will take a strike at those targets. in the meantime we should point out another moving part of all this the iraqi government. the president has insisted for months in order for the u.s. to take military action the iraqi government start moving towards a unified government and we're starting to see that start to take place in baghdad, the white house saying earlier today they are seeing signs of that. erin those are two clear indications this white house is

perhaps moving in the direction of military action. of course, at this point it's just not yet decided. we've not gotten word that will take place. >> jim acosta, thank you very much. the administration is saying the situation in northern iraq is nearing a humanitarian catastrophe. that's a very strong word to use. christians and other minority groups including the yazidis are facing persecution. 40,000 yazidis. they are trapped between mosul and irbil in the mountains in northern iraq. they fled their villages for fear of persecution from isis. it's a very small religious minority. muslim related. if the yazidis come down from the mountain they could face execution. again the reason for the crisis is spread of isis militant terror group. they advanced to iraq in june. as you can see how much more territory they have taken over in just the past couple of months. while the world was looking at

the gaza strip isis was moving ahead. kurdish authorities in northern iraq estimate more than 1.5 million iraqis have been displaced. our senior international correspondent ivan watson joins me now from irbil the capital of the kurdish region where thousands of iraqis are on the run from isis. ivan, it's amazing when i was in irbil, it was the crown jewel of iraq where they were saying they would have new business and entrepreneurs and face of the new iraq. now you're in the snaefrt humanitarian crisis and people fleeing. what your seeing there? >> reporter: you're right. and erin, as you would have seen notorious construction boom here, this region enjoying an immense period of stability and prosperity. now some of these unfinished office buildings and hotels and apartment blocks that have been going up are providing temporary shelter for some of the close to

200,000 iraqis who have fled this latest isis offensive within the last 36, 48 hours. tens of thousands of them coming here to irbil, they are quite literally, i saw them laying down on blankets, on bare concrete, being distribute ad little bit of water, some cookie, some yogurt, very ad hoc, and just the beginning of a new humanitarian crisis that this place isn't equipped to deal with because they are dealing with the islamist militant whose are only about 35 miles away from where i'm standing. the isis militants have taken control of a town 35 miles southwest of here. now senior kurdish officials tell me, he says the iraqi air force has been active tonight. he claims that they have killed two isis commanders or amirs as they are known.

but the proximity of that gives you a sense of how tense this city is tonight and how worried people are of these islamist militants really knocking at the gates of the kurdistan region right now. >> ivan watson, thank you very much. ivan as you can all hear with some new and significant information say that iraqi air force strikes tonight, they claim have killed two senior isis commanders near irbil, one of them just 35 miles away as the united states weighs whether to strike itself tonight. joining me now cnn military analyst, and our counter terrorism analyst. good to have both you with us. let me start with you in terms of what we're shearing. while the world fofs kusd on what was going on at the gaza stripe, while the world was

focused on mh-17 and the ukraine. isis was moving ahead. it seems like at lightning speed. >> i think that's right. i think we've seen since we last talked about this at some length a fundamental change. it's really profound. when we're talking about this before a month or two ago we're talking about a u.s. decision whether to side with maliki who is seen as a leader of iraq that doesn't represent iraqi minorities. the question of intervention is how would we be perceived if we side with somebody who is viewed as corrupt. forget about maliki. do we want to intervene in what's a humanitarian crisis. remember a year ago we were talking about whether to intervene in favor of syrian civilians with bashir al assad was massacring them. many didn't want to. let's replay that story. >> the only thing that's different there's 40 americans

in irbil, 250 military personnel, americans in iraq. which the president put in there to try to stabilize the situation provide advice. if they are indeed at risk, would that then justify the united states doing military strikes and can those strikes be surgical or is that the slippery slope towards a combat situation >> that's exactly the point. the united states can intervene at will. i don't think they need any justification. they have a partner in iraq and very shaky and tenuous relationship with baghdad. we have to right that and stand that up. the fact that americans might be in harm's way certainly gives sufficient justification albeit not necessary to goudeau something to extract those folks but what the real issue is, is the united states should not at this point say what they are not going to do. this could be an escalation and we could be as phil described be in the middle of not only a

humanitarian disaster but an increasing challenge to baghdad. those are two separate issues. we've seen humanitarian disasters in our past an sat back. what are we going to do that point? the other decision is, is baghdad at risk? is iraq in toto at risk as well based on isis' advances and we can say yes they are on the slope to achieving that. >> phil, the question facing the white house tonight in terms of whether to strike is whether that is central to the national security interests of the united states. has that changed in the past month? is isis rising in iraq now a direct security threat to the united states? >> i think when you look at the history of insurgent groups this is pretty much unprecedented. you watch what happened in the 1990s in north africa when insurgent groups were prominent you saw them turn back. taliban emerge in 1990s to 2001 in afghanistan. their focus was not on the united states.

that was solely typically focus of al qaeda. i think this is a new problem that the white house is struggling to understand. and i don't think there's a precedent for understanding this yet. one final comment. when you sit in that decision-making chair at the white house, 9/11 changed something. that is if you see an insurgent group emerging that might potentially attack america how long do you want to wait? do you want to wait for that attack to happen or do you want to prevent it by strike early. >> erin, can i jump in. i absolutely agree with phil. the point is we have a plethora of challenges around north africa and the greater mideast. the issue becomes that. what's the trigger event and when do you start to act. you begin now to chip away at these challenges or they become much morrow bust and empowered going down the road. >> both of you please stay with us. this is a political crisis for the president of the united states as well. our breaking coverage of air

strikes in iraq. will president obama go ahead. is it the only way to save hundreds of thousands of cpis to be slaughtered. another plane shot down in ukraine. a buk missile was used. and we're at the epicenter of the ebola crisis tonight. that's keeping you from the healthcare you deserve.. at humana, we believe the gap will close when healthcare changes. when frustration and paperwork decrease. when healthcare becomes simpler. so let's do it. let's simplify healthcare. let's close the gap between people and care.

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. breaking news the white house tonight weighing its options in iraq. air strikes are on the table. this is two years after president obama ended the war in iraq and brought the american troops home. tonight he met with his national security team in the situation room. cnn has been told that there are concerns the terror group known as isis could make a move against several dozen u.s. military advisors in irbil, in northern iraq in the kurdistan region. armed isis fighters swept over iraq in the past month. they created a humanitarian crisis. when we say that what they are doing is threatening to slaughter minority groups that includes christians and small subgroups of muslims. the united states began humanitarian air drop missions to some of those groups that are

stuck in the mountains without access to hygiene or water. if they come down the mountain they will be executed. good to have you all of us. jim you finished meeting with the national security adviser. what can you tell us about her thinking than administration's thinking. are they thinking they will intervene for a humanitarian crisis or only intervene if they really blaef those 40 americans in irbil lives are at risk. >> i don't think i'm at liberty to divulge what the national security adviser said. i can just say i think the administration is deeply concerned as they demonstrated with the situation of the christians. we had a meeting with ben rhodes just last week with a group of christians talking about the specifics of what can to be done to support them in the areas

where they are and in the areas where they fled, and to meet their needs and to provide some protection. at the same time this horrific situation of the yazidis that just occurred in the last few days is something that is gripping and gripping to everyone. so this is a humanitarian crisis. the ethnically cleansing entire areas of the country, this armed gang of thugs that is committing atrocities against people, i've been getting calls from folks who have just come back from iraq or in iraq, it's heartbreaking what's happening. i think the president is correct in providing humanitarian assistance and now they are deliberating how and can they -- what we're hearing is, you know, can they involve themselves militarily. i see the iraqi government is, the air force is. this is a gang of thugs that has to be stopped. >> ivan watson on the ground is reporting two isis commanders as

they call themselves were killed by iraqi air strikes tonight about 30 miles away from irbil. to the american people looking at this they are saying we've been in iraq before. we've been in iraq multiple times before. they do not see it as a success. they see it as something that is a failure. they say why? why should the united states go in for humanitarian crisis in iraq? there's humanitarian crises going on all around the world. >> i remember john kerry, i thought made a good argument for the intervention in libya in which he said there's several criteria we need to look at. one, is there human catastrophe. to our moral values, america's moral values have an interest here. two, strategic interest. and three, do we have the capacity to do something. that was true for libya and true for dealing with this humanitarian catastrophe today. it's in our moral interest. it's consistent with our moral values. we have the capacity to do something. and it's actually in our strategic interest in preventing

this huge swath of a strategic important part of the middle east being overrun by a radical islamist group. this is -- imagine afghanistan pre-9/11. this is much more valuable real estate than afghanistan pre-9/11 and can have the same kind of totally open nongoverned open space run by radical terrorist groups that are at war with the west. >> how can u.s. air strikes stop that from happening. that would seem to be something that's tar get and specific and anarchy continues. >> if you look what we incident libya and afghanistan, first phase of afghanistan after 9/11, if you look hat we did in balkans, combination of air power. of some special operations on the ground. certainly intelligence capabilities on the ground. you need intelligence capabilities on the ground and trainers, real trainers to work with the local military. some combination of those capabilities can actually help fill a vacuum and do real damage

and contain, if not setback an insurgency. we've done this several times before. >> so when you hear what dan is saying, is this something the united states could do? how quickly could it be known? >> the united states can do almost knigit wants to do. the challenge that we have is i need to go back to what jim said. i think if we demonize isis with the word thug we might, in fact, diminish the image that we have of these guys. they are incredibly egregious and they are like the taliban on steroids and an armed capable force. if you put that on the table the answer becomes as dan described ungoverned space as an inevitable out come. if that's an okay outcome for us and baghdad can live with that type of an outcome the decision is an easy one. we'll sit there and monitor. i don't subscribe to the fact that isis will be meetered in ay

way. they are not bound m by any sense of rules of engagement. the united states has an obligation, i my mind to get involved not only for the humanitarian part but also to ensure that we don't lose baghdad. >> so, does it get better, those if the united states intervenes. you look at library area some argue that was a success but certainly it's lawless and a lot of anarchy going on. insurgents control much of that country now. >> i don't think the tipping point is whether the united states gets involved or not. i'm not arguing for or again. in my experience of watching these groups here's the horrible tragedy of this. the decision about whether isis succeeds or fails or is in the hands of the people, in the villages and towns that isis takes over. if you look at insurgent groups moving in places like afghanistan, algeria, what will happen is until isis murders tens of thousands of people, you're going to have some iraqi

civilians who are going to say i want to get involved in this. when those civilians start to say i can take it any more this is too much that's when the tide turns not when we start dropping bombs overhead. >> quick final word. >> if you look what worked with the surge in 2007 and 2008 you had that element. they rose up but couldn't have done without the surge of american forces. without us partnering with iraqis to give them the security and pace to take on their own insurgency. it applied then and the same applies now. i'm not talking about a big redeployment of ground troops. >> thanks. still our breaking news continues. jim sciutto has new reporting from intelligence officials on whether isis is a direct threat to the united states homeland. the crucial question. another jet shot down in ukraine by a russian buk missile. same weapon to shoot down mh-17.

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we have more of our breaking news tonight. united states military considering air strikes in iraq, air strikes from the iraqi air force have already begun. the threat is growing threat from isis threatening to slaughter christian minorities. united states has begun humanitarian air drops to help the afflicted trapped in the mountains fear to come down. chief national security correspondent jim sciutto has been following the developments. jim, i guess the first question is and i just mentioned this with our panel a moment ago it feels so many ways a world falling apart. the world was looking at eastern ukraine, looking at gas. they stopped looking at what was going on at syria and iraq. how big of a threat did isis become. >> you can't exaggerate this. this is a growing threat. i hear it from so many agencies. let's talk about the immediate

threat from isis. right now here just to the east of mosul you have a massacre looming, 40,000 yazidis, religious minority in iraq surrounded by isis fighters. really this is a rwanda potentially in the making. to the east of there in irbil more than a hundred u.s. military advisors and isis forces advancing there threatening them. that of great district attorney the white house. let's talk about the medium and longer temple threat. just in six weeks time this is how much territory isis has gained. when i speak to u.s. officials they tell me there's no signs of isis giving up that territory and no faskt iraqi forces gaining it back. that is an enormous concern to u.s. officials and why they are considering air strikes now. these are the people the u.s. is rushing to protect, tens of

thousands of minority yazidis, they are now surrounded by isis fighters in a small northern iraqi town only for some of them to die there of hunger and thirst. pleading for their lives inside the iraqi parliament a yazidis lawmaker collapsed with emotion. >> translator: over 500 men have been slaught eshd. mr. speaker our women are being killed or sold as slaves. there's a collective attempt to exterminate the yazidis people. >> faced with a growing humanitarian crisis the u.s. has launched a mission to drop emergency aid to the stranded yazidis. it is also considering opening up a humanitarian corridor to allow them to escape. and potential air strikes on isis targets to protect u.s. military advisers now stationed in irbil. >> the cold and calculated manner in which isis have targeted defenseless iraqis like

yazidis and christians because of their js 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 iraqi cities of tikrit and mosul. however isis is making further gains. today reclaiming the crucial mosul dam which supplies electricity to what's become the capital of a self declared islam caliphate in iraq. isis is targeting christians attacking three more villages forcing hundreds of christian families to flee for their lives. a senior intelligence official tells cnn isis is well positioned to keep the territory it's captured. let's be clear here isis doesn't

just threatened the region it threatens the u.s. isis aspirs to carry out attacks on the u.s. homeland and that's one failed state with one terror group that targets the u.s. i had a briefing with senior intelligence officials and there's now four failed states in the region with terror groups who are targeting the united states. an al qaeda group, an al qaeda in the arabian peninsula in yemen an effective failed state. it's attempted three attacks on the u.s. homeland. al shabaab, also concerns about returning american fighters that have joined al shabaab, concerns they would come out to the u.s. and carry out attacks. this is what counter terror officials face every day and increasing concerns as these states fail what that means for safety back here at home. >> jim, please stay with us. i want to bring in our global affairs correspondent. from your reporting and this is

the crucial question facing so many americans watching tonight, trying to decide what they think this country should do, will this be the beginning of a much larger military involvement in iraq or is this something they truly believe can be a few surgical strikes? >> erin, i think for right now it's going very limited and specific humanitarian type intervention along the lines of these air drops, perhaps helping with the iraqis to provide some kind of humanitarian corridor, maybe using u.s. air support to get these yazidis off that mountain and get them out. the u.s. has been pretty clear, president obama has said he is reluctant to get more, further into iraq until there's an iraqi government in place. the iraqis are still in the throes of political chaos. they have a new president, new speaker of parliament but they need a prime minister and a government that can stay tuned and make decisions. that's what the u.s. thinks

there's no military solution to this. they think this is a political solution, once an iraqi government that's inclusive that can stand up that will beat back the tide of isis and will be able to recapture the country. so i think that kind of fuller involvement, if the u.s. is going to consider it and as you see isis as jim notes continuing to take large swaths of the country. that kind of military involvement won't be until the u.s.-iraqi government stands up which can be quite soon because according to the constitution they need to do it in the coming days. >> this is a huge moment for the president of the united states. looking at a region and as you point out with these failed states that has had some major failures that could be significant perhaps to the united states. his approval rating on foreign affairs 36%. that's a record low. how big of a moment is this for him? >> it's an enormous moment for the president and also a difficult decision for him to

make. his defining foreign policy success until a few months ago with isis' advance has been u.s. withdrawal from iraq and pending withdrawal from afghanistan. remember his decision not to carry out air strikes in syria after the use of chemical weapons there. this is a president who did not want to use military force if he could avoid it and now facing what he's facing there as you look at the map, particularly the rapid advance of isis in iraq and syria he's forced to make this decision. he cannot act now particularly with americans under threat, 40,000 yazidis under threat, you know, it's goot be a very difficult moment for him. up next breaking news continues. another plane shot down in ukraine less than a most downing malaysia airlines flight 17. another country, this is the fifth reporting a suspected case of ebola. we'll go live to the epicenter of the outbreak tonight for the very latest. tomorrows a reality

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after malaysia airlines flight 17 was shot out of the sky killing 298 people. according to a ukrainian official the jet was hit by a russian made buk missile. we'll show you what it looks like. this is the buk. this is the same missile that is believed to have taken down flight mh-17. nick, what can you tell bus the attack today? >> reporter: erin, the focus on this jet being taken down, a mig 29, the missile system known as buk also blamed for taking down malaysia flight 17 was used in this attack. it happened to the north of the crash site and it's happening as violence is escalating in this civil war. investigators unable to get to this crash site. ukrainian military closing in very fast, blasts, small arms fire around where i sat now.

bizarre event today when the leader of the separatists turned up and gave a press conference and said he was quitting and announced that a militant leader would take his place. a sense that things are changing. four people killed by shelling today in donetsk. this morning at dawn we heard substantial artillery barrages to the south of where i am now. no doubt the ukrainian military is moving in fast and no doubt there is increased pressure on moscow to perhaps intervene in some way although they know themselves more western sanctions if they try. >> i want to bring in our cnn military analyst. general, let me ask you, this is not an easy weapon to use. we talked so much about whether a russian hand would have been on the button or the trigger when that mh-17 was shot out of the sky.

we know rebels have successfully shot down other ukrainian military jets. we have heard a lot about buks being used. how surprised are you about another buk is being used. do they have a lot more than what was thought. >> i don't think they have any more. you're making a good point. when we saw the egregious event with the malaysia airline flight being shot down we assumed that buk system, that sa-11 had come across the border, it's a russian piece of equipment, it had been brought over to the russian separatists and there was some sort of training. i couldn't positively state that a russian pulled, absolutely got in there and pulled trigger, pushed the button to make that thing launch off the rails. in this particular case i think in retrospect i think it's probably safe to assume that additional training occurred to the russian separatists because

they operated it quite effectively this time vis-a-vis what they did before. they didn't intend to shoot down the malaysian aircraft and they did because they were not properly trained. i think it's fair to assume legitimately additional training was provided by the russians, or the russians said look these guys aren't ready to operate these weapon systems we'll operate them during the foreseeable future and we'll ride them along with us as we get them more competent. i think the short answer is russia clearly, again, is behind this. >> and, do you think then -- what is russia's next move. will they keep sending in more and more weapons without care for the sanctions? >> yeah. i don't think that russia will measure its activities in any way. in fact we've seen a build up of russian forces just across the border again very, very provocative, that close, hanging over the ukrainian border.

putin can push those folks away at any time. he's chosen not to and done the complete opposite. i would imagine russia will continue to provide the separatists exactly what they need. >> thank you. up next ebola killed nearly 1,000 people. we'll go live to the epicenter of the outbreak in sierra leone after this. 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. ♪ you want to save money on car insurance? no problem. you want to save money on rv insurance? no problem. you want to save money on motorcycle insurance? no problem. you want to find a place to park all these things? fuggedaboud it. this is new york. hey little guy, wake up! aw, come off it mate!

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breaking news on the ebola virus is spreading tonight. tonight reports it has spread to a fifth country, you can see it highlighted there in yellow next to nigeria, the most popular country. the health minister in benin says a citizen is hospitalized with a suspected case. it's an outbreak in which 1,000 people have nearly lost their lives and the director of the cdc warned it could spread to the united states. >> it is certainly possible that we could have ill people in the u.s. who develop ebola while here after having been exposed elsewhere. it is possible that they could spread it to close family members or to health care workers if their infection is not rapidly identified. but we're confident that there

will not be a large ebola outbreak in the u.s. >> david mckenzie is out front in sierra leone, the epicenter of the outbreak. he's the only television there risking his life to do such incredible reporting this week. you now have spoken exclusively to the family of a well-known doctor who died of the virus. what did they say? >> reporter: erin, more than 60 health professional haves died in this unprecedented outbreak here in sierra leone and other parts of the region. it's just tragic that the people trying to save lives have lost their lives, and the only expert on ebola here in sierra leone is one of the first people to really wake up people to this epidemic. we spoke to his family who are still in shock. his family knew the risks. he was the country's only ebola specialist. when the deadly virus first hit, his father pleaded with him to

come home, so did his brother. >> this was a young man who went to do his work. he said i'm going to do it -- >> reporter: it's very difficult to talk about this, his death. >> yes, of course, it is. in rhindsight, i wish i got him out of that site. you can understand that as a brother. >> reporter: but in the ebola stricken region, dr. conn kept treating patients at the state hospital. more than 100 received his care and he promised his brother he would stay safe. >> i'm a little angry. you have to expect that of me. there are a lot of things the government should have done to mitigate the spread of this disease. >> reporter: despite a crumbling health care system, the

government says it's doing everything it can but dr. conn went from care giver to patient, from fighting the disease he sure come to it. if you had to say one thing to your brother right now, what would it be? >> he didn't die in vain, no he didn't die in vain. he died for humanity, for this country. [speaking foreign language]. >> reporter: he says his brother was alone in his fight, but in his death a nation woke up to this outbreak. erin, certainly a tragic story there but his family say they didn't cry. they didn't shed a single tear because they knew while he was alive, dr. khan did so much to help sierra leone people but they are also angry that the protocols weren't there, put in place to protect health workers and that certainly is still an

issue here in sierra leone outside of the topnotch doctors without boarders clinics, and many here don't even want to treat the patients because they are too scared. erin. >> thank you so much. we'll be right back. when a pro at any 2014 pga tour event sinks a hole-in-one, quicken loans could pay your mortgage for an entire year. truly amazing! enter today at pgatour.com/quickenloans

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a jury, these are some of the things you can do if you're a woman that you could not do in the 1960s, that's right no credit cards for women in the 1960s in the u.s. times have changed. that change did not always come s see. don't miss "the sixties" tonight at 9:00 eastern right here on c at 9:00 eastern right here on c nrks nrks -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good evening. thanks for joining us. american air forces tonight have launched a risky new humanitarian mission in iraq with tens of thousands of innocent lives on the line. men, women, children, members of a nearly extinct section dying of hunger and thirst on a mountain top, some just days or hours from death we're told. thousands more refugees, many iraqi christians on the run, the largest city occupied by fighters, convert to islam or die. those fighters known as