welcome to an early morning here on "new day." i'm christi paul. >> i'm victor blackwell. >> we welcome our international viewers as well. >> we want to start with you in iraq. u.s. war planes and drones have carried out another series of air strikes against isis fighters in the northern part of the country. >> the strikes targeted armored vehicles used to fire an the yazidi group near sinjar in the mountains. that's where tens of thousands of them have fled into that range in fear for their lives. on saturday, president obama made it clear and you watched it

live here on cnn, the military action could go on for months. and the u.s. needs to work with its allies to help create there in iraq a unified government. >> we can conduct air strikes but there's not going to be an american military solution to this problem. there's going to have to be an iraqi solution that america and other countries and allies support. >> so as for the humanitarian mission, three cargo planes we know escorted by u.s. fighter jets dropped about 3800 gallons of drinking water and more than 16,000 ready to eat meals last night. just a short time ago as well, the british royal air force made its first drop but a u.n. official says that's not enough for the estimated 40,000 moornity yazidis hiding from fighters on sinjar. >> this is from one of the refugees. he says the situation there is not a crisis, but a catastrophe.

he counted as many as 1,000 bodies as he left and went up into the sinjar mountains trying to escape isis. >> cnn's anna corin joins us live from erbil, iraq. what is the situation like right now for -- is it safe to call them refugees at this point? >> yeah, they absolutely are refugees. they are stranded on mt. sinjar. 40,000 of them. although we are getting word there are several thousand who have managed to get off the mountain and flee towards syria. that's thanks to the kurdish forces on the ground there that are helping these yazidis, as well as the u.s. air strikes that you mentioned targeting those isis mortar and artillery positions. taking them out, which means that those kurdish fighters can get in and help some of the yazidis. but that's only a handful of the tens of thousands that are

trapped on mt. sinjar. as you mentioned, the situation, as that particular refugee mentioned, it's now beyond humanitarian crisis. is now a catastrophe. particularly if he's saying there are thousands of bodies up there. it is dire. it is incredibly hot. they have been without food and water now for days. obviously, those aid drops, the third humanitarian aid drop, reached them overnight. however, you know, that is some 50,000 meals, 10,000 gallons of water that has managed to get to some of them. mt. sinjar is a large place. we know these 40,000 yazidis who have fled there, they are probably not all together. so we're hearing of some of them getting away. fleeing towards the border, but still, many of them are trapped which poses an enormous problem for the 200,000 others who have fled to other parts of northern

iraq, including here in erbil. it's just as dire. when i landed late last night, we went to one of the construction sites, abandoned construction sites where many of these refugees have set up camp basically, and they asked me, when can i return home? can we go back next week? can we go back next month? we just don't know. and for them, they have left with just the clothe s on the back. they fled as soon as they knew isis militants were headed toward their hometowns. and they got out of there. as we know, isis said you either convert to our extreme form of islam or face slaughter. these people left, taking nothing to chance and they are desperate and in need of help. >> the u.n. is working an that as they call it humanitarian corridor. the u.s. continues to work, and with some irony, we see them

going back now into syria finding some refuge. we'll see how this plays out over the next several months and weeks. ann a coren in erbil. isis recruiting is on the rise in sunni areas of iraq. hundreds of young men between 16 and 25 have joined isis in recent weeks. >> so the question so many people are asking, did the white house underestimate isis' strength early on? here's the president's response. >> there's no doubt that their advance, their movement over the last several months has been more rapid than the intelligence estimates and, i think, the expectations of policymakers both in and outside of iraq. >> let's talk more with professor peter newman, the director of the international center for the study of radic radicalization at kings college

in london. thank you for being with us. i want to show you pictures we've gotten in just recently of how the kurdish peshmerga are helping some of these refugees, as anna coren calls them, the yazidis from the mountain. there are pictures of them literally in a front loader. here it comes. this is how they are getting some of these yazidis off of that mountain in sinjar. they are using construction equipment. where are they taking them is the question. where can they go for safety, peter? do you have any gauge on that? >> well, i mean, the area is located, i mean, a number of the yazidi refugees have made it into syria. there seems to be a small corridor that allows them to escape. however, that is only true for a very small number of them. most of them are still stuck in the same situation. so for them, the situation has not improved.

>> help us understand and even al qaeda has called them radical. and when you get that moniker from al qaeda, then you know that they are on one far end of the spectrum. help us understand as it relates to other terrorist groups that though u.s. and the world has fought before. how savage isis really is. >> so isis has often been said is even more extreme than al qaeda. you have to understand, in the 2000s, isis came out of the islamic state of iraq and al qaeda in iraq which was creating havoc in that particular country because they were introducing things like beheadings. they were starting a civil war against shiites. they were bringing back all the punishments from if you want though seventh century at the time of the prophet muhammad. and even al qaeda at that point wase iing zarqawi.

so you can imagine how extreme they are and to some extent it's working because people are literally scared of them. we know of iraqi soldiers who were running away from isis knowing what would happen to them if they were being captured by isis. >> so when we hear this, and we talk about how to stop it, if we talk about just containing them as it has been one of the goals here is to contain isis and not give them any further ground is that going to be enough? aren't they going to continue to be a threat? and how much does the international intelligence community -- how much are they honed in on this group? how much do they really know about them to continue to contain them? >> so the air strikes that are currently being carried out by america are probably enough to contain them. but, of course, containment is not enough with a group like

that. they continue to hold territory. that could be very daurges for all the neighboring countries but also even for the united states because it's holding territory that enables you to pull off terrorist operations like 9/11. so over the next months and years, it will be necessary to work with all the people who are against them. the secular forces in syria, the kurds, the iraqi government, the jordanians in order to increase their capacity to take them on. that will be the aim that president obama is pursuing in the next months and years. ultimately, of course, the solution is political. the tribes in iraq have to be -- have to be taken away from isis. and the iraqi government has to be inclusive enough to basically reach out to them. that will be the solution. but militarily, they can be pushed back from all sides. >> peter, it sounds as though you said containment isn't enough. you need to destroy them. who is willing, not just

capable, but who is willing to take that on if -- i mean, the u.s. has said there's not going to be any boots on the ground. but if it comes to it, who -- are there any u.n. allies with the u.s. that could do that? that are willing? that are capable? >> the good news is, isis doesn't have a lot of friends because isis is threatening every single one of its neighbors. it is already fighting on four fronts. it is fighting against the kurds, against the iraqi governments, against the secular people in syria and against the syrian government. all these people are in principle willing to take isis on. the problem is they are not very capable. as we've seen with the iraqi army who fallen at the first hurdle. so the task of america and the international community is to increase the capacity of the kurds, of the iraqis, of the syrians, of the jordanians in resisting isis and in taking them an. not putting boots on the ground

but making them stronger so they themselves can eliminate isis. >> peter neuman, we've got you back with us in the next hour. one thing i want to talk about is the president said an thursday night in announcing these strikes that they are also some diplomatic and economic levers that can be pulled. diplomatic diplomatically, there are countries that would have influence over isis? we'll talk about that in the next hour. peter neumann, thanks. now a big story here in the u.s. to talk about breaking overnight. a top nascar driver track racing here now under investigation after running over a fellow driver on a dirt track. we've got all the details an the crash involving nascar's tony stewart. also, a missouri community is outraged this morning after an unarmed teen is killed by police. his mother has a lot to say.

14 minutes past the hour. following breaking news in the world of nascar. authorities tell us driver tony stewart hit and killed another driver during a dirt track race

in upstate new york. >> the driver who was killed was out walking an the track. bleacher reports rashon ali is here. what more do you know? >> witnesses say stewart spun out fellow driver kevin ward. kevin then got out of the car to voice his displeasure and he was hit by tony stewart's car sliding him down the track. according to ontario conti new york sheriff, they say the driver was then taken to the hospital by ambulance where he was pronounced dead. so a spokesman from tony stewart's camp released a statement saying a tragic accident took place last night during a sprint car race in which tony stewart was participating. tony was unhurt but a fellow competitor lost his life. our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. we're still attempting to sort out the details n appreciate your understanding during this time. he has been cooperating and talking but for those who follow

nascar, we know tony stewart has been a hot head over the years. of course, we cannot make any assumptions now because this is an ongoing investigation, but this is going to be something that could rock the nascar world. >> on dirt tracks like that, is it possible, i suppose, that the guy jumped out in front of him and he did not have time to react to go another way? >> that could be a possibility as well. that's why, you know, with further investigations and all that, it's going to tell what, you know, the intent was on tony stewart's part. >> i've driven on one of those dirt tracks. they are very slick. also depending upon the weather the night before it's easy to lose traction on those tracks. that statement from tony stewart's camp, no connection there between tony's driving and the driver's death. tony is unhurt, but another driver lost his life. instead of there being any

involvement in that statement. >> or taking any responsibility at that pont. >> and that's probably a legal decision. >> absolutely. there's outrage in missouri in a community there after an unarmed teen was shot and killed by police. 18-year-old mike brown was with a friend when he was stopped by police and told to walk on the sidewalk. after a heated exchange, brown was shot even after he reportedly stopped, raised his hands in the air. according to family n friends, brown was spending the summer with his grandmother. the mother described him as a good kid and he did not deserve to die. >> my son just turned 18 and graduated from houk. they told me how many times my son was shot. eight. you're not god. you don't decide when you're going to take somebody from her. if that was the case, i should

have took him from her. that was mine. that belonged to me. >> officials say it took hours to collect evidence, remove brown's body because of protests in the community. county detectives say they plan to release more information about the shooting later today. >> we'll have that for you when we hear it. there had been more peace talks as you know. and thinking that they could end the bloodshed in gaza. now hamas is threatening a, quote, major escalation in violence in their demands aren't met and the conversation doesn't continue. ♪ ♪ ♪here i am. rock you like a hurricane♪

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just days after a short-lived cease-fire crumbled in the middle east, hamas is giving israel an ultimatum now. come to the table and meet our demands or prepare for an escalation of violence and rocket attacks. >> israel says it will not budge until the rocket attacks stop. now ahead of today's cabinet meeting in israel, prime minister netanyahu reiterated this crisis is far from over. "i said at the beginning of the operation and the whole way along it will take time. we need to relate to this with steadfastness and unity until we completed the mission."

john vause is monitoring the developments an the ground there in gaza. we also heard from the defense minister from israel that there is nothing to negotiate unless the rockets stop from gaza. so is there even any potntial for even these humanitarian cease-fires we saw intermittently through this conflict? >> yeah, certainly the diplomatic options seem to be fast running out here. especially when you listen to benjamin netanyahu and the israeli defense minister being adamant that this operation will continue. what we know at this stage as far as the negotiations in cairo, the palestinian delegation there plans to meet with the egyptian mediators. that's meant to happen any time soon. and hamas says if it is confirmed that the israelis have no intention of returning to cairo to continue on with those negotiations, then they will pack up and they will leave and they'll head back to the

palestinian territories. and they will continue negotiations here pretty much amongst themselves or meet with the leaders in the west bank and gaza. in particular, the president of the palestinian authority mahmoud abbas. but it certainly appears that they will be leaving. certainly at face value. the israeli government making it very clear that they have no intntion to continue these negotiations while the rockets continue to fire from gaza into israel. and that is the case. those rockets do keep coming, mostly falling in the southern part of israel. as far as the israelis are concerned, that doesn't really mean much. the rocket fire is rocket foor. we now have a situation that hamas has warned that unless the israelis agree to their key demands which is lifting the economic blockade and now they are saying they want a sea port as well as one of their key demands, then they'll start firing rockets again and this conflict will be back on. and what they have also said, victor in the last day or two,

is that if this fighting escalates, they'll start sending rockets toward tel aviv. they'll try and target israel's airport in tel aviv, ben gurian. a couple weeks ago, international carriers pretty much stopped flights in and out of ben gurian for almost two days because a palestinian rocket landed nearby and that was a huge blow to the israelis. but despite that, israel was adamant no negotiations until there's an end to the rocket fire. >> all right. john vause for us in gaza. thank you so much. breaking news that we're following this morning involving nascar driver tony stewart. as we were just saying, he's being investigated after a deadly crash. we'll have more an that. plus, an unarmed teenager shot by police in missouri. we're going to have more throughout the morning. what the community wants to know about why this happened. hello! three grams daily of beta-glucan...

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well, a bright hello and welcome to you. i'm christi paul. >> i'm victor blackwell. here are five things you need to know for your new day. >> new air strikes and air drops in iraq. the u.s. hitting isis militants four times yesterday. the group that's taken over

several cities in iraq is also responsible for forcing tens of thousands of yazidis to hide in the mountains near sinjar. an the humanitarian side, the u.s. and british air force have both dropped food and waurth to the stranded refugees. just days after peace talks failed, hamas and israel are at it again. hamas is now threatening israel with an ultimatum. come to the table and negotiate or prepare for more attacks. israel is refusing to drop while rnd fire. a plane crash at the tehran airport earlier today. local reports say the passenger plane crashed shortly after takeoff killing everyone on board and severely burning several people an the ground. five rescue workers have been taken to the hospital. nascar driver tony stewart is under investigation for a deadly crash during a dirt track race in upstate new york. sheriff's officials say the driver was walking on the track

when he was hit. officials say stewart is fully cooperate with the angoing crash investigation. police are invest gaiting the death of missouri teen after he was shot and killed by police yesterday. witnesses say 18-year-old mike brown was unarmed when he was stopped by a cop car and told to walk on the sidewalk. there was apparently a heated exchange and brown was reportedly shot even after he showed his hands to the officer. investigators are expected to release more details about that case later today. strikes against isis militants have drawn the u.s. back into the confluct in iraq. this is happening despite president obama's cam pawn promise that he'd end the war there. >> the president says he will not put boots on the ground. but he's not saying how long the u.s. will continue to give iraq military help from the skies. cnn's erepublican mcpike has details for us.

good morning, erin. >> in a lengthy exchange with the press an saturday morning, president obama made clear that the current situation in iraq will be a long-term challenge. as the first family begins its martha's vineyard vacation, president obama is refusing to set a tombtable for how long u.s. military action in iraq will need to continue. >> i don't think we'll solve this problem in weeks. this is going to take some time. >> reporter: u.s. air strikes destroyed some isis arms and equipment hoping to stop the militants advance on the northern iraqi city of erbil. the u.s. also has dropped food and water to aid thousands of a minority group stranded on mt. sinjar. >> the next step which will be complicated logistically is how do we give safe passage for people don from the mon. >> the broader problem -- how to contan or destroy the mounting terrorist threat from isis, complicating the issue, concerns from some democrats such as

keith ellison. i am wary of mission creep and the possibility of being further embroiled in a situation that has no military solution, he said, urging the president to seek congressional organization if military operations continue. and others like house speaker john boehner approving the president's current actions but accusing him of lacking a long-term strategy for handling the terrorist threat in the region. >> there is no doubt that their advance, their movement over the last several months has been more rapid than the intelligence estimates and, i think, the expectations of policymakers both in and outside of iraq. >> the president insists he won't send american troops to battle an the ground in iraq again and says a solution will only come when iraq forms a government that shares power with minority groups. but with no end in sight, could this cost american taxpayers

more in the future? >> we'll have to evaluate what happens over time. >> reporter: both the admission that isis presents a larger threat than the u.s. government and the iraqi government originally anticipated and that there is no timeitable here could provide ample fodder for his critics in the coming weeks. >> erin mcpike, thank you so much. as president obama pushes for this long-term solution to the crisis, isis is building up its forces. iraqi officials tell cnn recruiting by militant fighters is on the rise. of course, their target is young sunni men between the ages of 16 and 25. >> and they aren't the only ones. women have also become a target group with online recruiting videos trying to get them to marry into the network. >> let's talk more about this with terrorism expert sajan, the director for international security for the asia-pacific

foundation. great to have you with us. other terror groups they've fought in the past,io have the taliban in which they offered schools and education and resources. is isis that type of group? it appears they are just going and using -- just brow beating and killing people into their ranks. >> keep in mind that the taliban controlled large groups and they had a medieval structure for the children. women were not allowed to take jobs. there were executions of women, ethnic minorities were being persecuted and the taliban gave sanctuary to al qaeda. in the case of isis, there are those similarities but you have a group that's been deemed by al qaeda to be more extreme, to be more radical. and certainly what is more disturbing is that they are actually controlling huge suedes of territory in iraq and syria

and operating effectively as a government. this has made the job all the more complicated because you have a terrorist group that's effectively a state government, de facto in many parts of iraq and syria. >> you just said they're acting effectively as a government. we have heard some people when talking about isis, some experts say they are good at fighting. they aren't particularly good at politics and administration and that regard. how strong do you think they are when you say they are acting as a government? do you mean they are just acting as -- leading a territory right now out of fear? or is there some sort of structure to an administration for this group? >> the group is led by al baghdadi. he's an individual who has now self-proclaimed himself to be the amir, the leader, the ruler of this swath of territory. they've changed its name to call

it islamic state to give it a pretense it's an organization with a lere lidgeuous aspect that's creating a caliphate, an islamic superstate. it's more a question of they have the power, the support from a large number of individuals. also foreign fighters. and the finance. they have been able to procure money illegally that they've taken from banks in iraq. they get donations from the persian gulf, places like saudi arabia and qatar. they are gaining ground. in many ways we've sleepwalked into this problem. when isis first took fallujah it was ignored. it spread to mosul, baqubah and continues to spread its tentacles across syria. the matrix may try to contain it but it's a much more difficult job than dealing with al qaeda in pakistan. when you are confining them to

villages in the case of iraq, you are trying to confine them to towns and cities. >> we sleepwalked into this problem. and, you know, we read that the defense secretary chuck hagel, there had been meetings several times about the threat from isis and there had been discussions across the arab world. let me ask you this. when we talk about these new recruits, how many of them are coming from the western world? i know that, obviously, there are many there in the levant. but from the rest of the world, from the uk, even from the u.s.? >> this figure is growing and increasing by the day. we are talking about thousands of recruits from europe, from britain, from continental europe, from canada, from the united states. increasingly, they are being drawn to go fight there. they see this as their sort of afghan jihad that we witnessed in the 19 octob80s. this is their opportunity to carry out an act of religious

obligation. the scholars, the ideologues are using new media. twitter, youtube, to issue their messages, to show the campaigns. to recruit people. those that die are portrayed as martyrs. it creates an illustration of fighting for one's religious beliefs. there are very powerful ideological and visual messages that are being illustrated and especially through media. this is growing. the foreign fighters are a big major concern. what's a worry for all of us is the potential blowback if they survive the campaign in iraq and syria and come back to the uk or continental europe or the united states. what are their obligations going to be. what will be their agenda? will they settle back to a normal life or carry that ideological doctrine with them and carry out attacks against the society? iraq and syria, what happens in the future will impact on the west directly. mission creep that's being

mentioned is something we're going to have to take very seriously because this is a long-term problem. >> thank you so much for enlightening us this morning. appreciate your time. secretary of state john kerry is sending a warning to russia about ukraine. ♪ [ woman ] if you have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis like me, and you're talking to your rheumatologist about a biologic... this is humira. this is humira helping to relieve my pain. this is humira helping me lay the groundwork. this is humira helping to protect my joints from further damage. doctors have been prescribing humira for ten years. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to r.a. symptoms. humira is proven to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage in many adults.

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secretary of state john kerry has strong words for russia. he's warning his russian counterpart sergei lavrov not to intervene in ukraine under the pretext of humanitarian help. >> look at that. kerry's message coming as a pro-russian rebel leader in donetsk says they are ready for a humanitarian cease-fire to bring aid to civilians but they'd, quote, fight to the death to protect their territory. cnn's will ripley is live from kiev. what can you tell us about the situation there this morning? >> reporter: well, what we know is that for the people who are caught in the middle of all of this, the people of eastern ukraine, their conditions

continue to deteriorate by the hour. another night of heavy fighting. donetsk is surrounded by the ukrainian military, a circle getting tighter and tighter creating tension in that city where they have limited utilities. public transportation still running. people still able to have some semblance of a normal life during the daytime hours until things get very dangerous in the evening. farther to the east, closer to the border with russia in the other rebel-held territory luhansk in the surrounding area, conditions are critical for the people living there. more than a week now without power, without running water. not even their cell phones working. they have no communications. and the food is running out. supplies are running out. there's limited health care workers so people who are getting injured in this constant violence don't have very many options when it comes to getting medical treatment. obviously, the world is now turning its eyes on eastern ukraine realizing if there's not some way to get help to the people there, this is a

situation that could continue to get worse as the days go on without the possibility. and you talk about a possible cease-fire that was mentioned. but there's a lot of things that would need to happen. the rebels say the ukrainian military would need to move out of the area and begin diplomatic negotiations fas it was two governments sitting at the same taubl. that's not something leaders in kiev anticipate happening any time soon. >> this situation is desperate enough. we also have to remember this is a crime scene on several layers and facets there, but we're talking specifically about mh-17. bodies still in the fields there and evidence. how is this impacting even the potential to get become to start to do the work of that investigation and bringing those victims home? >> you are right, george. just today, it was anonnounced e mh-17 search was suspended because it's too dangerous to get into this area because where the plane's wreckage is and

where the remains of some of the passengers are still located, it's right in the heart, right in the center of all this intense fighting happening right now. at one time the unarmed investigation team was literally 150 meters away from gonefire that was happening. they had to move out of there. it's just not safe. they haven't been able to search some of the areas where the plane is and where some of the passengers remains are believed to be. they are sitting there caught in the middle of this. just like the people living in this area, the wreckage as well. nobody can do anything until this violence stops. and it looks like there's still a lot of work that needs to be done before that will happen. >> will ripley for us in kiev, thank you, will. the u.s. dropping bombs and food in iraq. it's trying to help yazidi refugees just trying to survive and get away from isis. we'll take a look at their desperate situation. what we've learned this morning. stay close.

food and water are getting through to some of the tens of thousands stranded on iraq's sinjar mountain. >> but the pictures of what they are going through are so heartbreaking. and they are so jolting when you see them.

ivan watson is showing us the situation of those trapped as forces on the ground try so hard to help them escape. >> reporter: desperation on a mountain top. kurdish civilians, some clearly wounded, baking in the august sun. this little girl crying, i lost my sister and brother. where is my mother? with every passing day, kurdish officials say more people die here of dehydration and exposure to the extreme august heat. kurdish officials say tens of thousands of people from the yazidi religious minority fled to this mountain ridge to escape isis militants who recently captured the nearby town of sinjar. isis have the yazidis surrounded. the trapped people relying on air drops of vital water and food delivered by the u.s. and iraqi air forces. kurdish tv released this footage of a hem helicopter delivering assistance to the same area. a lucky few make it on board the flight to safety.

their faces pretty much say it all. not far away, isis militants have been celebrating their latest advances. showing off their control of the mosul dam. a strategic piece of iraqi infrastructure. if it breaks, it could flood all the way don to the capital baghdad. further east, u.s. air strikes appear to have slowed the isis advance. bombing suspected isis positions just west of the zaub river just 20 minutes drive away from erbil. kurdish officials relieved and thankful for the u.s. intervention. >> we are most grateful and express our gratitude and deep, deep appreciation for president obama and the u.s. administration and for the courageous u.s. army and airmen who are now patrolling the skies

of ooh rack and iraqi kurdistan. >> reporter: u.s. air power has given the kurdish administration in erbil the opportunity to bolster its defenses around this fragile sanctuary in the north where hundreds of thousands of iraqis fled to escape the isis advance. ivan watson, cnn, erbil, in iraqi kurdistan. so hard to watch some of that. >> and we know there's food and water en route, but clearly not quickly enough. as these bombs drop out of the sky from american war planes over iraq, american veterans who fought there, we're going to hear from them. they're going to voice their opinions next. i make a lot of purchases for my business. and i get a lot in return with ink plus from chase. like 50,000 bonus points when i spent $5,000 in the first 3 months after i opened my account. and i earn 5 times the rewards on internet, phone services and at office supply stores. with ink plus i can choose how to redeem my points.

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these air strikes in iraq, they mark the first air mission in the country since 2011. for veterans of the war who actually fought there, the deteriorating situation there has sparked some complicated emotions and reactions. >> cnn's alexander field sat down with a group of them. and they were not hesitant at all to give their reactions an this latest conflict. >> reporter: a seven-year mission in iraq 4,424 u.s. troops gone. two years after withdrawal, a new mission. >> i authorize two operations in

iraq. targeted air strikes to protect our american personnel and a humanitarian effort to help save thousands of iraqi civilians. >> reporter: all summer, americans who served there have been watching the violence in iraq erupt. >> we all agree the iraqis deserve peace. >> yes. >> reporter: we sat down with some of them back in june when the u.s. took its first step to quell the violence, sending in military advisers. >> i think any intervention needs to be extremely limited in scope. >> what do you all want to hear the president saying right now? >> i want to hear president obama acknowledge that america has a moral obligation to that country. >> reporter: two months later, the u.s. launches air strikes. >> i think the united states is a bit slow in reacting to the situation in iraq. >> reporter: andrew bartholemew served there in 2009 with the marine corps. the u.s. has a commitment to maintain. >> it's very much a humanitarian crisis, not just a military crisis. if we have the ability to do so, we may be the only power with the ability to do so, we're

obligated to intervene. >> reporter: the white house is making assurances this intervention won't look like the last one. >> it will not involve american troops returning to iraq in a combat role. >> reporter: ross believes he never should have been on the ground. today he says he can't support military action from the air. >> i think that as americans we need to first come to terms with what we've done during the occupation to iraq because i think it's our misunderstanding of the past that's skewing our understanding of what's going on in iraq today. so i think we need to educate ourselves on that level before we make further decisions about any future course of action in iraq. >> reporter: alexandra field, cnn, new york. i hope it's been good to you so far though it's early. you might be waking up. i'm christi paul. glad to have you. >> i'm victor blackwell. in the u.s. 6:00 on the east

coast. we welcome our viewers from around the world joining us. >> we're glad to have you as well. we begin this morning with the u.s. mission in iraq, warplanes and drones carrying out another series of airstrikes against isis fighters in the northern part of the country. >> the four strikes killed 16 members of the terror group firing on the yazidi group in the mountains. tens of thousands of refugees fled into the mountain range fear for their lives. on saturday, president obama made it clear that the military action could go on for months, that the u.s. needs to work with allies to help iraq create a unified government. >> we can connect airstrikes but ultimately there is not an american military solution to this problem. there's going to have to be an iraqi solution that america and other countries and allies support. >> so those are the military and the polal