this is a vehicle that is clearly going nowhere, but it is one that reid and the democrats think will on gin up not just their base, but middle-class popular support, the old-fashioned good government types who are the people who had been behind campaign finance regulation for a hundred years. >> jeffrey toobin, thanks so much. i'm jake tapper and i now turn you over to wolf blitzer and he's next door in "the situation room". >> thanks, jake. happening now, war against isis. president obama addresses the nation tonight to lay out the strategy for destroying the brutal islamist terror group. that could mean u.s. airstrikes in syria. we'll get a full preview of his battle plan. isis terror plan, a captured laptop may spell out a strategy for mass attacks include biological warfare with a deadly germ that once killed millions of people. >> an insider's view, jay carney

joins the cnn team and he'll share his insight into how president obama is handling this extraordinarily tough decision. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >> just four hours from now, president obama will make it clear to the american people that the united states once again is going to war on this, the eve of the 9/11 anniversary and he'll outline a strategy to destroy isis, the terror group that's brutally seized vast stretches of territory in iraq and syria and slaughtering thousands of people and beheading two americans 13 years after al qaeda struck devastating blows on u.s. soil. the president is likely to make the case that isis poses a greater threat, it's bigger, better armed and more savage than many hundreds of foreign fighters that can rush to this country on their own passports. we'll give you a full preview of what he intends to do. our correspondents and guests

are standing by with full coverage. let's begin with our white house correspondent, michelle kosinski and she's standing by. what do we know about what the president, michelle, will say tonight. >> we're about to hear more detail on the speech tonight and we've seen much today leading up to it. the president spent his day behind closed doors meeting with his national security team, calling members of congress and he had a call with the king of saudi arabia, and there were more air strikes over iraq. the secretary of state is in the middle east and you can see it's part of the regional coalition building that the president is emphasizing is a big part of the plan. tonight, we know the president is prepared to expand those air strikes into syria just most likely not quite yet. for the speech itself, we'll see the president lay out the scope of the problem and what threat is isis exactly to the u.s. and what's at stake, what are the risks and what are the priorities and from there, what everybody is hoping the president will make crystal

clear is the strategy. some of which we have heard from him and from the administration and a big chunk of that involved this regional and international coalition building and that's still ongoing and it's the next steps, moving forward that we do expect to hear more detail from the president on, what exactly will happen in this next more offensive phase, wolf some. >> michelle, we understand the president and vice president have been personally calling members of congress today. what do we know about that? >> reporter: they want congress to act and this is interesting. yesterday the white house said the president has the authority he needs for the plan that he will lay out in the speech tonight, but at the same time we now know that he is asking congress for more authorization. first, in money, a half a billion dollars that he's hoping will be put into the government's spending bill that now will be taken up next week. also the authority to have the u.s. military further train and, quipel ems of the moderate syrian opposition. so if he has the authority and he's asking for more authority,

it seems like maybe that part of the plan isn't quite ready to launch yet. so in congress, there is some bipartisan support for what the president upon wants them to d at the same time they're concerned how much it is going to cost and what are the details of the plan and how long will it last? it seems like what everyone is looking for tonight, wolf is more clarity. >> mushel kosinski, thanks very much. the president is asking for help against isis. secretary of state john kerry is in the middle east right now and he's trying to drum support from muslim allies. first stop was baghdad where he met with iraq's prime minister and he's in jordan and let's go live to global affairs correspondent elise lavin and she's joining us now from amman. how did he do so far, elise? >> reporter: wolf, today in iraq he really felt that this new government, this new iraqi government what he called the

engine that will drive this strategy for building the coalition. aye iraq didn't have good relations with the neighbors because of the governor of nuri al maliki and the way it treated sunni arabs and now secretary kerry is meeting with leaders from jordan. he met with king abdullah tonight and tomorrow he'll be meeting with leaders from kuwait, qatar, lebanon, turkey, all these countries that are in the region of where isis is in syria or iraq bordering and one of those countries and facing the threat and senior officials are saying they think that had is a wake-up call for the region and bans ever isis and they think that they will have pretty good support as they build this international coalition, wolf? >> so tomorrow the secretary continues this mission. he's got more meetings in saudi arabia as you point out with other gulf states. anybody else on the agenda? >> reporter: um, well, he's going to be meeting with all of the gulf states and then you

have lebanon, turkey, egypt, jordan, all these countries and they're going to be asking various things, wolf. some of them will be looking for overflight rights and support with military strikes and there's also an economic component. they want turkey, for instance, to cut off the elicit oil exports that are really giving isis its cash as it makes the lightning advance and helping it in that way and it upons these gulf countries to dry up the financing and also the foreign fighters that are the lifeblood of this group. there's also an important messaging aspect and he wants countries like saudi arabia and its religious leaders and the arab networks, for instance. qatar runs al jazeera and the uae has al arabiya to start using religious leaders to start sending out the message that isis is the enemy and they feel that this diplomatic, economic and messaging component are all of the spokes of the wheel that will make it done with isis

starting with this new iraqi government that they want sunni arabs. >> elise labott, thank you. let's get an insight into how the president is handling this tough decision to essentially lead the united states into another war. joining us, the former white house press secretary and now cnn's newest political comment air, jay carney. welcome to cnn. thanks very much for joining us. >> wolf, thanks. i'm glad to be a are the pa of the cnn team. >> is it fair to on say the president is laurining a new war not only against isis in iraq are ra, but also isis in syria. >> we don't know what he will say about taking action in syria and what we do know and it's borne out by the actions he's taken in the past is that he's always been willing to strike at terrorists or others who threaten u.s. interests wherever they are. if there is a clear-cut strategy for getting the job done, and i

think we've seen that as recently as last week in somalia. we've seen that in the approach he took to going after osama bin laden and others in core al qaeda and we've seen that in recent days and weeks as the u.s. has taken action against isis or isil. so i think that as was reported earlier just before i came on on that it's likely that he'll make it clear that he's willing to do that. i'm not sure that we'll hear yet that he's going to do it, and i think while the overall message will be around making the case to the american people about why we have to take this action, why even though isil and isis is not a direct threat to the united states at this moment, it poses a potential threat that's enormous to the united states and our western allies because of the fighters with western passports and it also might morph into an organization like al qaeda which begins to consider direct attacks on the

united states and the west. so, you know, it's a tough challenge because we are a war-weary nation, but i think the case is compelling for why we have to take this action. >> all these expectations have now been raised. we will hear a clear-cut strategy for action from the president tonight if he doesn't deliver, there will be disappointment and probably a lot of criticism, you as someone who worked with the president for a long time appreciate that. >> oaks, i do. i think there is no question criticism will come as it has in the past and when you're this many years into the job the president is well aware of and knows. even the strategy that's well laid out in the speech is not the same as successfullyec cuting on the strategy. so no matter how good he is tonight there will still be a lot of questions about whether we can can achieve what he lays out. i'm sure he'll talk about how this is a long-term proposition and that could be difficult and frustrating for americans who,

again, have seen the u.s. engage itself in a lot of military actions over the past dozen years, but you know, it comes with the territory, wolf. you know, you've been covering presidents for quite some time. you don't -- you don't get to choose the cards that you play. you get dealt your hand and right now this is a pressing issue that has to be addressed. >> but the president has to tell us, i think, whether or not he supports will launch air strikes against these isis targets and not only in iraq which the husband has been doing in the last few weeks and also in syria and if he's wishy washy on that that will be frustrating. >> i don't know we'll know as precisely when he'll say on that issue. i think it is likely in my view this he'll make clear that he's willing to do that, but i don't think he's -- i think it's unlikely that he'll announce that we're striking targets in syria tonight or tomorrow because there has to be a very carefully thought out plan around, tactical plan around how

you do that because of how the dynamics of the civil war in syria, but the case as i understand it that he'll make is con that would encompass both action in iraq and syria urn the general premise that this organization is a threat to the stability of the region to a number of allies in the region and to the broader world including the united states and therefore going after that threat including leaders of this organization wherever they are is necessary. >> how much of a mistake was it when the president said a week or so ago. he didn't have a strategy for dealing with isis in syria. >> you know, wolf, when i heard that, i'm sure folks who i left behind when i left the white house grimaced a little bit because what he was saying, quite clearly, is that that strategy was being developed. what you get with barack obama is, you know, somebody who was

not a national politician even ten years ago and he bolted on to the stage and it's been part of his appeal. he's not always going to -- when he's speaking honestly going to say it the way communicators who advise him would have him say it, and i'm sure, you know that's sht the first instance where he'd wished he'd said it differently because that became a sideshow to the more substantive issues here which is what are we going to do? can we rally congress to support us? can we rally a coalition both in europe and in the region to support this action because this is a long-term, challenging proposition. it will cost money and put american, men and women at risk and that's the substantive issue, and i think the frustration comes inadvertently, the price or the president does or says something that takes the weak focus away and it becomes a

nature of optics and going combofrling on martha's vineyard or how you say what is an obvious truth which is that the specific strategy is still being developed. >> we asked does president obama have a clear plan for dealing with isis, 30% said yes, but look at this, 67% of the american public according to the poll, jay, think the president does not have a clear plan for dealing with isis and that's a huge problem right now. >> well, it's a problem, no question, but it's why the president's speaking to the nation tonight. it's why any president in this situation would use that and request prime time to speak to the nation. it's not an opportunity you get very often as president with the exception of the state of the union address, there just aren't that many opportunities a year and i don't know that many chances that you have to ask for that time and you only do it when you can make a compelling case to do it, and i think that that poll reflects why it's important for the president to

make clear tonight to the country why we need to do this, what the plan is, what the coalition looks like, where we will be and not just after we expand the number of strikes and even the zone and the area where we are striking, but what the broader plan is that involves some of the things that elise was talking about in terms of an economic strategy and working with our allies to choke off support for the islamic state because absent that, the strikes alone isn't going to do the job. >> jay carney, our newest cnn contributor. thanks very much for joining us and once again, welcome to cnn. >> wolf, thank you for having me. up, if, more of the breaking news. protesters marching outside ferguson, missouri. we've seen some of them throwing bottles at police. we'll go there live. ♪

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a breaking news story right now. the president getting ready to deliver a major speech, anything ahead that the u.s. will not only launch the war strikes against isis in iraq, but they also may start doing so in syria, as well. we'll get to that in just a moment and there is another breaking news story we're following near ferguson, missouri. protesters are throwing bottles at police in a new showdown stemming from an unarmed plaque teenager, michael brown and it began with a rowdy city council meeting to a highway outside of town and let's go live to cnn's ted rowlands. what is the latest, ted? >> reporter: well, wolf, and the

latest is that the things have calmed down a little bit and this is very intense. you mentioned the bottles we saw and rocks are with police and the the goal of the protesters were to shut down i-70 just outside of ferguson. they were not able to do that and within the last five minutes or so, the core of the protest started to move out and they ared hadded now to downtown ferguson to the police department and we saw a lot of anxiety and a lot of emotion and people very upset about mike brown now one month later and it showed again here today. >> my name is charles mayor. we came out to protest our civil rights and civil disobedience. i would say we were distractioned and detained and we didn't get to perform our civil rights protest. >> several arrests, bottles were thrown, and i saw a huge rock

thrown. smo no. that had nothing to do with the protest that we were with. those were professional agitators and don't equate that with the protest. you have a bunch of professional agitators among the people so that's not the protesters. >> how has that hurt your cause, not only today we're seeing it but throughout this entire process since a month ago? >> it didn't hurt our cause because we're still fighting for justice. we can't be responsible for every unlawful act that happens. so just make no mistake about it, we're here to broker peace between the police and my people. so everything something happen negative don't put it on the protesters. >> we're not talking about a skin tone. when i say my people we're talking about the human race that came, a body of people to participate in a civil disobedience act. it's not my people, it's all the people. >> reporter: what is it you want

now? there is an investigation going on and a grand jury hearing. you want a special prosecutor assigned? is that the goal some. >> we want -- we want to start from the bottom up. it doesn't matter how it happens. we want the chief of police to step down. we want for the mayor to resign, we want a microwave arrest of darren wilson. if this happened to any other citizen that -- that -- that unlawfully assassinateded another citizen we wouldn't have to beg for an indictment. an arrest would come first and then the circuit attorney would give an indictment and we're not begging for anything, we're asking to do what's right and we want to arrest and after that, we're asking for the prosecutor to step down. we don't think that we're going to get a fair shake. >> reporter: you're asking for an arrest. don't you want a fair investigation? is there any possibility that this could end without an arrest that would be fair if it was an open process and you saw what went into the investigation or is it an arrest or nothing in terms of your satisfaction?

>> well, i didn't pass the bar, but i know a little bit about the law. i know if this happened, we wouldn't be waiting one month to find out the facts about a man getting murdered. we've had plenty murders just last week. guess what? people have been booked. they have been axe rarraigned a have been given bond without proper cause. so -- so, let's not make it like all the facts are not there. here is the fact, a man is dead, no weapon, let's get that out there. >> and this protest, wolf is moving to downtown ferguson, it could be the beginning of a long night ahead and you see most of the police presence here is still here and they have cordoned off a very large area above i-70 and they've cut off all four on and off ramps at this exit and so far no one's gotten off of the highway and it doesn't look like anyone is going to and take a look behind us, a huge police presence and some violence and some rocks and we saw rocks and bottles being thrown at these officers and

probably two to three dozen arrests. >> so that interstate is shut down at least for now and those protesters were taken to the police station in ferguson. what is the fear? this could get ugly, is that what you're saying, ted? >> reporter: it could. the people that were here ten minutes ago literally who said let's go downtown and let's go to the police station were very angry and they saw a lot of their friends get arrested and they are moving this protest and the reason one of them said is because there are so many police here, let's go downtown. we're going to go downtown right now and we will follow it to see what happens, and hopefully it won't be ugly, but absolutely, the emotion is there where it very well could be. >> we'll get back to you, ted. thanks very much. let's go to missouri state senator maria chappelle nadal, she's joining us on the phone right now. what do you make of what's going on, senator? >> i have been getting some pictures of protesters and officers, and i'm trying to stay in tune as much as possible.

we are currently in our veto session and i am concerned about the numbers that i've been hearing on your show and broadcast, so i am going to stay very close to this as much as i can from our state capital, but i do hope that everyone is safe, but i want to ensure that we still have our first amendment rights. of course, i do not condone any violence on behalf of anyone who is protesting or those who don't like the protesters. and what i have found out is that there are several people who are members of some extremist groups that have been wanting this protest to happen so that they themselves can demonstrate violence against peaceful ferguson protesters. >> you want the police to arrest those violent protesters and those who are breaking the law and not engaging in peaceful protests. >> i think it concerns us in the wrong way when we ourselves are violent. now, i will say that we want

justice. we want transparency and we want the truth, but i mean, having any kind of negative behavior is just not going to help us get what we need to get which is justice and transparency. >> senator, do you support shutting down this major interstate as an act of protest? >> here's what i have stated prior to this. i don't know how it's beneficial, but what i do support is are people who are demonstrating and exercising their first amendment rights. over the course of the last 30 days we have been tear gassed and several other things have happened to us because no one wants us to chem straight and we have a right to do that and it's the first amendment guarantee. >> demonstrate in terms of what the police believe would be an illegal act, shutting down an interstate. >> the police officers have known about this shutdown for

two weeks. they have been in communication with the protest ors who have organized this. so they can either lay blame on the protesters or they can accept accountability, too. this is a two-way street and not just the protest ors and the police officers have some accountability, as well. >> i'm still a little unclear. do you support what in effect is breaking the law by going out there and shutting down the interstate? >> that is not what i would do. that is not the behavior that i will be involved in because i was protesting at west fluorescent and that's what i've done. i opened up an office and i'm trying to work out all of the kinks when it comes to our human rights violations that we're going to send to the u.n. pretty soon and that's what i'm working on so that we can have effectiveness. policy that is going to make a change in the community, so i would not personally be on the highway, but if people want to chem straight and they've behav

communication with officers and different police departments then they know how to conduct themselves and it's a two-way street. the police officers can't say that they have not been in communication with the organizers of this. they know what to do and they've been trying to abide by this law. >> missouri state senator maria chappelle-nadal. senator, we'll stay in touch with you. thanks very much. >> have a good day. >> and we'll see what happens as the protesters begin the march with the police station in ferguson. more on this coming up later. also coming up, a captured isis laptop spell out a strategy for mass attacks including biological war faire with a deadly germ that once killed millions of people and i'll speak live with the president's isis plan with someone who knows the middle east very, very well and also knows the risk of u.s. military involvement and retired general anthony zinni. he is here with me in "the situation room."

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>> so we're monitoring those onanything protests in ferguson, missouri. we'll get back on that shortly and see what's happening, but there is obviously another major story we're following and the president of the united states getting ready to address the nation and indeed the world letting the american people know that for all intents and it weres the u.s. is heading into a new war with the brutal and powerful isis terror group. we are back with retired u.s. general anthony zinni and he led u.s. forces in the middle east and former u.s. envoy, as well. how important is it important for the president, general zinni, tonight, to be precise in

laying out the strategy and not leaving it sort of wishy washy some. >> i think it's critically important. he will have three audiences tonight and one is the american people and one is the allies and potential coalition partners and the third is isis. i think he's got to make a very strong statement about what we're going to do and how far we're going to take this. he also has on make the case strong enough that our allies are will willing to sign on to whatever strategy that the secretary kerry and others in the region are explaining about the potential allies and the american people want to know where we're going on this and how much it will take for us to get this done. >> and the fourth audience is the u.s. military. they want clarity from the commander in chief, and i believe, correct me if i'm wrong, they also want an exit strategy. they want to know what is the mission. how do you achieve that mission and how long will it take? >> they need to know what the end state is. we have to take the political objective and then rans late that into military action. when you don't have clear,

political objectives and then your military action is kind of drifts and then we get into mission creek and all of the other problems we've seen in the past. >> is it fair to say that this is going to be tonight from now on this war against isis, president obama's war? >> oh, absolutely. i think this is different than the others. this wasn't exactly inherited although i think the roots go back to our incursion into iraq, but he's got to be the leader in this, very clearly. >> he's the commander in chief. he's got an enormous -- i'm a little sur poised that he's doing the speech even while the the secretary of state is in the region with the saudis, the jordanians and the emirates and other countries and trying to put a coalition together. that's still a work in progress. >> that's right. i assume that secretary kerry has the strategy and he's explaining what we would like to get out of these coalition partners and what the contribution would be. i have one concern. i look at what the ground component of this is. we have the kurds and the

peshmerga, we have the iraqi military and the syria movement and the moderates in there. that's a very tricky ground component in all of this to put together. that may be the weak link in a military sense in all this. >> that weak link could be strengthened if the u.s. were to commit combat troops. >> yes. i think that could be necessary. isis has been in there for three months now. >> in iraq. >> in iraq, for three months and they've established themselves pretty well in there and they've got to be rooted out. air attacks alone won't do that. >> it's not just a bunch of terror firsts, either. they have an army. the isis forces control an army of former saddam hussein generals and colonels and majors that know what they're doing because they hate the shiite-led government in baghdad. >> absolutely. they've come to the doorstep of bag cad and some bombs have blown up inside baghdad, and i think they wanted to get in and cause chaos.

so this ground war will be significant. air power will make a big difference in this. we have to make sure we can control it. they're not used to combined arms in the way american units are and that's going to be the tricky part of the military piece to this. the isis army as it it now controls this huge chunk of land in syria and in iraq. they could be rather formidable given the u.s. equipment that they have. >> i don't think it will be easy or short term. we've got to make sure that the will to fight down there on the ground is there, and i have confidence in the peshmerga and uncertain about the iraqis and i don't know how much the syrian free movement is still engaged with assad's forces can help in this or do in this and this will be a tricky piece. we'll see how specific the president is tonight and general, thanks very much for coming in. anthony zinni, the former centcom commander and the author of a brand new very important book, there you see it it there "before the first shots are

fired" a book i recommended highly. >> we are hearing details of isis, their plans to use the bubonic plague as a terror attack and i'll ask israel's intelligence minister who is now here in wash wish and what israel knows about isis. ♪ ♪

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we're still monitoring those protestses emerging outside forring son, missouri. we'll get back to that as they develop, but we're also getting new details about the threat posed by isis. information from a seized isis computer now reveals the group's ambition to stage a terror attack using some kind of biological weapon. cnn's brian todd has been looking into these alarming details. what are you finding out, brian. >> wolf, new tonight new information about a desire by isis on carry out an attack using biological agents and one isis militant is connected to a plan to inflict mass casualties, a scheme that could lead to more urgency to the threat. >> after killing thousands of iraqis and syrians and beheading two americans, can isis be planning something bigger. >> they're aware of specific details from a laptop captured

from an isis hideout in northern syria. according to a magazine which accessed the laptop and first reported on it, the computer has documents on how to carry out a mass attack. among those documents how it to make biological weapons even how to weaponize the bubonic plague. >> if they got the agent and got the dispersal method right, could it wipe out whole city blocks? >> it could wipe out entire cities if they're using a contagious agent that is microencapsulated and the right particle size, yes. >> according to foreign policy, one of the documents said, quote, use small grenades and throw them in closed areas like met rose, soccer stadiums and entertainment centers. the laptop was the property of a jihadist labeled mohammed s. who joined isis after studding in tunisia. >> he left in 2011 impeach.

and they're looking into this. because what you're concerned about is a scientist, really, kind of adopting these jihadi ideals. >> but a u.s. intelligence official says nothing about these documents raises concerns about isis' capability to make biological weapons. weapons expert says the technological hurdles are huge. getting lethal strains and converting them to droplets that people would breathe in, eat or drink and getting them through sprayers or other delivery systems without killing organisms could be beyond the reach of isis. >> whether it's anthrax and botulinum toxin, smallpox, whatever, each one of them behaves differently in a per ementer and differently in a sprayer and different things and this is not like shake and bake

cooking. >> as difficult as it may go from to go from an idea hatched on a document on a laptop to making an actual biological weapon, the concern now is that isis has captured some major cities like mosul and raka. cities with universities and that the group may have access to some sophisticated labs and still getting access to a lab anden weaponizing a plague are two different things. >> they do have one sophisticated facility that they've captured, right? >> they have captured a huge chemical weapons facility al muthanna, that is saddam hussein's former chemical weapons program and the home of the chemical weapons program that he had and there were a couple of bunkers left over there that had excess stockpiles and it's not clear what isis may have done with them and u.s. officials have said that there were no intact chemical weapons there and it would be difficult to use some of the stuff on the battlefield and it did have material like sarin storeded there. >> israel's intelligence

minister, he's here in washington and he'll be joining me in "the situation room." i'll ask him about the threat isis poses to israel and senator ted cruz of texas is standing by and i'll ask him about his plan to have americans who fight for isis stripped of his u.s. citizenship and about his plan to bomb isis back to the stone age. we're following the breaking news outside ferguson, missouri. we've seen arrests already during a protest march and bottles thrown at police. we'll go back there. stand by. ♪ eenie. meenie. miney. go. more adventures await in the seven-passenger

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we're following the breaking news outside ferguson, missouri, where we've seen arrests during marches protesting the michael brown shooting. we're also talking about the threat from isis, as we await president obama's major speech tonight how the united states will respond. joining us now here in "the situation room," israel's intelligence minister. minister, thank you very much for joining us. welcome to washington. >> my pleasure. >> i know you're here meeting with top u.s. officials. does isis represent a direct threat to israel? >> i think it's a direct threat to the entire region, to the middle east and beyond, of course also to israel. therefore, it's very important what the united states is trying to do, to establish a global coalition. >> has the obama administration asked israel to do something specific in dealing with isis? >> i cannot elaborate about

this. of course, we are sharing all the intelligence and information with our american colleagues with regard to isis. what i want to emphasize, it's not isis alone. you have several jihadist organizations popping up all over the middle east, in libya, nigeria, gaza, hamas took over in syria. isis in iraq. they all have the same ideologies and goal, establishing an islamic state all over the middle east and the world. >> we mow that steven sotloff, the american journalist that was beheaded, also had israeli citizenship. what is israel doing about that? >> israel is part of the global war on terror. >> specifically revenge, retaliation. we know that israel has a history when an israeli citizen is killed, taking revenge. are you planning, plotting? do you see that as a possibility? >> well, you know, we are

defending ourselves. we have just now finished two months -- almost two months of fighting hamas in gaza. as i want to emphasize, there are plenty of jihadist terrorist organizations like isil. the only difference is that i ice -- >> very similar technology. >> we know israel has an excellent intelligence service. do you know, you don't have to tell us who it is, who killed steven sotloff? >> i don't think we know more than the united states or britain. but i would like, with your permission, to make an important point. why it's so important to stop

isis now. what they're trying to do is not just terrorism. they're trying to establish an islamic state in iraq and syria. exactly like the iranians did several years ago, the moolahs. you don't want to have a second iran. therefore it's very important to prevent that. but not at the expense of the first islamic republic of iran. the fact that you have terrible jihadist sunni threats does not diminish the main threat of iran getting nuclear weapons, because although they are shia, they have the same anti-western ideology. >> minister, we -- >> we have to defend ourselves -- i mean, the world against those threats. >> we're up against the clock. thank you very much for joining us. welcome to washington. we'll stay in touch with you.

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will deliver. and police are out in force near ferguson, missouri, for an angry new protest for the shooting death of michael brown. and the nfl is looking into a new report that one of its executives that saw the video of ray rice punching his future wife months ago. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and from around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." we're following all those breaking stories. but let's begin right now with this. three hours from now, president obama will effectively launch a new u.s. war to degrade and defeat the blood thirsty terror group isis and protect americans from a potential attack. it's a dangerous moment for the commander in chief and for the nation. he's been meeting with his top national security team and working the phones. the president trying to rangle votes in congress to approve one controversial piece of his

battle plan. we have our correspondents, our analysts, our news makers all standing which with new information about the president's strategy. let's begin where our whiteout correspondent with the latest. >> reporter: all sides right now, including the white house right now, wants to hear conveyed tonight is clarity. both for the plan and what it looks like moving forward. tonight, primetime is the president's chance to spell this out. this next more offensive phase to the american people and the world. the u.s. struck isis in iraq today. more than 150 air strikes so far. tonight, the president is prepared to take that fight into syria. but not necessarily just yet. he spent his day meeting with his national security team, calling members of congress and the king of saudi arabia. his speech is expected to lay out what is the threat to the u.s., what are the risks and the

priorities. he will present his strategy, much of which the white house has already explained, with next steps contingent upon building regional and national coalitions. secretary of state kerry is in the middle east today doing that. >> this is a fight that the iraqi people must win, but it's also a fight that the rest of the world needs to win with them. >> reporter: the president tonight is going to talk about proposals moving forward. the white house said in a statement he has the sort he needs to take action against isil in accordance with the mission he will lay out in his address. he has asked congress for additional authorization for $500 million to equip the moderate syrian opposition. it was one year ago today that president obama announced this in primetime. >> it is in the national security interest of the united states to respond to the assad regime's use of chemical weapons through a targeted military

strike. >> reporter: then things changed on the ground and there wasn't an appetite in congress to vote on it. today, dick cheney called him disen gauged. >> president obama seems blind to the post 9/11 security apparatus. it is not self-sustaining. those programs and policies must be kept strong and current. >> reporter: harry reid agrees with the president's preparations, at least with congress, to equip and train syrian rebels against isis, had this response. >> i think we need to be very careful with advice that they take from dick cheney. he's more responsible than anyone else for the worst foreign policy decision in the history of the country, the invasion of iraq. >> reporter: on the one hand, the president has the authority he needs for the plan he's laying out tonight but at the same time he's seeking more authorization. so it's possible that second

syrian component isn't ready to launch yet. there is some bipartisan support for what the president wants from congress. at the same time, big concerns about how much money, how will it be spent, what are the exact details, wolf. >> we'll stand by to get some excerpts from the speech. michelle, thanks for that. the secretary of state john kerry says the u.s. is reaching out to about 40 nations. let's get some more from our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto. our gloria borger is reporting right now that the next phase in this operation, according to an administration source, will be offense. so what's going on? big priorities building this coalition. >> and they want this to be a truly global coalition, and one spanning from north america, european partners and partners in the region. we have a good sense of what's

coming from western allies of the u.s. we know that canada is sending military advisers like the u.s. has done to advise iraqi and kurdish forces on the ground. the united kingdom sending arms to kurdish forces, the italians sending aid and arms. but the focus is on getting partners in the region. that's why secretary of state john kerry is there now. turkey bordering syria, this is the key point for all the foreign fighters coming in. turkey has not been great, i'm told, about stopping that flow. the u.s. wants them to do better. turkey can possibly take part in air strikes against isis targets in syria. jordan, very close u.s. ally. intelligence sharing, they border syria, possibly the use of jordanian special forces to give you a ground presence there. qatar, an ally that has angered u.s. officials by helping to radicalize some of these

extremist groups inside syria. the u.s. will want qatar to stop that. and this is also a country that in the past has taken part in air operations in afghanistan, might also be called on to do the same thing in syria and iraq. >> the administration has avoided military action in syria until now, in part because of how complicated that syrian civil war is. what challenges does that present to the president right now? >> a daunting list, frankly wolf. one of the first is you have a regional divide under way here between sunni and shia. you have shia powers like iran supporting the government of assad. you have sunni powers supporting some of the extremist groups fighting them. many of these countries agree, despite those differences, that ice sis a threat. but how do you get them on the same side? certain hi challenges there. another one is how do you weaken isis without strengthening your

other sworn enemy in this conflict, the government of al assad? how do you take on isis today without strengthening isis today and tomorrow, as well? another problem is the rebels. a big portion of the strategy rests on the shoulders of moderate syrian rebels. they say in the last year they've gotten better at this, but we'll have to see how that plays out. it's going to be particularly

questionable how good they're going to be standing up to isis, which is an intimidating military not been involved there. is>> reporter: they want to hear that the united states is committed to this war against isis and that they are here for the long haul. they're hoping to hear key details about this strategy, in iraq and syria. many here hoping that the president they want

in the words of the president, degrade them and ultimately destroy them. >> what about the kurds? what do they think about this new emerging iraqi government? >> reporter: yeah, look, wonderful, i spoke to some senior officials here just a short time ago. they have serious concerns about this new iraqi government. they feel that it is not a vision of what iraq will be, that there are old faces dealing with old problems. obviously, one of the huge

concerns is bringing back the sunni population that has been marginalized, persecuted, alienated, under the former malaki shia led government. there's a feeling that the sunnis there, that they do not represent the sunni tribal leaders, who are the ones that can turn their populations against isis. we have to remember isis has walked into these towns and cities run by sunnis. the reason being is that they see isis to be better than the iraqi military. so this is the real concern about whether or not there will be that sunni uprising that will push isis out of iraq. wolf? >> anna, be careful there, in iraq. senator ted cruise, welcome to "the situation room." >> good to be with you.

>> you've suggested that the united states needs to bomb isis back to the stone age in your words. what's the most important thing? one element, the most important thing you want to hear from the president tonight? >> the most important thing is to demonstrate seriousness. seriousness in confronting this threat and a clear concrete military objective that is directly connected to u.s. national security. >> he says the objective is to ultimately destroy isis. >> he's gone back and forth on that. he also suggested the objective was to render isis manageable. in my view, we should not get distracted by side issues that the president has suggested, such as i hope we don't hear him say that our defending our national security interest and preventing isis from attacking us is dependent on resolving the civil war in syria. i hope we don't hear tonight, as he suggested before, that it's dependent upon seeing reconciliation in iraq between

the sunnis and shiites. that is a sectarian civil war that's waged since 632 a.d. >> do you think that the u.s. and its partners can defeat isis without combat boots on the ground? >> i think we can do it predominantly through overwhelming air attack. but what has been missing and what i hope we hear tonight is a strategy. a week ago, he admitted he didn't have a strategy. i'm hoping we hear one tonight directly tied to our national security interests. isis poses a serious threat. they are crucifying christians. they are beheading children. they have beheaded two american journalists and pledged to carry that jihad here, and they are securing control over parts of a nation state with billions of dollars of oil revenue. >> so you want to expand the air attacks against isis in iraq and

then begin them in syria as well, right? >> the objective should not be iraq or syria. the objective should be taking out isis, preventing them from attacking america. what's been missing so far, we've had an air attack here, a bomb or missile there, but it's been photo-op foreign policy. we should do what is necessary, using overwhelming force to take isis out before they secure control and before they use the revenues they're getting control of to project force and to carry out terror here at home. >> one of the problem it is you don't have boots on the ground in syria, the u.s. doesn't have that kind of ground intelligence, so you really need some people there who can coordinate where these bomb also go. otherwise, a lot of innocent

civilians will be killed. >> what we should. be doing is partnering with enemies of this country. so at times this administration suggested we may partner with iran. khomeini and the mullas in iran are also radicals. it wasn't too many months ago when the obama administration was arguing forearming the rebels if syria, who were fighting alongside isis. and in this instance, the enemy of our enemy is not necessarily our friend. >> some of those free syrian guys are fighting with another terrorist group, but not necessarily isis. you wrote an important column on cnn.com tonight. let me just read a line from it, because it's provocative. as long as our border isn't secure, you write, the government is making it far too easy for terrorists to infiltrate our nation.

here's the question, is there credible intelligence, information that isis is trying to infiltrate the united states through the border with mexico, shall we say? >> look there are reports and they are unconfirmed right now of isis activity along the southern border. what's clear is isis wants to project terror into the united states. right now they're consumed with this battle in iraq. but if they're allowed to consolidate power, they can be expected to project terror here. i introduced legislation in the senate to provide that any american who takes up arms with isis would, through doing so, renounce his or her u.s. citizenship. so we don't allow terrorists who are training with isis to use a u.s. passport, come back and carry out acts of terror. >> would you authorize the assassination, the targeted killing of those americans who

might be fighting alongside isis? >> it would depend on what the intelligence was. if someone is activity taking up arms against the united states, waging war against the united states, then we unquestionably have the authority to defend our severals. >> what if they're waging war in syria? >> that's difficult to answer without the specific facts of what is occurring. >> so you want the president to bomb isis back into the stone age, but also to come to congress to get authorization to do so. you know the mood in congress. >> i think if the president comes with a serious plan, if he comes with a strategy, which he hasn't had until now, to carry out a concrete military objective, i think congress will authorize that. >> you would vote for that? >> if it is a serious plan to protect our national security, absolutely. i hope tonight president obama recognizes this.

we've gotten suggestions he believes he can do this without congressional authorization. the constitution gives congress the authority to declare war. he should heed walls from republicans and democrats to recognize congress' authorities. one of the benefits of that is it means the president has to come in front of congress and lay out what the military objective is, what the national security interest is being furthered. he can't just care you out a photo-op attack. >> we've got to wrap it up. one final question, pdo you wan to be the next president of the united states? >> i certainly want there to be a different president from a different party who changes the path this country is on. the obama economy is a disaster, millions are hurting and the obama-clinton foreign policy is not working. as we can see when america has receded from leadership in the world, when we've led from behind, the result is much of

the world is on fire. >> sounds as if you're thinking of running against hillary clinton. >> i think 2016 will be the most important election of your lifetime and my lifetime. it will be a fork in the road where americans will decide do we want to continue on this failed path that isn't working or get back to the principles this country was built on that have made america the greatest country in the history of the world. >> sounds like a yes. >> time will tell. >> when will you announce if you will? >> time will tell on that, as well. my focus is on the 2014 elections. i believe republicans are likely to retake the u.s. senate and retiring harry reid. >> senator ted cruz, we'll stay in close touch with you. thank you very much for joining us. still ahead, standing by for excerpts from the president's

speech. we'll get those to you as soon as we can. and a new report that the nfl had a copy of that shocking ray rice elevator video months ago before it surfaced and cost him his job with the baltimore ravens. also breaking, back to missouri where police are now staring down protesters. tensions over the death of an unarmed teenager in ferguson are boiling over once again. ♪ here's a good one seattle... what did geico say to the mariner? we could save you a boatload! ♪ foghorn sounds loudly ♪ what's seattle's favorite noise? the puget sound! ♪ foghorn sounds loudly ♪ all right, never mind doesn't matter. this is a classic. what does an alien seamstress sew with? a space needle! ♪ foghorn sounds loudly continuously ♪ oh come off it captain! geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

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we're following other breaking news here in "the situation room," including a protest over the police shooting death of michael brown. that protest turning violent. protesters were trying to shut down interstate 70 near ferguson, missouri. cnn's ted rowlands is on the screen for us. what's happening right now? >> reporter: wolf, we've now moved into downtown ferguson, across from the police station. a number of those protesters that were trying to shut down i-70 gave up and have now shut down a street just outside the police department here in ferguson. what you don't see is any police presence at all.

there's a massive police presence still over at i-70. these people relocated and they plan to keep this road shut down to prove their point. they want a special prosecutor appointed to the mike brown case. and they say they are going to keep doing this until demands are set. this isn't a very well traveled road, but you can see the people did come down this road are now stuck and they are trying to come around. you can see the first couple of police officers making their way out of the police department building on the other side of the road. this is the first we've seen of police presence. but we'll be here all night and give you any developments that happen. it has started raining here, maybe that will affect the amount of protesters. one sheet has been shut down and protesters vow to be here all night. >> is that interstate shut down still? >> reporter: the off ramps are

shut down. the police shut the off ramps down as a precaution, because they didn't want any of the protesters to get into the highway. but the highway itself should be moving. we left there about five minutes ago, and it was moving at that point. so the freeway is moving, just those exits are shut down. >> those police officers we now see marching down the street in ferguson. where are they heading? >> we are -- if you're looking at video, that is from the i-70 area. they are clearing out the rest of the people, the protesters above i-70 in ferguson. we're downtown where there is little police presence, a handful of officers that just came out of the police department here. i am assuming that there will be a much larger police presence down here quickly as they get word that this is happening. >> ted, we'll stay in touch with you. let's talk about all of this with patricia bynes, and john

gaskin of the st. louis naacp. word that protesters want to storm, i don't know if that's going to happen, that ferguson police station. patricia, what's going on over there? >> what i'm hearing is once people did not necessarily shut down the highway to their satisfaction, the next exit right up the street is quite easy for the protesters to go ahead and there has been a constant presence of protests at the police station. so i was getting phone call there is, about 100 people or so up there. and they are active. i think it's basically just continuing to do things they've been out there doing, that is to protest right outside and probably this time with so many people i know that they are blocking traffic. >> do you support the effort that has been taking place to shut down that major interstate in missouri? >> you know, it was a very mixed

call for myself. i support the civil disobedience and i support the action. and i understand the rage and the anger that is out here. so i feel like i'm stuck in the middle. we do have a public safety issue. so i'm glad no one got hurt. that's what i support, no one getting hurt. these acts of civil disobedience have to be done properly. i understand why people are angry and why they're doing this. >> john, in the last hour, we heard ted rowlands saying there were professional agitators there who were using violent methods to try to get some activity going. what's the nature of these professional agitators, based on everything you know? >> well, we have -- this morning i spoke with st. louis county police chief john belmer, and our message to him and his

officers and anyone that's in charge of law enforcement, we want people to be calm. we don't want anyone to get injured. obviously, our number one top priority is people's safety. we don't want anyone to get injured as patricia just mentioned. we certainly -- the word "agitator," we have to be careful how we use that word. we have many people that are upset and want answers. but as long as these individuals are making their voices heard in a way that is peaceful, in a way that does not jeopardize people's safety, those are the types of things that the naacp supports. >> but you don't support throwing rocks and bottles at police, right? >> absolutely not. that is certainly by any means never the answer. >> does the naacp have a position, at least a local chapter where you are, on these demonstrations today? >> we have been supporting many of the protests.

you have many people that are out as patricia mentioned in front of the city hall, in front of the police station there, with their signage making their voices heard. but when it comes to shutting down the interstate, those kinds of things that can be -- cause harm to people, we want to be very careful. >> i want you to stand by, both of you, because we're getting some breaking news of excerpts from the president's address to the nation tonight outlining his new war plan against isis terrorists. let's go straight to our white house correspondent. >> reporter: the white house said the formation of a new iraqi government this week was the turning point for this new offensive phase against isis. and tonight, the president will announce america will lead a broad coalition to roll back this terrorist threat. our objective is clear. we will degrade and ultimately destroy isil through a sustained

counterterrorism strategy. the white house has tried to make very clear that this operation or whatever you want to call it, they have not named it yet, is not going to look like america's prior wars in iraq and afghanistan. they want to reassure the war weary american public of that, saying it whether not involve american combat troops fighting on foreign solve. this will be waged through a relentless effort to take out isil wherever they exist, using our air power and support for partner forces on the ground. so they keep comparing this to counterterrorism operations that have been ongoing in yemen, in somalia. what does that mean? it means continued sustained pressure on these terrorist forces. it means air power. it means no boots on the ground. and in this case, the white house wants to convey clearly that this will be with a broad international coalition. >> michelle kaczynski, thank

you. much more on this story coming up. other news we're following. what did nfl executives know, when did they know it? there's a new twist in the ray rice scandal. the league may have gotten ahold of that elevator video of him punching his future wife months ago. stand by.

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there's also breaking news in the ray rice scandal. the nfl now speaking out about an associated press report that says the video of rice in that elevator knocking out his then fiance was sent to the nfl executive offices back in april. the nfl commissioner roger goodell said league officials saw the tape for the first time when it was made public only on monday. miguel, what are you learning?

>> reporter: this is just breaking. there is a lot of news and yet another wrinkle to this incredibly amazing, dramatic story. the a.p. having an unnamed law enforcement source saying that they gave the video to this individual in the nfl on an unsolicited basis, because they wanted the nfl to see it before rice's punishment. the nfl released a very quick statement saying, we have no knowledge of this. we're not aware of anyone in our office who possessed or saw the video before it was made public on monday. we will look into it. the associated press also saying it was on april 9 that this video went over and the nfl called and left a voice mail for this individual, on that voice mail which the reporter was able to listen to. it was a female voice from the nfl. she expressed thanks for it and

said, you're right, it's terrible. roger goodell, of course, has said all along they haven't seen this video at all. that he has no knowledge of anyone in his organization seeing this video. two players from the ravens saying basically, we failed at this and they want to get it right. new information countering what roger goodell told cbs news yesterday that this scandal that seemed to be growing smaller today may be growing larger. >> miguel marquez reporting for us. let's get more with cnn's rachel nichols is joining us on the phone along with jeffrey toobin. rachel, what do you make of this new development? how does it sound to you? >> it significantly deepens the nfl's credibility problem. the nfl has been spinning on

this since monday when tmz first posted it. first, it was hey, we never saw it. then it became, well, we never saw it because it could have been illegal for us to see it, which a lot of the lawyers who work for cnn have said that is a bit of a stretch. then the latest spin from the league last night and this morning is that they didn't hand out the correct punishment to ray for the first time because hey, ray rice wasn't truthful with the league when he met with them and described what happened. they basically started calling ray rice a liar, trying to shift the blame to him. but there's a lot of people troubled by that since this is the first time we're hearing anything like that from the nfl. it sure sounds like a convenient excuse. so now this voice mail report pops up saying someone in the league did have the tape. the nfl still says they don't have any knowledge of that, but it's getting harder to believe them.

even if you do believe them, wolf, and maybe the story they're going to sell is that the tape just got lost ore there. it's hard not to see that as gross negligence, right? >> we're just learning, jeffy, that roger goodell canceled some sort of event we had tonight. what's your reaction to this report? >> well, the nfl's behavior throughout this process has been bumbling and embarrassing. last night, even before this report, roger goodell's interview on cbs i thought was bumbling and embarrassing. full of simple mistakes like the idea that it would somehow have been illegal for the league to obtain this tape. if this a.p. report is true, that they have the tape since april, it deepens the problems of the nfl, and cries out for an independent investigation. you know, last year, wolf, the nfl hired ted wells, a very

distinguished new york lawyer, to investigate a bullying situation with the miami dolphins and did a very good job. they have to hire ted wells or someone like him again to come in, start from scratch and see what the nfl did, because the nfl's credibility at this point is at zero. >> rachel, what do you think the nfl needs to do? >> i think that it's hard to say what an investigation would do unless you knew more about what the consequences would be. in the end, roger goodell is responsible for the 32 owners who pay his salary. an investigation i think would be a good first step, but i would love to see some assurances from some of the owners out there that they would take something like that seriously. >> this is obviously a critical moment, make or break for roger goodell as commissioner of the nfl. guys, thank you very much, rachel and jeffrey joining us. the other breaking story out in ferguson, missouri. there are new protests, first

near a major interstate. and president obama announcing a strategy to take out isis wherever isis exists. much more coming up right after this. big day? ah, the usual. moved some new cars. hauled a bunch of steel. kept the supermarket shelves stocked. made sure everyone got their latest gadgets. what's up for the next shift? ah, nothing much. just keeping the lights on. (laugh) nice. doing the big things that move an economy. see you tomorrow, mac. see you tomorrow, sam. just another day at norfolk southern.

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to take out isis terrorists wherever they exist. let's bring in gloria borger, peter binart and newt gingrich. guys, thank you very much. you're very cautious, you're not convinced this is a smart war, are you, peter? >> it's different when you're talking about iraq vis-a-vie syria. the peshmerga are good allies and we have some hope that this new iraqi government wants us to be doing this. now may be more reconciled and able to pull away the sunni tribes. when you cross the boarder into syria, we have a dim idea how this is going to work. we're going to start training the free syrian army, but the president has been skeptical about their possibility. and if we bombed isis, we don't know that the free syrian army

may attack isis. so when you go across the border, it's a very different proposition. >> you've been talking to sources about what the president is going to say tonight. and you reminded me of what the president said only a few weeks ago to tom friedman. >> the president just a few weeks ago said with respect to syria, the notion that arming the rebels would have made a difference "has always been a fantasy." there's not as much capacity as you would hope, you know, to your point. so what we're going to hear from the president tonight is a speech that's going to be on the offense i was told by a senior administration official. they understand that the public has seen him to be vacillating to a degree, and not fully having a strategy. so what you're going to see is a president who, by the way, seems to be following public opinion rather than leading it at this point, because public opinion shifted hugely in the last few months after those beheadings. 2/3 of the american public now

saying that they would support some kind of military action in iraq and syria. >> based on what you're hearing so far, newt, do you like what the president is about to say tonight? >> well, i hate to prejudge him, but unless he comes out for a complete and decisive destruction of the islamic state, this is all nonsense. you have to recognize what a total mess the region is, and invest as many assets, intelligence, et cetera. but we're not going to have boots on the ground, which leads me to believe our special forces are going in with sneakers. who's kidding who? >> he was saying that our objective is clear, we will degrade and ultimately destroy isil through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy. good enough for you? >> no, because he doesn't mean it. he doesn't mean it in this sense. >> do you think he should call for combat troops? >> no. first of all, he has to define

the enemy. he says we're going to go after them wherever they are. well, we know a bunch of them are in minnesota, because we know that people who have been killed in syria came from minnesota. one of them was cleared to work on the airport runway for ten years. the prime minister of britain has confronted this, because they have 500 britons i think this is a worldwide campaign, and this is not an obama comment, we have not come to grips with how hard and how difficult this will be. >> peter? >> it is one thing to say that we'll fight in syria, it is another thing to say that isis is planning terror attacks on the u.s. we don't have that. the level of threat being discussed where people say it is a bigger threat than al qaeda, i think that is hyperbole and if

people should support that they should support boots on the ground. >> i don't think you will see the president engaged of that. >> no, but many in congress would have. >> many in congress would have that. but then he would have to call for cam bat boots on the ground. and that has mobilized the american country like nothing else. isis has been crystalized in american public money like nobody else could. but from the excerpts we have is that the president points out, no combat troops and this is different from the wars in iraq and afghanistan. >> and then notice he says, we've done this in yemen and somalia. anybody who thinks that is a success is living in a fantasy world. these places are disasters and breeding areas for terrorists, they just killed a leading terrorist. >> the leader in al-shabaab was assassinated by a u.s. hell fire missile. >> the president's speech is

incoherent. >> it is not incoherent. because bombing will not solve the problem there. but the obama administration will say we haven't had any attacks in the united states but the drone attacks in so many ol aia -- >> and we have to get enough information to know what they are doing in somalia. >> hold on a second. we'll have more on this. our panel is standing by.

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back with our panel, counting down to president obama's big speech tonight on the war against isis is addressing the nation a little over two hours from now. what is the single most important thing you want to lear from the president tonight? >> he is going to the congress to make this a decision to the american people. if he leave this is as the obama war, he is running a risk. >> he needs formal authorization. and you speak as a former speaker of the house. >> it is very important for him to get the votes from congress. >> if he asks for them will they

be there? >> if he asks for them, they will be there. >> what are you asking for? >> a defined mission to defeat and destroy isil. >> he says ultimately. >> clarity. that is what we need to hear. >> a clear message from the president. but we will not hear the clarity when it comes to launching air strikes inside of second base. >> i think the beheading makes them believe there is a threat to the united states and he needs to define the threat to sew americans why he needs to react against the isis andin stand of -- >> do you think there this is like the previous war. >> i think obama's challenge is to not play into that and explain this is a threat to the

region and it could become a -- >> the president said that was a dumb war. he's cautious. >> right. and i think the american public is cautious. the american public is not overwhelmingly calling for boots on the ground, wolf, but they want to hear is if we're going to commit more money and resources, they want to know why and what the threat is and they want to know when the mission would end, sort of what would victory look like to a degree? >> on the 13th anniversary of 9/11 tomorrow. >> which is tomorrow. >> we need to understand that the strategies of bush and the strategies of obama have failed. and we as a country need to think about what are we going to do differently and what have we learned because the region is a mess and it is getting worse and there is a genuine danger, i talked to peter about this, sooner or later people will get smart and come after us. >> we have to leave it there. thanks very much. we'll stay on top of the story throughout the night. i'll be back later on tonight,

joining anderson cooper at 9:00 for the president's major address to the nation. the special coverage of the president continues right now with erin burnett "outfront." >> "outfront" next, breaking news. a new report said an nfl executive received the disturbing video of ray rice punching his wife in april. that is not what the nfl commissioner has been saying, coming up. and making the case for war. tonight president obama tells us the next move is defense against isis. and the president wants a billion to fight against isis. but does the united states know who is good or who is bad? let's go "outfront." good evening. i'm erin