our reach is long. if you threaten america, you will find no safe haven. we will find you eventually. [ applause ] but -- and this is the thing i want to emphasize -- this is not and will not be america's fight alone. >> also today, the house heard some chilling testimony about threats to the u.s. homeland. that includes a rivalry among some of the various terror groups making the united states potentially an even bigger target. >> these groups are in competition with one another for attention, for fund-raising, for recruitment. and one way to compete is to show that you're the biggest and baddest group out there. and so i think that the environment we're in right now presents additional challenges.

>> the house of representatives also debating the strategy in syria, whether to arm syrian rebels in the fight against isis. >> we must eradicate the isis regime that perverts a religion founded on peace and uses it as a platform to engage in crucifixions and beheadings and mass murders. but i oppose today's request because it fails to seek the full authorization of this body. it fails to seek a clear mandate of the american people. and because it asks this body to approve only one small portion of an overall strategy that is continuing to evolve -- >> if the house does pass that bill it will then go to the senate where west virginia senator joe manchin laid out his very serious concerns. >> the opposition fighters that we will train care more about overthrowing assad's regime than they do about defeating isis. assad is evil, make no mistake about it. but he is not a threat to america.

if the moderate opposition has to choose between defeating assad and defeating isis, why do we believe -- think about this -- why do we believe that they'll choose our priority over their own? why would we even think that? how do we know that they won't join forces with isis if it helps them overthrow assad? >> we're going to have much more on all these angles during the course of this hour. meanwhile, new york city's police commissioner, bill bratton, says his city is quite concerned about the capabilities of isis. while there's no credible threat to new york, a new post on a message board affiliated with isis urges sympathizers to attack various tourist spots including times square. >> their ability to use social media to try and spread their recruitment efforts, to try and inspire, they have a number of magazines including one called "inspire" where they make it quite clear what they would like

adherence to do. it gives guidelines on how to create a bomb, potential locations to attack. this is the new, evolving world of terrorism. >> bill bratton's comments came as federal prosecutors announceded the indictment of a man in upstate new york for supporting the terrorist network. evan is with me here in washington. why do authorities think this man was supporting working for isis? >> this man's name is mufid elfgeeh, a shopkeeper in new york. authorities say he was active on twitter in the past year sending out messages including appeals for people to fund-raise on behalf of isis, send money to help them raise money to buy weapons. according to authorities, they introduced him to a couple of undercover fbi informants and he started laying out a plot not only to send people over to syria to join isis but also to

perhaps do some attacks here in the united states to possibly attack u.s. soldiers returning from iraq and attacks against shia muslims in western new york. they have now charged him in court in rochester and we expect that he's going to appear in court this afternoon. >> he was born in yemen, a naturalized u.s. citizen? >> that's right. naturalized u.s. citizen, born in yemen. what's interesting about this case is that you see a sort of change in the way isis is doing recruiting. this guy has no contacts that we know of with actual members of isis. he is doing the recruiting. he's on his own trying to encourage people, these two informants here and someone back in yemen, to go join isis. he's doing this on social media and doing all these things on his own. that's what's scaring u.s. officials right now. >> u.s. officials are testifying today they're concerned about this so-called lone wolf, home-grown terrorist, if you will, even without formally working with al qaeda or any other terror groups like isis.

they could cause a lot of potential damage. >> right. big difference from when nidal hasan haws communicating with anwar al awlaki in yemen and getting clear clarification of what to do. >> major nidal hasan who killed a lot of fellow soldiers at fort hood in texas. thanks for that report. the top u.s. counterterrorism official here in washington delivered an ominous warning about the threat from al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, also known as aqap. listen to this. >> al qaeda core continues to support attacking the west. and for now remains the recognized leader of a global jihadist movement. al qaeda's official branch is in yemen and somalia continue to remain extremely active. over the past five years, aqap sought to take down an airplane bound for the united states. and last year's boston marathon

bombing is a reminder of that. >> pretty chilling warning from the national counterterrorism director, matthew olsen. let's get some reaction. joining us from capitol hill, the republican chairman of the house homeland security committee, congressman michael mccall of texas. congressman, when you hear the counterterrorism director, matthew olsen, say those words, that al qaeda in the arabian peninsula in his words continue to target western aviation, how serious of a threat is that? >> it's very serious. they have continued to try to exploit the aviation sector by building bomb devices that can go undetected through airports which is why we've ramped up screening in 25 different overseas airports today. as matt olsen talked about, i think what's most chilling is the connection between aqap, the bomb-making, the technology with forces like al nusra and most

recently with isis in syria. so you have this technology and manpower coming together that could be quite a dangerous cocktail and combination. >> he makes it clear that al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, given their technical skills and bomb-making, also going after western aviation, they may, at least in this area, be a bigger threat than isis, at least in the short term. is that your assessment? >> well, we've been concerned about aqap for a long time. that's known as core al qaeda. zawahiri has been trying to get them to launch attacks against the west and the united states. so you have a competition going on and a dangerous one between core al qaeda, aqap and al baghdadi, which is isis, for the biggest game in town. who can get the most attention? the best way to do that from my perspective, the thing that concerns me about that competition, the best way to do that is to strike the west and

to strike the homeland. and that's something that they haven't been able to do since bin laden. >> is there any chance based on all the intelligence analyst you've seen, congressman, i'm sure you've seen a lot of it, that various groups like isis on one hand, core al qaeda on the other hand, right now, they're split, in competition right now. but they could unite at some point down the road? that would represent a much greater threat potentially. >> that's right. you have this dangerous competition of one-upsmanship. but we're seeing alliance within certain factions. isis has gained so much national global prominence that they are the game in town. you're seeing more of these militants breaking away from zawahiri and joining al baghdadi.

that turns them into a dangerous force against the united states. and you talked earlier about lone wolves. i pulled the "inspire" magazine out at the hearing today which shows you how to specifically make bombs for car bombs. it talks about specific targets in the united states. so they're not bashful. and this sort of technology they have, this social media program they have is very effective and very sophisticated. we're very worried about that threat as well. >> yeah, they've got one article entitled "how to build a bomb in the kitchen of your mom" in that magazine put putt out by al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. how are you going to vote on this legislation to appropriate $500 million to arm arm and train moderate syrian rebels? >> i'm going to support it. the money is reprogrammed -- the reason why i'm supporting it, anything i can do to help defeat and destroy isis. i do think the moderate syrian

force is really in the best position to defeat the sunni extremists. we can put advisers and special forces to help enable and deliver our capabilities and air strikes. but at the end of the day, the ground force itself in syria needs to be made up of sunni moderates. and there are many of them. and these sunni arab nations need to step up to the plate. general allen is leading the coalition to pull them together. and frankly they ought to be putting their troops in syria to defeat sunni extremists. we're viewed as the great satan. but the sunni moderate force, i believe if they can purge their own extremism, that really is the best equation, the best way to handle this. >> congressman, thanks very much for joining us. >> thanks. >> mike mccaul, chairman of the house homeland security committee. still ahead, will there be u.s. ground troops in iraq? certainly depends on who you're asking. we'll take a closer look at the sort of mixed messages we're hearing from the president and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.

and secretary of state john kerry may be doing some clarifying on that topic as well. he's preparing to testify up on capitol hill. stay with us. you're driving along,

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see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. president obama again last week reiterated his promise to degrade and ultimately destroy isis. now it appears the terror group has issued its own response to the president's threat. this new video seems to indicate isis terrorists would target and kill american troops if president obama were to reverse his position and deploy u.s. ground forces to iraq or syria. the slickly produced video looks like actually a hollywood trailer. it runs 52 seconds, shows u.s. troops being attacked as well as

president obama and the white house. it also features the phrase "the fighting has just begun." there are also new details about the abduction of the american journalist, steven sotloff. the second u.s. citizen beheaded by isis. a man who was kidnapped alongside sotloff says u.s. officials never even questioned him about the incident. but our carl penhaul did and filed this report. >> reporter: as he wanders through istanbul, his mind goes back to the friend he could not save. abu bakr was a producer for u.s. journalist steven sotloff. they were kidnapped inside syria by isis gunmen in august 2013. sotloff never made it out alive. they were just 20 minutes into their drive to aleppo. abu bakr explained three cars parked by the highway. about 15 gunmen armed with

assault rifles leapt out when they saw them approach. he says the gunmen ordered him and sotloff to cover their eyes. >> they can hit him with the gun and size, close your face in arabic. i explained to him, steve, close your eyes or they will hit you. they hit me and said to me, shut up. don't talk english. >> reporter: before working as a fixer, abobaker said he fought in a moderate islamist faction. shortly after snatched, he said the gunmen took them to a textile factory on the outskirts of aleppo. >> they took us up a floor inside the building and put everybody in the room alone. after that, i hear one talking with steve. he said to him, give me your

passport. he said to him, password. and steve game him the password. after that, i didn't hear the voice of steve. >> reporter: abobaker, his brother and cousins were held for 15 days. he did not see or hear any american or british jihadis. >> do you know who is us? i told him, i think you are isis, islamic state. he said, yes, you are in the islamic state of iraq and sham. he said, we should kill you because you work with america, with cia. we will leave you now because you have these papers. you can go now. but if we hear you work with journalists again, we will kill you for sure.

>> reporter: abobaker said he'd worked safely with schools of other international journalists before sotloff's abduction. reporters who knew him and were consulted by cnn say he was trustworthy. he believes a border guard may have tipped off isis. after he was freed, he said he was never interviewed by any u.s. officials or investigators. >> no, from the government of america, no officer contacted me or ask me about that, anything about how we were kidnapped or try to take any information about my kidnap. >> reporter: the rebel fighter learned of sotloff's execution from the video isis posted online september 2nd. >> you don't have to send any message to the killer. the killer is killer. but i send message to the world to say it's not really islam.

they are liar. i say that to everybody, to all the people. i say they are not muslims. they are enemy. >> we reached out to the fbi for comment. while they wouldn't comment directly on abobaker's claims, they gave us a statement that reads in part, the fbi is actively investigating the savage murder of steven sotloff. we are committed to bringing the murderers to justice. still ahead, boots on the ground in iraq, it's still in question as washington has been delivering some mixed messages, messages from the president on one hand, the chairman of the joint chiefs on the other hand. will the secretary of state john kerry be able to clarify when he testifies up on capitol hill? congressman greg meeks from the house foreign affairs committee is standing by live to weigh in.

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call today for a low price on speeds up to 150mbps. and find out more about our two-year price guarantee. comcast business. built for business. the message has been clear from the white house, isis is a direct threat that must be dealt with. but after that, we're hearing a bit of some wiggle room. >> now that those teams have completed their work and iraq has formed a government, we will send an additional 475 service members to iraq. as i've said before, these american forces will not have a combat mission. we will not get dragged into another ground war in iraq. >> my view at this point is that this coalition is the appropriate way forward. i believe that will prove true. but if it fails to be true and

if there are threats to the united states, then i of course would go back to the president and make a recommendation that may include the use of u.s. military ground forces. >> we'll do what's necessary in that theater to deal with the isil threat. i anticipate since it is a threat that evolves and moves across this now very porous border, as the president said yesterday, it will require action in syria as well. >> joining us now from capitol hill, the new york democratic congressman, greg meeks, member of the house foreign affairs committee. thanks very much, congressman, for joining us. >> good being with you, wolf. >> a speech at the u.s. military central command down at macdill air force base in tampa last hour, the president said there will be no u.s. combat forces dispatched to iraq. is there sort of a disconnect we're hearing from the president on the one side, the chairman of

the joint chiefs on the other? >> i don't think so. number one, let me swrus sjust s about the president. for me, these type of votes are always the toughest votes. what i make my decision based upon is, the president is the president. the others make recommendations to the president. it's good to know the generals and others don't have just yes-men around them. but the president ultimately makes the last decision. this president told us when we went into libya, we were only going to do air strikes and work cooperatively with our allies, he did that. this president has had the ability to bring coalitions together as he did when he had a huge coming-together of allies to make sure we had the sanctions against iran. so much so that he was able to pull a coalition together to have the p5 plus 1. he brought nato together in the

russia/ukrainian situation. we see what took place in wales not too long ago. so to me thus far, he has said what he meant and he's executed that. so i don't see where that disconnect is. >> will you vote for that half a billion dollars to appropriate the funds to arm and train what were called those moderate syrian rebels? the presidents wants you to vote yea. >> let me tell you, the alternative i see is no alternative other than that. i think we have to do something. the president is clear that it's not -- and most of the american people are clear, they do not want and gregory meeks does not want troops on the ground. but everyone says there has to be troops on the ground. so who's going to be on the ground? clearly we have a plan, the president put out a plan that talks about iraq dealing with the kurds and trying -- and we hope that this government comes together in baghdad so that we can have the sunnis there working together, so we can make sure it's successful in iraq. now if that happens, these folks

retreat to syria. so we can bomb from the air. but if we don't have any troops on the ground there, then what? do we just let them reinvent themselves? no. we have to take the chance, i think, based upon the strong vetting that needs to be done of training individuals who have something at stake also. those are the rebels that are on the ground in syria. there's also dealing with the people in the neighborhood where it be saudis, jordanians, turks, to get them involved. and those are the individuals that have to be the ground troops, not the people from the united states because we do not want it to appear that it's muslims -- or sunni muslims against the united states. it has to be those individuals that have some real skin in the game. >> it doesn't look like the turks, the jordanians, the saudis, any of the sunni arab states, the friends of the united states, moderate arab countries in that part of the world are ready to send ground troops into syria to battle

bashar al assad's regime on the one hand and isis, also on enemy of the united states. there are these moderate so-called syrian rebel forces but they're very weak. as you know, congressman, there's a lot of concern that whatever weapons the u.s. provides them could wind up in the hands of isis. >> listen, here's what's happening. you have those individuals that are on the ground, the syrian rebels, who have a lot at stake. many of them are against isis because they don't want isis to come into their villages and their places where they live and they don't want the assad regime. we know that they have the willingness to fight. but they have not been trained nor do they have certain equipment. so what's got to take place here is we have to vet them and train them. and i do also believe -- and i just came from the region. i've talked to some of our -- the region in europe. i look to go to the region very shortly. i'm calling on ambassadors from some of those countries because i need to make sure that they're engaged and that they're going

to do what they need to do to protect themselves because this is not just protecting the united states, it's about them protecting themselves. i don't see any other alternative at this point other than doing nothing than what's been proposed thus far. >> i totally agree, they have to get into the game. they can't just offer lip service. they say the right things. if they want to get into the game and use their airpower, saudi arabia has a huge air force, the united arab emirates does. kuwait kuwait has a pretty good air force, certainly jordan and turkey is a nato ally. but turkey doesn't want to get involved militarily. but if they do, that would be significant. right now, it looks like it's a u.s.-led operation. and you can convince some of these arab countries and turkey to get involved, that would be significant. i know you'll work on that. thanks very much for joining us. >> good being with you, wolf. >> gregory meeks, member of the house foreign affairs committee. coming up, we'll get a republican view on what's going on.

the republicans are viewing the possible mixed messages coming from the administration when it comes to the dispatch of ground troops into syria or iraq. that's next. [ male announcer ] eligible for medicare? that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans,

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vession. they will support iraqi forces on the ground. as they fight for their own country against these terrorists.

as your commander in chief, i will not commit you and the rest of our armed forces to fighting another ground war in iraq. >> strong words from the president. let's continue the conversation. the president spoke at the u.s. military central command in tampa. he's meeting with the troops. he's reiterating his vow that american troops will not be forced into so-called combat roles as far as the fight against isis is concerned in iraq or syria. idaho republican senator james rich joins us live from capitol hill. thanks very much for joining us. when you hear the president make a firm statement like that, you hear the chairman of the joint chiefs, general dempsey, making statements sort of opening up the door to combat troops, what goes through your mind? >> what went through my mind is dempsey's going to get a call very quickly from the white house when this was over.

i think that probably did happen. he's disconnected from what the boss is saying. but there are few members of congress who are interested in putting boots on the ground in the middle east again. and the same is true of the american people. but in today's world, we can do a lot without putting boots on the ground, with the weaponry we have developed in thase ground. in the last segment, you mentioned the kurds. if you want to hire somebody to put boots on the ground, the kurds are very, very effective fighters. they've been a friend of the united states. they're not going to drop the uniforms and run like the iraqis did when isis showed up. >> why did the iraqi military -- these are 200,000, 300,000 iraqi troops, u.s.-trained military with a lot of u.s. equipment. they got threatened by isis coming into their second largest city of mosul, fallujah, all sorts of cities where the u.s. military paid a huge price

liberating those areas and all of a sudden the iraqi military goes m.i.a. why did that happen? >> they're not us. you can do all the training you want. you can give them all the speeches you want. you can give them all the weaponry that you want. but if they are not committed to fight, if they don't have a cause that they believe in and a cause that they're willing to die for, they're going to do just what they did. and they are not us. and they certainly don't have the national patriotism that american troops have, even fighting in a foreign land as we frequently do. >> do you have confidence that this new iraqi government will do any better than the old iraqi government of nuri al maliki, this new prime minister, haider al abadi, is any better? >> that remains to be seen, wolf. they have such a polarization over there that one really has to wonder whether that's going to happen or not. they always talk about americans being polarized in the elections, what have you. we can't hold a candle to the

way their polarized based upon religious issues that most of us don't understand. >> the president wants you to support legislation providing half a billion dollars, $500 million to help train and arm the so-called moderate syrian rebels. will you vote in favor of that? >> not right now. i'm not convinced of it. i sit on the intelligence committee. and we've been following this for well over a year. there's about 200 groups within syria that are aligned along religious or ethnic or a combination of both. they have two things in common, all the groups, number one, they want assad out and number two, they want to be in power. but beyond that, they don't have a lot in common. they wind up fighting with each other. and i have real, real reservations about arming those people. so i want to hear a lot more. and i keep asking the questions on the details. and it is a detail issue. we don't have somebody like the kurds in syria that i would have confidence in, that i would have faith in to say, look, go get

them. i really question whether that exists there. >> i know there's a lot of questions going around, a lot of members are totally in agreement with you right now. they want more answers. senator, thanks very much for joining us. >> thank you, wolf. secretary of state john kerry is going to be up on capitol hill in the next hour. he's going to try to answer some of those questions about this crisis involving isis. should the u.s. arm those moderate syrian rebels? what are the risks if the u.s. were to do so? and one pivotal question facing the united kingdom right now, will it stay united? a divided scotland set to vote on independence. we'll update you on what we know. hi, i'm henry winkler and i'm here to tell homeowners that are sixty-two and older about a great way to live a better retirement...

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if we can't offer faster speeds or save you money we'll give you $150. comcast business built for business. welcome back. i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington. we'll have much more on the threat isis poses to the united states and friends in the middle east, what the president is planning to do about it, coming up, new information coming in. but first, there's another important story we're following right now. for more than 300 years, scotland has been a part of great britain. but tomorrow scots will vote on whether they should break free and become an independent country. it's a debate causing serious contention with polls showing the country split down the middle. the british prime minister david cameron warns the consequences will be far-reaching and

irreparable if scotland chooses to leave. our erin mclaughlin is in london. >> reporter: this race is very close. in fact, too close to call. anyone aged 16 or older is eligible to vote. they have to live in scotland. a simple majority is required to win this referendum. just this morning, british prime minister david cameron acknowledged that he's sweating the very real possibility of an independent scotland. >> we must be very clear. there is no going back from this, no rerun. this is a once and for all decision. if scotland votes yes, the uk will split and we will go our separate ways forever. ♪ >> reporter: will scotland soon be an independent country? the latest poll of polls shows a race too close to call, with 51% voting no and 49% voting yes. the leader of the yes campaign argues as part of a union,

scotland has not been getting a fair deal. >> it's a universal law that the best people to govern a nation are those working it. they're going to make the best decisions. >> reporter: no campaign says the uk needs to maintain its global standing. >> it abolished slavery, that drove the industrial revolution, that defeated fascism, the end of a country that people around the world respect and admire. >> reporter: the vote could have major repercussions. the yes campaign says the british will have to share the pound with a british government. the two camps are divided about how much oil actually exists in the north sea. the yes campaign is optimistic there's enough there to drive the scottish economy. some say scotland would have to reapply to be a member of the european union. a yes vote would mean a new flag for scotland and possibly for britain. the union jack signifying the combining of england, ireland and scotland's crowns could look

much different if scotland's blue and white flag is removed. as for britain's fleet of nuclear armed submarines, they're currently based in scottish waters. the yes campaign promises to kick them out. but it's not clear where they would go. a winning yes vote would mean scotland would be a commonwealth. the queen likely will remain the head of state. still, some historians say her role would be to be written into an independent scotland's new constitution. even if the no vote wins tomorrow's referendum and scotland remains a part of the united kingdom, the political landscape here will change. the british government has already offered the scottish parliament more powers. and there are implications for countries around the world with strong separatist movements such as spain and belgium. ukraine will be watching what happens tomorrow very closely. wolf? >> we will. erin mclaughlin reporting from

outside 10 downing street in london. we'll watch that vote very closely. secretary of state john kerry will be back up on capitol hill less than an hour or so from now to talk about u.s. plans to deal with the isis threat. we're covering it live for you. and a key question facing the united states, if the u.s. arms the so-called moderate rebels fighting isis in syria, what are the risks? want to change the world? create things that help people. design safer cars. faster computers. smarter grids and smarter phones. think up new ways to produce energy. be an engineer. solve problems the world needs solved. what are you waiting for? changing the world is part of the job description. join the scientists and engineers of exxonmobil in inspiring america's future engineers. energy lives here.

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state john kerry will be up on capitol hill answering questions about his coalition-building efforts in the middle east. we'll have coverage of that. in the meantime, let's bring in our cheer congressional correspondent, dana bash, outside the hearing room there -- or maybe inside the hearing room. set the scene for us, dana. what's going to go on? >> reporter: that's right. i'm in the well of the hearing room. this is where john kerry is going to come in about 45 minutes. the senators will obviously be here. chairman bob menendez is going to lead this. this was the committee that john kerry when he was a senator led himself. so it is going to be at another time he's going to come back, sit in the witness chair and answer questions along the lines of what you've been talking about all hour with your guests. primarily the mixed messages that we've heard from the administration, from john kerry himself telling our elise labott that we're not at war, the u.s. is not at war with isis, but then the administration trying to backtrack on that. and of course the testimony from

the military chiefs yesterday before the armed services committee, specifically saying that there should be ground troops left on the table and that's setting off basically a five-alarm political fire at the white house because the president does not want to send that signal at all. those are going to be the kinds of questions we're going to hear from the secretary of state -- for the secretary of state in about 45 minutes. obviously there will be more diplomatic questions about the mission, the strategy and so forth. >> and in the meantime, the house is going to be voting shortly on whether or not to appropriate that $500 million the president wants to arm and train the so-called moderate syrian rebels. is it a nail-biter? what's going to happen? >> reporter: it is. talking to leaders in both parties, they do believe that it is going to pass, that the house will authorize what the president has asked for, to specifically -- it's narrow. to specifically go out there and arm and train syrian rebels. a e

shouldn't be ducking and running for cover here. we should have a vote on this kind of ducking and running for cover. first up is the house this afternoon. >> let's see what happens in the house. they both said they would vote for the $500 million.

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president obama speaking at

the u.s. military central command in tampa earlier this morning. he made it clear u.s. ground troops will not, repeat not be fighting isis in iraq or syria. the secretary of state john kerry is also expected to drive home that point when he testified before the senate foreign relations committee in about half an hour or so from now. we'll have live coverage coming up in the next hour right here on cnn. let's discuss what's going on. joining us from new york, republican strategist and contributing author of the book "lean together" sabrina schaefer and also democratic strategist and cnn political commentator maria cardona. the president very clear. no combat ground troops will be involved. chairman of joint chiefs testifying before the senate armed services committee saying he might down the road if the current strategy doesn't work go with the president to deploy combat troops.

>> the president has been very clear and secretary kerry i believe will be very clear today that right now there's no plan to put american combat troops on the ground. that hasn't changed. what we heard yesterday from the general is a general doing what he should be doing. military planning. military -- a fantastic military mind looking down the road to see what contingencies might arise in answer to a question. if he hadn't said that, i would be, like, this guy is not competent. i would be worried in fact. that is his job. the president said that he wants him to do that kind of planning and he wants him to come back to him. if at some point down the road he feels like that's what needs to be done, he was very clear yesterday also that is not where we are today and that's not what we're recommending. >>smarter -- i heard this from a bunch of people in the chapresident, all

options are on the table and keep people guessing about what the united states of america may be doing. >> i'm a mom up here in new york but i'm usually in d.c. the first thing i think about when i get up today are my kids safe when they go to school in d.c.? are we safe up here in washington? the thing that's missing from this conversation, i haven't heard the president make me feel any saefer. there isn't a consistent coherent foreign policy. we're in the situation today because of inactions he took last year with syria at this very time. i think that people want to know that there's a strategy in place. that it's clear headed. we're leaving options on the table and we're smart about our approach to both al qaeda and isis. >> i want to play a clip. this is from the president earlier today talking about america's role in the world. listen to this.

>> in an uncertain world full of breathtaking change, the one constant is american leadership. in a world where technology provides a small group of killers with the ability to do terrible harm, it is america that has the capacity and the will to mobilize the world against terrorists including the group in syria and iraq known as isis. >> that seems to be different than what he said at west point, the speech in may, when he said america cannot be the world's policeman. >> i don't think it's that different. the two are consistent. it's not inconsistent to say that when people are in trouble in the world, they do look to america. i think that's exactly right. the question for us is when do we get involved? i think that's exactly the discussion that we're having right now and it's a healthy discussion. i want to address something that sabrina said. moms wake up every morning and think about the safety of our

kids. what the president has said also that i think is very important is that right now there is no intelligence that indicates there is any imminent threat to our homeland today. one of the things that we have to be very wary about and this is a war wary nation is we don't want to send our troops and have moms and dads say good-bye to their kids for another global conflict. >> go ahead, sabrina. >> i couldn't agree more. i'm not going to have to sacrifice the way so many families have if we were to put troops on the ground. i think one of the ways that we can be a leader is not always having troops on the ground but how we're using them. are we using special operators in a way to make sure that we're mentoring and training and helping the kurds and the other iraqis and bringing in sunnis to make a difference on the ground. there are other ways to be leaders other than a ground war. >> sabrina schaefer, thank you very much. maria cardona, thanks to you as well. i'll be back at 5:00 p.m.

eastern for "the situation room." "newsroom" with brooke baldwin featuring testimony of secretary of state john kerry starts right now. >> wolf, thank you so much. hi, everyone. i'm brooke baldwin. just moments from now u.s. secretary of state john kerry will be testifying before memories of congress answering questions about president obama's strategy in the war against isis terrorists. this comes as the house gets ready to vote on the president's plan to arm and train those moderate syrian rebels. we'll bring you that testimony live here on cnn. while secretary kerry is on capitol hill today, his boss was at central command in florida. just a little while ago to stress the fight against