that. so you're looking at who's connected to whom in this case. and it's a big, big deal. >> big job. thank you both, peter bergen, colonel set rick leighton in washington. appreciate your insights. thank you for watching. my colleague, wolf blitzer, is live at the united nations. he takes over now. hello, i'm wolf blitzer reporting from the united states. we're here in new york this week. i'd like to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. u.s. and arab warplanes unleash air strikes on isis targets in syria. the u.s. takes direct aim at another terror group. officials say it was actively plotting an attack on the united states homeland. listen to what president obama said about the group just before heading here to the united nations general assembly. >> last night we also took strikes to disrupt plotting against the united states and our allies by seasoned al qaeda

operatives known as the khorasan group. it must be clear to anyone who would plot against america and try to do americans harm that we will not tolerate safe havens for terrorists who threaten our people. >> the latest developments on the air strikes in syria and iraq, the air strikes in syria were focused on the city of raqqa. isis considers it to be the capital of its self-declared islamic state. but other areas were hit as well. a u.s. official says four dozen aircraft took part in the strikes. bahrain, saudi arabia, the united arab emirates, jordan and qatar all joined in carrying out the operation. the u.s. fired 47 tomahawk cruise missiles. several of them took direct aim at what's called the khorasan group. that's the al qaeda franchise ] that officials say was plotting to attack the united states. there are indications the militants were working on new hard-to-detect explosives. we expect to hear directly from

president obama shortly. he'll be speaking at the united nations summit on climate change. we'll have live coverage of that. it's unclear whether he'll have anything else to say about the air strikes against those terrorist targets in syria. he spoke extensively about them earlier in the day. we'll bring you his remarks coming up later this hour on climate change. we'll see what else he speaks about. we're deploying the resources of cnn to cover this story like no other news organization can. our correspondents are reporting from key locations here in the united states, indeed around the world to bring you the very latest information as the u.s. embarks on this major new military operation, a new phase in the u.s.-led war. our analysts will provide insight and context as this story develops. we're also learning more details from the pentagon about the air strikes against isis earlier in the day, the isis targets in syria. at a briefing today, officials described the air strikes as, quote, successful.

but they stressed, this is only just the beginning. >> as far as what targets and future operations, i'd like to not comment on what our next -- you are seeing the beginnings of a sustained campaign. and strikes like this in the future can be expected. the operational pace, the tempo of this thing will be dictated by the facts on the ground and what the targets mean in terms of the effect we see, which is to disrupt. >> we're going to have much more on what's going on at the pentagon, the u.s. air strikes. but i want to go inside the united nations right now. the president of the united states just beginning his remarks on climate change. let's listen in briefly. >> five years have passed since many of us met in copenhagen. since then, our understanding of climate change has advanced. both in the deepening science that says this once-distant

threat has moved firmly into the present and into the sting of more frequent extreme weather events that show us exactly what these changes may mean for future generations. no nation is immune. in america, the past decade has been our hottest on record. along our eastern coasts, the city of miami now floods at high tide. in our west, wildfire season now stretches most of the year. in our heartland, farms have been parched by the worst drought in generations and drenched by the wettest spring in our history. a hurricane left parts of this great city dark and under water. and some nations already live with far worse.

worldwide this summer was the hottest ever recorded. the global carbon emissions still on the rise. so the climate is changing faster than our efforts to address it. the alarm bells keep ringing. our citizens keep marching. we cannot pretend we do not hear them. we have to answer the call. we know what we have to do to avoid irreparable harm. we have to cut carbon pollution in our own countries to prevent the worst effects of climate change. we have to adapt to the impacts that unfortunately we can no longer avoid and we have to work together as a global community to tackle this global threat before it is too late.

we cannot condemn our children and their children to a future that is beyond their capacity to repair. not when we have the means. >> we're going to monitor the president's speech on climate change, bring you all the highlights. jim acosta, our senior white house correspondent has just shown up at the united nations. i know the president is here. you're here. getting new information on what we know about the u.s.-led air strikes against isis, not just in iraq but in syria now, including a separate round of u.s. air strikes against a separate al qaeda affiliate group inside syria. >> that's right. to a lot of americans, they don't know what the word khorasan means. they're starting to now. it refers to these al qaeda remnants that were in afghanistan and pakistan that have relocated in syria. seeking a safe haven in syria. you heard the president saying this morning that terrorists are not going to get a safe haven wherever they are. on this conference call with reporters that just wrapped up in the last several minutes, i asked senior administration

officials about the unknown nature of this group. what they said is basically this group grew out of al qaeda. that is how they are basically deciding that this is in keeping with the authorization for use of force back in 2001 on al qaeda. this group is an offshoot of al qaeda. they're saying that key members of this group came out of afghanistan and pakistan and relocated in syria. that's why they took these -- this decision to take these targets out last night. now, as for the president's decision to conduct these air strikes, senior administration officials have been saying this morning, the president made this decision the day after his centcom speech in tampa last week after he met with the centcom leaders down there a. and these isis targets hit in syria, there's been conversation as to whether or not these senior leaders of isis might have gotten some heads-up because of all the discussion that was going on in the days leading up to this.

and one senior administration official said it was not something they were concerned about in terms of an element of surprise. that these installations that were hit in raqqa did not offer these leaders the ability to go underground. so they feel pretty confident that they may have struck a pretty big blow here on isis. they are not saying at this point whether or not senior leaders of isis were hit. they say they're not in a position to confirm that right now. but in the words of one senior administration official, these strikes on isis in raqqa were very effective. >> isis itself used to be al qaeda in iraq. now it's isis. stand by, jim acosta, here at the united nations. we're also learning now details from the pentagon about the strikes against isis in syria at that briefing earlier today. officials described the air strikes as successful. but they stress that this is only just the beginning. >> as far as what targets and future operations, i'd like to

not comment on what our next -- other than to say that you are seeing the beginnings of a sustained campaign. and strikes like this in the future can be expected. the operational pace, the tempo of this thing will be dictated by the facts on the ground and what the targets mean in terms of the effect we seek, which is to disrupt. >> let's take a look at the map once again. here are the countries that took part in this anti-isis air campaign in syria. the countries include bahrain, jordan, saudi arabia, qatar and the united arab emirates. our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto is with me here at the united nations as well. it's an interesting group of five sunni arab countries that have decided publicly to join forces with the united states and get involved militarily against isis in syria. >> truly unprecedented, that number of countries. saudi arabia, the most recent now just in the last few minutes

to publicly acknowledge their role, calling in their statement isis a deadly disease that needed to be confronted. and you're hearing similar things from the other four arab nations that took part in kinetic air strikes against isis targets, those being saudi arabia, jordan, bahrain and the united arab emirates, with qatar playing a supporting role in the air campaign. interesting as well in the uae's statement saying these were just the first strikes. so uae telegraphing in that statement that they, like the u.s., are going to continue to strike isis targets aggressively in the coming weeks and months. >> qatar is very interesting because it does actually -- despite some irritating decisions it's made from the u.s. perspective -- have a major u.s. air base -- you and i have been to that air base outside of doha. >> that's right. some of the first u.s. strikes flying out of that base in qatar. but it's interesting, to have a base there is one thing.

to also launch your own offensive strikes with your own aircraft, that's another thing. it's a further step forward. i think that that is the kind of coalition that the president wanted to bring together here, get that kind of regional support. and in many ways, that kind of support, more important to this administration than, for instance, support from, say, a european partner, the french or the british. he wanted regional buy-in. >> it's interesting the timing of this u.s. air strike. comes a day before the president addresses the united nations general assembly. he's trying to build an international coalition of support. >> he is. it's interesting, the timing here, we're sitting in front of the united nations. this is a peacemaking body and yet the u.s. along with these allies has gone to war again. the u.s. now at war with three countries in the region including of course iraq and afghanistan. but what administration officials say is that the timing of these strikes beginning last night were not connected at all

to the u.n. general assembly. they say only two factors matter to them. one, do their commanders say they have the targets ready and the intelligence they needed? and two, were those arab partners ready to strike alongside the u.s.? once they had those criteria, they would go, whenever it was. >> separate u.s. strike against this al qaeda offshoot in eastern syria, that was because they suspected something was imminent. >> absolutely. you and i, we've been talking so much in recent days and weeks about isis, how imminent a threat is isis to the homeland? and at times getting conflicting messages. the final analysis seemed to be it could be a threat to the u.s. homeland. and lo and behold, overnight, they say that, well, actually, this other group, khorasan, al qaeda-tied, is a threat today, they're in the final stages of a major plot targeting western interests, including possibly here in the u.s. homeland and they felt the need to act right away. the other interesting note coming out of admiral kirby's

press conference at the pentagon is that khorasan was recruiting westerners. we talked about isis's success at recruiting westerners. here you have khorasan recruiting westerners as well. >> jim sciutto here at the united nations with me, jim, thanks very much. still ahead, during the air strikes in syria, the u.s. alone took aim as we've been pointing out against that al qaeda sprinter group, khorasan. we're taking a closer look at this terrorist organization that had imminent plots against the united states. up next, we'll take you through the firepower used against those militant targets and why cruise missiles, tomahawk cruise missiles, specifically, were once again a very important weapon. how much money do you have in your pocket right now? i have $40, $21. could something that small make an impact on something as big as your retirement? i don't think so. well if you start putting that towards your retirement every week and let it grow over time, for twenty to thirty years, that retirement challenge

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group closely for some time. we believe the khorasan group was nearing the execution phase of an attack either in europe or the homeland. we know that the khorasan group has attempted to recruit westerners to serve as operatives or to infiltrate back into their homelands. the khorasan group is clearly not focused on either the assad regime or the syrian people. they are establishing roots in syria in order to advance attacks against the west and the homeland. >> that was lieutenant general william mayville earlier today talking about the khorasan threat. they call it the khorasan group. what more do we know about this organization that's plotting attacks? u.s. officials say directly against the west and the united states. our senior international correspondent nic robertson is joining us now. he's just outside 10 downing street in london. how is this group linked to al qaeda? what do we know about it?

>> reporter: this is al qaeda veteran fighters with a decade or more experience. this is an organization that is really taking a leaf out of al qaeda's old playbook. remember when you had young recruits going from britain and other countries to pakistan to join the fight against u.s. forces in afghanistan? there were recruiters for al qaeda in pakistan that were picking up some of these young would-be fighters training them in bomb making, training them in fighting skills, turning them around and sending them back home to perpetrate attacks. that was how the 2005 attacks in london grew. what we have with khorasan is a figurehead leader again doing the same thing, looking at all these incoming western fighters, coming to syria to join isis, trying to find people there that they can then train themselves, bomb making, again, other skills and send them back for attacks in the west. they are using al qaeda veteran fighters to do that. so imagine a scenario like this

where you have al qaeda's top bomb maker in yemen, ibrahim al siri, designing bombs destined to go on aircraft to try to target the united states. imagine he has proteges within al qaeda. imagine they are now working for this khorasan group inside syria. this is the kind of concern. we don't know precisely who al qaeda had during the training in those camps. but it's that level of skill and expertise that they were passing on to these young war recruits with the aim of sending them back into europe or the united states, wolf. >> as you know, nic, khorasan's existence was only publicly acknowledged last week when the u.s. director of national intelligence, james clapper, said it was operating inside iraq and syria. how long has this group really been out there on the radar? >> reporter: we know from the situation inside iraq that the scope has existed for them to

establish training camps. and that's what al qaeda's been looking to do. number one, we know that isis has been focusing on the fight inside iraq and inside syria to create this caliphate, this borderless islamic country, state that they've been trying to create. al qaeda has been pushed to the periphery of attention, if you will. this appears to be an effort by them to use the opportunity that's presented in syria, not just the young recruits coming, but these open spaces, these areas where there's no government control, a failed state, if you like, and exploit those. how long, wolf? we don't know. but they've been doing this under the radar. that's what's been clear. >> nic, what's interesting is the united states has five arab countries working together with the u.s., launching these air strikes against isis targets in syria. the u.s. has france launching air strikes against isis targets with the u.s. in iraq. where is the uk in all of this? >> reporter: that's right, you would expect britain to be right

there with the united states. that's normally what we've seen. we've had david cameron who's at the u.n. where you are in new york tweeting today saying he supports the u.s. and arab allies. he's going to have conversations to see what britain and other countries can be doing to assist the united states. david cameron, the impression he creates in the language that he's used over the last few weeks is he would like to see britain taking a stronger position or more active role, perhaps involving the air force here, strikes inside syria but he doesn't yet have the political support for that. will he come home from the u.n. and try to build that support? there's an expectation that that's possible. but it is that that's lacking at the moment. and that's why we're not seeing britain at the side of the united states in these strikes, wolf. >> interesting development. you would have thought britain would be number one as far as partner -- military partners

with the u.s., not necessarily right now. we'll see what happens in the days to come. nic, thanks very much. up next, much more on the strikes against the al qaeda splinter group khorasan and its threat to the united states. i'll talk with congressman adam schiff of the house intelligence committee. the performance review.

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air strikes against an al qaeda splinter group in syria. the area east of aleppo, syria, was a supposed safe haven for planning those attacks against the west, including attacks against the u.s. homeland. joining us now, the california democratic congressman adam schiff. he's a member of the house intelligence committee. congressman, thanks very much for joining us. a quick question, when did you guys in the intelligence committee get a heads-up that there was an imminent threat, imminent threat from this splinter group, this offshoot of al qaeda, if you will, the khorasan group? >> we have been briefed really for weeks and months about the danger that's posed by this group. we weren't permitted to talk about it until the director acknowledged its existence just about a week ago. but it's one of the reasons why many of us have been pointing to the fact that al qaeda and in particular this khorasan group oppo poses the most immediate threat

to the country. isil is focused on fighting the regime in iraq and syria. but this core group of al qaeda in combination with some of the bomb makers in syria and all the foreign recruits poses a very proximate threat to us, not one that we could ignore. and the fact that this may have been the first sortie last night is the most significant because that's the most immediate threat to the country. >> and you accept this notion that the threats from this khorasan group were, in the words of a u.s. official -- the word of a u.s. official, imminent? >> well, i certainly think they were immediate. whether we have intelligence, i'm going to wait to find out, that we knew a time, a place, a location, they were planning to attack. some of what they're suggesting seems to indicate that was the case. that, i'll be interested to be briefed on this week. but certainly that they were an immediate threat to the country, that their focus was attacking the u.s. merely using the safe haven in syria.

their motivation wasn't the same as even al nusra or certainly isil in terms of fighting the regime or holding territory. their reason for being was going after us and that makes it a top priority for us to deal with. >> do you know what the target was? >> i can't say what the target was. i know that they've been involved in plotting against the united states as well as europe. but whether we got within the last 24 hours some very explicit intelligence about a particular target, i don't know. as you saw the general, the pentagon spokesman, is being a bit ambiguous about whether the threat was in europe, the u.s. or both. but i'll have to wait to find out did we actually have a lead as to a very specific plot and where was that locus of that plot. >> in his statement, the president thanked congress for working with the white house on

these measures. you voted for the plan to train and arm rebels. but did that legislation, per se, authorize the president to conduct these air strikes inside syria? >> no, it didn't. ironically, wolf, the one piece of what took place over the last 24 hours that the president could probably rely upon, the 2001 authorization use of force, was merely those attacks against that khorasan group. they're a part of al qaeda. and i think there is a much stronger legal argument there than there is for the broader strikes against isil which the president has said is not an imminent threat. but nonetheless, the defeat of which will be a multi-year effort that amounts to war. so, no, the vote we've had is not enough. i think constitutionally, we're required to have an authorization and support or reject the military strikes the president is undertaking. and it's my hope that the first thing we do when we go back in is take up a new authorization to use force. >> we're going to have to wait until after the midterm

elections in early november for that debate and that discussion to unfold in the congress. congressman slchiff, thanks for joining us. >> thanks, wolf. last night, u.s.-led attacks in syria used a variety of weapons in three waves, from cruise missiles to drones. we're taking a closer look at what the u.s. and its allies used, which equipment, what kind of missiles. stay with us. much more on the breaking news. who's going to do it? who's going to make it happen? discover a new energy source. turn ocean waves into power. design cars that capture their emissions. build bridges that fix themselves. get more clean water to everyone. who's going to take the leap? who's going to write the code? who's going to do it? engineers. that's who. that's what i want to do. be an engineer. ♪ [ male announcer ] join the scientists and engineers of exxonmobil in inspiring america's future engineers. energy lives here. this is holly. her long day of outdoor adventure starts with knee pain.

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welcome back to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer reporting today from the united nations here in new york city. let's recap our top story. the u.s. along with a coalition of arab allies launching overnight strikes in syria. a senior u.s. military official tells cnn the first wave of aerial bombardment was tomahawk missiles. then warplanes rained down more bomb. the goal, taking out isis's able to train, command and resupply military fighters. the u.s. is the only non-arab member of this new coalition. bahrain, saudi arabia, the united arab emirates, jordan and qatar all assisted the united states. and in just the first few hours, the u.s. expands the mission to targeted al qaeda offshoot. the pentagon says the group khorasan plotted an imminent attack against the united states and western interests recruiting

from the heartland. >> the threat of foreign terrorist fighters is very real. and we have to start with the uncomfortable reality that security measures alone will not solve this problem. we're talking about fighters recruited from our own communities and radicalized sufficiently to go fight in wars that are not their own. the minds of these young men and women are poisoned by terrorists who brainwash them into committing unspeakable atrocities. >> throughout it all, isis kept up the propaganda war with a new video of the british hostage john cantlie warning that the west will be fighting isis -- that fighting will lead to a mess not seen, in their words, since vietnam. the u.s.-led air strikes in syria used a variety of artillery. more than 40 tomahawk cruise

missiles were fired from the u.s. ships in the region toward isis and those khorasan group targets. the missile attacks were coordinated with a bombing campaign using both drones and aircraft from multiple countries. cnn's tom foreman as a look at some of the coordinates used in this attack. let's start with the tomahawk cruise missile strikes. exactly where were they launched from? >> the distance they were launched from is quite simply described as this, wolf. it was beyond an area where they could be attacked as a launching site. one of the things we see here -- let me reset back here. this area up here is where they were hitting. the attack zones were down here. the red sea is where a u.s. warship was and also in the arabian sea as well. it's the very essence of the tomahawk missile, you're able to fire it from very far away. it's virtually impossible to

stop and it will go to your target with great accuracy. and in this case, the tomahawks were relied on much more heavily over in this area, almost exclusively over here as you move this direction to the second and third strike area, you saw many more aircraft, wolf. >> the u.s. also used the new f-22 raptor, the stealth fighter, i believe this is the first time we've seen this aircraft used like this, is that right? >> that is correct. this aircraft costs anywhere from $200 million to $400 million depending on how you calculate it. the main reason that these planes have been in this area really has been as a deterrent to iran's nuclear program because this is a stealth designed plane. it can carry in missiles and drop them. interestingly enough because it's a stealth plane, the missiles are actually enclosed on the underside of the plane. they don't hang out there.

it's considered a very much state-of-the-art plane. i travels well over 1,000 miles an hour. faster than the speed of sound. the range of some 1,800 miles and can carry more than 1,000 pounds of warheads. it's a controversial aircraft. but this is exactly the circumstance for which it was designed, in part, go back to that target map we were talking about before. why were the aircraft relied on more over here? because syria still, for all its difficulty with its government and fights with rebel forces, they have very robust air defenses over in this part of the country. so relying more on missiles over here, which are hard to stop and where people aren't in danger. and more on aircraft like the f-22 over here because those aircraft may be safe enough over here where they're dealing mainly with isis. >> i don't know if that syrian air force defense system could deal with the f-22 stealth fighters. those are pretty hard to find.

tom, thanks very much. up next, we'll talk to a senior member of the u.s. senate armed services committee, get his insight on last night's u.s.-led attacks and the threat posed by this new al qaeda splinter group, the khorasan group.

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against isis and against an al qaeda splinter group operating in syria. this was a coalition mission with the united states and four arab partners launching air strikes, a fifth arab partner was involved militarily as well. joining us now, the florida democratic senator bill nelson, key senior member of the senate armed services committee. senator, thanks very much for joining us. a quick question on the cost of this. we know 40 tomahawk cruise missiles were launched, each one of those, according to the u.s. navy, costs about $500,000. do the math. that's $20 million or so right there. this is going to wind up costing u.s. taxpayers a lot of money. is that money already appropriated part of the defense department spending already or will you need more appropriations authorization to pay for what could be a very long war? >> yes and yes. the arsenal that they have is already paid for. but we're going to need a lot

more in the future. >> ma means the president is going to have to come to you and your colleagues and seek more money. are you ready to support at a time of domestic economic issues, obviously, are you ready to spend whatever it takes to defeat isis in iraq and syria? >> yes, sir. the country is threatened. the entire free world is threatened. one of the reasons to have a national government is to provide for the common defense. and that's what we'll do. >> would it be unusual to ask some of the oil-rich arab countries, whether saudi arabia, the emirates, qatar, they have a lot of money, to reimburse the united states for some of the enormous costs this is going to require? >> absolutely. one of the things that sticks in my craw is that when we went into iraq, by the way under false pretenses, we were also

told that the revenues from the iraqi oil was going to reimburse the united states for all of our treasure that we spent. it never was. and so absolutely now. the arab nations have to shoulder the cost. >> i guess the president's going to be meeting tomorrow with the new prime minister of iraq, haider al abadi. as far as i know, the iraqis have not reimbursed the united states anything over these past ten years. the u.s. is now trying to get rid of isis on behalf of the new iraqi government and the iraqi military which was m.i.a. over these past several months as we all know. would it be appropriate for iraq, a major oil exporting country, to reimburse u.s. taxpayers for whatever it costs to free iraq from isis right now? >> not only is it appropriate,

but we ought to insist that iraq share the expenses. we want them to get their military so that they're doing the boots on the ground while we're helping them from the air. but it's a long-term, expensive campaign. and the iraqi oil ought to now start paying for what we were told years ago it would be. >> the u.s. spent probably -- at least $1 trillion over the past ten years, 15 years or so, at least 11 or 12 years in iraq. we'll see if the iraqi government steps up and is willing to do so. my suspicion is the answer will be a very polite no. but we'll see what they do and what the other arab countries that have a lot of money, what they decide to do as well. right now, the u.s. is pretty grateful they're just cooperating militarily with the u.s. in this war, this new war

against isis. senator nelson, thanks very much for joining us. >> thanks, wolf. still ahead, an incident between israel and syria has fueled some rising tensions as well. we'll have that story. that's coming up. 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. whenwork with equity experts who work with regional experts that's when expertise happens. mfs. because there is no expertise without collaboration.

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the plane crashed into syria. we do not know the mission of this plane. but it's believed it takes roughly three minutes to get over any major populated areas. so any major incursion is dealt with swiftly, wolf. >> i take it the pilot or pilots of the syrian warplane ejected and they landed inside syrian territory, is that right?

>> reporter: that's right. we are learning >> the israelis have had a lot of tension over these many years on the lebanese border, certainly with gaza, you were just there. but something like this, that syrian frontier with israel along the golan heights, it's been remarkably quiet over these many decades, going back to the 1973 war. when was the last time an incident like this -- an incident of israel shooting down a syrian warplane occurred? >> reporter: well, you're right. this is the largest incident so far. i was in the golan recently. when i was there, there was

this is really the largest incident to happen on the golan, on israeli airspace so far, wolf. >> significant development. let's hope it doesn't escalate on that frontier. thanks very, very much. he wanted to be the president to end the u.s.-led wars, not start new ones. we're going to examine president obama's role as a reluctant warrior as the u.s. targets isis locations inside syria. gloria borger will join us when we come back. changed how a lot of folks live their retirement...until now. hi, i'm henry winkler and i'm here to tell homeowners that are 62 and older about a great way to live a better

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president obama today praised the arab countries who took part in the u.s.-led air strikes against the isis targets in syria. he says their participation shows the u.s. is not going it alone. >> we are joined in this action by our friends and partners. saudi arabia, the united arab emirates, jordan, bahrain and kwa tar. qatar. the strength of this coalition makes it clear to the world that

this is not america's fight alone. above all the people and governments in the middle east are rejecting isil and standing up for the peace and security that the people of the region and the world deserve. >> let's bring in our chief political analyst gloria borger. how important was it for the president to have this kind of pretty steadfast, impressive support by these arab countries? >> well, it was, it was hugely important, wolf. if you look back a year ago when the president was deciding whether or not to use air strikes in syria over the issue of chemical weapons, he couldn't get the support of congress. he couldn't form a coalition. and he backed off. i think the difference this time around, wolf, is he has a coalition of arab nations and also one other important thing here to him is this khorasan problem. because i was on a phone call

with other journalists with senior administration officials who made it very clear their plotting reached what one would call an advanced stage. and this is a president who has said -- i think he found himself up against a deadline, had to act and found a coalition willing to act with him because they have a mutual enemy. >> a very significant development as you know. the president, gloria, he wanted to be the president to end the war, the u.s. wars in iraq and afghanistan. now he's obviously a reluctant warrior, but he finds himself in a new war, a war against isis and iraq and in syria. this is not the way he hoped to end his final two years as president. >> no, it isn't the kind of legacy he would've wanted. but also on this call with administration officials, one

described it as a milestone that's occurred. that's because this is a critical moment in which the president has announced military action not against a state, not syria per se, but against a movement. and this is clearly a look into the future, wolf. this is clearly as this administration said, something they consider a milestone. and it's the way wars are going to have to be fought in the future. so not something the president wanted. but, by the way, his own ambivalence actually reflected the ambivalence of the american people. but as you know, a majority of the american people were for air strikes against isis. and now they know about this other threat by this al qaeda spinoff, they may even be more in support of it. we'll have to see. >> good analysis. that's it for me, thanks very

much for watching. i'll be back 5:00 p.m. eastern in the "situation room." another special two-hour edition for our international viewers. amanpour is next. for our viewers in north america, "newsroom with anderson cooper" starts right now. special coverage of a dramatic turn in america's war against isis. u.s. missiles, war planes raining down bombs across syria. >> as our initial indication is that these strikes were very successful. second, while it's not our policy to discuss future operations, i can tell you that last night's strikes were only the beginning.