>> reporter: they believe they have strategic momentum and isis is the most pressing terror threat it is not the only one. the president has convened a coalition of some 60 countries and 22 of them represented today but so far no visible virkts when you look at iraq, another iraqi base coming under attack and cobanny holding, but only tenuously. >> reporter: leaning down from coalition war planes, precision-guided weapons, 23 air strikes over iraq and syria yesterday and today. the busiest campaign so far as it conveniented 22 military chiefs from 22 countries at joint base andrews, president obama learned of a tough fight. >> we are still at the early

stages. as with any military effort, there will be days of progress and there are going to be periods of setback but our coalition is united behind this long-term effort. >> reporter: 21 of the strikes centered around kobani and a punishing effort to save a down the administration has described as strategically unimportant. >> we certainly do not want the down to fall. at the same time, our capacity to prevent that town from falling is limited by the fact that air strikes can only do so much. >> reporter: priority number one for the coalition? ar arming and training the city rebels. turkey has now agreed to join saudi arabia in the training program. what more it will contribute, however, remains negotiable

after an embarrassing public disagreement between tickerioff >> turkey has agreed to host and train and equip people. it's certainly has allowed the use of certain facilities. we don't need to get into specifics, except to say that i don't believeth there is any discrepancy srpt what thwith ret they will or won't do. >> a senior military official tells meal the turkey is negotiating what turkey's role will be and what facilities will be used and how though facilities will be used. i'm told part of those discussions including an air base in turkey which would be a tremendous advantage for running air strikes in turkey if you're this much closer as opposed to carrying them out from the mediterranean. >> they have agreed to let u.s. and other coalition jets to take off from there but the turks no so fast. >> i'm told they are still

working that out but the turks have not allowed it to happen. it's on the table but it's not signed, sealed or delivered yet. >> thanks very much, jim sciutto, for that. a massive explosion caught on camera in northwestern syria. look at this. rebels blew up a tunnel in an attack on a regime military base. look at that. wow! cnn's arwa daimon is not very far away and on the turkish/syrian boarder. tell us what is going on there? >> reporter: pretty dramatic footage there, wolf. this is rebels attempting to take over via use of tunnels and then explosions. one of the regime bases in the northwestern part of syria. now, this is not the first time that we have seen rebel fighters

attempting to tunnel underground and place explosive underneath regime locations that they have been trying to take over. what is unclear at this stage is how successful they were. this is a strategic base that has been fought over for quite sometime now. with all of the focus on kobani, people perhaps not paying that much attention to the fact that the war, when it comes to the rebels fighting the regime, most certainly is ongoing as is the regime's ongoing bombardment and use of barrel bombs against various different civilian targets in the country. >> arwa, we know there has been a lot of pressure on the turks to launch air strikes against isis targets in syria or iraq for that matter. but, all of a sudden, we are getting word that turkish air strikes did take place but not against isis but against kurds inside turkey. what is going on there? >> reporter: well, this is down to the ongoing tensions between

the pkk, the kurdish separatists and the turks. the turks say they were fired on from pkk bases located along the southwestern border between turkey and iraq, and they say that they responded with available fire power and eliminated the threat. but this most certainly does not bode well at this junction, given the increasing tension between the kurds and the turks because of what is happening in kobani. the turks feel the end game is see the demise of the kurds. we are also at a stage where there is some sort of peace agreement that is trying to be hammered out on the table between turkey and the pkk, but we have this ongoing situation that is seeing tensions escalate. turkey very worried that because of the rising tensions with the kurds, because of what is happening in kobani especially, that they could very well see

war erupting within their own borders and that is definitely something that turkey wants to avoid at this stage and cannot afford any sort of unrest. >> arwa damon on the border between turkey and syria. be careful, as i tell you all the time. let's go in-depth with our cnn international correspondent peter burgen and phillip mudd, a cia official. what do you make of these reports that turkey has started to bomb pkk kurdish positions inside turkey? there was a cease-fire for a couple of years. >> boy, you know, wolf, you just can't make it up. 25 years ago, i'm at the cia and we have unity of effort across saudi arabia and pakistanis and others group. they were committed to the fight over the course of years and the u.s. behind the scenes

ultimately degrading the soviet military and forcing them to depart. 25 years later, you have americans fighting islamists but refusing to ousting al assad. bottom line the lack of unity of effort will prolong the program to eliminate isis. this is all to isis advantage. >> why is isis, peter, so strong? in the face of the u.s.-led air strikes, isis seems to be gaining strength in syria and iraq. >> they have been in this business a long time. iraq and al qaeda been around a decade so the leaders of this group, many of whom, by the way, were in saddam's army and have military speakexpertise. they know what they are doing. suicide attacks are not available to other players and they are up against pretty weak opponents. it's not isis is so strong.

it's they are functioning in an environment their opponent is so weak, it's not -- there is an analogy to ebola that it was doing well in very weak states and we are seeing the same thing with isis. they are not the perfect military machine but it's up really inept enemies. >> which raises the next question. phillip, why is the iraqi military, several hundred thousand troops, trained, financed, armed by the united states for more than a decade, why are they so inept? >> i think what we are seeing is, you know, they don't have a commitment to the iraqi state. as they get into areas where they are not comfortable that is anbar province and areas where they are fighting is heavy and they don't have a commitment to the fight and i think it may change over time. we have seen the past 24, 48 hours car be bombs in baghdad. the sooner they get into shia territory including baghdad the tougher the fight is going to get because iraqi security forces say this isn't a fight for uniform but a fight for my

homeland and that is going to get bloody. last thing i'd say is the risk of that, obviously, the advantage is the iraq i didn't say may fight. the risk is you have sunni on shia fighting and the risk that the iraqi state will continue to fall apart among kurds, sunnis and shia. >> looks like that is about to happen. jay johnson, the secretary of homeland security said, yes, isis poses a threat to the homeland but he is concerned about what they call the lone wolves. to which you say? >> i think that is right. if you look at the dozen americans have joined isis or a similar group in syria, a, they are known to the u.s. government and, b, some of them have gone over there and died. the lone wolves are not communicating with anybody and people might be inspired by isis and saw in australia home-grown types planning a beheading and saw something similar in britain. i think the home-grown people may see isis as a role model but not actually be in any way affiliated with them. that is potentially problematic.

>> very problematic, indeed. thanks, peter and phillip. stay with cnn. we will be right back. 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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from today but the political world is buzzing about the possibility of mitt romney making another try for the white house in 2016 and his wife ann romney is weighing? . let's talk with dana bash and gloria borger. what is the possibility of this happening? >> as we say in "the situation roo room" not happening now. you see ann romney going back and forth on this. you never say never but i'm told by sources very close to romney that this is all in the realm of the truly hypothetical that mitt romney is very skeptical and as this source says if romney were to run he would be the last guy in the race. what that means, if drafted, he might do it late in the game, but that doesn't seem lyle. >> let me play a clip from ann romney. she was on tv.

>> we have said we will never do it again. we have done it, we have had our turn. it was hard. >> to which you say? >> i believe her. i believe that ann romney. i guess more other recent ann romney's where she spoke to "the washington post" late today something not as definitive but, look. we know that the republican party, it is in their dna to let people have another chance. but usually just second chances. >> third? >> third chances, not so much. >> the thing i think is really interesting is maybe the reason why romney, his name is out there so much and that is about the midterm elections in three weeks. almost all of the competitive races are in red states where romney did really, really well. kentucky is a great example. he won by like 4 points and why he's out on the campaign trail because he can be an asset in states where it matters now. >> a lot of romney supporters including ann romney love the

fact that mitt seems relevant again and important in these senate races. when i interviewed them as a couple back last june she had, you know, it's hard to watch the news and not be a part of it. she wasn't enthusiastic about this last race but she came on board and became his biggest supporter. i think what you heard her say today, look. i don't want him to do it and we don't expect him to do it and we are not having conversations about it, but if drafted, i'd be with him, right? >> you know, there are big money republicans, establishment republicans who think he is moderate and electable and potentially could carry states like ohio or film, some of the other more conservative republicans might have trouble in states like that. that's why they are saying they are holding out hope he might change his mind. >> we have seen that movie before and saw that exact same thing in 2008. we saw it in 2012. and the big problem with romney is, you know, we can rehash all of this all day long, is not so much his positions, it's the way

he describes them, it's the wrap on him as he is out of touch. you can go on and on and on. that is not something many republicans have forgotten. >> let's talk kentucky for a moment. last night, there was a big debate, allison lundergan grimes is challenging mitch mcconnell. she is still refusing to answer if she voted for 2008 in 20presa in 2008 and/or 2011. >> i spoke to people who said she voted and those of you are asking questions if she voted. >> whether or not she was answering. >> he maintains this is principle she has and she believes when she was secretary of state that you should not have to tell people who you voted for, that it's secret and that, you know, and that -- exactly, give me a break, that it's not a strategy of theirs. you know, come on. >> i don't want to be that

skeptical or cynical, but i am -- >> it wouldn't be. >> but give me a break. you know? we know the reality of ground in kentucky. we just said president obama didn't do well in there when he was popular and now he is completely underwater when it comes to popularity. i am told they knew very well the kind of reaction that would come if she uttered the words i voted for barack obama in a red, red state like kentucky. but on the flip side, you have some democrats who i've talked to privately who say that they are really bummed out about that because it completely overshadows the fact she had a very strong debate performance last night and they are scratching their heads thinking, okay, republicans have already spent like $11 million on tv linking her to barack obama. what difference would it make? >> didn't she tell us who she voted for in the democratic primary between barack obama and hillary clinton? didn't she say she voted for hillary clinton? >> well, we knew she had been, you know, that it was a matter of public record that she was a

publicly pledged clinton delegate. >> reports out of kentucky she will say that in an upcoming report. >> can i say this question came up, i'm told in debate prep, so she was prepared for it. it wasn't as if it was something she did off the cuff. three weeks from today is the midterm

a moment of tremendous panic

lasting seconds and changing lives. it has been 25 years since the san francisco earthquake devastated the bay area and for some the wounds have not healed. rear is randy kay. >> inside of candlestick park where the world is watching the quake live, the players and the vans are oblivious to the severity of the damage. >> the game will be postponed. >> there was no way to know what the damage was outside of the stadium. it is not like ballparks where you can see downtown or outside. >> randy is joining us now. it is amazing to remember those days. a lot of us do. that was al michaels at the end of the clip. he was calling the game that night. when he told you what happened after the quake, what did he say to you? >> well first of all, he said he called his top boss right away,

bobigger that told him a piece of the bay bridge had fallen and he said he couldn't see any damage and the blimp camera came up on the monitor in front of his booth and he could see the five alarm fire in the marina district and he asked the blimp to turn this way or that way and he stayed on the air for the next few days or so. and he said he was scared when it started to shake and his co-worker said al grabbed his leg first and al said it was his co-host to grabbed his leg first and he has the bruise to still show it. >> and do they consider it the big one or do they think that one is still coming. >> it was 6.9 magnitude, 6 million people died and experts say that was not the big one.

and the bay area is the urban area with the most active fault system under it, including the hayward fault which back ruptured in 1868, so that was 146 years ago and they produce earthquakes every 150 years or so and on top of that fault, you have houses and hospitals and the stadium at berkeley. so it could be bad. >> it could be indeed. so give us the other stories and the characters you feature in this excellent new document? >> we focused on four stories. we talked to a guy who was caught on the bay bridge when it was collapsed, he was caught in the crevice. and we share a story of people caught on the cypress freeaway which pancaked on top of hundreds of cars. we talked to a brave firefighter who risked his own life to try to save their lives in the marina disk. >> randy, thank you for

everything you are doing. and san francisco shaken, 25 years since the quake, airs later tonight, 9:00 p.m. eastern only on cnn. and all week cnn is presenting roots, our journey home. cnn journalists have traveled across the continents and finding our histories. and my trip took me to poll land and israel and my own home. >> i feel like i was robbed of my grandparents. 6 million jews were killed and i had seen the place, auschwitz, and i know that was where i wanted to go.

[ speaking in a foreign language ] >> the meaning was that was a place for working, which it was not. >> it was slave labor? >> yes. it was this kind of camp. back work was an instrument of the work in this camp. >> and you'll see my rich journey tomorrow right here in the situation room. remember you can follow us on twitter, just go ahead and tweet me at wolf blitzer and tweet the show at cnn sit room. join us tomorrow right here in "the situation room" and watch us live and always dvr the show so you won't miss a moment. that is it for me. thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." please stay with cnn throughout the night for the late-breaking news on isis, on ebola and a whole lot more. thanks very much for watching. erin burnett "outfront" starts right now.

"outfront" tonight, breaking news, the dallas nurse with ebola, a friend telling me she wore a full hazmat suit while treating thomas eric duncan so how did she contact ebola? the cdc still doesn't know. and plus officials say as million as 76 healthcare workers came into contact with duncan. and from my family's farm in maryland to a scottish island, in search of my roots. let's go "outfront," tonight. good evening, i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, breaking news. 76 more health care workers in dallas are being monitored for ebola. the cdc said that is the stunning number of people who may have come into contact with ebola patient thomas eric duncan. we are learning new details about the dallas nurse