a career that spanned nearly half a century. he left saigon on one of the last choppers out of the city at the end of the vietnam war. he was a prisoner of iraqi forces for 40 days during the first gulf war in the early '90s. he was working until the day he died on a piece for this sunday's "60 minutes." bob simon was 73 years old. our thoughts and prayers are with his family and with his friends and our friends at cbs news. that's it for "the lead." i'm jake tapper. i turn you over to wolf blitzer in "the situation room." happening now, isis offensive. terrorist fighters waging deadly attacks on iraqi forces and now just miles away from a key u.s. military -- key iraqi military base housing u.s. marines. will isis try to attack these american forces? daring rescue mission. we have new details of how kayla mueller's boyfriend risked his life in a bold effort to free her and the white house now forced to defend its own attempts to save the young aid

worker. we will talk about that and a lot more with the state department deputy spokeswoman marie harf. there are growing signs right now that two of america's biggest foes may be teaming up against the united states. what are russia's vladimir putin and north korea's kim jong-un up to? i'm wolf blitzer. you are're in "the situation room." breaking now. dramatic offenses by isis and al qaeda. isis forces in iraq waging a deadly campaign to claim even more territory and they are actually moving closer and closer to a major iraqi government base housing hundreds of u.s. troops. in yemen, al qaeda fighters have taken over a major camp and seized a major cache of weapons after a gun battle that lasted for hours. we are covering all angles of these stories and much more this hour with our correspondents and our guests including the deputy spokeswoman at the state department marie harf.

let's begin with our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto. he has the latest on this war against isis. jim? >> there has been a lot of talk recently about isis being on the defensive, losing ground. that is true in some places but today, we are seeing isis making an attempt to show its strength again. look at the attacks that took place just in the last 24 hours, up in the north against kurdish forces including using suicide bombers, car bombs, but also down here around the town of al baghdadi. what's key about this, it's in anbar province just to the west of baghdad, very close, just a few miles from the air base where you have some 400 u.s. military personnel there now training iraqi pilots. pentagon says there is no assault on the base. this is just a few miles down the road and it shows that as you put u.s. military advisors outside of the main population centers in baghdad and erbil, they are getting much closer to combat even if they are not in combat. >> in yemen, aqap al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, they are

also on the move especially now that the u.s. is basically out of there. >> that's right. also just taking advantage of the instability in that country, you have the collapse of that government in sanaa, the capital, a key partner for the u.s. in the fight against aqap. so in the last 24 hours here in the province where al qaeda has a very strong base of support, they took over a yemeni what was a yemeni military base with heavy weapons there, taking them not just from the yemenis, the former partner, but even the houthi rebels who have taken over the capital. it shows as this country becomes more unstable not only does it become more difficult for the u.s. to fight the aqap threat there, which pentagon officials have acknowledged but also gives them more of a chance aqap to take more territory, take more weapons. >> jim sciutto with the latest. stand by. president obama's efforts meanwhile to get congress to authorize the war against isis running into some serious problems up on capitol hill. both democratic and republican lawmakers are sharply critical of the president's proposals for

different reasons. our chief congressional correspondent dana bash is working this part of the story for us. what's the very latest here? >> you know talk to any member of congress and they will tell you the most difficult and solemn vote they ever have taken is a vote to wage war. this is something that is weighing heavily on them. lawmakers in both parties have been talking about whether or not they can actually find consensus on this even though they have actually been demanding a debate for months. tonight with isis making new advances in iraq and some questioning whether u.s. air strikes alone can defeat the terrorist group, congress is now starting to consider the president's request to finally authorize the six month old mission. >> i want to give our military commanders the flexibility and the authority that they need to defeat our enemies. >> reporter: today, most republicans said while they support that mission, they strongly oppose president obama's unprecedented call for

restrictions on his own power to deploy troops. >> the president has tied his own hands and wants to tie his hands even further with the authorization that he sent up here. >> reporter: the president and most democrats say it's critical to limit the use of ground troops especially for the next president. >> i'm worried about what a potential republican president could do without an airtight limitation on ground troops. the american public don't want us to put major combat operations back into the middle east because they know that it won't work. >> it is time to start bringing our troops home. >> reporter: obama became president by opposing an open-ended iraq war others had voted to support more than a decade ago. today, it still looms large. >> what i was told when i opposed the iraq war quite frankly by members of our caucus was if you oppose this war, your future is ended in the leadership of the democratic party. >> reporter: democrats like house leader nancy pelosi took heat at the time only to eventually feel vindicated.

that makes them reluctant to support the president's resolution now. >> there is no question that there's no appetite in the public for us to go into any more war. >> reporter: but tonight, republicans like john mccain say no president has ever limited his own ability to fight or win a war. >> if the congress of the united states wants to prevent the commander in chief from acting, you can cut off funds. >> reporter: but that didn't work during the iraq war. once the mission was authorized, it was hard to stop. >> those of us who came to congress after the iraq war, who have learned from those mistakes i'm hopeful that that will be who wins the day here. >> so much of a divide over limits on ground troops. lawmakers in both parties admit it will be very hard to find compromise that can actually pass both the house and the senate but leaders in key committees will spend the next several weeks and months trying to do that. as one senator told me if we can't find bipartisan compromise on a plan to confront the

wretched terror group like isis he said we should just give up. >> even if they find bipartisan compromise the president still has to sign it right? he could veto it if he wanted to. >> he could, but by the time they get to the point where they actually have consensus, presumably they will have to have the white house to get that consensus. >> thanks very much for that. meanwhile, new details emerging of failed efforts to rescue kayla mueller, the american aid worker who died in isis custody, including a very dangerous and dramatic attempt by her boyfriend, who confronted the terrorists face-to-face. our justice correspondent pamela brown is working this part of the story for us. what are you hearing from your sources? >> well it is clear the mueller family explored every option possible to bring their daughter home even kayla's boyfriend in syria risked his life to save her and he recently posted a touching tribute to her on his facebook page. a heartbreaking message from the man kidnapped in syria with kayla mueller. her boyfriend, omar posted this

picture of kayla holding a stuffed animal saying on his facebook page i'm sorry i didn't hold on to you with so much strength that even god couldn't take you away. you left our world for a bigger and better place now. cnn learned omar risked his life to rescue kayla. he went to a terrorist training camp pretending to be her husband, but the ruse failed. arizona congressman paul gozar has counseled the family and hinted more could have been done to rescue mueller. >> there is conflicting evidence that maybe the white house and administration didn't do all they could. >> reporter: the white house denies a delayed launch of a rescue attempt to save hostages last july. a spokesperson for the national security council says u.s. forces conducted this operation as soon as the president and his national security team were confident the mission could be carried out. the president told buzzfeed he did everything he could. >> i deployed an entire

operation at significant risk to rescue not only her, but the other individuals that had been held and probably missed them by a day or two, precisely because we had that commitment. >> reporter: after isis issued an execution deadline of mueller last august her family reached out to the white house in desperation and according to a family spokesperson asked the administration if it would consider a prisoner swap trading u.s. prisoner known as lady al qaeda for mueller. even though the swap never happened it's believed mueller was still alive after the execution deadline passed. we reached out to the white house today about the family's swap request, it declined to comment. wolf? >> pamela brown, thanks very much. let's talk about all of this and a lot more with the state department deputy spokeswoman, marie harf who is here with me in "the situation room." thanks for coming in. >> happy to be here. >> you want to respond to the charge that the raid to try to

save kayla mueller's life was delayed, and as a result it failed? >> nothing could be further from the truth. as soon as we had actionable intelligence and a military operation plan in hand, the president authorized this mission. unfortunately, and horribly it was not able to bring these americans home but nothing could be further from the truth. >> what about this notion that isis was seeking a trade? kayla mueller in exchange for this convicted terrorist, this woman who was held prisoner in the united states a convicted al qaeda terrorist? >> well look we're just not going to get into what our conversations were with the mueller family or what their conversations were their communications were with her captors. as we know isil has a long history with other situations putting out offers on the table and then not following through. clearly, we aren't just going to get into the details there. but throughout this entire ordeal have been working very closely with her family with all the families of these

hostages to do anything we can to get them home. >> there is a review under way right now of u.s. hostage policy when the united states should do x, y or z, right? >> yes. there is. >> when is that going to be complete? >> i don't have a date for completion of that. the white house and other agencies have reached out to some families of hostages or former hostages to get their input. this is something we take very seriously talking about how we can do this going forward in the future and we want to hear from the families. obviously they are really at the heart of what should be driving our policy but we do even before the policy review did everything we could to try to locate and bring these americans home. obviously we know how tragically this ended. >> you wouldn't anticipate major changes, for example, the u.s. willing to pay ransom to terrorist organizations in exchange for the freedom of an american? >> the no concessions policy is not part of the review. that is correct. we believe very strongly that if you start paying ransom you are just funding more terrorism and putting more americans at risk. but i don't know what the outcome will be of the review. i don't want to prejudge that.

we will see what comes from it. >> on iraq right now, we are told isis instead of cowering or retreating are actually on the offensive in certain northern iraqi locations. they are actually moving closer to the air base where there are hundreds of u.s. troops including marines supposedly training iraqi forces maybe ten miles away. what's going on? >> i would note that in many other places they are in retreat because the forces on the ground the iraqis or the kurds, in conjunction with us with the air power, have pushed them back. so we know this is going to be a long fight and there will be ebbs and flows in terms of the battlefield rhythm and what's happening. there will be times when they go on the offensive but i think we should put it in the broader context. we have had success pushing them out of areas of iraq. >> do you have confidence in the iraqi military? that they can protect these americans, because these americans are there as trainers advisors advisors. they are not necessarily there in a ground combat role.

>> well we know the iraqi military has really grown much stronger since what we saw last summer. their capabilities are better they are better trained, better armed. they are better funded certainly. but no one area no one battle no one town is going to define the overall fight against isil in iraq or syria. >> they are still m.i.a. in other parts of northern iraq. the peshmerga are getting the job done but are limited in their capabilities. they keep asking where is the central iraqi government's military why aren't they getting involved in trying to fight isis. >> this is a tough fight. there are limited resources here. that's why we have done everything we can to expedite our at znsssistance to the forces. for the first time in a long time we have seen the forces working very closely together. that hasn't always been the case. i think that's been one of the reasons we have been able to have so much success so far. >> the peshmerga and kurdish forces we are talking to in northern iraq say they don't see any iraqi forces. they are sort of invisible right now. they abandoned their positions.

the u.s. spent hundreds of millions of dollars training the iraqi military over more than a decade and the fighting starts to heat up a little bit, they run away. we will continue this. stand by. a lot more to discuss. we will also talk about the united states' decision to evacuate the u.s. embassy in yemen, what that means for aqap. al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. that's where they are based. while others go in circles... and repeat themselves... we choose to carve our own path, in the pursuit of exhilaration. the 306 horsepower lexus gs. experience the next level of performance, and there's no going back.

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solidified their control of the capital sanaa where the u.s. embassy has now been closed. staffers all of them have been ordered to leave. all of this happening in a country that at one point was a key u.s. ally in the fight against terror. we are back with the state department deputy spokeswoman, marie harf. this is the base yemen, of aqap al qaeda in the arabian peninsula which represents a major threat to the u.s. to the europeans, to others and now the u.s. has abandoned that embassy in sanaa. a few months ago the president was saying it was a success story in yemen. now the u.s. is gone. what happened? >> it's a very complicated situation. when we made the decision about our embassy, obviously security has to govern what we do when it comes to our people overseas. it certainly doesn't mean we abandoned yemen or are not incredibly focused on it. the military still has assets there to work on counterterrorism issue which is obviously one of or key priorities there. as you mentioned, aqap the most dangerous affiliate of al qaeda certainly has threatened the homeland. we will keep working the

situation even though our embassy's not there. we have an ambassador. we will keep talking to the parties and see if we can get -- >> have these houthi rebels actually gone into the u.s. embassy, they are enjoying the diplomatic life if you will taking the u.s. vehicles the u.s. weapons, all the stuff inside. is that true? >> there have been conflicting reports about the embassy but when it comes to the vehicles obviously we have been very clear that this is unacceptable behavior that they need to return them that there are certain rules that govern diplomatic presidents and people and things like vehicles in another country. >> you don't expect these houthi rebels to be honoring these diplomatic protocol do you? >> if they say they want to be in charge of yemen they need to start. >> i wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that to happen. did you get everything out, the classified documents, the hard drives when you abandoned the embassy? >> we did. there are protocols in place here. we know how to do this.

we know how to close an embassy to protect our facilities and particularly like you said classified information. there were plans in place to do this. this was in no way a rush evacuation. as we said this was an orderly departure based on the plans we had in place. >> you have seen the video of these rebels in tripoli, libya, the u.s. abandoned that embassy not that long ago. they are swimming in the ambassador's pool diving into the pool. they are all having a great time at the united states embassy in tripoli. that was also supposed to be a success story when the u.s. launched tomahawk cruise missiles to get rid of gadhafi. there seems to be a pattern going on right now, right? >> well, look when you look at some of these countries when you look at libya, it is a good thing that moammar gadhafi is no longer in charge of libya. what's happened -- if you look just from that narrow perspective, it was good -- >> libya, not far from europe is becoming a base for terrorist organizations. >> if you look at what happened since then these kind of generational changes are just that generational. it will take a lot of time for libya to get back on its feet.

obviously there are a lot of people working on that right now. but it's complicated. yemen is as well. on the one hand we have had success against aqap. we have taken out senior aqap leaders who tried to kill americans. >> now in yemen they will have an opportunity to get stronger. >> well i would be careful about that. it's complicated. the houthi certainly are no friends of aqap. they have actively fought them. we are certainly very focused on aqap so i think, look these are very troublesome times in these countries, there are a lot of factors at play. what we do is work with parties on the ground work with our international partners to help get them on a better track. >> the president came out with his war powers initiative to try to get congressional authority to engage to go through with this war against isis. but he's getting a lot of grief not only from republicans but from a whole bunch of democrats who don't like it either. you are passionate. you like this president. you work for the president so obviously you like it. but a lot of democrats say it's way, way too vague, too fuzzy,

it gives the president the opportunity to actually deploy combat ground forces in iraq and maybe even syria. >> i think it strikes the perfect balance between giving the commander in chief the kind of flexibility that any commander in chief would need to conduct this kind of military operation. while setting up for the american people and more importantly, american men and women in uniform and their families what will govern the kinds of limitations around this conflict. so i don't think anyone would say we should not have the ability to send in american combat troops on a search and rescue operation or special forces operation to kill an isil leader. those are prerogatives the commander in chief should have. but we should also tell the american people how long we are going to have this in place, when we are going to go back and talk about it again and the kinds of geographic areas that we will operate in. >> why do so many democrats think it's way too vague, too fuzzy, they want major changes? these are democrats we're talking about. i spoke to chris van hollen he wants major changes. >> we have been in a constant dialogue with congress about the

language here leading up to the president setting up the aumf. we are confident it strikes the right balance. we are working with congress and obviously are open to talking to them about ways they think it could be made stronger. but the two prerogatives i think are important that we should say this is limited in scope, this is who we will be going after, but also the commander in chief needs to have the ability given unforeseen circumstances in war to undertake certain actions if they are in our national security interest. >> he says he doesn't even need this authority, he's got existing authority but he is basically doing this because congress asked him to do it. >> and because he thinks that our partners and allies but more importantly, isil will see that we are stronger as a country, as a coalition, when we speak with one voice and we make very clear how committed we are to this. >> that might not happen. wouldn't be the first time that there's multiple voices coming out of washington. we will see what happens. >> that is certainly true. >> thanks very much for coming in. >> thank you, wolf. up next the world's most wanted female terror suspect is speaking out or is she?

details of an alleged interview with the widow of one of the paris attackers. plus signs of troubling possible new alliances emerging between russia and north korea. are vladimir putin and kim jong-un forming a new axis of evil? flo: hey, big guy. i heard you lost a close one today. look, jamie, maybe we weren't the lowest rate this time. but when you show people their progressive direct rate and our competitors' rates you can't win them all. the important part is, you helped them save. thanks, flo. okay, let's go get you an ice cream cone, champ. with sprinkles? sprinkles are for winners. i understand.

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terrorism analyst paul cruickshank, analyst bob baer and analyst tom fuentes. you have been doing excellent reporting on this claim from a french language isis magazine of an alleged interview with hayat boumeddiene, the widow of amedy coulibaly. he's the guy who carried out that attack on that kosher supermarket in paris that killed four jewish men. what can you tell us about this new interview? >> it's a two-page q & a which started circulating yesterday on a french isis magazine was then repeated the interview, in their english magazine today. the claim is that she has reached the caliphate, that it wasn't difficult for her to cross over there and french terrorism experts believe this is a credible claim from isis but an unverified claim at this point because they offer no proof that she's reached syria. but clearly a big propaganda coup potentially for isis

because it allows them to claim ownership over those terrorist attacks. >> they didn't show a picture of her, did they? >> no picture of her at all yet. if she is indeed with isis i think that's going to change. i think they would likely feature her in some kind of video. of course she wouldn't appear unveiled. you would likely see her eyes with the full veil. i think very likely they will want to make a lot of propaganda out of her to try to get more men and women to join them in syria and iraq and launch attacks overseas. >> how will u.s. officials authenticate a claim like this? >> what they would need is some information that comes out of her through that magazine or any other means that only she would know. and that the authorities know that there's no way to have that type of inside information, maybe something personal about coulibaly, her husband at the time something that only she would know. >> that's how you go ahead and authenticate. we will see what happens on that. bob baer what about this new information we are getting about

the attempts to rescue kayla mueller, the 26-year-old american female aid worker killed in isis captivity? we are learning that her syrian boyfriend actually went back looking for her, claimed to be her husband, but the plot didn't work because she told her captors she wasn't married. if she had gone along with this and had no reason to go along with it she didn't know who was there, you think they would have let her go? >> no. she was too valuable, wolf. i think he did show up at the base he's syrian probably from a prominent family and said that's my wife. in fact, they were not married. they were boyfriend and girlfriend. whether isis knew that or not, i don't know. but the point is that wasn't going to convince them. this is a ruthless organization and they have no empathy for two lovers. i don't think -- it was a heroic attempt, of course but it never stood a chance. >> you're probably right on that. paul you are also getting some new information on the suspected

ringleader of that plot that was foiled in belgium last month. what are you learning? >> that's right, wolf. isis are claiming that the suspected ringleader in that major plot in belgium last month has safely returned to syria. belgian counterterrorism officials believed that he was coordinating that plot from greece but in a new interview with this isis english language magazine he's describing how he evaded that international manhunt to return to syria. it also features a picture of him, you see it on the screen right now, with two of the dead gunmen in that special forces operation from the belgian point of view in eastern belgium last month. all of this really tying isis to this plot. this would be the sort of first isis plot against the west. there has been a lot of concern that pivoting towards this and of course on your show last week a senator said that isis were moving beyond aspirational when it came to launching plots against the u.s. homeland.

a lot of concern right now that this group could target europe but also the united states. >> what was the target in belgium of this isis plot? >> well i'm told by senior belgian counterterrorism official this plot was very ambitious, went far beyond just targeting police. they had all the chemicals necessary for high explosives. they had police uniform. the suggestion is they were trying to gain access to a sensitive site. this was going to be a major spectacular terrorist attack from isis. the belgian authorities believed the isis leadership were very much behind this and now the ringleader they are claiming is back in syria, back with isis. a very worrying development indeed. >> let me get bob baer's reaction. what do you think? >> let me start, wolf i heard originally from the state department that there was some suspicion they were going after the american embassy or an american base nato base there. i have seen no confirmation of that. but the belgian police as paul will tell you, are holding this

very close to the chest, this investigation. what their ultimate targets are. but i would imagine the islamic state was going way beyond just belgian police and were going for spectacular attack. i think the details of that will come out fairly soon. >> it would have been spectacular. fortunately it was foiled. obviously that does raise some enormous fears. >> the concern is do they have everybody. he is back in syria. were his confederates still in belgium, did they all get rounded up did they all reveal information about the group probably not. there are probably still people in belgium, throughout western europe that might have been part of that particular attack plan and may have access to more weaponry and more explosives that weren't picked up. >> that's all pretty chilling. i want all of you to stand by. we have a lot more coming up. we are following the breaking news. there's another important story we are following right now which involves north korea. the leader there, kim jong-un, may be getting together with russia's vladimir putin. what kind of trouble would that mean for the united states?

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we are keeping a very close watch on ukraine right now, where intense fighting is raising serious doubts about a new peace deal. the agreement worked out among the russian president vladimir putin and the leaders of

ukraine, france and germany. that agreement calls for a cease-fire starting this coming sunday. our senior international correspondent nick paton walsh is in eastern ukraine where the fighting continues right now. what's the latest on the ground there, nick? >> reporter: the fear really is wolf that in the next 48 hours or so we will see an escalation in the violence because that agreement actually doesn't delineate where the borders potentially will be in this cease-fire until the end of saturday. there are a lot of places now contested. one key one is a town to the northeast of where i'm standing. vladimir putin in comments he made around that deal suggested he thought that really the ukrainians should give up that particular town. they have potentially hundreds or thousands of troops inside it as part of the minsk deal. that will be tough. we have an issue, too, where they broke the news of the

cease-fire cease-fire many angry to hear about it. some suggesting they couldn't trust the ukrainians at all. they felt there had been so many civilian casualties in donetsk, they weren't willing to accept one. they wanted to fight on until the next region could be totally retaken. a lot of doubt on the ground here. that will feed into the complexity of this. we have the need for a cease-fire at the end of saturday then potentially both sides will draw back their heavy weapons to quite different sets of boundaries then potentially a demilitarized zone. so much that could go wrong. 48 hours now in which both sides have to define the effective boundaries of where they will be potentially months from now. that could really cause more civilians to lose their lives in the hours ahead. >> a lot of people complaining they should have had an immediate cease-fire. by giving it 48 hours or even longer until sunday that's causing exactly what you are describing an enormous amount

of fire power and potentially a lot of people are going to die in the next 48 hours. >> reporter: that's the major fear particularly here in donetsk. vladimir putin referenced a strategic hub the ukrainians don't want to give up and the separatists want to take it because it rounds off the borders of what will be not a new state but very different region part of ukraine. the major fear is that how we have seen the separatists play this in the previous month, take a little bit, a little bit, a little bit, never lurch forward so far that washington or nato have to respond. that could be what we see happen in the months ahead. up next what might happen if russia's vladimir putin and north korea's kim jong-un actually get together. guess what? it could happen. it could happen soon.

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tonight, there are troubling signs two of the world's most unpredictable leaders, north korea's kim jong-un and russia's vladimir putin, are actually working toward a closer alliance. let's go to cnn's brian todd. he's here in "the situation room." what's going on? >> well one of these leaders is constantly threatening to annihilate the united states. the other pushes every confrontation he can get away with against america and its allies. this is potentially a very dangerous partnership and tonight, there are signs that it's growing. they are two of america's biggest antagonists and tonight, there is new concern over kim jong-un and vladimir putin teaming up creating an ominous alliance against the united states. the russians say they are negotiating with north korea to hold joint military exercises.

>> there is nothing good about a growing relationship between moscow and pyongyang. things could escalate. >> reporter: putin has also invited kim jong-un to moscow in may to celebrate the anniversary of the end of world war ii. russian officials are quoted as saying north korea's leadership has accepted but it's not clear if kim jong-un himself will go and if he does there is danger. >> kim jong-un has a plane but he doesn't fly anywhere. i think this is a man who is frightened from leaving the safety of his security network inside north korea. there is of course a danger that he may not be invited back because there could be generals who decide you know what this is a convenient time to make this adjustment we have been talking about privately. >> reporter: russia and north korea had strong bonds against the u.s. during the cold war, and afterward, when kim's father visited putin in moscow. the partnership eventually faded. what's in the rekindling of this friendship for kim? essentially, he needs a new friend.

china, north korea's most steady ally is angry with kim over his nuclear program and over the execution of his uncle who was close with china's leaders. what's in this for putin? >> to some degree it's sticking it in the eye of the united states. putin and the russians have been talking to the north and south koreans to get them together on gas pipeline deals that would take russian gas out to the pacific as well as a railroad. >> reporter: how would this access threaten the u.s.? >> russia has intelligence. they have snowden in moscow. they have intelligence about the united states. this gives kim jong-un the ability to misysticaliscalculatemiscalculate. >> reporter: other potential dangers? russia has nuclear technology it could share with the north koreans. the alliance could complicate

dealings with china not to mention a dangerous personal dynamic between two leaders who have proven themselves to be volatile and unpredictable. it's a dangerous combination. >> the first time kim jong-un could leave as the leader. he studied in switzerland as a kid. that creates a new dynamic because he's out of his comfort zone. >> reporter: it would be first time he left north korea as leader. everything he does inside north korea is scripted choreographed. the celebration in moscow there will be other world leaders present. there could be moments that they have no control over. analysts say the concern that kim will do something that's going to make him look too young, too inexperienced for the job has to be weighing on the minds of his inner circle. >> we will see what happens. let's get analysis of what's going on us. joining us christian whiten deputy special envoy for human

rights in north korea during the bush administration and gordon change a columnist and author of a book. christian, are they going to get together? >> they may get together. it's not without precedent, kim's father went to moscow from time to time the last being in 2011 taking an armored train across most of russia's time zones. there's a longstanding relationship between moscow and them. north korea is more of a creature of the soviet union than china. the thing is i don't think it's going to lead to massive military cooperation or economic cooperation. it's probably more diplomatic. >> if he feels emboldened to leave north korea, what does that say about his own sense of security if you will? >> if he does go i think it means he believes that he is secure. because the one man in a one-man state does not want to leave, as

brian todd pointed out, because he might not be able to get back. so there's been a lot of questions. last month, we saw the execution of a four star general, which indicates that the military still is not completely on board with kim jong-un. this is a very dangerous time. we have seen so many executions about 50 last year. >> is there a down side or up side? could there be an up side? i will rephrase the question for the u.s. and west if kim does go to russia? we know the u.s. and russia are cooperating, even though they have disagreements, the nuclear deal with iran that may be in the works. >> yeah. i think there's a hidden risk. that is that once again we will get false indication that north korea is willing to be reasonable. you have heard murmurs that they want to resume nuclear talks with north korea and that they are having talks about talks.

the risk is that north korea will prevail at the table. they pocketed foreign aid but never giving up nuclear weapons and this may encourage another cycle. >> his first visit out of north korea, if he goes. i want to show you a cartoon. take a look at this. i don't know if you can read it or you can see it. two guys jong-un and putin are on horse back without shirts. you sure this will make my people respect me more jong-un says to putin. especially when joined with these other things. what do you think? >> i think that that actually is -- tells us something very important. you basically have putin who is

not really hesitant to deal with the most worst elements in the system. putin right now is really of course with his initiatives in ukraine giving everybody a hard time. now he very well may do the same thing in asia, especially with changing diplomatic relationships in east asia. this could be a problem. we could see russian equipment end up in the iranian hands like the anti-ship north corekorea tested. >> we will stay on top of this. isis goes back on offensive. details of the latest attack near an iraqi base where hundreds of u.s. military instructors, marines, they are based there. new details of a mission to rescue the isis hostage kayla mueller. ♪ music ♪ ...the getaway vehicle!

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happening now, isis on the attack attack. they get close to a base where hundreds of u.s. marines and other troops are positioned. safe in syria? we're digging in on new isis claims about the world's most wanted woman, is she really on the terrorist's home turf along with another high profile fugitive? arson charges, an indictment from the riots in ferguson over the summer. stand by we have details. a playful president. he gets silly in a new video. is this the right move right now for the commander in chief? we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around

the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you are in "the situation room." breaking now, a new show of force by isis across an unusually wide area against multiple targets. hundreds of americans at an air basin side iraq may be threatened along with others in the path of the terrorists and the new attacks. a key member of the u.s. house foreign affairs committee, congressman adam kinzinger is standing by live along with our analysts covering all the news braining right now. up first our chief national security correspondent, jim sciutto with the latest. >> reporter: officials said isis' momentum has been stopped. that's true in many areas. even pushed back. but a new show of force in the last 24 hours, attacks in the north, particular tension here

and to the west of baghdad bringing the forces within a few miles of 400 u.s. military personnel. isis back on the offensive. the terror group launching new attacks on multiple fronts across iraq. in the north, striking kurdish forces. and in the west striking iraqi forces. a few miles from the strategic iraqi air base where some 400 u.s. military personnel are training iraqi forces. despite the u.s.-led air campaign us officials say the size of the force is increasing monthly. replenished with a stream of foreign fighters recruiting from the west and u.s. now continuing concern from counterterrorism officials that some militants could return home undetected. >> if i were to say we had it under control, i would say i knew of every single individual traveling. i don't know. i don't know every person there

and everyone coming back. it's not close to being under control. >> reporter: the scope of the threat more than 20,000 foreign fighters in iraq and syria. more than 3,400 westerners. approximately 150 americans have gone or attempted to go to the war zone. the nation's top counterterrorism official says the number of fighters flocking to syria and iraq to fight with isis and other groups is unmatched in two decades. >> the rate of foreign fighter travel that we have seen in recent years is unprecedented. it exceeds the rate of travel who went to pakistan, iraq yemen, other conflict zones. >> reporter: the reach is spreading to libya, yemen egypt and afghanistan and pakistan where some taliban are rebranding themselves as isis hoping the isis name will attract new recruits and new financing.

aqap remains a threat. aqap now taking advantage of the instability, the collapse of the government in yemen. in the last 24 hours, aqap forces here just to the east of the capital taking over a military base including the heavy weapons there, a target of opportunity as the government which has been a u.s. partner in the fiesght against aqap it collapses. it's a problem as the u.s. tries to keep aqap under control. >> more difficult now that the u.s. abandoned the embassy. they are all safely out of yemen. there's dangers there, because aqap is based in yemen. thanks very much. cnn has learned about a desperate attempt by kayla mueller's boyfriend to try to save her from isis before the american hostage died in captivity. pamela brown has been working sources. she has new information.

she's joining us. what are you learning? >> reporter: wolf a hardbreaking messhardbreak ing ing message from the man kidnapped with her. her boyfriend posted this picture we're about to show right here of kayla holding a stuffed animal saying on his facebook page i'm sorry i didn't hold on to you with so much strength that god couldn't take you away. you left our world for a bigger and better place now. as we said he risked his life to rescue her after he was released from captivity. he confronted the terrorists holding her captive pretending to be her husband. the ruse failed. we learned that after isis issued an execution deadline for her last august the family actually reached out to the white house in desperation, according to a family spokesperson and asked the administration if it would consider a prison her swap trading a prisoner for mueller. even though it never happened. it's believed she was alive

after the execution deadline passed. the white house didn't want to comment on the request but did release a statement today denying reports that it delayed launching a rescue attempt last july saying in a statement the president and his national security team carried out the mission as soon as they were confident it could be carried out. >> pamela brown, thanks very much. joining us congressman adam kinzinger kinzinger. thanks very much for joining us. i know you are in the u.s. air force reserves you are still a pilot. you have a personal stake given the fact you fought and saw some of your friends die in afghanistan, come back in bad shape as well. what do you make of the new development that they are moving closer and closer and closer to this air base where there are a few hundred u.s. marines and other u.s. military advise

sneakersers? >> it's frightening because we have troops in harm's way. they will be able to defend themselves. the soldiers and marines are very good at what they do. personally i spend multiple tours there fighting hard to win peace in iraq. many people fought harder than i did. to watch it fall apart is tragic. and i went back about four months ago up into the kurdistan region. >> the central government in baghdad, whether maliki's government -- i know there's new government that the new government is better. i haven't seen a lot of evidence. have you? >> there's hope. but we have to do a better job. the rare the iraqis have to do a better job of engaging the sunnis. from what i understand they said there's no outreach attempt to engage them. that's the key to holding iraq together and liberating iraq from isis. >> the u.s. spent a decade

training the iraqi forces. they were supposed to have a central military. hundreds of thousands of troops were armed, trained, funded by the united states. the u.s. spent a decade there doing it. as soon as the united states pulled out, that entire effort collapsed. as soon as isis came in with a few thousand guys they ran away from mosul, a big city nearly two million people. all that armored, equipment was left behind. these are the people the u.s. still thinks that the u.s. can train and get the job done? it was a total waste the first time around. why try again? >> it's our only option. between the iraqi military -- >> the peshmerga, they are fighting. but they have no weapons. the u.s. is still providing the weapons to the central regime in baghdad. some flows to the kurds. it's a horrendous mess. >> they have gotten a dozen. but they have a board we are

isis. it's not going to do very much. we need to arm the peshmerga. deal with it. >> right now, the 400 marines and other military advisers at this air base they are relying on their security on the iraqi military forces. >> yeah. >> it sounds dangerous. if you are have a friend or loved one among those at the base, you would be nervous. >> very nervous. they probably have great units guarding our marines. they are very good at defending themselves. i'm sure there will be air cover. it's a scary situation. i don't wary about the basic overrun because we're very good at what we do. the bigger issue -- >> the base -- this is an iraqi base. the iraqis as soon as they get threatened they run away. >> i will tell you, with strong leadership, i don't think the military will run away. part of the problem is maliki

poe poe made it political. they get into contact with isis. leadership runs away. every foot soldier will run away. we saw an epic failure of the iraqi military. doesn't mean i have confidence. >> the military largely sheeiite. let's get back to the 400 marines and u.s. troops at the air base. isis is moving closer and closer and closer to them. if they have to fight, would you call them combat ground troops if they have to fight to defend them service or would they be advisers? >> i think that would be combat ground troops. i think they are, even if they are advising. i think we parse words too much on the idea of boots on the ground. every marine every military person is trained to fight and may be called upon to do it. we hope that's not the case in this situation. it very well may be. i tell you, if there is an engagement with isis by our marines, it will be one-sided in

favor of the united states. >> i wouldn't rule out the possibility the u.s. starts sending in planes to airlift them out of there as quickly as possible. i have limited confidence in the iraqi troops that are supposedly in charge.pwe have more to talk about. stand by. a quick break. more on the breaking news right after this. why do we do it? why do we spend every waking moment, thinking about people? why are we so committed to keeping you connected? why combine performance with a conscience? why innovate for a future without accidents? why do any of it? why do all of it? because if it matters to you it's everything to us. the xc60 crossover. from volvo. lease the well-equipped volvo xc60 today. visit your local volvo showroom for details. shopping online is as easy as it gets. wouldn't it be great if hiring plumbers, carpenters and even piano tuners were just as simple?

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we're back with the republican congressman adam ken sing zinger. congress beginning a heated debate about the president's request for the war powers

legislation. are you with the president? >> i don't like it. >> what do you like about it? >> a war powers resolution from congress should give the president the authority to be commander and chief. it talks about offensive combat operations and that being prohibited and puts a three-year time limited. that's not necessarily a deal killer. the limit of what we're able or willing to do is my problem. i'm not calling for large scale american military combat operations. what i am saying is when it comes to a cancer like isis you can't say isis is bad unless it takes ground troops in which ground troops are worse. >> liberal democrats are not going to vote for legislation that doesn't have that kind of restriction restriction, the restriction you hate. >> here in lies the problem. the president has to say i'm the leader i'm coming to congress this is what i need. i don't have a lot of confidence in the president's ability to prosecute this war.

i realize there's only one commander and it's him. the or thing is this authorization is going to go beyond president obama to the next president of the united states as well. unfortunately, this war is not going to end within the next couple of years. >> he is getting -- seeking this authorization, even though he says he doesn't need it. he has authorization from 2001 2002 those remain in effect. he is doing this because congress asked him to submit proposed legislation. >> that's fine. i agree. i think he's operating under legitimate authorization today. if you are coming to the congress and say, here is my proposal to operate and i'm going to restrict myself further, that's not something that i and frankly a lot of my colleagues can support. i want legislation i can vote for. in the current draft, that's not it. i know the committees will have hearings and we will probably see a different piece of legislation. i think in the current form it's dead. we can put out whatever authorization we want. i think if there's an unrestricted one that allows the president to be commander, that

may be possible. >> you might get votes in the house. probably not a lot of democrats will go along with you. >> not necessarily. pick up 60 votes in the senate probably and the president will get the authorization he needs. >> if he signs that or whatever. you were in yemen not that long ago on a fact finding mission. it turned out to be a disaster. the u.s. has been forced to abandon the embassy, military equipment, vehicles now in the hands of the shiite rebels that have taken over. this is a real problem. this is the headquarters of the al qaeda in the arabian peninsula which represents a huge potential threat. >> this is a real embarrassment. out of our embassy we were able to have a foothold and conduct counter-al qaeda operations that are gone now. >> they say they can do stuff even without an embassy. i guess they launch drone strikes from neighboring countries. >> where are we getting intelligence from?

there's no central government. it's sad to see. frankly, it's also sad because this is what the president held up as an example for why we're doing some of the operations we're doing. it's not a success. >> it's a disaster in yemen, a disaster in libya despite the hundreds of cruises myle missiles. the u.s. embassy in is asomalia. i see a pattern here. you served in iraq. you served in afghanistan. i got to ask you this question was that a waste, given what's going on right now? did the united states, the money, the blood, all of that was that simply a waste? >> i don't think so. if we look back probably many of us would have made a different decision in 2003 about iraq. we did what we did. i was there in '09. we brought iraq peace. it seems that political

reconciliation was raphappening. we pulled out in 2011. it went the way -- it went in a bad way. it's terrible to see what's happening now. i would say the sacrifice of many americans has not been a waste in this war. we brought people peace. we showed them what democracy can look like. hopefully they take what it was like and try to reinstate that. >> in my view the winner in iraq is not the united states it's iran. that government in baghdad is much -- whether maliki's government or the current prime minister they seem to be much more concerned about having an alliance with the neighbors in iran the fellow shiite regime as opposed the united states. >> the winner is iran. yemen, we see it in syria, the iranian speer of influence is all over the middle east. it blows me away to see why is this administration not doing a better job of engaging. they are eager for a peace deal in iran that they are allowing

them a sphere of influence. >> why are they supporting a government in baghdad? >> i don't think we have a choice. this is probably the best of many bad options. i think iraq knows how to play the game. they play iranian influence. not only will be there human tragedy but total control of iraq. it's better to be accounter balanceterm balance. >> the only reliable iraqis are the kurds in. >> the only reliable ones. >> maybe they should have their own enclave. the u.s. can work with them. the rest of iraq it was a disaster it is a disaster for the time being. it's going to be a disaster. >> it will be hard to see the kurds going back into full partnership with the iraqi government. maybe they will push for independence. we have the 50 meter target and that's isis. >> isis right now threatening a

bunch of americans, 400 americans at that air base. a lot of americans lost their lives fighting for that area as you well remember. >> our prayers go out for them tonight. >> thanks for your service. appreciate it very much. just ahead, learning more about one of the world's most wanted terror suspects. is isis offering any proof she's safe in syria? what authorities are saying about the killing of through muslim students in north carolina. this has been a horrendous murder. do authorities now view it as a hate crime? months after the rioting in ferguson missouri federal prosecutors are pressing charges. we will tell you what's going on.

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isis says two of the world's most wanted terrorist suspects are on the group's home turf in syria. we are digging deeper on the claims about the widow of the paris market gunman and ringleader of a huge belgium terror plot. philip mudd and mark hurtling are here. paul you are getting details on

the belgium ringleader who was working on a plot that was foiled. what are you hearing? >> reporter: that's right. isis are claiming he is now back in syria, the suspected ringleader in the plot in belgium last month. the authorities believe he was coordinating the cell from greece. in a new issue in the english isis magazine he explains how he was able to evade a manhunt to get to syria. they are featuring a picture with him and two of the dead gunmen who were killed by belgian commanders in the raid last month. all of this very much tieing isis to this plot a plot against the west. a lot of concern among western intelligence agencies that isis is pivoting towards wanting to launch attacks in the west. senator james risch open your

show last week said isis was moving beyond aspirational when it came to launching plots against the u.s. >> phil mudd this guy was being sought after, he was operating out of greece. somehow he manages to get from greece presumably to turkey then across the border into syria. how does this happen despite an international manhunt? >> look i don't think this is a big surprise. you are talking about an isis organization that has years of experience in smuggling people across the border. greece is right across from turkey across from syria. i suspect he had his plan organized and that isis knew which border points were vulnerable. the real question is not whether he made it across the border so quickly, it's what his life expectancy is now that he's in syria. in my experience something like this in a war zone and who is the target of western security forces including the cia where i served, life expeckkctancyexpectancy

one to five years. >> we will see. how dangerous could he be if he's operating from inside syria? >> well he certainly has some information on the plot wolf. i want to go back if i can, and agree with phil. it has only been recently that turkey put up ban from entry. it started in december. they have only approaches about 10,000 entry points. they are starting to make known that the folks with known records, preventing them from going to turkey and traveling into syria. but we still have problems. if they get into syria, he's a dead man walking. he will be a target. i think we have got a great deal -- the belgium police have a great deal of information from the raid. >> you read the interview with hyatt boumeddiene.

i know you have have struck by the fact they didn't show pictures of her. this is when she was getting into turkey with her accomplice over there. what do you make of that that there aren't any photos in the magazine of her? >> that's right. it's just a two-page cue, no proof she reached syria. that will change if she has joined up with isis in syria. they are likely to use her for propaganda. it allows them to take ownership of those attacks in paris. french counterterrorism analysts view the claim as credible but not verified yet. it's believed she traveled into syria from turkey the day before that jewish grocery market attack by her companion amedy coulibaly coulibaly. >> u.s. officials have no reason to believe it's not credible. what was their thinking -- why

do you think they published this? >> look i remember watching the communications of the al qaeda guys, isis guys. they saw the response the jordanian pilot, more significantly. they have seen the response to the murder of the american woman. why is it we get no media coverage from their perspective, no media released from their optic of the american woman and immediately we get coverage of boumeddiene? the answer is straightforward. they are savvy. they have realized they have to cover their tracks. the best way is to come up with stories that will eliminate the bad news of the last couple of weeks for them. that's why this is in the news today. >> does it surprise you that she was able to reach the isis areas in syria? >> it does not, wolf. it doesn't surprise me at all, because she didn't have the record. it was her boyfriend that did. i think she smoothly passed

through turkey and into syria. again, she is going to be a key piece of propaganda. the magazine is very slick. i have seen all seven issues. the most recent one will take advantage of what the west is showing on media and really amp it up quite a bit for the readers again to sell the product that this is a lifestyle and everyone is enjoying what they are doing to include these young women who are prosecuting these actions. >> we know hyattigh hayat boumeddiene is presumably with the isis commanders some place in syria. thanks very much. don't go too far away. just ahead, another important story we're following, a vigil for three muslim students killed execution style in north carolina.

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calling a hate crime. what's the latest? >> reporter: this is a vigil tonight. there are hundreds of people here at north carolina state university. this is where all three of the victims did their undergraduate. the governor of north carolina just spoke. the day started though with the funeral of these three young victims. a funeral for the muslim students shot execution style tuesday night took place today in raleigh, north carolina. >> translator: we are concerning that the rising anti-muslim rhetoric in other society may have encouraged some to commit violence against american muss lips. >> reporter: authorities are focused on this man, 46-year-old craig hicks, charged with three counts of first degree murder. >> we urge law enforcement to investigate this case as a possible hate crime. >> reporter: the father of the two suss teristers believe it was motivated by that hate.

>> my daughter honest to god, told us on more than two occasions that this man came knocking on the door and fighting about everything with a gun on his belt more than twice. she told us daddy, i think he hates us for who we are and how we look. >> reporter: so far, authorities believe this may have all happened after a dispute over a parking spot. residents of the condominium complex describe an angry neighbor. >> when it came to parking, he was pretty adamant about no new people no new cars. equal opportunity anger. >> reporter: any anger prosecutors will say was focused tuesday on only these victims. that's one reason it's being investigated as a hate crime.

on facebook hikz is an atheist, critical of religion. authorities have been searching his computer for clues, not ready to rule anything out. people tonight have come to this vigil, they are standing in frigid temperatures listening to speeches on acceptance hearing muslim hymns and the defendant is sitting behind bars very close to here in raleigh facing three counts of first degree murder. >> three wonderful, wonderful young people. our deepest condolences to their families. thanks very much. we have breaking news we're following. a new federal indictment stemming from the fiery riots in ferguson, missouri, over the summer. evan perez is here. he has details for us. what are you learning? >> reporter: wolf this is something of a milestone for federal prosecutors in st. louis. they brought an indictment against antonio whiteside, a

26-year-old from the st. louis area. they say that he was responsible for lighting fire to the ferguson market. the ferguson market if you remember is the scene of a strong armed robbery that included michael brown, which happened just before his confrontation with police in which he died wolf. authorities circulated this video that showed this suspect appearing to have some kind of liquid that he was using to try to light the market on fire. fortunately, there were people in the market who were able to put it out. the market is still in operation. we reached out to them today. they had not heard about the charges. >> we will follow up of course on this. thanks very much evan perez. let's bring in jeffrey toobin tom fuentes and don lemon. you spent a lot of time there in ferguson don. was your reaction to the news that one of the fires in the wake of the michael brown grand jury decision could this cause

even more unrest? what do you think? >> it could. we know it's a tinder box there. i don't think it should. i think anyone who burns someone's business down or tries to take someone's livelihood or take lives, they should be prosecuted prosecuted. i don't think it should cause unrest. they should be prosecuted. >> tom, from a law enforcement standpoint the timing of this is significant. it has taken a while. what do you think in. >> in this case where you have eyewitnesses who actually see the individual trying to light the fire use an accelerant they put out the fire to save the business and save their own lives, since they were inside i think it's at the point where they were able to bring the indictment they brought it. >> legally, obviously, it doesn't surprise you that they are doing this. maybe there's going to be more indictments down the road? >> absolutely. this is why we have an fbi. this is why we have federal prosecutors. arson, riot these are monstrous crimes which are incredibly

dangerous, did horrible damage. this is a fully appropriate prosecution. >> it certainly is. don, the fbi director he spoke out today at a very sensitive issue. police and race relations. i want you to listen to the clip. >> after years of police work officers often can't help but be influenced by the cynicism they feel. a mental shortcut becomes almost irresistible and maybe even rational by some. two young black men on one side of the street look like so many others that officer has locked up. two white men on the other side of the street even in the same clothes, do not. >> clearly a sensitive subject. don, you were there in ferguson. what do you think of what the fbi director said? >> i wish i had the hour to talk to you about it. i applaud the fbi director's speech today. i wish he would talk more about

it. i wish we all could talk with the candor with which he spoke today. he talked about the disconnect between police officers and people of color in certain communities and that certainly is true. he says research shows that whether we want to realize it or accept it or not. he said the police departments are hardly a bastion of bias. most people go into policing because they want to help all people. they want to help people. that's certainly true. he also -- it's not just police that are going to have to look at themselves and do self-correcting. it's also people in the community will have to do that as well because he said the problems -- the biggest problems facing the communities aren't police. it's poverty, lack of education, drugs, crime. some of that has been brought on by the history of the country. but some of it we must take personal responsibility as

people of color and look at what we can do for ourselves. is it doesn't mean racism doesn't exist. it doesn't mean the history of slavery and bigotry and jim crow did not help to facilitate some of that. but at some point you have to say, what can i do to make myself better. >> tom, you used to work in the fbi. you have to give the fbi director a lot of credit for taking on this issue. it's very sensitive. >> absolutely. having heard the whole context he is saying everybody has racial bias not just white people black people. i heard this in other terms, everybody has a racist bias against someone not from their tribe. that's true. that's just because policemen are human beings human nature takes in. these biases exist. >> you listened carefully. what did you think? >> i was less impressed than others. we have had a lot of conversations about race. after the events we are always taking about we need to talk about this and we need to talk about domestic violence after a

big domestic violence episode. i think deeds are more important than words. what interested me most were specific suggestions. cameras on -- >> body cameras. >> record keeping that we don't have. we don't know how many police officers kill people every year in this country. that's good. i think the conversation is -- >> jeffrey? he did say he was putting certain practices into place. he said it's awful i can't tell you how many people were killed last week or last night because we don't have the tools to measure that. he talked about putting certain things into place. he talked about how police departments -- he was going to encourage police departments to use the tactics he uses to look at how they surveilled dr. king and how jfk as well. he is saying that there are certain things that need to be done. i think it's very commendable of

him. i also think when you say that they have had those conversations, yes, eric holder has had conversations, the president has had conversations. what's different about this is that what gives the president and eric holder cover is that they are black. what gives james cover is that he's white. white people may listen to him more than they listen to the president or listen to eric holder because they think they have a political bias or a racial bias. i think it was very brave of him, very forward thinking of him to come out and say this and not blame everybody. as tom said we all have a stake in this. we have to sit down. we have to allow mistakes in the conversation to say the wrong thing. that's the only way that you get anything done. no one is perfect. i really commend him for saying that. i do believe he talked about certain practices. >> i hope don is right. we will see. >> good discussion. thanks to all of you.

don will be back later tonight, 10:00 p.m. eastern. his program "cnn tonight." a lot more on this and all the day's news. thanks very much. just ahead, more on the new attacks by isis and the threat to several hundred u.s. troops right in the middle of all of this in iraq. [meow mix jingle slowly and quietly plucks] right on cue. [cat meows] ♪meow, meow, meow, meow...♪ it's more than just a meal it's meow mix mealtime. with great taste and 100% complete nutrition,

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may be time for some of the presidential hopefuls to think twice about giengoing to london. scott walker dodging a question about whether he believes in evolution. >> are you comfortable with the idea of evolution? do you accept it? >> i'm going to punt on that one as well. >> no really. >> that's a question a politician shouldn't be involved in one way or the other. >> any british politician right or left wing would love to say it's true. >> i love the evolution of trade in wisconsin. i'd like to see an even bigger evolution as well. >> thank you very much. >> governor walker is following the footsteps of three other republicans who had some foot in mouth problems during trips to

the british capitol. let's bring in dana bash. our cnn political commentator and our resident expert on britain, richard quest. dana what's going on here? something is happening to some of these presidential hopefuls in london. >> that's right. the governors or former governors who want to go over and show their foreign policy chops, get a sense and london does seem like a safe place to do it. they're the biggest ally that we have. they speak the same language. the problem is they also have a very dynamic press core. anybody here would answer it but anybody in london don't have to run for the republican base and the republican base is very specific many of them about whether or not a candidate supports evolution or not. he could have done it in a much more delicate artful way but he

didn't want to answer the question. >> is there something that american politicians should avoid, richard? >> they get lulled into a false sense of security wolf. the english is being spoken. they may have gone to school there for a semester. they've been there on holiday. there's a large infrastructure at the embassy. everything about them makes them feel it's safe until somebody like justin webb one of britain's top interviewers goes for the jugular and it all falls apart. the real fault is they're not briefed sufficiently before they get there on the pitfalls they're about to face. >> i think they will be after these programs. do these kind of gaffes come back to hurt these potential presidential candidates? >> a little bit. it doesn't matter what you say, you say it with a british accent like that it's interesting.

if you look at marco rubio's trip there, he had a very successful trip in 2013. there's a debate over evolution here and the issue of climate change. republicans going to london know they will have to answer questions like that. they know how the issues play differently there. they should be better prepared than walker was. >> let's talk about this buzz feed video of the president. it's getting a lot of buzz. united states doing?

>> why didn't they clean the mirrors in the white house. you can see the finger prints all over that. this is supposed to be for health care.gov, to promoetste it. there's a couple of place where is you can hit that. this is about trying to get people to sign up. he's doing it in a very different way. when i covered the white house, george w. bush wouldn't go to the oval office without wearing his jacket. >> so he claimed. >> it's a very different time. it's a very different vibe. he didn't have the web and he didn't have the kind of places. >> let me get resident london british guy. go ahead and weigh in richard. >> when ever british politicians try to look hip and cool they fail spectacularly. they either where the wrong clothes or have the wrong hair styles. it always looks like your parents disco dancing. here you have the president actually managing to pull it

off. it's a generational thing, but he does successfully do it. in the same way when ever he gives these interviews he seems to be in tune. he's got young daughters. he knows what they're talking about. >> he's currently reaching a lot of people with this video. thanks very much. i want to say a few words about a great journalist and friend. bob simon. i was shocked and saddened to learn about his death in car accident yesterday. i first met him when i was a young reporter. he was already a big shot tv correspondent for cbs news. he could not have been nicer to me. bob simon risked his life covering big stories including vietnam and gulf wars. in 1991 he was captured by iraqi forces and spent 40 days in prison. me wrote about his experience. i knew when ever he had a report on "60 minutes" i was going to

learn something. he was always an inspiration and a gentleman. my deepest condolences to his wife and daughter. bob simon was 73 years old. he will be missed. erin burnett outfront starts now. isis on the offensive. just miles from an air base with as many as 400 americans troops. new information on the man charged with the murders of three young muslims in north carolina. his neighbors speak out tonight. bob simon dies in a car crash minutes from his home. let's go outfront. good