they can benefit from these things flying around. focusing on how the city benefits, and from registration, toll payment, tracking every move so the cities benefit from this thing flying around, then we layer on top what the technology would be to lay out a very ambitious project. 15 years from now. that's why i never did it. >> thanks. back to karen. >> i want to say thank you to our speakers so much for being so sharing with your perspectives. really appreciate it. [applause] also to robin for guidance before and during the program, guiding the conversation. you did a wonderful job.

[applause] we have a small gift for you. the speaker t-shirt of the churchill club. good health.hat in video should be available on our havebe channel, and you been a very wonderful audience, as usual. thank you so much. we hope to see you next week. good night. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] >> more now on these a fee of safety ofthe u.s. --

drones in the u.s. from "washington journal." host: craig whitlock with the "washington post." focusing on national security. launching a year-long investigation recently into the safety of american drones. let's begin with why you decided to look into this. what prompted you to do so? guest: this has prompted a lot of conversation about surveillance with drones. congress passed a law that said essentially to the federal aviation administration that we need to legalize the widespread use of drones in the united states by next year. while the other subjects had gotten a lot of attention, there has been very little public scrutiny of the safety record of drones on whether they are safe , to fly in the same airspace as passenger planes, is the technology up to snuff? how will this work you got that -- work? that is what we wanted to look at.

host: the faa is supposed to be studying this and issuing some sort of rule but your headline today is they will miss the deadline. why? guest: there has been a number of reasons but it really is a this technological and regulatory hurdles. the faa has not been able to figure out how to set rules for on how to keep the skies safe. host: part one of the three part series, inside the newspapers, when drones fall from the skies is the title. this statistic you write about. more than 400 large military drones crashed in accidents worldwide between september 11, 2000 one and december 2013. how did you find that information out? guest: it was not easy. it took us many years. the reason why the book that military plane drones is they have more experience than anyone in the world.

they have been flying drones in iraq, afghanistan, and many other parts of the world. they did not invent drones but use them more than anybody else. they use them in warfare. they have the biggest record by far to examine. we went back to september 11, 2001 and with a number of freedom of information act request with the air force, army, re--- the marine corps, we sort of painstakingly put together all of the major crashes over certain threshold over that time and tried to examine and determine the patterns, the commonalities to find out why these things were crashing, how often, what were the circumstances and what lessons did the military learn as the faa tries to figure out how to fly them safely in the united states. host: let's take those questions. each of those. why are they crashing, the military drones? guest: we are talking about large drones.

people are familiar with the predator drones. we are looking at drones that are the size of regular aircraft almost. not small little helicopter drones you might see online. the reason these are crashing is pilot error in a lot of cases. they still require a pilot to fly them from the ground. a lot of times the pilots make misjudgments in the heat of the moment, getting bad data coming back and they crash. aboutyou are talking pilots who are miles and miles away and they have a joystick essentially and that is how they are controlling it. guest: that is right. two ways you can visualize this. sometimes pilots flying by satellite link from thousands of miles away. sitting in a ground control station in nevada flying a drone in afghanistan. but when they come in for landing, a lot of times they

will hand them off to a local crew at an airstrip in afghanistan or iraq. they can also see the drones coming in and they will take control remotely, but maybe from a few miles away but not so far. those are the two sets of pilots they would have. host: why are these remote drone pilots -- what is causing them to push the wrong button or cause a drone to crash? [indiscernible] guest: it is not as easy as a videogame. you have to get the landing just right. you make sure it comes in at the right speed. you have to take into account conditions. can see ifar pilot something doesn't look right, but if you are doing it by remote control looking at a video screen, it is not so easy.

there is a lag if you are doing it by remote control of about a second or two between the satellite rank. -- link. imagine driving your car and you hit the brakes but do not feel the brakes go for a second or two. that can lead to problems. t: does that lead to many of these crashes? guest: in some. sometimes right before it lands or touches down, a wind gust comes in, something is not quite right and in the space of a second or two between the pilot feels it or sees it and the drone lands, it is too late. host: i was wondering, do these pilots sit in a simulator? one of the crashes you write about is the pilot did not realize he was flying upside down. guest: that was a little unusual, but it illuminated the kinds of mistakes that could be

made. they do sit in simulators and train on those constantly. in this case a pilot flying a drone and afghanistan have been warned by other crew members, don't press that button because if you do, the plane will fly upside down. she thought they were kidding. so the plane kept going and going and they were sending her text messages and computer messages, but i think she was befuddled and told investigators afterward she did not realize the predator drone was flying upside down and thought they were joking when they warned her not to hit certain buttons. host: for the military, where are most of the crash is taken place in what has been the impact of them. guest: more than half were in iraq and afghanistan, which is what you would expect given the wars going on. but almost a a quarter in the united states.

we found almost 49 took place in the united states on training missions since 2001. increasingly as they are used elsewhere in the world like africa, we see more and more happen in places like that. host: pakistan, dijibouti. classified locations. the drone program is run by what agency? guest: the air force by far has the most drones. they have the most experience. second is the army. they have had a number of crashes. they have their own fleet of drones. some are smaller. they fly them under different conditions and different pilots. the navy has a much smaller fleet. the least by far is the marine corps. host: what about the cia? guest: they find them too but unfortunately that is really classified. we were able to get records, but nothing about the cia.

that is kept in the dark. host: the first part of the series taking a look at the military safety record. what does that mean for the faa decision making and flying drones in the united states? guest: we found a lot of patterns for what they're trying to do with civilian drones. one major problem that still has not been resolved is what they call the links between the pilots on the ground with the joystick trying to control the aircraft. these are done through radio transmissions. wireless control. most of the time they hold up pretty well, but it is pretty common for the links to be lost, to go down. imagine if the gps with your car went out for a few seconds or even a minute. what would happen pretty frequently is the links would be disrupted and the pilots would lose control. it is only a second or two and not a big deal but if this goes on for several seconds, a couple of minutes, even longer, then

you have real problems. that is something the faa has had problems figuring out, how do we fix that for when drones become common in the united states? guest: independent caller. the morning. caller: good morning. my question is since the supreme court said that money is speech for the first amendment, how is it that we cannot outlaw through the fourth amendment fourth search and seizure, patriot act, national state registry and homeland security spying on citizens in the united states, et cetera? thank you for c-span. guest: you bring up a couple of really good issues.

the first amendment and the fourth amendment. our newspaper has filed a legal brief on behalf of a young man who has been flying drones for commercial purposes and the faa fined him. our newspaper and many other organizations said the faa cannot infringe on the first amendment newsgathering rights of the country by just banning drones. a lot of news organizations would want to use them to get footage of crowds, news events, in relatively inexpensive ways. how does the first amendment factor into this and how do you balance that with safety concerns? host: how will they deal that with security? i am thinking presidential 2016, candidates and the crowds that gather around there and news organizations or otherwise with their drones above them. guest: that is a really good question. right now is the guide is you are not supposed to fly them around crowds or airports and cities but as they become more

legalized, that is exactly the scenario. how will that work? who will be flying these, will they be well-trained, will people on the ground be safe? the caller brings up fourth amendment search and seizure and to what degree can may be used for surveillance? if you are in your backyard and you have a reasonable expectation of privacy there and someone wants to fly a camera drone overhead and take pictures of you, who was in the right and who is in the wrong there? those are questions that have not been sorted out. guest: independent caller from florida. caller: this may have been answered already and i might have missed it, but i am curious about whether drones are easy to land. whydn't that be the reason maybe it is easier to hit a target? they might not be easy to

control. that's another good question. the ability to fix on targets is pretty good. they use gps coordinates to pinpoint a very specific location to fire a missile. we have not found any evidence of missiles going off course in that way. you could certainly argue that maybe they were targeting the wrong people, but by and large the missiles go where the crews order them to go. host: bill is next. caller: i would like to thank the gentleman for his work, and anseems to me that there is indifference to collateral damage that occurs with these drones. the lack of coverage from the news organizations such as fox.

host: let me take those two points because our connection with you is not so great. an indifference to what happens with these drones, and the coverage? post" for "the washington we have devoted a lot of coverage to who is being targeted, counterterrorism strikes with brown's. it is -- drones. it is not an easy subject to get information about, but news organizations should and do devote a lot of information. in this serious we are focusing -- series we are focusing on safety, because that has gotten even less attention. host: when you focus on the military, you know the military has 4 million flight hours under its belt. how does that compare with domestic use, with foreign use? guest: the vast majority of that has been overseas. in war zones, in

afghanistan, iraq. but more and more it is happening in the united states as the war in iraq has ended, although we are back in, in afghanistan, that drive down -- drawing down. morris for training purposes -- more for training purposes. the military is applying not just for restricted airspace, but in shared airspace with civilian traffic. there has been an increase in that, and the pentagon says that will go up and up. we will see more military drones in civilian airspace. host: what does that mean for possible crashes or other accidents? guest: good question. the military says they are extremely careful. they say, we have more experience than anybody else. we are not going to fly certain aircraft over populated areas. we will take care of this. there are a number of

crashes taking place, including in areas where you would not expect it. host: with civilian and commercial drones? guest: military drones. i will give you an example. in april and army drone that weighs about 400 pounds, not a huge one, but 400 pounds is still pretty big. it was being flown from pennsylvania. this thing crashed right next to an elementary school in jonestown, pennsylvania. the drone came over the treetops, over the playground, past the butterfly garden, and crashed right in front of the school 30 minutes after the elementary kids went home for the day. you can imagine how that made people in that community feel about the interaction and proximity they have to these aircraft. host: talking to craig whitlock. long investigation

into the safety record of american drones. we showed you the map. while the faa is preparing rules for commercial drone flights in the united states, crashes involving both legal and illicit drones are on the rise. accidentsds represent involving faa-approved drones, and the black dots are close calls involving rogue drones and commercial airlines or private planes. caller: good morning. i have been complaining about these aircraft in the air space in baltimore, maryland, since 2012. i have seen these aircraft over homes and shopping centers. reporter, andce

i put several articles on facebook on it. you see them coming toward you on highways. it is really unsettling. craig whitlock, are we seeing many more in u.s. skies? guest: i have not heard once around baltimore so much, but more and more common you see small drones that maybe are between five and 20 pounds that people can buy online for several hundred dollars. without much training, they can fly those. for the most part, they are like model aircraft, pretty harmless. but because they are so easy to fly and can go up to significant heights, people are flying them in places they should not be. this is something we found in the third part of our serious, that in the last couple years there have been 15 really dangerous encounters between

small, illicit drones flown over airports and airliners or other private pilots trying to land in an airport. that is something that really gives safety advocates and the faa and others, gives them nightmares. the idea that even though it is a small drone, if it is 20 pounds or bigger that can cause a lot of damage flying at 5000 feet at a high rate of speed. if that flies into a passenger plane, that is a nightmare scenario. new york, independent caller. caller: i was wondering if there was any research or opinion on the use of xbox in desensitizing these youth, and when they apply ge ishe military xbox usa used to see if they would be good at being a drone operator?

i have a friend whose son apply for the air force, a college dropout who doesn't have much going for him except he is an xbox addict. they gave him all kinds of money to join, put him at the top of the list for special training. statistics ofhe this use? host: mr. whitlock? guest: knowing the air force, they probably do. [laughter] they study just about everything. there is a huge demand for drone pilots in that service and others. personally, i don't know if the xbox is good experience to put on your resume, but i am sure hand eye coordination has something to do with it. pilots in general need really good eyesight, really good response time, and i'm sure that is a factor that may be translated into different skills like that. host: we will go to omar in

brooklyn, new york. caller: my question, what do you tonk of the public reaction drones in the private military like clearwater? host: what have you heard? guest: public opinion is unsettled. we have seen surveys. the pew research folks have done surveys finding the more the -- the majority of the american public has concerns about civilian use of drones. at the same time, people see tremendous technological and .ommercial potential in drones tasks that would be too expensive or complicated for regular pilots to do. whether it is amazon, the owner of that company owns "the washington post" and he has been public about wanting to use drones to deliver small packages.

farmers would like to use drones monitor fertilizer or crops. hollywood would love to use drones to film movies instead of having to hire helicopters or manned aircraft. there is an endless list of commercial potential to use drones, and they can stay aloft much longer than regular planes and you don't have to have a pilot on board. in some ways they are much safer. in are not risking pilots the plane. the question we try to answer -- ok, how is that going to work when they are flying in the same airspace as everyone else? what is the probability? host: take a look -- commercial in airspace.ed 63% believe it would be a change for the worse. 22% believe it would be a change for the better. another pew poll found americans largely support the use of drones to target extremists in countries like pakistan, yemen,

and somalia. 30% disagreed. see how that compares to other countries, the number of people who disapprove gross in different countries. there is widespread opposition to the idea of drones outside the united states and israel when it comes to military strikes. guest: there is also a disconnect. if you are an american, you are more likely to support drone strikes overseas because you are worried people might do you or your country harm. when it comes to if they should be flown at home, leaving aside the probability of airstrikes at home, but for surveillance and other things, there are concerns. host: here is from twitter -- guest: that is a very good question, one that lawmakers and the public have not wanted to talk about very openly. but that is certainly a risk.

now, there's a big difference between a small brown -- drone of five to 10 pounds and a predator drone with a missile launcher. most people would understand that the chances of a terrorist getting their hands on a large drone like that is pretty remote. but again, if they wanted to fly a 20 pound drone around an airport and cause trouble, there is not much to prevent that from happening. democraticin utah, caller. caller: they were doing drone training in the neighborhood where i live, and one of the training wasthe down.ng a drownene i could see where it would affect his heart rate. he thought that was ok.

host: i am not too familiar with the circumstances of that, but out west we see a lot of training of military drones because of the wide open spaces, utah, california, places like that. guest: what about crashes out there? host: we see a lot. if you are flying in the nevada desert over military property, usually if they crash you do not have too many people. but again, the military is seeking more permits from the faa so they can fly in shared airspace. because they have so many now, they need more room to do the training. guest: nat in baltimore, independent caller. caller: i have been involved with drones for quite a while. memberion -- are you a

of auvsi? you have an awful lot of information on drones. that is a technical organization. the principal thing we have been looking at is jamming and tr affic. it's very evident that they would be wonderful as traffic with multiple and news agencies flying the traffic in the air could become a serious crash problem./ host: i am familiar with the organization you are talking about. i have been to their conferences -- but i'm not a member, i am a journalist, so we need to keep independence. the navy developed a drone that looks like a regular helicopter, but there is no pilot on board. you are right. jamming, the congestion in the

air, is a concern. how is the faa owing to handle that? like the caller said, if you have news organizations wanting to get views of traffic on the beltway, like with other planes there has to be rules of the sky to keep them from running into each other. guest: talking to craig whitlock -- host: talking to craig whitlock, who wrote a three-part series, "when drones fall from the sky," looking at the safety record of rounds. liz is up next, democratic cal ler. caller: i got cut off before i get a i -- say i have been seeing these since 2012 and i have complained. usually around the woodlawn area. they come up on you on the highways, over the top of your

homes. i've complained to the department of homeland security. i have requested with the faa, the fbi, customs and border patrol, -- i have not had a response from any. i wanted to ask mr. whitlock, what is his position on people complaining about these chemtrails in the sky? if people have concerns about what is going on, they should be concerned. it can be frustrating to find out where the complaint should be directed, that is certainly not a new problem. host: what is going on with the faa and the decision-making process? guest: the faa is caught in a squeeze .

congress said they needed to safely integrate drones by september 2015. at the same time, they are under statutory obligation to make sure it is done safely. the safety record of passenger air traffic is really amazing, has gotten really good. when people get on an airliner, they are not so worried the plane is going to crash. so how do they integrate drones into that equation? this has been tough for them. host: the disconnect seems that the faa can talk to the pilot of a manned aircraft. how will they talk to the pilot of a drone. guest: they do this now with the military if the military is trying to land a drone in afghanistan.they take off from the same airport as regular military jets, and

whoever is flying the drone on the ground has air-traffic control, radio contact with the tower. host: so even smaller drones, the faa will require the pilot -- guest: probably not. right now the rule with small drones if you are a hobbyist, into model aircraft and want to gly o-- fly one, that is ok if you keep it under 400 feet. 1000 feet is where you can get into trouble. below 400 feet, it is ok if you keep it away from airports and urban areas or where there's crowds of people. if you want to go to a field somewhere and fly a drone under 200 feet and it is a hobby, the faa says that is ok. the problem is if you go higher than that or over urban areas or near airports. host: independent caller from iowa. caller: i just would like to ask

opinion. the situation with the nsa nand irs and a lot of politicians, on the left, mainly, accusing people of anarchy and terrorism it would beif t unsettling for those people to see drones flying all around? is anybody in this country opposing? --t: so the cultural aspect guest: cultural and civil liberties. there is an interesting political mix of people, conservative and liberal, on both ends of the spectrum, concerned about intrusion, about civil liberties. the revolutionary aspect of drones will be their ability

to conduct surveillance. not just a remote control airplane. the cameras you can put on board are very powerful. amazing technological advances,. . they can zoom in closely. pretty soon that is the technology that will be affordable for anybody in the marketplace, and that is going to shake things up as we know it in ter >> these private drones if they could fly 400 feet we know that can bring down a jet liner. re these pilots good enough to fly a drone into a jet liner engine. they have to do this without

thinking about this. have to have five -- you earlier.ine they can get these drones online. liner's drive into jet engines? pilot.not a i think it would be difficult is coming in ner fast. accidental collisions just by a drone flying overhead, pretty slowly compared to a regular airliner. airliner can't see the drone which is what we found a number of cases. out this see a drone and maybe they're too small to show up on radar. see it.'t a jet liner can be going a few hundred miles an hour and a usually goes much slower. if they can't see each other and that's what cident they're most concerned about.

>> guy's head william. well, you know if people stop thought this way when cars killing nted they were people because the horse new home.way if these drones that are talking morning were -- if hey had a drone over their neighborhood and they felt ecure with it, it only happens when you get your house invaded thank god forhink the drone. >> craig. >> that's right. lot of ring a capabilities and technological advances that we didn't of and the changes are going to be -- again, it's hard to get around how much this could change aviation. you're right. cars were invented people orried about how this would effect the horse and buggy and

statement there has been a lot in cars. improvements we wear seat belts now and have air bags and traffic accidents deaths have come down and hat's through safety improvements. advances recognize the they bring but how do you do so safely. studying being done on droves and why? law has a a under this set up six test sites around the count a a under this law has set up six test sites around thecountrya under this law has set up six test sites around thecountthe where they're going to start getting data. type of drone in this type of conditions here's how gather ponded and they this data and this will help the f.a.a. come up with rules. when i say rules this is rules certifying the air worthiness of different kinds of drones of the you won't just be one in your

backyard and fly it over airports. sure that certain worthy.f drones are air make sure there are rules for pilots that they're trained to do this and what are the and how many hours and who teaches them. things that ind of he f.a.a. are sorting out now other than the military not that any people have that much these. nce flying >> if you missed and you're they're doingwhat there, you can go to c-span.org. question was, if the drones do get legalized what's citizens from weaponizing them to protect their own property being the be part of one will the property and security seems

an issue nowadays. your talking about a military and weapon in that regard people in the united states can't buy tanks and can't buy i think there would be restrictions on that but this is not the kind of people will be able to cook up in their garage very easily. i'm sure authorities weaponized drones. >> what are you watching for next? ofthe f.a.a. said by the end this year they'll introduce smalled rules for smiling drones. they mean 55 pounds or less.

burst where the initial in the market will be, these mall drones, you could lift yourself that don't need to my t high altitudes and f.a.a. will propose a rule that say, here's the kind of aircraft you and where and who can fly them and it will take in her year or so to take public comment and finalize the rule. that's the first stage we'll see years. next 1-2 >> speaking of consumer drones c-span we're covering consumer drones. 8:00 p.m. eastern time and we're talking with craig whitlock with post".ashington good morning. louise.on the air, go ahead. caller: good morning. on mute first.ou >> go ahead.

question. puppies all hese powered? >> well, that's a good question. -- as you would expect batteries for small ones. he larger ones that we see the military fly they use either jet fuel.r diesel there's nothing the way these big s fly there isn't a technological advance in the it's howircraft itself, they're operated with these emote control links and they figure out where. they navigate like with gps. they fly on the same thing. that's the technological advancement. aircraft so much as the remote control operations and the navigation. is that -- what is that technology like? >> it's come a long ways. the gps again just like your

cars can figure out where they gps and the same with drones. farhard.t so it's telling how to move in different directions and pick up and make and turn and depending how is. the aircraft those are things that have to be done right and have to be tested nd again, we're talking about aircraft that range from that some that fit in your hand to as big as a t's jet.l regional there.n imagine the range >> what's on these military drones?versus commercial what do mean people mean when they refer to the payload? a good question. it can mean what kind of equipment are they carrying with cameras and

sensors. when you're talking about the very powerful are motion and can take full video and infrared camera and all sorts of classified sensors public en't been made and pick up cell phone traffic. they can listen. can do all sorts of pretty militaryhings from the standpoint. and then you also have some armed y drones can be whether with missiles or munitions. > what's the reaction from the military and from the commercial ndustry to your storys? >> well, i think to be fair the commercial industry probably thrill. they thought we were focusing too much on risks and not enough rewards. at the same time as we quoted a number of people in the industry hey're concerned about this lack of rules, lack of rules in he sky so far in the

united states and they're air ed if it there was mid collision this would set back space.efforts in the air so i think they recognize there's problems here that need to be resolved and the f.a.a. in ask there is a very come phrefped problem. >> you can follow craig whitlock's reporting on "washington post" and on twitter @craigmwhitlock. thank you very much for talking to our viewers this morning. it.eciate >> sure thing, greta: "washington t journal", author edward klein talks about his book blood feud clintons versus the obamas focus on what looking for ill be and the trade agreement between and the european union. joined by the

editor of the national journal magazine's new design and the presidential race. "washington journal's" live on eastern on c-span. a few moments the iraq's ambassador to the u.s. says his assistance.ds more in a little more than an hour an update on the role of the militant group isis in syria and the droneassistance. in industry in the u.s. a "washington journal" segment on drone safety. i had no idea exactly what was going on, but i also -- because association i know elgin

bailer and i know what he was complaining about. so i was confused not knowing facts mr. ch set of sterling stood behind. words came outis it was so obvious and shocking disgusting, all of one.e things wrapped in but the surprise of it to find sentiment in who relies on black americans for so much of his success and public profile was amazing. i just couldn't believe it that someone could have that much bigotry inside and think that it was okay. july 4th on c-span a look at racism in sports just after eastern.. exploring the red who relies on americans for so much of his success and public profile plan probe engineers beginning

at 3:40 and 8:30 discussions on gun rights and the personal gabby y of congresswoman giffords. more american ds military assistance. he spoke at the carnegie for international peace saying if there is no u.s.ional support from the iraq would accept help from iran and russia. an is a little more than hour.

>> as you know, isis has been advancing through much of last n iraq over the the border ding and crossings with syria and jordan. years ago eye sys declared the new islamic state and international gentleman had and announcing the .announcing their leaders hese developments have put the prime minister under intense as well international as domestic to form a new overnment as soon as possible, hopefully that would include sunnis tsation from the

and the kurds. we are honored to host raqi ambassador to discuss the challenges to existing -- that inclusive rm a new government as well as the eye nuing struggle against iraqi served as ambassador to the united states since july 2013. this he was iraqi's mbassador to japan from 2010-2013. and he served in senior for two t positions major transnational companies. thank you again for joining us today. let me remind everyone that the mbassador has asked to speak

briefly for ten minutes in order opportunity for you to ask as many as questions possible. at 11:30 so leave i appreciate if we all remain ambassador the leaves right after his remarks question and answer session. applause] >> good morning, everybody. irst of all, thank you very much for introducing me and hank you for giving me an opportunity to talk at this place.gious as my country is coming back

a focal point in d.c. as you mentioned in the ntroduction, the people -- the iraqi people are under direct are lt by people who committed to terrorism. respect any viable rule of law and targets anybody brothers many muslims and sisters who does not swear to their extremist views. there was another level in which sis declared themselves as the only rule in iraq which provides the region and the globe. sist minister nderstand that can't be solved military but can only be stopped

and economicalal reforms. have stated ister that they are committed to building a national unity that embraces and empowers all seg segments of the society regardless of religious ethnicity and backgrounds. i'll talk about three primary topics. formation of the government, second is security ssues and third is a support from the united states and elationship with the united states. the prime minister has rejected of forming a governme overnment -- there has been a lot of call for us to have a salvation government and other of government. establishing a government process he political

would undercut votes cast by further of iraqis and destabilize the country. it would promote the same thing trying to s perpetrate. iraq's uld undermine democracy, and erode confidence and e elected governments shouldmessage grievances be resolved with bullets and not ballots. the process of forming a new is underway ich must not be derailed by the terrorist gains otherwise t means nothing and violence means everything. the newly elected parliament met earlier today will start the formation of the iraq is working to

uild the institutions of government that can serve all of the people. underway and s must not be undermined. are hile the iraqi people under an immediate and direct threat and immediate and direct the terrorist and the terrorist threat must be defeated. on the national -- on the aspects, the national security team are working to the current threat to iraq and its people. we need united states assistance to turn the tide. counter terrorist experts support our armed forces. however, the institutions on the rapidly is ter developing devote -- the situation on the

developing rapidly. terrorists are the common enemy of the iraqi people, our eighbors and our american allies. and we must work in common must work commonly to that. >> therefore we believe that immediate and increased military targeted aircluded strikes are crucial to defeat threat.owing time is not on our side. our neighbor's side side.ited states further delay benefits only the terrorists. our relationship with the have chosen we united states as our partner of choice. our relationship is governed by the strategic agreement which we have with any other country.

naturally we have always sought ositive relations with other countries as well. decline ficult for us from any other country who shares our perceived danger. hey have offered us to provide military assistance. e have always tried to resist that however the situation on the ground may push us to from from any our t neighbor. example is that iraq has purchased a number of aircraft from russia. buy irst choice was to american made f-sixteens but the jetsss of delivering those do not meet the immediate threat we face. rest assured, we will never choose to replace the

the ership we have with united states with any other country. my government has purchased more $10 billion worth of ecessary military equipment from the united states. more.e are planning to buy our countries are forever tie because of the lives we lost and the treasures e spent in both countries for the last decade and our common fight against terrorism. finally, i cannot under score the fact enough that people of being threatened and ntimidated and killed by terrorists that are only committed to maming as many nnocent people as possible regardless of their religion, an icity, identity and in effort to advance the terrorist goals. a threat to st iraq. this threatens the entire region

not beyond. things, it will rise if the situation isn't resolved. consolidate the gains further, isis will have a haven in the heart of the middle east spanning western from which they can train fighters and launch eattacks against people and beyond. opportunity the and i'll look forward to your questions. applause] very much, ambassador. let me start the discussion. you started your talk by mphasizing that the problem cannot be solved military but i cannot help but notice most of speech has been devoted to talking about military issues.

you have not given us a clear political process is envisioned in the country to crisis. out of this today many people fear the state, not raq as a also ecause of isis but because of the the declared or intention to separate from the iraqi state. e are talking about the situation in which the very concept of iraq as we know it be in danger. moree you can enlighten us about this and what political would do you see that onvince all the sides, the sunnis and kurds and shiites that their future lies in a unified iraq. first of all, when i talked support, the tary

immediate one which we need to terrain on the ground needs to be changed effectively fast. we need to have a political process alongside the military development. however, the military support was from the unid agreement trategic which talks about the integrity and protection of the democratic of iraq and that's why i emphasized it. iraq is tion in developing rapidly. when i talk about the integrity risk i do e being at mean that. a q has never faced such challenge for over -- since its foundation of the state in the 19 twenties. the reason is that the -- there you number of you a -- as mentioned there are a number of layers behind that. is social cohesion and the other is the aftermath of

its impact on d the society. it destroyed the middle class the social fabric of the society and most different it gave segments of the society a ifferent vision to what it means to be an iraqi. the kurds consider themselves a class or third class. he sunnis said they were marginalized and so on. over the last ten years the process has tried to bring and bridge those narratives those into a cohesive effective government. and we have challenged that. of the mentation political processes in iraq are all challenges and all that for people to know. nobody's denying that. a ever, what we face now is different level all together

does not believe in any social cohesion and the does not expect other to but submit to it. key threat. grown.t is not home it's transnational which means t it will have certainly an impact if not already on the region and the globe. this is where we are coming from. and the united states others can help. iraqis have their own domestic yes.enges back home, the process is not smooth of we step forward and two step forwards, we do that and a new natural for democracy. it will take time. the balance is the part of the agreement then i'm okay with that. an immediate ave

thre the region n damage and the globe. this is what we are talking about now. issue of the the kurds have their talk ons and the sunnis about marginalization, these be resolved in due time provided everybody will political process. having such society effect on a society and elections taking place it's sign that people want freedom and democracy.

the threat we face are immediate to us and the region and this is what has to be rather than today the other political issues which will take significant time. disregarding it b. make things clear because isis has having happened within an environment felt marginalized and traded and not necessarily isis of manipulating power. isisiraq see the defeat of as an necessary first step efore a political process is established or do you see it -- do you see the two working together? >> the political parties are more or less acknowledging or back on their lack of evelopment or the challenges they face and services.

on they're effecting back that. we need have to a political military ongside the process. however, the issue is not that they are on trucks. manageable. the issue is that the opposition which was the government we don't have that capability. have challenges in our own that we which meant have to modernize the people. we don't allenges and have air supremacy. cannot cope with the organization. the same game on their rules on that situation. they go in residential areas. do we do? areas? ard those there has been talk about a town which we had issues last few days. e were able to clear up the

university. our forces have reluctantsy because of booby traps and other things which means that houses and places of and others are booby trapped and it will more or less anyone who gets near there. of type of culture destruction we cannot match. that as a state we cannot match that. challenges. we need technology and capabilities and better intelligence gathering and so on. we talked about the air supremacy. take priority to address the immediate threat now but the political process has to alongside it. to mature? yes. would they do? change a ime to culture it does take time. do we ignore everything because process i think it's possible as a government other regions.

>> let me ask you a question be unfair to answer from an ambassador standpoint. process that you are talking about if it becomes and i'm saying if, that person will stand in the way of unity ical or a national government. scenario where would you still respect the elections the party or some coalition would agree on a different prime minister and not different -- not of course but ing there is elections in the interest of preserving the iraqi state, would you a scenario or is the question of prime minister's --e something that >> no, to be honest i'm not

aware of any agreement who be the next prime minister. about the ot talked naming yet because they want to wait until the parliament is in candidacy from the peaker, the presidency and the nation. will he get the votes? 700,000 votes because he has 300 on parliament. it's likely he can become prime minister. it is certain? no. that's democracy. we'll have to wait for the and take share. him? ere a rob with i would say. the challenges we have are not of the personnel it's fundamental issues. the political class they are new democracy and governing and they need time and they are

learn and i time to would say that the issue should personalized. it's an easier solution to blame somebody for it and say it was problem. one out.the easiest i would say even unachievable in of in a society that person should not have a chance putting his name forward. i think we need to go through process. it may result in the prime not.ter becoming or it may we leave that to the democratic rocess and i would say that personalizing it will not benefit anybody. the easy to blame and way out and i think that's unrealistic and unfair. more question and then we'll open it up. iraqi ent yesterday, the parliament met yesterday to irst agree on a speaker which

did not happen. later on i would imagine to iament will also need agree on a president for the republic. what we are seeing from iraq rds to withdraw from as a state do you still envision that parliament would agree on, kurdish president and would they go along with that even with what many believe intention to withdraw from the iraqi state and declared back to what t go they used to be before the crisis? when we agreed as iraqis on the constitution, that the kurds. if i remember -- if my memory around e right, it was 95% of the kurds saying we agree to this constitution.

a new constitution is talked about, then the current mean that the kurds will play a significant political role and that the have agreed for the and dency to be occurred for the speaker to be a sunni arab. that's still on going. yesterday or this morning ctually there were talks supposed to agree on a person sunni-arab blocks and they disagreed at the last moment. have saidther parties or eachallow each block entity to select that person. if they do not they say we have for the presidency or 2 or 3 or the premiership or speaker. it's a halfway

solution. that's on going. he kurds have already made it public before and president of federal kurdish -- the .resident has said t's still in the constitution until a new social contract is defined we expect the kurds to role as a positive play haer in the development of the political process and in the iraq.ty of that's an obligation on every iraq who believes in a constitution and believes in a political process. that's still on going. can they get their own state? that up to time. it has its own challenges. geopolitical as well as other type of challenges. iraqis? nd as

we'll leave that. not, then we if displplay their o respected role. >> let's open it up. many questions and many people indulging. short keep your questions and identify yourself and ask question, please. expert in the russian language internet. hat is the ultimate objective of isis? are they looking to take baghdad? concern?n immediate there. he back over i could.estions if

the first is, there's been a lot negative press in the united states on the russian fighter jets sent to iraq. i'd like it if you could please to my that deal which understanding was made back in question, e second many in the united states has said this is fundamentally an solved at has to be regionally and not just within iraq. do with thegoing to regional partners that we have as h include states such ran, saudi arabia, the gulf monarchies who according to the to general pet temporaryious said some of these little bit of a terrorism. -- how do we ave regional cooperation out

of that mix? >> okay. yes, please. the question is, do you think compare the to situation together with the army ence that the french or any other western army is not solve your e to problems? this set of we take questions, please. and others are a gists.ational anybody who is different to them elieves in their strict understanding of islam. they are the way,

onsidered they are too on the fringes and they are the corepresentative of islam. that sense, baghdad or the whole globe is their objective. -- to be honest i think even outside the globe think they have to go above that. they think they are represented by god and nobody else. fortunately they cannot cokheuft them.others or with as to the question regarding russia we have already asked again and again the to provide us with apache helicopters and that was some time ago. it was stuck in the congress. we, as a state, we're stuck between the white house and the congress and who makes the and what are the

on.promises and so we never wanted to be part this ave u.s. discourse as to the provision of weapons to iraq. owever, unfortunately that was the result. what we see now is one of the to rmath of the responses iraq.ituation of we need immediate help and if can't provide us with capabilities you do it and we'll all the legal and things.gistical nfortunately that was not adhered to or was not received positively until the situation in the last few weeks. all lost that e

opportunity. there were no l collateral damage and it was bad guys are. the as far as the russian -- the from russia, as i said before and as public as ossible, as vocal as possible saying that we don't have choices. the ground are pushing and telling us to choose. we are aware that there are rocesses within the united states institutions for approval and there are a lot of stakeholders who have to approve, yes. yes, we respect that. to we also accept the other respect our own choices. the choice is primary from need rather than from the desire. e have a long list of requirements and i can assure you nobody would want to go it a

fighter plains if you can get the best. and others oneens us. but they will not help >> regional solutions. >> we know for a fact and we've saying it for a while we've been the victims of terrorism we the last ten years and know the majority of those terrorists are not from iraq. until recently none were iraqis recently. they were primary from arabs and arabs. with the situation in syria it became a global phenomena. the jihadists have a tourism promote which they destination. victim of that.

foreigners from chechnya and others and been states there have cases where they got people efore they went to syria and iraq of the we know that this is a global phenomena and requires we have solution and said to our neighbors no one is immune from it. repeat that. no one is in our region, not turkey, saudi arabia is immune from it. this is a global disease and we found a treatment. >> please. you mentioned that if iraq get the support that needs from the united states reachoing to be forced to out to other partners such as of of the what sort additional support might iraq it battles itsas

insurgency. >> okay. the woman in the middle. >> hi. jennifer from the middle east institute. isis is primarily a transnational threat but they they're reported -- eportedly working with ex bathists. would you consider including hese officials in any process.iatio reconciliation >> hi. actually does come in and take over, would they be the military equipment that now exists in neighboring countries? as far as i know isis are are

very destructive. any capability they have they'll highest level of destruction. whatever capability they have, chemical, whether it's -- they talked about actual other weapons they have they'll utilize elsewhere. to them it's considered as a up.rd blowing themselves in essence it's a danger and any they have that has to taken.ously as far as the purchase from ran, we are aware that international norms and rules purchases or dealing with iran in the military way and we have not. iranians have the threat hemselves next to their neighbor and specifically the rovince in iraq and to the

iranians they consider them as of the national security. and we understand that. we also understand as much as by mecca is a part of ational security of every muslim. and the shrines are considered that as well. said that we do acquire any r some iranian assistance if we have he choice of the united states or any other. as far as most of the is on their now expeed 80-sevens in dealing with isis and others and we have welcomed it. n a sense we are aware of international norms and we do not want to break or breech any convention or any type of the united nations iran, but at nst

he same time any areas of corporation we can do with them and we cannot get elsewhere we both o that because we face a common threat. and there neighbors are borders between us and we common thread. >> any reconciliation process involved. change there has been dramatic discussion inside inside the political entities as to who we who do we not. the common conclusion that has ome up -- this is still developing by the way. entity will oreign not be -- we cannot accept them discourse. owever, home grown resistance -- i'm talking about

ideology we're accepting that we can have that discussion with those who say we disagree the government or disagree with whom ever we're okay with not as long as they have used weapons against the state of not killed iraqis innocently. those not involved in the bloodshed we'll have the discussion with them. are, i'm afraid we cannot accept that and i think that as well. at f i may interject also this point. a lot of people are concerned thatthis is the first time n organization like radical terrorist organization has control over such territory. in afghanistan this has not happened where an organization ike this has this swap of territory across syria and iraq. you that this re is a temporary situation and

ablethe iraqi army will be to gain control of the territory are are to we expect a long term struggle between the army and such an organization? we think that the support that we had externally plus the international international -- and others we're looking into a prolonged process. we had difficult 2s controlling syria.rder with until we do that we cannot contain it. already have a supply line across the other side. their safe have hae havens across the other side. as one to look at both theatre. we are looking at that and until border, then e unfortunately this will be a long process. -- just ot be a small kicking them out of

provinces.wns or iraq -- the americans had challenges themselves at the this is a long process and we had been saying support need such immediately. whoever is committing has to as a long process to be able to sustain and defeat and resolve the core issues which is to do with their inside iraq. i think going back to the there was talked -- a question. in the different geopolitics of it and the ichness and with all due respect, iraq is considered as important country in relation to oil and in relation to culture and in relation to history. in a way these are all

a role in ch play looking at iraq not issue. an internal we ourself does not look at it issue inernal domestic iraq. we have an international perspective we need to provide a narrative to the world that this place cannot be occupied or destroyed. bearing in mind another issue they have controlled and they've churches.christian they've destroyed cemeteries and on in addition to heritage sites. for them they do not believe in the history. is an important

part. >> you've talked about borders, g the ambassador. do you view this as a military bordersn to control the or do you view this as a or tical process that might that must include regional countries as well. historically, even -- times and before, the reliance e always had on local tribes and others to support the state. well.as historical as because the vastness of society and so on. the er, until we control border we need a military objective until we have a -- we preempt rather than situations. then unfortunately this bleeding we know fore of the a fact we have to work on local tribes. local to work on the political entities and the

standards. entice them into a political process and working with the government but at the same time need to have a strong military capability. a >> all right. l thank you very much. ou were talking about the funding. it's well reported they sell oil to the assad rejim. iraqire anything that the government can do in the funding contradiction a there and what's the current level of discussion between your two governments, thank you. in iraq -- tion sorry. >> let's take a couple more questions. yes, please. can you explain what your iews are on the future

implications on oil both iraqi kurdish. > my question and it's kind of been brought up already is i want to bring up the topic of the kurds. if the kurds do go and declare independence you mentioned that they still at the moment should constitutional framework they agreed upon. question is whether would you find that the eye kraeubg state militarily with an independent kurdish state to fight the terrorist that exist in iraq or is hat kind of cooperation not really something that an iraqi ever agree to. >> currently the majority if not

alled kurdish government with the rest of iraq buffers are controlled by i and the kurds know more than anybody else they're not immuned from it. as a central government have always said work more so with ur own citizens and our own kurdish communities. e talked about future states and i think we'll leave that to the future discussion to see how it manifested it.

will be a chance of a kurdish state during the region. i think the kurdish leadership knows it. we're going back to the this is what we are sticking to. their participation in the assi a sign that they have to work in the framework of state. i they thrive on anomalies and hey thrive -- they do think outside the box. whether it's a refinery or so on that will have the detriment on the region. are transnational which means that they do not think to the primary job is provide services to the local people, no, that's not their

objective. objective is to create in they'll thrive on and say, well, you see, we sunnis.about we are the champions of the sunnis and we'll do that. narrative.r ultimate even yesterday more destruction to this shia shrine to bring civil war in iraq. that is the ultimate objective. in that sense, yes, we will work with syria, with others to try to stifle their capabilities and financial capabilities so they will ultimately be defeated. and?

-- you're in next question? >> on assad and isis. >> contradictions and anomalies exist within iraq and the region. for us, the threat we have is in iraq. we know we cannot resolve the situation in syria. but at the same time, if we can work with the syrian government to control our side of the border and to help us in the fight against isil, we will do that, because we have a common threat. whether we have a relationship beyond that, that will be up to others to convince us of that relationship. >> ok, next one. lees, sir. sir.ease, >> mr. ambassador, you have

repeatedly mentioned the need for unity and inclusion on the new iraqi government. all that being said, do you have any comments on the recent amnesty international reports suggesting dozens of revenge killing of sunni muslims at the hand of government forces? >> ok. yes, sir. am a christian dough from the institute for foreign affairs. prime minister maliki has accused saudi arabia of not only financial support, but actual weapons support. i just wonder what kind of evidence exists and why there is not more condemnation internationally. >> yes. the woman with the glasses. i, thank you, ambassador. i just wanted to touch on something that was shared on the

question about the areas that are being captured and if they are already marginalized. i have been reading reports that the first goal of isis is to isil is to capture established social services, benefits for the poor and things like that. i wonder if there is anyone on the ground to mites regard isis favorably because of these services? in the captured areas, is it always violent? or is there a sense in some areas that captured -- illegitimately, of course, but it is favorable because some of these areas were already marginalized because of the lack of these services? >> let's take one more question please. yes? >> michael crowley with time. there were reports that mortars landed very near the shrine in samarra. can you talk about the situation there, the threat to the shrine,

how close that is, how well defended it may be, and your concerns about it? >> the question of samarra was that they had control of the place. it wasn't. we cleansed all of samarra and have moved to tikrit. the used mortar. they used mortar. some people were killed. that is the situation. outside of the human rights .ecord is concerned, yes we are immediately concerned terrorist situation. minorities of any type will be the first victims. we have brought out the kurdish government to help secure

some of their minorities, whether they are talking about shia or others, to protect them. in the current violence in iraq, the minorities would be the first victims. unfortunately that is the case elsewhere as well. that is why we have been trying to say, we need to control that and we need to focus on the minorities. most of the heavy fights were in areas where minorities were. i take your point. reports ofbeen prisoners executed. we are looking into that situation. i think the situation is much more complicated and i have aware, unfortunately --

people were left in a very bad situation. these situation on the ground as much more complicated than the >> narrative of sunni and shia. talk about the sunnis, are you talking about the kurds or not? are you talking about the ministers? the arabs? what is marginalization? i would say, please look beyond narrative of sunni/shia. it is a bit more complicated. nice question there. i would say that we know for fact saudi arabia did not pull their weight and protecting our border. fact we have

worked to minimize the others going in. and we have said to saudi arabia, we will work with you. we will walk -- we will work with iran. we will work with all of the region to bring some disability to the sectarian narrative. these issues in the region will not help anybody. no one is immune from it. neither jordan nor saudi arabia nor others. and we have been saying to them, please, pull your weight so we can all work together. this is where the prime minister was coming from. iraq countries bordering can control their part of the border and reduce the flow of the smuggling of weapons, etc., into iraq. >> would you include jordan. -- jordan? >> let's speak about jordan.

the risk we have -- we have found this to be contained. the jordanians have limited capabilities. they have been helpful. the area of desert is vast. it requires a lot of capabilities, strengths. where we have questions elsewhere, it was a political motive. we said we do not see that -- beyond the call of duty to protect iraq from jihadist. that is what we are talking about. >> ok. yes, sir. >> ambassador, the main problem between the iraqi government and

-- krg is article 140. a week ago, it was said [indiscernible] so, what is your understanding of that statement? >> ok. >> yes, sir. please. >> you've talked about how isis is this transnational threat and how it can't be solved in just one country. do you believe any military action against isis needs to include some form of action in syria as well as iraq? >> ok. another. yes. please? >> good morning. i have a couple of questions. the first one is, where is the european role in all of this, and if you see a role in all of

the conflict going on right now, what would you like it to be? the second question is, what do you think the tipping point in this conflict is going to be? if isis moves to jordan next, as they have been declaring, do you think that is going to be the tipping point where probably this will entail an intervention from the u.s. or other bodies? >> we have confidence that the united states will look into the situation in a holistic way. and god forbid, we do not want this to be escalated to other regions anywhere so that it forces the united states or anyone else to look at it. we think it can be contained --

let's contain it now. otherwise, the destruction is too big. the countries of the region are too fragile. and therefore, we cannot afford the luxury of waiting until it becomes the third country and fourth country.- we are fairly confident that the united states will play a major role and bring capability against the isis spread or influence in the region. i'm sorry? >> only the kurds will ask that, by the way. [laughter] >> we talked about the ironies of it. article 140 has not been talked about apart from the kurdish government for a long time.

.c., i have not had any questions being asked about it when i've been here. which is a reflection of where i think people feel the party has to be, which is one inclusive government and trying to put aside disputed areas. president barzani made that statement public. the parliament was sitting. they will review that. if they think that 140 is addressed and the item is closed, then fair enough. if not, then it is the obligation of all parties to try to bring some closure on the discussion. not forcing status quo. >> what is 140? can you explain that. >> 140 is an item in the constitution. in 2005 the timeline was about 2007 that there will be a census -- a census done in the disputed areas.

and where the boundaries, where some of the boundaries were changed, including the town of kirkuk. which was a multinational, multiethnicity town. the demographic was changed by saddam's time or not since -- i would say not since saddam's time. since the late 1950's onward, until 2003. in the constitution, it is called the disputed areas. where they were controlling kirkuk. and you have to deal with that reality. but the gist of that as well. what we are saying is in a culture where people do not forget easily and a culture in , which things have taken a long time for things to manifest itself, it cannot be resolved

overnight by one party saying i have nothing to talk about. that will not be feasible for either party. and if the parliamentarians agree amongst themselves that the issue is resolved and the borders are clear then best wishes for all. if not, i would leave that for the parliament to decide on the best action. right now i would not think that is advisable for anybody. simply because people do not like to be forced. they have a revenge culture. they do not forget easily, and most importantly, these issues are important issues. but the dispute is not about land. the dispute is about identity which means forcing an identity on others will not work. and i would say my humble advice is, let time resolve this issue, but do it peacefully.

>> so you have a question about whether the iraqi military will have action in syria? >> we have -- no. we respect our relationship with syria. we respect the demarcation and so on, and we will not get involved in operation with syria. if syria will help us on their site, we will work with that. from our side we look forward to working with other countries -- such as the united states to control that border. and i would say as far as i know the united states are look -- they know of their interdependant cri of iso on either side of the border. do you see the europeans and the crisis? >> i think the europeans are issue -- are rectified with their own issues, which i think

is making it somewhat difficult for them to play a role. however, the foreign minister, the british foreign minister was in iraq last week. we talked about cooperation. we have yet to see a tangible role for the e.u. and iraq. however, the threat is immediate to them as well. s a large amount , of them coming from france and others. we've seen french players in syria and all kinds in iraq. so we know that they have the international dimension, the jihadist international dimension. we need to work closely. >> one last? >> yes. sure. >> please. >> thank you, minister. two questions. the first one is how do you see conditioning the u.s. help in achieving advances on the political process?

and the second question is that there is some fears here in washington that the administration may be giving the illusion of being concerned about iraq. but in reality there's nothing real going on, on the ground in terms of really supporting the iraqi government. william read from bankrupt international. from -- going back to the constitution. you see that there is a role for federalization in some sort of political settlement? >> ok. yes, sir. >> hi. paul richard with "l.a. times." i wonder if you can speak a little more about the iraqi government's thoughts regarding russian military support here. are there more arms that you think you might buy from them? is there a possible role for military advisors in iraq? >> let's take one last question.

yes, sir. please. >> richard owens, international relief. no one touched on the nearly half million internally displaced iraqis as a result of this. other than the u.n. and the thele bit of money, internnaast. i can't think of anything the u.s. has done. mr. ambassador, what do you see as principle requirements for an international response to this humanitarian crisis? >> the displacement issue -- within couple days of this situation erupted. 400,000 and 300,000 people from mosul being displaced.

20,000 trying to leave. that was the immediate threat, i would say. the u.s. provided some help when secretary kerry was in iraq, he talked about that as well. they have supported iraq financially. however, some of the challenges -- we, as a government don't have an issue of the funds but the issue of accessibility to it. that's the key challenge we have. it is not just an issue of funds, but we need to have tents and food and everything else provided to the displaced. the government is providing a tremendous amount of effort. and they are focusing on that. we are very much appreciative of that work. however, what we have is not sustainable. we need to help these people who have been displaced, coming back to mosul, that's what we are talking about.

the fact that we resolve this issue militarily or that this can come back and also know that for example in basheer, they had an issue of booby trapping the houses. so we have a domestic situation to address, which is crucial as well. and that's another area of concern. the expertise from russia, i think the formula we have declared is simple. we have a need. there is a void. if the u.s. cannot fill that void, whoever is available, including russia, it will come to that point. this is what we are talking about. we're not talking about having a military pact with any country. we have chosen the united states as our partner of choice. we still want to have a strong military security and other type of strong relationship with the united states as a strategic choice, which we have made that. and even when secretary kerry

was there last week we said we need your help now. don't condition it. don't put any conditions. not that we are not willing to work with you to address these issues, which is having to do with political situations an -- and other types of issues. yes, we will do that discussion and we are working on it, but don't condition it because the risk is too immediate and threat is too important for us to think of the conditionalty of it. changing the politics -- they will tell you, it's not easy in our region. there's a change of culture. and that's not a simple job. however, providing military help can significantly change and can induce and provide -- i would say an influence for the united states in iraq.

this is what i call the acid test. this is an acid test to that relationship. >> there was a question about whether the u.s. really has genuine concern? >> yes, they do have. we know for example yesterday's example of military and position such as help. we know that the united states and especially the white house are serious about and they understand the scale and depths of the threat. and we never doubt that. however, what we are saying is that we need more. because of the urgency of the crisis. that's what we are talking about. we are not disputing in any way, shape or form the commitment of the united states to iraq. that's not the issue. the issue is the scale of the support we're talking about. thank you very much for a very lively discussion and for the nashese

answering difficult questions. please join me in thanking the ambassador first. [applause] thank you very much. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] >> in a few moments, an update on the role of the militant group isis in syria. in an hour, a for him on the state of the drone industry in the u.s., followed by a washington journal segment on drone safety. later, we will hear the remarks by the iraqi ambassador to the yes -- to the u.s. on his country from need for more military aid. >> a couple of live events to

tell you about tomorrow. privacy and civil liberties oversight board issues its report on data collection under the foreign intelligence surveillance act. that is that 10 a.m. eastern. and then a discussion of the perspective of iraq from the kurdish regional government. >> so, i tell this story about of my-- every aspect identity is a threat to israel. my gender is male. my religion is muslim. my citizenship is american, but my ethnicity is a rainy and. sends off about me all of the warning signals for israel. and iraniy experience trying ton single man

get through ben-gurion airport in the 21st century is a reminder to everyone that despite the way globalization has brought us closer and has thatished the boundaries separate nations, ethnicities, cultures -- despite all of that, all you have got to do is spend a few times trying to get through and gurion airport to remember those divisions, the things that separate us, are still very much alive. >> best selling author and will takerazak aslam your calls, e-mails, and tweets on islamic fundamentalism and current instability in the middle east. live for three hours sunday at noon eastern on book tv. .art of a holiday weekends book tv, television for serious readers.

the situation in the middle east and a for a mommy militant group isis and syria. from the international institute for strategic studies, this is an hour. >> i think we will go ahead and get started. thank you all for joining us this morning at the international institute for u.s., thestudies washington a home of the answer to. .y name is bryce campbell i am the managing director. for those of you who do not yet know as well, we are a global think tank headquartered in london. and bahrain and singapore and here in washington. has pioneered over the last decade or more if

phenomenal dialogue with the middle east and a dialogue for the agent pacific. -- asian-pacific. the institute also has authored an international journal of international affairs. as well as a book series -- some of which are on display in the back of the room, for those of you here in the room. this office is a critical part of our network. we seek to both bring a global perspective here to washington and to convey washington's sometimese to a skeptical international audience. today's discussion will be very much the former, and we are quite privileged to have our hearague emile hokayem from our middle east office to share his insights on the -- officeom the middle east to share his insights on the tragedy unfolding in syria. before i introduce improperly, i

should mention that we are a membership organization. those of you in the audience who are interested can learn more. there are flyers on the back table. onlinef you following us or on tv can visit our website, learn more.o the structure is >> -- simple. emil will provide remarks for 20 or 30 minutes and then i will turn to you to moderate a session. prior to joining the institute, editors the political for the abu dhabi english based newspaper "the national." he served as a resident fellow at the southeastern gulf agent program here in washington. he has written extensively on

gcc relations, regional has testifiedhe in front of the u.s. foreign relations committee. he has spoken in front of various government and nongovernment audiences. he is embarrassed. he wants to cut to the chase and begin his talk. will leave his introduction there and let him take the floor. >> thank you. good morning to all. it is a pleasure to be here. it is a pleasure to run away from the horrid warmth of the golf. no one wants to be there. but it is also ramadan. -- i can report there is a new game in town when

it comes to syria. the search for the new and derogatory more acronym for isis -- if you are on twitter or read arabic -- unnests perhaps the f thing happening in the arabic world these days. i encourage you -- there are many ways one can play with those letters, put them together to find something that will make them fume a bit more. that was already a pretty extreme and insulting from their perspective. what i am going to do in this presentation, because i expect there will be many questions about isis or the islamic states at this point, the regional fallout over u.s. policy, i am going to focus on serious -- syria.