state coming from the secretary of state john kerry. he and defense secretary chuck meet with the european counterparts at the nato summit to enlist support against lition to act the islamic state militants. kerry will travel to the middle east to shore up by tries directly affected the islamic state threat. daniel, blooming ton,in ip, republican caller. caller: hello, thanks for taking my call. hat should the response to be of the isil issue in the middle east? there are few different ways to look at it. directly, i want to point out -- these people are of the but however like every phase within that realm of how people how this the message

will be seen because of a strong content for righteousness. kansas city, missouri. independent caller. hi, jordan. caller: yes. i just feel that in the -- we going about utious this. excuse of what i thought they were doing -- but, again, need to stay out of some of these dangerous areas. you this will take us down the drain economically. shouldn'tying we confront them, but we should be cautious about it because our nation also do need a lot of and when our own

problems in our country are not get solved -- we read,that point, as secretary of state john kerry and events secretary -- defense secretary chuck hagel plan to travel to europe and meet with counterparts at the nato summit to push for a broader coalition. before that, secretary of state john kerry here in washington, d.c., moments from now people was the ceremony to appoint a special representative to the muslim community. live coverage here on c-span. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute] the state department, secretary of state john kerry this morning is hosting a ceremony honoring the appointment of a new special representative to muslim communities, former texas lawyer zafar.

he will address the broader role of all faith based communities. gulf news-- writes that zafar has worked police surveillance and transportation security administration screenings. this should get underway shortly live on c-span. we finished up "washington journal" this morning asking about the latest the heading of an american journalist nationaly by isis, and counterterrorism center director is morning will be talking more iraq and assyria and what efforts are being made by the u.s. and international community to apprehend joined isiso -- who

forces. secretary of state kerry has released a statement about the murder of the american loff,alist, steven sot saying that "the world witnessed the unfathomable fertility of murderers when a journalist was taken from us in an active medieval savagery by a coward hiding behind a mask." part of the statement by secretary kerry. in the meantime, from yesterday's defense department briefing, comments from the pentagon spokesman on the threat of i sis. laserguided munitions -- does that mean there were u.s. forces on the ground? >> no u.s. forces on the ground. groundbody else on the

that was raising the targets? >> all i can tell you is that we continue to work with partners in somalia and in the region, but i won't get any more specific than that. >> has the u.s. informed the somali government about the mission before this took place? >> i don't have anything on the notification process for this is keeping with the kinds of operations when -- that we cannot throughout the region, and a partnership with the region there. >> the somali government announced early last month this new mission in the indian ocean habaab,ombating al-s particularly their sources of revenue. was this in conjunction with that operation? >> not to my knowledge. won't --was still -- i i know you will speak to that

specific -- will not speak to that specifically now -- what would it mean for the group going forward? >> without speculating about whether he is in fact killed or not, he is recognized, appointed aab networkhe al-shab in the somalia. if he was killed, this is a very significant blow to their network, their organization, and we believe their ability to continue terrorist attacks. mind you, it is a network, and we understand that. mindful that there remain other leaders of the organization at large. but he is the recognized leader, and if we kill him, a significant blow to their organization and to their abilities. admiral.you, more broadly, can you answer the critics who say that the

administration does not have a counterterrorism strategy, one that is good enough? is there a strategy? can you articulate that for us? >> absolutely there is a strategy for our approach to the middle east. i can only speak from the military perspective and the pentagon, but we have been consistently going after the terrorist threat around the world, not just that part of the world, as i just read to you. inside iraq, the mission is very clear. we are there to support iraqi and kurdish forces as they take the fight to isil, we're there to provide humanitarian assistance when and where we can , and we are certainly there to help defend and protect u.s. personnel and facilities. but the mission inside iraq is very clear. the strategy -- military strategy with respect to the

middle east has been very clear. it is not just something we started doing. we have been going after terrorist networks in that part of the world for more than a decade, with very good success. does not mean it has been eliminated. we have been very active and energetic. >> do you feel you have gone after isis as soon as he possibly could? how good and how it really the intelligence that was being briefed to the white house about the isis threat, could more have been done sooner hav? >> i'm not going to speak about intelligence matters, certainly not going to speak about intelligence issues raised at the white house. that is better directed to the intelligence community. to the larger issue here, we l for manyd about isi months now, and we were very closely monitoring and tracking

their progress, their growth, their development, well before they rolled into mosul. this is not an organization we haven't been watching. the speed with which they took control of the north in iraq definitely got a lot of peoples attention, and i said that publicly, two. no expected that 4 divisions of the iraqi army were going to fold the way they did. it did not go unnoticed. this is an organization with an long much, and i think -- we have an long watching, and i think it is helpful to go back and look at the last couple months. we are fixated on targeted airstrikes, which we are connecting with tactical effect. long before that started we upp ed our presence in the persian gulf. we added more personnel in and around baghdad.

we set up 2 joint operations centers which are active and helping right now, in terms of advising and assisting and sharing information with iraq i and kurdish forces. we have done numerous airdrops in at 2 different operations to alleviate suffering. the military has been very active here. the other thing that we said, and this is not a small point, is that there is not going to be just a military solution here. ultimately, the long-term answer has to be inclusive, responsible, responsive, good governance inside iraq to alleviate and take away those conditions that folks like isil can exploit for their own purposes. does that answer your question? know, the majority of the foreign fighters who are isil are going to serious -- going to syria through turkey.

encountering -- in countering isis? >> is not for me to comment on turkey's role. we have a strong relationship -- i am not going to answer a question that should be asked of the turkish government. it is an important partner in the region, a nato ally. the turkish government has fighters,bout foreign and right they should. we are going there next week, and no doubt that this will be a topic. do you think they are helpful -- >> do i think what? >> do you think they are doing a helpful role? >> helpful role? we believe that turkey, because

they have concerns just like other partners in the region, are extending their effort and energy to address this as best they can. i am not going to go into any more detail than that. >> could you give us a picture of the situation on the ground at the muzzl -- mosul dam? >> isil keeps trying to take it back. as long as they pose a threat to this facility, we will continue to hit them, and we are. "thecretary kerry wrote in new york times" this week and that he and secretary hagel will be asking other nato nations for help with this, potentially campaigning against isis in syria? what will they ask for specifically in building that coalition? >> we are still pulling together an agenda here, but you are right, secretary hagel and secretary kerry do want to get together with these partner

nations. many of them are nato allies, of course. i don't have a list right now. i think this is going to be more of an informal arrangement, on the sidelines of the already very full agenda in wales, wherein they will try to get together and talk about the contributions that have been made by these other nations, and certainly to encourage others who have not contributed yet to look at integrating as well. i don't have a date certain on the calendar and the time. we are looking for those opportunities. it could be more than one. it could be that they had these discussions in more than one setting, with smaller numbers of these nations at a time. >> could you give us a high-level sense of what they will ask for? do they want airstrikes, do they want humanitarian aid? what will they ask for? >> we want partner nations to contribute what they are willing

and able to contribute, in whatever fashion they are willing to contribute. an understanding that they have domestic concerns as well, and their own legislative bodies to work through on this, and populations who have different views on assisting against the isil threat. we respect that. it is not about going in with demands and a laundry list. it is about going in at thanking them for what they have been doing continuing to encourage them and assist in any way they deem fit. >> we will take you back to the state department. secretary of state john kerry posting a ceremony honoring the appointment of the new special representative to muslim communities, former texas lawyer shaarik zafar. >> we are honored to have secretary kerry here today. he will speak first, then shaa rik, i will speak at the very end. you have made your intentions

clear that he wanted to bring a more sophisticated approach to religious engagement at the department of state. today we have concrete evidence that you are making the intention of reality with the appointment of shaarik zafar to this crucial post. you are building a team that is committed to collaborating with colleagues inside the department as well as a vast array of external actors to partner with people of goodwill in the hard work of building sustainable development, or modi human rights, mediating conflicts, and building peace around the globe. i want to thank you for your vision, your leadership, and support as we assemble an unprecedented team for religious engagement here at the department of state. these join me in welcoming secretary of state john kerry. [applause] >> well, thank you very much for a warm and generous introduction. good morning to everybody. honored to be here with you this

morning on and thank you so much for coming to join us on this really, frankly, exciting occasion. it is my opportunity to be able to welcome and announced at the same time our new special representative for muslim communities, shaarik zafar. and -- yes. [applause] and i am especially happy to welcome his parents, his mother wife,s father, and his with the lovely 2 children, their daughters. ladies emma thank you for being here -- ladies, thank you for being here. [applause] arik started drafting

the strategy for u.s. leader and community engagement and he began with 2 words, religion matters. we are making that a mantra here at the state department in our foreign policy. i see it every single day. i particularly see it in my s in the faragement east and central asia and sub-saharan africa. let me be really clear as a starting point for today's conversation. the real face of islam is not what we saw yesterday, when the world forward this again to the unfathomable -- for witness against the unfathomable brutality of isil terrorist murderers, when we saw steven s otloff, an american journalist who left home in florida to tell the story of great people in the middle east, we saw him brutally

taken from us in an act of medieval savagery by a mask -- via coward hiding behind a mask. for those who work so long to and others home safely, this obviously is not how the story was meant to and. it is a punch to the gut. the united states government, i want you to know, has used every single military, diplomatic, and intelligence tool that we have, and we always will. our special operations forces bravely risked a military operation in order to save these lives, and we have reached out diplomatically to anyone and everyone who might be able to help. that effort continues, and our prayers remain as they always are with the families of all the hostages who remain trapped in syria today. sadly, is not,

new to our world. neither is evil. and i can't think of a more -- moredescriptions and graphic description of evil than what we witnessed yesterday and what happened with james foley and the unbelievably brutal mass executions of people because of their sectarian or religious affiliation. we have taken the fight to this kind of savagery and evil before, and believe me, we will take it again. .e are doing it today and when terrorists anywhere around the world have murdered our citizens, the united states held them accountable no matter how long it took. and those who have murdered sotloffley and steven in syria need to know that the united states will hold them accountable, too, no matter how long it takes.

i want to emphasize -- [applause] today, what is really important, and i want to take advantage of this podium and ass moment to underscore powerfully as i know how that the face of islam is not the butchers who killed steven so tloff. that's isil. [applause] islam is not the nihilists who know only how to destroy, not to build. whose not masked cowards actions are an ugly insulting the peaceful religion that they violate every single day with their barbarity and whose fundamental principles they insult with their actions. the real face of islam is a peaceful religion based on the

dignity of all human beings. it is one where muslim communities are leading the fight against poverty. it is one where muslim communities are providing basic health care and emergency assistance on the front lines of some of our most devastating humanitarian crises. and it is one where muslim communities are advocating for universal human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the most ac freedom to practice -- a basic freedom to practice one's faith openly and freely. communities,th including american muslims, are sources of strength for all of us that they are an essential .art of our national fabric we are committed to deepening our partnerships with them. we are making these efforts to unite religious communities a core mission here at the state department. is leadingt shaarik

as our special resented it to muslim communities. that is what ira forman is monitoras our special to combat anti-semitism. and that is what david saperstein is leading -- when confirmed, he will be our new ambassador at large for international religious freedom. and that is what my friend sean casey is doing in a special job in order to have an interface office -- inter-faith office at state itself. people ask me why now have we made this such a mission at the state department. why elevate our engagement at a time when world events to some people seem so hopelessly divided along sectarian lines? simplewer is really very . it is a delusion to think that anyone can just retreat to their own sakes face -- to their own safe space, not when all people

of all faiths are migrating and mingling as never before in history. the reality is that our faiths ourur face -- faiths and fates why we must do this now. they are linked. our fates are inextricably linked on any number of things that we must confront and deal with and policy concepts today. our fates are inextricably linked on the environment. for many of us, respect for god's creation also translates into a duty to protect and sustain his first creation, earth, the planet. before god created man, he created heavens and earth. confronting climate change is in the long run one of the greatest challenges that we face. you can see this duty or

responsibility laid out in scriptures clearly, beginning in genesis. and muslim majority countries are among the most vulnerable. our response to this challenge ought to be rooted in a sense of stewardship over, -- stewardship of earth, and for me and many here today, that responsibility comes from god. our face are also inextricably linked in promoting economic opportunity and justice. when you look at the world today, there are whole countries, where there are 60% of the publishing under the age 60% of the population under the age of 30, 40% under the age of 18. we know that all of these young people in today's interconnected, globalized world , with the media that is available to them, look at the numbers in sub-saharan africa of young people walking around with smartphones. they don't have a job, they

don't have an education, but they are connected. we know that all of them are as a result the many opportunity and dignity -- demanding opportunity and dignity. we also know that a cadre of extremists, nihilists, people to cities are waiting these people into accepting a dead-end. when people don't have a job, they can't get an education, when their voices are silenced by draconian laws or violence or pressure, we have all witnessed the instability that follows from that, from the lack of dignity and respect for the human person. to meet the demands of these populations for dignity and opportunity frankly requires new and creative partnerships. sean is why we are here today. we need to reach young government to include religious leaders and faith communities, entrepreneurs, civil groups, all

of them working together to invest in the future that embraces tolerance and understanding and, yes, even love. inextricably also linked in the fight for pluralism. we know beyond any doubt the places where people are free not just to develop an idea but to debate different ideas, those societies are the most successful not occasionally, but always. it is not just the lack of jobs and opportunity to give extremists the opening that need recruitment strategy to exploit. they're just as content to see corruption and oligarchy and resource exploitation fill a vacuum so that they can come in and pray on the frustration and anger of those young people that were denied real opportunity.

, when you goke back and study the major faith traditions, there is one thing that really does leave out at you -- leap out at you. i was privileged years ago to speak and then enter faith event ipl university between intericant groups -- an -faith eve university between significant groupsnt at yale, including dr. robert shiller and to join in imams this discussion of and ente -- an inter-faith initiative. as i thought about what to talk about them in late -- a let down me that there is a commonality between the panic fates -- abrahamic faiths particularly but all faiths, even a native

americanism and confucianism and others, that every single one of them contains a fundamental, basic notion of the golden rule, the importance of charity, compassion, and human improvement. , teacher, was asked which is the greatest commandment in the law, he first, you shall love the lord your god, and second, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. in everything, do unto others what you would have them do unto and the this is the law prophets. what prophets was he talking about? he was talking about moses. he was talking about abraham, or avraham, or ibrahim. and ultimately, he was talking , p inshalom, salaam

roman timese,ace. -- in roman times, he was approached to teach the meaning of the tour was standing on -- the meaning of the torah while standing on one leg. without missing a beat, he replied "what is hateful to yourself, do not do unto others." that is the whole of the rest is commentarythe torah,. the prophet mohammed said not one of you truly believes when you -- until you wish for others what you wish for yourself. buddhist scripture teaches to not treat others in ways you would find hurtful. "do not unto others what would pain when done

to you." we share a moral obligation to treat one another with dignity and respect. and i'm so proud that the foundation of everything that this department and foreign policy tries to do are those fundamental values. today we need to draw on a, and faith and what must be our common hope, to work for peace and put our universal commitments and believes -- efs interaction. that is the road ahead and i'm privileged to share the road with shaarik and with all of you. thank you. [applause]

i want to thank secretary kerry for the very kind words and for taking the time to be here today. before going further, i want to express my personal condolences to the families of james foley and steven sotloff. tragedies like that remind us, when you look at all the suffering in the region, remind us what we are up against it i want to from the very beginning recognize that it i was very privileged to have secretary kerry here today. we are all inspired by efforts ,o promote economic growth clean environment, and to empower individuals across the globe. it is really a privilege to be part of this team. as he mentioned, my wife, my daughters, and my parents are here today. the smartest decision my father ever did, apart from marrying my

mother, of course, was to accept a job in the united states almost 37 years ago. leaving pakistan was not an easy r my parents, but it was a choice that along with hard work and love and support provided opportunities we never dreamed possible. the smartest decision i ever made was to marry my wife, and everyday i'm grateful for her and our 2 daughters. [applause] so i would like to thank my family, my friends, my colleagues who are here today. to my colleagues in the federal government and civil society, in the arab, muslim, sikh, salvation, and middle eastern somali communities, this is a link to work together to take civil rights and liberties and empower people and keep them safe and secure. and assuming this numeral i fully intend to build on -- in assuming this role i fully

intend to build on the work over the past decade. i look forward to collaborating with you in the years ahead. in particular, i would like to thank dr. sean casey, who has been my biggest supporter since joining the department. i'm looking forward to working with him, and a special monitor to combat anti-semitism, as will hopefully the new david saperstein, as part of a broader approach to engagement. next year represents 2 important anniversaries. it is the 1/8 anniversary of the 77 massacre in boston, -- 20th anniversary of the srebenica massacre in boston. we are discussing how to bring jewish and muslim and other faith leaders together and seek insight on what we can do to prevent future tragedies.

it is easy to be human, it is hard to be humane. speaking of predecessors, it is important to knowledge the important work of the special representative, acting special representative, and senior adviser, who have made an enormous impact in his office during their time. i clearly have very big shoes to fill. finally, let me welcome members of the diplomatic corps, many of whom i had an opportunity to meet. i look forward to sitting down with you in the months and days ahead. i cannot agree with more that i could not agree more with what secretary kerry said it partnership is incredibly important. my role is to drive secretary kerry plus vision for engaging muslim communities around the world based on mutual interests and support of shared goals. saidcretary kerry eloquently, we are facing enormous challenges, from

environmental degradation to poverty to violent extremism and pervasive human rights violations. what should we focus on? muslim communities by and large care about the same things everybody else does -- peace and security, a clean environment, growing economy. the department's engagement efforts should reflect this commitment and be mindful never to engage muslims or any other community exclusively through a single lens. a broad approach allows us to take advantage of the range of opportunities that exist, while for the focused conversations that are necessary. my efforts will be consistent with the department must broader -- the departments of our priorities, secretary kerry's broader priorities, protecting the oceans and environment, advancing entrepreneurship. there are 1.6 billion muslims around the world, a quarter of humanity. the question is how can this can

national maintenance -- how can this role make an impact? peply put, i have to be a n, a highlighter, and a crayon. as secretary kerry stated, religion matters. the world is a religious place. prioritizewill engaging religious communities, making sure that our colleagues have the skills they need. this is a sound investment and it will impact our office and help our colleagues throughout the department. together with my colleagues, i will focus on attacking the rights of religious minorities, including muslim communities but also non-muslims. i will also work to address shiite-sunni securing conflict -- sectarian conflict. the highlighter refers to my role in leveraging resources that may benefit others. for example, we have a robust

capacity to address oceans and environment, an issue that directly impacts muslim committees around the world. it is no coincidence that secretary kerry gave his speech on climate change in indonesia, which is particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels. in support of our broader environmental agenda, we will highlight efforts to conserve oceans and promote a healthy environment around the world. this is important, not just environmentalists, but religious leaders believe that protecting the environment is an article of their faith. finally, there is the crayon, which in my household is visible for creativity, as we can attest with numerous marks on our wall. our office is going to continue to punch above our weight and look for smart investments in innovative programs. as the world witnessed with the murders of james foley and steve n sotloff and the slaughter of

millions elsewhere, violent extremism is a challenge across the globe, including the muslim community. the majority of the victims of terrorism and violent extremism are muslim. it presents an opportunity for increased action, which we must take. governments obviously have a role, but community and religious leaders play a greater role. this is not to say they are to blame or that they have done any wrong, but when it comes to congress and ideology that causes a religion -- countering ideology that calls itself a religion, the efficacy of government is limited. these faces cannot go unchallenged. we must find creative ways to provide appropriate support to wemunities that we know, know are willing to take ideological fight on in ways that government simply cannot or frankly, should not. but as i said, we need to focus broadly.

for many muslims, economic concerns are paramount. the arab spring arguably had its roots in economic hardship. moreover, there is a youth bulge in many parts of the world, including the middle east, africa, nations, and jobs are essential. while there is no easy solution, there is no question that the enormous promise of entrepreneurship in providing skills to him and others -- two women and others provides the tools they need. example, i was struck by the statistic -- the average time an individual spends in a refugee years.7 in addition to providing basic assistance, you must provide refugees livelihood assistance and entrepreneurship. we will explore entrepreneurship while also supporting those threatened by climate change. stories and culture manner.

improveof that, we will the capacity of muslim film makers and artists and revive training and skills in shooting a frame and developing a script. we will support creative autonomy in muslim communities. i was doing research and i came across a report that was telling -- the creative economy is one of the most rapidly growing sectors in the economy, and a highly transformative one in terms of income generation, job creation, and asked for earnings -- export earnings. please note that with all these initiatives, whether it is a pen, or are, my focus is on results. the challenge is facing us are immense. this is a time to come up with solutions, to identify and steps towards progress. but i need help. this is true of my colleagues in government and civil society, but it is particularly true with

respect to american muslims and muslim communities across the globe. the past few years have taught me that governments have an important role and into new to do that. -- continue to do that. the most innovative solutions come from local communities. weeks and months ahead, i look forward to sitting down and engaging communities, including muslim communities, around the world, and finding ways we can turn these words and the secretary's words into action. as the special representative to muslim communities, i will devote all my efforts to making sure that the united states and the department of state and our colleagues drive progress and achieve meaningful results by advancing our environmental extremism, andng promoting pluralism, and advancing job creation and economic opportunity. thank you so much, thank you so much for sharing this tremendously with my family and me, and thank you all -- i mean is very sincerely that we support and guidance over the years -- for your support and

guidance over the years. i want to thank secretary kerry trust isreplacing your for placing of trust in me in this role and i am ready to get to work. thank you so much. [applause] >> again, i would like to thank all of you for coming today. congratulations, shaarik. it is great to have you on board. i am proud to be your colleague and friend and i look forward to working with you every day. this room is full of people who love you, support you, and wish you all the best, and i think that is the greatest testimony to how much you have already a college and how much you will be a competent in the coming days.

let me sadly before i dismiss you let him know that shaarik is going to stay out that stand out here and we will have a receding line in counterclockwise order. thank you for coming and we look forward to staying in touch. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute]

>> a reminder, you will be able to see this entire event, including secretary kerry's remarks, at cspan.org. the national counterterrorism center director talks about the qaeda in isis and al syria and will talk about what efforts are being made to apprehend westerners who joined isis forces. life at the brookings institution at 11:00 eastern. maryland governor will give an update on the implementation of the health care law. she will look at the insurance exchanges, the health care, and the next open enrollment p eriodl. that is at noon eastern.

doctors and global health experts gather to address the evil outbreak and ways to get it under control. the centers for disease control warned that the window to stop ebola was closing. 1:20 eastern on c-span two. also today, the campaign 2014 coverage continues with the north carolina senate debate between democratic incumbent kay hagan and republican challenger tom tillis. according to a recent "usa today " poll, both candidates are in a virtual dead heat. here's a look at some recent ads in that race. >> tired of being disgusted by the news? washington has completely lost touch with working americans. the federal budget is a joke, and senators neighbor paid the price. i came up in the real world. i have been a paperboy, a short order cook, a warehouse cook,

and eventually a partner and ibm. more peopleould use who score for a living and fewer of the politicians who made the mess. i approve this message. let's make this right. >> hi, i am kay hagan. one of the things i love about north carolina is that unless you are talking basketball, you don't have to take a team. that is how i get results for folks at home. if an idea works for middle-class families, i am all for it. i approve this message because i was so proud when the journal"an "national named me the most moderate senator, not too far left, onto far right, just right for north carolina. >> they face off later today in . debate at 7:00 p.m. eastern see it live here on c-span. >> here are highlights for this coming weekend.

under 15 minutes or so we will take you live to the brookings institution. national counterterrorism center director talking about the threat of isis. in the meantime, from this morning plus "washington journal," an aclu report on police forces.

host: you call it excessive. how did you come to that conclusion? guest: we decided to do the study because we knew there were examples we were seeing of excessively militarized police tactics that we did not have a sense of how pervasive the issue was, so we conducted an investigation that looked at over 800 paramilitary raids over the course of 2 years and found basically that these were being carried out not for the reasons most people would expect -- terrorism, hostage, active shooter type situations. more often than not, and ordinary law enforcement situations like a serving search warrants, we found it to be excessive. low pretty level ordinary law enforcement situations like serving search warrants on people's homes and excessive.at to be host: the report was released in june, 2014. before, what happened in ferguson, missouri. what, them to, did you see

from news reports from ferguson, missouri that match up this report? guest: americans looked at the aftermath of the michael brown found something that they found to be quite shocking in terms of the ilitarized and aggressive police response to what began as a peaceful protest. ut we know, in fact, what happened in ferguson is indicative and reflective of a the broader trend of militarization of policing. local police departments for the decades have been collecting weaponry from the pentagon, sometimes purchased they've gotten from the departments of justice and homeland security to amass these arsenals. host: what did it look like to the police force. weaponry did they have or equipment that you elieve is excessively militarized? guest: law enforcement agencies across the country are getting, armored personnel carriers, assault rifles, combat

gear of many at varieties, that they're using, again, for law enforcement purposes. and much of this equipment and weaponry was created and designed for overseas combat. host: when you did your report, what were you looking at specifically. what sort of data were you looking at so you could -- what were you lice forces looking at that you could analyze the situation and ultimately come up with this conclusion. guest: well, it's challenging. 18,000 law enforcement agencies across the country. public records requests to a couple of them. segments of the law enforcement that exist. we asked them to give us incident reports of their data.litary rates, raw so we examined these incident reports as well as invoices and transfers equipment and receipts from the federal government over the course of two years. because police departments are virtually

autonomous. they have a tremendous amount of of records from the law enforcement agencies that we in addition tong policies, protocols, training documents. gamut. the host: you looked at special weapons, tactics teams, s.w.a.t. teams. what did you find out? guest: s.w.a.t. teams were to deal n the 1960s with the emergency scenarios that, again, you and i and many s.w.a.t. uld expect teams to respond to. they're being used routinely for rdinary law enforcement, including searching people's homes, often for pretty small amounts of drugs. it's important to understand, when there's a search of a person's home, there's been no crime committed necessarily. there's no perpetrator. there's no conviction. there's no crime. it's essentially an investigation. so what we saw is the common paramilitary weapons and tactics to conduct investigations in people's homes referenced and others

have referenced a study of a eastern gist in kentucky university, he found a istory of s.w.a.t. teams and raids, showing the viewers some s, those findings, in the 1970 there were few hundred a year. in the 1980s, 3,000 a year. 2005, the last time the data at available, you're looking $50,000 a year. guest: right. even though it's important to nderstand that a lot of americans were looking at what happened in ferguson and were quite shocked, you're right, the s.w.a.t. raids has increased exponentially. ostly to wage the war on drugs is one of our findings. this is happening in ways that predominantly impact. stop you there. showing our viewers, mostly to wage this war on drugs. we're showing our viewers that 79% of state and use the s.w.a.t. deployments for search warrants. go to your nts to

point of possible drug offenders, right? guest: the majority of people impacted by these were the color. of that's the point to emphasize that communities of color have been policed for decades. what we're seeing today is what we've seen for a time for poor communities. host: when they come to raid the person's house, you don't know what they have on the other side of the door. they could have a gun. this equipment is being used to protect them. we foundhat's not what when we looked at the data. we found overwhelmingly they're s.w.a.t. raids and paramilitary tactic in low level cenarios sometimes with tragic and horrific results including the case of baby boo boo who was injured old critically a n a s.w.a.t. team raided

home in which he was staying when they suspected a man of having $50 worth of drugs. i've spoken with members of law enforcement that say quite the contrary. paramilitaryice use weapons and tact ins, what they're doing is not protecting themselves and others, but they also have to pay for maintenance and upkeep and which has a hefty price tag. obama called for a comprehensive a review of these types of programs from the

pentagon. what are your recommendations to the president? guest: we think reform can come in three ways and all three are necessary. one is that there should be reasonable limitations on the acquisition of military weaponry by law enforcement could we don't think law-enforcement should have access to the kinds of combat uniforms and military weaponry they have access to. two, reasonable limitations on the use of this equipment. everybody agrees that there are circumstances where it is appropriate for law enforcement to have that kind of aggressive response, but not in the cases we saw in our report. and three, oversight and accountability. again, it is very difficult to combine data on the use of paramilitary weapons by local law enforcement. we think there should be standardized data collection, reporting, oversight, and accountability at all levels of government, including the federal government.

to talk a lot of room about oversight and accountability, reasonable limitations on use of equipment, reasonable limitations on acquisition of equipment, and we are hopeful that senator mccaskill draw out an important conversation about all three of those areas. mccaskill,or claire democrat from missouri, who chairs the senate subcommittee on federal, financial, and contracting oversight. "the washington post" reports that she plans to use her approach thereto examined programs that allow local police departments to acquire this military equipment. first phone call comes from joshua in the deer park, washington, independent. caller: good morning. i generally don't agree with anything the aclu does could i will say welcome to the party. but you need not to do half measures on this. half measures are what you are doing by focusing on the hardware.

you need to focus on the totality of the picture. you have sheets of police like the one we just got in spokane who are chosen for their ability to get federal money for things we don't need. a stinger, a box that comes into our phone calls independently. he bought facial recognition on lessons late recognition technology, all from homeland security -- license plate recognition technology, all from homeland security. and turns apaid for local beat cop and turns them into whatever, i don't know. i think you are making a mistake if you focus on half measures and the hardware. the hardware is terrific because i happen to believe in a very andy taylorry and and localized everything. it is federalized now and we have an issue. he is right to talk about a broader issue of

the culture of the militarization of policing. it is something we talked about in our report that i did not talk about too much, but it is absolutely true. it is not limited to equipment. it is the culture of militarism that we see pervading law enforcement. the use of surveillance equipment by law enforcement is another issue that we determined to be outside the scope of what we are studying, but your caller is right to point to it as a critical issue. number three, the aclu of washington is all over this issue and he should reach out. host: he was a republican caller. you have heard from republican senators who agree with you that it is too militarized. are you encouraged that something like this happens on a bipartisan level? guest: i think this is a nonpartisan issue. people across the board are deeply concerned about the militarization of policing. host: next: back. -- next caller. brookings has a long-standing

relationship. we have been changing thoughts and opinions for several years. we have been hosting officers under our federal executive fellowship program here. the national counterterrorism center is a relatively new part of the united states national security bureaucracy. it is only about 10 years old. it has many responsibilities, but the most important is to prepare the national terror threat assessment. ac -- it decides how serious to both terrorist threat is, how serious the terrorist environment is. when president obama meets with his homeland security principles, it is matt who opens the meeting by saying here is the threat and how serious it is. it is a heavy responsibility. not the secretary of state

or the secretary of defense. he does not decide what targets we bomb, whether we cozy up to assad or not. he is extremely well-qualified qualified for the position he is holding. those in the audience have already seen his bio. he is a graduate of university of virginia and harvard law school, has worked in the department of justice and the national security agency. he worked on the glenn, no bay review process. -- the guantanamo bay review process. this is extremely timely. iraq,he islamic state of the killing of another american yesterday with an american commander operating in somalia. and for many other reasons, it is especially good to have him here today. the format will be simple. matt will speed for 20 or 25 minutes and then i will take the prerogative and we will open it

up to the audience. if you have your telephone on, please turn it off. i know you have an awesome sound but might is even better so please turn years off. thank you so much. >> thank you very much. this past may, a man walked into a juice museum in belgium, opened fire, killing four people. , a 20 nine-year-old french national, had recently returned from syria, where he fought alongside the islamic state of iraq. the very next day, a 22-year-old american from florida blew himself up. while detonating a massive truck bomb in a restaurant in northern syrianone frequented by soldiers. the bomb killed dozens. the american suicide bomber was with me on the news front and and al qaeda affiliate posted

online the video attack. finally, over the past two weeks, and isil terrorist executed two american journalists who were taken hostage. isl then posted these images for the world to see. our thoughts and prayers are takenhe families together, these her thick acts of violence highlight why security and intelligence officials across europe and around the world are alarmed about the rise of isil. and the terrorism threat we see emanating from syria and iraq today. threats in the region as well as to the u.s.. just to the west.

the president spoke directly to these concerns, calling isil an immediate threat to iraq and people around the region. likewise, the british prime minister is increasing its threat level, citing information . this morning, i would like to spend a few minutes talking about the nature of the terrorist threat we see in syria and iraq. i will talk about the rise of isil and the challenges we face, but also why isil is not invincible. situationcuss how the in syria and iraq fits into the broader terrorism landscape as i tried to put this into the overall context we see. i will finally touch on the steps to address the threats they pose security. let me thank the brookings institution to death for inviting me to speak.

also everything that goes on here at brooking. there is a natural connection mentioned between the work of brookings and the work at ntc -- nt tc. analyzing ther terrorist threat information. we have sent some of our best and brightest here to brookings to serve as fellows. the other thing i would like to say is as a director of -- i talk it is our role to about this and share our insights. this summer, the 9/11 commissioners issued a new report and asked national security leaders to communicate to the public in specific terms about what the threat is and how it is evolving. i see the event as an opportunity to do this and shed a measure of light. there is no doubt the american newsc is gripped with the

of the violence we see in iraq. this is completely understandable, particularly in light of the video we have seen yesterday and a couple of voice ago. isil is a dangerous organization by every measure, extremely dangerous, operating in a chaotic part of the world. it has exploited the conflict in the -- in syria, pleaded tensions in iraq, both to enrich itself in these countries, and it now spans the geographical center of the middle east. the group uses terrorists and insurgents tactics. like an insurgency, it has seized and is trying to govern territory. isil poses a direct and significant threat to us and to iraqi and syrian forces in the region and potentially to us at home. the group's rapid step from the battlefield, it's tactics, it's claimed to be the new ideological leader of the global jihadist movement, these all

account for our intense focus on the group. beyond isil, other terrorist networks in syria pose a threat to us, even as we continue to terrorist organizations across the middle east and much of north africa. i will talk now about how we assess the threat from isil. i will take a few minutes to walk through this. i will begin with the background. i think it is important to start their. a veteran sunni terrorists founded the group in 2004 and pledged his allegiance at the time to bin laden. iraq, targeted u.s. forces, targeted civilians using suicide bombers, car bombs, to pressure the u.s. and other countries to leave iraq and quickly gained a reputation for brutality and tyranny. isil's continued targeting and oppression of sunni civilians in iraq caused a widespread backlash against the

group, often referred to as the sunni awakening. a surge in forces as well as iraq he counterterrorism operations that only denied and led to a sharp decrease. in 2011, the group began to reconstitute itself amiss growing sunni discontent in iraq and the civil war in syria. in 2012, isil conducted an average of 5-10 suicide attacks per month in iraq. by last summer, the number had grown to 30-40 such attacks per month. iraq,gaining strength in it exploited chaos in syria to expand its operations across the border. the group established a front as a cover for its activities in syria. --april last year, it presence in syria under the isil banner.

they publicly pledged their allegiance -- their allegiance. year, isil of this was declared no longer a branch of the group. at the same time, isil accelerated its efforts to overthrow the iraqi government this past january. the group marched from a safe haven in syria across the border in northern iraq, slaughtering thousands of iraqi muslims, sunnis, on its way this june. through battlefield victories, the group gained weapons, equipment, and territory, and isil we think takes in as $1 million per day from oil sales, smuggling, and ransom payments. by late june this past summer, it declared the establishment of .he islamic caliphate

three overarching factors, and i rise and about the success of isil. first, isil has asked weighted the failure of the syrian and iraqi states to maintain control over their more remote regions. assad's brutal treatment of its suppresse, to forcibly the opposition, has acted as a magnet for extremist and foreign fighters. the withdrawal of security forces during military ofagements has left the loss military largely ungoverned there. the group can plan and train and .lot, as well as to coordinate with little or no interference. iso has been able to move personnel supplies. secondly, it has proven to be a fighting force. it's battle strategy is complex and adaptive.

terrorist operations, hit and run tactics, military assaults come enabled the group of his rapid gains. tactics mayfield have helped the group hold and administer territory. sunnis have few alternatives in iraq and syria. the leadership has pushed them to the sidelines of the political process for years, and i so has been recruiting young sunnis to the fight. it views itself as the new leader of the global jihadist movement. it operates the most significant propaganda machine of any extremist group. it disseminates timely and media content on multiple platforms, including social media, all designed with widespread following in the group. to tout itsedia military capabilities, its execution of captured soldiers,

and its consecutive number of battlefield victories. the group's supporters have more recently sustained the momentum on social media by encouraging attacks in the united states and against u.s. interests in retaliation for our airstrikes. it uses propaganda campaign to bring foreign fighters to the group, including many western -- from western countries. qaeda is the dominant voice of influence in the global extremist movement. today, isil has more than 10,000 ,ighters, it controls much crossroads of the middle east area, about the size of the kingdom, and its strategic goal is to establish a caliphate to armed conflict with apostate regimes. those it considers apostates such as iraq, syria, and the united states are at it poses a multifaceted threat to the united states. i will talk about this now in

detail. in january, its leaders warned the u.s. will soon be in direct conflict with the group. there is little doubt isl views the u.s. as a strategic enemy. the threat is most acute in iraq. safe haven and resources their present an immediate and direct threat to america. this includes our embassy in baghdad, our conflict, and americans held hostage by isil. in the region, lebanon, turkey, jordan, isil has the capability to carry out small-scale attacks and threaten americans as a result. but the threat extends beyond the region to the west. it has the potential to use it safe haven to plan a coordinated attack in europe and the united states during the threat became real this past year.

also, with the arrest of an individual recently in france, connected to isil and upon his arrest, several explosive devices were discovered. at this point, we will have no credible information that isil is planning to attack the united states. we know more than 12,000 foreign fighters have flocked to syria in the past three years, including more than 1000 europeans and more than 100 americans. many of the foreign fighters have joined isil ranks. fighters may use these to conduct external attacks. the foreign fighters are likely to gain experience in training and eventually to return to their own country. return to their own country battle hardened. many are likely to possess western passports and travel documents. the fbi has arrested more than half a dozen individuals seeking to travel from u.s. to syria to support isil. we remain mindful of the

possibility that an isil sympathizer motivated by online propaganda could conduct attacks with little or no warning. any threat to the u.s. homeland from these types of extremist is likely to be limited in scope and scale. dire as all of this sounds, from my vantage point, it is important that we keep this threat in perspective and we take a moment to consider it in the context of the overall terrorist landscape. that is certainly part of our responsibility. viewede of isil can be as one man assisted -- of the global jihadist movement in the past several years. we have seen the movement diversify and expand in the aftermath of the upheaval and political chaos since 2010. the threat now comes from a decentralized array of organizations and networks.

isl is only one of the groups we are concerned about. al qaeda core continues to support attacking the west and for now remains the recognized leader of the global jihadist, even as it struggles to mount operations under sustained pressure. veteran al qaeda fighters have traveled from pakistan to take advantage of the permissive operating environment there. they are focused on plotting against the west. al qaeda's official branches in yemen and somalia remain extremely active. we have seen al qaeda at the arabian peninsula repeatedly try to keep down an airline in the u.s., targeting personnel in yemen. he capability to carry out its terrorist attack against the united states. it is now a leader within al qaeda and the group's propaganda continues to resonate outside yemen.

it threatens u.s. and western personnel in the region, even with the losses since 2011. al qaeda has taken advantage of the security vacuum, the flow of weapons across borders to unify north and west africa. unprecedented levels of violence are being carried out in advance of elections that year. here in the united its, last year's bombing at the boston marathon is a sober reminder of the sustained threat we face from self-directed violent extremist. you can see the terrorist threat emanates from a broad area. terrorist networks have exploited the lack of governance and lack of security in these areas. terrorist groups we think are active in at least at length -- at least 11 insurgencies and these groups contribute to insurgencies and exploit the government's ability to fight on

multiple fronts. i want to point out identifying these threats is increasingly challenging for us. the groups are adapting tactics to avoid our intelligence collection. terrorist groups are looking for simpler, smaller scale attacks easier to pull off. lester ats an attack the westgate mall in a row be. -- in nairobi. terrorists are changing how they communicate to avoid surveillance or they are moving usinge secure platforms, encryptions, and in some case -- this is a problem for us. to identify and disrupt plots. the point is this. isl has captured our immediate focus. it is only one of the myriad groups that poses a threat to us

as a terrorist landscape evolves and becomes increasingly complex and challenging for us. mind, letcontext in me spend the last minutes talking about the strategy to defeat isil. as formidable as it is as a group, it is not invincible. broad coalition of partners, we the tools to defeat isil based on a determined and comprehensive all of government approach. near-term, we are focused on protecting personnel on the ground and in iraq, including staff, while addressing the humanitarian crisis isil has created. our military is taking the fight to isil. we have conducted more than 100 and 20 airstrikes in support of iraqi security forces, and provided the necessary force to allow these forces to regain

infrastructure. because of successes of these strikes, isil is moving on and moving territory. these measures by an iraqi and u.s. forces have revealed isil is vulnerable to coordinated and effective military action. to zapike had begun momentum and gain space for kurdish forces to gain momentum. the u.s. and its allies have provided over one million pounds to survive, including food and water to populations under siege by isil. averteps have helped to humanitarian crisis is -- crisis es.ed -- tracy' humanitarian aid must be part of a broader -- over -- here at

home. ofh a clear eyed assessment the threat isil poses inside and outside the region, we're implementing a comprehensive strategy that calls for a global coalition, using all tools, diplomatic, military, intelligence, law enforcement, to in -- to defeat the group. only the government iraq that is representative of all iraqis will unite the country. we have concentrated on working with iraqis to ensure the new iraqi government stands for all iraqis. this will reduce tensions throughout the region not just iraq and indicates a marginalized sunnis that there is an alternative. >> iraqis have made progress to this goal in recent weeks naming a new

prime minister. the strategy requires regional and international partners. some nations will provide military assistance. direct and indirect. others will provide humanitarian assistance. the effort is underway in iraq where others have joined with us in providing humanitarian aid and military assistance. this week at the nato summit, secretary john kerry and hagel will meet with counterparts to enlist the broadest possible assistance and then both secretaries will travel in the middle east. country can support the horrors perpetrated by isil and no civilized country should shirk its responsibility. a broad international consensus will provide the foundation for a concerted action to achieve a number of objectives. we will continue to take direct action unilaterally with our partners.

isil's capacity to wage war and diminished control in iraq and syria. we are continuing our support for iraq moderate and for syrian opposition. next, we will counter isil's extremist messaging campaign by working with partners to emphasize battlefield successes of our iraqi and kurdish forces and to highlight the atrocity and the grave threat the troop poses to our iraqi sunnis. finally, we will continue to enhance our intelligence collection within the region and will build on an established security measure here at home to combat any threat we see. this includes working to -- to stem the flow here in iraq. our attention is concentrated on the security crises in both iraq and syria and rightly so. and other groups operating in syria threaten our people and our interests in the region and,

left unchecked, they will seek to carry out attacks closer to home. no terrorist group is invincible. the slaughter of tens of thousands of innocent syrians and iraqi civilians has shocked and united all civilized people for the barbaric murders of two american journalists and an attack has demonstrated these terrorist threats are not confined to one part of the globe. the president has set -- has said the u.s. will continue to do what ever is necessary to .rotect at home and abroad we work with our partners in the region and allies over the long term to bring peace and security to a chaotic heart of the world. thank you very much gorelick forward our discussion. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> thank you very much for that hystericaland

description of the threat that we face today. you started in belgium. i would like to go back to belgium. i listened to what you said. you are portraying an which hason followers, sympathizers, and some cell structure in europe. if i would compare that to al qaeda in 1999-2000, when we knew it had a pretty well-developed cell structure in europe and asia, and,outheast as we now know, in the united states of america, what i'm hearing from you is we are not past that level of acute threat today but we could be there. is of whereir summary we're standing today? let's that is a useful point of

comparison. you are spot on in saying we are certainly not there. isil is not al qaeda pre-9/11. think we are also not as a country and as a counterterrorism community here, but also across europe, we are not where we were in pre-9/11. we are so much better postured in so many ways to see, detect, stop any type of attack like we saw on 9/11. concern and i highlighted this, the number of europeans who travel to syria. certainly some of them, perhaps many, have joined forces with isil. they're the ones returning home. that is the model we are most concerned about, and it is highlighted by what we saw in the judicial museum in brussels. , possibly acting

atits own, possibly acting isil's direction. a smaller scale type of attack, brutal and lethal, but nothing like a 9/11 scale attack. thought a queue was capable of at that time. that is an important point of comparison. arrows --nd endless hours reading propaganda. also, your intelligence collection. from looking at the propaganda and the whole terror threat to ensure you have, do you have any doubt about their long-term intentions, vis-à-vis both europe and more importantly american homeland? we do spend a lot of time reviewing their propaganda and information we are able to glean that is not part of what is in the open source is, i think yes, there is no doubt in our view

that that is have the old really see us. they ultimately see us as a strategic threat and one, as they publicly stated, they will inevitably confront. i do think at some point in time, allowed to proceed on the path they are on, left unchecked, they would turn their sites more to the west and potentially to the united states. organizationf this is a very mysterious figure. literally meaning he is a descendent of the prophet mohammed. if anything he says is true. do you feel the american intelligence community has a solid handle on who this guy is, where he comes from, what his ideology is, or is this still a work in progress? >> we have a pretty good sense. i do think that your

characterization of him as somewhat shadowy is absolutely fair. publicnot struck a persona in the way others have. their other members of the group that have a large public persona. we spend a fair amount of time in the broader community learning what we possibly can about him. >> do you think he comes from the same ideological bent as our colleague and bin laden? the level of violence, the him in thatuts category. >> i do think he shares that ideology, both in terms of the level of violence and, ultimately, grandiose aspirations he has set forth. so yes, i would put him in the same category. isil has set itself on a path apart from the rest of al qaeda

and in part based on their disagreement with the tactics. and the approach. is more about means. with respect to ends, they share the same ideology. >> to emphasize that isil or isis or whatever you a to call is part of a broader transformation, let's call it al qaeda is him, in the last couple of years. in that context, how worried are ,ou that the old al qaeda core perhaps with new leaders coming in, is poised to view resurrected and research as the united states and nato, who draw forces from afghanistan and pakistan? of seeing anger repeat of what has happened in iraq or al qaeda in iraq?

we thought it was, if not destroy, at least on the back foot, resurrecting itself with al qaeda for or al qaeda core like groups? >> we are obviously vigilant in possibility and working closely with afghan security forces, as well as other partners in the region. to continue to maintain the pressure we have been able to place on al qaeda to ensure that does not happen. i am confident we will take steps necessary to prevent anything like that type of resurgence of al qaeda in that part of the world. >> i will press you a little bit here there is a difference between taking it seriously, and this is notd that

the 2014 threat, but the 2017 threat. >> right. it is fair to press me on that point. part of my job is to be worried about these things. i have all the gray hair that i have and that is why. comforted when i see the work that goes on, so i will go back to that point, that we're going to take the steps we need to take to make sure that whether it is 2014 or 2017, we do not see that type of insurgents. the president made a number of speeches where he has talked about this, and what i talked about in terms of diffusion and decentralization of the threat. we need to be steely eyed about the threat, where it comes up, where it rises to a level of threat to the kind of

the u.s., whether our interests in the region or here at home, that we will do whatever is necessary to disrupt and defeat that threat. secretary kerry and secretary hagel and how going to the middle east after spending the weekend in wales, the question i am constantly asked by people, and you hear it on talk shows everywhere, is, where are our muslim allies? people we fighting these and the common american perception is, many of our allies are taking a lackadaisical approach. most often heard with regard to saudi arabia. anyout compromising intelligence collection activity, how would you characterize how our muslim allies, and you can name names if you want or say they, are working with -- shout out the

ones who helped the most and be quiet about this. the countriesows we work so closely with in the region, and i mentioned areas where i think it begins with a threat. you look at the areas, the countries threatened by the rise of isil. obviously, lebanon, jordan, turkey, and, increasingly, others, saudi arabia. these are countries we are closely allied with and are both openly and less openly, to take on this threat. results ofard to the what is happening at the nato summit and then further diplomatic efforts, more in the purview of the secretary of state and the secretary of defense, to build those partnerships and form this coalition. i think there is every reason to believe based on what is happened so far, that it will

coalesce. >> i mentioned in introducing you that you worked on gone, no -- one, no -- guantánamo. to see american stressed to look like guantánamo prisoners. looking back, how damaging has it been, how damaging is it still today, that the guantánamo facility six years after president obama called for it to be shut is still our overall effort to counter overall efforts? >> there is no doubt that, first, it is important to note our view that there is no group as successful and effective as isl is at using propaganda, particularly using social media. they outpaced any others in how

they used the internet to spread their message. as we have seen in the past, part of that is the guantánamo imagery. that, along with a number of other tools, are things that they turn to, or messages they turn to, to try to spread their message and radicalize others. i do think it is important to say here, there should be no equivalency and we should reject any sense of it between what we and ourhose videos country's policies. i want to make sure that is clear. time, we are working hard in support of the president's goal to" guantanamo. we are with the rest of the community, part of that effort. >> you have been doing this for some time and you mentioned in your talk that not only is the

threat transform, but we are transformed. the national counterterrorism , actually set up derived from an earlier effort, but we do not need to go into chronology and bureaucracy here, to connect the dots. we felt after september 11, we knew after september 11, information was not properly start -- shared. -- at how the nt u.s. government more broadly functions, how would you characterize for americans the level at which we are now connecting the dots, bringing the information together, and really making sure we do not of data slipeces through the >> as they did before september 11? >> that is a soft ball. thank you. i appreciate that. we thing to point out is were, just last week,

celebrating our 10th anniversary. we were -- an executive order in august of 2004 and then codified in the intelligence reform act later that year. , ayears of history relatively young organization. but really reflective of the overall counterterrorism community and the level of collaboration within this community, the level of information sharing, it stands as a model for the rest of the government in how we work. the imperative of 9/11 gave us the momentum to break down barriers to sharing information and we basically have been working that since 2001 and certainly since we were created in 2004. more concretely, there are real examples of the government working together in ways that are hard to imagine. i would point to the captures earlier this year.

where the intelligence community, working with military forces, working with the law enforcement community, these individuals are now facing justice. a longtime al qaeda operative indicted for his role in the bombings,998 embassy and another charged with his role in benghazi. a seamlessxamples of counterterrorism effort where intelligence, military, law enforcement, all working coordinated. all in a way, it is hard to imagine any other country being able to pull off something like that. it is something i am particularly proud of, as we see the small part in supporting that. but again, we are exemplifying the level of collaboration and coordination within the u.s. government counterterrorism

community. >> we have given you one chance at a softball so we will go to a hardball. please identify yourself and make it a question and not a speech. >> thank you. i am from the is -- the atlantic council. two questions. is it possible to defeat or even isis whilely degrade assad remains at least in .ominal control in syria what is the role in i ran -- in iran to help united states defeat what is a mutual threat. thank you. question, it absolutely is, without regards to the question of assad. it is absolutely possible to and defeat isil,

particularly over the long run. it will take time. part of that will mean working to secure a political transition in syria. as long as assad is in that a role with no legitimacy in his own country, we have seen syria is a magnet , which obviously complicates the security picture from our perspective, but provides resources and support for isil, and other groups. part of the broader strategy over the long term is a political transition in syria. respect to the second question, with respect to iran's iraq --iraq, obviously, ironic has interest in that region as well, it is a

neighbor. i will not say much more about iran's role. >> i work for the bbc. i was wondering if you could the a little bit about homegrown president. americans joining the fight in syria. i am particularly wondering about radical preachers, how you're dealing with them now, and whether it is different now. also how you compare it to have the uk's handling the problem. click the u.k. raised its threat level. they have a different system than we do for that particular question. the threat level question. i mentioned we think over 100 americans traveled to syria. of thoseknow how many have joined isil. we think 100 have gone to join syrian opposition and effort. many of those, we think, have joined extremist groups.

the united in kingdom is substantially more significant in terms of numbers. the prime minister mentioned as many as 500 in his remarks last week. the situations are similar. the situation is more pronounced. about foreign fighters traveling to those countries and then returning home. that is largely a consequence of the geographic proximity of the u.k. to syria and the ease with which one can travel there. we're doing a number of things. if he i has a lead on this with causingderstand what is folks in the united states the desire to go to syria. it is part of a broader strategy . we have seen this in the past with individuals desiring to go to places like somalia. certainly, the u.k. has this as well, with the number of

individual seeking to go to pakistan and other places. we work really closely with the u.k. understanding the nature of that radicalization process and the kinds of steps we can take from a law enforcement perspective, to stem that flow. here in the united states, we have tools. the fbi has the lead here. when we see someone who committed a crime, being able to arrest them before they go. >> thank you very much. i write to the mitchell report and i want to come back and ask the flip side of a question --ised polls -- bruce holst bruce posed earlier. back where we were in 9/11, 2001. i want to ask this question. you talked about what the

motivating factors of americans joining isil might be. it possible, and, do we have a way of analyzing, if not measuring, the extent to which inrica's staying in the game these countries? and the so-called collateral damage in particular. isil than it is eradicating? and doing so, multigenerational fo --tigenerational h

moats -- multigenerationally? doing have a choice? -- do we have a choice? >> one of the ways i would answer the question is to refer back to the work that has been done over the last couple of years by the it ministration, by the president, to set our efforts, our direct action legal policy sound with key points that we will take action only when there is a continuing in a ,inute threat to u.s. persons and one that is enduring, that will be in place for the foreseeable future. and that is dedicated to limiting any harm to noncombatants. this is the way we have announced the approach.

and that we could hold out to the rest of the world to show it is one that i think addresses the concerns you raised. at the end of the day, the president has again made clear that where there are continuing an imminent risks or threats to u.s. people, to americans, and to answer that last part of your question, the choice is to take the action that is necessary to stop those threats. again, i think you have seen that level of aggressiveness from the counterterrorism community, whether it is in situations i mentioned where we captured individuals because, where we can, we have taken that step. we have captured individuals, even in dangerous missions like that, where we have been aggressive, certainly as has been announced this past summer, where we sought to rescue, unfortunately not to -- not successfully, to rescue hostages in syria. where we need to be aggressive

and assertive, we will be. but the counterterrorism policies for direction -- direct action are on a footing that we can hold out as being and legal and sustainable over the long term. >> to those of you who came early and get in the front, you get a benefit from my inability to see anything more than 10 feet away. >> thank you for being here. simply put, terrorism as a global phenomenon is fed by recruit. feel disenfranchised, discriminated against, and economically stifled. they are infinitely susceptible to propaganda promising prestige and a paycheck. could you comment more on the propaganda countermeasures being implemented, with or without international partners, to fight,the allure of this

as well as economic impact of these states, where recruitment is high, that could bolster communication efforts? >> a very good question. obviously, as you look across these areas i mentioned when i went through this around the world description of the types of threats we are concerned about, one of the common themes we see in these countries is not only a lack of governance and lack of security, the problems more deep-seated than that in terms of economic opportunity, educational opportunities. really deep-seated socioeconomic problems that are certainly the conditions that give rise to basically young man with little hope, little future, turning to radical and in some cases, ultimately violent extremism behavior. so, there is a broad array of things that need to be done that go far beyond the remit of nt tc

and these are long-term systemic concerns working with the rest of our allies, regional partners, to address and largely work down through the state department as well, and in some cases, the defense department, to address. an answer to your question. the first part -- the first part of your question is about counter messaging. one of things we do is analyze the nature of message our adversaries are putting out. what messages are they using? why do they think these resonate and do they? if so, in what ways and with whom? informationde that to other elements of the government, particularly the state department, having a more outward facing role helping to push back on that message through diplomatic and strategic medications. we would not be the ones to actually send out that message. we help analyze it and understand it the help inform anse are fossil in shaping

image in the u.s. and shaping a counter message that would be effective. >> i want to build on the question little bit here in 2000 and 2001, we were dealing with the failed state in afghanistan and repercussions. the failed states now going by the half-dozen, we have got serious, iraq, failed or failing. libya, which is barely a country anymore. yemen, a prime candidate to move up into the dubious category. nigeria, if iern look at it, the resources of the counterterrorism committee of the united states are now being asked to be stretched very far and wide. how do we figure out what the priorities are and how do we ron does notal hi load trade next week, because

they have the essential to do so, but we do not have the resources focus on strategic thinking. >> an important part of what we do and essential question. as we look across the middle east and north africa, we see all these countries that are in some sense not being affected -- effective at governing. we see terrorist groups take advantage of insurgencies. 11, more or less, but that is about where we see the number of countries where terrorist groups are taking advantage of insurgencies. and prioritizing and understanding what is happening in these countries, so that we can allocate limited resources a centraly, it is -- challenge for us. the president talked about this

at west point and on other occasions, where he pointed out we have to work with our partners and build up the capabilities of some of these countries and seek to develop solutions beyond the u.s., going and militarily. across these countries, i think the key for me is to be very precise and careful about identifying the level of threat they pose, that the groups pose and operate. not just putting all of these groups on the same plane. vicious as heras rom has been, we do not see that posing a threat to us here in the united states, or even now really having an agenda to do so. that does not mean that may not change. but right now, it is not core al qaeda. ,he groups operating in libya

brutal, militias, certainly, the terrorist attack in benghazi was a significant attack. do not necessarily put those individuals on the same plane as we do core al qaeda. the challenge is prioritizing, being clear about the threat, being steely eyed about where we to put our limited resources, and then, making a really concerted effort to build capacity and international coalitions to do with these problems. >> we are getting close to the witching hour, so i will take three questions, starting here, and then write their, and then the gentleman back there. hopefully, we will have time for one more round. >> thank you. i am from brookings. my question is to take you back

to syria. during your remarks, you talked about the importance of working with the government as a strategy for iraq. during the q and a, you mentioned political transformation. assad has showed his staying power and -- over and over again. what is the short-term strategy for the u.s. to a dress threats you identified with respect to syria? , isl hasf it is to say now changed the ballgame with respect to the border. there's really not a border between iraq and syria. when we look at this as a challenge, we look at both countries. the short-term strategy has been, as i discussed, to protect americans in iraq.

those in diplomatic facilities, particularly in baghdad, and then to help avert humanitarian crises we saw beginning to form in a number of places. that is a short-term strategy. the longer-term strategy is to build an international coalition that will build all the tools we have to bear on the problem and that includes beginning with more inclusive governments in iraq and we made strong progress there under a new prime minister , but then over the longer term, it includes a transition in that will government be inclusive as well. that is a long-term proposition. that will require a concerted diplomatic effort by not just the united states, but particularly countries in the region. >> we will take three. one right here. >> with fox news, my question relates to threats you talked about, foreign fighters going to syria and the region and bringing their skills back home.

any that in mind, are there cells in the united states, whether it is people who have come back and flew under the radar, or people who remained behind as some organizational support? what can you tell us about the second american from minneapolis who apparently worked at the airport? my questionart of is about the video yesterday. within a few hours of the video coming out, there were -- there were reports and isil pose on the twitter page or facebook page apologizing to their followers that the video was posted by mistake. could that be seen as sort of a fracturing within the organization and some kind of power struggle in terms of propaganda leadership and influence? >> we will take two more.

>> let me go ahead and answer the question or are you saying, we save those for later? life this will be the last round. those twonot remember questions. let me quickly answer. i would answer the first part. the second two parts, it is more in the range of speculation, so i will not touch those. no indication at this point of a fightersoreign operating in the united states. . . we are mindful and vigilant about the possibility of individuals, more likely on back own, 1, 2, coming from syria. we have seen that model in toope. there is every reason be concerned about that as a potential, not happening now, but a potential in the united states. clear, we are working very hard, fbi,

department of homeland security, along with particularly european partners, to understand who those individuals are, to track their movement, and to be in a position to disrupt any violent activities they might engage in. >> has there been any -- does isil have any objectives against israel? have they attempted any actions or, is for some reason israel off their radar screen? >> i sit here and i am trying to think if there has been any indication along those lines of attacks against israel. anything --nking of nothing comes to mind in response to your question. given everything we know about that part of the world --

i am not aware of anything in particular. >> very last question. >> thank you very much. broadcast to pakistan and broader regions. this morning, there were reports from the region that isil had to the propaganda. and the border regions and pete getting them off the posters in the back of the car. my question is the background i started reaching out and experts are believing some of the taliban groups may have been alive. to much is this a concern the united states, particularly when they want stabilizing? >> can i broaden that a little bi