to engage. with dribs and drabs, increasing a little here and there. the president would have been ell served if he also would vm demonstrated even more humbleness regarding our strategy, meaning for the president to be absolutely adamant last night as well as today, for the secretary of state kerry to be adamant today there will be no more u.s. boots on the ground, it sends a signal that we are not serious about defeating this islamic state. and so i ask the question, mr. speaker, who on the ground will be calling for the air strikes against the islamic state in someone on the ground needs to do it. that's how war works, someone who is on the ground needs to call for those air strikes. you cannot win a war when you only have overhead architecture

and overhead surveillance. you need people on the ground who can go and gather the intelligence that you need so you know effectively how to defeat this enemy. and i ask this, do we want to defeat this enemy, decisively, quickly and completely so the enemy knows if they rear their head again, we will decimate their plan. are we going to do that or do what happened in vietnam, drib, drab, a little here and there. not getting what it takes to defeat that enemy. what happened in vietnam? ultimately, the communist came in and that country came in and fell. and you see the post script to the story of vietnam was the slaughter of innocents under the evil polpot in the killing

fields. and we know the history was an ugly history. this isn't good, this is awful. but we need to see what has happened. we see the arab spring has been nothing but islamic bloodletting across the middle east. in their own words, it is religious-based and religious- trya-inspired and doing the bidding of their god to spill the blood of the infidel. this is an evil and moral wrong and must be defeated. . we can defeat it. when we have the capability to defeat this enemy, i don't understand it. i don't understand, mr. speaker, our president who just this week said that he needed

to commit 3,000 american troops to the african continent for ebola, to defeat ebola. now, ebola is a virus that has a health impact against the american people. i can understand dispatching medical personnel, i can understand dispatching people for humanitarian purposes. but the very weird thing about the president's strategy has been changing our military so that its purpose is to bring about humanitarian relief in the form of dispatching them for boots on the ground, to deal with ebola. that is not the purpose of a military. the president needs to dispatch 3,000 troops or whatever it takes into the islamic state, to defeat the islamic state. we don't go in willy-nilly. we go in with a very good plan,

with the most brilliant military minds, and we have them, with the bravest military heroes, and we have them. with the greatest military equipment that's ever been devised by man, and we have it. we have got it all. we have got the means for defeating this evil enemy. to not do it, mr. speaker, in my mind, that is a moral wrong. that is an evil. to allow that evil to grow and thrive and continue to slit the throats of men and women and children, to rob them of their lives and, yes, to see tragedy born potentially across this land. because even today, as we're in this chamber tonight, absolutely nothing has been done to secure america's southern border. absolutely nothing against entry by the islamic state into this country. despite the fact that the islamic state, through their social media, has been

declaring their attempt to do exactly that. why in the world aren't we closing our southern border and every other border and every other port of entry? and why aren't we pulling the passports of americans who have become terrorists under the islamic state and who seek to return to the united states? why wouldn't any sane country choose to take effective, commonsense answers to secure the safety of the american people? that's what a nation that wants to survive would do. that's the better way. that's what i hope the president of the united states will do. because, you see, everything's at stake. on this, our constitution day. let us recognize the first duty of any nation, especially the greatest nation, is to secure the safety and sovereignty and

security of the american people. that we must do. and i am so proud that we have the means to do it. i believe that we will acquire the judgment to do what needs to be done. it's within the hearts of the american people. it is within our military. now it is up to the politicians. listen to wisdom. listen to the people. and do what needs to be done. and with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman has yielded. the chair will recognize for a motion to adjourn. mrs. bachmann: mr. speaker, i do now make the motion to adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to adjourn. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the motion is adopted. accordingly, the house stands adjourned until 9:00

>> tomorrow marks the sixth year since chairman ben bernanke met with bipartisan leadership of the house and senate following a report by secretary of the treasury paulsen who described a meltdown coming in our financial services industry. when i asked the chairman if he agreed, what did he think of what secretary paulsen had to say, the chairman said, if we don't act immediately, we could not have an economy by monday. here we are, six years later, the american people still frightened by what that crash did to them and their personal lives. it was only seven weeks before the election.

actually, fewer days than seven weeks before the presidential election. i won't go into detail about that conversation, except to say that that outcome was an outcome of the bush economic policy. when the president took office in january, the unemployment ate was in excess of 9%. then, 9%, today it's 6.1%. he deficit was 1.3 -- was $1.3 trillion, today, c.b.o. estimates it will be $500 billion for 2014. still too high. we want it to be lower. but it has come down 60% since president obama took office. we've had 54 straight months of private sector job growth.

millions of jobs. maybe 10 million jobs created in the private sector. and that's important. but it was also because of the policies of president obama. millions, maybe 15 million people have access to quality, affordable health care, and that health care, the affordable care act, has lowered the cost of health care in our country, contributing to the decline in our deficit. the rate of debt to g.d. spmplet the lowest it has been -- g.d.p. is the lowest it has been as the arch of 40 years. the list goes on about indicators that have said the president has taken us forward in a positive direction from a very deep place. if we do not act immediately, would not have an economy by

monday. this is a thursday night. and now the republicans want to take us back to those same policies. to those same policies. those trickle down policies of tax breaks for the rich at the expense of the middle class. and that's why we have launched our middle class jump start. to build the infrastructure of america with build america bonds which we had in effect then paid for by ending tax breaks to companies sending jobs overseas and instead rewarding companies that make it in america. that we have investments in education to keep america number one. the tierney-warner bill to enable students to renegotiate their loans at a much lower interest rate has a big impact on families and entrepreneurship for these young people. and of course the center of it all, when women succeed, america succeeds. equal by -- -- equal pay.

raising minimum wage. over 60% of the people making it are women. paid sick leave and relating to education, quality, affordable child care. to unleash the power of women in the work force and the economy. so our title, when women succeed, america succeeds, is not just a title for an economic agenda for women and families. it is a statement of absolute fact. our country's economy will succeed as women succeed. so that's what tomorrow is. it marks that day. six years ago. because of the policies, the republican policies that they have been espousing, their economic and fiscal policies, we could not have an economy by monday. an economy. we're not going back to that place. we're going to continue to fight that fight. to put the middle class first.

and the first -- in the first 100 days of a new congress to put the middle class first. the backbone of our democracy. as you know, today we will be taking a vote on the training of -- outside of syria -- of responsible elements. i think the president deserves a great deal of credit for what he .as done in a nonmilitary way humanitarian rise, saving the people on the mountain for lack of a better term, many more than those, from the barbarism of isis. in a political way he, and joe biden deserve credit for how they encouraged the establishment of an inclusive government in iraq without which it would be no reason for taos even be helping out if the

government is at war with its own people. and of course the diplomacy he engaged in to have the coalition of so many nato countries as well as countries in the reto be part of the solution as we go forward. the vote today is about one very discrete piece and that is the training of these rebels. and i don't know if that's the word we use, rebels. they've been described in a number of different ways. t what it is is a short-term initiative to train the moderates outside of syria. this training will take place outside of syria. i don't know how the vote will turn out. it's not a vote we whip. we just don't whip war votes. but i do think that as members

weigh the factors that they will, i think, give points to the president for all he has done, diplomatically, politically, humanitarian-wise and as for this discrete piece, it is not to be confused with any authorization to go further. we passed the mcgovern bill -- overwhelmingly passed the mcgovern bill that said it -- really -- what it stated were if the president were to go further we would need an act of congress. over 300 members voted for that. that's another subject. the same challenge. the president needs the authority to do -- to train the troops. to train the moderates. but i don't think he needs a bill right now to do what he is doing in the bigger sense.

i think he has all of that authority. but there is a threshold that if it is cost, congress will have to act. any questions? >> all our ears pricked up yesterday when general dempsey was in the armed services committee, i imagine you read his comments, where he said that the president's ironclad statement in front of the country that there won't be any boots on the ground in iraq to fight isis was open to revision if circumstances on the ground change if dempsey's recommendation changes, he said the president told me to come back to me on a case-by-case basis. was that testimony a surprise to you in what do you think about it? >> what i think about it is what i would vote on it. i would not vote for combat troops to engage in war. whatever he intended and however they have characterized it, and i'm sure in the mill tear they

always reserve the right to review a strategy or certain tactics within it, all i can say to you is, i'm -- i've told this to my caucus and they told it to me, we are not there to support combat troops in any of these engagements. >> what about the two shades of this statement for the president to make in primetime to say this will never happen and for the chairman of the joint chiefs to say, it won't unless we change -- unless the president changes his mind. i'm interpreting it of course. >> you're putting words in different mouths. it doesn't matter. what matters to us is that we are not, house democrat, by and large, and i'm not saying that every single person subscribes to this because somebody may come forward but the sentiment of our caucus has been that we are not supporting combat troops in how we solve this problem.

we believe that the president has taken us on the proper course which is humanitarian which is diplomatic, which is political. we need some leverage from military strength, therefore train the moderates in order to have them make the fight. one of the explanations i heard is they might need to have somebody on the ground to advise on the air strikes and if that's what they're talking about, i don't know that anybody has a big problem with that. i'm talking about combat troops on the ground to engage in battle. >> is it challenge, though, you said this is the general position of the caucus, not to have these troops, but the caveat about calling in air strikes or something like that. but if the president were to come forward with a plan that says, look, we need to have, this is a broader speech he gives or a briefing, a more intimate briefing like you had a few weeks ago, he says, we have

to get after this this challenge -- is that a blanket no, we're not going to go there? can he make that case? >> i can only speak for myself. as i did in 2002 when we took this vote, i was the senior democrat on the intelligence committee, i told my colleagues that -- at the gang of four or gang of eight, whichever briefing we were in, i saw everything the administration had to offer to congress in terms of intelligence and the intelligence did not support the threat. did not support the threat. and that -- and that's why i was voting against it. i never say to people, this is why i urge you to vote against it. i just say, this is why i'm voting against it. overwhelmingly the democrats voted against it, because there was no intelligence to support the threat. because tele-- because the threat as they described it did not exist. we can spend a lot of time on this, but i think that what's

important here is the president is trying to make the political change, have the -- support the iraqis to make the political change that they need to make to have an inclusive government and that's what we have to be doing, is to use our levwadge -- leverage and some of that may be training of troops in order to stop an organization like isis in its tracks. but i don't think the american people are up for it. i don't know that it would even achieve success to send troops in. but whatever it is, i'm against t. >> [inaudible] >> what would be the purpose? what is the purpose? our purpose is not to engage in civil war in syria. and our purpose is not to continue the war in iraq. our purpose is to stop isis from

its brutality. the -- isis performed outside the circle of civilized human behavior. a threat to our friends in the region. it is a threat to us. it's a threat to stability. and it must be stopped. but that doesn't mean we have to spend -- we have other options. i quoted to my colleagues yesterday the quote of hanna arendt, i don't have it exactly here, but it says, people think one more act of violence is going to stop violence but instead it's flike a flywheel that just keeps produce manager violence. i think we have strength of ideas, the people of the country, they have their own self-determination to weigh in here and i do not support our -- the worse it gets there, the less reason i think we should send in troops.

it's just an endless flywheel. >> madam leader. when did -- when was the last time you spoke with president obama about this issue? and what is the president doing right now to make sure that he gets the support he needs when this goes to a vote? >> i can't -- of course i was in the room with the gang of four, i chatted with the president on ther subjects. i speak to his advisors pretty regularly. but i think our view is well known to the president and i believe that the president does not want to have troops on the ground. >> but he has not called you in the last couple of days ahead of this vote? >> i've had communication with the president's people, shall we say, on the subject but it's not, you know, it's not a whip -- it's not a whip operation so it's a little bit different. members will do what members are

comfortable with doing. i thoop view every vote in congress as a vote of conscience so when people say it's a vote of conscience, well, yeah, they all are. but this is a category where people have to weigh all the equities. all i have said to them is i support this because i weigh heavily the equity that the president of the united states has put forth a strong initiative founded on nonmilitary strength, new government in iraq, humanitarian assistance to people affected by isis, diplomacy to build a coalition of support in nato and this region, and that discreet piece of training moderates outside of syria, it's very important to me that it be outside of syria, is worthy of support. they will make their own judgment about it. >> madam leader what do you make of concerns expressed by some

progressives and libertarians that weapons or other resources sent to syrian rebels might make their way into the hands of isis and be used against americans? >> the vetting is a very important part of this. i know that people have that question because it's happened efore. the program will train vetted fighters to defend the syrian people against the tyranny of isis. they have to be very vetted, yeah. obviously, is there one person who might make off with something? but really, we have to be, i the capacity ve to vet and to identify. it's a challenge. there's no question. and i know that people ask the question. and that's why i think that the bill that people are being asked to vote for has every -- have you read it? it has every check and balance

in it along the way. in terms of who, what, when, and why. and i think it has a timetable, i know it has timetables in it for reporting back to congress. it's very sad that we find ourselveses in this situation. that, again, isis is acting outside the circle of civilized human behavior, as i said. i went to 9/11 thursday night, when i was up in new york, later i showed my grandchildren they see it because they live in new york, the lights, the beams that are there. it's so, so clear in our minds that we can never allow anything like that to happen again in our country. it's a scar. and we have to protect the american people. and we take an oath. that's what we do. you want to be a member of

congress, protect and defend, that's the oath we take and that's what we have to do. but i believe that we have to be leaning more in the direction of political, diplomatic, and humanitarian solutions. that doesn't mean you take off strength, military strength off the table. but it means you're going in a different direction. and i think that's possible. but again we could chat about this all day and if you keep me at it i'll go into the misrepresentations that came forth in 2012. if you read that authorization, you will see that they blamed iraq for 9/11. it's stunning. when i went to kuwait a few weeks before the initiation of hostilities into iraq and talked to soldiers to see what they needed. went with jack murtha. to see what their concerns were about the y felt

fight, i said, when did -- they all say, they hurt us, we're going to hurt them. i said when did they hurt us? and they said, they hurt us on 9/11. i think people were burned by that experience of iraq. we had authority to go into afghanistan an -- afghanistan in terms of 9/11 wetch sent the taliban run, heading for the hill, but we did not defeat them, they came back, because we left and went to iraq for reasons that were misrepresented to the american people and as a disservice to our troops. we are dealing now with all the aftermath of war and that is the impact on our veterans. again, protect and defend, that's our responsibility, and not all of it has to be military. it -- it can be political, humanitarian, diplomatic, the president is doing that i have to excuse myself -- you already had one. >> on the nfl. there's a firestorm over their

handling of players who have been charged of crimes. ray rice has been -- >> listen, we haven't had any questions from women. do any women have any questions? >> maybe i will ask you about the nfl since you've spoken so uch about syria already. [laughter] you're a big 49ers fan. >> don't remind me of sunday night's game. >> but has the league handled this appropriately? is it time for the commissioner to step down? >> i think it's appropriate to have an information of who knew what and when. i'm glad they have some women now in advisory capacity. maybe he has all along. but that's beefed up. but i think it's important to see what the investigation will yield as to who knew what and when.

but it's about respect for rim. it's about respect for women in the workplace, equal pay for equal work. it's respect for women's judgment about their own health in terms of a woman's right to choose. it's about understanding that when women succeed, america succeeds. we have to have affordable child care and paid leave and the rest of that, recognizing the role that women play. so as we deal with violence against women, whether it's in the military, whether it's in the home, whether it's on campuses, we have to take a look at this in a bigger sense. and since you asked, i'll go back to the violence against women act. 20 years ago this past saturday, we have lots of dates and times, but this past saturday we passed the violence against women act 20 years ago. joe biden was our hero, chairman of the judiciary committee in the senate at the time. we've had to re-authorize it at

some point over time and when it came time re-authorize it again under republican majority in the house, even though it passed the senate in a bipartisan way, the republican majority in the house refused to bring up the bill for over 600 days. no protection for women. because they didn't re-authorize the bill. and when they finally brought a bill to the floor, they said, we have to have our bill and your bill, our bill was the senate bipartisan bill that had passed the senate. and they had their own bill that said we're against violence against women. except if you happen to be an immigrant woman a native american woman, or an lgbt woman. so when people talk about the differences in washington, d.c. and why cant we -- can't we get along, we can't get along on a bill that says no violence against women unless you're lgbt, unless you're an immigrant or unless you're a native american, then you don't have those protections. and we want to have the economic

policies that we had six years ago that led to a meltdown of our financial institutions and scared the american people to a point where we still have to instill confidence in the economy to take us where we need to be. so there's differences between us in policy and sometimes we cannot find common ground. >> the league does get special protections given by the government. is it being investigated by itself. does congress need to -- >> one step at a time. let's see what it is. it's hard for me to understand how people are punching out their wifes at home and the rest of that, or their kids, and the rest of that but it does happen and it's an issue we have been working on far very long time, violence against women. and sometimes it's violence against men, domestic violence system of we have to stop that. we have to stop that.

we have to recognize that sports figures are in a special place in our country and young people look up to them as heroes in what they do. so everybody has to take responsibility for their role in it. i don't know how long the league investigation will be. i think congress always has a role. but again, you're talking about antitrust privileges and the rest of that, that certainly is a big issue and it cannot be done except by the congress. let's see, you know, let's take it in terms of what they tell us back and i would think that depending on what that data is, what that evidence is, what that information is, that the outcome will be self-evident. to the nfl. doesn't mean that we cut ourselves out of the game, so to speak, but it means that, i have to speak on the steps on child

care, afordable child care right now. >> the number of teams that cut players specifically because of these allegations or charges but the 49ers, specifically which is your team, allowed ray mcdonald to play over the weekend even though he was arrested in august for demest exabuse he, hit his pregnant wife allegedly. do you think they should have let him play over the weekend? >> no. >> no? >> no. >> why not? >> for the reasons you just spelled out. i think, you know, the silver lining in all of this is people are getting a better understanding of what is happening and that disrespect can manifest itself in many ways, and i've spelled some of them out. but violence, listen, this is something we've all been working on for a very long time and as i said, 20 years ago successfully to pass the first violence against women act so we're

passionate about this issue. passionate about how we deal with it. let's see what they do. now, our coach says that, you know, innocent until proven guilty, due process and all of that, but the fact is, he shouldn't have played. thank you all very much. >> thank you. >> our guests tomorrow are ohio democratic congresswoman, marcy kaptur and california republican congressman dana rohrabacher. we continue our conversation about higher education and the big ten conference with the president of indiana university, ichael mcrobbie.

you can see "washington journal" live on c-span every morning at 7:30 eastern. >> the 2015 c-span student cam competition is under way, open to all middle and high school students to create a five to seven-minute documentary on the theme, the three branches and you, showing how actions of the legislative, judicial or executive branch has affected you or your community. there's 200 cash prizes totaling $100,000. for the list of rules and how to get started, go to studentcam.org. >> president obama met today with u.s. central command officials in tampa and delivered remarks on u.s. strategy in isis. this about 25 minutes.

>> hole low. i want to thank general austin for his introduction. were you about to sneak off the stage? >> yes, sir. >> go ahead. >> it's better when lloyd is not standing next to me because i don't look small. general austin has done such extraordinary work both commanding our forces in iraq, today as the commander of centcom, i want to thank somebody else for his lifetime of service to america, first as a soldier who fought in vietnam, now as secretary of defense, chuck hagel. give it up for chuck. cheers and applause]

chuck was here a few weeks ago to welcome the new head of special operations command, general joe votel. give joe a big round of applause. cheers and applause] for those of you who don't know, 13 years ago, joe led his team of army rangers as they jumped into afghanistan to establish our first base there. by jumping out of the plane alongside them. joe is a tough guy. and he knows what he's doing and i can't think of somebody who is more qualified to head up our special forces and so we want to thank joe for accepting this assignment. your member of congress, kathy castor is here. there she is right there. [cheers and applause]

your wing commander, colonel dan scully. your senior enlisted leaders, command sergeant major chris greca, command sergeant major chris burns, chief major ergeant matt lucera. [cheers and applause] and most of all i want to salute all the spouses and military families on base because let's be honest, they're the force behind the force. cheers and applause] i spent time with some of the them last night. it's clear why our military is the finest fighting force in the history of the world, and it's because our military families are serving right alongside you. i know we've got some air force in the house. [cheers and applause]

great to be at the home of the sixth air mobility wing. 927th air refueling wing. sent come. socom. we've -- centcom. socom. we've got some army here. navy. marines. coast guard. [laughter] we love our coast guard. now i'm not here to give a long speech. what i really wanted to do was just come down and shake some hands. i just received a briefing from general austin and met with your commanders. met with representatives from more than 40 nations. it is a true team effort here at mcdill. and i came here to say the same thing that i've been saying to

troops on bases across this country, around the world, and a few months ago in bagram and that is thank you. on behalf of the american people, i want to thank all of you for your service. i want to thank all of you for your sacrifice. i want to thank you for your commitment to each other and your commitment to our country. as your command for the chief, i could not be more proud of each and every one of you. for nearly 75 years, the men and women of mcdill have lived a commitment to airmen, mission, and community. you supported our troops through each generation of challenges. and as home to both central command and special operations command, you have shouldered some of the heaviest responsibilities in dealing with the challenges of this new century. for more than a decade, ever since that awful september morning 13 years ago, ever since

joe and his rangers took that jump a month later, you and all our men and women in uniform have borne the burden of war. some of you are -- some of you, our quiet professionals, our special forces, were first to go. when the decision was made to go to iraq, you were there. when we refocused back to afghanistan, you were there. you have served with skill, honor, commitment and professionalism. and some of you carry the wounds of these wars. and i know some of you lost friends. today we remember all who have given their lives in these wars and we stand with our families who have given more than most americans can ever imagine. and we honor those sacrifices forever. but here's what i want every single one of you to know. because of you this 9/11 generation of heroes has done everything asked of you and met

every mission tasked to you. we are doing what we set out to do. buzz of you, osama bin laden is no more. -- because of you, osama bin laden is no more. because of you, the core al qaeda leadership in afghanistan and pakistan has been decimated. because of you, afghans are reclaiming their communities. afghan forces have taken the lead for their country's security. in three months, because of you, our combat mission will be over in afghanistan and the war in afghanistan will come to an end. that's because of you. you and our counterterrorism officials have prevented terrorist attacks. you have saved american lives, you have made our homeland more secure. but we've always known that the end of the war in afghanistan didn't mean the end of threats or challenges to america. here at mcdill, you knew this and have known this as well as

anybody. you played a central role in our combat and counterterrorism operations. you make sure our troops and pilots get what they need in order to get the job done. you train forces around the world so countries can take responsibility for their own security. the sixth air mobility wing is continuously deployed, supporting our humanitarian and combat operations around the world. ready to defend. and your work is as vital as ever. because in an uncertain world full of breathtaking change, the one constant is american leadership. in a world where technology provides a small group of killers with the ability to do terrible harm, it is america that has the capacity and the will to mobilize the world against terrorists, including the group in syria and iraq

known as isis. our intelligence community, as i said last week, has not yet detected specific plots from these terrorists against america. but its leaders have detected threats against america and our allies and they pose a threat against the people of iraq, sir ark the broader middle east, including our personnel, our embassies there. if left unchecked, they could pose a growing threat to the united states. so last month, i gave the order for our military to begin taking targeted action against isis. and since then, our brave pilot and crews, with your help, have conducted more than 160 air strikes against these terrorists. because of your efforts, we've been able to protect our personnel in our facilities and kill isil fighters and given space for iraqi and kurd herb

forces to reclaim key territory. they've helped our partners on the ground break isil sieges, help rescue civilians cornered on a mountain, helped save the lives of thousands of innocent men, women, and children. that's what you've done. going forward, as i announced last week, we'll degrade and ultimately detry isis through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy. and whether in iraq or in syria, these terrorists will learn the same thing that leaders of al qaeda already know. we mean what we say. our reach is long. if you threaten america, you will find no safe haven. we will find you eventually. cheers and applause] but, and this is something i

want to emphasize, this is not and will not be america's fight alone. one of the things we've learned over the last decade is america can make a decisive difference. but i want to be clear, the american forces that have been deployed to iraq do not and will not have a combat mission. they will support iraqi forces on the ground. as they fight for their own country against these terrorists. as your commander in chief, i will not commit you and the rest of our armed forces to fighting another ground war in iraq. after a decade of massive ground deployments, it is more effective to use our unique capabilities in support of partners on the ground so they can secure their own countries' futures. and that's the only solution that will succeed over the long-term.

-- over the long term. we'll use our air power. we will train and equip our partners. we will advise and assist them. we'll lead a broad ocoalition of countries that have a stake in the ight because this is world rejecting the brutality of isil in favor of a better future for our children and our children's children, all of hem. but we're not going to do think a loan. one thing we have learned is when we do things aloan and the countries, the people of those countries aren't doing it for themselves, as soon as we leave, we start getting the same roblems. this is why we spent the last several weeks building a coalition to aid in these efforts. and because we're leading in the right way, more nations are joining us.

overall, more than 40 countries so far have offered assistance to the broad campaign against i sill. already france and the united kingdom are flying with us over iraq with others committed to join us. some nations will help us support the forces fighting these terrorists on the ground and already saudi arabia has agreed to host our efforts to train and equip syrian opposition forces. australia and canada will send military advisors to iraq. german paratroopers to forces in aq including the kurdish peshmerga. other nations have strengthened support for iraq's new fovet and do their part in all aspects of he fight against isil.

nearly 30 nations have helped with humanitarian relief to help innocent civilians who have been driven from their homes, whether they're sunni or christian or any religious minority. yesterday at the white house i met with an outstanding american leader, john allen, he worked with iraqi tribal leaders as they fought to reclaim their own communities from terrorists. he's going to serve as america's special envoy to build and coordinate this incredible coalition. i called on congress to make sure you've got all the authorities and resources you need to get the job done. but the point is we cannot do for the iraqi what is they must do for themselves. their't take the place of partners in securing their own region for themselves and a better future for their people. we can't do it for them but this is an effort that calls on

america's unique abilities and esponsibilities to lead. it is america that has the unique capability to mobilize against an organization like isil. in a world full of broader social challenges, it is america that has the unique capability and know-how to help contain and combat a threat like ebola. the epidemic in africa. yesterday on top of all we're already doing to help, i announced a major boost to our response, we're establishing a military command cent for the liberia at the request of our government to support that region. our commander of forces in africa arrived yesterday, he's on the ground. our armed forces will bring their unique, unrivaled

expertise in command and control, logistics, including creating an air bridge to get health workers and supplies into west africa faster. and in all our effort the safety of our personnel will remain a top priority. in the nation of liberia, one person who heard this news yesterday was reported to say, we have been praying to get the disease wiped out of our country so the if the coming of u.s. troops will help us get that done, we will be happy. and that's the story. across the board. if there's a hurricane if there's a typhoon, if there is some sort of crisis, there's an earthquake, if there's need for a rescue mission, when the world is threatened, when the world needs help, it calls on america. even the countries that complain about america, when they need help, who do they call? they call us.

then america calls on you. any mission separates you from your families. sending our troops into harm's way is not a decision i make lightly. no other decision comes close. i do it only because i know that you're the best there is at what you do. frankly, they're just -- there just aren't a lot of other folks who can perform in the same ways. in fact, there are none. there's some things only we can o.

there's some capabilities only we have. that's because of you. your dedication. your skill. your work. your family supporting you. your training. our command structure. our armed forces are unparalleled and unique system of when we have a big problem around the world, it falls on our shoulders. sometimes that's tough but that's what sets us apart. that's why we're america. that's what the stars and stripes are all about. between war and recession, it's been a challenging start to this new century. we've been busy. this has not been an easy 14 year. many of you came of age in these years. i want you to know i'm as

confident as i have ever been that this century, just like the last century, will be led by america. it will be and is an american century. at home, we're bouncing back, better positioning ourselves to win the future than any nation on earth. overseas, we're moving forward, answering the call to lead. and even when it seems like our policies -- politics is just dividing us, i want you to remember that when it comes to supporting you and your families, the american people stand united. we support you. we are proud of you. we are in awe of your skill and your service. only 1% of americans may wear the uniform. and shoulder the weight of special responsibilities that you do. but 100% of americans need to support you and your families. 100%.

this is a moment of american leadership. thanks to you, it is a moment we are going to meet and i will keep standing up for your interests and for our security. and for the human rights and dignity of people wherever they live. we're going to keep on working with our allies and partners to take out the terrorists who threaten us, wherever they hide, because in stark contrast to those who only know how to kill and maim and tear down, we keep on building up and offering a future of progress and hope and like the yen rations before us, we're willing to defend this country we love. we're willing to help others on this planet that we share. we're protected by patriots like you. and for all those reason the united states of america will remain the greatest force for freedom that the world has ever known. thank you very much, everybody. i'm proud of you. [cheers and applause]

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014]

>> coming up on c-span. ahead of the homeland security department and the fbi director talk about national security threats. then, secretary of state john kerry at a hearing on the presidents strategy combating isis. the house voted this afternoon to train and equip the syrian rebels. the new york times reports that the house divided along unusual lines. this was after arsenal obama support leader. was -- took one outsized importa