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good morning. welcome back to the "washington journal." good morning. welcome to the washington journal. we want to hear from you. send us a tweet. or go to facebook,.com. send an email. at the white house before going to new york for meetings at the united nations, here's what he had to say about the air strikes on monday. >> last night on my orders, america's armed forces began

strikes against targets in syria. today the american people give thanks for the extraordinary service of the men and women indown form including the pilots with the courage and professionlism we come to expect from the finest military the world has ever known. earlier i outlined our strategy i made it clear that as part of this campaign, the united states would take action against targets in iraq and syria so these terrorists could not find a safe haven anywhere. also made clear america would act as part of a broad coalition. we were joined in this action by our friends and partners saudi arabia, united arab emirates, jordan, bahrain and qatar. american is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with these nations. the strengths of this coalition makes it clear to

the world that this is not america's fight alone. above all, the people the governments of the middle east are rejecting isil and standing up for the peace and security that the people of the rye region and the world deserve. >> president obama yesterday at the white house talking about his strategy on isis. here is the banner of the huffington post web site this morning. war rages. congress snoozings. should congress vote on syrian air strikes. that's our question this morning. start die dialing in now. yesterday here in washington, senator tim cane, democrat, virginia has been very vocal about the president needing congress to debate and vote on this strategy he was asked about this authorization. >> constitutionally, the matter is clear.

the president does not have power to go on offense against isil unless they are involved in actual imminent threat against the u.s. and there is no evidence they are. this mission, let me get into that for a minute. i think that argument is an extremely creative stretch by creative lawyers that evening given the ability of lawyers to make creative arguments doesn't stand up. first, remember this. in the hours after the attack, president bush brought an authorization to congress. and the authorization said give me, the president, the ability to go after groups in order to prevent terrorist attacks on the

united states. that is what the original authorization said essentially. even in the aftermath of the attack on the pentagon and world trade center, when emotions were high and we had a righteous desire to even the scales, congress overwhelmingly rejected that authorization. that was the cheney preemptive war doc. give the president to wage war against terrorist organizations. congress wouldn't give him that. instead, insisted that the authorization be narrow and narrow to those that perpetrated the attacks on 9/11. isil did not perpetrate the attacks on 9/11. not formed until a few years after. calling isil a perpetrator of 9/11 attack is basically to torture the english language. >> host: senator tim cane here in washington laying out his case on why congress needs to vote on this strategy against isis.

after monday's air strikes in syria. it political headline this morning is that congress is now under more in pressure to vote on syria after these air strikes took place. but monty on twitter saying what difference does it make now? and gansas how can they vote on anything? i thought they all left town to campaign for the next eight weeks, marks, democrat caller what do you thing? >> caller: i think it shows the irrelevance of the tea party that occupies wall street. they're going to do whatever they want to do after rolling out the pr campaign and influencing, you know, americans. unfortunately, and you know, i go back to the fact that we had all those, in the 80s, the represent row grades, all those things going on in europe that were terrorist acts and we just,

you know, haven't, or stopped the oil. you know, saddam hussein's problem but he didn't play with us and supply the oil and would disrupt the flow in order though gain things for himself and unfortunately, it's all pr campaign. and we're just -- that's nigh comment. >> host: mark, because of that, you don't think congress should vote? >> caller: it's irrelevant. >> host: okay. got your point. bill in new york, independent caller, what are your thoughts? >> caller: congress has a constitutional requirement to vote for the actions in syria but i don't think they will. if they don't vote for anything, that renders them blameless. in other words, if the action is successful, they can say they supported it but if our actions in syria are a failure, they can go back and say, well, we never

voted for it and persecute the president over it. >> host: okay. democrat caller in maryland. good morning to you. >> caller: yes, congress is not going to vote. i want to buttress what the guy that just got all off the line said. it's like a chicken game. you know. these are the people that we are sending over there to risk their lives, to fight, the pilots and other entities that we're sending over there to bomb the people. these people are savage. now, listen, i'm a muslim from west africa. came to america as a refugee. now i'm living in america, own a house, have a family, have a better life. these people i am telling

you from the bottom of my heart, they are not muslims. now, people get killed all over the world. okay. sad as it is, that is bad, okay, but when you put somebody on camera and slaughter them for the whole world to see, that's a message, that's a savagery, that's the process of these people. they are like scatter brained. they don't think at all. they don't have anything rationale about them. if we don't go over them and kill them before they get to america, you know how many people are going to get killed? and it's just the right thing to do but congress will not sign off of that because they want to play politics. when obama goes in, if something goes south, he's a football. everybody kicking him around. >> let me ask you, a muslim, what do you make of these middle east countries

joining in the air strikes on monday? >> caller: that tells you exactly that no, this is not anything that has got nothing to do with religion. trust me, if it was within the values and the confines of the muslim religion, none of this middle east countries would step in to help in the campaign, in the bombing campaign. what religion tells you to put people on camera and slaughter them? what reason is that? >> host: here are some of the newspaperses. this is the arab times out of kuwait. u.s. arab allies hit islamic state in syria. that is their headline this morning. and then this is a paper out of the united arab emirates courtesy of the nu set. um. u.s. launches strikes against the is in syria. that made the front page and

next to that, another headline that israel shoots down syrian aircraft that went into their air space and finally from saudi arabia, you have this headline, ksa joins air strikes to crush islamic state and air force participated in the strikes against the so-called islamic state on tuesday as part of global efforts to eliminate terrorism. so that in saudi arabia's arab news this morning. speaker of the house put out this statement yesterday saying isil is a direct threat to the safety and security of the united states and our allies. i support the air strikes launched by the president understanding that this is just one step in what must be a larger effort to destroy and defeat he says this terrorist organization. i wish our men and women in uniform god speed as they carry out this fight. wayne, an independent in

richmond, virginia. good morning to you. >> good morning. i was listening to c-span since i was a little boy. i'm an african american. right now in the middle east, which know what we have to do. we need the draft. in this country, we're going to send poor whites and blacks and other minorities to fight this war that we knew it was coming and our congress is a joke. joking around. we have problems here. i could go on and on but since we're talking about this subject here, we need to do obama strategy. he's the president. i don't want to do no disrespect. games they're playing, they're playing games but we need the draft right now though get this over with so we can concentrate on this country. this country is falling apart. that's the problem we have now. send over our little drones.

okay. but america has been on the ground long enough. time to come together. support them with air strikes and that's what we do. we do not send our men and women over there to go into the slaughter while we make a vote on nothing. they're going to make a vote on minimum wage? people are dying. >> host: understand your point, wayne. let's go on to mike in butler, pennsylvania, a republican and iraq veteran. mike, go ahead. >> caller: yes, good morning. unfortunately, what we're looking at is politics as usual. it's interesting today that this subject you're talking about, it's all over nbc with every democrat in the world saying congress has to vote and unfortunately, what we've got is no strategy for all practical purposes, a coalition of the united states with a couple of arab countries flying around a total of eight aircraft is not a coalition and

unfortunately, what we're looking at now is no answer that is apparent so we, we, the united states of america does not have a true strategy. what we are doing is reacting to a tactical situation and the administration desperately wants congress in the poll of agreement. let's put it that way. so, that it's cover fire. it's sad. it sounds and smells an awful like chicago politics. >> host: all right. mike. take a look at the map of the countries that have joined this coalition. five middle east countries specifically taking part in the aircraft strikes on monday that caller saying that's not really a coalition because it's the university that did most of the air tryings. there's the five country it is that participated. turkey, part of this

coalition, did not take part in monday's air strikes according to the united states but take a look at their newspaper online and this is their headline, that the prime minister sources did knee use of turkish air space in anti-isil attacks and then also, you've got this headline on their web site, that the government in turkey wants to hear u.s. scenario on syria. asking the united states to provide a vision. that is what the country of turkey is saying, part of this coalition, in their newspaper this morning online. on this middle east coalition, this is the headlines from the newspaper this morning. u.s.a. today headline is that the arab koa legs behind syria strike is a diplomatic coup. that is what u.s.a. today puts on their headline.

but the "washington times," their front page below the fold, they say that critics are calling president obama's arab allies a paper coalition. senator mcconnell's office put out this tweet. important steps in defeating isil and senator carl levin, top democrat on the armed services committee he supports strikes and calls arab participation historic. our question to you, should congress be voting on these syrian air strikes. lynn in oregon, democrat, hi. >> caller: good morning. yes. i think congress should vote on it. and my point on this is that isis is not a state. they do not have a navy,

they don't have an air force. they're not going to attack us. they're a band of rag tags put together and i doubt they have that 30,000 but we left them all our material. we left tanks and ammunition and everything else over there and i don't think we ought to go back. i don't. let them fight and kill each other. it's all over oil any way. we're trying to protect the oil industries over there. >> host: okay. >> caller: also, i'd like people to remember, when eisenhower left his presidency, he said beware of the economic, military complex. good words. now i'll go to a point. i've heard rumors that they're considering putting a tax on the american -- additional tax on the

american citizens to pay for the war. well i say let the military economic complex make the war or pay for the war. they're making trillions of dollars. >> host: okay. darren in washington, d.c., independent caller. your thoughts? >> caller: good morning, everybody. just my quick thought is i don't think that i don't think we have a choice in this. i don't want to go there using our money, our military, but i don't think we have much of a choice. i am kind of disappointed with president obama, yeah, not because he's not -- people think oh because he's not cooperating with republicans. it's because most people don't think he's fighting enough for the american people, not really doing what he said he was going to do when he was elected twice. but with this war thing, i

just wish that we didn't have to do this but we do. nobody else has the military power or equipment or the know how to get the job done. >> host: okay. more reaction from capitol hill. senator bob corker, top republican in the foreign relations committee said he's encouraged by participation of arab nations and military strikes. >> then you have senator dianne feinstein who chairs the intelligence committee, democrat, california. i strongly support air strikes in syria, critical for strategy to confront isil, khorison and other groups. >> "new york times" headline reverenced is that u.s. invokes iraq's defense in legal justification of syria strikes. the united states said tuesday that the american led air strikes against the

islamic state carried out in syria without seeking the permission of the syrian government or the united nations security council were legal because they were done in defense of iraq. american ambassador officially informed the eun secretary general. legal justification in a letter which you can find linked there on the web site. asserting that the air strikes were carried out under a fundamental principle in the eun charter giving countries the right to defend themselves including using force when country is unwilling or unable to address it. international law generally prohibits using force on sovereign territory of another country without permission except as a matter of self-defense. american intelligence agencies concluded ...

>> and further down in the article, cite the letter from iraq minister of foreign affairs complaining that the islamic state was complaining to the war powers resolution authorization. take a look at the war powers resolution approved by congress in 1973. over a veto from richard nixon requires a report to congress on introduction of u.s. forces into hostilities and use of force must be terminated within 60 to 90 days unless congress extends that time.

president shall consult with congress before introducing u.s. forces into host tilts. shall is the key word. tamika, goose creek, south carolina, democrat caller rat, afghanistan vet. you're on the air. your thoughts? >> caller: my thoughts on this is that i think isis is actually al qaeda. they went underground after the first afghan war which i thought in. i think they we want under ground and they have merged as this militant, this worse militant group and now they're killing and attacking at best out in the open, beheading, making it less likely -- i think that air strikes, i think that this country and the coalition and all of the other countries that decided

to come, i think we need to hit them hard, real hard so they understand that terrorism has to stop. killing innocent people all the time and it has to stop. >> host: okay. all right. derek in woodbridge, virginia, independent, afghan iraq veteran. you suffered in both countries? >> caller: yes, ma'am. i was the power generation guy. gave them power and ran operations, lived in villages with these people. close relationships with interpreters that are mostly dead now. and that's my whole point. everyone says you know, let's go over there. we need boots on the ground to stop this but you you have to remember, we just left iraq and lost a lot of friends for no reason at this point i lost a lot of time with my family for no

reason. we go over there, put boots on the ground and leave again. no real solution except for stay out of it and focus on the american people. >> caller:00. >> host: derek, do you think air strikes alone can do the job? >> caller: no. no. >> host: bob, democrat, go ahead. >> caller: i wanted to say that the crooks in washington got in. i'm disappointed in obama. i voted for him twice. they ought to -- immediately. congress is just a joke. i don't know what the heck is going on. why anybody votes for these people. i'm about to give up. >> host: all right. the president takes the isis fight to the united nations general assembly. we will have coverage of that here on c-span at 10:00 a.m. today. the president will be back in the eun for a second day.

this morning, he'll deliver remarks to the eun general assembly. we'll have coverage of that. later today, 3:00 p.m. eastern time, president obama will preside over a eun security council meeting. will focus on foreign fighters traveling to conflict zones and joining the terrorist organizations. we have coverage of that here on c-span as well. 3:00 p.m. eastern time. getting your thoughts on whether or not congress should vote on syrian air strikes. those air strikes began monday in syria. should congress now be voting on this mission? not only did the air strikes target isis but also went after another militant group known as khorasan. and the wall street journal this morning has this piece. the f-22 flies first combat mission as part of these air strikes. pentagon's most advanced fighter plane made combat debut in the u.s. led strikes on syria serving a

crucial purpose. pilots flying flew bombing rungs over syria to target the militant islamic state. ... >> host: so the f-22 making its debut in these military strikes. also this morning from the "new york times" about this military campaign, it says that during the three waves of strikes on monday, the eun and arab allies dropped almost as many bombs in one night as the university had

used during all operations in iraq against the islamic state so far. so in one night, dropped more bombs than they used so far against isis. pentagon officials said tuesday that with the exception of the tomahawk cruise missiles, all were launched inside air space but declined to say whether the air defense system or the series decided to allow into the country's air space. when asked, general mayville says syria air defenses were passive. dave, north carolina, independent and iraq vet. good morning to you. you're on the air. >> caller: good morning. how are you? >> host: doing well. go ahead. >> caller: as far as the vote, congress did vote. that's their responsibility as american citizens. we expect them to say what they feel. this is all about political livelihoods and as long as they drag this out, shame on

them. if there wasn't a delay to vote in the previous administration and i understand brinkmanship but some callers downplaying the arab participation. this is big in my opinion. i've seen some of the middle east countries participate, maybe not in a combat role like the brits and the u.s. had but look what they're doing in syria. look at what they're doing in north africa. i mean, you got middle east countries targeting in libya as well. starting to see this thing spread but i think one of the things we're voting for is that the arab countries will continue to use military power for own agenda so wheel they support the united states they'll probably reach out and continue to use air power against other middle east political enemies and this thing may spread out of

control. >> host: that's an interesting thought. the "washington post" this morning has a piece. the persian gulf nations put aside differences. they don't always agree on who the enemy is but yet they found an enemy, these five countries at least that participated in monday air strikes so the "washington post" going into details about the differences up until monday that qatar has with saudi arabia and the unite arab emirates as well. from the front page. "washington post" this morning. more reaction from capitol hill. senator barbara boxer tweets this. i support the president taking the fight to these terrorists with the unprecedented coalition of arab partners and john cover anyone, republican from texas with leadership on the republican side says these cruise missiles, $1.4 million each. representative barbara lee, democrat from california

says we continue to become more and more involved in another middle east war with no military solution. congress must debate and vote on all the options. darrell issa, major thanks to the men and women of our armed forces who are taking the fight to our enemies. some reaction for you from congress. asking all of you. should congress vote on syrian air strikes. let's go to patty in alexandria, republican caller. hi, good morning to you. >> good. thank you. thank you for c-span. i guess i'm a little confused about the vote. when they we want to war with iraq, we had a vote and we agreed, everyone agreed to do it or most people did. and then there was a whole lot of flack about bush took us into the war and it was like nobody knew that we were spokee supposed to do it but congress did vote on it a