-- sunday at 1:00 eastern, the ninth annual brooklyn book festival. friday at 8:00 former chiefs of staff and advisors to recent presidents talk about the relationship with the commander in chief and how he makes important decisions. and saturday night at 10 10:00 people at 10 p.m. eastern, author jonathan white on the role of the union army in abraham lincoln's 1860 four reelection. sunday afternoon at eight p.m. eastern, author annette dunlap explores the evolution of first lady fashion. find our television schedule at c-span.org and let us know what you think about the programs you are watching. e-mail us at comments. c-span.org, or send us a tweet at sign c-span. join the c-span conversation. like us on facebook. follow us on twitter.

is stepping down as u.s. attorney general. president obama says he will leave the department as soon as is confirmed. after that, speeches at the united nations, and then an update on the us-led airstrikes in syria. in an hour, or 2014 debate coverage. , the second congressional district will be live at 9:00. next, the president with attorney general holder at the white house from earlier.

>> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states and attorney general eric holder . >> hello, everybody. please have a seat. bobby kennedy once said, "on this generation of americans falls the full burden of proving to the world that we really mean it when we say all men are created free and equal before the law."

as one of the longest-serving attorney generals in american history, eric holder has borne that burden. and over the summer, he came to me and he said he thought six years was a pretty good run -- i imagine his family agrees. like me, eric married up. he and his wife, dr. sharon malone, a nationally-renowned ob-gyn, have been great friends to michelle and me for years. and i know brooke and maya and buddy are excited to get their dad back for a while. so this is bittersweet. but with his typical dedication, eric has agreed to stay on as attorney general until i nominate his successor and that successor is confirmed by the senate. which means he'll have a chance to add to a proud career of public service -- one that began nearly 40 years ago as a young prosecutor in the department that he now runs. he was there for 12 years, taking on political corruption until president reagan named him to the bench as a judge. later, president clinton called him back.

so all told, eric has served at the justice department under six presidents of both parties -- including a several-day stint as acting attorney general at the start of george w. bush's first term. and through it all, he's shown a deep and abiding fidelity to one of our most cherished ideals as a people, and that is equal justice under the law. as younger men, eric and i both studied law. and i chose him to serve as attorney general because he believes, as i do, that justice is not just an abstract theory. it's a living and breathing principle. it's about how our laws interact with our daily lives. it's about whether we can make an honest living, whether we can provide for our families; whether we feel safe in our own communities and welcomed in our own country; whether the words that the founders set to paper 238 years ago apply to every

single one of us and not just some. that's why i made him america's lawyer, the people's lawyer. that comes with a big portfolio -- from counterterrorism to civil rights, public corruption to white-collar crime. and alongside the incredible men and women of the justice department -- men and women that i promise you he is proud of and will deeply miss -- eric has done a superb job. he's worked side by side with our intelligence community and the department of homeland security to keep us safe from terrorist attacks and to counter violent extremism. on his watch, federal courts have successfully prosecuted hundreds of terror cases, proving that the world's finest justice system is fully capable of delivering justice for the

world's most-wanted terrorists. he's rooted out corruption and fought violent crime. under his watch, a few years ago, the fbi successfully carried out the largest mafia takedown in american history. he's worked closely with state and local law enforcement officers to make sure that they've got the resources to get the job done. and he's managed funds under the recovery act to make sure that when budgets took a hit, thousands of cops were able to stay on the beat nationwide. he's helped safeguard our markets from manipulation, and consumers from financial fraud. since 2009, the justice department has brought more than 60 cases against financial institutions, and won some of the largest settlements in history for practices related to the financial crisis, recovering $85 billion -- much of it returned to ordinary americans who were badly hurt. he's worked passionately to make sure our criminal justice system

remains the best in the world. he knows that too many outdated policies, no matter how well-intentioned, perpetuate a destructive cycle in too many communities. so eric addressed unfair sentencing disparities, reworked mandatory minimums, and promoted alternatives to incarceration. and thanks to his efforts, since i took office, the overall crime rate and the overall incarceration rate have gone down by about 10%. that's the first time that they've declined together, at the same time, in more than 40 years. eric's proudest achievement, though, might be reinvigorating and restoring the core mission to what he calls the conscience of the building -- and that's the civil rights division. he has been relentless against attacks on the voting rights act -- because no citizen, including our service members, should have to jump through hoops to exercise their most fundamental right. he's challenged discriminatory

state immigration laws that not only risked harassment of citizens and legal immigrants, but actually made it harder for law enforcement to do its job. under his watch, the department has brought a record number of prosecutions for human trafficking, and for hate crimes -- because no one in america should be afraid to walk down the street because of the color of their skin, the love in their heart, the faith they practice, or the disabilities that they live with. he's dramatically advanced the cause of justice for native americans, working closely with their communities. and several years ago, he recommended that our government stop defending the defense of marriage act -- a decision that was vindicated by the supreme court, and opened the door to federal recognition of same-sex marriage, and federal benefits for same-sex couples. it's a pretty good track record. eric's father was an immigrant who served in the army in world war ii only to be refused service at lunch counters in the nation he defended. but he and his wife raised their

son to believe that this country's promise was real, and that son grew up to become attorney general of the united states. and that's something. and that's why eric has worked so hard -- not just in my administration, but for decades -- to open up the promise of this country to more striving, dreaming kids like him. to make sure those words -- life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness -- are made real for all of us. soon, eric, sharon, and their kids will be a bit freer to pursue a little more happiness of their own. and thanks to eric's efforts, so will more americans -- regardless of race or religion, gender or creed, sexual orientation or disability, who will receive fair and equal treatment under the law. so i just want to say thank you, eric.

thank you to the men and women of the justice department who work day in and out for the american people. and we could not be more grateful for everything that you've done not just for me and the administration, but for our country. >> i come to this moment with very mixed emotions: proud of what the men and women of the department of justice have

accomplished over the last six years, and at the same time, very sad that i will not be a formal part -- a formal part -- of the great things that this department and this president will accomplish over the next two. i want to thank you, mr. president, for the opportunity that you gave me to serve and for giving me the greatest honor of my professional life. we have been great colleagues, but the bonds between us are much deeper than that. in good times and in bad, in things personal and in things professional, you have been there for me. i'm proud to call you my friend. i'm also grateful for the support you have given me and the department as we have made real the visions that you and i

have always shared. i often think of those early talks between us, about our belief that we might help to craft a more perfect union. work remains to be done, but our list of accomplishments is real. over the last six years, our administration -- your administration -- has made historic gains in realizing the principles of the founding documents and fought to protect the most sacred of american rights, the right to vote. we have begun to realize the promise of equality for our lgbt brothers and sisters and their families. we have begun to significantly reform our criminal justice system and reconnect those who bravely serve in law enforcement with the communities that they protect. we have kept faith with our belief in the power of the greatest judicial system the world has ever known to fairly and effectively adjudicate any cases that are brought before

it, including those that involve the security of the nation that we both love so dearly. we have taken steps to protect the environment and make more fair the rules by which our commercial enterprises operate. and we have held accountable those who would harm the american people -- either through violent means or the misuse of economic or political power. i have loved the department of justice ever since as a young boy i watched robert kennedy prove during the civil rights movement how the department can and must always be a force for that which is right. i hope that i have done honor to the faith that you have placed in me, mr. president, and to the

legacy of all those who have served before me. i would also like to thank the vice president, who i have known for so many years, and in whom i have found great wisdom, unwavering support, and a shared vision of what america can and should be. i want to recognize my good friend valerie jarrett, whom i've been fortunate to work with from the beginning of what started as an improbable, idealistic effort by a young senator from illinois, who we were both right to believe would achieve greatness. i've had the opportunity to serve in your distinguished cabinet and worked with a white house chief of staff -- a white house staff ably led by denis mcdonough that has done much to make real the promise of our democracy. and each of the men and women who i have come to know will be lifelong friends. whatever my accomplishments,

they could not have been achieved without the love, support and guidance of two people who are not here with me today. my parents, eric and miriam holder, nurtured me and my accomplished brother, william, and made us believe in the value of individual effort and the greatness of this nation. my time in public service, which now comes to an end, would not have been possible without the sacrifices too often unfair made by the best three kids a father could ask for. thank you, maya. thank you, brooke. and thank you, buddy. and finally, i want to thank the woman who sacrificed the most and allowed me to follow my dreams. she is the foundation of all that our family is, and the basis of all that i have become. my wife, sharon, is the unsung hero. and she is my life partner. thank you for all that you have done. i love you. in the months ahead, i will leave the department of justice, but i will never -- i will never -- leave the work. i will continue to serve and try to find ways to make our nation even more true to its founding ideals. i want to thank the dedicated public servants who form the backbone of the united states department of justice for their tireless work over the past six years, for the efforts they will continue, and for the progress that they made and that will outlast us all. and i want to thank you all for joining me on a journey that now

moves in another direction, but that will always be guided by the pursuit of justice and aimed at the north star. thank you. click some comments from viewers resignationolder's from our facebook page.

you can see what other viewers have written and add your own facebook.com/c-span. on twitter, the white house news correspondent writes -- the attorney general is scheduled to speak tomorrow at an event of the congressional black caucus. we will have live coverage at 9:00 a.m. eastern on our companion network. we turn now to the iranian president who spoke at the general assembly of the united nations today for about 20 minutes. >> on behalf of the human we welcome the president of the islamic republic of iran.

and we invite him to address the assembly. >> in the name of god most gracious, the most merciful, thanks be to god, the lord of the two worlds, and may the prayers and peace of rossett mohammed and his family and companions, mr. president, excellency, ladies and gentlemen. at the outset, i would like to extend my sincerest congratulations as your -- on your election of president of the assembly of the united nations. i also extend my appreciation to ban ki-moon for all of his efforts. it is my hope that this session of the general assembly will

bring the world in its current a step closertion to tranquility, which is a fundamental goal of the united nations. mr. president, i am coming from a region of the world whose parts are burning in the fire of extremism and radicalism. to the east and west of my country, extremist threaten our neighbors, resort to violence, and shed blood. do not speak a single language. of a single skin of a singlet nationality. they have come to the middle east from around the world. they do however have a single ideology, violence and

extremism. they also have a single goal, civilization,n of giving rise to islam a phobia and creating a fertile ground for further intervention of foreign forces in our region. regret to say that terrorism has become globalized from new york to mozilla, from , from theo baghdad easternmost to the westernmost .arts of the world the extremists of the world have found each other, and have put out the call. of the world unite. but are we united against the ?xtremist extremism is not a regional issue that only the nations in

our region have to grapple with. extremism is a global issue. certain states have helped in , and are now failing to withstand it. currently, our people are paying the price. today's anti-western is him is the offspring of yesterday's colonialism. is a misery-western action to yesterday's racism. certain intelligence agencies have put blades in the hands of madmen who now scare no one. all those who have played a role in founding and supporting these terror groups must acknowledge their errors, which have led to extremism. they need to apologize not only to the past generation, but also

to the next generation. to find the underlying causes of terrorism, one must identify its through its and dry its source fountains, terrorism, poverty, unemployment, discrimination, humiliation, and injustice. and it grows in the culture of violence. to uproot extremism, we must spread justice and development and stop distorting teachings to justify brutality and cruelty. the pain is made greater when terrorists spill blood in the name of religion and beheaded in the name of islam. the seek to keep hidden incontrovertible truth of history, that on the basis of the teaching of all divine prophets, from abraham to moses,

from jesus to mohammed, peace be upon him, taking the life of a single innocent human is akin to killing the whole of humanity. i am astonished that these murderous groups call themselves islamic. what is more astonishing is that the western media, in line with them, repeats this false claim, which provokes the hatred of all muslims. every dayple who recall their god as merciful and compassionate and have learned lessons of kindness and empathy from their profits teachings. they see this defamation is part of an islamic phobic project. the strategic blunders of the west in the middle east and central asia have turned these

parts of the world into a haven for terrorists and extremists. military aggression against afghanistan and iraq, and in ther interference developments of syria are clear examples of the erroneous approach in the middle east, a non-peaceful approach, ofression and livelihoods ordinary people. they result in different adverse psychological and behavioral consequences that are today manifested in the form of violence and murder in the ,iddle east and north africa even in some other parts of the world. the violence in scarily being spread to other parts of the world like a contagious disease.

we have always believed democracy cannot be transplanted from abroad. it is a product of growth and development, not war and aggression. can beot a product that commercially imported from the west to the east. only to a weak and vulnerable government. which, when commanding general step into a region, do not to greet themts warmly. when the war begins, diplomacy ends. when sanctions begin, deep hatred also begins. the the atmosphere of middle east is securitized, the answer will be of the same nature as well.

the interest of the countries in our region are tied to believes and desires of the people for democratic governance in the region. our region expects the experience of the creation of al qaeda, the taliban and and other that no one can use extremism and remain impervious to the consequences. the repetition of these mistakes, despite many costly experiences, is perplexing. let's recall that iran had invited everyone to dialogue .efore september 11 perhaps in the past year or few people could forecast the fire that would rage today, him and uninhibited

violence and extremism prevents -- presents an imminent threat to the world. it is self-evident that without an accurate understanding of how the current condition came about, we will not be able to find the right solutions. today, again, i shall warn extremisme spread of and the danger posed by the approach to this phenomenon. the middle east longs for development and is weary of war. it is the natural right of the fertile people of the middle east to live in peace and prosperity. in the past, colonialism denied them this right and the shadow of war and violence threatens

their security. there are moderate politicians in our region. who enjoy the confidence of their peoples. they are neither anti-western nor pro-western. while aware of the role of colonialism in the back parts of their nations, they are not neglectful in reaching the development they seek. westdo not absolve the from its misdeeds, but are so -- are also aware of their own failings. they take a position of active leadership and establish the national and international coalition against violence. the voices of these leaders are the true voices of moderation in the islamic world. -- sound of anan

afghan tired of war, an iraqi extremism, a syrian aarful of terrorism, and lebanese worried about violence and sectarianism. i believe the country is claiming leadership of -- the leadership ofming the coalition do so to continue their hegemony in the region. they would be making a strategic mistake. obviously, since that pain is better known by the countries in the region, better they can form a coalition and except to shoulder the responsibility of counter violence and terrorism. and, if no other eight -- if other nations wish to take action against terrorism, they must come to their support. that if we do not muss

againstur strength extremism and violence and failed to entrust the job to the people in the region who can deliver tomorrow, this world will not be safe for anyone. mr. president, ladies and gentlemen, last year i tried to for fill the role of my country for peace at regional and international levels by putting forward a proposal for ways to counter violence and extremism which was met with general support. of the regionions have to keep in mind that we are .n the same boat thus, we need cooperation with and ellipticalal

as well as defense issues with a view toward reaching common understandings. had we had greater cooperation and coordination in the middle thousands of innocent palestinians in gaza would not have fallen victim to the zionist regime's aggressions. islamic republic of iran consider confidence building among states of the region as fundamentally essential for conflict resolution. we support any measure to combat extremism, threats, and aggression, and in connection with this, we are prepared to play our permanent constructive and positive role. mr. president, the oppressive sanctions against iran go on in continuation of a strategic mistake made under the current sensitive conditions in our

region. during the last year, we have engaged in the most transparent dialogue to build confidence regarding iran's peaceful nuclear program. honested serious and negotiations on the agenda, not as a result of sanctions or threats, but because of the will of our people. we are of the view that the nuclear issue would only be resolved through negotiation, and those who may think of any would beution committing a great mistake in doing so. any delay in arriving at a final raises ourot only expense, but is at the expense of the economy and trade of other parties as well as the development and security prospect of our region. thate should doubt compromise and agreement on this issue is in the best interest of

everyone, especially that of the nations of the region. the nuclear negotiations between iran and the five plus one have continued during the past year. and in the past few months with seriousness and optimism on both sides. according to all international observers, the islamic republic of iran has carried out its commitment in good faith. although some of the observe is an's and actions of our counterparts have created certain doubts -- observations and actions of our counterparts have created certain doubts, we hope that the current negotiations will lead to a final accord in the short amount of time that we have loved. we have committed to continue our peaceful nuclear program, including enrichment, and to enjoy powerful nuclear rights on iranian soil within the framework of international law. we are determined to continue

negotiations with our interlocutors in earnest and in good faith based on mutual respect and confidence. concerns for both sides as well as equal footing and recognize international norms and principles. i do believe mutual adherence to implementations of obligations and avoidance of negotiation is the prerequisite for the success. iran's nuclear program can serve as the beginning of multilateral collaboration and promoting security, peace and development in our region and beyond. the people of iran have been subjected to pressures, especially in the past three years, as a result of continued sanctions, can not place trust

in those who have placed obstacles in the way of satisfying even their most primary needs such as food and medicine. placesanctions impediments to future cooperation. the people of iran are devoted to this commitment. an historic and exceptional opportunity could be lost. as you know, the sooner the islamic -- this year the iran is the reigning government took new actions. we are determined to build our confidence. if our interlocutors are equally motivated and flexible, then we can overcome the problem and reach a long-standing agreement

within the time remaining. then an entirely different environment will emerge for cooperation at the regional and allowingonal levels for greater focus on issues such as combating violence and extremism in the region. arriving at a final agreement will be an historic opportunity for the u.s. to show that it does not oppose the development of others and does not discriminate when it comes to international rules and regulations. this agreement can carry a global message of peace and security, indicating that the to conflict resolution is through negotiation and respect and not through conflict and sanctions.

mr. president, ladies and gentlemen, last year the great participated in presidential elections with and prudent moderation. thereafter, they supported their elected government in its efforts of building the country while some of the countries around iran have fallen prey to war and turmoil. secure, stable, and calm. my government's principal policy is to work toward constructive interaction with our neighbors on the basis of mutual respect and common interest. seeks ton that iran control other countries in the region is a myth. in recent years in the context of an islamic phobic project. those who may be's need

imaginary enemies to sustain tension and sow division and conflict, thus pushing for the of naturalt resources away from development. we work toward putting an end to , settingional phobias a stage for strategic partnerships with our neighbors. last year i warned against the violence of expansion and extremism. i warrant that we could become a turbulent and tumultuous region with repercussions for the whole world. thisight solution to quandary must come from international support and not from outside of the region.

god the almighty has promised in the holy carron to those who have believed and unrighteous deeds that he will surely grant them succession to authority righteous deeds that he will surely grant them succession to authority upon the earth. that oursincere hope generation endeavors to leave a more secure and developed earth as its legacy for the next .eneration i wish you all a great deal of success and many blessings. thank you. >> on behalf of the general

assembly, i wish to thank the president of the islamic republic of iran for the statement he just made. these three main -- please remain seated while we greet the president. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014]

>> on the next washington journal, we get an update on the military campaign against isis in syria. then, a look at the census report on poverty that found that 45 million americans live below the poverty line. robert dorr of the american enterprise institute and olivia golden of the center for law and social policy will join us. we will also be taking your phone calls on the resignation of attorney general eric holder. washington journal is live every morning at 7 a.m. eastern on c-span. you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. >> this weekend, friday night, the values voter summit. speakers include ted cruz and

rand paul. saturday night, a national town hall on the critical and historical impact of voting. , on q&a,ening at 8:00 washington post columnist sally quinn. c-span 2, 2 on operation iraqi freedom veterans talk about their experiences in iraq, isis, and the use of american force. afterwards, pulitzer prize-winning reporter matt recto on the distractions of technology and its impact on society. sunday, the ninth annual brooklyn book festival. friday at 8:00 on american history tv on c-span three, former chiefs of staff and advisors to recent residents talk about the relationship with the commander-in-chief and how he makes important decisions. saturday night at 10 p.m. eastern, officer jonathan weiss on the role of the union army in abraham lincoln's 1860 four

reelection. sunday afternoon at 8 p.m. eastern, author and that dunlap explores the evolution of first ladies fashion. find our television schedule it c-span.org and let us know what you think about the programs you are watching. , or send us a us tweet. like us on facebook. follow us on twitter. spokesman john kirby spoke to reporters about recent airstrikes against isis in syria which included the bombing of key oil refineries. here is a portion of the news briefing. >> hi, everybody. , u.s. military the kingdom of saudi

hit areas throughout syria. we are still assessing the outcomes of these attacks, but initially, we believe they were successful. i am going to show you some imagery to demonstrate where that confidence comes from. small-scale refineries provide isis, andl out -- to they are an economic asset. isil is estimated to generate millions of dollars of revenue from these refineries. the strategic attacks were meant specifically to get at the way

controlsp sustains and itself. there will be more. this is a map of the area. this was in eastern syria. these are the three areas i talk about, where the strikes happened. 12 total refineries. 12 attacks. this is sort of a breakdown of how it went i the numbers. 12 modular oil refineries. 16 total aircraft participated. 10 from the coalition including saudi arabia and the uae. six from the u.s.. most of the aircraft were not from the u.s.. again, the majority of what was dropped was dropped by coalition aircraft. split between saudi arabia and

uae and 18 dropped by the u.s.. i do not have the breakdown by country of what they dropped, and i am not sure it is all that relevant at this point. 80% of the tonnage of the bombs dropped on those refineries, 80% effect was from coalition forces. guided missions come in various sizes, forms, and tonnage, and the coalition aircraft were flying with than we were. i don't think there were any 2000 pounders, but i think the highest weight went up to about 1000. most of the ones we dropped, in fact if not all, were 250 pounds. i don't know the reason why.

i don't write the air tasking order. i have no idea how they came up with who was going to fly with what size. you are missing my whole point. .0% of the tonnage ok, next slide. this is a photo of one of the modular oil refineries. i want to point something out. you can see the before and after. obviously quite a bit of after. you can see the shadow here. this was taken out sometime later. in other words, it is still there. we were trying hard to be precise in these attacks. it was not about obliterating refineries. their about to grading abilities to use these refineries.

we are still assessing. we have 12 targets we have to assess. but by and large the goal was to get at their use of it. we were going for areas where they had office spaces, communications equipment and all of that. you can see the tower itself. >> what is the purpose of that? >> i am not sure. it is part of the refinery process. these refineries were in place isil came along. assuming syria gets to a point where it is better government, we would like to preserve the to create a stable economy and what we hope will be

a stable country when assad in control.t we preserved some capability in the refineries. if you are asking if u.s. ground forces are going to go in, absolutely not. quite see want to keep the infrastructure intact. >> we want to keep some infrastructure available in the hopes that these refineries can .e used again some day >> but that is where the real money comes from. >> whose money? the oil, the infrastructure, that is where the isis money comes from. >> they are not going to be using these refineries for some time. nowhen you say there are ground troops to fill the

vacuum, who is going to fill the vacuum? >> we talked about this before. a train andng on equip program for a modern opposition. you guys are thinking about the strikes in the wrong way, if i may. we hit targets and then there is an immediate assumption that there will be some sort of holding of ground. in syria, and i tried to state the at the beginning, attacks we're conducting our strategic. the wayrying to remove this organization sustains itself. that is the goal. in iraq, we have a different goal. the groundrces on are responsible for securing their own borders. many of the strikes we have taken in syria have been of a tactical nature to help them take back territory or to prevent attacks on them or the iraqis citizens. it is a different type of mission here, which is why we

a little bitserve of flexibility. in regards to syria, you said last week that training the opposition might take one year. who is going to fill the vacuum? >> for the refineries? they are not operable right now. they are not obliterated, but you can see they are not going to be pumping oil anytime soon. there still assessing results of the strikes. let me get through a couple of slides here. go head. this is the next one. that compound is about 200 yards up from the northeast corner to the southwest corner of the slide. we hit the half we needed to hit.

that's another example there. i have a video i can show for an attack on this facility. if you can show the footage. [no audio] we will make this available to to you as well. i'm sure we will have more video available. this is all we have right now. you can see it was just that corner of the compound. that's what it looks like there. again, very precise, very lethal, very targeted.

i don't know any more than i know why we dropped certain bombs on certain airframes. the point was to render them incapable of using these refineries. there are other refineries they have. we are going to continue to look at future strategic level targets against isis in syria. you will see more such action. >> since the strikes began a few days ago, have you seen any evidence of assad forces taking any ground that would previously be held by isis? to what extent has the iraqi forces been able to retake territory because of american airstrikes? >> i haven't seen any movement by assad regime forces to move into facilities or infrastructure that we fit. -- that we have hit.

we haven't seen much in terms of reaction by isil as a result of these attacks. we are not seeing a lot of movement by them in the last couple of days. in iraq, i could point to the preservation of the dam or their ability to work with the kurds to retake the muzzle dam facility. -- mosul dam facility. we could go on and on. i would also note that baghdad is still relatively secure. there has been a couple of minor ied attacks inside baghdad, but the iraqi security forces around the capital are still defending the capital. it's not like isil hasn't posed a threat there.

the strikes have been southwest of baghdad because we know they continue to threaten the capital. the iraqi security forces are beginning to hold their own. there is a lot of work left to do. the way i would say -- it is still a mixed picture. their performance as an army is still mixed. which is why we are kind to help them. nobody is underestimating the scope of the challenger. >> the series are starting their own airstrikes. will the west ignore or look the other way while the syrians are doing their own? you just don't want the syrians interfering with the u.s. and allied air campaign's. what happens if the syrian strikes are hitting the moderate

opposition that you support or create some sort of humanitarian catastrophe? >> i think secretary hagel covered that question. he was asked, when you put these moderate opposition back into the field, if they come under attack, will you defend them? he said yes. i'm not going to speak for mr. assad or his army or air force in terms of what they may or may not hit in the future. what i will read a rate is we are not -- what i will reiterate is we are not coordinating with assad regime. >> you're just focused on your bombing. >> it's about being focused on what we are try to do and what we are trying to do with our partners inside syria is to degrade their strategic level capabilities.

inside syria, to degrade their level of sustainment. >> the people they're talking about, why doesn't he want to do anything to prevent the syrian airstrikes? that's what the folks are saying up there. >> i can set up your all day and talk about the things we aren't doing our don't do our won't do. what we are doing is going after strategic level targets a belong to isil inside syria, inside iraq as well. >> will you set up a no-fly zone in the north? >> we are going to leave this briefing for live, 2014 debate coverage from nebraska where representative lee terry is facing brad ashford in their district. the debate is set to begin in just a couple of minutes. first though, a look at some of the campaign ads airing in this race. >> at one point in time, our homeless veterans signed a

contract with the united states government that said we will go to battle and give our life if necessary. when you talk about homeless veterans, the va hospital, the cemetery, you hear lee terry's name. lee terry, thank you for caring about our veterans and giving an opportunity to serve them. my dad flew of the 26 bomber on d-day. he taught me early in life, never forgive those who -- never forget those who have served our nation. my disagreements with lee terry are not personal. his policy sure are. he shut down the government and protected his own perks while cutting veterans care. >> lee terry is fighting to keep our neighborhoods safe and strong. he secured grants to strengthen

community policing, and he fought for the violence against women act, supported new laws to crack down on human trafficking, and passed a law empowering a neighborhood activist to start a new fm radio station, giving voice to a community working to stop street brightman -- violence. he is working hard to keep us safe. running for congress to represent a political party. i am running to make a difference for nebraska. reducing partisanship isn't one easy step, one easy day, electing one new member. to going to work every day create a coalition of partners who set aside person ship -- set aside partisanship to focus on working on problems. lee braska congressman

terry, running for a ninth term. brad ashford a member of the nebraska state legislature. -- maha world harlede herald newspaper is hosting the ebate. >> from the cam us of the university of nebraska, race for the house, a debate for nebraska second congressional district. sponsored by the omaha world herald. the can't dits running for nebraska second congressional district are republican incumbent lee terry who is 52 years and -- years old and lives in omaha. he is married with three children. the