if isis is allowed to advance anymore. it puts our people at risk. the president made clear we're going to take limited air strikes necessary so there's a perimeter around erbil. >> besides air strikes, president obama authorsed u.s. planes to deliver supply on a mountain in northern iraq. >> today i authorize two operations in iraq. targeted air strikes to protect our american personnel and a humanitarian effort to help save thousands of iraqi civilians who are trapped on a mountain without food and water and facing almost certain death. earlier this week, one iraqi in the area cried to the world there is no one coming to help. well, today america is coming to help. >> and with that, let's go right to the white house nbc kristen

welker is there. >> there are meetings going on at the highest levels of the white house. recap to specifically what happened two f-18 fighter jets dropped 500-pound bombs on artillery and trucks carrying it as extremists moved toward erbil. this is significant because it marks a major shift in policy for the obama administration, the president has brought on a platform of withdrawing from the wars in iraq and afghanistan. the administration knows that politically it is unpopular to become engaged in the middle east, but senior officials say in this case, the president believed it was necessary for two reasons. one, because u.s. interests were at risk. again, there is a u.s. consulate in erbil. and those extremist isis forece have been making steady gains.

it's become a humanitarian crisis. president obama saying that part of the reason for this was to prevent a genocide of those some 40,000 religious minorities trapped on the mountain top without access to food, without access to water. the administration believes that legally the president has the authority to do this because the iraqi government asked for help and also because he's presenting u.s. interests abroad. we have begun to get reaction from capitol hill. some lawmakers like john boehner criticizing the president for the policies saying there should have been residual forces in iraq to prevent this type of escalation from happening. similar comments coming from senators john mccain lindsey grah graham. there are those who say the president is taking the right actions to prevent a potential genocide. so we're getting reaction all over the spectrum. there's also concern, though, betty, here in washington and throughout the country about what is called mission creep.

the idea that taking these initial steps could ultimately lead to a broader escalation in iraq. president obama insisted that u.s. troops will not be going back into iraq and the administration call for the iraqi government to create a more inclusive government they believe ultimately that is the key to solving this crisis. meetings going on at the most senior levels. i make one more point. you noted there was an air drop yesterday. food and water 8,000 prepackaged meals, 5300 gallons of water for those people who are stranded on top of that mountain top. i anticipate we'll learn about more air drops a as the day guys on. >> it the broader mission to create space so they can take on the isis forces? is that the big effort here? >> i think that is the right way to be looking at this.

these kurdish forces are known as some of the strongest fighters. so the fact they have retreated in the face of this escalation of these extremist forces has been a serious concern to the obama administration. so it is about creating space. allowing them to regroup the hope on the part of the administration is that the iraqi government will create ultimately a more inclusive government. and that will be the ultimate resolution here. so they were -- to some extent taken aback by how quickly this escalated and how quickly these extremist forces moved toward erbil. and the goal is to protect erbil and baghdad. if those two locations fall, then the gains made in iraq would essentially be lost. so those are the broader goals. but the president being very clear the military action is supposed to be limited in scope. there is not an intention to have a broader, wider military engagement here.

>> a lot underway. thank you for the report. we have just learned that the faa issued a new notice restricting u.s. operators from flying over iraq because a hazardous situation there. let's bring in retired four-star general barry mccaffrey, also nbc news national security analyst and former director of the national counter terrorism center michael lighter. thank you for joining me. general, what is your assessment of today's air strikes? i understand he has lost his ability to hear us at the moment. right now we work on the technicality. what is your assessment, michael? >> this is a very small tactical incident what is going to have to be a broader strategic effort in the region. really, for the past two years, we've known that isis was a huge threat and there was a huge

threat of the syrian civil war spilling over into iraq. that happened. we saw it several months ago with the initial incursion. we ahave one of the closest allies under direct attack. this initial strike very, very small pinprick. what i think the white house has to generate now is a broader strategy. not just to protect what is going on in erbil but to roll back isis toward the border and defuse what has become a regional civil war. >> i understand the general has the ability to hear us now. general, i want to get to you on this and get your opinion on today's air strike. especially the broader mission. are we on target here with what we're trying to do? or kristin cede earlier, could it lead to the mission creep, which is something that it doesn't seem like the american public is behind >>well, i actually don't think there's going to be mission creep. it's extremely muddled thinking we're using tiny amount of

military power for political gesture. some of which are u.s. domestic politics. there's 50,000 refugees in the mountains. we've had three air drops of food and water. and two navy aircraft dropping bombs. apparently being coordinated in the white house situation room. this is silly. what are we trying to achieve if we're trying to roll back isis. we need military power in the region and it won't be just air power. we need attack air helicopters and special forces on the ground. i think these are political gestures, they're illed edadvis >> the broader mission to help the curds push back against isis. do the kurds have the military capability to do that? >> i was astonished debate ever the numbers we're carrying on isis is 5 or 6,000 fighters

maybe it's more now. it's a fairly modest force in iraq. so, you know, i think the problem is we're still focussed on maintaining an iraqi central federalized government. the kurds aren't going to be part of iraq for the next 100 years. we should have been supplying the kurds with military support, economic support to allow them to protect themselves. you can't stop genocide on a mountain with two fa 18 and air drop water. you have to let the kurds do it. we should be supporting the kurds. >> mike, i want to bring you in. what if the u.s. air strikes don't work and isis keeps advancing on erbil. what else can president obama do? >> i don't have any doubt if we commit significant air powers to support the kurds the kurds, in conjunction with the air power can stop isis advancing to ere

bui erbil. that's only going to solve one small part of the problem. which is protecting erbil and the kurdish region in the north. the larger problem is we have isis controlling an enormous swath of land between syria and iraq with significant military might. probably money into perpetuity the way they're running the region. reasonably good local support and clearly a target beyond the region. and what is the u.s. government going to do about that? are we going to sit back and allow that to continue or simply going to look at this as a real not just regional but global tension? >> general, i want to ask you this. in june they were talking about isis talking baghdad. why didn't that happen? >> well, like, i think isis actually has limited power. they certainly aren't representative of sunni muslim thinking in, or for that matter,

a large part of syria. when they got down toward the south, they were running into the plurality are shia muslim. and baghdad is largely controlled by shiite militia force and army and police force. they never really had the power to take baghdad or the south. they have established dominance, though, in a good bit of the sunni regions of iraq and syria and to some limited extent now in lebanon. so this is a huge problem. we need regional partners the saudis, the turks, and others to try to help sort it out. we have to stand behind our allies. the kurds are the strongest force in the region. we should have been supporting them for the past year. not with two f 18 but substantial military support. >> michael, you heard the general say it's a huge problem. help us understand isis and how big a problem it is. is it more dangerous than al

qaeda? some ways it is. isis controls land, territory, and becoming a governing element in the way that al qaeda only dreamed of. frankly, right now isis, i think, is more focussed on the regional began gains than other elements of the opposition. very clearly is targeting western europe and the united states today. so this is not just isis. isis, i think, in the long-term, will absolutely pose a very direct threat to western europe and the united states. and there is simply no way around it. their agenda is not just a regional power. their agenda to eject the apos tate regime and bring the fight to the united states. this is not a problem that is going away. it's certainly, as general said,

is not a problem solved with two f 18 dropping two bonls. >> we're hearing some in congress including mccain graham have been pushing for months now for president obama to take action in the face of the isis threat. did he wait too long? >> well, i think we waited too long to not provide strong support to the kurds, but, you know, i take a more limited view of what u.s. power can do in this region. you know, the bottom line is you have national borders that were drawn after world war i. they no longer contain national self-identifying entities. they're going to rearrange it over the coming decade through bloody warfare. you see the curds and the shiite and sunni try to get behind defensible frontiers so they won't be slaughtered behind the enemies. i'm not too sure that the american people have the stomach to guide or reverse that process. but iraq is a national state is

gone. the kurd aren't going to welcome the iraqi army back into the north for 100 years. we shouldn't try to perpetuate something that isn't going to be viable. >> all right. thank you for your insight today. we appreciate it. and stay with us. we'll be following the breaking news situation throughout the hour. i'm going to talk live to a reporter who has gone inside a refugee camp full of iraqis who have fled isis. stay with us. ♪ ♪all day and all of the night - the kinks♪ ♪all day and all of the night - the kinks♪ yoplait. with a smooth and creamy taste your whole family loves. it is so good all the time. ugh. heartburn. did someone say burn?

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we want to continue with our breaking news coverage in iraq. where the u.s. navy has begun air strikes on isis. joining me now by phone senior correspondent tracy shelton in erbil, iraq. thank you for joining us. i know, you posted the video we're going to put up from

inside a refugee camp of 2500 iraqis who have fled the militants there. some said they were afraid for their lives. can you describe some of the people that you encountered and some of the stories they were sharing with you? >> yes, well, many of these families fled. many of these families have been displaced again and again. they come from one village and ran from another. they are constantly under threat. even the area where the camp is, it's almost right on the border now. it's -- the families are going to have to move out. >> it's a big concern for them. i want to ask you this, as we learn about the strikes today how much of the new u.s. intervention will actually make

a difference for them in your eyes? >> well, people are skeptical because they've heard a lot of talks but haven't seen a lot of action. over the past week they have seen the islamic state start to make a push forward. it seems to be the opposite for the militants in the area and some seeing the opposite with their own eye. the u.s. is coming in to help as well and the air strikes. but, again, they're waiting to see if this is going to have an effect and how much they're going through. yeah, understandably, they're still scared they're waiting and expecting more. they want to see the results before they. >> yeah. cautiously optimistic. and yesterday while the pentagon said reports of air strikes prior to today were completely false.

you reported sources in mosul confirms a u.s. presence in recent days. tell me about that. >> yeah, well, people have been telling me from mosul since the islamic state took over there's been iraqi air strikes on the city on the pretty regular basis. after the push forward began on sunday of last week, the iraqi we government aircraft around. but they saw u.s. drones or aircraft flying over. they didn't see any strikes but actually the strike -- they saw many aircraft flying around the are area. >> and as far as the people in the refugee camp, how long are they prepared to be there or enough supplies? what are they dealing with? >> you have people asking for 40

or 50,000 -- these people have h had -- i was speaking to some of those here that have been getting phone calls from their relatives in the mountains there, and people are literally dying because they don't have supplies and they can't get up. other areas they had some supplies like the established camps. they do already have some coming through. but, again, they're in dangerous areas. so they may have to flee any time. most of the christian families -- it's a christian area. and you see families sleeping in parks, the churches are full on the church grounds. the families are sleeping everywhere.

so it's basically inundated with displaced families. and having trouble on such short notice. >> indeed. tracey shelton, thank you. we invite you to stay us with. we'll continue to follow the breaking news story out of iraq. we're following another developing story. war is raging in the middle east. rockets launched moments after the cease-fire expired. we'll take you to tel-aviv. stay with us. (birds chirping softly in background.) (loud engine sounds!) what! how's it going? heard you need a ride to school. i know just the thing to help you get going. power up with new cheerios protein.

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outside erbil. the president authorsed military action yesterday as isis got closer to the city in order to protect u.s. personnel the pentagon said the jets dropped bombs on a piece of artillery and the militants in the truck t towing it. we'll have continuing coverage throughout the hour. we're following another big story that is developing right now israel and mo has resumed attacks there is word that hamas and islamic jihad have formally rejected a 72-hour cease-fire extension. fighting erupted after the cease-fire ended. egypt now said the delegates won't leave until the demands are met. we are live from tel-aviv now. jim, what is the latest there? >> hello.

what started for hope for peace turned into a long day of continuous rocket fire by palestinian militants with at least two israeli confirmed wounded while israel struck back with tank, guns, artillery, and air strikes. killing at least 1 10-year-old boy and wounding reportedly 15 others. there are conflicting reports whether the talks in cairo are on hold, dead on arrival they are scrambling to put together a basic outlun of an agreement. they say there has been progress on several key. but hamas sees things differently saying israel rejected the main demand and israel, for its part, said it will not negotiate with anyone under fire. one earlier leak reported an undeclared holding of fire by both sides to keep the talks alive, no doubt. but that hasn't panned out

either. hamas and israel seem to be miles apart in terms of position. with hamas demanding a lifting of the kmeconomic blockade. so for now the rocket fire, the air strikes, and the killing continues. betty? >> back to our breaking news. the u.s. conducting air strikes in iraq dropping bombs on islamic militants outside the city of erbil. we'll hear from the white house and new sound from secretary of state john kerry next. rcial. there's lots of choices. like chocolate, honey nut and cinnamon, with no artificial colors or flavors. and it's gluten free. chex. full of what you love. free of what you don't. in the nation, the safest feature in your car is you.

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it is vitally needed. isil's campaign of terror against the innocent including the yezidi and christian minority and the gros terriffic targeted acts of violence show all the warning signs of genoci genocide. for anyone who needed a wake up call, this is it. >> that was john kerry this morning talking about iraq, also momenting ago we learned president obama was speaking with king ab ddullah of jordan. u.s. aircraft dropped two bombs on enemy forces outside of erbil this morning. this after the president announced last night he was giving the green light for a limited mission. joining me now live from the white house with reaction to this is nbc's luke russert.

>> president obama was on the phone with the u.s. ally king abdullah of jordan. we haven't been provided context what the call was about. we should learn a lot more not only about the call to the king of jordan but the strike this morning that hit various components of isis. there's a white house briefing about 12:30 about an hour from now we'll get more information. the story is developing, betty, there's a lot of congressional resanction now from capitol hill starting to trickle out. house speaker john boehner saying he was supportive of the president's movement to launch the air strikes. he would like to see part of a large scale strategy what the idea is moving forward. a lot of congressional republicans feel this sort of movement by isis against these religious minorities was preventable. the administration should have done more. that is sort of the territory the administration has been facing in the incoming weeks. they get support from congress but they're congress wants more

of a concrete plan. those are the probably the questions we'll see to some degree. >> we appreciate it. more on the breaking news out of iraq and the political calculus behind president obama's decision to go back to iraq. that's next. [ male announcer ] eligible for medicare?

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make money doing what i love. we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom.com today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. well, a very reluctant president obama gave the order for air strikes in iraq last night. they started this morning but the president vowed no boots on the ground. can he keep the promise? is there a pal calculus behind this? let's bring in nbc news political editor mark murray on more of the politics surrounding what is happening today. all the recent polling we've seen tells us that this is a war weary nation. 71% of americans say the iraq war was not worth it. how does the administration sell this latest military operation to the american public and assure them that it's a limited mission? >> well, betty. you saw the president starting

to lay the ground work for that and statement last night he was talking about putting no u.s. boots on the ground. a very limited and targeted strikes. but then of course it raises the question once you're a little bit of the way in, how much farther can you go and can you end up getting out? and if the united states' goal is not only provide humanitarian assistance and assist the u.s. personnel in erbil but end up helping out the kurds, what ends if happening if the strikes don't do the job. does the united states vet gr 0 involved? and you get mission creep. there's no doubt the president is paying attention to the polls. he know it's a war weary nation. any kind of action once you get a little bit in it becomes very difficult to get out. >> in your opinion -- can it be done without mission creep? >> you can't know. we have seen past examples before whether it was in the former yugoslavia during the

1990s where the united states was able to have a limited force or be able to stop again side as well as reach a. history is littered with mission creep and things getting beyond control. there's no doubt seeing what is motivating the president. every poll shows that is an opinion shared by the american public. but of course we have to wait and see if the actions the military responds end up achieving the objectives. it doesn't it raises the next question what is next. >> at the same time this is happening some republicans like senator john mccain lindsay gram are calling for more aggressive action in iraq and syria. they clammed what they call, quote, half measures by the president. so will there be pressure from other lawmakers to go even further in rolling back eisis? >> well, you know, you're going to see the john mccains and

lindsey graham wanting more military intervention. one thing that is interesting that is a new wing of the republican party represented by a kentucky senator rand paul. there's a lot more dubbish. it's not as interventionist. and, you know, that creates an interesting dynamic when you look at the 2016 presidential contest. if paul decides to run he'll be running against talks. the dynamic will play out with a lot of republicans fop me, what i found the most interesting is the lack of republican response as we've seen, yes, lindsay gram and john mccain put out a statement. john boehner recently put out a statement which he supported it for the most part but wants a larger framework involved. we haven't seen as much. to me as a political reporter when there's a problem going on with the president's health care law all the statements flood in within an hour or two. we haven't and that from republicans just yet on the story. >> it seems like it might be a wait and see mode.

>> absolutely. thank you for your insight. and joining me now by phone at the associated press bureau chief vivian salama. iraqis have welcomed the u.s. air lift of emergency aid to thousands of people who fled to the mountains to escape isis. how are iraqis reacting? >> they're reacting cautiously but they are relieved. i think a lot of people just based on experience over the last ten years are not too quick to celebrate american intervention in any way. they are definitely relieved because i think everyone on the ground here in baghdad and erbil were starting to really accept the fact that the situation was get oug ing out of their control. there was cautious relief here in baghdad especially.

>> part of the reason the u.s. might have been a little bit hesitant to intervene is iraqi prime minister al maliki. what is going on with the government right now? >> well, it's an excellent question. and, you know, i don't think even the government knows what is going on with the government. they keep dispelling a discussion in parliament to nominate a prime minister and whether or not nuri al maliki will be. a lot of people including many of the key supporters and iraq, which is one of the biggest supporters, are calling him to step down. saying he didn't succeed together in bringing all the different sects and parties to unit the crisis at hand. prime minister al maliki has been very, very adamant about the fact he wants to stand for a third term. a lot of people are very

concerned that could really, you know, cause a lot of destruction in the government instead of bringing them together. >> there's a lot of issues at play right now. vivian salama, thank you. and there is still much more ahead on iraq. but we're also following a developing story in hawaii. the national weather service says the eye of tropical storm iselle has made land fall on hawaii's big island. we have an update. you do a lot of things great. but parallel parking isn't one of them. you're either too far from the curb. or too close to other cars...

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brian: 25 years. matt: that's how long we've been talking about the most important social issues. savannah: education. al: conservation. chris: uniting the nation. jim: with a bit of imagination. the more you know. in hawaii the phenomena has never been seen before, a tropical storm with a major hurricane directly on its heels is already causing major problems. as iselle makes land fall, thousands are without power and flood waters are rising on the big island. by the time two the two-spronged threat is over tropical storm iselle and julio could drop as much as 178 inches of rain on the islands and the threat of rock and landslides is real. as much as it's bad news, it could have been worse. the big island easter rain

knocked the wind out of the storm. we have the latest from maui. >> betty, folks are feeling pretty lucky on all accounts when iselle came ashore at 8:30 eastern time, 2:30 eastern time. it came ashore as a tropical storm. packing wind in the 70 miles per hour range, the winds quickly dissipated as a storm hit the vulcan knack peek peaks on the southern part of the big island here. and very quickly, the winds were down to 109 miles per hour range, 20 miles per hour range in hilo. there has been flash flooding because of lot rain came along with it. when you have a foot of rain added to a storm surge and the water coming off the mountains itself, you have the chance of certainly the likelihood there will be flash flooding and there has been. about 1200 people have voluntarily evacuated to a number of schools that have been set up as evacuation centers.

electric has been lost for more than 20,000 people on the big island, and about 2,000 people on maui. here on maui, electric was fairly quickly restored. the big question is about hurricane junior high school low which is about 900 miles to the east. won't get here until about sunday. it's a category three hurricane of winds over 100 miles per hour. it's expected that the hurricane will weaken as it approaches the island chain and also track north of the chain. it's not expected that the impact from julo, o will be significant or significantly dangerous when it passes by on sunday. so you can say they dodged a bullet when it was expected a few days ago that this was going to be anistic one-two-punch from two huge hurricane systems likely to hit over the island. that didn't happen. something different and less impactive happened. back to you. >> we want to get back to the

breaking news that we've been follow thing all morning long. the u.s. launching ire strikes in iraq targeting islamic mill taints from isis threatening to overrun the critical northern city of erbil. i'm join bied military analyst barry mccaffrey and nbc news national analyst michaellighter and mark murray. thank you for being with us. earlier we talked about the air strikes, general, and you had concern whether it was going to do the trick. is it a band aid or too little too late? what is your view of it? >> i don't think we ought to be talking about mission cream. we ought to be talking about what is the mission. if it's prevent again side, make sure we provide humanitarian assistance to 1.5 million refugees, trying to give the kurdish breathing space. none of this is going to happen unless substantial u.s. military

power applies apply to the region. it's not there. i think these are political gesture. they're unlikely to result in mission creep. i think we're involving ourselves in a very muddled way in this region. we should have armed the kurds. it's not too late. we have to let them protect themselves. >> michael, i want to get your reaction. a lot of people are wondering what is the mission here? what is next after the u.s. war planes drop the two 500-pound bombs. what did you expect to happen now? >> i think general mccaffrey is right. we don't know what the mission is yet. we'll have a series of air strikes over the coming, you know, days, weeks, and those are largely going to be to defend erb erbil, assist the kurds. we are very, very far behind in arming the kurds. we wanted a unified iraq we have to get them heavy weapons and provide them with support. and once we stabilize what is

going on in the north, then we have to make the decision about with a we're going to do about isis in the long-term. and thus far, i don't see a willingness on the part of this white house to really bring the fight toisis. and that mines more passivity in the middle east for the united states. >> mark murray, congressional reaction is starting to really trickle out. we just heard from senator harry reid who says, quote, i support president obama's decision to send humanitarian air drops to the thousands of stranded iraqi civilians who have been forced to flee their homes and are at risk of dying. i also support the president's decision to launch air strikes as long as no combat forces are on the ground. these air strikes are the correct action for our national security. they will protect american interests and save lives in iraq. and on top of that, house speaker john boehner supporting the president's decision to authorize air strikes. but criticizing what he called the ongoing absence of a strategy for countering the grave threat that isis poses in the region. that's the quote from him. what are the political

implications of all of this for president obama? >> right now the president seems to have some breathing room. it's not a surprise that senate majority leader harry reid supports him. he's a democrat. it would be big news if harry reid put out a statement opposing the action. of course, john boehner seemed somewhat supportive of everything and so right now the administration does have great breathing room. as you and i were discussing earlier, one of the things worth noting is we haven't seen a whole lot of statements. people are taking a very wait and see approach to this as a very fluid situation. but right now, the president and his administration have breathing room. i think the question, and this was presented by general mccaffrey and michael liter is what is the strategy going forward? >> general, let me bring you back in. on top of isis threatening the kurdish capital of erbil in the north, the iraqi government in baghdad remains unsettled. parliament keeps postponing picking a prime minister. is this situation on the brink of possibly spiraling out of control? >> i think it is out of control.

it's not on the brink of it. the situation, lebanon, syria and iraq in particular are extremely perilous. these regions are rearranging themselves in a different fashion. they are doing it through violence, not through political debate. it's hard to imagine a substantial, reversing that longer term dynamic. so i think our problem here in the united states is a year from now, what do we want to see happen? and what can we reasonably do and explain to the american people to get there? i think right now we're winging this stuff 48 hours out. i notice they just said the centcom commander decided an the strike. two faa teams is not strategy. we've just got to sit back and say what are we trying to achieve? by the way, there's very little u.s. military power. thank god for the u.s. navy. if there weren't carriers out in the indian ocean, we'd have nothing that could reasonably rnt ven. >> and michael, we talk about

these air strikes. the president has said, look. we're not going to put combat troops on the ground. is that a pledge he can stick to? >> i think it is. i think this president having served him for two years is not going to back down on that unless we saw, you know, a huge collapse in baghdad. and i don't expect that will happen. so i think he can stand by that. whether he can stand by making these pin prick strikes, i don't think that's likely. we'll need a broader campaign. as general mccaffrey again said, a year from now when the region continues to be seriously unstable, potentially we're seeing terrorist plots come out of the region. our allies like jordan continue to be destabilized. then what does the president do? and that is, you know, we're going to get to that point. he's got to start making strategic decisions about that now. >> we saw president obama talking to president abdullah. is the president rallying our allies right now?

is that what he's trying do so we can get parts of the world behind us on this? >> absolutely. and being able to build a coal cision integral in all of this. not only is jordan important but turkey as well and all the other states that are involved there in the middle east. and what is striking to me is the political reporters the president has been trying to rally, yoorn countries twhen comes to dealing with eastern ukraine. now with this situation and it requires a lot of time working the phone because this president has made it very clear that he doesn't usually want to be taking action when it's just the united states involved. he wants a lot of the world involved as well. >> general, ad as prepresidethe tries to rally these allies, what's at stake right now as the world watches this play out? >> in the longer run, this is a threat to u.s. national interests. isis and these extremist jihadist organizations actually will be placing europeans and americans in peril in the coming months. what's not clear is how we get

the saudis, egyptians, turks, jordanians to take action to stabilize the region. we're certainly not going to do it with minor employment of u.s. military power. that will get us in trouble. >> and -- go ahead. >> i actually think that this rallying of allies to our support has it a little backwards because in fact in 2012, the british and the french said we need to do more to support the opposition in syria and the president declined. the jordanians, the turks and the saudis in some unconstructive ways in the case of the saudis had been pushing greater u.s. involvement in the syrian conflict for two-plus years and we've resisted. so in fact, i think we're largely catching up to where many of our allies in the region are, which is pushing for greater u.s. involvement. and that may not be popular among many u.s. voters, but we have to understand, this is a moment of leadership in the

region, and i think the president is really facing that now with erbil. >> we're going to have to leave it there. michael, mark and general, thank you so much for joining us today. and that is going to do it for "news nation." i'm betty ngyuen. you can watch "news nation" every weekday at 11:00 a.m. here an msnbc. up next, "andrea mitchell reports." [ female announcer ] it's simple physics... a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation.

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eye. we can act carefully and responsibly to prevent a potential act of genocide. that's what we're doing on that mountain. >> right now on "andrea mitchell reports," breaking news. the first air strikes today and the president just now calling king abdullah of jordan, next door to iraq, as the u.s. drops two 500-pound bombs against isis artillery just outside erbil. and the u.s. has dropped another round of food and water to the thousands of refugees trapped on the mountain cornered by isis militants dieing of thirst and hunger. now three years after the withdrawal of u.s. troops from iraq, is today's warning shot only the beginning? >> one iraqi in the area cried to the world, there is no one coming to help. well, today america is coming to help.