tv Andrea Mitchell Reports MSNBC September 5, 2014 9:00am-10:01am PDT
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ukraine, and i think u.s. leadership has been critical throughout that process. with respect to the rapid response forces and the readiness action plan that we put forward, in warsaw, i announced $1 billion in our initiative. a sizable portion of that will be devoted to implementing various aspects of this readiness action plan. we've already increased, obviously, rotations of personnel in the baltic states, for example. we have the air policing, we have the activities that are taking place in the baltic and the black sea, but this allows us to supplement it. it allows us to coordinate it and integrate it further with additional contributions from other partners. and what it signifies is nato's
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recognition that in light of recent russian actions, as well as rhetoric, we want to make it crystal clear. we mean what we say when we're talking about our article 5 commitments and an increased presence serves as the most effective deterrent to any additional russian aggression that we might see. angela king, bloomberg. >> thank you, mr. president. what are your specific expectations for what regional actors like saudi arabia, yemen and jordan can legitimately provide to a coalition against islamic state. is there a role for there iran as well? as you know, secretary kerry today said that he expects the allied countries to coalesce around a specific plan by the end of september. do you agree with the timeline that he said out, and what concrete commitments if any, are you leaving this summit with
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from the other nations that's were here? >> let me start with the general point. there was unanimity over the last two days that isil poses a significant threat to nato members. and there was a recognition that we have to take action. i did not get any resistance or pushback to the basic notion that we have a critical role to play in rolling backis in savage organization that is causing so much chaos in the region and is harming so many people. and poses a long-term threat to the safety and security of nato members. so there's great conviction that we have to act as part of the international community to degrade and ultimately destroy
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isil. and that was extremely encouraging. beyond that, what we have already seen is significant support from a variety of member states. for specific actions we've been taking in iraq. keep in mind, we've taken already 100 strikes in iraq that have had a significant impact on degrading their capabilities and making sure that we're protecting u.s. citizens, critical infrastructure, providing the space for the iraqi government to form. our hope is that the iraqi government is actually formed and finalized next week. that then allows us to work with them on a broader strategy. and some of the assistance has been in the form of air lift or humanitarian assistance. much of it has been providing
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additional arms to the peshmerga and the iraqi security forces. there's been logistical support, intelligence and surveillance and reconnaissance support. and so a variety of folks with different capabilities have already made a contribution. i'm confident that we're going to be able to build on that strong foundation and the clear commitment and have the kind of coalition that will be required for the sustained effort we need to push isil back. now john kerry is going to be traveling the region to have further consultations with the regional actors and the regional players. and i think it is absolutely critical that we have arab states and specifically sunni majority states that are rejecting the kind of extremist
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annihilism that we're seeing out of isis that says that is not what islam is about and are prepared to join us in the fight. and my expectation is that we will see friends and allies and partners of ours in the region prepared to take action as well as part of a coalition. one of our tasks, though, is also going to be to build capability. what we've learned in iraq is, yes, isil has significant capabilities. and they combine terrorist tactics with traditional military tactics to significant effect. but part of the problem also is that we haven't seen as effective a fighting force an the part of the iraqi security forces as we need. and we're going to have to focus an the capable units that are
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already there, bolster them, bolster the work that the peshmerga has done. we can support them from the air, but ultimately we're going to need a strong ground game and we're also going to need the sunni tribes in many of these areas to recognize that their future is not with the kind of fanaticism that isil represents so that they start taking the fight to isil as well. and that's going to require the sort of regional partnerships that we're talking about. in terms of timetable, we are working deliberately. if you look at what we've done over the last several months, we've taken this in stages. first stage is to make sure we were encouraging iraqi government formation. second stage was making sure that building on the intelligence assessments that we have done, that we were in a position to conduct limited air strikes to protect our
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personnel, critical infrastructure and engage in humanitarian activities. the third phase will allow us to take the fight to isil, broaden the effort and our goal is to act with urgency, but also to make sure that we're doing it right. that we have the right targets. that there's support on the ground if we take an air strike. that we have a strong political coalition, diplomatic effort, that is matching it. a strong strategic communications effort so that we are discouraging people from thinking somehow that isil represents a state, much less a caliphate. all those things will have to be combined, and, as i said, it's not going to happen overnight, but we're steadily moving in the right direction. and we are going to achieve our goal. we are going to degrade and
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ultimately defeat isil. the same way that we have gone after al qaeda, the same way we have gone after the al qaeda affiliate in somalia, where we released today the fact that we had killed the leader of al shabaab in somalia and have consistently worked to degrade their operations. we have been very systematic and methodical in going after these kinds of organizations that may threaten u.s. personnel and the homeland. and that deliberation allows us to do it right. but have no doubt, we will continue, and i will continue, to do what is necessary to protect the american people. and isil poses a real threat. and i'm encouraged by the fact that our friends and allies recognize that same threat. julie davis.
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>> thank you, mr. president. i want to follow up on what you were saying about isil and ask if you think that the objective here is to destroy and degrade them. are those the same thing in your mind? is the goal to ultimately -- secretary kerry said there's no containing them. is the goal to ultimately annihilate them, and also, you talked about the importance of expertise an the grond and building up capacity on the ground. do you think since air strikes are not going to do it here if ultimately action is needed in syria, can you realistically expect the free syrian army to do what is needed on the ground to really destroy, not just push back isil? >> you can't contain an organization that is running roughshod through that much territory causing that much havoc, displacing that many people, killing that many
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innocents, enslaving that many women. the goal has to be to dismantle them. and if you look at what happened with al qaeda in the fatah, where their primary base was, you initially push them back. you systematically degrade their capabilities. you narrow their scope of action. you slowly shrink the space, the territory that they may control. you take out their leadership and over time, they are not able to conduct the same kinds of terrorist attacks as they once could. as i said, i think in my last press conference, given the nature of these organizations, are there potentially remnants
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of an organization that are still running around in hiding and still potentially plotting? absolutely. we'll continue to hunt them down the same way we're doing with remnants of al qaeda in the fatah or elements of al shabaab in somalia or terrorists who operate anywhere around the world. but what we can accomplish is to dismantle this network, this force that has claimed to control this much territory so that they can't do us harm. and that's going to be our objective. and as i said before, i'm pleased to see that there's unanimity among our friends and allies that that's a worthy goal and they are prepared to work with us in accomplishing that
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goal. with respect to the situation on the ground in syria, we will not be placing u.s. ground troops to try to control the areas that are part of the conflict inside syria. i don't think that's necessary for us to accomplish our goal. we are going to have to find effective partners on the ground to push back against isil. and the moderate coalition there is one that we can work with. and experience working with many of them. there have been, to some degree, outgunned and outmanned. and that's why it's important for us to work with our friends and allies to support them more effecti effectively. when you have u.s. forces, other advanced nations going after isil and putting them an the defensive and putting them an the run, it's pretty remarkable
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what then ground forces can do, even if initially they were on the defensive against isil. that's a strategy that we're going to be consult with our friends, our allies, our regional partners, but the bottom line is we will do what is necessary to make sure that isil does not threaten the united states or our friends and partners. okay? one last question. colleen nelson, "wall street journal." >> thank you, mr. president. some senate democrats facing tough races in november have asked you to delay action on immigration. how have the concerns of other democrats influenced your thinking and do you see any down side at this point until delaying until after the election? >> i have to tell you, this week i've been pretty busy focused on
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ukraine and focused on. focused on isil and making sure nato is boost tgs commitments and following through on what's necessary to meet 21st century challenges. jeh johnson and eric holder have begun to provide me some of their proposals and recommendations. i'll be reviewing them. and my expectation is that fairly soon i'll be considering what the next steps are. what i'm unequivocal about is that we need immigration reform. that my overriding preference is to see congress act. we had bipartisan action in the senate. the house republicans have sat on it for over a year. that has damaged the economy. it has held america back. it is a mistake, and in the
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absence of congressional action, i intend to take action to make sure we're putting more resources on the border. that we're upgrading how we process these cases, and that we find a way to encourage legal immigration and give people some path so that they can start paying taxes and pay a fine and be able to not look over their shoulder but be legal since they've been living here for quite some time. so, you know, i suspect that on my flight back this will be part of my reading. taking a look at some of the specifics we've looked at, and i'll be making an announcement soon. i want to be very clear my attention is in the absence of -- in the absence of action
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by congress, i'm going to do what i can do within the legal constraints of my office because it's the right thing to do for the country. all right? thank you very much, people of wales. i had a wonderful time. >> and president obama, the first united states president to go to wales on an official visit, ending the summit, the nato summit in wales. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. and the president made it clear there will be no boots on the ground in syria but indicated they'll be stepping up support for so-called moderate partners on the ground in syria. he said that it would be a deliberatative process, no immediate decisions. but he's not advancing that time frame but there is movement among coalition partners and secretary kerry will be going to the region to try to get those, particular particularly majority sunni arab nations to step up to the plate in combath isis. heed is the nato partners agreed unanimously that isis is a threat to nato and to europe as
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well. and said that as far as the cease-fire declared at 11:00 eastern time today in ukraine, cease-fire between russian -- pro russian separatist forces and kiev forces, that he was skeptical but hopeful but that there would be no immediate move to lift the sanctions that have already been placed. he said he thinks the russia was influenced by the sanctions and the threat of more sanctions in agreeing to that cease-fire. i'm joined by rachel maddow, host of the "rachel maddow show" and richard engel. there's been a lot of talk about what the president said last thursday. people from the white house immediately calling out to us saying he didn't mean to say there was no strategy but that this is a president, elected on a mandate to get us out of iraq and also not being militarily engaged.
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certainly reflecting the mood of america. but then, of course, we have the second beheading, the gruesome murder of another american journalist by isis. and there is an appetite for leadership. he sounded certainly appalled to arms against isis and russia and ukraine. >> i think the president is cognizant of how his words land right now and also cognizant of the mood of the american people. that was striking the way he kept talking about unanimity among the nato members and the parallels that has for the american public. if nato members agree, i think it can be as easily said that the american public agrees that we are all revolted and horrified by isis. i don't think there's anything but unanimity an that. there's also nothing but unanimity an the fact that isis is not only disgusting and terrible in terms of what they've already accomplished but a real threat not only to the region they're in but a threat to us. the question is what you do in
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response? i think there is an appetite for strong counterterrorism measures. i think the president is right in assuming that there isn't an appetite for new american war. and the question is, how big your counterterrorism efforts can get before you are talking about something that looks like war. we've got secretary hagel, secretary of state john kerry and lisa monaco, the kornt terrorism adviser all going to the region, all trying to brng in more countries to a more coordinated effort. there isn't a lot of disagreement that something needs to be done. threading the needle is how to do it without starting a war again. >> and that is exactly what, of course, our colleague and friend richard engel sees from the vantage point of that border area. what is turkey prepared to do? turkey is the only nato member among the immediate -- those bordering syria and the confluctuaconflict there. turkey has a real stake in this but not willing to play as active a role as the u.s. would
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like. >> i think it's though other way around if you ask the turks. they, two years ago, desperately wanted more action. they wanted a green light from washington to arm rebel movements. last year when it looked like the united states was going to bomb syria, turkey was practically begging them to do it and was furious those air strikes never came. so turkey wants to play a role. turkey has hundreds of thousands of syrian refugees that it doesn't want to host anymore. it would like them to go home. i think turkey would actively like to take aggressive action against isis and against the bashar al assad regime. turkey always has some responsibility. while turkey wanted action, while trkey wanted to help the moderate rebel groups, turkey for the last several years was allowing this part of the country, which is not far from the syrian border, to be an open transit zone allowing thousands
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of foreign fighters to go right through here and enter into syria. some of them americans. many of them europeans. we saw them. everyone saw them. i remember walking -- actually right in this square and seeing a bunch of young men who clearly weren't turks walking toward the syrian border with military-style boots and backpacks. we saw this kind of thing all the time. everyone knew where they were going. the turks didn't stop them at that stage. they are taking some actions to stop them now. >> of course, richard, what you point out is the saudis, the turks and uae were really upset for not doing what they wanted which was going after assad. and that that vacuum, they believe, helped isis gain even greater strength which now makes it such a big threat. at the same time, there is responsibility by saudis and certainly by the qataris for isis. so there are a lot of mixed signals going on and mixed
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messages in what they are doing on the ground. chuck todd joins us now. nbc news political director and the moderator of "meet the press." we saw the president, i think, trying to get the rhetoric and the tone and the policy all in the same place today. >> it's funny you say that. that's exactly what i noticed. he -- the white house is sensitive to the parsing of the language that's happened. the president can't stand when that happens. but the white house and his aides have been sensitive to it. he was unequivocal today. he simply said degrade and ultimately destroy isis. there was no hard stop. there was no additional language in there that people might want to parse. look. you know -- we all know he's reluctant. i heard what rachel said. he wants to be care in how we do this because syria is a whole other can of warms. and you have to ask yourself this question that you have a whole bunch of americans that i've -- you hear from that simply say, we've been bombing
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someone in the middle east for 25 years. today it's isis. yesterday it was al qaeda. used to be your chief concerns were hezbollah and hamas and things like that. the question is, when does it ever stop? is there a way to make it stop? and i think that's something, obviously, we know the president ran on somebody -- ran on a campaign pledge of trying to end this sort of cycle of warfare that we're in. but then again, you heard the president himself say he says isis is a threat and it's a direct threat. whether he means directly to europe versus the united states, i think, is a little ambiguous at this point but you can tell he's reluctant but he's there. the next step is we're probably a few weeks away, the united nations gathering. that's going to be a big deal. that's the next step in building a coalition. and what they are describing, they have to go to congress. there's no doubt in my mind they have to go to congress and get congressional authorization on this one. and, you know, i think he gets
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it. but, you know, it's not going to be a slam dunk. >> you have been arguing so forcefully, where has congress been? congress did not come back with the ebola crisis. congress did not come back when ferguson blew up. congress did not come back when isis beheaded james foley and then murdered brutally steven sotloff. when is congress going to come and face up to its responsibilities to have the real debate, the kind of debate we had twice over iraq? >> i think that's the right framing. i think the way that you all are describing this is right. and it shows where the framing is about to change on this issue. we are now about to enter into a really important political moment in the west. it's going to happen at the united nations. it's going to happen in bilateral negotiations with countries in the region. it's going to happen in terms of putting together a regional strategy and it's going to happen politically here at home. this is the part where if we all say that we agree, then we all
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make a decision as democracies what we're going to do about it. in congress, can't do anything in reactive terms about horrific things happening abroad. congress does have a very strong article 1 clause 8 responsibility that they need to decide if there are going to be military hostilities taken by the united states in reaction to this stuff. on august 8th, that's when the president notified congress that the -- there will be u.s. troops traveling abroad to participate in military hostilities against isis. he gives them 60 days until roughly october 8th before those troops need to come home unless congress authorizes them. and congress has been banging itself an the chest and willing to say lots of things on cable news shows and on sunday mornings and talk about how strongly they feel about this. but their feelings are irrelevant. it's their vote that matters. they need to take a vote before the end of the first week in october or legally those troops need to come home. it's not a theoretical thing or about expressing themselves. it's about them making a decision and the president
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carrying out that decision. that's the way it works in our country. >> in fact, we just saw them ramping up more troops, richard, to go to baghdad, to defend, protect the embassy and the airport. but the president was very clearly saying, no boots an the ground but we'll support moderate partners. these are the very groups that have been pleading with the u.s. for support for the last three or four years. what about no boots on the grond? we're doing surveillance. if we do air strikes, there are boots on the ground. they do have special forces or whatever to call in those air strikes most likely unless they are all done by predators, by unarmed predators. >> there was really two sections of this address today. and the first part was about russia. and on the russian piece, he was incredibly specific. and the whole nato summit was very specific, creating this new -- it has a bit of an awkward name. the very high readiness joint
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task force. and even the president was struggling with the name. and this very high readiness task force is supposed to have about 4,000 troops and it will rotate around eastern europe. it will have contributions from different member states. the u.s. is already pledging $1 billion for it. and this is a trip wire force telling russia, don't advance too closely to eastern europe. the way you took crimea and the way you're taking over eastern ukraine, that won't be acceptable. don't get too close to eastern europe. and that was a very strong message, very clear message, a very nato-like message. and he also talked about the nato defending every nato -- every nato member will defend itself. isis, he was a lot less specific. and it was a lot more aspirational. he said we're going to send kerry to the region and hopefully form a coalition. but i did think he tipped his hand in one way. he kept talking about fatah, the
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tribal region of pakistan. they've been doing drones and strikes for ten years. that's what he's envisioning for the parts of syria. >> good point, richard engel. thank you so much. chuck todd, we'll be seeing your exclusive interview with president obama on his other thoughts and more on how to approach russia, how to approach isis on "meet the press," the debut of "meet the press" with chuck todd on sunday. rachel maddow, thank you. we'll be watching tonight on the "rachel maddow show." coming up next here, president obama said the cease-fire between russia and ukraine would need to be tested. senate foreign relations chair senator bob menendez joining me with congressional reaction to the president's remarks. a body at rest tends to stay at rest...
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when folks think about wthey think salmon and energy. but the energy bp produces up here creates something else as well: jobs all over america. engineering and innovation jobs. advanced safety systems & technology. shipping and manufacturing. across the united states, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. when we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. that's not a coincidence. it's one more part of our commitment to america. and the president announced that he is skeptical but at least pleased by the cease-fire announced in ukraine today. i'm joined on the phone by nbc's
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keir simmons from mariupol, ukraine. you heard some fighting around the time the cease-fire was announced. what's the situation now? >> that's right. right up until the cease-fire was announced, there was artillery fire, relentless artillery fire, explosions echoing across the ukrainian countryside. thunderous explosions. then as the announcement came, there was a cease-fire and then they announced that cease-fire deadline came along. that fighting stopped. the guns were silent, if you like. we watched as ukrainian tanks withdrew from the checkpoint where we were. the front line just -- the pro-russian foirces just a shor distance away. they've been putting that ukrainian checkpoint under pressure. she the ukrainians backed off as the guns went silent and it does appear until now.
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we're jfts leaust leaving becau getting dark and it's not safe to stay out when it is dark. as far as we've been able to tell, up until now, that cease-fire has been holding. >> keir, the cease-fire envisioned a prisoner or hostage exchange as early as tomorrow. but it does leave the rebel forces, the pro-russian supporters, in control of key areas. it gives more sovereignty also. more independence to eastern ukraine. so did, crane ha ukraine have t some political power as a result of the recent advances, the pushback? >> it's a great question. we've been talking through this week about the fact the reality on the ground is president vladimir putin and the pro-russian forces have been with him and you see that played out in this cease-fire agreement because, and obviously we're in the early hours. so we'll be picked over but this agreement really is saying that those pro-russian separatists are able to hold the territory
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they've gained in the way that they want to. well, then that is a victory for them. there's no other way of putting it. we did watch as we tried to bear down on mariupol. and they managed to hold them off. so there have been small victories for the ukrainians, even in these last few days. but overall, as you said, the picture that seems to be that the ukrainians are agreeing for this separation of sorts in their own country to be written into a cease-fire. and that can only be seen as bad news for kiev and, really it must reflect the fact that as the russians intervene and help the pro-russians in the last few weeks, the ukrainions were put on the back foot, put on the defensive and really needed this cease-fire. i think on the other hand, the french move to stop, to halt the delivery of warships to russia, i think that impression of russia, too, potentially made them want to see an end to the
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hostility for now. by the way, andrea, we've been talking to ukrainian military here an the grown soldiers and we said to them, do you believe this cease-fire? and they said to us, we don't. never trust the russians, they said. >> thanks so much, keir simmons. >> new jersey senator bob menendez joins me now from new york. i know you were just back from ukraine. so your take on the cease-fire on whether the europeans should keep the sanctions in place and how much to trust vladimir putin on whether this thing is for real. >> well, if the previous cease-fires are an indication of anything, the reality is each cease-fire that has been had has been used by the russians and their separate supporters to ultimately advance their strategic position and rearm. hopefully this time it will be different. i hoped and called for while i was on my travels to ukraine and
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eastern europe to see the eu and the united states pursue more vigorous sanctions in order to make, number one, the cease-fire hold. number two, as president poroshenko said, to have peace, there are two key conditions that have to take place. number one, the withdrawal of russian troops back into russia. they invaded ukraine. and secondly, that the border between russia and ukraine has to have a real control and a closed border so that we don't see this happen again and hopefully the organization for cooperation and security in europe can be an entity that does that. >> the monitors who have been there on the grond so bravely trying to make sure the russians don't cross over and the ukrainians are not taken hostage and that there is, in fact, the rule of law. senator, what about congress' role in all of this? you heard what the president said about isis and about the unanimity of the nato alliance.
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rachel maddow was saying under the notification by her account by august 8th, congress has to sayier or nay. >> the president has acted in that particular case under the view that he was defending american personnel at our embassy and acting in the context of his power as commander in chief. i think on the broader question of how we are going to degrade and defeat isis, which i totally support the president on, that strategy has to come forward and it seems to me that that may very well be the area in which my committee, the senate foreign relations committee that has jurisdiction over the questions of authorization for the use of force will have to take into consideration. as a matter of fact, i already had all of this --
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>> with secretary kerry. >> it's going to have secretary kerry and i hope also our defense secretary will be able to make it as well. because one thing is to understand the diplomatic and political strategies that are being devised here, having a defense element of that and understanding that would be important to have secretary hagel there as well. >> should there be a vote? should there be a debate an the floor of the senate? >> i have no doubt that there will certainly be a debate about what we do with isil. as it relates to a vote, it really depends upon what the administration is coming forth and asking for in terms of its use of force. and just like my committee gave the authorization for the use of force, when the president was traveling to russia and the g-20 summit with syria and bashar assad was using chemical weapons and they voted to give that use
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of foirce to the president whic turned the tide. we will stand ready to consider it again if the president is asking for a more extensive use of force than he's had today. >> thank you so much, senator bob menendez, the chair of the senate foreign relations committee just back from ukraine. now we have breaking news on the global fight against the ebola virus as the death toll now tops 1900 people and the world health organization warns it's the largest and most severe outbreak they've ever seen. this morning dr. rich sacra, the third american aid worker arrived at the nebraska medical center in omaha. you can see the pictures there, the ambulance. he'll receive treatment in a special biocontainment unit similar to what we saw in emory in atlanta. the 51-year-old dr. sacra contracted the virus in ebola. he had been delivering babies at the same hospital where his close friends dr. kent brantly and nancy writebol were both infe infected. sacra will not have access to
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the experimental drug z-mapp because the supply has run out. moments ago his doctors gave an update an his condition and their treatment plan. >> the transfer really went very, very smoothly and the patient is up in our biocontainment unit. our patient is sick, but stable and we're taking appropriate care of this patient which we will continue to do so. our unit is especially designed, exactly for this type of patient and for this purpose. it's a very safe environment for the patient, as well as for our health care providers and the rest of our patients. find yourself. in an accomodation where you get to do whatever it is that you love to do! ♪ booking.com booking.yeah! i am so noh my gosh...now, it's not even funny. driver 1 you ready? yeah! go!
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on it for over a year. that has damaged the economy. it has held america back. it is a mistake in the absence of action by congress. i'm going to do what i can do within the legal constraints of my office because it's the right thing to do for the country. >> joining me now, msnbc contributor chris cillizza and ruth marcus. ruth, as best i can tell from what the president said, it's congress' fault. john boehner's fault for not doing anything. okay. that's been, you know, their criticism, understandably. but he didn't address the timetable because the question was, are you going to do something before the midterms and the fact is, it just sounds mushier than ever. >> asked then not answered. i think it's very clear he's going to eventually do something that republicans will be very
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upset about, that immigration groups and hispanic groups will be pro-immigration groups will be reasonably happy with. something pretty bold, but i think the timing of that is way more likely than not to be after the election. and i think the fact that the president once again mushed that up and was unclear about his timetable makes the timetable, that delayed timetable even a little clearer. >> that's a technical political term, mushed that up that ruth and i are using. >> look, if he wanted to do it before the election, he certainly could have. he had the opportunity to lay a timeline out, and in the absence of a timeline, probably means he pushes beyond the election. we know for a fact this shouldn't be a big surprise. we know there are democrats in places like arkansas, louisiana, north carolina, alaska. west virginia, south dakota, montana, go down the list.
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that would prefer him not to take executive action on immigration prior to them trying to win what are difficult races. we know that they are leaning on the president and his staff not to do so. and my guess here andrea is he tied himself up a little bit by saying by the end of the summer i'll have this. now they're trying to buy themselves a little more time and postpone it until after the election. two months doesn't make a vast difference here and we're close enough to the election that we're dealing in days, not really in months at this point. >> indeed. briefly before we go, the bob mcdonnell case, put on your lawyer's hat. >> i was going to put on my soap opera watcher's hat. >> one of those hats. they are going to appeal and they'll probably appeal the judge's instructions which defined what an official act is adversely for the defense. >> yes. and i'm with the judge.
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that's clearly going to be a grounds for appeal. there may be something else, but official act in my -- i did a little bit of studying an this when the indictment came out. it has a very broad set of definitions in the case law. so i think it was a bad day for bob mcdonnell and mrs. mcdonnell. >> thank you very much. ruth marcus and chris cillizza. when we come back, remembering joan rivers. we'll be right back. so what we're looking for is a way to "plus" our accounting firm's mobile plan. and "minus" our expenses.
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big break. a 1965 guest appearance on "the tonight show" with janney carson. that led to guest hosting for carson and her own night talk show. she made her return to the "tonight show" on jimmy fallon's first night. fallon paid tribute to her. >> she came over to me and started crying, gave me a kiss. it was really emotional, really nice. i don't want to show a clip because i don't think it will do her justice because she's just too funny. joan dedicated a chapter to death and foonerals in her 2012 book. i hate everyone starting with me. when i die, i want my funeral to be a huge showbiz affair with lights, cameras, action. i want craft services, i want paparazzi and i want publicity making a scene. i want it to be hollywood all the way. i don't want some rabbi rambling on. i want meryl streep crying in five different accents.
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i want bobby vinton to pick up my head and sing mr. lonely. i want to look gorgeous. i want to be buried in a valentino gown and i want harry winston to make me a toe tag and i want a wind machine so that even in the casket, my hair is blowing just like beyonce's. i've always loved exploring and looking for something better. that's the way i look at life. especially now that i live with a higher risk of stroke due to afib, a type of irregular heartbeat, not caused by a heart valve problem. i was taking warfarin, but wondered if i kept digging, could i come up with something better. my doctor told me about eliquis... for three important reasons. one, in a clinical trial, eliquis was proven to reduce the risk of stroke better than warfarin. two, eliquis had less major bleeding than warfarin. and three, unlike warfarin, there's no routine blood testing. don't stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke.
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a few programming notes. for a revealing look at tennis this weekend and other sports, breaking down barriers in society, join me monday for my conversation with tennis legend and trail blazer billie jean king about her new diversity initiative and what inspired her from a very young age. >> when i was 12, i had this epipha epiphany, at the los angeles tennis club. i remember thinking about tennis and thinking about everybody who plays wears white shoes, white sox, white shorts o s or skirts
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dresses. white balls in those days. now they're yellow. and everybody who plays tennis is white. and i remember asking myself, where is everybody else? where is everybody else? >> join us for that complete interview on monday. that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." follow the show online, on facebook and on twitt twitter @mitchellreports. tune in this sunday for chuck to todd's debut as host of "meet the press." woman: everyone in the nicu -- all the nurses wanted to watch him when he was there 118 days. everything that you thought was important to you changes in light of having a child
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firing on ukrainians. >> they are signing a cease-fire and still attacking mariupol. can they be trusted? absolutely not. >> big countries can't stomp on little countries. >> president obama wrapping up a key nato summit today. >> deputy national security adviser ben rhodes says the administration is not ruling out u.s. ground troops when it comes to fighting in syria. >> we're not ruling that out. >> 1:00 p.m. on the east coast. 10:00 a.m. an the west. a cease-fire in ukraine. pro-russian rebels in the ukrainian government signing a deal today after talks in belarus. the head of the cease-fire announcement, fighting continues near the ukraunian port city of mariupol. president obama spoke about this cease-fire just this past hour in wales. >> we are hopeful, but
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