into one you'll never forget. earn points for every flight and every hotel. expedia plus rewards. live the this hour. a senate hearing is about to get under way. general martin dempsey is set to testify on the terrorist threat. they'll also be testifying about the president's plan to stop it. also this morning, southern comfort or discomfort, depending on the state. a look at the handful of senate standoffs down south that will make or break democrats hopes to hold onto power. and an update on the the nfl's latest shocking scandal.

it's adrian peterson denying more child abuse claims this morning and the the league's commissioner continues to feel the heat amid a vortex of violence. good tuesday morning to you. it's tuesday, september 16th, 2014. let's start with the rundown. we begin with the fight against isis. congress appears to be on the verge of green lighting a plan to arm syrian rebel ls and today we'll hear from the two men in charge of that mission in just about 30 minutes. defense secretary chuck hagel and chairman martin dempsey are set to testify in front of senate lawmakers to drill down on exactly how this plan will work. we'll bring that hearing to you live when it begins. again, it's set for 9:30 this morning. meanwhile, as the wheels turn in washington, the war goes on. this morning we learned a syrian military plane crashed in a stronghold of the north central part of syria. initial reports said it was shot down.

a development that could send chills up the spine of anyone pushing for u.s. air strikes in that country. nonetheless, activists say thousands are fleeing the area, expecting those strikes to start at any moment. meanwhile the u.s. is expanding the air assault in iraq, launching in baghdad for the first time. 162 strikes have been launched since operations began more than five years ago. further north, kurdish forces say the strikes are working, especially near mosul where they drove out of an area the group had held for more than three months. nbc's chief global correspondent bill neilly joins me live now from beirut. bill, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, craig. some breaking news. the speaker of the syrian parliament has written to u.s. congressional leaders. nancy pelosi and john boehner, asking them not to arm rebels in

syria. saying that it's against u.n. security counsel resolutions. they same the same rebels have handed over american journalists to isis only to be beheaded. what's to stop the rebels handing over u.s. weapons to isis? and the speaker also asks for a long-term collaboration with the united states and invites congressional leaders and professional security personnel to come to syria to take part in a long-term collaboration. i think it's likely to fall on deaf ear ls. it follows a similar letter last year that had virtually no effect whatsoever. on the ground in syria, u.s. air strike 162 was a little bit different.

that was in iraq south of baghdad. first time u.s. airplanes stopped in not northern iraq, but a relief in baghdad and it's part of the expanded mission. one of the things you said there was a syrian war plane that was shot down near the capitol of isis. and this demonstrates the difficulty if and when u.s. war planes are involved in the skies over syria because clearly isis has the ability to shoot down planes. >> has it been confirmed that the plane was shot down by isis fighters? do we know that at this point? >> no, it hasn't been conclusively proven that it was shot down. isis is saying they successfully shot this plane down. and thousands of people are fleeing the city because they believe the u.s. air strikes are

imminent. there is, by the way, no sign that air strikes are imminent. there's still a lot of business building the coalition and also working out which targets to t hit, and so a lot of work to do yet. >> bill neely, thank you. no matter what syrian officials say, congress still seems to be moving closer to approving the plan to arm the rebels. late monday the house committee approved a plan to authorize the program, and the idea is to fold it into spending legislation to fund the government through mid-december. but there are plenty of strings attached. among them, congress would require 15 days notification before the start of any operation to train or arm the rebels. in addition lawmakers want status updates every 90 days. the measure does not give president obama $500 million he wanted. it requires him to use money

already in the pipeline. most importantly, it does not allow for u.s. combat troops in iraq or syria. for that, the administration would have to seek separate authorization. the measure seeks to beef up congressional oversight insi insisting on specifics from everything from the type of equipment being sent over to the vetting of the groups getting u.s. help. on monday kevin mccarthy passeded legislation with bipartisan support. he said, quote, any time you deal with a as much as this serious, you can come as an american, not from a party perspective. as we speak right now, the house republican file are meeting to talk it over and the the first votes could happen by tomorrow. for more on all of this, i'm joined by chris jansing. chris, first of all, has the white house reacted at all this to many measure? >> reporter: well, good morning, krais. they say they're not going to react specifically to any conversations which amount to negotiations in a sense.

with members of congress. i think a couple of significant things. one is that those conversations, those phone calls from the president and from other high level administration officials have been ongoing. and i also think that they're recognizing that they still have some questions to answer, and you're going to hear some of that today with the hearings that is the start of a hearing of high skeptives. the folks that believe this doesn't go high enough and those concerned after ten years of war this is the beginning of a slippery slope. as you mentioned, there are a number of provisions including the 15-day notice and the updates every 90 days. a number of other provisions are things the white house previously said they would be fine with. for example, you note it doesn't contain more authorization for funding and from the very first moment the white house officials told me about the request.

they said we're only asking for the authorization. we are not asking for money. obviously that's not a problem for them. the other part that says nobody will institute authorization for the introduction of u.s. armed forced. the president said repeatedly and in his address to the nation that he had no intention of putting boots on the ground. right now the white house is feeling confident that this will go before congress for a vote and will pass. in the meantime, as you know, at the white house and administration officials, there's a war conference going on in paris. the first show of unity that the white house wants is from congress. and you're going to kpp the president to continue to make those phone calls to members of congress until that vote. >> senior white house correspondent chris jansing for us this morning. i'm joined by pennsylvania

democratic senator bob casey. let's talk with what chris was just talking about there. is it a mistake to hold the authorization for arming syrian rebels into this continuing resolution. should they be separated? >> well, craig, i don't know what it will look like when it comes to the the senate, what form it will be in. if folks want to separate them, i don't think there's anything wrong with that. it does give people who have concerned about this time to examine it on its own. by i think by the end of the week we need to get both done. we need the resolution done so we can have the government funded. that's essential. and secondly we need to resolve the issue about the so-called training and equipping f o the well vetted elements of the syrian opposition. so i think we can do both. whether one vote or two, i'm not concerned about that. >> let's talk about the training and equipping of the well vetted opposition that you alluded to

there. this is what your colleague rand paul said yesterday. take a listen. >> it's a mistake to arm them. most of the arms we have given to the so-called moderate levels wound up in the hands of isis because isis takes it from them or it's given to them or we mistakenly give it to the radicals. >> what say you to that? i know you've met with opposition leaders in syria. do you believe that the united states has the able, has the intelligence to effectively vet the rebels? >> i do. i will say this about what senator paul said. his concern is warranted. we have to be very careful about how the arming takes place. i think in this town there's too many categorical statements. there have been many, many months now of vetting. it's not as if the vetting starts after the vote. the vetting has been ongoing for a long time.

it doesn't mean it's completed. but i think the vetting has to continue. if you talks to folks who study this for living, they'll point to several groups we can work with who are already vetted. the difficult thing here is can you take a well vetted element of the opposition and train and arm them in a manner that will lead to them being a good gigting force on the ground? i don't underestimate the difficulty of that. >> and we've seen the difficulty of training soldiers in iraq. really quickly here before i let you go, senator. i want to talk about the funding. the way isis is making its money. millions of dollars every day. oil fields alone in territories that they've seized. how do we stop that? >> well, krais, it's difficult. i raised the issue a couple of

weeks ago in a letter to secretary of state kerry. we have to be clear about what isis is. they're a terrorist organization and an oerm and a criminal organization. we should so label them and treat them like a criminal organization. on the oil sales, smuggling black market. whatever it is. part of this is by enforcing existing sanctions and imposing new sanctions. the reason this coalition is so important is to shut off in addition to the military parts of the strategy t coalition has to come together to impose individual entities on individuals funding isis. it's going to be a congress process. it's going to be complicated. they sanction a country and has unanimity that we can bring the pressure and cut off a lot of the funding. it's not going to happen in weeks, though. it may not happen in months. but i think we can get a good

start now. >> thank you. >> coming up, a lot of questions about the u.s. strategy to combat isis. defense secretary chuck hagel will be coming face-to-face with a senate panel looking for answers to those questions. we expect to see him live. expect, the operative word here. in about 15 minutes. first alook ahead to today. president obama is heading for a briefing on the ebola outbreak before making an a major announcement on increased aid.

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helping to bridge the digital divide. joining me now, in 2014's fight for senate control, republicans need to pick up six

seats to be in charge. gop hopes hinge largely on snagging the tleel southern seats. arkansas, louisiana, north carolina while holding onto kentucky and georgia. north carolina is the only state that the president narrowly lost in 2012. he lost arkansas by 24 points. kentucky by 23. louisiana by 17 and with president obama's approval rating at 39% overall in the toss-up senate states, democrats are doing their best to localize their races. in seattle, republican opponents with an unpopular gop plan all while trying to outdo each other with creative ways of distancing themselves from the president. kentucky democrat alison grimes who trails republican leader mitch mcconnell in recent polls is grabbing her gun. >> mitch mcconnell wants you to think i'm barack obama. mitch is the same guy who thought duke basketball players

were u.k. i'm not barack obama. i disagree with him. and mitch, that's not how you hold a gun. >> starting today, the main outside group backing mcconnell will hammer grimes on immigration, the "a" word, amnesty. there's also an issue in georgia where democrat michelle nun is pushing back on an add that describes her as supporting amnesty. it was also backed by 14 republican senators. >> michelle nun spoke out against president obama, taking executive action on immigration. >> president obama will not be stumping for nun white in atlanta but bill clinton did join her in atlanta only saturday. nun has also been running on her ties to another former president. george h.w. bush as head of the points of light foundation, the nonprofit he helped start when he was president. yesterday bush 41 formally

endorsed her opponent. meanwhile, purdue has been running adds against nun saying points of light gave money to organizations linked to terrorists. turning to the tar heel state. north carolina a new poll there. in arkansas, senator mark pryor responded over the weekend to new polls showing him down by single digits, telling reporters, quote, i don't put a lot of stock in the polls. this race is about arkansas and people getting out and voting. pryor has a boost on the trail from his famous father, popular former governor david pryor. mary landrieu is also hoping her famous louisiana last name can help her hold on. but republicans rb doing their best to make her residency an issue there. and now there's a new target. she said friday she paid back $33,000 for charter flights that

included campaign stops but were financed using taxpayer funds from her senate account. bill clinton argued on sunday that democrats are still competitive in those southern states. >> we really believe -- we're going to be doing a lot. >> we're still in a zone. and it's not a midterm the way it used to. >> joined now by two southern political experts. former texas republican senator kay bailey hutchison and also former arkansas democratic senator blanche lincoln. ladies, good to see both of you. thanks for being with me. >> thanks. >> let's look at the five senate races. here we are less than 50 days out. which candidate is surprising you, doing better than expected, and who do you think is in some real trouble here? kay, let me start with you first. >> well, i can't speak to

specifics of who is doing better than with we thought. i think the issue is the president and is the votes that have to be taken in the senate by the majority, and that's what people are looking at. and blanch lincoln found that out, i think in the hard way, and obviously what president obama is doing in health care and foreign policy maybe disagreed by democrats, but they're not able to stand up when it's their own president. it's a very hard position to be in. that's what is turning the tide here. >> blanche lincoln, what say you to that? >> well, thanks for having me. it's great to be can kay bailey. i think all these candidates are doing pretty well compared to what they're up against in terms of the on slot of outside resources and what they're dealing with in these collections. i think there's a lot to

remember. it's a midterm. much will hinge on getting out to vote. what the weather is like. for instance, mark pryor. when we talk about the polls, we know some of them can be difficult. arkansas is the number one state with the largest number of cell phone users who do not have land lines. polling is difficult. because if you're not using random dij it dialing, what have you, that becomes a problem. so the validity of these polls, you know it's going to come down. it's going to be very, very close. you see the candidates out doing what they can. they're up against a lot. but i have to say i think there's some possibilities. and i think, again. if people want governance they're going to need people like mark pryor and mary landrieu and kay hagan who work

in a bipartisan way to get things done. i think it's an important point for people to look at. >> let's talk about something else here. four out of five the of the candidates are women. and democrats have pinned their hopes on the fact that gender is going to be an advantage this time of around, more so than previous cycles. how much of a difference can gender make, kay? >> well, i think gender is an advantage now. and i've been there when it wasn't. but i do think gender is helpful now. i think the overriding issues that the american people are looking at are the economy, not creating jobs, and this administration has not done what is needed to create jobs. especially keystone pipeline. getting our resources so we can compete better with the world. corporate tax rates that keep our corporations from being

competitive. those are being held down by this administration. people are looking at obamacare, which is still very much a burden on many people. it's hurting the job market. >> but you don't see a lot of -- at least at this point, you don't see a lot of republicans running on obamacare. and three or four months ago we would have thought that every republican up for election or re-election would be running on obamacare. >> if you go into the small businesses and the people who have not had health care and now they're looking at what obamacare is it's a huge issue. it has raised their cost. the regulatory environment has raised their cost and it's right on the administration policies

and i think people are looking for a change. >> i think people are looking for jobs. i think jobs is the biggest issue. i think people realize the economy is not coming back as strong as it should. and i think that's why women are strong. because women are problem solveers. they say, yes, we do need a more simplified tax code, and wii going to work to make it happen. >> but it doesn't come out in the senate. it doesn't come out in the votes. it doesn't translate into the things that would make a better job creation. the small business regulations. the obamacare that people are having to pay for. >> i disagree with that. i think people do see women as problemsoevers. as somebody that can get in there and be an adult in the room. >> that's probably a good spot to leave it. how about that? always good to see you both. thank you for your time. >> thank you.

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see the whole picture... ♪ process critical information, and put it in the hands of our defenders. reaching constantly evolving threats before they reach us. that's the value of performance. northrop grumman. and now to the latest on the violent scandals rocking the nfl. the minnesota vikings have announced their star running back adrian peterson will rejoin the the team after being benched sunday following his indictment for injurying his 4-year-old son while whooping him. that's the term he used. the team has decided to let that case proceed legally before taking any additional action. >> based on the extensive information that we have right now and what we know about

adrian not only as a person, but what he has also done for this community, we believe he deserves to play while the legal process plays out. >> peterson also released a statement reading in part. i am not a perfect son. i am not a perfect husband. i am not a perfect parent. but i am without a doubt not a child abuser. at the same time there are some new reports. and again these reports have not been verified by nbc of an additional incident in which peterson was accused of abusing another son last year. his lawyer says he was never charged in the incident, which he described as unsubstantiated. nevertheless, radisson hotels are pulling their sponsorship with the vikings. while we evaluate the facts and circumstances. they go onto say they take the matter very seriously and have a

long standing commitment to children. meanwhile in charlotte, probowler greg hardy is back practicing with the carolina panthers. hardy is appealing his conviction for assaulting and threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend. and in the case of ravens runningback ray rice. he's appealing his suspension. they say they will file the appeal on his behalf before the mid night deadline. all of this comes as nfl commissioner roger goodell is engaged in damage control. he announced monday four women will now head up the league's response to issues of domestic violence. let's go back to the hearing on the hill. chuck hague l, martin dempsey are set to come face to face with many hebs of the armed services committee in just a few moments. you can see the hearing room there. it's starting to fill. looking at some live pictures from that areaing room.

i'm joined in the meantime by ga gayle, the deputy director of the council of foreign relations and the senior correspondent for bloomberg news, specializing in foreign policy. i think i butchered your last name. i apologize. >> you did great. >> let me start with you. what are the key questions you believe secretary hagel and chairman dempsey need to answer this morning? >> i think they're going to face any number of questions from a skeptical capitol hill, which wants to be seen very much as getting tough on isis, but the minute you start to get into this discussion, you see that the training and equip mission for syrian moderate rebels runs into any number of question marks and some real roadblocks. because there is a challenge to figure out how to vet all the folks. and secretary kerry talked about

this weekend. ch they've been fighting for two years, and there's been skepticism from the very start within the administration. and i think that skepticism is going to run right into capitol hill this morning. >> and this skepticism, this criticism that gayle was just talking about, i mean, it really runs the gam et from those who say that the u.s. strategy is far too narrow to make an impact. and those who say the idea of arming so-called mo moderate syrian rebels is a huge mistake. there was a letter that bill neely told us about earlier in the broadcast. the letter from the speaker of is syrian parliament asking congress not to arm the syrian rebels. on that point specifically t arming of the so-called moderate syrian rebels, is that a strategy that can be effective? >> look, this is something the president has prioritized. you point out the skepticism across the aisle. democrats and republicans alike.

but i would also point out in the last year since the time that the president came up against so much opposition in congress that he ultimately withdrew his plans to strike syria over the the use of chemical weapons against his own people, the opinion has really changed. and we see that in the public opinion polls that show that people, americans are really concerned about isis and the threat it may pose to the homeless. that is really swaying members of congress. so i think you both have the issue that they're looking at things like thorgauthorization military force, but they're also going to be taking seriously the president's push for $500 million for arming and training syrian opposition. and we heard him talk about in the speech last week from the white house about how saudi arabia has actually given the okay for doing that training on their land. so we know that's how speaker john boehner is actually gone into conference, you know, this week, trying to figure out some way to get that $500 million or

at least part of it through. >> as you're talking there, we start to see the general dempsey sit down. defense secretary chuck hagel also took his seat. and you're also seeing a number of anti war protesters as well. this has become somewhat customary in hearings like this and all the protesters have taken their seats. there's michigan senator carl levin getting set to make opening remarks. let's listen in for just a bit. >> on the threat posed by the islamic state of iraq, known as isis or isil, and on the president's strategy for addressing this threat, secretary hagel and general dempsey, we welcome you both. we look forward to your testimony. isis has terrorized the iraqi and syrian people. engaging in kidnappings, killings,s p s pepersecutions o religious minorities and attacking schools, hospitals and

cultural sites. isis has brought home its barbaridy with the brutal beheading of american journalists, while isis is currently focused on building an islamic caliphate in the middle east, it's hostile, not only to the region but the world. and there's real risk the area it controls could be a launching pad for future terrorist attacks in the united states and our allies. this threat is amplified by foreign fighters who travel from western countries to join with isis and then return to their countries of origin with advance training and isis experience. i recently returned from iraq where u.s. air strikes are helping forces and iraqi security forces break isis' momentum. however, our military leaders and intelligence experts

uniformly say that air strikes alone will not be sufficient to defeat isis. a number of elements of successful strategies against aye isis are embodied by the president last week. first, the par tis pax of key arab states will be critical to the effectiveness of any international coalition. if western countries act in iraq and syria without visible participation and leadership it will play in the propaganda pitch of the violent extremists that we're interested in dominating iraq and syria. isis's poisonous strand of islam is a threat to all muslim countries and can only be purgeded in a lasting way by mainstream islam and the arab world. the international conferences last week and in paris yesterday were a good start. with a number of arab states declaring their shared commitment to develop a strategy, quote, to destroy isil

wherever it is. including in both iraq and syria, closed quote. and joining in an international pledge to use, quote, whatever means necessary, closed quote, to achieve this goal. second, our assistance had been requested by the government of iraq, which made a commitment to govern in an inclusive manner. the effort to rid iraq of isis cannot be successful without the support of all elements of iraqi society. including not only shiites, kurds and religious minorities, but also the shiite tribes. the more the government in baghdad does to address the grievances of the sunni communities, the more successful they'll be in helping rid their country and the world of the isis poison. third, the president announced combat operations in iraq and syria will be carried out by iraqis and syrians. but the support of a broad

international coalition and that is the better approach because in this this part of the world the use of military force by western nations can be counterproductive if it's not done correctly. in the absence of a western target on the ground, isis' actions will undermine its own cause. because it's brutality will continue to be targeted at fellow muslims. we should be fully engaged in training and equipping iraqis, syrians, curds and other local forces that are willing to take on isis. but we should try to counter the narrative of fanatics who attack western combat forces on the ground as on occupation. i believe the president under both domestic and international law has the authority to conduct the type of limited military campaign that he outlined last week. however, bipartisan congressional support will make it ease yr for the president to build an international coalition, including the open

and visible support of arab countries. we should are the chance before relief to vote on legislation that would authorize the u.s. military to openly train and equip the vetted opposition in syria, and i hope that congress can come together to support it. senator inhoff. >> thank you, mr. chairman. after year of the white house indecision, the president finally presented to the american people his strategy to defeat isis. however, that was announced last week and fell short in two vital areas that i want to share with you. first, the president again failed to acknowledge the seriousness of the threat that isis posed to the united states national security and its homeland. his claim that america is safer, and they support his political narrative, but it's not true. secretary hagel, i appreciate your honesty when you described isis on august 21st, and you said it's an imminent threat to every interest we have, whether

in iraq or any place. i agree with you. isis has reported 35,000 fighters. nearly three times larger than june. it's tripled since june and growing larger every day. it's estimated 200 fighters hold western passports and 100 are u.s. citizens. this coupled with the advanced resources and blood thirst to kill more americans is a recipe for disaster. no specific evidence of plots against the homeland exist. and i want to remind everyone that we didn't have any specific evidence of plots against the homeland before 9/11. now we face an extremist organization that is larger, more brutal, better networked and better funded than al qaeda ever was. i believe it's critical to have in the record that we established today how isis is fundamentally different from al qaeda. first of all, al qaeda hides in caves. isis takes holds of governess

territories the size of my state of oklahoma. secondly, al qaeda has small groups of specialized fighters using terrorist tactics. isis is an army of tanks and military usinging terrorist tactics. al qaeda is based in remote regions of the world. isis sits on europe's doorsteps. al qaeda outdated propaganda and uses the outdated propaganda in arab language media. isis uses sophisticated media in multiple languages, including english to spread the cause to recruit fighters. this is very significant, mr. chairman. they spent a million dollars on 9/11. isis, we were going to say until today takes more than a million dollars every day. there's an a.p. story this morning that shows very convincingly that they have access to an additional $3 million every day.

the second think i think is a vital area, the president's strategy to defeat isis is fundamentally detacheded from the reality on the the ground. isis commands a terrorist army comprised of tens of thousands of organized fighters who have tanks and artillery. the conventional battlefield successes have allowed it to triple. it will take an army to be an army. instead he compared to his approach in yemen and somalia. the difference between al qaeda and yemen and somalia and that of isis are enormous and our strategy for each should reflect that reality. taking this one size fits all is destined for failure. the architect of the successful u.s. air campaign that destroyed the taliban army on the battlefield in 2001 said we need to institute an aggressive air cam pan in which air power is m

imapplied like a thunderstorm, not a drizzle. air strikes can only be fully effective, especially in urban areas that isis is entrenched in. when paired with skills of a trained air controller on the ground that the parking light already ruled out boots on the ground. there was a collective s iive s relief when they heard him say that. his claim of no boots on the ground is an insult to the men and women in iraq serving today. we already have boots on the ground in baghdad and iraq. we should ask the pilots dropping bombs over iraq whether they think they are in combat. pilots who face the real threat of having to eject over isis held territory. i'm no advocating an army division or combat elements on the ground, but it is fool hearty for the obama administration to tie the hands and so firmly rule out the possibility of air controllers and special operators on the

ground to direct air strikes and advise fighter forces. it sends the wrong message to our troops, to the enemy and to our partners. and furthermore, congress does authorize the training of the syrian modern opposition and then pushes them to combat without advisers on the ground. that effort is likely to fail. and we still don't have answers to the most important fundamental questions about what we're trying to accomplish. such as what does a defeated or destroyed isis look like. i hope we get the answers today. not only to the president's strategy. but also about the current state of our military residence. general dempsey, nothing significant has changed. but when you warned on february 12th of last year, not this year. that our military is on a path where the force may buck, quote, so degraded and ready that it would be immoral to use force, unquote. with six years of massive budget cuts and another round on the horizon, we're still on the

path. despite this, the administration is still calling on the military to support its pivot to asia, bolster european allies against a growing threat and auk seszfully transition our missions in afghanistan, support the response to the' ebola and another 3,000 troops will be going over there. and now to launch military operations against isis in iraq and syria. you can't have it both ways. you can't slash our defense budget on one hand and expect our military to do it on the other. if we want our men and women in the military to go in harm's way and defend the country we need to give them the training and tools they need to succeed. without that, the president's strategy will remain what has become the trademark in this administration. a lot of tough talk that isn't backed by meaningful action. we have not been able to do

that. so it looks like, mr. chairman, that this is it. thank you. ch. >> thank you, senator inhofe. >> secretary levin, chairman dempsey and i very much appreciate the opportunity. okay -- we're asking you to again please sit down, and if not, we're asking you to leave. thank you for -- would you please now leave? would you please now leave? you're acting war like yourself. >> no more war. the american public does not want war. does not want war. no more war. no more war! no more war! no military solution. >> thank you. >> secretary. >> mr. chairman, as i was saying. chairman dempsey and i very much appreciate the opportunity this morning to discuss the president's strategy to degrade

and ultimately defeat isil. as you know, you all know, today president obama is in atlanta meeting with cdc officials regarding the ebola crisis, and then will travel tonight to tampa to receive a briefing from the commander of u.s. central command, general austin on operational plans to implement his isil strategy. i'll join the president tomorrow in tampa for that briefing. the defense department, civilian and military leaders are in complete agreement that the united states, our allies and partners must take action against isil, and that the president's strategy is the right approach. however, as president obama has repeatedly made clear, american military power alone can not, will not eradicate the threats posed by isil to the united states, our allies, and our friends and partners in the region. iraq's continued political progress toward a more inclusive

and representative government and its programs of reform and reconciliation will be critical. to achieve the progress required. we believe that new iraqi minister, prime minister is committed to bringing all iraqis together against isil. to support him and the iraqi people in their fight, the coalition will need to use all the coalitions of power. we intend to use all of those instruments of power. military, law enforcement, economic, diplomatic and intelligence in coordination with all the countries in the region. to succeed, this strategy will also require a strong partnership between our executive branch and our congress. the president has made it a priority to consult with congressional leader lship on the isil challenge. as has vice president biden, secretary kerry and many senior members of the administration.

i've appreciated the opportunities i have and discuss the president strategies with many members of this committee and other members of the senate and the house over the last couple of weeks. we will continue to continue to closely with congress as this campaign moves forward. isil poses a real threat to all countries in the middle east, our european allies, and to america. in the last few months, the world has seen isil's bar barty up close as the fighters advanced across western and northern iraq, and slaughtered thousands of innocent civilians including sue kn including sunni and shias. exposed to the world the depravity of isil ideology and tactics. over the weekend, we saw isil's murder of a british citizens. isil now controls a vast swath of eastern syria and western and

northern iraq. including towns and cities in all of these areas. isil has gained strength by exploiting the civil war in syria, and sectarian strife in iraq. and it has seized territory across both countries and acquired significant resources in advanced weapons. isil has employed a violent combination of terrorists, insurgent, and inconventional military tactics. isil has been very good at developing social media to increase the global profile and attract tens of thousands of fighters. the goal is to become the new vanguard of the movement and establish an extremist slammic caliphate across the middle east. it considers itself the rightful inheriter of bin laden's legacy. isil clearly poses an immediate threat to american citizens in iraq and our interests in the middle east. we also know that thousands of

foreign fighters, including europeans and more than 100 americans have traveled to syria. with passports that give them relative freedom of movement, these fighters can exploit isil's safe haven to plan, coordinate, and carry out attacks against the united states and europe. altogether the intelligence community has not protected specific plotting bens the u.s. homeland, isil has global aspirations and as president obama has made clear, isil's leaders have threatened america and our allies. if left unchecked isil will directly threaten our homeland and allies. it is addressed to the nation last week president obama announced that the united states will lead broad multinational lateral coalition to roll back the isil threat. more than 40 nations have already expressed their willingness to participate in this effort, and more than 30 nations have indicated they're readiness to offer military

support. president obama, vice president joe biden, secretary kerry, and i and others have been working and will continue to work to unite and expand this coalition. at the nato summit secretary kerry and i convened a key meeting with the partners in the coalition. i went to georgia and turkey. they made clear they want to help. turkey, by virtue of the geography and common interest in destroying isil which is holding 46 turkish diplomats hostage will play an important role. we discuss specific contributions turkey will make. secretary kerry convened a meeting last week with the foreign ministers from the six gulf corporation councils, nations egypt, iraq, jordan, and rememb lebanon. all said to do their share in

the fight against isil including joining in many of the aspects. last week 22 nations of the arab league adopted a resolution at their summit in cairo calling for comp hencive measures to combat isil. yesterday in paris, the french president who travelled to baghdad last weekend hosted a conference attended by u.n. security members european and arab leaders and representatives of the e.u., arab league, and united nations. they pledged to help iraq in the fight against isil including through military assistance. key allies such as united kingdom, france, and australia are already contributing military support. other partners have begun to make specific offers. at next week's u.n. general assembly, we expect that additional nations will begin making commitments across the spectrum of capabilities. building on the strong chapter 7

u.n. security council resolution adopted last month calling on all member states to take measures to counter isil and suppress the flow of foreign fighters to isil. also, next week president obama will chair a meeting at the u.n. security council to further mobilize the international community. as you all know, former international security assistant command eer acting commander general john allen has been designated to serve as special presidential envoy. president obama is meeting with general allen this morning. general allen will work in a civilian diplomatic capacity to coordinate, build, and sustain the coalition drawing on his extensive experience in the region. he'll be the administration's point man to coordinate contributions and build support within the region.

he will work closely with general austin to ensure that coalition efforts are aligned across all elements of our strategy. in his address to the nation, the president outlined the four elements of this strategy to degrade and ultimately defeat isil. let me describe how we're implementing this whole government approach. first, in close coordination with the new iraqi government we're broaden our air campaign to conduct systemic air strikes against isil targets. to protect americans threatened by isil's advances, and to prevent humanitarian catastrophe, u.s. military already conducted more than 160 successful air strikes which have killed isil fighters, destroyed weapons and equipment, and enabled iraqi and kurdi isi forces to get back on the offenses and secure key territory and critical infrastructure including the mosul dams. these actions have disrupted

isil tactically and have helped buy time for the iraqi government to begin forming an inclusive and broad-based governing coalition lead by the new prime minister. that was one of president obama's essential preconditions. we're taking further action against isil. because the iraqi people, the iraqi people must be united in their opposition against isil in order to defeat them. this will require a united and inclusive government. this is ultimately their fight. the new broader air campaign will include strikes against all isil targets and enable the iraqi security forces including kurdish forces to continue to stay on the offensive and recapture territory from isil and hold it. because isil operates freely across the iraqi syrian border and maintains a safe haven in syria. our actions will not be restr n

restrained by a border in name only. as the president said last week, if you threaten america, you will find no safe haven. the president of the united states has the constitutional and the statutory authority to use military force against isil in syria as well as iraq, and refining and finalizing the plans, which general austin will brief to the president tomorrow in tampa. this plan includes targeted actions against isil safe mavhas in syria including the command and control, logistics capabilities, and infrastructure. general dempsey and i have reviewed and approved the plan. the second element of the strategy is to increase our support for forces fighting isil on the ground. the iraqi and kurdish forces and the moderate syrian opposition. to support iraqi and kurdish forces, the president announced last week he would deploy an additional 475 american troops to iraq.

part of that number includes approximately 150 advisers in support personnel to supplement forces already in iraq conducting assessments of the iraqi security forces. this assessment mission is transferring to an advise mission with more than 15 teams embedding with the iraqi security forces at the headquarters level to provide strategic and operational advice. the additional 475 troops include 125 personnel to support intelligence, surveillance, and reconnoissance missions out of irbil and 200 personnel to increase headquarters elements in baghdad and irbil helping us better coordinate military activities across iraq. by the time all the forces arrive, there will be approximately 1600 u.s. personnel in iraq responding to the isil threat. but as the president said last

week, american forces will not have a combat mission. instead these advisers are supporting an iraqi and kurdish forces and supporting the government's plan to stand up iraqi national guard units to help sunni communities defeat isil. the best counter weight to isil are local forces and the people of the area. as you know, in june, the president asked congress for the necessary authority for dodd to train and equip moderate syrian opposition forces and $500 million to fund the program. we have now secured support from saudi arabia to host the training program for this mission, and saudi arabia offered financial and other support as well. the 500 million request the president made in june for the train and equip program reflects the estimate of the cost to train, equip, and resupply more