jim acosta is a cnn senior white house correspondent.bert is a correspondent in london and lieutenant colonel rick francona all join me now. jim, i want to start with you and eric holder's plan. he says there's no more urgent threat than violent extremism at home. walk us through the administration's plans. >> we are waiting to hear more details about this and the white house peres secretary will have his briefing in a couple hours from now so we hope to get more details then. as you heard in eric holder's video message this morning, they are talking about law enforcement communities here in the united states working with their partners around the world. also with faith leaders in various cities and these pilot programs they're talking about that they want to have in different cities around the country. it sounds as though the obama administration wants to be proactive about this and work with various mosques in various communities to make sure that anybody picks up on this kind of extremist language that that gets reported to the approp

also jim acosta joining us from washington as well.tlemen, thank you for joining us this evening. the information is coming in. jim sciutto, at first there were three nation states that we heard about, all arab states. now we're hearing about five. this is particularly significant because? >> reporter: no question. because you heard in recent days secretary of state john kerry, president obama talking about how they wanted to internatio l internationalize this effort, make it u.s.-led perhaps, but to have important partners in the region. and now you have five in the region taking part tonight in at least three of them, i'm told, in kinetic activity. that is, dropping bombs tonight, not just support flights, refueling

>> huge. >> jim acosta. everyone here is saying huge and nodding in agreement. >> i think it's very -- i think it's significant. i think it's more than what just about everybody in washington expected. and so that is a diplomatic victory for the administration. obviously, we're on the front end of all this. so we have to see how things develop. i think one other thing that has also gone well this evening, is we heard the president basically issue this threat about a week ago. it was confirmed by administration officials that if bashar al assad's forces were to interfere with these air strikes that were taking place or about to take place in syria that he should expect u.s. forces to go after his assets, his air defense assets. so that has not taken place, and so it appears bashar al assad did get that message. but one thing i do want to point out, and i just got this from a u.s. official, a senior u.s. official in the last several minutes, is that while raqqa is the center of activity tonight that other targ

jim acosta is joining us. tell our viewers what exactly happened at the united nations here today. >> reporter: well, wolf, i'm told we shouldn't expect to hear from the president on this latest air strike today, that more air strikes were coming in an address to the u.n. general assembly, a speech he tried to use to connect with hearts and minds in the muslim world. president obama arrived at the united states united nations not to make peace, but to expand his new war on terrorism. in a rare appearance, chairing a session of the u.n. security council, the president called into the ranks of isis and other terror groups. >> they may try to return to their home countries to carry out deadly attacks. >> reporter: and he told new iraqi prime minister to brace himself for a long battle. >> this is not something that is going to be easy, and it is not going to happen overnight. >> no god condones this terror. >> reporter: hours earlier, in a tough-talking speech to the u.n. general assembly, the president urged the

let's bring in senior white house correspondent jim acosta. there's definitely going to be some controversy. but maybe for the first time in recent history, congress is going to be silent. >> i think that's right, chris, look for three major themes in president obama's speech to the nation this evening. first the president will frame the threat posed by isis during this portion of the address. the president will offer a big picture of how he views isis. how it's become a core national security priority as josh earnest, the white house press secretary mentioned yesterday. and how isis cannot be allowed to secure a safe haven in that borderless part of the world, iraq and syria. secondly he will lay out his strategy. and this portion of the speech is obviously intended to counter the perception that he fostered, that he doesn't have a plan for dealing with the isis threat. the strategy is, administration officials specified, involves building an international coalition, including arab partners and iraqi and syrian rebels, but no u.s. combat troo

senior white house correspondent, jim acosta joins us, now, what happened, jim? [ no audio ] >> we are obviously having audio problem with jim acosta's microphone. he is going to update us about the subway scare that ended up not being accurate. >> yeah, the iraqi prime minister came out and said they had a credible threat, he said threat, or forwarded a, thwarted a threat by isis for subway in paris, new york city and u.s. counterterrorism, and members of homeland security didn't know about this, fbi had no idea about this threat. there was consternation going back and forth and law makers in washington. >> forced the mayor of new york and police commissioner come out and assuage the fears of new yorkers to say it is okay. in fact we will show you how okay it is. we will ride the subway. everything is fine. and the iraqi prime minister got it from prisoners, from detainees that had given that. basically what one of our experts said, he is not used to dealing with the american media who takes everything literally and we follow up on things like that. >> we should

we're also joined by senior white house correspondent jim acosta.irst of all, jim, tell us about the president's visit and what we might expect him to say. >> carol, we do expect to hear the president reiterate his strategy for taking on isis,

and as jim acosta, so are modern presidents including the current one. >> reporter: for president obama it is the war on terrorism 2.0. meeting with his own coalition of the willing of arab partners during the meeting of the united nations mr. obama warned the new fight won't be over soon. >> because of the unprecedented effort of the coalition i think we now have an opportunity to send a very clear message that the world is united. >> reporter: and the battle is only beginning as the u.s. and its partners are not only taking on isis but in a speech he discussed earlier this month, administration officials said they used this to size up khorasan for a potential strike. >> we also took strikes to disrupt the plotting by seasoned al qaeda in syria who are known as the khorasan group. >> reporter: it is also a new day for the president who once won a nobel peace prize after building his political career promising to get the u.s. out of dumb wars. a vow he reiterated a year ago. >> i was elected to end wars, not start them. i spent the last four years doing everything i can to reduce our re

jim acosta is at the white house this morning. good morning. >> reporter: that's right, ca l carol, as president obama prepares to lay out his deal for dealing with the isis crisis, the public doesn't need much convincing according to a new cnn poll. i'll have more in a few moments. [announcer] play close-good and close. help keep teeth clean and breath fresh with beneful healthy smile snacks. with soft meaty centers and teeth cleaning texture,it's dental that tastes so good. beneful healthy smile food and snacks. when salesman alan ames books his room at laquinta.com, he gets a ready for you alert the second his room is ready. so he knows exactly when he can check in and power up before his big meeting. and when alan gets all powered up, ya know what happens? i think the numbers speak for themselves. i'm sold! he's a selling machine! put it there. and there, and there, and there. la quinta inns & suites is ready for you, so you'll be ready for business. the ready for you alert, only a laquinta.com! la quinta! when your favorite f

jim acosta, u.s.ked security council measure 2178 calls on all countries to suppress, recruiting, organizing, transporting, equipping financing of foreign terrorist fighters. states that foreign fighters may pose a serious threat to their states of origin, states they transit and the states to which they travel. that is the fear about fighters in the war. >> reporter: across the nation it is one of the top security concerns. foreign fighters, currentlien syria and iraq, returning home to america to launch a lone wolf attack. >> interpol enhancing international databases to help border control agents around the world better identify terrorists and more effectively share that information globally. >> working very closely with interpoll in order to prioritize the information that they keep on foreign terrorist fighters. the alert system can help countries identify suspected terrorists quickly and get the data to other officials. red notices or wanted identify terrorists for arrest and prs cushion in u.s.

jim acosta is live at the white house this morning. good morning, jim. >> good morning, carol, that's right. a new cnn/orc poll finds the pub slick alarmed by the terror threat posed by isis. we'll break down the numbers in just a few moments. hoo, hoo, hoo oohh, you got it! i love the looks of it. [garage door closing] nobody touches my dodge dart, jake johnson. not even your best friend slash neighbor? no one. i can still get in craig. i'd like to see you try. all i'd have to do is roll in, dude. let's see it. i choose not to right now. come on indiana. craig, craig, craig. [in a british accent] is someone out there? don't do that accent on me! ♪don't touch my dart can this decadent, fruit-top pastry with indulgent streusel crumbles be from... fiber one? fiber one streusel. available at walmart. i'm on expert on softball. and tea parties. i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for, because i'm raising two girls on my own. i'll worry about the economy more than a few times before they're grown. but it's for them, so i'

jim acosta at the white house, thanks very much. america's vulnerability to foreign terrorists became shockingly clear with the devastating 9/11 attacks. what about the new threat of americans returning home after fighting with terror groups? joining us now, rudy guiliani, he was the mayor of new york on 9/11. mr. mayor, thanks very much for coming in. >> nice to be with you. >> what worries you more, an organized al qaeda-like attack which occurred on 9/11 or these lone wolves who might be inspired to kill some americans? >> i hate to say it but i think the lone wolves worry me more. >> why? >> they're harder to follow, harder to track. it's harder to get intelligence with al qaeda, with the organized groups. there's a chance for infiltration, there's a chance for surveillance, electronic surveillance, there are international communications. when you have things like this, this isis leader saying, go off and do your own thing, nobody has to communicate with anybody. and i think our level of intelligence about that is not at the sam

let's check in with jim acosta. president obama will address the nation at 9:00 p.m. eastern tonight and he'll lay out his strategy to degrade and defeat isis. it sounds like that strategy is already in place and already under way, jim. >> that's right, carol. you know, the president does want to frame this threat posed by isis, that is a big part of his speech tonight, how it's become a poor national security priority, how they feel the terror group cannot be allowed to secure a safe haven as they're calling in the both iraq and syria. so the president will lay out a strategy which involves building on this international coalition elise was talking about including arab partners they feel are important and beefing up support, training and equipment for iraqi and potentially syrian rebel forces. that is going to be a component of the president's strategy. i understand from talking to various officials here at the white house that the president, while he may not be seeking additional authority from congress tonight, he will be in the future asking for what's called titl

. >> let's take you to the site of that summit, jim acosta, senior white house correspondent there. and jim, let's just begin with nato's chief. he says he would seriously consider helping iraq fight the extremist group of isis after the request from iraq's president today. what do you think will be decided over the course of the next two days? >> reporter: well, i can tell you, brooke, i was just on a conference call with other reporters, and the deputy national security adviser, ben rhodes, who was walking through, you know, the press really through this process taking place here at the nato summit in wales. and the president is here right now asking for that support for international support for some sort of military mission against isis and it is undefined at this point. i think that's, you know, a kind way of putting it. they just don't know how it's going to take shape. but a little bit of news to come out of this conference call. ben rhodes did tell reporters that the president is getting indications, his top administration officials like secretary of state john kerry, the se

acosta says officers can unintentionally influence a witness. >> even if they are honest and describe plus, they know what the right answer is. they may give off some sort of unconscious cue, they may get excited when you are about to pick the right person, they may be dejected when you don't. >> so he implemented a double blind process where neither the detective nor the witness knows if there is a suspect in the photo array. >> if you give that photo array to a detective who has no idea what the right answer is, the studies show we'll get a truer result. >> do you believe that what happened to you couldn't happen to a guy today? >> no. i don't believe it. depends on the jurisdiction. you can still send a person to death row in the united states by circumstantial evidence. >> kirk bloodsworth doesn't get back to the water often anymore. instead, he's an activist. he was instrumental in getting maryland to repeal its death penalty last year. >> witness identification is one of the largest reasons why wrongful convictions happen in the united states. >> and he wants reforms like p.g. c

jim acosta is working this part of the story for us. the key is we say alleged plot because we're getting mixed signals here from iraqi versus american officials. >> absolutely, brianna. this got started earlier when the new iraq minister abadi told a group of reporters gathered at the united nations that baghdad had information about an imminent threat, a terror plot that was going to be hashed by militants on their subway systems. and according to american administration officials here at the white house and up in new york, they have no information that it's a credible, specific threat at this point, according to one senior administration official at the white house, they still want to corroborate this and while they are not commenting publicly, the mayor of new york came out on the cameras and just about an hour ago to reassure new yorkers that their subway system is safe. here's what he had to say. >> i have a simple message for all new yorkers, there is no immediate, credible threat to our subway system. i say that with confidence.

jim acosta is at the white house tonight.e weaponly in the guy's car plus his past record, the white house has got to be concerned that this do have been much more serious. >> reporter: they are concerned. the president and the first family they left only five minutes before this incident occurred. all weekend long, the president and the first family were in camp david, the president was making preeted calls back to the white house to check on the status of this investigation. homeland security secretary jay johnson put out a statement saying there shouldn't be a rush to judgment, but anderson, some judgments are already being made within the secret service community. i talked to one law enforcement official who described what happened on friday night as inexcusable. >> there's a lot that didn't happen on friday night after this guy scaled the fence. security dogs weren't released nor was the white house front door locked. >> reporter: right. i mean, the fact that the k-9s were not deployed that night is one big lapse in secu

cnn's jim acosta has the story. >> reporter: john and christine, omar gonzalez made it farther than acknowledged by the secret service. according to sources, once gonzalez made it to the white house, he got through the officer the portico door and leading to the residence and ran into the east room before being tackled as he was trying to head into the green room. no shots were fired inside or outside the white house. according to a memo used by lawmakers at the committee this morning, there were multiple lapses to allow gonzalez to make it that far. one is the crash button to lockdown the white house. this is counter to what the secret service said on the night of the incident. gonzalez was apprehended inside the portico doors. the director is set to testify before the committee this morning. john and christine. >> thank you, jim. >>> residents of the syrian city of kobani terrified this morning. pleading for help as isis closes in. islamic militant fighters two miles from the kurdish town with the border with turkey. u.s.-led forces intensified air strikes on iraq and syria, but the kobani gov

cnn's jim acosta has more from the white house. >> reporter: john and christine, this started with abadi told reporters that baghdad intelligence said there was a terror plot aimed in the subway systems in france and u.s. that sparked a lot of concern in the obama administration. officials said they had no credible evident of a plot. late in the day, the official went back to the iraqi prime minister and talked to him and the prime minister told him that he was speaking in general terms. this was not an actual imminent terror plot posed by isis against the subway systems. that obviously will be reassuring to people in new york city. the mayor of new york city bill de blasio reassured riders. it is important to point out what seennior officials told us. isis doesn't have ability to carry out attacks on the homeland. they are worried about khorasan which is comprised of former al qaeda members. they say that group is capable of carrying outer terror attacks. john and christine. >> thank you, jim. >>> the pentagon says u.s. led air strikes hit mobile refineries in eastern syria and iraq. fr

jim acosta traveling with the president. while the president left question marks over how to defend against isis, chuck hagel was quick to clarify with tough talk of his own. he spoke exclusively with our chief correspondent jim sciutto from new port, rhode island. he was pretty blunt, the secretary of defense. >> reporter: no question, wolf. and if the president left doubt earlier in the day first saying that the endgame for a u.s. mission against isis would be to degrade or destroy and later talking about a manageable threat, somehow managing or containing the threat, defense secretary hagel not leaving that doubt. when i asked that question, here's how he answered. >> the mission is very clear and we're providing the president with those options to degrade and destroy isil's capability. >> that's the endgame. degrade and destroy, not contain. >> it's exactly what the president said. degrade and destroy. >> the secretary also being clear saying repeatedly, in fact, that the defense department has already provided the white

cnn's jim acosta has the story. >> reporter: hernandez made it farther into the white house than previously stated. gonzalez managed to make it through a secret service officer at the portico doors and ran into the east room before he was tackled just as he was trying to head into the green room. no shots were fired inside or outside the white house. according to a memo used by the members of the committee this morning, there were multiple lapses that allowed gonzalez to make that far. one was a crash button which would have instantly locked down the white house. this information runs counter to what the secret service said on the night of the incident. a spokesman told reporters he was taken down inside the portico. according to white house officials, the president has confidence in her leadership. john and christine. >> thanks, jim, for that report. >>> residents of the syrian city of kobani are terrified and pleading for help. islamic fighters are two miles from the kurdish town near the border of turkey. u.s. forces have intensified air strikes in syria, but officials in kobani say it i

jim acosta, cnn, the white house. >>> i'm joined once again by military analyst and retired u.s. army retired mark hurtling. what about the notion that the arab league, at least in word, has signed on against isis militarily and politically? those are words and so far no action. where are they? >> we're developing the situation. the secretary and defense were in the area. the president has been talking to key leaders in the area. it's critical to get the arab league and gulf cooperation on board. this is a sunni organization and extremist sunni organization and we don't want to stumble into a sunni/shia war. i think the requirement to get other key governments that have sunni populations involved is critical. >> general, when you hear -- and you have to look at the translation -- and again, we can't even show most of this video because it's so horrific. but at least part of the translation, they were showing dead soldiers, syrian soldiers and saying that these people are greater disbelievers than the jews and the christians, presumably because these are shias. they are muslims ki

jim acosta reports. >> president obama came to estonia to reassure allies the u.s. would have their backs against russian aggression. you know wants to destroy the terrorist group. responding to calls to get tough on isis, president obama all but vowed vengeance for the killing of steven sotloff. a message echoed by joe biden. >> we will follow them to the gates of hell, until they are brought to justice. because hell is where they will reside. >> attempting to clarify his policy for dealing with isis, the president declared at a news conference he wants to wipe out the terrorist group. >> our objective is clear, and that is to degrade and destroy is isil. >> then just a few breaths later, the president appeared to soften that goal. we can continue to shrink isil's sphere of influence, it's effectiveness, it's financing, it's military capabilities to the point where it is a manageable problem. >> that comment was only an acknowledgement that remnants of a defeated isis could pose a future threat. it was another white house attempt to clean up the president's remarks

jim acosta, thanks very much. >>> let's dig deeper.ng us, state department deputy spokesperson marie harf. thanks for coming in. >> thank you for having me. >> let's talk about steven sotloff first. have you now definitively concluded that this young 31-year-old journalist was beheaded? >> well, the intelligence community is still looking at video. they are working to authenticate it as quickly as possible. this is a process they take very seriously. just obviously from look that the, it this is true, an incredibly sad day, of course, for the sotloff family. for his friend. we are working quickly to see if we can authenticate it. we obviously are thinking about them today and know this is a very difficult day. >> we saw the very moving video that shirley sotloff delivered last week on arabia television, to save her son. obviously did no good at all. are they grieving with the family. >> in constant communication with the sotloff family, with other families of americans held overseas, we are offering any assistance we can. we have made

john acosta has our report. >> reporter: president obama came to estonia so they would realize that the u.s. has their backs. he said he wants to destroy the isis terrorist group. responding to calls to get tough on isis, president obama all but vowed vengeance for the killing of american journalist steven sotloff. a message echoed by vice president biden. >> we will follow them to the gates of hell until they are brought to justice because hell is where they will reside. >> reporter: attempting to clarify his policy for dealing with isis, the president said that he wants to wipe out the terrorist group. >> our objective is clear and that is to degrade and destroy isil so it's no longer a threat to not just iraq but to the region and the united states. >> reporter: then, a few breaths later, the president appeared to soften that goal. >> we can continue to shrink isil's sphere of influence, its financing, its military capabilities to the point where it is a manageable problem. >> reporter: aides quickly told reporters that that comment was only an acknowledgement that isis could still p

thank you, jim acosta. >> let's talk more about the president's address at the u.n. the challenge he issued to the muslim world. we also have individually to show you that was shot secretly inside the isis controlled city of raqqa, syria. it shows what life is like under terrorist rule. it is very grim. wait till you see this. >> yeah, can't wait to talk about that. . joined by fareed zakari, and a global affairs analyst and managing editor. fareed, the president's speech today at the u.n. as we were watching, i said, he seemed more forceful, little sterner, more confident. you said president obama's unga speech was eloquent, but is the strategy coherent? expand on this. do you find a flaw in his strategy? >> the moment when american presidents look great. when they order military action. the united states has the most awesome military in the world. fire power is unbelievable you. begin to see, the bombs go off. it, it will all incredibly impressive. and rightfully so. the problem what we know is from iraq. from libya, from many of these examples, is, to get actual p

let's go now to jim acosta who has the very latest. >> i've been told we should not expect to hear from this evening about this latest round of air strikes. he is at an event, a u.n.-related event on open government and he's not expected to talk about this in terms of what's happening militarily in the battle against isis right now. clearly, from what you are hearing the president talk about earlier today with respect to taking the fight to isis, you heard the president basically warn those isis fighters to clear out of the battlefield and at one part during his speech he talked about going after the financesing of this terror group and clearly, wolf, that these air strikes hitting these oilfields in eastern syria is going after their financing and it's been estimating that isis controls about 50% of the oil reserves in syria right now. something like 50,000 barrels per day and if the u.s. and this coalition will defeat isis militarily they'll have to any after the money as well, wolf. >> jim acosta traveling with the president as well. thanks very much. we're watching the breaking news

we begin with seen r your white house correspondent jim acosta. good morning, jim. what might the president say? >> well, the speech is designed to show the president is now ready to go on offense, as he said earlier this week. the president will offer a big picture of how he views isis, how it's become a core security priority and how they cannot allowed to secure a safe haven in iraq and syria. he will lay out his strategy, which involves building an international coalition including beefing up support for iraqi and potentially syrian rebel forces. but no u.s. combat boots on the ground. a senior administration official also says the president will lay out a series of new proposals on how he plans to take the fight to isis to degrade and destroy the terror group. the president is open to airstrikes on isis targets in syria, but whether he will we will hear that tonight that he's authori authorized those strikes, that's the big question. but consider this quote from a white house official. want to put this on screen. "tonight you'll hear from the president how the

joining us now in wails, gyp acosta traveling with the president.im, this seemed to be tougher talk than we've heard from the president lately on the issue of isis. this wasn't about making isis a manageable problem. >> reporter: that's right, john. this was a different president obama on this final day of the nato summit. you recall last week the president got in a lot of hot water, not only with republicans but democrats when he said he didn't have a plan to deal with isis and syria and said he wanted to reduce the threat to a quote manageable problem. he was much tougher on the threat earlier today. this is what he had to say. >> we'll degrade and defeat isil the same way we have gone after the al qaeda affiliate in somalia. you can't contain an organization that is running rough through that much territory causing that much havoc displacing that many people killing that many innocents and slaving that many women. the goal has to be to dismantle them. >> and the president cautioned that this effort will take some time and even secretary of state

jim acosta, cnn, at the united nations. >> the u.s.-led coalition to battle the extremists in iraq is growing larger. take a look at some of the latest numbers we have for you. the nether lands is sending 250 troops and several f-16 fighter jets to iraq to carry out air strikes and to train iraqi and kurdish forces. the belgium foreign minister will ask parliament to deploy six f-16s. these falcon warplanes can travel at speeds of more than 2400 kilometers per hour. >>> turkey is another country that could play a key role in the fight against isis but so far turkish leaders seem reluctant to get involved militarily. many thought that might change after 49 turkish citizens including diplomats and their families who were being held hostage in iraq were released over the weekend. still, turkey's president did not make a military commitment during his u.n. speech on wednesday. our becky anderson is in abu dhabi and joins us again live with more on that so, becky, why are we seeing this reluctance on the part of turkey to play an active rol

first senior white house correspondent jim acosta is in new york.iew of the president's long day ahead. jim. >> reporter: john and christine, later this morning, the president will give a major address here at the united nations where a senior official says mr. obama will talk about the general unease that the world is feeling right now because of the dangers posed by the new terror groups isis and khorasan. the president will also go on to talk about the importance of building coalitions to take on the threats. later on today, the president will sit down with the iraqi prime minister haider al abadi about the air strikes taking play. will al abadi has told president obama that he would like to see more of those air strikes. and later on in the afternoon, the president is going to chair the security council. before he did it on the subject of climate change. this time around, it will be on the subject of foreign fighters. the president want tux about the dangers imposed by those fighters. americans and westerners who train and come back to the unite

it's happened again on this trip. >> jim acosta traveling with the brez. thank you so much.he president has faced heavy criticism from not just republicans but democrats, as well for in the words of senator dianne feinstein, democrat from california, taking too cautious approach against the growing isis threat. some lawmakers were stunned at his admission the administration doesn't have eight strategy for carrying out strikes at isis in syria. now that the jihadists appear to be making good to spill more american blood, should the president wait on permissioning from congress to step up the campaign? joining me is peter king, congressman king, let me first get your reaction to this video that seems to show the execution of steven sotloff. >> jake, this is absolutely disgraceful, it's horrific, it shows how barbaric isis is and what a threat it is to all the values that we hold dear. and it should demonstrate conclusively this is a group that cannot be negotiated with and that every effort must be made to crush them and destroy them. >> you called the execution of journalist

we are covering both news stories with our white house correspondent jim acosta and jim sciutto. i want to begin with you at the white house. a prosecutor calling this fence jumper a i know did a to the president. when you see that video, it is still stunning. now we're hearing about 800 rounds of ammunition. what else are you learning? >> you can count the seconds. it was roughly 20 seconds between the time jumped over that fence and by the time he got inside the white house. prosecutors are calling him a danger, or they were calling him a danger to the president. a court appearance that omar gonzalez, the suspected fence jumper had earlier today. and yes, as prosecutors laid out, he has had some run-ins with law enforcement before. consider what happened earlier this summer in july. they are saying that gonzalez was arrested by police and with county, virginia. that's in southwest virginia with a sawed off shotgun and a map and circled the white house. then in august, he was stopped on the south side of the white house grounds outside of the fence of the white house grounds wit

jim acosta, thank you so much. >>> the job of protecting the president looks very different from inside the white house fence, of course. ralph bashah headed up the secret service for three years under former george w. bush. ralph joins us right now. there's talk right now of all sorts of measures to prevent what happened from ever happening again, from closing off pennsylvania avenue to traffic, to expanding the security perimeter. but let me play devil's advocate here. why should the public pay a price for what looks like to be the secret service not on its best? >> well, i'll tell you, the secret service is still the best at what it does in the world. and they're going to have incidents over the years. and when they have these kinds of incidents, they are going to take a hard look at them. they're going to learn from them. they're going to adjust their protocols, their processes, their security measures. but when you have a situation which exists on pennsylvania avenue -- and i'll point to you this picture, the fence -- >> you think that's the problem? >> that is the problem. that is

cnn's senior white house correspondent jim acosta joins us with more. great to see you.etty of the preview of the speech the president is going to be giving tomorrow, earlier today when he met with representatives of the arab nations that took part in air strikes in syria last night. the president saying to that group that their coalition that they put together is essentially the beginning of what he hopes will be a united front. in response to, to the threat posed by isis and this new terrorist group that a lot of america americans -- this "war on terrorism." the "war on terrorism," 2.0. that is, to see iraq and syria, show some, some pretty good stride in the years to come. here's what the president had to say. [ indiscernible ] >> we are committed to a -- to a syria that is at peace and not having the sort of spillover effects that are burdening its neighbors. >> now, one challenge for the president, is he is not exactly laid out a road map for how he will accomplish those things. that's why tomorrow's speech comes in. told by senior administration official about the

jim acosta at the united nations. >> the united arab emirates is one of the arab countries with planesn the air hitting isis targets in syria. our becky ander anyone is in abu dhabi and joins us live. the united states made clear it was saudi arabia and the united arab emirates that took the lead in these latest air strikes on oil refineries. that's significant in itself. what roles did jordan, bahrain and qatar play this time around and what's been the reaction there in the region to these latest air strikes? >> reporter: yeah, it's less clear. the statement that we got from u.s. central command confirming that both saudi and the uae had jets in the air over syria participating in these latest strikes, we do know in the initial phase some 48 hours ago, that jordan also flew its planes over syria. we haven't had that confirmation from u.s. centcom today or know what the latest role for bahrain or qatar has been. we know qatar has been playing a supporting role. there are jets in the skies from some of these arab allied countries. there is also logistical support and intelligence gather

leslie acosta enviÓ un mensaje a la comunidad hispana que sigue creciendo. >> nunca perder las esperanzasriqueÑa y ese mismo dÍa a las seis de la tarde tendremos un programa especial con todo lo que usted no vio al momento de este gran desfile. ♪ >> en puerto rico, por cajas, se llevan los repelente de mosquitos en los comercios luego de se confirmarÁn cinco muertes debido al chikungunya. lo cierto, es que tambiÉn se puede evitar con la prevenciÓn >> 2140 casos confirmados de chikungunya, mÁs de 7000 casos sospechosos y tres muertes asociadas a la afecciÓn. el anuncio de los decesos de dos hombres y una mujer, los residentes de una zona metropolitana y uno en fajardo, ha ocasionado una desesperaciÓn por comprar repelente y educarse sobre quÉ hacer. >> todas su personaje tenÍan enfermedades crÓnicas subyacentes o son personas que nunca han cuidado tardÍamente. >> personas con enfermedades crÓnicas de riÑón, el doctor orienta a sus pacientes por las consecuencias. >> una persona que es picada por el mosquito y le da dengue, le puede dar dengue en mÚltiples ocasiones, pero si le da chikungun

it sund loounds like they will trained in saudi arabia. >> jim acosta at the white house. has the the president made his case? can he count on support from congress? joining us now guests. thank you for joining us. did the president make his case effectively? >> wolf, i think the president laid out the beginnings of a plan and strategy. i did think what we are missing in this, he didn't speak to our allies. he didn't define the coalition. those are things that i know my constituents with fort campbell, a majormy -- post in my district. something they are hearing and want to know. >> what about that, congressman, schiff? >> this is the opening state, not the closing argument. in the weeks to come, the president will have to set up what the partners are going to have to do. the saudi willingness to host this is very significant. most of what the gulf states are willing to do has been only covert. the fact that they would so openly take on isis this way, maybe quite a significant shift for the saudis. and if we can get everyone on the same page in terms of who they would be b

i want to get to correspondent jim acosta standing by live. jim, the u.s. is obviously worried about isis. that goes without saying >> sure. >> that's not the only place where the president is really being criticized on the world stage. >> that's right, dana. keep in mind president obama authorized an expansion of u.s. air strikes on isis targets over this labor day weekend. that has not stopped the second-guessing from both political parties, the president's strategy for dealing with isis. under growing pressure to escalate the u.s. battle against isis, president obama tried to make a labor day pivot to midterm election politics. >> milwaukee broughts are delicious and republicans in congress love to say no. those are just facts, the facts of of life. >> but in the britain, there was another plea from prime minister david cameron to get tough on isis. >> we will in the end defeat this extremism and we will secure our way of life for generations to come. >> targeting jihadis traveling back and forth from the west to isis battlefields, cameron is seeking new

also our thanks to jim acosta and barbara starr as well.sis has come out with another brand-new propaganda video. this time, it is aimed squarely at the united states and it really looks like a trailer for a hollywood movie. going to show you part of it coming up and talk a little bit more about how on earth that's working -- or is it? who's going to make it happen? discover a new energy source. turn ocean waves into power. design cars that capture their emissions. build bridges that fix themselves. get more clean water to everyone. who's going to take the leap? who's going to write the code? who's going to do it? engineers. that's who. that's what i want to do. be an engineer. join the scientists and engineers of exxonmobil in inspiring america's future engineers. energy lives here. big day? ah, the usual. moved some new cars. hauled a bunch of steel. kept the supermarket shelves stocked. made sure everyone got their latest gadgets. what's up for the next shift? ah, nothing much. just keeping the lights on. (laugh) nice. doing the big thin

stand by, jim acosta, here at the united nations. we're also learning now details from the pentagon about the strikes against isis in syria at that briefing earlier today. officials described the air strikes as successful. but they stress that this is only just the beginning. >> as far as what targets and future operations, i'd like to not comment on what our next -- other than to say that you are seeing the beginnings of a sustained campaign. and strikes like this in the future can be expected. the operational pace, the tempo of this thing will be dictated by the facts on the ground and what the targets mean in terms of the effect we seek, which is to disrupt. >> let's take a look at the map once again. here are the countries that took part in this anti-isis air campaign in syria. the countries include bahrain, jordan, saudi arabia, qatar and the united arab emirates. our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto is with me here at the united nations as well. it's an interesting group of five sunni arab countries that have d

senior white house correspondent jim acosta has our report. >> reporter: for president obama, this time there were no mixed messages. >> we're going to achieve our goal. we are going to degrade and ultimately defeat isil the same way that we have gone after al qaeda. >> reporter: at a news conference at the end of a crucial nato summit, the president insisted he now has a plan for taking out isis. gone was any reference of simply reducing the isis threat. >> to the point where it is a manageable problem. >> reporter: as he had put it just days earlier. instead -- >> 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 innocents, enslaving that many women. the goal has to be to dismantle them. >> reporter: the obama administration is now counting ten countries as part of an international anti-isis coalition. there are partners the president is confident will follow. as secretary of state john kerry told one nato session, contrary to what you sort of heard in the politics of our cou

we're also joined by senior white house correspondent jim acosta. first of all, jim, tell us about the president's visit and what we might expect him to say. >> carol, we do expect to hear the president reiterate his strategy for taking on isis, repeat that pledge of no u.s. combat boots on the ground in iraq. he also wants to talk about the international coalition that he's building, i'm told by white house officials. in the meantime, as you said, carol, the president will be hearing from u.s. central command leaders first, they're the ones coordinating the fight against isis and as he arrived in florida, the white house was busy clarifying surprising statements from joint chiefs chairman martin dempsey on whether there would be u.s. combat troops fighting against isis in iraq. dempsey told the senate hearing yesterday that it's not the plan at the moment but he added "if i found that circumstance evolving i would change my recommendation." asked about that at the white house, the white house said general dempsey was engaged in hypotheticals and th

let's bring in our senior white house correspondent jim acosta. i think it's fair to say this president didn't want to spend the last two years of his presidency as a war year. described as a reluctant warrior. he wanted to end the wars in iraq and afghanistan and didn't tonight start a new one against isis in iraq and syria. >> that's right, wolf. but as we know, sometimes history has other plans for american presidents. that's what we're going to see from president obama over these next couple years. wolf, you're right. this is a president who campaigned on the notion that he was going to end wars in the middle east, not start them. and now what you're hearing is something that's really kind of a 180 for this president. he's going to be talking about how this is going to be a long struggle for the united states and the world, battling isis, battling violent extremist, not only in the middle east but potentially on american soil. this is a war, wolf, if you want to call it a war on terrorism 2.0 or the new war on terrorism against isis and groups

jim acosta stand by. we'll continue our special coverage, our team coverage in just a moment. we have our analyst reporters, all standing by, much more on the breaking news right after this. you, my friend are a master of diversification. who would have thought three cheese lasagna would go with chocolate cake and ceviche? the same guy who thought that small caps and bond funds would go with a merging markets. it's a masterpiece. thanks. clearly you are type e. you made it phil. welcome home. now what's our strategy with the fondue? diversifying your portfolio? e*trade gives you the tools and resources to get it right. are you type e*? >>> welcome back to our special coverage. i'm wolf blitzer in washington. we welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. this morning ukraine trying to clarify its earlier announcement that a cease-fire has been reached with russia. let's bring in cnn's reza sayah from kiev, diana magnay in eastern ukraine, right in the heart of rebel territory. first of all, what are you seeing? what are you hearing about this proposed cease-

jim acosta, senior white house correspondent, jim sciutto chief national security correspondent.aria cardona, democratic strategist, ray han salaam, political commentator and contributing editor to the national review and spider marks, cnn military analyst, also senior correspondent for the daily beast. jim sciutto, i want to start with you. it sounds as if there will be boots on the ground at some point. >> or at least the chairman of the joint chiefs martin dempsey will recommend them. i think those were remarkable statements from general dempsey. one as you note he says he will recommend to the president u.s. troops in what he called a close combat advisory role. he even went into specifics as to what kind of mission they might be used for. he mentioned the mosul dam. he said if iraqi forces were attempting to retake the mosul dam, a key piece of infrastructure there used in key for the whole country that he might put those advisors not just in rear positions where they are now, they're in command-and-control centers, et cetera, but into a close combat support role where they'

home, including many democrats, who were worried the president was just being too cautious. >> jim acostak you so much. >>> and as we heard from the president, saying they have been systemic, methodical, and that they absolutely pose a real threat, you have this as we have been talking about isis, absolute avalanche of news. buried among all of this, this intriguing bit from iran. of all countries, about help in the fight against isis. the bbc is reporting that iran's supreme leader, ayatollah ma manny has been authorized to cooperate with iraq and the kurds to defeat isis territoror. and we have an interview with christiane amanpour. >> it's extraordinary everybody is working together like this. >>translator: this is correct. and in my opinion, the countries in the region, particularly the neighboring countries of iraq, they are supposed to form some kind of cooperation. as among them, and also with the united states in that regard. >> so fareed zakaria back with me today. we appreciate it. host of "fareed zakaria gps" sunday mornings. when you hear the ayatollah is saying this now, how

let's bring in jim acosta. he's been tracking all of this from washington, d.c. we talked about isis and its beheadings. of course there were the beheadings of two american journalists as well as one british journalist earlier this month that possibly changed the calculation. from what you can tell, what changed the calculation to get the u.s. on board this time, and now that we know it's happening, happening now as far as we understand, what is the reaction there in d.c.? >> well, the senior administration officials i've been talking to at the white house sort of dispute this notion that the beheadings accelerated the timetable for carrying out the air strikes in syria, but i will tell you that those officials have also said that those killings have at the same time galvanized public opinion, not only in the united states, but around the world for some sort of stepped-up action. so you're seeing the united states respond with that. i also want to point out, while there's all this focus on raqqah, we did speak to an official in the last hour or so who said not on