the army of the tennessee, the army of the cumberland, and the army of the ohio.alle sherman is commanding three armies, it is time for a new commander of the tennessee. that honor goes to james mcpherson. he becomes an army commander with the rank of major general. they only have one lieutenant general, grant. they will only make one of those in the war. major general is the highest rank available.. still, an army commander. they begin the advance southward from the neighborhood of downanooga, tennessee on towards atlanta. 100 miles. the first movement of the campaign involved a major daring flanking maneuver i mcpherson and the army of the tennessee. he assigned mcpherson to make a flanking maneuver through snake creek gap. mcpherson toent -- get behind in the confederate army that was facing german. sherman. it almost worked but not quite. sherman believed mcpherson had missed a big opportunity. he did not blame him.. mcpherson felt he could not advance as much as sherman had wanted 10 to -- him to in that movement failed. that was a disappointment for mcpherso

he rebuilds the army. he boosts the morale of the soldiers, and the confederate soldiers in the army of tennessee loved joe johnson. he knows that they care about -- he cares about their welfare. that is one thing about him as a general. but while he is rebuilding the army and its winter camps, jefferson davis repeatedly asks johnson to take the offensive against the federals who are camped not all that far north in the vicinity of chattanooga, tennessee. davis once johnson to march, but johnson claims his army is outnumbered by the yankees. the army doesn't have the adequate supplies or logistical capabilities of marching up into east tennessee. now, unfortunately for johnson, the davis administration is getting very different reports and surname -- concerning the army of tennessee from some of johnson subordinates. they are sending back reports that the army is in great shape and should take the offensive, so the davis administration is unsure who to believe although he is inclined to believe the core co

both armies made the stakes mainly both armies fled. together, they lost 100,000 men killed, wounded or captured over six weeks. despite grants lack of victory, the campaign shifted initiative permanently to the union and pinned lee to petersburg in richmond. lee was never able to launch another major offensive. president lincoln needed the military victory in the east if he hoped to win reelection in the fall of 1864. he was not optimistic about being reelected. his defeat would mean peace, and the confederacy survival, as a sovereign nation. lincoln was frustrated by the eastern armies failures over the past few years, despite this huge advantages of manpower and resources. is eastern generals have been timid and slow. and when they did fight, they typically withdrew after one defeat. twice the allowed lee's army to escape over the potomac into virginia. a list of failed union generals was long and included george mcclellan, john pope, burnside and joe hooker. lincoln and all his hopes on the western general, grant, megan general in c

british army.in my 30-year career in studying history, i had never heard of the battle of plattsburgh. so i was intrigued. the more i read, it more it drew me in. i understood how important it was and what it played in international history. if plattsburgh had been lost, god knows what would've happened to this country. you're watching american history tv. all weekend, every weekend on c-span 3. to join the conversation, like us on facebook @cspanhistory. commissionin released its report into the assassination of president john f. kennedy 40 years ago this month. lyndon b. johnson called his friend and warring commission senator russell of georgia. he had two questions. what did the emission conclude? and were the findings unanimous? now an excerpt from the call. >> mr. senator? >> yes. >> just a moment. hello? hello? >> yes, sir. >> well, you are always leaving town. you must not like it up here. >> i figure you can get along a whole lot better without me than it could you. >> i don't know. this w

as president davis once said, president johnston's focus on protecting his army and not using his army to protect the country. let's turn to another virginian, george henry thomas, born not far from the rebellion site, 1816. his family had to hide in the woods during the rebellion. he went to west point. he fought in the mexican war and was in the second cavalry with lee, johnston and hardee. i like francis mckinney's biography, which you see there. as i think i have mentioned, thomas was determined to fight for the union. he declined the governor's request that he resign from the army to become the chief of ordinance. after the state left the union, he decided that he would uphold his pledge to the united states and fight for the union army. his wife, frances, was a new yorker, but she claimed she never tried to influence his decision on this. but when he decided not to fight for the confederacy, his sisters began to hate him. thomas enjoyed a steady if not rapid rise to prominence, as you see here. brigadier general, august of 1861, defeated the rebels in one of the early western vic

british army.in my 30-year career in studying history, i had never heard of the battle of plattsburgh. so i was intrigued. the more i read, it more it drew me in. i understood how important it was and what it played in international history. if plattsburgh had been lost, god knows what would've happened to this country. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> british soldiers invaded washington, d.c. and said fire to the white house. president james madison and first lady dolly madison fled the city. next on american history tv, catherine our gore, author of a perfect union, dolly madison and the creation of the american nation. she

british army.in my 30-year career in studying history, i had never heard of the battle of plattsburgh. so i was intrigued. the more i read, it more it drew me in. i understood how important it was and what it played in international history. if plattsburgh had been lost, god knows what would've happened to this country. >> each week american history tv sits in on a lecture with one of college professors. you can watch the classes every saturday evening at 8 p.m. admin i used them. next oregon state university professor marisa chappell talked about anti-poverty and entitlement programs that were part of president johnson's "war on poverty." she also detailed the societal attitudes toward impoverished minorities at the

british army. in my 30-year career in studying history, i had never heard of the battle of plattsburgh. so i was intrigued. the more i read, it more it drew me in. i understood how important it was and what it played in international history.

and sherman takes command of armies. theerson's army of tennessee -- that's 110,000 troops. grant never told sherman to go after atlanta. armyr, bloody johnston's and use up the enemy's resources. others say atlanta's importance was not only factories, supplies, medical centers, it was a psychological defensive point. if the confederates could hold through november, lincoln stood a chance of being november u.s.e elections. peebls has written ograph in whichn he asked the cabinet members to and, sign sight unseen, which he said it's extremely likely this administration will reelected. nevertheless, as i say, johnston by pushed back by sherman, this combination of clever use kl strength -- numerical strength. sedin never mentioned atlanta. but the expectation, of course, was hold atlanta as much as you can. attack wherevary, you can. sherman, of course, knew, from spy reports even before he'd gotten across the chattahoochee, encircledta had been by a strong perimeter of fortify cases. captain grant, the property owner who sold the land city, grant park p. grant supervised the

it is on the old army post.there has been an army post here ever since the war of 1812 and in this museum the most important item is this painting by davidson. and it shows the culmination of the battle when the royal navy had finally closed with the americans and they fought it out, only 300 yards apart for an hour and a half. there was some 90 guns firing at the same time. and the noise was so disoriented that the sailors were unable to figure out what was going on. and they began to load the canons, one ball after the other after the other after the other until they had so many cannonballs that the ball rolled out of the end of the barrel. another case where they put too much powder in and the cannon exploded when they set it off. there was a huge cloud of smoke on the battlefield. at the very end of the naval battle, the british struck their colors there on the right. and that was seen by general provo, sitting up on the hill. when he saw that happen, he knew he had lost the battle. without the navy, without

thearmstrong shifts american army. he pulls of the 6000 troops that are here, he pulls 4500 out of plattsburgh. lastlls them out in the week of august and sends them to the mohawk valley and up the mohawk valley all the way to sag harbor. then to the niagara. all of that leads that plattsburgh is 1500 regulars. these regulars are the people that could not make the march. these are the sick, the lame, the lazy. these are the prisoners here at this is a band. so that is what is left behind. that's what's going to be defending on this road. out that theinds american army has left, he starts his attack. he moves those soldiers, fewer than 15,000, to the canadian f lake on the edge o champlain. he crosses the border on the first of september. march south ton toin to plattsburgh. the column is 10 miles long. the artillery does not cross the border until the fourth of september. it took four days before they could move south at all. donw wn this road they come. here, the few new york state militia are standing by at this brid

in the ish army is not united states. the british army is back in canada. o the treaty is signed on christmas eve, 1814, the status quo is what we see today. miles north of plattsburgh, new york looking up the road at border.rican-canadian it was here that the whole battle of plattsburgh began. of me give you a little bit background first. when the war of napoleon ended of 1814, the british had a problem. ellington wanted to keep the victorious army intact because he thought he needed it again and he will need it again in 1815, he was right. but no one saw his vision. and if he let it alone, when the to england, it would probably be disbanded, you know? away, there'sgoes no need for a democratic society to fund a very expensive army they would simply go away. them, he r to keep went to lord bathhurst, the secretary of war, and the i've got of war said this other problem. american war of 1812 and i'd like to put it to an end. those to trade with people. we need to have it to our advantage. get out of the war when it's over. he said give me your troops. gave

than retired army lieutenant john. he fought na iraq and co-wrote the fuel manual and trained the transition team that embedding with the army units. i asked what went so wrong forcing the army back into iraq. >> the critical mistake was the decision to withdraw all american advisors in iraq late in 2011, against the vs of military advisors. -- the advice of military advisors. we put a lot of work into standing up and rebuilding the iraqi army after the unnecessary invasion in 2003. we worked hard to hold them toot. we should have left 10,000-15,000 advisors to hold the pieces together. to provide support, and to put political pressure on the prime minister nouri al-maliki to include the sunnis inside the iraqi government and inside leadership positions in the iraqi army. the failure to keep american influence in rick was a precipitating event leading to disaster. as our reporter, josh rushing, a former marine reported, while we ground. we have about 1600 of the so-called advisors, military people. you said we don't ne

i'm going to visit a training center for the afghan national army" >> while the afghan national army is around 200,000 strong, it's reported to be plagued with desertions, and with low morale. >> "these are kabul's last line of defense; all that stands between the city and the taliban. the question is: will this army be strong enough when the international troops leave? >> the task of the ana is to provide an environment of security that can allow the communities and economies education all to function. so creating that environment is tough. >> their commander insists they're ready for anything: >> at the end of the day, the afghan army does have greater fire power. they do have greater resources. even if troops aren't on the ground they are still being supported by american patronage and all of those factors i think will mean that the afghan army is going to be able to control major population centers like kabul, like provincial capitals. >> after three days, we received the call we had been waiting for. >> at the moment we are crossing the last checkpoint, leaving kabul and driving

butler's army in the east, the potomac in the center, hunters army from the west. it is a brilliant plan if it works. sheridan leaves on the morning of june 7, and within minutes the confederates know about it. a servant who was loyal to the confederacy left the union camp, and supported this movement. robert e lee will send hampton's division to pursue. hampton and we are supposed to be independent command. there is no one in charge. hampton sort of is but sort of is in. he doesn't have the authority. somebody has to have some ability to be in charge. they follow a long sheridan. sheridan's inexperience begins to show for the simple reason, as collin marches across the virginia countryside, 9000 men, he doesn't send out flankers and scouts. he has no idea that hampton is in pursuit with 2 divisions. scouts are buzzing all around the edges of this union call him. sheridan assumes they are bushwhackers. he has no idea hampton is pursuing. hampton has perfect intelligence of the entire disposition. he figures out gordonsville is the objective and uses the inside rout

if you destroy the continental army, we will raise another army. demographically there are over 500,000 americans between the ages of 15-50. it's the same thing ho chi minh says to us. so go ahead, but it doesn't make any difference. franklin says something like that but he is friends with richard howe. they both try to end the war. the howe brothers do not think the american war is a good idea. sir richard, you tell us we cannot win and i tell you you cannot win. you were not fighting an army, you are fighting the people. you must subjugate the american population. you will never be able to do unless you raise troops that will never be justified in terms of cost to the british public. like the seem crusades. your defeat.in the man save as much as a reputation as you possibly can. ell, it is really an interesting question and an unanswerable question. what would have happened if the british destroyed the continental army on long island and manhattan? they had several chances to do so. suggested,as i really didn't want to destroy the continental arm

butler's army in the east, hunters army with the calvary from the west. it's a brilliant plan if it works. so sheridan leaves on the morning of june 7 and within minutes the confederates know about it. why? because a servant who was loyal to the confed rassy left the union camp went straight to tom rosser and reported the movement of this large body of calvary. so robert e. lee is going to respond by sending hampton and lee's division to pe percil. there's nobody really in charge of this expedition. but hampton sort of is but sort of isn't because he doesn't have the authority. but somebody's got to have some ability to be in charge. so they follow along sheridan's and sheridan's gross inexperience as a calvarymen really begins to show for the simple reason as his column marches across the virginia countryside, 9,000 men strong, he doesn't send out scouts. he's got no idea that hampton is in pursuit with two divisions. hampton's iron scouts on the other hand are buzzing all around the edges edges of this union colonel lum. sheridan has no idea that hampto

one of the cores of the army was a second-quarter. they had been stonewall jackson's former command. throughout the campaign in the 64th harbor 18,919 men were present on may 5 when the campaign started. a little under a year later, a little less than a year later on april 9 ninth 1965 by 5,036 men are rendered as part of this famous unit. being a historian, my math isn't always that great, but that equal 13,883 casualties. if you put it down it is simply 41 men every day. as they fall into the second quarter the men that served as the brigade commanders in the army they fifth to june 3 after the assault were no longer with the army. 35,000 of approximately 70,000 confederate soldiers had been killed or wounded in 30 days and in the harbor it was the end of the campaign and the beginning of something new. he had been remarked and said that ulysses s. grant reached the james river in a matter of time. he does reach the james river but he does reach petersburg and richmond and as sad it is just a matter of time. it's a short year later

if you destroy the continental army, we will raise another army. demographically there are over 500,000 americans between the ages of 15-50. it's the same thing ho chi minh says to us. so go ahead, but it doesn't make any difference. this will be seen like the crusade and you will be ignominious arrogancy. side ties you to take your ships and go back now and say this much is your reputation as he possibly can. well, it is really an interesting question. and it is an unanswerable question. what would happen if the british had destroyed the cotton nlrb and manhattan? they had several chances to do so. and the house, as i suggested, really didn't want to destroyed the continental army. they wanted as william howe said, rough it up, proportionately demonstrate they couldn't possibly win. they didn't want this war to be calm the kind of war against the irish and scottish that was the genocidal war. they wanted it to end and away they cannot cannot come back together. they value the role as peacemaker's more than generals or admirals. i think that is a q

ukrainian army was going to going to have a battlefield victory. stand that the clock is ticking on ukraine and this military conflict cannot last forever the country is virtually bankrupt is living hand to mouth on i.m.f. and indeed they just last for the last for the last to be the two next period has to be constituted together because they're desperate for money and punishing her desperately needs to bring this conflict to an end because he has the whole work of twenty years of economic reforms headed for him before he can put the country back on its feet there has been a previous ceasefire which was breached by by both sides. has described this one as a permanent ceasefire what do you think the chances are that this one will last well you know it's actually down to the to the rebels in in the east to go along with this and the early reports come out shortly after brushing her statement said that they they would agree to a cease fire if the government calls ukraine army off and abide by a cease fire so now we have everything on the table we need

it is on the old army post. here at the there's a depiction of what the land looked like and this is very important to understand. because the battle is both army and navy, it occurred simultaneously without an amphibious assault, very unusual. here is what the city of plattsburgh looked like. the enemy and the british were spread out from the point through the bridge and all of this looked like world war i in that along here the soldiers were entrenched because the american soldiers were the remnants of a larger force that had been left behind and they couldn't fight in the field so they thought from trenches and they used the river in order to defend themselves and it worked for some five days. as the trenches flowed further to the south, along the wild river, we come to the second bridge here at katherine street today and that's where they stopped. the americans defended the bridge for some five days. in the middle is fort brown. fort brown was the artillery position that was heavily cannon and able to keep t

-- army. every tanner 15 feet they would build more trenches. and as impressive as they were there were more impressive to the union soldiers who had died encountered anything like this during the war fair in virginia. so the confederates improvised. >> they are attacking in the traditional senior tactical brigade. literally suicidal. he decides on a daring plan and that rather than sending his men across the open end peeled then close on the confederate line, he decides he will send them in a tight and compact formation. they will cross the open field, every second federal space without stopping fire. in essence it works. but unfortunately they cannot exploit the breakthrough and he is driven back. but it is tried again to days later instead of using the 5,000 men he decides to use 20,000 and cut a hole in the confederate lines but it is unsupported and they are driven back. this tactic is the unofficial tactic to attack but it's on june 1st in do have the time. he decides to form the two lin

and the free syrian army, it is still an open question. no one is suggesting that i've heard at this point that the syrian army is going to try in to go into iraq. right now they'll fight the battle in syria, but the question is when you're training and equipping the free syrian army, it is to do what? to do wha fight whom? >> the administration has gotten criticism from how come it took so long, and secretary kerry tested, saying look, we couldn't do that before growing on a new government and agreed on going after them. they said that is the trigger that will engage airstrikes in the president has made it clear it's not just now approaching islamic state out of iraq. it's not about bottling them up in syria, it's about can you do that, which syrian opposition forces do they identify without having to put troops on the ground in syria. republicans are convinced if the islamic state even if they're bottled up and coin takenned in syria they still can be a let to the united states am assess where you find the sectarian part of this. >> we n

i'm not saying that the army received no training.id receive training of various sorts at a fairly rudimentary level. the real problem was that the army had no uniform system for training men. in fact the united states army employed three quite incompatible matters of trying to train men throughout the war. this created enormous difficulties for generals in higher offices who had to then try and meld men trained in different ways into a unified force that could then meet an enemy that was trained in a unified and single way. after the military conventions that operated at the time, trained troops would always beat untrained troops. it was proven in the war of 1812. not until january of 1815 that thousand addreto address the problem of how do we train the army. the war has one month to run in january of 1815. so is the president responsible for this? should madison have sorted out this problem and sort of said we need to train the army in a better way. you might say he did. you might say, well, this is a sort of problem that the secret

they shouted in favor of the army. the anger is aimed at the prime minister, his government and police. they are strongly in favor of pakistan pakistani army. >> we're getting condemnation from this protest. where do you think this is heading? where is this protest heading now because they're putting pressure on the army? does hit look like the army will have to step up and take a more active role as we've seen so many times in history? >> reporter: the pressure is on the government, the prime minister. the army issued a statement last night urging the government to resolve this politically and not use force. that is why i think we saw police did not retaliate, did not fight back. that's why marchers were allowed to go on a rampage. this whole situation has brought the government to stand still during the last two weeks. everyone is ready for it to settle in a way it doesn't derail pakistan's democracy. >> how willing is sharif now? >> reporter: the prime minister is adamant he will not resign. he believes he was elect

army. brigadier george crook, commander of the department in horn's in much of tom residence there, considered the packers and their mules as the pursuit of in the renegade apaches. since the mountain ranges of and eastern arizona northern new mexico were largely oadless, only the sure-footed mule could keep troops supplied campaigns. further more, since many of them were hispanics or mexicans, tom opportunity to learn their language. qualified to serve as a spanish interpreter for the army, but never as an apache he claimed.as of his embellishing sometimes outright laws are in regard to the various battles the apache renegades. again, he did not have to exaggerate his part since sources show that he was present and performed his manner.in a respectable the civilian chief of scouts, and there were many besides critical pied a position in the frontier army. campaigns against renegade apaches, the army apaches into dly the army. while these apache units enjoy privileges hts and of bite enlist

i don't think that the free syrian army -- i don't think training 5,000 of the free syrian army in saudiarabia taking a year is going to work, unless we're hoping we set up this initial cadre and they go back to syria and train their own fighters. but the numbers just aren't there. and as josh says, they have been fighting isis, but it looks to me like most of the time when you see isis taking -- trying to take over an area, that's when you'll see the free syrian army trying to defend their territory. but i don't really see the free syrian army going after isis right now. they're trying to focus on going after the regime. >> you know, josh, i'm interested to hear your perspective, because i know you've been talking with people within the free syrian army. they have been battered and bruised over the past couple of years trying to fight the assad regime and isis has been able to even take over a larger swath. so is the free syrian army capable of being effective on behalf of the u.s. and this international coalition as boots on the ground? >> yeah, it's a great question. the bottom line h

the army is controlling all of society. everyone is working underneath the army censorship.e can publish anything in israel -- and i'm not talking about television, newspapers, even bloggers on the internet, no one can publish anything if it does not go through the idf censorship, the same censorship for years under the palestinians. it is of course, ridiculous. >> what brings you to the united states? >> i'm here because i'm doing my research from here on the israeli army and the american army. the most recent incredible story was the summer because not only did the war in gaza, the massacre in gaza -- it was of soldiererrible, but the from the neighborhood was a particular story in this war that i think really describes the entirety of it. >> tell us more about it because as you interviewed these soldiers on the border who saw him killed, you were arrested by the israeli military. >> right. what happened was i was in contact with the soldiers. i knew the soldiers from before the operation and that continue to be in touch with them that i was talking to them by phone from i

is moderate or an army. what do you say to that? >> steven sotloff was captured by i.s.i.s. there's suspicion that it was a fixer that he hired that beprayed him. i agree with the white house when they send out a statement that there's zero evidence that the vetted moderate free syrian army were the ones that kidnapped steven sotloff. when it comes to the free syrian army position on i.s.i.s. the free syrian army is committed to the fight against i.s.i.s. the head of the commission came out in favour. that's a positive indication that the moderates have a proven partner on the ground that is willing to take the fight to where they operate. tuesday. >> syria is our neighbour. we cannot afford to fight our neighbour. even things. >> how can this work. if one of america's allies is consulting with bashar al-assad at the same time. >> it's interesting. in 2009 the iraqi government was singing a different tune when the prime minister maliki at the time brought forth a case that president bath christopher gibson h

so the army pushed back. some of them were under a famous fighting in the valley at breckenridge and the forces pushed some of the union soldiers back and in the smoking confusion, there was thousands of men from maryland, florida, new york, pennsylvania. one officer said simply that it was the enemy and that we had to charge. they wouldn't be pushed back out of the breach as one did remember though after the confederate attack they might have been green soldiers that they taught us when to run and run we did, i assure you. until june 3 ave. and flow along the confederate lines one soldier also remembers bullets coming along the fields. they didn't whistle like so many other battles. it came like a rush of lightning and tore through. one of the units was in massachusetts a veteran unit that had been navigated at the very streets of fredericksburg virginia in 1862. the brigade commander was killed in the assault and survived numerous assaults including the one at the height. he was the idol of his men and the

basically, he did not trust his army to do the job. the result would be a massacre of all women and children in the town of detroit. now, madison was not very sympathetic towards holland when he fought back about this. most historians since have been very sympathetic. now, he did and then i quote, what contrast would be the success so easily at the out set of the war. a triumphant army and hastened at the points below. the important command of lake erie had fallen to us. the indians could be neutral. in short, what madison was claiming here, that the united states never recovered from the opening defeat of the war. the impact was serious. that was how madison saw it at the time. now, drawing this all together, that is that all the argument that is the hiss xx yans usually put forward to explain what went wrong in the war of 1812, can be opposite by other arguments that there were extenuating circumstances. other factors needed to be weighed in the balance. now, two verdicts might be reached in this point. one is to throw out their hand

army garrison of fort mchenry. what we will do right now -- they noticed it army old guard, -- the united states army old guard along with naval detachment from the united states ship constitution, we will now on role the large flag. -- unroll the large flag. old, and you will see what they mean when they say " broad stripes and bright stars." unrolled, iag is will speak to the project that brought this flag that we are going to hoist today. last year the maryland historical society launch the stitching history project. individuals, bert and kristin spearheaded the project. the first thought was to heirloom uighurs because what they did -- weavers because what they did was they research from the smithsonian institution the accurate weave of the material. there are very few places that can do that. it was a custom job. weavers didhurs -- that. pennsylvania, so the material did, indeed, come from the united states. [applause] the stripes and the blue canton are made out of wool bunting. the stars are made out of cott

of the the uniforms regular united states army. representing the united states artillery, the regular army garrison of ft. mchenry. what we'll do right now the with the old guard along with naval detachment from united states ship constitution, we will now unroll the large flag who will unfold it. they mean l see what when they say broad stripes and bright stars. as the flag is unrolled, speak a little bit to the project that brought this flag about that we're trying to hoist today. last year, the maryland the rical society launched stitching history project. individuals, the ceo of the maryland historical cumaro and rt christian shunning, the director spearheaded the project. the first stop was to heirloom did rs, because what they was they researched from the the sonian institution -- warp and were wave of the material. places that can do that. it was a custom job. and hair loom weavers did that. they were in redline, didsylvania so the material indeed come from the united states. the stripes and the blue canton are made out of w

the british army is not in the united states, the british army is back in canada. and so when the treaty is signed on christmas eve, 1814, the status quo is what we see today. >>> next, day two of a symposium marking the 200th anniversary of the burning of washington, d.c., during the war of 1812. first, donald hickey, author of "the war of 1812: a forgotten conflict." then, steve vogel, author of "through the perilous fight: the weeks that saved the nation." that's followed by holly shulman, at the university of virginia. and later, remarks

or even an army. what do you say to that? >> well, steven sotloff was ultimately captured by i.s.i.s. and there is strong suspicion that i i.t. was the fixer that e hired that ultimately betrayed him. i fully agree with the white house when they sent out the statement that there is absolutely zero evidence that the vetted moderate free syrian army were the ones that kidnapped sotloff. when it comes to the free syrian army, let me be clear, they are committed to 100% against i.s.i.s. we heard the opposition to come out in favor of the antii.s.i.s. coalition that's being headed by the united states and by moderate regional allies. that is an indication that the forces on the ground are going to continue the fight against i.s.i.s. and that the united states and the west and the moderate regional allies have a proven partner on the ground that is willing and capable to take the fight directly to the heart land, where i.s.i.s. operates. >> now iraq's national security advisor met with president assad on tu

we're fighting a terrorist army. not an organization. it's going to take an army to beat an army. this idea will never have any boots on the ground to defeat them in syria is fantasy. and all this has come home to roost over the last three years of incompetent decisions. so, to destroy isil, what i was told or what i heard in your interview, won't even come close to destroy isil. it's delusional in the way they approach this. >> senator reed, tough words there. what do you say? >> the president has proposed a comprehensive plan that recognizes this has to be ultimately the efforts of the local regional powers. particularly sunny government, united arab emirates and iraq, particularly. and he is willing to use american air power and american training efforts to empower these countries. but it's their fight. as dennis pointed out, this is a battle within the sunni community about where they're going. radical islamist or -- >> we know the plan. we know the plan, but will it work? >> i think the plan has a great potential to work. first of all, there is the u.s. forces, the air power.

i'm not saying that the army received no training.ning of various sorts at a fairly rudimentary level. the real problem was that the army had no uniform system for training men. in fact the united states army employed three quite incompatible matters of trying to train men throughout the war. this created enormous difficulties for generals in higher offices who had to then try and meld men trained in different ways into a unified force that could then meet an enemy that was trained in a unified and single way. after the military conventions that operated at the time, trained troops would always beat untrained troops. it was proven in the war of 1812. not until january of 1815 that thousand addreto address the problem of how do we train the army. the war has one month to run in january of 1815. so is the president responsible for this? should madison have sorted out this problem and sort of said we need to train the army in a better way. you might say he did. you might say, well, this is a sort of problem that the secretary of war shou

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