embassy in baghdad. we also learned the united states has had brief, as it was described by a state department official, talks, there to talk about iran's nuclear program, while on the margins, they had informal discussions. they are emphasizing, obviously a very sensitive point, that they're not going to make deals with iran about iraq's future over the heads of the iraqi people as it was phrased. john kerry gave an interview to yahoo news, saying look, this is a complex are situation. he detailed the sunni, shia, spilling over into the border into iraq. the possibility that the united states will use air strikes to give the al-maliki government some breathing room. let's listen to john kerry. >> it's not whole answer but it may well be one of the option he that are important to be able to stem the tide and stop the movement of people who are moving around in open convoys and trucks and terrorizing people. i mean when you have people murdering is, assassinating in these mass massacres, you have to stop

we're live tonight from baghdad, it is 3:00 in the morning, tuesday morning here in baghdad. curfew is underway here, curfew started at midnight. the city is largely quiet at this hour. the streets manned by iraqi government forces as well as militias. as well as volunteers who tried to fight isis. the group still some 45 minute drive outside of the city of baghdad. defenses have been strengthened, we are also just getting word that hundreds of u.s. troops, u.s. forces are going to be deployed to this city, to iraq. president obama has notified congress that up to 275 u.s. armed forces personnel, will be sent here to provide support and security for the u.s. embassy in baghdad and americans in iraq in the event of an evacuation. that force will be equipped for combat and stay in place until the security situation improves. it's been a day of dramatic developments to tell you about this evening. the united states is also considering everything from unarmed surveillance flights to air strikes to help hold this country together and stop the violent offense of being carried out b

personnel on the ground in iraq in baghdad and to the embassy in baghdad.ld point out in the letter, it says this force will renan iraq until the security situation becomes such that it is no longer needed. and e-mail from the press secretary, jake carney hit our inboxes in just a few minutes making the note that these forces are coming into iraq with the understanding of the iraqi government, the support of the iraqi government. the president meeting with his security team to go over the options for iraq. >> so in effect, the president acknowledging in this let tore congress, these potentially could be combat troops. will they have immunity from any i rack ki prosecution? as you remember, that was a big issue when all of the u.s. troops withdrew at the end of 2011. >> reporter: i think that is unclear at this point that that is a key sticking point. that is why the white house says u.s. forces are not on the ground in baghdad or were not left in baghdad as a residual force as the president pulled those forces out of iraq in 2011. it as we understand, one o

embassy in baghdad. and as you pointed out with that contractor you interviewed, there are a number of americans working at military installations, working around iraq. if baghdad does become threatened in the coming days and all indications are isis is moving toward baghdad, the u.s. would have to make a decision if the embassy was so threatened that it would have to evacuate it. this is one of the most secure if not the most secure u.s. embassy in the world. but it is also one of the largest that makes it a target. there are evacuation plans as there are with all u.s. embassies, very detailed. but it would be the state department's decision to make that security call if and when the time comes, anderson. >> and jim, how did -- really just a couple thousand make such quick gains of territory. the idea that they can be threatening baghdad when you realize the size of the iraqi army itself is extraordinary. >> well, this is what the intelligence community believes. they believe that isis had help inside i

if isis makes it to baghdad, if they start to lay siege to baghdad or even shell parts of the city, thateally becomes a quite different problem, preserving the iraqi current government, preserving the regime and doing whatever the u.s. military has to do to get americans out of harm's way. baghdad right now may well be the turning point one way or the other. >> general marks, the president suggests these troops could be used in the security in baghdad if it collapses or maybe even for training purposes, which seems at least to me not fully understanding, it seems kind of odd that they might be doing training during a time of an emergency, but maybe you can explain that a little bit better, and also talk a little bit about what other purposes some troops might serve. >> ana, great question and thank you for having me this morning. there are several missions that these soldiers -- these troops need to perform, and clearly, i think, they're an insufficient number to do the various tasks that are exojent and need to be addressed right now. number one, there has to be an ability to stop the b

we're live in baghdad.ampaign that's being carried out by militants here in iraq is being advertised online by this group isis on jihadi internet forums, on facebook, on twitter. the images that are emerging are frankly horrifying, some purporting to show the, cushions of iraqi security forces and others, mass executions. in a moment i'll speak with peter bergen and former see and fbi official phillip mudd on what isis is trying to accomplish but we want to warn you that the images coming up may be too graphic for some young viewers. howard damon reports. >> reporter: two of the captains have border guard patches on their sleeves. the guard tells them to repeat "islamic state here today." the first two comply, fear on their faces. the third struggles to formulate the words. moments later, this. . he appears to be dehydrated, barely reacting to what's happening. in the next video he is dead, his jaw blown off. at the end of the clip, the isis gunman proudly declares "we killed a shi'a." this facebook page's

ambassador in baghdad. ambassador, thanks very much for joining us. >> thank you. >> thank you. >>> just ahead this hour, president obama under a lot of pressure to respond to the crisis in iraq. a democratic congressman says not so fast, mr. president. congressman adam shift of the intelligence committee standing by to join us live. also, hillary clinton prepares for an exclusive town hall event today, moderated by our ownmanp. what will clinton say about the arrest of a key suspect in the benghazi attack? get your all-time favorites like creamy chicken alfredo. plus unlimited salad and breadsticks and dessert. 2 for $25 guest favorites at olive garden. (music) defiance is in our bones. defiance never grows old. citracal maximum. calcium citrate plus d. highly soluble, easily absorbed. [ chainsaw buzzing ] humans. sometimes, life trips us up. sometimes, we trip ourselves up. and although the mistakes may seem to just keep coming at you, so do the solutions. like multi-policy discounts from liberty mutual i

if baghdad gets infected the government collapses that's worst case scenario. any assistance we provide needs to be coordinated with the political solution. you got acute military problem, got chronic political problem. there is no way in my view that malaki can pull this off. but there are people, your reporter mentioned something about the iraqi people. the average shiite doesn't want to be dominated. they don't want to live under isis rules. good news is average iraqi wants to move forward they have no infrastructure. iraqi air force grounded without american air power going to be hard to turn the tide. >> you heard the reports from there, iranians want to help, should we encourage them to help of all things ". >> we're probably need their help to hold baghdad. their goal create sectarian iraq. to have a puppet in baghdad that is shia dominated government they control outcome they want the southern part of iraq. our goal to have inclusive iraq. in the short term, deal with stall in because he was net a as bad as hitler we have some of dialogue with iranians,

we have marines in baghdad. i'm convinced that pretty soon we're going to have some advisers with iraqi military units so they can control any air strikes that are put on isis' formations. at the end of the day, those people are liable to have to be evacuated. we have also have american contractors in places that we already pointed out. in places like mosul taken over by isis and some in the kurdish areas. at some point they have to be evacuated. that's one of the principle reasons you have an american carrier task force in the gulf to evacuate americans if it comes necessary. >> colonel, thank you for that. i appreciate it. i want to bring in warriors investigative reporter and former u.s. ambassador. david, any decision from president obama appear to be tied to iraqi president nouri al-maliki making some strides to form a more inclusive government. are there any signs that maliki is going to do that? >> not based on what i've read. ambassador ginsburg may know more. m ma shore up the weak military forces and h

isis said they'll get to baghdad. they might have been slow but seem to be on their way. >> nic robertson in baghdad, nic, thank you so much. >>> as we said here at the top, aircraft carrier the "uss george h.w. bush" is in the persian gulf near the coast of iraq. >> defense secretary chuck hagel ordered it moved to that location. cnn's athena jones joins us by phone. are we getting any insight into the decision-making process into what to do next? >> reporter: well, this is what the president and his national security team have been discussing all weekend. we know that the president has been spending father's day weekend out in california but getting updates on the situation in iraq from his national security adviser, susan rice, and others. of course he's asked his team his national security team to come up with a range of options to help iraq fight off these swiftly advancing insurgents. those options don't include sending in ground troops, but they could include air strikes and we know that this ship, the "uss geo

could they take baghdad and go further south? >> the iraqi army are surrounding baghdad. i don't think they will expand to baghdad. it means they are controlling all over iraq which makes them easy targets for the organized army who are with whatever. is it talky or support of the west. i think they will keep with the areas we are controlling now. >> let me just play now a little bit of an audio recording from al adnani if we can listen. [ speaking in a foreign language ] >> we know he's released similar record arings. how important is this for isis? the government in place in baghdad at the moment also, it's not exactly a clean slate there. >> that's right. the thing is isis has always been obsessed with controlling gee graphle call spaces. they tried to create a space. now they have mosul with oil rich. having reports now saying they have looted more than $400 million. that makes them, as they call the reports, the richest terror organization on earth. even if the iraqi army has recontrolled mosul and other areas, there are implications. we have seen the iraqi army goin

we just heard in baghdad they are fearing the worst. given your understanding of the history of sectarian traditions embedded in the cowl are you also fearing the worst? >> it sort of depends on what the worst is, it's embedded in the culture, it's certainly been instilled by the postcolonial iraq and the baatth regime, wars with kirkuk and the majority by the baath regime. if the worst is a disillusionment by iraq, this may be the result. we see a small group of militants, two or 3,000 militants being able to take over a city like mosul, the majority of those do not back the current government in baghdad. so the kurds have basically been independent now over 20 years, well before the second iraq invasion. at the time when the no-fly-zones were instituted by the u.n. in the early '90s. and now we're taking a step to see how much the disillusionment is manifestin manifesting itsels headed in that direction. >> to what extent is the maliki government, the prime minister said he promised the sunnis would play a role in the governance of ir

trained and equipped iraqi national army, and heads toward baghdad. going too need more help from us and the international community. my team is working around the clock, to identify how we can provide the most effective assistance to that. i don't reel out anything, because we we do have a stake in making sure that these jihaddists are not getting a permanence foothold in either iraq, orser yeah for that matter. >> the situation on the ground appears to have outpaced the government. fighters have gotten much more of a foothold as events broiled thursday. heavily armed and vowing to march, the islamic state of iraq and the levan continues to gain more territory in iraq. decrete is the latest city to fall, hometown of former iraqi dictator sudan hussein, it is just 70 miles north of baghdad. the crusade gains speed just this week, after the lightening fall of mosul the second largest city. iraqi soldiers lay down arms and abandon their posts giving up ground tentatively controlled by them, after u.s. troops left. in the oil rich area of northern iraq,

that showed encirclement of baghdad. it came to be called the baghdad belt. we know that isis is not going to stop. we think baghdad is next. we have to look for the potential encirclement of baghdad by the isis. >> and 130,000 u.s. troops had a hard time handling them then. general, how on earth are 300 military advisers from the u.s. going to make a difference? >> the vulnerability for isis is that it's extremely stretched. 300 to 400 kilometers is a long way to move men and equipment to encircle baghdad. if there is to be some -- on the iraqi forces as they exist today, those advisers will help to try to create some sort of scenario in which the lines of communication can be cut off and supplied can be withdrawn or hindered from making it down to an encirclement around baghdad. >> i want to go to colonel ganyard. what about the possibility of air strikes? >> there are difficulties. because we won't have u.s. eyes and boots on the ground to be able to pick out targets. that said, out in the west where we see the supplies coming in from syria, there may be p

navy spoke to iran to save baghdad from falling. even as the leader of the national guard, the qods force, is in baghdad helping militias defend the capital. >> we're open to discussions if there's something constructive that can be contributed by iran. if iran is prepared to do something that is going to respect the integrity and sovereignty of iraq and the ability of the government to reform. >> reporter: the talks between kerry's deputy, william burnes, and iran 's foreign ministers restarted today in vienna. the goal is to press iraq's prime minister maliki to include rival sunnis in his government, a key step toward a political solution. still, any talk of military cooperation with iran makes u.s. allies in the region, israel, and saudi arabia very nervous about any dealings with their adversary, iran. and among the military options are the limited use of special forces inside iraq if needed to help guide possible air strikes. brian? >> of course it could still be early yet in this crisis. andrea mitchell in our d.c. newsroom t

baghdad asks for u.s. help. >> i don't rule out anything. >> pelley: reports from holly williams in iraq, elizabeth palmer in syria, and major garrett at the white house. former p.o.w. bowe bergdahl is coming home tonight. manual bojorquez on what happens next. what does facebook know about you? anthony mason on what the social network is sharing. up in the sky, it's a former president of the united states. and we'll remember actress ruby de >> don't do that. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. this i our western edition. the war president obama wanted so much to put behind him is back with a vengeance and demanding his attention. tonight, two and a half years after the last u.s. troops left iraq, the country is in danger of falling apart. and hundreds of americans are being evacuated this evening. government forces are battling militants who are taking back territory where thousands of american troops died, and they're vowing to march on t

take the fight to baghdad, they're confident that they can take the fight to baghdad, baghdad is their into the city, they say they want to negotiate, they want a government of national unity to be formed. but they are doing this side by side with these isis fighters. the tribal leader said we've been capturing and letting go many, many iraqi army forces. he said this is not the way that al qaeda operates. this is the way the tribes operate. he said that he believes they have the upper hand over these isis fighter and that if isis starts turning radical islamists, they will turn their guns on isis. it's unclear which way this hundred fol will unfold, but he is clearly deeply troubled that irans that put troops into iraq. he feels the situation could turn into a sectarian blood bath. yesterday he felt confidence, today this news has made him very worried about the situation because he knows that this is prove case and he also says it shows the true colors of prime minister nuri al maliki that is really siding with iran. the world should wake up. one other point on this tribal leader. he

that's a short drive from baghdad. >> reporter: 45-minute drive from baghdad, michael. iraqi army forces were told to evacuate the big base in baqubah on saturday. they were told to take their weapons with them. they did that. within an hour, we're told, that isis fighters had entered the base. this is very strategically important for them, bringing them closer to baghdad and isis taken another town in the north of the country not far from mosul, like a mopping up operation to keep the momentum going southwards. they raced past the town to get to mosul and then telafar apparently put up some fight. and what's interesting about this is the prime minister drew a line in the sand in samarrah and said isis won't get south than this. they went around and took a town an hour's drive south of there, michael. >> you said they took a bit of a detour around there and left it alone. that, of course, the place of serious religious significance with the shrine there in samarrah. nic, what are the preparations being made to stop that advance? >> reporter: you know, people are talking

"racing toward baghdad."terror group moves into town after town spreading bloodshed and panic. we're learning there were intelligence warnings about this months ago. >>> fighting back. as iraqi forces try to make a stand, president obama says they need help. but he won't put u.s. boots on the ground. what happens to thousands of americans if terrorists reach the iraqi capital? >>> and reign of terror. we're going to show you shocking new images of the group that is so brutal even al qaeda has disowned them. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> and we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. iraq now under attack from within. a brutal terror group speeding toward the capital sending civilians and troops fleeing. we have new information that u.s. intelligence saw this coming. as the islamists vow to raise their flag over baghdad, shiite clerics are now calling for volunteers to defend their holy sites and the capital. iraq's military is trying to regroup, claiming

patrick, talk about what you are expensing right now in baghdad. -- experiencing right now in baghdad>> it is a very frightening city. nobody quite knows what is going to happen. the news keeps coming in a isis.r gains by --ahe whole of anbar portion of the anbar province has fallen. there are six or 7 million people, the majority shia. but the fact remains that since , theall of modul, -- mosul government hasn't won any victories. isis has gone taking more cities. you see militiamen in the streets of baghdad. the price of everything has gone up. is an atmosphere of panic. >> and the significance of john kerry being in baghdad right now and what message he is sending to maliki, the prime minister? clearly the message is leave, go, we need a new prime minister and we need a new political leadership. and that'll probably happen. the sense i get all of these diplomatic maneuvers with john kerry and the iranians and the iraqi government all in slow time, but the advance of isis islamiststreme sunni is much faster than that. doubt maliki has been a disastrous prime minister. better andsome

nic robertson is with me in baghdad. arwa damon is in erbil, which has seen a flood of people arriving from mosul after isis took the city. let's talk what is happening in bakuba. it gives you the difficult of a, reporting here, but also how kind of all sides try to manipulate information. we got this report about 44 prisoners being killed in their cells cells bakuba. they stole all the weapons. the government here reported that it was shelling, that it was size sis shelling that killed these sunni prisoners, but through our reporting, we found sources at the morgue and at the hospitals are saying in fact they were shot at close range. >> it shows you the brutality, the close-up brutality, because it does appear as if the iraqi police were the ones who shot these prisoners because they were sunni prisoners and the assumption was that the isis fighters would release them. >> they didn't want the sunni prisoners to fall in the hands of isis. >> soy they literally went and shot them at close range. isis uploaded brutal vide

this is baghdad, right.hese insurgent forces that we've been talking about, the isis, which used to be really sort of what used to be al qaeda in iraq, in between tikrit which is saddam's hometown that these insurgents have taken over and baghdad, the capital city of seven million, is an air base called balad. 's closer that to baghdad than i can credit. -- than tikrit. this is a base where the military was training them to operate drones and surveillance vehicles and helicopters. well, as is the case almost everywhere -- and you probably rarely hear -- mostly this isn't u.s. military personnel. we learned today only 12 u.s. military personnel are stationed at this base which we are now evacuating as a precautionary measure. but there are hundreds of contractors there, american contractors, hundreds of them there who are doing this training. they're still waiting to get out. three planeloads of it. so remember, the president said we're still helping them, we're still training them. they're also telling us th

threaten to push toward baghdad.their goal is to create an independent islamic state. >> let's bring in former u.s. ambassador chris hill, also joined from baghdad nic robertson, knick, let me start with you real quickly, let us know what's happening in the capital city right now. >> there is concern and fear that the fight will reach to baghdad, and some panic stocking up on oil. there is increased security here. there are more checkpoints and of course young shia men from this city are joining or listening to the call of many prime minister and the country's most senior shia cleric t. ayatollah sistani to mobilize and go fight with the arm north of baghdad, to stop i.s.i.s.'s advantage. i would not describe it as a city? panic, but one that is concerned and there a level of expectation about what may happen next. >> mr. ambassador, yesterday the president made it clear while the u.s. is considering military aid, this is something that needs to be taken up by the iraqis. the headline was -- this is a you problem. >>

embassy in baghdad and as many as 100 additional u.s. marines have now been scrambled there to provide extra security at the embassy. another measure of this deepening crisis, the u.s. may turn to a long time enemy. in fact, it is considering direct talks with iran, which also shares some grave concerns that iraq could collapse, destabilizing the entire region. meanwhile, the extremist islamic group isis posted these photos. you can see they seem to show the execution of captured iraqi security forces. isis claims it has slaughtered 1700 of the unarmed men. a statement from the u.s. state department condemns the execution as horrifying and says they show, quote, the blood lust these terrorists represent. >>> only cnn has the vast worldwide resources to bring you every angle of this rapidly changing story. so over the next couple of hours, our correspondents, analysts, guests, will walk us through the many layers, this is a complex situation. let's begin with foreign affairs reporter elise labbott with a closer look at what is happening.

you have to stop them from moving toward baghdad, because a fight for baghdad would mean an all-out civiland this is in extremist attacks, not going to solve the problem. frankly, i think that anbar and the sunni are pretty much lost to the rest of iraq. and we're talking about partition. but right now we have to cauterize the damage. because it's not just iraq. we're talking about the entire gulf taking part in this. in a sense, a lot of money coming out of saudi arabia and the other gulf states. as well as people being recru recruited. we just cannot let this spin out of control. >> cauterize is a great word. you know, when you look at iraq specifically, one by one, these cities are falling. and with the speed at which isis is ripping through, not just syria, but coming over the border into iraq, it's staggering. you look at the red, and that's isis. take a listen to what senator lindsey graham told cnn. >> this is another 9/11 in the making. the fbi director has warned us in congress that syria and iraq present a direct threat to our homeland. you've got foreign fighters from american

>> richard engel starting us off from baghdad tonight. richard, thanks. >>> in our new nbc news, "wall street journal" poll out just today, fully 71% of the respondents say the war in iraq just wasn't worth it. as we've been reporting, john kerry just left there. he had to travel secretly to baghdad and put on body army for his own protection. it was described as a diplomatic mission impossible and it pretty much lived up to that billing. andrea mitchell is traveling with kerry, and asked him about those u.s. military advisers. some of whom arrived just today. >> opposition leaders here today said they don't want american intervention. even as our special forces are beginning to end in small groups with the iraqi command. >> well, that's not intervention. what we're trying to do is help the -- and i understand what they don't want, and president obama and the american people don't want that either, but we are not here in combat role, we are not here to fight. the president has no intention, none whatsoever of returning american combat tro

baghdad did not fall. the shias are starting to rise up and take the fight to isis, and that has created room for the president to perhaps put together a more comprehensive strategy, and i think that's what we'll be hearing in just a few moments, that we're not going to be talking about military strikes. we may be talking about advisers or special operations forces going to iraq. perhaps in lesser numbers than the people in this briefing room right now, we should point out. it appears that the strategy the president is going to lay out is going to be more comprehensive than airstrikes. as people say, jake, this presidency -- and we've heard this and you've heard this as well -- this presidency has been about ending wars, not starting them. and i think that's why you may hear more caution from the president as opposed to what we heard last week, jake. >> jim acosta at the white house. we're going to take a quick break. we're expecting president obama to come out any minute. stay with us. spokesperson: the v

that's why baghdad is so critical right now. >> ken, i mean, baghdad is because of what went on in 20062007, baghdad is overwhelmingly sunni -- excuse me, overwhelmingly shiia dominated. do you think it's unlikely baghdad could fall because it seems like iraqi security forces would be more motivated to protect this city. >> yeah, i think you've hit on a number of important points, anderson. it is the case as jim is suggesting that isis and iraqi sunni militants will have a toucher fight on their hands as they get closer and closer to baghdad. we're seeing that in some of the other out lying towns. where the shia soldiers are defending homes and families, all of a sudden their resistance stiffens. they have been joined by large number of militia men who are as vicious as the isis and alibi da and other militant fighters on the sunni side and of course, they are being backed up to some degree by the iranians. baghdad is eight, maybe 9 million people. it's a huge urban sprawl and urban terrain is some of the toughest terrain to take, especially a force like isis that is mostly capitalized

highly influential north of baghdad. they promised to work with the army to fight against terrorists. that's a marked contrast to iraq's former vice president, he's calling for nouri al-maliki's removal. he has been living in exile since sentenced to death, accused of involvement with sunni death squads. we spoke to him in islamabad. >> i think now the time comes for the international community communities, relations, security council to step in and help the iraqis to get rid of the disasterous prime minister. the sunni are rejecting him, and the majority of the she item are voting against him. the grand ia tolla also in his letter today encouraged the shi'ite communities to establish better government which could contain all the iraqi factions. >>> al jazeera contained a copy of the new united nations report on the humanitarian crisis in syria. 10.8 million syrians are in need of help. an increase in half of the population. 6 million are internally displaced. 5 million are difficult or impossible to reach. in a strongly

a university professor in iraq, let's go to him in baghdad now.m not sure if you have been hearing our conversation. we have been talking about these rapid advances i insurgents. has it come to a surprise for the iraqi people? becauseit is a surprise , they did not expect that in the iraqi army will collapse easily, like what happened yesterday and today and everybody is talking about why and with the huge budget, they go to the army. the iraqi people are talking blaming and saying it happened before that, they are talking about turkey, saudi arabia, qatar, and the areas around iraq. >> ok. i'mal nashmy in baghdad, afraid the line is not wonderful. thanks for joining us this evening. in other international news, the first hearing of the trial of platform members was held in court and instead bowl today. 26 members are charged with -- today.nbul 26 members are charged with sparking antigovernment protests. >> supporters gather outside of of theurt, 26 liters solidarity group are on trial for charges including forming a criminal organization. charge

the great fear is not that they can march into baghdad. the army almost certainly would fight and it would be muh larger. the tomb is that they can eliminate supply routes, no food, water, electricity, fuel. we face that when i was there in 2004. this is an immediate and urgent to and a military problem. lou: he served in this administration representing the president and the government's. surely he has asked the national security council to put together a range of options that does not include our troops in iraq and present him with some options. surely that was up a feature of speech and a parade of options and contingency plans waiting for this president given the circumstances. my experience being at times the national security adviser, you would be surprised at how we often can't without pants down. the reason is even sometimes happen much faster than people planned for. there were obviously military plans but they have to be updated with intelligence. president obama indicated that he needed time to get his eyes on the terrain and di

thousands of shiite militiamen parade through baghdad. they're vowing to fight the sunni-led isis as forces who are closing in on the capital. is iraq on the verge of a sectarian civil war right now? >>> surprise visit. john kerry makes an unannounced trip to baghdad pledging support for the embattled prime minister with conditions. is the u.s. seriously considering air strikes? >>> and comment controversy. hillary clinton throwing some fuel on the fire with newra, about her financial status. is she out of touch with middle class americanss? i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com fear and tension are growing by the hour in iraq right now with isis militants seizing city after city, town after town. the sunni fighters now have a direct line to the western outskirts can of baghdad where shiite forces say they're prepared to fight to the death in a sectarian battle for control of the country. in the middle of it all, a surprise appearance today in baghdad by america's top diplomat. we're cover

you can see them there close to baghdad.llen to the group as we've been reporting all week, and, yeah, the capital not far away. iraq on a major military recruiting drive this weekend. not just the government recruiting either. militias are recruiting. they all need people, lots of them, to quickly pump up the number of those who can hold a weapon and potentially fight. the prime minister said thousands of iraqis have stepped up to serve. the u.s. president, obama, making it very clear that whatever happens in iraq, no u.s. troops will be involved at least not on the ground. but now, something else, something a little bit unexpected. we are told that several hundred troops from iran are ready to fight alongside the iraqi army to stop the advance of those isis fighters. iran not confirming that, but um u.s. officials say an iranian general was in iraq in the past few days, perhaps advising, perhaps planning more. no one knows for sure. arwa damon is in the kurdish area of iraq. you're in one of the places where the iraqi mili

, that baghdad would not fall. that seems to have lessened the urgency for some kind of quick airstrike. and so it will be interesting to hear what the president has to say as to why he was saying last week we might need a short-term immediate strike. but now this week it seems that urgency has evaded. >> jim acosta at the white house. we're going to take a quick break. when we come back, more on president obama's pending announcement about possible u.s. military action in iraq. back after this. not caused by a heart valve problem. that puts her at a greater risk of stroke. rome? sure! before xarelto®, mary took warfarin, which required monthly trips to get her blood tested. but that's history. back to the museum? not this time! now that her doctor switched her to once-a-day xarelto®, mary can leave those monthly trips behind. domestic flight? not today! like warfarin, xarelto® is proven effective to reduce afib-related stroke risk. but xarelto® is the first and only once-a-day prescription blood thinner for patien

you don't just get right to baghdad. they may be 17 miles away, but that's a long way. >> sunni towns where the people didn't stay in sight. if they get to baghdad, shep, it is, that is a mostly shia town and that is where the army is the strongest. john kirby suggested the threat is real right now. of baghdad, potentially falling, but would not say whether the remaining iraqi forces could defend baghdad. these show isis drivers driving through with vehicles stolen from the iraqi military. the military is 600,000 strong. isis fighters have just a few thousand fighters. >> i don't think they can take baghdad. i think they can cause a lot of trouble in the provinces where they've been acted. they have a back door into syria. where the heat gets turned up, they have a place to go. >> the president tried to dampen expeck tases that any military actions are imminent. the pentagon is still drawing up options for him as we speak. >> thanks very much. there's a lot more to go on this. this terrorist group has warned one of its n

>> i think that isis won't get into baghdad. i don't think they're going to be able to take on the iraqi military in terms of assaulting the city in some sort of traditional military sense. i'm worried about inside the city. the sunnis who are in there now already setting car bombs against shia targets. nouri al maliki has given power to the militias on the streets walking around with guns in all this. you go back to 2006, where those same militias reacting to sunni insurgents setting bombs in places like sam rah and in the capital, you had the death squads. i'm worried about that. i think you could see death squads being formed and then you get the sectarian killings. and then you've got to find the bodies on the streets. and that then devolves into mayhem. because there is no refereeing like in '06-'07. >> michael holmes, thank you so much. waiting for word from this meeting, top brass in congress and the president of the united states in the oval office. >>> just ahead, how is the u.s. interrogating the suspect in the benghaz

he is back inside baghdad tonight. technical constraints notwithstanding, we think we're going to be hearing live from richard in just a moment. look at this report he just filed from inside baghdad. this is remarkable. >> reporter: these iraqi soldiers, prisoners of isis, in a video not verified by nbc news, are being forced to swear allegiance to the al qaeda offshoot that overran their positions. one refuses and is executed. the others agreed, but they, too, were later found dead. they are getting stronger. joined by supporters of saddam hussein and sunni tribal leaders. in mosul, they marched together on their way to hang an iraqi soldier. this weekend, the militants released pictures of dozens of iraqi soldiers being led to their death. the iraqi army is now fighting back with air strikes and thousands of new recruits. but the insurgents have their sights on baghdad. and if they can't get to it, they may try to send in suicide bombers instead. it is strange to come back to baghdad and see it like this. this is nor

people in baghdad are preparing for the worst.mar al saleh reports. >> all political leaders met, including nouri al-maliki, and the last speaker of parliament. a key sunni politician. there were other kurdish and shia leaders. they came out with a statement calling on the iraqi people to yup item and to -- unite and to avoid the unrest and sectarian provocations, calling for the preserving of the unity of iraq, and the call of regional and international help to help this country confront what they describe as the terrorism aimed to topple the new iraq. i think this is an effort by the leaders, because they know this crisis is leading to something that worries everyone, not only the iraqis here, but the entire region. >> how has this changed the day-to-day life of people in baghdad. are they travelling to work? going to restaurants? schools? >> life has not changed for employees, students. they having final examples. when you go to marketplaces there are people going on with their daily lives, buying their food items. they are als

bbc news baghdad. >> we'll be live in baghdad with our world affairs editor in a moment.ambridge and speak first to the columnist and argue thorac -- and author. what are they calling on maliki to stand down or provide alternative? >> i think iron an is still goi to work out what they want it to be. his leader ship will be a failure. i think iran will draw a line around him staying in power or what will other groups or leaders might play in political compromise. >> which names potentially are in the frame? >> well, i think what iran is more trying to say with the statements we've heard recently, rather than sort of dealing with details of what iraqi politics might come, iran is trying to play an assertive role. it's alarmed by the tepidness from washington. we had the petro dollars from the gulf fuelling them brought up. we've seen a more assertive tone. i think this is iran stepping in to show leadership where it feels opportunity. >> iran doesn't want u.s. military intervention, but when you look at some sort of cooperation on the ground, we know or believe, there are s

now the eyes of the world are centered iraqi capital of baghdad. 40 to 50 miles on the outskirts of baghdad. will they go in will maliki's government fight back? we are waiting to see what happens there in shorthand you can explain iraq just as a reminder now in three different sections here. >> on the map, number one would be the kurdish region up in the northeast number two the syrian region. number three would be baghdad and the southeast here where you find predominantly she a who have lined themselves religiously with the country of iran. these countries, where are they how much land do they control? from aleppo in northwestern syria all the way to northern iraq and into baghdad and east to the eastern border with iran, if you were to lay the map of the united states over that. you would be looking at area that would start northwestern indiana stretch across ohio into west virginia. new, it's a big area. and it's threatening, greta. a lot of it is desert, too. sometimes you have to drive 1 hundred miles in the next town. this could be formidable in terms of the iraqi government fight b

the area is about 60km from baghdad. there has been a shooting and a shoot-out between south korean troops and a shoulder who shot and killed five other soldiers on saturday. four palestinians have been killed as the israeli army is searching for three israeli teenagers. they went missing near west bank settlement on june the 12th. back to the top story, the turm i will in iraq. the soiny rebels are made up of many groups. al jazeera spoke to a former major general under saddam hussein, who is helping the rebels. >> reporter: the revolutionaries can only give up their weapons after taking the goals: >>> the stated goals for i.s.i.l., the rebel group leading the sunni rebellion in iraq is different. i.s.i.l. wants to establish a muslim calafat across the muslim world. i.s.i.l. was part of al qaeda, until it was removed for being too violent. the group is fighting in syria and posted a video online, showing children in combat training. dominic kane reports. >> reporter: a group of syrian children heads for a summer camp. t

imran khan joins us from baghdad. this intriguing story about sunni militias turning on each other in mosul. what are you hearing? >> well there has been an idea logical divide between the sunni rebels and the islamic state of iraq and levant. they have different goals. the sunni rebels want regime change in iraq. they want to take over the government, i.s.i.l. they want an islamic state, hence the title of their group. the sunni rebels inside mosul want to provide services to the people. they want fuel, they want to get people jobs and pay salaries. they want to run mosul like they would run iraq. i.s.i.l. want to run it along religious grounds and they issued a decree saying people have to pray five times a day and women cover up. clashes have occurred. it's about control. the i.s.i.l. rebels have a way they want to run the city. the other sunni rebels don't want it that way. we are seeing clashes come to a head in mosul city. lots of other things have been going on. let take a look at the rest of event in the count