has reached within five miles of the capital baghdad.he extremists control large swathes of embarq province including the city of falluja which is close to baghdad. from there, they have been able to launch a series of attacks to the north and west of the capital. there is fighting along the road between falluja and baghdad. a report contains testimony you may find stressing. >> heading to the last differences between baghdad and so-called islamic state fighters. weeks, the i.s. attacked this route on the western edge of the capital. we are traveling with two powerful shakes. their task is to rally the tribes and help stop the enemy at the gates of baghdad. heavy battlesbeen here, he tells me. our brothers were here, pointed to the gunmen. >> do not be fooled by their relaxed pose. the battle line lies beyond the horizon. to 16 miles away, i.s. is in charge and there are intense classes. you can feel the tension. >> this is the border between us and i.s. support from civilized countries like the u.s. and britain. >> when fighters of the

so obviously this is causing concern among baghdad residents, among baghdad security officials. one because they're still able to mount significant attacks. and two because the iraqi army still doesn't have the right equipment, the right supply lines, the right organization to be able to repel all of the assaults coming from their enemy. >> lyse doucet there in baghdad for us. >>> prosecutors have accused the former bosnia leader of boasting about ethnic cleansing in closing arguments at his trial in the hague. he's charged with some of the worst atrocities in europe since world war ii. our correspondent anna holligan has more. >> reporter: karadzic has been listening as the prosecutors outline a summary of the evidence against him. they've been talking about whole villages being burnt down, prisoners forced to eat severed body parts and this, they say, was all part of an effort to carve out an ethnically pure area. karadzic was the political leader of the bosnian serbs at the time and therefore they say he was responsible. listening inside the public gallery today are three voi

baghdad is majority shia city.ned there it's now majority shia and idea that baghdad would have fallen, the iraqi military has not stood up to fight but in those areas it's largely in sunni areas. the idea they wouldn't defend the capital if true says more about how the sorry state of the iraqi military than anyone previously thought frankly. >> exactly. and if you looked at the position of the iraqi military, assessment of the iraqi military is half is capable of fighting. that's 80,000 to 90,000 troops. you have iranian sponsored militias and iranian special forces in there. i'm really surprised that the secretary would go so far as to say that baghdad might have fallen because none of us thought that at the time. >> whether the secretary is being accurate or using that to justify, we'll leave that open to our viewers. let's fast forward to strikes in syria that started tuesday. the biggest concentration appears to be around a big syrian city on a major road into iraq. is the idea to cut off isis in syria from is

more from baghdad.nd you know the secretary of state going there on the heels of this new ostensibly more inclusive government, is this government able to do what it couldn't do in terms of fighting isis? >> reporter: that is the big challenge, christine, that remains. while this visit by secretary kerry is really an endorsement of the iraqi government, this newly formed government, he will be mee meeting here with the president that has kurd, the foreign minister and the sunni prime minister. in a series of tweets, we heard from secretary kerry after he landed in baghdad saying it's his second time here in three months. that iraq is a critical partner against isis. and he's also saying this inclusive government is a big step. of course, we have heard the administration describe this as a major milestone that they have come together and formed this golf. while it is a major step, christine, the real issues here, these are the same faces, the same politicians we have seen in iraq over the last decade. an

right now, bombs dropping over baghdad. u.s. air strikes targeting the terrorists as more countries sign on board with the help. >>> ebola crisis. today, president obama reveals a strategy to stop the deadly virus from spreading. thousands of u.s. troops, hundreds of millions of dollars, all the details ahead. >>> off the field violence hurting the nfl today. new accusations of abuse from embattled player and another set to appeal his punishment for violence as the nfl proposes a new solution to the problem. >>> good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. it is 5:00 on the nose this morning. we have a lot of news to get started with. john. >> we will start with a key moment in iraq. united states going on offense against isis this morning. launching air strikes close to baghdad for the first time in the fight against the militant group. previous hits near erbil. central command calls this the first strike in the expanded effort to help iraqi forces go on offensive. six vehicles in a fighting

of preventing any more expansion of the militants' activities towards the capital baghdad. the target of last night's air strike was about 30 to 40 kilometers southwest of baghdad in an area that witnessed many activities of the militant fighters of the islamic state organization. >> and rafid, i mean, the u.n. is already warning that any air strikes by the u.s. must be proportionate, must be targeted, not affecting civilians and so on. do we know precisely what the u.s. is targeting in these areas? is it people? is it supplies? what is it? >> reporter: well, yes, we know. the source is the american military. the statements said that six vehicles were destroyed in the north and nearby baghdad, the target was a military position of i.s. fighters. and we didn't hear any complaints from civilians in that area. let's remember that many civilians have actually deserted many, many areas where fighting had been going on, in many parts of iraq, at least 1,800,000 iraqis have fled their homes since the beginning of this year as a result of the intense fighting. >> okay, rafid, many

we're hearing about this close to baghdad.about why isis had positioned themselves there and what we know about the success of the attack? >> good morning, chris, this is a few miles southwest of baghdad. the first thing that everybody should note is that's where isis is. they have now gone around baghdad and they are south of the capital. that puts them in a very different position than we have seen. it may well be a sunni area that they're in. the people that support them to some extent. but they now are working to encircle the capital by all accounts. this is now something very much that everyone is watching and the u.s. reacting with this new offensive targeting. that's what the pentagon is calling it. offensive targeting. it's an expansion of the mission. very different than what we have seen over the last several weeks. this air strike was called in, on an isis position. because iraqi forces on the ground were coming under fire. they called for help, the u.s. rolled in with an air strike on their position. until now, we

resources in baghdad, u.s. personnel in baghdad. this is another indicator, i would say, this is turning now to be a very long-term situation. wolf? >> yeah, it's going to go on and on and on. what about the specific threats? are there specific threats against the u.s. embassy in baghdad which, as you know, is a huge, huge embassy? i think it's the largest one in the world. specific threats to u.s. personnel, diplomats, military personnel in the iraqi capital? >> you know, wolf, at this time, the sources we're talking to in the u.s. government say there isn't a specific direct threat against the embassy complex. but we are in that post-benghazi era when the u.s. has heightened concern for all embassy installations around the world. and really in this era, it's all about taking those protective measures in advance. you know you're in a high-threat situation in baghdad. there's no question about that. so put the extra people in, be prepared, and be able to repel anything that may come your way. it's one of the biggest issues right now

so isis has supporters very, very close to baghdad.ally run the city. >> it is good to have you here, your article on baghdad is fantastic. >>> and capturing an incredible fight between the turkish army along the border, coming up. ...which eyes? eyes that pivot with the road... ...that can see what light misses... ...eyes designed to warn when yours wander... or ones that can automatically bring the ls to a complete stop. all help make the unseen... ...seen. and make the ls perhaps the most visionary vehicle on the road. this is the pursuit of perfection. and cialis for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment is right. cialis is also the only daily ed tablet approved to treat symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delaye

secretary of state john kerry arrived in the capital baghdad a couple of hours ago. he's beginning a tour of the middle eastern nations to generate support to the fight against islamic state militants. meanwhile president obama says he already has the authority he needs to widen military action against the jihads in iraq and syria. he's making a tv address later on wednesday. our correspondents in baghdad outlines what john kerry's priority temperaturehe -- prior likely to be. >> there's a more inclusive less devicive government in iraq has been met. by forming this government, getting rid of previous prime minister, maliki, america has more ability to confront the islamic state. it can democrat cli, politically invade with this. britain is given a bump of financial aid to buy guns and ammo from peshmerga and northern iraq. the iraqi army will need a great deal of help. will will there be air strikes, intelligence support? they'll have a long shopping list and expect america to deliver on the help they've been asking for for a long time. >> we want to have full cover

kinani and his wife lived with her three children in baghdad.ohammad ran his family's auto part business and he adored his youngest son ali and the family officially called him by his nickname. >> he would sleep in my arm. he was 9.5 years old, but still slept on my arm. he had his own room, but he never slept alone. >> when u.s. forces rolled into baghdad in april 2003, mohammad probably took is meant to greet -- took a subject greet u.s. military. mohammad was that rare personification of the neoconservative narrative about the u.s. invasion. >> before september 16, 2007, mohammad had never heard of blackwater. now he thinks of them and that day every waking moment. he remembers ali was not supposed to be in a scar that day. mohammad was on his way to pick up his sister and their children for a visit. ali came running out of the house. upmohammed and ali picked his sister and the three children and made their return home. the return journey would bring them through nisoor square. ahammad found himself in traffic jam and thought it was u.s. mil

damascus, and these troops have moved to baghdad. can we trust? very few people. we main have 0 to go and some take matters into our own hands. >> the military said today for the first time we ma ask for u.s. boots on the ground, at the same time it said there is no military solution. at the same time, that the house and the senate are agreeing to arm the nonexistent rebels in syria, and the baghdad army to be our troops on the ground. just remember that. because it's important. recruiting american? is that it possible? we have a live report on that next. how much money do you think you'll need when you retire? then we gave each person a ribbon to show how many years that amount might last. i was trying to, like, pull it a little further. [ woman ] got me to 70 years old. i'm going have to rethink this thing. it's hard to imagin how much we'll need for a retirement that could last 3years or mor so maybe we need to approach things dferently, if we want to be ready for a longer retirement. ♪ if we want to be ready for a longer retireme

bbc news baghdad. >>> on iraq precisely breaking news. baghdad to be specific. we're getting word that iraqi officials telling us there's been a double car bomb attack near markets in south eastern baghdad. john kerry in the capital, not in the southeast. a double car bomb attack near markets in the southeast of the capital. we're going to be taking you live to baghdad later in the program as john kerry is there and our correspondent traveling with him is also there. he's meeting members of the new unity government. we'll get the latest for you. that's one reason to stay with us. also coming up, a bit more on our top story. >> you can find out what impact the scottish referendum is having on china. [ male announcer ] ours was the first modern airliner, revolutionary by every standard. and that became our passion. to always build something better, airplanes that fly cleaner and farther on less fuel. that redefine comfort and connect the world like never before. after all, you can't turn dreams into airplanes unless your passion for innovation is nonstop. ♪ >>> he

president francois hollande touches down in baghdad. he meets with the new iraqi government and pledges to support iraq in the fight against islamist extremists. fresh sanctions against russia go into effect. the latest round of punitive measures aimed to keep the pressure on moscow over its involvement in ukraine. we will have those top stories and more. also coming up, the guns in eastern ukraine have largely fallen silent as a fragile cease-fire remains in effect. the truce has done little to improve the harsh living conditions of local residents. we take a closer look. with a week to go until scotland's independence referendum, one former prime minister warns of the dangers of a yes vote. he was cleared of premeditated murder, but oscar pistorius has been found guilty of culpable homicide. the judge gave her verdict a short while ago. she found the paralympic star guilty of the unlawful and negligent murder of his girlfriend reeva steenkamp. she was shot dead on valentine's day last year. here is the judge delivering her ruling. >>

>> baghdad is still relatively secure. i mean, there has been a couple of minor ied attacks inside baghdad, but the isf, the iraqi security forces in and around the capitol are still defending the capitol. it's not like isil has not posed a threat there. >> oliver north good to see you. >> good to be with you. >> i'm concerned with us and isis and whether it is spreading. >> i think catherine's comment about how we came to know this threat about washington -- new york and paris transportation infrastructure is always going to be a prime target visuals are compelling. they are savvy knowing how to use that to their advantage. if you are riding in beltway. silver lining goes out. goes over the beltway and if you think about somebody getting something like two brothers, assembled in boston before a marathon and carried that on to a subway leaving town. you would have a visual that would be very, very effective as a recruiting tool for the most radical jihadists on this planet. here is the problem with what we are doing. we ar

baghdad, shia. the fight is on. i want to take you over to the wall over here for just a minute to give you an example of what i'm talking about. this is the region, right? this is iraq. here's baghdad where the central government is. in the north of iraq, the kurds run that. they don't want to be a part of iraq. they've said it over and over and over again. they'll fight in their region up there to keep the isis people out, but that's it. they're not coming down to baghdad to help the rest country. they don't care about the rest of the country. they want to be their own country. they want to be kurd disstan. they're not there yet but they're close. then there's iran. think of it, they backed this government in baghdad. so when we go in here and we start backing this government, we're in the eyes of those here, we're backing the shia. that's what we're doing, because that's how they think, sunni/shia. the whole muslim world isn't like that but this part is. they are shia and sunni. it goes back 1400 years. 1400 year

could be about 100km away from baghdad. it's a world away in terms of them being able to get near the city. geographically it may be close. in between anbar province and baghdad the airport is heavily fortified - sorry, i'm being attacked by mosquitos here - heavily fortified troops and military equipment, so it's quite far away. what the key for i.s.i.l. is is not so much getting into baghdad. one of the keys is basically disrupting the supply lines between baghdad and the north. they have done it successfully. the american air strikes are to free up the lines. getting the troops where they need them the most, to take the second biggest city back. >> imran khan in baghdad. mark lyons retired army major and a senior fellow at the truman foundation. let's talk about the air strike. what was the mission. >> command and control centers, logistics operations and command facilities to spirit and make sure that they could destroy all. >> we heard from imran khan in fallujah, marching around defying the united states. >> we talked

and baghdad stop paying kurdish civil servants. this is the border of what the kurds would like to call their own independent state. >> reporter: they cross into this side, they wait weeks for iraqi visa. kurds can travel in and back, everyone else is turned away. >> sometimes even the res sent di permanent iresidency permanent is not enough. >> they told me to make an u-turn. i've lived in kurdistan for eight years. i want to return to my family. they won't let me. >> reporter: in the kurdish capital of erbil there is optimism for the future and anger at the previous government of nouri al-maliki. a government kurds say has treated them unfairly. >> unfairly treated, and that is in fact, we hope that it is a new start, and with this new start will be partners. >> reporter: for new the kurdish region remains part of the union but it's not an union that lives with talk of living happily ever after. >> world leaders will converge on the unite united nations in two weeks and the direction of that debate will rest o on what is determin

this as secretary of state john kerry arrived in baghdad. expected to include diplomacy and force. but this too little too late as isis fighters continue to gain ground? we have live team coverage starting right now. good morning, everyone, welcome to "early start." i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. it's wednesday, september 10th, it is 5:00 a.m. in the east. allel eyes on president obama today. he's getting set to address the nation on his strategy to eliminate isis. and this morning, we're getting some insight into what the president will say. an administration official tells cnn the president will focus on three angles. framing the threat posed by isis. discussing actions already taken against the terrorists, and announcing a reverse of new proposals to ultimately destroy isis. we're also being told the president feels he has the authority to take action so he won't need to ask congress to vote ahead of the midterm elections. now, the president met with top congressional leaders tuesday. but house speaker john boehner says questions need to be answered. >> until we know

right now, bombs dropping over baghdad. u.s.argeting the terrorists as more countries sign on board with the help. >>> ebola crisis. today, president obama reveals a strategy to stop the deadly virus from spreading. thousands of u.s. troops, hundreds of millions of dollars, all the details ahead. >>> off the field violence hurting the nfl today. new a

it does not have to be baghdad that does that. what has changed is baghdad controlled it, and the kurds demanded it, now it's the other way around. >> thank you. >> i wanted to ask the -- >> sorry. >> i have two questions for saban. i know you said that turkey still prefers a unified iraq. but there's been a lot of confusion recently, because we heard from a spokesperson for the akb party that a kurdish state is no longer a cause for instability. that's what he said in an interview with my publicatiopub. so my question is, if, like, push comes to shove, will they accept an independent kurdistan? and you mentioned something -- you said iraqi federalism. you said that should happen. and what do you mean exactly by that? i know the kurds are calling for a con federation, which means more power to the local authorities. and we just saw joe biden writing an article in the "washington post" mentioning a functioning federalism. and he also referred to not having national guard for every region. is that something turkey also wants to see,

they are pleading with baghdad and gave a suggestion - instead of flying them into baghdad and stuck with red tape, maybe, on purpose - maybe not on purpose, who knows - fly them in to erbil, but send up representatives from baghdad to do the checking. they put the request in to baghdad over 15 days ago, and they have not heard back that they are thinking about it, never mind that they are agreeing to it. we were north of mosul, 20-25km north from the front line. they were showing the weapons, many of them don't have ammunition, they are carrying weapons around, not able to shoot them. they are saying we need to see where the weapons are coming from. we understand the international community is stepping up, saying we want to help. it's not reaching the front lines so far. >> thank you, thank you very much. >> syrian rights groups say government forces have killed 18 foreigners fighting with the islamic state. they were killed in aracka. one of the foreign fighters is believed to be from the united states. >>> a report by the united nations children's agency revealed startling figures

>> it's a reminder how close this is to baghdad.you remember back in june, there was all this concern that there was going to be an advance by isis into the capital. since then there was a mobilization of these powerful shay militias along with security forces and they have been securing the capital with the air strikes. this really changes things. there is not really that fear that isis is going to innovate like there was a couple of months ago when the advances were unstoppable. there is always that concern. isis is a very adaptable and sophisticated organization and it could use other tactics when it comes to baghdad. there is this concern that we will see a return to previous tactics used by the predecessor with spectacular -- what used to be described as the big bombs that would strike targets in baghdad. something we haven't seen in a while. there is dharn while the u.s. and iraq shift tactics, isis will do the same. >> thanks. reporting there live from baghdad. >> for decades, peace keepers watched over an uneasy truce, but t

the strikes took place southwest of baghdad. this was in support of iraqi forces that came under fire there. so in effect they pulled in close air support from u.s. military aircraft and they came out answered that call. i'm told by this official this is not the beginning of a big offensive near baghdad, along the lines of what we saw, for instance, near the mosul dam, this was specific to the events today and specific to that request to answer iraqi troops in danger. >> so obviously the big question here, though, is on troops and the fact that the coalition is getting bigger and bigger but yet no ground troops have been committed, which as we heard the chief of staff for the president of the united states saying are required. no one else is stepping up. >> no. when they do, it's interesting, secretary kerry said he did have commitments, the u.s. did have commitments, for grouped forces. so i spoke to the state department, pentagon officials. they say the forces he was speaking of are indigenous forces, iraqi military, kurdish,

here, baghdad is just waking up to this news. they will be tuned to a lot of news channels who will be reporting, state tv will be reporting. but information in baghdad through official channels is very strictly controlled. how much detail we do not know. they will be tuning to al jazeera arabic. remember this is an arabic speaking nation. the other thing we have got to look at is what i.s.i.l. will do. already before this attack happened just in the last seven or eight hours i.s.i.l. released a statement, a doctrinal change for them. they were encouraging muslims living in america and america's allies to attack targets and not wait for i.s.i.l. to say to themselves if they have any in america, simply saying if you are a muslim and feel passionately, you need to go out and strike american targets, this is a religious war. if they got anything to do with this statement released? we are not sure but the timing has to be questioned. centcom were in charge of this attack, it's likely they have picked up these targets and waiting for

knowing, a, that baghdad is not going to send it up to kurdistan and, b, that baghdad is likely to lose it an it's going to end up in the hands of isis. >> first arab country weighed in today, the united arab emirates through its ambassador here sending out a statement, quote, islamic extremism is a transnational challenge, the most destabilizing and dangerous global force since fascism. now is the time to act. it goes on, any action must again with a clear plan for direct intervention against isis but must address the other dangerous extremist groups in the region. it is also critical to tackle the support networks, the entire militant, ideological and financial complex that is the lifeblood of extremism. again, george, this is an arab country. >> yes, and it's now time for him to put his military where his mouth is. the fact is a few days ago the united arab emirates and egypt attacked libya, and some people in the united states took umbrage because we weren't told mother, may i. maybe that's a good sign, that there's some initiative on the part of two sovereign nations acting in self

being stopped in baghdad for whatever reason. the suspicion is that baghdad doesn't want them to be fiercely weaponed up, if you like, bit the supplies coming in. baghdad is covering it in red tape, not allowing it to come further. they say they are running out of ammunition and are fighting with old weapons. the call is it's all very well saying the weapons are on the way, but you have to make sure they don't stop in baghdad, but reach the front line. >> sue turton reporting from erbil in northern iraq. thank you for being with us. >> heads up to earth - a huge asteroid will come uncomfortably close on sunday. looking at the projected path, it looks close. n.a.s.a. says the rock poses no serious threat. it should pass about 25,000 miles over new zealand, and fly by is expected to happen around 2:18 eastern time, but you shouldn't bother looking for it. it will not be visible north of the equator. >>> lava is flowing from a hawaiian vol capo and threatens homes on the big island. residents are warned to plan for smoke exposure an

they were moving towards erbil and baghdad, baghdad could well have fallen.could have fallen. they could have had control of the oil fields. we broke the siege at amerli. so now as the supplies begin to get hit and other things begin to happen i believe there is a possibility of slow degrading, that i say ultimately, and i mean ultimately because the president has been clear. this will take time. you and others should not be looking for some massive retreat within the next week or two. >> and christiane amanpour joins me now. what really stood out to you in terms of what secretary kerry said? >> well, one, he said absolutely this was going to be a long haul. you heard him say to me you and others should not think there is going to be a retreat. he mentioned a retreat by isis immediately. they have not been flushed out of their position. they're still dug in. it is going to take a long time, and this takes several different kind of phases. i think the other thing was obviously how he broadened it to say it is not just airstrikes, air power has its place. but i

it's the same issue in the baghdad belt. the areas around baghdad, launching points for attacks on the capital itself. >> thank you. jane arraf there in the iraqi capital. >>> syrian air force launched strikes on several rebel targets on the syrian side of the golan site. it did not enter the demilitarized zone. orders from the al qaeda allied al nusra front took control of the area prompting military levels to be raised. >>> eight strikes left eight dead. this video by rebel fighters shows the aftermath of an attack against the islamic state group, occupying large parts of syria. >>> a ceasefire between ukranian government forces and pro-russian separatists has been breached. the government checkpoints in mariupol came under fire. it's the first serious violation of a truce declared on friday. harry fawcett sent in report from mariupol >> reporter: it took little more than a day for the ceasefire to go up in flames. this is the result of a heavy assault on mariupol, closer to the center than anything that had come in previo

including one near baghdad. officials with the u.s. central command said pilots bombed targets on sunday near the northwestern town of sinjar. they were fighting iraqi forces southwest of baghdad. president obama said last week he was broadening the campaign to destroy the militant group. he said the strategy is beyond protects u.s. citizens. the president said the u.s. will deploy 75 additional service members to iraq. he indicated he is willing to launch air strikes on the islamic state militants in syria. >>> members of obama's administration are trying to build a coalition. they have been pressing leaders in iran. the supreme leader is rejecting the request. ayatollah khomeini spoke on state-run tv. he said washington's goal of maintaining influence in the middle east is hollow and self serving. iran is a predominately shia nation and on alert with the fighters in the group. some analysts said iran and the u.s. may team up against the islamic state. >>> residents of ukraine hope the cease-fire would hold. people in the city of done

they were moving toward irbil, towards baghdad. baghdad could well have fallen.ould have fall in. they could have control of all the oil fields. >> he is trying to justify the conflict here. baghdad could have fallen. do you buy that, secretary of state. trying to justify the strikes here. >> anything is possible. but i truly believe right now. especially, we have several people on the ground in baghdad. baghdad is pretty much, bipzness as usual right now. there have been attacks down there. a push out to the west. baghdad international airport. baghdad, isis, a hard target with the militia. >> thank you so much for being with us. >> up next, it is being dubbed the latte salute. is it as bad as it looks? this is holly. her long day of outdoor adventure starts with knee pain. and a choice. take 6 tylenol in a day or just 2 aleve for all day relief. onward! today, more and more people with type 2 diabetes are learning about long-acting levemir®, an injectable insulin that can give you blood sugar control for up to 24 hours. and levemir® helps lower your a1c. levemi

wouldn't baghdad be the next best thing? a small attack would still prove they're alive and ticking. >> if you look at the terrain there, i think they would have trouble masking troops or bringing columns of vehicles. i think they would get hit pretty hard. i don't think it's a real option for them. i think the wrael issue continues to be syria and what we're going to do about that. because frankly, there's just no ground component. as bad as the iraqi may perform on a given day, they're better than nothing. and that's what we've got in syria. >> there's a complete vacuum in syria. these daily air strikes going in syria, there's no ground forces to actually fill a vacuum. what's going to happen to syria in the meantime, before the ground troops are trained up, which could be a year at least. >> i think you're going to see this war be bifurcated. there will be an effort to retake territory in iraq, whether it's kurdish forces or iraqi army, rather reconstituted iraqi army with american advisers. i could see an effort to push

perhaps they're waiting for a better offer from the government of baghdad. the new prime minister, haider al abadi, is trying to reach out to those sunni tribal leaders. he's seen as somewhat more accommodating than nouri al malaki, but there's a long way to go, and a real reservoir of mistrust against baghdad. the last few years, the iraqi government under malaki has tried to put down or quash sunni grievances with military means. it simply didn't work and that's left a residue of bitterness that's going to take time. money has opinion an important ingredient of iraqi politics. >> ben, thank you. >>> of course, so much there, the air strikes could become a recruiting tool for isis. >> of course, right now, the concern what is what is happening with the iraqi army on the ground? they have proven to be worthless. >>> when we come back, why can't the americans just use joseph welling force to win this war? we'll put that to an expert about the challenges of taking out isis. we're back after this. >>> welcome back to cnn's special coverage. >> 20 past 3:00 here

and not only threatened the iraqi baghdad but also the kurds. that was the wake-up call. it was followed by the two beheadings and that may have been the final piece of it, but i think it was the underlying way in which they -- >> but that .haed, the fall of mosul and the fears initially that they might even take baghdad. that was several months ago. >> about a month and a half now. >> and you think that was the wake-up call and it's taken this long -- >> it's a piece of it. obviously the videos play into that. the beheadings play into that, at least for the american public. i think for those of us on the armed services committee, we were concerned about the fall of baghdad. we were concerned about the neighboring states, the way in which this could morph into a much, much larger problem in that area. >> congressman? >> certainly the beheading of the two gentlemen was an awful thing. absolutely reprehensible. there's no excuse for it and it digs deep into our guts when we look at it. as a psychiatrist, i know what it does to people, but the fact is that the president said

all foreign shipments must to through baghdad in respect to the southernty. curds suggested that the plane -- but are inspected by a representative from baghdad. there was no replay, instead it is being suggested that they touchdown privately are checked and then thrown north. the longer they are out gunned by the islamic state far superior fire power. bureaucratic rangeling is doing nothing to help those on the line. including the minority. they have been seeking shelter in kurdish areas as well as neighboring turkey. reports now from refugee catches in eastern turkey, near the border where iraq and syria. this is a traditional kurdish chant, for those left behind. they are safe in a turkish refugee camp, but many of them still have relatives threatening by the advance through northern iraq of the group that calls itself the islamic state. >> they are one of thousands trapped on the mountain, and circled by i. s. fighters. we walked for a long time over rugged land scape until we reached the mountain, it was just one small water spring for thousands, we coul

the enemy of iran, assad, saudi, the enemy of baghdad. it's the enemy of the u.s. it's the enemy of civilization. how he's going to manage to get these other parties to do something as opposed to whine, to do something, including on the ground is going to be a big part of the challenge. if you have a broken baghdad government, an american airstrike looks like it's a support of shiite who are fighting on the ground as a militia from iran. well, that's not going to work. they'll try to get a government who is more inclusive, and he's making progress. if you have a government that is not inclusive of other regimes including saudi, that's why secretary kerry will be out there, you'll have, because the government, a democratic government in baghdad will be shia dominated, it will look like again the americans have become the air force of the shiite. if you're peeling off sunni tribal groups that were the crucial part of the success for the petraeus efforts when we had the surge you have to have the support of other sunni groups. this is an extremely delicate situation t

we're talking very close now to the capital of baghdad. when you look at a map, you see the red areas here on the periphery. these are places isis fighters tightly controlled and will quickly defend. then you see that chunk of yellow kind of in the middle of the screen, the highlighted area. that's what experts are calling isis support zones. and that's where those fighters are relatively safe to travel around without facing a fight. to the u.s. air strikes yesterday, they targeted isis positions southwest of iraq's capital. and they're the closest that american air strikes have been to baghdad since this campaign against isis began. and that is very significant. to baghdad we go. who is there live. and talk about just a real shift in tactics. the u.s. has gone from, you know, what initially was billed as this humanitarian mission to directly taking the fight to isis. >> certainly. and brooke, we're just receiving word from central command saying there were additional air strikes also today in that area southwest of baghdad. so we're reall

it's suggested that the planes touch down in baghdad, checked and flown north. longer the shipments are delayed. the longer the peshmerga are outgunned. >>> the kurds are got only fighting the islamic state, but are giving shelter to the yazidi. who the islamic state group are persecuting. neighbouring states are giving a hand, when they've been able to make it over the border. a report from refugee camps. at eastern turkey, near the border. >> reporter: this is a kurdish chant for those left behind. these yazidi are safe in a turkish refugee camp. many have relatives threatened by the advance through northern iraq by the islamic state. this person was one of thousands trapped on mt sinjar, circled by is fighters. >> we walked for a long time, until we reached the mountains, it was a small water spring for thousands of women. the peshmerga and iraqi army disappeared. we ran away to protect our honour. we yazidi are targeted. the islamic state group singled us out, meaning to kill us all. >> the camp overs schooling and care. it costs $50,000 a day to run. next d

is within a mile of baghdad. how does that happen. now that the iraqis are getting coalition air support? i think i.s.i.s. has been in close vicinity since breaking people out of the prison in july 2013. i think that that threat to the capital and baghdad is innocent. i.s.i.s. has been there for a long time, and one of the places where i.s.i.s. has tremendous ground strength that we have not seen brought to bear is close to baghdad. this comes off as an iraqi army base in anbar province, overrun by i.s.i.l., hundreds are feared dead, reports indicate that calls for help by iraqi troops went unanswered the the you iraqi troop launched a campaign to would you back fighters, how concerned are you, but how concerned are you that the iraqi army, the sectarian tension, and all sorts of other things, putting aside the peshmerga, the iraqi army, that it will become an aggressive and effective fighting force. >> we need to take this as a war with many battles, and there are some battles where the i.s.f. is doing well. in the east, on the easte

we have boots on the ground in baghdad and throughout iraq.ould ask the pilots dropping the bombs over iraq whether they believe they are in combat, and the pilots who have the real threat of ejecting over the isis territory. i am not edadvocating boots on e ground, but it is foolhardy for the obama administration to rule out air controllers and special operators on the ground to direct air strikes and advise the fighter forces. it is sending the the wrong message to the troops, and the enemies and the partners. and furthermore, if congress does authorize the training of t the syrian opposition, and pushes them into the combat without boots on the ground, that effort is likely to fail. and we don't have the answers to the most important and fundamental questions of what we are ultimately trying to accomplish such as what does a defeated or the destroyed isis look like. hopefully, we will get the answers today, and the current state of the military residents. general dempsey, nothing new has been changed since last year that our military is on

if certain key decision makers in our own government as well as baghdad's didn't recognize that most you will could be taken by isil, why depend on those to support a forward policy now. we should leave no cheps men off the table. very reluctantly i will support this resolution. i hope the administration will hear my pleas to measure up to the full task at hand. leave no major sunni absent from the daunting coalition that must be forged to be successful in this venture. mr. speaker, i yield back any remaining time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. mckeon: i yield two minutes to my friend and colleague, the entleman from louisiana, mr. mcallister. mr. mcallister: i'm very frustrated that i stand before you today and wage a war on ebola and allow isil to wage a war against us. a no vote is the easiest vote to cast. we cannot stand back while isil threatens our national security and terrorize the middle east. everyone wants to be a general, but now is not the time to argue amongst ourselves. back home people thi

they're on the gates of baghdad. some bombs in baghdad today. it may take u.s.round forces to sort of bolster that, at least to get them out of iraq. >> can we do that without getting syria's permission? >> well, if we -- in iraq we don't need syria's permission. i look at -- i would see how we can do it in syria without ground forces initially. but the objective to destroy isis means you should not take any options off the table. >> you say before we commit in your book to military action, past experience have to guide our understanding of the outcome in relation to what we're seeing now. what do you mean? >> what i mean is every time we blundered into -- like iraq and afghanistan without a strategy, without clear analysis understanding what we're doing, without our president hearing the voices of many different opinions, like previous presidents have done, you know, we end up in a situation where we have now. so this requires thought. there's an immediacy. you always have to shoot the wolf on the sled first before you deal with the ones on the wolf line. we ne

we are still waiting for a government to be formed in baghdad. until there's a reliable partner for us on the ground, it's hard fours as an outsider to do something inside iraq. i'm sure the president is still trying to figure out exactly how he parses and cuts the very complicated situation in syria, which has not gotten any easier in the last few months and we didn't know what to do about syria before then. >> what about the international coalition, germans sending weapons to the kurdish fighters. it's a new step for the german government. is the international coalition building? >> i think so. i think we'll see different people doing different things. for reasons of u.s. law and legislation, it's very difficult for the united states to send weapons to the kurds, a sub state group that aren't their own sovereign state. we may see other nations doing that at least with our wink and nod because it's difficult for the u.s. to transfer those weapons under u.s. law. >> thank you so much. >> tensions are growing in islamabad between demonstrators in

patrols on the outskirts of baghdad. at least eight iraqi soldiers are reported killed. they report it as a hit-and-run and iraqi security forces remain in control of the area. this is in the southern outskirts of baghdad. >> we will keep our eye on that. >>> meanwhile, a stunning new development in the arrest of the man suspected of abducting hannah graham may have led to a break in another case. the 2009 murder case of virginia tech student morgan harrington. evidence matched forensic evidence collected in the harrington investigation. for harrington's parents, the news is something of a relief, but time is of the essence for graham and her family. >> they have plenty of time to sort it out and make sure that this is indeed the person who killed morgan harrington and who is responsible for the disappearance of hannah graham. which is really paramount. we know where morgan is. morgan is in a box over there. hannah graham is still missing. and her family needs to know where she is. we need to bring hannah home. >> graham

let's go streit imran khan in baghdad. what kind of impact could that have on the fight against isil? >> well, in the previous government led by prime minister al-maliki, he kept the positions of ministry of interior and defense to himself, exclusionary policies that allowed iraq to get into this place in the first place. the new government by offering this out to the sunnis, they hope it will be much more inclusive. the idea that it will be a sunni minister of defense means this will be a much more inclusive government, allowing the international community particularly the americans to be able to give help. what they're trying to do is put in a unified government, allowing for international help and internal help. >> with u.s. airstrikes hitting south of baghdad and the president's new strategy in place, does the new iraqi government feel it has the fools it needs for this fight? >> certainly officially. that's what they're welcoming all of these airstrikes, welcoming the conference in paris and the help of the internatio