francois hollande lashes out at bashar al-assad. the french president said the syrian leader is no partner in the fight against terrorism, but rather a jihadist ally. time to take a look at what is making headlines in the weekly news magazines. lots of focus in the magazines this week on the spread of ebola through western africa. >> that's right. the african continent as a whole is concerned very at -- concerned. africa and quarter and teen. according -- in a quarantine. according to the magazines, africa is in kind of a hysteria. the collective panic we are witnessing across africa and the world in general has led to , whichnal decisions added to the confusion. a delegation of brazilian businessman canceled the trip to namibia because of the virus. the closest case is some 5000 kilometers away. lights are being canceled and all of this is having an incredible effect on the economies in africa. >> let's come back to france, where the biggest story with the government reach a full -- reshuffle. >> the secret story of the government

there is the question of working with bashar al-assad. we heard from officials saying a flat-out no. a year ago the u.s. was looking at launching air strikes against bashar al-assad's government because of use of chemical weapons on his own people. yesterday an official with the syrian government cracked open the door for international consideration to fight the united states. unauthorised actions would be considered acts of aggression. >> you raise the questions, the idea of flying the missions would represent a violation of sovereign air spice. >>> in iraq there was more violence in the country's capital. at least 11 were killed when a car bomb exploded in eastern baghdad, the attack coming a day after dozens were killed in bombings. the islamic state took responsibility for the attacks, one day after vice president joe biden urged leaders to come together to address the threat posed by the group. >> in northern iraq the situation is serious. islamic state fighters continue their advance. forces rescued women and children from a town tha

are we going to be allied with bashar al assad? we could need some sort of at leasting a -- acquiescence from bashar al assad's forces or he'll try to shoot down american aircraft. so we will have it is a a it is a sill deal with bashar al assad to allow an air campaign over syria? also, hezbollah and iran who are both allied with bashar al assad both fighting against isis and what's now called the islamic state in syria. do we make tacit agreements with those groups as will? so if you're going to start expanding this campaign be into syria, you'll have to make tough choices about who your allies will be. >> of course, we united with the ussr to fight the nazis so it seems historically possible. let me go to you, jack jacobs. once evidence, certainly united states in recent history, contemporary history we've all shared is that once you leave a country those who remain behind call the shots. we're out of iraq now, we haven't gone into syria at all really. so how does isis get threatened by us if they know we're containing them now,

bashar al assad staying in power or isis taking over? yed a cynical game where he's actually allowed isis room to gain control over syrian territory over the year so that bashar al assad could present the world this false choice. either assad or isis. so we in the opposition and those that support the opposition view assad as part of the problem when it comes to syria being turned into a -- >> is it realistic to defeat isis and bashar al assad? >> i think what is realistic is the u.s. can play a role to at least level the playing field to provide the free syrian army the necessary equipment and to prevent assad from gaining a military victory. >> you want strikes right? >> absolutely. it will be in the interest of the syrian people and u.s. national security. >> thanks very much for coming in. appreciate it very much. he's with the moderate syrian opposition. >>> still ahead, we're learning more about the american isis fighter who was killed and when he first landed on the radar of u.s. authorities. >>> and what was a 9-year-old girl firi

>> the united states has repeatedly rejected cooperating with the government of bashar al-assad, saying the leaders -- the leader is responsible for the situation the first place. >> the civil war in syria has been raging for three and half years, and it's more complex than just a battle between government forces and one group of rebels. >> islamic state fighters have complicated the battles on all fronts and they have been making the latest gains. >> a long convoy of vehicles bearing the flag of the islamic state. this amateur footage is said to be from northeastern syria where i s militants have claimed a strategic victory. they have been in control of the airbase which was last government outpost in the area. hundreds were killed in battle and syrian forces confirmed their withdrawal from the base. the fall of the airbase means will -- means more weapons have fallen to iis forces and there are concerns they could use fighter jets in their campaign to conquer the region. though it is unclear whether the militants possess the necessary training. syrian airstrikes continue. this footage

but we were going to be bombing syria in order to become bashar al-assad and help rebels push him out of power. now we will bomb isis extremists in order to help bashar al-assad. in one year, the situation changed 180 degrees. >> when we were right? are we right now? right then? is this like they used to say about the pope. he's right, then he changes his mind, he's right. just religious about my religion, but that's an old joke. if we were right to spend all of our effort getting rid of al-assad, which i never understand, i think they were a pain in the butt but a predictable pain in the butt and they were local. now the isis, danger on the street for years now, that the government is always better than the street. now we have the street coming at us. >> so here is the situation. was it right then or is it right now? let's take the first example. that's the most pressing one. we could be doing this in a few days. in the situation is untenable. you have militant, as evan was saying, not just from isis but thousands of incredibly dangerous people who are very well armed. they are colle

we believe that could have changed the size mind. -- bashar al-assad's mind. have not used all the tools that we could have done to in the suffering. let's not forget, 180,000 people killed. >> the question also becomes is there any effort to bring together the parties to try to create support for the non-jihadists in syria? is there a movement in that area to bring saudi arabia, turkey, britain, france, united states rebels who are not jihadists? >> we're willing to work with everyone. anyone who is prepared to help bring about a diesel political transition. al-assadment, bashar is not interested in a transition. he has been reelected for seven years. he thinks he is winning on the ground. russia is supporting them with weapons and finance. himss his allies say to that the game is up, i think this conflict could go on for some time. >> for a number of years? in there a moment early on which the west, including united states, had agreed to do more, they had bashar al-assad on the run? >> i am not sure. history will show that if we had been able to use all the

is effectively aligning with syrian president bashar al assad in the fight against isis, the same bashar al assad the u.s. officials were threatening to attack exactly one year ago after his regime was found to have used chemical weapons in syria's horrific civil war. >> president obama believes there must be accountability for those who would use the world's most heinous weapons against the world's most vulnerable people. nothing today is more serious, and nothing is receiving more serious scrutiny. >> if it seems inexplicable, the u.s. has gone from threatening to bomb assad's forces to potentially joining the war against assad's enemy. that speaks to just how ugly and messy the situation is in syria where the u.n. estimates more than 191,000 people have been killed since the civil war began in 2011. have a look at this graphic put together by "think progress." this spiderweb shows all the many players in the syria conflict and how they are in conflict or aligned with each other from outside governments seeking influence like saudi arabia and turkey and qatar to the syrian government o

now, bashar al assad is likely not going to give that okay right away. es president obama go in there without a congressional input first, and, b, bashar al assad's input second. is it go time? >> forget bashar al assad. the fact is one of the truthful things that the president said in that press conference today was he's irrelevant to the international community at this point. and he is. you don't ask for permission from assad. what you do is you get the congress in as you're getting ready to launch off that carrier you've now sent out there aircraft positioned elsewhere in that position of the world and you start striking at the command control and communication nodes of isis, you start striking their high-value targets, start tracking the logistic base and start striking against their training centers. and it doesn't succeed in eliminating isis. what it does is it throws them off their game. it delays them from being able to send those kids back here to the united states who now have been thoroughly radicalized and trained before they can blow themselv

government seeking influence like saudi arabia and turkey and qatar, to the syrian government of bashar al assad, himself, to various groups that are fighting for control inside syria against assad, islamists like al qaeda, islamic front and nusa brigades, viewed as more secular to the free syrian army to the notorious isis, itself. it's often confusing. any given stretch of time, different factions may be shooting at each other one moment or shooting next to each other at some shared third enemy the next. speaking today in north carolina, president obama addressed the murder of journalist james foley by isis militants and vowed the u.s. is committed to seeing isis vanquished. >> rooting out a cancer like isis won't be easy and won't be quick but tyrants and murderers before them should recognize that kind of hateful vision ultimately is no match for the strength and hopes of people who stand together for the security and dignity and freedom that is the birth right of every human being. >> earlier today i asked nbc news foreign correspondent ayman moyheldin about the significance to start u.s. a

this week marks a year since bashar al assad used sarin gas on his own people. it's also been two years this week since president obama uttered his red line pledge that use of chemical weapons would "change his calculus" against that is dictator. the chemical weapons are now reportedly destroyed but the violent civil war continues with no sign of slowing. the united nations now estimates 191,000 people have died since the regime began taking aim at its own citizens. now we're finally talking about military aid in syria but not to stop assad or put a stop to the killing. it's to take on the terrorist group isis trying to topple the syrian government for its own gain. a complicated story. let's bringing in robert ford, the former u.s. ambassador to syria who resigned his post in syria. he said he couldn't justify the administration's policy there. he's senior fellow at the middle east institute. appreciate your being here. we've been hearing about the fears that the u.s. government and european government has about these jihadists in fighting in syria with passpor

considering getting permission with bashar al assad? >> not at all. let's be clear, we and bashar al assad are not on the same page here in anyway. bashar al assad's regime and his actions are the main driving factor behind why isil's been able to grow so strong. he allowed them flourish in syria. he allowed them to cross the border into iraq and it's the situation he's created that aallowed this huge threat to get much worse. so definitely i want to reject the notion we're on the same page in any way here. >> certainly not on the same page, especially today when the u.s. raised the estimate of dead in syria to 191,000, a lot of them killed by the assad regime. but would it ever be appropriate to work with that regime? >> not at all. i really don't they that's even an option here. on the one hand, while he may sometimes take strikes against isis, on the other, everything he's done is help lead to their growth. so what we believe is we need to build partners like the iraqis, like the kurds, like that moderate opposition inside syria who are fighting not

islamic state now holds large swath of territory and is as much a threat to other groups fighting bashar al-assad as they are to the president himself. >> they have a second powerful and money -- powerful enemy, islamic militants who are also fromg to seize syria president bashar al-assad. this marks the one-year anniversary of the government's chemical attack on rebels and civilians in damascus. many here accused the west of having forgotten that incident. activist says the media only pays attention when foreigners are executed. fromer activist speaking aleppo on skype says the movement is in great danger, that the islamic state has brought a rain of hellfire down on them. member of thethis syrian opposition says that the international community must take on the islamic state in syria. >> we need the arab countries and the west to join together to bring this to an end. if they don't, the whole world is sitting on a powder keg. >> the united nations human rights office has slammed the lack of action on syria. >> to killers, destroyers and torturers in syria have been byowered and emboldened inter

and the syrian regime of president bashar al assad in damascus?y have a common enemy, namely, isis. >> well, again, i asked the u.s. -- the u.n. ambassador from britain and he said there's simply no way. and of course it would be the height of desperation and cynicism after both president obama and many world leaders have called for assad to step down. using those words. assad must go. over the last three years. now, nothing was done to assure that assad must go, but the notion of now cozying up to him and forming some kind of alliance of convenience has been dismissed by it is british, by even the pentagon. in fact, the british ambassador told me the monster of isis has been created by assad, the frankenste frankenstein. so, you know, this what they're saying. you never know what might happen. but the truth of the matter is actually assad, accord to officials, has been enabling isis partly as a self-fulfilling prophesy to say, listen, i told you we were fighting terrorists, well, here they are, but also because the moderate syrian opposition who

you can see there in reference to syrian -- or bashar al-assad postured -- assad's troops.is was another one of the more controversial moments in the first part of this five-part documentary. you can see that he is quite a young child. interestingly, isis, known for being very active on social media, using it as a propaganda tool, responded to the documentary and made specific reference to that young boy. they said that at the time of the prophet, the legal age for jihad was 15, but they would be happy to trade up his children even at a younger age. if they were attempting to appear a bit more moderate or temper the content of that documentary, i'm not sure that was a massively successful pr moment. it is interesting to point out that vice.com has a reputation for getting inside scoops or very difficult to obtain images. for example, this document that would up a couple of years ago, inside north korea, which had notoriously rare footage of life inside north korea. >> interesting. moving onto something different the former french president has been in the swedish press. >>

what then happens, you know, two, three, four, six months from now, the regime of bashar al assad is power. how does the united states fix that situation? >> look, bashar al assad, unless he's assassinated, isn't going anywhere, nor is his regime, and the fact is that the non-isis opposition doesn't have the ability to dislodge assad, and, yes, we can arm them and we can train them and do all of those things, but even president obama in an interview recently sounded halfhearted saying it's very hard to find true secular democrats or even moderate islamist democrats among the opposition, so assad is going to be able to control a lot of the populated areas of syria with various opposition groups fighting it out for the rest. >> i've got to say this is a bleak assessment coming from you, a man who has come from that region and worked in syria for years and years. we'll hear from senator john mccain later in the show, and i'm sure he's going to say that arming the more moderate rebel groups inside syria would have given, you know, more of a chance of success against bashar al assad, would

this is bashar al assad saying we were always on the same side fighting extremism. our answer is, no, we in fact have two enemies here. our enemies are isis and ultimately bashar al assad. >> let me get your take on this in terms of the military forces we're seeing in isis, some of them are western officers. the british intelligence is asking for help. and let me just read you from the british police. he says, quote, every reasonable person in the country has been touched by the pitiless murder of james foley and the murderer's british nationality has focused attention on extremism in the uk as well as the middle east. investigators are making significant progress but we will not be giving a running commentary. what do you make of that and how large of a problem is this? >> this is an incredibly vivid illustration of the fear that's in the hearts and minds of counterterrorism officials across western europe and united states. westerners, more than 1,000, have travelled to syria, fighting with these groups coming home with western passports. the british police, one of

people blame the government led by president bashar al-assad. >> there is not a single fighter here. it seems that the front line is safer than a city. it's evidence that bashar al-assad wants to target civilians, will the children, the women and the elderly. >> youngsters are dying on all sides, killing a group of children on saturday. [ explosion ] >> reporter: in february a united nations security council resolution demanded government forces stop using barrel bombs in populated areas. >> human rights groups say many more of the explosives have been used in the last five months. barrel bombs are cheap to make, filling tanks with explosives and metals. >> translation: we don't have a death toll. we are looking for survivors. the effects of barrel bombs can be devastating. something the civilians experienced for themselves. >>> still to come here on the programme - social media stands down. a university withdrawing a job offer to a president that spoke out about israel. >>> and a ferry that is the only travel option for people in bangladesh - concerns as to safety. >>> hello again. a

we are going to kill bashar al-assad. i swear in front of everyone here. in recent weeks islamic state has taken over three major military posts, including division 17. the advance has been helped by the scrender of other factions. the control of raqqa by the islamic state group shows them expanding and tightening grip on areas under control. the government says it's making gains in places like daara and homs, and propaganda is becoming more extreme. these are the bodies of islamic state fighters. it shows men kicking heads of slain soldiers, pictures too gruesome to air. syria has entered near era of uncertainty. those calling for international support against the bashar al-assad are squeezed between government forces and the islamic state group. >>> let's look at what is happening in gaza, israel warned palestinians to leave buildings used by hamas as it steps up air tryings. this video shows a strike that happens overnight. 16 palestinians were killed on sunday. including a hamas official. dozens of rockets have been fired. >> israel's prime minister bi

we don't know the details, but we do know it won't include working with bashar al assad.ashington says he's a nonstarter. just today, the u.n. accused both assad and isis of mass atrocities. they say assad has once again used chemical weapons against his own citizens while isis is accused of waging a wall painca fear. we've heard about the mass public executions, but the u.n. says isis is also recruiting and training children, some as young as 10 years old. isis also has american

people blamed the government led by bashar al-assad. >> translation: there is not a single fighter here. for god sake it seems the front line is safer than a city. this is clear evidence that bashar al-assad wants to target civilians, killing the children, women and the elderly. youngsters are dying on all sides. rebel rockets hit a district killing another group of children on saturday. in february a united nations security council resolution demanded government forces stop using barrel bombs in populated areas. human rights groups say many more explosives have been used in the last five months. barrel bombs are cheap to make, filling tents with explosives and scrap metal. >> we don't have a final death toll. this is a big market, hosting a large number of people. we are looking for survivors under the rubble. >> the effects of barrel bombs can be devastating, something the civilians have experienced for themselves. >> iranian state media is reporting that 48 people have died in a plane crash. the small passenger plane crashed during takeoff from the airport in the capital. iran had a

we are going to kill bashar al-assad. i swear in front of everywhere here. >> in recent weeks, islamic state has taken over three major military posts, including division 17. the advance has been helped by the surrender of other factions between raqqa and their resorts. the control of raqqa province by the islamic state group shows them expanding and tightening grip under their control. it is making gains in places like daara and homs. propaganda is more stream. these are the bodies of islamic state fighters. men were shape kicking heads of shoulders, pictures too gruesome to air. syria entered another level of uncertainty, but surely a bloodier future. syrian rebels calling for international support against the bashar al-assad regime are squeezed between government forces and the islamic state group. >> the u.s. says an rick yoi government if it is to succeed needs to unite all sanctions. they have welcomed haider al-abadi, who is reaching out to sunnis as he forms a new government. let's get more from the kurdish north

they accused bashar al-assad's regime of widespread torture and sexual abuse. investigators want the international criminal court to look into the violations. >> syria is total impunity. crimes are committed each day, from all parties, and nobody is dealing with the criminal responsibility for that crime. >> the report also details atrocities carried out by islamic state militants in syria . the group controls much of the north of the country. the u.n. says the militants use public educations -- executions to spread fear and are already indoctrinating a new generation of fighters. >> among the most disturbing findings in this report are accounts of large training camps where children, mostly boys, from the age of 14 him a are recruited and trained to fight -- a 14, are recruited and trained to fight along with adults. >> the u.n. esther dates -- the u.n. estimates more than 190,000 people have been killed in syria's civil war. the investigators hope the evidence they have collected will begin the process of being -- bringing perpetrators to justice. >> to franc

their self-appointed mission, to help victims of bashar al-assad's barrel bombs. their commander is khalid raiga. made out of explosives packed into a barrel, a cheap ied has been dropped on aleppo in recent months. two barrel bombs have just exploded in this residential neighborhood. the blast concentrated in narrow alleyways are devastating. the volunteers manage to pull some survivors from the rubble. for this 12-year-old boy it's too late. all the team can do is offer him some dignity in death. >> translator: we moved him but we couldn't get him to the hospital. his injuries were too critical. his heart was injured. this is the blood of a child. >> reporter: the remains of those killed, every last body part, are carefully collected so that the victims can be given a proper burial. as residents dig out from the aftermast of the attack long time cdf member ahmed al najad takes . >> in his battle to retake the strategic city of aleppo, hundreds of barrel bombs are dropped in the last few months. the physical destruction and psychological terror inflicted 50 bombs

quite frankly, bashar al assad is sitting back there in damascus watching all this probably with somemusement because the u.s. finds itself in a battle with the same enemy which assad does. it's a strange partnership. you know, politics makes strange bedfellows of war and sometimes even makes stranger bedfellows. in this particular case, this narrow instance, assad and the u.s. are on the same side and wanting to get rid of this threat from isis. >> nbc has learned new details about the effort to rescue james foley. last november, foley's family received an encrypted e-mail in english demanding 132 million dollar ransom. after a brief e-mail exchange the captors were not heard from again until last week, when a furious message from the group promised foley's death in retaliation for american air strikes. later on "morning joe," we are going to be speaking to the parents of journalist james foley about their son's work overseas and the government's attempt to save his life. that is coming up in our 7:00 hour. >>> nbc, jim miklaszewski, thank you very much. we will be following you on t

bashar al-assad would love for the united states to say you are the lesser of two evils. he is part of the problem. he is contributing to the environment in syria na enabled a group like the islamic state to blossom. you do need to have more effective government in iraq. a better government in syria, and a more effective government in nigeria, and other like states to complete the threat. >> i spend most of my time following economics. the islamic state is a remarkable group. they make money off of ransoms, they control the border crossings, or a few of them. they make money off of that, tolls, roads. they tax people and give them receipts. they sell oil. what role can the united states and the west have in sanctioning oil. there's no regulation to buying or selling oil. everyone can buy oil, and clearly someone is buying islamic state oil. >> i mean, as we have seen in many crisis, ali, there's a black market for oil, and this is part of the challenge, is to try to over time not only reduce the islamic state's political appeal, threaten them in ways that they haven't bee

al-assad as an ally of the jihadist. >> one thing has to be clear. bashar al-assad can't be a partner. he's an ally. there's no choice. they are supporting each other. >> president hollande speaking there. lucy was in paris and listening to the president's address. >> reporter: as hollande said in the speech, france has been supplying arms to those fighting the islamic state militants. he said the country would increase support as he put it to help maintain the unity of iraq and secure the safety of minorities. france still very much involved in that conflict. early this month, mr. hollande was speaking about this saying how slow he felt the west had been to step into that conflict and they were reaping rewards of that now. >> it's quite a wide ranging foreign policy isn't it? i see he had expressions of anxiety about the situation in libya too. >> reporter: that's right. he covered a wide range of topics. this is his main keynote speech. french diplomats come back from a broad. they hear the president's vision coming here. he lays out thoughts on a variety

the rise of isis is tied more to the syrian civil war and bashar al assad is really the root cause of the problem in many ways, that you had peaceful protesters in 2011. they were being shot down and then more and more syrians took up arms. we had an opportunity early on, in early 2012, to intervene militarily in syria and many of us were calling for that, not just arming the so-called moderate rebels but targeted airstrikes, the creation of safe zones. that's what was necessary then. and many observers warned the obama administration, if you don't do more now, this is going to come to haunt you in the future, that the radicals are going to rise, they're going to gain ground. that's precisely what's happened now. and i think in some ways it's too late. even if we had the ideal president doing the idealist of things, so much damage has been done over the last three years, and this is why sometimes if you keep on waiting, if you keep on dithering, the costs are tremendous. >> we're going to have to take a break. when we come back we'll talk more about syria, about gaza, and of course in

we've also been working very hard to overthrow or to support the people who are challenging bashar al assadand isis is also fighting assad. if we just go in there and bomb isis, we not only have to think about whether it's going to actually benefit assad and be counterproductive in other ways but whether it might benefit isis. one thing that general dempsey said last week when he was talking about the u.s. military's option was the ultimate way to defeat isis is to make it that all of the sunni muslims in the region between damascus and baghdad don't feel completely disenfranchised. if they see sunni rebels fighting against assad suddenly see us taking sides and think we've thrown out all of their grievances and their interests for this moment for a military strike, we're also going to possibly strengthen isis. >> isis would love to pick a fight with the u.s., peter. it raises their profile. it shows that they can stand up, that kind of thing. is that one of these unintended consequences that if you take the fight to them, that oddly enough, it might benefit them? >> i'm not sure that it wo

the surveillance of jihadists fighting in syria here on the network we look at how working with bashar al assad could suddenly become a pressing issue for washington. just a few weeks ahead of the scottish independence referendum polls suggest the yes campaign crushing victory in the final debate between the leaders of the two campaigns. headlines live from moscow welcome to the program on the international. the ukrainian army's attacks in eastern ukraine unceasing forces sent by kiev a pushing on with their operation to crush the anti-government forces there are several villages just outside donetsk of the latest targets to be smashed they show you a church that came under the evening you can see how badly damaged it is there's no roof and many of the walls have been turned into rubble. you know. they might leave. me teacher in a. new school someone please keep. your personal property up for. a light. story do you know if they are generated as a rule. now weeks of fighting and shelling have left thousands of people in the east struggling to find any food or russian humanitarian aid is being di

worst and i'm sure you have plenty of misgivings about saddam hussein or even bashar assad but wouldn't you still prefer. bashar al assad or let's say even saddam hussein being in charge of baghdad or damascus rather than the man by the name of a blue box or daddy who is they had of isis and troops are now moving towards the capital of iraq why is there american foreign policy always based on the best case scenario why do you always disregard be worst possible outcome well first of all i agree with you that al bug is a terrible outcome and i think it's important for us not to make him the outcome and while certainly there's room for discussion on this issue as we discussed earlier about whether bashir al assad whether the first policy point should have been that he should he should go i understand the point you're making but i'm much more interested in what we're going to be doing going forward because i think we have an enormous challenge and whether we come to an agreement or disagreement on something that took place three years ago is not going to help us get through that challenge or worse yet something. took

let's be clear, we and bashar al assad or not on the same page in any way. bashar al assad's regime and actions are behind why isis has grown so strong. he allowed them to flourish in syria. he allowed them to cross the border into iraq. and it's a situation he created. i definitely want to reject the notion that we're on the same page in any way. >> so not in the same page but ambassador do you see that getting rejected about any collaboration with the assad regime? >> well, it sure sounds to me from what i've heard from administration officials, that i'm hearing something in my ear here. so it really sounds from administration officials. we decided that isil is a more serious and imminent threat than is assad's regime. so i suspect, at the end of the day if we actually hope to exterminate isis which i think we'll have to, we'll probably have to hold our noses and cooperate at least tacitly, if not explicitly with assad. i suspect unless we're going after high-value targets in syria, that there's little point in our just, you know, going after isis tactical

read, bashar al assad. while you just ponder that, coordinating with bashar al assad, i want to bring in cnn's pentagon correspondent barbara starr and also joining us from columbus, ohio, is peter manseur, a retired u.s. colonel, also the former executive officer to general david petraeus during the iraq war surge. first to you, barbara. i still can't believe that i'm actually saying that headline, as i come to you for analysis on this. the united states coordinate with bashar al assad. do you have any idea of the extent for the planning for any potential action? syria? >> whatever the planning is, don't count on the pentagon coordinating with al assad. i think that's way beyond a safe bet. i think that's a certainty. the u.s. is not going to telegraph its military move to the syrian regime. what we do know, of course, as we've been saying at cnn for some days, there's been a good deal about planning about what it would take to conduct air strikes inside northern syria against isis strong holds if president

general, how does bashar al assad play into this? you heard what michael said. elieves that it's really this is bashar al assad's doing. >> well, you know, don, as everybody has indicated, frankly, this is a little bit more than irony. the united states has a very delicate mission. it's going to prosecute, at least i would imagine they're going to prosecute, which means if they're very aggressive against these targets against isis targets in syria, assad certainly would gain. and now we are supporting assad, an individual in a regime we've been trying to collapse and crush for many years. and if we are inprecise in some of our targeting, we run the risk obviously of invalidatings a sad a little bit. therefore isis gains. so this really is a sword that is going to cut both ways for the united states unless they do it very, very well. but i think they still have the obligation to do so. >> you think air strikes could end up empowering assad? >> they could, absolutely, if it's not done -- there are unintended consequences. any time you exercise kinetic power, there

might potentially have to work with bashar al assad in order to get this done. but considering that just a year ago we were bashing bashar al assad we were calling him a terrorist and a dictator and you know throwing these bombastic words out of hand now we're faced with possibly having to make nice with him do you think number one that's something we're going to have got to do and number two can we make that happen can we can we defeat isis by teaming up with the charlotte but i don't think that can happen it would be so contradictory to both the u.s. and even the international community a good deal the international community's attitude towards the so-called leader of syria i just don't i just don't see that i think that and in fact i think the syrians in a way don't because we've had their foreign minister in effect say if they come in to go after isis if they're coming into a country they do expect the kind of military or air force response which of course if there were a concerted move by the u.s. and other strong powers the syrians don't have the aircraft t

the president won't be seeking permissioning from bashar al assad before any air strikes. to syria's foreign minister who said this cooperation should be done through the syrian government as it is a symbol of national sovereignty. any violation of syrian sovereignty from any party is aggression. but that would put the president in the position of becoming strange bedfellows with a regime he nearly went to war with a year ago. >> we would have preferred assad go two years ago. last year, six months ago, two months ago. and you know, there's been consistency on the part of my administration that assad lost legitimacy when he started firing on his own people. >> last year, the president called on congress to vote to authorize air strikes against assad's forces inside syria, but white house aides are saying this time around when it comes to air strikes against syria, they won't be going for permission to congress this time around. white house press secretary josh ernest said this one's different. jake? >> more than 190,000 people have died in that syrian civil war, according

and the irony if you will is that our ally in this, our biggest ally is bashar al assad. we have effectively reconciled with bashar al assad because his forces are bombing isis militants. our forces are bombing isis militants. our forces are conducting raids against isis militants. the unsuccessful raid in july that tried to rescue foley and other hostages. so we and the government of bashar al assad are now on the same side in this. the rebels who we were initially supporting, the moderate rebels that john mccain and others wanted us to support, they have been pretty much brushed aside. they were given many promises that aid would come, that weapons would come and that never materialized. >> you spoke to the belgian father of one of the recruited isis fighters. >> dmitri crossed from syria into turkey today. he knows a lot about foreign fighters. his own son was one of them. dmitri says he was lured in, believing he'd be helping muslims. >> you know, inside, step by step, they change the minds. >> reporter: radicalizing them. so dmitri, an ex-soldier did something. >> you

government consult with bashar al assad.he said, no, they will not be speaking with him before that. >> will they have to go to congress first to get authorization if u.s. is to launch air strikes against isis targets in syria? >> that's right. we flash back to last year. he called on congress to authorize air strikes but the white house suggested today that will not happen this time around. as josh earnest said, this operation would be different. wolf. >> jim acosta at the white house. thanks very much. >>> british officials say they're close to identifies the executioner. he spoke in a british accent on the gruesome video of the killing. brian todd has more on the investigation. brian, where does it stand right now? >> wolf, we've been speaking with government sources in the united states and in britain and the sense we're getting is that the naming of james foley's killer is imminent. intelligence have picked apart this video. analysts have narrowed down where this militant could be from and other clues are emerging. inte

and they're all fighting, that entire group fighting against bashar al assad.it's just an example of how confusing it is, whose side are you on. this is one of the dilemmas that the obama administration is dealing with when they come to the question of military action. who do you help because you're hurting isis and help the free syrian army but also help bashar al assad. >> by giving weapons to the free syrian army, do those weapons end up to al nusra or isis. appreciate the update. when you follow the path of douglas macarthur mccain and see his roots in the united states, as jim said, they're in minnesota. he was friends with another teenager at the time, troy castagar. they both ended up killed far from the minneapolis suburb where they went to high school together. mccain died recently. castagar died in 2009 in somalia while fighting for the group al shabaab. jason carroll sat down with troy's mom who is still trying to understand how all this happened. this is the first time she's spoken out on television. jason joins us now live. so what did she have to

foreign policies that president bashar al assad and his regime must step don from power.ely there will be any direct communecation with them, particularly an the issue of isis. you can see communication wths other arab countries, particularly those extremely concerned about the rise of isis. today in damascus they discussed the issue of possible military intervention and actually warned the u.s. not to intervene inside syria, not to carry out any military operations without consulting with the government in damascus. that's certainly going to be the card that the syrian government man tains. it is still in power and has sovereignty over its territory and any foreign intervention would violate that. the united states is finding itself in a difficult position with wanting to act against isis inside syria but at the same time still recognizing that the regime of bashar al assad is in power in damascus. >> it's a problematic situation without a lot of clear allies to turn to. ayman mohyeldin, appreciate you keeping track of this. >>> the other big story is about the nusra fro