or the bashar al-assad regime. we had a 3-sided civil war in syria, for the better part of two years, it's not something that the region created. it's something we have to contend with. part of the process of identifying who we can work with in syria, and whether we can work with them will be managing the different issues, managing the different relationships. >> in divvying up the chores, the saudi arabias, were assigned the training and raising up of an army that will fight inside syria against i.s.i.l. >> we'll see how much they are doing and how much they are willing to do on that front as time progresses. the first step will be to identify where the adversary is, and identifying who we can work with. >> i do want to mention one thing, a decapitation approach was mentioned to dealing with i.s.i.l. in syria. if you look at the air campaigns that have been effective against groups like this, including pakistan and elsewhere, they are the campaigns where drones and air strikes hollow out the middle management. sep

now they will be fighting against bashar al assad and bashar al assad will attack them from the air. which he has done with significant success. not only against them but there's been 12,000 people who have been slaughtered in syria since the onset. if one of the free syrian army is fighting against bashar al assad and he is attacking them from the air, would we take action to prevent them from being attacked by bashar al assad? >> senator, let me begin the first part of your question, the 5,000. >> disbenz that. i'd like to answer the question will we if the free syrian army units are attacked from the air by bashar al assad, will we prevent those attacks from taking place and take out bashar al assad's air assets, both helicopter and fixed wing that will be attacking the free syrian army units? >> well, first of all, we're not there yet but our focus is on isil and that is the threat to our country and to our interest and to the people of the region. so what we are training these units for, yes, is a stabilizing no, sir syria as an option. but the first focus is as i just said as t

alliance on the ground and are keen on stressing that they feel they need help to fight president bashar al-assad at the same time. they don't want the chance, a new alliance to be fighting i.s. weaken it, because it's the most effective force on the ground, and strengthening bashar al-assad at the same time by weakening his opponent. they want to make sure the strike will help them replace i.s. >> what about the plan to arm and equip moderate fighter groups in syria. is that likely to work? >> we have heard such plans from the united states before, to cultivate and nourish a moderate force from the syrian opposition. this did not work in the past. they trained them, they equipped them. on the ground the new forces failed to gain support from the people on the ground. they failed to fight bashar al-assad, and the more radical groups like al nusra and i.s. took over and became the fighting force, and that's why they got more recruits. what will the u.s. do differently so the moderate force is on the ground working and effective and at the amount, they have to be careful. the last time they give th

unless something is done about bashar al-assad. they'll fight bashar al-assad as welling. will we support a militia fighting two wars within the same country, which is effectively aiding people like saudi arabia's long-term aims in pushing bashar al-assad out. there are so many different secondary and tertiary effects that we need to consider. we need to look at history. we have done this with the mujahideen, and he turned into the taliban, and we saw the sitinger missiles used against us and the taliban, to great effect, defend afghanistan against the coalition. we need to see what happens when afghanistan moves into iraq. and they wipe out the security structures, the air strikes in libya, and the lack of governance, and there's so many examples that we need to learn from. >> you are shaking your head. >> no, i agree. we don't need to look as far back as that. what happens in libya, john mccain is on the ground. they said they have to arm the people, fund them, support them. they were up against a brutal dictator, and it ended in a pile of blood and bodies. if that is not

bashar al-assad, a large shia country in the region. now the air strikes in syria, while weakening i.s.i.l. could tip the war in favour of bashar al-assad and his forces and include fighters were hezbollah. how does the president obama administration handle all this. the syrian region disclosed that secretary of state john kerry sent a letter via iran, the same letter was delivered to syria's u.n. ambassador. >> we will not allow geography or borders to prevent us being able to take action against i.s.i.l. >>> embittered allies joined up with i.s.i.l., with the shia prime minister leading iraq. some arabs view support of the government in baghdad as support for shia militias. next to iraq, iran continues to be the most vocal critic. the president blames blunders by western countries for creating safe havens for terrorists. there's reports that the current negotiator, and the u.s. scraen discussed -- secretary of state john kerry discussed the process of isolation. hassan rouhani met marking the first time he met with britain. >>> we are

syria, bashar al assad clearly not involved, overtly at least, in this campaign. experts will tell you there have been back channels open to bashar al assad in syria, but as things stand at the moment no overt involvement. and then there is iran. the very big other influential player in this region. they have been active on the ground in iraq in providing military equipment to the peshmerga and the iraqi forces who have been fighting against isis over the past month in the north of iraq. but as we know, and this may change, as the unga kicks off in new york, but as things stand at the moment americans say they won't be part of the coalition of the willing and even tehran said they have been asked by wash wark, not something wash has verified but they say they've been asked by washington. they say they won't get involved. >> becky, thank you verify. we need to get to washington. i want to get to cnn's jim sciutto. jim was reporting earlier from the white house. we've been getting information about the president being kept abreast of the situation that's happening in

bashar al-assad, he offered to incoordinate with the u.s., the u.s. made it clear that they are not going to coordinate with the bashar al-assad government, military action in syria, it's a tricky situation. there's not been many european allies or others willing to step up to the plate for military action in syria. >> lisa stark at the white house, we'll get back to you. i have nick schifrin on the telephone from our middle east bureau, what are you hearing tonight? >> well, john, what is the most stri striking moment of this is it came up quickly. you know, president obama indicated this, and most people in the region expected the long drawn out process in which the u.s. would determine how and who to strike in syria. most officials said look, what we do in syria is go after senior i.s.i.l. leaders and that is not what they are doing tonight, which is some kind of sustained operation. from the bases within the region, it will include one in turkey, qatar, the united emirates, including from aircraft carriers at sea. this is a decision made by sentcom

. >> the free syrian army units are attacked from the air by bashar al-assad, will we prevent fore attacksm taking place and take out bashar al-assad's arias sets, both helicopter and fixed wing that will be attacking the free syrian army units? >> well, we're first of all not there yet, but our focus is on isil, and that is the threat to our country and to our interests and to the people of the region. so what we are training these units for, yes, as a stabilizing force in syria as -- as an option, but the first focus is as i just said as the president laid out in his statement to the country -- >> i take it from your answer, that we are now recruiting these young men to go and fight in syria against isil, but if they are attacked by bashar al-assad, we're not going to help them. >> they will defending themselves, senator. >> will they help them against assad's air -- >> we will help them and support them -- >> how -- will we repel bashar al-assad's air assets that will be attacking them? >> we will help them. >> rosiland jordan has more from washington, d.c. >> reporter: one point which

we warned against the temptation to make allies with anyone that proclaimed itself an enemy of bashar al-assad. be if al qaeda or others. >> reporter: an important part of the speech from sergey lavrov saying, i think, i told you so, to the americans and the others, that since the beginning of the war they warned about terrorism, suggesting that some of those that the u.s. supported at least with words were now the problem. >> let's go to ukraine. the ukranian conflict caused deeper divisions hitting the european union and the u.s. against russia. did lavrov give any indication on how to resolve that? >> yes, he did. basically he wants to go on with what happened already, which is the process negotiated in belarus, the minsk process. this is how he laid out the way forward. >> translation: russia is prepared to continue to actively promote a political settlement under the minsk process and other format. however, it should be crystal clear that we are doing this for the sake of piece and trapping wilty of the you rain -- tranquility of the ukranian people. >> things in ukraine are playing out t

communication, and some sort of deconfliction because obviously iran, while it continues to support the bashar al-assad government, doesn't want to see the rise of the islamic state as a competitor to bashar al-assad. there's a shared - there's a shared purpose here, but not necessarily a shared path. >> it's a shame politics gets in the way. all these people in syria and iraq. pj crowley, thanks. >> my pleasure. >>> the u.s. is busy recruiting nations to join the fight against i.s.i.l., the group is women. >> it's important they come to this place, here you forbid to live among the creatures. >>> i'm joined by mia boom, professor of security studies, and author of "bombshell", a book about this topic. mia, it's great to have you on the show. the fbi reportedly confirmed three young women of somalia dissent from minnesota, st. paul area left the area to join i.s.i.l. one 19-year-old said she was going to a birthday shower and called her family a few days later admitting she was in syria. last week shannon connell from engaged to an i.s.i.l. terrorist, a guy met online. given the horrors, why are young

>> i think the sharp al-assad -- bashar al-assad is laughing in a way because he's happy to see americans fight his strongest enemy. both russia and iran continue to support him, so for the time being, the syrians have all reason to be happy, to be content. the americans are doing business for them, and this is really, if you wish, a very ironic turn of history. two or three years ago, it looked like americans' only interest was toppling bashar al-assad. >> looks like a totally new political calculus. thank you very much. we'll be right back after a short rate. plenty of news ahead. >> stay with us. >> welcome back to the show. president barack obama says a new global agreement on climate change needs to include strong commitments from him urging economies. >> obama addressed the climate change summit in new york hoping to build momentum at home and abroad for a global deal on climate change. it would include a new tax regime on carbon emissions and a new carbon trading treaty. >> for ban ki-moon, they're a just too few regular climate summits -- there are just too few regular climate sum

recruiting these young men to go and fight in syria against isil but if they are attacked by bashar al-assad're not going to help them. >> they will defending themselves, senator. >> will we help them against assad's air -- >> we will help them and support them as we have trained them -- >> will we repel bashar al-assad's arias sets that will be attacking them? >> any attack on those that we have trained who are supporting us, we will help them. >> it shows you how tricky any intervention in syria is going to be, isn't it? >> it does show you how complicated it is. and it was perhaps an opportunity for senator john mccain one of the president's leading critics to essentially criticize the obama administration's failure in his view of not helping the free syrian army as long ago as two years ago, when there might have been in his view a better opportunity to defeat bashar al-assad's army. now, of course, the fact that isil members are both in syria and iraq is a complicating factor for the u.s. government as it tries to figure out how to confront the threat. and that shows our viewers how dif

was allowed to operate in syria, and the bashar al-assad regime purchased oil from i.s.i.s., fuelling the conference and the operational capabilities of i.s.i.s. >> many think bashar al-assad benefits. if he's seen as a bull work against terrorism, he'll manage to stay in power. i have to challenge you about the moderate syrian opposition. there are reports that steven sotloff, one of the two american journalists, was sold to the terrorists by moderates, and a congressman questioned whether the moderate free syrian army is moderate or an army. what do you say to that? >> steven sotloff was captured by i.s.i.s. there's suspicion that it was a fixer that he hired that beprayed him. i agree with the white house when they send out a statement that there's zero evidence that the vetted moderate free syrian army were the ones that kidnapped steven sotloff. when it comes to the free syrian army position on i.s.i.s. the free syrian army is committed to the fight against i.s.i.s. the head of the commission came out in favour. that's a positive indication that the moderates have a proven partne

president recep tayyip erdogan was once an ally of syrian's president bashar al-assad, but broke with damascus after a bloody assault on citizen protesters in 2011. suns then turkey letting since then turkey let militants, including turks, cross the border into syria to fight the bashar al-assad regime. guarding to "the guardian", it has allowed saudi arabia and qatar to ship hundreds of tonnes of am unations and equipment cross the border. in 2013, i.s.i.l. forces swept across northern syria and northern and western iraq, capturing iraq's second-largest city mosul in june. when i.s.i.l. took the city, it seized 49 turkish diplomats and their families as hostages. critics charged before that hostage situation, turkey chose to overlook the black-market oil smuggled into turkey. by some statements black-market oil supplies i.s.i.l. with as revenue. >> if i.s.i.l. is smuggling oil. maybe some turkish people benefit from that, and it's not a great threat to the security of turkey. it gives funds to the islamic state, but turkey's view of the islamic state is lightly ambivalent in that the

if we put american troops there, they'd be attacked by bashar al-assad, al nusra, and al qaeda. only one fighting is free syrian army. in iraq we have the permission. government, working with the government. hopefully we'll get rid of i.s., they have to empower the sunnis. >> the united states doesn't have the assurance from the iraqi government that the forces will participate. >> it's they'll participate or they'll have no more countries. >> i don't think they'll allow that to happen. >> they allowed i.s.i.l., just to argue the point. to take over a good portion of their country, without throwing down their arms and running aw p away. >> what is the turning point. when will it change. >> if i sing to the minds of the shia generals in the iraqi military and give you an answer. this is not it. this is not it. just today the kurds were helping with air strikes liberating towns. parts of kurds - you are going to have the - the shi'ites will work with the sunnis or iraq will fall apart. >> seems the discussion is going on in the united states. it doesn't seem like it's going on in

if bashar al assad is watching us right now, what is your message to the syrian leader? want to let all our syrian fellow citizens in syria now that it's time for bashar al assad to leave. if bashar al assad cares about the unity of syria, the unity of the syrian people, he has to leave now. we already walk hand in hand with everyone in syria, including existing government employees who didn't have any blood on their hands and are not implicated in any crimes against their fellow citizens to rebuild syria again and to transfer and have the transition of power to a democratic and free syria. >> would it be okay with you if he left, bashar al assad? there's no indication he's getting ready to leave. he thinks he's going to stay. but if he were to leave, could he go to another country, have safe passage and seek asylum somewhere else or do you want to see him tried for war crimes? >> assad has to be held responsible for all crimes he ordered and his troops committed. but we are ready to negotiate based on justice and peace for the future of syria. >> sounds like you're open

but we need to avoid that bashir -- bishara al-assad or he will take advantage of this. >> in no circumstances will be a relationship with basharl-assad. >> he wants to take advantage. he wants to be a part of the coalition, but he is at the origin of the terrorists. things happened so quickly that we have forgotten the origin. you remember, three years ago, with the so-called arab spring. in the beginning, it was people the countryside in syria who are wanting to be freer. bashar al-assad reacted in such a way that it is unbelievable. you have 200,000 thousand people that have been killed. >> and refugees. >> and refugees. he is a dictator. you remember the chemical weapons. therefore, by no means shall we support him. by no means. >> do you believe -- did isis get money from arab countries? >> today, i hope not. this is to charge that i heard yesterday, the countries that helped build up isis because they were opposed to bashar al-assad are now fighting isis. is that true? >> i think that there has been a financing. it can be states. it can be persons. it can be foundations. or somehat some people ar states -- that it was pos

bashar al assad with hezbollah and the iranian quds force would step in to fill the breach. seems more likely that that's where this is heading, that bashar al assad gets to stay, the u.s. will eventually do these air strikes. i think there will be probably be some lip service or attempts to create a moderate opposition, very hard to get unanimity on that. and bashar al assad will expand the state he has right now. it won't be as large as syria once was, but it will grow and there will be some areas that remain contested with air strikes probably for many years to come. a lawless area similar to the one we have in parts of pakistan. and that's not a great outcome, by the way. >> i want to bring in dr. g e s georges, one of the things you've been articulating well as this debate is going on internationally is how important it is to understand where isis came from and what that tells us about what might hurt them the most. and what would be their biggest vulnerability if there could be an international multinational effort against them? >> you know, rachel, i know in the unite

what would the ultimate goal have to be - the end of the bashar al-assad regime?> the ultimate goal should be to end the crisis leading to the creation of i.s.i.l. the root causes it extreme brutality of the regime against the people, the indiscriminate bombing of people. we have captive audience i.s.i.l., student that are not getting education, and they are easy targets to i.s.i.l. to end the group, we have to end the root causes of those, and make sure that civil society in syria, the local communicate yes are resilient and stronger. we have to focus on education, job creation, strengthen civil society. it should play a major role. ending i.s.i.s. will not just be by bombs, but coupled with development, education and strength thing of civil society. it is, at the end. day, war goes on. a year ago, the terror targets would have been considered a sideshow. today they are the focus. >> they are the main event. >> there's no question about that. we saw in syria's passive response last night to the air strikes, where they had air defence systems on, but they were not

syrian president bashar al-assad is fighting in a three year war. randall pinkston has more on that story. >> reporter: syrian president bashar al-assad inclination to power battling a three-year-old civil war this according to the united nations has killed more than 150,000 and displaced 10 million. >> as is common in a lot of civil wars, the longer they last, and the more brutal they become, the more radicalized the indigenous population grows and the more likely they or the attract radicals from outside. >> reporter: the u.s. has been a vocal opponent. president obama called for assad's ouster three years ago but as the violence has grown one security analyst says america's actions were not enough. >> up until now the u.s. strategy has been to support some of the rebel groups in the hope of putting sufficient pressure on assad and getting a deal with the assad regime. >> reporter: while the u.s. the west and the arab world hesitated i.s.i.l. fighters moved aggressively using effective tactics and strategies to take and hold territory. >> the first

>> i said from the beginning that strictly saying that bashar al-assad must go, this is a policy. the fact of the matter is, bashar al-assad was not going for years ago and is not going today. said, it is a pretty horrible regime. tom and i both know it read i spent three years there. -- tom and i both know it. i spent three years there. supporting they regime.-- syrian we can catalog her since. it would be a good idea. we are defending our own national interests against a mortal enemy. said, if wea, -- are able to do great isis and syria to some significant degree, the primary beneficiary would likely be more moderate elements of those in the opposition. sunni opposition. it could also create a climate in which many who stand with bashar al-assad, not because they like him, they are the alternative is worse great if they no longer saw isis is that mortal threat to them, you can see a dynamic developing within the regime community that could make change possible, could make negotiation possible, and, why not the optimistically -- optimistic. >> tom? >> i will defer to ryan on that

start with bashar al-assad, he is a guy - we are essentially intervening in his country without u.n.uthorisation. he says you can't do it without our permission. the u.s. didn't ask, they informed him, he said "yes, we were informed, we welcome any help fighting terrorism", so much so that he's alienated two allies - iran and hezbollah. tonight, the leader of hezbollah gave a speech saying, "yes, we are against i.s.i.s. and fighting i.s.i.s., but don't want the u.s. to fight them." so is the case with iran. >> very interesting. >> interesting reactions. >> interesting times and voices. i expect we'll hear more. thank you so much. >> my pleasure. >>> when we return, our indepth coverage of the strikes on syria, a key figure on capitol hill tells us whether the president has gone far enough. can i.s.i.l. be stopped without hitting harder. also ahead - the view from syria. images from the tart site delivered to the world from social media and act visits about their >> my name is shaquan mcdowell i'm a 17 year old teenager. i go to a public high school outside of the city limits of atlan

if the iraqis are dealing with bashar al-assad. aren't we dealing with him though the proxy. in the video bashar al-assad looks happy, is he a winner? states have to talk to their neighbours, if we have our differences with the mexicans and canadians, we have to talk to them. the iraqis have to talk to the iranians and the syrians, and know what is going on with their neighbours, it doesn't mean that they are happy with the bashar al-assad government. i have been doing iraq long enough to remember when they were upset about the bashar al-assad government funnelling foreign fighters from syria into iraq, in the 2006, '07 and '08 period. there are tense relationships with the neighbours, but you still have to talk to them. >> congress may vote on wednesday on arming and training syrian moderates. a congressman said it's not clear if the moderate free -- free syrian army is moderate. how big a problem will it be figuring out who we work with? >> it will be an issue. the free syrian army does exist. it's a loose group of militias that for the most part defend the towns and village

senior administration officials are warning syria's bashar al-assad not to get in the way of airstrikes against isis. we know where assad is keeping his air defenses and they will be targeted if they take aim and fire in the u.s. pleants that may appear in the sky over syria. >> there will be rules of engagement related to any military orders the president directs. >> reporter: there is a reuters report citing the british monitor that claims isis fighters have been able to shoot down a syrian plane for the first time. martha: peter, thank you very much. bill: as the white house prepares for a possible showdown inside syria, karl rove, a former chief of staff for president bush joins us. we remember the red line in syria. how is the president going to handle syria now? >> he will face some very serious decisions here in the days ahead. it's one thing if we have the opportunity like we had yesterday to strike a position in the open and there is no collateral damage. but what happens when we are talking about hitting command and control centers in population centers or bases that isil occu

fights against bashar al assad's government, they all fight amongst themselves, more than 100 of these groups. but if we prop up isis and it's a -- that means -- and we prop up isis as enemies that means bashar al assad is getting propped up. it's not like that's a secret. >> with all due respect that's a little oversimplified. we're going after isil because isil is a threat not just to iraq and syria but the interest of the united states. >> true, but it's a threat to bashar al assad. a year ago the president says he got to go and he didn't go anywhere. but now, the unintended consequence is this makes things easier for bashar al assad. >> i would disagree with that. >> we are equipping, training, boosting the opposition. that's something not just the united states but other countries in the region are committed to and we don't want to see assad stay there, no. >> regarding the khorasan group, secretary holder told yahoo! that the president was briefed two years ago on this matter. is that true? >> i'm not going to get into specifics or argue with the -- with secretary holder. >> secr

in the short term that benefits frankly the bashar al-assad regime. in the long term there needs to be reckoning with bashar al-assad separate from what we are seeing now. >> thank you for your time and your analysis, joining us from washington d c. >>> we'll move on to other news in china. a chinese court gaoled an uyghur scholar for life for separatism. adrian brown is joining us on the phone. what can you tell us about the case? >> well, as you rightly point out ilham toutai is a moderate voice in uyghur politics, and has been on trial accused of separatism. a short time ago it was announced that the court sentenced him to life. human rights groups say he never advo kated separatism, a sort of person that may have played a mediating role between the government and those in xinjiang who are waging war against the beijing rule. the trial was closed to journalists and foreign diplomats, and the court confiscated all of his property. he uttered a sentence after the verdict saying "i don't agree." china's government in recent days said there's evidence o

iran's support for bashar al-assad makes iran's presence inappropriate.ran's supreme leader said monday kerry sought iran's cooperation privately earlier. but iran refused. >> their american hands are dirty. how can we cooperate with thoses who hands are dirty. they will come across the same problems they face in iraq in the last ten years. >> white house chief of staff continued to rally for u.s. >> this is obviously a complicated effort, and that's why the president is going about this in a painstaking and prudent fashion. we will take the fight to our enemies without putting ground troops into the effort. we need ground troops, that's why we want this program to train the opposition that is currently pending in congress. >> the next conference will be hosted by bahrain, a date hasn't yet by set. they wi -- >>> the fight against the islamic state this hour on the program. in his speech to the nation last week, the president said he would pull together an international coalition against isil and americans will not have to send ground troops. joining us f

who can forget the bashar al-assad government. the united states does not consider the government legitimate, does not want to work or coordinate or want the air strikes to help the bashar al-assad government stay in power. has the government responded at all to news of the air strikes? >> well, yes, the syrian foreign ministry issues a statement saying that the envoy of the united nations was actually informed by the united states that they were to be carried out. we have no official confirmition from washington. the syrian government and the state media showing that the air strikes were carried out after it gave its approval. at the end of the day washington made clear that it does not want to coordinate with the damascus government even though there are reports that there's some sort of coordination since the sunni and iraqi government enjoyed both sides and the u.s. is working with the iraqi government. it's a complicated situation. this is just the beginning. >> it's a complicated web. thank you for that. zeina khodr with a ba

ample warning before launching those air strikes but the question now is, how will president bashar al assad respond to that? >>> and for that answer we'll turn now to john huddy live in jerusalem. >> reporter: it's a great question if president assad will spo respond. he hasn't spoke in several months and the last time he spoke was in july and had nothing to do with the fighting in particular against rebel factions, anti-government factions battling syria's government. whether we hear from him or not, that's the question. we do know that the united states told syria's u.n. envoy that the strikes were going to happen, and in fact, syria's foreign ministry issued a statement, take a look, saying "the american side informed syria's permanent envoy to the u.n. that strikes will be launched against the daesh terrorist organization in raqqa. daesh is an arabic term for isis. the city of raqqa is isis' itself declared capital. there's been heavy fighting between syria and isis in the past few weeks as we've been reporting. when president obama told the nation 12 days ago that the strikes would hap

were backdoor conversations in meanwhile on syria, and dean are officially today told us that bashar al-assad's command and control systems are in jeopardy. and there may be a bigger showdown between the u.s. and al-assad coming down the line. ashley: stunning new allegations and a hillary clinton aide removed politically damaging documents handing over files to the people investigating the but benghazi terror attacks. the former head of the bureau of middle eastern affairs, maxwell says documents were scrubbed of any information in a bad light. and he made the very same allegations to house oversight committee staffers and he didn't name names. >> jake sullivan, her deputy chief of staff, it doesn't get any more higher ranking than that. reporter: ashley: the new allegations servicing prepares to have an open hearing this wednesday. hillary clinton meanwhile could return herself in a positive light. for a democratic fundraiser in iowa this weekend. also home to the nation's first presidential caucus. correspondent karl cameron has our report. >> i'm back. reporter: a highly choreographed heari

al assad in power where president obama says, no, he's lost legitimacy. so, they hide behind issue of sovereignty. they say, have you to have the consent of bashar go in. even if you are going in to do him a favor by getting rid of his enemy. i think this is not the end of the game. i think it would be -- it's a long haul. i think we're going to be seeing so many different things developing including hopeful liv if the united states clarifies for us, what are they saying to the iranians as far as their role in syria, how are they going on with their support of bashar al assad, who the president of the united states has lost legitimacy, and what are they doing next door to saudi arabia, the ally in this coalition, and i mean exactly in yemen. >> yeah. it's a fascinating game of three-dimensional chess. thank you for helping us understand it. we appreciate it your customers, our financing. your aspirations, our analytics. your goals, our technology. introducing synchrony financial, bringing new meaning to the word partnership. banking. loyalty. analytics. synchrony financial. enagage with us. ♪ [music] jackie's heart attack didn't come with a warn

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. >> can we pursue isis in syria without at least some sort of tacit agreement with bashar al assad. to be clear, we're not going work with bashar al assad with anything, certainly not on this. we will make decisions about our actions based on the national security interest and when the united states people or interests and assets are threatened we will make those decisions and bashar al assad is not the issue and he is one of the reasons why isis is so large. >> we're looking at a range of options and i don't want to get ahead of that process, but the president has said, he's been very clear that we will go to any length and not be restricted by borders to make sure that we take the fight to isis and that our people are safe? marie harf from the u.s. state department, thank you very much for joining us. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> joining me now is director and president of the woodrow wilson center, jane harmon, thank you for coming on the show. looks like we have some audio issues there with jane harmon. we will take a quick break and we'll come back when we get those sorte

and how could we not be helping bashar al assad when we otherwise try to engage others who trying to im. this is silly. >> this is exactly what bashar al assad had hoped for. he's off the front pages. the strongest force isis have been degrade by source other than his own. and he can use his own forces to ramp up against against the nonisis opposition. for hirths i can understand why the deputy minister is saying this, they're trying to portray the country as part of the solution, rather than part of the problem or the cause of the problem. but i don't think the international community as a hole is buying that. it's a delicate line, you even have voice it's in west saying advocating a tacit alliance with al assad. advocating he's the lesser of two evils compared to isis. for al assad, this is quite the boon, and they're going to try to leverage it as much as possible. >> when you've been there for the murdering of some 200,000 people, and we're now actually propping him up in some way, not an intended consequence, but not an unforeseen one, either. you just wonder, is there another th

things out of this, an end of isis which is a threat to them, and they can remove the regime of bashar al assad, and that is going to give them a leg-up in the constant competition with the iranians. >> and a comment about bashar al assad, and he has a military, and is he all-in with this? >> no, no. >> and is the united states military concern eded a that he may -- >> may benefit from it. >> no, not fire. he does not have that capability, but can he benefit from them taking out isis? potentially, although it is more complicated, because he was allowing isis to be his shock troops against the moderate syrian army that the west is now trying to back. the free syrian army was pushing back bashar and isis, and so this may help him or hurt him, but one of the things that the u.s. is very scared about is that unlike 9/11 when terrorists had to come over here and nefariously get visas from the fake and the underhanded ways, these people do not. they are american citizens and european citizens, and et cetera, and all they have to do is to come back to the united states or europe and create mayhem. >>

it's a tough sell. >> bashar al-assad's regime, you have the free syrian army and the islamic state - those three. >> that's right. if you keep bashar al-assad isolated, and go after i.s.i.s. in the north, with whatever ground forces come through. you can take care of i.s. in that spot. they don't necessarily threaten the city. that's the issue. they have a photo. that'll dictate what we do. >> will the united states try to facilitate a regime change? >> they'll have to plan for that. the saudis will want one kind of government. the ground force that is there in that country dictates what happens for the next regime. >> they talk about the i.s. having money. how does the u.s. defeat the islamic state group financially? >> we cut off the ways for them to be funded from qatar and kuwait. some techniques, they allowed i.s. to found their shoulders, they have to be shut off in the outside and not sell goods and services, like the iraqi oil and the like. it's like retrigs by other means. >> how does the u.s. address the idea of recruiting foreign fighters? >> that's something that we do be

. >> regarding bashar al assad, we know bashar al assad must go.of the united states said. that's what many regional allies said three years ago. he's not only there, but you have informed him of the strikes. you have informed iran of the strikes. i'd like to get your confirmation about how that happened. there must be no sense that this is going to help bashar al assad. are you sure that what you're doing in syria will not help bashar al assad? >> well, let me make it clear. bashar al assad has lost an ability not because we say so, but because the facts on the ground tell everybody that when you have killed 200,000 of your own citizens, when you have driven a huge percentage of your population into exile, a million and a half refugees in turkey, a million and a half in jordan and lebanon, another 4 million dislocated within your own country. you gas people, you torture people. how do you imagine having legitimacy to govern your country? this is about isil now. but we are continuing to train openly and to equip and arm the moderate opposition. and

he is also due to meet president bashar al-assad.is expected to seek permanent residence in damascus. >>> there has been intense fighting and air strikes in the district of damascus as government troops try to take it back from the rebels. [ explosion ] >> reporter: syrian state television shows what it says is the government's latest push to recapture joba. the eastern district of damascus was taken by rebels in march last year. it is only hundreds of meters away from the city center. [ explosion ] >> reporter: now there has been an unprecedented military campaign by the syrian government to clear it. rebels say the regime's air force is carrying out up to 20 air strikes a day. the destruction is extensive. tanks and other heavy weapons are used while army soldiers advance. the army says this tunnel was used by the rebels to bring in weapons and other equipment. but the rebels deny the syrian army is advancing. activists posted videos online that appear to show rebels touring the area. >> translator: the district is under our contro