and centcom have the isisfindings on washington.se i am holding up an article about a cover-up. it says the inspector general is looking into cooking the intelligence to make the picture more rosy than what is occurring. it goes on to have a concern that e-mails and documents may have been diluted before they were turned over to investigators concerning the centcom doctoring. the chairman of the intelligence committee has said to the -- sent to theal inspector general of letter about documents being deleted. i also talked about declassified portions of briefings of this committee, and you said you can only go in so far in this hearing. in your written testimony, i can only tell you what is unclassified. you say we are gathering momentum on the battlefield in syria and iraq. you say all of these efforts have shrunk the isolate-controlled territory -- l-controlled territory and both. while we have information to giving us a rosy picture, i personally believe as many do that not only do we not really have a strategy, but you cannot have a strategy unless it is placed on a current o

in centcom and others from zmg that's a big deal to go to the president and say "i need 25 more people to do such and such." so it's that micromanagement i think that has a dampening effect on military. >> reporter: that does seem to be what secretary carter said they're doing. they're going to try this, see how successful it is. so in that light are you worried that they're going to take that approach and put folks in syria in harm's way without a larger better strategy to it? >> yeah, i am concerned about that and i'm concerned that people -- our people you put in harm's way need a certain amount of support and logistics and medevac and all of those things. and they could not go into those details in an open session but it's certainly some of the concerns that we will express -- ask about moving forward. but the broader point that you make that i'm trying to i think agree with is there needs to be a strategy for success and whatever special operations, number of troops, number of air strikes to accomplish that, that's what you go. you don't say "okay, we'll have 10 more planes." or 2

secretary, how do you respond to the allegations that the department of defense, centcom, perhaps evenr own testimony today, is painting a much rosier picture than what we're facing? >> we are gathering momentum, and it is a fact that the territory under isil's control has shrunk. that's not a declaration of victory -- >> you've indicated that it's war. are we winning, mr. secretary? >> we will win. >> are we winning now? >> we're going to win. >> the secretary of defense gets grilled on capitol hill, as he announces plans to ramp up the fighting against isis. >>> and thinking ahead. jeb bush may be down in the polls but it's something that he let slip that has some wondering about the future of his campaign. it's 5:30 on the east coast, 2:30 out west, and this is "way too early." >>> good morning. it's wednesday, december 2nd, i'm jonathan capehart. we begin in chicago this morning. the city's police chief has been fired, amid outrage over the videotaped killing of a black teenager by a police officer. mayor

alone so we get to the capital we didn't give them a much notice for security reasons the president centcom with the. i walk with him to see karzai there was very charry although corrupt as hell. [laughter] can you say that on c-span? [laughter] a data karzai feel so bad i said it's okay you should see the other guy. i ended the last six weeks of the industry should with a black eye. how ironic. >> talk about a military reason but as we work around the president we see the military did and what did are incredibly determined to keep americans safe overseas added embassy you have american military guarding that embassy. tell us, i know president bush had a special place in his heart for our military. there is a great story of president bush during to a military hospital and you were with him. tell us about the emotions of that day. >> it was 2005 gives scott mclellan was a press secretary in asked if i could accompany the president to bethesda that is now will to read we would visit 25 wounded warriors. i have never done on a visit like that before so i did not know what to expect. was unsure

you can understand my concern allegationse have centcom's doctoring things and while use it before usand say we are gathering momentum in their foot rent has shrunk, general dunford has maintained we are concerned you are giving us a rosy picture. have ay do we not really strategy, but you can't have a strategy unless it is raised on an accurate picture of what is happening and the threat we have. how do you respond to the your picture is painting a much rosier picture than what we are facing? i insist upon accurate, candid advice from the intelligence community -- >> i appreciate that, but the question is about isil in syria and iraq. you have made statements here that their foot print is shrinking. general dunford says they are not contained, you say we are gathering momentum. no one has ever said that to us before. when you put that in the same context of centcom having allegations that they have , i think intelligence you have somewhat of a high bar to pass to sit in front of us and tell us the battlefield is turning our direction. how do you justify that? let's be clear about wha

his defense secretary chairman and vice chairman of the chiefs the head of centcom and special operationsstood behind him. i'm also told the reason the pentagon came to the pentagon to meet with 35 members of his national security team is that some in the room say he is starting to get the feeling he is not getting the whole story about the fight against isis from his white house staff. he wanted to hear from his military chiefs directly. there is a feeling here at the pentagon that finally the strategy to defeat isis may be ramping up. the president said today november 15 more air strikes against isis than any other month. he says ices is has lost 40% of their populated areas in iraq. that's a new figure we hadn't heard before. of the president gave a litany of isis leaders that the military has successfully killed in the past year, including one of their top leaders in his second in command. he must have listed 10 names of top isis leaders who had been killed in targeted. quote you're next. the problem is, greta. it doesn't matter if there is not a whole of government approach to the st

and i believe that, you know, whatever they find in the investigation at centcom with the great analystst have complained about the sort of abuse of the system, i actually think it all goes back to the white house. >> how so? >> the white house, the president has to say, hey, i need the best -- whatever it is that you have, i want unvarnished truth. that's what i want. and if i am not getting unvarnished truth, i need to basically find it from other people that will give it to me. if he's getting something that he -- that those that are around him want him to hear versus what he needs to hear, he's going to make poor decisions. he's at a place where he's got to decide, this is an ideology that we're facing. ideology that we're facing. and that ideology has to be defeated and it has to be changed. >> general michael flynn, thank you for joining us. >>> in our national lead, chicago's top cop fired today, after killing of a teenager by a police officer caught on video. new video is raising even more questions. >>> plus -- republican front-runner donald trump is usually one with the colorfu

and i think the first thing my friends who are still in the fight at centcom tell me the number one thing do is change the rules of engagement and lead slip the u.s. dogs of war. we know where these guys are and we can hit them. there should be special operation raids every night in isis's back territories to keep them off balance. >> that means big time u.s. casualties though and president obama doesn't want that. but, look, let's face it, it's gonna come to that and the president is only in office for one more year. mr. cohen you heard donald trump sayvg no more muslims in here. what was your first owe-your first gut reaction to that? >> my first reaction is the donald is a pr master. he knows how to sway whatever is happening in the news to be able to make himself relevant. he has been doing it for a while. started off with his reality show back with -- however having said that you cannot bar bar muslims coming from this country right now i'm speaking as a jew right now. >> israel doesn't ban muslims coming into israel. >> no we certainly do not. we have a -- we work with the drews. th

estimates now, and i talked to the centcom staff recently and they said they're dropping between 60%f the bomb loads now on targets because they have observation of those targets. they have better intelligence. they have knocked off the easy targets and are going after the more difficult ones now. but you have to remember, too, the laws of war and remind anybody that says we should indiscriminantly bomb, focus on the necessity to hit the target, the distinction between military targets and civilian and the proportion alt. those three words are very important when we're sending american air or ground forces into combat was doing anything other than those thing was violate the law of the land warfare. >> all right. thank you gentlemen. merry christmas and thanks for joining us. >> merry christmas, jake. >> still ahead, the star of the night. santa claus. we're tracking his journey with help from the folks at norad. we're minutes away from get a handle on his location. call the kids. keep the tv on. when we come back, that's our story. big day? ah, the usual. moved some new cars. hauled

occupation in the mid-2000s, you're seeing a lot of reports centrally from centc centcom, look, theyt down sunni homes in places like tikrit, they're staying out of this fight. you know, they're nowhere near central ramadi. it's almost a bit of a fudge, though, because a lot of the government forces, the isf, iraqi security forces, 5th brigade, the federal police, which is controlled by the interior ministry which belongs to the badr corps, they have infiltrated these institutions. you know, i mean, back in the day, you could sort of walk the streets as an interior ministry police officer in iraq. and at night moonlight as a badr corps commander. sunnis would be picked up at checkpoints, taken out of their cars, and spirited away to some dungeon where they'd have power drills. you know, jammed into their skulls. the tinge that worhing that wor most is if this does evolve into sectarian bloodletting or they go on revenge killings and essentially conducting against the sunnis who inhabit ramadi, seeing them as collaborators with isis, then that will only open the door for isis's return

we've also seen real ingenuity for our team at centcom and many of the other combatant commands involved in this fight. and president obama is committed to doing what it takes when opportunities arise as we see what works, as the enemy adapts, and until isil is defeated in a lasting way. as i just explained, we are constantly looking to do more in this fight, but the world must do the same. the international community, including our allies and partners, has to step up before another attack like paris. france has been galvanized by the attacks on its capital. and the french have intensified their role. britain is debating expanded airstrikes. italy has made important contributions in iraq, and germany is making additional contributions. but we all, let me repeat, all must do more. turkey must do more to control its often porous border. saudi arabia and the gulf states joined the air campaign in the early days but have since been preoccupied by the conflict in yemen. meanwhile, russia, which is publicly committed to defeating isil, has instead largely attacked opposition forces, not isil.

biased or as, you know, whistleblowers have claimed that the intelligence was politicized within centcomthat's an element of the defense department. that's an element under his supervision as basically the top of the intelligence tier for the military and presumably the former director isn't saying that he was aware of politicization of the intelligence at the time. if he wasn't aware of it then, because presumably he would have stopped it, what makes him aware of it now? so i'm for tnot sure that i understand that he has any particular expertise as to what went on within the intelligence agencies that contradicts, you know, what the administration has been saying. so i think largely, this is a political attack. why he is choosing to make it, i can't tell you. but i can say that those of us that have been reviewing the intelligence on isis have long been aware of the threat that it poses. we've been getting frequent briefings over the extraordinary challenge that is presented by isis. i think the administration has been well aware of that. but this argument over whether the administratio

military, and we've seen it now in the scandal we have at intelligence, defense intelligence out of centcom where commanders are actually now altering the intelligence that's coming up and painting a rosier picture about the war against isis than is actually warranted by the facts on the ground. neil: amazing. john, great job. thank you very much for your insight. i know i learned a lot. i think it's fair to say our view earth did. john hannah, former national security adviser to dick cheney. what you're seeing is the scene at pentagon as folks -- we're going to hear, i should say, from the president of the united states. the backdrop will be his top national security team. he will be taking no questions, however, but this backdrop is crucial. real quickly before we take a break here, i want to show you the markets. maythey've been all over the ma. you've heard some of the latest rumors and concerns that junk bonds are vulnerable to a huge selloff if the federal reserve, as expected, hikes interest rates on wednesday. again, we have had about a 210-point swing, i think by my math, but i cou

centcom confirms the united states has conducted more than 2700 airstrikes in syria. this friendly combine turing test" version shows that military forces have continued aesh in syria. these of included three strikes in the ice vehicle -- on isil vehicles. iso---tical units in isil. tactical isilt a unit and checkpoint. there is bombing in syria. what is being this by not taking that into account is highly misleading. i give way to the gentleman. does he feel there is a legitimate case or does he want them to withdraw. i am supportive of efforts that can lead to stabilization in iraq. i would like to stress one thing in particular. i think you have a ticket or responsibility since the kurds in iraq and syria. i think when dealing with miller allies should not undermine that the efforts in iraq. to make sure that turkey does not bomb our kurdish allies. i have given way and i hope will make some progress. the prime minister has asked us to listen to the case in syria, and we have. toave repeatedly ask questions. how will the u.k. plan to secure peace on the ground in s

when it comes to the drone operators and people at centcom and people at the pentagon sometime it's betterhave the reference point, flag the account and follow through. >> thanks. >>> isis has a new and pretty bloody enemy. the world's most wanted drug lord purportedly declaring war on the world's most wanted terrorist. this morning, the new york post reports that guzman, the leader of the drug cartel who escaped from his mexican flichb july, has promised the leader of isis baghdady that, quote, my men will destroy you. the message sent in an encrypted e-mail leaked to a blogger in mexico. apparently he will chapo is mad at isis. in the wake of the paris and san bernardino massacres, connecticut is the first to ban potential gun buyers to those on the no fly list. >>> now to cuba, where dozens of opposition activists were arrested around the island on u.n. human rights day. international human rights groups say the regime routinely harasses and temporarily jails activists to prevent them from taking part in public demonstrations or attending private meetings. at one planned rally in havana

military officials or centcom, it's great to shut down some of these app ors shut down some of the twitter it's a way to track what's going on out there. you can flag it, follow it and find out who people are talking to. >> this is something we don't want out there for people to help isis, to help terrorists in spreading their message. >> certainly not because we know intelligence services will be looking at it. don't go searching for it. it's not worth it. >> strange to see what's available on android capability. isis with their own smartphone app. >>> really fascinating to think ta they can have that in existence. we'll still be talking about, coming up, the issue of donald trump and a different perspective on this with the senator al franken. also taking on the issue of isis as well as a passion project. the new education law rewrite signed by the president today. a lot to cover with the senator who joins me on the other side of the break. stick around. ♪ the way i see it, you have two choices; the easy way or the hard way. you could choose a card that limits where you earn bonus cash b