a rare stateside appearance, christopher dickey, a veteran foreign correspondent, journalist, and author himself. we normally see him high above the champs-elysses in paris where he is based as the world news editor for "the daily beast." thank you both for being here. kim, because we're talking to you the farthest distance away, i would like to get your reaction to the iranians doing really the only thing they could do in the face of all of the evidence, admitting that this was a shoot-down, this civilian jetliner, by one of their missiles. >> you know, brian, when i woke up that morning in beirut to the news of both iranian missile strikes against bases in iraq and the news of this downed civilian aircraft or, you know, the civilian aircraft that had crashed, i did immediately wonder whether it had mistakenly been downed. and to hear the iranians admit now that it was unintentionally brought down by an iranian missile strike is just tragic.

let me start by asking a question i asked christopher dickey last hour. that's where the arab countries that are allied with the united states find themselves this morning. obviously many of them have very close relationships with the united states, but many of them also don't necessarily want a full out war with iran knowing that they would be among the most vulnerable in any potential full-blown war. >> reporter: yeah, and i think qatar where i am today is at the top of that list. this is a country that is both geographically and politically in the middle. they house that huge massive -- the biggest u.s. military base in the middle east housing some 10,000 to 12,000 u.s. personnel. it's about a 30-minute drive from where i am now. which is why we're seeing the first diplomatic activity originating from this country, the foreign minister is on the ground in tehran. he has just met with foreign minister zarif of iran. we understand that that conversation was largely based around the qatar ree's urging the iranians to take restraint and to maintain stabili

our thanks to kim ghattas, to christopher dickey. greatly appreciate you both coming on. >>> coming up for us, 24 days to go until iowa. back to domestic politics we go, and a new name is atop the latest poll. steve kornacki, who has the best numbers, will join us in the studio after this. (janine) ghostbusters!... of course i'd love to take an informal poll. i used to be a little cranky. dealing with our finances really haunted me. thankfully, i got quickbooks, and a live bookkeeper's helping customize it for our business. (live bookkeeper) you're all set up! (janine) great! hey! you got the burnt marshmallow out! (delivery man) he slimed me. (janine) tissue? (vo) get set up right with a live bookkeeper with intuit quickbooks. the easy way to a happier business. >>> got to say it. duty bound. 24 days away from the iowa caucuses. can you believe it? tonight brand-new polling out of the hawkeye state that is making headlines. and so back at the big board for us tonight, get used to seeing him there. our national political corresponden

our thanks to kim ghattas, to christopher dickey. coming on. >>> coming up for us, 24 days to go until iowa. back to domestic politics we go, and a new name is atop the latest poll. steve kornacki, who has the best numbers, will join us in the studio after this. er this. this melting pot of impacted species. everywhere is going to get touched by climate change. >>> got to say it. duty bound. 24 days away from the iowa caucuses. can you believe it? tonight brand-new polling out of the hawkeye state that is making headlines. and so back at the big board for us tonight, get used to seeing him there. our national political correspondent steve kornacki. hey, steve. >> hey, brian. yes. and we finally have new numbers out of iowa. not been a lot of polling despite the importance of iowa and the early states. here it is. des moines register poll tonight. des moines register, they call it the gold standard poll of iowa. sanders the headline. bernie sanders ahead in this iowa caucus poll three weeks before the big night. but also keep in mind

our thanks to kim ghattas, to christopher dickey. appreciate you both coming on. >>> coming up for us, 24 days to go until iowa. back to domestic politics we go, and a new name is atop the latest poll. steve kornacki, who has the best numbers, will join us in the studio after this. hat liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. i love you! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ i had no idea why my mouth was constantly dry. it gave me bad breath. it was so embarrassing. now i take biotene dry mouth lozenges whenever i'm on the go, which is all the time. biotene dry mouth lozenges. freshen breath anytime, anywhere. tracfone lets you keep your leftover data each month. unlimited carryover data! $20 bucks. what are you doing? i want to ask you about your data. oh, i thought you said dating. this is your wake-up call, people. the new tracfone wireless. now you're in control. the new tracfone wireless. little theo's nose had cause for alarm. his ordinary tissues were causin

before, so in fact, it will be much more difficult for putin if biden becomes president. >> christopher dickeys in london. christopher, thank you. >>> back here at home, the big sports back here at home, the sports headline. the cheating fallout. who is out of a job after the allegations against the houston astros and what it means for major league baseball as spring training gets closer. ♪ do you recall, not long ago ♪ we would walk on the sidewalk ♪ ♪ all around the wind blows ♪ we would only hold on to let go ♪ ♪ blow a kiss into the sun ♪ we need someone to lean on ♪ blow a kiss into the sun ♪ we needed somebody to lean on ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ all we need is someone to lean on ♪ i wanted my hepatitis c gone. i put off treating mine. epclusa treats all main types of chronic hep c. whatever your type, epclusa could be your kind of cure. i just found out about mine. i knew for years epclusa has a 98% overall cure rate. i had no symptoms of hepatitis c mine caused liver damage. epclusa is only one pill, once a day, taken with or without food for 12 weeks. before starting epclusa, your doctor will test if y

. >> christopher dickey, appreciate it, always enjoy your insights. >> appreciate it.nk you so much. >>> we want to turn to the political fallout from the u.s. air strike that killed top iranian general qasem soleimani. the president's decision to carry out that attack without consulting congress is dividing democrats and republicans and praising his decision and others criticizing the move. take a listen to this. >> when the security of the nation is at stake, decisions must not be made in a vacuum. >> when you have a strategic strike, or one that is tactical, many times they have to be done in a covert manner. >> in these kinds of initial reactions, the president has the authority, should take the authority, and i'm glad that he did. >> we should not go to a war with iran based on a presidential decision with no consultation of congress. >> i recommend that all senators wait to review the facts and hear from the administration before passing much public judgment on this operation, and its potential consequences. >> joining us now nbc.com jonathan allen senior politic