chairman, thank you. >> general dempsey. >> thank you, chairman. want to add appreciation to you on behalf of the joint chiefs of leadership and all you have done for the defense of our nation, your devotion to the men and women of the joint force and importantly to their families will continue to resonate throughout our ranks. i too appreciate the opportunity to appear before this committee this morning to discuss our strategy against i.s.i.l., secretary hagel has already detailed the elements and the progress of our comprehensive approach against i.s.i.l. broadly our strategy is to reenforce a credible partner in the iraqi government and assist regional stakeholders to address the 20 million disenfranchised sunnis who live between damascus and baghdad and they have to reject the i.s.i.l. ideology from within and implementing iraq first strategy enabled by coalition but as i said before it's not iraq only strategy and it will evolve through the coalition and with multiple lines of effort and over time. we need to squeeze i.s.i.l. from multiple dir

. >>> joint chief general martin dempsey speaking to u.s. troops about the next phase in the battle against isis. it is his first trip to iraq since the offensive began over the summer. general dempsey also saying the tide is turning but warning it will still be a long, difficult campaign. now that general dempsey has seen developments with his own eyes eyes, will that influence future recommendations? pope francis denouncing the right to die movement, calling it a false sense of compassion. the pontiff also says a 29-year-old woman died by assisted suicide earlier this month. brittany maynard used the oregon death with dignity law in order to end her life. >>> and the european space agency losing contact with philae sending spectacular images back to earth but now the robotic module has gone into sleep mode because it relies on solar power and the battery has died. chief correspondent jonathan hunt is live in our new york city newsroom with the latest. so it needs sun like all of us. it needs sun. >> indeed. the lander is now sleeping and e

thank you. >> thank you general dempsey. in september you testified to our colleagues in the senate i quote, if we reach the point i believe our advisors should accompany troops on attacks against targets i'll recommend that to the president, end quote. however, during a recent interview on front line deputy national security advisor ben rods announced the president will not reconsider his boots on the ground limitation regardless of any recommendation you might provide. further more the president seems to equate boots on the ground to 150,000 person u.s. invasion force. i haven't heard anyone talk about sending in divisions. so please help us understand the circumstances where you would envision the need to introduce u.s. military troops into combat situations and the size and types of forces or capababiliti these would be. >> thank you. first of all i want to make sure i mention, i've never been limited in my ability to make a recommendation of any size or sort t to the president of the united states. as we look ahead to t

my question, general dempsey are we at war in iraq and syria?> we are at war against isil, yes, sir. >> since that is the case, would you, secretary please provide in writing the most recent legal authority for the united states to conduct such a war. we know that previously there was talk of the war powers act, but apparently that is no longer the case, since 90 days has passed, and we are still at war. perhaps there's the iraq -- or the afghanistan authorization to use military force, but i would like to have the most recent legal justification, if you would please, for the record. also we heard the chairman in his opening remarks say that any authorization to use military force that is not unlimited is dead on arrival. since the chairman is not here, perhaps his staff could tell the chairman that at least this member of this committee would love to see his proposed authorization to use military force as brood as he might like to do. bottom line here, this is more for us than for you two gentlemen is the obligation that we have under the const

. >> general dempsey? >> thank you. i want to thank you for all you've done for the defense of our nation. your devotion to men and women of the joint force and importantly to their families will continue to resonate throughout our ranks. i too appreciate the opportunity to appear before this committee this morning to discuss our strategy against isil. secretary hagel has detailed the elements and progress of our comprehensive approach against isil. broadly, our strategy is to reinforce a credible partner in the iraqi government and assist regional stakeholders to address the 20 million disenfranchised sunnis that live between damascus and baghdad. they have to reject the isil ideology from within. we have the first strategy enabled by the coalition, but as i've said before, it's not an iraq-only strategy. it will evolve with the coalition and multiple lines of effort overtime. we need to squeeze isil from multiple directions, deny safe haven, and disrupt activities in syria. we need to build up a syrian opposition to c

mr dempsey again thank you for being here today.this is likely the last hearing will have to gather. all the issues that brings together and never easy i will always appreciate your friendship, your service and dedication to this nation. for those of us who will not be the hundred 14th congress let me express our your leadership and service, above all your devotion to our troops. thank you mr chairman and gentlemen for being before us. mr smith can be here this morning so i will read his statement. these are not my words. i am probably very different than the thought will be going on this committee. mr smith will like to thank the windsors for being here today. just a few months ago the president notified congress he would carry more troops. on september 23 the nation of e in defeat patient strike on isil. taking hundreds of and syria iraq eliminating convoys and limiting the funding of operations. we also drove the leadership underground limiting their to command the forces. we need troops to protect the embassy and advise iraqi se

general dempsey, i appreciate your candor. i think you are very forthcoming when you describe a complex multifaceted, long-term effort that requires strategic patience in a situation that will continue to evolve. and you have said in the past and are clear about today saying that there are situations in which you could consider recommending ground troops. you also just described the very important role of the iraqi security forces and the deep investment that we're making in bringing their capability back to par so that they can take on this task. but what if they are not up to the task? could you talk about some scenarios you might envision? as you've said, you only make recommendations. i'd like you to talk, if you could, about some of the recommendations you might make if it becomes clear that the iraqi security forces cannot take this on. >> yeah, what i'd like to do, congresswoman, is give you kind of an unclassified answer but promise you that in a classified session next week we can talk about contingency planning. so i

more versus dempsey was the first case in the modern era to create new procedural rights and criminal cases through mob dominated trials. once the naacp secured the decision from the supreme court a new precedent was established and the supreme court entered a new era of jurisdiction no longer balanced by difference to state courts. subsequently the supreme court displayed willingness to intervene on behalf of helpless african-american defendants. the number of precedent-setting supreme court cases. in the final analysis the naacp's struggle against racial violence, the american state does not hold a monopoly on the use of force and institutions can be places for state actors and marginalized groups to negotiate power. simply institutional development derives from the tension between powerful actors and those who contest and critique the projects they seek to implement. the naacp made a strong case for the growth of the federal government in its kind of innocent involvement around issues of racial violence. the effort that culminated in the landmark supreme court decision more versus

thank you. >> thank you general dempsey. in september you testified to our colleagues in the senate i quote, if we reach the point i believe our advisors should accompany troops on attacks against targets i'll recommend that to the president, end quote. however, during a recent interview on front line deputy national security advisor ben rods announced the president will not reconsider his boots on the ground limitation regardless of any recommendation you might provide. further more the president seems to equate boots on the ground to 150,000 person u.s. invasion force. i haven't heard anyone talk about sending in divisions. so please help us understand the circumstances where you would envision the need to introduce u.s. military troops into combat situations and the size and types of forces or capababiliti these would be. >> thank you. first of all i want to make sure i mention, i've never been limited in my ability to make a recommendation of any size or sort t to the president of the united states. as we look ahead to t

you know, it was a surprise visit by general dempsey.i don't think that that was strategic enough by isis. my feeling is they had this plan that's coincidental. what i do really believe is the iraqis and what we're seeing in iraq right now is, up in kobani, the coalition has taken the momentum back from isis and i believe this is just a way for isis to, again, in a football term is, let's swing the momentum back to ours some way and this is how they've done it in the past to try to get the shock feelings back toward isis. >> lieutenant colonel, knowing what we know about this group and the executions and the timing of it, does this change anything in terms of u.s. strategy? >> no, christi, it doesn't. we are in what we call i would say phase two right now, starting to deploy these other servicemembers in, the other special operation forces into iraq. we're now starting to put them out to allow the iraqis to get trained, we're advising them. the air strikes are continuing, and ramping up, and as we're moving into this, it's our goal here

general martin dempsey meeting with the iraqi prime minister. according to a statement by his office, the two spoke about progress being made by the iraqi security forces. general dempsey traveled on to irbil, meeting with the prime minister there as well. part of this next phase of the u.s.-led mission and coalition is to focus on training of security forces. 12 units, part of the initial effort, nine of them iraqi army, three of them peshmerga, the kurdish fighting force. general dempsey also speaking with america's militarien kmaders on the ground wanting to get an idea of what exactly it is they need to be able to move this mission forward. general dempsey is very aware of the situation on the ground, having been the commander of the first armored division in the initial years of the war and then moving on to head up america's effort to train and equip the iraqi security forces. this assessment is vital. part of the reason why isis was able to take over such great territory in iraq is because of the u.s.'s, perhaps, underestimation of their

general dempsey also speaking with america's military commanders on the ground.anting to get an idea from them of exactly what it is they need to be able to move this mission forward. general dempsey is very aware of the situation on the ground having been the commander of the first armored division in the initial years of the war and then moving onto head up america's effort to train and equip the iraqi security forces. this assessment is vital because part of the reason why isis was able to take over such great territory in iraq is because of the u.s.'s perhaps, under e underestimation of their capabilities but also overestimation of their capacity and cohesiveness of the iraqi security forces that america left behind. that is not a mistake that the u.s. or the region can afford to see happen once again. cnn. turkey. >>> well, earlier, cnn's jonathan mann asked philip mud, a former counter terrorism official if the tide of the conflict is really turning against isis? >> look, it depends on what time frame you use to look at the question. if we were looking at t

it was very interesting when you go to the hill if it were dempsey and hagel it was dempsey speaking eighth the news, upsetting the white house no, the hagel. when hagel would go to the hill with kerry, it was john kerry the secretary of state that would generally do a lot of talking. so hagel really was in the background and maybe that's what the president wanted but the pentagon doesn't work well when you have a weak civilian leader like that. >> i have heard both theories of the case, that the president wanted someone who was going to be quiet and less all public figure on their own. that the white house wanted to ohave a much bigger hasn't and n effect shrunk the job. or shank the job whatever it's supposed to be. >> both of these can be true at once, this is washington after all. i think maybe there was a misunderstanding of how small the job could be from the white house perspective while still being big enough to command respect at the pepped ann gone which is what mark is saying, and you have lots and lots of folks at the pentagon know very well how to work the press on the h

crouch, general meyer, and general dempsey.se] and assisting us with the award presentation this evening is the daughter of a retired u.s. army major and miss district of columbia, teresa davis, a proud military brat. saluting the military and their families. toh year, we come together celebrate, honor, and recognize a servicemember from each branch of the military for their outstanding and heroic actions. our first presenter is a graduate of the united states keytary academy and served operational leadership posts in europe, the middle east and the united states. to present the 2014 u.s. soldier of the year award in the please welcome the army chief of staff --eral raymond brodeur now general raymond oh dear no -- odierno. [applause] >> thank you very much. general dempsey was a 37 chief of staff and i am the 38. like all things, talent skips a generation. [laughter] pick the next chief, we will be conducting singing auditions before we decide who the chief will be. [laughter] general dempsey has volunteered to be one of those

do you agree with dempsey?when it comes to trying to predict anything. gains can be made one day and lost just as quickly the next. and i think general dempsey amongst many is very well aware of that given his own experience in iraq. remember, he was the commander of the first armored division in the first years of the war, and then he went on to lead up the u.s. effort to try to actually train and equip the iraqi security forces. now, whilst he was in baghdad, he did meet with the iraqi prime minister, his office then putting out a statement that they spoke about the gains that the iraqi security forces had made, yes, but also about necessary steps moving forward to try to, first of all, ensure that those gains are not lost, but also to try to figure out exactly what the best way is going to be to tackle isis and beef up those iraqi security forces so that they don't turn and run away the next time. that being said, general dempsey also traveling on to erbil. that is the capital of the autonomous region of kur

chairman dempsey was over there last weekend. it's good signs they're moving in the right direction will help them. our coalition partners over 60 people are helping and will support them. but they have to do this themselves. then i think the air strikes against the isil forces to assist the people there, to assist the government. >> rose: have they -- >> this is a long term challenge, charlie. there's good progress being made everywhere. the good news for example in the last few days about iraqi security forces now joining up around the oil refinery. there will be setbacks. there will be progress. overall, we're seeing good progress. we're not where we need to be yet but this is a longer term difficult challenging mission. >> rose: you have 1400 american advisors there now in special forces. there is a call for 1500 more. when will they go? >> we'll start sequencing those new americans in here starting over the next few weeks. they are going, as you know, to provide the training and the assistance and the equipping of 12 iraqi s

crouch, general meyer, and general dempsey.plause] and assisting us with the award presentation this evening is the daughter of a retired u.s. army major and miss district of columbia, teresa davis, a proud military brat. she has dedicated her rain to saluting the military and their families. each year, we come together to celebrate, honor, and recognize a servicemember from each branch of the military for their outstanding and heroic actions. our first presenter is a graduate of the united states military academy and served key operational leadership posts in europe, the middle east and the united states. to present the 2014 uso soldier of the year award in the please welcome the army chief of staff general raymond odierno. [applause] >> thank you very much. general dempsey was a 37 chief of staff and i am the 38. like all things, talent skips a generation. [laughter] so as we pick the next chief, we will be conducting singing auditions before we decide who the chief will be. [laughter] general dempsey has volunteered to be on

general dempsey made an unannounced visit to iraq on saturday.ys the tide is turning in the battle against isis in iraq. senior international correspondent arwa damon reports on the significance of the trip. >> reporter: america's top military man's surprise visit to iraq, a clearenication of how seriously washington is taking the situation. general martin dempsey meeting with the iraqi prime the two spoke about progress being made so far by the iraqi security forces. general dempsey then also traveled on to irbil, the capital of the autonomous region of kurdistan, meeting with the prime minister there as well. part of this next phase of the u.s.-led mission and coalition is to focus on a training of security forces, 12 units, part of the initial effort. nine of them iraqi army, three of them peshmerga. general dempsey speaking with military commanders on the ground wanting to get an idea of what it is they need to be able to move this mission forward. general dempsey is very aware of the situation on the ground, having been the commander of the

chief dempsey making a move to baghdad over the weekend.d victory over the islamic terror group might take several years. president obama responding to dempsey's earlier suggestion that he send in ground troops to fight isis. >> there are always circumstances in which the united states might need to deploy u.s. ground troops. if we discover that isil had gotten possession of a nuclear weapon and we had to run an operation to get it out of their hands, then yes, you can anticipate that not only would chairman dempsey recommend me get that weapon out of their hands with ground troops, but i would order it. >>> they are up against a november 24th deadline. one week from today. the current deal with tehran expires. the president's national security advisor is trying to reach a deal this month at 40%. >>> rushing to upgrade security after detecting signs of possible hacking. department officials say unclassified systems were affected. officials not saying if the intrusion over the weekend was the work of a foreign government, but related to the

dempsey?l >> the secretary, in his comment, referred to approximately -- of the 89 or so weeased, that 90% of them, have clear evidence that there has been no recidivism. 10% are largely unaccounted for. isil, of course, is a recent within about the last nine months. but if i could, we'll take that one for the record. >> all right. you. you know, sometimes i feel like we're in a time warp. we've been sitting here talking about isil, cnn has been reporting that there's a change by thetegy administration, and it is now to potentially refocus its toppling assad. isilile we're focusing on rgs it appears another strategy is being undertaken by the administration. respond toof you that, please? >> i believe the administration addressed that. last night and again this morning, as well as the state thertment, as well as defense department. thethere is no change in strategy. the national security council addressed it. the state department has. we have. so -- >> well, let me ask you -- >> that's all i c

crouch, general meyer, and general dempsey.plause] and assisting us with the award presentation this evening is the daughter of a retired u.s. army major and miss district of columbia, teresa davis, a proud military brat. she dedicated saluting the military and their families. each year, we come together to celebrate, honor, and recognize a servicemember from each branch of the military for their outstanding and heroic actions. our first presenter is a graduate of the united states military academy and served key operational leadership posts in europe, the middle east and the united states. to present the 2014 u.s. soldier of the year award in the please welcome the army chief of odierno.neral ray [applause] >> thank you very much. general dempsey was a 37 chief of staff and i am the 38. like all things, talent skips a generation. [laughter] so as we pick the next chief, we will be conducting singing auditions before we decide who the chief will be. [laughter] general dempsey has volunteered to be one of those who graze the aud

the artin dempsey spoke at summit last week, he said he is optimistic that the iraqis are regrouping right now. is of the things that told that the iraqis have good military equipment, they have from the united states since just after the invasion in 2003. story of gen dempsey, is that the iraqis have cargo aircraft and civilians who the us food, they asked for help and we said, we will help you load this plane up. they did their cargo drops. and they were successful, where there is that translates on success on the broader schedule is yet to be seen. they keep saying they are optimistic. on the underside, they are on a process to reducing. from the day they going to 490. president obama has lowered to 440. and party was to go down to 420,000 troops. if that happens, the army will say we do not have enough. with the ng disulphide, gerald dempsey has alluded that they could be troops on putting the ground. would be those triggers? >> right now you're seeing troops on the ground, right now doing advising and assisting, that is what the pentagon likes to call it. they are calling to the

it was at that hearing that general dempsey said operations could potentially include

chairman martin dempsey making a trip to baghdad over the weekend.the terror group may take years. president obama talking about the earlier suggestion that dempsey may want ground troops in syria to fight isis. >> there are always circumstances where we need to deploy ground troops. if we discover isil got possession of a nuclear weapon and we had to run an operation to get it out of their hands, then, yes, you can anticipate that not only with chairman dempsey recommend me sending u.s. ground troops to get that weapon out of their hands, i would order it. >>> the state department rushing to upgrade the security system. department systems were only affected with unclassified systems. a senior official tells cnn it is related to an earlier hack of white house come pputcomputers. >>> near the top of the inbox for the president when he returns from the g-20, immigration. president obama pushing back hard that he lacks authority on the executive action. cnn's erin mcpike has more. >> reporter: president obama said once he returns from the asian trip, he

general martin dempsey now in baghdad as the u.s. expand its assistance to iraqi and kurdish forces battling isis. >> according to reuters, general dempsey said, i want to get a sense about how our mission is going. let's bring in krichristopher, senior analyst to the war. what message is it sending to u.s. troops, as well as the pentagon, as well as the united states? >> good morning. thanks for having me. it's very important for senior leadership to go, what we call, walk the battlefield. they've got to get out there and see what's going wouldn't their own eyes. they got to get a sense or a feel of how the troops are responding. i've worked here at washington, d.c. and the world looks very different inside the beltway than it does in reality. i think what general dempsey is doing here, sending a message both to the u.s. troops that he understands what's happening and sending a message to our ally, the iraqi government that he's taking this serious lely, and we committed to an actual victory. >> he actually sat down about a month ag

what is the focus of general dempsey's trip? >> general dempsey is in baghdad to assess the situation and determine if u.s. troops are needed on the ground in the fight against i.s.i.l. the top leader is scheduled to meet with u.s. officials. general dempsey told congress that he would consider sending u.s. forces to fight alongside the military. here is an assessment from capitol hill on thursday. >> i'm not predicting at this point that i recommend that those forces in mosul and along the border need to be accompanied by u.s. force, but we are considering it. >> this unannounced visit comes on the heels of president obama asking congress to approve $6 billion to expand the mission in iraq. last week the president authorised spending up to 6 under. the pentagon stressed it's not a combat mission, it was to train and advise the military against i.s.i.l. the visit could change the plan, to give you an idea, two car bombs exploded north of baghdad on saturday, killing 17, and injuring 57, according to officials. there's to claim,

listen to general dempsey before congress, the second straight timeis' gone before congress. he knows the president said no ground troops in iraq. listen to the general. >> i'm not predicting at this point i'd recommend those forces in mosul and along the border would need to be accompanied by u.s. forces but we're certainly considering it. >> "certainly considering it." america's top general says, as peter baker noted. here is the president hours ago in australia at a news conference before heading home. >> there are always circumstances in which the united states might need to deploy u.s. ground troops. if we discovered that isil had gotten possession of a nuclear weapon, and we had to run an operation to get it out of their hands, then yes, you can anticipate that not only would chairman dempsey recommend me sending u.s. ground troops to get that weapon out of their hands but i would order it. >> molly ball, the president talking about the specter of isis possibly getting a numbering clear weapon is one thing. i also take that as a public rebuttal of the general who says w

joint chiefs martin dempsey is on the ground there.mes two days after general dempsey told congress to fight alongside iraqi troops in the more complex missions against the terrorists. there are, approximately, 1500 u.s. troops currently in iraq. 1500 more would be sent soon.

the year that more versus dempsey was decided. the purpose was to compare the frequency of other areas we now especially in the post civil rights era very much associate with civil rights, education, labor and voting with the issues of criminal justice. a number of different words that relate to criminal justice and mob violence and education and labor and voting. what i found was really interesting to me in trying to assess what the naacp actually cared about in the first 10 or 20 years of the organization. the surprise was criminal justice concerns, when i say criminal-justice i mean concerns about log -- mob violence and lynching occupied organization's agenda from the outset. the naacp originally was performed in response to lynching and mob violence not to pursue the fight for education equality that would ultimately come to define so much of its agenda. in the luminous literature about civil rights and constitutional law there exists not one account that has detail that blank theoretical and political stake of the naacp camp

so dempsey has a point that isis won't expand. but the problem is isis still owns the clock and they're continuing to spread their rop began today and continuing to gain influence in the region because frankly they have the advantage of time. >> what about the timing of all of this? general dempsey gets there this weekend and now this new video. are you connecting t ining the any way? >> absolutely. remember last week al baghdadi came back on the immediate qua to s media to say he was alive after rumors of his demise. and there is no doubt the beheading was placed in the media because of dempsey's visit. in all probability, mr. kassig was probably executed back in october, but this is how isis works. they can only survive when they own the psychological high ground, when they can continue to the attract young recruits with their message. and their message is one of brutality and evil, but it tends to appeal to the young men in the middle east and they're playing that card very well. >> are they doing this very well in syria largel

dempsey is there and met with u.s. ambassadors and u.s. troops. the united states is planning to are. there dempsey has refused to rule out asking the president to send ground troops. one world leader told vladimir putin to his face, get out of ukraine. we're live from kiev with more ahead. >>> also, this story. bill cosby once known as america's dad, a beloved comedian, but in a new interview he had to answer multiple questions about rape. how did he respond? that's next. only 100 calories, o you'll be ready for that dress uh-huh... you don't love the dress? i love my sister... 40 flavors. 100 calories or less. in the country. we operate just like a city, and that takes a lot of energy. we use natural gas throughout the airport - for heating the entire terminal, generating electricity on-site, and fueling hundreds of vehicles. we're very focused on reducing our environmental impact. and natural gas is a big part of that commitment. we'll even buy you out of your contract.alaxy note 4 for zero down. so you can get the samsung galaxy note 4 for zer

joint chiefs martin dempsey is on the ground there. this comes two days after general dempsey told congress to fight alongside iraqi troops in the more complex missions against the terrorists. there are, approximately, 1500 u.s. troops currently in iraq. 1500 more would be sent soon. mostly to help. meanwhile, president only is attending the g-20 summit, a meeting of world leaders that has been tense at times, especially considering the cold reception that vladimir putin has received so far. chief white house correspondent ed henry joins us live tonight where he is with the president at the g-20 summit in brisbane, australia. and ed, does this trip by general dempsey mean the administration is turning its focus to isis? >> reporter: there is no doubt about it. they say they've been focused on isis but there's no doubt that there might be a refocus now. in fact, there have been reports suggesting the president may be shifting his strategy. there's been a lot of behind closed doors meetings. general dempsey meeting with u.s. troops, of c

karen, secretary hagel basically siding with his generals but if dempsey, general dempsey and generaldierno don't step up, our guys over in ebola-stricken nations in west africa wouldn't be having a quarantine. >> yeah. you know, the real problem here is that there are so many mixed messages coming out of so many different governmental agencies, whether it's the military, the cdc, the governors of new york and new jersey. no one is on the same page. and they've had a number of weeks i think to get their act together. i understand that we don't know everything there is to know about ebola and how it might be evolving, but we do know a few things about how it's transmitted and it seems reasonable that a 21-day quarantine for people coming into the united states from areas of africa that are particularly infected seems reasonable. but when you have the military disagreeing with the cdc and you can't get anyone from the administration on the same page -- >> and the white house. >> and the white house can't seem to pull people together into the same room and tell them simply let's all get

[laughter] i was thinking as i was standing there listening to general dempsey throw me under a bus aes and i'm the last military presenter, we've got a great chairman, no doubt. you should hear this guy sing frank sinatra. you might want to ask him before he is out of here. for pat and i it's a real pleasure to be here and so many places we have been, what a great organization that takes care of the men and women. you don't ask for anything. you walk in over and over, i have seen it, and i have to tell you that no matter where i have been on the map, there's always a friendly smile and sometimes you really need that especially if you're going to dover or going somewhere to meet family and you need that smile to build your endurance up and do what you have to do when you have to notify someone. whenever you go in there and the family has been taken care of by the uso, it makes our jobs much easier. for everyone involved with the uso, thank you so much. before i introduce our award winner tonight, i want to introduce sergeant andrew multredder's family, his daughter cora, his parents a

secretary hagel and members senator family, king, senator leader pelosi, secretary mccue, chairman dempsey, your al grenard, and cohost . ron holt, our -- ron hope, articles for this year's organization. you for mers, thank your advocacy on behalf of veterans. fellow veterans, members of armed forces, va colleagues, good morning, everyone.

chairman dempsey said the vetting process hasn't begun yet. we have more work to do on the syrian side but there is no connection between the two. >> it's been two months since we announced t do we have the sites yet in the can we keep getting of information. >> for the sirians. as you know, the saudis have come forward and offered sites. and we have a team there that are working with the saudis on exactly where those sites are and their suitability. so i don't have anything to announce with respect to that. the turks as well in just the last couple of weeks have agreed they will contribute to the training of modern syrian opposition and fighters and i don't know exactly where they would do that. again, the turkish government would have to announce that. but there have been at least two nations now that have come forward and said they wiould be willing to host this training, all very helpful. we have teams that are talking to both governments to try to nail down the particulars on that. what we said from the very beginning, that the long poll

so that raised questions as to whether or not chuck hagel an martin dempsey, also espousing different views, were on the same page as the president. and the white house would say what matters is they're on the same page as president obama. so i think this is an effort on the part of this white house to put together a team for the last two years who will be on the same page as the president. who won't be going off in different directions rhetorically on these important issues. there was that very important memo that chuck hagel wrote to national security advisor susan rice sharply criticizing the white house policy on syria and this president was asked in recent days about his policy in syria and he is determined, as he has been in the last several weeks, to stick with this policy which is no ground troops in iraq, perhaps in limited cases and no ground troops in syria, just working with groups and developing rebels on the ground and not taking a different posture when it comes to bashar al assad. so that adds up to very key differences. i talked to a senior white house official this m

general martin dempsey said members of military u are advising iraqi troops. they will eventually train soldiers there. it was over the weekend that general dempsey visited iraq for the first time since the u.s. started launching airstrikes. he's open to considering ground troops in iraq. remarks made by president obama appear to show a slight change about combat troops. >> there are always circumstances in which the united states might need to deploy u.s. ground troops. if we discovered that isis had gotten possession of a nuclear weapon and we had to run an operation to get it out of their hands, then yes, you can anticipate that not only would chairman dempsey recommend me sending ground troops to get that weapon out of their hands, but i would order it. >> presidential nominee mitt romney is criticizing president obama's response to the rise of isis. he should not rule out boots on the ground. >> i just don't think you take things off the table. i don't think you say we're going to destroy isis. when the president says that isis is a cancer and it must be

martin dempsey, he's in iraq now. the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff says that the tide is turning. do you think it is and how will this end? >> i don't know what general dempsey bases that on. i think isis reached extraordinary lengths this last summer. now they're probably about at the outer limit of their capabilities just because they've reached their point of maximum expansion. i don't believe that anybody particularly in the pentagon thinks that what we're doing now will be enough to destroy them. it may contain them, but it will not destroy them. as long as they continue to exist to provide a safe haven for other radicals and terrorists, we're going to be threatened. i think the real question is are we committed to do what the president wants, which is destroy them, that's what he says he wants, or are we going to engage in rhetoric. >> ambassador, thank you as always. >> thank you. >>> eric, if his death is confirmed, the 26-year-old will be the fifth western hostage to have been killed by the terror gr

that's what chairman dempsey was saying when he was in iraq. the president doesn't want to jump to that and the president's in an awkward position. he ran to get everybody in iraq, now he's putting people back into iraq. i think he finds this very difficult. >> paul, newt has a point there. i've been covering the isis story nearly every day and i've watched not only the prohibition on ground troops, whether it be chuck hagel or martin dempsey saying they might recommend it under circumstances but also the definition of what a ground or troop definition is. we've seen them expanding the areas in iraq, well beyond baghdad and erbil where ground troops will be. do you believe that president obama is walking that statement back not to deploy ground troops? >> presidents very rarely entertain hypotheticals. he didn't even just answer one, he suggested one and responded. i have to say, i'll probably get struck by lightning, i think newt is 100% right. i think it was a very, very limited and very particular worse-case scenario. when i've talked to the

talk about that. >> he was asked -- you have general dempsey who has repeatedly said that at some pointight need to be a small modest force of u.s. troops on the ground in iraq. and president obama has said he is not going to put u.s. forces in combat roles in iraq. so you have this ongoing divide between the generals and president obama with the generals signaling it might be necessary. military experts say it's impossible to win the fight without ground troops. but president obama said he is not considering putting troops on the ground. that's still not going to be part of his calculation. but he also didn't rule it out altogether. and there's this big concern about mission creep, particularly among some democrats who say it has begun. because we are hearing of more going. 1500 more u.s. forces going over. they will serve in advisory roles. people are concerned about mission creep. when they hear those comments that heightens their concern. >> you were following the president there in brisbane and you will return here. we will hear more. we want to send you back to our regular program