is both worse and a more real danger to the united states and its interests. >> sreenivasan: douglas ollivant joining us from washington, thanks so much. >> thank you. >> sreenivasan: tensions continue to mount in the russia- ukraine crisis as 227 trucks from a russian aid convoy departed ukraine today and returned to russia. the convoy entered ukraine on friday through a rebel-held border, a move the ukrainian government called an act of invasion. the mission of the convoy has been consistently disputed. in question: what the trucks contained, and if they actually delivered any humanitarian aid to the rebel-held city of luhansk. on friday, nato said it had evidence that russian troops are operating inside ukraine, an accusation that moscow's ambassador to the u.n. denied. as government forces continued their fight to reclaim the rebel-held city of donetsk, ukrainian president petro poroshenko met with german chancellor angela merkel today in kiev. merkel made the trip as a show of support for ukraine and to urge a peaceful, political solution to the crisis. president petro poroshenko is set

for more, we are joined now from washington by douglas ollivant. he is a senior national security fellow at the new america foundation and a partner at mantid international. >> so this morning, we heard the president say that this is about two things, protection of americans, and about humanitarian aid, this wasn't so much about dislodging islamic state group from the power that they are already wielding in large portions of iraq. >> i think that is exactly right. the president wants to use air force, air power and not u.s. boot on the ground in any engagement with the islamic state, what he has done is set a condition where he can fulfill this promise, air power is very, very good at dealing with attacking troops, you know, you are moving, you shooting, you are creating a signature that can be seen from the air, and it is pretty easy for air power to engage tarts like that, that is their element, that's what they do best. when you start talking about pushing them out of cities where they are dug in or hidden in buildings, their power has some real

. > >> sreenivasan: for more about this, we are joined once again tonight from washington by douglas ollivant. he is a senior national security studies fellow at the new america foundation and a partner at mantid international. >> the question we have referred to them as militants, as fighters, as jihadists but considering some of the brutality that we are hearing reports of, of the burying people alive in mass graves and indiscriminately shooting them, it seems to be somewhat different. >> they are different, i mean, they are islamist terrorists, they are islamist fighters but there is this core brutality to them, something that reminds us of almost khmerrouge extermination, their tactics, their terror, the destruction of cultural heritage, the rape, the slave markets we hear, the burying alive, we haven't heard any stories of crucifixions in iraq but certainly we have seen it in syria by this group, the islamic state in iraq and syria or isir or the islamic state, they are something very different than what we have seen before. >> and they very have been clear about exactly who they want to

douglas ollivant, thank you very much. >> thank you, too. have a good morning. >>> the frags will continue, strong words from israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. he warns the deadly and bloody conflict in gaza is far from over. >>> an unarmed kid described as friends and family as a good kid was shot by police and killed. they are commanding now the family and friends answers because they contend this shooting was unprovoked. listen up... i'm reworking the menu. veggies you're cool... mayo, corn dogs...you are so out of here! ahh... the complete balanced nutrition of great tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals. 9 grams of protein... with 30% less sugars than before. ensure, your #1 dr. recommended brand now introduces ensure active. muscle health. clear protein drink and high protein. targeted nutrition to feed your active life. ensure. take life in. we're trying our best annto be role models.rmodels. we don't jump at the sound of the opening bell, because we're trying to make the school bell. corner booth beats corner office any d

. >> douglas ollivant, my concern is the answer. the times addresses this of whether they fall into the category of not good people, but not exporters of terror or are they of the al qaeda stripe and pose a threat to the united states? i'm not being overly simplicity when i say my concern is if they establish a caliphate, say in indiana, not iraq. >> i don't think they want to establish a caliphate in indiana, but we have to worry about this in two senses. we have to be concerned about isis itself. the headquarters deciding it is in its interest to strike the united states. isis had a couple of good months. they are looking like the new big kid on the block. what stands between them and taking the trophy, so to speak, al qaeda has struck the homeland and isis has not. that is the fact that stands between them and being the undisputed greatest jihadist ever. we need to be concerned about that. second, we need to be concerned about the alumni. if isis itself doesn't see it needs to strike the u.s. homeland returning americans or europ

. >> douglas ollivant, my concern is whether we have an answer, a correct answer. the "times" addresses this whether they fall into the taliban category which means not good people but not exporters of terror or are they of the al qaeda stripe and therefore pose a security threat to the united states. i'm not being -- i'm not being overly simplicity when i say my concern is whether they want to establish a caliphate in indiana, not in syria and iraq. >> i don't think they'd want to establish a caliphate in indiana, but that doesn't mean they don't want to attack it. i think we need to be worried about this in two senses. first we need to be concerned about isis itself, its hears headquarters deciding it's in its interests to strike the you states. isis is looking like the new big kid on the block for islamic jihadism. what stands behind them and sort of taking the trophy and al qaeda is the fact that al qaeda has struck the u.s. homeland and isis has not. that is the only fact that stands between them and being the undisputed greatest jihadist ever. we need to be c

i want to read something for you that douglas ollivant wrote for cnn.com about the u.s. air strikes. he's the director for iraq of the u.s. national security council. here it is. there it is. air power is incredibly potent when properly used but nearly useless in the wrong situations. isis will present both of these alternatives in iraq. put very simply, air power is incredible powerful against an enemy who son the offense. it is an enemy be it a person or vehicle or a weapon system is on a move or fighting they create a significant that is easy to spot. how difficult that to knock out isis? that realistic or containment the goal? as long sass isis functions as a if he thinksal army which is what they've been doing lately, they present themselves as a very lucrative target from the air. as soon as they see how effective the american air power will be, they will revert back to a more guerilla-type operation which is what we're used to seeing. air power be effective as he said, if useful properly, isis probably is not fully aware of american air power yet. they soon will b