one of the largest cities in iraq. en more significant given mosul's geography, its ethnic and religious make up? >> absolutely. it was a key target for them always. it was in the north. it's a disputed city. not sure whether it's part of iraq proper. it's a city ripe for taking over for somebody like the leader of the isil. he knows he goes in toy city toy like, which isth nikolai missed and the curds will have to get involved in it. the kurdish military forces are on stand by to come in and they are negotiating with the iraqis, it's one of those -- you've got it say it's one of those flash points really of what -- in iraq what could turn a conflict from this low-level intense conflict in to all-out sectarian war it just needs a spark. is. il hat not only been going after so mull, they are done it in a smaller city of 600,000 people, but it's where one of the most venerated shia shrines is, in 2006 that shrine was hit by al qaeda in iraq and that sparked the sectarian war which nearly brought this country to its knees,

similar thing happened in iraq, in iraq, isl is not only the one in iraq. it has been cooperating with at least ten armed groups. some of them are mercenaries, but more than that, the isl are the former iraqi officers. and this will tell you what the disman. the iraqi, it is the officers fighting the new officers, and they proved that the old officers are more capable and able to defeat the new army. the new army is corrupt and badly trained, inefficient. and they know this very well. >> an army disbanded by the united states. does the united states have to remain engaged in iraq in order to vindicate the expenditure and loss of life that we have experienced there over the last decade? do we have to stay there because we were there before? >> no, shas absolutely wrong. that's some costs. basically, what we have to do is maintain our credibility, and it's based on not only the people we lost and how long we were there, but the relationships that we built with so many people in iraq, who rely on us and trust us, because there are so many other people in the w

. >> obama failed to make a deal with iraq. in december 2011 left all of the troops home. >> we are thieving mind a stable iraq. >> what i could handle is this is a fragile situation but it isn't a stable government. it is hard fought where they have a chance. >> 24-hours after the last soldier left iraqi prime minister maliki issued an arrest warrant for sunni vice president suggesting the situation in iraq is not as stable as some hoped and the threat of sectarian violence remained. >> what maliki did in 2011 forward was destroy avenever ar single chance he had and he messed up the opportunity that was there. however fragile it may have been. >> in 2012 with the reelection campaign in full spring they were touting the foreign policy suck sellses. al qaeda is on the path to defeat and osama bin laden is dead. >> that narrative was about to be severely challenged. less than a week after the democratic convention four americans including ambassador christopher stevens was murdered. there was continuing unrest in syria. where bish c

withdraw in iraq. it is on the march now. controls crucial swaths of territory stretching from the iran issian s iasia is jacobson headed the international forces in afghanistan and worked for david petraeus who led the u.s. military surge in iraq. mark, thank you so much for being with us. i should say senator john mccain earlier today said he thinks the president should bring general petraeus back to deal with the iraq situation right now. not sure that's about to happen. aside from that, what do you think the u.s. options, realistic option are right now? >> i think senator mccain was trying to score a few political points there. there's a great deal of knowledge that the generals have with their experience in iraq and afghanistan for that matter. what i think the u.s. really needs to focus on are four things here. up front helping iraqis to stop isis from advancing further. as you look at the longer term, it's an understanding that not only do we have to show support for the iraqis but that this is a wider regional problem

forces in iraq. everybody believed, she said, in 2011 it would be better if there was some kind of residual force. most of all, the obama administration blames iraqis for failing to grant the necessary privileges and immunities for a u.s. force presence beyond 23011. this, too, is totally misleading because, as we saw firsthand, senator graham and i traveled to baghdad, to erbil, and we met with maliki, we met with barzani, we met wul the liards of the main political blocks and heard a common message during all of these conversations. iraqi leaders recognize that it was in their country's interest to maintain a limited number of u.s. troops to continue training and assisting iraqi security forces beyond 2011. but when we asked ambassador jim jeffrey and the commander of the u.s. forces in iraq lloyd austin in direct response to a question in a meeting with then-prime minister -- with maliki, he said, okay, i want to know how many troops and what their missions are. we turned to general austin. the ans

there were no terrorists in iraq in those days. was sucked in, brought in as a direct consequence of the invasion, and it flourished first of all in iraq, and then it went to syria, and now it is back in iraq. to say in 2000 thursday to say that 2003 had nothing to do with what is happening now -- to say that 2003 had nothing to do with what is happening now is -- i don't know -- an overstatement, understatement. not part of reality. >> the first head of the coalition provisional authority in iraq, one of the first thing see did in that role was to sign the coalition authority orders one and two, completely dismantling iraq's government and military. during your tenure as un's special envoy to iraq, you referred to bremmer as the dictator of iraq. writing in "the wall street journal" over the weekend, he said, "it is time for both american political parties to cease their ritualistic incantations of no boots on the ground, which is not the same as no combat forces." of course americans are reluctant to engage in iraq, yet it is pre

iraq in 2011 left iraq in the hands of a sectarian government without the influence of the united statesact in the sectarian way. it was inclusive. it had sons of iraq, sunni army paid by central government. it held together that change overnight in absence of our influence. that is utterly predicted. and of course, in syria, when obama spoke about assad had to go. he left a vacuum into which the bad guys went iran hezbollah and russia. this is what happens. that is the reason we are where we are today you create a vacuum. bad guys will come they came. >> all of the polls indicate that this country is more weary, more worn out what. do we do now? does the country have the will? does the president have the will to confront this threat? >> there is a tendency to swing between last two administrations from massive involvement with ground troops, to opposite. under obama we won't think about air strikes let alone ground troops. i think the lesson of the situation is we have to find a sustainable balanced approach. one doesn't abandon this region. but one that doesn't impose on the american p

. >> but obama failed to make a deal with iraq. in december of 2011, he brought all the troops home. >> we're leaving behind a sovereign, stable, and self-reliant iraq. >> the quotes that i saw from him on a consistent basis were, you know, this is a fragile situation. but there is in place a stable government, through the hard-fought efforts of americans who have put us into a place where they have a chance. >> just 24 hours after the last soldier left, iraqi prime minister malachi issued an arrest warn for his vice president, suggesting the situation in iraq was not as stable as some hoped, and that the threat of sectarian violence remained. >> what maliki did in 2011 forward was destroy every single chance he had. he basically messed up the opportunity that was there. however fragile it may have been. >> in 2012, with a re-election campaign in full swing, obama was touting the administration's foreign policy successes. >> al qaeda is on the path to defeat, and osama bin laden is dead. >> but that narrative was about to be severely

they have a vital interest in making sure iraq doesn't descend in civil war or a safe haven for terroristaqi leaders must rise above their differences and come together for a political plan for iraq's future. shiite and sunni and kureds all iraqis need to plan through political process than violence. now the result of iraqi's recent election is certified a new parlamount should convoen and an opportunity to begin a genuine dialogue and represent the legitimate interest. it is not the place for the united states to choose iraq's leaders. but only leaders who can deal with the agenda can bring the iraqi people together. moenl, the united states will not pursue military action to support one sect at the expense of the other. there is no military led by the united states. there is a urge for a political process and capable iraqi security force and counter terrorism to deny isil a safe haven. in closing. recent days and reminders of the deep scars left. alongside the loss of 4500 american patriots, many veterans carry the wounds of that war and will for the rest of their lives. here at home, i

he is in irbil in northern iraq. despite this morning's attack in baghdad, the slowing of the terrorist advance has lessened some of that tension there, correct? >> it has, david, just yesterday, fierce across this country that baghdad could fall, that the sunni extremists could anchor the city and take it, collapsed government. krit clirks starting to see the shiite militias take to the sweet sweet. the shiites found their the fog it doesn't seem at this stage that baghdad is going to fall imminently, instead, looks like they are heading into a long, sectarian fight. the advance of sunni fanatics from an al qaeda offshoot stalled outside of baghdad. shiite militias are preparing to confront, a you will to arm by their cleric, an all-out sectarian war could be approaching and iraqi troops are beginning a counter offensive with air strikes. the u.s. sacrificed so much for this not to happen. 4,477 american troops laid down their lives, $1.7 trillion was spent, around 25 billion on the roughly 900,000 iraqi soldiers, po

involvement in iraq, it is a complicated history. what can president obama learn from the nine years troops were there that he should keep in mind when engaging in whatever this decision is? what lessons did we learn? >> well, i think the biggest one is that we're not going to change iraq from the outside. the iraqis have to do this. we can give them the opportunity to do that. but right now he's got a pressing situation he has to fix before we can get there. and that's we've got to deal with this isis problem immediately. then down the road we've got to give the iraqis the opportunity to reform the country. and unfortunately, i don't think prime minister maliki is going to be receptive to that. we've got to create a situation -- i don't know how we do that -- where the iraqis can build some sort of system where they can all work together. but right now that looks very difficult. >> you heard dana bash, our chief congressional correspondent, relaying the concerns of house minority leader nancy pelosi. the concern obviously in the hist

, but he is not calling for troops in iraq. hich i am not a logic expert, but it seems to be inconsistency in the statements. the fact is we cannot be everywhere at all times to meet the challenge posed by extremist it's like isil, but we can partner with iraq, as the president noted today, through the counterterrorism ownership fund and our direct relationship and with the assistance we provide the security forces and the iraqi people, to work together to help iraq beat back a challenge like this. this has to be ultimately resolved by the iraq people and the leadership. ofyou ran off a list equipment we have provided direct, some of which is now in the hands of the isil. and you were reluctant to be more aggressive in syria and it would appear that the problems come over the border into iraq. how much of what we are seeing in iraq now is the result of not taking a more aggressive response to the civil war in syria? >> as i answered earlier, the approach we took was to weefully evaluate to whom would be providing assistance in s

in iraq.aster that could have serious ripple effects in the middle east and around the world. iran's getting in the middle of it. signalling it would be willing to deploy troops to its neighbor. much of it comes down to the religious fighting that's crippled parts of the middle east for longer than any of us can remember. iran of course is shia and so is iraq's now prime minister. the terrorists trying to overrun iraq are sunni so now, iran and iraq have a common goal. even though they were at enemies at war with each ore in the 1980s, get to connor powell in our mideast news room. fill us in. >> well, iraq's political leadership right now falls in the iranian shia spear of influence and which is why so many sunni iraqis are so marginalized. as a result, many of the sunni iraqis are turning towards these fighters coming in from syria. iran's official news agency said that tehran's powerful revolutionary guard is ready to join the fight and protect baghdad and they're not there yet. iraq's mili

keep in mind isis's campaigns both in syria and in iraq. much of them were planned in the city of the only provincial capital in syria out of the command of assad regime. they have gained in syria known as the jazera. by the way, this may look like a lightning strike and something that's only taken place in the last week or so, this stunning path cleared by isis into mosul and beyond but it actually goes back quite a long time. in january, isis came into anbar province and sacking fallujah or parts of it. contesting ramadi and before that, april 2013, they said -- they announced a campaign called soldiers harvest. they wanted to take mosul in particular. this is something that's long been in the works and now i would argue the real issue isn't just isis, the forces and the north of iraq and done this week. the first order of business, go to kirkuk. a city known to the kurds as jerusalem and kick out the remaining iraqi security force fighters, fortify that city from any kind of incursion and then essentially with big smiles on the faces decl

remained in pour in iraq. in 200 through 3, the george w. bush administration, claiming sudan hussein's had a stock pile of weapons of mass destruction. under the u.s. occupation, by 2004, the country fell into sectarian violence. eventually several elections were held but whole political parties and ethnic groups felt disenfranchised. in august, 2010, american comeback operations in iraq airshieldsed a -- ended and lef. he lenses were held april 30th. sunnis and minority groups felt left out of the process. a month later, sunni fighters kambin their campaign to take mosul from the largely shi-ite government. >> colonel, what do you think the history should do given that history? send troops back? should it send drones in? how can it get involved and change the way things are headed there now? >> the united states cannot tolerate a permanent terrorist state in the heart of me mesopotamia. as i said earlier, we have to have a government in iraq that's worth supporting before we engage. >> is there going to be time for that? >> yes. there is.

if isil becomes more involved in iraq, this is a real concern to iraq. >> the same scale as previously. >> oh more, actually. >> if we do get iran stepping in, what are we looking at here, sunni shared battle of all battles? >> this is a phase of sectarian conflict. this is not the first phase. it's ongoing conflict started in 2003, but now, we witness this phase of it in syria and lebanon and all of this now together coming to the first point with basically what's happening in iraq, because all of the shia sectarian debate started in iraq i have not 2003. all of the sunni were accusing the united states of presenting iraq to eye raines because they had not built a strong government in iraq. >> what about turkey, will they step in? all right some 48 people have been captured from their consulate in mosul. >> to iran, to the turkish government, this is a real challenge. they don't want to see a fragile state in iraq. they see a weak state. if the situation continues in iraq, the central government is not able to tackle it, basically the surrounding country will face the problem just beh

iraq's community. and tcontinue to build a securiy force. we can't do it for them. in the absence of this type of political effort, short term military action, including any assistance we might provide, won't succeed. so this should be a wake-up call. iraq's leaders have to demonstrate a willingness to make hard decisions. and compromises. on behalf of the iraqi people in order to bring the country together. in that effort, they will have the support the united states and our friends and allies. now, iraq's neighbors also have some responsibilities to support this process. nobody has an interest in seeing terrorists gain a foothold inside of iraq and nobody is going to benefit from seeing iraq descend into chaos. so the united states will do our part, but understand that ultimately it's up to the iraqis as a sovereign nation to solve their problems. indeed we have redoubled our ear efforts so groups like isil can't staep saestablish a safe . and we'll continue the effort. we're also going to pursue dipl this period. there is never going to be civility in iraq or the br

made hellfire missile have strumosul. >>> the situation in iraq is unpredictable but the situation in washington is not. accusations are flying and fingers are pointing. who is responsible for the possible loss of iraq. and among the critics, one stands out. former vice president dick cheney has launched a new offensive against barack obama. we'll talk with cheney later in this hour. but first, let's look at the obama doctrine, what is it and what has it led to. first a warning, some of the video you will see tonight is very graphic. >> so help you god? >> so help me god. >> congratulations, mr. president. >> candidate obama had promised he would improve america's standing in the world. now that he was president, the world was waiting to find out how. one thing everyone did know, he'd been against the iraq war from the start. >> what i do oppose is a dumb war. >> in fact, his opposition to the war was instrumental in his election victory. >> i don't want to just end the war, but i want to end the mindset that got us in the war in the first place. >> obama's mindset suggested he wanted

spokesman in iraq thanks so much for being in the now thank you. time flies it's two years already since we killing saturday julian assange found refuge in ecuador's embassy in london during the time he's been holed up there he's grown a beard given a couple of balconies features witnessed lots of protests just outside his window some of them turned ugly and he was visited by lady gaga herself two years in the same tiny room forget friday night hangouts movies jogging we're talking about no sunlight even many violent criminals get walks outdoors during their time in prison but doesn't have much of a choice tonight we ask you our audience will he ever leave the embassy. well let's say our son's has had enough and you walks out the door sill immediately get arrested and probably taken to the u.s. as soon as possible god knows what will happen to him there but if he tries to go straight to ecuador say quickly gets in an embassy car and attempts to even more quickly board a plane there's a homo stuff hundred percent chance will be stopped on the gangwa

is no more war in iraq? u.s. combat missions in raq. what is also the case and what the president made clear as we wound down the war in iraq is that we need to be a good partner to the government in raq and provide the assistance that we can at the request to help them meet their security challenges, and we have done that. alternately, iraq's future has what we have been saying for a long time now is that when it comes to threats to the united states and our national security interests directly, the threat

it's eb. >>> welcome back to our special report, crisis in iraq. elcome our viewer in the united states and around the world world. the president has been meeting with his top national security advisers, the white house just released this official photo from the oval office. you see the president and vice president, general martin sde dempsey, susan rice, dennis mcdonough, so the president met with them earlier today just before he made that statement in which he ruled out sending u.s. troops to iraq, but he certainly didn't rule out other military action, possibly including air strikes and drone strikes for that matter. it looks like the united states may in fact be seriously studying those options. the aircraft carrier george h.w. bush will be moved into the persian gulf. all designed to provide the president with options for possible air strikes. tom foreman is joining us. what kind of strikes are we talking about? because there are various options out there. >> the president is talking about precise and effective strike. and that is really trick

, in iraq and in the united states. this president of the united states, president obama, who is so averse to military intervention, has found it impossible to avoid iraq again, after he was so happy to leave it. that's why you have mr. kerry there. that's why you have actual forces as experts in iraq to see how to mount what the president thinks is a major new threat to stability not in iraq, but one that could spill over into the region, including jordan. so something needs to be done. it has become clear that the government in iraq has failed on so many levels to hold together its own people because of the sectarian policy that has become factionsen opposed by of shiites who are in power but not in favor of such a policy. important, not for what happens just in iraq. it is important for its impact on the region and the superpower that has been in charge of the region for a long time and now has been trying to engage obviously was a great deal of challenge. put a racke able to to put iraq together, then the region woul

now, the other people you see here have lived and worked in iraq. they are the best in the business at telling modern iraq's stop-and-go story. and things right now look very dire in iraq. for the next hour we're going to talk about what is happening in this country. who this extremist group, the isis is, who is scaring the hell out of the middle east and why the united states and partners may be returning in some form very soon and also crucially why it matters to americans. we're back after we get you up to speed with this report from senior international correspondent arwa damon. >> reporter: captured by isis in mosul as the iraqi army abandoned its position, row upon row of american-made military hardware. this and much more heavy weaponry and ammunition is at isis' disposal as they advance southward. the province of dial a to the north of the capital video purporting to show isis fighters stomping on the uniforms of iraqi soldiers who fled. maliki, your ranks are at our feet one says. also, this. an isis military parade, two trucks filled with m

was everything we did in iraq in vane? with me now former u.s. mbassador to iraq and former deputy national security advisor for president gw bush. ambassad ambassad ambassador james jefr ri. is iraq on the brink of total collapse. >> it is on the brink of total collapse. as you started the segment, that's something we should all worry about. >> why is this happening? >> it starts with the fact that iraq was basically an artificial creation after world war i. when we went in and we didn't go in for simple reasons, we went in because iraq had been a problem since saddam took part in 1980. when we went in this 2003 we thought that a western constitutional system could bridge the divide. in the end we were wrong. we succeeded militarily as you just heard but we didn't succeed in changing the underlying culture of that country. >> i think, didn't prime minister maliki take away from the impiteous we had by literally letting go those who were sunnis that we had already trained and spent enormous amount of time and effort training as part of the police

policy in iraq. >> right. think one of the great tragedies about the united states relationship with iraq both in saudi iraq and here, the matter is so little sized that it is hard to have a real conversation about what needs to happen now in iraq so that it can be stabilized. the american involvement happened. what i wrote two years ago, for instance, was talking about in a time of the obama administration the neglect, if you will, of trying to build upon the chances for success after so much bloodshed and four during the bush years -- horror during the bush years. there was a chance for stability in iraq in 2010. the decision to withdraw troops on the ground, it is debatable whether that was right or wrong. i think the core issue is matters of power that don't necessarily have anything to do with u.s. military troops. it is about building consensus, trying to help straighten the foundations of democracy. the obama administration looked for many pragmatic reasons to want to into the troop presence because of t

. >>> more cities fall in iraq and john kerry said airstrikes might be needed to stop the terrorist. i am jenna lee. >> and i am eric sean in for jon scott this morning. the white house is considering options on how to stop the sunnis and one of those options could include direct talks with iran. the pentagon con firming reinforcements are going in to protect thousands of americans who work at the embassy in is baghdad. and another ship is moving into the persian gulf with hundreds of marines on board in case they need to evacuate. we begin with conner powell. >> many iraqis are fleeing the capital and getting out while they can. and the pentagon is spending a hundred marines and they are pointing out their diplomats there. they are taken a town outside a city that was taken last week. they appear to be consolidated the gains in the cities before moving on to baghdad. they are using brutal methods to secure the goal of taking iraq. mask fighters were shown murdering hundreds of people, reports of mass killings, summary executions and right now these al qaeda inspired militants are kno

troops back into combat in iraq. but i have asked my national security team to prepare a range of other options that could help support iraq security forces and i'll be reviewing those options in the days ahead. >> so, these options, senator graham, if president obama takes out these new weapons you're talking about, would that be a good option? no, the neocons want international intervention. they want troops on the ground. we need to learn from history. this country needs to make a calculated and academic decision that will bring us better results this time around. i suppose that diplomacy is totally out of the question at this point for the conservatives and maliki has not been an honest broker. he has not been inclusive. i don't hear republicans saying that. he has excluded the sunni and been harsh on the farthest bathest members and this has opened the door for isis to get willing partners because they don't like a new dictator. he has not been a doctor of democracy. remember all of the purple thumbs up in the ai

troops in iraq for years. there are growing calls on prime minister malaki to step down including from senior religious figures in this country, including regional allies of the united states as well. but for now, his biggest backer stands firmly behind him, and that is the government in iran. kate? >> aman, thank you. for more on the u.s. involvement in the crisis in iraq, we're joined by david gregory host of "meet the press." david, the president announced this week the u.s. will send 300 military advisers to iraq. that seems like a big strategy shift for someone who once called the war in iraq dumb. how much push back do you expect from democrats who might fear mission creep? >> there are democrats and republicans who don't want the mission to creep forward at all. they don't want any intervention because they don't want to get involved in a civil war. neither does president obama. but i think he's trying to separate the two issues, isolating the fact that he has a terrorist threat in the form of isis that

sunni arabs do not think that way in iraq. ther saudi's, on the hand, are extraordinarily worried about the al qaeda threat. you see how actively they combated in the yemen, directly and indirectly, through helping us, and now they will have a major al qaeda presence on their border. terror.me to the war on >> dave pollock? >> thank you. i wanted to just pick up on a number issue. i think aaron said that there were 7000 to 10,000 isis fighters. is that a pretty solid estimate? is it possible that, because of of youmentum, several put it that they will pick up lots of new recruits, either by intimidation or by cash bonuses or by a deal or whatever and the next few days even? thank you. >> yeah, a number of analysts believe that it is sort of in range.0 to 10,000 the majority of those are probably actually in syria. i believe probably about 5000 of those are actually inside of syria. 3000 are in0 to iraq. in the past week, they have had some prison breaks again, and that has let out a couple thousand individuals. whether these in

we'll be was carryout drone strikes in iraq? washingtonas considers working with tehran to shore up their iraqi regime. we will speak with political analyst raed jarrar. then to the world cup in brazil. >> when you see a stadium being built for $500 million and there is no food on the table, there is no health care, and education has gotten worse, than a brief the kind of anger you're seeing right now. >> "brazil's dance with the devil: the world cup the olympics and the fight for democracy." we will go to rio de janeiro to speak with dave zirin. all of that and more coming up. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the obama administration is reportedly considering the direct talks with iran over ways to resolve the crisis in iraq. where sunni militants have continued to gain new ground. over the weekend, militants from the islamic state of iraq and syria seized the northern town. isis also claim to have massacred 1700 shiites soldiers in tikrit, but the number could not be verified.

far the fighting has been in northern iraq. e bulk of the production and exports are actually in the south. so, they have not been impacted. production and exports have not been impacted in iraq so far. as you say, we are going into the summer driving season. that's peak demand for gasoline. approaching the end of the summer refineries start ramping up their output for heating oil going into the winter. very delicate time right now. we are already at nine month highs on oil because of the expectation and worry around it any more upset or acceleration of this fighting may very well create a major spike in gas and oil as well. >> what's the lag time? if there is a disruption today in iraq from the oil supply. the price isn't going to go up this afternoon. when are we going to feel from that disruption. how long before we feel that one. >> look, it's it the market. we are seeing a disruption immediately prices go up. so it's not like people will say oh, we haven't seen the disruption so we won't raise prices. as soon as it's in the

then in 2006 called for a surge in american troop levels to prevent iraq's collapse. now robert kagan is stirring controversy again with this lengthy article in the new republic. superpowers don't get to retire. wh he calls for america to return to muscular global activism. his article brought a sharper post from another scholared historian who seized the role differently. they have seen the horrors too closely to advocate more of the same policies that failed in vietnam and iraq. a graduate from west point with 23 years in the military including time in vietnam. he teaches history at boston university and writes best selling books and articles and essays and journals both liberal and conservative. like this critique of kagan titled "the duplicity of the idea logs." welcome back. what do you mean by that? >> kagan's essay, which does deserve to be read because of his stature in washington, gives us a falsified sanitized and in some respects account of recent american history. >> how so? >> well, his notion of american history and particularly since 1945 is one that we

, the second largest city in iraq. ey have become an unstoppable force. nothing could stop them and this needless to say generate ad great deal of interest in the region, in iraq and in the united states. this president of the united states, president obama, who is so averse to intervention, military intervention and foreign ventures has found it impossible to avoid iraq again after he was so happy to leave it. and that's why you have mr. kerry there. that's why you have forces, actual forces, experts in iraq to see how to mount what the president thinks is the major new threat to stability not in iraq but one that would spill over into the region including jordan. so something needs to be done. it has become clear that the government in iraq has failed on so many levels to hold together its own people because of sectarian policy that has become intolerable and even has been opposed by factions of shiites who are not, who are in power but not in favor of such a policy. now iraq is important. iraq is important not for ju

please leave a small force behind in iraq. cause the president of the united states declares a conflict over does not mean in the eyes of the enemy that it's over. conflicts end when the enemy is defeated. >> john mccain met the grim news out of iraq today by doing what john mccain does best, calling for u.s. military force in other places in the world. if only the president had listened to john mccain and prolonged the u.s. military intervention in iraq, but before you take john mccain's "i told you so" speech too seriously, i would take a moment to appreciate some of the other pearls of wisdom he's dispensed on iraq over the years. >> the second phase is iraq. there is some indication, and i don't have the conclusions, but some of this anthrax, may, and i say, may, have come from iraq. and if that's the case, that's when some tough decisions may have been to be made too. >> are you one of those who holds up an optimistic of the post-war scene. do you think the people of iraq or at least a large number of them will treat us as

iraq. and syria because iran today is the most stable country in the region it's we with iraq and syria falling apart with saudi arabia in the midst of a question of who's going to become king next the iran is a source of stability in the region and it's why it's got a strong military it's what it dislikes isis and al-qaeda so. of course it's very there are many dangers in teaming up with iran for the united states if america looks like it's siding with the shiites and with iran to kill sunnis and to damage their interests this will alienate the gulf our our longtime allies it'll alienate the saudi arabians already some qatar cutty's have come out and said if america begins in gauging in airstrikes against isis and against the other cities this will be seen as purely sectarian play on the part of america and it won't be appreciated and you can't you just mentioned that there is a danger for the americans. in engaging with the iranians but what i'm asking you if there is a danger for the americans for the syrians for the russians often gaging with the americans because you know those activities

american forces will not be returning to combat in iraq. but we will help iraqis as they take the fight to terrorists who threaten the iraqi people, the region and american interests as well. fourth, in recent days we've positioned additional u.s. military assets in the region. because of our increased intelligence resources, we're developing more information about the potential targets associated with isil and going forward, we will be prepared to take target and precise military action if and when we determine that the situation on the ground requires it. if we do, i will consult closely with congress and leaders in iraq and in the region. i want to emphasize, though, that the best and most effective response to a threat like isil will ultimately involve partnerships where local forces, like iraqis, take the lead. finally, the united states will lead a diplomatic effort to work with iraqi leaders and the countries in the region to support stability in iraq. at my direction, secretary kerry will depart this weekend for meetings in the middl

does the threat in iraq represent a national security threat? boutare very concerned the extremist threat in thehwestern iraq and bordering region with syria. and there is no question that iraq is a strong and important partner to us. that is why we have provided substantial assistance to iraq including military assistance. there are challenges posed by the unrest, the civil war in syria. that has, in the last several days, caused great concern with what is happening in iraq. what the president made clear been providinge a significant amount of assistance to iraq including military hardware. i believe josh detailed some of that the other day. we are looking very closely at other efforts we can undertake -- iraqt the rack in and is very serious situation. alternately, as the president also made clear, iraq's future has to be decided by a unified effort among different groups and political parties in iraq toing together in moderation fight the extremist threat posed by isi l. theave had discussions with prime minister and others about that, and tha

when did you serve in iraq? >> in '04 to '04. >> reporter: specialist gilbreath was in kuwait as the war began. he was about a abrams tank system mechanic and was part of the invasion of saddam hussein's iraq. he joined the army in 1999 and still serves in the national guard. >> seemed like it was all going to smooth out and iraq could continue on a nice path. >> reporter: it was of course anything but a nice path. more than 500 soldiers from fort hood, texas, were killed serving in iraq. ♪ more than any other u.s. military installation. about one out of every nine americans who died in iraq were deployed from this base. here at fort hood, feelings about what happened in iraq in the past vary. so do feelings about what should be done in the future. but in this community, the sacrificed so much, there is a

in iraq. rding to information on an jihadist website. he has a phd in is islamic studies in baghdad and formed his own loose group before joining al qaeda after the u.s. led invasion in 2003. in 2005, he was captured by u.s. troops and held for four years at a prison camp in southern iraq. he was released there in 2009. right now, wolf, he has a 10 million dollar bounty on his head from the united states. a record in "the guardian," to tell you how brutal he is, he publicly executed people suspected of aiding the u.s. led coalition forces in iraq. he is known as a man of real brutality. not a lot else is known about him at this point. we're digging, trying to find more information about him. very mysterious guy. >> why does the core al qaeda, central al qaeda we're all familiar with think this group, veri this individual is even too extreme for them? >> really because of the sheer violence, they're ruthless. take an s.w.a.wath through mosu has a reputation for killing people. what's interesting

and perhaps establish a safe haven in iraq. awaiting new comments from the president. we were expecting those comments around 11:50 usually these things run a few minutes late. we are hoping to hear from the president here shortly before he leaves the white house for a couple of stops that we've reported earlier. but i believe we have -- we still have chuck todd with us. chuck, again, regarding the options on the table for the president, it was interesting and perhaps even wise to know the president -- the sources are saying, listen, boots on the ground is not an option. they've made that at least clear before talking about the other options. >> well, look, there's a few things we got to remember legally. legally there is still a war authorization that is active that congress passed that does give the president a lot of leeway to do whatever he wants in iraq frankly. at this point when it comes to military issues. this isn't a case where he necessarily needs to go to congress to make some decision on various aspects that he doe

and one of my successors in iraq, mr. ambassador ryan crocker, just the other day was saying, america was sort of the indispensable balancing element in this whole situation. and i think that we could play an important role in brokering some of these differences between iraqis. we could still do that. i hope that we will be continuing to play an active role. ambassador crocker suggested that secretary kerry ought to give some thought to going out there and lead a diplomatic effort to help bring together the different political factions. we've been able to broker those kind of arrangements in the past and i think we could probably be helpful now. >> here's how the piece put it in "newsweek." the american plan was for iraq to be ruled by a cooperative government. but this idea of cooperative leadership between the hatfields and mccoys was always destined to collapse. hundreds of years of war were not going to set -- were not going to be set aside just because the west demanded it. >> right. so that's a description of the pro