the concern was over iraq -- iraqi politics and over you know, who is running iraq.nt iraqis to be together sunnis shia and kurds. but after a few months the heat actually rived to europe and that was basically the moment when european nations and the united states they wake up to the fact that what has happened in iraq is actually just -- came behind the door and basically -- basically i'm referring to what happened in paris. and this collection which basically made between the isil and -- and what happened in paris. so that -- that was actually forcing all of those countries to come together quickly and have the [ inaudible ] to discuss what is the steps they have to make quickly to -- first of all to make sure that iraq -- undivided iraq which means the commit of the international community to support iraq what is the -- the iraqi government is doing to deliver to its own people and actually to bring sort of stability to iraq and sort of confidence as well to iraqi political atmosphere. and more importantly, trying to surround isil as much as they can, and weakeni

my closest trip to iraq was two trips to israel. i think that, frankly people get mad at congressmen who travel, and the air show probably ought to be off limit ares. but congressional travel is important because these men and women are voting on foreign policy and security and military policy. they need to understand what's going on around the world. >> do you think that ultimately we will have to commit boots on the ground ourselves? >> we might. certainly, boots on the ground will be necessary. if we actually try to destroy isil -- or isis. we can't do that from the air. hopefully, those boots are muslim boots from those sunni nations who understand the risk. and perhaps we can be in a supporting role. if america were to send in american troops right now we'd have military success goodness knows we've got the best military in the world. they perform brilliantly, they defeated the iraqi army in '03 in about 12 days. so the troops did a wonderful job. but the civilian leadership didn't send enough troops to iraq, didn't give them t

>> as you know from your own time in iraq, al qaeda in iraq was a formidable enemy, an organized groupthe u.s. thought at one stage it had defeated or at least seriously weakened al qaeda in iraq. but this latest demand from isis shows that al qaeda in iraq has just changed. it has moved to syria. it has transformed itself into isis. and the reason the latest video from isis makes it so clear is look at demand. isis apparently killed one of the two japanese hostages. in exchange for the other japanese hostage, isis is asking not for the $200 million anymore. it is asking for the release of a woman that most of the world had forgotten about. she's been held in a jor dane yan prison for nearly a decade. she was sent to do a suicide mission in 2005 by the leader of al qaeda in iraq. clearly that organization never forgot about her. still dreams about her freedom, still wants her to be released and is asking for her to be released in exchange for the japanese hostage. no other organization would be interested in this woman. it is al qaeda in iraq that left iraq, moved into syria, found a n

they -- and one served in iraq, and some of the most negative analysis of what we were doing in iraq i have heard from them, and the most expert analysis of what we're doing in iraq. i've heard it from them. that's one of the things i was listening for in this movie in the history of american movies about wars gone bad, which include vietnam, this is the first one i've taken seriously as a movie, not the silly stallone movies but this is an attempt at a really serious movie. completely ignoring the context of the war, and what turned out at a certain point to be the essential hopelessness of it ever achieving the stated goal that president bush laid out in the first place, which we were going to have this jewel of european democracy right there in the middle east in iraq. to completely ignore that and to completely ignore the endless mistakes that were being made by the administration, by commanders at different points was really very surprising to me. i expected to --7&m8 someone in this film at some point to get that voice this there. >> and they tease it out a couple of times but

belgium is involved in the air strikes in iraq. belgiums were worried this group was noting something against belgium to retaliate for antiisis coalition. they were putting intelligence together. they've grown more and more worried in recent weeks. of course with this attack in france just one week ago, they were concerned they were going to launch their attack. belgiums felt they had to go in round these people up. it appears some of these suspects were armed. belgium police wouldn't normally go in all guns blazing. that's suggestive these people were highly armed. several suspected terrorists were killed in this operation john. >> reporter: we know so far two dead and one wounded in this anti-terror raid a group paul cruickshank tells us was an isis directed group in belgium. isis wanted them to start attacks in retaliation for the bombing in syria and iraq. here in paris, the question everyone wants to know is are there connections at all to attacks here last week? i'm standing here with fred who's been covering attacks over the

syria and iraq. the reality is tragic and sad as the hostage crisis is, the fight is bigger. the fight is great and no one knows how long this particular fight will take, whether it's two years, three years as the american and before its say. >> a video has appeared that seemingly has killed mr. kenji goto. the family has tried to deal with this matter, but we are deeply saddened by this despicable and horrendous act of terrorism and we denounce it on the strongest terms. to the terrorists, we would never, never forgive them for this act. the act committed, we are going coordinate with the international society so japan would never be defeated by terrorism. we would have the food aid and the medical aid and to those humanitarian aid, we would even further our efforts to strengthen these types of aids. moreover inciting this terrorism in the international society, as japan, we would be keeping to our responsibilities to deal with this act of terrorism and to japan the international society has showed

on iraq and syria, the isis advance has stalled intro iraq. with modest gains. a successful counteroffensive to retake mozul and anbar provinces are a very real challenge. no one knows how the sunni tribes and shia militia will perform. the united states should plan now to have u.s. soldiers accompanying troops. direct action and special operation forces should assist by targeting isis leaders. u.s. and coalition combat the gates should be designated for employment and move to kuwait to be ready for employment if the counteroffensive stalls or is defeated. the alternative? we wait a couple years and try again. the syria policy is a failure. isis is continuing to advance and taking new territory. you can see that on the other map and even approaching damascus and attacking south damascus. the plans for training and assisting is not robust enough. attacking south i know you received a classified briefing so you know more than i. and committing to bomb faster than new members are trained makes no sense. the united states should work with jordan and turkey to establ

to do right now in iraq? you're a veteran. you serve in iraq. you see that situation over there.ing to lead to a stable peaceful pro american iraq. given the ten years of enormous investment that didn't work out so well. >> i agree completely. the worst thing the united states do is continue the failed policies from the past. as we look to iraq and continued propping up of a so called one central government it's something that's not going to work. you saw in previous segments about how long they're saying it's going to take to train this iraqi security forces three years. we've already trained them for a decade. when push came to shove, they cut, ran and dropped their weapons. the solution lies in something that vice president biden put forward saying you have these natural three divisions in iraq. you have kurdish saying we don't have much time but the only chance for a successful iraq is separating into three semi a ton mouse regions. this government has created oxygen for isis to go in say work with us and we'll liberate you from the oppressive government. >> your advice to th

and iraq embedded itself they cut a deal. we prefer the americans because they don't come in and kill us after they boot out the terrorists. now, who is in lieu of the americans? again you have untrustworthy, frankly noncredible iraqi forces. the current iraqi minister for reconciliation ayad allawi himself a sheia, former prime minister, told "the guardian" newspaper we have ethically cleansed baghdad of sunnis. do you know how dire state of affairs that is especially if you are sunni? >> bob baer long-term is the effort worth it more u.s. boots on the ground, can we eliminate isis effectively or is it time to really weigh whether we should be fighting them in this way that you say and not working? >> well i'm going to go back to what michael just said. he's right on every single point. we simply cannot take sides with iran and iraq and expect to vanquish the sunni. we can decapitate that organization but something is going to take its place. we have to' cess what we're doing in this part of the world. we cannot get in the m

we are south of mosul dam in northwestern iraq near a strong hold that islamic state of iraq and theevant uses to move forces and supplies from syria to iraq. up in the skies, the u.s.-lead coalition, provided cover. this military operation has been planned for some time now. there was intense air activity and at one point heavy and almost constant bombardment. without air strikes, it makes it very difficult for the ill equipped kurdish forces to make gains against an enemy that is well armed and trained. this is not an easy battle. islamic state of iraq and the levant are fighting back and using heavy weapons. rockets have been landing here peshmerga positions. but the in coming fire then force the peshmerga to retreat. the forces push on capturing a number of towns and villages. they were accompanied by the son of the president of the regional government the field commander overseeing an operation that kurdish officials say this strategically important. >> translator: our operation began in the early hours of wednesday. we pushed them back. first of all they were too close to the c

so iraq is a real problem. the way things going will not be acceptable and we will have to continue to do what we are doing to take back the territory they have lost. >> senator ernst. >> thank you madam chair. gentlemen, thank you for being here today and i appreciate your service on this senator ernst. panel as well as your years of service to the united states, we are very great all for that. i do agree that we have to have a national security strategy and this is very important. what we have seen and all of you had mentioned that with sequestration, our effects globally have been diminished. we are reacting in a knee-jerk way to threats as they become visible. we don't have an over arching strategy anywhere today and i think that is a great detriment to all of the citizens here in the united they. what i would like to focus on is what what we have seen in iraq. i served in iraq from 2003 to 2004 at a low company level, we invested so much effort in that region and we with drew from that region before many o

one, let's just worry about iraq right now. tell you from baghdad south to basra, things are fine. there have been some attacks and there have been some car bomb but that's the way iraq lived. the people are going out and going to restaurants, they're shopping and it's what's happening. now when you go out west to al anbar, that's a whole section. that's a mess right now. we do have u.s. forces out there all of the way out to al assad air base. i would call that the front line. they're helping the iraqis train and fight. they're not on the ground but they are training them and are providing them close air support. if you go up north up to the tigris river valley that's where you're getting a lot of the shia militia going up and you're seeing that but the iraqi security forces are also having some success. they're taken taji they've taken baji. they've done some good things up there, so we right now, what i would call is i think we've neutralized icis in iraq. syria, whole different story. >> peter bergen do you agree with that

. >> reporter: growing discontent and we speak to people inside iraq iraq iraq isil and say they aretages in their city. >>> thousands of jobs depends on the oil industry and where the current low oil prices are raising concerns about the future. ♪ hello, egypt's president sisi is cutting short his trip to ethiopia for the african union summit, a deal with a string of deadly attacks in egypt's sinai peninsula and egypt army say it killed 26 people and most soldiers but some reports put that figure more than 40 and we have details. >> reporter: the force of the explosion can be seen from far away. fighters from an armed group called sinai providence say they are responsible for thursday attack and pledged allegiance to iraq or isil and used rockets and a car bomb in the capital of sinai and nearby town in four separate attacks and told al jazeera why the military base may have been chosen for a target. >> translator: what we learned is many injured and many in the battalion were injured and it's not only a military base but detention centers for what the army describes as extremists.

now there is a network that takes them to iraq and syria.it's hard for the government to handle this 100%. they there will be a little hold and i'm not sure the government is sincere 100% of exchanging information for security reasons. >> absolutely. but as john kerry said it is going to be hard and long f, but they 'em seem to be focused. >>> the prime minister of ukraine is accusing pro-russian separatists of killing 13 people after a shell hit a bus in donetsk. it is one of the deadliest attacks in the east for months. >> reporter: life stopped dead again in donetsk. this time a bus hit by a shell or mortar some passengers died in their seats. others were thrown into the road. >> translator: they called me and told me my wife was killed. i haven't seen what happened. i just came. i saw them putting her into a car. >> reporter: his wife's body was then dumped into a van. these dead now bring the total killed in the conflict to over 4,800. brought out on to the same street a ukrainian colonel captured in recent fighting. [ shouting ] >> rep

that's the cost of, like, 40 seconds of the actual iraq war. (applause) so "american sniper" is already the biggest january release ever and is on pace to beat "passion of the christ" as the number one r-rated movie of all time. it's official. bradley cooper is the new r-rated jesus. (cheers and applause) (hallelujah chorus music) ♪ hallelujah! ♪ ♪ hallelujah! ♪ >> larry: so why is this movie striking such a chord with people? maybe people just love a good war hero. >> most of the conversation about iraq is negative, and most of the conversation about what happened with our country in iraq is negative. this is a positive portrayal. this is a film with an american hero. >> larry: and hollywood is taking notice. columbia pictures is rebooting "black hawk down" as a musical called "black hawk up"! (laughter) (applause) i've heard neil patrick harris crushes it. whatever it is, "american sniper" has been a virtual i.e.d of emotions since its release. this film has become a political football faster than you could say "michael moore." michael moore

secondly on iraq and syria iraq itself, i was a four star at the time. i didn't think we should -- i was shocked that in the first week of december, 2001, we made a decision to go to war in iraq. just after we toppled the taliban, i was asking the question why. and when. et cetera. i could see the need for it certainly at some point because of the wmd issue. but i -- my view at that time was to stay on top of the al qaeda, which was the reason we were in afghanistan and run these guys into every hole that they're in until we get rid of them. that's kind of where i was. and if that meant dealing with pakistan and every system, so what. after what took place here that was my motivation. in syria listen syria is a complex a thing as we had on our plate. and you can be on any side of this issue and make reasonable sense. the only thing that concerns me about this and i respect jim when he said i want to know what the political end state is, i think what we try to achieve in syria is assad goes some form of that government stays, in partnership with moderate

as a result, iraq has collapsed.ire national security team suggested three or four years ago to create a no fly zone and train the free syrian army while it mattered. almost 3,000 people killed in syria on his watch. syria, the worst has yet to come. lebanon, and jordan have closed their borders. where do the people in syria, where do they go now? hell on earth is about to descend upon syria and it matters to us. the safe havens in jordan and syria and iraq isil and other terrorist groups are a direct threat to the united states. letting people out of gitmo in this environment i think is irresponsible. so, yes, his campaign promises should be adjusted based on reality. >> and final question, john mccain when he was asked about mitt romney running for president, he talked about his illegitimate son running for president referring to you. where are you on this? i hear you're polling now to test your ability to run for president. >> we're not polling, but we set up a testing the waters committee under the irs code that

that is the lesson of iraq and afghanistan. however there is an additional lesson out of the arab spring or arab revolutions is that these dictatorships are going to come under pressure in any event. you've had the dictatorships in tunisia libya egypt yemen syria either removed or under intense pressure and what this in my view shows you you're dealing with a deeper problem in which you are going to have to build govern. you're going to have to try and have the force capability to defeat the extremists and then there's the wider problem of islamism and what do you do with it? i will say this to people. the miscalculation made after 9/11 and i was in power then was that if you got rid of the dictatorship then the problem you know you gave people a democratic process give you unlimited support then things should have worked in a reasonably easy day as indeed they did in kosovo and serbia. the difference is i think what you can see now when you look back over decades the problem has grown, it's come to a boiling point if you like

a polit took place between al nusra and the islamic state of iraq.s retaliation , immediately issued a state called the islamic state of iraq and syria and later, an islamic state, which means that now zawahere and baghdadi and the whole baghdadi. >> that's why everything we hear that these two organizations are going to join efforts together is just assumptions. >> right. >> there is tee logical divisions now that will prevent al-qaeda and isis to join efforts together because i don't under. >> when you say there are theological divisions, often, it's easy for us to look at terrorism as something that is centered on the west, targeting the west. and as you studied, this you learned something differently. they believe they are following uslam in its purest form, which is totally ab curt. bid laudin in the geejihad, yes it focused on the u.s., on the west, but it also focused on the middle east. there are many incubating factors that leads to terrorism, that leads to violent extremism, to recruitment. you know, for example, an education system in the

you have al qaeda in iraq. of course, you have al qaeda sleeper cells that we have seen pop up in europe, australia, and god forgive in n canada and united states. the residual legacy ofbin laden still seems to be a will to attract these young arabs who want to be a member of al qaeda, aattracted to what is essentially this death cult of al qaeda. we have not a great deal of success to turn that off. host: we have this map of the middle east that we want to put back up. ambassador ginsberg, wwhat kind of military presence to u. s. have in __ does the u. s. have in this area? guest: if you go to iraq after the islamic state was able to take the city of mosul, the second largest city of iraq and cease territory on the turkish syrian border __ if you draw the line all the way to the outskirts of iraq, to baghdad, you have territory where at least 2000 to 3000 american advisers __ were not in combat roles __ but in advisory roles. you have that force. you also have american counterterrorism forces in yemen. their s

but now iraq is asking for more assistance. so is what i do that way want that under all these circumstances the u.s. can give? >> well, i mean, i think iraq is in a very difficult and fragile situation. other the summer, the summer that just passed the country came very close to breaking apart, with the expansion of isis they were on the outskirts of baghdad so i think this repeated call for greater assistance is a cry for help. it reflects the very fragile sense today without increased american air such port, and weapons, sales that the country is not going to come back on it's feet. >> so i think. >> you look at with the military has done, there are currently plans to send 10,000 m 16 rivals, 12,000 sets of body armor, 250 armors vehicled a boost in the number of military trainers but again, we are still hearing that iraq feelses lice thing fighting on it's own right and i think all of this highlights hooper darius the situation is. let's remember, that when isis with a few hundred fighters defeated effectively a 20,000 man

i couldn't self-justify what i was doing in iraq anymore. what we as a nation were doing in iraq. out who i was as a human being and what i wanted out of life. and what legacy i was going to leave for my children. i struggle every day, every day i struggle. >> this is a situation where we could and should have done a better job of protecting innocent life because this is not only a war of territory, of physical destruction, this is a war of hearts and minds. clearly if you're killing civilians in the process of trying to secure a city, you're not really winning that battle. >>> coming up -- soldiers returning from war. some of the most memorable homecomings we've ever seen. (everyone) cheers! glad you made it buddy. thanks for inviting me. thanks again my friends. for everything, for all your help. through all life's milestones, our trusted advisors are with you every step of the way. congratulations! thanks for helping me plan for my retirement. you should come celebrate with us. i'd be honored. plan for your goals with advisors you know and trust. so you can celebrate today and

ambassador to iraq james jeffrey. he's a former army infantry officer and is now a visiting fellow at the washington institute for near east policy. and, former marine intelligence officer and former spokesman for the senate armed services committee john ullyot. he's now managing director at the high lantern group. we welcome you both. >> thank you, you i judy. >> warner: is jim fallows right when he says essentially this has been an era of military defeat in this country rather than victory since 9/11? >> it has been an era of lack of success in carrying out our strategic objectives in iraq and in certainly afghanistan. and going back vietnam as well. when we get engaged in these long-term conflicts, we have not done well as a nation. the military, as jim fallows pointed out they win the battles, that's what they are hired for, but they and all of us together under the leadership of the president have not come up with strategies that have led to the achievement of our objectives. >> warner: is that and the biggest po

we are south of mosul dam in northwestern iraq. and a few kilometers from a road that the islamic state of islamic state in iraq and the levant uses. on the ground kurdish peshmerga forces advance. up in the skies the u.s.-led coalition provide cover. this military operation has been planned for some time now. there was intense air activity. and at one point heavy and almost constant bombardment. without airstrikes it makes it very difficult for the ill equipped kurdish forces to make gains against an enemy who are well armed and well trained. >> the islamic state in iraq and the levant are fighting back and using heavy weapons. rockets have been landing near peshmerga positions. but the incoming power forced the peshmerga to retreat. the forces push on captureing towns and villages. they were accompanied by the president of northern iraq's kurdistan regional guilty government. he was overseeing an operation that kurdish say is strategic important. >> our operation began in the early hours of wednesday. we pushed them back. first o

the network named after a park trained and financed fighters for iraq. amedy coulibaly was a member. police thought the group was dismantled in 2005. amedy coulibaly was gaoled in 2010. the fact that they were known to have supported violent groups for years, is uncomfortable to say the least. >> it's difficult to tell the people we can't guarantee 100% security. you have to accept a minimum risk. our task is to reduce the risk. >> as france comes to terms with the events of the last few days the country is on the highest possible state of alert. the government said it drafted in hundreds of troops to patrol the capital's streets. >> translation: in the current environment we are facing risks. it is important that the plan that has increased security is developed in the rest of the country and should be strengthened in the next few weeks. >> since the network met and trained in the early 2000, many went on to meet violent deaths. the kouachi brothers amedy coulibaly and two more are believed to have blown themselves up in iraq. police will have to answer

he was arrested while trying to fly to iraq via damascus. the associated press today said he was later convicted in france of not just trying to fight himself in the iraq war but of trying to funnel other european fighters into that conflict. at his trial, he reportedly claimed that it was abu ghraib that motivated him to want to go to fight in iraq. it was those images of u.s. troops brutalizing prisoners in the abu ghraib prison that made him want to travel to iraq. at that trial he was convicted. there are conflicting reports today about whether he served time in trial after that conviction or whether he was sentenced essentially to time served. but if you were a young militant after 9/11, if you found yourself eager to fight in some jihadi campaign for the cause of violent islamic extremism, that path that this young man tried to take in 2005 for which he was convicted in 2008, that was a well worn path, the war in iraq, the war in afghanistan, the civil war in syria, they've all served as international magnets for militant motivated isl

now if iran comes into iraq, that will empower iran and iraq. the original purpose of creating the whole mess in syria would be defeated if iran is united with iraq. iran is in iraq any way because recently iranian general was killed. a full massive invasion so without iran nobody is willing to take any risk to enter into iraq. that's understandable, by the way. >> getting back to this court. where does this leave turkey? i know there is concern there about the kurds and their growing desire for independence. what do they make of this? >> as you know the turkish government has been negotiating with the pkk for two and a half years. >> i'm going to have to interrupt you. we've got government reaction from japan on the hostage crisis. we are hearing one of two hostages may have been killed. let's go to harry fawcett who is in japan. what are you hearing about this? >> reporter: here in tokyo there has been a news conference given about the the kidnapping. they are now sating that not saying that he is dead. they're calling for the immediate releas

ambassador to iraq. he's had wild successes helping broker peace in the balkans, and disappointments. he was this country sleet negotiate and six-party talks to denuclearize -- every codec six more party talks to the nook press north korea which did not achieve their goal. he has met things like mother teresa and sinners like serbian leader slobodan milosevic who died during his trial on genocide charges. ambassador hill is being of the joseph corbett school of international studies at the university of denver. his new book is called "outpost: life on the frontlines of american diplomacy" and it's a fascinating look at both the big picture atreides come section for peace conferences and also the micro, the dilemma of whether to sheikh leaders hand, negotiating a room is decorated of what door to enter through. and let's welcome him. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you. your father was a diplomat and certainly an inspiration to you. you spent your childhood in places like belgrade yugoslavia wher

he was arrested while trying to fly to iraq via damascus. the associated press today said he was later convicted in france of not just trying to fight himself in the iraq war but of trying to funnel other european fighters into that conflict. at his trial, he reportedly claimed that it was abu ghraib that motivated him to want to go to fight in iraq. it was those images of u.s. troops brutalizing prisoners in the abu ghraib prison that made him want to travel to iraq. at that trial he was convicted. there are conflicting reports today about whether he served time in trial after that conviction or whether he was sentenced essentially to time served. but if you were a young militant after 9/11 if you found yourself eager to fight in some jihadi campaign for the cause of violent islamic extremism, that path that this quungyoung man tried to take in 2005 for which he was convicted in 2008 that was a well worn path the war in iraq the war in afghanistan, the civil war in syria, they've all served as international magnets for militant motivated is

on iraq and syria, the isis advance has stalled intro iraq. with modest gains. anbar provinces are a very real challenge. no one knows how the sunni tribes and shia militia will perform. the united states should plan now to have u.s. soldiers accompanying troops. direct action and special operation forces should assist by targeting isis leaders. u.s. and coalition combat the gates should be designated for employment and move to kuwait to be ready for employment if the counteroffensive stalls or is defeated. the alternative? we wait a couple years and try again. the syria policy is a failure. isis is continuing to advance and taking new territory. you can see that on the other map and even approaching damascus and attacking south damascus. the plans for training and assisting is not robust enough. attacking south i know you received a classified briefing, so you know more than i. and committing to bomb faster than new members are trained makes no sense. the united states should work with jordan and turkey to establish a no-fly zone and a buffer zone to protect re

let me turn to iraq right now. jim, there is now word isis launching its own offensive against the kurdish oil-rich town of kirkuk in northern iraq. >> that's right. coordinated attack. it was a surprise attack. it took advantage of a foggy morning as they moved in. it shows the level of coordination possible and skill of isis and also to project its power on multiple fronts at one time. you have this jordanian pilot being held hostage presumably in syria, in areas that isis controls in syria. here you have a coordinated aggressive bold assault in iraq even as isis has been under pressure there. the kurds as you know have been pushing up against mosul which is really isis' main strong hold iraq's second largest city trying to cut off supply lines there. now you have them doing an end-around you might say, attacking another powerful city in the north and inflicting serious damage. a senior kurdish commander killed right in the center of town. this was a big deal and it shows their ability to project power on multipl

there is a safe haven in iraq.ere is an active battle underway and a place where militants can go. they can fight, they can be inspired, they can watch videos. it is not theoretical anymore. these groups have a home address. if they can fight in syria, they can fight in iraq. but now the groups in syria and iraq are telling would be supporters and recruits don't bother to go to the war zones. take your fight to the streets of your home city. i think a big problem is really the safe havens that exist. they're fueling this war that these radicals are now deciding to carry out on their home soil. >> richard engel, thank you for your time. jim cavanagh please stay with me. we'll be right back. if a denture were to be put under a microscope we can see all the bacteria that still exists. polident's unique micro clean formula works in just 3 minutes, killing 99.99% of odor causing bacteria. for a cleaner, fresher brighter denture everyday. does a freshly printed presentation fill you with optimism? then you might be gearc

and coalition partners have conducted since august in iraq and syria. speaking at the world economic conference in davos switzerland switzerland, secretary kerry said that daesh is on its heels. >> no one can move without worrying what will come down from the skies now. >> reporter: claiming 6,000 isil fighters killed, and half of its leadership wiped out. but at the pentagon outgoing defense secretary chuck hagel who like kerry is a vietnam war veteran dismisses it. >> it is a measurement but i don't think it is the measurement. i mean, i was in a war where there were a lot of body counts every day and we lost that war. >> but pentagon sources paint a picture of degrading isil's capability and cutting it's supply lines. iraq's new prime minister hireddal bady said that an iraqi army will retake mosul. >> if we're talking about eliminating daesh from the face of the earth that will take a long time. but if we're going to push daesh out of iraq that, will take months. >> the area controlled by isil, only 270 have been retaken by iraq just over 1%. >> i t

we'll get a look at what life is like under the iraq's mosul. >> reporter: mosul iraq's second largest city, is under the control of islamic state in iraq and the levant. it has become almost impossible for its residents to leave. they now provide a guarantor to that they will return. >> reporter: they left the city when isil took over in june. the armed group has cut off most of the communication lines inside mosul but the voices that do come out speak of isil's harsh laws and hardships. >> there is no money because there is unemployment. we can have hope, and it is this hope that keeps us alive. >> some of the people welcome them but at the same time there are hundreds of thousands of people sitting home crying about the city. >> reporter: many in the predominantly sunni city welcome isil fighters when they first entered in june. the iraqi army was seen as sectarian and accused of targeting sunnies. now there are reports that opposition to isil are increasing. we cannot independently confirm that because we do not have access to mosul. this video shows mosul brigade targeting isil me

bush for the war in iraq.the security situation in iraq and syria right now, with isis, do you think that there's a lesson there in terms of what the west needs to do going forward in terms of people whom we don't like and the alternative might actually be worse. >> right. there's a very good point, and the lesson undoubtedly on not just iraq but afghanistan, but policy didn't stop in 2008. the lesson is this. when you remove the brutal dictatorship then a set of problems or elements or tensions that were suppressed then come to the surface. so the argument then goes maybe you better leave these dictators in place, even though they do terrible things maybe it's just better to deal with them. but here's where people have got to understand the significance of this growing young population in these countries, and the so-called arab spring or arab revolutions, as i call them. these dictatorships weren't going to last anyway. so all of these societies, the question is now how do they transit with this young populat

we were wrong to go into iraq to try to make iraq into an exemplary state. that was another 4,000 lives and a misbegotten effort which failed in firms of iraqi political culture and failed in terms terms of american political culture. i don't think americans will stand for ten-year efforts to stand up countries like iraq. >> host: elsewhere in the book you talk about the absence of tax americana. >> guest: to some extent it's misbegotten because it's a derivation from a true empire. america is not a true empire. people -- you hear rand paul say we have troops in 130 countries but that's only try if you count marine detachments in embassies in paris or madrid or stuff like that. the packs american yaz the accurate sense is america as the backstop as the guarantor of a certain kind of global order where we provide security guarantees for our friends that are meaningful and they keep their own behavior in check that we provide a military presence throughout the world that keeps countries like russia china, from being tempted into aggression, and that from time