, and that they would not be hauled before the before iraqi -- an iraqi judicial system. and the iraqi government based on its political considerations, in part because iraqis were tired of a u.s. occupation, declined to provide us those assurances and on that basis we left. we had offered to leave additional troops. so when you hear people say do you regret mr. president not leaving more troops, that presupposes that i would have overridden this sovereign government that we had turned the keys back over to and said you're democratic, your sovereign, except if i decide it's good for you to keep 10,000 or 25,000 or 15,000 marines in your country you don't have a choice. which would have kind of run contrary to the entire argument we were making about turning over the country back to iraqis. an argument not just made by me but made by the previous administration. so let's just be clear. the reason that we did not have a force in iraq was because the iraqis, a majority of iraqis did not want u.s. troops there and politically they could not pass the kind of laws that would be

so he literally moved to his own game than the iraqi government or the iraqi people did. we lost the prime minister. we lost the support of the iraqis, and when i say support of the iraqis, i'm talking about the whole iraq as a country. he lost the court. he lost the assembly, and then suddenly he lost all the shia. we have a prime minister supported by his own political party and with haider al abady that will not stand behind him. >> you talk about respecting the process, and that is less about the man himself. what do you make of that? >> i think one of the principle american and iraqi failures since 2003 is the failure to respect iraq's constitutional processes and the failure to build real institutions in iraq. the most recent example of this we've seen is both maliki politicizing the judiciary and also the iraqi army--divisions of the iraqi army collapsed in the wake of isis invasion exactly because of the fact there were no institutions built or they were eroded primarily under mower's rule over the last eight years. >> was the power sharing set up inherently flawe

in the absence of an iraqi government it is very hard to get an unified effort by iraqis against isil. we can conduct airstrikes but ultimately there is not going to be an american military solution to this problem. there is going to have to be an iraqi solution that americans and allies can support. that can't happen effectively until we have a legitimate iraqi government. so right now we have a preside president, we have a speaker, but we don't yet have a prime minister and cabinet that is formed that can move forward and start reaching out to all the various groups and factions inside of iraq. and can give confidence to populations in the sunni areas that isil is not the only game in town. it also then allows us to take those iraqi security forces that are able and functional, and they understand who they're reporting to and what they're fighting for and what the chain of command is and it provides a structure in which better cooperation is taking place between the kurdish region and baghdad. we're going to be pushing very hard to encourage iraqis to get their government together.

that they wouldn't be hauled before iraqi -- an iraqi judicial system and the iraqi government basedlitical considerations in part because iraqis were tired of a u.s. occupation declined to provide us those ainsurances. and on that basis we left. we had offered to leave additional troops. so when you hear people say, do you regret, mr. president, not leaving more troops? that presupposes that i would have overridden this sovereign government that we have turned the keys back over to and said, you know what, you're democratic, you're sovereign except if i decide that it's good for you to keep 10,000 or 15,000 or 25,000 marines in your country, you don't have a choice. which would have kind of run contrary to the entire argument we were making about turning over the country back to iraqis. an argument not made by just me but the previous administration so let's just be clear, the reason that we did not have a follow-on force in iraq was because the iraqis were -- a majority of iraqis did not want u.s. troops there and politically they could not pass the kind of laws that would be requi

the only lasting solution is reconciliation among iraqi communities and stronger iraqi security forcesr, we can and should support moderate forces who can bring stability to iraq. so even as we carry out these two missions, we will continue to pursue a broader strategy that empowers iraqis to confront this crisis. iraqi leaders need to come together and forge a new government that represents the legitimate interests of all iraqis and that can fight back against the threats like isil. iraqis have named a new president, a new speaker of parliament, and are seeking consensus on a new prime minister. this is the progress that needs to continue in order to reverse the momentum of the terrorists who prey on iraq's divisions. once iraq has a new government, the united states will work with it and other countries in the region to provide increased support to deal with this humanitarian crisis and counterterrorism challenge. none of iraq's neighbors have an interest in this terrible suffering or instability. and so we'll continue to work with our friends and allies to help refugees get the shel

second, at the request of the iraqi government, we have be fun operations to help save iraqi civilians stranded on the mountain. they marched across iraq they waged an innocent campaign and they have been barbaric against religious minorities including the small and ancient religious sect. iraqis have been displaced and chilling reports described the militants rounding out families and conducting exclusions and enslaving the women. the women, men, and children from the area have fled for their lives. thousands or tens of thousands are hiding with little but the clothes on their backs. they are without food and water and people are starving and children are dying of thirst. meanwhile forces below have called for the systematic destruction of the entire people. that would constitutes genocide. these innocent families are faced with a horrible choice. they can stay and slowly die of thirst and hunger. i have said before, the united states cannot and should not intervene every time there is a crisis in the world. let me be clear about why we must act and act now. when we face a situation l

iraqi shiites are endangered.e central government of nuri al maliki, that military doing virtually nothing to protect these people in iraq. what are you hearing at the state department? >> reporter: well, wolf, obviously, this is something that they need to deal with right away. when you heard josh earnest say iraq has a lot of problems, this one is particularly acute. the administration has been very reluctant to get involvedle in the iraqi government sorted out its political chaos. as you know, the iraqis still have to have a prime minister. they still have to have a government that can make decisions, a cabinet. they have made some progress on a president, on a speaker of parliament. but what earnest was saying is that the work remains to get some of these political reforms, that anything the u.s. has to do, they want that to be hand in hand with this. but they know that this is an immediate crisis. wolf, this is going to take the kind of quick, decisive action that really has not been a hallmark of this admini

the only lasting solution is reconciliation among iraqi communities and stronger iraqi security forces. however, we can and should support moderate forces who can bring stability to iraq. so even as we carry out these two missions, we will on the to pursue a broader strategy that empowers iraqis to confront this crisis. iraqi leaders need to come together and forge a new government that represents the legitimate interests of all iraqis and that can fight back against the threats like isil. iraqis have named a new president, a new speaker of parliament, and are seeking consensus on a new prime minister. this is the progress that needs to continue in order to reverse the momentum of the terrorists who prey on iraq's divisions. once iraq has a new government, the united states will work with it and other countries in the region to provide increased support to deal with this humanitarian crisis and counterterrorism challenge. none of iraq's neighbors have an interest in this terrible suffering or instability. and so we'll continue to work with our friends and allies to help refugees get th

last month the iraqi people named a new president. today president massoum named a new prime minister designate, dr. haider al-abadi. under the iraqi accusation there is a important step to eun unite iraq's community. >> and john, on martha's vineyard he stated that some have been escaping from mowrnltt sinjar and they are being helped to find safe place. >> what are the figures? >> lieu 10th bill mayville, he said there have since thursday when the president gave the order for this to go ahead been 14 successful missions, 15 targeted air strikes for which we assume that one of them was not successful but the numbers go on are from there. 310 bundles have been dropped on mount sinjar, 16,000 gallons of water, those 73,000 mres meals ready to eat, 50 to 60 sorties taking place, a movement of aircraft of one sort or another, represent jet or even drone. but the lieutenant general did go on to say that he felt the operation scope was limited. onoarnd -- on the other hand, i. is has been hobbled. >> women and children on a mountain in ira

he's receiptedly said iraqis must take on isis themselves.owever as isis continues to advance with little challenge from eye iraqi forces both mr. obama and his advisers are offering as yet undefined american help. >> third is slightly broader but is related to our belief and commitment to supporting integrated iraqi security forces and kurdish security forces. >> reporter: some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are pushing the president to do more. and right away. it takes an army to defeat an army said senate intelligence chairwoman dianne feinstein, a democrat. and i believe we either confront isil now or be forced to deal with an even strong enemy in the future. administration officials insist there will be no mission creep. in addition to aid, what u.s. support would they provide to open a humanitarian corridor. to get them to safety. two, what happens if other groups including iraqi christians come under threat? will the u.s. rescue them as well. finally what type of military support will the u.s. offer to iraqi forces, not only to s

the iraqi defense force has just released some gripping image, along iraqi border with syria. it looks like over mt. sinjar where thousands of women, children, men are trapped, after fleeing isis fighters. the iraqi military has been trying to drop some aid. but it is so limited, it barely exists, what the iraqi military doing, given the huge numbers of refugees involved. you can see a lot of people just running around toward an iraqi military helicopter as it touches down. some refugees are put on board. maybe a dozen. maybe 20. they're taken back to kurdistan. a kurdistan official estimates there are between 10,000 to 20,000 refugees on mt. sinjar. maybe they can squeeze 20 refugees on these helicopter missions that go in. only a few wind up going in. the yazidis who have managed to escape face still more challenges. struggling to deal with the refugee exodus. our correspondent anna coran is joining us from a refugee camp set up near the iraqi/syrian border. give us a little sense of what the conditions are like there. >> well, wolf, the people are desperate. there's no othe

the iraqi government. all communities are threatened why these barbaric terrorists. all needed to fight to defend their country. we are focused on the situation in the north. sunni and shia in different parts of iraq have suffered mightily. once an inclusive government is in place, it will be easier to mobilize iraqis against isil. can ensure the stability of iraq. butannot do that for them, we will be partners in an effort. one final thing as we go forward, we will coordinate with congress. we will show gratitude to our men and women in uniform who are conducting our operations there. they were ready as they always are. they performed with distinction as they always do. them serving with , it honor and compassion makes us proud to be americans as we always will be. let me take a couple of questions. >> for how long a. of time to see these airstrikes continuing? is your goal to contain isis? >> i won't give a timetable wherever u.s. personnel is threatened, it is my obligation and responsibility to make su

, that they wouldn't be held before iraqi, an iraqi judicial system.nd the iraqi government based on its political considerations, in part because iraqis were tired of a u.s. occupation, declined to provide us those assurances, and on that basis, we left. we had offered to leave additional troops, so when you hear people say, do you regret, mr. president, not leaving more troops, that presupposes that i would have overridden this sovereign government, that we had turnished the keys back over to and said, you know what? you're democratic, sovereign, except, if i decide that it's good for you to keep 10,000 or 15,000 or 25,000 marines in your country, you don't have a choice. which would have kind of run contrary to the entire argument we were making about turning the country back over to iraqis. an argument made not just by me but by the previous administration. let's just be clear. the reason we did not have a follow-on force in iraq was because the iraqis were, a majority of iraqis did not want u.s. troops there, and politically they could not pass th

iraqi prime minister nuri al maliki is refusing to go quietly. in fact, he says he plans to stay in office for a third term. but iraq's president, the new president of iraq, has nominated a new prime minister, a political power struggle under way right now. the u.s. military is assessing the impact of the latest air strikes against isis militants. a u.s. official telling cnn the strikes have curtailed the movements of an extremist group in northern iraq. overnight, the u.s. military dropped more food and water to thousands of iraqis stranded on mt. sinjar. members of the yazidi minority were trapped after escaping isis militants. but there is a sign of hope. kurdish forces were able to rescue 20,000 yazidis from that mountain. our senior international correspondent ivan watson has just returned, he's just there, in fact, ivan is joining us now from zako, that's near iraq's kurdish region. ivan, a kurdish official warning of po ten tial genocide. what have you learned? >> well, i'm standing on the tarmac of a helicopter landing pad, and we accompa

trained the iraqi military. it's fallen, thanks largely in part to nuri al maliki because he flew othrew out all the trai general answer kept his own inept people in place. what will happen? the united states has advisers right there to advise this military that's seemingly helpless against isis. >> unfortunately there's no short term fix for this. there's a long-term fix, get the iraqi army reofficered again, get some qualified people in there, we could help with that, with more advisers, maybe even put some people in the active duty down at the brigade level and get them back on their feet, but this is node going to happen overnight. while you're trying to do this, ice sis keeping in advance. so it's like you're trying to stop the flood while trying to patch the work. it's just too hard to do. so right now the air will have to make up for the ineptness of the iraqi army. hopefully they get enough air in to do that. air power is not the end game here. >> colonel francona thanks so much. i have to take a break.

to start to produce the level that would support the iraqi government.t anything like the wind fall or the bonanza that some fantasized about. >> the u.s. destabilize the region and destabilization in the middle east inevitably leads to higher oil prices. >>> despite that in stability, iraq's vast oil fields, which were once state owned and controlled by saddam hussein, are now largely open to western oil companies and completely free from the sanctions that held back their full potential. iraq's easy oil is finally getting to market. iraq in 2012 produced more oil per day than it had at any point in the previous three decades. it's now on track to become the world's second largest oil exporter, behind only saudi arabia. >> this idea that iraq mattered because it had oil was important if not central to the decision to invade the country. >> anyone who controls the straits of hormuz can shut down the industrial structure of the west. and i was always very much concerned about that. my view was taking out saddam hussein was a very important thing, so i --

we ended up getting in a firefight with iraqis, that they wouldn't be hauled before e iraqi -- an iraqi judicial system. and the government of based on its political considerations, in part because iraqis were tired of a u.s. occupation, declined to provide us those assurances and on that basis we left. we had offered to leave additional troops. so when you hear people say do you regret, mr. president, not leaving more troops? that presupposes that i would have overridden this sovereign government, that we have turned the keys back over to, and said, you know what, you're democratic, you're sovereign, except if i decide that it's good for you to keep 10,000 or 15,000 or 25,000 marines in your country, you don't have a choice. which would have kind of run contrary to the entire argument we were making about turning over the country back to iraqis. an argument not just made by me but the previous administration. so let's just be clear the reason that we did not have a force follow on force in iraq is the iraqis were -- a majority of iraqis did not want u.s. troops there. and politically t

at the request of the iraqi government, we've begun operations to help save iraqi civilians stranded on the mountain. as isil has marched across iraq, it's waged a ruthless campaign against innocent iraqis, including christians and yazidis, a small and ancient religious sect. countless iraqis have been displaced. reports describe isil militants rounding up families, conducting mass executions, and enslaving yazidi women. in recent days, yazidi women, men and children from the area of sinjar have fled for their lives, perhaps tens of thousands are hiding high up on the mountain with little but the clothes on their backs. they're without food, without water, and people are starving and children are dying of thirst. meanwhile, isil forces below have called for the systematic destruction of the entire yazidi people, which would constitute genocide. i've said this before, the united states cannot and should not intervene every time that's a crisis, so let me be clear why we must act and act now. when we face a situation like we do on that mountain, with innocent people facing the prospect

the only lasting solution is reconciliation among iraqi communities and stronger iraqi security forceswever, we can and should support moderate forces who can bring stability to iraq, so even as we carry out these two missions, we will continue to pursue a broader strategy that empowers iraqis to confront this crisis. iraqi leaders need to come together and forge a new government that represents the legitimate interests of all iraqis and they can fight back against the threats of isil. iraqis have named a new president, a new speaker of parliament and are speaking consensus on a new prime minister. this is the progress that needs to continue in order to reverse the momentum of the terrorists who prey on iraq's divisions. once iraq has a new government, the united states will work with it and other countries in the region to provide increased support to deal with this humanitarian crisis and counterterrorism challenge. none of iraq's neighbors have an interest in this terrible suffering or instability and so we'll continue to work with our friends and allies to help refugees get the she

the iraqi government. all iraqi communities are ultimately threatened by these barbaric terrorists, and all iraqi communities need to unite to defend their country. this is--we're focused on the situation in the north affecting kurds and iraqi minorities, sunni and shia in different parts of iraq have suffered at the hands of isil. once the inclusive government is in place i'm confident it will be easier to mobilize all iraqis against isil and to mobilize greater support from our friends and allies. >> we're live in washington, d.c. we've been listening to barack obama address journalist with questions and answers and the point he wanted to put across, we heard about humanitarian efforts and efforts to prevent a genocide, but what has he said about how far the u.s. is willinged to militarily to assist the iraqis? >> well, once again he reiterated that there will be no combat troops on the ground in iraq. that may--the question is whether there had been special forces enlisted in help in the evaluation in p

iraqi forces say they are striking isis positions in the northern iraqi cities of tikrit and mosul.ever isis is making further gains. today reclaiming the crucial mosul dam which supplies electricity to what's become the capital of a self declared islam caliphate in iraq. isis is targeting christians attacking three more villages forcing hundreds of christian families to flee for their lives. a senior intelligence official tells cnn isis is well positioned to keep the territory it's captured. let's be clear here isis doesn't just threatened the region it threatens the u.s. isis aspirs to carry out attacks on the u.s. homeland and that's one failed state with one terror group that targets the u.s. i had a briefing with senior intelligence officials and there's now four failed states in the region with terror groups who are targeting the united states. an al qaeda group, an al qaeda in the arabian peninsula in yemen an effective failed state. it's attempted three attacks on the u.s. homeland. al shabaab, also concerns about returning american fighters that have joined al shabaab, conc

they hit near iraqi curd stn's regional capital of erbil. this after they dropped relief supplies to try to help up to 40,000 civilians from the little known yazidi minority. they are stranded on a mountaintop, dying of thirst. and facing slaughter from islamic militants who demand they convert or die. we know that president obama has called saudi arabia's king abdullah as he and his closest white house advisers strategize about what comes next. i want to bring in andrea mitchell. what can you tell us about this effort to communicate with international partners about this operation? >> the call was to king abdullah in jordan. and that is a key player right on the border with iraq. we've yet to hear from the saudis and other coalition partners and there is a lot of reporting that they have been so dissatisfied with the president's response a year ago to syria and all this while as acise was metastasizing that they are reluctant to get involved militarily. turkey did drop some aid in and is helping, and there has been more cooperation than we'

this comes as two iraqi police officials tell cnn that significantly more iraqi troops and security forces are being deployed in and around the green zone, major brings, which link east to west, baghdad have been closed. so, nouri al mall lack kirk as you mentioned a short time ago, flexing his muscle there is in baghdad and the u.s. state department now clearly actively supporting candidate against him, the kurdish candidate for prime minister. >> they have been pretty circumspect, that a very public withdrawal of support for the iraqi prime minister. >>> i want to bring in a democrat representing hawaii's second district, also an iraq war veteran. i wonder, representative gabb t gabbert, thanks for being on the show. >> thanks for having me. aloha. >> we have breaking news developments there, in addition to the military fight in the north with u.s. air strikes against isis, you have this political battle under way, troops being deployed in baghdad, clearly prime minister maliki not going quietly what is the significance of this in terms of finding women's stability in iraq? >> this actio

countless iraqis have been displaced. reports describe isil militants conducting mass executions, and enslaving women. in recent days yazidi women, men and children have fled from the area of sinjar have fled for their lives, perhaps tense of thousands hiding up to the mountain with little but the clothes on their backs. they're without food, without water, and people are starving and children are dying of thirst. meanwhile, isil forces below have called for the systematic destruction of the entire yazidi people, which would cute genocide. i've said before, the united states cannot and should not intervene every time there is a crisis in the world. so let me be clear about why we must act and act now. when we face a situation like we do on that mountain, when we innocent people facing the prospect of violence on a horrific scale, when we have a mandate to help, in this case a request from the iraqi government, and when we have the unique capabilities to help avert a massacre, then i believe the united states of america ca

to have iraqi -- u.s. military assets in the skies of iraq was extremely controversial even as late as last fall. right now they welcome us there, they want us there, and it's a different situation than it was when i was testifying in february in terms of the iraqi appetite for our direct support. >> here's the things, folks i talk to all over the country are concerned with what's going on in iraq, because we lost so many men and women there. not only lost in the loss of lives, but loss in their ability to be productive citizens, whether it's ptsd or an actual physical injury. why did we lose those men and women and turn and and lose control over an area -- and we can watch and tell the heat signature, the plume, what rocket launcher it came from and where it shot down a plane in ukraine, but we spent a lot of money and effort in iraq, yet we're blind? we're in a fog? i find that hard to believe, especially with so much going on in the region, with syria and what i.s.i.s. and isil were doing. huge columns

the only lasting solution is reconciliation among iraqi communities and stronger iraqi security forces. >> well, those iraqi security forces have their hands full let's say at the moment. as we can see, the so-called islamic state or isis has seized huge areas of land in the northwest. you can see where sinjar is located near the border. they stormed sinjar and also around the largest christian town. isis has been claiming more territory in northern iraq. iraq's biggest christian town, nic robertson has more on that. >> reporter: the islamic state is big. they're destroying anything, even mosques that don't conform with islam forcing everyone, muslims, christians they conquer to convert to radicalism or die. what makes this advancing army different than others? they are braze generale general documenting their own war crimes. they don't ever expect to be held to account. in january they consolidated their grip reaching iffallugah. in june they swept into the north of iraq taking the city of mosul and kalfar and then pushing west further towards baghdad. in the past week they've begun w

and that represents all iraqis. i pledged our support to him as well as to president maum and speaker jabori as they work together to form this government. meanwhile i urge all iraqi political leaders to work peacefully through the political process in the days ahead. this new leadership has a difficult task to regain the confidence of its citizens by governing inclusively and taking steps to demonstrate its resolve. the united states stands ready to support a government that the addresses the needs and grievances of all iraqi be people. we're also ready to work with other countries in region to deal with the humanitarian crisis and counter-terrorism challenge in iraq. mobilizing that support will be easier once this new government is in place. these have been difficult days in iraq, a country that's faced so many challenges in recent history. i'm sure there will be difficult days ahead. but just as the united states will remain vigilant against the threat posed to our people by isis, we stand ready to partner with

they want iraqis to do this. they say a political settlement in the government, inclusive government is a key part of that strategy. interesting language, he used to say there is this somewhat broader mission going forward. the president talked about possible help offering to iraqis to stand up to the broader threat. how will that be defined? let's say you save the yazidis, you save the christians, you keep american personnel safe innin erbil and baghdad, who pushes back against isis? to this point, the iraqi military has not been up to that. how much does the u.s. help the iraqi military to do that? that's something that's undefined at this point. >> rough ballpark how much americans are in erbil, whether military personnel? >> hundreds. more than 100 u.s. military advisers. part of this surge of advisers the president ordered some weeks ago in response to the isis threat. plus hundreds of consular workers there. in the irony, yet another irony of ironies, several of those consular workers had been stationed to

we are not the iraqi military, we are not the iraqi air force. i am the commander in chief of the united states armed forces. and iraq is going to have to ultimately provide for its own security. on the other hand we have a national security interest in making sure our people are protected and in making sure that a savage group that seems willing to slaughter people for no rhyme or reason, other than they have not cow toed to them, that a group like that is contained because they ultimately pose a threat to us. our goal is, number one, to make sure we have a viable partner, and that is why we have so consistently emphasise the need for a government formation process that is inclusive, that is credible, that is legitimate, and that can appeal to sunnis as well as shias and kurd. we have made significant progress on that front, but we are not there yet. and i told my national security team today, and i will say publicly that we want to continue to communicate to politicians of all stripes in iraq, don't think because we have engaged in air strikes

there's been so much turmoil in iraqi politics. hasn't accepted it yet has everyone on edge. >> what about this iraqi military helicopter, nick, that crashed today, trying to bring some aid to the yazidis trapped on mt. sinjar? we're told the pilot was killed. "the new york times" reporting one of their correspondents alisa rurubin, a well-known fortunate correspondent for "the new york times," she was on that cover. she had apparently a concussion, broken wrists. her photographer is okay. a yazidi member of the iraqi parliament was on that helicopter. what can you tell us about what happened? it sounds very, very disturbing. >> well, according to the iraqi military spokesman, an ml-17 helicopter suffered a technical issue which caused it to crash. it was flying over a contested area. you've seen how much machine-gun fire they use in ivan watson's report when they deliver supplies. many wonder about the circumstances of that helicopter falling out of the air. it just goes to highlight exactly how dangerous these aid rescue missions

and that creates a stronger basis for the iraqis to go on the defensive. >> the iraqi people must step an inclusive manner. ultimately no number of american troops can solve the underlying problems. >> we agree that american troops aren't going to solve iraq's problems. they've been in a period of formation. they're putting together the new government. they clearly have not done enough to reach out to the disinfected sunni communities where isil has moved in. but what we're doing now is we've seen a new president chosen, a knew sunni speaker chos chosen and now a prime minister will be chosen. in the immediate term we're not going to allow our people to be threatened. that's why we took the action that we did around erbil so isil is not affect the city. >> why not take the americans out there, evacuate them, and get them out of erbil? >> we want to keep the facilities open. we believe it's important for the united states to have a presence in iraq to try to wring about the solutions and bring support to the iraqis. we have a joint operation center in erbil where we're supporting the fo

the cooperation we are seeing among the iraqi government and the kurdish forces including the iraqi air force providing tactical air support for kurdish forces engaged in combat, which is a fairly extraordinary thing, we want to keep that cooperation going. it is going to require all communities in iraq to come together on a common plan. we are working very hard on it. if they do, we can provide them some assistance and support. >> there are those who have argued and made this point, that any jobn argued with not try tohadist, do create an islamic state and that dadi has gone too fast too far. does that resonate with you? >> yes. baghdadi is also very shrewd. he doesn't get ahead of the capacity of his organization. he timed the announcement to a point at which it would breed local resistance. arabs in iraq are not naturally inclined to be part of some extremist caliphate based on a doctrine of seventh century islam. the capacity of isil and their ability to subjugate local populations was such that there hasn't been the kind of local resistance that you might have seen a year ago. wher

second, at the request of the iraqi government, we have begun operations to help save iraqi civilians stranded on the mountain. as i.s.i.l. marches across iraq it welcomed a ruthless campaign against innocent iraqis. the terrorists have been barbaric towards religious minorities, including christian and issiedies. countless iraqis have been displaced and reports describing i.s.i.l. rounding up families, conducting mass execution and enslifing yourself eedy women. in recent days, men and women have fled, and thousands, tones of thousands, are hiding up in the mountains with lit the but the clothes on their backs, without food, without water. people are starving and children dying of thirst. meanwhile i.s.i.l. forces below called for the systematic destruction of the entire yissiedy people, constituting genocide. these in the families are faced with a horrible choice. descend the mountain and be slaughtered or stay in the mumminger and starve of hunger. i said before united states cannot and should not intervene every time there's a crisis in the world. let me be clear about why we must

the problems can only be solved with the iraqi political solution. that is the core of our thinking as we confront the situations. the president at the same time demonstrated willingness to take the kind of military action that is required to protect core american interest. those include are protecting american personnel around the globe. he's taken actions like that in other countries. the president has also made clear that american military action in iraq would not include combat boots on the ground. that is a principle that the president laid out in the beginning and continues to be true today. >> it sounds like this is under consideration? >> i am not in position to shed light about the president's thinking at this point. he's clear about the broader problems and challenges that are facing the people of iraq right now. what is clear, there are no american military solutions to those problems and those solutions will come through the political reforms that only the iraqis are taking. >> to deliver the humanitarian aid something may have to do to s

iraqis have been displaced.and reports of isil militants rounding up families with mass execution and enslaving the women. tens of thousands are now hiding it high up on the mountain with little but the clothes on their backs. they're without food, they're without water, the people are starving and children are dying of thirst. meanwhile, isil forces below have called for the systematic destruction of the entire asiti people, which would be genocide. so they face a choice, to be slaughtered or slowly die of hunger. i have said before that the united states should not intervene every time there's a crisis in the world. and so let me be clear about why we should act now. when we face a situation like we do on that moin, with violence on a home runnistic scale, and when we have a mandate to help, in this case, a request from the iraqi government. and when we have the unique capabilities to avert a massacre, i believe that the united states of america can not turn a blind eye. we avert potentially to avert an act of

the iraqi army needs the support of the sunnis. what we understand from the elders is they are not going to take up arms. even though they don't share the same ideology, they share a common enemy. iraq sunnis want a greater say. it boils down to finding a political settlement in order to win the battle. >>> thank you zooeina khodr, in the north of iraq. >> in syria the islamic state is claiming to have beheaded a u.s. journalist. james foley disappeared in 2012. the group says his killing is in response to america's aggression towards the islamic state. the white house says it's investigating the apparent murder. foley's mother appealed to people not to spread images of his execution. >>> there has been more arrests in the u.s. town of ferguson, where protesters are demanding justice after a black teenager was shot dead. >> reporter: relative calm returned to ferguson tuesday after nights of unrest. instead of the stench of tear gas, the airways filled with the chance of peaceful protest. the family of the michael brown, the 18-yea

officials all planes are now out of iraqi air space. joining me now is senior correspondent and associate editor at "the washington post." good evening to you. what are we to take of this address from the president saying number one, humanitarian health has now been achieved and he'll do more, if necessary. and number two, militarily, they are prepared to act to protect u.s. interests and potentially fight isis while promising no ground troops. >> well, two important elements here. one, we've got a clear red line set down by the president with regard to protecting the city of erbil. i think we can take that by extension, protecting baghdad where we have the world's largest embassy. so kind of creating a firewall and an action that's helped embolden and buttress the iraqi and kurdish forces on the ground, protecting those two cities. what the humanitarian side, this is a much murkier situation -- >> let me stop you on the military piece and may the point where the president said we are prepared to take this targeted action tonight. let's

but that demands the cooperation of all iraqis. that's the opportunity we have with this new government. yes? >> you said they offered to help the humanitarian efforts. does that extend getting the refugees off the mountain either through a corridor or airlifts and also do we need personnel up there to help distribute the aid being dropped? >> so in the first instance, wendell, the iraqis and the kurdish forces in particular, have been engaged. they have a presence on the mountain. and they will certainly be cooperating with us in this effort. the brits have been the most forward meaning of all of our allies in terms of doing humanitarian air crdrops. prime minister cameron today indicated they want to work with us as we work to get the population to a safe place, so the united kingdom has been fully in coordination with us, in the provision of humanitarian assistance. again, we have offers of support from a number of allies like france, australia, canada. we'll be in discussions with them about what they can do. both as it relates

he's leveraging the opportunity to push the iraqi parliament and the iraqi government to do the right things and to eliminate the sectarianism, which has been so prevalent over the last several years. >> so he's using it as leverage but, colonel, to your point, you don't necessarily think iraqis will respond the way president obama hopes they will. >> i think they will in time, but the problem is time is not on our side right now. as you watch isis roll down the tigris valley, you see them in the euphrates valley, today going after the haditha dam, they've already got the mosul dam, i hope the strategy works. i just wonder if we're facing a clock here that's ticking quite quickly. >> a lot of people pointing out, criticizing the president, saying the clock was ticking a heck of a long time ago and general, on that point, a lot of people questioning why now, why not before, you know, a lot of people have been slaughtered in months previous, fallujah fell back in january so, do you think the president would have acted this aggressively if a humanitarian disaster, his word genocide, the

policymakers had in mind. >> iraqi oil ministry officials call it sabotage. the u.s.itary is investigating. no injuries, but a blow to iraq's already crippled oil industry. >> if iraq was expected to relieve the world's energy problems in 2003, the years of instability that follow the invasion prove the opposite. >> it took essentially ten years to rehabilitate iraq's oil fields. it's not anything like the wind fall or the bonanza that some fantasized about. >> the u.s. destabilize the region and destabilization in the middle east inevitably leads to higher oil prices. >> iraq's oil fields, which were once controlled by saddam hussein, are now largely open to western oil companies and completely free from the sanctions that held back their full potential. iraq's easy oil is finally getting to market. iraq in 2012 produced more oil per day than it had at any point in the previous three decades. now on track to become the world's second largest oil exporter, behind only saudi arabia. >> this idea that iraq mattered because it had oil was important if not central to the

, iraqi christians, iraqi shiites, other iraq iris, the u.s.enocide of the yazidis and the president has authorized air lifts of humanitarian supplies and air strikes. and the first air strike have been launched against isis targets in iraq. i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington. once again, we want to welcome our viewers from united states and around the world. joining us now, charlie cooper, an expert on islamic militaryism. and also general mark hertling. charlie, you've studied this whole thing. do they really believe they can create a caliphate state from syria, into iraq and maybe including jordan, is that their goal? >> yes, i believe it is. the goal is very maximalist. it controls a huge amount of oil. it's recently taken control of mosul dam and it has a huge stock of military hardware which is very important. this means it is almost too much for the kurdish defense forces and it is necessary that the kurdish and iraqi military should have assistance. this should be indirect military advice and not bombs dropping on to sunnis into

warns iraqi yazidis are facing genocide. >>> a troubled soul. new details about the apparent suicide of entertainer robin williams. >>> ebola outbreak. an experimental drug that could save lives. >>> convoy controversy. ukraine threatens to stop a russian aid convoy bound for ukraine. >>> and the passing of another screen legend. lauren bacall has died at the age of 89. welcome, everyone. glad you can be with us. i'm errol barnett. >> and i'm rosemary church. thanks for joining us. >> what's good is we can begin this newscast with a bit of good news. there are refugees trapped into the mountains of northern iraq. >> a cnn crew saw hundreds of yazidis make their way down mt. sinjar. sunni militants helped open that route and the u.s. has announced it has sent more military advisers to kurdistan in northern iraq. >> british planes are joining the effort, dropping food and water. they have more missions planned as well. the u.s. says tens and thousands of people are still stranded in the region, all of them facing possible starvation. we saw that r

the iraqi air force that the u.s.to a large extent has been doing some air strikes to push them back. but we're talking about the possibility of pushing it isis back just a little bit. we're not even talking about retaking territory. these are militants that act as an army, fight like an army, have strategic objectives and right now, they appear to be on the march and meeting those objectives. brooking >> to your point, the kurdish forces peshmerga no match for isis. let me go back to ivan watson inner bill, iraq. what is the reaction among the kurds to this second round of air strikes? >> reporter: i lost you for a second there. but beak, there's been a lot of relief here among the kurds who were -- their top officials were openly basically begging for the u.s. to intervene. saying that this city,er bill was very close to a catastrophe that the isis militants were only about 30 miles away from the city of more than a million people, a city that's been inundated by hundreds of thousands of refugees in just the last 48

more than 100,000 iraqi civilians killed, some estimates as high as half a million iraqi civilians killedn two months into the war president george w. bush very prematurely suggested the mission was accomplished. >> major combat operations in iraq have ended. and the battle of iraq, the united states and our allies have prevailed. >> in december of 2011 just hours before the ceremony marking the final u.s. withdrawal from iraq president obama made this promise. >> iraq's future will be in the hands of its people. america's war in iraq will be over. >> after all of that are there valid reasons for the united states right now to intervene once again and get involved militarily in iraq? brian todd is joining us. >> wolf, u.s. intelligence officials telling ming tonight they have growing concern the islamic state also known as isis will expand its capability, expand what it's doing in the territory it holds right now and possibly direct attacks towards the west important,ly eventually towards u.s. interests. this comes as chilling new images surface of the potential of this group's threat. in

army, the iraqi air force and peshmerga commanders.een iraqi air force jets in the sky doing tactical strikes in support of peshmerga units. just today, the iraqi air force flew a c-130 to erbil delivering supplies to get to the peshmerga front lines. and we are obviously actively engaged in facilitating this coordination. it once again proved the military proficiency of isil and there's a political component and a military component. and that is what we are helping with. >> you were one of the architects of the surge. your experience in iraq goes back a dkade with all these ambassadors and military leaders, two presidents. so to what extent do we think some of those sunny tribal leaders of supporting isil or isis because of or as a result of the mistakes, acknowledged mistakes that baghdad made in excludeing sunni leaders from the government? >> i'll break it down like this. it's a complicated picture. there are three main fighting groups. one is isil. there's no political solution to isil. they have to be isolated and defeated. they

iraqis.have named a new president, a new speaker ofparla new prime minister. this is the progress that needs to continue in order to reverse the momentum of the terrorist who is prey on iraq's divisions. once iraq has a new government, the united states will work with it and other countries in the region to provide increased support to deal with this humanitarian crisis and counterterrorism challenge. none of iraq's neighbors have an interest in this terrible suffering or instability, so we'll continue to work with our friends and allies to heavy refugees get the food and water they need and the help them push back. the several hundred american advisers that i ordered to iraq will continue to assess what more we can do to help train, advise and support iraqi forces going forward. just as i consulted congress on the decisions i made today, we'll continue to do so going forward. my fellow americans, the world is confronted by many challenges and while america has never been able to right every

and so are the iraqis. and we're working with them right now on what's going to be a long-term plan. but we have to deny space and oxygen for this group to flourish. and that will require supporting the iraqis as they try to control their sovereign space, as local populations have the capacity to control their sovereign space which we're working with them on am it will require working with turkey and other international partners to shut down the flow of foreign fighters. because this organization is swollen and it's going to be very long term. and one reason we want an iraqi government set up fairly soon, as soon as possible, is so we can immediately engage and work with that government to do some things that they will need to do to begin to push back. >> you have an opinion on the idea that if, in fact, there had been more support for syrian rebels several years ago that isis would never be where it is today? >> charlie, i know there are different views on that. and i will leave it to historians to look at