but who is isis? they combine viciousness on the ground with a supremacy in social media. >> it's trying to create the largest caliphate it can. >> what do we know about the man wearing a wristwatch who says he is the rightful leader of isis. >> faulker has been a shadowy presence for a very long time. >> and how he is using a former catholic school student from the boston area to spread propaganda. including the beheading videos around the world. >> why do you think this mosque keeps ending up attached to terrorism? >> isis controls the area the size of kansas across iraq and syria. you will see why they are the richest terrorist organization on earth. >> this is like a digital network. almost like a tv station. we take you inside a terrorist troop war that surprised al qaeda. the united states and our allies. or did it? >> now, from studio j at fox news headquarters, here is greta van susteren. >> what is isis and what do they want? over the past decade colonel oliver north and war stories team have

isis is pushed out. the real problem i have is whenever american mitilarism is involved, you get american military involvement, you end up leading to much more complicated and dangerous situations where groups like isis can emerge. that's my real dilemma. >> you let the elephant out of the room, as it were. iran. the u.s. just told syria these strikes were to be forthcoming. it seemed defacto headquarters of isis, life in the syrian city of raqqa has never been easy. what's going on now, well, that's for you to take a look at after this. whenwork with equity experts who work with regional experts who work with portfolio management experts that's when expertise happens. mfs. because there is no expertise without collaboration. ...and let in the dog that woke the man who drove to the control room [ woman ] driverless mode engaged. find parking space. [ woman ] parking space found. [ male announcer ] ...that secured the data that directed the turbines that powered the farm that made the milk that went to th

isis claimed it is isis' capital. there's been a lot of back and forth. lot of syrian government bombings by the way on isis there. the u.s. would conduct air strikes in syria they said without the government's consent it would be considered an act of aggression. they have the capability with the air defense system to foot down suit fig u.s. fighter jets. if it were to happen the u.s. would destroy syria's air defenses. whether they gave consent about the air strikes is unclear. syrian deputy prime minister as i reported earlier it is in new york he's scheduled to speak on monday and followed by israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu in a footnote to all of this ainsley and heather israel shot down a fighter jet that strayed into israeli airspace in the northern part of israel apparently hitting rebel targets along the border rment we have reported extensively about the anti syrian government forces battling with the syrian government. it looks like this has nothing to do with the u.s. air strikes. but again if we hear anything from president assad it

is destroying isis.the expectations among the kurds is in the immediate term isis targets around kobani will be attacked. and on the upcoming days, aspects of the operation, fighting will include kurds. hike nobody everybody agrees that is the most effective force fighting isis. this is the moment i can't tell you. in regards to what kurds of turkey, how turkey's role for kurdish perspective, there's a growing disappointment towards turkey within the syrian population and the population in turkey as well. this is being raised in the highest levels of kurdish representatives, politicians or military people that so far the general perception is that turkey is turning a blind eye to isis. so indirectly to support, treat jihadists in syrian hospitals. but if there is attacks, the perception change that now. many people think turkey took this support one step further, no longer turning blind eye and really helping isis. this is the perception among the syrian kurds. it's been raised by many people. among the

these isis fighters right now.er thing it illustrates, phil, as you say is the failure of you are the i do act, turkey not part of this. and the coalition partners with the united states not willing i think to go after these isis fighters perhaps near the turkish border. phil, if you're still there, tell me what you're seeing right now. >> sure, john. you make the point about the turkish military. they are here patrolling this heavily fortified border. they have checkpoints here, armored vehicles patrols. what you were hearing was, yes, the crowd cheering as they have been through the afternoon as their kurdish brothers, the ethnic population stretches across the border between turkey and syria. these are largely turkish kurds but they are here watching their kurdish brothers fight at isis in the distance and wherever it has looked like the kurds have been taking the fight directly to isis, scoring a hit somewhere close to that isis position then, yes, the cheers have very much gone up. the turkish military at this

and talking about, you know, those in charge of isis finances, isis propaganda, isis logistics, isisefield strategy. all of that is very, very clear. these are not just insurgents as isis' predecessor, aqi, al qaeda in iraq, was during the bad days of 2004, until the surge under bush and petraeus defeated them back in 2008. these are now people who operate in a much more organized fashion. certainly taking advantage of their ability to harness social media, so to put forward their propaganda, to perpetuate such violence and brutality that they terrify people on the ground. even if you try to peel away people on the ground from them, they are obviously threatened with beheading, execution, any number of brutal acts if they don't follow isis and isis' rules and regulations. so this is what's being -- what's confronting us as a civilization right now. and it is more than just putting down an insurgency. it is an army in the middle east, in the most vital part of that region. and it threatens, as i said, not just the region, but all of us. this is why the administration is seeking a stra

homeland than isis itself? the answers that we have been getting are there isn't evidence out there. there are not plots of eminent importance to u.s. security. the way they worded that, they were plotting attacks that could be eminent. there seems to be a difference there. that is something we want to know more about. their goal was to attack u.s. targets perhaps on u.s. soil. the u.s. government has been really reassuring in the last few weeks that there aren't any known plots that could be disrupted or were of more specificity than at least what was said in the press release from centcom. >> in the days ahead, we will have more questions about those groups and what was achieved. michelle kosinski, thank you. >>> the human toll. the victims of isis in that region. there have been tens of thousands of kurdish residents in syria trying to get over the border into turkey. we have developments there overnight. cnn's arwa damon live on the border right now. good morning, arwa. >> reporter: good morning. you can se

but who is isis? they combine viciousness on the ground with a supremacy in social media. >> it's trying to create the largest caliphate it can. >> what do we know about the man wearing a wrist watch who says he is the leader of isis. >> he has been a shadowy presence for a long time. >> and how he is using a former catholic school student to spread propaganda. including the beheading videos around the world. >> why do you think this mosque keeps ending up attached to terrorism? >> isis controls a land the size of kansas. across iraq and syria. they are the richest terrorist organization on earth. this is like a digital network. almost like a tv station. we take you inside a terrorist turf war that has surprised al qaeda, the united states and ourle allies -- or did it? >> now, >> now from studio j at fox news headquarters here is greta van s sustern. >> what is isis and what do they want? for the past decade, oliver north and his war stories team have made 15 trips to iraq where isis is gaining groun

that being isis, of course. i know you have been discussing whether the governments reflect the will of the people here in the region. let me give you a sense of how things feel here. if this is a quick -- a very brief and quick and effective operation -- i think you will retain the support of people. certainly here in the uea and saudi and bahrain. it has been a real concern about the rise of extremist violence here. not least the extreme brotherhood who have been of late in qatar which caused a rift. this is brief, quick and effective, then the u.s. will retain the will of the people. if it goes on longer and more get involved, the likes of iran covertly or overtly, then i think things might change a bit. we are yet, john, to find out exactly how, for example, uae is involved. there is the peshmerga gulf here on the border. saudis already said they will train militarily and these syrian moderate fighters. we are getting the flesh on the bones as it were through the day. fascinating to see those who have signed

isis, the terrorist group. that's run like a well-oiled business. >> the way isis documents its operations shows that it is different kind of terrorist organization. >> they are not just savvy. they are sophisticated and they learn. >> watching this latest propaganda video is akin to taking in a hollywood action movie. but the action here is all too real and the isis pr machine is constantly making sure the world is aware. the images of attacks and beheadings serving as beacons. >> it raises the profile of the organization and as a result brings more money to the organization and brings more members to the organization and brings more prestige to the organization. >> reporter: making the goal of all the publicity clear. isis wants to show its dominance and recruit. >> they are competing with other organizations and by documenting its actions it wants to show its superiority on the battlefield. >> reporter: besides videos, isis produces massive company reports. this is 410 ages all in arabic and all in an effort

that isis likes to put on. there are many number of things in which things could go in unexpectedly bad directions. >> after air strikes, is it clear that they have a next thing in mind that they might be able to do operationally? >> well, it's not clear. the president of the united states has said over and over and over again that absolutely we have troops technically inside iraq. at the end of the day, there are limited things that one can do from the air. the president seems to have set that and said we're going to keep bombing. we're going to keep eroding and degrading isis over time. nearly every other major commander from the former central commander, general maddis and others have said that's not a winning strategy. we're going to having attention inside washington, d.c. about how this war is conducted. and like afghanistan, you'll see that war litigated on the pages of "the new york times" and "washington post" and "wall street journal" despite what's going on over in syria on the ground. so i worry tha

but they're here because of their parents' fear of isis. 10-year-old ibrahim explains simply "isis isillage, they attacked us and we came here," he says. "they destroyed everything. we have only our children now." as isis fighters advance through ethnic kurdish communities in northern syria their reputation for brutality triggered an exodus people fled carrying what they could tramping through the baking landscape to wait their turn at the border. in just a few days about 140,000 desperate, hungry refugees entered turkey. this in a country that is already sheltering around 1.5 million syrians from their country's civil war. the u.n. high commission for refugees says the burden is not being shared. >> we are doing as much as we can but obviously it's not enough. we are not getting enough support from the international community. >> reporter: these people say international efforts to destroy isis with air strikes have not halted the militants' advances so far. these are now people without hope. 55-year-old habash scoffs at the suggestion it could be otherwise. he says "you only have to

-led coalition against isis. and you've rightly pointed out it's important to the states that the wider world get the sense that this is not just a u.s. effort, that this is an effort from the region. and when you talk to people here in the gulf at least, they say this is for all intents and purposes our responsibility. and having this being only a u.s. effort wouldn't be any fault of the u.s., which in many parts of this region isn't held in great esteem. but also important that the arab countries sort of step up at this point. amateur video in eastern syria claims to show several strikes from overnight. the u.s. military saying, as i've said, that saudi and the uae carried out seven of these 13 strikes. bahrain and zwror dan taking part in the first round of strikes, qatar, and i'll say it again, playing a supporting role. john? >> thank you, we appreciate that. becky anderson live for us there in abu dhabi. none of the original allies are taking part in this. is this a problem for the united states? we'll take

and isis?e have bombs, but the question asked again and again here in washington through the think tanks, on capitol hill, what is the long-term strategy. how do you deal with some of the underlying issues, both in iraq as well as in syria, as it relates to isis, errol. >> joe johns is live for us in the u.s. capitol. thanks so much. it's just past 12:30. early in the morning there for you as well as we continue to follow developments in this breaking story. at this moment we want to cross to becky anderson who is watching all of this take place at the united arab emirates. becky? >> that's right. live in the gulf, in the uae, and the capital of abu dhabi. i want to show you a photo of what isis claims is damage from these air strikes. this is the first such photo that we have seen from raqqah. isis official radio tweeted this out, claiming it shows a communications tower damaged by the u.s. strikes. some speculation at least even their part as to whether it was a drone or a plane. we'll get mo

it is up to kurdish forces to push isis out of the city. >> to liberate iraq from isis, they have toget rid of isis in the city of mosul. to do that, air strikes is not as effective as the rest of the country. anna, thanks. >>> police on high alert after isis targeting times square. commissioner bill bratton says isis is more dangerous than al qaeda because of the social media use to gather followers. he said militants are a plane ride away with the proper documentation. >> thousands of potential fighters there to exit that conflict at some point in time. including many canadians and british citizens and australian citizens. in excess of 100 u.s. citizens. the potential for them to come back and commit terrorist acts here are real. >> in addition to times square, the isis linked web site called for attacks on the las vegas strip. >>> and a rochester, new york store owner is in federal court to trying to recruit jihadists. mufid elfgeeh is expected to plead not guilty. he faces more than 60 years in prison if convicted. >>> this is interesting. australia confronting its own domestic i

this was taken several months ago, i think. >> back in march when isis -- >> when isis first took overt is the situation now? is it any different? >> it's certainly different. after president obama gave his speech, after the air strikes began, we're told by activists who have visited there as recently as this week that many of the families, many of the women and children have left that central area of the city, some of the administrative offices have been abandoned by isis, some of their leadership we were told by an activist a matter of 48 hours ago have left the city and they're seeking safety because they really fear that they could be caught in the crossfire with all of these air strikes which are described as more powerful, of course, than what the syrian regime itself is doing. but at the same time, they're still there. they're still inside syria. they're still standing by this islamic state. >> isis has found a toe hold and we're seeing it play out in the hidden video. thanks so much. >>> now sounding the alarm for west africa and the world, the president asks for help on the fr

what does isis want? >> a caliphate, a country of their own that goes from the levant to the persian gulf and they want to control every aspect of it, politically, diplomatically and of course carry out sharia law in that part of the world they claim as a new islamic state. >> is there any indication they would stop at that? >> no they said they would take the fight to the united states and western europe but that is all part of their global caliphate that is a long-range plan. people say these terror organizations don't have a plan beyond tomorrow because so many of their followers want to die in the process. in ancient revolutions like the 1917 revolution they wanted to survive the experience. relatively few of those engaged in this fight do want to survive the experience. >> what are we doing, the united states, to stop this? >> not enough if the idea is to dry isis we started the wrong way. first the obama bugout from iraq in 2011. and now you're looking at situation where they literally dominate the

war on isis as the u.s. begins air strikes in syria, the decision toc start airstrikes was made earlier todayçó bys7 centcom. they began two and a half hours ago as syrian activistsgjf syria, and the president, we expect, we'llúhíar from himjf eastern time, perhaps before hed leaves he will speak about this. but all of this;q0z really was i qe people in prime time and he gave a speech an=z he said, that he wasfáÑi willing to into syria.isedqpá he was willio form this coalition. the nato summit, but at that point, asxd they were leaving theñr nato sum summit, the administrationeiiu(q they want to be able to go into the unites nations generallpq as you well know, it has been very difficult to get very specific commitments, and even©t p ok the u.n. is going to state that they're going to transportation, the financing, of these foreign fighters, something the president talked weeks ago and he wanted to be that was the one country there wasqñr somejf burnback with some sources suggesting they weren't sure exactly

many of the tweets denounce isis and highlight victories in the battle against isis.is from air strikes. some images show isis militants with stolen food. let's bring in our jake tapper, the host of "the lead." tell me about these tweets that abc reports showcase dead isis fighters? >> this is part of an interagency department called the center for strategic counterterrorism communications. it's basically intended to counter pro-jihadist propaganda with propaganda from the west, from the u.s. government. it's been going on for a while. the department was set up in 2010 under the obama administration. mainly it has focused on transmitting information in arabic. but in the last few months, it's been doing more things in english because there have been more isis fighters from the west. and you can find -- it's actually called "think again, turn away." it's basically aimed at mocking isis and pointing at the hypocrisy of their "islamic beliefs" by pointing out all the things about isis and similar groups that are horrific, that we report on all the time. it has only about

hamas is isis and isis is hamas. what they share in common, all militant islamists share in common. >> the prime minister went on to tell the united nations that the israel fight against hamas and isis with the u.s. are the same cause. >>> allowing nearly 10,000 american troops to remain in afghanistan beyond the end of the year. former president hamid karzai refused to sign it as a protest against u.s. air strikes that killed afghan civilians. under the plan, all u.s. troops would be out of the area by 2017. >>> the first clinton grand child is waking up in her new home this morning. charlotte clinton mezinsky. there you see them leaving the hospital. this baby will be busy over the next few days heading to iowa. the -- no, i'm kidding. she has a lot of aunts and uncles. she has 18 first cousins. we have a lot of young parents who watch early start. particularly at this hour. 4:00 a.m. eastern. if you are with a child or about to have one, hello this morning. >> charlotte clinton mezinsky. she never went to bed. >>

isis. the u.s. wants to see more of that. >> we're very grateful at both egypt and the arab league have supported this coalition every step of the way. and in each of the meetings that i had today, we discussed how we could better accelerate the efforts in bringing more nations on board and in dividing up the responsibilities. >> and just who will be doing what in this global coalition still needs to be hammered out, from cairo secretary kerry is traveling to paris where he'll attend a conference of countries that are expected to take part in the coalition. and from there he travels to new york to the u.n. general assembly, where the fight against isis is definitely going to be topping the agenda. randi? >> elise labott, thank you very much. >>> a former top commander of american and nato troops in afghanistan is weighing in on the threat posed by isis. in an exclusive interview with cnn, retired four-star general stanley mcchrystal talked to erin burnett about why isis is unlike other terr

targeting isis command. peter ducey is live in washington with the breakdown. >> the islamic state says their capital is in the northern syrian town of raka where the first explosions were reported shortly after 8:30 eastern time last night with isis command and control centers, training camps and weapons depots all in the crosshairs of tomahawk missiles as well as ordnances dropped by predator drones, b-1 bombers, f-16 and f-18 fighters and for the first time ever in combat the f-22 raptor, stealth raptor. release from centcom in the last hour lists 14 targets damaged by the missiles. the united states is not alone in this air assault that lasted several hours. four arab partners also flew over searia, the united arab emirates, saudi arabia, jordan and bahrain. fifth arab partner, qatar, contributed in some ways, just not with help in the air. we're told the decision to strike overnight was made early monday by a commander at centcom who is authorized to do so by the president. president owe baja has been r

isis minister? with the united states in the war against isis in iraq as well? i know you've launched air strikes in syria. but what about iraq? >> no. i think our view is we are against this war against terror. terror is a challenge to our way of life, to our stability and i think it can cover its self under different means. it knows no geography so we're in it for that. >> i want to read to you a statement that lindsey graham said and they said, you should threaten the regime of bashar al assad in damascus. they said "the president should now issue a similar threat to assad, the air strikes and barrel bombs against our moderate opposition partners and civilians in syria must stop or else your air power will be destroyed." are you with mccain and graham? >> well, we think that of this operation in terms of an operation against terror, there has to be also a part of this operation and it involves a lot of political work. definitely i think we are with the idea that the current regime in syria should

but isis is the changing factor. and the only hope we can have is that that threat, the vision in iraq of isis rolling through mosul down into tikrit, out to the outskirts of baghdad will force them to reconsider. really, it's just one issue. they have to be inclusive instead of sectarian. that's what maliki utterly failed to do. he continued to drive out the sunnis. we'll see if abadi does any better. there's not being enough to include them in the government. the hope is that the very real terror threat of isis, you know, right outside of baghdad will hopefully focus their minds on the fact they just can't afford to be a corrupt sectarian government and survive. it's no guarantee, that's for sure. >> congressman adam smith, one last question. do you expect that congress may return to washington to try to vote on whether or not these strikes should continue to vote on authorizing this use of force? the u.s. military and the president just ordered the start of a new significant u.s. air war in the middle east. congre

isis threatened to kill him if the u.s. did not stop its air strikes against isis in iraq. while the u.s. has not confirmed the authenticity of the video, there's very little to doubt that isis would follow through on that threat, especially after it released a video showing the execution of fellow american journalist captive, james foley. straight to the correspondent jim sciutto. jim, first of all, while this is a big political story, terrorism, national security, it is about the loss of one young man, 31-year-old steven sotloff. have we heard yet from the sotloff family? >> heart breaking for the family. we have. it's a simple sad statement. the family knows of the video and is grieving privately. i avoided watching the james foley video for the simple reason that i felt i didn't want to have the another person tear terrorized by the group isis which is their intention. i watched this video this afternoon. a few things struck me. it struck me one, how it is aimed very much directly at the u.s. its title "a second message to america," the first being "the beheading of jam

isis is actually getting stronger. isis is funding itself. isis is selling oil quantities on the black market. they're bringing fighters from all over the world with every day that passes, and a third of iraq and a large swath of syria is under this terrorist state. it's not even a state sponsor of terror. things get worse. and it will be harder to dislodge them. so the idea that we can have meetings and discuss this and eventually a grand coalition will form and a politician solution is nice, but not enough. >> go ahead, juliette. >> everything buck says is descriptive. and no one is denying it. this is a serious threat to the region. it's a serious threat to europe. so the question of what the strategy is has to be -- it has to be backed up by details. so it is that we start bombing in syria? what will that mean? what will the consequences mean? or we or our allies or our regional partners have troops on the ground. both of those are serious questions of which no one on this panel has said specifically what the consequences will be. so the

later isis in syria.that this is really one target set and we have to attack it simultaneously. whereas i thought we were going to put off air strikes in syria to a later date, i think we may see this happen sooner rather than later because many of us believe this is all happening in syria. isis regards that they have some semblance of safety in syria. they regard that border as a hindrance for us although they don't recognize that border. i'm assuming that pretty soon washington, london and some of the other members of the coalition should say why should we recognize that border. i think you're right. we may see an advancement of the timetable. >> you're talking about air strikes. everybody talks about air strikes. the president keeps saying there will be no combat forces on the ground. let me ask you to be very clear and help us because there are uniformed u.s. military personnel in iraq. they are on the ground. who is there? what are they doing? what are the chances that their numbers and their mission

i'm talking of course about isis.ts who are carving this bloody path through the middle east and in a speech you can see here on cnn live at 9:00 eastern tonight, the president will be speaking. he'll be outlining his plan outlin a

isis shot him when they took me. everyone at this camp knows what happened to aria, what her shame is dwarfed by her guilt after learning what her freedom meant for the other girls. >> translator: they rained them as punishment because we escaped. they tightened security so no girls can escape any more. anna coren, cnn, northern iraq. >> aria and so man other viy ot victims can take comfort, the u.s. and five allies have constructed air strikes on key isis targets in syria. we will have more on these air strikes and how they may impact a growing refugee crisis in the region, after this short break. stay with us here on cnn. >> this is cnn "breaking news." >> welcome back to our breaking news coverage. the u.s. and five arab nations have launched the first air offensive against isis militants in sear yeah. the u.s. says 14 strikes were carried out in and around raqqa and three other cities, we have them highlighted for you on this map. the u.s. says all aircrafts safely exited attack zones, including isis fighters, tr

isis and heorted supported isis against groups opposing him and established his own reign by using isisand others. so whoever was not against him was his friend because he thought that the enemy of his enemy was his friend. irrespective of who they were or what terrorist organization they were. >> what role should iran play in the battle against isis? >> a rant has not played the role they have been expected to play. we have discussed this with the arabians a number of times -- iranians a number of times. whenever we wanted to work with them, they shied away from it. and in syria, too, they were always part of the difficulties because their role was that of defending assad regime like rus sia did. that is the role they played. it's a fact we all saw. >> they supported the maliki government and supported syria. hezbollah came in and supported assad. the question is, are they opposed to isis? secretary kerry says we should look for ways that iran should be part and all nations should be part of an effort to stop isis. to the a what happened previously. taking the steps regarding the , we

by isis for the last several months. sunni force. this is where the national guard might come into play. something that the leader has talked about. this is not something that will happen in the next several months this. is definitely a work in progress. >> and what if any have you heard about any reaction this late latest beheading and this other front they're playing with the executions? >> reporter: yeah, people are appalled, natalie. sadly it was only a matter of time before we would see this third beheading, obviously it is just the way that isis now operates. it's really come to define what they are all about. people describing them as, you know, the personification of evil and obviously we heard that from the british prime minister david cameron. these beheadings are part of their propaganda tools. they not only do this to instill fear and to provoke the west, provoke the united states, provoke britain, but they also do it to instill fear into the local populations. i mean, yes we obviously are focused a lot on th

this time about combatting isis. for more on what the white house is juggling, let's talk to howard fineman who knows a thing or two about tough politics. howard, the president is all about don't do stupid stuff. that is a large part in why he was elected. but in this situation we have nothing but bad options and a nation of folks who are saying we have to do something. that seems very americans. there's a problem, we must do something about it. how do you flthread the needle between must do something, no ideal options, and don't do stupid stuff. >> i would add one more complication, even though the american people want him to do something and want strong leadership and want a clear vision and want to hear john wayne and ed harris in "apollo 13" saying failure is not an option they also clearly according to the polls don't want american troops in iraq or syria. they don't want to replay the movie of the previous decade. so that makes it even more complicated for him, and as you say, there are no good options. i think

this is isis. they will be beaten and beaten quickly so don't waste a second of your time worrying about it. let us big adults who think we know what we're talking about talk about it. >> nice one, bob. set your dvr so you never miss an episode of "the five." "special report" up next. >>> in search of clarity. president obama tries to clear up his no strategy against isis in syria gaffe and ends up contradicting himself again, and again the administration scrambles. this is "special report." good evening, i'm bret baier. president obama did not wait for the media and critics to jump on a very aggressive statement today about his intentions towards the isis terror group. only minutes after threatening to destroy isis, he said his goal was to manage the problem that is isis. the comments came on the front end of a crucial foreign policy swing through europe. we have fox team coverage tonight. catherine herridge with new details about the isis terrorist army and the beheading of a second american jour

isis heard us.preemptive strike against them, took about eight to nine villages, pushed tens of thousands out and were continuing to push out against turkey. >> in phase 2 here as we move forward, who do-wwr you see stepping up to take the lead in this fight in the region? >> first of all, in the region as a whole i'm still looking at egypt. egypt is very important, has the largest arab army which is trained by us. it has a significant air force. it has a tank force, ground force. most importantly a large special forces along with the jordanians that would be the spearhead of any ground operation. but i don't see yet arab forces with units on the ground. it may happen. that would be on the regional helpful. >> egypt is saying the right things. they say they want in and are encouraging the u.s. to expand the war beyond isis. >> yes, they are playing the role that we should have played by saying isis -- they allegedly are conducting an air raid with the u.a.e. against the jihadists in libya. they are

also of isis' own victims.e, the final section defending his murder as retribution for campaigns in the middle east. >> analysts say that's designed to set him up as the overall leader of jihadists worldwide, ahead of the likes of al qaeda leader al zawahari. >> this technique, is it working or not working? >> one u.s. counterterrorism official told me, all the young jihadists around the world through social media. xh increasing in number with his thousands of new foreign fighters. >> brian todd reporting. let's dig a little bit deeper with cnn terrorism analyst, the co-author of a brand new book entitled agent storm. we're also joined by our senior international correspondent nic robertson, a documentary based on the book. >> i think that is quite a factor. they're not just putting that out. also translating it into french, german and all sorts of. a surge in the number of european militants. >> there's a report out there today that al qaeda arabian peninsula, al qaeda and the islam islamic megreb urging warri

so all this is bringing the sense of isis -- the atrocities of isis to the forefront. many people here think that's really helped to gather momentum in favor of this motion. a poll has said that 57% are in favor of air strikes against isis in iraq. 24% against it. and when asked about syria, which is not a motion just to clarify that is on the table right now, 51% said were in favor, 26% against. so a complete turn around from what we saw last year. although there will be a backing of this motion, it will face many, many tough questions later on. about 3 1/2 hours i would say. >> and a six-hour debate. it's going to be quote a day there in london. thank you. >>> coming up next here on cnn, something she mentioned there, outrage over a series of gruesome killings is what put isis in the cross hairs of the west. but one of the coalition partners is known to use some of its own barbaric forms of punishment. what human rights groups are saying about saudi arabia. enhance your eye color for a naturally beautiful look with consistent comfort. find your perfect color and get

overall, i would say isis. that, i am very concerned about core al qaeda because they've been pushed out of the headlines and they're off the front pages and to get back in the game they may feel they have to carry out an attack and they're still capable. in arc digz to that, you have al qaeda in the arabian peninsula which have attempted several times to attack the united states including the christmas day bombing back in 2009, but overall, i would say isis and then i'd say al qaeda could even be more of an immediate threat because they may want to carry out an attack, but i think isis is more capable and al qaeda may do it and they may jump the gun, if you will, because they want to get back in the headlines. >> congressman peter king of new york thanks very much for joining us. >> wolf, thank you. >>> you were looking at live pictures and we show you the live pictures out of miami. we are standing by as a spokesman for the family of steven sotloff, the american murdered by isis terrorists about to walk out a

just for isis.> just for isis. training camps on a scale last seen in taliban-run afghanistan. tens of millions of dollars of cash reserves. the 9/11 operation cost $500,000 to give you some context. a lot of theoretical concern about this group. at the same time, this group has never plotted. the leadership of this group has never plotted a single terrorist plot against the west. they may now retaliate. that's everybody's concern. >> well, i think, yes, we need to prepare. yes we are preparing. i'm not sure we should advertise to sifs exactly what we're doing. it's smart not to do that. in the president's address, hopefully in a near time period, he does have to address america and talk about what we are doing to build resilience. i also think jeh johnson who was just praised and is a very able homeland secretary should be out there talking to the american people about what to look for and what to do. the american people are our best line of defense. we have well trained, finally well trained first

i think the people where phil s these refugees driven out by isis, the human toll. >> the isis reputation has sent a shockwave of fear through the kurdish villages and towns in that region. literally people picking up whatever they could carry, moving through the dusty landscape and moving to safety and security and what you have to say is an uncertain future in refugee camps. what they have left behind is a small fighting force of kurdish fighters who say they are armed and prepared to fight very hard to slow down this advance. they say they have managed to do that successfully to some degree. but they have been reporting to us each day that isis has been making progress. a few more miles each day. just take a look up at that ridge line now. [ cheers and applause ] what you are seeing is tracer fire moving in to that ridge line that is currently occupied by isis forces. and around me the kurdish crowd is cheering. take a listen. john, it's getting dark here so increasingly difficult to make out the figures on the ridgeline itself but we can see from that tracer fire that they are still r

these terrorists are not under isis control, but they've pledged allegiance to isis leader abu backer al baghdadi. in the philippines, they threaten to execute two hostages if the bombing campaign against isis doesn't stop. they come on the heels of three executions by isis on videotape. with air strikes intensifying, will this tactic of abductions spread. will americmore americans be at from isis and they're spott supporters. >> there's ever reason to believe that they're going to do what they can. they're in survival mode, so this is a tactic they do all the time, to raise money, to influence societies, and to legitimatize their organization. so there's no reason to doubt that they're going to do everything they can. >> reporter: u.s. intelligence and counterterror officials wouldn't comment when we asked if they're worried that air strikes will lead to more hostage taking. so we asked a former fbi hostage specialist. >> they have to be. they're responsible -- any responsible government official would be concerned. is it the right thing to do, militarily, where they're killing peopl

ships at isis targets, the mission is clear -- to degrade and destroy isis. the attacks described as intense with the missiles, as well as fighter jets and bombers. the targets? we're told as many as 20, mostly in the isis stronghold of ragga. in the northern part of syria. this was not just the u.s. we did not go it alone. >> five arab nations joined the campaign. jordan, saudi arabia, bahrain, qatar and the united arab emirates. look at the video of a separate u.s. strike against a network of al qaeda terrorists, veterans, in syria. officials say they disrupted an imminent attack, that was being plotted against the u.s. and western interests. >> we're going to have complete coverage of this throughout the morning. let's get to the pentagon with correspondent barbara starr what do we know? >> the u.s. picked its targets very carefully. hitting what mattered to isis the most. >> overnight, u.s. and partner nations carried out 14 intense strikes against isis strongholds in raqqa, syria, and other northern cities. the attacks destroying or damaging multiple tar

makes russians major contributors to isis ranks. the military leader of isis in syria say russian officials goes by the name omar the chechen, who is believed to be a georgian national. it's the threat posed by isis and other groups that russia says is a main, if not primary reason for support of assad in syria. moscow has close ties with the regime and says western backing for anti-assad rebels created this crisis. >> some of our partners tend to differentiate the terrorists as bad and not so bad. and perhaps not so bad are those who contribute to destabilizing political regimes that are not allied to washington, for example, and that was the case with isis in syria, and that was a major reason, as we see it, of the emergence of the threat of such a scale. >> reporter: in the face of the threat, russia says it will cooperate to fight isis. but rules out supporting air strikes in syria without approval from its ally in damascus. what should be a common battle with the islamic state may once again divide russia and the west. matthew

isis in iraq.eologies and goal, establishing an islamic state all over the middle east and the world. >> we mow that steven sotloff, the american journalist that was beheaded, also had israeli citizenship. what is israel doing about that? >> israel is part of the global war on terror. >> specifically revenge, retaliation. we know that israel has a history when an israeli citizen is killed, taking revenge. are you planning, plotting? do you see that as a possibility? >> well, you know, we are defending ourselves. we have just now finished two months -- almost two months of fighting hamas in gaza. as i want to emphasize, there are plenty of jihadist terrorist organizations like isil. the only difference is that i ice -- >> very similar technology. >> we know israel has an excellent intelligence service. do you know, you don't have to tell us who it is, who killed steven sotloff? >> i don't think we know more than the united states or britain. but i would like, with your permission, to make an importa

the leader of the sect pledges allegiance to the leaders of isis. they are not a part of isis.originally was known as the center zone and their pledge of allegiance to isis isn't new. they pledged arc ladies and gentlemenance several months ago and they took on this new name and also announced the pledge of allegiance to baghdadi again. one thing that should be said is they're pretty established. actually in the algerian civil war they're part of the armed islamic group where al qaeda supported the gspc which is the competitor in algeria. the reason i mentioned that was the gia was the more hard lines of the two groups and groups attempt to be more hard lined and a bit more prone to indiscriminate as opposed to strategic uses of vices and tend to isis rather than al qaeda. the thing that should be reassuring is this is not a fly by night operation. they've been around for a while and even though the beheading is absolutely gruesome it's not very strategic because frankly, the french would have probably paid them a lot of money to let him go, number one. number two, this means t

. >>> happening now, new isis threat. the terror group's leader calls for attacks on americans and other westerners on their own soil, even as u.s. officials say some americans have now returned from syria and are being tracked by the fbi. >>> white house intruder. prosecutors say the man who jumped the fence and ran through the president's front door had 800 rounds of ammo and other weapons in his car. how did he get that far? >>> missing student mystery. police identify a man they say was the last to see hannah graham alive. >> we want to talk to him. we want to talk about his interaction with this sweet, young girl that we can't find. >>> a new wanted poster seeks his arrest but not for what you might think. i'm wolf blitzer at the united nations. you're in "the situation room." we begin with a chilling new threat from the leader of isis, calling for attacks on americans and other westerners on their streets and even in their homes. it comes as the obama administration and top officials call the foreign fighter threat

you have to force isis out of there.e cannot just seed the western part of iraq, eastern part of syria to the people. they have territory. we have to take it away from them, otherwise they will present a threat to the united states that everybody's concerned about. >> all right. appreciate the analysis and you standing by. stay with us, colonel. ahead the colonel and rest of the expert panel digs into the fight against isis and why the white house can't make inits mind about whether or not it's a war. the last thing the nfl needed to end the week was another arrest of a player. more questions who was on the field and whether that's where they belong 37. [ male announcer ] identity theft... it's one of the fastest growing crimes in america. there's a new victim of identity theft every three seconds. makes you wonder -- "am i next?" one weak password could be all it takes -- or trusting someone you shouldn't. over 70 million records with personal information were compromised in recent security breaches. you think checking

once they turn on isis, isis' days are numbered. it's not going to happen without some sort of political accommodation to bring them on board whether that's increased federalism, you know, their own administrative state within a larger iraq, share of the oil revenue, perhaps their own armed forces and in terms of the national guard. but i think it's also going to require u.s. special forces to go in there and work with the tribes to make them truly effective once they stand up to fight isis. and this is the part of the strategy that's missing from what the president has said when he's boxed himself in to this no boots on the ground, no forces in contact, no forces in combat. >> here's the thing i don't understand. if i'm a sunni tribesman and i've seen what maliki did once the u.s. left, i've seen the money stop, i've seen the -- the, you know, i've seen sunnis in the iraqi military relegated to lower positions. i've seen incompetent generals buying their way in and then finally abandoning their troops. i've seen shia militias, deat

you will not convince isis. what is globally will have actual effects on the ground in terms of what these countries that are this now engaging in the escalation can and cannot achieve. >> it looks to me like the coalition has come with great reluctance. i think it will be difficult to engender the military support that they will need to defeat isis. that means people on the ground. we have been talking about training the moderate rebels, something of an oxymoron it seems to me. to go into syria. and they need a lot more of those and really defeat isis. in the interim, all we are going to see are attacks on targets of opportunity. far away from built up areas. we can confine them and identify them from the electronics and to the extent that they go underground, it will be more and more pressure on these coalitions to do something that's one reason and one thing they will contribute to this lasting a long time. >> we should note here as a matter of being on the record. we are talking in the moral standing. bahrai