since then isil lost at tikrit, sinjar, rhumadi and isil lost territory across vast stretches of the border with turkey and almost all major transit roots into rocca. in iraq and syria, isil has not been able to reclaim any significant territory that they have lost. i want to repeat, isil has not had a major successful offensive operation in either syria or iraq in a full year. even isil's leaders know they are going to keep losing. acknowledging they may lose mosul and rocca. they will lose them. we'll keep hitting them and pushing them back and driving them out until they do. in other words, isil turns out not to be invincible. they are going to be defeated. we do recognize at the same time that the situation is complex and this cannot be solved by military force alone. that's why last month the united states and countries around the world pledged mor iraqis stabilize and rebuild their communities. that's why we are working with iraq so the military campaign to liberate mosul is matched with humanitarian and political efforts to protect civilians and promote inclusive governance an

those hitting isil core. in stark contrast to isil, america's armed forces would do everything in our power to avoid civilian casualties. with our extraordinary technology, we are conducting the most per air campaign in history. after all it is the innocent civilians of iraq and syria who are suffering the most. you need to be saved from isil terror cylinder allegations of civilian casualties, we take it seriously. we work to find the facts, be transparent, and hold ourselves accountable to doing better in the future. we continue to take out senior isil leaders and commanders, including the deputy minister of war, a top commander in the mosul, and its minister of war. isil leaders are not safe and we will keep going after them. on the ground in iraq, forces with coalition support liberated falluja. now they are clearing areas near the euphrates valley and a iraqi force retook the strategic air base 40 miles from mosul, the last major stronghold for isil in iraq. given the success, the additional personnel i o

campaign continues to hammer isil targets. more than 14,000 trikes so far, more than 100,000 sorties, including those hitting the isil core in rocka, and in mosul. and in star contrast to isil which uses civilians as human shields america's armed forces will do everything in our power to avoid civilian casualties. with our extraordinary technical we'redu after all, it is the innocent civilians of syria and iraq who are suffering the most. and who need to be saved from isil's terror. so when theirations of civilian casualties, we take them very seriously. we work to find the facts, to be transparent and hold ourselves accountable for doing better in the future. we continue to take out senior isil leaders and commanders. a top commander in mosul, and another significant loss for isil, the minister of war. none of isil's leaders are safe and we're going to keep going after them. on the ground in iraq, local forces keep pushing isil back. in a major success, iraqi forces with coalition support finally now they're clearing fighters

those hitting isil core. in stark contrast to isil, america's armed forces would do everything in our power to avoid civilian casualties. with our extraordinary technology, we are conducting the most per air campaign in history. after all it is the innocent civilians of iraq and syria who are suffering the most. you need to be saved from isil terror cylinder allegations of civilian casualties, we take it seriously. we work to find the facts, be transparent, and hold ourselves accountable to doing better in the future. we continue to take out senior isil leaders and commanders, including the deputy minister of war, a top commander in the mosul, and its minister of war. isil leaders are not safe and we will keep going after them. on the ground in iraq, forces with coalition support liberated falluja. now they are clearing areas near the euphrates valley and a iraqi force retook the strategic air base 40 miles from mosul, the last major stronghold for isil in iraq. given the success, the additional personnel i o

isil those hitting core. stark contrast to isil, america's armed forces would do everything in our power to avoid civilian casualties. with our extraordinary technology, we are conducting the most precise air campaign in history. after all, it is the innocent civilians of iraq and syria who are suffering the most and need to be saved from isil's terror. when there are civilian casualties, we take them very seriously. we work to find the facts, be transparent, and hold ourselves accountable to doing better in the future. we continue to take out senior isil leaders and commanders, including isil's deputy minister of war, a top commander in anothernd significant loss for isil, its minister of war. safeof isil's leaders are and we will keep going after them. q, forcesound in ira keep pushing isis back. iragi forces with coalition support finally liberated falluja. now they are clearing areas near the euphrates valley and a strategic air base 40 miles from mosul, the last major stronghold for isil in iraq. given t

isil continues to lose territory area we have also seen isil has the ability to direct and inspire tax. -- attacks. bangladesh, france, germany. the decline of isil appears to be causing it to shift to tactics we've seen before. a greater emphasis on encouraging terrorist attacks including in the united states. intelligence professionals are working around the clock with other countries and communities at home to share information. as we discussed today we will go this campaign. our air campaign continues to hammer targets. 14,000 strikes so far. including those hitting the isil core and rocco and moses -- rocca and mosul. we will continue to do everything in our power to avoid -- it is the innocent civilians of syria and iraq who are suffering the most. we have worked to find the facts and hold ourselves accountable for doing better in the future. leaders. in a significant loss for isil, their minister of war. none of their leaders are safe and we will keep going after them. on the ground in iraq local forces keep pushing isil back. iraqi they are clearing fighters up the euphrates va

two years ago isil was racing across iraq, to the outskirts of baghdad and to many observers isil lookednvincible. they have lost at the dam at the tikrit, at bayji. at tikrit, and rubah and in syria. in syria they lost at kobani and it albiyah and the tishran dam. they have lost territory across vast stretches border around all major transit routes into raqqa in both iraq and syria isil has not been able to reclaim any significant territory they have lost. i want to repeat, isil has not had a major successful offensive operation in either syria or iraq in a full year. even isil's leaders know they will keep losing and their message to followers, they're increasingly acknowledging they may lose mosul and raqqa and isil is right. they will lose them. and we'll keep hitting them and pushing them back and driving them out until they do. in other words, isil turns out not to be invincible. they are in fact, ininevitably going to be defeated but we do recognize at the same time that the situation is complexed and this can not be solve by military force alone. that's why last month the united

loss for isil is minister of war.one of isil's leaders are safe and we're going to keep going after them. on the ground in iraq, local forces keep pushing isil back. in a major success, iraqi forces with coalition support finally liberated fallujah. iraqi forces retook the strategic air base just 40 miles from mosul. now the last major isil stronghold in iraq. given the success, the additional 560 u.s. support personnel i ordered to iraq will help turn this base into a launch pad for iraqi forces as they push into mosul. in syria, a coalition of local forces, backed by our special forces, continues to take the fight to isil, as well. the coalition is fighting its way into the town of mambic, a gateway for fighters coming in and heading out to attack europe, which is why isil is fighting hard to hold it. we're gaining vast amounts of intelligence, thousands of documents, which we will use to keep destroying isil's networks and stop foreign fighters. we also continue to intensify our efforts against al qaeda in syria, w

isil looked invincible. since then in iraq, isil has lost at the manja dam (ph), at tikrit, at beiji (ph), at sinjar, at ramadi, at heep (ph), at rubah (ph), and now fallujah. in syria, isil has lost at coubani (ph) and talibaya (ph) and the tishrin dam and al-shidadi (ph). isil has lost territory across vast stretches of the border with turkey and almost all major transit routes in taraka (ph). and in most of iraq and syria, isil has not been able to reclaim any significant territory that they have lost. so i want to repeat, isil has not had a major successful offensive operation in either syria or iraq in a full ye even isil's leaders know they're going to keep losing. in their message to followers, they're increasingly acknowledging that they may lose mosul and raqqah and isil is right. they will lose them. and we'll keep hitting them and pushing them back and driving them out until they do. obama: in other words, isil turns out not to be invincible. they're, in fact, inevitably going to be defeated, but

in iraq, we keep pushing isil back.lition sport -- and now iraqi forces retook the strategic air base just 40 miles have mosul. the last major isil stronghold in iraq. the additional 560 support personnel i ordered to iraq last month will turn this base into a launch pad for iraq forces as they push into mosul. ? syria, a coalition of local forces backed by our special operations forces and air strikes continues to take the fight to isil as well. they are fighting their way into the town of monditch. a gate way for terrorists coming in and coming out to attack europe. as isil is beaten back we are getting vast amounts of intelligence that we will use to keep destroying their networks and stop foreign fighters. we also continue to intensify our efforts against al qaeda and syria. they kboth acannot be a safe haven to train and plan attacks against us. two years ago, isil was racing across iraq to the outskirts of bag dad itself and isil looked invincible. since then they lost in many locations including fallujah. isil lo

isil, its minister of war.one of isil's leaders are safe and we will keep going them. on the ground in iraq, local forces keep pushing isil back. in a major success iraqi forces with coalition support finally liberated fallujah. now they are clearing isil fighters for more areas up the euphrates valley and iraqi forces retook the strategic air base just 40 miles from mosul, now the last major isil strong hold in iraq. given the success, the additional 560 u.s. support personnel i ordered to iraq last month will help turn this base into a logistical hub and launch pad for iraqi forces as they push into mosul. meanwhile in syria, a coalition of local forces backed by operation forces in air strikes continues to take the fight to isil as well. the coalition is fighting its way into the town of mombich a gateway for terrorists heading out to attack europe which is why isil is fighting hard to work it. we are gaining vast amounts of intelligence, thumb drives, digital files, which we will use to keep destroying and

air strikes continues to take the fight to isil as well. the coalition fighting its way into the town of monday witch, a gate way for terrorists coming in and terrorists heading out why is why isil is working hard to hold it. as isil is fighting back, thousands of documents, drives, digital files we will use to keep destroying isil's networks and stop for reason fighters we also continue to intensify our efforts against al al qaeda, which one call itself not be a toibl maintain safe haven to train and plot attacks against us. i do want to step back and note the broader progress made in this campaign so far. two years ago, isil was racing across iraq, to the outskirts of baghdad itself. inconveniencesible. since then in iraq isil has lost at the damn at sinjar, at ramadi, at heap, and now fallujah. and tishwandan and altaddi. with turkey turkey transit routes into rubbing ca. isis has not been able to reclaim any significant territory that it has lost. i want to repeat isil has not a major successful operation in either syria or iraq in over

even isil leaders know they will keep losing.increasingly technology they might lose mosul and raqqa, and they are right. we will keep driving them out until they do. in other words, isil turns out not to be invincible. they are, in fact, inevitably going to be defeated. but we do recognize at the same time that the situation is complex, and this cannot be solved by military force alone. last month, the united states and countries around the world stretched more than $2 billion in funds to help iraq stabilize and rebuild their communities. we are working with iraq so the military campaign to liberate mosul has humanitarian efforts to protect civilians. byisil cannot return exploiting divisions are new grievances. in syria, as i repeatedly said, defeating isil and al qaeda requires an end to the civil war, and the assad regime's brutality against the people that pushes people into extremism. they continue to violate the cessation of hostilities, including vicious attacks on defenseless civilians. it blocks food for reaching famili

two years ago isil was racing across a rock to the outskirts of baghdad itself and in many ways isilible. since then isil has lost at the dam, at tikrit, baiji, sinjar, ramadi, at rubah hand now fallujah. in syria isil has lost at kubani and the dam and al shabadi and they have lost in vast stretches across the turkey border and all transit routes into raqqah. isil has not been able to reclaim any significant territory that they have lost. so i want to repeat. isil has not had a major successful offensive operation in either syria or iraq in a full year. even isil's leaders know they are going to keep losing, and their message to followers, they are increasingly acknowledging that they may lose mosul and raqqah and isil is right. they will lose them, and we'll keep hitting them and pushing them back and driving them out until they do. in other words, isil turns out not to be invincible. they are in fact inevitably going to be defeated, but we do recognize at the same time that the situation is complex, and this cannot be solved by military force alone. that's why last month the unite

our air campaign continues to hammer isil targets, 14,000 strike so far, 100,000 sorties, ing isil those hitting core. america's armed forces would do everything in our power to avoid civilian casualties. with our extraordinary technology, we are conducting the most per air campaign in history. after all it is the innocent civilians of iraq and syria suffering the most. terror, we from isil work to find the facts, be transparent, and hold ourselves accountable to doing better in the future. we continue to take out senior isil leaders and commanders, including the deputy minister of commander in thede sul, and its minister of war. isil leaders are not safe and we keep going after them. iragi forces with coalition support liberated falluja. areas neare clearing the euphrates valley and a strategic air base 40 miles from mosul, the last major stronghold for isil in iraq. the additional personnel i ordered to iraq last month will help turn this base into a logistical hub and launchpad for iragi forces. forcesa, a coalition of backed by special operations forces and airstrikes continues to ta

it is absolutely necessary for us to defeat isil in iraq and syria. it is not sufficient, but it is necessary, because so long as they have those bases, they can use their propaganda to suggest that somehow there is still some caliphate eating born, and that can insinuate itself into the who may belks willing to travel there. it is also destabilizing for countries in the region at a time when the region is already unstable. i am pleased with the progress we have made in iraq and syria. mosul far from freeing but we have shown that when it comes to conventional fights, isil can be beaten with partners on the ground, so long as they got the support from coalition forces that we have been providing. though, you are seeing isil carry out external terrorist acts, and they have learned something, they have hadted from al qaeda, which a much more centralized operation and tried to plan very elaborate attacks. what isil has figured out is that if they can convince a handful of people or even one person to carry out an attack on the subway or a parade or some

what we are trying to do is ensure that we keep all the focus on isil. it's not helpful if there is infighting among themselves point we don't want that and we are working to prevent that. it is most important for us and you the sdf and our turkish partners and other partners focused on isil. >> do the kurds have to face the euphrates mark. >> they are on the east side of the euphrates river at this time. they have lived up to their commitment to us. >> i think it's important to understand that when you look at the sdf, it's not just kurds. there has certainly been a kurdish element to that but there has been syrian arabs and others. i think what you see in this area are forces that are left in place to hold and provide security that are principally made up of forces that come from that particular area. so i think we should expect that will occur. what we have seen is the portion of the kurdish elements that have supported that have largely move back to the areas. >> can you actually accomplish your campaign plan if the kurds stay and do you believe the

it is absolutely necessary for us to defeat isil in iraq and syria. it is not sufficient but it is necessary. because so long as they have those bases, they can use their propaganda to suggest that somehow there's still some caliphate being born and that can insinuate itself then in the minds of folks who may be willing to travel there or carry out terrorist attacks. also destabilizing at a time when the region is already unstable. i am pleased with the progress that we have made on the ground in iraq and syria. we're far from freeing mosul and raqqah but what we have shown is that when it comes to conventional fights, isil can be beaten with partners on the ground so long as they have got the support from coalition forces that is we have been providing. in the meantime though you're seeing isil carry out external terrorist acts and they have learned something they have adapted from al qaeda which at a much more centralized operation and tried to plan very elaborate attacks. what'sle has figured out is if they can convince a handful of people or even

, it is so important for us to keep our eye on the ball and not panic, not succumb to fear because isil can't defeat the united states of america or our nato partners. we can defeat ourselves though if we make bad decisions. and we have to understand as painful and tragic attacks are, that we are going to keep on grinding away, preventing them wherever we can using a whole government effort to knock down their propaganda, disrupt their networks, to take their key operatives off the battlefield, and that indiscriminately killing civilians, for example in some of these areas, instituting offensive religious tests on who can enter the country, those kinds of strategies can end up backfiring. in order for us to ultimately win this fight, we cannot frame this as a clash of between the west and islam that. plays exactly into the hands of isil and the perversions, perverse interpretations of islam they're putting forward. as far as mr. trump, we are going to go by the law, which is tradition and the law, that if president, they need to get security briefings so if they were to win, they are no

it is absolutely necessary for us to defeat isil in iraq and syria. it is not sufficient, but it is necessary because so long as they have those bases, they can use their propaganda to suggest that somehow there's still some calaphate being born, and that can insinuate itself then in the minds of folks who may be willing to travel there or carry out terrorist attacks. it's also destabilizing for countries in the region at a time when the region is already unstable, so, you know, i am pleased with the progress that we've made on the ground in iraq and syria. we're far from freeing mosul and raqqah, and what we've hone is when it comes to conventional fights, isil can be beaten with partners on the ground, so long as they have got the support from coalition forces that we've been providing. in the meantime though, you're seeing isil carry out external terrorist acts, and they have learned something, they have adopted from al qaeda, which at a much more centralized operation and tried to plan very elaborate attacks, and what isil has figured out is that

in the weeks since, be relentless in our fight against isil. and on the ground in syria and iraq, isil continues to lose territory." president obama says: "in other words isil turns out not to be invincible - they are in fact inevitably going to be defeated." earlier in the day mister obama chaired a national security council meeting at the pentagon focused on the terror group. president obama says: "tragically however we have also seen that isil still has the ability to direct and inspire attacks." the president's commen same day the pentagon released new video of u-s-led coalition air strikes on isis targets... the military says one video was shot in libya on august first and shows a strike on an isis tank...near the libyan city of sirte... u.s. planes have been conducting a number of air strikes in libya lately... after the libyan government asked for help in their ongoing fight against a growing number of isis militants in their country. meantime, the u-s defense department also released new video of what they say are coalition air strikes

in the meantime, you see isil carry out external terrorist acts. and they've learned something they've adapted from al qaeda which at a much more centralized operation and tried to plan very elaborate takes. and what isil figured out is if they can convince a handful of people or even one person to carry out an take on a subway or at a parade or some other public venue, and kill scores of people as owe foesd thousa as opposed to thousands of people, it still creates a concern that elevates their profile. so in some ways rooting out these networks for smaller less complicate aid tack says tougher because it doesn't require as many resources on their part or preparation. but it does mean that we've got to do even more to generate the intelligence and to work with our partners in order to degrade those networks. and the fact is that those networks will probably sustain themselves even after isil is defeated in rocka and mosul. but what we've learned from our efforts to defeat al qaeda, our efforts get better and we adapt as well as eventually we will

what isil has figured out is if they can convince a handful of people or even one person to carry out an attack on a subway or at a parade or some other public venue, and kill scores of people opposed to thousands of people, it still creates the kinds of fear and concern that elevates their profile. so in some ways, rooting out these networks for smaller, less complicated attacks is tougher, because it doesn't require as many resources on their part or preparation, but it does mean that we've got to do even more to generate the intelligence and to work with our partners in order to degrade those networks. and the fact is, those networks will probably sustain themselves even after isil is defeated in raqqah and mosul. but what we've learned from our efforts to defeat al qaeda is that if we stay on it, our intelligence gets better. and we adapt, as well. and eventually, we will dismantle these networks also. this is part of the reason why, however, it is so important for us to keep our eye on the ball and not panic, not succumb to fear, because isil can't defeat the united states of ame

so the efforts to counter isil or isis are crucial. that's why singapore is a member of the coalition and we're making a modest contribution to the effort, and we're going to be sending a medical team to iraq. we have already been participating with air-to-air refueling, image interpretation and in other ways. now we're going to send a medical team into iraq. it is also important to fundamentally address the root source of violent extremism in order to counter isil and was as address the issues of extremists views being propagated by isil. discussed amongst our two - countries. we look forward to working together and taking our relationship even further forward. thank you. >> first question is margaret brennan. >> thank you, mr. president. given the republican nominee's recent comments about the khan family and his statement that if president, he would consider recognizing russia's annexation of crimea, does it make you question his fitness to be president? second, sir, on libya, you've said in the past that the worst mistake of your p

because isil can't defeat the united states of america. or our nato partners. we can defeat ourselves, though, if we make bad decisions. and we have to understand that as painful and as tragic as these attacks are, that we are going to keep on grinding away, can. using a whole of government effort to knock down their propaganda, to disrupt their networks, to take their key operatives off the battlefield. and that eventually, we will win. but if we -- if we start making bad decisions, indiscriminately killing civilians, for example, instituting offensive religious tests on who can enter the country, those kinds of strategies can end up back firing. in order for us to ultimately win this fight, we cannot frame this as a clash of civilizations between the west and islam. that plays exactly into the hands of preversions -- perverse preparations of islam they're putting forward. as far as mr. trump, we are going to go by the law which is that both tradition and the law, that if somebody is a nominee, the republic nominee for president, they need to get security brie

they will envelope mosul and collapse isil's control. we'll have to see what isil does and how hard they fight. one way or another, mosul will be taken. >> how many more troops can americans at home expect to be going to iraq? >> well, right now, there are about 3500 u.s. forces there. and about 3500 coalition forces. and their role is to enable tens of thousands of iraqi army units, because that's the number we train and equip to take back their country. so i can't predict that. the only thing i can say is we are prepared to do more wherever we see an opportunity to accelerate this defeat. so if more is required, and i'm sure there will be additional authorities and additional capabilities that will be required, i will go to the president with the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, as he'll say go for it, because we need to get this done quickly. >> iran. were you consulted in any aspect of this deal with the $400 million? >> it's not a defense department matter, it's been a state department matter, so i can't add anything to what y

and the will probably sustain themselves even after isil is defeat. but what we've learned is we adapt, and eventually, we will dismantle the networks, also. but this is part of the reason, however, it's so important for and not panic, not succumb to fear because isil can't defeat the united states of america our nato partnerships. we can defeat ourselves, though, if we make bad decisions. and we have to happened that, as painful and as tragic as these attacks are, that we are going to keep and preventing them wherever we can using a whole government network to disrupt their networks and take key operatives off the battlefield and eventually, we will win. bad decisions, indiscriminantly killing civilians, for example, in some of the areas, instituting dovessive religious tests on who can enter the country, you know, those kinds of strategies can end up backfiring because in order for us to ultimately win this fight, we cannot frame this as a clash of civilizations between the west and islam. that plays circumstances is -- isil and perverse interpretat

they will envelope mosul and collapse isil's control. we'll have to see what isil does and how hard they fight. one way or another, mosul will be taken. >> how many more troops can americans at home expect to be going to iraq? >> well, right now, there are about 3500 u.s. forces there. and about 3500 coalition forces. and their role is to enable tens of thousands of iraqi army units, because that's the number we train and equip to take back their country. so i can't predict that. the only thing i can say is we are prepared to do more wherever we see an opportunity to accelerate this defeat. so if more is required, and i'm sure there will be additional authorities and additional capabilities that will be required, i will go to the president with the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, as he'll say go for it, because we need to get this done quickly. >> iran. were you consulted in any aspect of this deal with the $400 million? >> it's not a defense department matter, it's been a state department matter, so i can't add anything t you've

or being able to counter message isil in a place like southeast asia. and ensure information-sharing with countries where there may be a budding terrorist threat. those are all issues of military finesse. and intelligence. and precision. and that -- those are areas where singapore excels. to in addition to being a very important logistical hub and center for our operations, the partnership that we're able to maintain helps us to work with a whole range of other countries, much more effectively than we would if singapore weren't there and we were having to just try to gather up all these countries individually. and that's where the asean and east asia summit is important. because it is institutionalizing many of these practices in ways that hopefully avoids conflict in the first place. which would be in everybody's interests. as far as where the relationship goes, i think the prime minister is absolutely right. 50 years from now, it's very hard to anticipate where we're going. but there are certain trends that i think are inevitable. the asia-pacific reg

so they look at the enemy, isil, but the kurdish mitt -- militia, the y.p.g. is also considered an enemy as far as the turk are concerned. so we have a situation in which the united states is supporting the rebel forced an the kurdish militia against the syrian government and against isil the >> the turks clearly don't like the americans commenting on their relations with the kurdish group. does turkey seem to you to have a stronger hand at the moment? i mean is washington kind of relying on turkey and the turkish military to go after isis and that means its compromising some of its relations with the syrian rebels? >> as a matter of fact, it is. there are reports that the united states was planning a commando operation with the turkish go. waiting for a signoff coming from the white house. but the turkish government decided to operate without our consent or foreknowledge so they went into syria for the purpose of attacking isil, those groups inside. >> so what are the long-term implications for the u.s.? i mean turkly being a key ally, is it a tactical decisi

further actions would complicate efforts to have united front against isil we want.aura: for more on the situation in syria i spoke a short time ago with the former assistant secretary of defense who is now at the german marshall fund. the white house publicly rebuked turkey today for going after the syrian rebels that are actually backed by washington. is turkey going to listen? >> we will see. vice president biden last week sent a very clear message to the kurdish rebels from of those we have been working in partnership with on the ground in syria, that they should not move west of the euphrates river. we are going to value the work they are doing but that we are sensitive to the turkish allie'' concerns about movement into territory turkey's concerned about. we will have to see if the kurds listen and also if the turks listen. we have sent a clear message to the turks not to attack our friends on the ground. laura: isn't this a huge distraction? the battle supposed to be about fighting islamic state in syria and now they are going after their pet project, the kurd

you see your new decision to bomb isil that there is a directresult? >> yes. i think the republican nominee is unfit to serve as president . i said so last week and he keeps on proving it. the notion that he would attack a gold star family, that has made such extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of our country, the fact that he doesn't appear to have basic knowledge around critical issues in europe, in the middle east , in asia means that he's woefully unprepared to do this job. and this is not just my opinion. i think what's been interesting is the repeated denunciations of his statements by leading republicans. house and the senate majority leader and prominent republicans likejohn mccain . and the question i think that they have to ask themselves is, if you are repeatedly having to say in very strong terms that what he has said is unacceptable, why are you still endorsing him? what does this say about your party this is your standardbearer? this isn't a situation where you have an episodic gaffe. this is daily. and weekly, where they are distancing themselves

views being propagated by isil. these are the major issues that we've discussed and we look forward to working together and take our relationship even further forward. president obama: first question is margaret grennan. >> thank you, mr. president. given the republican nominee's recent family about the kahn family and if president he would consider recognizing russian annexation of crimea does it make you question his fitness as president. and you said the worst thing is to plan for the nato intervention in libya. do you see your new dediscussion to bomb isis as a direct result of that? president obama: yes, i think the republican nominee is unfit to serve as president. i said so last week. e keeps on proving it. he notion that he would attack a gold star family that had made such extraordinary sacrifices on , the fact ur country that he doesn't appear to have basic knowledge around critical , in europe and the immediatele east, in asia means that he's woefully unprepared to do this job. this is not just my opinion

so i am going to focus on isil or isis, daesh as well. since this organization has the most developed public media apparatus that we have seen so far, compared to any organization with respect to its online videos, multilingual publications, this is clearly the most sophisticated organization of its type that we have seen so far when it comes to its public media. and i'm going to focus on its revival of the caliphate. since this is a critically important development in jihadist rhetoric with global inapplications. so by reviving the caliphate, isil is attempting to associate itself with past glory. but some of you might have thought, well -- or asked what is the caliphate? what exactly does that mean? and how is it relevant for today? so what does it mean? first of all, a caliph comes from the word to succeed. this meant the successor to the prophet muhammad. a caliph was thought to have the political authority of muhammad but he wasn't a prophet himself. and some of isil's propaganda, of course, connecting itself with the historical cali

security interest in our fight against isil that they re able to finish the job. e are working in partnership with them to usher that -- assure that isil does not get a stronghold in libya as libya begins what will be a long process to establish a functioning government and security system there. the good news is that they recognize this terrorist organization in their midst is contrary to their national interest as well as the world's. we are hopeful that having ompleted this process of driving isil out that they will be in a position to start bringing parties together inside that country, and not only us but the europeans and other ountries around the world have a great interest in seeing stability in libya because the absence of stability has helped to fuel some of the challenges we have seen in terms of the migration crisis in europe and some of the humanitarian tragedies we have seen in the open seas between libya and urope. >> all right, nicholas. >> thank you. the first question is for prime minister lee. he has spoken about the continuation of the u.s. reb

even isil's leaders know they will keep losing. messages to followers is they may lose mosul and they are right. we'll keep driving them out until they do. isil turns out not to be invincible and they will be defeated. >> reporter: he pushed back against critics who called a 400 million dollar cash payment to iran a ransom payment. >> we have a policy that we don't pay ransom. the notion that we would somehow start now in this high profile way and announce it to the world even as we're looking into the faces of other hostage families who's loved ones are being held hostage and say to them that we don't pay ransom defies logic. the reason we had to give them cash is because we're so stripped in maintaining sanctions and we do not have a banking relationship with iran that we couldn't send them a check. we could not wire the money. it's not clear at all why cash as opposed to a check or wire transfer has made this into a news story. >> reporter: the president weighing in again on the 2016 presidential race and calling out donald trum

even isil's leaders know they're going to keep losing. their message to followers, increasingly acknowledging they may lose mosul and raqqa, and isil is right. they will. we'll keep hitting them and driving them out until they do. in other words, isil turns out invincible. they are in fact inevitably going to be defeated. strikes in libya. >> a serious crash involving a suv and tractor trailer, happened on route 495 on the northbound side. one person had to be taken to the hospital. via helicopter. officialshad to shut down the highway in both directions for a little while. right now all lanes are back open. >> anchor: a break in, police responded to a call about a home invasion. a couple told -- inside told police a group of men broke loaded guns. police are now warning that these guns are out on the street. they do say the homeowner has a license to carry and that the guns were in a safe inside the home. >> anchor: boston's fire commissioner saying today 3 large fires in july were started by people disposing of cigarettes or smoking mat

defeat isil in iraq and syria. it is not sufficient but it is necessary. because so long as they have those bases, they can use their propaganda to suggest that somehow there is some calafate being born. that can insinuate itself in the minds of folks who may be willing to travel there or carry out terrorist attacks. countries in the region at a time that the region is already unstable. so, you know, i am pleased with the progress that we have made on the ground in iraq and syria. we're far from freeing. what we have shown is when it comes to conventional fights, isil can be beaten with partners on the ground so long as they've got the support from been providing. in the meantime, though, you're seeing isil carry out external terrorist acts. and they have learned something, they have adapted from al-qaeda, which at a much more centralized operation and tried to plan very elaborate attacks. and what isil has figured out is that if they can convince a or even one person to carry out an attack on a subway or at a parade or, you know, some other public venue,

the fact is e sustain themselves even after isil is defeated. what we have learned from our efforts is if we stay on it our intelligence gets better and we adapt as well. eventually we will dismantle these networks. this is part of the reason it is so in orange for us to keep our for us to keep our eye on the ball. isil can't defeat the united states of america rrr -- or our nato partners. we can defeat ourselves if we make decisions. as painful and as tragic as these attacks are, we are going to keep on grinding using a government effort to knocked down propaganda, to take key operatives off the battlefield, and we will win. if we start making bad decisions civilians, instituting offensive religious tests, those kinds of strategies can end up backfiring. in order for us to win this fight we cannot frame this as a clash of civilizations between the west and islam. that plays into the islam they are putting forward. as far as mr. trump, we are going to go by the law. the tradition and the law, if someone is the nominee for president, they need to

in terms of the threat that isil in poses to the homeland, i a jury think it is serious. in your we take it seriously. and the and, as i said earlier, fledgling because and, as i said earlier, in precisely because a they are less concerned about regular big, spectacular 9/11 911-style attacks, because and they have seen the degree of he they have seen the degree of attention they can get with smaller you attention they can get with and smaller scale you and you attacks using small loans or assault rifles or in the case of nice, france, a truck. the possibility of either a lone actor or a small cell carrying out an attack that kills people is real. that is why our intelligence and law enforcement and military officials are working around the clock to try to anticipate potential attacks, to obtain the game plan threads of people who might be vulnerable to brainwashing by isil. brainwashing my we are going to constrained here in the sharia with a united states to carry out this work in a way that is consistent with our laws, presumptions of innocence, the fact that we preven

and at the request of that government, after they had already made significant progress against isil.entially pushed isil into a very confined area in and around sert, it's in our interests to make sure they finish the job. we're working with them to ashirr that isil does not get a strong hold in libya, even as libya begins what is going to be a long process as to establish a functioning government. so the good news is that they recognize this terrorist organization in the midst is contrary to their national interests as well as the world's, and, you know, we're hopeful that having completed this process of driving isil out, they will be in a much to start bringing the parties together inside that country. not only us, but the europeans and other cunning around the world have a great interest in seeing stability in libya, because the absence has helped to fuel some of the challenges that we have seen in terms of the migration crisis in europe and some of the humanitarian tragedies we have seen in the open seas between libya and europe. >> this question is for prime minister lee. you'v

isil wants to manufacture a clash of civilizations between us versus them. trump is trying to give him exactly what they want last week he stood in front of a crowd in florida and said president obama founded a terrorist organization, isil. [ boos ] now look. look, this i really should end with. that's an outrageous statement. but let me tell you why it's a dangerous statement. why as he might say the bad guys are listening yesterday the head of hezbollah, a terrorist organization iran's top terror surrogate and a direct threat to our ally israel repeated trump's claim in the entire muslim world and around the world that president obama founded isil. you say well, what difference does that make? here's what the leader of hezbollah said referring to trump's accusation. he said this. this is a spokesman for isil -- excuse me, for hezbollah. "this is not a simple speech." referring to trump. i'm quoting him. "this is an american presidential candidate. this was spoken on behalf of the american republican party and he" meaning trump "has the data and documents t

two years ago isil was racing across iraq and to many observers isil looks invisible. isil has not had a major successful operation in either syria or iraq in a full year. >> the president also talked about his administration's latest scandal, sending $400 million in cold, hard cash in the dark of night to iran while tehran was releasing american hostages. look at this. >> it's been interesting to watch this story surface. some of you may recall we announced these payments in january, many months ago. it wasn't a secret. we announced them to all of you. josh did a briefing on them. this wasn't some nefarious deal. the only bit of news that is relevant on this is the fact that we paid cash, which brings me to my last point. the reason that we had to give them cash is precisely because we are so stripped in maintaining sanctions, and we do not have a banking relationship with iran, that we couldn't send them a check. >> meanwhile, the president and john kerry and susan rice, they all admitted some of this money could, in fact, be used for terrorism. the cash that he gave

strikes will continue to target isil. may have seen earlier today, the head of the gna announced he had specifically requested these strikes in the campaign to defeat isil in libya. the united states supports the provideare prepared to any request. as you have heard the secretary say many times, combating isil's spread and defending the homeland against external isil primaryare the three goals of our campaign plan. that campaign is showing results. on thursday, president obama will receive a not date on the campaign. that will take place here in the pentagon. we look forward to his visit. is meeting with prime minister lee this afternoon, of singapore. they participated in a wreath laying ceremony at arlington cemetery. with that, i would be happy to take your questions. >> when did the gna make the request? when did the u.s. approve it? how long will this air campaign began? -- begin? and can you talk a little bit about the targeting? who requests the targets the u.s. will hit? and how does the air force vet those target

it is absolutely necessary for us to defeat isil in iraq and syria. it is not sufficient, but it is necessary. because so long as they have those bases, they can use their propaganda to suggest that somehow there's still some caliphate being born, and that can insigneuate itself then in the minds of folks who may be willing to travel their or carry out terrorist attacks. it's also destabilizing for countries in the region at a time when the region's already unstable. so i am pleased with the progress that we've made on the ground in iraq and syria. we're far from freeing mosul and raqqa, but what we've shown is that when it comes to conventional fights, isil can be beaten with partners on the ground, so long as they've got the support from coalition forces that we've been providing. in the meantime, though, you're seeing isil carry out external terrorist acts, and they've learned something. they've adapted from al qaeda which at a much more centralized operation and tried to plan very elaborate attacks. and what isil has figured out is if they can con

in other words, isil turns out not to be invincible. they are in fact inevitably going to be defeated. >> reporter: earlier mr. obama chaired a national security council meeting at the pentagon focused on the terror group. >> tragically however we have also seen isil still has the ability to direct and inspire attacks. >> reporter: the comments come the same day the pentagon released new video of u.s.-led coalition airstrikes on isis targets. military says one video was shot in libya on august 1st. it shows a strike on an isis tank near the libyan city. u.s. plains have been conducting a number of airstrikes lately. after the libyan government asked for help in the ongoing fight against a growing number of isis militants in their country. meantime u.s. defense department also released new video of what they say are coalition airstrikes on isis targets in syria. >> the u.s. pre--- is prepared to work with russia to reduce the violence and strengthen our efforts against isil and al qaeda in syria. so far, russia has failed to take the nec

we are supporting the forces that are trying to defeat isil in its primary stronghold.y will continue to target isil and enable the gna to make a decisive strategic advance. >> washington has a ready conducted strikes against that position in libya. but never at the request of the libyan government. the head of the government of national accord claims these airstrikes and caused important losses within the ranks of the enemy. he stressed that the united states involvement remains minimal. affirm that there will be no combat military presence on the ground and all will be limited to technical support and logistical only efforts. mary: the fall of the city would be a major blow to the islamic state. they have already faced a series of setbacks. why the u.s. involvement in libya is so significant. robert: they've carried out a major strike against the islamic state in february. the difference this time is first of all it is against the stronghold. this was in coordination with the national unity government. it was merely created. it was trying to get itself establish. in t

and what is being propagated by isil. we have discussed this amongst our two countries and you and taking our relationship even further. >> first question is margaret brennan. you mr. president. given the republican nominee's recent comments at about the con khan family, does it make you question his fitness to be president? and second, you said the worst mistake of your presidency might have been your the year to plan the failedermath of intervention in libya. do you see your new decision as a direct result of that? >> yes. i think the republican nominee is unfit. i said so last week and he keeps on proving it. would attackat he a gold star family that had made such extraordinary sacrifices on , the factour country that he does not appear have basic knowledge around critical in europe, in the middle ist, in asia means that he woefully unprepared to do this job. not just my opinion. i think what has been interesting is the repeated enunciation's of his statements ,y leading republicans including the speaker of the house a