and this is pretty isis. the -- pre-isis. the national government for passing legislation to enable those changes. they identify how much money is there, what are their priorities, and they manage their own expectations as far as what would work. so that model they are trying to repeat post isis to enable the return of the minority communities. as a model, i have seen its success. it has limitations, but we need to scale this because it has properties that can be unique and local but we need a wide range of those. we need the same thing at a national level. those agreements need to be implemented. for them to be implemented, unique capacity. -- you need capacity. this is something lacking in the iraqi institution that needs to be worked on. >> we will let you make your comment and then one last short, sweet question. >> you are absolutely right. managing expectations is hard to do because expectations are so high. what the government has to do is prioritize and try to achieve at least a string of successes that will add to it

isis used to be -- isis stands for the islamic state in iraq and syria.remember they changed their name, meaning that they targeted not only iraq and syria, but the whole muslim world including saudi arabia. everybody has a stake in preventing them. with regard to syria, we still suffer from syria appeared still to this day we have insurgents are jihadist crossing the border into iraq in wreaking havoc. so as an operational first step, what we need to do is secure the border. this is something the united states is with. for the foreseeable future, we need to realize and recognize in washington as it is in bad dad and bringing in favorable result. with regard to relationships between the other countries, it is in our interest to see the tensions are fused in the region. as you know, we have played a role in order to bring people together. in fact, one of the things the united states has been very successful at, one of the achievements of the state department was to help bring saudi's back to iraq. as you know, the foreign minister went to bag dad, which wa

or affiliation of isis. one of the senior iraqi officials told us there's 90,000 for people accused of isis. not all those people are actually isis members. you could be accused of that for a variety of reasons. there are 36,000 people. that is a big number of people at the iraqi security system will have to deal with. that is a problem we had in 2012, 2013 when the sunni communities of iraq say it is targeting them and causing a good number of communities to be in attention in the iraqi justice system didn't have the capability to process quickly and look into these issues. that is a challenge that will threaten. the local reconciliation comes in. national reconciliation. as an institute we have been what her speakers refer to is usip has enacted the space and we have been living the dialogue processes to create in the tel aviv province -- [inaudible] planes. the iraqi community is engaged. the tribal leaders that elicit minorities or women, the youth are engaged. they are trying to find solutions and refor

, with little regard to isis. it professes to want a stable syria but subverts the geneva processesth separate where it dictates the agenda. and moscow facilitates the spread of iranian influence. moscow's aims aren't about the syrian people or stability in the region. moscow wants to retain its presence in syria as an entry point to influence future events in the eastern mediterranean. it wants to inflict a globally-visible defeat on the united states, to thwart our aims, dishearten our friends abroad and drive wedges between us and our allies. is willing to impose catastrophic human costs to achieve these goals. ssssia has supported the a ad regime's tactics on neighborhoods which have killed, wounded and start thousands of civilians. the russian government not only supports but goes to great ssadths to protect an a regime that uses weaponize chemicals to slaughter innocent men, women, children, even toddlers and infants. ass toaushing to bring the negotiating tabled. russia has ignore these calls and has chosen

it was isi. they wanted to control the talks but the caliban did not want the isi part of it. when you need to have it unfolded it did not represent the best capacities are traditions of american diplomacy. and the stakes were so high. i will answer some of your questions. i think i will just wind down. one thing that has not changed in the war is the isi role. in august 2016, just as we were getting ready to turn the war over to the third administration to fight it. there was an unmarked white helicopter that went down in a province. an area that steve levine will remember. i think we've both been there. it was the main isi supply route. up into kabul. it was shielded by all of these high ridge nonsense. you can basically drive a truck from pakistan to about -- i dunno, maybe 40 cliques from kabul without breaking cover. that is where the helicopters would often fly. this helicopter crashed and it had a russian pilot. and some people from pakistan on board with a bunch of supplies. the caliban surrounded it. they hustled the pilots and all of the passengers back to pakistan,

, and the other is that if you don't eliminate isis, that isis could come back. and by the way, the betrayal of the allies is not a theoretical issue. already those 60,000 kurdish-led forces are pulling back from the fight against isis to protect themselves against the turkish advance. so president trump may say, well though reluctantly, that u.s. troops will stay and continue the fight on isis, if they don't have ground partners, there will be no one fighting isis. >> richard, great to talk to you. richard engle, the nbc news chief foreign correspondent. >>> and this morning nikki haley spoke in front of the united nations about syria. >> we often talk about kml -- about chemical weapons an while we sit here debating chemical weapons there are people on the front lines of syria facing the terrifying reality of those heinous weapons. >> the civil war there is now in the eighth year. least 12 million people over half of the country's population has been displaced. the syrian observatory for human rights said half a million people have been killed since bashar al a

talk about their next step in syria the fight against isis and many have stopped fighting isis to respondthe turkish attacks on the o border the president top isis envoy indicated troops need to stay in syria. >> we need to keep our eyes on the prize. >> the hard part is in front areas consolidating gains getting people back into their homes. >> a hasty withdrawal would give russia and iran access to the oilfields that is a perfect source of income but the president good to see you. you have seen that we are about to wrap that up so what do we do in syria because what is the ultimate goal? where do we go? >> a few thoughts while the president was talk about pulling the troops out he was also talking about knocking isis off of the map there is a military mission that is working to defeat i.c.e. i every christmas and in 201515 through 2017 a map show the t isis territory. i was blown away to see how much amazing progress has been done in 2017 almost completely destroying isis. not just iraq but in syria as well but the past for word needs to be to get over the whole -- the goal line we cann

we don't think first of all we don't think that the isis. effort is totally ended and we also know there are other groups ready to come in in its wake if given the least opportunity so what's needed is a strategy which develops the country as a whole as quickly as possible involves the people with their own government as quickly as possible after these years of warfare massive killings and dislocations it's not going to come easily it's not going to come well but one thing we can contribute up the moment is the continued small military presence in the country with isis very much at the top of our concerns well richard it just the opposite is probably the truth i mean the u.s. maintaining its forces in syria probably gives isis a reason to exist to fight a foreign occupier number two richard the u.s. government has already warned it will sanction third parties and countries that help syria with its reconstruction so getting all the people together and helping developing the country that's already off the table you'll be sanctioned ok michael

"the military mission to eradicate isis in syria is coming to a rapid end with isis being almost completely destroyed." the pentagon was caught off guard when the presidents had twice in 24 hours that he wanted to pull all 2,000 u.s. troops out of syria. >> i want to get out. i want to bring our troops back home. i want to start rebuilding our nation. >> critics say the military would soon face isis 3.0. it would be a big win for russia and iran. president putin and iran's president were both in turkey today to talk about their next steps in syria. the fight against isis has slowed since many of the u.s. trained kurdish forces have stopped fighting isis to respond to turkish attacks on the border. yesterday the president's top isis envoy indicated u.s. troops needed to stay in syria. >> we want to keep our eyes on the prize on isis. isis is not finished. >> the hard part is in front of us. stabilizing these areas, consolidating our gains, getting people back in their homes. there is a military role in this. >> critics say a hasty withdrawal from syria would give russia and iran access to va

it is the defeat of isis.he purpose of the international political process in syria is to see the syrian people, all of them, able to make a choice in a free and fair manner to choose the kind of regime, the kind of governance they want and we have said repeatedly we do not believe that choice would in the end produce a continuation of assad or his regime. >> i want to thank you. that's about the best description with that over the years of being here and discussing syria, so thank you very much. for both of you, the revolutionary guard is one of the main elements in spreading iran's aligned influence in middle east such as in lebanon and in syria. what specific steps is the administration take to diminish their waning influence across the middle east? what is the strategy to prevent iran from filling the vacuum created by instability in the region, particularly as isis is being defeated and withdrawing? and how active are the revolutionary guards outside of the middle east, where are the active, and then anot

wants or at that point whoever took him once but we all knew it was isis i mean. yeah. stuff was that was really tough. the. in the latter half of two thousand and fourteen absi was in charge of isis's media wing and that's when they started releasing all the beheading videos so she had and if the state department has said the absolute was in charge of kidnappings for the islamic state so. it's unclear surely there were other people involved but she seems to have been. in a leadership position at every step from abduction to moving hostages from the prison in aleppo to iraq to later the medio in which was releasing the beheading videos that the the remnants of the ancient regime are what i like to call the ghosts of saddam are in effect running the show this is why isis is sophisticated at the level of guerrilla warfare why it is sophisticated at the level of conventional warfare but most especially why it's propaganda is profoundly clever and wicked you know the information warfare that isis franks to bear as one of their their greatest assets in this campaign an

we have more to do with isis. there are 3,000 isis fighters between iraq and syria.hip is down in southeastern syria. we have to dig all of that out and also we have to make certain that we help stabilize that region. what they're trying to do in terms of recovery is get water running again and electricity running again, get hospitals opened up. after all, we brought the war to that region after isis took the land. we took it back. and so we will work with our allies here. the allies have to be helping. >> jon: the saudis promised money. >> not a dime yet. he is going to -- i'm confident he have will get them to ante up. >> jon: he does seem to be good at that, getting nato partners, for instance, increased defense spending. >> absolutely. you know, for our audience to understand what is really taking place here, you have to look at syria, iraq and afghanistan as the forward defense against isis and radical islam. similar to what we are defending in our southern border. that's how we protect the american people by defending forward. if we don't defend there they'll c

very small number there in northeastern syria we don't think first of all we don't think that the isis. effort is totally ended and we also know there are other groups ready to come in in its wake if given the least opportunity so what's needed is a strategy which develops the country as a whole as quickly as possible involves the people with their own government as quickly as possible after these years of warfare massive killings and dislocations it's not going to come easily it's not going to come well but one thing we can contribute up the moment is the continued small military presence in the country with isis very much at the top of our concerns well richard did just the opposite is probably the truth i mean the u.s. maintaining its forces in syria probably gives isis a reason to exist to fight a foreign occupier number two richard the u.s. government has already warned it will sanction third parties and countries that help syria with its reconstruction so getting all the people together and helping developing the country that's already off the table you'll be sanctioned ok michae

the regime with little regard to isis. it professes to want a stable syria but subverts the geneva process with separate tracks like the estana process where it dictates the agenda. moscow facilitates the spread. moscow wants to retain its presence in syria as an entry point with which to influence future events in the levant and eastern mediterranean. it wants to inflict a defeat on the united states, to create a negative demonstration effect of thwarting our aims here and to drive wedges between us and our allies. moscow is willing to impose catastrophic human costs to achieve these goals. russia has supported the assad regime's indiscriminate attacks and siege tactics on civilian neighborhoods which have killed, wounded, and starved thousands of innocent civilians. as we have seen in aleppo, the russian government supports and goes to great lengths to protect an aside regime that uses weaponized chemicals, killers like sarin and chlorine to slaughter men, women, and children, even toddlers and infants. let us remember t

emergency security council meeting to discuss the situation in iraq a city that was until recently isis territory but now under full u.s. control and in addition to a rocket they were set to discuss a refugee camp on the syria jordan border but instead the two traded insults and accusations with russia saying that the u.s. hasn't done enough to solve the crisis in areas under u.s. control to which the u.s. responded first denying the allegation then accusing russia of trying to distract the world from quote assad's atrocities the focus then shifted to a recent events as in the coalition's airstrikes last week which the russian ambassador condemned and then demanded that western countries stop their aggression let's check out what happened. with their acts of aggression the u.s. the u.k. and france to express the solidarity with one side in the conflict and aggressor has no moral right to say he's preparing a legal framework to protect victims operations have succeeded in rolling back the so-called isis caliphate and addressing a dire threat to our collective peace and security the coali

the problem is, many isis fighters -- we don't even know how many. if it is in the hundreds, potentially the thousands -- have gone underground already. despite the fact, one, that their land has been taken away, there will still be isis fighters, certainly in syria and certainly in the region. that's the big question -- what happens next. >> general mccaffrey, i want to just show all of us, our viewers, what happens next. because if there is a vacuum to be filled, if u.s. troops withdraw precipitously, look at what happened today in ankara, turkey. you have rouhani, putin and erdogan all at a joint newser today. that's the scene. if we can take a closer shot and look at the three of them sitting there. the fact is the russians and the iranians are the powers remaining there and the syrian kurds who have been our allies on the ground? they are the enemies of erdogan. so they are also getting wiped out. general mccaffrey? >> well, look. i think you just made the most important comment. if we pull out now, we are ceding the ground to a minority shia go

thing we can contribute up the moment is the continued small military presence in the country with isis very much at the top of our concerns well richard did just the opposite is probably the truth i mean the u.s. maintaining its forces in syria probably gives isis a reason to exist to fight a foreign occupier number two richard the u.s. government has already warned it will sanction third parties and countries that help syria with its reconstruction so getting all the people together and helping developing the country that's already off the table you'll be sanctioned ok michael i can see you wanted to jump in there go ahead. yeah i guess once again it gets back to the whole point as as to why u.s. forces are remaining in the sunni controlled area of eastern eastern syria looking for bases actually that the turks have complained about in the kurdish controlled area the whole idea is i think by the united states if it's trying to resurrect this teaching policy of any kind is that unite the sunni's and of east syria with west western iraq and to maintain that presence there and control th

. -- isis. as we drive these isis killers from sirks it's essential that the responsible nations of the -- syria, it's essential that the responsible nations of the middle east step up their contributions to prevent iran from profiting off the ssk our nti-isis effort. there are very rich chris in the middle east. they have to make contributions . a major topic we discussed a little while ago. they have to step up tremendously. not a little bit. but tremendously their financial effort. mr. president, on behalf of the american people, i again express our solidarity in the wake of the terrorist attack in southern france last month. i share the confident uconn visaed -- confidence you conveyed at the memorial service for the heroic colonel, that in time we will achieve the ultimate triumph of right and of justice. in the fight against terrorism, we both know that we must be strong from within to defend ourselves from threats outside. we will do what we must to protect our countries. you are our olde

i want to ask about russia and isis. -- the connection between russia and isis. so i exactly has their targeting been so disproportionate relative to the opposition groups, given that they have identified russia as a same enemy that the united states is. russia is closer geographically, they have a much larger population than the united states does. it seems like a core national interest for them. why aren't tohey? is it because of capability? do they have the forces to spare to attack isis on the same level that other groups have? given how important that is in their patriotic narrative, they always talk about how much they are doing to fight isis. keep track of that one. way in he back? ow have the russians reacted to the peace process that the iranians have been pushing for syria? what is the agenda going to be tomorrow or the day after tomorrow when putin, erdogan, and they are going to meet in turkey? what was the first half of the question? i could not hear you. sorry, i said how have had , -- have the russians reacted to the iranian peace in syria? it has

. -- isis. as we drive these isis killers from sirks it's essential that the responsible nations of the -- syria, it's essential that the responsible nations of the middle east step up their contributions to prevent iran from profiting off the ssk our nti-isis effort. there are very rich chris in the middle east. they have to make contributions . a major topic we discussed a little while ago. they have to step up tremendously. not a little bit. but tremendously their financial effort.

isis is very different.people as they can on the way to establishing what it wa nts to the way to establishing what it wants to be some type of global caliphate. so the idea of negotiating a solution with isis to me seems much more far—fetched, as far—fetched as it is with the taliban. because i think the taliban thinks it is winning this war so as long as it thinks it is winning this war is not going to want to step off and talk, but even isis is not the type of organisation that will want to negotiate with anyone, the taliban, or the americans, to negotiate with anyone, the taliban, orthe americans, or whatever the case may be. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: 40,000 runners brave record temperatures in this year's london marathon. the stars and stripes at half—mast outside columbine high, the school sealed off and the bodies of the dead still inside. i never thought that they would actually go through with it. some places have already had nearly as much rain as they'd normally expect in an entire

thing we can contribute at the moment is the continued small military presence in the country with isis very much at the top of our concerns well richard just the opposite is probably the truth i mean the us maintaining its forces in syria probably gives isis a reason to exist to fight a foreign occupier number two richard the u.s. government has already warned it will sanction third parties and countries that help syria with its reconstruction so getting all the people together and helping developing the country that's already off the table you'll be sanctioned ok michael i can see you wanted to jump in there go ahead. yeah i guess once again gets back to the whole point as as to why u.s. forces are remaining in the sunni controlled area of eastern eastern syria looking for bases actually that the turks have complained about in the kurdish controlled area the whole idea is i think by the united states if it's trying to resurrect this teaching policy of any kind is that unite the sunni's and of east syria with west western iraq and to maintain that presence there and control that area a

first, let me start with isis and al qaeda. i think it's certainly true that they've faced challenges. they're the two largest transnational pan-islamic movements that compete with each other. they actually have similar ideologies as we know, but competed in a range of areas and i think with the islamic state tore daesh, i think that the decline in territorial control has been pretty well documented by all sides, the syrians, the russians, the americans, the turks in iraq and syria. it's been a combination of state activity and substate activity and on the iraqi context, the counterterrorism service forces and local militias and european and other countries that are conducting air strikes, and have special operations and conventional forces on the ground. in the syrian context it's everybody, state and nonstate, where they've lost peak levels of support. the same is true in libya where it's been a comenation of state and nonstate activity against islamic state activity in darna and sirt particularly. al qaeda has also faced cha

the president in ohio said we had won the isis, the battle with isis. he was going to pull troops out and leave syria to others. the others are iran, turkey, syria itself, russia, saudi arabia and iraq. those are the others. and the united states apparently, actually did pull away from it. there was a meeting in turkey two weeks ago. about the future of syria. who attended? turkey, russia and iran. the united states did not participate in the last meeting about what the future of syria would be. and we still have a vital interest in that area. whether we like it or not, we still have a vital interest. with regard to the question of willy-nilly, that is the president. he said he wanted to pull out. that he did not. after the chemical strike he said he wanted to attack. he is the one that sent out the tweet that big beautiful missiles going to be landing in syria. head's up russia. that was he.he was the one that actually signaled that this government was going to attack the chemical facilities. congress did not do that. with regard to keeping the tactics

and then we have another iraq for the next decade and then we really get engaged in a war because isis then overwhelms and takes over the country. well meanwhile u.s. state department spokesperson has been ours has questioned the need to wait for the findings of the a.p.c. doubly on the syrian chemical incident the o.p.c. of you is something that we back strongly but it can also take quite a bit of time for the o.p.c. of you to gather its information and compile the report if so i would ask you should the united states and her allies wait around for bashar al assad to use more chemical substances honest people should we wait around for that formal investigation that could take months and my secretary jim maddest said at a briefing several days ago where he didn't have solid intelligence on any chemical attack in duma what he did have were social media reports people saying stuff on the internet and who were those people the same people that state department spokesperson heather now it's referring to there the syrian white helmets which has been funded to the tune of at least twenty thr

security council meeting to discuss the ongoing situation in iraq a city that was up until recently isis territory but now under of full control of the u.s. and a refugee camp on the syria jordan border but instead the focus then shifted to recent events as in the coalition airstrikes last week which the russian ambassador condemned then demanded that western countries stop their aggression saying that the u.s. hasn't done enough to solve the crisis in areas under u.s. control to which the u.s. responded to nine the allegation. with their acts of aggression the u.s. the u.k. and france expressed the solidarity with one side in the conflict and aggressor has no moral right to say he's preparing a legal framework to protect operations have succeeded in rolling back the so-called isis caliphate and addressing a dire threat to our collective peace and security the coalition made these gains while the assad regime and its backers focused their guns mostly on the syrian opposition groups that want isis terrorists then russia said that the coalition's airstrikes discourage syria from participat

we finished at least almost our work with respect to isis in syria. isis in iraq. and we have done a job that nobody has been able to do. but with that being said, i do want to come home. but i want to come home also with having accomplished what we have to accomplish. so we are discussing syria as part of an overall deal. when they made the iran deal, what they should have done is included syria, when i say should have, before giving them iran, $150 billion and $1.8 billion in cash, $1.8 million in cash, you think about this. before giving this kind of tremendous money, ok, $150 billion and $1.8 billion in cash, in barrels i hear it was taken out. and in boxes it was taken out. cash. they should have made a deal that covered yemen, that covered syria, that covered other parts of the middle east. where iraq -- where iran is involved. they didn't do that. so we want to come home. we'll be coming home but we want to have a very, very strong -- we want to leave a strong and lasting footprint and that was a very big part of our discussion. ok? thank you. reporter: a fo

a large number of the attacks were on non-isis targets. they want to protect him from any kind of attack. opposition.armed they extended that nation very broadly and very quickly. they were going after non-isis people. how did the russians react? the first part of the plan will form the basis for any kind of steel. ,f it is for humanitarian aid constitutional government, a you and run election? anathema toe it is those who don't like the role in the region. i think the russians have supported the idea. there is about this, some real differences that are likely to come out in the future. the difference between turkey, iraq, and russia. it is interesting with the tragedy. none of the alliances have been very effective in in holding , the troika has been far more effective. they have taken back the u.n. process. it is a preliminary's debt. they are still odd fellows. turkey being the most odd fellow , therethis relationship are disagreements about what they are doing now in the north. i would love to be a fly on the wall for the time being, e

defeating isis everyone knew was going to strengthen assad. so we are seeing that dynamic and we are recognizing that to bring stability to the region which is really the end game is going to require more american engagement probably rather than less. i think we can expect some rethinking of the haste to withdraw troops that were fighting isis, but i think that these two pieces can actually move forward a little independently for the moment. >> julie: megan o'sullivan, thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us. we appreciate it. the 1 in to mix a surprising move in a trade with president trump. is beijing giving in?

it has liberated almost 100% of territory once held by isis iraq.ia and in e will not rest until isis is gone. in economic matters our ooperation continuation to develop and grow as you well know. we are excited about several new collaboration,or especially in science, medicine and technology. immediately following this summit, the document of commerce chamber of commerce business a u.s.-baltic summit to expand the mutual trade and investment between our nations. looking forward to seeing you. the baltic countries remain a aircraft, for u.s. automobiles, machinery and medical equipment and we welcome by lateral tried -- based on principle of fairness and reciprocity. enhancing our cooperation on energy security. collaborating to diversify energy sources, throughout routes the baltic region including u.s. li exports of guys.fied natural these are some of the many opportunities we can seize together. all three baltic leaders with thank you for helping to celebrate -- and this is a because it a ion historic milestone. our friendship will continue to grow and cooperation will bring securi

isis. >> so to start with isis. russia did attack a lot of isis targets and also attacked the free siren army and other opponents of assad or major ones. i think because russia does not like isis. it is a threat to russia. there are isis aligned people in the no, cautions who created problem -- caution -- caucuses would present problems to the russians so attacking anyone who opposed assad militarily, especially agents of other governments or agents who are receiving support from the united states is something they want to do and and the state media does focus on that as isis, used the word crusade and that the patriarch talk but that but look at the combat situations, since 2016, large number of the attacks are noneye si targets -- nonisis targets ay want to protect assad from any attack or armed opposition so they extended that mission very broadly and again very quickly, like within a few hours of the first strikes, they were going after nonisis people. >> robin. >> how the russians react iranian plan. it is beca

while isis has been dramatically reduced. it still has to be considered construed confronted and destroyed as we are confident if they will be. the challenge posed by iraq in the connection that you note from iran. there needs to be continued approach. not just to jordan and israel alone. with respect to syria. the plumber see in policy in terms of an effort. how are going to perhaps bring an essay for zones and expand those zones to protect those on the ground. there needs to be a comprehensive strategy. in terms of the options to pursue the fact that some of the initiatives that we've taken here that would impose rural cost. i do is ask another question. does the administration support imposing costs. for their role in the sod regimes. they've taken steps with respect to those iranian proxy forces. in actions both in syria and outside. we will continue to act aggressively to that end. one area that i think if i can disclose here. i hope that the senate with a lot of pressure from the administration and us will move quickly.

general pointed it out the areas of isis which have been reclaimed from isis.till because of the turks are involved in northern syria. curds are moving to defend their homes against the turks. this is a real political problem for the united states. and we'll have to thread this needle somehow. and get a better relationship with the turks. in the long run we need them to be in nato. we need them as a counter balance as a relationship between the united states and russia. continue to deteriorate. >> why in your opinion were mattis and dunford more cautious in the president. and national security adviser john bolten on this matter. >> a variety of reasons. first of all, because they have seen combat in this area. and they know that sometimes plans go awry. and second and third order effects that people who haven't seen combat don't consider when they're asking folks to bomb places. they consider the effects on the enemy and how the enemy is going to react. as i said earlier, that enemy in this case is not only the syrian regime. but the russians and the iranens. t

then, inside isis. how the islamic state grp financed its brutal reign over vast areas of the middle east. plus, it's friday. mark shields and reihan salam idnsider escalating trade tensions, the prt's decision to send troops to the border, and much more. and, singer harry belafonte remembers his friend, dr. martin luther king, jr., 50 years after the assassination of the civil rights icon. >> if he were alive today, that means the course of history that has led us to where we are today would not be the history we would be having. if dr. king had lived, there would be no today as we know it. >> woodruff: all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 1 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> consumer ceular understands that not everyone needs an unlimited wireless pla our u.s.-based customer service reps can help you choose a plan based on how much you use your phone, nothing more, nothing less. to learn more, go

that area still has quite an isis presence there. more than 90% of the isis presence have been eliminated from sir yar and iraq but it's not gone. military officials says there's still probably two to six months before the isis presence will be all but eliminated from that area, but that mission of course is being slowed down right now because of what's going on in the after ron pocket, where turkey has come in and syrian defense forces, the one the u.s. is partnering with is now up in that area. they've taken their tension away from isis in the euphrates river valley. our understanding is during this meeting at the warehouse, advisers explained this to president trump and he reluctantly said we'll continue to root out isis but there will not be a longer stabilization there. >> that's really interesting courtney. thanks. as kelly o'donnell joining us from the white house, has been aware the president was sending signals that he want out of syria. this was coming yesterday afternoon at the news conference. now you have kera and courtn

over the last year, nearly 100% of the territory, once controlled by the so-called isis caliphate in syria and direct has been liberated and eliminated. the united states has also prebuilt our friendships across the middle east. we have asked our partners to take greater responsibility for securing their home region including contributing large amounts of money for the resources, equipment, and all of the anti-isis effort. increased engagement from our friends, including saudi arabia, the united arab emirates, qatar, egypt, and others can ensure that iran does not profit from the eradication of isis. not seek an indefinite presence in syria. as other nations step of their we look forward to today we can bring our warriors home. great warriors they are. looking around our troubled world, americans have no illusions. we cannot purge the world of evil or act everywhere there is tyranny. no amount of american lot or treasure can produce lasting peace and security in the middle east. it is a troubled place. we will try to make it better, but it is a troubled place. the united states will

isis known. al qaeda forces in syria do you actually think that's even possible for the for the syrian government in the long term to reconcile with legitimate quote unquote just opposition groups . as you can see russia since its military involvement ten is they started to launch this reconciliation process within syria secondly we witness this launch of new. negotiation. which was not an alternative to as many argue but the additional track which was aimed at settling down like a more nuanced. things on the ground which made it happen when real field commanders from the ground who have actual influence were able to meet and sit together and talk so i wouldn't put all blame for syria's destruction will on the russian i think we will have and so have let me put that i was going to get you may be. ok let me let me put the point about america laura what you think troops and the game is we know we talk about obama's failure in syria what even trumps you know that's the million dollar question maybe

over the last year, nearly 100% of the territory, once controlled by the so-called isis caliphate in syria and iraq has been liberated and eliminated. the united states has also rebuilt our friendships across the middle east. we have asked our partners to take greater responsibility for securing their home region including contributing large amounts of money for the resources, equipment, and all of the anti-isis effort. increased engagement from our friends, including saudi arabia, the united arab emirates, qatar, egypt, and others can ensure that iran does not profit from the eradication of isis. america does not seek an indefinite presence in syria. under no circumstances. as other nations step up their contributions, we look forward to the day when we can bring our warriors home, and great warriors they are. looking around our very troubled world, americans have no illusions. we cannot purge the world of evil or act everywhere there is tyranny. no amount of american blood or treasure can produce lasting peace and security in the middle east. it is a troubled place. we will try to

inside the intricate bureaucracy of isis., much more. >> woodruff: we return to the trump administration's latest sanctions against russia. john yang has that. >> yang: judy, to explain these new sanctions against 17 russian government officials and seven of russia's richest men, we turn to scial correspondent ryan chilcote reporting from london.h ryanks for joining us. what makes these sanctions different from the sanctions that are already in ple? >> well, these sanctions are very hard-hitting, and in contrast to the sanctions we've seen before, these go after some russian billionaires specifically and exclusively for their ties or at least they appear to exclusively for their ties to president vladimir putin. so in the past the trump administration, the obama administration has sought to thve a link between a specific event, whether it' annexation of crime, yeah whether it was fighting in theer eaukraine, and the individual they were sanctioning. but in this case it's proximityk to tmlin. another change is that verysa earl