national security correspondent jamie mcintyre joins us on the phone from the pentagon. good afternoon. thank you for joining us. why this big push for troops now? >> you may recall, erica president obama said he did not have a complete strategy for battling isil in iraq. this is the finished product that comes from that review. and the centerpiece is sending an additional 450 u.s. military trainers to a fifth new training location in iraq in anbar province at the air base, which is just south of habanniyah. that's where iraqis have been working and a counter offensive to retake ramadi. we're telling you that the troops are doing more than just routine training. they're basically there to help coordinate the offensive and turn the tide of battle against isil. they'll be providing intelligence mission command. they'll be advising the iraqi troops on how to proceed as they go back to take back ramadi, and also importantly they'll be reaching out and trying to mobilize the sunni tribes in the area to get them involved in the fight as well. essentially the u.s. has taken a l

jamie mcintyre reports from the pentagon. >> the u.s. is crowing about the killings, even though one death is yet to be confirmed and the other acknowledged publicly as a result of the u.s. drone strike. >> reporter: the pentagon is in a curious position of touting the killing of nasir al-wuhayshi a success, refusing to say if it was an american drone strike that took him out. >> even though we no longer have a presence in yemen, no boots on the ground we don't have a presence in libya, we have a global reach, we retain the ability to find and kill terrorists wherever they are hiding in the world. >>> the u.s. says nasir al-wuhayshi was behind several foiled plots to bomb international airliners, and claimed responsibility for the deadly attack in january on the french satirical newspaper "charlie hebdo". the killing of nasir al-wuhayshi was the sixth major leader killed this year. and followed by one day an air strike by u.s. f-15s, targetting mokhtar belmokhtar head of an affiliate in libya. his death is unconfirmed. the u.s. has a lon

combat troops the national security correspondent jamie mcintyre joins us from the pentagon with the latest. >> the u.s. admits that its strategy of providing air cover and relying on iraqi forces on ground has resulted in serious setbacks in recent weeks. it is not willing to concede the strategy is failing. today in paris the u.s. doubled down >>> north of baghdad shia paramilitaries chant for victory as they prepare for a counter offensive to retake ramadi. last month in the provincial capital thousands of demoralized iraqi troops fled in the wake of a well-coordinated assault by a smaller but more determined i.s.i.l. report. at a conference in paris, iraq's prime minister blamed coalition support, including a slow flow of weapons and the failure of saudi arabia and turkey to cut off seasoned fighters replenishing i.s.i.l.'s ranks. >> translation: they are supported by means from outside iraq by external combatants. we can make sacrifices to fight d.a.e.s.h. but the international community, the international coalition has to support us has to support us destroying daesh. >> in res

jamie mcintyre reports. >> reporter: this is becoming a yearly event in washington. both the talks aimed at finding common ground and the annual assessment of china's continued build-up of the size and capability of the military. as officials in the united states and china sat for talks in washington amid tension over cyber attacks and island building in the south china sea. the vice president sought to sound a conciliatory note. >> let me be clear. we do not fear china's rise. we want to see china rise. to continue to rise in a responsible way to benefit you most china because you have an important role to play. >> the fact that secretary of state john kerry, was joined by jack lew signals economic and security issues. while the u.s. has not formally accused china of the hack that compromised personal financial and medical records. for its part the pentagon is more focused on china's rapid build up of conventional forces. in a speech a day before the china talks, the number two civilian deputy defense secretary bob worksaid: work could have been reading from the pen

jamie mcintyre is at the pentagon jamie? >> the u.s. is crowing about the killings even as one death remains unconfirmed and the other has not been officially acknowledged as the result of an u.s. drone attack. the pentagon is in a curious position of touting the killing of the leader of al-qaeda in yemen as a success while at the same time refusing to say if it was an american drone strike that took him out. >> even though we no longer have the presence in yemen and more boots on the ground. we don't have a presence in libya. we still have a global reach. we still retain the ability to find and kill terrorists wherever they're hiding in the world. >> the u.s. said that while he was behind several foil plots to bomb international airliners and claimed responsibility for the deadly attack in january on the french satirical newspaper charlie hebdo. he was the eighth leader killed this year and followed by an airstrike targeting moqtar al moqtar. his death is still unconfirmed. the u.s. has a long list of accused terrorist that is as a res

jamie mcintyre joins us to explain. >> you know, david the u.s.-led air campaign in iraq and syria has been coming under a lot of criticism from all quarters, particularly baghdad and iraqi prime minister hyder hyder al abadi. even john mckane said that the airstrikes could be more effective. briefing reporters by pentagon by telephone from his base in doha lieutenant general john hesterman insisted that the coalition campaign has in his words, has had a profound affect on the enemy. >> it's not only been effective it's enabled virtually every victory on the battlefield. it has helped ground forces regain territory remove fighters from the battlefield and eliminate the majority of daesh. >> with an increasing number of military experts believe that those airstrikes could be much more effective if they were directed on the ground on the front lines by u.s. forward air controllers. the most recent person to offer that criticism a former u.s. central commander david petraeus who said that he thinks those spotters should be on the ground. but the pent

national security correspondent jamie mcintyre explanation. >> reporter: pentagon officials have not confirmed the report but did not wave me off it. frankly it has all the ear marks of a signature strike where the u.s. uses patterns of activity to identify targets they believe al qaeda or other potential enemy forces gathered in one place. the practice is somewhat controversial, because the u.s. doesn't find out who is killed until after the dust clears. you may recall two months ago the white house announced in january 2nd hostages held by al qaeda were accidentally killed in a so-called signature strike. the president apologised and the white house said protocols for carrying out signature strikes were followed to a tee, but resulted in unintended but tragic consequences. back then the drone strike hit an al qaeda compound in pakistan, along the border unaware at the time that two aid workers were held captive. the protocols require near certainty not only that there are legitimate targets, but near certainty that no incident civilians will be killed. in january, the protocols fai

. >> jamie mcintyre has more on that from the pentagon. >> reporter: even before the boots hit the ground, joint chief dempsey said they could be used elsewhere in iraq, saying:. >> develop si says the lily pad concept where planners drawing on resources for surveillance work in the headquarters side by said and can make iraqi operations more effective. dempsey may be the top advisor to president obama, but the white house was cool to increasing bases and sending troops without seeing success in getting iraqi forces who fled ramadi back in the fight. >> there's no immediate specific plans to do that. what i will say, though, is if a recommendation like this did come from the president's national security team, and his military advisors in particular. it would be a recommendation that reflects that the ongoing training efforts have been useful. >> dempsey said the addition of advisors is an adjustment, not a change to the current strategy. after relying on iraqi troops to do all the fighting on the ground. and says a similar lilypad in the corridor running from baghdad to tikrit, to kirkuk

national security correspondent jamie mcintyre has a closer look. >> it's a pleasure to be with prime minister haider al-abadi and his delegation. >> reporter: president obama met with the iraqi prime minister haider al-abadi on the sidelines of the g7 summit in the bavaria alps, and pledged to ramp up training of iraqi troops the lynch pip of an anti-i.s.i.l. strategy. >> we'll continue to provide the supplies that are necessary for iraqi forces to mound an offensive campaign. >> reporter: the u.s. has 3,000 troops in iraq but the president says the problem is there's not enough row iraqi troops to turn into battle-hardened fighters and ordered the pentagon to find out how to train iraqis faster and more willing trainees. that part of the programme is a work in progress. >> we don't yet have a complete strategy because it requires commitment on the part of the iraqis about how recruitment and training takes place. >> reporter: for his part prime minister haider al-abadi blames setbacks on the ability of i.s.i.l., and re-enforcements of fighters crossing from the turkish border to syr

. >> jamie mcintyre, and thank you, and with time running out for greece and it's creditors the euro zone said that an agreement could be reached in days. new taxes. as john psaropoulos reports ideas on how things are being received in agent epps. >> reporter: they have heard the latest news from brussels, and they don't like it. after five months of tensions, they suggest that the government is proposing to take $8 billion more from a shrinking economy this year and the next. pensioners are no longer safe from cuts. complications. >> the latest proposals have divided lawmakers. they don't want to bring down the government. but they have also promised never to pass more austerity measures. greece's choice, a bad deal or no deal. >> the city's leading back beverager, likely to scuttle party unity if he gets a whiff of what the government brings back. he's about numbers. >> you were is a new liberal europe, and this europe needs a fundamental change. people need hope for the future. greece is fighting this battle, to win the new liberal kabul and the union and if greece succeeds, all o

jamie mcintyre is at the pentagon tonight. >> well, john, this has become a yearly event in washingtonot just the talks aimed at finding common ground but the annual assessment of china's continueed building up of the size and of its military. >> as vice president joe biden sat town with leaders he spoke with a conciliatory note. >> we do not fear china rise. we want to see china rise. to rise in an responsible way that will benefit you china because you have an important role to play. >> from all the u.s. has not formerly accused china from the hack of federal employees for the it's part the federal government is focused on the rapid build up of military forces. the pentagon's number two civilian, deputy defense secretary said that china is mounting a serious aerospace challenge against the united states, and is quickly closing the technological gaps in a wide variety of areas including he cited, stealth aircraft, air to air and air to ground missiles. it says that china's official disclose military spending while the pentagon has been ham strung by sequestration cuts imposed by congr

jamie mcintyre is in washington with more than dempsey's comments. >> as joint chief chairman general dempsey is not just the highest ranking officer, but the principal advisor to the president and the secretary of defense. when he thinks something is a good idea it has a good chance to happen. before the boots of the u.s. medical advisors hit the ground the joint chiefs chairman said the conduct of lily pads could be used elsewhere in iraq. and she told reporters that: >>> dempsey said the lily pad concept for communications works in the headquarters side by side with iraqi commanders and can make iraqi operations more effective. dempsey may be the top advisor to president obama, but the white house was cool to increasing bases and sending troops without seeing success in getting iraqi forces who fled ramadi back in the fight. >> there's no specific plans to do that. what i will say, though is if a recommendation like this did come from the president is national security team and his military advisors in particular. it would be a recommendation that reflects that the ongoing training

. >> jamie mcintyre for us at the pentagon. thank you. >>> representatives from two dozen countries are holding a strategy session in paris over fighting isil with isil's advancement in syria and iraq, including the capture of ramadi. the issue is more urgent than ever. we have reports now from paris. >> in iraq the bullets and bombs continue. fight something severe it looks nowhere near over. the hot desert landscape, a tangleed web of militaries and militias all trying to stop the advance of isil. in paris a stark juxtaposition. in this or nate setting dims edit separate in its battle against isil. or as the group is called in arabic daesh. >> the international community the international coalition has to support us. up. >> iraq's foreign minister would call the gains a failure on the part of the world. by the end of the day common ground could be found. >> the exchanges we've had will help us. >> this will be, as we said a long campaign. >> but we'll succeed if we remain united, determined and focus, and we are. >> sending s

national correspondent jamie mcintyre explains that. >> reporter: tony, pentagon officials have not ked the report, and it has all of the earmarks of the official strike where they use patterns of activity to identify targets where they believe al qaeda or other enemy forces have gathered in one place. the practice is somewhat controversial because the u.s. doesn't often know who was cleared until the dust clears. in january two prisoners held by al qaeda were killed. and the president apologized. and the procedures were carried out to a t. but they had unexpected consequences. back then, they hit a suspected al qaeda target in pakistan along the border, unaware that two aid workers were being held captive there. the protocols are near certainty that no innocent civilians will be killed. back in january those protocols failed to protect american warren weinstein and italian, giovanni porto. it was al qaeda itself that announced the death of its leader in yemen. a pentagon spokesman would not acknowledge that it was evidence of of the u.s. had to pull all of its troops out of yemen. >>>

our national security correspondent jamie mcintyre is at the pentagon. jamie. >> reporter: john it won't include more troops at least not right away, because while the obama administration believes in a better trained, better equipped iraqi force is the key to turn the tide of the battle against isil that might require a few more trainers. what they really need is a lot more trainees. >> it's a pleasure to meet with the prime minister and his delegation. >> reporter: president obama met with iraqi prime minister on the sidelines of the g-7 sum nipt in the bavarian alps and mrefrjed in his words to ramp up training of iraqi troops who are the lynchpin of the anti-isil strategy. >> we're going to continue to provide the supplies that are necessary for iraqi forces to successfully mount offensive campaigns. >> reporter: the u.s. already has 3,000 troops in iraq training local forces but the president says the problem is there are not enough raw iraqi recruits to turn into battle-hardened fighters. he's ordered the pentagon to figure out how to train more ira

jamie mcintyre joins us, and training these troops is a big part of the u.s. strategy against isil >> reporter: well, secretary carter today told the house that the u.s. had hoped to train 24,000 iraqi troops now but they have only trained 7,000 troops and 2,000 counter terrorism forces. tony, you can do the math and see that's less than half of what the u.s. was hoping to get together. but it's a double barreled message from the secretary. secretary carter only were there not enough iraqi troops, but they were not good enough. and the joint chiefs insisting that sending more american troops in was not the answer. >> the combination of disunity, deserters, and so-called ghost soldiers who are paid on the books, but don't show up or don't exist gretly diminished their capacity. >> i would not recommend that we put u.s. forces in harm's way simply to stiffen the spine of local forces. if their spine is not stiffened by the threat of isil on their way of life, nothing we do is going to stiffen their spine. >> secretary carter did point to one battlefield success.

jamie mcintyre has more on that. >> pentagon officials have not confirmed the report and it has all the earmarks of a signature strike where the u.s. uses patterns of activity to identity targets where they believe al-qaeda or other potential enemy forces have gathered in one place. the practice is somewhat controversial because the u.s. often does not find out who was killed until after the death sentence. you may recall two months ago the white house announced back in january two hostages held by al-qaeda were accidently killed in a so-called signature strike. the president apologized, and they said that the protocol was followed to a t but resulted in tragic consequences. back then the drone strike hit a suspected compound unaware that two aid workers were being held captive there. the protocols require not only that there are legitimate targets but near certainty that no innocent civilians will be killed. back in january those protocols failed to protect warren weinstein and this time there were no reports of unintended casualties and it was al-qaeda itself who announced the death o

jamie mcintyre is here with more. >> president obama is meeting at the summit with iraqi prime minister hyder al abadi. it's expected that they will discuss on the side line among other things ways to increase the effectiveness of u.s.-led airstrikes in iraq. this past week at the pentagon the focus was on whether the united states should break down and put some combat forward air controllers on the crowned to help call in pinpoint strikes. the debate is over what the military called j tacs. these are highly trained specialists usually air force who are on the ground with combat troops in the thick of the fighting. and can use laser designators. >> that is your target. >> and gps to call in direct strikes to call in pinpoint accuracy. and even in the most chaotic battlefields. the three-star general running the air campaign in iraq said that he does not need them. >> would it be helpful? probably. is it necessary? no. >> he dismiss dismisses critics who said that the care campaign is it too feeble. >> our coalition team is having a profound affect on the enemy. the airstrikes of the mos