mr. john kerry, friends, i would like to thank you at the beginning for holding this meeting at such a critical juncture in the history of iraq and the region. i would like to thank the srsg for his briefing. i express that the state of cutt cuttqutar welcomes to president statement adopted in this meeting and i welcome the election of the president of iraq and the speaker of house of representatives and also his assumption of the new government. such developments are promising and should reflect with positivety in iraq. mr. president, at a time where we look forward to the complete formation of the iraqi government so it will shoulder the dangerous task of facing the challenges, mainly terrorism, it is important for all iraqis to take part of the management of iraq and this is the only means to face the serious challenges facing this country so they would express national unity in the government. you could perhaps agree this only happens through a serious national dialogue. we would support our brothers and sisters in any sect that could seek to maintain iraq and defeat terrorism. the world is

mr. john kerry. [applause] >> i'm the only one that knew that secret here. thank you, pat kennedy. >> ladies and gentlemen, and members of the diplomatic core, thank you so much for being with us here today. the entire state department usdc team, many who have been working for this day for about 15 years, to the diplomacy center fou foundation and the many private sector partners, you know who you are, it is your generosity that has brought us to this point, we are grateful for that. so today we get to break ground on groundbreaking american diplomacy. both colin and jim talked about array of monuments around the city to those who served and given their lives in wars. those that are part of the diplomatic core understand there's the same challenge for those who pack up their kids and go away, in many cases on unaccompanied tours, people who work long hours, and extraordinary risks and in particular more so in today's world. we commit to telling the story of power that comes not from the belly of b-52, but from the force of diplomacy, and it is a force. diplo

mr. john kerry we would think united states for their initiative to convene and preside over the council meeting with the international peace of security. based on the conferences and meetings held yesterday's specifically the one organized by a saudi arabia which was presided over and the meeting in paris recently presided over by the president of the french republic also included in order to mobilize resources as necessary to grapple with that terrorist threats to support the sister nation of iraq with its confrontation of terrorist taking control of vast regions in syria and iraq reorganization has gone beyond political and geographical borders and now is a threat to political stability not just in the region betta threat to security as well. to gave the world is facing the imminent danger danger, unprecedented danger with the savagery and capacity to take it the intention of security vacuums even with a national unity for their own purposes and political reasons to do disenfranchisement or polarization or religion or otherwise to use their own situation it may further unraveling of t

mr. john kerry. we would like to thank the united states for their initiative of convening an presiding over this very important security council meeting on preserving international peace and security. this meeting is based on the conferences and meetings held recently, specifically, the meeting organized by saudi arabia and which was presented over by an emir, and the meeting in paris recently presided over by the president of the french republic and which also included mobilize order to resources as necessary to grapple with the terrorists and combat in a friendly and to support the sister nation of iraq in its confrontations with terrorists that have taken care troll of vast regions of syria and iraq. this organization has gone beyond political and geographic borders, and how it is a threat to political stability not just in the region, but it is a threat to international peace and security as well. today the world is facing an eminent -- imminent danger. this is an unprecedented danger, with its

mr. john kerry, 68 secretary of state of the united states. i will add that the witnesses thererepared statement -- will be five legislative days to submit any extraneous material. >> thank you very much mr. chairman. , members of the committee. members of the committee. i'm glad to have this opportunity. let me begin by congratulating and thanking you. we are enormous the appreciative -- enormously appreciative. is an essential piece of any strategy against eiisil. the chairman knows i have a hard stop on this because i have to be at the white house for the meeting with president poroshenko. i will try to abbreviate and keep my answers short but i also want to make sure i answer your questions as efficiently. iraq hasthan 10 years, been a source of debate and disagreement up on the hill and in the country. ifhink we would waste time we focused on rehashing past debates. the issue that confronts us is straightforward and one in which we can all agree. isil half to be defeated -- has to be defeated, plain and simple, end of story, has to be. col

mr. john kerry, 68th secretary of state of the united states and without objection, i'll add that the witness's full prepared statement will be part of the record. members here will have five legislative days to submit any statements or questions or extraneous material they want to put in the record. mr. secretary. >> thank you very much, chairman royce, ranking member engel, all the members of the committee. it's my privilege to be here today. i'm glad to have this opportunity. let me begin by both congratulating you and thanking you for the vote that took place yesterday. we are enormously appreciative because stepping up the efforts with respect to the moderate opposition is an essential piece of any strategy against isil and i'll go into that in a little bit in a moment. i know the chairman knows i have a hard stop on this because i have to be at the white house for the meeting with president por shane koe, so i'm going to -- i'll try to really abbreviate and keep my answers short but want to make sure i answer them -- your questions sufficiently. you know, for more than ten years iraq has

applause] >> it is now my honor to introduce the 68th and current secretary of state, the honorable john f. kerry. mr. secretary. [applause] >> see, i'm only one who knew the secret there. thank you, pat kennedy. ladies and gentlemen, and, members of the diplomatic corporation, thank you so much for being with us here today. the entire state department, usdc team, many of whom have literally been working for this day for about 15 years, to the diplomacy center foundation, and the many private sector partners you know who you are and we'll recognize you a little bit later, it is your generosity that has brought us to this point and we're all unbelievably greatful for to you for that. so that today we get to break ground on on groundbreaking american diplomacy. both colin and jim talked about the array of monuments around the city that honored those who have served and given their lives and of course wars. those who are part of the diplomatic corp. understand that there is the same kind of sacrifice and challenge for people that leave their families and pack up their kids and go away. many cases on acc

mr. name of a john kerry, your excellencies, friends, i thank you for holding this meeting at such a difficult juncture in the history of iraq and the region. i would like to thank the secretary general for his efforts and also for the briefing. i expressed that the state of president'ses the statement adopted in this meeting. welcome the speaker of the house of representatives and his assumption of the new government leadership. such developments are promising well on iraqflect after long years of very painful events in iraq. completeorward to the formation of the iraqi government so it would shoulder the major task of facing the challenge of terrorism. allill be important for iraqis to take part in the management of iraq and this is the only way to face the serious ,hallenges facing this country so that they will express national unity and the government. this will only happen through a comprehensive national dialogue. and we in qatar will support our brothers and sisters in any step that would seek to maintain that sectarian integrity of iraq. the world follows with much concern and interes

mr. mcdonough, thank you, we'll let you get back to work. >> i appreciate the opportunity. >> schieffer: we spoke with secretary of state john kerry yesterday in cairo before this latest news broke, here is part of what he said. mr. secretary, thank you so much, can i clear up one thing first. this week you went to some lengths to say you wouldn't call this a war it been yet at the pentagon and at the state department even they were saying we are at war with isis. are we at war? >> well, bob, i think frankly kind of tortured debate going on about terminology. what i'm focused on obviously is getting done what we need to get done to isil. but if people need find the place to land in terms of what we did in iraq, originally this is not a war, this is not combat troops on the ground. it's not hundreds of thousands of people, it's not that kind of mobilization. but in terms of al qaeda, which we have used the word war with, yeah. war with al qaeda and same context if you want to use it, yes. we're at war with isil in that sense. but i think it's a waste of time to focus on that frankly let's consider what we have to do to degrade and defeat isi

mr. ron claiborne. >> good morning, everyone. secretary of state john kerry is in egypt this morning, trying to muster international support to defeat the islamic terrorist group, i.s.i.s. in a meeting in turkey, kerry said as many as 40 countries have offered support for the fight guest i.s.i.s. and france wants to invite iran on monday, but kerry said including iran would be inappropriate because of differences between the west and tehran, including iranian support for syrian president bashar assad. >>> and a search for a navy fighter pilot after two navy pilots, their jets crashed into the pacific ocean. a seahawk helicopter is scouring the ocean west of honolulu for the missing pilot or the jets. the second pilot managed to eject safely. >>> and in ohio, convicted school shooter t.j. lane and two other inmate who is escaped from prison have been transferred, they were caught again, to a high security prison. this following the daring prison break thursday. infrared cameras show when they nabbed him in the woods. and they are looking into how they got away

mr. obama and other officials including secretary of state john kerry insisted there won't be u.s.lster the fighters currently struggle to take on isis who he says have been outgunned and outmanned. the president outlined this emerging strategy a couple of days after he sent conflicting messages about the ability to defeat isis but he still defended his deliberative approach saying it's the same model that's been successful in defeating other extremists. >> we're going to degrade and ultimately defeat isil the same way we have gone after al qaeda or the same way we have gone off the al qaeda affiliates in somalia. >> reporter: administration officials want to expand this coalition to include as many countries as possible especially in the middle east and that will be secretary of state john kerry's mission when he heads to region next week. for "cbs this morning: saturday," i'm julianna goldman at the white house. >>> the u.s. coast guard is expected to join the search for a plane in jamaica this morning after an american couple is presumed dead now. their plane crashed, a private

mr. obama and other officials including secretary of state john kerry said this coalition won't put any boots on the ground. instead it's to bolster the fighters currently taking on isis. >> we have experienced working with many of them. they have been to some degree outgunned and outmanned and that's why it's important for us to work with our friends and allies to support them more effectively. >> mr. obama outlined the emerging strategy days after he sent out the conflicting message about isis. he said it's the same motto that's been successful in defeating other extremist groups including al qaeda. >> we have been very systematic and methodical in going after these kinds of organizations that may threaten the u.s. homeland and personnel. i have no doubt we will continue and i will continue do what is necessary to protect the american people. >> officials want this coalition to complete its plan by the time the united nations general assembly meets in new york later this month. administration officials say they also want to expand the coalition to include as many countries as possible and,

number three, the broader problem involves john kerry and the state department. mr. kerry has spent far too much time outside the theater of arab/israeli negotiations and in china and other places. instead of spending his time in saudi arabia, jordan and turkey to forge a coalition that can come back to say to the president, to the american people, we're prepared to put the boots on the ground if you're prepared to put the socks in the air. >> i see at least two components to the international corporation, one regarding what to do in the middle east and the other about responding to threats that may come into the europe and u.s.. we're seeing the europeans talking abotal talking about graeater information sharing. are we working well to prevent terror attacks here. >> >> i've known from my own experience this there is enormal amount of good cooperation between nato allies. just our nato intelligence support convinced the turks to stop permitting for example crude oil coming across their border and they have sealed their border to prevent many of these people who have

secretary of state john kerry arrived in baghdad this morning to meet with iraq's new prime minister. mr. obama briefed congressional leaders yesterday. mark albert is in washington. mark, good morning. >> good morning, marlie. in his rare eechk address, the president will not lay out a timetable for defeating isis or the total cost to taxpayers, but he is expected to ask congress for $500 million to train syrian rebels. that would avoid american combat troops. in a prime-time speech from the white house tonight, president obama will tell the nation his strategy for degrading and ultimately destroying isis. so far the u.s. has carried out more than 150 air strikes against isis targets in iraq. the president may announce that air campaign will now expand into syria, the terror group's stronghold. republican peter king thinks the president needs to have a comprehensive strategy. >> that would involve at the very least all out air attacks against isis in both iraq and syria. >> on tuesday the president briefed top congressional leaders. nancy pelosi called the meeting a valuable opportunity

mr. president, you just had three weeks at martha's vineyard. and today, after the third beheading you're on the golf course again. john kerry tries to partner up with our arab allies who don't really trust you. even you admit that the optics didn't look so good. optics mr. president, it's a message to our enemy that is unmistakable. it's not just one message, but many throughout the course of your presidency that shapes enemy's perception of your resolve. starting with the 2009 apology from being an american speech in cairo to, not sending troops to rescue our men begging for help in benghazi, saying you're going to reduce the army to preworld war ii levels to signalling we're not a super power. while trumpet the reduction of our army to preworld war ii levels there are those that say that is a mistake. >> this is a turning point in the war on terrorism. we're finding a terrorist army, not an organization. going to take an army to beat an army this, idea will never have boots on the ground to be in syria is fantasy. >> i will not let the president suggest we can outsource our security. >> your pathetic efforts saying we tri

applause] >> it is now my honor to introduce the 6th and current secretary of state, the honorable john f. kerry. mr. secretary. [applause] >> see, i'm only one who knew the secret there. thank you, pat kennedy. ladies and gentlemen, and, members of the diplomatic corporation, thank you so much for being with us here today. the entire state department, usdc team, many of whom have literally been working for this day for about 15 years, to the diplomacy center foundation, and the many private sector partners you know who you are and we'll recognize you a little bit later, it is your generosity that has brought us to this point and we're all unbelievably greatful for to you for that. so that today we get to break ground on on groundbreaking american dip home sy. -- diplomacy. both colin and jim talked about the array of monuments around the city that honored those who have served and given their lives and of course wars. those who are part of the diplomatic corp. understand that there is the same kind of sacrifice and challenge for people that leave their families and pack up their kids and go away. m

john kerry said the u.s. and turkey stand together, but turkey's role in the fight against the islamic state is yet to be determined. mrrry has been in and cora turkey to, urging support more action against islamic militants in iraq and syria. can arab countries agreed to help, including egypt, saudi arabia, and cap are -- and qatar. secretary of state henry -- former secretary of state henry kissinger is the author of a new book," world order." president obama has said he wants to destroy the u.s. -- the islamic state and there will be air strikes in syria. can he achieve his goal? >> we should be careful in stating objectives related to what the american political process will support. in this case, we are dealing 20,000 fanatics that started as an offshoot of al qaeda. i think this is an objective that can be defined in that manner. i do not believe that that will east.peace to the middle it means that the challenges will change, and that is important for america to understand. been anave always advocate of realism in foreign policy rather than idealism. >> may i say a word about this? there is sort of a standard ar

mr. coming. yesterday's "new york times" headline, john kerry says u.s. is open to talking to iran. i agree with your comments about the nuclear issue is so huge. you to talk about compartmentalization, and also that iran's goal is to eliminate the sanctions. we've already seen the administration rollback sanctions january, $7 billion in sanction relief. administration recently introduced and announced another 2.8 billion and iran sanctions relief. there is these concerns the administration could further relieve and remove sanctions in terms of trying to get concessions relating to iran and the fight in syria or iraq. clearly, iran and the united states don't have the same goals that we have in syria. i'm curious, what are you hoping to achieve by reaching out to iran regarding isil? >> senator, let me clarify something. it's very important to understand. every aspect of the interim agreement that we arrived at with iran, which required iran to do certain things, they have done. every aspect. the thing that's not standing still is the iaea compliance where a recent meeting was not a

mr. kerry? why? because your boss would not help them out. overruling most of his foreign policy advisors including secretary of state hillary clinton. talking points wonders whether johnderstands he just put his boss in a bad place. anyway, even the national media now understands the president's war plan is foley. >> there is not a single military advisor that has come to you guys and said you can defeat isis and is syria we are seeing very good progress thanks to the speaker and the others put together support for what the president has called title 10 program to equip on the ground fighting isil. >> swell. here is the troop. the syrian opposition is not going to key feet isis or assad or anyone else. they are far too weak fighting force no matter what we do. again, everybody in the international arena knows that so why are we playing this game? why? the answer to that question he is complicated and rooted in fear. president obama does not want a wide war on terrorism administration. he wants small ball. isolated attacks on the evil doers. but with the dramatic rise of the isis nazis, that strategy is not enough. >> look. people don't question american power. what pe

mr. carter who generally doesn't like confrontation even though he has a naval background as a naval officer and john kerry confronted by code pink demonstrato demonstrators, kerry called out the group. >> code pink was started by a woman and women who were opposed to war but who also thought the government's job was to take care of people. you ought to care about fighting isil because isil is killing, raping and mutilating women and they believe women shouldn't have an education. they sell off girls to be sex slaves to jihadests. there is no negotiation with isil. >> now i have always wondered about the anti-war people who will allow the worst atrocities to take place but cloak themselves in moral garments. last night on the factor, alan and dennis said they would have allowed isis to kill the innocent people stranded in iraq and thousands of curds, as well. you remember u.s. bombing saved those people and they flat out reject any military action against isis. that seems strange. they are good guys. but how can you let innocent people die when you can save them? especially when the group committing the mu

secretary of state john kerry testifying before the house foreign affairs committee. congressman joe wilson of south carolina just asked mr. kerry whether america is actually at war. the secretary was not able to give a direct answer. meantime, defense secretary chuck hagel fielding questions from the house armed services committee ahead of a key vote in the senate on whether to phone the president's request to arm and train rebels in the fight against the terror group. all this as critics are raising serious new concerns about all the mixed messages from the administration after a long list of military professionals have now said we can not rule out american ground troops to get the job done. >> i don't believe the objective is destroy. i think the objective is morphed into something less than that from the president's speech a week ago. i think it's more degrade and dismantle. because of the actions and decisions he is making about the military plan. >> what's the best way forward? >> time for real talk with kimberly, the institute of the study of war. great to have you on the show, and i do you and your husband were th

mr. obama insisting on saying isil instead of isis and he and the secretary of state john kerry went outof their way to not label it a war and they've been calling it a counterterrorism effort and we have this whole war of words going. are these just word games, mark, is it a conscious choice with political implications? >> the critique of the president for saying isil instead of isis is absurd. i don't think there's some deep underhanded strategy to speak to a broader aspiration for u.s. military or isis or isil, the "l" in isil or "s" in isis, it means the same thing. the big one is war or not. the bigger concern is war versus not war. this is a war and we're go diagnose be navigating a proxy war and that's just a reality and we have been for a very long time. and the idea of saying we don't have boots on the ground is also sort of absurd. we do have boots on the ground and we've always had boots on the ground and we'll continue to whether you call them that or not. >> i think one of the biggest problems the president has right now he doesn't want to be a wartime president but if you a

mr. smith in istanbul and why is it important in the fight against the is group, turkey? >> john kerry just arrived in the last half hour or so and he will be meeting prime minister and the president erdiwan tomorrow. there is a base here in chile and that is a perfect take off point for coalition fighter jets heading to target is positions in iraq and perhaps also in syria. but turkey, turkish officials have been saying in the last few days they will not let it to be used for that. it can be used for low guessiccel support and perhaps providing humanitarian assistance. one of the main reasons that turkey is reluctant to publically do more is more than 40 of the citizens are being held hostage by the islamic state. however, turkey has responded to pressure from the united states, from britain and other european countries to tighten its borders and try and stop aspiring foreign fighters crossing turkey into syria and iraq. >> this might still be turkey soil but this is a border town that looks to the middle east. it's a place of pilgram and birth place of abraham, one of the great proph

mr. obama says participating countries could serve in different roles depending on their capabilities. barbara starr has the story. >> as kurdish fighters battle, john kerry and chuck hagel work to build a coalition to ultimately defeat isis. but president obama drew the line at what the u.s. will not be doing. >> we will not be placing u.s. ground troops to try to control the areas that are part of the conflict inside syria. i don't think that's necessary for us to accomplish our goal. >> nations at the nato summit began forming what the u.s. hopes will be a coalition that could take on isis initially by providing training, weapons sales and support to iraqi forces, working to stop the foreign flow of fighters to isis, cutting their financing and funding, provide humanitarian relief and trying to delegitimize isis's brutal. the response has been too slow and there are more calls for greater involvement. >> i don't think any american wants to be involved with a syrian civil war but at some point we're going to have to in one way or another engage isil in their home base in syria. >> in president obama decides to strike in syria, one option being discussed

mr. rouhani also denounced the coalition the u.s. is building to fight isis as, quote, ridiculous. >>> well, u.s. secretary of state john kerry told a senate panel wednesday that a number of nations have joined the fight. >> but so far none have committed ground troops. kerry did not identify those participating in air strikes but he assured the panel there will be enough allies. >> this is more than just a military coalition and i want to emphasize that. in some ways some of the most important aspects of what we will be doing are not military. this mission isn't just about taking out an enemy on the battlefield. it's about taking out a network, decimating and discrediting a militant cult masquerading as a religious movement. >> now, meanwhile, president obama's plan to arm and train syrian rebels to battle isis has cleared a major hurdle. the house gave its support on wednesday. the vote there was 273-156. >> many lawmakers continue to worry that the weapons and training may one day be used against the u.s. the senate is expected to vote later today. senate leaders say they are comfortable depth it will pass. >>> all right,

mr. president, you just had three weeks at martha's vineyard and today after the third beheading you are in the golf course again. john kerry tries to partner up with our arab hallies who don't really trust you. even you admit the on the ticops didn't look so good. it is more than optics it is a message to our enemy that is unmis unmistakab unmistakable. it is not just one message but the many through your presidency that shapes the enemy's perception of your resolve starting with the 2009 apology for being an american speech in cairo, to your not sending troops askito our men begging f help in benghazi saying you are going to reduce the army to preworld war ii levels to constantly signaling we are not a super power. while you trump at the reduction of our army to preworld war ii levels there are those that say that's a mistake. >> we are fighting a terrorist army, not an organization. it's going to take an army to beat an army. we won't have any boots on the ground in syria is fantasy. i will no not let this president suggest to the american people we can out source our security and this is not about our safety. >> even yo

. >> secretary of state john kerry testifying before congress on the white house plan to defeat the terror army in iraq and syria. mrut of his way to make a distinction between the terrorists and islam, something the administration has done repeatedly of late. watch this. >> now, let's make two things clear. isil is not islamic. no religion condones the killing of innocents. >> despite its slick public media and self-proclamation to be the islamic state of iraq, isil is neither islamic nor is it a state. >> this organization describing itself as the islamic state is a bit of a misnomer. they are not islamic. no religion condones the killing or terrorizing of innocent individuals. certainly not the religion of islam. >> muslims of the world know that what isil represents. in no way is what their religion or what their ethnicity, what their background represents. >> joining me now dr. jasser, founder and president of the american forum for democracy, a former commander in the u.s. navy and author of "a battle for the soul of islam." american-muslim's patriot's fight to save his faith. are they right? >> absolutely not

secretary of state john kerry is currently in saudi arabia, he's holding talks with leaders from around 12 sunni arab leaders, looking for their support. mrama says america is going to lead a broad coalition against i.s. the leader of iraqi kurdistan says his forces are certainly ready to take part in that coalition. the kurds have already been working closely with u.s. air forces to regain areas seized by the i.s. militants last month, including mosul dam. jim muir has this report. >> reporter: council of wartime for the iraqi kurds. barzani arrived in western kurdistan to plan operations on that front. all the top brass of the kurdish peshmerga forces were there. the focus was on pushing the isz lammic radicals of i.s. out of kurdistan they captured last month.islamic radicals of i.s. kurdistan they captured last month. but the kurds are signaling they're ready to go further. >> translator: the peshmerga have been able to get back most of the parts of kurdistan that were lost. definitely, there's a bigger and broader plan to destroy the terrorists, the peshmerga are ready to play an active and major role. >> r >>. >> reporter: the dam i

john kerry said that the attack would be unbelievably small. >> reporter: mean while the president's aid says the authority to use force -- in a speech at national defense university last year mr. obama said should be we peeled. >> our systematic efforts against terrorism must be continued. but this war like all wars must end. >> reporter: president obama wants money to equip and defend moderate rebels. but not to stop air strikes that could alienate liberal voters. maine republican susan collins thinks the air strikes in syria may go beyond his current authority. >> that could constitute an act of war, rather than just being a limited counter terrorism effort. >> reporter: one compromise might be for congress to authorize the money to train and equip syrian rebels now and take the vote on war authority after the fall elections. >> i think at some point in time, when we come back after the elections, i think there will be a consideration of a larger authorization for the use of force. >> reporter: the president is naming retired marine generals john allen to coordinate the international fight against isis and next week he'll visit central command in tampa, head of the u.s. mil

john kerry during the gaza war. our next guest takes issue with that categorization and is puzzled why the president seems calm with other countries and crises, writing, quote, in the summer in which mrobama became enraged with israel, islamic state terrorists seized mosul and massacred shiite soldiers in open pits. russian separatist it is shot down a civilian jetliner. hamas executed 18 collaborators in broad daylight. bashar al-assad's forces in syria came close to encircling aleppo with the aim of starving the city into submission. a brave american journalist had his throat slit on youtube by a british jihad it, russian troops openly invaded ukraine and chinese jets harassed u.s. surveillance planes over international waters. "wall street journal" foreign affairs columnist bret stevens joins us now. despite that entire list you eloquently put together, the one thing the president reportedly got enraged about was the behavior, characterization of the israeli government. >> right. the dissing of his secretary of state john kerry, who had supported a qatari plan to try to bring a cease-fire between israel and hamas. remember the qataris are some major backers of hamas. and but he ta

mr. obama spoke to iraq's new prime minister to congratulate him on the new government. it's a government that will be more inclusive to kurds and sunnis. secretary of state john kerry will head to the middle east today to add arab states to the effort. he is expected to meet with leaders this week to shore up financial and military support for an enemy located at their doorstep. >> as we build this coalition, i want to underscore that almost every single country on earth has a role to play in eliminating the isil threat and the evil it represents. >> a lot of people talk about a war weary american public and that is true as far as american combat troops on the ground is concerned. this new poll from the washington post supports airstrikes. 71 support support them in iraq, up 17% from last month. 65% of those polled support airstrikes in syria. >> what is the administration doing to shore up support for the president's plan overseas? >> secretary kerry begins his trip today so saudi arabia, considered the lynch pin to unity among the persian gulf nations and forming this coalition the president said is so important. it's going to be a tough sell there for kerry. the

of state john kerry call american military actions against isil, quote, significant counterterrorist operations. this is a pitfully weak way to motivate the men and women of our armed forces, mr. speaker. this is war and the united states and the free world must be victorious. the house's action today calls to mind the discussion i had with the constituent mother in my district of bartow, florida. ailing pain -- eileen payne is the mother of the first marine who were killed in combat in afghanistan. when we met last week, she exuded a passion for ensuring that congress has thoughtful debate on providing the president the authority required by our constitution to take the fight to isil. she understands perhaps more than most americans the significance of putting lives of american soldiers at risk. her son's death came with a very high price. the price of freedom. the price of national security. and the price of vic ticket -- victory. she nor i want the loss of her son to be in vain. the amendment we are deliberating today is a step in the right direction. while i support this amendment, i believe the words of this gold star mother must be heard and considered. if we do not dev

john kerry, the u.s. secretary of state who's currently in the region and talking to a number of the important regional -- and that's a process that needs to p continue. >> [inaudible] >> thank you, mr. speaker. could the prime minister clarify what support is being provided to iraq to insure the country has an inclusive and strong government tackle its international threat? also to support the safety, particularly women and children, with stories of violation being purported by, isil? >> obviously, our aid budget is being brought to bear working with others to build refugee camps and to help those people get to safety. so whether that is the yzidi community or other people, in terms of working with the iraqi government, we're stepping up what we're doing. we obviously have a full cabinet ebb gauged in that work, we're doing now. but the crucial decision needs to be made by the iraqi leaders themselves that it's time to end the sort of client politics of looking after the shia and not the sunni, but instead forming a proper inclusive government that includes sunni, shia and curd. >> [inaudible] >> in light of russia's destabilization actions in the ukraine, can i ask prime minister