ms. hicks: i do think the isil threat has been appropriately described as a significant threat. i do not think it has been blown up. there is an area, and territorial region, that they have occupied and operated from. and they do operate worldwide. al qaeda is not permanently on its heels, but we can try to keep them there. it has been degraded because of a lot of worldwide attention, not least of all, the two gentlemen to my left and right. that is what it takes going forwards, either al qaeda, al-shabaab, you name it, it takes a long-term effort with all the tools that we have. ms. dozier: admiral, did you expect we would still be a nation in this fight now? mr. vickers: let me say it is great to be back, and i apologize for not being michael lumpkin, but i am pleased to be on this stage. i spent most of my time in uniform avoiding kim dozier, but not for lack of respect for her tenacity. it is good to be with you. i left military service for four years ago. isil was not on our scope. i canno

ms. hicks: i think there is room to grow, if you will. advisers. there is no doubt about that. but before you throw that out, there is a capacity issue, which is the ground forces that are there to work with. that is where i think there is rightfully a lot of attention right now and try to make sure we can get, collectively the coalition can get the iraq ease forces in-- to get that are, you know, a line to feel some sort of allegiance to the baghdad government. and then are capable of working with u.s. and other trainers. where we have done that, obviously kurdish forces would be the most obvious example where they have been pretty aggressive. that has worked very well in terms of the u.s. ability to bring in firepower, the u.s. withty to marry ability their on the ground ability, and then the training aspect. and i will add, and i do think that has to be sustained. you cannot do that lightly and limited late and think that will take care of the situation. i think it is a long-term issue. but

ms. hicks: i think you can look with some hope to the fact that we have been able to sit down in negotiation with the iranians, not just in the u.s., obviously, but with our european partners and others. you can look with some hope to improvements in understanding, but i think it is an extremely long road. conspiracy theories in the middle east run every which way. if you were to have that conversation with somebody in the uae, they would probably tell you they think the u.s. and iran have struck a deal together to devise the middle east. the reality is, we are in for a very long era of instability in crossddle east with currents running every which way and the u.s. will have to be able to talk to parties in the region and reassure them as best they can about u.s. interest. there are a lot of conflict points between the united states and iran that haven't changed because of this deal. removal of power in syria. we are supporting the cooties in yemen. we are so -- hootie in yemen. s in yemen. th

ms. hicks: i think you can look with some hope to the fact that we have been able to sit down in negotiation with the iranians, not just in the u.s., obviously, but with our european partners and others. you can look with some hope to improvements in understanding, but i think it is an extremely long road. conspiracy theories in the middle east run every which way. if you were to have that conversation with somebody in the uae, they would probably tell you they think the u.s. and iran have struck a deal together to devise the middle east. the reality is, we are in for a very long era of instability in crossddle east with currents running every which way and the u.s. will have to be able to talk to parties in the region and reassure them as best they can about u.s. interest. there are a lot of conflict points between the united states and iran that haven't changed because of this deal. removal of power in syria. we are supporting the cooties in yemen. we are so -- hootie in yemen. s in yemen. th