his advice for president obama iraq?join with other nations and do everything you can to bringing influence to bear through war. >>> i spoke to anthony lake in new york. as i sit and speak with you your office put out a frightening report about what is going on in syria and iraq and in that region in general. you say that 14 million kids have been affected by that conflict. that is the population of new york, chicago and los angeles roughly, all put together. it's a massive problem. >> it is. it's a huge problem. and over 5 million of them are inside syria, and another 2 million living in refugee camps, in communities outside syria. another - we forget about these - probably over 3.5 million kids are living in the communities in surrounding countries, that are having to try to take care of the syrian kids. that means they are suffering hardships also. and then we have over 2.5 million kids in iraq now. and the numbers are growing. >> is this across the board. the biggest problem in america is with the kids that remained

if so-called gun-free zones supposedly save lives, why doesn't obama simply declare iraq, syria and afghanistan to be one big happy gun-free zone? i mean -- and have you heard about their latest? jobs for jihadists? i'm for bullets for jihad butchers. [ applause ] they can call us bitter clingerslfc, to guns and religion all they want, but they will never shake our faith in who we are and what we believe. our society is changing. it's common now not to know your neighbors. not long ago, kids were embarrassed if moms stood at the bus stop. now it's normal in our country. even at home, you got to watch out for your kids. hackers, identity thieves, and genuine monsters are just a click away. you tell me. is there any doubt that if someone or some group wants to they can read your e-mail listen to your phone, or track your car? really. authorities tracking license plates of law-abiding citizens? our health histories our entire lives are available online, just waiting for someone to cash in on it all. and there's a sense that it's all become an inside game. the rich get richer, the poor get poorer,

this is obama's new iraq war. nobel peace prize winner's war. think about it.wer today stand up and aipac or else what? are they mash stag tagging on card barred? they have drawn red lines before. i see a threat of real third world war. see relationship with vladmir putin is absolutely in the, tank. so that is really where i start to worry? more so than i would worry. >> if we learned, iran is behind rebels in yemen that would be fourth or fifth territory they are with rebels that have taken territory. so iran is growing in strength. all right. let's move on. republicans. why number two finisher is grabbing all the headlines. plus speaking of 2016 a new report reveals hillary clinton may announce her candidacy earlier than expect. why, what is happening? i don't know foundation donations? people talking about. ♪ ♪ nineteen years ago, we thought "wow, how is there no way to tell the good from the bad?" so we gave people the power of the review. and now angie's list is revolutionizing local service again. you can easily buy and schedule services from top-rated pr

the retired general is now consulting with the obama administration on the iraq strategy. that is even though the general was convicted of leaking classified information with his mistress and lying to the fbi about it. >>> enrollment in obamacare is rising. according to the white house, more than 16 million americans have gained coverage since the law took effect in 2010. the administration plans to commemorate the anniversary of the rollout. republicans are taking another stab at repealing it. they will unveil the 2016 budget. it includes vouchers for medicare and transformed medicaid to block grants to states. >>> the white house is slamming senate republicans for stalling the nomination of loretta lynch for the next attorney general. the spokesperson for the general calls the treatment unconscionable and inept. mcconnell will not consider her nomination until the human trafficking bill will be voted on today or perhaps not if it is blocked. democrats are expected to filibuster because that bill includes anti-abortion provisions. >>> the head of the secret service is goi

because barack obama withdrew all of our troops from iraq, and left a vacuum -- hold on hold on. cause barack obama had a complete withdrawal of all american forces from iraq, the iranian revolutionary guard now refusing request for us to send ground troops, every military commander is telling us to send in ground troops. you know who is leading the fight in tikrit? the iranian biggest terrorist operation in the entire middle east comparable to al qaeda. these are the people who were behind every attack against the united states since 1970. ghani, a terrorist leader is doing our job on the ground in iraq. >> right. and going in bush and cheney had nothing to do with this -- >> we're going to pick up that debate a little later. because as you guys both well know, it was joe biden saying we were going to -- this is going to be a great victory for us in iraq. then something happened, we withdrew all troops. great to see you. is it poor jimmy carter, poor barack obama, or poor dick cheney? i'll leave it to the viewers to decide. see you guys. >>> we also have breaking news tonight in

obama made the situation worse. by a series of tactical blunders including moving all u.s. troops from iraq. on earth isis could gain incredible power without president obama doing anything about it at all is almost impossible to believe. the jay vee comment will haunt the president forever. so now it's time for the obama administration to admit what's happening. and to finally get a strategy to defeat the jihadists. and that's the memo. now for the top story tonight, reaction. joining us from washington charles krauthammer. so where am i going wrong here, charles? >> in the main you got it right but i will correct you on a few details. the first about iraq situation, the mess that was supposedly left by the bush administration well, david petraeus said in an interview friday in the "the washington post," a very important interview incidentally that in the -- that the surge obviously had succeeded and when it ended in 2008 and 2009, there were three years of stability as they were able to hold on to their gains. so what happened at the end of 2011, barack obama decided to liquidate our presen

. >> no, just like how iraq star moveçói] in ó because obama did not listen to the general saying iraqy pretend to know what they're doing. >> nobody's evenw3 saying they' ready. i'll agree with you. >> that's how the isis thing was able to start.fá obama' election, i'm pull everybody he did it despite everybody saying no, no, no. look what isis has done. all my friendsÑi have died.ñr all the troops that have bled and sweat in iraq tojf free tho people from tyranny. are now being oppressed andf"Ñ murdered even more because of this man's decision. fá obama's hands. and our politicians. >> going forward, i mean, . do we get the military to feel that they have a government behind them? >> iq don't think there's a possibility until we get somebody who can actually be a leader. obama does not have capability. he sits there and lies toé@ us. he's deceitful. and the politicians -- >> did you have -- i mean,é@ok the men and women in the militaryhngw havenb what they d to cgt)uñ are the rules of engagement so restrictive that they can't fight? >> they're horrible. they're horrible. that's m

official and advisor to previous ambassadors in iraq recently accused the obama administration of ignoring or giving cover to these abuses to fight isil. but the reality is iraq is divided along sectarian lines with both sides committing crimes. finding a way to put decades-old tensions behind them and creating a unified iraq is the problem >>> still ahead, we take you inside a resort where the sale of endangered wild life products is anything but app tuesdaying. >> the stream, >> your digital community >> you pick the hot topics and express your thoughts the stream it's your chance to join the conversation only on al jazeera america >>> tunisia's prime minister is calling for national unity after 19 people were killed in the capital by gunmen. two attackers were killed by security forces but three other accomplices are on the run >> hundreds of people have been arrested in germany's financial capital. the white house has criticized benjamin netanyahu for using devicive language during the israeli election campaign. netanyahu says that if he was re-elected as israel prime minister he would

iraq? >> president obama since the state of israel was created in 1948.he has used israel as an extension of the west into the middle east as intrusion into the problem and has six years of threats and what has he focused on? that this dingell gravest threat according to the obama clinton view is it is in east jerusalem now we have a leader of our closest ally in the region to face is the existential threat of what some have called a nuclear holocaust. there is no is real. the prime minister netanyahu is entirely correct to see this deal as a sellout. and i congratulate speaker greater to have this joint session of congress. glading barack obama his behavior is reprehensible. and if hillary clinton really wants to be president of united states, if she is ever to break from barack obama if ever to show any daylight between her policies and barack obama she should welcome that conneaut do any with him and work with them and show that she really has america's interest first. it what happened but that is what she should do. thank you very much. [applause] ♪ .

obama blaming george bush again. on the unintended 81 unintent consequences of the iraq invasion. there is no question the islamic state filled the power vacsume in iraq after president obama withdraw the troops. but the president's failures -- reset u.s. relationship with russia. president promised president putin flexibility here we are russia directly threatening an attack on denmark as they conduct massive exercises in the arctic. carrying out a so-called ambiguous war in eastern ukraine, annexing crimea a year ago. president has reversed himself again this time in afghanistan. slowing the draw down of our troops to what purpose the american people can only guess. to what effect, experience tells us not to be hopeful for leader does not listen to republican leadership his open partyers on pentagon. the leaders of his party have act we esed, they remain silent instead of counseling the president. but the trajectory of this administration's mounting misadventures, it is in our nation's interest that both parties encourage to insist our government adopt a modern foreign policy, o

iraq from the man who played a major role in securing it for the u.s.-led coalition. despite his legal troubles retired general and former cia chief david petraeus is still consulting the obama administration on iraq and the region. tonight national security correspondent jennifer griffin with the petraeus perspective. >> reporter: in a scathing assessment on how the war against isis has been fought general david petraeus says isis is not the biggest problem for the u.s. in iraq saying i would argue the foremost threat to iraq for long term stability is not the islamic state rather she it militias guided by iran adding current iranian regime is not our ally but ultimately part of the problem and not the solution. in fact, iran began filling the vacuum when u.s. refused iraq's request for military help to fight isis in january 2014. >> airplanes arriving every day. force anding in providing advisers. the iranians want control of iraq like syria, lebanon. >> reporter: petraeus described how he and iran's shadowy top commander who is now leading iraq's push into tikrit exchanged when petraeus was commander of u.s. forces in iraq. petraeus was back in iraq meeting leaders at a f

last week the president's former ambassador to iraq said president obama's mideast policy was in "a g-damn secretary -- that sentiment. >> we have almost a complete break down of order in the middle east. a new middle east is essentially struggling to be born. and right now i don't -- my sense of where the policy is at is sort of and i hate to say it like this, but it's almost a policy of willful ignorance. >> joining me now former ambassador to iraq under president obama james jeffrey, and bret stevens, "the wall street journal" foreign affairs columnist. welcome to you both gentlemen. ambassador, explain why what you meant the middle east is in a free fall right now. >> what i mean is the middle east has always been a tough neighborhood ever since i got involved in 1974. but in the last few years particularly with the arab spring beginning in 2011 the state system itself is under challenge from many actors from their own populations in that region, from isis that is emerged in the last two and a half years, from al qaeda that's still out there, from iran and its both islamic and traditio

let me bring in james jeffrey man who served as president obama's ambassador to iraq and was a top national aid in the george w. bush white house. ambassador welcome back. >> thank you very much brooke. >> i'd love to start with the significance of taking tikrit back. how significant, in your opinion, is it? >> this is significant in and of itself. you can't take mosul, the second city of iraq and where isis has made its headquarters without first taking tikrit. it's important militarily. it's also important psychologically. when the iranians were basically in charge with their militias they couldn't finish the job. it was u.s. air power and a bigger role by the iraqi army that led to the fall of tikrit to the iraqi government. this is a big victory for prime minister ai baa i did. he's a good guy. this is something, a rare something to celebrate in the middle east today. >> that's interesting. i had read something you had said that this is a defeat for iran. i think you just alluded to it a moment ago, that they couldn't ultimately finish the job. so you're giving the credit to iraq to the

obama will announce changes to the deployment plan while ashraf ghani is in washington. it's a recognition that experts say leaving too quickly could turn afghanistan into another iraq >>> president obama hoped to have most troops out of afghanistan by the time he leaves office. the expert strategy has been revised. and will leave the bases open behind the end of the year. >> there are 10,000 troops in the country. ashraf ghani is open to peace talks. yesterday garmin sharp said he was cautiously optimistic that face to face talks could happen. pakistan urged two sides to come together to achieve peace and stability, many civilians have been paying the price. since the war began in 2001 an estimated 23,000 have been killed. for a look at what is ahead i'd like to welcome mark lyons, al jazeera's national security contributor, a retired army major and truman fellow. and reporter from the "new york times" and former afghan correspondent for "the times." great to have you with us. mr rosen burg in your local article you say ashraf ghani offers hope for the president. how optimistic should we be for this meeting? >> ashraf ghani is the leader president obama wanted. tes tech

and in iraq, president obama as ordered us fighter jets to carry out airstrikes in support of iran in the battle for tikrit. president obama has yet to explain his contradictory foreign policy decisions or his strategy. critics fear he's prepared to accept far too little in order to claim a nuclear deal that will give iran far too much. we take up the obama middle east policy and the escalating conflicts there with fox news military analyst major general bob scales. and richard you grenel. clifford and judith miller. we begin with the crash of the germanwings flight. investigators are searching the apartment of the copilot andreas lubitz. searching as well the home of his parents. the 28-year-old copilot joined germanwings directly after he completed training in 2013. he had logged relatively few flying hours. only 630 hours of total flight time. only 100 of those hours at the controls of the airbus a320. lou bitshe passed a psychological test when he was hired. but then he burned out under the pressure of his flight training, and he had to interrupt his training for several months. w

iraq. when we come back, the >>> barack obama has run as an anti-war candidate. was the one who was going to get us out of iraq. what does such a white house do when it looks like we may need to go back? >> we shouldn't fight it. >> barack obama ran as an anti-war candidate. once in office, many thought his first order of business would be to get america out of iraq. they weren't far off. before his first term was out, the last 500 american troops stationed in iraq packed their gear and left. >> we're leaving behind a sovereign, stable and self-reliant iraq. >> some worried, however, that failing to reach an agreement to stay behind u.s. forces would create a power vacuum. i spoke to the ambassador who works on the president's team dealing with isis. >> critics say by us not getting the agreement we facilitated the growth of isis. how do you respond to that? >> i do wish we were able to leave a residual force to do some counter terrorism. the iraqis made a difficult negotiation with them in very late 2011, but i can tell, you brett, we're focus order where we are

strained under netanyahu's tenure recently over his speech to congress criticizing president obama's policy for iraq. the u.s. has also voiced frustration with continued israeli settle. activity something that's also caused tension between israel and europe. for six years under prime minister netanyahu, the peace process with the palestinians has been gridlocked. months of negotiations led by secretary of state john kerry broke down last april leading to the palestinians to take unilateral moves at the united nations and join the international criminal court. the left has pledged to restart peace talks with a goal of a -- of a twotwo-state solution. something many israelis want. rising food and health care prices and social reform have emerged as key issues in the campaign despite the attention to international crises. israelis say these domestic issue could be key factors in determining their next leader. >> and we are joined by the foreign communications adviser for the herzog campaign. thank you very much for talking with us. of course, as we have reported the latest polls and the final polls ind

we'll have more on iraq after headlines. the obama administration has indicated it expects to reach a nuclear agreement with iran before next week's deadline. differences remain over the pace for ending u.n. sanctions, caps on centrifuges, and how long the deal would last. but according to "the new york times," a senior state department official gave the administration's most hopeful prognosis to date, saying "we very much believe we can get this done," in time. ahead of a new round of talks in switzerland, secretary of state john kerry said critics have offered no viable alternative. >> anybody standing up in opposition to this has an obligation to stand up and put a viable, realistic alternative on the table. and i have yet to see anybody do that. so we will see where we go. amy: the u.s. military has charged army sergeant bowe bergdahl with one count of desertion and one count of misbehavior before the enemy. bergdahl was held in taliban captivity for five years after leaving his army base in afghanistan in 2009. an earlier militar

recruitment with an estimated 20,000 foreign fighters traveling to syria and iraq to join their ranks. in august, president obama authorizes targeted air strikes against isis in iraq. later that month isis releases a video of the beheading of james foley, warning the u.s. against further air strikes. >> our objective is clear. we will degrade and ultimately destroy isil. through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy. >> the u.s.-led air strikes in iraq and syria haven't stopped, and neither have the brutal killings of isis captives. the belief in a final apocalyptic battle are fueling these fighters, who are now inspiring attacks in countries outside the battle zone. there's a lot to look at in the hour ahead, a lot to talk about. joining us is fareed sa cary on cnn. and contributing editor graham wood, a great cover story for the magazine, what isis really wants and how to stop it. and the author of what does not apply here, untold stories of fighting against muslim fundamentalism. graham, a lot of this started with the article that you wrote, which i thought was a fascinating piece. you say i

so it's our withdrawal from iraq that has in fact handed over so much of iraq. >> but the president said, president obamaaid we'll put together a coalition and that coalition of neighboring states and that would have been in particular a coalition of ground forces from sunni neighboring states, like the gulf states, turkey in particular which has a very potent military. and egypt and jordan. we haven't seen anything like that coming to. why not? >> well, nothing at all. >> why not? >> well, i mean, look, there is a nominal coalition that serves the sort of -- theed aer have toirl purposes and those are welcome and important and right now, the principal military partner of the united states in the fight against islamic state is iran. we are providing not directly, but indirectly we are providing an air force for these shiite -- iranian backed shiite militias. >> what does that mean in terms of the stability of the region? this is happening at the same time you have the nuclear talks. and if you let an iran get on the cusp of the nuclear weapon as i think this deal will end up if it is struck and you have

nancy: it's been a painful thing to see president obama tackling what's happening in iraq and the idea we don't want to go back is an echo we had to go back in iraq. the president is wrestling with this idea he wanted to end these wars and he continues to talk about that but the administration actually in terms of its briefings to reporters, it's talking about this maintenance as short term and those discussions are down the road. that leaves the door open to maybe actually handing this off to says successor. gwen: there was additional, and for the white house unexpected residual fallout from the war in afghanistan this week in the space of only nine months, former taliban captive bowe bergdahl, one hailed as honorable hero after the u.s. traded five guantanamo detainees for his release, has become a pariah, charged this week with decertification. next up, a military court-martial. questions about how he came to be captured were raised almost immediately after his release last year but it took until now for them to gain the weight of official condemnation. so what happened between then

let me pivot to general david petraeus who commanded troops in iraq former cia chief, now counseling the obama administration and was recently in iraq and he spoke for the first time really in quite broad terms with a writer from "the washington post" and he made a couple points. the point i want to ask you about. he describes syria as a geopolitical geopolitical gernobal. >> syria has become this gaping wound in the middle of the middle east where money, jihadies and regional competition is playing itself out. the saudis are funding some people. iranians are funding other people. everybody is getting in to get a piece of the action. until that stabilizes this conflict and competition will continue. sadly, he doesn't provide any solution as to how you would stabilize syria because that's part of the problem, which is that there is a civil war in syria and in some ways a 15-sided civil war. it's not clear who you should support and who you shouldn't support by which i mean there are some really bad guys but is it clear that there are good nice guys and by the united states supporting them they

but the obama administration, judge seems content to leave iraq up to iran. have a vacuum in the middle east right now. we don't want to occupy it under president obama. so iran is moving right in and gaining more and more control in iraq. at the end of the day, look, iran and isis are fighting each other. the obama administration apparently thinks we can make an ally out of iran. iran and isis are fighting each other because not of the shia/sunni difference, they want the same thing do dominate the middle east. iran is poised in a very good position. >> all the while we negotiate with iran. thanks so much for being with us this evening. >> thank you, judge. >> my pleasure. >> all right. >>> onlying up the manhunt comes for the gunman who shot two police officers in ferguson. is there any way to share this war against police? >>> later the hbo documentary "the jinx" is created a firestorm. the detective trying to put robert durst behind bars joins me live. this tylenol arthritis lasts 8 hours but aleve can last 12 hours. and aleve is proven to work better on p

iraq. the obama administration would deny that. it's clear iranians are helping iraqi troops retake tikrit odd, right? how is it possible that iran is in iraq along with american advisers fighting a common enemy? christiane amanpour talked with iran's foreign minister. >> this is a global threat. you see theism implications in europe and the fact that they are recruiting from europe. this is a global problem. it requires global cooperation and global war. >> again, the u.s. denies it's coordinating military operations with iran. what is clear, iraqi troops need help. isis just bulldozed another ancient city crushing precious artifacts. barbara starr live with more on iran's part in this crisis. good morning. >> good morning, carol. let's be clear. iran has been deeply involved in iraq for many years trying to influence the various governments that have been in power there. so that is nothing new. they have their own motives for doing that. they are doing a good deal of the heavy lifting and the fight against isis. that's a very sens

to escape violence in iraq >>> the obama administration is cracking down on venezuela. white house announced sanctions against some top officials accusing them of human rights violations. mike this is a the latest in a move that seems to be a growing diplomatic dispute. >> reporter: absolutely you are right. and venezuela is a country dealing with mounting civil unrest and a staggering economy. and today the white house accuseded it of purseersecuting their opponens. protesters pored into the streets over the weekend. angry over rising prices and political repression. monday president obama hit seven officials with economic sanctions, accusing them of civil rights violations and corruption. in a statement, the white house says: those targeted include five past and present military generals a police officer, and a prosecutor who allegedly used violence to try to silence protesters. all seven are involved in or responsible for human rights violations and abuses. their property and assets in the united states will be blocked or frozen, and u.s. citizens will be banned from

iraq was bangquished. crushed. fast forward. december 2011. president obama against the advice of top general with drew every last troop from iraq. declared victory essentially and folks almost at the same time a wave of suicide bombings began. assassinations of iraqi leaders, terror attacks in iraq began, al-qaeda rose again like vampire vampires and attacks began on iraq soil and then they went to syria and took advantage of the civil war there. >> president obama get intelligence reports on his desk every morning. ... >> we thought it might get better after mosul, iraq's second largest city, was seized by isis. you thought we might get the memo and turn this thing around. hasn't gone that way. there have been limited airstrikes which have had some effect, by the way but they're limited. and worst of all folks is president obama's refusal to acknowledge the enemy. that gets to the heart of the matter. and i'm not trying to be a hyperpartisan. it is what it is. and what it is, is a refusal to even utter the words "radical islam" or " jihadists." you can't de

the retired general and former cia director consulting the obama administration on the iraq strategy although petraeus was convicted of leaking classified information to his mistress and lying to the fbi. >>> more than 16 million americans have gained coverage since obamacare took effect. the white house will plan to commemorate the anniversary of passing it the republicans will take a stab at repealing it. they unveiled their budget for 2016. >>> the white house is slamming senate republicans for what it says is stalling the nomination of loretta lynch for the next attorney general. the spokesperson calls her treatment unconsciousnable. mcconnell refuses to consider her nomination until the human trafficking bill is taken care of. democrats have been filibustering the bill because it includes an anti-abortion stance. >>> the head of the secret service will have to explain the latest when he appears on capitol hill. joe clancy appointed last month to reform the secret service. he is sure to be grilled about the two suspended agents that disrupted a bomb investigation outside the whit

. >> how about president obama invented by leaving iraq before the job was finished?american. we all know that he kwaub rates with our enemies and spends lots of time with them, antiamerican and he lives in this country but i'm surprised he's not celebrating it. >> what is wrong with charlie? also, he doesn't seem to know history. he is like talking like isis is a new phenomenon. their belief just formed because george bush made them -- >> theoretically bush created boko haram which is just like isis. you got to feel bad for him. he has had a really bad bad run of movies. i have seen better film on a soap dish. if you see the reviews for the gunman it is a mid life crisis running around without a shirt on at 53. it is so sad. liam is great. blaming bush for him is his meditation. he has to do that. he should blame bush for his movies because if kerry or gore had won he could have concentrated on his career and read the scripts before he took the job. >> we haven't seen bush drangement syndrome in a while. are you embarrassed that he votes democrat? >> i don't know how

official and advisor to previous american ambassadors in iraq recently accused the obama administrationignoring and giving cover to these abuses to fight isil. but even if isil were to be pushed out of iraq the country is divided along sectarian lines with both sides committing crimes. finding a way to put decades old tensions behind them and reunifying iraq will be the challenge. >>> thousands have been hurt and hundreds arrested as police and protesters clash in germany. dominic kane reports. [ shouting ] >> reporter: violent scenes in the center of frankfurt. police step in to prevent protesters taking over the streets. the movement called on thousands of people to descend of europe's financial capitol. aiming to make their point on what they see as the negative impact of austerity. >> translator: it is simply very important that lots of people from lots of different countries come together and fight against these politics. >> reporter: in some areas, clearly that fight had taken on a physical form. police held hundreds of people in different parts of the city to prevent them committ

president obama said he left a sovereign and stable and self-reliant iraq. he did not tell the truth. we had to go into iraq and restart the war. 1982 we took iraq off the state-sponsored terror list to fund the iraqis against the iranians, hence funding saddam hussein. president obama, our noble peace prize-winning president waived the human rights provision where we can fund terrorists to fight other terrorists. they are worst terrorists. we are funding the second worst bad guy we deem in the middle east right now. this is a policy that's been in the past and it is right now. >> he's calling for more foreign aid. >> we can afford almost anything. american afford to have a war that costs ten times as much as the iraq war if we really had to and it was really important. world war ii called more and we could borrow $10 trillion if we had to. gitmo we could have 100 gitmos. does it make sense to spend a dollar on it? gitmo isn't cost-effective even though we can afford it. it's too much money per person who is in there. you could pay for a stay at the ritz car

especially in iraq with american combat troops out as promised isil fighters moved in waging their own war. the brookings institute michael owe happen lan says that has pushed president obamastep up involvement. >> in fairness it is worth pointing out in iraq last year he started dropping bombs now has 3,000 u.s. troops on the ground helping coordinate the counter offensive against isil and may be willing to do everybody a little bit more than that. notices a complete allergy to any and all involvement. >> reporter: perhaps the biggest symbol of the president's policies syria in 2013, he drew a red line at the assad regime using chemical weapons then backed down. >> so not only has it not constrained the assad regime's use of chemical weapons but it had an enormous impact on perceptions of u.s. credibility in the region. >> reporter: steven with the u.s. institute of peace, it is mr. obama began his presidency trying to course correct the bush administrations unilateralism. but may have eased off the gas pedal too much. >> that's a real -- it's a disappointment. and i think it's something of an opportunity lost. >> reporter: he says international focus is now otto bomb a a

iraq. when we come back, the fight in washington over how best to deal with isis. >>> barack obama has run as an anti-war candidate. he was the one who was going to get us out of iraq. what does such a white house do when it looks like we may need to go back? >> we shouldn't fight it. >> barack obama ran as an anti-war candidate. once in office, many thought his first order of business would be to get america out of iraq. they weren't far off. before his first term was out, the last 500 american troops stationed in iraq packed their gear and left. >> we're leaving behind a sovereign, stable and self-reliant iraq. >> some worried, however, that failing to reach an agreement to stay behind u.s. forces would create a power vacuum. i spoke to the ambassador who works on the president's team dealing with isis. >> critics say by us not getting the agreement we facilitated the growth of isis. how do you respond to that? >> i do wish we were able to leave a residual force to do some counter terrorism. the iraqis made a difficult negotiation with them in very late 2011, but i can tell, you brett, we

>> this is iraq's war and we shouldn't fight it. >> barack obama ran as an anti-war candidate. nce in office many thought his first order of business would be to get america out of iraq. they weren't far off. before his first term was out the last 500 american troops stationed in iraq packed their gear and left. >> we're leaving behind a sovereign, stable and self-reliant iraq. >> some worried however that failing to reach an agreement for stay-behind u.s. forces would create a power vacuum. i spoke to ambassador brent mcguirk who works on the president's team dealing with isis. critics say by us not getting that agreement we've facilitated the growth of isis. how do you respond to that? >> i do wish we were able to leave a residual force to do some counterterrorism. you know, the iraqis we had a very difficult negotiation with them late 2011. we're very focused on where we are now. >> jen michael flynn who headed the defense intelligence agency from 2012 to 2014 agrees that we have to move on. >> you know, hindsight's 20/20. what we have to do is admit to the mistake and say ok

iraq. i think with the obama administration should do now is have a more assertive policy in syria. non-american troops, but to arm those troops in syria with which we agree, and try to build up account of force against the islamic state in syria itself. if you take out your map or google it at home, you will see that isis controls part of syria, part of iraq. it envelops both borders. and, therefore, we have to have a policy that is effective in syria as well as in iraq. i have said a lot of nice things, and i meant them. but i don't think he has been strong enough on the serious side. host: we were just showing our viewers, that yesterday iraqi's announced that they want the lead role in driving prices from moul. a democratic caller, you're up. caller: yes, good morning. i remember when president obama was running, he also said that i am not against was, but i am against dumb wars. i believe in diplomacy, and i believe everything, ambassador, that you said is true, is right. as far as saudi's are concerned, i could care less about them. saudi's were pilots on 9/11. and i want to k

iraq. the iranians did the groundwork in tikirrit. what are you hearing and watching about president obama's priorities and strategies in iraq right nowt the request of the iraqi president. this is not being coordinated with the iranians or the shiite militias on the ground. this is an effort, the u.s. coordinating with the iraqi army , an effort from a u.s. perspective to reinsert itself in the fight for tikirrit. the reality is the are both going for the same goal here, to take on the islamic state. the criticism from republicans is this is only adding to iran's influence in the region. we have part children with us -- olivia: we have part children with us. -- bart chilton. bart: i'm wondering how you think this will impact oil prices in general. we've seen that big five dollar raise in the last couple of days. you think it will continue? peter: if there is an iranian nuclear deal and the framework is announced you could see a situation where we have these conflict zones in yemen and yet we have perhaps beginnings of a deal with iran. it tells me there is a lot to keep oil traders up at night. perhaps opportunities as well. olivia:

legacy deal with iran he is compromising concession after concession and obama ignores the aggression on the part of iran in iraqebanon -- obama desperately wants a legacy. iran wants nuclear weapons and an empire chattyand that is what obama's legacy is going to be. >> if you are making a legacy choice the option could be to side it israel and saudi arabia and yemen and qutar and egypt and the people speaking out for a more just form of islam that could replace the violence we are seeing there. potentially you could be on that side. why is the president choosing to negotiate with iran and doing nothing to tick them off when it comes to our actions in iraq and syria? >> because this is a president who can never never, admit he is wrong about anything. he came to office with the idea his charm would win over iran. this state that has funded terror around the world for almost four decades, our pursuing nuclear weapons and not for peaceful purposes. obama cannot back down. he insist the struggle is not about islam at all. you have shiite iran and islamic state sunnis in a struggle over the middle east and much of t

. >> new iraq war is obama's war. the new war in afghanistan is obamas' war.el peace prize winner. he is rye lee lying on iran to fight isis. >> sure he is. >> we don't know what he is negotiating behind the scenes. according to assad there has been coordination your government. josh earnst has said. no these are two countries, iran and syria that are enemies of ours. but who perceive isis to it be a threat. i think that the president is hoping that iran will take on isis. i also think iran could take on isis and defeat them. they could flatten them in a minute. i don't think iran will allow ever a sunni caliphate nor do i think saudi arabia. >> if iran becomes become surrogate fighter against isis is they control iraq and they control syria. >> but we are losing iraq anyway. >> look i'm not arguing if that's the policy then articulate it. go ahead jessica. >> secretary kerry just stated today that that's absolutely not the case there are two separate issues. senator rubio is trying to bring them together here. we are not using iran to you know, have some gran