dowa is the most moderate of the shia-islamist party, and yet the shia-islamist represent the majority of the vote. so the president has to come from this face. the thing that we agree on is the reason that al maliki could never be removed, why the vote of no confidence could ever move forward is his party passes for the center of iraqi politician. the other two sunni groups to his left and the curds to the rights. but in terms of finding a party that is closest to all the other groups, dowa was it. so long as he occupied that space it was impossible to move. dowa had to say no, there is someone else that could go forward. no, now that dowa has another face, there can be another government. >> we'll come back after a few moments. this is inside story. >> now available, the new al jazeea america mobile news app. get our exclusive in depth, reporting when you want it. a global perspective wherever you are. the major headlines in context. mashable says... you'll never miss the latest news >> they will continue looking for survivors... >> the potential for energy production is huge... >> n

>> well, the sunnis are the largest group of muslims in the world, and shia are the minority, but shia control iran and the sunni control saudi arabia. and so that is the main thing, the saudi ruling family wishes to be seen as the spokesman because they control the two holy places, two holiest places in islam. but the sunni-shia sectarian battle is growing in the middle east, thanks in part to syria or iran is funding the syrians, and the saudis and others are funding the sunni fighters. so you have a growing sectarian clash across the whole region. >> how many times have you been there? >> i don't even know, scores of times. >> do you think you are watched when you're there? are you followed? >> i'm sure one is watched. if they want to know. i mean, i never assumed i was doing anything to me, it's like going to the old soviet union or to israel. i never assumed that if people want to know what you're doing, they will know. so i never tried to hide anything. i mean, i -- you obviously, because women are not allowed to drive in saudi arabia, i am either taking a taxi or hiring a hotel

there are kurds who are sunni and shia. there are a lot of inter mixes. he has gone after the shia. >> but not because of their ethnicity. >> nothing to do with their nicety. it's everything to do that they're apostates and therefore he's entitled and he can do that. that will make a difference because he can play on that sectarian hatred, but he wants to divide these communities. that's another way of success. >> judith, mohammed, laithe, thank you for joining us. this bring us to the end of this edition of "inside story." in washington i'm ray suarez. >> tonight. gaza, experience what it's like on the ground, first hand, as our crew gets caught in the chaos. the reality of war. shujayea: massacre at dawn. tonight, 10:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. >> these terrorists threaten our facilities or personnel, we'll take action to protect our people. >> president obama promises to continue the fight against the islamic state group in northern iraq. the words come as military aid is dropped to thousands of people stranded by the fighting. >> hello and

there are kurds who are sunni and shia. there are a lot of inter mixes. he has gone after the shia. >> but not because of their ethnicity. >> nothing to do with their nicety. it's everything to do that they're apostates and therefore he's entitled and he can do that. that will make a difference because he can play on that sectarian hatred, but he wants to divide these communities. that's another way of success. >> judith, mohammed, laithe, thank you for joining us. this bring us to the end of this edition of "inside story." in washington i'm ray suarez. >> coming up at 6:00 p.m. on al jazeera america. a developing story of iraq as the united states fires a second round of airstrikes. and protects the american interest in islamic state which is tightening it's hold on iraq and syria. we have all that and more coming up at 6:00 p.m. eastern. . >> it has become too expensive. the price tag is so scary to look at. >> cornell university's president says higher education is worths the cost though schools need to be run more efficiently. david skorton weighs in

there are kurds who are sunni and shia. there are a lot of inter mixes. he has gone after the shia. >> but not because of their ethnicity. >> nothing to do with their nicety. it's everything to do that they're apostates and therefore he's entitled and he can do that. that will make a difference because he can play on that sectarian hatred, but he wants to divide these communities. that's another way of success. >> judith, mohammed, laithe, thank you for joining us. this bring us to the end of this edition of "inside story." in washington i'm ray suarez. >> craig notman is leaving his home and his job in british mining to join the gold rush in the mongolian wilderness. he'll be working in some of the most dangerous mines on earth. >> it really is awful, it's really bad. that's really bad. >> he'll experience a traditional nomadic lifestyle under threat. >> as a coal miner, we don't get to milk many yaks.

broader problems in the middle east namely the sunni shia problem in the middle east which is becoming a kind of region wide civil war and it is far too big for mr maliki the solve on his own ambassador you just mentioned the absence of residual force american residual force in iraq but despite the absence of american troops on the ground the united states still invest the billions of dollars to train and equip the iraqi army only to have them essentially abandon that post that weaponry rather than fight insurgents in mosul and i wonder if that's not the most worrying development of all because we've known about the growth of isis for quite some time but now we suddenly realize that there is absolutely no force on the ground to counter them well first of all i would agree that the investment in the iraqi army is certainly hasn't been hasn't been shown to be a good investment but i would not assume that the rapid advance of isis means that it would continue i'm not so as much concerned as some people are that somehow isis could take over baghdad to be the real issue is that we are headi

under a shia prime minister that has a prime minister represent shia political power and so i think it's a very fundamental problem in iraq and so i think it's a problem much deeper than maliki's behavior and whether he has kept or not kept various promises so i think he has a problem and how he's handled himself but also a problem in how the sunni's have handled themselves and as for regime change my own view is it ought to be rare but i think there are some cases where that is the only way to go and so i think. you know as you look around the world clearly serbia is a much better place today for the fact that slobodan milosevic is long gone so there are a lot of cases where there are the right i think you're a machine to go well i think saddam hussein represented a minority sunni interests after all the sunni arabs are only some twenty two percent of iraq and yet he tried to run the country as a sunni minority government you talk about not doing outreach the only outreach he did was to go out and kill the as many shia as he could so clearly he cannot be part of iraq's future and i don'

nicola dennehy mean shia rule i must say here we just mentioned turkey and obviously it's a going to much more prominent political role in this whole theory in crisis but. it's also the gulf states that i think have been punching above their weight and a lot of people including in al maliki's own circle are blaming the saudis and the qataris for funding be the sunni extremists now the united states is finding it difficult to you know cut russia china and iran and other actors down to size but i wonder what about these turkish and saudi regional ambitions do you think they could be kept in check because you know those countries seem to be. very emboldened by the developments in syria and they may have become a problem in a in a without i agree with you that this is a growing problem but i think it argues for a kind of growing diplomatic effort on our part clearly we're in good communication with the turks we don't always agree on what turkey is doing but i think we we have a pretty good understanding with the turks on how to proceed but i am a little concerned about developments in th

on shia militias. so any u.s. military aid needs to be tied to reducing the shia militias and pulling them back and institutionalizing military force. >> reporter: but time is not on hider al abaddi's side. if he can't form a government in the next 30 days the iraqis go back to square one. nuri al maliki can bide his time while trying to divide iraq's politicians to print a new government from being seated. isis fighters continue to make new gains while iraqis sort out their political mess. >> while that political uncertainty continues, in the north of iraq tens of thousands of minorities are trapped on sinjar mountain, cut off by isis fighters. they are still in dire need of water and supplies. what they really need is escape. cnn's senior international correspondent ivan watson and mark phillips rode along with the iraqi military as they pulled off some of those desperate people on that mountainside. >> reporter: machine gunners release bursts of hot metal. this is the crew aboard an iraqi air force

. >> now, it's believed the gunmen from from a shia militia. very worrying images on a mobile phone. and the latest from jane arraf, our correspondent in erbil in northern iraq. images like that, and incidents like that, jane, seem to hark back to the sectarian violence that we saw in iraq after and during the american invasion. there must be great concern about what is going on around the country, and, of course, where you are. >> there is absolutely. everyone has been terrified that this could be the incident that sparks another still war. now, what we have seen in the past is shia militias and sunni gunmen and fighters come in where there's a security vacuum, and with what we are seeing in iraq. fighters are regrouping and they have gathered at the invitation of senior religious leaders saying they are needed to help the security forces fight the islamic state group. the shia militias are taking hold of areas where iraqi forces are weak. it's heightened sectarian sections and heightened tension that is it could evolve into the fighting that

the shia dominated security forces needed assistance with that, so shia militias were mobilized. this really contributed to that cycle of fear, mistrust, and concern that on the one hand you have a tarks taking place by sunni militants on the shia community and on the other hand you have the shia being mobilized. this is what iraqis refer to as the dark days 2006, 2007, the dark days there's concern that the bombings there's concerns that these are attempts to try and push iraq trying to push back and reunite that sectarian war. when we see attacks like this, a lot of concern about where this is going. >> absolutely. darker days perhaps ahead. just terrible to think about. jomana karadsheh. thank you. >>> violence has forced hundreds of thousands of iraqis from their home but international aid is finally coming their way. the u.n. has lost a maaunched a aid this month. it's shipping 22 million tons. anna coren spoke to a u.n. official coordinating the effort. >> it certainly is ramping up. this is the single largest push. it is here. we're getting 2500 tons of aid in over a ten d

he claims more than 100,000 indian shias have signed up. objective, he says, is not to fight with arms and ammunition but to create a hewn chain around the shrines and help the injured. >> these are what we are receiving along with their passports. >> reporter: the indian government has advised all indians not to travel to iraq. how are you going to do this? >> see, this is the advice. all citizens of india have freedom of movement. if they will say you can't or your flight can't land in iraq, then you go through iran. >> but what if something happens to them when they're there? >> everybody is ready for that. >> reporter: it's unclear if these volunteers will get visas to go to iraq. but the passion for their faith and determination to protect it is palpable. "for us religion and our shrines are the most important thing. everything else, our house, family, money, children, that's all secondary," she says. their 6-year-old daughter has also signed up. india has the second largest muslim population in the world after indonesia. the majority

but he had also lost support from his own shia allies.cially, even the shia religious leadership urged him to step down. convinces that he could no longer hold the country or the shia community together. maliki had insisted that his political block won the largest number of votes and that the move to replace him amount today a political coup. >> translator: i face a ferocious personal tack by some who claim that i was protesting as my percentage interest but i was only carrying my duties in protect th thing cons tunes. >> reporter: he became prime minister eight years ago when the country was in the grip of civil war. he presided over iraq regaining its sovereignty after u.s. occupation. in 2011 oversaw the exit of u.s. troops. although he alienated his political allies until recently he retained considerable popular support. in one of his boldest moves in 2008, event the iraqi army in to basra to retake the city from shia militias. despite that maliki's political legacy is seen as a sectarian one. under his watch, sunni protests erupted

a series of bombs exploded in shia neighborhoods in baghdad. security officials believe islamist extremists staged the attacks. >>> thousands of iraqis have been forced to flee from the sunni insurgents. they are angry about the political uncertainty. >> translator: we want our government to make a united country and give us back our peaceful life. >> in june the militants seized iraq's second largest city, mosul, forcing residents out. about 1,000 people have taken shelter in the suburbs of erbil in the kurdish autonomous region. many have been suffering in soaring temperatures. kurdish leaders have been locked in a dispute with maliki's administration about who owns an oil field and they've welcomed abadi's nomination. united nations secretary general, ban ki-moon, has called for the protection of a religious minority. the yazidis, too, have escaped the insurgents and have taken refuge in remote mountains. >> u.n. humanitarian personnel are in the area doing all what we can. air drops of food and water are reaching some of the trapped people.

the decision has been taken to support the new prime minister and by the majority of the shias, so in, i think all of these meetings will be in vain. [ inaudible ] protection,. [ inaudible ] profession, the national alliance will not protect you, you will be alone. if he stays alone, he will be finished. >>> the united nations a warning 30,000 yazidis trapped on a mountain in iraq could soon be massacred. the refugees from the i can't seed is relidge us minority he is saint to the sinjar mountain, they would told to convert to islam or die. the u.n. says they are in extreme peril. >> the plight of yazidis and others on mount sinjar is especially harrowing. u.n. humanitarian personnel are in the area doing all what we can. air drops of foot and water are reaching some of the trapped people. but the situation on the mountain is dire. >> kurdish forces have helped some yazidis plea the mountain by creating a safe passage for them. a refugees camp in syria is struggle to go meet their needs. thousands more are expected to arrive and they'll need tents, medical food and attention. >> tran

also in eastern baghdad, in a predominantly shia area.claimed by isis saying it was retaliation, revenge for the brutal attack we saw on friday. as you recall, the attack was carried out by suspected shia militia men killing at least 70 worshippers. when that attack happened, there's a lot of concern seeing an attack, a counter attack, the retaliation and revenge that could reignite the country's sectarian civil war. a lot of fear about that. those kind of divisions and tensions really exploited by isis. as we have seen, they take advantage of the sunni grievances to solidify their presence in this country, especially in sunni areas. over the past few months, i have spoken to officials who have been concerned about this violence. the kind of violence we have not seen here since what is called the dark days of the iraqi sectarian war between 2006-2007. last year, the numbers really spiked. we are seeing it continue into 2014. numbers we have not seen since 2008 when the violence levels dropped. these officials, western officials have been

they don't support the shia led conflict. many say that the islamic state group doesn't represent them. >> it is one of many groups fighting the government. as long as the ricky groups don't have power there'll be trouble. >> we used to have positions in government, in the army. now we are in prison. >> never before has there been an urgency for national conciliation. divisions are growing, the state is week. the islamic state and shia militias seem to be the majority on the ground. >> kurds have felt immune to the violence in iraq, but this bombing a message that there is no front line, and the worst fear now is these bombings recur, and it will be very, very difficult it's hard to stop the explosions, and we have seen that. just look at the situation in baghdad. so the situation really deteriorating, and the need has become more urgent for all of iraq's political factions and communities to come together to find a political settlement acceptable to all. >> the islamic state group stepped up a recruitment campaign. they were

one of the attacks in baghdad was targeting a shia mosque. a suicide bomber hit that mosque during prayer time. we heard later on in the day, a statement from isis claiming responsibility for the attack saying it was revenge in retaliation for the brutal attack we saw on friday, northeast of baghdad at a sunni mosque. they stormed it killing at least 70 people there. that attack was blamed by sunni politicians on suspected shia militiamen raising tensions here and fears and concern that is attacks like this could be on the rise even further. attacks like this could be driving the country closer to an all-out sectarian war. this is something that we have heard in the past. the political situation here is key, trying to bridge the gap and bring everyone into an inclusive government would be a key factor in fighting isis and weakening that organization here. this is what's going on in baghdad. two more weeks left for the deadline to put together that government to try and exploit it. the sectarian tension and gain so much ground in sunni areas i

, the reality is there's a sectarian divide of sunni versus shia. we can try to put all the duct tape we can around syria and iraq and egypt and what goes on and on. while we recognize we're in the middle of a clash in islam of sunni versus shias. and this notion of trying to put together a nation state is just a fool apparent. >> so do we just get out of there? >> no, i think what i was saying about isis, they proved themselves capable enough and wealthy enough with american weapons, they need to isolate them with the sunni part. what i'm saying there's no way you're going to find a shia-approved leader in baghdad that the sunnis will allow to go against isis in a real way. you need to isolate. cut into the three parts and deal with each part on its own terms. you can deal with the sunni part that militarily has a lost isis throughout it. you can go in and work with the local sunni groups to fight isis which is what we have to do. nobody has to do this. believe me, u.s. military doesn't want to do it. the fact of the matter is, we're in the middle

the iraqi army is only a shia army right now. that is only going to fight the sunnis, if you really want to have a real iraqi army you have to bring the sunnis back into the iraqi army, otherwise i think we have to go back to what vice president biden said, he was wildly lampooned and lambasted for this a number of years ago the real possibility of seeing iraq split into separate regions based on ethnicity. >> well, i hear what you're saying. the u.s. military is trying to do that, and it has advisers on the ground. high ranking americans have gone to iraq to try to convince the iraqi president to welcome in sunnis. you're right, he did and that's why the army is so inept at this point. we reached this crisis point, this isis group is brutal and it's intent on pop toppling the government of iraq and doing that through fear and terror brutal methods. how can you stop that now? you have to do with force, don't you? >> it's going to be very, very difficult, carol, and clearly the iraqi military is going to have to step up, the kurdi

a series of bombings and yet again shia areas are being targeted.ple killed in the last 24 hours. clearly a message to the people of the capital that your government cannot keep baghdad safeties fight the tight security measures that have been implemented on the ground. we do know that the government and the army, they have been trying to protect the capital because the islamic state group has made no secret of its intention to march toward baghdad. that group that has the support of other sunni armed factions are approximately 100-kilometers from the capital. these bombings clearly indicate that they have the support of the city and they are already inside the sheet. the security situation will not improve unless there is political reconciliation, but that is proving to be very, very difficult. there is a new prime minister, he's trying to form a government. but so far, he has spoken of progress, but nothing tangible and he has two weeks left before the constitutional deadline end. >> and zeina, the fight against the islamic state group seems to be

they destroyed 20 to 30 shia shrines and mosques. they bulldozed them.f al qaedaideology and isis today is very similar. labeling them as heretics. there isn't much difference. this is had an enormous impact. it is backed by saudi arabia's enormous well. the summit he wants to build a mosque in bangladesh where it will cost $3000, where are you going to get it? normally would get it from saudi arabia or the goal. one of the most important things happening in the world over the last 50 years is the way in sunni-islam,eam the original 1.5 billion people in the world, has been increasingly collared and taken over by the very intolerant faith. government'se u.s. fierce opposition to iran and close cozying up to saudi arabia, whether it is president obama, clinton, the bushes, well known for that. i mean, this is after 9/11, all hijackersks of the were saudi. the u.s. investigations all showed money had come from private donors in saudi arabia and the gulf, but they always ignore this. and i think it is one of the reasons that al qaeda survived in its ideolog

, home to most importantly shrines the most important for the shia population. the attack in baghdad yesterday, an attack with suicide bombing attacking a mosque. that attack was later claimed by isis, saying it was in revenge for the mosque, the attack we saw taking place northeast of baghdad on friday when gunmen gunned down 70 people. there have been fears, as you mentioned, of retaliatory attacks and revenge for this attack that took place. this is really something very reminiscent of what we used to see back in 2005, '06 and '07 during the height of the sectarian violence. in 2003 saw a real spike in violence and sectarian nature violence, too, that was the highest levels we have seen since 2008. real concern this is the country getting closer and closer to an all-out sectarian war, along with the sectarian tensions and political tensions here. >> it's really been stirring up. 70 people killed at sunni mosque on friday, and all these attacks which seem to attack all shia mosques and locations. meanwhile, so many more happening in the country. bring us up to

iraqi politician he even the shia parties are no longer willing to back him. the long time iraqi leader has lost the support of the international community and close ally iran, a country which wields influence in iraq. nonetheless, maliki remains defiant. >> the current government continues and will not be changed until changed by the courts. it is a constitutional democracy, we cannot night a constitutional breach. >> abadi is the man who has been charged with saving iraq. he has a month to put together an inclusive government. he faces many challenges. not only does very to ensure that iraq's communities, sunnies, shias and kurds are represented, they have to feel that they have a say in governing the country. a eunt iraq is needed to counter a growing threat from the islamic state group. the government has all but collapsed. the u.s. air force has been targeting that group but resources are limited. those attacks are not enough unless they have partners on the ground. baghdad government needs support from if they are to retake territory from the islamic sta

if shia are in its path, it will fight the shia.rying to annihilate all religious and ethnic minority groups in iraq. and it kills and destroys moderate sunni clerics. isil is a threat to all iraqis regardly of sunni, shia, kurd and many leaders in iraq are aware of this. they are asking for assistance and help from some of the iraqi security forces in their air component. that's something we're coordinating as we speak. >> is there any way to protect the minorities from genocide without eliminating or breaking the siege, without going after isil or isis? >> well, as the president very clearly said last night, particularly the situation with the yazidis an this mountain, we have an urgent need to get them humanitarian assistance. we tried in the early hours to work with the iraqi air force, air drop assistance. the iraqi air force did air drop them assistance but not to the effect we wanted. we clearly realized this was something we had to do and act with urgency and we did. the president issued the orders and the mission was conduc

how is bombing the sunnis on behalf of the shia government gonna solve that political problem? and so that's something i think we really have to look at, what's the actual political solution here that separates isis from the seanny population so that they can -- so that they can then be dwindled, they can become marginalized as a franchise and then use law enforcement approaches to go after a terror group as opposing to have to militarily fight what isis now is, which is an insurgent group. >> matthew makes a great point, general, isis on the same side effectively against assad. the president last fall decided not to launch air strikes against the syrian government, which isis was fighting but he has decided to launch strikes against isis, which, you know, as matthew explained, on the other side of the battle there. i wonder, when you look at that and you look at the region, not just iraq, not just syria, do you see a lack of administration strategy or at least an articulated a minute station strategy in the region? >> well, i think it's a little bit confusing. for example, mat

member of deputies bigger of parliament and he has been a long-standing mp for the party, and the shia coalition and basement a lot of time in england where he ran engineering company, from manchester university. he is a man of some international connections. it would be wrong to give the impression that the americans pressured him out. america has played a role in bring about this change. they made it abundantly clear -- and now that voice has been heard along with many other people. >> thank you. >> he said u.s. airstrikes have broken the siege on the mountain -- our correspondent, paul wood traveled by road to speak to people trying to reach safety. >> this is the one road not controlled by the islamic state. and barren terrain is the only way of escape. a few are still making their way perhaps on foot. they were exhausted after getting here this morning. mother family told me they had been here for days, terrified before sneaking away among the bodies in the streets. scatteredle remain across the mountain, with supplies dropped by the raf. it is brutally hot and they have little to

fighting if we go north east or west if we can't go south because the areas completely controlled by shia militias that are basically hunting sunni at this point we have the mahdi army the badr brigade etc other shia militias that are literally going around trying to find sunni's to kill are they taking the orders of grand ayatollah sistani the basically the shia religious leader of the country and are banding together but instead of just fighting against isis they're trying to find any senior. they can't so because of that sunni's living in baghdad and wanting to leave the country trying to find safety for their families can't go anywhere and so he said look even if we try to get a bus ticket to get on a bus to take his to some other part of iraq let alone exiting iraq altogether you can't get a bus ticket because the prices are too expensive and there's a two month to month wait so he's literally living a day at a time in fear not knowing what's going to happen not knowing if his homes going to be raided not knowing the fate of his family and literally there's there's really just nothin

you're seeing the sunnis flee out of shia areas.rds, what you're seeing is a kind of -- the end of any kind of multicultural middle east and what you're seeing is a very stark division where people are moving into their ethnic and religious corners. >> yes, so many hundreds of thousands, millions of people have been internally displaced or externally displaced in iraq over these past few years and now these isis militants control maybe a third of iraqi territory, which is a brutal occupation, if you will, by these isis forces. fareed, thanks very much, fareed zakaria joining us from new york. air strikes, food drops, rescue missions. we're seeing thousands and thousands of iraqis fleeing the threat of death. so what exactly do the kurdish fighters need to do to help save these people? we're going back live to iraq. the chief of staff to the kurdish president standing by to join us live from erbil. >>> welcome back. i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington. let's get back to our top story. the u.s. military this morning conduct wad

>> in iraq, because the thing is that maliki belongs to the shia section of the society. and what is apparent now is that there is a majority of the shia who wants maliki to move out and sees him as an obstacle to resolving this political crisis. >> it looks like he will have to go, even though it may be messy in the process? >> he can hinder it a little bit, but he doesn't have much choices. >> okay. looking at the spread of isis, or i.s. now, the news from earlier today is that they have taken another town near aleppo. and that wave of power is absolutely incredible in a relatively short space of time. is enough being done not only to help the yazidis but also to fight against them? >> when the international community is looking at how to deal with it, the united states and the european powers, they are dealing with very difficult situation to manage. and partly because of the political crisis in iraq. when isis or i.s. made their spectacular gains in june and captured majority of the provinces, america made it very, very clear they don't want to be dragged into a secta

asking them to fight but then you bring this radical group in who's taking the fight directly to any shia they can find. particularly maliki's forces in baghdad so that's why they've automatically had this grassroots support so huge cities like cauliflower others like lose your ramadi samarra and then all the smaller villages in the tween are just literally they're being welcomed in because people are being attacked by the government all the sudden there's this force coming in and it's fighting back so of course they're having popular support over broad swaths of the country right and earlier this month secretary defense chuck hagel said that the u.s. won't take part in fighting in iraq but are we know that several hundred u.s. troops are special advisers and everyone to call them roger on the ground u.s. to send drowned missiles arm is this a slippery slope for u.s. military involvement again. very much the last count that the pentagon admits to we have at least seven hundred fifty soldiers there they're saying that they're not going to take direct part in direct actions of conflict they

that's a blood feud between sunni and shia. our feud or war right now is with isis. >> to that end, the fact that ben rhodes answered so unee quiquif of coursally yesterday -- >> why is that so -- >> to answer your question, i think the president has said time and time again, we will protect american interests when america is threatened and now you have an american citizen who has been killed and other americans presumably within isis' grasp. >> of course. killing by sur hand, bobby ken dip was a terrorist act. isis basically declared war on us, i think. he think they are going to get a fight. >> do you think if it is president obama against isis, do you think he has support. you think he has support of american public on this? >> i think he can do damage he wants to with isis right now and we would applause it. any damage. these are killers gone into the field to kill. not going to up to join the peace corps or foreign legion because they lost their girlfriend. they are going out there to kill. that's why they join this organi

, the shia in charge of iraq. and so they don't want to do any thoorm that proposition. by the way, they were never enthused about maliki. frankly, no one is or no one has been. he was about their fourth choice back in 2010. they don't think any more highly of him now. so i think they will try not to exacerbate the situation with the understanding that we need to get a new prime minister. prime minister can somehow rally those iraqi forces and see if isis can be a pushback as they appear to be getting pushback in the northern areas. >> and who is the army going to be loyal to? >> well, again, i think it's going to take a little time. but i don't think maliki is going to be able to pull off a coup. obviously, they are loyal to him now. he held on to the army and -- or to the defense and interior portfolios through 2011 for the real purpose of developing this loyalty. but i think in the fullness of time, the army people will understand that they need to support a new government. so i think all in all, it's a good da

they need the support of iraq to win the battle and prevent a sunni-shia war. much attention has been focused on the islamic state group. months before, there was a sunni uprising. >> late last year sunnis held peaceful protests, demanding more rights. the government responded with force, and the islamic state swept in, capitalizing on anger, making the fight their own. there is hope that the new prime minister haider al-abadi, may be able to reach out to all of iraq's political factions. >> translation: we hope the new government will improve the security situation. we want to return hem and don't want iraq divided. >> reporter: many in this country see islamic state was the biggest threat. the real threat may be the lack of unity among iraqis. >>> let's go live to zeina khodr, and get the latest. she joins us from erbil in northern iraq. we heard that iraqi forces failed to retake tikrit, this being the third time. why is it so difficult for iraqi forces? >> this is going to be a very difficult fight. like you said, the third attempt. the islamic state group

a series of bombs exploded in shia neighborhoods in baghdad. security officials believe islamist extremists staged the attacks. >>> thousands of iraqis have been forced to flee from the sunni insurgents. they're angry about the political uncertainty. >> translator: we want our government to make us a united country and give us back our peaceful life. >> in june the militants seized the second largest city forcing residents out b 1,000 people have taken shelter in the suburbs of erbil. many have been suffering in soaring temperatures. they are organizing over who owns a oil field and welcomed abadi's nomination. they have called for the protection af religious minority. the yazidis have taken refuge in remote mountains. >> u.n. personnel are in the area doing all what we can. airdrops of food and water are reaching some of the trapped people. but the situation on the mountain is dire. >> u.s. forces have carried out air strikes for a fifth day. they used drones against militants in the town of sinjar. insurgents were attacking kurdish fighters e

the shia believe this is about a suni war against the shia. by the way, they have a lot of evidence for this over the years and before our invasion as well. so the shia look at this and sort of wonder why does the u.s. only engage when there are christians at stake? so i think we need to bear that in mind, especially going forward on governance issues in baghdad. the issue is not just to find someone who's pleasing to the sunis. the issue frankly is, an understanding that maliki's time has passed. but the shia need to be able to come up with a strong leader of their own, and frankly, every time they've come up with a leader not named maliki, the sunis have accused that person of somehow being an iranian stooge. >> all right. ambassador chris hill and general spider marks, so grateful for both of you gentlemen, and for your perspectives this morning. thank you. >> thanks, christi. >> sure. >>> a reminder, president obama set to speak in about 15 minutes fro from now. expected to make a statement on this issue on iraq. we'll bring you that live

talks between yemen's government and shia rebels have stalled. a new administration to review an poun lar decision to cut fuel subsidies. tennessees of thousands have been protesting for days. they have been fighting to gain more influence for their region in north yemen. more sdmonstrations are expected after the talks collapsed. al jazeera hasha nebera said both sides can't reach consensus. >> there is a growing mistrust between the government and the shia rebels. this is why we have an impasse in yemen. the government blames them for threatening to use violence as a means to grab power. the hotis say the government is corrupt and disconnected from reality and this is the reason why it has to resign. the country is beginning to sort of become divided along sectarian violence. there are two protests, one by the how t houthis. thessa fear that if both parties fail to reach a deal, the country might plunge into further anarchy. >> afghanistan's election commission has recouldn't more than two/3rds of ballots. the country is under ent international