as does the liberation of what iraq has under the ground. >> in the first meeting rumsfeld says, imagine, imagine if iraq was essentially a client state of the united states. imagine how that would look. if they were a friendly state. if we had primacy and access and maybe control of their oil fields. and rumsfeld is pointed about this, in first meeting, in fact, oil fields. oil fields that will be essentially our oil fields. >> as the national security council trains its focus on iraq, that same week president bush also directs vice president cheney to head up a high-level energy task force. its operations are run out of vice president cheney's office. >> there was a highly secret operation and it was arranged to be that way. they tasked these people to hide away in a room in secret, holding meetings and coming up with a policy. >> cheney's task force meets privately with energy lobbyists as well as executives from some of the nation's top oil companies. concerns about big oil's influence in crafting u.s. energy policy will eventually lead congress' general accounting office to field an

he read for president on the a platform of ending the war in iraq. was he reluctance to make this decision? >> i think he was determined to use military action to protect american personnel in harm's way. he was determined to use american military assets to address the urgent humanitarian situation and the president is just as determined to make sure the united states is not dragged back into a military conflict in iraq. >> given the fact that he attended the war in iraq this might not be a good idea. >> on numerous occasions, the president has demonstrated his commitment to using american military might to protect american people all around the globe. that was evident last night and other situations as well. that has not changed. but what is also evident is the determination to end sure the united states is not dragged back to the conflict in iraq. >> when you told the new yorker when assessing the threat he said that the analogy we use around here sometimes, and i think is accurate, is the team puts on a lakers uniform that doesn't make them go the

the security continues in northern iraq. over the weekend american airstrikes pounded areas excellently taken over by the islamic state. the u.s. military also air dropped humanitarian aid, including food and water. >> this is humanitarian issue of great consequence for all the world, and i think great powers understand that they have responsibility in these areas. >> reporter: thousands of yazidis who have been told by the islamic state that they have to convert to islam or be killed were saved by helps after taking refuge on sinjar mountain. the yazidis are finding safety in kurdish regions as the kurdish army has been at the forefront of battling the islamic state. >> i walk by foot from sinjar mountain to syria. >> as the fighting continues in the north the political in-fight something far from resolved. the prime minister designate haider al abadi has one month to form a government. >> so will nouri al-maliki step down or tighten his grip on power. what does that mean for a power change in baghdad, and how will that impa

and that is a key player right on the border with iraq. we've yet to hear from the saudis and other coalition partners and there is a lot of reporting that they have been so dissatisfied with the president's response a year ago to syria and all this while as acise was metastasizing that they are reluctant to get involved militarily. turkey did drop some aid in and is helping, and there has been more cooperation than we've ever seen before between baghdad and kirkuk and the leaders from erbil, the kurdish leaders in that peshmerga were routed by isis. that was the shocker saturday night. since then there has been cooperation among the iraqi ethnic groups which there had not been before. >> andrea, what about nato partners? it seems somewhat surprising the president initially announced this as a solo operation. are there efforts to bring in other parties to this? the british say they'll only support humanitarian capacity. >> it is a toxic political issue in the uk. and so david cameron was certainly not stepping up to the plate here. he would

in the aftermath of the iraq war in 2003, as fighting threatened to disintegrate the rest of the country, kurdistan, that kurdish area in northern iraq, it actually began to flourish. it's a region that had a degree of autonomy. people there had something rare that the rest of iraq, none of the kurds had. none of the kurds had had in their past. almost as if they had their own country. their capital, irbil, has grown in the last ten years into a powerhou powerhouse. the kurds are entitled to roughly a fifth of all of iraq's oil revenue. there's been reporting lately that they're striking their own export deals with neighboring countries. all of this is giving the kurds the wealth to grow their capital, irbil, into not just an island of stability in iraq, but also into an invaluable strategic base for the united states. there are several american personnel stationed in irbil, now with this current crisis in iraq, it is irbil, it is the stable existence that the kurds have made for themselves in post-saddam iraq that is now facing a grave threat from isis. up until now, isis has taken over

and iran on a promise to end the iraq war. and now he's fighting to keep the peace. how president obama's history on iraq is shaping this new crisis. all that plus more on the desperate race to help the refugees including hundreds of kidnapped women. stay with us. [ male announcer ] nexium®, the purple pill, is now available without a prescription for frequent heartburn. get complete protection. because the best moments in life aren't experienced from the sidelines. now there's nothing holding you back. this is nexium level protection™. the #1 prescribed acid-blocking brand now without a prescription for frequent heartburn. get complete protection. nexium level protection™, now available at walgreens. get complete protection. hey pal? you ready? can you pick me up at 6:30? ah... (boy) i'm here! i'm here! (cop) too late. i was gone for five minutes! ugh! move it. you're killing me. you know what, dad? i'm good. (dad) it may be quite a while before he's ready, but our subaru legacy will be waiting for him. (vo) the longest-lasting midsize sedan in its class. introducing

the u.s. is doing in iraq right now. what is the latest on the strikes, where have they happened and what are they targeting now? >> guest: we haven't had an announcement since yesterday morning. there's been it looks like seven or eight different stripes but you have to read them carefully because they lay out one or two or three individual strikes into northern iraq area around the mountain area. what's pretty interesting is that my sources are telling me 9200 plane90 to a hundred planee circling around the cities with tankers and various navy aircraft looking for targets of opportunity kind of waiting. so far we are talking about hitting individual targets like the mortar positions, trucks, armored personal carriers that tells you the united states is a good picture of what is on the ground coming into the technology of it is so that they can take out the individual sleeping or stationary targets almost at will because there is no air defense threat but people need to realize we are not providing the closer support for

iraq. because there is no american military solution to the larger crisis in iraq. lasting solution is reconciliation among iraqi communities and stronger iraqi security forces. however, we can and should support moderate forces who can bring stability to iraq. so even as we carry out these two missions, we will continue to pursue a broader strategy that empowers iraqis to confront this crisis. iraqi leaders need to come together and forge a new government that represents the legitimate interests of all iraqis and that can fight back against the threats like isil. iraqis have named a new president, a new speaker of parliament, and are seeking consensus on a new prime minister. this is the progress that needs to continue in order to reverse the momentum of the terrorists who prey on iraq's divisions. once iraq has a new government, the united states will work with it and other countries in the region to provide increased support to deal with this humanitarian crisis and counterterrorism challenge. none of iraq's neighbors have an interest in this terrible suffering o

the curds in iraq were always the closest allies. they were the u.s. best friend in iraq. not too much to protect them. that's after the kurds were so loyal. >> you mentioned the failures of the iraqi military. we heads in as part of the case he was making to the nation. this was a request that was made to him by the government. is the united states with the drop in which we are warning away from the mountain, is the united states trying to buy time and space for the iraqi government and the military to be able to go in and deal with that at the base of the mountain. is that plausible any time in the future? >> i think this was more of an act of desperation than that. i don't think the iraqi military has the capability to get anywhere close to this mountain. we have been told that iraqi generals called to baghdad for supplies. gasoline, more vehicles and those supplies are not coming. the u.s. would not be intervening because the president knows the allergy that most people in the united states have to involvement of any kind in iraq. unless there was a complete inability o

he ran for president on a platform and in the war in iraq. was -- ending the war in iraq. in this action? the president is just as determined to make sure that the united states is not dragged back into a prolonged military conflict in iraq. >> given the fact that he ended the war in iraq, maybe this might not be a good idea. >> i think the president on numerous occasions has amply demonstrated his commitment to using american military might to protect american people all around the world. that was evident last night. that has been evident in other situations as well. that hasn't changed. what is also evident is the president's determination to ensure the united states is not drawing -- not dragged back into a military conflict in iraq. >> when assessing the isis says, if theid he jv team puts on lakers uniforms, that does not make them kobe bryant. does that mean that isis is no longer the jv's? >> there is no question that the later uniforms that were worn, to use that -- to draw out that analogy a little bit -- that were worn by the al qaeda hasership in afghanistan been

the head of government in iraq, however, is the prime minister. and the prime minister has not been selected, that's the responsibility of the iraqi people. once that government has formed, we will be continuing to urge that government to pursue an inclusive government agenda to unite the countr poles the by te threat of isil. and we will continue to help repel the advance of isil. and that includes the deployment of force, but it will not include additional american combat trooping deployed to iraq. >> in the humanitarian situation, is there a plan to get those people off of the mountain? and operation? >> what is being -- the strategy right now is to try to meet the basic and immediate needs of the people trapped in these pretty terrible conditions. that is what prompted the air drop of supplies that occurred overnight. the second prong in that strategy, as the president described in his remarks last night, is the possibility of targeted military strikes that could dislodge the isil forces that are carrying out the siege of that mountain. that w

and the other is the rest of iraq, of course. to the area of -- was under control of the iraqi central government up until the islamic state expansion. northern iraq. so at the time, the kurds were -- but now there's -- and now the -- >> i can't talk freely. i'm no longer associated with the foreign ministry. to some extent, everybody speaks. but the -- are middle class urban people. they don't have the tribal organizations. it's not like the kurdish presence in northern iraq. there are idea logical differences. -- so the picture is not -- not very much promising. so they're either going to live, you know -- of, you know, guaranteed peaceful existence or another option is to live in geography facing -- military power to defend themselves. and if you are lucky, we're going to have an iraqi government and then a central government, the krg disputed territory as well. this is the optist scenario. so the -- is also, you know -- >> it may have an impact. please at th positive. does not feel -- it did not l let -- we are going to be in

this is the first iraq war. this is the percent that say congress should approve military action against iraq. it is right before the war starts. you can see among the people of the lowest political awareness, these are people who do not pay any attention to politics. no differences between republicans and democrats. if we look at the highly informed, people who pay the most attention, you see a large split. i want you to take the visual frame here, diversions versus here, the middle graph, which is october, before the 1990 election, there was a delicate dance, where democrats did not want to say they were .pposed to the war here, you see convergence. there is still differences, but the more attention you pay to politics, the more likely you are to support work. to visually, convergence, divergence. if we look at the iraq war, this is one of the many i have. we see diversions. in the book, i talk not just about iraq. i talk about world war ii. polling donet of during world war ii that was largely unexamined for m

warplanes take to the skies over iraq today. the military escalation comes more than two years after president obama ended the iraq war for u.s. troops. pulling out all american troops from the country. the administration now responding to a vicious onslaught by islamic militants that have sparked a humanitarian crisis. the pentagon spokesman says two u.s. fighter jets bombed artillery used by the group isis which calls itself the islamic state. the batteries were based outside erbil in northern iraq. the faa here in washington restricted u.s. airlines from flying over iraqi airspace. president obama has authorized what he's calling targeted air strikes in iraq, but the president is trying to reassure americans that the u.s. will not be dragged into another ground war in iraq. he says no u.s. combat troops will return to iraq. he says no boots on the ground. u.s. military cargo planes carried out humanitarian air drops to thousands of iraqis stranded in the mountains. families with the yazidi minority, that's a religious ethnic m

iraq's standoff. america backs the newly nominated prime minister but nouri al-maliki says he's standing put. >>> hundreds of thousands of iraqis are running from war. a look at long simmering religious divisions, our show in iraq, and the fbi investigates the police shooting of an unarmed man plus this: >> don't want to say i was suicidal, but i was thinking about it. >> how virtual reality is helping soldiers with.ptsd. a look back at an os oscar winn. the life and career of robin williams. a standoff tonight in iraq. a fight for control and power. the president of iraq has nominated a new prime minister but the current prime minister refuses to go. this evening president obama says he supports a change in leadership as the u.s. steps up its military there, jane arath reports from err bool. erbil. >> haider al-abadi is from prime minister nouri al-maliki's dower party. he has 30 days to form a new government but maliki isn't leaving without a fight. maliki now a care taker prime minister maintains he got largest numb

middle iraq, and he is basically going to discuss the of iraq and the iraqi crisis. the floor is yours. >> thank you. well, thank you very much. i want to thank the organizers for having us here and creating this time, the opportunity, to look at the latest. there is so much going on that life is never boring and iraq. it is an excitement of a different kind, and there are many hot topics in most people's minds, especially in the international community, and this may include the war, the formation of government, the and also arstrikes, possible u.s. administration change of policy. this may include going into iraqis, theyto the are busy dealing with a series of never-ending crises, and there is a war against isis, and the least of which is the criseson, and they face in the presence of a failed political process, and a nonfunctioning state that is now divided, and it is on the brink of disintegration, so to update you on a whole range of issues, i think i'm going to leave a lot to the question and answer session, but maybe i should start by giving you the latest on t

the u.s. go back to iraq? the conversation on facebook with other "fns" viewers. >>> up next, some american companies are renouncing their corporate citizenship and relocating overseas to save millions in taxes. should the president use executive action to stop them? huh, fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. everybody knows that. well, did you know words really can hurt you? what...? jesse don't go! jesse...no! i'm sorry daisy, but i'm a loner. and a loner gotta be alone. heee yawww! geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. jesse? .. did you know a ten-second test could help your business avoid hours of delay caused by slow internet from the phone company? that's enough time to record a memo. idea for sales giveaway. return a call. sign a contract. pick a tie. take a break with mr. duck. practice up for the business trip. fly to florida. win an award. close a deal. hire an intern. and still have time to spare. go to comcastbusiness.com/ checkyourspeed i

iraq. officials tell nbc news the military has not carried out air strikes in iraq but the military is standing ready to defend u.s. personnel and resources if necessary. that is our show. "all in" for this evening. "the rachel maddow show" starts now with steve kornacki sitting in. good evening, steve. >>> good evening, ari. thanks for that. thanks to you at home for joining us this hour. rachel has the night off. we're continuing to cover the breaking news tonight as at this hour, the united states is weighing taking military action in iraq again. throughout the day today, president obama met with his national security team to consider authorizing american air strikes in iraq to protect iraqi citizens, civilians trapped by islamic militants in the northwestern part of that country. for context into how the united states has found itself in this position, it's found itself once again considering a military operation in iraq tonight. it's helpful to two back six months to february, february of this year. it was in february of this year that serious fracturing among terrorist groups spilled into

about to conduct air strikes on iraq? theagon is confirming to us, it is considering making emergency air drops. these humanitarian air drops, to be precise, food, water, for people of northern iraq. but a state department source tells cnn, it is also keeping the door open to quote, unquote, other military options. what does that mean? the white house has yet to be more specific. we'll get into that in a moment. here's the backdrop, what you need to know. all of

the u.s. go back to iraq? join the conversation on facebook with other "fns" viewers. >>> up next, some american companies are renouncing their corporate citizenship and relocating overseas to save millions in taxes. should the president use executive action to stop them? ithe part of us that a littwants to play,on. wants to be mischievous, wants to run free, all you have to do is let it out. find your inner minion only at the despicable me minion mayhem ride at universal studios hollywood. that's why i always choose the fastest intern.r slow. the fastest printer. the fastest lunch. turkey club. the fastest pencil sharpener. the fastest elevator. the fastest speed dial. the fastest office plant. so why wouldn't i choose the fastest wifi? i would. switch to comcast business internet and get the fastest wifi included. comcast business. built for business. >>> they're called tax inversions and it's a growing trend. american companies moving their tax home to a nation with lower rates to save millions. president ob

it's in the north of iraq, here to the east of mosul, which is the largest city in northern iraq and was taken over some weeks ago by isis. it has become in effect the capital of this caliphate that they declared in northern iraq. so the yazidis, who normally live just to the east of there and lived quite peacefully for years, decades chased out of town to a mountaintop here away from their homes. 120-degree heat during the day. no food, no water. and that's why as they're surrounded by isis forces here, avoiding a massacre, they're dying from the elements. they're just dying from the simple fact that they don't have things to eat and water to drink. particularly the young and the elderly have been vulnerable. now this is also close to about here, which is where irbil is. and this is the kurdish controlled area of iraq, which to this point has been very safe. in fact, so safe that when the u.s. evacuated, some of its staff from the embassy in baghdad, they sent them up to irbil, thinking it was safe. but as isis has advanced, the concern has been that even the american personnel here

if american bombs are the solution, iraq would not -- the situation in iraq would have been resolved in 2003. the same goes for afghanistan, the same goes for libya, the same goes for yemen, et cetera, et cetera. i think we need to realize, as the white house and the president said yesterday, this requires a political solution. by bombing the sunnis, and what we have here is a sunni population against the shia, and against the kurds. unfortunately the sunni have aligned themselves with this horrible group isis, bus they have no other option. the answer is to somehow bring the sunnis back into the government. by bombing the sunnis you're only going to push them closer to isis. you're only going to make political reconciliation much more difficult and you won't find a solution. we found that solution, i was there in anbar in 2006-2007 when the violence dropped, when the sunnis aban donned al qaeda, and it was because of political action that was taken. we brought the sunnis back into the governmnt. we brought the sunnis into the iraqi army. i hear about how we have to help the iraqi arm

the region. there is no question that in iraq, any u.s. military attack is going to be widely viewed as being in support of the incredibly corrupt, unpopular government of nuri almonte -- aliki.al-m today is supposed to be the deadline for parliament to choose a new prime minister. maliki is under enormous pressure from parliament to step down. so far he has refused to do that and the u.s. has said, oh, we are not going to take a position on who should be prime minister of iraq, although we think there should be an inclusive government. maliki has made clear that his government is a sectarian shiites inempowering iraq to the exclusion of sunnis, s, and others in iraq. it seems like there is no way maliki is going to step down now. people in and around iraq are talking about the fact that the sunni tribes will be prepared to move against the islamic state. once they are clear that there is a government in baghdad that is not a secure income and in its own right -- sectarian government in its own right. people welcome the islamic state not be

the u.s. go back to iraq? in the conversation on facebook with other "fns" viewers. >>> up next, some american companies are renouncing their corporate citizenship and relocating overseas to save millions in taxes. should the president use executive action to stop them? @" did you know a ten-second test @" could help your business avoid hours of delay caused by slow internet from the phone company? that's enough time to record a memo. idea for sales giveaway. return a call. sign a contract. pick a tie. take a break with mr. duck. practice up for the business trip. fly to florida. win an award. close a deal. hire an intern. and still have time to spare. go to comcastbusiness.com/ checkyourspeed if we can't offer faster speeds - or save you money - we'll give you $150. comcast business. built for business. >>> they're called tax inversions and it's a growing trend. american companies moving their tax home to a nation with lower rates to save millions. president obama calls it unpatriotic and is considering execut

was maliki the way was because iraq is the way it is or is iraq the way it is because of maliki is theay he is? >> we're going to take a break and come back to this discussion with spencer ackerman, part of the culture prize-winning team that did the pieces on edward snowden's revelations. when we come back, we will also go to northern iraq to speak with joe stork of human rights watch who is met with yazidis. stay with us. ♪ [music break] >> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with aaron matÉ. the issue of isis, let's turn to comments made by senior pentagon official army lieutenant general william mayville. speaking reporters on monday but the u.s. military campaign in iraq. >> we assess u.s. airstrikes in northern iraq have flowed i still -- isil's tempo and temporarily disrupted their defenses per the province of erbil. however, the strikes are unlikely to affect isil's overall capabilities with operations and other areas of iraq in syria. focused on securing and gaining additional territory throughout iraq and will sustain its attack

, have been kidnapped in the north of iraq. a spokesman says the hundreds of women from the yazidi religious minority have been taken captive by militants. the women are below the age of 35 and some are being held in schools in iraq's second largest city of mosul. he says the ministry learned of the captives from their families. of course, tens of thousands of yazidi's fled when the islamic state group captured the northern iraqi town of sinjar, which is right near the syrian border. the comments were the first iraqi government confirmation that hundreds of women are being held by this group. the yazidis practice an ancient religion that sunni muslim radicals consider hieratical. the state department reports at least 500,000 of them live in iraq, and according to the united nations, extremists with the islamic state have forced almost half of them out of their homes. like many religious minorities, the yazidis face persian accusation for their religious beliefs. some muslims and christians call them devil worshipers. now u.s. an

gwen: but the center won't hold. in iraq a war thought over springs back to life. >> when we have the unique capabilities to help avert a massacre i believe the waits of united states of america cannot turn a blind eye. >> and. gwen: and in israel and gaza another seize fire gives way. >> the suffering in georgia standings andgaza mustend. gwen: america, always the man in the middle, whether americans like it or not. covering the week, michael crawly chief foreign affairs correspondent for time magazine. doyle mcmanus, columnist for the los angeles times. amy walter and nancy youcef. award winning reporting and analysis. covering history as it happens live from our nation's capital this is "washington week" with gwen ifill. corporate funding for washington week is provided by -- gwen: additional corporate funding for "washington week" is provided by big ham brigham and women's hospital, the annenberg foundation the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to pbs stations from viewers like you. thank you. once

overnight the crisis in iraq exploding. a authorizing targeted airstrikes against isis as the u.s. goes on an humanitarian mission. >>> tropical storm iselle in hawaii. it is knocking down trees causing thousands of power outages. >>> general motors recalling nearly 200,000 of its s.u.v.'s for the third time in three years to fix power window switches that can catch fire. vehicles include older trail blazers and envoys. >> time to look at the ugly. first the good. a marine reuniting with his service dog. next the bad, a u.s. postal worker could face federal charges for tossing letters and a lot more into the dumpster. people in the ohio neighborhood had been wondering where on earth their mail was. now they have the answer. the ugly. mets fans surprised after receiving this gift. that little image is a phillies logo. oops. >> thanks for joining us. "fox & friends" starts now. bye. >>> good morning. today is friday, the 8th of august, 2014. i'm anna kooiman in for elisabeth hasselbeck. a fox news alert. the president takes ac

second, wet to get the political, iraq just had an election. a higher turnout than most elections around the world. that show the the democratic aspirations of the iraqi people. we can't let them down. they want a new government formed. a new plasm has just convened. they're now working to form a new government. we have to be behind them and encourage them to do so. isn't that new government is stewed up, we need to embrace it and give it every chance to succeed. that in a new shell, a better picture on the ground. secondly we have to get the political process on track, which reflects not just the political elites, but the aspirations of 14 million iraqis who voted. once it stood up, we tee to embrace it. >> thank you very much. >> in summary, we wait until the new government is formed, and then give that government full support? >> we're not waiting. we have people on the ground now doing significant things under the strategic framework agreement which economists with the future government, the current one and the one before that. >> thank you

we've been talking about the yazidis in iraq this morning, one of the groups being targeted by isis fightersp living in northern iraq. right now, thousands of them, including women, children, the elderly, the infirm, they have fled and are now trap on a mountain top. our michael holmes has more on their fight for survival. >> reporter: islamic state militants have wreaked havoc across iraq, leaving many iraqis dead, others displaced, and religious minorities like the yazidi begging for help. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: the yazidi are descendants of kurds but consider themselves distinct. they follow an ancient religion derived from zoroastrianism. forcing islam or death throughout the areas it overtakes. >> translator: we heard sounds of mortars. in the morning, the islamic militants entered sinjar. those who stayed there are now suffering from thirst. they also took the girls and rape them. they said the yazidis have to be converted to islam. >> reporter: their plight doesn't stop there. the thousands who fled to the neighboring mountains are now stranded without food or wate

the latest on u.s. military strike on isis forces in iraq. dave leventhal discusses his six-month-long investigation into the irs exempt organizations division, and a doctor from the association of american medical colleges talks about the doctor shortage in the u.s. and the impact it could have on patients. and we can take your calls and conversation on facebook and twitter. live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> while congress is on break this month, c-span primetime features a wide range of political views and topics. this week, a debate on america's .reatness, veterans health care we visit the atlanta press club for the future of news, and we take a history tour looking at the civil war. c-span primetime, monday through friday at 8:00 p.m. eastern. let us know what you think about the programs you are watching. call us or e-mail us at -span.org. join the conversation. >> earlier today, white house spokesman josh earnest briefed reporters on air strikes and humanitarian in iraq, and countering the threat posed on iraqis civilians and u.s.

plus... >> i will not allow the united states to be dragged into fighting another war in iraq. >> the president outlines his strategy to support iraq in the fight against a group called islamic state. >>> this is al jazeera america, i'm john seigenthaler in new york. a busy news night with two big developing joirs president obama ordering air strikes in iraq, and israel accusing hamas of violating a ceasefire. iraq - president obama authorised what he called targeted strikes against islamic state. and announced humanitarian airdrops to civilians in harm's way. here is the president's speech to the nation in its entirety. >> good evening. today i authorised two operations in iraq - targeted air strikes to project our american perm and a human -- perm, and a humanitarian effort to help save thousands of iraqi civilians trapped on a mountain without food, and water and facing almost certain deaths. let me explain the action we are taking and why. first, in june i said as i.s.i.l. began an advance across iraq that the united states would be prepared to take tashted action in iraq if and w

this was al qaeda in iraq which has become the islamic state in iraq and syria. they have the most money getting more and more recruits. they're threatening iraq but they're serious threats to the neighbors in jordan and the intelligence community believes that both isis in iraq and syria and other elements of the opposition in syria are absolutely looking to attack the west. western operatives in iraq, western operatives in syria who can travel easily back to europe and the u.s. homeland. that's the homeland terrorist threat that people are most concerned with. >> jeffrey, what are we fighting for now in iraq? >> what are we fighting for in iraq? i think we're fighting mainly to keep isis from spreading, i'd have to agree with that. that's the problem is that -- and as hillary clinton says, you know, these threats never stay where they are. these groups are expansive in nature. they want to go further than they are. so, a, we're fighting -- if we are indeed fighting -- we're fighting to prevent them from spilling over their borders. we're also fighting for the ku

the way forward for u.s. policy in iraq and syria and what are the obama willings's options and the risks attached to those options? we have froefr from georgetown university. a senior fellow from the council on foreign relations and deputy security of defense. and a fellow at the brookings institution and author of temptations of power. you have got these lists of possible options, the chips on the u.s.'s side of the table, and on the islamic states, what's the next logical moh for the u.s.? >> well, the first thing that we need to do is take some lessons from the past. one thing we know to be true is that taking a short term approach and thinking that you can bomb your way out of this is not the best option in the short term. what we need is a long term approach bringing in actors from the region and bringing in the political problems and that is realistic about what can be done. that being said, in the short term there is a threat. i do believe there are viable military options in the short term that can continue on the

the u.s. faces a daunting challenge in iraq. our next guest said we are doing the right thing in helping the religious minorities and christians there. air streaks may not be enough to save them. join us is lieutenant bill cowan and he's been to the kurdish region of iraq and a fox news military analyst. you applaud the air strikes but say there will need to be other military force supplied here? >> they have to be. the air strikes didn't do much. and we know isis as we have seen from the videos run has a powerful armored force and we need to go after them and go back to shock and a we when it comes to destabilizing isis. and in the end of the day, air strikes are one component and there has to be heavy ground action that has to be done by the iraqis and the tough fighters. they don't have training or weaponly to conduct conventional operation which is what isis is conducting. >> we'll take you to the white house. josh earnest arrived in the podium and we'll listen to his opening statements. stand by. >> maybe it is a buzz of ant

stepped up violence in iraq. as the islamic state continues to attack ordinary iraqis strand. >> isil seized control in northern iraq, forcing thousands to flee, a group of christians, a minority group, which is now trapped without food or water on a mountaintop. they will be allude to flood major cities, and cut off water and electricity. >> reporter: they are trapped in the mountains. bare, inhospitable without water, shade or shelter, in the searing heat of the iraqi summer. tens of thousands of them, ethnic kurds, who practice an ancient religion, forced from their homes by the advance of fighters front the islamic state. fighters who made it clear they will kill them because of their faith. this is video from the kurdish satellite center, anf, shot in the mountains. this man, we don't know his name, says: says: "we don't know what to do, isis came and we escaped and we're trying to save our chirp. >> the little girl says. >> there's no water, no food. i'm thirsty, my feet hurt from walking. >> and here as elsewhere

tonight the isis threat in iraq. we begin with the deputy assistant secretary of state for iraq and iran brett mcgurk. >> we have a baseline assumption now that isis/isil t is interchangeable, isil is better, they're better equipped, they're better manned, better resourced, better fighters. they're better trained than the al qaeda in a recognize that our forces faced. and if you accept that based on assumption which we do and then you look at the capacity of the iraqi security forces or locally based security forces such as tribal networks, you start to see the big gap that's going to have to be filled. and so it's a tremendous challenge. >> rose: we broader our discussion to include david kilcullen, michael hanna and bill spindle. >> they have been competing in fighting each other in the streets of syria, they're very different and in fact although they're just as brutal as each other and have a similar jihadist ideology this is a turf battle. and if isis comes out on top it could look more dang wrong than what we ar

to the latest developments in iraq and the u.s. onse we get two views. feisal istrabadi was iraq's deputy ambassador to the united nations from 2004 to 2007. he's now a professor of international law and diplomacy at indiana university. and retired colonel derek harvey was an intelligence officer and special adviser to the commander of u.s. forces in iraq, general david petraeus. he's now a professor of practice at the university of south florida. so mr. istrabadi, do you agree with the administration's position about military intervention? >> i do. i think that in the first instance the critical humanitarian crisis in which we see the possibility of the yazidis, an ancient religion who have been in iraq since before the christian era, being wiped out, indeed a genocide being committed against them along with the atrocities committed against the christians of iraq as well as other groups including the shia an of northen iraq, i think it is appropriate for the united states to come in in this intervention. >> reporter: and what about

consulate and some of the last americans in iraq. a little over an hour later, fighter jets took off from a u.s. aircraft carrier in the persian gulf and hit an isis convoy of seven cars. the four planes circled back and launched another round of air strikes, hitting eight targets total and leading to estimated significant casualties. earlier in the day, two fa-1015 jets dropped mortar bombs near irbil. president obama also launched a new diplomatic squeeze on iraq's embattled prime minister. the white house is trying to oust nuri al maliki who has been criticized for his failure to form an inclusive or governing coalition. that is difficult. al maliki has so many enemies he may be afraid losing power will mean losing his life. one former u.s. official in iraq said yesterday "maliki knows if he steps down, virtually he is a dead man." now, while many forces in the region support a change of government there, few american allies are backing today's air strikes in general. great britain will not join the strikes. limiting its support to

obama never ended the war in iraq. oned the war in iraq right at the time we achieved fragile stability he might maintain -- >> the iraqi government did not -- the iraqi government did not want the united states to stay in iraq. let's be really clear about that. even now we're at the invitation. >> the president ideologically did not want. >> this was not an administration to be eager, you don't want strategic forces agreement. the original question is what did we learn about the doctrine. i've been trying to figure out this man's doctrine for six years. he doesn't have one. he ran with a wink and a nod this was going to be a george h.w. bush foreign policy, stability and diplomacy first. yet he has been pulled in different directions. his instinct is very george w. bush like, democracy, freedom. no winners and losers. so look at the way he intervened early in the arab spring. it's almost like he pushes and pulls democracy first versus stability first. he goes back and forth and messed around with democracy in egypt, di