what is the feeling onhe ground in iraq. do iraqis want americans in there to solve the problem that many think the west created, or would they assume the west be out of this. >> the official position is clear. we do not want a u.s. boots on the ground. the optics for that is bad for the iraqis we'll see it as a reoccupation of the country. he'd like enhanced military cooperation, they don't mind the advisors or people to train the troops they are looking for them to take the fight to i.s.i.l. and to do that they need the american military equipment promised to them for five or six years, there was forces agreement allowing the u.s. to sell arms to iraq. they have been held up. f-16s, for example. the iraqi air force is antiquated. they need an upgrade. they bout the f-16s, but they sit on the apron of the andrews air force base. the men's are betting more involved in iraq. they don't want them involved as a ground force. they say give us the equipment you promised us. we are not acting for more but give us the equipment that

i think in the old days afghanistan was the good war and iraq was the bad war. 2009 onwards. since 2014 iraq seems to be the good war. and syria's the bad war. but in reality, iraq is going to be a lot more complex. i don't think iraq is -- i believe it's a war worth fighting involving the u.s. but it's not a complex or simple war. any sense of us being in any sense allied with iran in this war against isis in iraq is fraught with danger and far more complex than many people would believe. now, one thing i've noticed since i started this study researching, talking to a lot of people just to complete the data collection on it throwing ideas out there about this pyrrhic victory we could win if we defeat isil but in the process hand iraq over to a hezbollahize hezbollahized iraqi security structure is that a lot -- first of all it struck me that i don't think i ever heard kurds and shia arabs vent so much hatred at each other. our allies in iraq at the moment isis' enemies, are remarkably divided. remarkably resentful of each other. it's sad to see. because the fighting hasn't ev

it was very early in the iraq war? >> yes. like we said after the sandstorm we had just gotten back. our aircraft had to go into maintenance for about two or three weeks. >> this is crucial, mr. helus, because according to the time line we've been looking at forth past search days it wasn't until about 2007 that brian williams began to embellish the story about being nearby or on the chopper that was struck by rpg. you're saying you heard it on television in 2003? >> i'm saying i heard it on the internet that was an interview. >> an internet video of the television segment? yeah. >> yes. >> so to be clear, there's a tom brokaw interview of brian williams a couple days after the incident where he does seem to accurately say it happened to a different chopper other than his own. we don't know if there's others in the archives from 2003 where brian williams goes further. unfortunately records of those times are incomplete. there wrnt transcripts of every segment on nbc or msnbc so we haven't been able to find the video you saw. yo

in the old days afghanistan was the good war and iraq was the bad war. nce 2014, iraq seems to be the good work and syria is the bad war. in reality, iraq is going to be more complex. i believe it is a war worth fighting involving the u.s., but it's not a complex or simple or. -- war. in any sense as being allied with iran against isis in irawq is fraught with danger and more complex than many would believe. one thing i have noticed since i started this study and researching and talking to a lot of people, just to complete the data collection, serving ideas out there about this phyrric victory we could win defeating isis but handing iraq over to a hezbollah-ized iraqi security structure. there's been a lot. i don't think that i've ever heard kurds and shia arabs vent so much hatred toward each other. our allies in iraq at the moment, isis's enemies, are remarkably divided and resentful towards each other. it's sad to see because it the fighting has not even vaguely stopped yet against isis. a lot of young shia guys will say to me what you have against the

we have exchanged about the situation in iraq about the problems about iraq and in the view of this difficulton i still wish him power as an exclusive all right government and i wish them to see were are able to solve this problem against the terror organization is and there are huge challenges in the organization especially in the later state and especially brutal that is over the japan hostages and it shows that the es and the dramatic struggle in iraq and the federal government here we have taken the decision the peshmerga fighters with the government of iraq to support through weapons, through training so that we can combat this i.s.i.s. and it's our stance only through inclusive problems can be overcome and the struggle against this can be won. we can see the first successes in iraq because of the low oil prices, the huge challenges and we have spoken about this problem, about 80% of the profit comes from the oil exports and it has half looking at what it means for the country and we made it clear on one side and through this training and support through the support iraq and also want to

the good war. since 2014, iraq seems to be the good war and a syria is the bad war. iraq is a bit more complex. i believe it is a war worth fighting involving the u.s., but it's not a complex or simple or. against isis and iraq is far more complex than many people would believe. one thing that i've noticed since i started this study and researching and talking to a lot of people just in the data collection. we could win if we defeated isil and hand iraq over to a speed by than iraq he security structure. there's been a lot. i don't think that i've ever heard the arabs have so much hatred toward each other. analyze and iraq at the moment isis's enemies, are remarkably divided and reason for each other. it's sad to see because it hasn't even stopped yet. a lot will say to me what have you got against the popular mobilization units, they are fighting isis and they are fighting and dying. are they really so bad and don't you hold them to a double standard? peshmerga did the same thing would you criticize them as fiercely? you want to build up the awakening movements and they do all these things in t

the armed forces. nobody in uniform in iraq unless they had -- wanted by anyone in the population of iraq. this is what happened in the turmeric in fallujah in 2003. and the reticence of the iraqi forces to fight in basra in 2008. and the backend. bailey went, forces only move forward when we came on the battlefield. and went first. and we lost a lot of guys. that's when they came forth. none of them wanted to tackle this. this is another dilemma i would add. once if isis is defeated, we're coming back for a whole 'nother round. a fight because the iraqi forces come under what -- if they are nationalist-themed, won't want to give it again. thank you. [applause] >> david schenker: thank you very much. by the way, these studies can be found downloaded in pdf on washingtoninstitute.org. i know we're going to go about 10 minutes worth of questions. but let me just ask first, mike, in terms of specifics, how many soldiers right now, isf, currently being trained up? what's the order about the iraq is going to go to bring against isis? when are they going to bring it? when will it be at its greate

a three-year authorization to replace the 2003 iraq authorization. the post 9/11 one would remain in the books. they say enduring offensive ground combat operations but leave the door open for potential boots on the ground. we'll report on what that means coming up. and the term isis and associated persons or forces. that is who the white house targets but it does not restrict force to just iraq and syria. the white house has agreed to report back to congress every six months. now on the hill the possibility of ground troops and broad geographic targets are raising concerns but not from this president's usual critics, it's democrats who want more detailed definitions. and meanwhile, they say congress should not manage an unpredictable war from the republicans. the house foreign affairs committee will hold the first hearing on the president's request tomorrow. but many committees want to hold hearings today. one aide said this could be delayed until june for a vote. and we'll hear from evan coleman on how this would impact the fight from isis and from

of course we're learning this as the u.s. and iraqis stronghold of mosul. >> i want to get to ben wedeman live in northern iraq there. so ben, i know these images of isis capturing american weapons, they are clearly propaganda. what can we learn? wa is your take away? >> reporter: i think the take away is that isis despite more than six months of coalition aircraft is able to operate, attack iraqi army positions. it appears to be in broad daylight. and get away with it. not only get away with it, get away with, as i counted from that video, at least 35 american-made m-16s, a large pile of ak-47s, mortars, ammunition, armored personnel carriers and humvees. so, despite this pressure from the coalition aircraft, they are still sort of moving ahead, taking more territory. now, we have heard this morning from sources in baghdad that the iraqi army along with iraqi police were able to retake an area near baghdadi which is north of the iraqi capital, near the air base where several hundred americans are stationed training iraqi forces, so i

he said why did the bush administration deliver iraq into the hands of iran? he said we fought the iraq war for eight years to stop this type of thing from happening and we have just undone all of that. and while he has a particular point of view it is puzzling as to why the bush administration did set things up so that iran gained the lion's share of influence in iraq. >> he did acknowledge mistakes in iraq but he also had this to say in defending his brother's record there. take a listen. >> my brother's administration through the surge, which was one of the most heroic acts of courage politically that any president has done because there was no support for this and it was hugely successful. and it created a stability that when the new president came in he could have built on to create a fragile but more stable situation that would not have allowed for the void to be filled. >> do you buy that? >> no of course not. well you know the idea that by putting 30,000 extra troops into iraq and doing some counter counterinsurgency, bush turned the entire situation a

the popular u.s.-led coalition in iraq and syria. e evaporation of the ambivalence was a gruesome murder of a lion, or a representative of the jordanian air force, and that touched people. the ambivalence is about what i.s.i.s. did to that particular individual. it's not necessarily a change in the level of ambilicence to u.s. -- ambivalence to u.s. policy or a change in concerns that some have with society, or jordan's alignment with u.s. policy, what we see among the elite commentary coming out of imam, the capital, is not reflective of what we see amongst some of the world tribes in the south. >> jordan is always portrayed as being on the knife edge. engaged in a permanent balancing act, vouched by bigger and sometimes maligned forces on all its borders. well, saddam hussein is dead and gone. hava el-assad is dead and gone, and his son has his hands full with a collapsing syria. what is the balance p balancing act now? >> if you look at the king's father the challenges he had was state-based. you had the problem of a hostile regime

in the old days afghanistan was the good war and iraq was the bad war in 2009. it is 2014 iraq seems to be the good war and syria is the bad war. but, in reality iraq will be a lot more complex. i don't think iraq is, i believe it is a war worth fighting. involving the u.s. but it is not a complex or simple war. any sense of us being in any sense allied with iran in this war against isis in iraq is fraught with danger and far more complex than many people would, would believe. now one thing i've noticed since i started the study in researching, talking to a lot of people, just to complete the data collection on it, throwing ideas out there about this pyric victory we could win if defeat isil but in the process hand iraq over to hezbollahizeed iraqi security structure. it instruct me, i don't think i ever heard kurds and seia arabs swent so many eight hatred each other. isis's enemies are remarkably divided, remarkably resentful of each other. it's sad to see. because the fighting hasn't even vaguely stopped yet against isis a lot of young shia guys will usually s

that was voted on to address the war in iraq. but it doesn't address at all the one in 2001 which was after 9/11 meant to green light forces to go into afghanistan to go after al qaeda. that is still the law of the land. so one of the discussions isn't just here about ground troops and about how that should be phrased. it's also about whether or not congress should take the opportunity now to repeal that first authorization because president obama and more importantly, his successor, can continue to use that which is pretty broad to go after al qaeda affiliates isil is one of them across the globe. that is something you are hearing more and more from senior democrats about the way they want this to be changed. >> we are just beginning to get reaction to what the president of the united states just said. we will have much more analysis much more coming up. we will take a quick break. ready for another reason to switch to t-mobile. get 2 lines of unlimited 4g lte data for just $100 bucks a month. it's america's best unlimited family

without pay after falsely claiming for years he was on a helicopter shot down by enemy fire during the iraq invasion. it made it seem more perilous. >> it wasn't until a few weeks ago he was caught in a lie forcing him to apologize. >> the story actually started with a terrible moment a dozen years back during the invasion of iraq. when the helicopter we were travelling in was forced down and hit by an rpg. i wanted to apologize i wanted to say i was in a helicopter hit by rpg fire i was in the helicopter behind it. we sent two harrowing nights in the sand storm in the iraq desert. it was a bung elled attempt by me to thank one special veteran and by extension our brave military men and women. >> while some see it's appropriate punishment others see it as a way to push williams off the air for good. >> as strange as it sounds for nbc to be sus spending the franchise for six months for use of inexcusable and preach of trust this is a way to save him. >> a lot of people think he should be fired he should be out of there nbc realized not only did brian need to be held accountable but he had to

look at the expansive terrain these guys are lording over. from syria to iraqhe populations under their sway have given some kind of pledge of allegiance to them. if you take in these numbers, you're looking at probably over 100,000. >> and not shrinking. >> and not shrinking. >> great to have you. >>> coming up for us a major moment in the trial of aaron hernandez. the star's fiancee has now been given immunity to testify. she will testify for the prosecution. but is this necessarily an awful thing for aaron hernandez? you might be surprised. in my world, wall isn't a street. return on investment isn't the only return i'm looking forward to. for some every dollar is earned with sweat, sacrifice, courage. which is why usaa is honored to help our members with everything from investing for retirement to saving for college. our commitment to current and former military members and their families is without equal. start investing with as little as fifty dollars. in our house, we do just about everything online. and our old internet just wasn't cutting it. so i swit

one of the problems is keeping iraq together. so the administration's position, and it makes sense, it was a position we had when i was there, is to give these weapons, through the iraqi government, at least with a pro forma check to the kurds. we just have to try a lot harder to ensure weapons go to the kurds. it's easier for what i call defensive weapons, m-wrap and humvee armored vehicles basically for counter-insurgency, anti-mine equipment, night vision goggles, armor and all of that thing. the question is long range artillery you mentioned and armor. that cannot only be used in an urban situation against isis also can be used in a conflict with baghdad. that's a tricky question. for the moment, i would focus on giving them better equipment to do what they're doing now, to ensure they have the ammunition, they have the armor to move around the battlefield. i'm not sure giving them artillery and tanks is such a good idea, assuming they can hold the ground now, and they have been, including in a quite difficult attack in kirkuk

we've had the sons of iraq, the awakening. we've had problems with iraq and its sensitivity with baghdad. this is the third time this has happened, so we need to create a force that will really think of itself as representing the security of all iraqis, and that will take time, and that's part of the strategic patience. that's what the kurds are doing, by the way, and it's more effective to train them with our european allies. we're training 12 new brigades, as you know. thank you. >> thank you. we go now to mr. rorbacher of california member of the committee on american threats. >> this is a discussion between us and the witnesses about what direction we should go and we appreciate your advice. dr. brennan, let me just note that i agree with your basic assessment that we are not just talking about isil or isis, whichever one we want to call it, that this actually is an enemy that has been 10 years or 15 years around us, and it's radical kerrterrorism, or groups willing to use terrorists to terrorize the western world, and this

they belong to one of the biggest tribes in the country. iraq'sense minister is a member of the tribe. all of those come from a single village east of tikrit in an area where isil is involved in fierce fighting with government forces. we'll hear from a our correspondent there in just a moment. but first we'll go to syria where isil forces are under attack from kurdish forces. zana hoda reports. >> reporter: syria's kurds have been war at war with the islamic state of iraq and the levant for months. isil fighters were defeat in ka banny. they have recaptured some territory, but lost several villages. it's not an easy fight. aircraft have been helping the kurds by targeting isil positions from the air. it's a province in northeastern syria, where isil controls pockets of territory. it's strategic for isil and the fight against the armed group. it borders territory controlled by the group across the border in northwestern iraq. and there is an important supply line that isil uses to move from its capitol, to the iraqi city of mosul. >> translator: wh

deaths on the iraq and afghanistan side are much harder to calculate. number in the hundreds of thousands for iraq and near 15,000 at least for afghanistan. and of course we haven't stopped there. including but not limited to u.s. drone strikes, united states has been involved in libya, somalia, yemen and pakistan. the new american foundation compiling data on killing covering the obama and bush administrations. they estimate that more than 800 people have been killed in u.s. air and drone strikes in yemen and more than 2,000 in pakistan. it seems like we've been doing an awful lot of killing our way out of this situation for an awfully long time. and what does the world look like having spent 14 years spending money risking our own troops lives and killing lots of people? afghanistan is a corrupt state. it's only marginally better in pakistan with the pakistani taliban remains strong. yemen has now become essentially a failed state. one that also happens to house the strongest al qaeda affiliate in the world. and isis, which is now the most monstrous te

prime minister calling on nation to say help fight the advance of islamic state of iraq and the levant. >> we in iraq are facing a formidable new terror generation not only threatening iraq, it is threatening the region. it is threatening the whole world at the moment. as far as i know, we are the only country that have armies on the ground fighting daish. >> the three day conference brings together some of the world's most influential political players. in the hall ways and behind closed doors is a flurry of activity with delegates push forego solution to say some of today's most pressing security issues. al jazeera munich. >> jordan is getting more help in its fight against the islamic state of iraq and the levant, the u.k. is reportedly sending troops to help amman in its campaign against the armed group. the united emrats is sending a squadron of f16 fighters jets. the commander of the jordanian royal air force said 19 strikes were launched and is intense filing its fight against isil but stress no civilians were killed or homes destroyed. the strikes focused on isil's leadership e

border between iraq and syria we have to look at the entire organization. i agree iraq first but we need to think about how we attack the entire rotation make sure we no longer controlled territory. that's a military objective but it means we have to move into syria also. >> which is attacking a sovereign state. we are attacking mad and that opens up another can of worms. dr. rand. >> i would disagree with my colleagues. >> did you say disagree? >> again there is preliminary evidence that is working. this is what the president is recommending as a way to defeat that so this combination of limited airstrikes. with the coalition partners on the ground has killed 7000 isis fighters. >> , and they have grown out of that though? every time you kill one you get 10 or 20 more that join the cause so are we winning? >> and it does help the iraqi forces the kurds and the iraqi serb forces retake key strategic area so in my mind they strategy should be assessed based on how well it's working and so far there is significant evidence this combination of limited force and

this is the traders room. iraq stock exchange and they sell everything from cost drinks to carpet companies. here there are challenges. electricity shortages, and the threat of violence and actual violence shot the place down. that means there's a lack of foreign investment. >> iraq's war against i.s.i.l. is bleeding the country. it cost millions. that combined with a slump in oil prices threatened a crisis that could bring the country to a standstill. it can ill afford that not when i.s.i.l. protects such a threat >>> in a letter to congress president obama mentions the possibility of limited ground action like the use of special forces to target i.s.i.l. leadership. the question is whether limited ground action is enough. if defeating i.s.i.l. is the end kneel retired army lieutenant cole net fought in iraq earning a bronze star and co-wrote the counterinsurgency field manual and trained the transition teams embedded with the iraqi unit. if anyone nose what iraq's army is capable of and what it will need from the

the u.s. policy toward iraq starting in 2001? just ask him about the policy.'t even mention his brother's name. >> just ask him that. but he's going to say, or he should say, if he's being honest, i supported it, because he did support it. he signed that pdac letter -- >> bill crystal's? >> yes. he came out for the iraq war, and he has since spoken in some of the clips that you played in favor of the war. so that's a position he'll have to defend and talk about all the consequences of the war, including isis, that you talked about in your first segment. isis grew out of that war. >> i think iran, everybody watching this show, maybe not, some people on the hard left are pro-clinton will say, i don't want a real contest in 2016. i want the republicans to put up a joker, a clown who can't possibly win, therefore our candidate will walk into the white house. i think the american people deserve a freaking choice for once. of two people they can imagine as president, then they watch the debates and make up their mind. but a lot of people are hoping jeb bush will tur

finally someone is being held to account for misleading america about the iraq war. r) finally. now-- it might not necessarily-- (cheers and applause) it might not necessarily be the first person you would want held accountable on that list. but never again will brian williams mislead this great nation about being shot at in a war we probably wouldn't have ended up in if the media it had applied this level of scrutiny to the actual [bleep] war. in fact, why is the media so up in arms. >> this is a huge credibility crisis. >> credibility and trust are what we go off wa, we stand for. >> if they care about credibility-- he should no longer be managing editor and anchor. >> i'm stunned that are you not asking for him to be fired megan. >> really? >> someone as -- >> absolutely. someone as credible as you who while very attractive and articulate at the core, are you credible. >> you are like walter cronkite kind of credible. >> jon: but like way hotter than cronkite like way hotter. like you're like you're like supercredible. oh my god did i say that out loud. dow want to

but not so much on the iraq. and something came out over the weekend of an interview he gave to a student journalist back in 2007 where he talked about the fears he's had for his life in ever coing stories. just watch. >> i look down the tube of an rpg that had been fired at us and it hit the chopper in front of ours. and i'm so fortunate to be sitting here. >> okay. he never looked down the tube of an rpg. >> right. >> that was never true. now we know his life was never in danger. so when you hear these stories, this underscores the problem he faces when he goes back on the air. >> exactly. and this is one of these stories that has just broken through that everybody is talking about. i've heard a lot of civilians. people are not obsessed with what the media and politics say. i don't know that i could ever look at him the same or ever trust him. so he has multiple problems of having to play defense on these various stories having to become a national punch line and a bloodthirsty mob online that doesn't care about

and, by the way, we have been bombing in iraq every single day. are you suggesting. >> why would you suggest that the president doesn't care or doesn't use american power which i'm just telling you as somebody who opposes a the love the american power that he uses. so this narrative is just -- is completely false. it's just completely made up. >> let me understand. this you oppose the american power, okay. you don't want ground troops over there you are willing to live with isis group hop is occupying these thousands of miles and killing civilians you are willing to live with it. >> you are missing my point. >> no i am understanding it totally. >> first of all i don't oppose american power. i think that american power should be used wisely and smartly and it hasn't been in our recent history. and i think it's wreaked a lot of damage and harm with other people. >> now? >> it the same thing you are saying now was about iraq war, no occupation in and out, we're gone. it's not going it happen and then look what happened we went in there. >> we are seei

it borders territory controlled by the group across the border in northwestern iraq. there is an important supply line that isil uses to move from its co-called capitol to the iraqi city of mosul, one of its strong holds in northern iraq. >> translator: what is happening now is that there is a real fight against isil. it controls about 30% of the province. kurds are fighting on one front and regime soldiers are also attacking them from another front. isil cannot afford to lose here because it needs to keep its supply lines open. >> reporter: iraqi kurds have been involved in fierce fighting with the islamic state of iraq and the levant this crossing is in sinjar it connects syria to iraq and it is being used by isil fighters. it seems the offensive is part of a broader military plan. if isil is defeated here and sinjar, it would severely restrict its freedom of movement between its strong holds in iraq and syria. the u.s.-lead coalition and its partners on the ground need to cut the group's supply lines before any major military assault. it has hundreds of kilometers f

the u.s. is involved in some operation in iraq. if you count all the operations in the 1990s, so it's quite remarkable we're still talking about iraq and the proper use of american force. the two lessons learned and i would agree with you, congressman, don't make americans part of the story. you're not leading from behind, taking a backseat role but you don't want to insert our presence to create an insurgency against american power. that was clear in the 2003, 2004 situation. the second situation is the importance of the isf being sustainable. most of the isf, govrt and security forces need to be multisectarian professional and less susceptible to the penetration by the shiite militia militias. that is the only way to sustain and protect iraq as a sovereign country over the long-term. we've had the sons of iraq, the awakening, problems with the sunni region and its connectivity. this is the second time, third time this has happened, so we need to create a force to really think of representing the force and that is part of the strat

so one of the problems is keeping iraq together. the administration's position makes sense to give these weapons through the iraqi government. regis have to try harder. it is easy for a defensive weapons that is for counterinsurgency. even with the night vision goggles it could be used against isis' also in a conflict and would focus on better equipment to make sure they have the ammunition to move around the battlefield. i am not sure that is such a good idea is assuming they can hold the ground now with a difficult to attack from kerr cup last week but taking will still there are various opinions on that. part of losel was kurdish was that element to the population and they may be willing to fight. i am not so sure they're willing to take heavy casualties. >> a are taking them now. they are taking against artillery with no artillery to match. :the 25 that we sent got through so the weaponry is not getting through to the kurds in double sides of the ideal, the fighting will be done and by jordanians by the sunni tribes and by arab a

the u.s. involvement in iraq and afghanistan speak very loudly. and that you cannot just erase with a conference in d.c. that doesn't include all of the participants. right before i came on your show, i was with the ambassador to the united nations, saying his country was not invited to attend this conference in d.c. how can a country like russia, or how can you completely go around the international system? how do you ignore things like the united nations, not invite them to be the leader on this issue? >> and russian intelligence was crucial to the case of the boston marathon bombing. howard dean, the president had the chore today of explaining to the bill o'reillies of the world why he doesn't have the word "islamic" in the title of the summit on violent extremism. i thought he did a very reasonable job of that. i thought it made perfect sense, and he made it very clear that this summit is about al qaeda and the islamic state. but then he went on, i think, to make it very clear why he's not using these words the way bill o'reilly wants him to. >

>> isis controls the area the size of kansas. across iraq and syria. is there a strategy to defeat them? >> what do you understand the strategy to be? >> i think the -- >> doesn't sound like a strategy to me. >> why they are the richest terrorist organization on earth. isis is hell on earth and the world continues to witness its cruelty and viciousness. lieutenant colonel oliver north and his war story's team made more than 15 trips to iraq where isis continues to gain ground. now where else are they spreading? >> all over the world. we have isis elements in the philippines, work there. we have them with boko haram in west africa and yemen, south africa. you have them literally all over the stands and they now proclaim that they've got people who defected from the taliban in afghanistan. so it's not just what we're seeing constantly in the news and iraq and seer y. it's literally spreading all over the sunni world. it's part of their effort, al bagdadi proclaimed himself to be the savior sunni islam from the shiites. the shiites predominant in iran. it'

the mission that he went on was really essentially started the war in iraq. it was the gas/oil platform on the northern gulf, and we had to secure that. our concern, certainly, was saddam would set it afire. the s.e.a.l.s had that mission and chris was on that team. so this is very personal in a whole bunch of ways. it's quite an amazing story. because i think what it does is it grabs the viewer and it puts him and her in this rather fullsome experience of combat, and the in-and-out of combat, you're in combat and you're back home, and how do you achieve some degree of normalcy. and chris struggled with it. most veterans do when they come back from combat. in combat you're so narrow and so deep in the complications of living have just been pushed and washed aside. the real heroes are your brides who are left at home and your family members, that have to deal with all of that while you fulfill your mission. >> jeff, you're nodding along as you listen to general marks talk. what condition was chris in when he came back from these tours? >> you know, he was just

quote, january the 30th, 2015, brian misrepresented events which occurred while he was covering the iraq war in 2003. it then became clear that on other occasions, brian had done the same thing, telling that story in other venues. this was wrong and completely inappropriate for someone in brian's position. in addition we have concerns about comments that occurred outside of nbc news while brian was talking about his experiences in the field. as managing editor, and anchor of nightly news brian has a responsibility to be truthful and to uphold the high standards of the news division at all times. joining me now fo reaction, howard kurtz, and hollywood reporter melissa guthrie. thank you both for being with us. howard, what's your reaction to this? they say they want railroad brian to -- they want brian to succeed and come back. >> this is nbc salvaging its own credibility as well as brian williams and getting a shot at being able to come back after a six-month cooling-off period. i was told brian williams now recognizes the magnitude in fabricating his tale about his experience in iraq, a

how did this lead to the current events in iraq? how did this lead to shia militias fighting against isis? first and foremost, a religious crisis needed to be manufactured. when i say that there is the supposed threat against seita seita zayneb which is this major mosque and shrine in southern damascus. a lot of interesting weird granular connections to iran with this shrine. they actually rebuilt it. it's why it has this golden dome. what they cast this as is to have fighters to go into syria they needed people who would go for a religious reason a justified region. the justified reason is they were doing their shrine defense. but it wasn't just that. just saying shrine defense, well, doesn't fit in with the khomeinist that was being pushed. why would they need to defend it? well oh, well, they were defending against the takfiris i mentioned early. who pushed faechlt akfiris to this? america, the state of israel the west. that was wrapped within this. there was a whole conspiracy wrapped not this. and if you're really looking at the

the air base. cnn's bill black is in iraq right now. what is the latest at the base? reporter: no further attacks. isis mill at that particular times dressed in iraq military uniform as many as ooetd of them were suicide bombers and they were dealt with with the assistance of the american attack helicopters. did not fire any rounds, but seemed to have played a surveillance role. in a nearby town the iraq and the efforts to retake the town have not made a lot of progress. they're still at the perimeter of the town. the center and the heart of the town and is vase majority of the land there, but the iraq security forces are still trying to take it back. >> so how threatened are u.s. marines at this base? is there a gauge? >>. >> reporter: well, it got close to the base but not close to the u.s. personnel within. they are several miles away. it's sprawling and city like. so several miles away not involved or under any threat. this is a base that's been attacked before, although not seriously. nothing serious and nothing damaging. giving that they're expanding their contr