the need for its defeat. this battle continues inside iraq. we are also taking the fight isil in syria the international coalition has launched over 1300 airstrikes against isil and other terrorists inside syria bombed refineries that have been taken over by isil. the oil, both refined and crude being used to fund their operations eliminating that as a source of revenue. we embarked on a train and equip program, taking on isil and protecting the syrian communities. inco body, -- in c -- moving title can be beaten inside syria as well. i'll ever -- however, the regional challenge extends beyond syria. for years now, iraq is being -- is risking being pulled apart by a wide range of sectarian competition externally and internally. but the reality is the iraqis do not want to be drawn into regional conflicts. they do not want to be owned by anybody. everybody forgets there was a war not but a decade before were over 100,000 were killed, a war with iran, their neighbor. they do not want to be published angling on the string of anyone's puppeteering

iraq in 2005. i appreciate the three r's and the challenges which, starting with reclaiming iraq. i would like you to try to be a little more explicit. this is overwhelming the middle east. isn't in fact that's what really going on? the second one is iran controls baghdad. the third one is iraq is actually broken forever now in history of poor countries and cannot be put back together. because you know the challenges of persuading our policymakers to support iraq given the americans desire to withdraw, i think you have to make a more compelling case that the result in iraq. so just tried to make your message stronger about how you're going to address these key areas. >> i mean, i will start with the second question, or second three questions. the whole project is about hope. the suffering, of having car bombs in every district poor districts in shia towns and villages, suburbs i've iraq over the last 12 years has been about hope. that's what they have suffered, and representation at the elections has been about hope. people talk about the marginalization of sunnis and others, but i

on the verge of independence. iraq was falling apart. it couldn't control its territory. when isis turned and attacked iraqi kurdistan, that changed the whole dynamic within iraq. two elements for independence are security and economic viability. security has been restored in iraqi kurdistan but it hasn't been restored as a result of u.s. weapons provided to the peshmerga. finish the first country -- the first country to actually land and deliver weapons during the cry us was not the united states, it was iran. and the heavy weapons that the kurds need in order to deal with the isis armor are not being provided by the pentagon. missiles are coming from germany. france is providing 20 millimeter armor-piercing provisions. when i was in iraqi kurdistan a month ago, i spoke with senior kurdish officials and they explained the problems they have with the pentagon in getting the equipment that they need, their desire for heavy weapons including on thive heavy weapons -- offensive heavy weapons like tanks and artillery. they

and the government of iraq. these critical stabilization efforts were at the center of my consultations last week in baghdad, and on the first day of the meetings we heard from the iraqis about their need to plan for idp return, support ied removal and provide services and expertise to assist with stabilization efforts. on the second day, a team of experts and coalition members met with their iraqi counterparts and discussed iraqi plans in greater detail. throughout my meetings, i emphasized that iraq's stabilization efforts will be the most important signal of the intentions of the government to fulfill its goal of rebuilding iraq for all iraqis. we know from experience that these kinds of essential services are delivered nor effectively and efficiently when sequenced and planned early on with military operations and civilian cooperation. we also know this, stabilization operations require significant resources. we as a coalition will work together to assist and support iraq as we are able to. but we do not have

involvement over the past decade as iraq yet iraq is u.s. ned and armed security forces crumbled when i.s.i.l. swept in seizing the west and northern portions of iraq. i.s.i.l. is in a tactical retreat in baghdad but as charles stratford reports i.s.i.l. maintains its control on other parts of iraq. >> reporter: /* >> reporter: many of the roads and buildings in tikrit remained deserted. the iraqi army allied with the militias may be in control, but the fighting has been intense in recent weeks. the islamic state of iraq and levant overran saddam hussein's hometown in june. security forces are trying to reassure people it's safe to return. >> translation: we are in control of security. we control all the government buildings, and we have secured the residential areas. >> the iraqi military victory was helped by u.s.-led coalition air strikes. evidence of atrocities was discovered in a mass grave, believed to contain the bodies of soldiers, committed by isil. >> i came to this place to look for my nephew. i was told he was killed and buried he

yes, but under the control of the government of iraq. charlie: they said there is a difference between american advisers and iranian advisors. what are iranian advisors doing in the front lines? there a troops supporting shiite militias. the iranian advisors are on the front lines advising the shiite militias. michael: they weren't successful. we were. it enabled the iraqi security forces under the control of the prime minister to achieve that. charlie: also in the last three months -- talking to him. of he very much wants to say to america what needs to work together on this. i hope you changed in being with me so we can focus on isil. what do you say to that? michael: it was a policy manner. various regional actors. he lost his legitimacy to govern by the brutal way he does that. he benefited as his father did from minority rule over a broader population. there needs to be a political transition. it is hard to see how you put syria back together in any form or get after a terrorism problem or bring it to a conclusion to a government tha

michael: the iraq he army is the main. you also have the militias that have stood up for the defense of baghdad. mostly she am is -- she emotions -- shia militias. iran has been supporting those militias and they did not succeed against tikrit. and then the coalition was successful. charlie: they had a offensive that did not succeed. i thought they were part of the effort to drive isil out of tikrit, that militias had helped drive out isil into crete, that it was a success for them and later american airstrikes came in to buttress their effort. michael: more or less. they have supported these militia. they were originally doing it on their own. there is this perception we cooperate with the iranians. as i said we have a pretty capable intelligence community that a lot of our commanders have at their disposal. so the offensive, the iranian led defensive did not succeed. it could not take tikrit. the prime minister of iraq went to the coalition and said can you help us do this? the coalition did supported and it was successf

the u.s. ambassador to iraq in 2009 and '10. he was also ambassador to the republic of korea from 2005 to 2006. poland in 2005. republic of macedonia from 1996 to 1999. and a frequent guest here on the washington journal. we appreciate it this morning. ross is in columbus, ohio, line for democrats. ross, good morning. >> caller: good morning. thanks for having me on. i'd like to just kind of reiterate on the gentleman a couple calls back. when he spoke about the fact that we always go into these areas, especially the middle east, and pit one side against the other side, and play this game of basically chess over there. when things go badly, we pull out, and we shirk our responsibilities. i mean, it's a shame that this happens so many times around different places in the world. especially the middle east. the gentleman made a statement, your guest said he gets tired of accepting the blame for what's happened in the past. but you have to accept the blame if you're the main cause of the problem. like i said, which we have been in qu

and that is one of the complexities of iraq. far as human rights abuses -- that has been a major focus for the prime minister -- and support of possible. we are not saying they are not taking place. we are saying that we are there to monitor, and once an abuse takes place for us to be aware of it in fact in figures, not in perceptions or rumors, for us to do something about it. at least we have that understanding, and i will call it we have that big chest where we can say, tell us what you have taken place, and we will look into that rather than say our police are driven by whatever sort of negative connotations we have towards the national media or others as well. we are saying that is not the case. at the same time, please bear in mind our world is a messy war. all wars are messy, but when we have is not a trench war. we have a street war, an enemy who does not wear a uniform, who does not show themselves, and who are conniving and have more or less broken every rule of engagement of any ethics of any war to achieve their obje

and the challenges with reclaiming iraq. while you have addressed these challenges, i would like you to try to be a little more explicit. while what i see as the major media coverage of iraq from a westerners standpoint is sectarianism, a war within islam and this is overwhelming the middle east. is, in fact that is what is really going on? the second one is iran controls baghdad. the third is that iraq is actually broken forever now into three or four countries and cannot be put back together. because you know the challenges of persuading our policymakers to support iraq given the american's desire to withdrawal. i think you have to make a more compelling case that there is hope in iraq. just try to make your message stronger about how you are to address these key areas. >> mr. ambassador? >> i will start with the second question, or second three questions, i think. >> hope, the whole project is about hope. the -- the suffering of having car bombs in every district poor districts in shia towns and villages and suburbs of ira

in an interview with "the washington post" today he said about the iraq war vote i don't think anybodyt of the united states that made that mistake. it's a huge mistake, and we live with broad ramifications today of instability, not only in the middle east but far beyond and the loss of american credibility. there were no weapons of mass destruction. joining me now from exclusive interview, former rhode island governor and senator, lincoln chafee. welcome, lincoln chafee, and i may be welcoming you to the presidential campaign, if you move from exploring to deciding. what do you need to explore in order to decide you will run for president in >> well, the alaw allows this first step just to get started and all the filing that is required. it's just a little easier to get started under an exploratory committee. so we'll see down the road when the official decision will be made. >> what you said to "the washington post" today sounds like it would be impossible for you to support hillary clinton if she is the democratic nominee. >> well we'll see how it plays out over who the other candid

it's like they eat, pray love to get into the iraq world. it's going to be a really long interview. ( laughter ) but first, the supreme court the knowledgeable nine elgrandy justivo. robes robes, robes. yesterday, america dropped down on one knee and proposed oral arguments that could settle the question of marriage equality for gay people. >> the court will answer two questions-- can state refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, and can they decline to recognize same-sex marriages that were legally granted somewhere else. >> jon: that's right the supreme court is hearing those cases while participating in this year's "amazing race." ( laughter ) she seems-- she seems perfectly comfortable on a zip line. ( laughter ) of course, an issue this important was bound to draw a crowd, making their final arguments. the progay marriage camp went with how can a just god not allow two men to not be together? while the antigay marriage crowd went with why don't we summon the ancient hebrews and see what they say? by the way, yes, that is a

during the nearly nine-year long u.s. occupation. fault lines travelled 600 miles across iraq to look at the consequences of the fight against isil -- and how u.s. allies are also helping to divide iraq more than ever. >> when isil advanced this summer people across the country's northern provinces fled, some of them to neighboring syria. >> we're on a floating bridge between syria and iraq and this is the bridge refugees are flooding through every day into the country. how long have you been coming? how many days? >> the u-s began bombing isil in part to rescue stranded yazidis on a mountaintop. but as refugees continued to leave the area two weeks later they said the help was not enough. >> there were so many allegations about what went on on mount sinjar, president obama called it an impending act of genocide others called it a humanitarian crisis. unfortunately it seems the entire incident was used as a sound bite in a presidential speech to justify us intervention once that sound bite was used no one remembered them anymore. >> where are you coming from? >> they've been o

the u.s. is doing enough to fight isis in iraq? let me know at facebook.com slash bret baier sr or on twitter @bet obamacare you can use the #special report. the european union says talks with iran over its nuclear program will resume next week. news earlier this month that the u.s. and it's at lies have agreed to a framework of a deal has led to russias decision to ply iran with correspondent air defenses. >> reporter: we think that given the conditions in the region tick any mri relation with the events in yemen the supplies of this type of weaponry are a deterrent factor. >> reporter: a deterrent for iran and a symbol of increasing cooperation between moss kwou and tehran. vladimir putin in a four hour long tv show defended the sale of a missile defense system to iran amid growing concerns from the obama administration that it could kpli case the on jg nuclear arms talks. >> translator: if some people are concerned that we started canceling sanctions then apparently our colleagues don't know that supplies of this types of systems

solders are training the iraqi army in iraq. d with the shia militias the president said he does want though weapons given to the shia militias. the white house likes to say they didn't have reason to fight because the government doesn't unified. they believe that is the key to ensuring that they actually put up a fight, but some of the things they are talking about sensitive drones fighter jets those are technologies they might not be willing to share with the iraqis. so hopefully we'll hear from the two leaders today. >> thank you very much. >>> now to the war in yemen. the u.n. security council has approved a resolution aimed at stopping the fighting there. it targets houthi rebels restricting travel and their ability to get weapons. samantha power spoke right after the vote. >> we condemn unilateral actions to undermine yemen's security and stability. in response the houthis working in close coordination with president salehiva extended their offensive. the united states strongly supports the adoption of today's resolution wh

is iran running the war in iraq when it comes to combat troops? >> it's too strong to say they are running it. iran has made a lot of hay with the situation in iraq, it was incumbent on the united states to contest iran for the influence. the iranians have influence. the united states needs to fight the iranians not in a literal sense, we don't need to blow up the iranians but contest the iranians. >> i am sure you see reports on how shia militias have taken reprisals. some put up pictures of the supreme leader. how big of an issue is that in taking control from nil, but stay in control of those regions. >> the messaging in this is bad. when we talk about the tactical things. we talk about what happens with tikrit. human rights watch says that all that happened with homes that are blown up and people disappeared. in the big scheme of things while we deplore the abuses and they perpetrated them in the big scheme of things it's not a huge deal. we need to be encouraged at the level of supervision that the iraqi government and others are putting over

the government of iraq, the parliament of iraq all the framework such an agreement the parliament before has passed. it has been accepted in the country and we are moving. this will benefit the iraqi people and will benefit the region. >> rose: and you're looking for support as well. >> yes. we have a fiscal problem because the drop of oil prices and of course we don't want money, no opportunity will give just money like that. i think there's expect in u.s. and there are categories which can help us with this problem this year and the coming year. we only need just the public assessment -- we need some guarantees on some items. we want to move forward. i think there are enough international financial institutions who will work with iraq but we need that support. >> rose: you talked to the imf and you talked to the world bank. >> exactly. i think they are promising, they are very north coming. i'm very happy that i met them. and i think they were very happy. it's like a workmanship relationship. and they're sending the delegation to baghdad. >> rose: return to the war on the ground and th

the use of u.s. ground troops in iraq to defeat isis? ne: like i said, i think the more, our ground troops, we have to be very careful. ground troops to assist local forces i think it is helpful training, elping plan and there is a mushy line there. when we take the fight on unilateral that is when we make the fight about ourselves. that said. michael: are you either way for boots on the ground? janine: it looks like a u.s. fight that will feed their narrative. i know it is uncomfortable, this is the uncomfortable thing about it. michael: take the shackles off. janine: i'm not as freaked out ground forces for various things in general. i agree with audrey. if we're serious about one of our core values in the region, which is, helping civilians who are, you know, massively displaced and hurting -- you have to put, you have to put people on the ground to help people and we have been hesitant to do that because there's risk involved. but i would take risk in order to do that. i would not be afraid to put some forces on the ground to assist t

not just the iraq war. i've been doing this all my life. i grew up in the military.ry difficult war. i've written about it. i was in beirut as a journalist when the marines were there. i was in afghanistan as an embedded journalist in '04. and i've spent time in foreign relations committee and armed services committee. so this isn't about iraq to me. it's about leader assumption in terms of shaping our national security policy. when this administration talks about the pivot to the asia actually, we led this strengthening of our relationships in asia two years before president obama was elected. we began that when i reached the senate. i just got back from thailand where the government leaders asked me to come in and talk to them about their concern about american relations in that part of the world and particularly the bilateral relationship between our two countries. we led the changing in relations in burma. i took the first trip into burma, now myanmar, the first american leader to go to burma in ten years. we opened up that country. i understand foreign policy in

the u.s. consulate in iraq. >>> xenophobia spreads as antiforeigner protests rock south africa. >>> returning to everest a year after tragedy. the backbone of if henepal's climbing community calls for a better deal. >>> the king of saudi arabia is calling for humanitarian aid to be sent to yemen, $274 million. that's the exact amount asked for by the united nations to give emergency help to yemenis who have been hit by the three-week long war. the saudi-led coalition of arab countries has been carrying out air strikes against houthi rebels and their allies. >> we hope everyone will respect the aid operations the houthi militias when they went from the airport to the hospitals, they tried to disturb the aid operations and we call for everybody else to respect and observe all the channels that are open for contact and coordination. >>> the world food program meanwhile is saying the grave situation is making it really difficult to reach people who are in desperate need. >> we have information of about 2 million people who are extremely vulnerable at the moment. we have food trucks that could reac

the need for its defeat. this battle continues inside iraq. are also taking the fight isil in syria the international coalition has launched over 1300 airstrikes against isil and other terrorists inside syria, bombed refineries that have been taken over by isil. the oil, both refined and crude, being used to fund their operations, eliminating that as a source of revenue. we embarked on a train and equip program, taking on isil and protecting the syrian communities. inco body, -- -- moving title can be beaten inside syria as well. i'll ever -- however, the regional challenge extends beyond syria. for years now, iraq is being -- is risking being pulled apart by a wide range of sectarian competition externally and internally. but the reality is the iraqis do not want to be drawn into regional conflicts. they do not want to be owned by anybody. everybody forgets there was a war not but a decade before were over 100,000 were killed, a war with iran, their neighbor. they do not want to be published angling on the string of -- puppets dangling on the

that's not the culture in iraq now. re step by step because after mosul and after the new formation, an issue of trust had to be regenerated. the communities of iraq now realize that they have interdependencies. but at the same time the maturity of the politics has not allowed for those politics. i can talk about that. so you have to be cautious and you have to think twice and you have to take into account a myriad of issues rather than a few parameters for your decision making. that's one of the complexities of iraq. as far as also human rights abuses and so on, that has been a major focus for the prime minister. he has really opened up and he called for international organization to be there on the ground, support as possible. we're not saying abuses are not taking place. we're saying that we dare to monitor and for us to be aware of it in facts and figures, not in perceptions or rumors, for us to do something about it. so at least we have that understanding and i might call it we have that big chest where we can say t

iraq. efforts to combat the islamic state, and improvement in iraq's military capability. the vice president delivered those remarks at the national defense university in washington. he spoke for about 30 minutes. vice president biden: it is genuinely an honor to be a before such a distinguished audience. ambassador, thank you. she is a senior vice president. i am just a vice president. [laughter] vice president biden: these days, i don't like the word senior associated with my name. [laughter] vice president biden: i like to say to the ambassador, it is an honor to have you here today. military officers men and women and brian -- how are you doing brian? good to see you. next week, the prime minister will make his first visit to washington dc. this provides us with an opportunity to take stock of where things stand right now. that is going to be the focus of my remarks today. critics have made a number of claims regarding our policy in iraq and the state of affairs in iraq today. they say iraq's fight against i sil that i american international coalition has been stalemate

he became the new parliamentary speaker. and iraq chose a well-respected kurdish statement to be the new president and he stuck to his convictions under enormous pressure. you know how the process works. he, the president, is the one that been turns to one of the factions to turn a government -- form a government. there was an over some out of pressure. but he stuck to his guns and he named the prime minister. a shia leader who had built up support within the shia national alliance. there was a consensus among these leaders. that iraq would need a much greater measure of functioning federalism, which is called for in the constitution. they all agreed to that. that common understanding backed by genuine act of statement ship, has led to significant progress. and the chance, the chance of a long-term unity government. in just eight months, the prime minister and other iraqi leaders have formed an inclusive government. in record time, arrived at a national budget with equitable revenue sharing. forged an oil deal between baghdad and irb

call for more troops on the ground in iraq. right now u.s. service members are providing training and supplying weapons to the iraqi army. in the coming months, the u.s. will deliver arrives body armor and kevlar helmets. a former advisor to the head of central command join us. thank you for joining us from dubai. mistrust plagued the relationship between the u.s. and iraq through the maliki administration. has abadi restored the relationship? >> he's taken several serious and meaningful steps to improve the relationship, disbanded the office of the commander-in-chief which maliki set up to directly control the iraqi military unit. he's reached out to kurdish and sunni arab communities. there's a lot of baggage left over from maliki, that's what helped create isis. >> the fighting continues in anbar province. i'm sorry did you have another comment you were making, sir did i interrupt you? >> no, go ahead. >> what do you think will be the most pressing need that prime minister abadi will present to obama? >> i think prime minister abadi is faci

but also you know the first thing they did when they went back into iraq was in the western iraq the area of the uprising anbar and that took some time. that took some months to actually you know took back some cities that we fought very hard for fallujah and others. but then they really had a blitzkrieg in the north. iraqi security forces collapsed in the wake of them. and part of that was sunni disenchantment. it wasn't-- you ask yourself the question how do 2,000 3,000 filers take over a large swathe of territory against a much bigger army. it's because the army disintegrates and because the population is pretty alienated. and you know and that's how you get that big force multiplyer. >> so they fled from mosul. >> they went essentially where their line of advance stopped was essentially where the sectarian bundries as it started shifting from sunni to shiite. >> rose: then they became less. >> then they became less cap ability-- capable-- capable,. and again if you look at al qaeda and iraq's history with their brutal tactics and governance which isil does in spades the populatio

and hillary clinton, voting for the war with iraq, something that became a major issue -- many say theeason she did not win the democratic nomination in 2008? >> it definitely didn't help. she admitted that was a bad vote. i was very critical of the war and her at the time. but that is now 13 years ago. john kerry who bob recommended as a better presidential candidate come also voted for that resolution and lots of people supported him for president a year after the iraq war began -- including me. >>amy: he also lost. >> he also lost, but he won the democratic nomination. that is something she news to be held to account for and she has been and will be again. it is not the full picture of her years as a senator or her view of foreign-policy. the second thing i would say is what the president said is more interesting and significant now because he is the leader of the democratic hearty. and her service to him, both politically and in government, i think, has united the democratic party much more than it was in 2008 behind her. if you look at poll numbers, she leads any conceivable oppon

the first is 1990s and the second is iraq war and the 1990s two very interesting things happened in iraq after the first gulf war and saddam hussein regime and the first is that saddam hussein integrated this in which is the islamic company. what he did was to basically. a baptism. and encouraging people to add to the state. and he allowed to mocks and so on. and the mix that happen and was very relevant to what isis ideology. this is a fascist movement and a movement that will rely on has a lot to do with isis. it is a business. instead of compared to pan islamic. and relies on this. militant nationalism. and that subjects everything and anyone to the achieve of the unity of arabs. and this is a group that is essentially by if ideology. and they did horrible thing to shias and kurds. used chemical weapons also. on his people. attacked civilians. and also his father did the same thing so the track records are violent from day one until today. now when saddam hussein had a dangerous mix. basically like. unintentionally. after the first gulf war there was a revolt in the south against his

is the big, immediate threat and if i.s.i.l. is not defeated then iraqcountry will not regain integrity. >> we have to leave you and thank you so much. the man in charge of the global coalition against i.s.i.l. says it could take years to defeat the group and john allen spoke to roslyn jordan and talked about the challenges ahead. >> reporter: retired john allen is barack obama's man in charge of the global campaign against i.s.i.l. islamic state, iraq and levante and for more than six months working with more than 60 countries to stop the group's spread. in an exclusive interview i asked general allen what kind of enemy i.s.i.l. has become. >> i would say that in many respects dash has become a proto state in some respects. it points to a peace of terrain that it calls a capitol. it has attempted local governance through mirrors that look like provincial governments. it has even attempted to have its own currency. in some respects when it transitioned to becoming a proto state it created its own vulnerabilities. >> reporter: allen says i.s.i.l. doesn't

yes, but under the control of the government of iraq. e: they said there is a difference between american advisers and iranian advisors. the and rainy and advisers -- the iranian advisors are on the front line, and the american advisers are not. what are iranian advisors doing in the front lines? there a troops supporting shiite militias. the iranian advisors are on the front lines advising the shiite militias. michael: they weren't successful. we were. is what i would say. and the prime minister knows that. charlie: that turned the tide? it enabled the iraqi security michael: it yes. it enabled the iraqi security forces under the control of the prime minister to achieve that. charlie: also in the last three months -- talking to him. of he very much wants to say to america what needs to work together on this. because, we can stop isil. i have the syrian army and i hope you changed in being with me so we can focus on isil. what do you say to that? michael: i would say that he has, again, it is a policy matter. i will just give you the pers

that was a moment in time where the premise for going to iraq was so false that there were weapons ofdestruction, she didn't do her homework. we live with the ramifications. you may say that's 12 years ago. that's a big motivator for me running. if you show lack of judgment lack of doing homework then what can we expect in the future? >> you have called hillary clinton a democratic bush enabler. you said that when you endorsed her opponent in 2008 barack obama. what what about now? do you think that her ideals and goals are appropriate looking at the world now? >> as i said, we're going to have a lot of areas of agreement domestically but i have a lot of areas of disagreement internationally, yes. even her tenure as secretary of state was kind of a muscular top down unilateral too close to the neocons, too bush like. you could say after her tenure as secretary of state, what kind of accomplishments did you have? there were precious few. >> let's talk about domestic issues. as you well know there's a lot of enthusiasm out there for elizabeth warren because of her populus approach to ec

a bombshell report reveals just how much the new war in iraq is the same as the old war in iraq, as isis releases new video claiming to show a massacre of ethiopian christians, supposed proof of the group's expansive reach. >>> and more charges against american residents conspiring to help isis. the german newspaper's report shows stunning evidence that the rise was planned and engineered by the former baathist regime in an effort to restore the sunni rule that was ended by the american invasion in 2003. we knew before about the link of the -- diagnose der spiegel" says it has a former colonel mapping out a command structure for the group and strategy for infiltrating new territory under the cover of religious institutions using a complex network of spies. quote -- what he put on paper page by page was carefully outlined boxes for individual responsibilities was nothing less than a blueprint for a takeover. there's not a manifesto of faith, but a technically precise plan for the regime. several of the sage ones who served in that regime. it may be what draws teenage girls from london to

the white house isn't saying why that is. iraq officials have been leaking quite a built to the press usually found upon. one story is that the u.s. is going to deliver f-16s long awaited f-16s this summer. there's been no confirmation from the white house. we'll be looking very closely to see just exactly what the two leaders say when the press is allowed in only briefly for the meeting in the oval office. >> how often worried is america that their weapons could fall into the wrong hands? >> they're very concerned that not only isil could get the weapons but also that the behavior of shia militias, that's what they want to focus on. officials trained the iraq military with weapons and they ended up in isil's hands. they have better visibility of who can get those weapons being sent over, because american forces are actually training iraq soldiers, but the prime minister really wants drones, apache helicopters f-16s but the one point owe the main point of leverage has i guess the u.s. led coalition airstrikes. it's not clear the u

we both served in the senate during the iraq war vote. e of the biggest mistakes in american history. to get back into another quagmire in the middle east. the cost for the brave soldiers, the treasury, the cost in our credibility. i do not think anybody who made that mistake should be hired to fix and correct some of the damage done. mark: governor, welcome to the fray. i want to ask you who you think the best president of the united states has been since ronald reagan and why? gov. chafee: i am proud of the job hw bush did. he went into kuwait, put together a real coalition, and did not get into the quagmire his son got us into. bill clinton was beloved around the world and brought us surpluses. the two of them worked together to get us to surpluses. hw had to address the deficit and it cost him the reelect against clinton. clinton put in his deficit reduction package and that might have cost him the house and senate. they both made brave decisions. mark: we did a poll question i wanted to ask you. do you consider yourself more of a neta

ramadi is the capital of iraq's anbar province. the u.s. troops are 70 miles away training government forces. our people are training their government forces to try to keep the kind of thing that is happening there from happening there. fighters took control of three separate villages near ramadi yesterday. now they're in the center of the city of ramadi, where government troops are ol'ed up. the general says it's not important to future of iraq but we want to get it back. centcom has targeted militants, yet the onslaught continues isis lost control of tikrit. remember? we did airstrikes and the military went in and called it's great skis for the iraqi military. military analysts say this time the islamic state, all right, you're going to take tikrit, we'll get ramadi and we're in biji. biji is central because it is next to an oil refineie,ry, and if isis gets refinery it's a any situation. the current strategy is not working perfectly. and we have insisted there will be no ground troops. we most let others do the ground keeping. that leave

and the beheadings in iraq. >> these are common interests. the sunnis fear that the iranians are supporting the houthis as a bid to extend its influence not just in yemen but in the region as a whole. >> no these are not sunni. these are wahabi and they're not the populations. they're -- it's a family-run country, saudi arabia. it's named after the family. >> indeed. but do you deny iranian involvement then in the domestic situation of yemen? >> no. in yemen, it's the people of yemen who -- look the former president that the saudis are backing was never elected. he was installed by the americans and the saudis. he was the only candidate in the election. he was only supposed to be a transitional president for two years. ultimately, he was forced to resign when the popular committees the houthis, and the armies took the capital. there was no blood shed because he had no legitimate support. now the saudis are bombing the country because of some illegitimate president installed by them. the yemeni people want independence. >> can i draw you on one

it's the capital of the largest province in iraq. he major sunni province in iraq, and we cannot reclaim iraq or have a stable iraq politically without sunni participation. to suggest that we can lose their capital makes no sense. it's also where the sunni awakening, which began to defeat the al-qaeda in conjunction with the bush surge of forces, it is very symbolic for that reason. strategically look at that map you had up there, can you bring that thing back up again? jenna: absolutely. we'll do that right now. >> when you see that map and ramadi's proximity to baghdad, when you drive outside the city of baghdad to the west, you are immediately in anbar province. ramadi is 70 miles from baghdad. that whole province is the western buffer security buffer to protect baghdad. is so strategically it's very important. further out to the west not on the map is al assad air base. that's about 115 miles from baghdad. ramadi's only 70. we isolate that air base where we have u.s. forces. so it matters symbolically, it matters strategically. wh