they had canceled the pentagon that it was a bad idea. that is the scientists it could be the human. i was told, the group that has become more important, the defense science board, the pentagon think tank, the president, very knowledgeable superman of science what is also true full-time academic and part-time defense scientists , the defense science board members as was explained how defense contractors and stillstood on the boards of a lot of these defense contractors which raises the question that eisenhower raised, not me, which is let's make sure that the citizenry maintains and knowledge that they are aware of what the military-industrial complex is planning to do. >> in that same speech he warned about the scientific technological. we are going to open it up to questions from you. please raise your hand. we will have microphones coming around that can be picked up by the cameras. [inaudible question] >> yes, it's a great question. the place where i observed i observed that had to do with the situation in the role on terror in iraq w

director but he wanted to bring 12 of his former colleagues with him and that did not apply at the pentagon so they looked elsewhere but i thought what a spicy way to start off an agency with controversy and secrecy and the back story. >> and we will all talk about those who don't know about darpa it is for clarity's sake we will just call it darpa to keep a consistent and there is some major innovation that we use in our daily lives. so when your book came out there hasn't been a major work at this level sunsuits talk about the origin and why it comes about. it is different from the other military research organizations it doesn't really do scientific research but how darpa is for related. >> it has approximately 120 program managers and all of its entire existence working with a $3 million budget but the individuals themselves are scientists and engineers at the top of their game. they go into their field rather academic gore military laboratories to put together teams that bring forth this incredible science and technology that creates and tire industries. >> host: we will talk about a c

the coach team in trail was sort of the dreaded problem of the pentagon. all of the fighters, insurgents would come from the north to the south by way of this trail and the secretary of defense figuring out a way to stop this. they saw it almost like it was the human and needed to have a starter reese severed. jason scientists and documents. they thought about nuclear-weapons, that was not an option. this feature of an electronic fence. the reason i found it so interesting to explore was because all the sensor technology, seismic sensors which come from the program you referred to, audio sensors, magnetic sensors, these were incredibly early ideas during the vietnam war and now they make up so much of our existence, i am sure driving hear someone's lynch yield wipers started to work as a drop of rain, this -- to the sense is they were working on. >> host: the technology is used throughout the intelligence agency. i am sure one of us drove over one of the sensors on the ground to determine how fast we are going, things like that. vietnam was also a time they

the pentagon i'm told was caught offguard. the russian war planes began dropping bombs in syria within an hour of a russia three-star general entering the u.s. embassy in baghdad and issuing a verbal statement saying that russian war planes would begin flying soon. sources said it was a tense conversation. the russian general went on to say if you have forces in the area, we request they leave. which elicited this response from the defense secretary here at the pentagon. >> this is not the kind of behavior that we should expect professionally from the russian military professionally and that's one reason why i think it's a good thing to have an avenue of communication. that is less unprofessional than a drop-in. >> the secretary said he had ordered his team to keep talking to the russians. >> i take my, the russians at their word. my problem is not that i don't understand what they're doing. i think in my problem is that this i think what they're doing is going to backfire and is counterproductive. >> the first russian strikes

jamie mcintyre reporting to us from the pentagon. you have been watching our special coverage of developments in syria. the obama administration saying dozens of special forces will be heading to syria. thanks for joining us. i'm stephanie sy. >> al jazeera america brings you independent reporting without spin. >> not everybody is asking the questions you're asking me today. >> we give you more perspectives >> the separatists took control a few days ago. >> and a global view. >> now everybody in this country >>> foreign ministers from 19 countries have met in vienna for top level talks to resolve the civil war in syria. she say a number of agreements have been reached. >>> well, the talks come as more than 60 people are killed and dozens wounded in a syrian government missile attack on a crowded market. >>> at least 30 refugees including 11 children drown as more boats sink off

jamie mcintyre has more from the pentagon. >> antonio, the united states said it will not recognise china's territorial claims, and pentagon sources confirmed to al jazeera that the authorisation has been given to the u.s. navy for the egers class destroyer, u.s.s. lasson to conduct what the pentagon calls a freedom of navigation mission moving within 12 miles of the islands in, islands in that the pentagon says were manmade out of reefs, and which china says is legitimate territory that has been there for years. when the chinese president chi made a visit to washington. president obama - both presidents made their decision clear. >> we had sessions on the heest and south china seas. we nav quitted to all countries. >> islands in in the south sudan since ancient eshent times. we have the right to uphold our own territorial sovereignty and lawful rights and interest. >> the pentagon insists the freedom of navigation is not aimed at china and says the u.s. conducted these kinds of missions to challenge what it calls excessive maritime rights against 19 different nations. by the way the u.s. f

which the pentagon pulled 50 out to get quick fraing had ho traie the ammo. gates testified the u.s. should find motivated tribes or ethnic groups and arm them. >> they may not fight in iraq. or outside of their own turf. against i.s.i.s. but they play well fight to the death to protect their own home land, their own villages. >> reporter: as u.s. and russian airplanes now operate under agreed safety protocols in the syrian air space, a video released by the russian defense ministry shows a recent close encounter between a russian jet and an american reefer drone. understanding between russians and americans immoral, giving clear skies to bomb u.s. partners. the pentagon says it understands why some frustrated iraqi lawmakers may be calling for strikes in iraq, but the coalition air strikes are coordinated on the ground and designed to prevent civilian casualties to the greatest extent possible. so far the iraqi prime minister has not asked for russia's help, something the pentagon says would be highly problematic. jamie mcintire, al jazeera, pentagon. >>> pa

the pentagon's getting more bank for its buck essentially. the other thing he raises in this rort, they're not pushing the envelope as much. they're scared if they push, the cost is going to go up and any type of cost nowadays, especially when you have reduced budgets looks very, very bad. so, he wants to make look at ways that they could push that envelope more. >> here's chuck from new mexico. on our republican line. our last call. go ahead. >> hi. i had a question about the army versus the air force. with the a-10. i was, i know that the army wants the a-10. i've seen it demonstrated on television and it's spectacular. but the air force has always pushed for it to go away. how much is this about the territorial fight between the air force and army and like a toef pipe or shovels type of thing because i don't know why or could they turn this airplane over to the army to fly? because i don't think the air force wants to be sub serve yent to the army. that's my question. >> you know, chuck, you do raise a great point. there's always fighting a

how the acquisition system works at the pentagon. it has been very much for the sties from everything from being .ver budget and off schedule essentially, with a veto right now, nothing goes through, and the status quo remains in place. host: how much is the budget of the d.o.d. is comprised of that? isst: the budget as a whole $16 billion, and the budget has $600 billion.d is ath acquisition, it is about hundred billion dollars. that is for stuff like buying claims, ships, trucks. host: they are currently being many fractured, but those that speak purchased in the future, and the ones that have to be upgraded, does the all fall in the same pot? guest: it all falls in the same pot. not having a budget right now, it hurts them. a lot of the groundwork is being laid now. it might not be that you buy an actual tank this year, but you by equipment, and it takes multiple years before you buy the full tank or full fire to -- fighter ship. host: what kind of long-term things are we talking about? guest: you want to buy new equipment to prepa

the pentagon has been weighing how to bring it down. it provides persistent over the horizon radar surveillance. it can watch for manned and unmanned aircraft, crews cruise missiles. it has a 243-foot long tethered arrow stat. a mobile moring station. radar, communications pay loads. this is a very expensive piece of military equipment, shepard. >> jennifer, i want to show people what's happened here. we have just been able to get a power outage map and look at what's happened as it's gone along the way. all of these little red lightning bolt looking things here are power outages. it's our belief now that -- what do i do think of it? it's none of your business what i think of it. i hate it when computers ask me questions. 12200 customers here. >> jennifer, do we have any word on whether anybody has been hurt by this thing? >> so far no reports of any injuries. remember, this is a helium-filled balloon that is the size of, you know, a football field. it is enormous. i have passed it many times driving through maryland and seeing it on the

while the pentagon says the u.s. forces will have no combat duties in syria for now it is not rulings out an expanded role in the future. a senior defense official explained the u.s. is not as comfortable with the syrians as it was with the kurdish peshmerga fighters, forces it has worked with for years. this is a start to gauge what is possible. randall. >> pentagon special correspondent jamie mcintire. >>> discussing possible deployment solutions fodiplomat, u.s. secretary of state john kerry and his counterparts from other countries could not agree. mohammed jamjoom has the story. >> they were two long and arduous days but finally common ground was formingd. at thforged. u.s. secretary of state john kerry was heappe happy to introe points of commonality. >> we agreed that syria's state institutions will remain intact. we agreed that the rights of all syrians, regardless of ethnicity or religious denomination must be protected. >> reporter: diplomats had hoped the presence of iran might finally lead to a break thro

how the acquisition system works at the pentagon. been very much for the sties from everything from being .ver budget and off schedule essentially, with a veto right now, nothing goes through, and the status quo remains in place. host: how much is the budget of the d.o.d. is comprised of that? isst: the budget as a whole $16 billion, and the budget has $600 billion.d is ath acquisition, it is about hundred billion dollars. that is for stuff like buying claims, ships, trucks. host: they are currently being many fractured, but those that speak purchased in the future, and the ones that have to be upgraded, does the all fall in the same pot? guest: it all falls in the same pot. not having a budget right now, it hurts them. a lot of the groundwork is being laid now. it might not be that you buy an actual tank this year, but you by equipment, and it takes multiple years before you buy the full tank or full fire to -- fighter ship. host: what kind of long-term things are we talking about? guest: you want to buy new equipment to prepare for

lav from the pentagon with more, jamie. >> reporter: well, tony, the united states and russia are not just at odds in the skies over syria, but engaged in a public relations war offering vastly different narratives about what's happening on the ground. the video from the cameraman went viral this week, showing a syrian offensive last week in a northeastern sub besh of damascus. it shows the extent of the devastation near the syrian capital after four years of war. misery, which the pentagon now accuses the russian air power of simply adding to. >> the russians have been indiscriminate and reckless in syria. and they have no difficulty dropping cluster munitions around where civilians may be, and based on their actions, they do not appear to be interested in defeating isil. they appear to be interested in preserving the assad regime. >> the white house says that bashar al-assad's red carpet resist to moscow ends the fiction that it's anything but keeping assada power. they said that he's lying, not only about who it's bombing but also exaggerating the number the effectiveness of the st

nothing from the pentagon. ept, quotes from nameless, faceless officials who won't go on the roared, and nothing at all from the president. he found the cameras very well last year and the year before to tell us repeatedly no boots on the ground. now that he changes his mind he sends josh earnest out to tell us almost nothing, except this won't be a game-changer, as we help local opposition fighters battle isis that syria can't be solved militarily ever. yet in goes the military on the ground, just as isis wants. what are the specifics? when does the engagement end? nothing on any of that. wait, is it legal? judge napolitano says no. it's noble to try to help suffering and theÑi dying. noble. but absolutely illegal, and where is the congress? congress is supposed to authorize military action, but it will not. it sits on the sidelines, sitting on its hands, refute fusing to get in the met of the war. senator mccain said predictably it's not enough. but there won't be a vote as required by the constitution. there

jamie mcintyre has more from the pentagon. >> reporter: russia launched the latest strikes against a number of groups in syria with varying ideologies, including the army of conquest, a coalition who oppose i.s.i.l., including the al qaeda-affiliated al nusra front. >> at the united nations, sergey lavrov insisted moscow and washington were confronting a common enemy. >> if it looks like a terrorist, acts like a terrorist. if it fights like a terrorist, it's a terrorist. i would recall that we were saying that we are going to fight i.s.i.l. and other terrorist groups. >> the u.s. says it has no evidence russia has struck any i.s.i.l. forces. and it conducted its first direct talks with moscow over the question of deconfliction. sorting out issues such as which radio frequencies, and what language will be used when russian coalition talk to each other in the air. in one sense the u.s. and russian pilots are deconflicted with the u.s. flying over areas controlled by i.s.i.l. to the east, while so far russian attacks have been in others not controlled by i.s.i.l. to the west. and the u.

the syrian town of hama. and also boosting operations in aleppo. >>reporter: pentagon officials confirm over the past two weeks, iranian fighters have joined hezbollah fighters in a counteroffensive to retake key areas of rebel-controlled syria with the backing of russian air power. the focus seems to be on the city of aleppo. control of the area is divided between the syrian government, antigovernment forces, and even some isil-controlled areas. pentagon sources are down playing the number of iranian troops but not their presence or which side they're on. pictu pick there are reports of at least two other iranian generals killed in the past few days in syria. the u.s. says it's just more evidence that russian air strikes are aimed at u.s.-backed opposition groups battling the regime of al assad and not at isil which is concentrated more to the east. at the white house, the iranian-russian alliance was criticized. >> we're obviously watching that situation closely. it's an indication of just how isolated russia is as they carry out this unilateral action. the only peop

the pentagon is choking on bureaucra bureaucracy. he wrote that 14 years ago and the problem has only gotten worse. ultimately we must ask whether the defense department is succeeding in its development and execution of strategy policy and plans. the office of the secretary of defense, the service secretaries and service staffs, joint staff, and the combatant commands are all bigger than ever. but is the quality of civilian oversight and control of the military better? has the quality of military advice to civilian leaders improved? are the joint duty assignments or military officers must perform producing a more unified fighting force? in short, is the department of defense more successful at planning for war, waging war, and winning war? goldwater nichols was perhaps the most consequential defense reform since the creation of the department of defense. and while the world has changed profoundly since 1986, the basic organization of the department of defense, as well as the roles and missions of its major civilian and military actors

kurdish raid on an isil prison in iraq, the pentagon says the small number of u.s. special operations troops being sent to northern syria will not be going along with local forces on raids or engaging in offensive combat. a senior defense department official briefing reporters at the pentagon on background said flatly, those forces will be doing a strictly advise and assist mission, not going out and doing joint operations. the white house called it any intensefication of the kurd strategy. >> the fact is, our strategy in syria hasn't changed. the core of our military strategy inside of syria is to build up the capacity of local forces to take the fight to isil on the ground in their own country. >> the pentagon says it's a straight up, no kidding advise and assist role limited to helping moderate civil rebel forces with planning, tactics and logistics. and it says u.s. forces won't do joint raids, calling airstrikes or even establish their own headquarters, at least not initially. the pentagon says the force of fewer than 50 american command owes will showk deploy

now when i was in the pentagon invited would say you all the women leaders in the pentagon you would overflow the executive dining room. so that is good. but at the very highest levels it still, i was often the only woman in the room for many meetings. i think it is improving in our agency but still women are definitely the minority. i think progress since the 1990's, definitely better than it was but more progress to be made. >> would you be willing to entertain some questions? we have two microphones. if you would come down and state your name and where you are from , what you are affiliated with and offer a question. we have 13 minutes. we could take your questions. pleased him be shy. this is a wonderful opportunity. shy.ease don't not be about theou elaborate jag luncheon you had? and jags female judges can takeh, the system care of this problem but it is not being properly used. there forced -- in their first point it is about climate. promotion and future in the service depends on how they handle these issues on the watch. and saying so-and-so did a really good job in afghanist

charity delivering humanitarian supplies deep inside north korea was actually a spy ring run out of the pentagon. and the bibles they carried were just part of the plan. plus, pick your poison. you got your morning bacon, your ballpark hot dog, salami on your hogie. the heartbreaking report that these processed meats could be as much of a cancer risk as smoking. >>> welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. our politics lead. three polls all of them finding that dronald trump is losing in at least one key state. breaking this afternoon a monmouth university poll out of iowa showing dr. ben carson on top trumping trump by 14 points. two other polls already showed trump trailing. that has the businessman taking aim at carson on issues such as immigration, on his energy level, even raising questions about carson's faith. cnn political reporter sara murray is here. sara, my interview with trump that aired yesterday he went at carson full boor. did he keep it up today? >> we are starting to see how trump reacts when he's under there and he's not holding back on carson or really any of his republican ri

. >>> a briefing in the pentagon set to begin in less than a hour. russian counterparts and u.s. leaders met to coordinate efforts in syria after a second day of a strikes carried out by russia some of the targets in syria include rebels backed by the united states. we'll talk to a national security expert who explains these kinds of target are a larger pattern from moscow and using similar strategy in afghanistan and chechyna. >>> troubling revelations that hillary clinton's private e-mail was targeted by russian hacker ares while she was secretary of state. the bombshell raising concerns that clinton's decision was a security risk especially that hundreds of classified e-mails passed through her server. ed henrow is live in washington with. that so how vulnerable was the private clinton server to the russian hackers then? >> reporter: we simply don't know. the fbi is trying to get to the bottom of. it the clinton campaign insists that hillary clinton moved forward with this phishing deal with where the hackers were trying to get her to click on parking tickets so they could get

the pentagon insists the u.s.roops were still advising and assisting and that the new strategy is not a slippery slope to a ground role, something last year president obama specifically promised wouldn't happen. >> i think we always have to guard against mission creep. what i have said in the past, let me repeat, american combat troops are not going to be fighting in iraq again. >> under the new strategy, they are fighting and dying in combat. just not according to defense secretary ash carter in an overarching combat mission. >> the overall mission of the u.s. forces in iraq is to enable by equipping, training, advicing, assisting, a capable and motivated local forces and rather than to substitute for them as a matter of a combat mission. >> we are in tie back. that's why we care guns. >> a united states military spoemingdzman in baghdad struggled to make the distinction saying american troops with twill accompany friendly forces on raids in limited situations: namely short duration, in and out operations in whic

in addition, you know, the pentagon has been concerned about this since really last week. talked to an official last week before russia had conducted any air strikes, and they pointed out to me that all of the drone surveillance that russia was doing as a familiarization with the area, was reconnaissance in the area where u.s.-backed rebels were operating. so there were red flags raised even then. the question was why are they doing these drone surveillance over areas where isil was not a significant factor? so, you know, as for the direct evidence on the ground, there are a lot of reports from people on the ground at the -- that the people who were hit in these strikes were not affiliated with isil, and that is going to be something that is going to be difficult to sort out. one of the things that this whole episode has underscored is while the pentagon has had this disastrously failed policy of trying to train syrian rebels and equip them, the cia has always been mounting a sort of parallel operation much more quietly, and it has trained and equipped quite a large number

one of the groups in the pentagon -- i don't how many are still there. but i worked with them in the area of special forces. i always believed in special forces because that is the future of for fair. but that doesn't mean you don't need a strong army. you absolutely have to have a strong army. we're cutting it too low. i believe we have to spend more on defense. on thursday to come down to nashua to the community college down there, you'll see a number as to what i think we need to do over the next 10 years in terms of being able to fit in the things that we need to spend for defense because we have to have a good defense. we can't be weak. we have to be strong. so over time -- are you to build the things you really need, not something that summit he says, hey, here's a great new system. they have to work to stop the other thing is, i will give you one example, the roadside ources that were blowing people up in iraq, the military got together, and i think was in less than two years, they deployed a holy system. you know why? they said, we don't care abou

intelligence and the pentagon on all of this. es in the face of the administration's claim that russia's attacks are out of desperation to keep their biggest ally in power. >> clear they made a significant military investment now further propping him up. the fact that russia has to take these noteworthy steps to ramp up their support for assad is an indication of how concerned they are about losing influence in the one client state they have in the middle east. patti ann: peter doocy joins us now live from the white house. peter, how is the white house planning to respond to this latest round of russian airstrikes? >> reporter: patti ann, the white house continues to insist russia is operating from a position of weakness. they're only helping syria's president assad because he is their only friend in the region. here's the thing, putin's forces are not targeting isis terrorists. they're targeting assad's political foes to try to prop him up. that is a problem since some of those foes are from the free syrian army and trained by ci

let's look at the pentagon and much money they waste in their procurement programs. it is, like, don't worry about reforming your procurement process. don't worry about the fact that you are the only agency, the only agency of the federal government that is not audited good they keep saying, oh, we can't do it. well, i think you have a problem. every other agency has been audited for more than a decade. mr. house: -- the democratic demand that domestic spending at least be increased to the level they want to increase military spending, how does that get resolved in the long run? or is it another december showdown? rep. defazio: i think we are going to have a fairly chaotic month around here. but i can't support their budgetary priorities. i can't support student financial aid cutting and nutrition programs for kids. they should come to my hometown of springfield, oregon. 76% of the kids are eligible. the middle class town. blue-collar. for free or reduced lunch. and they want to cut those programs. yet, programs -- we just had some revelations this week that the admin

to fight isil. >>> the pentagon is on the offensive tonight on its strategy to fight isis. the new strategy just might have american forces side by side fighting on the ground with iraqi soldiers. >> the new u.s. strategy was on display in iraq last week as seen from the helmet camera or a kurdish fighter. for the first time, u.s. command doe -- they were drawn into a fierce fire fight that killed u.s. soldier master sergeant jonathan commando -- they were o a fierce fire fight that killed u.s. soldier master sergeant jonathan wheeler. >> i think we always have to -- let me repeat what i've said in the past. american combat troops are not going to be fighting in iraq again. >> under the new strategy, they are fighting and dying in combat. just not according to defense secretary ash carter in an overarching combat mission. >> the overall mission of the u.s. forces in iraq is to enable that by equipping training advising and assisting, capable and motivated local forces and rather than to substitute for them as a matter of a combat mission. >> we're in combat. i think that's

predator drones at least three times as tension heats up in the skies over syria. one pentagon official said the first time it happened, we thought the russians got lucky. then it happened two more times. on at least one occasion, a u.s.-manned aircraft flying over syria had to be rerouted to avoid a russian fighter jet. >> it's largely reactive. >> the cruise missile strike marks the first time that the russians have targeted isis-controlled territory. u.s. officials have repeatedly criticized the russian military for lying about their intentions, arguing that the russians are merely killing the u.s.-backed opposition who are fighting assad. today in italy, defense secretary ash carter criticized the russian escalation. >> we believe russia has the wrong strategy. they continue to hit targets that are not isil. we believe this is a fundamental mistake. despite what the russians say, we have not agreed to cooperate with russian. >> the russian defense ministry took a page from the pentagon's playbook. saying it has grounds to believe the u.s. is not always hitting terrorist tar

we are talking to andrew tilghman, he is the pentagon reporter for the "military times ."ked little bit more about the decision yesterday to send forces into syria. how much support is there for this on both democratic and republican sides? guest: i think your clip is very telling. lindsey graham is a candidate for the republican nomination and he has always kind of -- is always kind of a cultural critic. he was in rare form this week. i think he is just kind of banging the drum and looking to get a little bit of attention. across the hill i think you see the back that we do have a presidential election coming up on the horizon and i think that some of these views on this particular issue are inflamed by that. you have democrats who are not saying a whole lot in support of the president, then you have some republicans that are voicing concern about how this is not enough, that the president should be doing more. on the other hand, you don't see the republican congressional leadership putting forth any specific ideas or taking any further action to authorize additional acti

we're hoping to get a read from the pentagon as soon as it is over. what they are looking for are the procedures, the plans, the coordination, how do we share information. u.s. pilots have a lot of intelligence they feel they can stay safe, they can keep away from the russians. but in a situation like this, you don't leave it to chance. you sit down and talk about it. that's what they're doing right now. >> barbara starr for us at the pentagon with the latest on that meeting, said to have begun a few minutes ago. we'll get a readout on the results from you a little later on. >>> one of the charges now from some officials in the u.s. is that russians are hitting fighters trained by the united states. essentially american allies on the ground in syria. what's the u.s. going to do about it? what can the u.s. do about it? is there a way to retaliate? we'll ask former nato commander wesley clark. >>> will he or wouldn't he? >>> information into cnn about how long joe biden could wait to make his decision about running for president. much more on that ahead.

but the pentagon says the u.s. and coalition air strikes are carefully coordinated with forces on the ground and designed to minimize civilian casualties. so far the iraqi prime minister has not asked for russian helped, something the u.s. says would be highly problematic, john. >> thank you jamie. >>> one of several new attacks in the west bank as officials began a high profile diplomatic push to restore calm. at least 53 palestinians and 9 israelis have been killed in the last month. stefanie dekker has more from ramallah. >> shuttle diplomacy from israel to the west bank. dangerous escalation. palestinian president mahmoud abbas made it clear that palestinian people have a right to protect themselves. a message he will be bringing to the u.s. secretary of state john kerry when he meets him in jordan on friday. >> secretary of state kerry knows exactly what we want. we want to return to negotiations based on international legitimacy. settlement expansion is illegal, we all know that. let's put that on the table,

there's not just the pentagon. >> well, there's two programs. one, believe it or not, is run by d.o.d. and the o other is run by the cia, which we're not supposed to know anything about. in this so-called covert program, both isis and bashar al assad are the enemy and that's been a fairly viable program. >> let's go to jim miklaszewski at the pentagon. jim, why do they call it a pause? they hope to restart the pentagon program? explain. >> reporter: as far as we know about the cia program, that's been going on for some time now. they have been providing weapons and they've had operatives on the ground. not necessarily americans but working for the cia with some of those syrian rebels forces. now, they can call it a pause if they want, but this program is dead. the death nell was sounded a couple of weeks ago when they told the senate armed services committee after spending about $50 million of that $500 million to train fighters, only four or five were in the fight and they then threw dirt on it when they told peter baker a few days later that pr

the measure lets the pentagon sidestep mandatory sequestration budget cuts for the defense -- for the pentagon while the , cuts remain in effect for domestic programs. the bill would also make it more difficult to close guantÁnamo. >> sending a back to congress and i message to them is very simple -- let's do this right. we are in the midst of budget discussions. let's have a budget that properly funds are national security as well as economic security. let's make sure that we are able in a constructive way to reform our military spending to make it sustainable over the long term and let's make sure that in a responsible way, we can draw down the populations in guantÁnamo, and make sure the american people stay safe and we're not providing the kinds of agreements rules -- tools to terrorists. amy: republican congressmember paul ryan has formally declared for the house speaker's race. ryan confirmed his bid on thursday after securing support from the far-right house freedom caucus. ryan had said he would only be willing to run if he could be assured of wide support from divided republi

the pentagon has just issued statement, i understand. >> that's right. okesperson has just issued a statement saying the train and equip program is no longer going to focus on recruiting and basically putting through boot camp vetted syrian moderated who are interested in fighting against isil. instead what the u.s. military is now going to do is identify groups that already exist, such as kurdish fighters, and provide them with equipment so that they can actually take the fight to isil. now this is a big change, because the u.s. congress has put aside a half billion dollars over three years for the u.s. military to train some 15,000 syrian rebels. well, basically, they have trained fewer than a hundred, and the first unit, about 54 men basically fell apart, dropped their equipment, and ran when they were deplayed in 2015. the second group, well, their leader basically turned over his weapons and said he wasn't going to try to fight. so this was basically a program that fell apart almost from the very beginning, and the obama administration is admitting t

for the first time the pentagon now concedes u.s. troops in iraq are fighting a ground war against isis forces contrary to president obama's assertions and just days after the first u.s. casualty in the fight against isis. is the u.s. once again locked in a war in iraq? vladimir putin's power play. russian warplanes buzzed an american aircraft carrier in the pacific while russian vessels lurk near vital data cables in the atlantic. and now russia is inserting itself in talks on syria while stepping up military support for the regime. is putin trying to become the dominant force in the middle east? trump's spin. donald trump claims victory in the latest republican presidential debate as all the candidates scrambled for a boost in the polls. but jeb bush now finds himself facing poor reviews for his performance. is his campaign now facing an existential crisis? i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> this is cnn breaking news. >> we're following two major breaking stories including the fire on a boeing 767 that was taxiing

meanwhile the pentagon says it's putting more pressure on the i.s.i.l. stronghold of raqqa in northern syria by air dropping 50 tons of munitions to a loose coalition nearby. about 5,000 fighters all told, 50 leaders who were pulled out briefly to get a short course in how to use the ammo. robert gates told a senate committee the old u.s. plan of taking fighters out of syria for training was never going to work. instead gates testified the u.s. should find motivated tribes or ethnic groups around ar and arm. >> they may not fight in iraq or outside of their own turf against i.s.i.s. but they may well fight to the death to protect their own home land, their own villages. >> reporter: as u.s. and russian war planes now operate under agreed safety protocols in the syrian air space, a video released by the russian defense ministry shows a recent close encounter between a russian jet and an american reefer drone. the agreement immoral, it just gives president putin clear skies to bomb pentagon partners. why three may b they may be calr forces on the ground an

why is the pentagon insisting this guy did not die in combat? tony shaffer and pete are next on the growing anger over this. >>> plus, after the black lives matter movement spent the last year trying to convince america that police are bad, they're now getting a huge platform from both political parties. the story on that and a busy night when we come back. you drop 40 grand on a new set of wheels, then... wham! a minivan t-bones you. guess what: your insurance company will only give you 37-thousand to replace it. "depreciation" they claim. "how can my car depreciate before it's first oil change?" you ask. maybe the better question is, why do you have that insurance company? with liberty mutual new car replacement, we'll replace the full value of your car. see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. means striking a the right balancesco between economic growth, housing we can afford, and our quality of life. aaron peskin has been a champion for the middle class, fighting bad growth and income inequality. and mayor ed lee has

why the man who writes checks for the pentagon is growing increasingly frustrated. l that and more tonight on "nightly business report" for thursday october 15th. >>> good evening, everyone, and welcome. thanks for joining us. a rally day on wall street. the major indexes all climbed more than 1%. one reason, some not so hot economic data. information that traders say lengthens the odds the federal reserve will boost interest rates this year. low rates is of course good news for stocks, all other news being equal. here are the numbers for thursday. the dow jones industrial average rose 217 points. it finished at 17,141. nasdaq notched an 87-point gain. and the s&p 500 was 29 points higher. as for that iffy economic data the labor department said its index of consumer prices fell a seasonally adjusted .2% in september. it's not much, but it's the biggest drop in eight months, and it leaves inflation well below the central bank's 2% target. now, the reason for the decline is primarily because of falling gasoline prices. >>> and it is that drop in gasoline prices that c

jamie mcintire is at the pentagon. jamie. >> on numerous occasions president obama said he would not put u.s. boots on the ground in syria but today the white house announced that yes, some will be planting their boots on the ground at least so far not iin a combats mission. >> the pentagon says the small number of u.s. special operations troops be sent to northern syria will not be going along with local forces in raids or engaging in offensive combat. a senior defense department official briefing on background said those forces will be doing strictly an advise and assist operation, not joint operations. the white house called it no intensification of the strategy. >> the fact is our strategy in syria hasn't claingd. the corchanged. the core is to build up the capacity of local forces to take the fight to i.s.i.l. in their own country. >> the pentagon is a straight up no kidding advise and assist role, limited to helping moderate syrian forces with planning and logistics, will not call in raids or statistics or establi

and the way that the pentagon and u.s. ary and the white house is justifying this is by saying that they will be partnered with what they called capable partners, capable force who are there on the ground and that they'll be there still in somewhat of an advisory role but there's the potential for us to see what happened last week where these u.s. delta forces were there in what we're told is an advisory role. again, it's the continuing problem that we have in much of iraq and siria right now where we really have to rely on what the military is telling us is happening because we don't have people there. they tell us they're there in an advisory role and that thing heated up when the kurds were pinned down, the u.s. was entered into this more combat role on the ground. >> courtney, if there is not misunderstanding and not miscommunication but if there's sort of spin i guess around whether or not this is a new decision as you're saying it appears that this is a policy change. the white house is saying it's not a policy change

national security correspondent jennifer griffin is at the pentagon tonight with the latest. >> the pentagon has released the identity of the first american soldier to die in iraq since u.s. troops withdrew in 2011. master sergeant joshua wheeler of roland, oklahoma, 39 years old, a decorated elite commando assigned to u.s. special operations forces at at fort bragg, north carolina. he leaves a wife and four sons. he was a legend among the delta force, he had 11 bronze stars for valor. >> he stood up and all the indications are, it was his actions and that of one of his teammates that protected those who were involved in breaching the compound and made the mission a success. >> he was killed while helping kurdish forces rescue 73 hostages at an isis prison. the pentagon said he died from enemy small arms fire, but has refused to say he was killed in combat. quote it is important to realize that u.s. military support to this iraqi rescue operation does not represent a change in our policy. u.s. forces are not in iraq on a combat mission, and do not have boots on the ground. the white house an

jamie mcintyre joins us from the pentagon now. tell us more about this new strategy, and what prompted the change? >> reporter: well, it really is a case of reality setting in. the president's plan which was to try to wrap up the war in afghanistan by the time he left office simply didn't mesh with the reality on the ground in afghanistan, and that was illustrated graphically with this recent incident with which the taliban for two weeks took over the city of kunduz in north, and although afghan security forces were able to retake the city, there was a lot of damage done there, prisoners released. it was a very dicey situation. so this has been going on for months now, the pentagon and the president have been reviewing the strategy, u.s. military commanders recommended they leave an additional force after the president leaves in order not to repeat the mistake that many believe was made in iraq where u.s. troops left completely, and then the situation deteriorated. a big difference, though, between the situation in iraq, where the

we have jim miklaszewski at the pentagon on stand-by. both gentlemen and this appears to be new video. you just see the sizeways drift. it looks like a dolphin. this is bloomsburg, pennsylvania. that kind of mid ships from the right of your picture to the left. what an incredible sight. we learned that some very sharp eyes and perhaps bored to tears student at the local school was the first to spot this looking out the window. we suspect and this is sure being borne out on social media where this has taken over twitter. we suspect a whole lot of different views will come in of this. both still and moving images. but what an incredible thing. there's no way to know what you're looking at given the profile of this. in the sky. had you not heard that they were tracking this up the east coast. again, when we first came on the air to say we had this untethered airship, jim miklaszewski, we said at the time it was at 16,000 feet. >> that's right. >> that puts it up there in the altitude with certainly general aviation. and some commercial aviat

going after isis, they are going after the terrorists, it doesn't necessarily appear that way to the pentagon>> new this morning, the foreign affairs chief of russia, their version of the congress says the bombing will go on for three or four months. they say they have destroyed a dozen isis targets. >> russia wants to prop up president assad. >> the pentagon, turkey, the u.s. led coalition are all warning russia to stay away from president assad's opponents. the concern what if they hit opposition forces trained by the u.s. >> that is going to be a problem. >> the pentagon won't say the u.s. will strike back. they are talking, looking for ways to cooperate. >> so far we haven't seen any indication of confrontation or an issue. but we don't want to cross that bridge if we can avoid it. >> and the other thing this morning, reports out of lebanon that iran is now sending hundreds of fighters into syria to help syria's government. pretty complicated on the ground there. >> i was going to say complicated. you took the words out of my mouth. thank you so much. >>> in thursday night football we go

what is the pentagon saying about this attack? >> reporter: well, that's just the problem. you saw general john campbell there, not only the commander of nato forces but also all forces in afghanistan, after what the united states is saying is an accident pending a full investigation, president obama himself expressing condolences but says he wants to wait until after a full investigation by the department of defense. but it is the conflicting and shifting explanations for some of the phrases that have been used after the matter, that is drawing controversy and sharp dispute from doctors without borders. fight for kunduz, this fight haas gone on for more than a week now with a seesaw battle, first the taliban taking over then afghan forces largely retaking control of the city. then nato forces says there were strikes against insurgents who were firing against u.s. personnel who were there advising and assisting u.s. forces. that of course is controversy. president obama has a timetable for withdrawal. no conflict is to be involved with afghan forces at this point. we now ju