when the pentagon does agree to support a film that can. the some scripting strings attached and the vietnam war is clearly a sore point in the hulk a reference to a u.s. operation that poison vietnamese farmland was removed and in the bond film tomorrow never dies a suggestion that the us did not win the war was cut out in iron man a reference to soldiers suicides was removed again at the pentagon's insistence. the cia's presence in hollywood is harder to detect. and goes back to the early days of the cold war and was designed to counter a propaganda effort coming out of the soviet union. the cia placed undercover agents in major studios where they monitored leftwing screen writers and directors this was at the height of cold war paranoia and hollywood was under the scrutiny of the us congress is investigating alleged communist influence and infiltration in the moving picture industry the agency started influencing scripts one senior executive at paramount pictures working covertly for the cia described how to counter what the soviets were

they updated reporters during the daily pentagon briefing. this is 25 minutes. good afternoon. the secretary will attend a summit in the philippines this philippines,the departing this afternoon. that severalseen militants were killed in a firefight with the armed forces of the philippines. we congratulate our filipino partners on their success of illuminating leaders of the month-long siege. we continue to stand with our partners providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance as well as training. as they come that terrorist -- combat terrorists. the aspirations of isis to have a physical caliphate are crumbling rapidly, from mobile raqqa.l to many of their senior leaders have been decimated. our fight against isis is global and other groups who align with them or adopt their brand will face the same dead end. iss is on the run, and losing credibility, resources and losing every day. fightinga, we are also al-shabab, and al qaeda affiliate. earlier this week we conducted an airstrike -- airstrike against al-shabab. we will continue to use appropriate measures to protect

dana white: the pentagon did notify the staff regarding the niger event. we have kept them up to date. we will work with senator mccain and his staff to make sure they get everything they need. it is very important to the secretary and he is personally dedicated to that. >> do you feel there is the adequate level of trent are they? -- adequate level of transparency? dana white: we have been all we can and we strive to do as much as we can that senator mccain has exactly what he needs when he needs it. in the back. >> going back to the situation of iraqi-kurdistan. the coalition is really unable to keep all the partners in line. the department repeated statements that the coalition is cohesive. is there any response to those comments? dana white: the coalition is very strong and again, i think the fact that we have worked very closely in niger with the french to ensure the rescue of our service members, i think the relationship is very strong. general mckenzie: no, i think we support a unified iraq. that has been our position. we don't think the recent elec

lucas tomlinson has the details live at the pentagon. lucas? >> trace, a short time ago i asked defense secretary mattis how he felt about the fbi and the four soldiers were killed. mattis joined temperature french minute stir to thank her in part for coming to the rescue of his forces including evacuation of two wounded soldiers. >> following the ambush to the u.s. troops in niger last week, thank you for your support and for your letter of condolence for our fallen following the attack. >> fox has learned the 12 men special operations team was ambushed at 11:00 a.m. local time. 30 minutes later, french mirage jets flew overhead. the jets were armed but did not drop any bombs because they couldn't tell the difference between friend or foe. the green beret's meeting went longer than expected, which could have tipped off the militants to attack. this video was given to fox news from a nonprofit in africa to show what the area near the attack looked like. the military sent a general officer to niger to investigate the attack and now the fbi is hea

hans nichols and garrigarrett h the pentagon. seeing more of the military operation, bringing in major general bob scales, former commandant of the u.s. army war college and good to see you. >> hi, ali. >> lindsey graham was clear talking to reporters friday. he is not in the business of wanting to micromanage the authorization of the use of military force. major, interject, may have to, when the president walks in. there's a fine line between congressional oversight and being well informed? >> that's right, but, this tragic, tragic event has really sparked an opportunity for debate, ali. i mean, our 6,000 americans in central africa there to preevt the expansion of boko haram, isis or al qaeda? or are these troops sticking their noses into what is essentially intertribal warfare that's been going on in central africa for hundreds of years? so the debate, i think, is important. but the other point's also important. this was essentially, for lack of a better term, a squad action, where these four soldiers were tragically killed. so

so what the pentagon has been wanting to emphasize too is that the u.s. does not leave soldiers behind. they wanted to say that people shouldn't criticize the actions of other members of this team at this point. not the least because we don't know too many details at this point. and also, saying that as the media is looking for information, people shouldn't equate that searching for more details with the army -- with the pentagon's ability to have that information available. so there's obviously things that they know they don't want to say, but there have been questions too, based on some sorting that's been out there over whether the u.s. ambassador to niger may have been resistant to cooperate or approve or support requests by the military for additional equipment and medical support to troops in niger. the state department flat-out says no to the question of was any of that support denied to these troops. they say that didn't happen. but they're not being so quick to answer the questions over, well, what was there bushback? h were any of these concerns

and the pentagon that's. really. aking off from the stage on which to you know performing it gives the pentagon this opportunity for real spectacle you know that of real life living celebration of what the defense department stands for it works both as a tool for. bryggman and also as a propaganda tool to solidify the american people support for the military and for american foreign policy an expansive american foreign policy more broadly in the national football league it's audiences are here the military recognize this is a captive audience they're patriotic and yes you could use that to market some of the young men and women who may someday want to serve in the united states military . the pentagon's public relations budget is the envy of other government departments the department of the fence spends more on p.r. than the rest of the u.s. government combined to defeat. that budget pays for all the recruitment and american see during football games and other sports broadcasts so why the need for even more military

general dunford also explained today that the pentagon timeline for the incident includes the add yet unexplained fact that it appears the soldiers who were ambushed on october 4th, they didn't -- they don't appear to have placed a call for help, a call for backup, until an hour after the attack started. we don't exactly know what that means but we know it's the subject of investigation. general dunford also explained today for the first time that an american remotely piloted vehicle, ease pas he put it, an american drone, hadn't been assigned as surveillance overwatch for the green berets' operation that day but once the u.s. military was aware this firefight was under way and this patrol was in trouble an american drone that was overhead and nearby for some other purpose was retasked to go fly over the scene of this firefight. according to general dunford, that drone was there within minutes. so that was all concrete and new information from the chairman of the joint heefz of staff today, who again spent almost an hour with the pentagon press corps taking lots and lots of specific q

military were made for each other i don't think the n.f.l. pentagonor natural partners but i do think the n.f.l. in the military kindred spirits i did a story in us a couple years ago about the lingo the bomb there's a sort of controlling your own ground protecting your turf the battlefield the quarterback is always the field general and there's all these sort of phrases that are militaristic that go into football and i spoke to several top generals and they all kind of spoke to the values that football kind of gives that is almost a training ground for soldiers there is a lot of potential for brands energy between the n.f.l. and the pentagon. really. this team offers a stage on which to you know performing it gives the pentagon this opportunity for real spectacle you know that of real life living a celebration of what the defense department stands for it works both as a tool for recruitment and also as a propaganda tool to solidify the american people support for the military and for american foreign policy an expansive american foreign policy more b

just the fiftieth anniversary commemoration of the one nine hundred sixty seven march on the pentagon here this past weekend in washington the united states has been at war but especially said in a different kind of war since nine eleven we've been fighting these endless wars and who knew we were in africa that was the reaction that people had when they announced that the four special forces folks were killed in the air most americans had no idea we had troops in africa we've got six thousand troops in africa at least the back in two thousand and six one percent of america special operations forces were in africa now it's over seventeen percent so we talk about the asia pivot that got a lot of attention when hillary clinton announced that in two thousand and eleven but the real pivot that's going on is not just the asia pivot is the africa pivot or the question is what are we doing there what do we know about it ok you know michael good point peter makes it i mean why are we there why aren't the american public in lies told more about this because you know all of us make an effort it'

mainstream media and the chattering classes obsess over donald trump's call to a gold star family the pentagon's growing footprint in africa was publicly revealed it would appear it does not matter who is president rather it is accepted the u.s. will fight and list wars. cross talking endless wars i'm joined by my guest in washington peter cosmic he is a professor of history and director at american university as well as co-author with all of the stone the untold history of the united states and we have michael flanagan he is president of flanagan consulting and a former congressman all right gentlemen crosstalk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want and i always appreciate it peter let me go to you first here you know i live very far away from the media swamp in the u.s. and i've been watching this media circus with a president trump and this gold star family about a fallen soldier in niger at the beginning of this month here that is obviously sad but what really i found more troubling looking at all the networks the entire political spectrum there seems to be very little c

the junior. jr o.t.c. is a pentagon program. wonderful feel that your love for art next week right from head young. six year old three year olds not. up right at your point without crying. and. america has pledged to turn these children into heroes these junior troops include five hundred thousand miners across the united states they're the hope of a fearful country they're destined to defy tera the first generation post nine eleven. s at this public school in chicago's south one in five students opted for the army an hour of classes a day five times a week taught by retired service members i i i i. these youngsters are in year eight they're new to the program they'll receive their uniforms today. the u.s. army is teaching at more than three thousand public schools students who aren't for the army are exempt from physical education. the biggest thing a lot. then as just make sure your hair does not touch your ears you're. facing a four year program created unfunded by the pentagon lots of finger nails right here what is authoriz

the pentagon wants to stay ahead of this. whether or not they're able to and satisfy the house and senate with all the questions they have, that's a different matter. i'll give you one quick thought, some of the details of the investigation are being read out on capitol hill gives you an indication that the house and the senate are being brought along and they are sharing the pentagon -- the pentagon is sharing information with them. >> hans nichols at the pentagon, courtney for us as well. a big thanks to both of you. >>> i want to give an update on the back and forty, the war of words, if you will, between frederica wilson and the white house. kelly o'donnell continues to follow that story. >> reporter: if there was any intention on the white house's part to try to bring this kroefrs to a close by having chief of staff general kelly speak to reporters and by extension the public and talk about what he believed the president's intention was in speaking to the johnson family, it is not over pp, in part, because john kelly rais

they're facing a four year program created unfunded by the pentagon writes of fingernails right here what are some of the rise colors. let me see your nails right now hold them up right now tomorrow. if she doubt her nails like this right here she's got a little sports let me see goals come from so we come from structure to it and we know what it takes to create a structured environment regular teacher is a graduate just a terrific and then they start teaching but i don't think they really understand classroom management or manage in large groups of people. different. different ways of doing it like we do this and maybe that's why we can get the kids do push ups but a regular teacher could you know as i want to you know become more of a better citizen in the country well i just want to become stronger physically and mentally ill some of those kids who. listen to facebook. just like i was it's risky. business interests. will close i would like to say stuff like this as well but any question soul for. the j r o t c program was founded in one thousand nine hundred sixteen. or one but ove

we get the latest reporting from the pentagon, tonight on "washington week." >> the loss of our troops is under investigation. we'll certainly update you as we have information, accurate information, not speculation. >> the pentagon launches an investigation into the deadly isis attack. the retired four-star general defends the president's conversation with a gold star widow. >> there's no perfect way to make that phone call. >> and two former presidents speak out about the political climate in america. >> our identity as a nation, unlike many other nations, is not determined by geography or ethnicity. this means that people of every race, religion, ethnicity, can be fully and equally american. >> we've got folks who are deliberately trying to make folks angry. to demonize people who have different ideas. >> plus, president trump praises, then shuns a bipartisan deal to restore funding to the affordable care act. >> i won't do anything to enrich the insurance companies. >> we think it's a good solution. it stabilizes the system. >> meanwhile, republicans shift to the president's sweepi

government that can dictate to hollywood the pentagon and the cia we've examined the u.s. military symbiotic relationship with hollywood before how the department of defense offers filmmakers access to tell of janick military hardware and personality minimal cost in return for the right to alter story lines and veto scenes the pentagon does not like thanks to a neutral of documents a clearer picture is emerging of the cia's attempts to control its on screen image the intelligence agencies track record of political assassinations coup plotting overseas and occasional support for terror groups offer countless possibilities for potential screenwriters however the agency works with filmmakers to portray version of its activities removing scenes and changing plot lines the cia sees as unflattering listening posts may not show ravi now on america's military intelligence entertainment complex. much any big budget war movie by taking a spy thriller and you could walk away not knowing just how much your movie expedience was shaped by the pentagon or cia however the truth of officia

we have reports from the pentagon and the white house. we begin with nbc news pentagon correspondent hans nichols. and "the wall street journal" is reporting that the fbi has now joined the investigation. what can you tell us? >> well, nbc news has confirmed according to military official that is the fbi has joined the investigation. this is a formal investigation along with other investigations that are taking place. when the military looks into something that went this badly, they look at it from a variety of different angles. they need to know the result of the four deaths of the u.s. soldiers in niger. this happened around dusk. it was on tuesday, october 4th. you had several groups, but basically around a dozen u.s. soldiers. some of them were in their vehicles, others had been separated. they went to go to the village. when they are at the village coming back out of that village, that's when they were ambushed and came under heavy fire, rpgs, machine guns, you had this from this group that is likely linked with isis. a much larger gr

jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon. jennifer, what have you been able to learn about the attack? >> reporter: it happened in a remote desert area on the border between niger and mali. 12 soldiers from the third forces group accompanied 30 troops in niger on a routine meeting with elders in a village. the american green berets traveled in a convey just as they had done for similar meetings. the troops were ambushed after they left the meeting about 12 p.m. local time. 50 jihadists from a new isis affiliate riding motorcycles toting rocket propelled grenades sprayed the u.s. troops with gun fire. a gun fight ensued. 30 minutes later french fighter jets appeared in the skies above and the militants scattered. a french helicopter flew the american wounded back to the capital. a contractor then carried the three american green berets killed back to the capital. sar general ladavid johnson remains missing. u.s. officials feared he was kidnapped and asked the press to hold off reporting that he was missing. at 5 p.m. eastern ti

are they going to send people up from the pentagon to brief on this? but as you and your white house colleagues have come to find out the last 12 hours, it's been very difficult to get information out of the white house about the back-story on this raid. i think we have a little bit of sound that we can show you from senator risch ard blumenthal who was speaking earlier this morning about his frustrations around this. take a look. >> the delay as much as the none disclosure is a cause for very grave concern. the military has an obligation to be prompt and comprehensive to us so that we can hold accountable anybody who may have been responsible for deaths that could have been avoided. >> reporter: i think one of the main questions lawmakers have, you heard this from senator john mccain and others, what exactly were they doing so far forward with the military in niger. so i think you're going to -- you should expect a day of increasing pressure from up here on capitol hill. >> yeah. >> reporter: richard blumenthal, a member of the armed services committee

according to the pentagon's account, one hour into the firefight, the americans called for help. >> my judgement would be that that unit thought they could handle the situation without additional support. >> reporter: a u.s. drone arrives within minutes, unarmed, but able to provide video of the ambush. 30 minutes later, french military aircraft mobilize to help. two hours into the attack, those french planes arrive on the scene to provide cover. as night falls, two wounded u.s. troops are evacuated. so are the bodies of the three u.s. soldiers killed in action. but sergeant la david johnson is still missing. his body would not be recovered for another 48 hours. >> from the time the firefight was initiated, until sergeant johnson's body was recovered, french, nigerian or u.s. forces remained in that area. >> reporter: congress wants answers, but some top lawmakers admit, they didn't know u.s. troops were there. >> i didn't know there was 1,000 troops in niger. >> reporter: the president has been taking credit for victories against isis. >> i totally changed the attitudes of the militar

right now the pentagon referring to it as an inquery. that's appropriate given the fact that there's not a lot of detail right now. it may turn into a full blown investigation and accountability measures that have to be taken as a result. it appears to me they are doing prudent fact finding, going back, sort of retracing the steps, retracing the command and control decisions that general hertling talked about and where the gaps in the seams were and what transpired and what happened. general hertling talked how many troops we have in africa and we are spread out. they are dispersed. s there resource -- there's resource allocation issues there. so i mean, it's -- while we talked about air support and they didn't have it and the french jets couldn't drop bombs or legal restrictions on them, but there's also resource restrictions on africa rit large because they're spread out and the counterterrorism type training missions are so widespread. again, we need to let these guys go through this, answer all the questions, and then move forward. i

war in afghanistan they need volunteers but there aren't any due to the impending war officially the pentagon calls it a contribution to the development of youth in chicago colonel retired after serving thirty three years in the army supervises junior cadets. program is really about citizenship it's about. teaching young boys and girls high school age you know young men and women about service and you know what they can do to better themselves but i have nothing to do with recruiting so it's a distinct difference and it's a very important point because a lot of people a lot of teachers don't understand that they think that we are and you know we almost get defensive because we have to explain that we're not on a regular basis in chicago the program is widespread the army teaches that one in four schools are training more than ten thousand adolescents the authorities accept this militarization of education as especially useful for fighting gangs. for neighborhoods harlem high school another one finger and so south and west ten an era to be the rough ones once again it's what i would call the w

joint chiefs chairman, general joseph dunford said the pentagon owes answers to the families and vows to double efforts to ensure that lawmakers are getting information, despite repeated denials from senators on both sides of the aisle, cnn has learned that members of congress were told about the niger mission, at least twice this year. >>> president trump, meanwhile, continued the condolence call controversy monday with a gold star widow. the president disputes her count of the call, which she says left her in tears. all of this as president trump heads to capitol hill today to sell his tax plan. mr. trump will meet with senate majority leader mitch mcconnell and have lunch with gop senators. can this divided party somehow unite around tax reform? that's the question this morning, so we have it all covered. let's begin with cnn's michelle kosinski. she is live in washington for us. hi, michelle. >> reporter: his, alisyn. this was remarkable to see the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff take dozens of questions, repeatedly saying that the public is owed more information. but what a

why isn't the pentagon and the white house forth coming? why is cnn having to go to these unnamed sources? we have invited the white house and the pentagon on to speak about it. but they're not doing so. >> good. i would do the same thing the pentagon and white house are doing. i would force cnn to figure out what happened out there for one simple reason. we saw it in benghaziing, we saw it in las vegas. somebody speaks, whether it's the sheriff in las vegas or about benghazi, the government says we'll give it to you immediately. let's correct it. we're half a world away in niger and they're still trying to figure out what's going on. if you're in the pentagon and white house, they are saying we will not talk because we will get eaten alive. i would do the same thing, i wouldn't speak until i know what's going on. >> there is a difference between not speaking until you know what's going on and knowing what's going on and not speaking. >> i don't think they know what's going. >> these basic details. if we're able to find out what's going in

>> just yesterday, at john mccn expressed skepticism over information he received from the pentagon. threatened to issue a subpoena to top officials. some responded to the critics yesterday. >> the fact of the matter is it's a battlefield. it's a tough country, it's out in the middle of nowhere. it's not as clear as it might a appear. >> niger is twice the size of texas and area, and no drone was over the head and attacked. >> dana: lucas, thank you so much. training for more on this is michael wald, a former green be a commander. especially with this because you actually have been as a green beret in africa. >> i served it niger doing this exact same counterterrorism mission. >> dana: you were nodding your head when lucas was saying it was not unusual to have a circumstance. >> i think there's a couple things. one, what are we doing in niger parts go a lot of people are asking that. we actually have green berets embedded with local militaries all over africa. if you look at niger in particular, you have them in the south, al qaeda might yet ice is pouring out of libya. we have a pur

david martin, cbs news, the pentagon. >>> today senators lamar alexander and patty murray are formally introducing a bill for subsidies to insurance companies. the white house said the president does not support the measure in its current form and some speakers like paul ryan are speaking out against it, but last night a bipartisan group of ten governors signed a letter urging congressional leaders to support the plan. the 'agreement on a two-year extension of federal subsidies to insurers would help lower income americans obtain medical coverage. the president cut off the subsidies last week. >>> attorney general jeff sessions and spawned some contentions and back-and-forth over alleged russian meddling. sessions was questioned about any role he might have had in the firing of james comey. he refused to say if he discussed comey's involvement in the russian investigation with the president. >> i did not confirm or deny the existence of any communication between the president that i consider to be confidential. >> sessions insisted that comey was fired because of his handling of the hi

so why is the pentagon still offering few details about the deadly clash?money managers are pretty much the same. all but while some push high commission investment products, fisher investments avoids them. some advisers have hidden and layered fees. fisher investments never does. and while some advisers are happy to earn commissions from you whether you do well or not, fisher investments fees are structured so we do better when you do better. maybe that's why most of our clients come from other money managers. fisher investments. clearly better money management. >>> happening now, breaking news. few answers, the joint chiefs chairman comes forward with a talk about the niger ambush that left four american troops dead, saying reporters' questions are fair and many details, though, about what happened, still a mystery? h. >>> the widow's response, new fallout from president trump's co condolence call to a gold star wid widow, speaking out contradicting the president's portrayal of the conversation and keeping the white house on defense, after a week of contr

the darker side does the pentagon allow them to be told. just need more recruits. general strike is being held today across catalonia following the riot police brutality that the region voted in favor of independence on sunday one eyewitness described. one polling station. were just helping the people because they were throwing them from up top of the stairs and throwing them down upon them from the care and taking that someone is on the floor and there is a guy that jumps on the person that's down.

but i need -- i need to see my >>> tonight new details from the pentagon on that deadly attack in niger. from the chairman of the joint chiefs ask a new report that the ambush was possibly a set up. the president 80s fight with a gold star widow entered its second week today after trump went back at it commenting yet again on that condo helps phone call. and on the issue of military service, john mccain is unsparing in his criticism of president trump. all of it part of the 11th hour getting under way on a monday night. well, good evening once again from our nbc news headquarters here in new york. on day 277 of the trump administration, and in a squabble that now as we said, enters its second week, the president today could not resist an ongoing fight with a gold star widow who is pregnant and grieving and going through the darkest days of her life. she buried her husband and the father of her children on saturday, and today turning back to policy, we heard from the pentagon about the ambush that killed her husband and three other u.s. soldiers. there's also new reporting from nbc news

the pentagon says it makes recommendations but the final decision is up to the family. and later today. president trump heads to capitol hill for a lunch with senate republicans where tax reform will be on the menu. the president warns that inaction on overhauling the tax system could lead to political failure in 2018. republican leaders are calling for steep cuts for corporations and high income individuals but are still working on finding new revenue streams to pay for it all. and bob corker of tennessee, he calls the president's visit just a photo op and describes the senate's budget process as a hoax because it doesn't reveal real spending. >> tampa, florida reveals a meeting on three murders that seem to be related. the meeting focused on how community leaders can stay safe. the mayor promised citizens the perpetrator will be caught. >> nobody comes into our house and does this. not now, not ever. this is our streets, these are our neighborhoods, this is your community and we are not going to let evil win this race. not happening. >> police are searching for this m

the pentagon challenging any suggestion that sergeant johnson was left behind. >> nothing could be further from the truth. that is an important myth that needs to be corrected now, i think. >> did i hear you correctly that american troops stayed on the battlefield the entire time until sergeant johnson's body was recovered? >> within the battle space. either american or nigerian or french in some cases all three at the same time were engaged in active searches. >> reporter: the details are still unclear and the investigation could take months. congress wants answers sooner. >> we are co-equal branches of government. we should be informed at all times. >> reporter: from the secretary of defense, blunt talk about the risks american forces are forced to confront in places like niger. >> there's a reason we have u.s. army soldiers there and not the peace corps. because we carry guns. >> reporter: lester, tonight there's a memorial service for 39-year-old jer memiah johnson, one of the four soldiers who died in niger. here at the pentagon, official are insistent they will fully cooperate with c

and this will be an opportunity now for general dunford, for the pentagon, to start sharing some morenformation publicly. certain there has been plenty of phone calls going on behind the scenes to bring these senators up to speed on specifically what's happening, but this will be an opportunity now for the pentagon, for general dunford to tell america what specifically is happening in africa, why it's important that we have forces in africa, what we're seeing out of isis. remember, this is all related to isis or in many ways related to isis as we see isis begin to get squeezed in the middle east, actually getting pretty close to wiped out in the middle east, we see them beginning to my great agreat -- migrate and move some of their operations into africa. it will be helpful for all of us to hear from general dunford and have him explain to us specifically what the pentagon's strategy is going forward. >> all right, colonel warren, thank you so much for that. some of the specifics we're looking for which we may or may not get. wondering why that intel was so wrong that indicated to the

the darker side does the pentagon allow them to be told or does it just need more recruits. oh. i know that much. of a the. people . in the deadliest mass shooting in u.s. history this music festival in las vegas. thanks. and a fresh round of strikes expected. to prevent the region's independence.