. >> but as it relates to dealing with tikrit or mosul, should we care that iran's militias or others are involved in helping move isis out of those areas, or will when we begin the mosul attack? >> i think there is general consensus inside of our own forces and also with the coalition partners with whom i engage, that anything anyone does to counter isil is in the main, a good outcome. in other words, the support for the iraqi security forces is a positive thing in military terms. but we are also concerned about what happens after the drums stop beating, and isil is defeated, and whether the government of iraq will remain on a path to provide an inclusive government for all of the various groups within. we're very concerned about that. >> and so the concern is that once we hit that twitching hour if you will when it appears that isis definitely is on the -- on the -- towards their end, and all of a sudden the shia militias could turn on our own military and other things could happen at that time. >> we have no indication that they intend to turn on us but what we are watching closely

tikrit. the plan is to move against mosul sometime this spring. whether on the ground in combat, orindividuals with deep experience in the region, retired lieutenant general mark hurtley and bob bair. in terms of the military situation, you don't think isis is as impressive as their early gains made a lot of people believe? >> i really don't. what stunned people and the reason obama had to almost apologize for his jv team comment is they took mosul. second largest city in iraq. but the gains in iraq were not so much because of isis' strength, it was because of the iraqi army's weakness. but weakness not technocratic, not a fighting force, but it was political. the sunnis who comprised the foot soldiers in iraq's army refused to fight. because they regarded certainly the government in baghdad, the iraqi government as essentially a shiite dictatorship. and between the two, they kind of preferred isis. so they melted away because they didn't want to fight isis. so it was that political problem that gave isis this huge military victory. >> but general, you're obviously there and integra

terms of the provision of our military support because if this becomes a sectarian bloodbath in tikrit or mosul, it will tremendously set back the cause of defeating isis. >> congressman, i want to also ask you about iran because in the senate 47 senators have now written a letter a letter to iran saying that they will not consider any agreement on the nuclear program that john kerry and the president negotiate with the allies as binding on them. this is an unprecedented gesture, it seems to me maybe more than a gesture, at undercutting an executive function, which is the negotiating of these agreements. >> andrea i can't tell you how appalled i am at this letter. i think it's deeply irresponsible to have these gop senators write to a foreign government in a way that's at odds with the president's policy is beyond disturbing. we are so far beyond politics ending at the water's edge. and on an issue of this seminal importance while sense of negotiations are going forward for these senators to interfere in this way, it's really unthinkable. and it just shows how the political process has degenera

. >> if we are talking about whether we can retake tikrit or mosul, it's so much bigger than this. this is radical islamic jihad making war on western civilization. they are all in the same ideology. they feel they have been chosen and directed by allah to destroy western civilization. but they are recruiting, they are getting the momentum behind them. how do we stop them? i don't think you stop them. i think you stop them with a whole bigger picture. you need an economic components. where is that money coming from? does it mean you bomb oil field that is very controls? you bet. where we say radical islam and western civilization are not morally equivalent. the crusade is not isis. they take our people like sheep and butcher them. we need to turn that down. and no more ransom and negotiation. we'll put bounty on your head and it does need a military component. but it can't be just american boots on the ground. it has to be a coalition as you points out at the beginning takes on moderate sunnis. bill: we have 3,000 american boots on the ground, let's not suggest we do not. congratul

regardless of the short term strategic advantage in tikrit or mosul. would you agree with that? general austin: i would. i take every opportunity to emphasize those exact points to the leadership in iraq when i engage them. >> it sounds like this airstrike the last couple of days in tik rit were conditional that can a consideration it is that correct? general austin: the operation had to be in control of the government of iraq. there had to be a force -- once the city is cleared to maintain stability in that city, that force needs to be in iraqi security force and so those things, those conditions were met early on. in terms of the planning and the synchronization, and so we were able to provide some support -- agnus king: icu can argue that a lot of the proms in iraq or because of the maliki governments -- let's turn to afghanistan. we heard a strong, passionate speech from president donnie this week -- president connie -- president ghani -- i assume we are still in calendar status in afghanistan, even of the president is another state 2015, we are still talking about komul onl

mosul. it's a city -- tikrit is -- or mosul is about ten times the size of tick creedkrittikrit, so it reallyr taking mosul which will also see kurdish mesh per ga fighters involved with christine. >> thank you ian. >>> federal officials say the hacking of the state department e-mail system over the past year is the worst ever against the government investigators. russian hackers suspected of breaching government state computers are also behind cyber attacks targeting the white house and other federal agencies. back in november state department officials shut down the e-mail system over a weekend in an effort to bolster cybersecurity. >>> another head rolls in ferguson missouri. the city council voting unanimously to accept the resignationrez resignation of city manager jon shaw. shaw supervised all city agencies including the police. since that report the ferguson city clerk has been fired and two police officers have quit. >>> the senate plans to take up the nomination of loretta lynch for attorney general next week. mitch mcconnell made the announcement tuesday. it's taken a long time to g

mosul. in the comparison between the two, is there much to put them alongside each other? >> reporter: well, tikrit is kind of a test. and it will have implications for how well orly mosul goes. but no one is under illusion that mosul will be as easy as tikrit. mosul is the isil strong hold. but apart from that it's quite a diverse population. tikrit has a population that is predominantly sunni, and that's part of the dynamic there. residents are afraid not really of what happens if the iraqi army retakes the city it's what happens later. who will be able to keep control? will it be the shia militias? those are the questions that people will be asking about mosul. mosul appears to be a larger set of problems but similar to those faced in tikrit. david? >> thank you very much indeed jane. we'll continue looking at this story with our senior political analyst joining us me live from doha. it was saddam hussein's hometown, but in the scheme of things were this battle to retake it from isil to succeed, what is the greater significant? >> well you know, this is just the beginning. it is significant. it is symbolically important. it means there is a push now that has

there's a lot of skepticism and whether or not they can take tikrit in a timely period will tell us a lot about whether or not the iraqi security forces can take mosul. it should be pointed out a few months ago there was an operation to retake tikrit. it didn't last very long and it was ultimately not successful so history is not on the side of the iraqi security forces right now. >> let's hope they can do a better job this time retaking that city. thank you. >> and another threat. now the focus in washington. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu warning about nuclear negotiations with iran. he just wrapped up a speech to the pro israel lobbying group, aipac ahead of his address to congress tomorrow. chief washington correspond james rosen joins us live. good morning. >> never the israeli prime minister said at his remarks, previewing the remarks he is to give to his joint session of congress tomorrow morning, has so much been written about a speech that's not been given. speaking of 16,000 people at the annual convention of aipac, american israel public affairs committee, the pro israel lobby group, netanyahu said his address tomorrow arranged

mosul is iraq's second largest city compared to tikrit tikrit is just 15 or 20 kilometers mosul is about 400 kilometers. and it is the main stronghold of i.s. >> okay ahmed, thank you for the update i know you'll keep across the story for us. >>> to the south pacific islands now where they're bracing themselves for a category five tropical storm, which is about to cross the country. it has already hit north of the island chain and bringing winds of up to 185 kilometers an hour. now the proper will holiday destination is around 82 islands. and it's issued a red weather alert nationwide. across the south pacific, this storm has already caused flash floods and strong winds. you can see right there, the red is the center of it. you can see the strength of it there. causing significant damage. i've been speaking to alex clemons from unicef. >> right now the situation is dangerous. there is incredibly strong winds racing around the capitol here. which is the city of about 45,000 people. the trees are blowing, all foliage is going everywhere and i'm in a very strong hotel, but even this is gett

mosul is iraq's second largest city, compared to tikrit, tikrit is just 15 or 20 kilometers, mosul is about 400 kilometers. and it is the main stronghold of i.s. >> well still in iraq the countries are training themselves in combat to help protect their towns and villages against islamic state. now, the first christian-only brigade of regular forces has graduated. its mission is to retake communities taken by i.s. militants. it's made up sbeerly of volunteers it and they'll answer to the kurdish region who playing a leading role in the fight against the jihadists. >>> the south pacific islands of van knew due are bracing themselves as a category five tropical storm crosses the country. it has hit the north of the island chain and bringing winds of up to 185 kilometers an hour. now the popular holiday destination is 82 islands. and it's issued a red weather alert across the nation. across the south pacific, the storm has already caused flash floods, you can see right there at the center of the storm and you can see the strength of the winds going around that center point there. now, th

or encourage indirect communication either. >> reporter: the pentagon is watching because tikrit not only has symbolic value, but strategic value. it calls part of the highway. taking tikrit could pave the way for the mosulensive this spring or summer >>> next - controversy at a christian college. >> i do not want to be here. they have to hide who i am. >> the school was trying to ban gay students and what the administration of the challenge is saying >>> georgia has put on hold its execution of a woman - kelly disendaner was slated to be put to death. the execution was delayed because of problems with a leethal injection drug. she was convicted of murder in 1997 for stabbing her boyfriend to death. she would have been the first woman in 70 years to beexecuted in gormia >>> prosecutors will seek the death penalty for a man, craig hicks, who killed three muslims in chapel hill. investigating are investigators are still looking to see if it was a hate crime >>> nebraska's attorney-general immediately appealed. if it stands nebraska would be the 38th state to allow same-sex marriages. >> in south carolina there's a controversy over religion and gay rights. erskine college issued a statement on sexuality. as

. >> ifill: just 80 miles north of baghdad, tikrit lies on the main road to iraq's second-largest city, mosul, still held by isis, orn their largest offensive yet, iraqi forces have been advancing on tikrit and surrounding villages for more than a week. american air power has played no role because the shiite militias dominate the attacking force, and they're backed by iran. >> they're going to run isil out of tikrit. >> ifill: u.s. military leaders welcome the advance, but they also warn of possible shiite reprisals against sunnis. general martin dempsey chairs the joint chiefs. >> the question is what comes after in terms of their willingness to let sunni families move back into their neighborhoods, whether they work to restore the basic services that are going to be necessary or whether it results in atrocities and retribution. >> ifill: dempsey and the secretaries of state and defense went before the senate foreign relations committee this morning. they were there to seek authorization for a war that's already been under way for seven months against isis forces. the president has ordered thousands of air strikes

a coordinated mission to retake mosul will probably begin in april or may involving up to 25,000 iraqi troops. need to recapture the city of tikrit because of its strategic location of the north south supply route from baghdad. at the very least there's expected to be strong resistance there. >> more to come here on al jazeera, including: more on why a u.s. backed rebel group in syria has decided to disband. and, south africa's sex workers demand a change of law to bring a change to their lives. >> the new al jazeera america primetime. get the real news you've been looking for. at 7:00, a thorough wrapup of the day's events. then at 8:00, john seigenthaler digs deeper into the stories of the day. and at 9:00, get a global perspective on the news. weeknights, on al jazeera america . >> a reminder of the top stories on al jazeera. israeli's prime minister has defended his scheduled speech to the u.s. congress saying he does not mean to disrespect president barack obama. benjamin netanyahu will address congress on tuesday as the two nations remain at odds over their iran nuclear policy. >> our alliance is sound. our friendship is st

but it doesn't matter to the people in tikrit or those in mosul, that they're there and you have to build ground no matter what happens military. thank you very much. >>> a russian court charging two men in connection with last month's murder of opposition leader boris nemtsov. two in custody and a sixth man blew himself up to avoid arrest. what do we make of this matthew. >> thanks alisyn. it's been a matter of dramatic developments when it comes to the murder of boris nemtsov. five in custody and four protesting their innocence and one of them according to the judge has confessed, named da dadaev dadaev. and another killed himself and threw a hand grenade in chechnya and detonated another hand grenade that killed him. we don't know what secrets he may take to the grave about the killing of boris nemtsov. on the face of it it seems some progress has been made and these individuals charged with not just carrying out the killing but planning it as well. there's some significant progress made officially. critic critics beg to differ. a lot of skepticism this is merely a cover-up and attempt

, when you look at what's going on in tikrit, a lot of folks are wondering, is this a dress rehearsal for the biggest battle or the biggest offensive to retake mosulranian forces mean for that mosul offensive? >> i think you're right. i think they're trying to figure out do we have enough strength to do this. if you look at the size of tikrit versus the size of mosul, it's about ten times as large. you need a lot more forces to do it. and i don't think they're going to be able to do it without some coalition help. especially airpower, intelligence, surveillance, that sort of thing that the iranians really don't have. i think we would be unwise to say, this is the blueprint of what's going to happen. but it certainly is a dress rehearsal for the forces. and it remains to be seen how the iraqi forces have reconstituted themselves. do they really have the ability to fight? we may not find out because everybody is relying on these shia militias. >> colonel, great to have you. >> thank you so much to all of you. thanks for joining us here "@this hour." >> "legal view" with ashleigh banfield starts right now. >>> maybe the only thing more upsetting van

or at least influence over large swaths of northern iraq. so recapturing tikrit would move iraq's government closer to its goal of retaking mosul.rces also say more than 30,000 troops are advancing on the city. that includes more than 2,000 sunni volunteers as well as kurdish militia. they're backed by jets and helicopters, going in strong after the first shelling of northern and western districts of tikrit on saturday. speaking ahead of the offensive, the iraqi prime minister laid out his strategy. >>> today, we are launching this big and significant operation to liberate our citizens inial salahuddin province. the priority we gave to the armed forces and all the forces taking part alongside them is to preserve the security of our citizens. our priority is to liberate our people from injustice and terrorism of the islamic state. >> well i've been hearing from the bbc's ahmed maher that the government's battle in tikrit is intended to lay the ground for retaking mosul. >> reporter: government forces backed by an alliance of thousands of volunteers many from the shia community, but also have sunni tribal fighters have been the ge

mosul takrit. today launched a major offensive aimed at taking back the city of tikrit. and whether on the ground oramerican forces are in the thick of it. back with fareed zakaria and joining in two individuals with experience mark hurtling and bob baer. in terms of the military situation, you don't think isis is as impressive as their early gains. >> i think what really stunned people and the reason that obama almost had to apologize for his jv team comment was that they took mosul and the second largest city in iraq. the gains weren't so much due to isis's strength but iraq's weakness. the sunnis who comprise the foot soldiers in iraq's army refused to fight, because they regarded certainly, the government in baghdad, the iraqi government, as a shiite dick tatatorship, and between the two, they preferred isis. so they melted away, because they did not want to fight isis, and so it was that political problem that gave isis this huge military victory. >> but general, you were there and involved with iraqi forces. since the u.s. pulled out, essentially, you had fake battalions, phantom platoons that

tikrit right now. >> it's interesting. we the united states announced maybe six weeks ago that we were going to -- with the iraqis we were going to retake mosul in april or. of course, we had to walk back. the iraqi government was upset about that. here we have this engagement in tikrit with my iraqi forces and shiite militia. and it's two militia guys every iraqi guy. we were never informed about this operation to take tikrit. that tells you about the relationship right now iraqi baghdad and the united states. i don't think we're even using air support at this time. the real issue is that the iranians have a pretty firm grip on parts of iraq that they're in. they want to continue to expand that grip. they're not part of any discussions about the retaking of mosul. you can be sure the iranians are taking to the prime minister of iraq and others. they plan to be that. they want to extend their influence throughout the reason. >> these are shiite countries as we know. some comments you made, just the geographic benefit for iran to be frankly so close to israel's situation. works in their favor correct? >> big deal, lori. if they can get into anbar province

tikrit right now. >> it's interesting. we the united states announced maybe six weeks ago that we were going to -- with the iraqis we were going to retake mosul in april or. of course, we had to walk back. the iraqi government was upset about that. here we have this engagement in tikrit with my iraqi forces and shiite militia. and it's two militia guys every iraqi guy. we were never informed about this operation to take tikrit. that tells you about the relationship right now iraqi baghdad and the united states. i don't think we're even using air support at this time. the real issue is that the iranians have a pretty firm grip on parts of iraq that they're in. they want to continue to expand that grip. they're not part of any discussions about the retaking of mosul. you can be sure the iranians are taking to the prime minister of iraq and others. they plan to be that. they want to extend their influence throughout the reason. >> these are shiite countries as we know. some comments you made, just the geographic benefit for iran to be frankly so close to israel's situation. works in their favor correct? >> big deal, lori. if they can get into anbar province

or so in the last 24 hours, tuesday into wednesday. 13 u.s.-led air strikes in iraq. we've seen two in syria. mostly around mosul. not in tikrit. you talked about this ground offensive. can you dig down a little bit further to us about the urban warfare that would have to happen there? >> yeah urban warfare, it really negates the use of pair power. because -- air power. this is going to have to be done by infantryman and armored vehicles going street by street. and remember that isis has had six or seven months to fortify that city. so they've set up sniper positions, they've premeasured everything. ieds, bobby traps, you have to worry every house you go into is it going to blow up in your face. and the isis fighters are very good but the shia militia are very good at this. they came out of the slums in baghdad and they're good at street fighting. >> you might think we've got on the coalition forces the numbers outweigh the isis fighters especially when you have the kurdish fighters. but the fact is you're talking about a different idea in the mindset of the isis fighters. speaking about that as an intelligence officer who has

mosul and tikrit. on the ground, iraqi forces today launched a major offensive aimed at taking back the city of tikrit. and whether on the ground orair, american forces are in the thick of it. back with fareed zakaria and mark hurtly and bob bayer. in terms of the military situation, you don't think isis is as impressive as their early gains. >> i think what really stunned people and the reason that obama almost had to apologize for his jv team comment was that they took mosul and the second largest city in iraq. the gains weren't so much due to isis's strength but iraq's weakness. the sunnis who comprise the foot soldiers in iraq's army refused to fight, because they regarded certainly, the government in baghdad as essentially kind of a shia dictatorship. and between the two, they kind of preferred isis, so they melted away. they didn't want to fight isis. so it was that political problem that gave isis this huge military victory. >> but general, you were there and involved with iraqi forces. since the u.s. pulled out, essentially, you had fake battalions, phantom platoons that existed on paper in the iraqi army, but the money th

tikrit. and they may take the city but will they hold it against guerilla warfare or will they continue to move to mosulking at isis growing worldwide and iran moving in iraq and seeing the sunni areas. >> let me ask you about this. we say iraqi security forces and shiite militias that are iranian shiite militias and we hear backed by iran and militias are taking iraqi cities under control. is that good news? >> that is extra teggic defeat it. like the soviets take cities from the germany? we know for a fact that the iraqi army is moving and guided by the head of the force. and supplied and back by militias all controlled by the iranian. every inch of land liberated from isis is occupied by iran. >> you have a terrorist group fighting the number one state sponsor of terror. and that is like two terrorist organizations fighting each other. and what about the sunnies. who can we trust in the middle east? and we know we have trusted certain groups before for example, the u.s. military worked closely in the awaken with certain sewny groups that did not want to live under al-qaeda and they didn't want to liv

mosul. first, tikrit must be captured, and iraqi forces are said to be attacking from three sides, acting on their own with no support in the united states or other allies. >> recapturing saddam hussein's hometown will be no small feat. we go to baghdad to follow this major operation launched by the iraqi military. what's the latest you can tell us about this offensive? >> according to the information i got run the central command here in baghdad, the troops were first heading north. they were clearing everything and then they were heading towards tikrit, clearing the surroundings, and now, they even conquered, as i heard the birthplace of saddam hussein. it is a suburb of tikrit. but they have cleared it now. it's in the hands of the government. i just talked to somebody inside . he said there is fighting in the center of tikrit and in the north and in the south. >> not so long ago, you might remember direct's's second-largest city, iraqi troops, american trained and equipped, simply dropped their weapons and allowed i.s. to take control. is the iraqi army up to the task this time around? what has changed? >> with everybody i talked to her

mosul. people will refuse to have any militiaa with sectarian vision. >> he says people there aren't allowed to use mobile phones or leave the city. sectarian violence has flared up in tikrit after militants took part in the ongoing operations. about 20,000 shiia fighters have fought in the battle far exceeding the number of iraqi forces involved. >>> >>> the world health organization has held its first ministerial talks on dementia. the head of the w.h.o. says a comprehensive plan is needed to tackle the issue. delegates from about 80 countries took part in the two-day conference in geneva. two of these countries, japan and germany, are experiencing rapid population aging. w.h.o. director general margaret chan says the world is facing the complex problems of dementia. >> dementia has a large human cost, it has a large financial cost. both of these costs are increasing. you do not have a comprehensive and affordable plan for coping with the tidal wave of dementia. >> the w.h.o. says about 47.5 million people have cognitive impairment and 60% of them live in low or mid-income countries. the number of sufferers is estimated to reach 75.6 million by 2030. the conference aims

tikrit from isis. paramilitary forces are backing up police and military forces. this offensive comes after u.s. central command to retake mosul begins in april or may. we have bob scales and fox news military analyst. and nice to see you, sir. >> i. >> you say it is a test for the u.s. advised mission in iraq. and what happens if they fail? >> that is a great question, lea. this is the point. and this is the iraqi military's coming out party. they have made two attempts to take tikrit back and failed. and now they will attack it in three different directions and using a combination of iraqi army and shiite militias and will charge hard to break the back of 1500 or so isis defenders. this is the opening gam bet of their territory. who knows, lea. if they fail it could result in a god forbid a collapse of the iraqi effort. the morale of the iraqi army is shaky. they need to prove that isis victory in the middle east is not inevitable. and tikrit is the first chance to show their stuff. >> you can see it as a test case for the upcoming battle in mosul. it will be complicated situation because of the door to it door? >> it is the difference between

operation they certainly want to see it succeed any fight from mosul this summer or spring will depend successfully on whether or not tikrit u.s. has a real sort of desire to see this fight won in tikrit as well martha. martha: thank you very much. >> isil is an organization -- as an organization is likely to evolve strategically. morphine, rebranding and associating with other terrorist groups while continuing to threaten the united states and our allies. second, the proposed strategy is not -- bill: secretary of defense ash carter isis spreading and growing more dangerous. lindsey graham, republican on the senate armed services committee with me. good morning. draw a distinction for us between the point that carter is making now about isis growing in influence and a story this morning in the "new york times" suggesting that isis is being driven out of certain parts of iraq. is it possible that it's both right now? >> absolutely. they are -- the majority of the forces in syria but the efforts in tikrit seem to be paying off. but the problem is this is a shia-led operation against a sunni stronghold in iraq and there is no

mosul will probably begin in april or may. involving 25,000 iraqi troops. but they first need to recapture the city of tikritause of its strategic location. we shouldn't forget previous attempts to take tikrit have failed, and at the very least there is likely to be strong resistance there. >>> forces rival to libya's air force have been carrying out tit-for-tat air strikes. a jet struck the oil point and the airport, though it is said to only be minor damages. forces from the u.n. hit back targeting the only working airport in the capitol tripoli. tripoli's forces are battling on a third front as well against isil affiliated fighters. now it's all ahead of the u.n. brokered peace talks due to begin in morocco later in the week. our correspondent has more from tripoli. >> reporter: the air strike that targeted this -- the airport in tripoli did not leave any casualties it was a small hit near the runway according to the security forces. but as for the other air strike the general national congress and national salvation government here in tripoli have not announced it just yet, have not confirmed their respo

mosul. then they said we are going to wear them down with air power, attack in april may or june. then this iraqi unit showed up in tikrit, who knew. thank you united states we are going to do this one on our own. >> with iran. it's not really a loan. thank you very much, united states, we found better guys to work with. >> exactly right. >> we are palling up with iran. >> you can't make this stuff up. the u.s. command is down playing this mission. they are going in very heavy. 25,000 people. if they fail again against a force of 1500 people, they will never continue to fight up the euphrates up to mosul. >> assume they are successful. they are their buddies, iran, we spent all this money, lost troops and now iran has iraq. >> what does this say? it says a couple things. >> either one is bad. >> number one, the iraqis are diszing us. two, they are still corrupt. they have problems with black marketing. the american advisers have not been able to do their mission to the degree they should. the iraqis are saying, we think we can do it alone. here is the problem. they have shia militia iraqi army iranian military units conv

or enter the center of tikrit because of the resistance they are encountering. government forces hope once they capture tikrit they can use it as a spring board to get to mosul in the north. our correspondent is on the front line. >> reporter: this is the road that leads to tikrit eeriely silent. the city is now surrounded. no surrender. the man leading the offensive is the commander of the brigade, one of the strongest militia backed by iran. >> translator: we are not in a hurry. every day, we are killing a lot of them and destroying their supplies. the longer it goes on the weaker islamic state will become. >> reporter: the areas around tikrit have been liberated. the city is still in the hands of islamic state. this is as far as we have been allowed to go because of their snipers. all around is evidence of a determined enemy. this is wreckage from one of the extremist weapons of choice the suicide bombs. they launched a dozen of them on this one road. the iraqi army prepares for warfare. >> go! go! go! >> reporter: the battle of tikrit has been largely on the sidelines. >> americans are going to stand back and let you run through by yourself. >> reporter: ir

mosul. we're seeing them noticeably absent for the battle of tikrit. the united states careful to not be seen taking sides with the iranians or showing that they are supporting them. the iraqis say they don't need coalition air strikes they say this is a battle they can take themselves. >> certainly a positive development as it relates to the on the ground fight against isis. ian lee with details from cairo. thanks. >>> meantime, there are efforts to stop isis' efforts to radicalize people on line. community activists in london and other cities, for example are reaching out to young people to warn them about the dangers of radicalism. many say their job is more difficult now than ever. cnn's chief international correspondent christiane amanpour visited at activist she first spoke with in 2007. >>> it is machine, absolutely beautiful -- >> reporter: eight years ago, i met hanif kadir, a youth worker in one of london's most diverse and deprived areas. >> street crime, gun crime, drugs. car theft. then you've got another threat. >> reporter: what's the new threat? >> radicalism. it's a cause. everyoneness a cause. >> reporter: the threat has mushroomed. today,

mosul will probably begin in april or may although the u.s. has indicated they may not be ready by then but they first need to recapture the city of tikrit because of its strategic location of the north-south supply route from baghdad. we should not forget previous attempts to take tikrit have failed and there's likely to be strong resistance there at the very least >>> two people killed and nine others injured in cairo. the bomb was hiddenen underneath a parked car. a group calling itself revolutionary punishment reportedly claims responsibility for the attack >>> straight ahead, tensions power struggles, and mistrust between syria's rebel groups causes one of them to disband. >> john kerry warned of further conventions if the kremlin and pro russian separatists fail to fully implement the cease fire. a fragile truce is holding in the east of the country where fighting has killed more than 6,000 people in less than a year. >>reporter: at her hotel in geneva, another round of talks. >> he's meeting with mr. kerry and said the minsk agreement was having a positive impact. >> the cease fire is taking hold. heavy weapons are being pulled back. >>re

or encourage indirect conversation either. >> reporter: tikrit not only has symbolic value, but also strategic value that includes the intersection of the main highway leading from baghdad to mosuland another ski road to the northern oil hub of ta -- tukirk. the offensive lead by the u.s. to retake mosul could happen as early as next month. most officials say they don't think iraq will be ready that early, and they insist they will not pressure the iraqi government to move forward until it is convinced that its troops are fully prepared for battle. tony. >> gotcha jamie thank you. >>> russian thorns say they are no closer to figuring out who gunned down one of president putin's most outspoken critics. phil ittner is live for us in london. and phil we understand police are holding the woman who was with him when he was killed. what is her role in this investigation? >> reporter: that's right. it's a 23-year-old ukrainian. she was boris's girlfriend for quite sometime apparently. she said after the shooting took place, that she was taken by police moved around the city to a number of different police stations interrogated thoroughly, those are her words. they took her phone, but s

tikrit. if they can be successful, it will pave the way for a move on mosul, the heart of isis-controlled territory oresh as he refers to the jihadist group. >> once we kick da we will have killed their own ambition. >> reporter: the retaking of mosul, you said you need to take time and need to have your forces trained. >> our timetable is not only time. it's factually on the ground. we have to achieve certain things on the ground. >> reporter: the supply routes. >>ly route number one. air cover, number two. preparation of our own armed forces, number three. >> reporter: the prime minister insisting they will do this on their own timetable, possibly earlier than summer. >> i know some are surprised and unhappy in washington because they haven't taken a full control over these operations but i think everybody must respect iraqi sovereignty and we want to do it on our own and we have to take charge of what we are doing because it's iraqi lives which have been sacrificed. >> reporter: along with many american lives before them. for "this week," martha raddatz, abc news, baghdad. >> thanks to martha for t

tikrit lies between baghdad and mosul where isis set up another headquarters. we learned from the u.s. central command that they are poised to liberate mosul, iraq's second largest city by april oredly they have rethought that. they would have airstrikes to squeeze out ground forces before they go in. secretary of state john kerry yesterday was not confirming that much. where are we in all of this? watch from jordan's king abdullah. >> said this to leaders both in the islamic and arab world and to the world in general this is a third world war by other means. this brings muslims, christians other religions together in this generational fight that all of just to be in this together. >> did you catch it? a third world war. by other means. kennedy, your thoughts. >> i think isis unfortunately could be thing that launches into a third world war. >> you agree with the king? >> i don't think it's a third world war. i think we're getting ahead of ourselves. ramifications are so desire and serious. when people talk about need for strategy and figure out what we're doing over there it is so incredibly important because, we don't want to get sucked into something like that. we were talkin

tikrit and putting the squeeze on isis militants. the u.s. says that it will join iraqi forces in the effort to retake mosul, possibly in april or may, dependingn whether iraqi forces are prepared for that battle. speaking of oil refineries. we are getting reports that isis linked militants attacked an oil refinery and oil field in northern libya. we don't know if there is any casualties. we understand that workers managed to escape. and that libyans military fought back. but this is a concern greta. remember libya is where isis linked militants ice executed 121 coptic christians last month. we still haven't heard from the 220 syrian christians, isis militants in northwestern syria. though we understand 24 have been released. greta, that doesn't account for more than 220 men, women and children whose fate remains unknown. greta? >> indeed. john, thank you very much. >> and straight ahead secretary of state john kerry today jetting from switzerland talks with iran to the middle east trying to convince septic call allies that nuclear deal with iran is a good idea. senator lindsey graham ready to go "on the record." i don't think he likes this on

tikrit, have not been threatened by any kind of internal or external challenges. and that won't happen. i don't think, you know, if you look at iraq or -- [inaudible] or even mosul, you don't really know what's going on there. and that's usually an indication when you have a blackout in an area that is an indication that isis is so entrenched in the area, it has eliminated any kind of rivalry or potential rivalry. any activist operating in these areas is marked for death. any tribal sheikh who might potentially be a threat to isis they eliminate him. if there's an intellectual or there or technocrat living in isis areas and has not pledged allegiance to isis they've marked him as a threat, and they watch him very closely. and they're slowly and surely you know, they are making, you know, good use of their time in their heartland to build that project and make sure it's sustainable, to make sure isis is immune from like bottom-up, you know, rebellions in these areas. so, you know i think i see the situation as favoring isis so far. >> let me ask you one more question and then we'll open the floor, and we have a lot of questions from the overflow too. in your book

move on to mosul, much more significant, a bigger city something that isil was crowing about having used. do you think that's a logical immediate step or thud there be a holding period if tikrit is taken? >> well u.s. military advisors i think, wanted them to hold off from doing this but they successfully did it. so, i think they will be emboldend, the hiite militia, what most of this force is. the challenge that they have with all of this stuff, with holding these places after they get them and, also, the other challenge and an even bigger challenge is they are in sunni country. the reason isis has gotten support from the sunnis because they fear the shiite militiaalitiasmilitiaas and government and so when your operating forces in this area, you know, it would be better to have sunni forces but they don't have many sunni forces. so that's going to be another challenging thing, not igniting another sectarian civil wart in iraq. thank you very much. thousand of people who live on the remote island are spending the night in emergency shelter. cyclone pam tore through the country in the early hours of saturday. the winds reaching two 70 kimometers an hour and understandably des

tikrit is encouraging. to retake mosul i don't see how we will do that without u.s. presence. olivia: do you agree that the enemy of our enemy is our enemy? oriran to fight back islamic state? >> in some ways we are forced into the situation because iran has such a strong presence it's impossible for the west to come in with the same amount of military power. this is a challenge for us to move forward. i'm not sure how we move forward without iran. olivia: thank you so much for joining us. answered our twitter question of the day -- answer our twitter question of the day. ♪ tom: good morning, everyone. "bloomberg surveillance." let's go to the bloomberg terminal. carl suggesting it is the yellen dollar. here is the reuben dollar. francisco blanch, what is the significance of the 50% retracement of that history from another decade? olivia:>> insets us in a stage of strong american economy. we had emerging-market prices, loads of issues across latin america. it, we are retracing all of that. we still have a strong american economy but other nations are going to -- tom: bring up the chart. dxy back to 1967. we adapt abruptly to too strong a dol

tikrit. we didn't see from our vantage point any sign of isis fighters or even civilians inside the city. as far as the city of nimrud goes that ancient town 18 kilometers to the south of mosul, last night, the interior ministry of antiquities said they put out bulldozers to this city which dates back to 13th century b.c. they had been razing that, the remains of that ancient town. that's really just the latest atrocity against human heritage. last week we must recall that isis members went into the mosul museum and defaced priceless artifacts dating back to the 9th century b.c. but really this is just the tip of the iceberg. keep in mind since 2011 you had revolution unrest civil war, in countries like egypt, libya, syria, iraq, all of these countries rich with artifacts and archaeological sites, all of them now, it's not just isis doing it it's just desperately poor people looking for some way to make a buck, so to speak, taking advantage of the collapse of law and order in almost all of these countries. christine? >> difficultcivilization coming undone is what it looks like. thank you so much ben wedeman. >>> harrison ford hospitalized after he crash lands his world war i

or cooperate with shia militias. senator reed: part of the operation in tikrit will be a prelude to operations in mosul which have always been contemplated to be conducted by iraqi forces. is that accurate? commander austin: yes. senator reed: commander photo -- commander votel. do you have any views about establishing operation policies? what is your relationship with the council? commander votel: they provide us with a good forum to put together a number of senior leaders within ost and the joint staff to ensure that we are looking at the requirements for soft forces and ensuring that it is well coordinated within the building. senator reed: you talk about in your remarks the campaign for global special operations. can you comment on how you manage this plan this quickly? commander votel: absolutely. the campaign is designed to support my principal task of supporting my geographic partners. it is designed to synchronize soft activities to prioritize resources and where we are putting them in support. it is designed to address the partnerships we need to have in place. it is designed to look at the things we will do to

or "c." >> general, let me follow up on that with you and ia in nn. it would be iran's absolute dominance within iraq that they're attempting to help retake tikrit retake mosulhe iraqi army. and i hear from some of your former colleagues there's an increasingly he's tans about dealing with them or a fear of them because they want to replace the existing iraqi government that maliki would come back under iranian control. >> what a nightmare. >> what have you heard about that? >> mike i've not heard anything specific. i don't doubt that. maliki was an iraqi. even in our dark days dealing with him there was a certain sense of arabness about maliki as opposed to the persians across the river. but that said he owes an off lot to the iraqis. it's really disturbing mike that iraq is skipping -- sorry, iran is skipping the iraqi government and going directly to the militias like the badr corp. which we considered in government a holewholly owned subsidiary of the iranian government. >> we don't know if the talks are going to succeed with iran although this morning's reporting suggests less likely than some people thought. what happens to the european coalition with

tikrit, mosul. >> they haven't been able to take tikrit in a week. they were supposed to have it done already. there is nothing that looks like destroy or contained. over the shia militias, which is a bigger threat than isis. go to yemen, make sense of this. our guys are totally out, al qaeda and isis are fighting shia militia. the houthis inside yemen. >> let's talk about a brief time line. yemen is on the verge of in my view, civil war. in january, the president was ousted in february our embassy closes. on friday, there was an attack from isis on the two mosques that killed 137. those who were doing prayers. and 350 wounded. then you've god al qaeda remnants of al qaeda, which is a significant terrorist organization having taken over cities to the south. there are several entities vying for power. yemen, in the last several years has been a key out post for us in trying to turn the tide on the war on terror. particularly in the arabian peninsula area. this is a concern for us. briefly, we've got challenges from the afghan, pakistan mountain area from tunisia and nigeria. >> general, it's unbelievable how bad things are going. now we're pulling

upcoming effort to retake mosul was announced there was a lot of skepticism if iraqi forces could do it on their own. the success in tikrit, has that degraded some of that cynicism orit? >> they certainly can do it and they must do it. the timing of it is going to be critical. but there's a lot of fighting to go on between tikrit and mosul. again we put up the cities, peshmerga are pushing from the west to the east to make sure they maintain security in kirkuk. now this small town a hub of isis in the central part of the northern provinces. what is happening now there is continuing attempts to get logistic bases between baghdad and mosul. you can't just do a straight flight from baghdad to mosul. you have to have ground territory that you control in order to get resupplies and troop movements from the capital up to the city. >> they have to be built and held. >> exactly right. that's tough. >> general hertling and joshua katz, thank you both. >> russian president vladamir putin finally resurfaces after he seemed to disappear for nearly a week. why some people think his health may be in jeopardy. bring us your baffling. bring us your audacious. we want your sticky n