u.s. surged in iraq in 2007.ensions have mounted between the government and sunnies who say they have been discriminated against. in a concession to tribal leaders, al maliki left local police to handle security. militants then took over police stations, freed prisoners and set up check points throughout the city. since then the iraqi army has rushed in reinforcements. now comes word militants are using the sectarian strife to gain a food hold in ramadi as well as fallujah. thithis is an attack against suspected militants. they say they're fighting the group called the islamic state of iraq, combatants who are also engaged in syria's civil war. they're trying to rally the iraqi sunnies to their cause. more than 100 people have been killed in recent days. groups associated with al-qaeda are spreading violence and using the country as a transfer point to join the fighting against bashar al-assad forces in syria. >> those who know the geographical nature of the pro since realize it's a crossing point for armed group

iraq. we focus on this failure not because u.s. troops would have made a decisive difference in iraq by engaging in unilateral combat operations against al qaeda and other threats to iraq's stability. forces were no longer in iraq he cities or engaged in security operations. troop presence could have continued -- continue to support fights against al qaeda. it could have made iranian leaders think twice about using a iraqi airspace to transit weapons arms, and equipment to assad and his forces. it could have maintained a significant diplomatic influence that the u.s. at that time possessed in iraq. inluence that was essential guaranteeing iraq's nascent lyrical system. resolving the leaders could resolve their differences peacefully and politically despite their mistrust of one another and checking the authoritarian and secretary in -- thetary and authoritarian tendencies of the administration. the initially peaceful protests of early 2011 were met horrific violence by assad regime. this president and this administration have stood

iraq, any combat forces. right now, there are only 200 u.s. american military, but they're all confined to the embassy there in iraq. now, what can the u.s. do now? according to state department officials, what they're thinking about doing is providing some kind of military consultation at long range, but speeding up delivery of some weapons system, such as hell fire missiles and surveillance drones, but ask graham and mccain, that's just not good enough. but in response to that, and what really sounded like a policy statement from deputy national security advisor ben rhodes over the weekend, he said the united states has no interest in putting boots on the ground in every conflict that arises in the middle east, or committing itself, getting bogged down in an open-ended war in the middle east, such as we're seeing pretty much in iraq. so i don't think the white house could have been more straightforward and explicit about where they stand o.j. the possibility -- on the possibility of sending any troops back to iraq. >> eamon we've talked previ

u.s. left iraq too soon. i don't think we left too soon because obviously the way our nation conducts wars and engaged is based on the political will in our countries just wasn't behind it at that point in time but i believe from at least how i gauged in anbar province and i was there for a body year and a half through the middle of two thousands. i believe we could have set them up for a little bit better of economic success which would have ensured a lot more of the security that was there was needed at that time and by not study not those economic deals and those structures you can put all the policemen or all the military you want the world when that oversight of that thumb when the parents aren't there anymore be an iraqi forces or u.s. forces things are going to happen and unfortunately when people squabble for that for those financial assets it's going to get brutal what happens now you know what's to be done in that country we can't leave you the u.s. population isn't willing to put more to send more

al-qaeda militants are controlling major cities in western iraq a show of strength not seen since their battles with u.s. forces a decade ago we look at who these insurgents are and how they became so strong. while in syria al-qaeda linked to rebels and other opposition groups are engulfed in a bloody infighting the forthcoming peace talks are under threat from the growing divisions among those aiming to topple assad. lost confidence biting austerity is taking its toll on e.u. leadership with approval ratings hitting a record low for a handful of block members. they could dream they can play and they can make. each and every kind of. draft. because they don't have to paid instead it's taxpayers who will make up for the politicians mistakes even in the news most efficiently run countries such as germany. and playing it safe concerns are growing about how athletes and visitors will be protected at russia's upcoming winter olympics in sochi to see what is being done to secure the olympic host city. and broadcasting live from our studios in moscow recapping the week's top stories with our weekly program thi

al qaeda militants are controlling major cities in western iraq a show of strength not seen since their battles with u.s. forces a decade ago we look at who these insurgents are and how they became so strong. while in syria al-qaeda linked rebels and other opposition groups are engulfed in bloody infighting the forthcoming peace talks are under threat from the growing divisions among those aiming to topple assad. approval ratings for you leaders dip into an all time low as a handful of bloc members face economic hardships tough times are being met with people in the countries adopting new currencies. these colorful rick tend not to money but they have a real value. that the government always acts in their best interests more people are starting to view supplementary currencies as an alternative to europe. playing it safe concerns are growing about how visitors will be protected at russia's fourth coming winter olympics our team is in sochi to see what is being done to secure the olympic host city. and broadcast live from our studios in moscow this is our thomas let's take a look at our top stories now a

u.s. war in iraq added two years ago al qaeda has taken over the city of fallujah the u.s. is sending drones to the iraqi government but not true at least for now what this means for the region coming up. and did you hear about the polar vortex turn on the t.v. this week you've seen the mainstream media obsessing over the cold we'll take a look at how the media has made this cold weather hot story later in the show. it's a lens day january eighth eight pm here in washington d.c. i'm liz wall and you're watching our. look fallout from the edward snowden revelations continues and some of the most significant changes could be first happening in the states and california say lawmakers have introduced a bill that would ban state agencies from working with the national security agency the bill aims to prevent the n.s.a. from spying on californians it would do this by denying n.s.a. facilities in the state access to basic utilities like electricity and water the bill also bans officials and agencies from cooperating with the n.s.a. those that violate the rules would be slapped wit

u.s. forces in iraq lloyd austin while in a meeting with prime minister maliki how many u.s. troops remaining in iraq would perform and sowm the administration sought to main tankers they couldn't tell us or the iraqis. the white house still had not made a decision. it went on like this for the next few months. by august 2011, the leaders of iraq's main political blocks states they were prepared to enter negotiations to keep some u.s. troops in iraq. an ir entire month passed and sl the white house made no decision. all the while during this inte internal deliberation as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff general martin dempsey later testified before the senate armed services committee, the size of a potential u.s. force presence kept cascading down from upwards of 16,000 to an event low of less than 3,000. by that point the force would be able to do little rather than protect itself and prime minister maliki and other iraqi leaders realized that the political cost of accepting this proposal was not worth the benefit. to blame this failure entirely on the iraqi iraqis is co

u.s. in iraq have entered into north korea. you have its own interest.how do you keep the alliance from unraveling in this situation because of differing goods on how prc intervention should be handled so you accomplish the object is that both sides want? thank you. >> i would get my purse no opinion. i think the assumption that they would be intervention may not be correct. first of all, i don't see the u.s. alliance unraveling number one. secondly, i think providing information and discussion with china's leadership before any of that was laid out, the intent of the alliance, before the event might mitigate any, for lack of a better district is -- descriptive, whether it be instability or a crisis. .. line of communications between the alliance to make sure the intentions of where we are going and that they are clearly understood and how the free countries, and i will include japan also, the four countries can work together to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. that is critical to be able to continue now. >> i would add a couple things to th

u.s. soldiers killed in iraq. but in 2007 it was called the awakening, the u.s.aid tribesman to switch strides to fight al-qaeda, and it worked. but now an al-qaeda affiliate wants to carve out its own sunni area. the iraqi army has had a hard time fighting back, partly because there are three parties at work, the iraqi government, the prime minister, and that al-qaeda group, and then in the middle you have the local tribes. they are kind of like the swing vote, unsure of who to support. many say the prime minister needs to reach out to the fi minorities. but the u.s. says this is now iraq's fight. >> the resurgence of al-qaeda-linked violence in iraq has the obama administration defending its foreign policy. it stands by its decision not to send u.s. troops back to the country. mike viqueira joins us now from washington with more. mike what are the options on the table for the president? >> john, here in washington and across the count tremendous, the names that he was just talking about evokes some of the most violent images of what was a deeply unpopular ameri

u.s. troops will not return to iraq. secretary of state john kerry made several headlines as he continues his middle east tour. iran, who is not invited to the peace talks can play a role from the sidelines. the puzzle is more defined. as for south sudan, john kerry told both sides that upcoming peace talks cannot be a delay gimmick to continue the fighting. as gerald tan reports, the talks were delayed on sunday as the violence rages on in south sudan. >> april 2013. sudanese president omar al bashir on his first visit to juba since south sudan's dependence, marking a stunning turn of events following two years of frosty relations with the neighbours engaging in war about oil. basheer is returning to the south. this time to address internal fighting that has already killed more than 1,000 people since december. >> this is one of the surprises of this crisis, that the government in juba appears to be mortgaging its nationalist credentials, so serious is the challenge to authority. >> for the past three weeks, fighting ha

in political limbo because this detention center has has seen the image and reputation of the u.s. . iraq's have occurred claiming the number of hug a strike as has doubled in fact in the past month and now stands at thirty three but the military authorities refusing to release any new details authorities said the release of information about hunger strike has quote detracts from the more important issues of the welfare of dayton even the safety of troops aspire to clive stafford smith is a lawyer for several guantanamo detainees he's witnessed himself some of the most brutal tactics used by the military this for a prisoner from camp six rich is the least bad account goes on hunger strike they automatically get transferred not just count five but account five record which really has been the most abuse to place an order on a ton of prisoners are held in all steel cells and denied the most basic human rights just as a punishment for going on strike that force feeding techniques are very much an action unfortunately against the very abusive force feeding techniques i mean casting aside the qu

militants are controlling major cities in iraq a show of strength not since seen since their battles with u.s. forces a decade ago we look at who these insurgents are and how they became so strong. while in syria al qaeda linked rebels and other opposition groups are engulfed in bloody infighting the forthcoming peace talks are under threat from the growing divisions among those aimed to topple assad. approval ratings for either leaders dip into an all time low as bailouts and austerity trigger a clearance sale of countries assets to patch up a budget hole reports on how many people are upset with the move by at a borg it may not be as much of a jackpot as one might think. europeans gather in the streets to protest against the controversial initiative declaring that they are not ready to sell history and culture to keep economies afloat. and playing it safe concerns are growing about how athletes and visitors will be protected at russia's upcoming winter olympics he is in sochi to see what is being done to secure the olympic host city. and live from moscow recapping our week's top stories thi

u.s. forces in iraq have seen. the surge, 30,000 u.s. troops are deployed to root out the insurgency.ps on the streets means more danger. and attacks against u.s. forces are increasing daily. >> this is at the apex of iraq going to hell. the surge has just started. and the war went from incredibly violent to over the top violent, especially in baghdad. >> we would get blown up regularly. snipers shooting at us. never really tell who the enemy was. >> soldiers from the u.s. army's bravo company 216, including specialist ethan mccord, are on patrol in a rundown neighborhood called new baghdad. early that morning the battalion comes under mortar fire as it leaves the base. while the soldiers patrol, they hear sporadic gunfire. >> this area had been a troublesome area so bravo company was tasked out to go in and kind of flush people out. >> two apache helicopters are providing air support and cameras mounted on their gun sights are recording the mission. wikileaks added the subtitles on the video, but the audio you hear is the pilot's actual radio chatter. >> we got a target coming at you

. >> tonight battles waging in iraq has u.s. officials concerned. iraqi army is fighting al qaeda for parts of iraq. rebels have taken the city center. eight have been killed there. fallujah is one of two main cities in iraq's anbar province. ramadi has also been under siege. anbar is a dangerous place for u.s. soldiers. more than 1300 coalition soldiers were killed there. here is what we know so far. they are affiliated with al qaeda. the group calling itself the islamic state of iraq in levant. they want to set up a sunie -- sunni state in iraq and across the border in parts of syria. >> fighters from the islamic state in levant say they have taken over the main highway into the town of fallujah. one man shouts god is great as he gestures to a burnt-out vehicle they claim is from iraq's army. they say they sent reinforcement from fallujah to iraq to battle the forces. the fighting moved to the outskirts of fallujah. sunni tribal leaders have not allowed the iraqi fighters to enter to town, saying they should head any matters. it's a sign how little

u.s. backed chaos to iraq and in syria washington support for armed opposition has benefited extremists in washington i'm going to check on our quiz. the jihadists behind the occupation of fallujah and ramadi are the infamous islamic state of iraq and the levant it's one of the most powerful al qaeda branches estimated to be six thousand strong with its cells threatening the entire region well the organization was formed by sunni insurgents in april two thousand and four a year after the u.s. launched its invasion of iraq many members of the group are fighting in syria now against the sat and their forces rapidly gaining influence among the radical elements in the devastated nation even lebanon has suffered from the group's activity with it being behind the latest bombing attack in beirut well and gloria he's a former danish intelligence officer who served in iraq believes the country's army won't be able to wipe out these extremist forces in my opinion. has never been on the run it might have been downscaling due to pressure but once this pressure is lifted the organization is back in ful

u.s. combat troops left iraq. >> this is an historic moment. a war is ending, a new day is upon us. >> reporter: but some warned the u.s. withdrawal left a security vacuum. >> the united states shed great blood and treasure to secure iraq. to basically get rid of al qaeda. and almost now, two years, al qaeda is back. >> reporter: back and gaining momentum. the u.s. says it won't be sending in troops again. >> this is their fight, but we're going to help them in their fight. >> reporter: help in the form of military hardware, drones and missiles. >> we're accelerating our foreign military sales, deliveries, and looking to provide an additional shipment of hell fire missiles as early as this spring. >> reporter: hoping that will be enough to turn the tide. now, the conflict is not just about the battle inside iraq, this is obviously really focused on the conflict in neighboring syria, and what happens in syria is already spilling into across the region to neighboring countries such as lebanon and turkey. and at the core of it are two regional majo

u.s. troops in 2011, which were a stabilizing factor, are now gone. iraq is a lot less stable. >> you might remember better than i do, there was someone from the iraqi government who said to the afghan government, don't make the mistakes we did. you do not want to prevent the americans from staying. do you remember that? >> it was the foreign minister. >> in terms of what is happening in iraq -- >> i agree with max. it is hard to know which is the greater catalyst, whether it is sectarian policies or the war in syria. what is truly terrifying to me is it is not really the war in iraq, is the war in syria. we now have sectarian war which is going from iraq into syria and all the way to lebanon. if you remember, the islamic state of iraq and syria took credit for a car bombing, a recent car bombing, of hezbollah in beirut. you have the same group operating in three countries. they feed off each other. it is the same people. a group was started in iraq, went to syria, and now they are moving back. >> these are people within islam fighting each other. >> absol

kind of militants are controlling major cities in western iraq a show of strength not seen since their battles with u.s. forces a decade ago we look at who these insurgents are and how they became so strong. while in syria al-qaeda linked rebels and other opposition groups are engulfed in bloody infighting the forthcoming peace talks are under threat from the growing divisions among those aiming to topple assad. approval ratings for leaders to an all time low as bailouts and austerity trigger a clearance sale of countries assets to patch up the budget holes are to reports on how many people are upset with the move. by selling. a priceless. price tag to. europeans gather in the streets to protest against the controversial initiative declaring that they are not ready to sell history and culture to keep a commies and help them stay afloat. and playing it safe concerns are growing about how athletes and visitors will be acted at russia's upcoming winter olympics in sochi to see what is being done to secure the olympic host city. and broadcasting live from our studios in moscow recapping the week's top stor

u.s. fighting forces from iraq or was causing the situation but in fact the situation has been catalyzed by the u.s. invasion and occupation and the arming and support for the amalek the government and so forth so i think that assessment a lack of sufficient u.s. force is causing the problem is exactly backwards just now you have the u.s. government essentially urging the iraqi regime to use violence to implement washington's end law and iraq has lost control of its biggest provinces assigned to hap's it sliding into a civil war now what's the immediate future well you know it's been sliding in and out of terrible violence and what could have been called civil war for many years on and off and you know these are regional issues one could compare it to the conflagration in afghanistan in that when superpowers insists that it's their way or the highway rather than acknowledging a need for regional diplomacy then we're going to continue to have this sort of violence so diplomacy needs to be taken seriously and advanced as policy rather than simply an add on to this massive violence and shipmen

think in iraq, as well as several other locations where u.s. rces have fought in the past decade, the role of the state is limited. even iraq when you go to major cities, whether it is in the or in cities like fallujah , the identity is very localized among the families, clams come a potentially tribes -- clans, potentially tribes. at the state level there is a very weak sense of nationality. we have seen the loss split between the sectarian sunni-s hiite lines. point isules' appropriate, that expecting that a central government is the solution is problematic in itself. i think there has been some effort to reach out to the families and tribes against al qaeda. the sense of urgency here is al qaeda, in this particular region, has researched -- has resurged in iraq and syria. at the moment it is not planning attacks against the u.s. homeland. i think this organization needst to be pushed back. what i wouldn't argue is the u.s. should do nothing. host: what lessons are there or from -- are there from what is happening in iraq right now? snapshot o

u.s. backed chaos to iraq and in syria washington support for armed opposition has benefited extremists in washington i'm going to. these you heard as behind the occupation of fallujah and ramadi of the infamous islamic state of iraq and the levant it's one of the most powerful al qaeda branches estimated to be six thousand strong with its cells threatening the entire region well organization was formed by sunni insurgents in april two thousand and four a year after the u.s. launched its invasion of iraq many members of the group are fighting in syria against a sad and their force is rapidly gaining influence among the radical elements in the devastated nation even lebanon has suffered from the group's activity with it being behind the latest bombing attack in beirut now this kerry gore he's a former danish intelligence officer who served in iraq believes the country's army won't be able to wipe out the extremist forces. in my opinion. i have never been on the run it might have been downscaling due to the pressure but once this pressure is lifted the organization is back in full force and

u.s. troops are gone after 13 years, if parts of iraq teeter now, after u.s. troops were there for 8 1/2 years, does that mean we should have been there longer? does anyone wish we would go back? and if not, what else can we do? what else should we do? and how does it feel to be seeing this right now in anbar province if you were there to see it all happen the first time around? joining us now from sochi, russia, nbc news chief foreign correspondent, richard engel, who as usual stayed up into the middle of the night for us. richard, i really appreciate you being here. i have to ask your reaction to what's happening now in anbar province. >> reporter: well, i think it is, as you said, a very chilling reminder of what's happened in iraq, what is continuing to happen in iraq. and i think you're drawing the right parallel for what lessons we should draw for afghanistan. because we are facing now this same situation. u.s. troops left iraq and the civil war returned and al qaeda went back right to the center of fallujah and ramadi. now as we leave afghanistan, what

u.s. invasion of iraq sparked off. in what now looks like a wasted effort, more than 100 u.s. marines lost their lives in fallujah in 2004 in a fight to drive the militants out and hand control to the shiites who now run iraq. today the u.s. has no leverage other than backing the iraqi government. secretary of state john kerry mired in the increasingly problematic israeli-palestinian peace deal offered the iraqis moral support. >> we're not contemplating putting boots on the ground. in their fight but we're going to help them in their fight. this is a fight that is bigger than just iraq. >> reporter: that's a diplomatic understatement. jihaddists have plunged into the carnage in syria as a step towards establishing an islamic state. neighboring lebanon has also been sucked in. the intervention of the powerful hezbollah movement on the side of syria has been met with car bombs and assassinations. the jihaddists proclaimed goal is a unified islamic fundamentalist state encompassing iraq, syria and lebanon. but the real issues are much murkier and far more complex, according to fo

forces make a difference in the fight for fallujah. >> there was sectarian conflict in iraq, when there were 150,000 u.stroops on the ground there. so the idea that this would not be happening if there were 10,000 troops in iraq. i think that bears scrutiny. >> critics like john mccain blamed a failure by barack obama to rear a deal with the iraqis to leave a counterterrorist force. he said in a statement: >> that brought a strong response from the white house. >> if members were suggesting that there should be american troops fighting and dying in fallujah today, they should say so. >> 4,486 americans died in the iraq war. a poll asked was removing saddam hussein worth the cost of american life. 36% said it was. 49% said no. >> secretary of state john kerry made it clear on sunday no american troops will be sent back in. >> this is a fight that belongs to the iraqis. that is what the president and the world decided some time ago when we left iran. so we are not obviously contemplating returning, or putting boots on the ground. >> the u.s. is speeding up arm shipments to the iraqi government, including

u.s.-led invasion of iraq, fallujah was the center of the insurgency. american troops fought hard to root out extremists. now the u.s. has pulled out of iraq so it is up to the iraqi government. >> the iraqis can retake fallujah but they'll have to commit a lot of resources to do it and even more resources to hold on to it. >> reporter: the iraqi prime minister says there will be no retreat until they have eliminated the militants. >> this is a fight that belongs to the iraqis. that is exactly what the president and the world decided some time ago when we left iraq. so we are not obviously contemplating returning. we're not contemplating putting boots on the ground. this is their fight. we're going to help them in their fight. >> reporter: the al qaeda group is trying to create a sunni stronghoed that would stretch across iraq and into syria. more bombings today in the capital of baghdad. this is shaping up to be another deadly year in iraq. just this week the united nations reported 2013 the highest death toll in six years. duncan golestani, nbc news, l

u.s. soldiers killed in iraq. but the tide did turn. back in 2007 it was called the awakening. the u.s. aid to switch sides and it worked. now it's feared that work erased, the islamic state in iraq and the levant, now an al qaeda affiliate, now controls parts of fallujah and ramadi. partly because there are three parties at work. you have the iraqi government, the prime minister, you also have that al qaeda group and then in the middle you have the local tribes. they're kind of like the swing vote, unsure who to support especially without the americans. many say the prime minister must reach out more to the minorities but he worries about losing power. what is clear is even with the country in danger of slipping backwards, the u.s. says this is now iraq's fight. >> oh boy, jonathan, appreciate it. joining me is james jeffrey, he is a former u.s. ambassador to iraq. mr. ambassador good to see you and talk to you. a couple of what are your reactions to a couple of situations first and then we'll dive a little deeper. what is your reaction to generally speaking the deteriorating situation

u.s. war in iraq ended two years ago al qaeda has taken over the city of fallujah the u.s. is sending drones to the iraqi government but not troops at least for now what this means for the region coming up. and did you hear about the polar vortex if you turn on the t.v. this week you've seen the mainstream media of sassing over the cold will take a look at how the media has made this cold weather ops story later in the show. it's wednesday january eighth five pm here in washington d.c. i'm liz wall and you're watching our. the follow from the edward snowden revelations continues at most some of the most significant changes could first be happening in the states in california state lawmakers have introduced a bill that would ban state agencies from working with the national security agency the bill aimed to prevent the n.s.a. from spying on californians it would do this by denying n.s.a. facilities in the state access to basic utilities like electricity and water the bill also bans officials and agencies from cooperating with the n.s.a. those of violate the rules would be sl

u.s. backed chaos to iraq and in syria washington support for armed opposition has benefited extremists in washington i'm going to check on our quiz. as you know it is a group now said it should be in control of illusion and ramadi is the islamic state of iraq and the levant also known as isis it's seen as a formidable fighting force and it's militants among the most radical cells in a syrian isis is self dates back to the early years of the iraq war it was formed in april two thousand and four by sunni insurgents and soon after a pledge allegiance to bin laden two years later it was rebranded as the state of iraq in two thousand and thirteen its military successes against us again strong influence in syria we saw it add to its name and of course and then also developments the group has taken control of loot in other parts of the province in iraq and proclaimed an islamic state earlier we spoke to iraq war veteran adam told us the resurgence was essentially going to need by the u.s. occupation i've had a long way since my time an illusion two thousand and four and been able to step back an

u.s. troops on the ground. >> this is a fight that belongs to the iraqis. that is exactly what the president and world decided some time ago when we left iraq. >> u.s. troops left iraq in 2011. several republican senators issued a letter yesterday blaming the obama administration for the siege. >>> a man reported missing from his home in update new york is with his family tonight in d.c. thanks to a photo that was seen around the world. 20-year-old nicholas simmons was reported missing on new year's day in greece, new york. yesterday an associated press photographer snapped the photo of several homeless men lying on a steam grate near the capitol building. this photo. well, it ran in this morning's "usa today" and simmons' family recognized him. he was picked up this afternoon and reunite with his family. no word on how he got to d.c. if you wake up tomorrow morning and you think it's not that bad, wait for it, it's coming and it's going to be brutal. it's no laughing matter because when we start talking frostbite, it's serious business. >> absolutely. so tomorrow morning for that commute we're going to be dealing with rain and frost. and after that

happening and the disintegration in iraq and weia, turmoil in lebanon, have seen a rod's power and influence diminish. it feels increasingly threatened the fact that u.s. forces have withdrawn. al qaeda is back in iraq. be taliban is likely to increasingly strong once u.s. troops withdraw from afghanistan. encircled by the sunnis, particularly by the militancy that is disproportionately powerful in the region. that has contributed in many ways to be outraged. the united states ironically looks a little bit more interesting to that as a potential ally, or not as the rival it has been since the 1979 revolution. you begin to see a strategic recalculation in tehran. it is also reflected in their possession on syria. -- position on syria. to ron wants to be included in an international peace effort. it may in the end be willing to ,alk away from president assad to lop off the political head in damascus, but allow the body, the party, to remain as a major player. i think the arabian understands -- syria cannot hold together if assad's days in power are long-term. there are a lot of really interesting things happening inside iran. >> i have to say that looki

is discontent in iraq right now is because the u.s. led occupation put in place a lot of structural injustices that are the root of all the violence in iraq right now one of the results of the occupation of iraq was that the sunni community. became a very marginalized targeted group within iraq. butting in on by province right now. i think for the u.s. government to continue arming the rocky government to facilitate their internal oppression of various ethnic minorities within the country i think that would be very immoral on our part and i think it would be even more immoral for us to send troops to participate in this repression. meanwhile in neighboring syria the strengthening of al qaeda linked groups has led to growing infighting between once allied rebels fierce clashes between rival opposition factions have killed at least seven hundred people this week almost one hundred of them are believed to be civilians who were executed by militants from the islamic state of iraq and levant the outbreak of civil war within a civil war has p

last two years in particular as the civil war in syria has escalated the war in iraq that is the very direct result of the u.s. war and occupation of iraq has escalated we have seen this year more civilians have been killed in there since two thousand and eight so it's been five years since we've seen this level of fighting and it's only going up it's not going down so it's a very dangerous moment and the the organization that seems to be in control in fallujah an islamist. extremist organization that is functioning both in iraq and syria growing to his own people you did a large. you know i guess. of these forces who have expressed their own allegiance to or or their love for al qaeda others have not but there are a number there are dozens of extremist islamist forces that are operating both inside syria and over the syrian borders in iraq in particular but as well in lebanon there's been some indications that elsewhere as well so these are the kind of extremists that have claimed the franchise name al qaeda it doesn't mean by any stretch of the imagination that they have any direct links to the former leade

. >> there was sectarian conflict, violence sectarian conflict in iraq when there were 150,000 u.s. oops on the ground there. so the idea that this would not be happening if there were 10,000 troops in iraq, i think bears scrutiny. >> reporter: u.s. speeding up arm shipments to iraq and includes 58 surveillance drones and help fire missiles and the pentagon said they can wipe out save havens in western iraq. a resent cbs news poll asked americans if they thought removing hussein from power was worth the life and cost of attacking iraq and 36% say worth it, 4% believe it was not worth the effort and 14% unsure. opposition groups in syria are starting to fight each other, rebel on rebel clashes moves to the largest city in syria, rocka and controlled by the al-qaeda-linked group in anbar, iraq and say isil is too extreme and accused of torturing and holding public executions and estimate about 100 fighters on both sides have been killed since friday. and that same group with ties to al-qaeda is a common foe for the u.s. and iran, both the u.s. and iran are sending military aid to the i

u.s. ambassador to syria iraq and afghanistan ryan crocker agreed that assad is not as bad as a jihadi as russia has long been warning of the threat some opposition groups in syria pose and foreign minister lavrov has welcomed the realization of this in the west my well option writer a german journalist who has just returned from syria says the moderate opposition there is good as extinct the term syrian opposition is as strong as it could be this these groups are neither syrian nor real position so they don't have in their interest the good the benefit of the people or of the country these groups are very very often influenced by the west by turkey by the goal of states we have to imagine or to see those groups more like militant gangs like a sort of mafioso those groups who claim about themselves that they reproduce and the moderate position of the mob or moderate rebel still into this any influence on the better we know in the meanwhile that the fights on the ground are told by slamming extremists infighting within the ranks of syrian rebels is threatening the russia u.s. brokered peac

u.s. backed chaos to iraq and in syria washington support for armed opposition has benefited extremists in washington i'm going to check on our quick would you how does a group now said to be in control of fallujah and ramadi is the islamic state of iraq and the levant also known as isis it's seen as a formidable fighting force and its militants are among the most radical cells in syria isis itself dates back to the early years of the iraq war it was formed in. sunni insurgents and soon after pledged allegiance to bin laden two years later it was rebranded as the islamic state of iraq in two thousand and thirteen its military successes against assad gained its strong influence in syria which saw it add levant to its name and then of course in the latest developments the group is taking control of fallujah and other parts of the unbar province in iraq and proclaimed an islamic state under his care gor a former danish intelligence officer who served in iraq tells us al-qaeda is just itching for a fight in my opinion. has never been on the run it might have been downscaling due to pressure bu

iraq you are seeing a civil war within a broader political crisis. the issue in all of these countries is not just military, not just political. the great hope of whether it was the u.stervention in iraq, or the arab spring that began opush for political changes, that did not create enough space for people to participate. as a result you're seeing people who have to take sides because there isn't an alternative. and that is very forbidding or for boding about the future. in fact there is no prospect that any kind of u.s. aid to the iraqis, for example the new hellfire missiles or helicopter gun ships are going to make a real difference. they may make a tactical difference. the joint chiefs of staff were, afraid that these big political questions wouldn't be addressed and the interesting thing is that you know, seven, eight years after the surge, you're still seeing the failure of the maliki government in baghdad to address the core issues. how do you share oil revenues, how do you share power between sunnies and shiites, and how everybody is represented? until you get to these political questions all this turmoil is probably going to continue and deepen. >> i'd like

u.s. launched its invasion of iraq many members of the group are fighting in syria against assad and their forces rapidly gaining influence among the radical elements in the devastated country even lebanon has suffered from the group's activity with it being behind the latest bombing attack in beirut and this kid igor he's a former danish intelligence officer who served in iraq believes the country's army won't be able to wipe out the extremist forces in my opinion. has never been on the run it might have been downscaling due to pressure but once this pressure is lifted the organization is back in full force and it uses these. pauses to to regain its strength the fighting ability of the of the isis for instance is very strong but very contained. to localized battles and one thing the isis and the rebels has is staring at it they want to continue fighting and the iraqi army really hasn't got a chance to fight these militias. and to or to redick ate them. meanwhile in neighboring syria the strength and al-qaeda linked groups of led to growing infighting between once allied rebels fierce clas