u.s. military central command made a terrifying statement stressing iran is a threat well if both a senior british commander and america's central command share the same intelligence have similar information on terrorist locations airstrikes and danger zones how can i give statements that are so different the u.k.'s ministry of defense has distanced itself from the remarks made by the british major general claiming he spoke in the capacity of a military officer in the u.s. led coalition in iraq and syria it added that his remarks speak about us. garia not the overall geopolitical situation in the region major general great career was speaking about a very specific area in which the u.s. led operation inherent resolve operates he wasn't speaking about the wider geopolitical situation in the region but considering the specific area he's talking about is iraq and syria you'd think his words might hold some weight because for the last few decades every time the alliance fights together so you always see caution from the british side or the americans tend to be more gung ho they share the same

u.s. military central command made a terrifying statement stressing iran is a threat recent comments from oh i asked deputy commander run counter to the identified credible threats available to intelligence from the u.s. and its allies regarding iranian backed forces in the region or so said navy captain bill urban he added oh our is now at a high level of alert as we continue to closely monitor credible and possibly imminent threats to u.s. forces in iraq well if both as. senior british commander and america central command share the same intelligence have similar information on terrorist locations airstrikes and danger zones how can i give statements that are so different the u.k.'s ministry of defense has distanced itself from the remarks made by the british major general claiming he spoke in the capacity of a military officer in the u.s. led coalition in iraq and syria it added that his remarks speak about a specific area not the overall geopolitical situation in the region major general great i was speaking about a very specific area in which the u.s. led operation inherent resolve op

u.s. military central command made a terrifying statement stressing iran is a threat recent comments from oh i asked deputy commander run counter to the identified credible threats available to intelligence from the u.s. and its allies regarding iranian backed forces in the region or so said navy captain bill urban he added oh are is now at a high level of alert as we continue to closely monitor credible and possibly imminent threats to u.s. forces in iraq well if both as. senior british commander and america central command share the same intelligence have similar information on terrorist locations air strikes and danger zones how can i give statements that are so different well to help carry fire this r.t. has sent requests to operation inherent resolve and the u.k.'s ministry of defense so far there's been no response. we go live now to military analyst come on for more on this now the situation in iraq has been increasingly unstable as of late but now the u.s. is talking about a substantial risk from iran is that really the case here. i think this is more of politics from washington be

u.s. military central command made a terrifying statement stressing iran is a threat recent comments from oh i asked depth. he commanded a run counter to the identified credible threats available to intelligence from the u.s. and its allies regarding iranian backed forces in the region also said they'd be counted bill he added is now at a high level of alert as we continue to closely monitor credible and possibly imminent threats to u.s. forces in iraq well but as a senior british come on to and america's central command share the same intelligence have similar information on terrorist locations as strikes and danger zones how can they give statements that are so different to help clarify this r.t. has sent requests to operation inherent resolve and the u.k.'s ministry of defense so far there's been no response kate partridge bring us the latest from london the . demonstrations and rallies have been held in gaza to mark the 71st anniversary of nakba day it commemorates the hundreds of thousands of palestinians who were expelled in the war that led to the establishment of israel in 1948 now

u.s. military central command made a clarifying statement stressing iran is a threat they said recent comments from o.r.'s deputy commander running counter to the identified credible threats available to intelligence from the u.s. and its allies regarding iranian backed forces in the region was so said navy captain bill urban he also said u.s. central command in coordination with operation inherent resolve has increased the force posture level for all service members assigned to in iraq and syria well as a result is now at a high level of alert as we continue to closely monitor to credible and possibly imminent threats to u.s. forces in iraq well if both a senior british commander and america's central command share the same intelligence have a similar information on terrorist locations airstrikes and danger zones how can i give such different statements to help clarify this r.t. has sent requests to operation inherent resolve and the u.k. submitted to ministry of defense so far there's been no response. reporting live from london then you very much. the u.s. attorney general william barr has

u.s. military central command made a terrifying statement stressing iran is a threat recent comments from oh i asked deputy commander run counter to the identified credible threats available to intelligence from the u.s. and its allies regarding iranian backed forces in the region or so said navy captain bill urban he added oh our is now at a high level of alert as we continue to closely monitor credible and possibly imminent threats to u.s. forces in iraq well if both as. senior british come on to and america's central command share the same intelligence have similar information on terrorist locations as strikes and danger zones how can they give statements that are so different well to help clarify this r.t. has sent requests to operation inherent resolve and the u.k.'s ministry of defense the british ministry of defense has responded to r.t. at this point saying the commanders comments are based on the day to day military operations and he was not speaking about the water geo political situation in the region. meanwhile in the russian resort city of sochi the topic of iran was also on t

u.s. military a terrorist group. all of the u.s. military's central commandample, the troops who were deployed not only in iraq, but in the united arab emirates or bahrain or kuwait or saudi arabia, that the iranian revolutionary guard will regard them as a terrorist group. >> that's right, wolf. the revolutionary guard has regional reach. i mean, they are active supporting hamas. they're supporting hezbollah. they're active in supporting the houthis in yemen. we know this. and they certainly have the ability to create more havoc and more problems not just for, again, our troops and our forces, but those of our allies and partners. so it's a very significant threat. >> everybody, stand by. we're following all the breaking stories, including some political developments. jill biden, former vice president joe biden's wife, has sat down with cnn to discuss her revealing and candid new book about her marriage, her career, her family. she spoke to her own dana bash. we'll have that when we come back. ou need it. with licensed agents available 24/7. it's not just ea

u.s. central command which is the military command for the u.s. that oversees military operations in iraq in the middle east and afghanistan put out a statement saying basically is wrong that their interpretation of it was that there was a credible threat now there is a suggestion that that may be related to the movement of some rockets that round the assad base in unbar province which the u.s. regarded this was being done by shia armed groups many of which have alliances to iran which the u.s. has interpreted as being a threat to to that base and to u.s. military interests but the british obviously the british obviously possibly taking a different interpretation this is beginning to provoke some questions about the way that the intelligence is being interpreted and of course this is the intelligence in which the u.s. the white house is basing its military maneuvers in the gulf but as i say i so far as the iraqis are concerned they're very worried that their worst fears are getting closer and that iraq is going to get caught off and caught up in t

u.s. central command which is the central command area which controls military operations by the u.s. in the middle east and also in afghanistan put out a statement basically saying he's wrong there is an increased threat and therefore our troops are now on heightened alert and this has been leading also to the state department as you were mentioning earlier kimberly was talking about issuing this request for all non-essential nonny emergency employees to leave government facilities in iraq i should point out that might bump a of the u.s. secretary of state was here right about may the 8th when he came here to iraq he was talking to the iraqi prime minister and other senior iraqi officials saying that the u.s. had intelligence that some parts of the popular mobilization of forces those shia armed groups had been moving rockets around the ol assad military base that's what about $5200.00 u.s. troops currently based they said they regarded that as a potential threat to the iraqi government said they had assessed it and they did not think there was a threat now interesting that we've jus

u.s. central command which is the military command that oversees operations both in the middle east and also afghanistan and it followed a statement was made earlier by the deputy commander of operation inherent resolve that major general christopher he cut now and we should point out that operation how to resolve is the u.s. led coalition fight against threats from eisel that is its remit and nothing else but major general has said in a previous statement that as far as they were concerned there was no perceived uptick in a potential threat from shia groups in iraq many of those shia groups of course. to iran within a few hours the u.s. central command had immediately brought out another statement saying that that was completely contrary to what the situation they believed to be which was that there was a credible threat from shia on the groups and as a result the members of the or as the troops serving in the oil asked about 5200 u.s. troops there were not on a state of heightened alert but it's worth pointing out that u.s. secretary of state was here just a couple of weeks ago speaking to

u.s. military presence across the gulf the data base in cats is the forward headquarters of the u.s. central command it's the largest u.s. military base in the middle east but far from the only one the u.s. navy's 5th fleet has its headquarters in bahrain there's been an american military presence in kuwait since the 1991 gulf war and u.s. forces also make regular use of facilities in oman and the united arab emirates for than 15 years there's been no formal u.s. military presence in saudi arabia u.s. operations at the braves just ended in 2003 however ties between the 2 countries militaries are strong and the kingdom has long been a major buyer of u.s. weapons america's support for the saudi campaign in yemen has also become a significant political issue in the united states rodger shanahan is a research fellow at the lowy institute for international policy and formerly an australian army officer he says the narrative surrounding this u.s. deployment of warships is more dangerous than the deployment itself. i think we have to separate the actual deployments tens of kerry a better program and a 52 p

u.s. forces. while america's recent deployments of warships and bombers near iran and to its already significant military presence of the gulf the data base in qatar is the forward headquarters of u.s. central command it's the largest u.s. military base in the middle east but not the only one the u.s. navy's 5th fleet has its headquarters in bahrain there's been an american military presence in kuwait since the $1991.00 gulf war and u.s. forces make regular use of its facilities in amman and the u. . for more than 15 years there's been no formal u.s. military presence in saudi arabia u.s. operations at the air base just south of riyadh and in 2003 but ties between the 2 countries militaries are strong and the kingdom has long been the major buyer of u.s. weaponry america's support for the saudi u.a.e. campaign in yemen has also become a significant political issue in the u.s. . rodger shanahan is a research fellow at the lowy institute for international policy of the form australian army officer he says the narrative surrounding the u.s. deployment of warships is more dangerous than the deployment itself. so i think we have to separate the actual deployments in terms of the carry better program to

u.s. military for threats from the radio linked groups last week the u.s. deployed warships to the gulf region where the warning from the u.s. central command appears to contradict a general with the n.c.i. still military coalition. no there's been no increased threat from iranian backed forces in iraq and syria we are aware of their presence clearly. and we monitor along with a whole range of others because that's the environment we're in thousands of palestinians a rally tomorrow night barrel the catastrophe it's been 71 years since hundreds of thousands of palestinians were forcibly evicted from their land to make way for the creation of israel one of the largest demonstrations was in ramallah where there was violence in gaza where israeli forces have fired at thousands of protesters at the border of gaza's health ministry is reporting that $47.00 people were injured in gas rubber bullets and live rounds were fired more than $250.00 people have been killed at the demonstration since march last year. but today with headlines got more news here another right after this. in north carolina undocumented grandmother finalist a bar taker is see

u.s. military presence already in the gulf the al a data base in qatar is the forward headquarters of u.s. central command it's the largest u.s. military base in the middle east but not the only one the u.s. navy's 5th fleet has its headquarters in behind and there's been an american military presence in kuwait since the $1991.00 gulf war and there are u.s. forces that regularly use the facilities in oman and the united arab emirates for more than 15 years there's been no formal u.s. military presence in saudi arabia but u.s. operations at the air base just south of riyadh ended in 2003 but ties between the 2 countries militaries are strong and the kingdom has long been a major buyer of u.s. weaponry america's support for the saudi campaign in yemen has also become a significant political issue in the u.s. . is a research fellow at the low institute for international policy and a former australian army officer joins me now via skype from sydney good to have you with us on the program against china and i mean there's news of more and more military hardware entering the gulf sort of has been falling on our

u.s. military. u.s. central command believed they had several threat streams, including conferences with sulmani telling shia groups to attack in iraq and satellite photos that have not been declassified, but which they claim showed missiles. leland: you make the point that you move b-52's within 50 hours, the abraham moves that was only two weeks early. all the things that the u.s. military's not doing. we're not seeing a massive buildup in the middle east. you don't see ships headed over with the divisions of tanks and seeing them lined up at fort bragg sending the delta force there. none of these things are happening. >> there are certain things we don't see that are happening in terms of preps. and even the leak of 120,000 troops going to the middle east, that was really floated out there to give a sense that we're serious. you really have a sense, i think, as the pentagon reporter right now, that we are being used as part of the messaging. and so, what the reality is, i do believe that the military themselves belie

and bombs to iran and to its already significant military presence in the gulls data base in qatar is the forward had called as for u.s. central command it's the largest u.s. military base in the middle east but not the only one the u.s. navy's 5th fleet times its headquarters in bahrain there's been an american military presence in quite since 991 skills for u.s. forces make regular use of facilities and among other. united arab emirates for more than 15 years there's been no formal u.s. military presence in saudi arabia u.s. operations at the air base just south of riyadh ended in 2003 but ties between the 2 countries militaries are strong and the kingdom has long term or is a long term buyer of u.s. hardware america's support for the saudi u.a.e. campaign in yemen has also become a significant political issue in the u.s. rodger shanahan is a research fellow at the lower institute for international policy and a former australian army officer he says the narrative surrounding the u.s. department of war ships is more dangerous for the deployment itself. i think we have to separate the actual deployments tens of carry a better program

u.s. military and u.s. government saw that caused them to decide to surge the military forces towards the central command region last weekend. what that is the u.s. now has indications from inside iran there has been a direction that some of these iranian proxy forces, these groups that are backed by iran, that they have indicated to them that they can activate and that they can actually start now to go after u.s. military forces and u.s. assets in the region. so that explains, this is just one piece of what we're continually told is, multiple threat streams that the u.s. started tracking late last week and over the weekend to u.s. forces in that region. of course, it culminated with the announcement late sunday night about ambassador john bolton, national security adviser, that the u.s. was going to surge the u.s. abraham lincoln carrier strike group, accelerate their deployment into the central command region along with move several bombers into the area, really as a show of force to iran to prove to them if in fact they strike against any u.s. forces or assets in the central command area in the u.s. would me

u.s. central command to counter what the military has said were credible threats from iran. earlier this week, the pentagon announced the aircraft carrier uss abraham lincoln would arrive in the region sooner than originally planned, along with b-52 bombers. iran has said it will start complying with some parts of the nuclear deal. what is going to happen over the next few days? what is going on? guest: both sides are trying to send signals to each other. whatever threats they see from the other party is not going to -- they are going to meet the threats they see from the other party. arethe u.s., the threats mostly clients that iran has in the region. perceivedit is the buildup of military power in it. what is going to happen in the next few weeks, there are several things. there is one issue on the nuclear front, which remains to be seen whether or not iran takes action as it has said to test the limits of the nuclear deal. are looking to talk to the europeans to reach a settlement on how to facilitate trade on some goods with europe. in the next 60 days, we may go back to

u.s. military presence in the gulf the data base in qatar is the forward h.q. of the u.s. central command it is the largest u.s. military base in the middle east but not the only one the u.s. navy's 5th fleet has its headquarters in bahrain there's been an american military presence in kuwait since the $1991.00 gulf war and american forces make regular use of its facilities in amman and the united arab emirates for more than 15 years there's been no formal u.s. military presence in saudi arabia u.s. operations of the base just south of riyadh ended in 2003 but ties between the 2 countries miller. trees are strong and the kingdom has long been a major buyer of american weapons america's support for the campaign in yemen has also become a significant political issue in the united states rodger shanahan is research fellow at the lowy institute for international policy and formerly an australian army officer he says the narrative surrounding the u.s. deployment of warships is more dangerous than the deployment itself. i think we have to separate the actual deployments in 10 years of the aircr

u.s. military of a threat from iranian linked groups last week the u.s. deployed warships to the gulf region with a warning from the u.s. central command appears to contradict general with the military coalition. no there's been no increased threat from iranian backed forces in iraq and syria we are aware of their presence clearly. and we monitor along with a whole range of others because that's the environment we're in the united nations is holding a meeting to discuss progress being made in yemen a special envoy martin griffis is praising hoofy rebels for beginning to withdraw from 3 major ports and is calling for more measures of the stockholm agreement to be adopted. states with the headlines here on and 0 we'll have more news coming up in news are in fact right after inside story by phone. 1st 2 of its oil tankers were attacked then saudi arabia saw some of its vital all pumping stations targeted by who feed rooms as tensions running high in the gulf what's really behind this series of attacks and could it escalate into a bigger confrontation this is inside story. hello welcome to the program i'm adrian finighan it's the 2nd attac

commander of the u.s.-led military coalition against isis in iraq. he says the threat level remains steady. u.s. centralis pushing back on that. meanwhile, as tensions between the trump administration and iran continue to grow, the u.s. state department is now ordering nonemergency u.s. government employees to leave the country due to worries that they could be targeted. u.s. citizens are also being warned not travel to iraq. joining me now, cnn's barbara starr live at the pentagon. quite a disagreement and a public one between two close allies, who i should remind folks, share intelligence under the five eyes program here. how can one say there's increased threat, the u.s., and the other say not true? >> jim, now you're seeing both defense departments essentially try to walk that fine line but make no mistake, there say disagreement. this british general very competent, very experienced, told reporters yesterday here at the pentagon in a video press conference after being repeatedly asked, he said he saw no difference, that iran always does pose a threat in the region but he didn't see anything out of

bought even by militants for the american military in two thousand and ten the united states central command was sent to comb the highest military compound in the u.s. if you testified report the question the current u.s. policy of isolating and marginalizing how mass as well as has played in lebanon the report described the two groups as pragmatic and argued that putting them in now cater in the same sentence as if they're all the same is just stupid and the us military isn't alone in this assessment. isis itself has attacked the mosque again and again because i'm not radical enough there to pragmatic and to compromise and i spent a lot of time on my radio program going over a hamas is charter what it says it wants to obliterate israel it wants to destroy the jews it is a sick twisted you know perverted ideology and it manifests itself in different forms muslim brotherhood islamic jihad hamas hezbollah isis al-qaeda you know it's all the same thing meanwhile you hear next to nothing about another extreme political charter that has much more relevance to the conflict the platform the ruling the crude party in israel. how if you change since you lis

u.s. central command which is the military organization that oversees u.s. troops in the middle east.request based off of what they perceive to be increased iranian threat. there already have been additional forces to the region and the response including a bomber task force and a carrier group. u.s. military officials felt additional forces were needed to deter any possible iranian aggression. now it's unclear whether president trump himself will be briefed on the proposed plans today. we were told he would have to sign off on the proposed deployment which could send thousands of additional troops to the region. this comes as some lawmakers have expressed skepticism about the nature of the threat saying that there is nothing new here after reviewing the intelligence. but the trump administration insists, including senior pentagon officials, that the threat is real and they see increased iranian activity that could pose a threat to u.s. forces. we will see whether or not president trump does, in fact, green light this additional u.s. military presence. >> that would be a major develop

bought even by militants for the american military in two thousand and ten the united states central commander of centcom the highest military command in the u.s. issued a testified report the question the current u.s. policy of isolating and marginalizing how mass as well as has played in lebanon the report described the two groups is pragmatic and argued that putting them in now cater in the same sentence as if they're all the same is just stupid and the us military isn't alone in this assessment. isis itself has attacked the mosque again and again because i'm not radical enough to pragmatic and to compromise i spent a lot of time on my radio program going over a hamas is charter what it says it wants to obliterate israel it wants to destroy the jews it is a sick twisted you know perverted ideology and it manifests itself in different forms muslim brotherhood islamic jihad hamas hezbollah isis al-qaeda you know it's all the same thing meanwhile you hear next to nothing about another extreme political charter that is much more relevant to the conflict the platform the ruling party in israel. but most memorable moments with al-jazeera was when

u.s. military of a threat from iranian linked groups last week the u.s. deployed warships to the gulf and a move it said was a message to iran a warning from the u.s. central command appears to contradict the assessment of a british general in iraq. no there's been no increased threat from iranian backed forces in iraq and syria where aware of their presence clearly. and we monitor them along with a whole range of others because that's the environment we're in right matheson has more from baghdad. this warning came out about a couple of hours ago saying that no all known emergency stuff to the u.s. embassy in the u.s. consulate in jeddah bill should relieve the country by commercial means basically that they have to get commercial flights out of the country as quickly as possible and we don't yet know how many people that's likely to affect but we also don't know whether or not that warning is going to be extended to all u.s. citizens excluding perhaps military in iraq obviously there are u.s. citizens who are working here in the oil and gas industries and in the construction industries as well but it's although this is a significant ramping up if you like of the

u.s. officials blame iran or one of its proxy forces. the it is military and white house have not provided proof of the claims. the new head of u.s. central commandnding the u.s.s. abraham lincoln to the persian gulf two weeks early. it might not enter the gulf because it would box in the aircraft carrier. >> there's been no increased threat from iranian backed forces in iraq and syria. >> in a sign that not all u.s. allies are on board with this military build-up, a spanish frigate reversed course and heading back to spain over what its defense minister called a disagreement over the white house's iran policy. they said the u.s. government has taken a decision outside the frame work of what had been agreed with the spanish navy. the loss of the spanish frigate is more symbolic than any real loss of firepower. in the week since john bolton said iran posed a threat, nobody has supported the evidence of the claims and the foreign minister has accused bolton of trying to start a war. neil? >> neil: thanks very much. in the middle of this, the white house is looking to sending up to 120,000 troops to the middle east. the president was calling that fa

u.s. military over a threats from every me and linked groups last week the u.s. deployed warships to the gulf and a move it said was a message to iran where the warning from u.s. central command contradicts a statement by a british general the deputy commander of the anti eisel coalition in syria and iraq says there's been no increase in the threat level from iranian backed groups though there's been no increased threat from iranian backed forces in iraq and syria where aware of their presence clearly. and we monitor along with a whole range of others because that's the environment we're in iran's supreme leader says he doesn't want war with the united states during 2. news there is not going to be any war neither we nor them seek war they know it will not be in their interest negotiating is poisonous as long as the u.s. continues with the same course of action and you go shooting with the present american government is twice as poisonous it's been 71 years since hundreds of thousands of palestinians were evicted from their homes to make way for the creation of israel that is known to palestinians as a bar or the catastrophe protests have been happening in the occupied west b

u.s. central command, which is the part of the u.s. militaryt's responsible for the middle east issues this extremely unusual statement basically cracking this general for this -- this british general for saying what he said. they outright denied basically his assessment of things and say this doesn't line up with the threat level we see. the u.k. then issues their own statement, and their statement was also very hard to parse. so the question really at the end of it day became who was telling the truth here? how serious is this threat? has the threat level been raised or not, and that's the question that's getting asked across washington on the hill and elsewhere right now. i think at this point the consensus seems to be there was a real threat, the threat was real. the question is was the u.s. response to it that we've seen over the last few weeks the appropriate response, or was the u.s. overreacting? >> okay, and what do you think is the answer to that question because we have to say what preceded the british general's comments was the fact

of the american voter in two thousand and ten the united states central command was sent to comb the highest military compound in the u.s. if you testified report the question the current u.s. policy of isolating and marginalizing houses with has blurred in lebanon the report described the two groups is pragmatic and argued that putting them in the ok during the same sentence as if they're all the same is just stupid and the us military isn't alone in this assessment isis itself was attacked a mosque again and again because i'm not radical enough bit too pragmatic and too compromising i spent a lot of time on my radio program going over a hamas says charter what it says it wants to obliterate israel it wants to destroy the jews it is a sick twisted you know perverted ideology and it manifests itself in different forms muslim brotherhood islamic jihad hamas hezbollah i says al-qaeda you know it's all the same thing. meanwhile you hear next to nothing about another extreme political charter that has much more relevance to the conflict the platform of the ruling the crude party and its for a. hell of a change since he was

u.s. central command to counter with the military has said are credible threats from iran to u.s.orces in the middle east. the pentagon announced the aircraft carrier uss abraham lincoln would arrive in the region sooner than originally planned, along with b-52 bombers. will stop complying with some parts of the nuclear deal. what is going to happen over the next few days? what is going on here? guest: both sides are trying to send a signal to each other that whatever threats they see from the other party is not going to --ain -- they will be neati meeting the threats from the other party. for the u.s., the threats are mostly again nonstate clients iran has in the region, and for iran it is the perceived buildup of military power in his backyard. what is going to happen in the next few weeks? several things. one issue on the nuclear front remains to be seen whether or pushran takes action to and test the limits of the nuclear deal. trying tore reach a settlement about how to facilitate trade with europe. if that succeeds in the next 60 days, we may just go back to continuing imple

central command region and he says that the u.s. is not seeking to go to war. these deployments are aimed at preventing military action from iran.ow the trumpet menstruation says denuclearize in north korea is still on the agenda despite pyongyang firing projectiles over the weekend. >> we still believe there is a chance for a negotiated outcome where we get verified denuclearization. >>> this was the first test fired mitchell, missile launch this to test something. the group analyzed satellite images of the launch and said these were likely short range ballistic missiles. president trump shrugged it off tweeting, kim knows i am with him and does not want to break his promise to me. the deal will happen. >>> and south korean officials say that the projectiles flew somewhere between 43 to 125 miles before crashing into the sea. >> officials are urging supervisor aaron peskin for the resolution to name subway station after rose pack who died in 2016. he says she was a crucial voice and getting the station built another project in the committee. opponents are holding a rally at noon at city hall and they say pack represented her ow

military leaders out there. the chairman of the joint chiefs one of the finest officers i've ever worked with. you have frank mckenzie down running u.s. central command. they will provide the president the best advice and counsel they can. they will follow the president's orders unless they deem it to be unlawful. they always have the option to resign. i think the president will listen to his military advisers. i know this doesn't seem like it would be a normal occurrence. he will listen to pat shanahan. i think he will listen to mike pompeo and the uniformed officers. i'm concerned that the rhetoric has gotten a little too heated and hopefully we can bring that temperature down a bit. >> has there ever been a time when we have had this number of really experienced warriors, especially given the kind of combat they have been fighting, the battle tempo they have been fighting on and off for 18 years? >> i think if you look throughout history, i'm not sure any force throughout the history of mankind has fought for this long. this long of a sustained fight. you can go back to the roman legions and find battles that go on for a hundred years but not ever

u.s. military and white house have not provided any proof showing iranian involvement. an unnamed official says there's initial assessment that iran was involved. amidst rising concerned about general frank mackenzie, the new head of central commandred the u.s. s. abraham lincoln. i might not enter the persian gulf because doing so would box in the aircraft carrier. >> shepard: allies question this rising tension with i ran. >> major general chris geka said point black from baghdad, he had said no increase threat from iranian backed forces in iran or syria. >> there's no increased threat from iranian backed forces in iraq and syria. there are a substantial number of malitia groups in iraq and syria and we don't see an increased threat from many of them at this stage. >> a statement that stands in stark contrast to statements from unnamed defense officials. not all u.s. allies are on board with this military build-up, a spanish frigate reversed course and headed back to spain over a disagreement of the white house's iran policy. the u.s. government has taken a decision outside of the frame work of the spanish navy. the u.s. may have trouble getting allies as the u.s. squeezes iran after ripping up the nuclear deal. >> shepard: jen

u.s. military forces rose to the level late friday that the white house and central command thought it wouldwe have continued to see activity that leads us to believe that there is escalation that may be taking place. >> the acting defense secretary added in a tweet we call on the iranian regime to cease all provocation. we will hold the regime accountable for any attack on u.s. forces or our interests. the u.s.s. abraham lincoln carrier strike group was headed to the gulf in two weeks but now ordered to forego a port call and head straight to the suez canall where it should be in the next 48 hours. the threat to u.s. forces based on the latest intelligence assessment is in iraq where the u.s. has nearly 7,000 forces. kuwait, syria and possibly at sea off the coast of yemen. iran has allied shia proxy fighting forces in all these locations. the pentagon is sending 4 to 6 aircraft bombers back to the middle east. ambassador bolton who before becoming national security advisor wrote late sunday any attack on united states interests or those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force. bol

u.s. officials tell abc news that the pentagon will present the request for more forces at the white house today. the request was made by the military's central command for the region. one official saying the request could result in five to 10,000 more troops which would be used for defensive purposes as a deterrent to iran. the president on monday calling iran very hostile and the number one provocateur of terror. >> we have no indication that anything has happened or will happen but if it does it will be met obviously with great force. we'll have no choice. >> reporter: already the u.s. has sent a carrier strike group and b-52 bombers to the region and evacuated non-emergency personnel from diplomatic facilities in iraq because of what the administration said were significant threats from iran or its proxies. officials say images show iranian operatives had loaded boats. the u.s. pointed the finger at iran for the recent sabotage of four oil tankers off the coast of the uae. but after a briefing tuesday by national security officials, some members of congress voiced skepticism. >> this is blind escalation with the hope that the iranians will come t

central command that oversees activities in the middle east to deploy patriot missile battalion intelligence and surveillance inc. -- aircraft with engineering capabilities. the measures would help safeguard u.s. forces, given the ongoing threat. retired militarygood morning. good morning. you viewe sure that your television, go ahead with your comment after that. caller: my comment is on when we should send troops. i think that whenever the commander-in-chief deems that it's necessary to send troops, being in the military, we don't make policy, we just follow policy. host: and you are currently in the military now? caller: i'm retired. host: as a civilian now, are you comfortable without congressional approval or oversight? caller: it depends on the intelligence report. being that i'm a civilian, but i will never be a civilian, i'm always going to be military. i have problems with people coming down on the president. not just president trump, when they were even beating on obama and everything. our job is to go out and do whatever. john, topeka kansas, hello. i am a vietnam veteran. i spent 24 years in the air force. the people that disagree with me have earned the right to disagree with me, but i agree with the last caller. if we end up like