united arab emirates of the arab coalition, the united arab emirates is lead hearing.they have a substantial air force. command and control most likely out of qatar. you may remember during the gulf war number two, the most recent gulf war, we have an enormous military base there. it has rarely been talked about over time, at least until the last defense secretary went over to visit it. but tremendous air capabilities here, outstanding command and control capabilities. again, that's in the nation of qatar. and the last one of course is jordan. this is this border. remember, this is the border from jordan over into syria. jordan is here. this is the syrian border. 1.2 million syrians, according to the king of jordan speaking to cnn the other night have come across the border from syria into jordan. and they have this refugee crisis. the concerns that turkey will have the same crises. and we're beginning to see that happening now. so as our bombs fall in syria, what exactly will change on the ground? let's turn to p.j. crowley, now a professor of practice at george washi

at this moment we want to get back to united arab emirates. around 11:30, approaching in the morning there. and becky anderson is continuing to gather reaction from there and beyond. becky. >> yeah, we just got some more on this pending release. and to add what joe was just saying and give it some sort of regional context here. the pentagon saying the strikes were conducted from air ships in, international walterters, r sea, northern arabian gulf. remotely piloted. bomber aircraft deby u.s. central command area of central operations. in addition, the kingdom of bahrain, jordan, kingdom of saudi arabia, qatar, uae where i am today. also par tticipating in or aporting the targ either. all aircraft safely committed the strike area. fascinating. we are well aware there are five operations involved in air cover, or strikes. how the assets are divvied up. slightly unclear. we will get more information as we are able to from ministry of foreign affairs here in this region. the jordanians i spoke to an hour or so ago, said they actually conducted air

saudi arabia, jordan, bahrain, united arab emirates, and qatar. but qatar is not flying missions over syria. no nations from europe and no help from turkey, not yes. a nato member where the united states tried to get on board. the islamic state executed three western civilians two from the united states and one from great britain the group made its name by executing men, women and children across us us and seara. set them on fire, in cases buried them alive because did not share the group's religious beliefs. the president obama announced we'd take the fight beyond air strikes. the new strikes target the large territories in seara. officials say militants had something of a save haven the timing of the strike is well worth noting as world leaders flock to the united nations here in new york city. president obama expected to use much of the speech to make the case for fighting isis. there is the russian president vladimir putin warned the united states strikes in syria without the united nations approvalm would be, quote, acts of aggress and a quot

saudi military forces are participating as are the united emirates. turkey, it's score of isil hostages, it's borders overrun with refugees may be looking for a role. qatar backed the streets but was not involved militarily. at the united nations president obama called for attack of isil. >> the only language understood by killers like this is the language of force. the united states will work with a broad coalition to dismantle this network of death. >> before the united nations general assembly president obama said once again the u.s. is not in a war against islam, and isil does not act alone. >> today i ask the world to join in this effort. those who have joined isil should leave the battlefield while they can. those who continue to fight for a hateful cause will find they're increasingly alone for we will not succumb to threats, and the future belongs to those who build, not those who destroy. >> the president obama said it was not us against them. and the worldwide should stand against isil. >> we reject the clash of specialalatio specialization.

saudi arabia, jordan, bahrain, united arab emirates, and qatar. but qatar is not flying missions over syria. no nations from europe and no help from turkey, not yes. a nato member where the united states tried to get on board. the islamic state executed three western civilians two from the united states and one from great britain the group made its name by executing men, women and children across us us and seara. set them on fire, in cases buried them alive because did not share the group's religious beliefs. the president obama announced we'd take the fight beyond air strikes. the new strikes target the large territories in seara. officials say militants had something of a save haven the timing of the strike is well worth noting as world leaders flock to the united nations here in new york city. president obama expected to use much of the speech to make the case for fighting isis. there is the russian president vladimir putin warned the united states strikes in syria without the united nations approvalm would be, quote, acts of aggress and a quot

the ambassador is the president and former ambassador to the united arab emirates and syria. >>> next, hamas - the united states and israel denounce it has a terrorist group. i look at why - that story and more as "real money" continues keep is here. -- keep it >> an astonishing america tonight investigative report >> why are you wearing gloves? >> ocd... taking over this woman's life... >> i don't wanna touch anything... >> now a controversial surgery can literally reprogram her mind >> we can modify emotional circuitry >> is this a miracle cure? or an ethical nightmare? >> there's a lot of mystery right now... >> rewiring the brain an america tonight investigative report only on al jazeera america >>> a hearing held on capitol hill last week looked at countries that support u.s.-designated terrorist group. focus was put on hamas and the palestinian factions to qatar. al jazeera's parent company is based in qatar and funded in part by the government. qatar denies directly supporting hamas but is unapologetic hosting its leadership on its soil. qatar pledged $200 million in aid to gaz

they will be waking up very shortly to hear that nations of qatar, bahrain, saudi arabia, united arab emiratesd jordan all involved in this along with the united states. i thought you made a particularly good point earlier when you were talking about exactly what is in -- what will be involved in this and what they will use. just because we're not seeing boots on the ground that -- >> well, the actual strike itself? >> yeah. the actual strike itself. >> they're going to be going after targets here. >> this can be done by the united states and the coalition without boots on the ground. >> this part of it can be. but eventually depending on what you want to accomplish, if you just want to hurt them badly you can do that from the air. but if you want to go there and destroy isis, you're going to have to do that with people on the ground, or as you said killing up close. general dempsey i think said that. this is going to involve rooting them out one by one. because they've already dispersed. and we were talking earlier in the break. i've been up in that whole euphrates valley where they are. and

the ambassador is the president and former ambassador to the united arab emirates and syria. >>> next, hamas - the united states and israel denounce it has a terrorist group. i look at why - that story and more as "real money" continues keep is here. -- keep it >>> a hearing held on capitol hill last week looked at countries that support u.s.-designated terrorist group. focus was put on hamas and the palestinian factions to qatar. al jazeera's parent company is based in qatar and funded in part by the government. qatar denies directly supporting hamas but is unapologetic hosting its leadership on its soil. qatar pledged $200 million in aid to gaza, controlled by hamas. one of the experts testifying before the panel is stephen cook, senior fellow on middle eastern studies, and says qatar influence. >> countries sought to place themselves in a broader populist position in the region, there's no denying the fact that there is support for hamas, at least support for resistance against israel's occupation and its - and its policies with regard to the gaza strip. >> the united states and is

-did the of his excellency which deserves full support of the international community, the united arab emirates which emphasizes that the country and should not fall back again to sectarian policies which called to of cost the security crises. the united arab emirates to all those who attempt to compromise the security. support the international essence and come and terrorism of isis. it also repeatedly shows its position during the latest summit. support for the condition of the league of arab states and thaw with the new presence in the conference on pages -- please send security. from this podium and i as an arab absolutely reject the entity called the islamic state. i call upon the wall to join us in the rejection and to show solidarity with millions of muslims from orbitz what is dear to gasol the czar criminal gangs and no more. the united arab emirates believes the war against isis should not lead to the muslim to ammunition of the community but play an important role in the political future of iraq. it is important to work to maintain in terms of of jealousy must be prevented from estab

including qatar, bahrain, united arab emirates and jordan. tart with senior washington correspondent joe johns. joe, we confirmed from central command. what are they telling us? >> reporter: the five arab nations along with the united states have struck the area. the latest information from cent sd centcom. the mix of tomahawk and land attack missiles and drones conducting 14 strikes. the strikes destroyed or damaged multiple targets in the area of raqqa and al hazaka. the isis fighters and storage facilities and finance center and supply vehicles and armored vehicles. the u.s. said the allies from bahrain, jordan and saudi arabia and qatar and the uae all participated in the air strikes. all aircraft exited the area. central command says the united states has disrupted the imminent attack plotting against the western interests conducted by the network of al qaeda group referred to as the khorasan group. they developed external attacks and build and test explosive devices and recruit westerners to conduct operations. these strikes were taken o

totally saudi arabia and united arab emirates.they have a broader populist position in the region. >> unlike its neighbors especially saudi ayyub i can't arabia, caughter wa qatar is a supporter of the arab spring. it has played the role of peacemaker as well as armed supplier making it hard to define qatar's ultimate goals. it sports the largest u.s. air base in the middle east along with the forward headquarters of the u.s. central command responsible for military operations in afghanistan. at the same time qatar hosts exiled leaders of the taliban. it is against bashar al-assad, a stat support that u.s. endorses. but it also supports rebels, something that to arm extremists. >> it's clear that qatar has supported some of the more hard lined groups. >> reporter: the u.s. treasury has accused qatar of hosting terrorist financiers. siding two private individuals it accused funneling money from qatar to al-qaeda affiliates in syria. while the treasury didn't say that the two ever acted on behalf of the cu qatari government, i qatar

the countries include bahrain, jordan, saudi arabia, qatar and the united arab emirates. our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto is with me here at the united nations as well. it's an interesting group of five sunni arab countries that have decided publicly to join forces with the united states and get involved militarily against isis in syria. >> truly unprecedented, that number of countries. saudi arabia, the most recent now just in the last few minutes to publicly acknowledge their role, calling in their statement isis a deadly disease that needed to be confronted. and you're hearing similar things from the other four arab nations that took part in kinetic air strikes against isis targets, those being saudi arabia, jordan, bahrain and the united arab emirates, with qatar playing a supporting role in the air campaign. interesting as well in the uae's statement saying these were just the first strikes. so uae telegraphing in that statement that they, like the u.s., are going to continue to strike isis targets aggressively in the coming weeks and months. >> q

saudi arabia, jordan, catarrh, the united air -- arab emirates are joining in the fight.resident obama says this is not america's fight alone. >> three waves of nighttime attacks early on tuesday. the first wave, connected by the u.s. alone, aimed at a network of al qaeda seen as posing a direct threat to the west. other targets include islamic state group headquarters, training camps, and their ex. now, the u.s. and its arab partners, saudi arabia, united arab emirates, jordan, bahrain and qatar have hit at least two dozen targets in syria. hours before, barack obama met arab leaders in new york. a coalition aimed at fighting extremists. once again, he stressed his country is not alone in this fight. >> all of us are committed to making sure that we degrade, and ultimately destroy not only isil , but also the kind of extremist ideologies that would lead to so much bloodshed. but there was no objection to the bombings from the syrian government. the regime said that they supported antiterrorist operations and that washington wanted in advance. turkey has shifted its posit

and then this is a paper out of the united arab emirates courtesy of the nu set. um. u.s. launches strikes against the is in syria. that made the front page and next to that, another headline that israel shoots down syrian aircraft that went into their air space and finally from saudi arabia, you have this headline, ksa joins air strikes to crush islamic state and air force participated in the strikes against the so-called islamic state on tuesday as part of global efforts to eliminate terrorism. so that in saudi arabia's arab news this morning. speaker of the house put out this statement yesterday saying isil is a direct threat to the safety and security of the united states and our allies. i support the air strikes launched by the president understanding that this is just one step in what must be a larger effort to destroy and defeat he says this terrorist organization. i wish our men and women in uniform god speed as they carry out this fight. wayne, an independent in richmond, virginia. good morning to you. >> good morning. i was listening to c-span since i was a littl

military and the president has said they are jordan, saudi, bahrain, and the united arab emirates.hese four are all playing a very active role in the fight. they could be providing everything from intelligence to war planes and other kinds of military hardware. what about qatar which of course owns al jazeera, we are told they are playing an active role. the details of how these countries are involved, we'll learn more about. so stay with us. but as for the attack, it's a, as i said 47 tomahawk cruise missiles were fired last night. we are seeing some of those missiles in action in video that has been coming in. this is pretty impressive stuff right here, as you can see. up until this moment, the u.s. has not yet used this kind of weapon in the fight against isil in iraq. the tomahawk is 18 feet long. it carries a 1,000-pound war head. and they are used to hit stationary targets with incredit l precision. there were also several fighter jets, bombers and drones, we know that. there may have been other countries sending aircraft in as well. but i can tell you all of the aircraft inv

arabis context, the united emirates believe the kurds have proven their ability. but in the iraqi government, and we commend the role of the ,urdish forces in fighting isis and we hope the kurdistan region remained strong, stable, and an integral part of the republic of .raq the united arab emirates has always supported the iraqi people in all circumstances, including his support for the national consolidation efforts. and we have had initiatives to humanitarian-- assistance for those impacted by violence. my country will continue to provide such. finally, i would like to point out that the united arab has taken a position regarding the use of financial resources for terrorism. tocan treat -- we continue do besides the role of the international community. thank you, mr. president. >> thank you. i hope you will also pass on our , with hishis honor support in this coalition. i gave the floor to his excellency, the minister of the belgium >> >> -- thank you, mr. secretary. mr. secretary of state, honorable ministers, allow me to begin. the united states for the very

. >> saudi arabia, united emirates, jordan, bahrain and qatar. america is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with these nations on behalf of common security. >> reporter: but the attack was not just isil. but a small cadre of terrorists affiliated with al-qaeda. a group perfecting bomb techniques that could avoid detection by western security. an attack on europe or american homeland was imminent. >> we know they were in the final stages of planning an attack on western target, perhaps in europe, perhaps the u.s. homeland. we do believe we hit them pretty hard. >> reporter: officials call this initial round of strikes a success, but warned that the fight was far from over. >> we will not allow geography or borders to prevent us from taking action against isil. >> reporter: you heard the president enumerate the countries involved. one controversy was there a heads up given to the u.s. by the assad regime. state department spokesperson was absolutely not. the only thing they told the eye sad regimes wit regime was get out of the way. >> the joint

tell cnn that five countries took part of the operation, saudi arabia, bahrain, jordan, qatar, united emirates, and the support is greater as they learn that the goal of isis is to topplek is you lar governments and control one strong state from aftera ka to the east and beyond. and one big surprise, the u.s. expand expands the mission in the very first hours and goes it alone to target an al qaeda offshoot operating in syria. the pentagon says the group, khorasan, plotted an attack against the u.s. and interests. they targeted a weapons factory, a communications hub and command and control facilities within syria. wolf? >> clearly, carol, this is a major u.s.-led operation. we have our team of reporters and analysts across the globe. they are all standing by this morning to bring you the details of this major breaking story. let's start with cnn chief national security correspondent jim sciutto here with me at the united nations. a lot of activity to take place here at the u.n., and jim, what are you hearing about the initial success of the bomb damage assessment of the u.s.-led operations? >

. >>> the united arab emirates played a key role in creating and implementing this coalition strike. joining us now, the uae minister. thanks for joining us. welcome to the united nations. >> thank you. >> how difficult of a decision was this for the uae to join the military strike against isis targets in syria? >> i think it was a natural decision. we've always said that we have to have a collective response to terror and it was only natural that we would be at the forefront of it. >> what did you do, exactly, what was the role of the uae air force in this operation? >> well, rather than speak about the details of their role, i would say that coalition has been very effective, will continue to work together, also, to be more effective, to eliminate this common threat. >> so there's going to be mortar gets against the threats. we know this initial wave but what about in the hours and days ahead? >> we are committed. this will be more or less as part of the concerted military operation, a collective one, and we're committed to it and this is a common threat. >> the uae is deeply commit

-saudi, united arab emirates air strikes in syria right now. the u.s.unding away at oil refineries controlled by isis. u.s. officials say the targets where those oil refineries that were generating between $1 million and $2 million a day for isis and its terrorist organizations. egypt can has a powerful military is a close ally in the middle east and where does it stand in the campaign against isis is concerned? let's get some answers. joining us now is the former minister of egypt is al shukri. let me get your thoughts on eastern syria that were providing $1 million to $2 million a day on the black market for isis? >> that was necessary to stem the flow of cash to these radical organizations. it's the funding that provides them the arms and provides them the capacity to achieve what they have achieved militarily. it's a positive addition, and it's money that the syrian people have lost, but it's a necessary step. are you with the u.s. and its five arab coalition partners some is egypt with the u.s. on this some. >> oh, definitely. we are with the u.s.

for example, just yesterday from the united arab emirates and also from the saudis and others. we have the secretary of state, secretary of defense, the president's counterterrorism advisers all headed to the region. we need to look before we leap. tried doing the opposite a decade ago in the middle east and that didn't work out so well. he's being deliberative about putting this coalition together making sure we're comprehensively dealing with the problem. >> you've invited more than the member states in nato. you have the organization for progress in europe there as well, but you do mention the people who this affects the most if only because of where it started. >> right. >> saudi arabia, egypt, turkey, jordan. where are those states coming forward and saying we're not just going to condemn it with words. we're going to give the manpower and the money it will take to beat this because that's where it's originating. where are they? >> exactly what we're putting together now, why we're proceeding dlproceed ing deliberatively. that's why we're bringing these countries together

jim acosta at the united nations. >> the united arab emirates is one of the arab countries with planesn the air hitting isis targets in syria. our becky ander anyone is in abu dhabi and joins us live. the united states made clear it was saudi arabia and the united arab emirates that took the lead in these latest air strikes on oil refineries. that's significant in itself. what roles did jordan, bahrain and qatar play this time around and what's been the reaction there in the region to these latest air strikes? >> reporter: yeah, it's less clear. the statement that we got from u.s. central command confirming that both saudi and the uae had jets in the air over syria participating in these latest strikes, we do know in the initial phase some 48 hours ago, that jordan also flew its planes over syria. we haven't had that confirmation from u.s. centcom today or know what the latest role for bahrain or qatar has been. we know qatar has been playing a supporting role. there are jets in the skies from some of these arab allied countries. there is also logistical support and intelligence gather

american saudi, and united arab emirates aircraft carried out the attacks. 14 fighters were killed and five civilians. the targets were the oil refineries. united states say they bring in about $2 million per day in revenue for the group. >> fresh air strikes in syria aimed at cutting off the major source of financing for the islamic state organization. wednesday's air raid targeted a dozen small oil refineries under extremist control. saudi arabia, the united arab emirates bahrain, qatar, and jordan have taken part or assisted in the area campaign over syria since tuesday. at the un's general assembly, the u.s. president called on the entire world to join the fight. >> the only language understood by killers like this is the language of force. the united states of america will work with a broad coalition to dismantle this network of death. today i asked the world to join in this effort. >> more than 50 countries have committed to -- to military, humanitarian, or financial support. france began bombing targets in iraq last friday. britain received a formal request from baird -- from ba

. >> we learned today one of the pilots in the operation is a woman from the united arab emirates. riam al-mansouri flies an f-16. >> she is the first fighter pilot in the united arab emirates. she flies an f-16 and is a u.a.e. team leader. >> stephen: yes, a female fighter pilot flying airstrikes for the u.a.e. she has shattered the glass ceiling. and the rest of the building as well. folks, i'm thrilled about this lady pilot-- or pil-ette-- because i've been a longtime supporter of women's equal right to fight in wars instead of me. ( laughter ) and i'm not the only one. >> hey isis, you were bombed by a woman. oh yeah. i hope that hurt extra bad from you because in some arab countries, women can't even drive. >> stephen: yeah! that is progress for women! any wayto roll that progress back? >> i hope that hurt extra bad from you because in some arab countries, women can't even drive. >> problem is, after she bombed it, she couldn't park it. >> i salute her. >> would that be considered boobs on the ground, or no? >> oh! >> stephen: wow! wow! i mean, how, how ignorant. how ignorant c

the fact is a few days ago the united arab emirates and egypt attacked libya, and some people in the united states took umbrage because we weren't told mother, may i. maybe that's a good sign, that there's some initiative on the part of two sovereign nations acting in self-defense, largely with weapons and people trained to use those weapons that come from the united states, so why not let the united arab emirates, as i say, put their militaries where their mouths are. >> and the question -- and they have in libya, obviously. the question is whether this is a signal about the rest of the arab world. >> well, the uae and the saudis are very close. as you said, they both were together in attacking islamic extremists who have taken over tripoli. you wonder if the eau statement, which is really remarkable coming from an arab country is sort of what the saudis are thinking but aren't quite yet prepared to say openly, but what's striking to me is that the uae is not afraid to say islamic extremism. the president is. he calls it extremism. in fact, earlier in the show you showed our countert

allies saudi arabia and and united emirates. >> i'm not announcing future operations but will look at isil in syria and on the civilian casualty issue we take that seriously and will assess that as we work through the damage assessment process. >> kirby denied that syrian government forces invaded facilities attacked by the u.s. military. he did not confirm media reports that the air strike also killed the leader of the al qaeda affiliated extremist group khorasan. >>> china supported a u.n. security council resolution aimed at stemming the flow of foreign fighters joining extremist groups abroad but the country takes a difference stance than the u.s. on the air strikes against islamic state militants in syria. u.s. president barack obama led the council in the unanimous agreement. the resolution requires countries to adopt laws that would criminalize citizens traveling abroad to sign up for insurgencies. about 15,000 people from more than 80 countries have joined based on kind of our overall assessment. na that number could get larger as we go forward. >> admiral locklear acknowledge

being carried out with unprecedented regional cooperation, qatar, bahrain, saudi arabia, the united arab emirates and jordan taking part in some way. let's get to cnn's arwa damon. good to have friends, but which friends matter? turkey, egypt, the united kingdom, where were they? >> well, turkey will tell you that they were up until this weekend, very concerned about the fate of 49 hostages in isis' custody. released over the last few days, with the turkish president coming out and saying that they would perhaps be ready to take more aggressive action. turkey right now trying to deal with this influx of refugees, egypt, you mentioned, could also play a very critical role. and the roles don't have to be military. but countries like egypt and saudi arabia, that are the birth plaiss of this wahabi extremist ideology. if they can get their religious clarity to the forefront, standing alongside this coalition, standing against isis that can perhaps help in the effort to try to lure these young, youth, whether they're arabs, whether they're syrians whether they're westernersternw. in terms of the impac

united emirates farther removed so their interest is lower as a result. of them worry that they have citizens who have gone and joined isis so some of their citizens are actually terrorists themselves. >> what about turkey? >> again, very, very long border. both iraq and syria but turkey has a real serious problem. more than 40 to 50 turkish diplomats are now held hostage by isis and the last thing turkey wants to see is what we've seen with james foley and steve sotloff is videos of their diplomats -- >> that's their hesitation. >> that's part of their hesitation. one other part of hesitation that all armies are worried about. they have never been tested in battle. not recently. none of their rulers can be 100% certain their armies will hold up. u.s. has far greater combat experience in this part of the world than armies in this part of the world. >> is turkey offering anything? >> they are offering behind the scenes intelligence help and logistical help. you can use bases to do rescue missions but not combat missions. that doesn't make a lot of sense. t

five of them, five arab nations, qatar, bahrain, saudi arabia and the united arab emirates, along witharticipated in that action, flying their jets right alongside american jets. it is an unprecedented coalition, sending a very powerful message to isis. what message is it, how strong is it and might the message change? let's bring in cnn's chief international correspondent christiane amanpour and cnn political analyst peter bergen to talk about the significance of this partnership. were you surprised at these five? >> i think everybody was, it's unprecedented that that many arab countries are actually involved in a bombing campaign of another arab muslim nation. so it was as much a military alliance as it is a political, cultural, religious and ideological message that's being sent to the region. qatar may not have taken part in the involved. i going to be speaking to the bahraini foreign minister in about an hour and we'll know more. >> qatar and saudi arabia not announcing that. but jim sciutto clearing that they have been involved in the bombs themselves. peter bergen, is it the beg

four arab partners also flew over searia, the united arab emirates, saudi arabia, jordan and bahrain. fifth arab partner, qatar, contributed in some ways, just not with help in the air. we're told the decision to strike overnight was made early monday by a commander at centcom who is authorized to do so by the president. president owe baja has been receiving regular updates overnight and the president dialed capitol hill to fill in the speaker of the house, john boehner and house minority leader nancy pelosi with details about this operation and officials with syrian president bashar al assad's government say they also got a heads up about these isis strikes before they started from someone in washington, according to an ap wire that crossed in the last few hours. there should be more details on that soon. also one additional note at the end of the centcom release we received last hour there's a separate note about eight strikes in syria west of aleppo against korazan group an al qaeda offshoot apparently to disrupt what the u.s. military calls eminent plotting against the united stat

jordan, qatar, bahrain, saudi arabia and the united arab emirates. the participation by at least try of the partners is in kinetic activity, not supporting them but taking part in those air strikes. that is extremely significant. this is just the first night. i'm told that this will continue, perhaps not at the same pace that we've seen tonight and intensity. perhaps settling into more of the pace that we've seen in the u.s.-led air campaign over iraq in recent days which is now in its sixth week, but this is the first very decisive step you might say in what promises to be a long campaign. just one thing i might add as well, becky, i've reached out to members of the syrian opposition, and i've heard from the syrian opposition very strong support. one official telling me thank you, thank you. this is something we've been waiting for for so long. remember, this is an administration that did not take the advice of even some of the president's own advisers to get involved in this conflict earlier, to arm some of the moderate syrian rebels. hillary clint

others include saudi arabia, bahrain, qatar, and the united arab emirates.hit include the eastern city up here of deir and raqqa. the u.s. launched the strikes from warships in international waters, here in the red sea and over in the persian gulf. the first amateur footage is coming to us also now from the aftermath of the strikes. this has taken overnight, people showing us what they believe are remains of the missiles that has been fired, of course, on this territory. and this is the sort of scene that people are now waking up to today. let's get the very latest now from our correspondent in washington barbara plett usher. barbara, we had this statement just a couple of hours ago from the u.s. military, giving us quite a few details about this operation. >> yes. talking about two different aspects of the attack. first of all, saying that 14 strikes were carried out by the u.s. planes and warships firing tomahawk missiles, together with five arab allies who participated in the air strikes or helped to support them. islamic state fighters, storage sites, co

let me give you an example. >> jon: yes. >> i was in the united arab emirates when president george bushe for the war in iraq. he said something to the effect this was about the forces of freedom and democracy against forces of authoritarianism and evil. an arab friend said this is about persians and arabs. you're about to release a devil we're trying to keep contained. the arab on the other side said this is about shia and sunni, you're going to release a religious world. they were both right. >> jon: we were two weeks into the bombing before america realized there were two forms of islam. we didn't even know sunni and she. i can't we were, like, what's happening? we seemed to learn about religion and geography after we bomb. (laughter) do you have a couple of minutes to stick around to explain? "before the first shots are fired: how america can win or lose off the battlefield," general tony zinni. we'll be right back. will new twizzlers mixed berry bites ever end their rivalry with new jolly rancher filled gummy bites? not today. bites. little greatness. left twix® is extra crisp so it

. >> saudi arabia and the united arab emirates are two gulf states supporting the u.s.'s mission. ter generations of religious and political strife in the region, a united arab army on the front lines in iraq and syria will be a challenge for the u.s. to put together. on "inside story" last week, graham allison summed it up like this. >> it's a mine field full of mines, because the fishers among the parties who will be part of this coalition of the weird, that is parties that hate each other almost more than isil, but isil is the enemy of everybody. the enemy of iran, assad, saudi, bagdad, the enemy of civilization. >> iran's foreign minister was not invited to paris. iran's support for bashar al-assad makes iran's presence inappropriate. iran's supreme leader said monday kerry sought iran's cooperation privately earlier. but iran refused. >> their american hands are dirty. how can we cooperate with thoses who hands are dirty. they will come across the same problems they face in iraq in the last ten years. >> white house chief of staff continued to rally for u.s. >> this is obvious

united arab emirates, bahrain, saudi arabia, jordan and qatar.president obama due in new york tomorrow we're told he's being briefed by military officials throughout the night on the action in syria. we're not expecting any statement tonight. earlier today he conduthed with both speaker boehner and minority leader nancy pelosi in the house and before that, we're told he met with top brass where the decision according to the pentagon was made by commander general lloyd austin to strike tonight. joining me now jack keane, a former army vice chief of staff. good of you to come in tonight and offer expertise on this. give us your perspective on whether you think this action will take days, weeks, months or longer. >> not only is this air strikes on syria, and and and it's very significant. also, countries attacking a city-based terrorist organization. that did not come easy. many of these, now this, is isis. so it is significant in my judgment. qatar, not attacking. qatar, i think has problems because they've been aiding isis from the beginning and a

qatar, bahrain, saudi arabia, united arab emirates and jordan. let's start with senior washington correspondent joe johns with the latest. >> reporter: christine, in the early stages of the campaign, the effort to take out the command and control of isis is only beginning. the latest information from central command was a mix of fighter, bomber, drone or piloted aircraft remotely and tomahawk missiles conducting 14 strikes against isis targets. the strikes damage or destroyed raqqa and other areas. it includes training compounds and control facilities and storage facilities and finance center and supply trucks and armed vehicles. they used 47 tomahawk missiles launched from the "uss burke." and using navy and marines aircraft and bombers. the u.s. said the allies from bahrain and jordan and uae participated in the air strike. separately, now, central command says the united states has taken action to disrupt the eminent attack provided by a network of seasoned al qaeda veterans. sometimes a group that established a safe haven in syria to develop

there are reports that it may include the united arab emirates. saudi arabia, bahrain, qatar possibly. we don't know what their roles are, and the pentagon saying it's up to the partner nations to say what their roles were. it's critical for the white house. they wanted to build an international coalition, it didn't want to be seen as another situation of here is the white house, acting on its own, going into the middle east, launching air strikes. whatever role the arab nations played, that is a factor that the white house wanted to see in place before they launched the streaks. we should say that martin dempsey, the chairman of the joint chiefs, when he testified in front of congress, talked about the campaign that would be launched against syria. he said it won't be shock and awe, that's the campaign against saddam hussein and iraq was call. it will not be shock and awe, because i.s.i.l. isn't organised that way. he said it will be sustained and persistent. we are seeing a bombardment tonight. and a number of ways they have gone after i.s.i.l.,

the united arab emirates. sunni governments in each of these nations taking action against sunni militants inside syria. that's a very big development. president obama praised this operation just a short time ago. >> we are joined in this action by our friends and partners saudi arabia, the united arab emirates, jordan, bahrain, and qatar. america's proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with these nations on behalf of our common security. the strength of this coalition makes it clear to the world that this is not america's fight alone. above all, the people and governments of the middle east are rejecting isil and standing up for the peace and security that the people of the region and the world deserve. >> not america's fight alone. a key phrase you will hear from u.s. officials all day. we're covering all angles of this story with our team of correspondents and analyst. chief national security correspondent jim sciutto plus our terrorism analyst paul cruickshank, national security analyst juliette kayyem and o

he's sending 600 troops and fighter jets to the united arab emirates and condemned the beheading of a british aid worker. >>> iran's parliamentary speaker dismissed the u.s. effort to build a coalition against the i.s. group, saying any action against the is without u.n. approval is a violation of international law. >> translation: they say the u.s. and its allies will form a coalition and attack syria and iraq, regardless of the u.n. security council. this is a disaster. if you wanted to attack, why create the united nations then. >>> opposition fighters in syria captured several towns in the area where the fighting began. the gains allowed some civilians to get to safer grounds. the struggle is far from over. we have this report. >> in the countryside around deraa, the rebels are making progress, albeit slowly, retaking territory one hill at a time. regime soldiers abandoned their position. in this war of attrition, the rebels are grateful for each small victory. >> the syrian rebel front clairs the liberation of the hill at around 9:45 this morning. we thank god for that. >> in thi