del. >> mike viqueira at the white house. stand by as we await the president to speak. >>> the united nations security council is considering a resolution today nademanding mo access to the site in ukraine. we're live in london with more on the pressure they're putting on russia. the british and australian prime ministers are quite vocal today. >> yeah, del, the australian and british prime ministers taking basically the lead in expressing the indignation felt certainly here in europe. we see it here in the united kingdom. we had an extraordinary session in the house of commons when the prime minister david cameron sto stood up and said russia has to make sure the investigation proceeds quickly and it has to change and stop smenting the separatists in the east of ukraine. we have to start thinking, and we have to here in the eu fundamentally change our relationship with russia. he said that we would also be looking for harsher sanctions if vladimir putin doesn't back off from his support no matter the consequences to our own

the president was in dell aware earlier, and mike viqueira is at the white house. >> marine one left joint base andrews and took off. depositing the president. he kept his schedule, going to wilmington delaware to talk about infrastructure spending, keeping pressure on republicans, and continued to new york city for a fundraiser, and along the way the white house was eager to let us know that the president was working the phones, speaking to many individuals, including the leaders of the countries involved. the common theme here is that the white house is emphasising that the area around the crash site must be kept secure and not tax evered with -- tampered with. the press secretary pout out a statement -- put out a statement emphasising the role of the raigss reiterate -- united nation, reiterating that no evidence be tampered with, offering to send the transportationation safety board and the federal bureau of investigation. there are indications that the ukrainians will accept the offer from the president. the white house not placing blame yet, not confirming any of the details th

let's go to more about the ukraine with mike viqueira. what did you make about the president's statement there? >> reporter: well, you've seen president obama who has come under sharp criticism over the last weeks and months for what many see is infec infectality. iraq and the humanitarian crisis on america's own border on this immigration serge coming from central america. when he got down to the nuts and bolts and those negotiations in the new sanctions on russia over it's continuing aggression towards ukraine was an effort by the white house to go down this laundry list and click off one by one some of these foreign policy hot spots. those where the president could cite some progress. he started off with afghanistan, secretary of state john kerry was there recently brokered a peace between the two candidates over these allegations, this controversy in afghanistan that threatens to tear apart the nation and the electoral system that would elect a president. enabling a truce, at least a temporary truce between these two candidates and mo

mike viqueira reports from the white house. >> as the humanitarian crisis upfolds on the border. political gridlock in washington. immigration reform going nowhere in congress. >> president obama is fed up with house republicans, and if they block immigration reform, he'll go around them again if he has to. >> the argument seems to be because the system is broken, we shouldn't make an effort to fix it. it makes no sense. it's politics. plain and simple. >> president obama asked for a recommendation, and says he'll sign executive action with some reforms by the end of the summer. >> in the meantime he's moving 150 border agents from around the country to the rio grand valley, where tens of thousands of immigrants, including many unaccompanied children overwhelmed the system. the president will ask congress for a surge of resources. more than 2 billion for more immigration judges, assume processes and lawyers, as well as humanitarian aid. after touring a military base turned migrant detention center, jay johnson expressed optimism. >> i believe we'll stem the tide and obviously the

they talked about sanctions against vladimir putin and russia. >> mike viqueira at the white house. >>> here is a look at the radar monitoring flights, taken within of the hour. no planes are flying over eastern ukraine. many have been avoiding the region. >> british airways, korean airlines and quantity along those. the jet was on his way to amsterdam. this is the second time in four months. malaysia airlines is facing anger and demands. florence louie is in kuala lumpur. >> the malaysian prime minister, in his second statement on the crash of mh17 used strong words calling it inhumane irresponsible. he said malaysia are not interested in assigning blame, but they want to condemn the violent senseless act and the country's flags will fly at half mast as a sign of warning for those on board the flight. now, the transport minister earlier on friday had to field tough questions about why malaysia airlines was flying the route, despite the fact that some aviation body deemed it risky and advised airlines not to take the flight path. malaysian airlines responded by saying it was an approv

mike viqueira joins us now.ike just yesterday after this has been off of the front burner, the white house was reacting to the fact there has been escalated activity in that area. the russians moved in more assets, more support for the separatists, and that's what triggered the sanctions yesterday, and now we have this. >> he was on the phone with president putin today, and if you believe the white house verse it was briefly noted at the end of the conversation. but that conversation dominated and happened at the request of the russian side talking about the sanctions that president obama announced. somewhat short of what the president promised but will undoubtedly take a bite nonetheless. from then it was chaos across the globe as here in the united states, in washington, officials struggled to figure out the facts. they are still having that struggle right now. president obama kept his schedule. he went to wellington, delaware to talk about infrastructure to hit republicans yet again for not funding infrastruc

mike viqueira is in washington. mike, is it a rebellion from key democrats? >> reporter: yes, the president hathis was not part of the $3.7 billion. >> reporter: today we saw the top democrat in the house of representatives. the white house in his skwaup they've had discussion, sharp words exchanged with the top white house aide. o'malley said it would be inhumane to send them back. and the liberal lyon from vermont putt leahy with remarkable comments. >> i also remind people of a time in the past around world war ii where this country unwisely closed it's borders to people fleeing the holocaust in germany. they were turned back, and many to certain death. >> the white house is telling many in that meeting. he said i'm going to be enacting executive orders to ease some of these deportations but for now the white house has a very tough line. >> any indications at the white house that the $3.7 billion requested is making any head way at capitol hill? >> reporter: we do know that the house of representatives will take up a version of what the president has put f

mike viqueira is the latest. what's this development all about?> reporter: well, with all the crisis around the world, al, you could be forgot ohen if you forgot the fact that the crisis in ukraine continues, and russian aggression in eastern ukraine continues as well as the seceding or annexization of crimea. little has been done and president obama has met repeatedly with g-7, the e.u. and other allies threatening time and time again to impose what he calls broad secretar sanctions against russia putin did fought change course, and de-escalate as a whole. now they're calling them scalp scalpels because the europeans are very reluctant. they're dragging their feet. these are u.s. sanctions that the the president announced today. this is president obama promising even more after today if vladimir putin does not change course. >> i made this clear t directly to mr. putin. many of our europeanallys have made this clear to mr. putin we have to see concrete actions and not just words that russia, in fact, is committed to trying to end this conflict al

you mike viqueira is in washington, d.c. we'll start with jonathan martin who is at the border in tax. what's on top of the agenda for the president in texas today? >> the president will be making a couple of stops here, visiting dallas and austin, but won't be coming to the border, which is something he's been heavily criticized for, not just by congress, but also governor rick perry. the president himself has called this a humanitarian cries. he agreed to meet with governor perry and religious leaders for a round table discussion to talk about what's going on here, specifically that is the huge wave of undocumented children who are unaccompanied coming cross the border. there have been about 50,000 of those children coming alone across the border since october, and that is a staggering number when you consider just a couple of years ago, the numbers were less than three times that -- the number now is three times what it was just a few years ago. >> how are the border towns where you are reacting to the in flux of migrants

for more from the white house, let's go to vike viqueira in washington, and what an about-face. russiathey were leading the cha, and they have come up with sanctions of more than the white house was. >> he tried over the course of the spring as the crisis unfolded to convince an otherwise cajoled europe to go along. and it took this galvanizing event, we can trace it back to that, the downing of malaysian airliner 17 over ukraine, and the doubling down and the backing down of vladimir putin since then, sending more funds, and more arms, and firing over ukrainian territory from russia, and finally getting to the point where the leaders were galvanized and the moment came when president obama finally got them to go along with some sanctions. again, not the broad sectorial sanctions that have been building all along, but something significantly greater or more impactful than what they put forward to begin with. >> mike, there a sense of the white house, the sanctions that the u.s. already had on would have some effect, but clearly not having much because of the economy, is there so

we're joined now by mike viqueira from the white house. what is the reaction to the developments in iraq? >> reporter: the president himself continues to call the situation in iraq an existential threat to the country and that threat is only growing worse. it was mid-june when just outside of iraq their purpose and mission was to secure the u.s. embassy and protect u.s. lives and property. last night they announced they're sending 100 more individuals to do that very same thing. they said that isil continues to press it towards baghdad to the north and west. they call the situation very fluid. that's what led to this recalibration and in addition to even more troops. meanwhile, here at the white house they continue it insist that any reconciliation in the iraqi government has to come before airstrikes armaments. and as we just heard the first session of parliament ended in aggi acrimony. >> we need the leadership that have country to put the interest of the country first, not to fall back into old habits but seek to rise above those divisi

mike viqueira is at the white house. do we have any idea what the white house is preparing right now? >> reporter: when you put it all together, you listen to samantha power and president obama it's a fairly damning indictment. the is going to be put out in the court of worldwide public opinion, and you don't want to convict someone before experts have a chance to go in and look at the crash site. this is why the president is getting out before vladimir putin saying we need to get there now. we need to examine the crash site and the debris scattered across the ukrainian countryside. he's trying to set it up so international, impartial experts and investigators can go in and dispatch folks here from ntsb in washington and the fbi as well. if evidence is removed from the crash site, the president gets it both ways. he has already set the bar. that's what the white house has been struggling to do all through the course of the day and that's part of the president's mission when he came out and spoke to the press. >> what's t

joining us now is al jazerra white house correspondent mike viqueira.'s talk a little bit about the strength of the president's comments and why he was so firm about finding some sort of impartial way of identifying what was on the crash scene. >> well, that's a great point, joie. let's bring you up-to-date from the latest this friday evening here at the white house, the president on his way to camp david, he's there by now. but before leaving he spoke with two top european leaders angela americaing the trans lohr of germany and the u.k.'s david cameron. they talked about the need as the president has with every leader he has spoken with, perhaps a half dozen or moreover the last 24 to 48 hours about the need to maintain the integrity of that crash site. the fact that russian separatists are there in control of that very much a very big concern. what the president is trying do by emphasizing this is result vladimir putin in a box, and they are emphasizing international nature of this investigation and impartial investigation that find what clearly that

mike viqueira joins us live in washington. mike, tell us more about this battle over the board. >> reporter: john henry, this system overhaul you're talking about is a dead letter in the house of representatives after some version of the immigration reform passed the senate a year ago. what you're looking at is the sudden influx of humanitarian crisis. some 10,000 in may alone, unaccompanied children who have crossed the u.s. border and who have been apprehended. now the u.s. is trying to find a quicker, more efficient way to send these children back to their homes, even as they discourage them from coming in the first place. >> as the number of minors enter the u.s. from central america swells past 50,000 there has been little agreement on what to do with them. >> we have to send them back. >> we cannot abandon these children. >> the thing this administration needs to do is immediately deport these families, these children. >> reporter: and when asked sunday if these children would be deported homeland security jay johnson pr

mike viqueira joins us live from washington.ike, it seems like we've been talking about this issue for quite some time to help repair the country's infrastructure. everyone agrees it needs to be done, but getting it done is the issue. what is the latest from where you stand? >> reporter: the good news-bad news from washington on the issue of highway funding, you're right, the house of representatives, the senate and white house are is behind this as well. they have passed a stop-good measure. even the president calls it kicking the can down the road, but said he would endorse what the house did. this highway trust fund is set to run out of money in a matter of weeks. the house of representatives, senate, they're getting ready to go on vacation. they have ten more legislative days. they won't be back for september. they needed to do something, and this was the compromise. they voted overwhelmingly, 367 367-55 many republicans defying conservative outside groups calling to reject this bill. it just goes to show you and perhaps thi

. >>> our mike viqueira is at the white house. and mike has there been any progress after the meeting with abbas? >> well no. john kerry sunday morning said he needed to get there, and was tired of sitting around washington. he has already had two meetings the first with un secretary general ban ki-moon. kerry said yes, we are taking steps forward towards a ceasefire. and then on to romala, and he met with abbas. but again no progress to report. let's listen. >> we had a good conversation today about how we can take further steps, and -- and we're doing this for one simple reason. the people in the palestinian territories, the people in israel, are all living under the threat or reality of immediate violence, and this needs to end for everybody. we need to find a way forward that works. and it's not violence. >> part of the unspoken sub context for that meeting was of course who speaks for hamas. hamas obviously is locked in this struggle with israel. hamas and the palestinian authority have had their divisions. lately there have

our white house correspondent, mike viqueira told us that that will probably take place closer to 11:50 when that happens. >> welcome back to aljazeera, the headlines at this hour, three investigators from europe have arrived at the crash site in ukraine, and malaysia is sending it's own investigators. >>> and the ground strikes continue. and hamas still firing rockets at israel. one israeli soldier and a civilian are dead. and 270 palestinians have been killed in operation protective edge. >>> we're also following -- . >> i'm dave warnen. we're following china closely. a super typhoon, a rapid intensification went through very favorable development. and we're clearly seeing the eye here, surrounded by a solidarity of thunderstorms, winds over 150 miles per hour at least. and this is beginning to push to the east. it's affecting parts of southern china. look at the wind picking up here, a lot of trees down, and storm surge the way it's tracking but we're waiting to see a lot of damage reports coming in. a lot of people affected by the storm in southern china. after it affected the phi

mike viqueira is live at the white house this morning, and mike, the white house some say is bowing toolitical pressure to address the crisis. >> there is no question there is a humanitarian crisis, and yes, at this house, we understand the white house has officially sent its request to congress for $3.7 billion. they want to expedite the process. they have prioritized those who most recently arrived in the country for deportation hearings. all of this as the president takes political hits for the handling of the crisis. it has become a common site in california. today the white house will ask for more than $2 billion to help deal with the problem. >> we're seeking additional judges, lawyers, and asylum officials who can process these cases more quickly. >> reporter: those are said to include the 50,000 children that have entered this year. a day of homeland secretary jeh johnson refused to answer if the kids would be deported, the white house stuck a different tone. >> if they don't have a legal basis for being in this country, they will be sent back. >> reporter: but that news was no

. >> mike viqueira live for us at the white house this morning.ike, thank you very much. >>> meanwhile there are media reports coming out that delta airlines has canceled all flights into israel indefinitely. >>> now to the crisis in ukraine. investigators finally at the debr debris field. they joined a team of european monitors who had been on the ground since sunday. a group of residents holding a service nearby honoring the people killed in the crash. the remains of those victims have been moved from donetsk to kharkiv where they will make their final journey home. >>> the 282 bodies that made their way up from the crash site passed through these gates, the beginning of the process to get them out of ukraine. there is some paperwork that is involved. they werest sorted up here, the bodies by malaysian and dutch officials. it's expected that they will leave on a dutch aircraft probably on wednesday going to the netherlands where they'll start the indication process. one the indication is discovered they will be sent to their countries. also what

mike viqueira joins us from washington. mike, are these sanctions a significant difficulty with what areas are the sanctions targeting? >> reporter: the arms industry, the energy industry, the finance industry. tony, it's significant, and here's the main reason why. president obama has been trying to bring along major allies in europe for months now since the invasion of crimea or the annexation of victim ya earlier in the spring and sdwent actions by russia to destabilize eastern ukraine and destabilize the government in kiev. today the president in concert with the european union, and that is a significant part, instituted if not the broad sectoral sanctions he promised and threatened and tried to cajole the europes for months to come along with it. here here heretofore he had instituted sanctions against individual sanctions, but the white house repeatedly termed his cronies. now they go up by an expotential factor, and he stopped in front of marine one and what he was supposed to do in concert with the europeans. >> rus

mike viqueira is live in washington and what are they facing? >> 50,000, the number of uncompanied children who have been apprehended on mexico's border with mexico that they share with texas. 26 in detention at any given moment. and yet this crisis has entered the political realm in washington d.c., and you don't know what's going to happen. president obama, not visiting the valley. and $3.7 billion. he does want to beef up the border patrol and he wants to care for the young people in the detention centers now. but the trouble is that democrats and republicans cannot agree. and today mitch mcconnell took to the senate floor. >> las last night in a speech tt attempted to shift of the blame, he doubled down on a blank check, which is what he asked for. he led americans to believe that the problem can be solved if only congress would pass his last-minute request. but it's not that simple. much more needs to be done. and the president certainly knows it. >> it should be noted, del, that immigration reform passed that senate floor a year ago and it

mike viqueira is at the white house and mike has there been any progress after kerry's meeting with abbas>> well, del, so far it is very slow going in the state department to be fair billed it as such. they said it was going to be taking days, and this is an open-ended commitment from secretary kerry, he was caught on camera saying he needed to goefrt there, sitting around in washington was just crazy. well, he landed in cairo, this morning he landed in tel-aviv. at this moment, del, secretary kerry is now behind closed doors speaking with the israeli prime minister, benjamin netenyahu. they shook hands for the cameras before going into that meeting, and this is the third meeting with a major figure in this crisis that secretary kerry has had. earlier he met ban ki moon, meeting him in israel. then to the nearby west bank and spoke with abbas. >> president abbas understands the road to the solution, and that's what we're working for. so we will continue to push for this ceasefire. we will continue to work with president abbas, and others in the region in order to achieve it. and i can tel

mike viqueira joins us from the white house. >> the president began on a somber note.here was was u.s. citizen -- actually a duel citizen who died in the crash. also the president in the way of nuts and bolts saying the ntsb and fbi now have been invited by the ukrainian government to go to the crash site and many are on their way. but you are absolutely right the president has a mission, and that is to leave very little doubt about who the united states government think is responsible for this. it was a buk missile manufactured by russia, possessed by russia, and a unit of which that system was taken over by ukrainian rebels just a short time ago. the president also noting that the missile was fired from herrer to held by separatists, those who want to break away from ukraine. but the president's mission was twofold. first the integrity of the crash site. there's no question in anybody's mind here at the white house or throughout the u.s. government of who is responsible for this. the separatists and by extension the russian government. the white house very concerned

mike viqueira our white house correspondent is standing by live. the president taking us up to the water's edge but stopping short of indicating who pulled the trigger. >> that's well put. and you don't have to read too hard between the lines to determine that this is a shut and closed case. yes, it was a russian made sa-11, fired from territory controlled by the separatists after all if you are a trial lawyer you are not going to determine the jury pool before you present the case. the jury being the international community in this case. the need to maintain the integrity. the russians are thought to be responsible for downing this plane. and that is something that the president is very much interested in united the international community. you heard it as a wake-up call. struggling to bringing sanctions in line. notwithstanding the tragedy and horror of what has happened here over the course of the last 48 to 36 hours in bringing down that airplane, ultimately looking at the long view, the president who did call for an immediate ceasefire to host

mike viqueira is in washington. tell us more about the battle over the border. >> in may, 10,000 in may alone, that's the number of unaccompanied children taken by the border control. the obama administration is trying to find ways to send them back to their homes, principlely in central america more quickly and efficiently while trying to discourage them from coming to this country in the first place. >> as the number of unaccompanied minors swells past 50,000, there's been little agreement on what to do with them. >> we have to 10 them back. >> we can't abandon these children. >> the thing that the administration needs to do is immediately deport these families, these children. >> when asked sunday if those children would be deported, homeland secretary johnson provided few answers. >> i personally encountered enough of them to know that we have to do right by the children but at the end of the day in the final analysis, our border is not open to illegal migration and we will stem the tide. >> for now, that means

. >> mike viqueira, thank you very much. >>> moscow has denied it played a roll in the disaster. a moving display in the russian capital raises qups about what russians -- questions about what the russians think. these were left at embassies. there were intriguing messages "forgive us if you can", and, "not all russians are murderers and terrorists." the russian defense ministerry denies allegations that they were involved in the flight. >>> when we return on "america tonight" - on the ground in gaza - the other still developing story of this hour. our correspondent nick schifrin as israel pushes deeper and warns the invasion could reach wider, and fear for gazans under siege. >> gay marriages, straight marriages... have the same challenges. >> it's all about having the same options as everybody else. >> that fought for equality >> saying "i do" changed everything. >>every saturday, join us for exclusive, revealing and surprising talks with the most interesting people of our time. "talk to al jazeera" tomorrow 5 eastern only on al jazeera america >> hundreds of days in detention.

. >> mike viqueira joins us from washington. the obama administration said it has intelligence that pro-russian separatists brought down the flight. the question remains whether moscow was directly involved. do we know the answer to that this morning. >> u.s. intelligent officials did hold a background briefing for intelligence reporters. the entire purpose was to keep the pressure on moscow in the face of claims that the united states had no direct evidence that either moscow or the separatists were complicit and responsible for bringing down that plane. that tragedy happened just a little less than a week ago now. officials say while its likely russia was involved and complicit in sending the arms, the administration said they were sending arms and continue to do so even in the aftermath of the tragedy. they say it is likely now that separatists brought down that plane. >> does it appear that the u.s. is softening its stance from the sunday talk shows over the weekend where they were pointing the weekend quite directly at krem

. >> mike viqueira at the white house. thank you. as mike touched on there the battle in iraq is being fought between factions. this is not a secular government combating religious extremism. cities bounce back between sunni rebels and iraqi control. we have reports from ubil. >> reporter: he said he is a target because he was a sunni and those in anbar feel particularly betrayed by the prime minister nouri al-maliki. he once served in the army. he said the sunni rebellion won't end until their rights are restored. >> we will continue the war, we will ready to deal with leaders, but iranian influence has to end. maliki has to leave power. we've been humiliated enough. >> reporter: for many months people from anbar protested in the streets. the government viewed the demonstrations, which spread to other sunni areas, as a threat. the government responded with force and said it was fighting militant groups. the province has been a battleground since the start of this year. armed groups pushed iraqi army out of the sunni heartland in art

. >> mike viqueira for us at the white house. thank you, mike. >>> russia is facing growing international pressure to reignn in pro-russian separatist in the wake of the crash. rory challands is in moscow with a look at the next steps. >> reporter: i think we are going to be seeing three different types of russian response. the first is on the kind of high-level diplomatic stage. the kind of which we heard from vitale the russian ambassador to the united nations security council. he blames ukraine for what has happened. and said that ukraine must take full culpability because it was in ukrainian air space that this disaster happened. then i think domestically, we will see bluster. in fact, as barack obama was making his press conference earlier "o" there was a tweet from alexander, a united russia party deputy who was saying that barack obama was lying without blushing. but thirdly, i think behind closed doors, there is going to be deep worry here in moscow if any party that is looking in to this tragedy can firmly point the fing

as mike viqueira explains, the president will try to fix the broken system using executive power. >> president obama says he's fed up with house republicans and if they keep blocking immigration reform will go around them again, if he has to. >> their argument seems to be that because the system's broken, we shouldn't make an effort to fix it. it makes no sense. it's just politics. plain and simple. >> mr. obama asked for recommendations and said he'll sign executive action with some reforms by the end of the summer. in the meantime, he's moving 150 border agents to the rio grande valley where tens of thousands of immigrants, including many children from central america has overwhelmed the i am allegation system. the president will ask congress for what he calls a surge of resources. more than $2 billion for more immigration judges, processors and lawyers and humanitarian aid to care for the children. after touring a texas military base, home land secretary expressed optimism. >> i believe we're going to stem this tide and solve this problem. we're going to remain focused on doing th

we'll hear from an organizer later in the next half hour. >> mike viqueira is in washington, d.c. now. how is the president's proposal, that $3.7 billion proposal being received on capitol hill. >> it's a very rocky reception. he's going to try to make this about congressional dysfunction and their refusal to act on immigration as a whole. the senate passed a bill more than a year ago that had significant billions of dollars for more border enforcement, beefing up the border patrol. democrats, as well as republicans are very upset now with what the president wants to do. john boehner, of course, the speaker of the laws gave the president $3.7 billion request a very chilly reception yesterday. i sent a letter to the president more than two weeks ago outlining actions that he could take already under the law and yet he's not followed any of those recommendations. it's time for us to take a serious look at what needs to happen. >> the president said once again yesterday that most of those unaccompany the minors are going to be sent book and wants an expedited pros to do that. that's

tonight, a nuclear arms deal on the brink, and in eastern ukraine, mike viqueira has more on that. >> reporter: john, after months of trying to cajole and convince european leaders, it took the downed malaysian airliner 17 and continued destabilization of the ukraine an republic. president obama announced a new round of sanctions, escalating the other sanctions against arms industries, and financial interests, and the energy sector in russia. now, president obama said the actions that the administration has already taken have taken a bite out of the russian economy. let's listen. >> now, russia's actions in ukraine, and the sanctions that we have already imposed have made a weak russian economy even weaker. foreign investors already are increasingly staying away, and even before our actions today, $100 billion in capital was expected to flee russia. russia's energy, financial sectors are feeling the pain. >> now, president obama and top officials say that the u.s. and european union have imposed sanctions on five of the six top russian banks, covering the total assets, and they're blo

for more and the view from the white house, let's go to mike viqueira on the lawn. what do you make of this? >of>> reporter: first, american personnel are being moved out of the american embassy in baghdad, ate and many are being moved to basrah, and at any rate, concerning baghdad, it's nowhere settled as you know. the pentagon today reporting that the isoforces are still pressing to the north. and what their intention is, the spokesman called it fluid, and no more that you need over the increasing nervousness of the situation over baghdad and the rest of iraq, that more troops have been sent? in a combat role. i was just looking at an avenue that ben rhodes, national security has been giving, and more and more, the united states doesn't want to get involved militarily in what is going on in iraq, and whether or not iraq can get it's political house in order. they met on july 1st today in baghdad, a session that broke down in acrimony. remember, the united states has been maliki and that is not happening. >> they didn't choose a new prime minister, name a new prime

aljazeera's mike viqueira is in washington. are they optimistic ahead of that trip with both sides digging in? >> i think this is a trip born of frustration, frankly and we don't have to rely on unnamed sources within the u.s. government or speculate. secretary kerry said it himself yesterday in an unguarded open mic moment on one of those sunday talk shows news anniversary programs. during the commercial, he expressed frustration, talking to an aide sarcastically, referring to the israel occupation as a hell of a pinpoint operation. later in that conversation, the secretary said we've got to get on a plane. this is crazy, we can't just be sitting around here. what is he doing? any moment now he should be wheels down in cairo. the idea is to get behind a previous proposal for an unconditional ceasefire. when confronted with his frustration, he stuck to the u.s. government line. let's listen. >> israel has seched a unilateral ceasefire, accepted the egyptian plan, which we also support, and little important for hamas to now step

. >> quite a number, mike viqueira for us at the white house.hank you very much. >> president obama nominated bob mcdonald to take over the troubled department of veteran's affairs today. the selection of a businessman comes amid calls for radical change at an agency on fire for mismanagement. long wait times and even reports of veterans who died waiting for appointments. the question is whether m cdonald is the right man for the job. >> thank you so much, bob, for making on this assignment. >> thank you mr. president, thank you so much. >> for some the head of procter & gamble seems an unorthodox pick to head the department of veteran's affairs. the 61-year-old does have a military background. >> i went to west point to be an officer in the army to try to help free people living in non-free societies. i became an infantry officer because i wanted to be on the change. >> after earning an mba at the university of utah he joined p&g in 1980. he steadily made his way up the 2008. >> now we'll have a chance to introduce our new chief executive -- >>

mike viqueira with us from the white house. mike, appreciate it. >>> russia's response is a much different story. we have this report from moscow a short time ago. >> reporter: i think we're going to be seeing three different types of russian response. the first is on the kind of high-level diplomatic stage. the kind of which we heard from the russian ambassador to the united nations security council. he blames ukraine for what happened and said ukraine needs to take culpability because it was in ukrainian air space where this happened. then domestically we're going to see bluster. as barack obama was making his press conference earlier on there was a tweet from the united russia party russian deputy who was saying that barack obama was lying without blushing. thirdly, behind closed doors there is going to be deep worry here in moscow because if any party that is looking into this tragedy can firmly point the finger convincingly point the finger at the pro-russian separatists active in eastern ukraine, then that puts russia in

mike viqueira stopping by at the white house for that. >> the white house says it will wait for the ruts of an international -- results of an international impartiality investigation. president obama walked up to the edge of casting blame. >> reporter: his administration says it has not reached a judgment. president obama left little doubt about who he thinks is responsible. >> evidence indicates that the plane was shot done by it surface-to-air missile launched from an area controlled by russian-backed separatists inside of ukraine. >> reporter: the president laid out the evidence. are you you russian-backed separatists shot an i'm not and transport plane from ukraine. he says russia is sending arms and training, including anti-aircraft weapons to the separatists. >> we know they are heavily armed and trained and we know that that is not an kept. it is happening because of russian support. >> warping the -- warning of misinformation, and tampering with evidence, the president called for access into ukraine. as president obama cast suspicions on the separatists and russia, officials insi

mike viqueira with us from the white house. mike, what would it take for the administration to send the airstrikes that the iraqi government has been asking for. >> reporter: it's been more clear in the last few weeks and even the last few days that president obama is loathed to get the u.s. military involved in there is no resolution in baghdad among the iraqis there in the government. nouri al-maliki, of course, there was the election in april. they met yesterday. it resolved in acrimony. now they're trying to form a government. now the u.s. government is loathed to get involved unless they can pull a rabbit out of their habit hat, and it is clear at this point they're not able to do that. until there is unity with iraqis, it is very unlikely that these airstrikes would go forward. the question i pose today to the spokesman today, even if baghdad were to fall, and remember the pentagon said that the isil forces are pressing from the north and the west, would the united states still stand by that? here's what he had to say. >>

mike viqueira has that story. >> reporter: facing scathing criticism from some within israel secretary of state john kerry defended his record of support as unblemished. >> i spent 29 years in the united states senate with 100% voting record, pro-israel. and i will not take a second seat to anybody in my friendship or my devotion to the application of the state of israel. >> as he returned empty handed to washington after days of talks. the allegation, his last failed proposal for a ceasefire, triggering outbursts, accusing negotiationors of plotting to make people look bad. >> it's not the way that partners and allies treat each other. >> the rift with israel was brief, rare in washington. >> members of both parties line up for support. >> we can do better and need to go further. snow as for public, a pew poll asked americans who is responsible for the current violence. 40% say hamas. 19 say israel. >> criticism is mounting, leading to diplomatic is laughings. a u.n. panel voted 29-1, launching an inquiry. >> united nations policies in gaza. the only no vote the united states. the u.n

mike viqueira is following the trip from washington. how much hope is there that these talks could actually lead to progress? >> even administration officials acknowledge that this could take a while. clearly secretary kerry is frustrated, we saw that on sunday. he wanted to get there to make an effort to reinstitute the egyptian ceasefire of 2012. obviously a lot has changed on the ground since then. secretary of state john kerry expects to be in cairo, and meet with the new presidential sisi within the coming hours. he'll be there at least until wednesday morning. where he goes from there still up in the air. whether or not secretary kerry is going to be make headway, still very much an open question with now israel fully committed to shutting down those ton else, one of its primary objectives there and hamas having previously rejected an egyptian initiative for a ceasefire, saying a blockade must end. it simply cannot be a truce that maintains the status quo. secretary kerry talked about the prospects for peace. >> it is important fo