iraq. the sunni western part of iraq in al anbar province. at one point they had declared the city of ramadi in al anbar to be the capital of the islamic state of iraq. geographically speaking if you're in western iraq, in al anbar province, if you go further west from there, where you are after you cross a desert border is in eastern syria. when syria's civil war started simmering and boiling over in 2011, leader of the islamic state in iraq, this guy al baghdadi was very happy to send his fighters a little further west. send his fighters out of al anbar province in western iraq across the border so they're operating not only in western iraq but also in eastern syria. that is the thumbnail history of this group. they first split from al qaeda central in what is essentially a middle management style turf dispute. but where they come from is the same long-term strategic terrorist mindset that is designed to so outrage us, to so provoke us by their brutality and frankly by their evil that they cause us in anger to do somethings that ultimately

the police force an army extremist network as tomic states which has been in control of most of western iraq since january is believed to be behind the attack. in yemen members of a shia minority have flooded the streets of the capital undeterred a campaign of civil disobedience tens of thousands joined the rally calling on the government to resign the group which was excluded from the national unity government wants a stronger political voice the arrest has caused international alarm prompting the u.n. security council towards the protesters to deescalate the situation. next here in our to international we hear from the only terrorist who survived the beslan atrocities in the rooms. in dunedin florida a young boy named t.j. guerrero is learning how to become an american man the old school way by selling cool drinks at a lemonade stand we hear a lot of lame examples of american exceptionalism from blowhard politicians but the idea of kid tropper nerd ship and the iconic norman rockwell esque lemonade stand is something exceptional and has certainly been good for the nation but for all of his

time to take a look at some other news making headlines around the world a suicide bombing in western iraq in the lives of twenty two security personnel and fifteen civilians a terrorist drove a bomb laden car into a nine story building by the police and army the extremist network islamic state which has been in control of most of western iraq since january is believed to be behind the attack. in yemen members of a shia minority have flooded the streets of the capital on the third a campaign of civil disobedience and of thousands joined the rally in sanaa calling on the government to resign who tikrit which was excluded from the national unity government wants a stronger political force on restless calls the international alarm prompting the u.n. security council to urge the protesters to deescalate the situation. next here in r t international first time the concert from people who survived the bedlam atrocity also an interview with the only terrorist who was supposed to stay with us for the . in dunedin florida how young boy named t.j. guerrero is learning how to become an american man t

a suicide bombing in western iraq has claimed the lives of twenty two security personnel and fifteencivilians a terrorist drove a bomb laden car into a nine story building used by the police an army big stream is that working which has been in control of most of western iraq since january is believed to be behind the attack. members of a shia minority of a lot of the streets of the capital undeterred a campaign of civil disobedience tens of thousands john the rally in sana'a calling on the government to resign the group which was excluded from the national unity government once a stronger political voice the own risk has caused international alarm prompting the u.n. security council to urge the protesters to deescalate the situation. well that's the news for now but up next here in r t international sophie shevardnadze hears from overcame a decades long addiction interesting stuff to go on. science technology innovation all the latest developments from around russia we've got the future covered. i think. we're going to go digital the price is the only industry specifically mentioned

expanded the fight against the militants to protect a dam and western iraq. iraq.western he will give a speech on the anniversary of the 9/11 attack. >> there is conviction that we have to act as part of the international community. the u.s. will commit no ground forces. the military is flying surveillance missions and looking for targets to cripple isis. should americans be worried? >> they should be very concerned. it represents one the most significant threats of the country has seen since september 11. the threat is the foreign fighters from the united states and other countries that have gone to syria to fight with them. > the u.s. has conducted over 130 airstrikes in irawq. there will be more to come, perhaps in syria. >> new details surround the case of the eight-year-old girl who has been missing since march. the government involvement recommends more than two dozen policy changes and the review concluded that none of the roof firms would have -- reforms would have prevented it. this was last seen on march 1. shelter, shess later committed suicide. ch

forces swept across northern syria and northern and western iraq, capturing iraq's second-largest city mosul in june. when i.s.i.l. took the city, it seized 49 turkish diplomats and their families as hostages. critics charged before that hostage situation, turkey chose to overlook the black-market oil smuggled into turkey. by some statements black-market oil supplies i.s.i.l. with as much as $2 million a day revenue. >> if i.s.i.l. is smuggling oil. maybe some turkish people benefit from that, and it's not a great threat to the security of turkey. it gives funds to the islamic state, but turkey's view of the islamic state is lightly ambivalent in that they are termed to see the end of bashar al-assad, and they don't, in looking at syria, see many players there who are likely to achieve that aim. >> one of turkey's most complicated relationships is with iraq's kurds, who have autonomy in northern iraq. that's because turkey fought a three of this decade-long insurgency on its own territory, taking the lives of 30,000 people. offer the past few years, turkey has forged a relationship wit

expanded its fight with air strikes to protect the dam in western iraq. the president will give a speech on wednesday on the eve of the 13th anniversary of the nempb attacks. >> there's great conviction that we have to act as part of the international community to destroy isil. >> reporter: the military is already flying surveillance admissions over syria looking for targets to cripple isis. >> americans should be very concerned. this respects the most significant that this country has seen since september 11th. >> reporter: others see danger elsewhere. >> the real tleet is the foreign fighters from the united states and other western countries that have gone to syria and fight with them and then may come back. >> reporter: the u.s. already conducted over 130 air strikes against isis in iraq. it now seems certain there will be many more to come, perhaps even in syria. >>> a true hero's weome for 30 world war ii veterans. they returned to the bay area today after a trip to the war memorial in washington d.c. honor flight northern california helped raised $

that is just one of several fronts in northern and western iraq, where fighting is on going.he latest news includes the fact that a suicide bomber near tikrit exploded in a town partly controlled by the islamic state. they are trying to breach the lines of the islamic state to surge forward into the other side. it's unclear the result that have, but a number of people at least 17 were killed, 63 injured. near kirkuk, iraqi air force jets conducted strikes and a number of people were killed in that attack. there is continued fighting around tikrit, the former hometown of sadaam hussein, which is being attacked on three sides. near mosul, the strong hold of the islamic state, peshmerga forces say they are closing in. they have captured the mountain that gives them an overview of the valley between there and mosul from the east, they are hope to go close in from the east and from the north, as well, but that battle is likely to be a prolonged one and the city of mosul for now remains firmly in islamic state hands. >> today, iraqi lawmakers are set to vote in a parliament session

but what was not expected was that they would be able to roll straight through iraq, western iraq andreach baghdad. >> someone who shareded the view you did, brett mcguirk, went to capitol hill and was pleading with capitol hill to send more weapons to iraq because the iraqis were unprepared and were not going to be able to handle this. bill, i'll let you weigh in here. it's not just that the iraqis were overestimated. i don't think the obama administration overestimated the iraqi forces at all. >> well, if jay were still there, the president wouldn't have made that foolish mistake he made yesterday. >> no, no, no. >> just kidding. it's not a good idea in general to blame the intelligence community for your administration's failures and faw fla flaws. i don't think the president could have anticipated this. the criticism is he should have acted earlier in syria when the actual offenses started happening in iraq. the intelligence community tends to make its case on background -- i'd like to say if anyone out there is offended in the intelligence community, call the weekly standard. jak

jets today bombed critical targets in western iraq as president obama vows to defeat the terrorists. the president announced today that he plans to address the nation on wednesday to outline a broader offensive against islamic militants who have taken control over large areas in the middle east. the efforts to drive the militants away from the dam, a major source of energy in iraq. >> reporter: more air strikes sunday against islamic militants around the dam, iraq's second largest. the united states first foray into a hotbed of extremists in western iraq since they initiated air strikes last month. u.s. defense secretary chuck hagel warning the militants would could blow it up, a catastrophe that could flood the capital of baghdad. >> if that dam would fall into isis hands or if that dam would be destroyed, the damage that that would cause would be very significant, and it would put a significant additional and big risk into the mix in iraq. >> president obama told nbc he'll announce on wednesday the next stage in the fight against isis. >> over the course of months we are going to b

it's going to be a challenge to get the sunni tribes in western iraq to first trust the new central government. >> but it's not limited to iraq and now extends west to syria. for now, it appears that the international powers, including the u.s., have failed to come up with a plan on how to combat the group's presence in syria. many fear that dealing with the isis group will create many more conflicts. >>> well, the french president has been meeting with iraqi leaders in baghdad. baghdad at the presidential palace. it's the first by islamic state since the fighters began their offensive in the north. france said that it will join the international military coalition against the is group. >> we stand by you on the humanitarian level and the security level because you are facing an enemy which does not recognize borders between countries. this enemy is a terrorist group, and has formed a presence on the ground. this group has launched a war, not just against iraq, but against all who don't see things the way they do. a war based on terror. >> in the capital, baghdad, the coordinated explosions, a

area around the haditha dam in western iraq. u-s officials say the iraqi government asked the u-s to launch the attack. the u-s says they're trying to stop isis militants from damaging the dam.and causing major flooding. some congressional leaders believe the u-s has to broaden the scope of its assault against isis.including targeted airstrikes in syria.a central area of operation for the militants. >> if you're serious about defeating isil, you have to go after where they're headquartered. what's is important to understand about their presence in syria is that that they are generating revenue in syria, with former assad refineries.butted you cannot defeat isil unless you hit them in those parts of syria that they now control where syrian government not present." >> the president will meet with congress tuesday ---to discuss options for fighting isis. today---- the president said there is no immediate intelligence about threats to the u-s from isis. after meeting with congress.president obama plans to give a speech about the wha

islamic state of iraq and the lavant, the guerrilla army that roared east to take over big chunks of western iraq has proclaimed it's own country. it's simply the islamic state, and it's leader is a man who goes by al baghdadi. the new country calls him 9 leader. many gather around to support the new caliphate. they say that others should fall in line. who is al baghdadi. how did he emerge from syrian civil war to control large parts of syria and iraq. >> reporter: al baghdadi, a man with a bounty on his head may recently have made a rare appearance. in this unverified video posted online the man who appears to be the elusive leader of the islamic state spoke out for a half hour during prayers. introduced himself as ebra him. >> it is a burden t to accept this to be in charge of you. i'm not better than you. if you see me on the right path, help me. if you see me on the wrong path, encourage me and help me. >> baghdadi born some 50 miles north of baghdad. he claims to trace his lineage back to the prophet mohammed giving him added legitimacy as a religious leader. in 2005 he was captured by u.s.

he told me more about the offensive going on at the moment in western iraq. >> reporter: this is the first time that they have deployed their air power in direct support of the iraqi government forces. they reached the dam on sunday, helping ground forces who appear to be mainly iraqi government forces, but also with some sympathetic sunni tribes involved as well. against i.s. forces. the americans say they knocked out eight vehicles, a couple of positions on the command post. so they must have done some damage to the islamic state fighters there and what little infrastructure they have. the disputed accounts of what actually happened on the ground in terms of movement. there are a couple of small towns there or villages controlling the approaches to the dam, which is regarded as a vital installation, which the iraqi government forces say they've captured the rebels, who include non-isis tribes, saying they continue to hold them and stave off attacks. the first instance really of a potential partnership between american air power and the really government forces as such. and of cours

. >> but the military still needs help, so much of western iraq was overrun by the militants in the first place, because iraqi troops fled. so the president's battle plan to secure iraq and protect america is a counter terrorism campaign. he promised there will be no u.s. combat troops involved in the fighting and instead regional soldiers train and supported by the u.s. >> this campaign will waged through a steady relentless effort to take out isil wherever they exist using our air power, and our support for partners forces on the ground. >> the u.s. will send 457 million military advisers to iraq, and build a coalition of arab countries to join the front lines. the iraqi forces himselfs, some of it has to be retrained but we are confident together with the efforts of other countries involved that will happen, and it will be sufficient. he is hesitated to do the same in syria. only modestly supported what it called moderate rebels in their fight with president al-asaad. now the solution is to identify, train, and arm those rebels. >> we cannot rely on the reare jet stream to terrorists i

bear the moment that isis crossed the border and made its assault towards the capital and towards western iraqrn iraq, et cetera. >> officials you're talking to privately, are they all that confident that the iraqi military can be turned around to the point where they can actually fight isis? >> sadly only about half of it. the u.s. military advisers that have been sent in in recent weeks part of their job is to assess the capability of the iraqi military. they recently came to the conclusion that just over half iraqi military brigades are viable. pretty remarkable. you're talking about more than 200,000 troops but only 100,000 in units that are thought to be capable of pushing back against isis. this comes as the u.s. is making tremendous investment with the quality and the reliability of iraqi forces in mind. because, as u.n. officials constantly repeat, the air campaign over iraq just like over syria is not worthwhile unless you have a ground force to back it up. so they made a judgment that only about half of that ground force that you and i as taxpayers paid for for more than a decade is

this will be a challenge to get the sunni tribes there in western iraq, first to trust the new centralernment. >> reporter: but the i.s. reach now extends well into syria. yet until now it appears that the international powers have failed to come up with a plan on how to combat the group's presence in syria. many fear dealing with the group only from a military perspective will only create more problems in the future. >>> the european union has enacted more sanctions on russia, despite the threats of retaliation from russia. european council says the sanctions could be eased after review of the recent truce at the end of the month. >> reporter: we have had reaction from sergei lavrov on friday to the imposition of the new sanctions. he says the sanctions threaten the prospects of political settlement in ukraine, and he is warning russia will take what he regards as appropriate actions in counter sanctions. we have heard from the russian prime minister who is hinting strongly that russia could close its air space to western airlines. the cost factor would be huge, he says, and it could

police on the army the extremist network of stomach state which has been in control of most of western iraq since january is believed to be behind the attack. in yemen members of a shia minority have flooded the streets of the capital on the third a cut i can paint of civil disobedience and of thousands join the rally and some not calling on the government to resign the secret which was excluded from the national unity government wants a stronger political force the rest has caused international alarm prompting the u.n. security council to urge the protesters to deescalate the situation. ok up next here on our t.v. crosstalk debates whether islamic state gains in iraq and syria could push the u.s. into a do stay with us we. want but it's a political issue in this country any time soon but it raises the issue of gun control immediately going to attack us but if there's a. skirmish with some sort of a person twenty five or thirty years of a person they don't see themselves living beyond these young people saying that they will not live past twenty or thirty years old victim was still doing so

iraqi soldiers are missing and believed to be dead after an attack by isis at an army base in western iraq. >>> we turn to news at home concerning the nfl. the owner of the baltimore ravens issued a sturn blunt offense of his team's handling of the incident. he says it's pretty humbling when your integrity is questioning. it follows a sport by espn that said his team intentionally misled and tried to cover up what happened in atlantic city in that ka e see know elevator on february 15th. yesterday the team released a seven-page letter breaking down the accusations. after that document's release, he spoke directly to reporters while placing the blame squarely on ray rice's camp. >> the majority of the sources are people that work for ray. almost everything in there is anonymous, but it's clear from the subject matter that it's ray's attorney, it's ray's agent and it's ray's friends. and they are building a case for reinstatement. the best way to build a case with reinstatement is to make everybody else look like they are lying. >> i am thoroughly aware of what the league expects the team to

so much of western iraq was overrun by the militants in the first place because iraqi troops fled. he promised there would be no combat troops in the fighting instead regional fighters supported by the u.s. >> this will be a steady relentless effort to take out isil wherever they exist using our air power and support for partners forces on the ground. >>> the u.s. will send 457 more military advisers to iraq and build a coalition of acre countries to join the front lines. secretary of state john kerry is in saudi arabia today meeting with officials there. he hopes to recruit countries like jordan and turkey, too. >> this is a fight where the syrian opposition. and the iraqi forces themselves have significant capacity, some of it has to be retrained and refocused, but we are confident together with the efforts of other countries involved that will happen, and it will be sufficient to the task. >> the president authorized airstrikes in iraq last month. but he he is tated to do the same with syria. until now the u.s. has only modestly supported what it calls moderate rebels in their f

>> well, these air strikes ga s against the khorasan took place in western iraq near aleppo, and cleare other side of the country from where the isis attacks took place, and clearly where the regime has air defenses, but that uey were not effect last night. and so they went after them because they had intelligence of the group that they were in the final stages of planning an attack possibly gaiagainst a tat of the u.s. homeland or in europe, and this is not the say that the u.s. had any intelligence of the exact target, but it had intelligence that the group was in the final stages of planning and if they let it go any further, the u.s. could have trouble detecting the plot, so they decided to move against it, and firing a number of weapons last night against the the leadership, and command and control, and the question, of course, what is the result, and who and what did they get? i want you to listen to the pentagon spokesman and what he had to say to cnn a short time a ago. >> we are still doing what we call the battle damage assessment right now throughout the morning, chris, but

over the weekend, american forces launched new air strikes to protect the dam in western iraq. american drones have been seen flying surveillance flights over syria. on wednesday, the president will give major speech for going on the offensive against the isis threat. isis may try to strike back, especially with this week's 9/11 anniversary. or from yemen where bokmakers are still trying to smuggle bobs on to planes. and then there's the wild card of home grown terrorists. >>> law maikers getting back to work among a looming government shutdown. both republicans and democrats are vowing to act to avoid a shutdown and keep federal agencies running into mid december. the outcome of the high-stakes midterm elections will term what happens next. >>> texas gubernatorial hopeful wendy davis has reignited the abortion debate by discussing her own abortion. in an exclusive interview are our own robin roberts, davis discussed how she ended a difficult pregnancy in the '9 0s. that drew sympathy from top democrats and republicans. >>> the gentleman macon military and u.s. coast guard have

isil now controls a vast swath of eastern syria and northern and western iraq, including towns and cities in these areas. isil has gained strength exploiting the civil war in jair and the sectarian divide in iraq as it seized territory in both countries and gained weapons. it has in is your generality and military tactics. isil is adept at deploying technology and social media. employing is to increase its global profile and attract tens of thousands of fighters. its goal to to become the new vanguard of the global extremist movement and establish and extremist islamic caliphate across the middle east. it considers itself the rifle in her tore of osama bin laden's legacy. while it poses an immediate threat to american citizens in iraq and the middle east, we know thousands of fortune fighters, including more than 100 americans and a thousand europeans have traveled to syria. these fighters can exploit safe haven to plan, coordinate and carry out attacks against the united states and europe. although the intelligence community has not yet detected specific plotting against the u.s. homelan

deepened its involvement pounding suni fighters in western iraq in an effort to save a critical dam. suni tribes are beginning to join iraqi forces to help beat back insurgents. a good sign if a unified country will work out in the future. >>> president obama faces strong criticism over his decision to delay executive action on immigration reform. the president said he will not take action until after the mid-term elections despite previously promising he would address it before the end of summer. chuck todd said it looked like election year politics. president obama denied that's the case. >> nome do i want to make sure the ts are crossed, the is dotted. i'm being honest, chuck, about the politics of it. this problem with unaccompanied children that we saw a couple weeks ago, where you had from central america a surge of kids who were showing up at the border, got a lot of attention. and a lot of americans started thinking, we've got this immigration crisis on our hands, and what i want to do is, when i take executive action i want to make sure that it's sustainable. i want to make

has begun air strikes in western iraq targeting isis. the goal to keep a vital dam from falling into the hands of islamic insurgents. isis tried to capture the same dam that iraqi forces were able to fight them off. the pentagon released a statement this morning saying the iraqi government requested today's air strikes. the u.s. has launched 133 air trying strikes in iraq since the beginning of august. >> in about 15 minutes chuck todd takes the reigns as moderator of "meet the press" and starting off big with an exclusive interview with president obama. >> we have the honor of being his first stop this sunday morning. he was with us earlier, here now, thanks for joining us. >> it's all onhill from here. the president, good luck books next week. >> the president finds himself with a half dozen hot spots and conflicts around the world. what is his plan to bring down isis. >> it was clear to me and you'll see this isis is as much as anything. isis is front and center. taken it seriously enough, meeting with leaders tuesday, giving a speech

joint chiefs that these airstrikes are going to drive the islamic state out of northern and western iraq. so far, the airstrikes, when they've been successful in iraq, have largely been close-air support, support really helping specific iraqi or kurdish forces that were threatened by the islamic state. there have only been two very minor attempts at a counter-offensive, to drived in the areas occupied the islamic state, and both of these have really failed. and in areas where there have been some gains in holding the offensives, you still see the islamic state find other ways to go on the offensive against other towns and places. >> isis also controls several cities within about 50 miles of baghdad, and this week we heard new reports about their fighters defeating iraqi government troops even closer to the capital, somy question is, is baghdad itself in any danger? >> most of what we're seeing are attacking of small towns along the river that were held by small, isolated iraqi army garrisons. some of these had 400, some of them had 800 people. they're not in the shiite areas. they're not

i'm more concerned about the threat to our national interests emanating from western syria, eastern iraq. >> i know you don't have an exact number but any sense of the scale? >> well, if you ask the iraqies they'll say there's hundreds. but it's closer probably to a hundred. but what has the fbi concerned and i've been talking to them recently, americans who aren't on social media who have no record of travel, they go get

anbar and western iraq who are actually much more close to american than they are to isis.ven though that would be hardh1 to understand, but more than that, the president in a clear fashion that congress stands with him, that if he is willing to take action, this won't be a part of an issue and he shouldn't fear the konz quebss of proper action. >> go ahead, tom. >> i was going to say in that sense, providing a clarity after unity. that would be able to make the right call. >> you know, as we reported, syria, you just mentioned syria. syria is planning its on attack against isis. how much can the u.s. trust the syrian government to really forge a bone fied and realistic and sincere fight against isis? >> i think really that there's little opportunity, the alliance with syria. the regime and tensions are ultimately very distant to the united states. they are very hostile. and the other group, they are very hard lined and as we've seen, anyone who stands in their way, i think the imagery of the united states engaging in some form of alliance would be catastrophic to the moral

all isis forces across northern and western iraq including the leaders will become potential targets. the mission is to degrade isis and help iraqi ground forces take back lost territory. u.s. army will set up expanded headquarters in baghdad and irbil. 475 more american troops will arrive in iraq in the coming days bringing the total to 1600. armed reconnaissance planes will be in urbil. in recent weeks, isis fighters have taken over entire bases compliant with ammunition dumps that once belonged to the syrian air force and could become targets for american air strikes. to destroy isis will require putting troops in syria which the pentagon has ruled out. the pentagon is asking congress for legal authority and $500 million to begin training a syrian opposition force to do battle against isis. saudi arabia has agreed to let the training take place on its territory. pentagon officials say the new air campaign inside iraq could begin within days. air strikes in syria are more likely weeks away. david martin, cbs news, the pentagon. >>> a central valley school is having to explain why th

primary right ground action has to be by the iraqis and the kurds and the sunnis in north and western iraq. what i believe and what i suspect most military people believe is given the mission the president has assigned, degrade and destroy, some small number advisers or trainers are going torces have to be in harms way. i think that number will be very small. will be talking about the same issues later on. be talking about the threat of homegrown terrorism here in the united states. also, in foreign policy news, the city front page of "the washington journal." to rival presidential candidates agreed yesterday to share power and attack a three-month crisis over a disputed election results. some of the world headlines going on. we have about 15 minutes left it your thoughts on the question of crime change. let's go to baltimore, maryland. good morning. caller: good morning. as a veteran of like to up apologize to the japanese people for that ridiculous comment we just heard. change,ence to climate i believe it is natural. we are part of the earth. the earth will adjust. the earth adjusted. t

. >> reporter: tonight air strikes to protect the dam in western iraq. against islamic extremists. president obama will address the nation wednesday trying to lay the ground work for a broeder mission while assuring americans he's not engaging in another long term iraq war. the u.s. is flying surveillance missions over syria looking for targets to cripple isis. >> we are going to degrade and ultimately defeat isil the same way we have gone after al qaeda. >> reporter: this week democratic congressman adam smith voiced skepticism of the severity of the threat. >> there's no evidence that's sis is plotting in this way that bin laden was doing for 99/11. >> senator ted cruz saying to defy the objective. >> we ought to have an overwhelming air campaign to take them out. >> it's an open question. if the president will even seek ung congressional approval but inviting the top senate leaders to begin making his case. >> thank you. and as jeff mentioned, thursday marks the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. tonight on display at the september 11th museum here in new york a new exhi

the us military launched air strikes this weekend targeting isis fighters around the key damn in western iraq. now, the head of the arab league is urging its 22 members to confront the extremist millitarily and politically. >> former showboat casino hotel in atlantic city may have a buyer. latitude 360, jacksonville company, says the showboat is one of three properties, it is considering, for $20 million project. now it, would not involve gambling. that company develops restaurant and entertainment complexes, but good news, bring some jobs back. >> /more to cover, first look at the icon for the event that may include the pope's visit to philadelphia. >> and, nick foles has a rough first half for the season opener. back in two minutes, talking sports, be right >> portrait of the holy family was unveiled during sunday evening p.m. mass at the cathedral basilica of saints peter and paul. that will meeting kicks off september 22 of next year. but once again, that first look at the image, still waiting for confirmation that the pope will be attending, fingers crossed, i know. right now 4:43, wow,

once the new campaign begins, all isis forces across northern and western iraq, including their leaders, will become potential targets. the mission is to both degrade iceis and help iraqi ground forces take back lost territory. u.s. army the set up expanded, more permanent headquarters in baghdad and in the northern city of erbil, and 15 teams of green berets will be embedded with iraqi units to help coordinate the strikes. 475 more american troops will arrive in iraq in the coming days, bringing the total to 1600 1600. armed reconnaissance planes will be based in erbil, freeing up unmanned drones to conduct surveillance missions over isis safe havens in syria. in recent weeks, isis fighters have taken over entire bases, complete with ammunition dumps which once belonged to the syrian air force and which now could become targets for american air strikes. to destroy isis will require putting troops into syria, which the pentagon has ruled out. instead, the pentagon has asked congress for legal authority and $500 million to begin training a syrian opposition force to do battle against isi

military did launch new air strikes today against isis in western iraq. the largest round targeted areas near the dam, critical because it is the second largest dam in iraq. secretary of defense chuck hagel talked about why this dam is so important. >> if that dam would fall into isil's hands, or if that dam would be destroyed, the damage that that would cause would be very significant. it would put a significant addition and big risk into the mix in iraq, which are also -- would risk our interests as well. >> our correspondent in baghdad, has more from baghdad at this moment. >> reporter: backed by u.s. air cover and air strikes, iraqi ground forces launched an offensive on sunday morning to regain control of areas around the haditha dam. officials say that is an ongoing operation but they have made some advances they say clearing some isis positions in the region. now, haditha dam is in anbar province, considered to be the sunni heartland, bordering syria. that is where we saw isis make its first advances. earlier in the year in january, it took control

mosul dam back and theyf the iraqis, will be hitting the islamic state throughout northern and western iraqd as the president himself admitted, you cannot attack isis without also attacking them in syria, because they are not only using that as a base and a haven, but they are at that border, pretending as if it does not exist, and we have talked about the american journalists who have been executed, and we believe they were executed on the syrian side of the border, but president obama was really ill or read for it, and he essentially said we do not have a strategy for this this.was pilloried for you are talking about this being a linchpin in serious and iraq. how is this so? that isis true, and because turkey shares more than 500 miles of a border, across which the last three years of this uprising against bashar al-assad, it has been very easy for foreign fighters as well as any turkish militants to cross right over into serious and join these militant groups, including isis operating in syria and iraq, so now, what the united states has made clear that they want from turkey, they want t