could be a major break through for peace between ukraine's government and pro russian separatists, a cease-fire between the two sides is going into effect right now. officials from kiev and rebel leaders signed an agreement earlier today. >> ukraine president petro poroshenko spoke about the cease-fire a short time ago. >> this cease-fire is based on the agreement which was reached during my phone conversation with russian president putin, and that's why i think that this is very important, that the stability, the fact that this cease-fire should last long is now the hour -- i can assure you from ukrainian side we really do our best to keep peace and stability. >> peace and stability. so badly desired in that region. this map from the ukraine national security and defense counsel gives you an idea of

where the heaviest fighting is and where forces could be laying down their weapons at this hour. it's been such a confusing week right now, obviously, because we got word there might be a cease-fire, and the russians said no, no, we can't enter into a cease-fire because we're not actually fighting. >> add to that, we've heard that there's parts of ukraine today on the day that the cease-fire was set to go into effect. we want to bring in our matthew chance who is in moscow. good to have you with us. let us know what you are hearing about this cease-fire. >> it's quite incredible, isn't it, after so much fighting and blood shed, more than 2,600 people killed in recent months in those clashes between ukrainian forces and separatists in the east of the country, pro russian separatists, this deal now has been done, it comes on the back of the nato summit

where it become absolutely clear even though it would protect its allies, it was not going to go to bat for ukraine, it left petro shenco with no option. vladimir putin proposed a framework for a cease-fire and it's that framework that appears to have formed the basis of this cease-fire agreement. now, central to that, not just is the end of hostilities, but a withdrawal of ukrainian forces, away from population centers. it was a term that vladimir putin was quite insistent on it. withdrawal away from cities so they could no longer be barraged by multiple rocket launchers or artillery. what that means, when the pro russian rebels would be left with vast swaths of territory

under their control and that means under the control of the kem lynn, it's the kremlin that arms them allegedly and that supports them. in a way that kind of achieves what vladimir putin had wanted all along, which is to dismember ukraine and to prevent it effectively from joining those western alliances such as nato. >> matthew, the cease-fire was set to go into effect three minutes ago so still too early for us to know whether it is taking hold. >> has the message been received? >> how about the pro russian rebels, the separatists? it seems like the terms of this deal might be favorable to them. have they indicated they will abide by the letter? >> yeah, there's no doubt the determines terms of this deal are going to be favorable to them. this is vladimir putin's initiative and he supports those rebels, so, yes, they are going to be left, as i said, with vast areas of territory, including major cities like luhansk and donetsk which are effectively

under their control and are autonomo autonomous. that gives the kremlin a great degree of control inside ukraine. there has been a statement already from the separatists. they are a bit kind of fractured, so it's difficult to get them to speak with a single voice, but there has been word from the separatists that just because there's a cease-fire, it doesn't mean they have given up all their aspirations for independence from ukraine, and so that poses a very ominous sign for the future as well. i mean, of course, this is a deal that's been reached in minsk. what place these areas will have in a united ukraine or whether they will even stay in ukraine, obviously, the rebels will have their say in that as well. >> there are still many issues to be resolved. >> a step in the right direction. >> it would be a good thing if the fighting has in fact stopped.

four minutes ago that cease-fire went intoesque. we'll have to wait and see how that goes. and this cease-fire, it's happening as the nato summit is winding down in wales. the russian aggression in ukraine was a major reason that allied nations had gathered there. that was one of the key discussion point. another key discussion point is a way to stop isis's advances in iraq and syria and how to deal with its threat to the west. president obama is going to speak at this hour just before he leaves that summit in wales. we'll bring that to you live. >> it could be a very interesting news conference. a lot of questions for the president there. while the president is dealing with foreign policy, the administration dealing with a fairly disappointing jobs report that was released this more. economists surveyed by cnn had expected a gain of about

226,000. >> it's a big difference. >> the unemployment rate did dip slightly from 6.1% down from 6.2% in july. the world is mourning the death of comedian joan rivers. her self-deprecating humor drew fans. >> my mother said only a doctor for you. when i was 22, they said all right, a lawyer, a cpa. 26, she said anything. >> she got me well this morning. i came in. i can't do the show and he said coffee enemas and i can never go back to starbucks, but the point is i had -- i came over to do though and i'm also here for

charity because at this age you like to give back because you are closer to god, you know. >> there are serious questions this morning about why joan rivers died and how it happened. the 81-year-old went into an outpatient surgery clinic for a minor procedure on her vocal cords and she went into cardiac arrest. joining us. a question a lot of people are asking, you got in what should be routine throat procedure and this happens. >> sure. a devastating loss. it's been called an unexpected death as you pointed out. the investigation has to be happened there. what we're seeing is two investigations. you've got the medical examiner here in new york who is looking into the cause and manner of joan rivers' death. he will determine exactly what happened to her but you've also got the state's department of health looking at the facility where this procedure was performed, yorkville endoscopy

center. they have sent investigators to that center now and they are going to be looking at the procedures that were in place there. they are looking at documents, medical records. they will be talking to staff members, physician. we know that the facility was inspected just before it opened, which was only in 2013. there has been no violations to this point. >> no red flags. >> no, no red flags. they really want to see what was happening there. they got to look and make sure that the state's regulations were all being complied with and they need to see if there are any deficiencies at the time that joan rivers was brought in there. >> we know there are answers that need to be found. clearly, the funeral is planned for sunday, but this will be happening so of simultaneously as those plains are being made. >> i want to bring in tom o'neill a friend of mine from los angeles. i know speaking of friends, you had a chance to work alongside ms. joan rivers so much. we've heard from people time to time again about how generous

she was, how supportive she was of other people. not everybody always appreciated her sense of humor though. >> well, that's what i think the big story and headline is here, michaela. while joan rivers was such a pioneer in so many ways professionally, she was the first woman to have a daytime talk show, the first woman to have a late night talk show, she was kind of enduring pioneer of an old kind of humor that people don't get today. it was called catskills and the purpose of it was to go for the joke to the most extreme you could and so many people she was so cruel, how could she do that? but joan did it to herself. one of most outrageous jokes she ever told was the following. so my husband killed himself, get over it. it was all my fault. she says we were making love one night and i took the bag off my head. what did she just say?

>> she spared nobody, including herself, to be sure. it's funny. she had even written about her death in her book, and it really is -- it's a really nice little clip and i want to read it to you. she said i don't want some rabbi rabling on. i want merle streep crying in five different accents. i want to look gorgeous. better dead than i do alive. i want to be buried in a valentino gown and harry winston to make me a toe tag. >> remember the elizabeth taylor fat jokes. elizabeth taylor so fat she's the only person screaming in front of a microwave screaming hurry. shemed be sol outrageous. how could she do this, is that was joan and that's what made

her a great talent. >> and she lived to make people laugh. she said that time and time again. twitter rebrem branses, that funeral in new york in sunday could be a who is who in comedy. we don't know what the plans are yet obviously. tom o'neill, thank you so much and we're -- >> i hope merle streep does go. she work furiously at her craft. we're going to take a short break here. here ahead is this man from massachusetts behind some of the horrific social media messages used by isis to recruit new members? he is one of the fbi's most wanted suspected terrorists. we have his story straight ahead. plus as we mentioned, we're waiting to hear from president obama, he is set to speak at

11:30 eastern before wrapping up his nato visit. we'll bring you that live when it happens. when folks think about what they get from alaska, they think salmon and energy. but the energy bp produces up here creates something else as well: jobs all over america. engineering and innovation jobs. advanced safety systems & technology. shipping and manufacturing. across the united states, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. when we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. that's not a coincidence. it's one more part of our commitment to america.

american computer wiz could be a critical contributor to those savage messages and images coming from isis. his name is aw mad abousamra. we know he's raised in massachusetts. what more do we know about him? how did he find his way to be on the fbi's most suspected terrorists list. >> what we do know that abousamra is exactly the kind of person that isis would look to

recruit to head up social media efforts, he is fluent in english and air arabic. he grew up in boston. it appears that he was focused on jihad for than a decade. he traveled to yemen in 2004 for terror training. he went on to iraq and fight and kill u.s. troops. that's according to the fbi. he spent six months over seas and was questioned by members of the fbi's joint terrorism task force. he fled. that's why there's such a high priority to find this guy. we are told that they are looking into whether he's the one putting all these videos and tweets on the social media sites. including twitter and facebook. twitter recently shut down the group's account and one of key

connections is that one of the friends that he's accused of trying to go over to yemen to get this training with was actually translating information for al qaeda in iraq, their media wing and that ultimately became isis. there's that really hardcore connection of abousamra being link to someone else doing something similar. authorities will not confirm whether in fact this is his role or whether in fact he is with isis, but he has been on the run for five years and the fbi has made it a top priority, especially now, to try to catch him. >> they are concerned and they are on the case. that's abundantly clear. >> we know that isis wants to establish a caliphate but instead of doing it quietly, the terror group appears that it wants to show the world, to witness and see its brutality. >> when you see these videos, it almost does seem like isis is trying to goad the west to try and come them.

what about that? is isis trying to provoke the united states and west into action? why would that be their motive? >> thr twor schools of thoughts on that. within the organization and outside, there's a lot of debate in recent days as to whether these videos, these horrific beheading videos are indeed an attempt by the isis leadership to bring the u.s. into what would amount to a holy war, a war against the infidels. a preordained war with the crusaders. he believes he's fighting a prescribed enemy, one that's been around for 1500 years. he sees this as his moment in history according to many of his followers. some others within the isis organization are saying if bagged -- baghdadi did want to

do that, he will kill all hostages right away. there's a lot of discussion right as we speak. >> follow that last train of thought, if he would have just killed them all quickly then that would be the reasoning and his ultimate goal there? >> well, islamic scriptures are pretty specific about several parts of syria. they feature very prominently in islamic scripture and in teaching. there's a town in northern syria and this town would be a scene of a preapocalyptic show down between two groups. shortly after that, there would be a apock alip tick show down with the christians. a lot of the isis jihadists have fled into syria are doing so with this scripture in mind. they are taking up residence in

this town and carrying it out for a call for what they are doing and many of them truly believe that this prophecy is inching forwards quickly. >>s what's the hierarchy right now in isis? how does it work? >> it's a very strict hierarchy and disciplined. baghdadi is the leader. he does have a military council which do have a lot of responsibility. they are very prescriptive in terms of the battles that they engage, in terms of their strategy. there is about an eight-man ruling military council. they are responsible for all of the strategic decisions. they push toward erbil, the push into baghdad and now the reinforced emphasis on syria. >> well, it is concerning.

i'm really glad we had a chance to talk to you about it. i'm hoping you can come back and talk to us again. thank you for joining us. >> you want to stay with cnn. president obama is set to speak any moment. he's wrapping up his trip in newport, wales. he's expected to answer questions about ukraine, russia, and isis. we're going to bring that to you live after the break. ♪ foghorn sounds loudly ♪ what's seattle's favorite noise? the puget sound! ♪ foghorn sounds loudly ♪ all right, never mind doesn't matter. this is a classic. what does an alien seamstress sew with? a space needle! ♪ foghorn sounds loudly continuously ♪ oh come off it captain! geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

hello. i'm wolf blitzer in washington and this is a special live coverage that we're focusing in right now. we want to welcome in our viewers in the united states and around the world. we're waiting for president obama to address reporters. indeed, the nato summit, the entire world at the close of what has been called one of the most important nato sumts in decades. topping the agenda a pair of issues dominating world affairs, russia's incursion into eastern ukraine and isis threat in iraq and syria. i want to welcome once again our viewers. as we anticipate president obama's remarks, we're covering all the angles as only cnn can. our reporters are in wales, in the ukrainian capital of kiev, at the pentagon, along with our panel of experts, former presidential adviser david gurgen, rice university historian doug brinkley and nile gardener with the heritage

foundation. michelle kosinki is standing by. >> so much has happened today. on russia, nato put out its declarati declaration. a lengthy document outliepg its stance on those issues. we didn't see an additional round of sanctions today. it seems like they were waiting to see what would happen on the ground between ukraine and the rebels there. they have arrived at a cease-fire but we don't know yet if that's going to play out. there's a lot of skepticism from leaders here about what the outcome of that would be within real terms. within the declarations, nato condemned what its called russia's escalating and illegal military intervention in ukraine, demanded that russia pull its troops out, stop fund ng the rebels.

again, they are not calling it an invasion. also on isis, they have taken steps to condemn the group, express outrage and now we see this coalition forming really in a concrete sense. coalition building has been talked about especially by the u.s. and the u.k. over the past few days, but now we see it coming together at least in a preliminary sense. ten countries talking about this, expanding their military within the format of nato and that was a big part of the nato declaration as well. this increasing military readiness, rapid response force that would be expanded and ready within two days to respond to threats, so really on all of these counts, we're seeing action by nato today, and we should hear more from the president. >> we will be hearing momentarily from the president. i assume he will open with a statement that will answer reporters questions. our live coverage, of course, will continue. i want to go to nick robertson,

he's join is us at the summit. tell us what you expect the president to say specifically about the isis threat in iraq and syria. >> reporter: well, i think we're going to hear him talk about whavenled agreed and the way forward, you know, those ten nations we talk about, australia, denmark, italy, france, germany, portugal, turkey, britain, among them, are all very important nations, with a lot to contribute and what has been discussed here at nato is what those nations can contribute and how they can contribute, and the idea is that there's a focus on isolating and destroying isis. how do they do it? what's agreed upon what far? well we know there's an agreement to stop isis fighters, foreign fighters getting into iraq and syria. that is going to be done by sharing information, sharing intelligence among those nations, and other nations, to

stop those fighters getting in. cutting their finances. targeting their ideology, humanitarian assistance, and importantly supporting the governments on the ground that are fighting isis already. >> i want you to stand by as well. once again, we're awaiting the president of the united states wrapping up the nato summit in wales. david gurgen is a former adviser to presidents nixon, ford, reagan. david, as we await the president, he's putting together this international coalition. it sort of reminds me of the coalition of the willing going into the war against saddam hussein in 2003. is this a real coalition based on what you've heard so far or sort of like a token presence from these other countries? >> i think it's a real coalition in the sense of commitment. what each one contributes is going to be open to question. we are coming to the conclusion

now what many believe is the most important nato summit in decades. because it is an attempt now to do something what's called out of area, wolf. as you know to go beyond the nato borders themselves and try to deal with isis through this kind of coalition and a coalition at that will expand to include middle eastern countries such as saudi arabia, jordan and the emirates. the fact is that the president of the united states whovltd so reluctant to commit troops and forces is now -- really seems to be moving toward committing forces, u.s. air strikes seem very likely. we'll have to wait and hear what the president says, but it seems like he's talking about air strikes not only in iraq, but also in syria. that's an escalation, a serious escalation for president obama. >> he has definitely ruled out combat ground troops either in iraq or syria. >> yes. that's right, wolf, and i think

that's what gives pause here is this is a very complex coalition, without a lot of u.s. troops on the ground. when we put together that coalition back there to go after saddam hussein in kuwait as you recall, that was secretary of state jim bakker. we had a massive force to run. here, the question you started with, just how much is each nation really going to contribute, is it a token or real? i think it's a big question. we seem to be relying very heavily not just on the air strikes but on the idea that iraqi forces, kurdish forces can deal with isis in iraq and that we can build up the moderate forces, opposition forces in syria to go after isis on the ground there and also to counter assad, that's a really complex set of operations, isn't it? who is going to manage all of this, how is it going to be done. there are a lot of questions.

this is very complicated stuff, but what i do think has been the big change is that president obama seems to be moving, not on ukraine, but on isis, to a much more muscular place. >> he seems to be moving in that direction and we'll get a by the -- better hint in the coming minutes. barbara star is at the pentagon. what are you hearing there? i know u.s. military planners have all sorts of military contingencies they have presented to the white house. the president is saying i don't want to have combat boots on the ground. >> it's very public that they have collecting targeting information on isis, on the iraq side of the border and right along the border of syria. what they are looking for are the likely isis targets they could strike from the air if it comes to that, if the president authorizes air strikes inside syria. the pentagon would tell you and

we've heard it from defense secretary chuck hagel, from the chairman of the joint chiefs. one of big lessons over the last 13 years or so is certainly air power alone does not defeat an enemy and as for ground troops, i think there's a great deal of am bifles to put it mildly about putting ground troops on there because you don't want it to look once again a u.s. military operation, invading the middle east and imposing u.s. will. it's one of key reasons they want a military coalition here. they want other countries to get involved. they want other countries to really step up to the plate. what nato is doing today and these allies of nato, a first step but as david gurgen says you have to see what they are really going to contribute at the end of the day. >> we're just getting this information in and i want to be precise on what the pentagon is now saying, is that the top al qaeda leader in somalia was killed in that most recent u.s. air strike, those drone held

fire missions i believe that were launched against fighters in somalia. someone named godane had been killed. the u.s. has confirmed that this al qaeda leader in somalia was killed in this most recent round of u.s. targeted air strikes. have you been hearing those kind of words? >> if the pentagon, wolf, has put out a statement, what it means is they now have the intelligence that is certain enough to their satisfaction. there has been a number of missions to try to kill godane in recently months and years and he has escaped at previous attacks. he has been the leader of the

al-shabaab movement, it is a critical affiliate of al qaeda. a group that has brought untold misery to tens of thousands of somal somalians. most notely, involved in the west gate shopping mall in kenya, in nairobie robe -- nie some weeks back. it's been difficult to confirm because they didn't put u.s. troops on the ground when the strike happened to try and confirm it, you know, eyeball sight on the ground when the attack happened. they have been mainly relying on somalian intelligence and operatives in that part of somalia. that's one of the reasons it's taken so long to have that

certainty. >> the u.s. is now confirming. quickly, barbara, when you ask officials at the pentagon or elsewhere in the u.s. national security community about whether or not the president is authorized similar targeted asass nations of isis leaders in iraq and syria to launch missiles and strikes to kill specific leaders of isis in iraq and syria, is is that authorized right now? has that already been approved by the president of the united states? >> that is the most fascinating question of all, wolf. the leader of isis, a man named al-baghdadi said to be operating, hiding if you will, inside syria, in northern syria, well away from what he knows are current u.s. air strikes, so here's where we are. sources tell us that the u.s. military right now is not doing targeted air strikes. they are not going after people by name, if you will. that is the u.s. military.

the question of course that is not being publicly addressed is whether the cia which also operates drones, very well understood, very public knowledge, whether cia drones are going after targeted, named persons in any strikes they may carry out cht the bottom line we have been told is if the u.s. had the intelligence on where al-baghdadi was, if they had some certainty that he was at a location, the u.s. intelligence operatives, the pentagon, the u.s. national security leadership would go to the president and get that authorization to go after him. it's something that could happen very quickly and it is always possible that president obama has preauthorized this to the cia. it can be done. there are lists, the target to kill list that the u.s. has of key al qaeda operatives and terrorist leaders around the world. the president of the united states can preauthorize and then when the target emerges, when

they feel they have the information, when they feel they can launch that strike and go after him, it could all very quickly. but as you can understand, it's not something the cia talks about. >> i'm sure, based on what i've heard, it wouldn't just be trying to assassinate to kill al-baghdadi the isis commander but there are a whole bunch of other ice commanders that the u.s. would like to kill as well especially if they get confirmation who beheaded those two american journalists. i'm sure they would be on that targeted kill list as well. stand by. i want to bring in nile gardener. what do you think the way the president of the united states, we're about to hear from him, about to have a news conference wrapping up, this very important nato summit, what do you think about the deliberate, cautious approach he's taking? he doesn't want to rush into thinking. he wants to make sure that if the united states is going to engage in a new war, which in effect this is a new war, that

all of the operation is well planned, there's an exit strategy, he does it the right way? >> i think so far president obama has been far too cautious, and i think today, international leaders, nato leaders, will be looking to president obama to demonstrate some real leadership. we have already seen the beginning of an international coalition being formed, an extremely important development. so far, we haven't seen any clear strategy being outline by president obama or the obama administration with regard to further action in iraq and syria. i think this speech he's going to make now, his statements will be very important as leaders across europe, across the free world look to the united states to see in which direction the president is going to be moving. but already, in the background, in britain, for example, there are operations for -- preparations for the u.k. to join military action against isis in iraq and possibly syria as well. there have been very close

consultations between london and washington the past couple of days. i think we may see some further developments this morning. >> i totally agree. this is going to be a very important statement that the president will make. he will open the news conference with a statement, then he will answer reporters' questions. everybody stand by. our special coverage will resume right after this. woman: everyone in the nicu -- all the nurses wanted to watch him

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special live court and jury. we want to once again welcome our viewers around the united states and around the world. we're waiting for president obama he's due to speak any moment now. along with the terror threat posed in iraq, syria, and indeed around the globe by isis militants and other al qaeda affiliates, the trans atlantic alliance has been focused on russia's meddling in ukraine, all this as a new cease-fire between ukraine's government and separatists leaders has apparently gone into effect. resa what is the status of this cease-fire? >> reporter: it seems to be holding, wolf, and that's perhaps some much needed good news for president obama, unless something goes terribly wrong here in ukraine in the coming minutes, in the coming hours. this could be potentially a huge

load off of president obama's shoulder and one crisis off his crisis plate, if you will, at least for the time being. at least he gets a chance maybe to rest on this particular crisis. tremendous pressure building on the president over the past couple of weeks, pressure coming from congress, from some western capitals and here in kiev, for president obama, to do something, for what many describe as a russian invasion on to southeastern ukraine, but now you have the cease-fire that was signed by both sides of this conflict, about two hours and 40 minutes ago. it went into effect at 6:00 p.m. local time, about 40 minutes ago, and so far, it seems to be holding. we're working to confirm the conditions, the framework, with this agreement, but it obviously includes an end to all military operations in southeastern ukraine, the pulling out of troops, the establishment of a humanitarian corridor, the exchanging of soldiers captured

on both sides and the positioning of international monitors who would make sure that all these conditions will be met. this is a plan that received a lot of skepticism and criticism from western capitals, members of congress. many called it a ploy by russia, by vladimir putin to perhaps avoid more sanctions and build more time. even so, the cease-fire has been established. >> it's been established. we'll see if it holds. thanks very much. we'll get back to you. i want to bring in cristina amanpour right now. you know the united states and several european countries were set to bring a new round of punishing economic sanctions against russia. is there in your mind, some sort of connection, a cease-fire just announced by the various factions over there and what we were anticipating, a new round of tough sanctions that the president was getting ready to announce? >> well, let's see what he says, but certainly we've heard from nato summit, from chance lower

merkel of germany that there is no letter on the planning of new sanctions. they could always suspend them, cancel if in fact this cease-fire takes hold. i just finished interviewing the u.n. secretary-general, who told me that actions speak louder than words, they are going to go ahead. he talked about a whole new consensus on unity, tougher words and deeds by the nato alliance. he said that, you know, they did come together very determined to come out with a unified and strong voice. we also talked about isis. because that's the other big issue dominating this summit, and of course, with all the -- let's say the criticism, the wafleg that went on about whether the u.s. had a strategy to confront isis, now we're being told that there is a strategy, that it is to form a coalition and as rasmussen told

me that thele allies have decided to form a coalition, not to degrade, but to defeat isis. he said they would help iraq and anywhere else it was necessary, even said and definitely implied that there is a growing consensus that the battle may have to be taken into syria as well. so very interesting developments coming out of this summit which we all have declared was a crucial one at this particular time given these twin massive challenges to world order, russia and ukraine and of course isis in the middle east. let's see what the president says but it looks like they have at least decided to announce quite a lot of progress. >> stand by for a moment. very quickly before i let you stand by because we're only seconds away from the president walking in, did the nato secretary-general is say that nato is ready, unlike might be

ready to provide boots on the ground, combat troops to defeat isis? >> no, he didn't. that's not a u.s. position. it's a position that many nato allies and many others are also saying. we don't want to put boots on the ground. of course, has has been pointed out, there are military inside iraq in many advisory capacities but in terms of a ground invasion, like the iraq war or anything like that, no one is talking about that at all at this point, and here is the really interesting thing. there is this thing called what the market will bear. the measuring, in other words -- the market, in other words, popular opinion will not bear boots on the ground, but bs continuing -- it is beginning to look like it will bear the idea of a bigger effort to defeat isis in iraq and syria. that's been shown in the u.s., and england and great britain and elsewhere. it looks like that's where they

are headed right now. he did say to me it's not just a military goal and a military effort to defeat isis, but it has to be political, humanitarian, it has to have many, many components. >> because most of the military experts believe that you could degrade, you could certainly under mine isis, but you can't really destroy or defeat isis unless you have combat forces that go in there. >> that's right. >> now, in iraq, you do have an iraqi military, you have the peshmerga, the kurdish fighters who are excellent fighters, it given enough support, they might be able to get the job done. riernt in syria, they are relatively modest in their capabilities, you don't want to strengthen al-nusra another terrorist group. they are considered a terrorist organization at the same time. >> wolf, that's all true, but the problem is and many people are now beginning to agree with

this, after dismissed isis as a jv team is what president obama did in a newspaper interview earlier, having accused people who believe isis had to be taken on as trigger happy, having said that any idea of arming and training and supporting a moderate opposition may have made a difference is a fantasy. now, the very same president and his allies have actually got to go to that root. they actually have to do what has been suggested several years ago which is to build up the best option on the ground, a moderate opposition to take on isis because they don't want to do it and they won't do it. the u.s. and the nato allies. isis has been fighting rather the free syrian army has been fighting isis and they have been fighting the more extremists, but they haven't had the wherewithal to get the job done as they have told me. we can keep fighting but we can't win without the kind of support that we've been begging for. >> and the u.s. -- several

and other allies countries are reluctant to provide those weapons, because they're afraid they could wind up in the hands of terrorists, whether isis or al nusri or other terrorist groups. the president is about to walk in, wrapping up this nato summit. we'll hear from him. in fact, here he is right now. >> good afternoon. let me begin by thanking my great friend, prime minister cameron, and his entire team for hosting this nato summit and make making it such a success. i want to thank the people of new port, cardiff, the people of wales for welcoming me and my delegation so warmly. it's a great honor to be the first sitting u.s. president to visit wales. we've met at a time of transition and a time of testing. after more than a decade, nato's

combat mission in afghanistan is coming to an end. russia's aggression against ukraine threatens our vision of a europe whole, free and at peace. in the middle east, the terror threat from isil poses a growing danger. here at this summit our alliance is to summon the will, the resources and the capabilities to meet all of these challenges. first and foremost, we have reaffirmed the central mission of the alliance. article 5 enshrines our solemn duty to each other. an armed attack against one shall be considered an attack against them all. this is a binding treaty obligation. it is non-negotiable. here in wales, we've left absolutely no doubt, we will defend every ally. second, we agree to be resolute in reassuring our allies in eastern europe. increased nato air patrols over the baltics will continue.

rotations of additional forces throughout eastern europe for training and exercises will continue. naval patrols in the black sea will continue. and all 28 nato nations agreed to contribute to all of these measures for as long as necessary. third, to ensure that nato remains prepared for any contingency, we agreed to a new readiness action plan. the alliance will update its defense planning. we'll create a new highly ready, rapid response force that can be deployed at a very short notice. will increase nato's presence with additional equipment, training, exercises and troop rotations. and the $1 billion initiative i announced in war saw will be a strong and ongoing u.s. contribution to this plan. fourth, all 28 nato nations have pledged to increase their investments in defense and to

move toward investing 2% of their gdp in our collective security. these resources will help nato invest in critical capabilities, including intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and missile defense. and this commitment makes clear that nato will not be complacent. our alliance will reverse the decline in defense spending and rise to meet the challenges that we face in the 21st century. fifth, our alliance is fully suppo supporting its right to defend itself. to back up this commitment, all 28 nato allies will now provide security assistance to ukraine. this includes nonlethal support to the ukrainian military like body armor, fuel and medical care for wounded ukrainian troops, as well as assistance to help modernize ukrainian forces, including logistics and command

and control. here in wales, we also sent a strong message to russia that actionings have consequences. today, the united states and europe are finalizing measures to deepen and broaden our sanctions across russia's financial energy and defense sectors. at the same time, we strongly support president pourchenko's efforts to pursue a peaceful resolution to the conflict in his country. the cease-fire announced today can advance that goal, but only if there is follow-through on the ground. pro-russian separatists must keep their commitments and russia must stop its violations of ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. beyond europe, we pay tribute to all those from our mission. including more than 2,200 americans who have given their lives for our security in afghanistan. nato's combat mission ends in three months. and we are prepared to transition to a new mission, focused on training, advising

and assisting afghan security forces. both presidential candidates have pledged to sign the bilateral security agreement that would be the foundation of our continued cooperation. but, as we all know, the outcome of the recent election must be resolved. and so we continue to urge the two presidential candidates to make the compromises that are necessary so afghans can move forward together and form a sovereign united and democratic nation. finally, we reaffirm that the door to nato member remains open to nations that can meet our high standards. we agreed to expand the partnership that makes nato the hub of global security. we're lunchi inlaunching a new effort with our closest partners, including many who served with us in afghanistan, to make sure our forces continue to operate together. and we'll create a new initiative to help countries build their offensive capabilities, starting with

moldova, jordan and libya. also, that our nato partners are prepared to join in a broad international effort to combat the threat posed by isil. already allies have joined us in iraq, where we have stopped isil's advances. we've equipped our iraqi partners and helped them go on offense. nato has agreed to play a role in providing security and humanitarian assistance to those who are on the front lines. key nato allies stand ready to confront this terror threat through military intelligence and law enforcement as well as diplomatic efforts. and secretary kerry will now travel to the region to continue building the broad-based coalition that will enable us to degrade and ultimately destroy isil. so taken together, i think the progress we've achieved in wales makes it clear that our alliance will continue to do whatever necessary to ensure our collective defense and to protect our citizens.

so, with that, let me take a few questions. i'll start with julie pace of the associated press. >> thank you, mr. president. i wanted to go back to the situation in eye croukraine. if this cease-fire takes effect and appears to be holding, will you and your european counterparts back away from sanctions you've prepared or do you feel it's important to levy these sanctions regardless of the cease-fire agreement? and the rapid response force, can you say specifically what u.s. contributions will be in terms of troop numbers and equipment? is it beyond the agreement you announced or the proposal you announced in warsaw? >> with respect to the cease-fire agreement, obviously, we are hopeful, but based on past experience, also skeptical, that, in fact, the separatists will follow through and the russians will stop violating ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. so it has to be tested. i know that the europeans are

discussing at this point the final shape of their sanction's measures. it's my view that if you look at president pourchenko's plan, it is going to take some time to implement. and as a consequence, for us to move forward based on what is currently happening on the ground with sanctions, while acknowledging that if, in fact, the elements of the plan that has been decided are implemented,en thimplement ed than those sanctions could be lifted is a more likely way to ensure there's follow-through. that's something, obviously, we'll consult closely with our european partners to determine. i do want to point out, though, that the only reason that we're seeing this cease-fire at this moment is because of both the sanctions that have already been applied and the threat of further sanctions, which are having a real impact on the

russian economy, and have isolated russia in a way we have not seen in a very long time. the path for russia to rejoin the community of nations that respects international law is still there. and we encourage president putin to take it. but the unity and the firmness that we've seen in the transatlantic alliance in supporting ukraine and applying sanctions, has been, i think, a testimony to how seriously people take the basic principle that big countries can just stomp on little countries or force them to change their policies and give up their sovereignty. so i'm very pleased with the kind of work that's been done throughout this crisis in ukraine, and i think u.s.

leadership's been critical throughout that process. with respect to the rapid response forces and the readiness action plan we've put forward, in warsaw, i announced $1 billion in our initiative. a sizable portion of that will be devoted to implementing various aspects of this readiness action plan. we've already increased obviously rotations of personnel in the baltic states, for example. we have the air policing. we have the activities that are taking place in the baltic. and the black sea. but this allows us to supplement it. it allows us to coordinate it and integrate it further with additional contributions from other partners. and what it signifies is