, neighboring syria and it's iraq first and then syria which syria is a little more complicated but think the key there is getting bashar al-assad out of the picture and now he is firmly in control and makes it very difficult to train and e equip the opposition in syria battling on i.s.i.l. on one front and assad forces on the other. so the u.s. strategy is sort of focus on iraq and not put u.s. troops in a ground combat role to use the u.s. to help the iraqis solve the political situation so that their forces will stand up and fight and then sort of pivot to syria and see what they can do there. there are no easy answers here and i think that is one of the things you will hear from the hearing is they don't have a quick fix for this problem. >> again we are watching washington where the hours armed services is about to hold its hearing concerning i.s.i.l., the two top military leaders expected to enter the room shortly and defense hagel and general martin dempsey and jamie one of the things that has emerged in this campaign against i.s.i.l. is what seem believe a divide between the top b

now those states aren't coming here to save syria. they are here to save themselves and to protect themselves and the security of their allies. and their approach to dealing with those groups isn't within a comprehensive project, but deals selectively, according to what serves their own interests. for us, if there's a convergence at the moment, it is the result of those states changing their positions and not because of common political goals. >> reporter: but we are at a perilous moment, aren't we, where the rise of this jihadist ideology is threatening not just you, but the west as well. is it time to put those old grudges to one side, to really find some kind of framework for a common purpose? what could hezbollah offer as part of that? >> translator: with the west, it's a different matter. because we don't trust western policies. honestly. due to a history of suffering from the colonial times to the presently existent position. even in the case of the jihadist groups, if it wasn't for the western policies, they would not have grow

to act in syria. president obama was famously hesitant to intervene with poll numbers on his mind, memories of the u.s. invasion of iraq, has not done much to this date. isis has pushed the united states over the edge and we are now actively involved. that is my snapshot of the present. my talk is entitled the history of the future of syria. i want to tell you what i think tentatively as a historian what may be coming down the pipeline. not to be pessimistic but i think president obama has a tough road ahead of him. this is for many reasons, not least of them the fact that to my eyes the united states does not have a clear and robust sense of what our mission is. there are many conflicting statements over the past weeks and months to degrade the organization altogether. and our mission is not crystal clear as it should be but the appropriate military response to meet those various missions is also not clear. eradication of isis will require a commitment of military force far beyond anything we have pl

in syria. i want to stay on the point with david cohen, tasked with finding the money and shutting it off. i asked if raising money through oil smuggling and other means puts i.s.i.l. in a separate category to other terror organizations we have seen. >> it is different, but not unique. it's different in the sense that it has amassed funds at a faster clip, i think, than any other territory organization that we have seen. setting aside state-sponsored terror organizations, it's the best funded in the world today. that being said, the mechanisms by which it raises money, some of them anyway, are mechanisms that we have seen before. external donor networks, kidnapping, and the extortion and criminal fundraising that i.s.i.l. is involved in, had its antecedence with al qaeda in iraq. they did essentially the same thing during the heyday, 5-7 years ago, longer. so we have seen what i.s.i.l. is doing today with other terrorist organizations. the oil smuggling is different. that is not something we ha

but syria, we have a muddled message. today, the free syrian army groups that america has been supporting maybe control 1% of syria, 2% eye don't know how much it is, but it's really nothing. and to imagine that america is going to somehow transform them into conquerors of half of syria or even the whole of syria begs the imagination-- >> woodruff: let me get andrew tabler for the last word here. why should americans believe there's any u.s. stake at this point? >> well, there is the terrorist threat. you know, that's for sure. the other problem is that this is about a regional war that's been going on by proxy, which the president has talked about on a number of occasions, between iranian-backed machines and the sunni-backed rebels inside of syria, and that's a marge larger issue, given energy prices and a whole slew of other things given our treaty obligations. unless you solve syria, you can't not only degrade isis but i can't destroy it and without doing a deal with syria, we can't deal with the jihadists. >> woodruff

very moving piece about syria's disappeared. bbc.com/syria. >>> time to catch up now on the business news. aaron has it all. bad news for shell. >> yeah, could be bad news. big legal battle in the making here. thanks very much, david. hello there. let's start with the oil giant shell. and claims that it knew an aging pipeline in nigeria was unsafe long before two major oil spills in 2008, which certainly caused widespread environmental damage. they say poor maintenance was to blame and that they had internal company documents to prove it. shell says the leaks were caused by sabotage and people trying to steal from the pipeline. >> reporter: oil sprays into the air from a broken pipeline in nigeria in 2008. two spills spewed up to 500,000 barrels, according to a group of local people, including fishermen who are suing shell. they say 25 square miles of mangroves and waterways were affected. officials obtained a 2002 report six years before the spill by shell's nigeria operation spdc. in it, they say the company noted that the pip

turkey, iran, and syria. she specializes on the regional energy security and conflict state building. finally to my immediate left is joseph who has just joined us here in d.c. as a visiting scholar at the carnegie endowment. she is a researcher in paris and an adviser at the academy with that, i turn the floor. i am afraid it will be helpful, but hopefully it will be today and we will keep you with us until the end. then if that's okay with you. >> thank you very much. i would like to thank the endowment for inviting you today. it's a great pleasure to be on the distinguished panel. i was invited today to address the situation in iraq. the outlook with the new government. the engaged sunnis and the role of iran. by saying that's in the right direction. some of these have been symbolic and they have the use of the pictures in all government security check points and military establishments, but others such as the office of the commander in chief are serious attempts to break away the formality policies. many

he said there would be iraqi groups on the ground in iraq and syria boots on the ground in syria. it sounds goods, but where are they? i've been reporting on this region for years and people i speak with tell me that this is one of the key problems with the u.s. strategy chlts it's disconnected from what's actually happening and seems, quite frankly, to be based on wishful thinkings. it imagines a middle east that digit exist. in less than six months, isis relar reerased the border and carved out an arable e area the size of mds m.d. washington calls this state a cancer. the cure, it says, is not o e to send in one army, but to prop up five armies. in central iraq, rebuilding and retraining if army. in western iraq, it's paying sunni tribes. in north earn iraq, it's sending guns to the kurds. in southern syria, the regime is still in power. in a wider reason e reel joon, the u.s. is counting on support from muslim regions. >> but they have, at time, supported radical groups like isis. the u.s. has tried to sort out the divisions between sunnis and kurds in the past. it did not go

implode,a begins to that pipeline reverses from iraq in two syria -- in two syria. syria. almost every jihadist is coming through turkey. it is the primary area homeland security is monitoring flights into. country, here is this which is a nato ally, is bringing -- we see so many foreign fighter pipelines coming through turkey. if there was a decision by some of these groups to start striking against our embassy, we have a very serious problem. the turks are clearly concerned about the direction their country is going in. >> the people or the government? >> i am talking about the government. >> he seems to believe he is somehow going to benefit from the creation of this islamic state and the revival of the .ttoman empire, unfortunately, can we take one more question from year? -- from here? no? we are finished. thank you very much for your attention. [applause] next, q&a with author david mark. live at 7:00, your calls and comments on washington journal. week, we will have interviews with retiring members of congress. tonight, we will talk with wisconsin republican. he is

policy on syria. the u.s. has been so focused on isis. little if any progress has been made in removing bashar al assad from power. is the president regretting his choice to go down that path? is it too late to call an audible? we have analysis this morning. >>> we have not talked about ebola for some time. it seems to have subsided in the u.s. we know the global outbreak is not over. is there some hope around the corner? we will have dr. sanjay gupta with us this morning. he will have details on the clinical trials of the drugs that helped americans beat the virus. we will talk to congress member ed royce. we will have a lot ahead on "new day" in a few minutes time. >> i look forward to seeing you there and later and all day. thanks, michaela. >>> here is a question for you. what does it look like on the surface of a comet? well, we have dramatic new pictures just in sent from 300 million miles away. we're live breaking it all down next. [ male announcer ] at northrop grumman, we've always been at the forefront of advanced electronics. p

next two days we're bringing special reports from syria. we begin with this. >> a are heleppaleppo, one of t wars. large areas of this city are thousand firmly in government hands. the east is held by the rebels. it's ancient escape quarter, a world heritage site, is a battleground. the syrian army took us through narrow allies. snipers from both sides lay in wait. >> we were told this is one of the most dangerous areas. to go down this pathway, we have to run. the army is gaining ground against rebels fighting as much amongst themselves as against the regime. in the northeast, the industrial zone, what's left of it, was taken back in recent months. aleppo is serious industrial heart land. they want their city back. >> we asked the government to really finish their existence as quickly as possible. >> by any mean others possible? there's great concern in syria and abroad about the use of barrel bombs. >> the barrel bombs -- true unfortunately some civilian casualties, but they target militia presence, isis, target al qaeda, all these terror

syria is a whole new ball game. i don't think we've quite figured out how we're going to do this. >> all right, rick francona joining us. we appreciate it as always. good to see you. >>> ahead at this hour, a rock star, imagine a flight that he'll never forget. we'll tell you what happened on board bono's private jet ahead. >>> pictures like we have never seen before on earth. a spacecraft, a bouncing spacecraft riding a comet sends back a photo shoot. and are proven to taste better than tums smoothies assorted fruit. mmm... amazing. yeah, i get that a lot. alka seltzer heartburn reliefchews. enjoy the relief. with my andi can...m tracfone, order more shaving cream. pay the electric bill. keep towels piping hot. get kids to sit still. play beard styling tunes. learn new razor tricks. hire a pro waxer. post before and after pics. i can do all that with my android from tracfone. 90-day plans start as low as $20. unbeatable nationwide coverage. no contract. for a limited time save $30 on the new lg optimus fuel. now ju

in syria. we're seeing a very strange alliance against isis in iraq. clearly demonstrated in the u.s. air force coming isis checkpoints and vehicles. you have iranian revolutionary guard advisers on the ground directing iranian-backed shia militias who are assisting the federal forces who are being supported by the kurdish peshmerga. it was a couple months ago general petraeus warned that the u.s. air force shouldn't be the air force of the shia militias but at times recently it seemed the u.s. aforce was the air force of the iranians. they were being fed information from the iranians. north of baghdad, the alliance was even stranger because we saw the inclusion of sunni tribes who believe it or not were fighting alongside the shia militias. one tribal's leader said, and i quote, we are ready to deal with the devil to fight isis. i don't know if by devil he means the central government for the militias, but that is changing, and more and more sunni tribes are actually turning against isis. so i

syria's al qaeda affiliate. mohamed, a supporter of the president believes syria's choice is simple. assad or the jihadists. he showed me the basement where he said he was held 22 days with his wife and children and 60 neighbors a year ago. he says each day they were terrified of murder and rape. when problems broke out, the consequence, the so called arab spring was used to fool people. during 22 days even though i'm 40 years old, i feel i've aged 400 years. during last three or four years we were taken back to dinosaur era. i think dinosaurs were more civilized than rebels are. >> here in damascus and elsewhere, the president's points say he's created a stark choice between the regime and the jihadists. by targeting moderates and leaving the jihadists alone. the war is changing. the end is nowhere in sight. bbc damascus. >>> i should say try not to forget. part of our syria day, we have far more on the website on issues surrounding the region. for the latest features, analysis is, videos, interactive reports a

after four years of civil war, much of syria has been reduced to rubble. it's a battle that rages in the country. >> early on in the war there were plenty of productions -- predictions that the syrian army would collapse. that has not happened. the soldiers' morale seems pretty strong and they are still fighting. >> as the death toll from ebola tops 5000, u.s. lawmakers are briefed on the response. we speak to a key senator. welcome to our viewers on public television in america and around the globe. it's not everyday we get to start this broadcast with good news, but today there certainly was cause for celebration. right now i european space probe is sitting on the surface of a speeding comet 300 million miles from earth. it is being hailed as one of the greatest successes in the history of space exploration. bbc's science editor david shukman reports. the news raced across space to waiting scientists who could not restrain themselves. professor monica grady has worked on this for 25 years. she was overwhelmed. in mission control, they could not quite bel

is the ground picture in syria is going to look like. obama has ruled out american boots on the ground in syria. it is hard to imagine he is going to go back on that during his final two years. if there is a military presence in syria, who will they be fighting and to what exdoes this extent of iran and the united states once again go an o collision course because assad remains at the center of the picture and in my mind, in the reporting i've seen, i still haven't figured out whatever force is being trained to be the boots on the dwround, the rebel force being trained in various places, what they're going to do. who they're going to fight and how that is going to be worked out. without american presence or the presence of another arab nation there. which is just a far more complicated project. >> let's open to the floor now for questions and comments. if speakers could please identify themselves, yes. diana first. >> thank you. >> announced earlier that they have -- eight new reactors in iran. whether this is bidding or an actual agreem

policy in syria. some of the u.s.'s most important allies, those moderate syrian fighters who get training and weapons, one of the major groups has lost its base to al-qaeda. it's called the revolutionary front, and we need them in order to fight against isil. and there's new video of their base being overrun by al-qaeda, the al-nusra front inside of syria, and those are u.s. weapons that al-qaeda group, the al-nusra fighters have taken over from the revolutionary front. and what subpoe-- is happening syria, and they are battling on three fronts, against the regime, isil, and the al-qaeda fighters. and they say there isn't enough help for them to defend themselves against al-qaeda and the syria regime. there is not enough coordination with the air strikes, for them to make any advances. so they ask this question, if we're going to overrun, fighting against al-qaeda, and fighting against the syrian regime at the same time, how can you expect us to defeat and degrade isil when isil fighters are using the american weapons

how does that relate to your question about syria? i think it's also clear that assad, because of how he has governed, has brought this astounding instability on himself, on his people, on his country. and it has allowed groups like isil, al qaeda is still there, other terrorist organizations, to be strengthened for obvious reasons. but just alone dealing with assad, where we are now, maybe two years ago, three years ago, that's not going to put isil back in the box or the feet -- beginning with degrading or defeating isil. assad's part of the equation, of course. but when you look at what isil dominates now, the swath of control they have, eastern syria, much of north and western iraq, you can change assad today, and that's not going to change all the dynamics quickly, certainly, and in syria. but who are you going to replace assad with and what kind of an army would take on isil? so, yes, assad is part of it, yes, it is the longer-term part of this, defto find a stable government, leader ys syria to be able to bring some stability t

the spillover of the war in syria hazard hezbollah fighting in syria on above of the effort. that has caused problems here. it is an incredibly sectarian sow it aalready. we heard the message to followers, the people, was that their fight in syria is to protect lebanon. it's against extremists. and it is fight against extremists. that is his message clear, saying they will stay in syria just to protect the borders here. >> hezbollah's chief has not been seen in public since july. >> the world health organization head is lashing out against drug companies saying no do your ebola exists because drug companies saw no profit in developing one. >> eight years ago, the head of the w.h.o. said it would be judged by improvements in the health of people in africa. the doctor said she and the w.h.o. haven't had enough help in keep be africa healthy. >> at a regional conference, world health organization director general doctor margaret chen repeated her refrain that the ebola outbreak is the most severe public health emergency of modern times. she acknowledged with its nearly 5,000 ebo

both iraq and syria are complex messy situations. whatever course of action we undertake will take years and dedicated efforts. we will have major disagreements with our allies about the outcomes. russians role in syria will be challenging. our desire is not clearly aligned. we certainly do not have the same interest in syria. the situations are going to be messy and will require constant attention and management. we have a goal to integrate isil, eliminating the leadership and limiting the possibility to strike our allies. hope the panellist here will help to inform about these. >> mr smith had surgery on his and he is recovering. was fully engaged yesterday. we had a big meeting working on the bill. he was telecommunications -- technology made possible that with us n a room totally engaged. would like to g i mention, several of our members will not be with us next year. some retired some lost that election. let me thank each of you for service to this nation, to your service to this committee, it is much appreciated. this committee

but also carries over into eastern syria -- that also carries over into eastern syria. there are no borders when it comes to terrorism, especially with the ruthlessness of isis. we are doing what we can in syria to facilitate our anti-isil strategy, and that is eventually, as we degrade isil, to destroy. >> but i do not getting pressure to do more against thassad? >> there are different views from different coalition partners. >> are there different views and secretary kerry? , ither, if you defeat isil helps or hurts assad. >> i just explained what our strategy is regarding isil. helped by what we are doing against isil? he is indirectly benefiting, but let's review the landscape. why has all of this occurred? this is all occurred because over the last three years, assad , his brutality, his lack of responsible government and legitimacy, what he has done to his own people has produced this. there will not be a military solution in syria. there only can be a diplomatic solution and people coming together enough. no one wants a completely failed government in syria. syri

it's hard core al qaeda in syria operatives that move from pakistan to syria a number of years ago. the u.s. say they are an imminent threat to the u.s. because these twice are capable of trying to make the bombs that can get past airport screening. last night five targets were struck and the u.s. believes it killed a key khorasan operative, a french jihadist named david drugeon, 24 years old, moved to syria recently from pakistan. knows how to make those bombs that can get past airport security. they had been looking for him for weeks. you'll remember, back on september 22nd, an initial round of strikes, missed the top khorasan leaders. now today they do believe they got this khorasan operative as he was riding down a road in syria in a vehicle. wolf? >> this is still a very high priority to go after not only isis targets, other al qaeda targets, but the split off group khorasan. that's a major u.s. target, right? >> it is, wolf, for the very crucial reason that the threat they pose is the potential capability to reach out and get their weapons, their bombs, past airport security i

they are talking about isis in iraq and syria. were along the way will be enough of a critical mass to employ. i do know what tomorrow, but will get more details. >> mr scott. >> thank you for being here. we know you have a lot on your plate. our national security and things are going on in the world. about try to be brief this, secretary kerry was to move or the ability into syria. which were the -- fronts to go into war. he was going to get back to me that he has not responded. we wanted to ask for this principle is to go into war. we in powell doctrine, do have a clear containable objective? again what ook at powell expended in that. nation is in en a danger, all resources should be used. why should we approve an give risation that doesn't you, general dempsey, the to lity to do what it takes win the war? >> congressman that is a great question. use of the military are state conflicts does go better with colin powell instructions than when we face something like isis. when we look at mass, it has a quality of its own. when it i

working with modern opposition in syria. as you know we've announced training sites for training and equipping modern syrian opposition. the turks, the saudis have already committed their camps. we're doing the pre planning we need to. so we're working with everybody on all these areas in these areas, and it is a comprehensive strategy. it is diplomatic, it's economic, it's military. it's working with over 60 coalition partners, a number of them there in the middle east. >> rose: but there have been reports that the administration is looking again at its policy towards president assad. because of pressure from the allies, because of questions being raised as to whether he was benefiting from the rise of isil. >> well, you can invert that and say we should just leave isil alone. and that would solve that problem, wouldn't it. that's not a wise policy, that's not our policy and that's not going to be our policy. the answer as we build toward that is not a military solution here. the people of syria are going to have to be able

how does that relate to your question about syria? define a stable government, leaders in syria to be able to bring some stability to that country is part of it. but isil is right now, and isil is threatening the country of iraq, and the government of iraq. and so that's why we are dealing with that component first, because we must. they are a threat to our allies, they are a threat to us. >> thank you. mr. larson. >> thank you mr. chairman. secretary hagel, you have my first two minutes and general dempsey will get the next two. for secretary hagel there has been no discussion of the request for '15, which is $5.6 billion. what do you know about the current 2014 oco requests through the end of the cr? what is in that, and why do you need an additional 5.6 in 015 given that there is authority for you at least through the cr for -- out of 014 money? >> the quick answer is i have noted in my testimony, part of that -- that new additional money, the $5 billion for defense is for a new train and equip program in iraq. when we had the budg

policy in syria. after realizing that defeating islamic terrorists in syria may be impossible without first ousting president bashar al assad. >>> new provocations from russia this morning, moscow says it plans to send long-range bombers to patrol the gulf of mexico and the caribbean, including near american waters it comes amid another uptick in violence in ukraine that's left at least four ukrainian soldiers dead. our senior international correspondent matthew chance has the latest live from moscow. matthew? >> well these are quite dramatic developments from moscow that russia will resume cold war era flights across the arctic from its base there is towards alaska, and more flights down the west coast of the, the western atlantic and the east coast towards the gulf of mexico. it hasn't done these kinds of flights, testing u.s. air defenses since the end of the cold war. they don't actually represent a military threat as such. in fact, think tanks that have been focusing on the upsurge in these kinds

russia's role in syria will be challenging. to have seem overlapping interests with iran outcomes our desired do not clearly align. we certainly do not have the ine overlapping interests syria. all of which is to say that these situations are going to be messy and require constant attention and management. fortunately, managed correctly, we have a real path toward the of degrading isil. denying them safe haven, eliminating their leadership, curtailing their ability to strike at our allies and at us. panelists here will help to explain to us and the american people the strategy. you, mr. chairman. con --sk unanimous it forward into the record. >> without objection, so ordered. mr. smith had ten days ago -- had surgery on his hip and he is recovering. i want to let you know he's fully engaged. had our big four meeting, working on the bill. he was -- technology made it possible that he was in the room with us and fully totally engaged. one other thing i would like to mention at the outset. several of our members will not next year

we are bombing in syria. we are arming what we called for actions in eventually to overthrow assad, but not now. these regional contradictions eventually burn themselves out. the question is how much damage they do and the quicker you can accelerate that, the better. the one factor that may change this dynamic is if we succeed in getting an agreement with the rent on their nuclear deal, we will find in iraq our interests are rarely coincident and we can begin not just operating in parallel lines about communicating with each other, which would make our assistance to the iraqis much more effect to and perhaps eventually be able to broker some kind of peace agreement in syria, which would require also operational pressure. that is ultimately what will happen. the question is how many people get killed and how many poor people get radicalized. >> just one more answer and then we'll go to your questions, but i think it is fair to say if there is an iranian deal of the form under discussion, while that may have th

but also carries over into eastern syria -- that also carries over into eastern syria. there are no borders when it comes to terrorism, especially with the ruthlessness of isis. we are doing what we can in syria to facilitate our anti-isil strategy, and that is eventually, as we degrade isil, to destroy. >> but i do not getting pressure to do more against assad? >> there are different views from different coalition partners. >> are there different views and secretary kerry? whether, if you defeat isil, it helps or hurts assad. >> i just explained what our strategy is regarding isil. is assad helped by what we are doing against isil? he is indirectly benefiting, but let's review the landscape. why has all of this occurred? this is all occurred because over the last three years, assad, his brutality, his lack of responsible government and legitimacy, what he has done to his own people has produced this. there will not be a military solution in syria. there only can be a diplomatic solution and people coming together enough. no one wants a completely failed government in s

and what happened once she arrived in syria. i think that is the main interest of the authorities now, and i hope and i assume that after that, she most likely will be given help probably to reintegrate into society. but of course that depends on some of the answers she can give and the evidence that is available. >> she must have some very useful information that the authorities would like to hear about. you generally hear about foreign fighters joining isil. but how rare is a case like this? >>reporter: well, it used to be rare until a year ago but especially this year more and more girls have joined fighters in syria or went on their own or accompanied by some people to syria. and that number has grown dramatically. currently it's about 20% in the netherlands. same figures for, for instance, france. we're talking about not just one or two examples but probably dozens of girls and many of them are very young. only a week ago or two weeks ago, there was this girl, age 16, arrested in hungary on her way to syria. so we have more

so this was about syria. so -- i mean, we're all here in a debate and we actually believe in reasoned deliberation and we believe that if you hear facts and well-expressed opinions based on facts, it can change your mind. that is the premise of this evening. i knew you would quote that against me and i did believe it when i wrote it. i absolutely thought this is critical in terms of sending a message to putin. i have since spent half the summer talking to russian experts talking about what in fact is driving putin and i absolutely think at this point that had we done what i was suggesting, it wouldn't have changed putin's calculation. >> so don't do what you're suggesting now. >> no. >> wait a minute. >> but equally -- equally importantly, it might have changed -- it might well have tore pea deed our negotiations with iran. much as we should be actings differently, i fully understand barack obama's calculus that says this is the single most important thing in the region and i am not going to do anything that

he said there would be iraqi groups on the ground in iraq and syria boots on the ground in syria. it sounds goods, but where are they? i've been reporting on this region for years and people i speak with tell me that this is one of the key problems with the u.s. strategy. it's disconnected from what's actually happening and seems, quite frankly, to be based on wishful thinkings. i imagines that the iraqi government is legitimate. it imagines a middle east that doesn't exist. they've been able to capture mosul and take over half of syria. in less than six months, isis erased the border and carved out an area the size of maryland. washington calls this state a cancer. the cure, it says, is not o e to send in one army, but to prop up five armies. in central iraq, the u.s. is rebuilding and retraining the army. in western iraq, it's paying sunni tribes. in north earn iraq, it's sending guns to the kurds. in southern syria, the regime is still in power and growing stronger. the fact is these groups hate each other. in the wider region, the u.s. is counting on support from muslim countr

they basically raise it and spend it internally in iraq and syria. and one way to crack down on them is to crack down on the companies that are financing terrorism. the ranking lady waters and introduced a bill called the incorporation law enforcement assistance act which would require the disclosure of very basic information from corporations of who their benefit owners are. i was pleased in august when treasury proposed a rule to implement many parts of my bill. i would like to know what is the update on this. what is happening with the rule that you put into place? >> congresswoman, you highlight an important issue with the issue of shell companies. the rule that you are referring to we proposed a final rule in august. the comment period on that final rule actually i think the comment period expired in august. we are in the process of reviewing the comments that i think we received over 120 comments on that proposed rule. i should probably not get into anymore detail on where we are in terms of issuing the rule, but we are deeply committed and hav

a small city in the kurdish north of syria. one in or resident here is christian, more than in any other part of the country. the city has been largely untouched i wore. that is why this churches so full. many christians have fled here. >> islamic state has burned down our churches and told us we should run away or they would kill us all stop i came here with my sons. >> islamic state claims to operate in the name of islam, but this is not islam. our people know islam and this has nothing to do with it. islam does not come with a sword. it is about mercy and love. they are in human. >> the city is quiet and mostly safe. a few kilometers to the west, things look very different. the fighter translates the slogans under islamic state control, it says. christians have been organizing a militia for quite some time and have been fighting alongside the kurds. together, they have pushed i asked -- they have pushed islamic state back a few kilometers all stop he came back to his family's former homeland in 2012. he is an assyrian as chr

when we return more on the fight in syria and iraq against isil. what the next secretary will have on his or her desk from the first day on the job what a nuisance at leadership and large republican majorities in both houses mean for the day-to-day work of the pentagon, stay with us. ♪ ♪ >> we begin with the growing controversy. >> answers to the questions no one else will ask. >> real perspective, consider this on al jazeera america ♪ ♪ >>> you are watching "inside story" on al jazerra america, i am ray suarez, there will be a new u.s. secretary of defense before too long. former senator chuck hagel the first enlisted man to serve at the top civilian job at the pentagon will day on until a replacement is named. but the work of fighting isil, finishing the job in afghanistan and continuing the work of streamlining the forces will fall to someone else. we are looking at the job going forward with david, former deputy assistants secretary of defense for afghanistan and pakistan think heather of the new america foundation. and mark thompson, n

the most likely outcome worthy of assad regime to fall in syria is the take of syria by the islamic state and/or the nusra front, the official al qaeda affiliate in syria, which sometimes gets lost in the talk about the islamic state, but is nonetheless the very real, official al qaeda affiliate in the country. so the politics in syria are just much, much more difficult. >> brangham: douglas ollivant, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you, william. >> brangham: and now in tonight's signature story, the nationwide controversy over teachers and tenure. supporters say tenure provides important job protections, but opponents say tenure makes it hard to fire bad teachers and difficult to keep good teachers with less time on the job. last spring, the newshour traveled to california to talk to students, parents and advocates who went to court to change their state's tenure laws. tonight, we look at the outcome of that legal fight and how challenges to similar tenure laws are spreading to another state. megan thompson reports. >> reporter: sisters beatriz and elizabeth vergara attend pub

he went into syria, was picked up, i believe, in the prove incident in eastern syria and very little has been heard from him since other than pleas by his family and friends of his trying to get him released. >> ben hubbard, we wanted to ask you, a visit, a surprise visit by general martin dempsey there in iraq. tell us a little bit about the nature of this visit. >> well t seems like the main focus of the u.s. effort right now is trying to get advisors in place earlier this month that they were going to basically double the number of american military advisors here to about 3,000. so they are trying to get these in place mainly to arm, equip and training missions for the iraqi military and also trying to get some of the tribal fighters on board from some of the sunni tribes, particularly in anbar prove incident. these are groups that people remember hearing about the sunni awakening in iraq when u.s. forces were still here. this was -- these were -- these tribes ended up playing a large role in cooperating with american forces to get rid of al-qaeda in iraq, the predecessor of the g

the syrian doctor asked him and they were in syria at the time. just a few days before he was kidnapped. and he asked him your not afraid for your life and peter's response was my life is not more precious than yours and at this stage i feel as if i am a part of the syrian revolution. so, yes, he knew the risks but he had such a profound belief and need to actually go out there and do something himself that he put that behind him. he acknowledged the risks. he knew what he was getting into. he felt it was so important to help the syrian people and knowing what i know, what all of us know about peter at this point in time he wouldn't want the focus to be on what deor what's happened him to. he would want the focus to be on why what he was doing was so important. why it's so important to help the syrian people. and why despite what has happened to him and so many others, it's so important for us whether it's us as journalists or us as aid workers or us quite simply as members of the global community that happen to be more fortunate than others that

he went into syria, was picked up, i believe, in the prove incident in eastern syria and very little has been heard from him since other than pleas by his family and friends of his trying to get him released. >> ben hubbard, we wanted to ask you, a visit, a surprise visit by general martin dempsey there in iraq. tell us a little bit about the nature of this visit. >> well t seems like the main focus of the u.s. effort right now is trying to get advisors in place earlier this month that they were going to basically double the number of american military advisors here to about 3,000. so they are trying to get these in place mainly to arm, equip and training missions for the iraqi military and also trying to get some of the tribal fighters on board from some of the sunni tribes, particularly in anbar prove incident. these are groups that people remember hearing about the sunni awakening in iraq when u.s. forces were still here. this was -- these were -- these tribes ended up playing a large role in cooperating with american forces to get rid of al-qaeda in iraq, the predecessor of the g

finally, with regard to syria, look. the problem that we face is that asaad has been a magnet for the very extremism we're fieging. its's hard to see how syria can be stable. including finding ways to preserve the basic military structures, the institutions of the state. that vacuum is filled by bad things. i think one of the things that's going to be critical is getting to a political transition that preserves all the different actors that their equities can be protected in a syrian state. that's ofly a big challenge. i think we now have a u.n. envoy that is focused and starting to make the rounds of the critical regional states. as people look out, i think all the sides can see that ultimately, this is going to exhaust them. and there's no military victory for anyone in the civil war. there should be a growing incentive to deal with the civil war. but part of that is the moderate opposition. building up, making it a counter weight. and, in effect, further underscoring the fact that the asaad regime cannot win this mili

against syria's women, children, and minority communities. [ explosion ] >>> meanwhile iraqi forces make progress against isil, forcing them from the oil town of beiji. >>> flying into political storm, the russian president, vladimir putin arrives for the g-20 summit, against a backdrop of conflict in ukraine, and warnings of a new cold war. >>> and i have all of the day's sport, including, ecuadoral guinea will host the african cup of nations. >>> u.n. investigators say the islamic state of iraq and the levant, isil is committing war crimes on a huge scale across syria. their report paints a bleak picture of life in isil-controlled areas. executions, amputations, and lashings in public places are pretty much a regular occurrence. mutilated bodies have been put on public display, and left people, of course particularly the children, completely terrorized traumatized. and the u.n. says they are targeting the children to try to foster a new generation of recruit. and girls are being forced into marriage with isil fighters. we are joined by one of the authors of the report from geneva.

the 19-year-old's mother traveled to syria to bring her daughter home. her husband divorced her, reportedly saying it hadn't worked out and returned to the netherlands wednesday. the teenager had left her home city back in february and traveled to the isil stronghold city of raqqa. we'll take this to the center for the direction of terrorism and counter terrorism live there in the hague. this is an extraordinary story. how did this girl's mother find her and then actually get her out? >> well, she first tried without much information in october. she went to the border with syria, but no contact, no -- she failed, she went back and then she got a what's app message from her daughter, desperate message asking her to help her out, telling her that she was in the city of raqqa and needed help to get out. she went and apparently she managed to get her daughter out, back to turkey, then she was without documents and then with the help of the foreign ministry she arrived in the netherlands very recently that that's an adventure in itself. what happens now to th

is syria going to be like iraq was a decade ago? >> erin, we have never had a successful military conflict in which the united states is engaged, where we didn't put boots on the ground. boots on the ground are going to be required here. general dempsey has said that, in effect, and he's dead right. the president has committed an additional 1500 on top of the 1500 to 1700 we've already got there. i support that decision. now i don't support the united states going into syria or into iraq in a combat -- on a combat mission. but the fact of the matter is, everybody that is inside of iraq today is in the middle of a combat zone. so they have to be prepared. but what we've got to do is the united states is prepared to provide leadership from the standpoint of logistics, intelligence, supply and command and control, but we need the arab countries to put the boots on the ground that are going to be led by our folks. that is the type of involvement that we need to have from a boots on the ground standpoint. they are flying missions and thi

syria, we have to look at syria from a number of perspectives. haven a supply and safe for isis and iraq. isis as a threat in syria. a syriand to build out force that can do two things. but alsoe against isis does assad regime. aat's going to require long-term efforts, to do direct action with respect to no-fly and safe zones. i think at some point it is going to be something that is de facto. it is not that difficult indicate to the syrians these are areas we are going to operate. if you fly, if you use it you lose it. it can be just a practical side of communications. possible as isis hasmes this force that it with some appeal to people who , thatnti-west feelings they will have access to weapons we've never seen a terrorist organization have? >> it is both an army. a lot of weapons. >> they will try to take everything that they can. they have money. as is a well-funded organization. they will try to buy on the black market additional weaponry. which is why the united states is correct and leaving this destroyo stop them, and them. >> there is