to escalate their campaign in iraq or syria. this is a group by the way that's not been directly linked to a single terrorist plot in the west and that includes the period when they were known as al qaeda in iraq as the height of the iraqi insurgency when there were many operations against them. they want to deter the united states by putting out these violent videos. if they the united states goes to syria, that's a red line. they could start putting their significant sources in trying to attack the west. that would be very frightening prospect indeed. >> nevertheless, britain just raised its threat level to severe, the highest level there in three years. we should know that president obama is headed to wales next week for a meeting with nato. how does that impact raising this threat level? just one of questions we might hear at the white house in just a few minute. we are awaiting a press conference there. there is other news, including what is going on in ukraine right now. we've seen new images of what look like russian tank

should be involved on the ground in syria? >> not in syria. the kurdish forces and i'm not sure which of the rebel forces, but let's remember isis is they enemy of the syrian government right now and so that has to be worked out. that's why i think it's a very difficult situation right now. >> what was shocking to me and i'm anxious to get your thought that the syrian military, bashar al arc assad and they lose control of this key checkpoint to the forces on the golan heights? what does that say it to you about the syrian military? >> it makes them suspect because there's no reason, unless that -- they were pulling back for more important targets elsewhere in the north of syria, but that is, to me, indication that perhaps this force is not as strong as we think it is. >> it's an indication to me that this regime potentially could be crumbling right now in the face of this enormous threat. they're losing all sorts of areas to isis and other forces there. >> but there is an opportunity here to say as we look at threats, the danger of isis and wh

the trick is how do you fight inside syria. for a while the west and many regional countries were supporting the opposition groups inside syria to defeat president assad and now the government will hoping it will change and the world will have to operate in order to defeat them in syria and iraq. >> how do you think the syrians are going to react to statements made by the u.s. considering we are expecting the syrian foreign minister to speak shortly? >> reporter: yes, he is going to be speaking shortly and the line the syrian government has been using and what they are fighting is terrorist groups, it's not a popular up rising and they think it's time to hammer the point and want to say syria operation without operation from the syrian government is going to be very hard to defeat i.s. the other point is even for u.s. officials it's a dilemma, how do you strike the islamic state group positions and targets inside syria, i mean if the u.s. is going to use drones the syrian government has airplanes and have missiles and antiaircr

the syria piece still needs to be filled in because it's such a mess in syria. i think it's unfair to go after him for something that admittedly was inartfully said. >> his objective in what he was saying, and the white house has made this clear, he was trying to tap the brakes, to slow down speculation about how imminent it may be the u.s. is going into syria with air strikes. do you think he should have been trying to do that? >> yes, i think it was very important for him to slow those expectations. you know, once he asked the military planners, some of whom are trying to make the case for strikes, what would we achieve, tell me what would we even strike, some will take that and say, okay, he's asking for a target list and that means he's going forward. it was clearly i think his desire, really, to see if they could make the case. i don't think the case has been made. we don't have the same capabilities on the ground in syria like we do in iraq. and if we were to strike from the air in syria, we have to ask ourselves, if we displace isis from some part of syri

ambassador to syria. >> thank you. >> bashar al assad, syria's president you know him. mr. obama said he won't sit down and negotiate with assad because assad is brutal himself, accused of using chemical weapons on his own people but just because the president won't do business with him does that mean the united states can't do business with him in another way? >> i think there's a way to try to work on the problem in syria without working directly with president bashar. he is the president of the country. he managed to get elected by a massive margin, just last spring for his third term, but the brutality that he has carried out and he has authorized against his own people has been enormous, and i don't see that there's any way we can have any open cooperation with them without losing the support of those that we will need to do the direct confrontations with isis. >> so i just spoke to a congresswoman who said the united states should reach out to other countries to help combat isis. which other countries should the united states be talking to? >> i think the main people

needs to go into syria, and launch those air strikes. and the reason being is that syria is a safe haven, and a sanctuary for the isis militants currently operating here in iraq. they have crossed the borders and they go back into syria, and the u.s. can conduct as many air strikes as they would like here in iraq, but at the end of the day, the militants will move back into syria, we heard frit jep ral dempsey the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. and we know that to defeat isis, with we have to go into syria. and with we know that president obama has been reluctant to go get involved in the syrian war, but it has claimed the lives of some 300,000 people, but this is no longer about syria and iraq, but it is now about america, because these isis militants are going after american citizens, and we know from the horrific video that we saw that they are threatening to execute a second journalist, steven sotloff, if the air strikes continue. >> i want to bring in a cnn analyst who is joining me from washington, peter bergen, and talk ab

they're expanding across iraq, across syria. they're fighting the syrian rebels, and they're going to continue to do those things, whether or not we react. so if we don't react, if we wait, if we study the issue, we can be sure that the problem will get worse and worse, and when they hear we're about to weigh in, that factors into the calculations. >> so i guess the obvious question, where does the administration go from here? >> so john kerry will go to the region this weekend. he'll try to coalesce some international support around whatever it is they ultimately decide to do, and they're going to have more debate inside the administration. the white house doesn't want to intervene in syria. they've been very clear about that. there are a lot of people in the administration that say we have no choice. they haven't convinced the one man whose vote is the most important, his name is barack obama. until he's convinced, we're not going to see any movement. >> are the will, josh rogin, thank thank you for your insight. check out his

throughout the three year brutal syria civilian war, one thing to know about syria, they have a strong air defense system. they have a sophisticated national defense system to shoot down what they see as enemy aircraft. and syria, of course, did not develop that system because of the civil war that they're in. they've had this system in place for a long time. part of making themselves a target by israel or any other middle eastern government that might decide they want a piece of the assad regime. the assad regime has not been cheap when it comes to investing in the weapon systems. they have a rock solid ally in russia. russia has been more than happy to sell syria any weapons it wants and prop them up on complex systems like air defense. and that relatively sophisticated air defense system in syria is one of the reasons those american special forces, that team of marines and delta force commandos that carried out that attempted secret rescue mission last month to save american hostages held by isis in syria, their awareness of syrian air defense systems is apparently why that special

moving from syria into iraq? >> we judge up to a hundred may have gone to syria to join extremist groups. we don't know how many cross the boreder from syria into iraq. that is something we are very focused on. as you know, we are taking action against isil inside iraq already. >> you might take direct action against isis, or isil, whatever you want it call it, in syria as well. the u.s. president authorized surveillance lights look over at the potential targets. how close is the u.s. now to launching airstrikes against isis or isil targets in syria? >> well, the president hasn't made a decision yet. the defense department maintains a plan of options and has presented those to president. >> what openings -- >> we are having a constant conversation inside the administration about what options could be necessary to go after isis. whether it is syria, iraq, anywhere they train. we're not restricted by geographic boundaries here when it comes to protecting american citizens. the president hasn't made a decision yet.

in syria. >> is the president on the same page as his cabinet when it comes to dealing with isis. >> the more important observation is the cabinet is on the same page as the commander in chief. i'm fully confident that's the case. >> is the pentagon on the same page as the white house in terms of the threat posed by isis? >> yes. next question? >> now, don't be surprised if the president gets some work done on isis tomorrow morning. the president was supposed to spend much of this weekend doing some fund-raising and attending a wedding up in new york, but earlier today, brianna, the white house announced they're changing the president's schedule. he's coming back tonight and spending part of tomorrow morning here at the white house. that might mean some more work on isis is yet to come. >> we'll be waiting. jim acosta, thank you. the concern in britain is much greater than it is in the u.s. right now. as the threat level was raised to severe, prime minister david cameron warned that isis poses

differently here in syria. many of the members of congress of both parties syria in recent months. this. week. to go. to. syria. subsystem. i mean after the show breaking on our t.v. international while celebrities in the west take up the ice bucket challenge the arab world is desperate to pull loads awareness of the toll victims of war by using the rubble of gaza instead of shows will tell me why back. differently here in syria now many of the members of congress of both parties have gone to syria in recent months has a. former. president which is diddy's telling him to go. to go. to syria you probably saw the stuff. he's in for becoming independent schools a nation that nation should be self-governing govern the feels better to love someone else to do it for. staying with us it's been that difficult to be on social networks of late and not to stop. thousands of people posting photos and videos of themselves getting dazed in ice cold water almost two million people have already taken part in the stunt to promote awareness of. no room disease more than sixty million dollars has alr

syria. but having said that, would he have liked to have that one back? >> i want to care fly one thing. what you described. the president was talking specifically about military options for countering isis in syria, there are a number of things that we've already done to -- as it relates to the broader situation in syria to confront some of the challenges there. the united states, as we've discussed many times in this room, is the largest single donor of humanitarian aid to syria in terms of dealing with the terrible humanitarian situation that has been caused by the violence in syria. we've seen significant numbers. millions of people who have been displaced by the violence there. the united states has been engaged in an effort to support the moderate syrian opposition. there are a range of ways in which that support is provided. there's also some diplomatic support that's been provided to them. so there already has been some work under way in syria to try to address some of the challenges

we need to hit them in syria. we need to help free syrian army mobilize so they can fight them on the ground. when it comes to ground troops if our military commanders tell thanks we need ground forces to defeat isil, which is a threat to the united states, so be it. we have got to win and stop these guys. >> i want to bring in retired army lieutenant colonel and pog consultant, robert maginnis. bob, you say you doubt president obama, because you're saying about this president, i want to make your words right, you say you doubt he has the intestinal fortitude to take on isis. this is in an editorial that's been just recently published. why do you think that is and do you think that the chain -- the beheading of james foley this week might change that calculus? >> most certainly politics is at play here, jim. the president has known for some time that he is not going to put boots on the ground. he has been saying that consistently. you know, they -- we go back and think about when the syrians were using chemical we

chose to usein syria? >> i don't know if it tells us anything specifically he didn't make it back. he certainly can't eliminate the idea that these foreign fighters could potentially come back. again, that's the concern. as we have -- look, we also have a concern that they're getting radicalized in the first place, they're being attracted to such a perverse and brutal ideology, and that they would go over there and help in this complete depridation of the region inside iraq. it's very troubling. when we talk about the immediacy of the threat in the pentagon the reason why we are taking this threat so seriously, this is one of those factors. >> first of all, how many douglas mccains do you think there are out there? is the estimate still about 100 americans fighting inside syria right now? >> i've seen the estimate of about 100. i have no reason to doubt that here. at the pentagon we certainly think it's in the dozens, that's for sure but it's a very difficult thing to get your arms around >> as you sit in

the conflict in syria did give them more momentum. they have more fighters, more money, and a more solid cause where they can recruit more people. if you talk to the syrian opposition, they accuse the syrian regime of turning a blind eye if not supporting the existence and growth of the i.s. groups. the syrian government has said they have always said they are fighting terrorist groups like i.s., and now they are hoping the world will see their point of view, and at least scale back on his push to remove them, his the main rival right now on the ground is the i.s. group. >>> the deal that brought sergea sergeant bergdahl home is being said to be illegal. >>> hamas says it has executed at least 17 people it accuses of collaborating with israel. these deaths follow the killing of three senior hamas commanders by israel yesterday. jane ferguson has the latest from gaza, and a warning the images in this story are graphic. >> 11 took place in the early hours of this morning, 7 more have taken place, and some of those took place right here

with the organization in syria. what's going to happen? their saferia is saven and one of their rules terrorism, you have to destroy the leadership haven.y safe >> will there be american syria soon?nst >> i think it's possible to strike in syria. simply tell assad, privately, secretly, over the bet two weeks we're going to doing work against isis in your country, just to let you know. smart enough to figure out that if he combats us with take it out.we'll if he's also smart enough, he'll realize that isis is also his enemy. this is one of the contradictions, one of the things we have to get over is there are a lot of contradictions here. we may need iranian help before this is over. may have to tolerate syria, that's not to say support assad, have to do what i said and get to him later. toa strategy, you have establish priorities. right now, our priority needs to be to deal with isis. much foryou very coming in. >> pleasure. >> the latest battles are happening of course against the backdrop of a grim anniversary. it

and syria it is much more complicated, we have got to work with the plea syria movement, but they are relatively away and divided and last problem we have there is for too long a potential allies in the region like turkey and saudi arabia were punning groups like isis, you know, increasing their power now i think those folks have seen the light and they want to try to work with us, but it takes time to build a coalition, we can't stinl my bomb first and ask questions later, we have to have the right targets and the right support in order to be effective in stopping isis instead of uniting sunnis around them. >> very good, congressman king i want to play something for you that british prime minister david cameron said on friday about the threat to the u confident and possibly other western nations let's take a listen. >> if what we are pacing in iraq now with isil is a greater and deeper threat to our security than we have known before, people are rightly concerned about so-called foreign fight whores ralph from britain to syria and iraq taking part in terrorist acts and then come back

and syria it is much more complicated, we have got to work with the plea syria movement, but they are relatively away and divided and last problem we have there is for too long a potential allies in the region like turkey and saudi arabia were punning groups like isis, you know, increasing their power now i think those folks have seen the light and they want to try to work with us, but it takes time to build a coalition we can't stinl my bomb first and ask questions later, we have to have the right targets and the right support in order to be effective in stopping isis instead of uniting sunnis around them. >> very good, congressman king i want to play something for you that british prime minister david cameron said on friday about the threat to the u confident and possibly other western nations let's take a listen. >> if what we are pacing in iraq now with isil is a greater and deeper threat to our security than we have known before, people are rightly concerned about so-called foreign fight whores ralph from britain to syria and iraq taking part in terrorist acts and then come back

targets inside of syria. u.s. officials admit it will take more than just air strikes to defeat isis. >> there's not a military solution entirely to the isis problem. obviously, we have to take the fight to them. we're doing that in iraq. but we need to cut off their funding. we need to cut off the flow of foreign fighters. we need inclusive government in iraq who can come together and push them out of iraq. all of these pieces need to be part of the strategy in the long term. >> the discussion right now is expanding the fight in syria. but the u.s. is already hitting isis in iraq, as you just heard there, slowing advance in the northern part of iraq. cnn's anna coren is there in erbil. anna, they're discussing possibly expanding that fight in iraq as well. you've seen what it looks like on the ground. >> yeah, we certainly have. those u.s. air strikes placing enormous pressure on isis. we've seen the results around erbil. but as around mosul dam where those humvees, those vehicles, those convoys are just bei

ambassador to syria who resigned his post in syria. he said he couldn't justify the administration's policy there. he's senior fellow at the middle east institute. appreciate your being here. we've been hearing about the fears that the u.s. government and european government has about these jihadists in fighting in syria with passports. now we have the story of douglas mcarthur mccain, an american from california killed there. we have the story of the british, the video of the british guy from isis and that horrible video with james foley. how many western jihadists fighting for the opposition in syria are we talking about? and how much of a threat to doe pose to the homeland? >> i don't think we have an exact number, jake. but we certainly think it's in the hundreds. >> hundreds. >> in the hundreds. when i was working with counterparts from european governments, france, belgium, germany, they estimated there were hundreds of european citizens fighting in syria on behalf of radical groups there. in fact, our french counterpart said the

syria has warned the u.s. not to fly over its territory, but its air defenses are trained on its arch enemy israel and are not considered a serious threat in a part of the country where american planes will be flying. u.s. intelligence has already flown spy missions over syria without losing any aircraft. president obama has not yet approved air strikes inside syria, but he warned that isis or as he calls it isil will not easily be defeated. >> and we'll continue to take action where needed to protect our people and defend our homeland, and ruling out a cancer like isil won't be easy and it won't be quick. >> reporter: american air strikes have succeeded in stops advances in iraq, but it continues to make gains on the other side of the border in syria. this propaganda video of an isis attack on a syrian military base starts with a suicide truck bomb followed by heavy weapons fire and an assault with small arms ending with the capture of russian-made weapons. it is unclear when president obama will make a decis

all part of a campaign to spread fear among the people of syria. according to the report the executions have become common in the militant strongholds of ale aleppo. we've seen jaimings showing militants slaughtering people including beheadings and mass killings and crucifixions. it details war crimes, crimes against humanity and claims syria's government has committed. well among the accusations the president there bashir al assad his regime attacked his own people with chlorine gas eight times back in april and it's three years that president obama said he needs to go and quite a long time since he crossed the red line yet there he is. our chief intelligence correspondent kathryn harris is live in washington. we're learning more about the islamic state's military capabilities. >> reporter: that's right. the terrorist group isis or isil has taken a strategy jig approach to gain recruits and equipment according to a new analys analysis. an independent and privately funded research group reads in part isil did not become effective suddenly in early

we need to hit them in syria. we need to help the free syrian army mobilize so they can fight them on the ground. when it comes to ground troops, if our military commanders tell us that we need ground forces to defeat isil, which is a threat to the united states, so be it. we have got to win and stop these guys. >> we need to finish them off because they -- we will either fight them here or we will fight them there. that in my mind is basically the choice. >> so it sounds to me like you anticipate at some point combat boots on the ground? >> i don't know -- i don't know the answer to that, but you certainly don't take that off the table. >> we need to do everything we can to repel isis. i don't think we have the luxury of putting our heads in the sand and saying, well, it's over there and we're not going to do it. >> there's no boundary between syria and iraq. one of the key decisions the president is going to have to make is air power in syria. >> one of the decisions the president is going to have to make? who h

and syria it is much more complicated, we have got to work with the plea syria movement, but they are relatively away and divided and last problem we have there is for too long a potential allies in the region like turkey and saudi arabia were punning groups like isis, you know, increasing their power now i think those folks have seen the light and they want to try to work with us, but it takes time to build a coalition, we can't stinl my bomb first and ask questions later, we have to have the right targets and the right support in order to be effective in stopping isis instead of uniting sunnis around them. >> very good, congressman king i want to play something for you that british prime minister david cameron said on friday about the threat to the u confident and possibly other western nations let's take a listen. >> if what we are pacing in iraq now with isil is a greater and deeper threat to our security than we have known before, people are rightly concerned about so-called foreign fight whores ralph from britain to syria and iraq taking part in terrorist acts and then come back

and the same with syria. so the configuration of our ability to collect intelligence has certainly hindered the ability to get the kinds of intelligence that you would want for a circumstance just like we're facing. so for those of us who believed for some time hey, we need to configure ourselves a little differently if you're going to address this growing threat, unfortunately, that didn't happen. now we're finding there was no strategy going forward and we're going to have one hopefully by the end of the week. again, that's something we're going to have to work through in short order. >> the president made it clear that it's going to take days if not longer to come up with that strategy dealing with isis in syria. would you be one to advise the president or would you be smart to launch air strikes whether from drones or manned aircraft or tomahawk cruise missiles against the isis command and control facilities most of which are in syria, not in iraq? >> you have an interesting problem. this is a terrorist o

they control land across syria into iraq. all of this has changed in that period we're talking about. the other part of this is i think the military s-you knois,, poised to do something. what's the best strategy not a matter of will. the reason the decision makers are hesitant is reflected in polling. if you look at polling right now the polling would indicate that, you know, i saw was it a fox poll 54% say the president is not tough enough. >> "usa today" pew research. >> the president is not tough enough. if you start to ask people again should the united states, for example, put more boots on the ground, should we engaging another war it's clear republicans and democrats say no, we don't want that. >> yeah. the question is what we need. next up with the panel, president obama, vladimir putin, russia and ukraine. what's happening there. wait, are you running full adobe photoshop on a tablet? yep. but it's not just a tablet, it's really a laptop. it's a surface pro 3, with a touchscreen. well it can't be as fast as my mac. s

and we know we don't want to go into syria. if we maintain that stance, that is a choice, there will be consequences. >> we saw the general saying that basically the border is stopping, it is stopping the existence? >> yes, the original sin is failing to intervene more aggressively in 2012. that was precisely the warning if we don't do something now and let the conflict continue and getting worse -- >> you mean in syria? >> yes, the ratted cals are going to gain ground. el you can't undo the damage. now we have to manage the situation to best of our ability, but syria is so, it is destroyed iraq and it is not a state as we know it. do we want to contain isis or do we want to defeat them? >> how do we answer that question? >> we want to defeat them. are we willing to live with that for five, ten years and what kind of repercussions does it have on the rest of the region and the fallout from foreign fighters coming back home to the u.s. or europe. >> very quickly, do they get harder to defeat the longer you wait? >> precisely. if

military into syria. united states top general told reporters the border between iraq and syria is nonexistent. would the president align interests even with bashar al assad to hunt down isis? joining me now michael hayden, now a principal at the group. when it comes to isis i think a concern for americans is what is the direct threat to them? it is my impression there is a debate as to how imminent that threat is. you have a school of thought that they certainly aspire to attack the american homeland and have a number of americans among their ranks, perhaps 100. the fbi put out a report saying no credible threats yet. where do you stand in that debate? is it more imminent or less imminent? this is a future threat or clear and present danger? >> you have outlined it perfectly. this is a question of timing, not of inevitability, not of intent. right now i think it is fair to say that isis is a very powerful local terrorist organization and probably a reasonably powerful regional terrorist organization but

iraq and syria. they want ground war with u.s. troops on their own territory. in the aftermath of jim foley's execution and that execution video being posted online on tuesday of this week, and the threats to another american journalist, steven sotloff in that same video, the reaction globally has taken off in sort of two parallel tracks. one of them is the clues that isis has inadvertently provided as to who they are, how they be got at, including up to accent analysis of the voice of foley's killer from the video. one track is a manhunt. one track is a murder inquiry. the other track is about the larger scale, wholesale strategy to defeat this group. and in the last 24 hours, on 3 separate occasions, that second track about how to defeat isis has a group, that has led to three escalating instances over the course of 24 hours in which american officials have basically threatened that we are about to have an american war in syr syria. the first mention happened yesterday morning in a radio interview

if we just deal with iraq, they flee to syria. if we just deal with syria, they go to iraq. there's a different nature of the problem. different kinds of solutions. we can't deal with one without the other. we have to have a strategy in iraq, but we also have to deal with syria. it's a combination of a political strategy to get local support from both syrians and iraqis, to get regional support. it's not just a threat to us, it's a threat to the region and a smart military strategy in both these countries that can ultimately push them back and over time defeat them. that's a long-term strategy. >> sandy berger, thank you your time. >> we'll turn to another crisis facing the white house. the president finally weighing in on immigration reform. but not before 145 protesters were arrested outside the white house. which is why he's investing ain his heart health by eatingw. kellogg's raisin bran ® good morning dad. hi, sweetie. here's another eye opener, not only is kellogg's raisin bran ® heart healthy, but its a delicious source of potassium. mom make you eat that? i happen

he was preparing to go into syria. it appear -- he appeared two months ago as you can see from the photo on the screen there. no one's 100% sure who had been holding him at the time of his release. but john kerry said he was held by sunni extremists. this is what secretary kerry had to say in a statement. the united states reached out to more than a dozen countries asking for urgent help from anyone to help secure his release and the release of any americans held hostage in syria. we continue to use ever diplomatic, intelligence and military tool at our disposal to help find them. and susan rice gave these details about the release. for two years, we've kept peter curtis, a u.s. citizen held hostage in syria in our thoughts and prayers. today, we join his family and loved ones in welcoming his freedom. he is now safe outside of syria and we expect him to be reunited with his family shortly. this comes the week after we saw the horrific beheading of james foley. that of course shook the world about american journalists

inside syria. we are concerned. our teams on the ground are working there. at the moment, i can tell you more about the situation in neighboring countries as i know more about that. inside syria we do know there's a lot of concern for the 6.5 million who are displaced inside syria. >> do you think the numbers of people trying to leave the country will increase in the next few months as well? >> we've heard from refugees we've spoken to in recent months that leaving syria is becoming increasingly difficult. we've heard accounts from lebanese and jordan of increasing check points inside syria. as a result people have to pay more bribes to get through check points. conditions are are getting more difficult. we're hearing from people leaving and they say this is their last resort. prices are going up inside syria. people have been displaced multiple times, exhausted their savings and resources and have no other option but to find a way out. >>> the world health organization has warned as many as 20,000

specifically with respect to syria. and it's important to remember, we've been operating inside iraq from a humanitarian perspective and obviously from perspective of conducting air strikes. nothing has changed about those missions. we continue to conduct them. centcom continues to send press releases every day. up 100 air strikes every day since they began. so the discussion about operations in iraq continues because the operations in iraq continue. >> just to clarify. so you say you always have options on the table. this was a new request from the president for something. >> what the president was referring to was planning options inside syria. now i would be less than truthful if i said to you that we hadn't been thinking about that before yesterday. of course we have been. and we've talked about that. but two points. one, we're not at the point where we're prepared to have a more fullsome discussion about what those options are with the commander in chief. that's number one. and number two, and this is not a small p

. >> back on syria, is the u.s. flying surveillance missions in syria? i want to point out how many we've been told how many missions are flying every day over iraq. >> sure, sure, not going to talk about it, courtney. but i appreciate the warning as you asked it. but the difference here is that in iraq we were specifically asked by the government of iraq to come in and assist them with an isr effort. it was an overt ask. we accommodated that request. we continue to accommodate it today. that's a different situation than the when you're hypothesizing about now. bill? >> there's been a couple members of congress yesterday and today who have said they believe the president should go to congress and ask for an authorization if he decides to order military action in syria. what is secretary hagel's view of that question and more generally, does he feel the pentagon can operate under the existing authorization of military force? or would congress have to change it in some way if the president gave that order? >> i'm not going to speak to a question that's bet

will get involved in the fight against isis in syria. we'll talk about what's at stake for the president, both here in the united states, as well as around the world. >>> hello, i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington. he was held by militants in syria for almost two years. but today, the american journalist peter theo curtis is back in the united states. curtis spoke briefly with the reporters outside his mother's home in massachusetts. he says he's overwhelmed by emotion and grateful to be free. curtis was captured in to 12 by al nusri, an al qaeda affiliate. he says he's thankful for all efforts that went to securing his release. >> first, i want to thank you for coming out here on this beautiful wednesday morning. there have been literally hundreds of people brave, determined and big hearted people, working all over the world for my release. they've been working for two years on this. i had no idea when i was in prison, i had no idea so much effort was being expended on my behalf. now having found out, i have just overwhelmed with

response in syria? >> the free seyrian army will come to their aid in their fight against isis which has been going on now for almost a year. they've heard repeated promises from the obama administration for money, arms, other types of support that have not been met. they are open to the possibility that now that u.s. personnel and u.s. homeland is under threat from isis, that the obama administration may make the decision to intervene in syria but don't believe air strikes are the best way to do it. very simply put, isis is not a group that can be struck and destroyed like a state. according to the syrian opposition, isis is spread out into cities. if we were to do air strikes into those cities, we would kill civilians and the only way to get at them is to have a ground game and that would include, if you are not willing to put u.s. troops on the ground, working with the syrian opposition. that's what they are asking for. they say they are on the ground and they can help and they haven't been utilized.

when president obama decided to strike syria and decided not to strike syria. there's a lasting effect of that episode on the british consciousness that came out today. the british strategy which seems to be focused on protecting the british homeland from the threat of isil is much more arctic cue latd than the strategy that we heard from president obama yesterday which was much more focused on protecting iraq. for president obama, the isil problem is still a regional problem and although u.s. officials have said that isil has aspirations and perhaps capabilities to attack the u.s. homeland, the problem still has not come home for us here yet as far as president obama is concerned. prime minister cameron can't afford to make those distinctions. there are many more british jihadis than there are american. the threat is much more immediate to britain than they are to the u.s. this has forced the u.k. government to take a more comprehensive approach combatting this problem on the extremist level, on the radicalization level, on the home front, on the homeland secu

and that syria is syria bit was added to its title fairly recently in two thousand and eleven after president obama went public calling. mr assad to step down do you see any connection between that policy stance you know calling on assad to step down and the growth of isis and other terror groups in the region no but let me explain my views on that my own personal view was asking someone to step down in the absence of a den a fine kind of political way forward is not the way i would do it i think what we need to do is a den of along with some other countries and i again i would include russia in this a way forward for how syria can be governed in the future because it's clear the kind of narrow basis on which assad was governing that is on the basis of an alawite. fellow tribesmen and then a few of others was not sufficient so clearly there needs to be kind of an international plan on the way forward what i'm suggesting is we need a kind of bosnia type solution and then we can figure out who can be a part of that future and who should not be well i think some people would suggest th

-- and syria. meanwhile, as surveillance flights began over syria, politico reports that an years of growth, starting with september 11 and continue with the wars in afghanistan and iraq, defense companies have been making massive cuts. the number of employees of the five largest defense firms has dropped 14% from a peak in 2008 decade.from the past lockheed martin, the world's largest defense company has shown close to a quarter of its employees since 2008. as they try to maintain profits even as defense spending contracts, and further cuts or expect to. -- are expected. burger king confirms that has reached a deal to buy tim hortons with financial assistance from warren buffett. --is committed committing $3 billion. world'sates the third-largest fast food company bring the world headquarters will be in canada, inc. that may help burger king low-risk u.s. taxes. -- a move that may help burger king lower its u.s. taxes. c-span is covering the event and you can hear it later in our programming sched

if they want to strike back at isis inside syria, one of the biggest problems is syria has very hefty air defenses. you cannot fly u.s. aircraft, manned or unmanned, into syria, without the risk of being shot down, if you want to launch strikes against isis. one of the things they're doing right now, though, u.s. and british intelligence experts, they're scanning every frame of this video, every shred of the audio, because the executioner, the man in black, speaks with a british accent, and there is urgent concern about who he is. is he possibly a british citizen? is he someone with a passport that could return to europe and carry out more attacks? so they're looking at every frame, every bit of this, for every clue they can. what is his accent? what do the terrain features in the video, the sand, the sun, the dust, what does that say maybe about where the location is, really looking at it, frame by frame. if they can match the audio of the executioner's voice to perhaps an intercept that either the british or u.s. intelligence services have in hand from previous intercepts, that may

groups in syria and iraq. in syria we welcome this resolution. we know it is late, but we commit ourselves to this resolution and we hope and we welcome every country who is committed to this resolution under the charter and everyone committing itself to. the important part of the resolution is assurance of previous resolutions with the council in combatting terrorism. and the reassurance that the iraq and syria, the republic of iraq and republic of syria are independent and sovereign countries and their unity and the total integrity and the u.n. charity and the precipice of sovereignty and the nation. and we reassure again that all types of terrorism is one of the most dangerous threats that is targeting the international security and international peace and these acts are terrorist acts and not justified at all. and the reasons behind and whoever is committing such a crime and picture and image is approved unanimously and stresses after years and years of the crisis in syria that we use it during this crisis to put an end to the terrorism, to p

iraq and syria. they want ground war with u.s. troops on their own territory. in the aftermath of jim foley's execution and that execution video being posted online on tuesday of this week, and the threats to another american journalist, steven sotloff in that same video, the reaction globally has taken off in sort of two parallel tracks. one of them is the clues that isis has inadvertently provided as to who they are, how they be got at, including up to accent analysis of the voice of foley's killer from the video. one track is a manhunt. one track is a murder inquiry. the other track is about the larger scale, wholesale strategy to defeat this group. and in the last 24 hours, on 3 separate occasions, that second track about how to defeat isis has a group, that has led to three escalating instances over the course of 24 hours in which american officials have basically threatened that we are about to have an american war in syria. the first mention happened yesterday morning in a radio interview when

when i went to syria, i was a filmmaker in support of the revolution, i was not fighting in syria. and, you know, for me, it's causes that i believe in, in libya, it was intensely personal because of good friends i had there. so it's -- i believe when you believe in something, you should do something to support it, not just sit on your sofa at home giving a thumbs-up to your television. >> matthew van dike, you certainly aren't doing that, i want to have you back shortly when you get back from there. i appreciate your time. thanks. >>> coming up, the president told me last year, he's no king, but that hasn't stopped the saber rattling by republicans. >>> but first a look along the west coast, a gaood day to stay out of the weather and stay out of the water. looking for a convenient way to fill your viagra prescription online? go to viagra.com to find out about viagra home delivery. millions of men have some degree of erectile dysfunction. talk to your doctor, if viagra is right for you, you can fill your prescription at your pharmacy, or check out viagra home delivery and get start

air strikes for them can roll them back in syria. in syria, no. ultimately, what we're going to need, strike isis and other elements of the opposition and give more space for more moderate opposition. those will be our boots on the ground. without that, air strikes can't do that. >> of course, one of the complicating forces is here is president bashar al assad. the administration has been calling him to step down for years. he hasn't. if the president decides to move forward with air strikes, this could be very complicated. the syrians are saying we want to know about it but add administration is saying we're not going to align ourselves with bashar al assad. >> yeah. this is bashar al assad saying we were always on the same side fighting extremism. our answer is, no, we in fact have two enemies here. our enemies are isis and ultimately bashar al assad. >> let me get your take on this in terms of the military forces we're seeing in isis, some of them are western officers. the british intelligence is asking for help. and let me just read you from t

captivity in syria. he was held by a radical al qaeda fighter group. we don't exactly know the terms under which he was freed after being held by that group for so long, we do know that the government of the nation of qatar was the intervener basically on theo curtis' behalf. qatar negotiated for his release and they were able to secure it. they have faced some international criticism for funding and supporting these radical sunni militias. qatar has faced criticism for funding these radical sunni groups that are fighting the assad regime in syria, so has the nation of saudi arabia, kuwait, the united arab emirates, honestly, in practical terms, maybe it's because of qatar's relationship with groups like that, that they were able to get theo curtis free. as the u.s. considers what to do next against isis if anything, who else would be part of any u.s. led effort? or if the u.s. wasn't going to lead it, who would -- who else would potentially lead that fight against them that the u.s. might participate in

." >> president obama admits he has no plan yet to go after isis in syria. world leaders you have to confront the jihadist. >> i don't want to put the cart before the horse. we don't have a strategy yet. >> we need to tackle the ideology of extremism head on before it takes the follow of violence and terror. >> how serious is the threat? we will ask former army intelligence officer and isis expert, what should our strategy be? we will talk with the chairman of the house intelligence committee, mike rogers. and the white house struggles to get the emergency straight. >> the president was explicit. he is determined to make sure every element of his national security strategy is thought through. >> our sunday panel weighs in. >> with the stat of the fall campaign on this labor day weekend, will republicans win back the senate? we will handicap this november's hottest races with two top pollsters. our "power players of the week," guys making the "please don't touch signs," at the smithsonian a thing of the past. all right now on fox news sunday. >> hello again f

to syria, that's a real red flag. that's a real danger sign when somebody has been radicalized, has been in the fight and comes back home because they could have attacked us while they're home instead of heading back to join the fight again. >> there seems to be a mismatch in the administration's messaging here whether isis is a direct threat to the u.s. homeland today. you heard some officials saying, well, it's largely a regional threat. they're not an al qaeda 9/11 sort of concern. but earlier we had brett mcgurk saying it's a serious threat to the homeland right now. how concerned should our viewers be? >> there is a near-term threat, but the broader threat will be in the mid and long-term. when these hundreds and thousands of european fighters try to come back home, trying to keep track of those that mean us harm is a monumental challenge. but there is no near-term risk. this floridian you mentioned, he could have come back and attacked us. it may not have been very effective or very destructive, but as we saw in

the president speaking about isis in syria. the terror group beheading americans and publicly executing thousands in both iraq and syria. the president plan to combat isis, well, he doesn't have one. karl rove is here to respond to that in a minute. first ed henry live with the very latest. >> reporter: greta, remarkable because the context is he was speaking specifically about isis in syria, not iraq. earlier in the news conference the white house scrambling to point out, yes, in the transcript earlier he said he's got a military strategy in iraq. he was specifically talking about syria and was being pressed about why haven't you gone to congress, why aren't you making your case to the american people, why are you not seeking a debate and a vote for authorization of the use of force in syria? so it was in that context we should note. nonetheless, it's still a devastating quote because this is a president who let me run through some of the things, last thursday his own defense secretary, chuck hagel, said that this threat from

of dealing with the terrible situation caused by the violence in syria. we have seen millions displaced by the violence there. the united states has been engaged in an effort to support the moderate syrian operation. there are also diplomatic support that has been provided to them. so there already has been work underway in syria to try to address some of the challenges there, but the president was cab did about the fact that the pentagon is still reviewing options that may be available to him, military options that may be available to him, to counter isil militarily in syria. >> but when you are the president words matter, and just getting back to that first question, does he wish he had articulated that -- that sentiment differently? >> well, jim, he was asked a very specific question, and he was asked a question about -- >> reporter: right -- >> let me finish. this is important. he was asked a very specific question about whether or not the president would seek congressional authorization before ordering any sort of military -- military action in syria