and its arab partners in this. and as well i'm also told that these partners taking part despite some trouble at home, some disagreement, some criticism at home. and that's something to keep in mind here. this is certainly a sensitive decision for an arab nation to take to participate in military action against another arab nation in strikes like this alongside the u.s. so this is a very important piece of this. but as you know, the obama administration has been intent since the beginning of creating an international coalition here not only with european partners but with partners from the region, partners who are invested, partners who are neighboring syria and feeling in many ways the most severe effects from this. a very intense night. it's not going to end tonight but tonight's going to be particularly intense. it is continuing through the night. it is still nighttime there. we're going to see this take place for another couple of hours at least. starting with those tomahawk missiles, continuing with fighters a

you have middle eastern arab nations flying along side. >> sunni arab nations battling sunni arab islamic group. coming up, we will go live to one of the key allied nations. united arab emirates. our becky anderson is standing by there. i was just looking at your credit report site. do you guys have identity theft protection? [ male voice ] i'm sorry, did you say identity distribution? no. protection. identity theft protection. you have selected identity distribution. your identity will now be shared with everyone. thank you. no, no, no -- [ click, dial tone ] [ female announcer ] not all credit report sites are equal. [ male voice ] we're good in here, howie. yeah, have a good night, brother. experian.com members get personalized help plus identity theft protection. join now at experian.com. with enrollment in experian credit tracker. right here. with a control pad that can read your handwriting, a wide-screen multimedia center, and a head-up display for enhanced driver focus. all inside a newly redesigned cabin of unrivaled style and comfort. ♪ the all-new c-class. at the very touch p

another arab nation. back in 1991 it was iraq and the war against saadam hussein. and again, to have these same arab partners now targeting syria, this is not something that happens very often. and a major surprise to a lot of members of congress who just 48 hours ago were criticizing the president's plan and saying that the united states would be doing this largely alone. the president and michelle obama, the first lady, again, headed to new york. and just to provide a little bit of an update about what isment coming, the pentagon is expected to provide more details about a half an hour from now in the news briefing room that will provide a few more details about the attacks. the responsibilities carried by each of the nations. we will of course bring that to you live when that happens. and the president at 12:45 will be changing topics, and speaking about climate change. but you can expect because of the briefings from the pentagon and the state department, a lot of information that will still be filled

on the arab street. let's see what the popular reaction is to this. if popular reaction supports the governments. i think that is a very important step for the future of the operations against isis. it actually shows that there is regional pride in here. >> yeah, my experience, i will let you go, sir. to throw thins in. if this is a quick, effective operation. an operation that anybody you talk to in the uae and beyond says is a scourge to the region. then this operation will get the support of the man and woman on the street here. if it is an ongoing and long operation. that may then be questioned. it remains to be seen. we are hours into this. we very much appreciate your time here on the cnn. if you have your tablet, laptop viewers nearby. check out cnn.com. right now we have regular updates on the u.s. air strikes and the involvement of the arab nations you. know where to go, cnn.com/international. we will be right back. every time someone chooses finish over cascade, it sparks a movement. because on

with the united arab emirates leading arab nations in air strikes we're told by the pentagon in the first hours if it happens tonight. it's 11:00 on the east coast. 8:00 p.m on the west coast. 6:00 a.m in syria the sun has risen above isis militants in a new world. we have continuing coverage of tonight's breaking news the pentagon confirms the united states began bombing targets in that country linked to the islamic state terror group we heard from a senior official the military is briefing president obama on the operation throughout the night. we have reports of the first amateur video from inside seara. first on fox tonight. we're told this shows some of the first strikes in the syrian city of raka. this would be the capitol of the provence there. isis made it sorts sort of defactor capitol. pentagon officials say the u.s. is attacking with fighters and tomahawk jets. the first is hard targets where the group stores weapons the united states, as mentioned is not going alone. according to defense officials i'm told five arab nations are assisting. saudi arabia, jordan, bahrain, united a

these are arab countries, mostly sunni, dropping bombs on another arab country. this is highly significant. and i think it portends well for the future of the coalition. >> we'll find out as the day moves forward exactly how, but how does this aid the u.s. campaign, trying to make the point that isis poses a global threat, not just the u.s. does this help make that point and increase the prospects to really defuse and deflate isis? >> i think that's exactly right. so now you are regional volume. and i think the president will try to get some global by in as more countries realize that isis is a threat not just to syria, saudi arabia and jordan but to countries in europe and the united states, as the fighters that come, the foreign fighters, return home. so i think this is kind of a watershed event, what's going on tonight. i think it portends well for the future of the coalition. and i think that isis will now realize that, you know, they are, they don't have free reign in syria anymore. we saw when they were moving things from iraq into syria, kind of using it a

more than 14,000 arabs were at work. training,-the-job they were playing increasingly important roles. -- men whomployed only had never seen modern machinery were operating equipment of all sorts. hadmajority of these men been reared in an atmosphere that i changed little in a thousand years. when they came to work with americans on the project, every american had to become a teacher. the arabs proved surprisingly adaptable. they managed to bridge a wide cultural, and we stick -- linguistic gap. their basic thinking continue to .bide faithfully the pipeline will be pushed simultaneously from both ends. the situation delayed fieldwork at the mediterranean and until the fall of 1949. the scenery was in sharp contrast. the city of beirut, the capital of lebanon, with headquarters. 35 miles to the south, the terminal site for the pipeline, the seaport with castles built by the crusaders. on ruggedof-way hillsides. the root continued up until -- route continued uphill. another stronghold of the crusaders. the right-of-way wen

wolf, the syrian representative's real anger is for arab maybe neighbors of syria, bahrain, united arab emrids, saudi arabia, saying they were two faced, supporting isis and other extremists against the assad government, which they opposed and now cover from the united states to join in a military assault on syria. >> so, he described to you in detail the meeting that samantha power, the u.s. ambassador to the u.n., had with him? they actually met and she told him, get ready, the u.s. is about to strike? >> that's right. the state department got a letter, the state department issued letter to the iraqi government, but he got in person meeting with -- to the syrian government, getting a little complicated, all these conflicts going on. also, the u.s. sent a letter to the united nations today, proving, in their opinion, the international justification for going into a member u.n. country, saying they don't really, in affect, need to go through the security council, that iraq was threatened by syria and that is why the u.s. acted under the u.n. charter. >> interesting that the u.s. didn't

if there are -- and obviously there are these arab nations involved, sunni arab nations, this is a very, very positive step. i think it's really important for all of us to come together. whatever happened in the past that's behind us. what's important now is americans we go forward, support the president and urge him to continue this to make sure these attacks continue and go on until isis has been devastated. >> explain to the audience why it is important that we have these five muslim -- these five arab country participating in this coalition with us. because one gets the impression that isis doesn't much care who we're with or not with, they want to kill us all. is that not true? even if it is true, does it matter with respect to the rest of the world? >> yes, it matters to the rest of the arab world. again, it's not 100% guarantee, but it makes our case better among other sunnis, among other arabs, isis can't say this is an attack by the infidels, this is an attack by the west. by having other arab nations involved certainly makes our position better. militarily they're going to hel

with the united arab emirates leading the arab nations in airstrikes, we're told by the pentagon in those first salvos that happened tonight. hours if it happens tonight. it's 11:00 on the east coast. 8:00 p.m on the west coast. 6:00 a.m in syria the sun has risen above isis militants in a new world. we have continuing coverage of tonight's breaking news the pentagon confirms the united states began bombing targets in that country linked to the islamic state terror group we heard from a senior official the military is briefing president obama on the operation throughout the night. we have reports of the first amateur video from inside seara. first on fox tonight. we're told this shows some of the first strikes in the syrian city of raka. this would be the capitol of the provence there. isis made it sorts sort of defactor capitol. pentagon officials say the u.s. is attacking with fighters and tomahawk jets. the first is hard targets where the group stores weapons the united states, as mentioned is not going alone. according to defense officials i'm told five arab nations are assisting. sau

but in the end, this san arab that needs to be addressed by arab nations. and i was interested to see the editorial in one of the main newspapers today, perhaps invoking the view of the man on the street here. i just quote to you, the perversion of ideology and religion that isis presents poses a real danger to the region. it's an ideology that will be easily defeated. air strikes are only the first steps. they can degrade but they will not destroy isis, and that's really important. so what happens next and what obama suggests is sort of interim stage. we know the end game is to degrade and destroy. but what happens in the meantime and how long this goes on will determine just how much support he continues to get from these arab allies. but i've been asked, you know, what's the feeling on the street. these are sunni arab countries fighting a group which fights in the name of sunni islam. and the story you'll get here as long as this is quick and this is effective and they can degrade and destroy, one of the problems, and this is not the only problem this re

this is the arab times out of kuwait. u.s. arab allies hit islamic state in syria. that is their headline this morning. and then this is a paper out of the united arab emirates courtesy of the nu set. um. u.s. launches strikes against the is in syria. that made the front page and next to that, another headline that israel shoots down syrian aircraft that went into their air space and finally from saudi arabia, you have this headline, ksa joins air strikes to crush islamic state and air force participated in the strikes against the so-called islamic state on tuesday as part of global efforts to eliminate terrorism. so that in saudi arabia's arab news this morning. speaker of the house put out this statement yesterday saying isil is a direct threat to the safety and security of the united states and our allies. i support the air strikes launched by the president understanding that this is just one step in what must be a larger effort to destroy and defeat he says this terrorist organization. i wish our men and women in uniform god speed as they carry out this fight. w

on another arab country. specifically sunni. >> why is this significant? >> arabs have the habit of not dropping bombs on each other at the behest of the west. once again, the west bombing syria as arwa put it, crusaders attacking the nation of islam. it is very important to have the arabs on our side to do this. not just one country, but five. this was a major victory for the administration. they said they were going to put together a coalition and they did it. >> it speaks volumes of the threat of isis and isis is different than before. >> what will be important is in the next few days to see the popular reaction in the arab countries. we know what the government said. we want to see what the people say. if the people back up their governments, i think we may have turned the corner and people realize how bad of a threat this organization is. >> colonel rick francona, great to have you with us. >>> coming up, more on the breaking coverage of the air strikes in syria. we will go live to another country in the

plus richard engel on the arab response and where the arab street supports the arab leaders, all of them monarchies who have also joined in the u.s. air strikes against isis. then we're back with the "hardball" round table, what's the threat to americans at home? and how safe is the president's own home, the white house, following that stunning security breach on friday? this is "hardball," the place for politics. >>> british prime minister david cameron spoke to nbc news about the air strikes on isis in syria, saying this say group which poses serious threat to every country in the world. >> there's no doubt in my mind, it has already undertaken and is planning further plots in europe and elsewhere, specifically in belgium, brussels. it was an isis plot that went into a jewish museum and killed entirely innocent people. and there are other plots they have been attempting including in my own country, in order to kill and maim innocent people, and the same applies to the united states of america. so this is a fight you cannot opt out of. these people want to kill us. they have got us in t

they will be tuning to al jazeera arabic. remember this is an arabic speaking nation. the other thing we have got to look at is what i.s.i.l. will do. already before this attack happened just in the last seven or eight hours i.s.i.l. released a statement, a doctrinal change for them. they were encouraging muslims living in america and america's allies to attack targets and not wait for i.s.i.l. to say to themselves if they have any in america, simply saying if you are a muslim and feel passionately, you need to go out and strike american targets, this is a religious war. if they got anything to do with this statement released? we are not sure but the timing has to be questioned. centcom were in charge of this attack, it's likely they have picked up these targets and waiting for the right moment. and president obama about to address the united nations and the timing has to be seen as important. >> mark kimmet, general welcome it's good to have you on the program. >> thank you for having me. >> give me your reaction to what you've heard tonight. >> well i think this is t

united arab emirates of the arab coalition, the united arab emirates is lead hearing. they have a substantial air force. command and control most likely out of qatar. you may remember during the gulf war number two, the most recent gulf war, we have an enormous military base there. it has rarely been talked about over time, at least until the last defense secretary went over to visit it. but tremendous air capabilities here, outstanding command and control capabilities. again, that's in the nation of qatar. and the last one of course is jordan. this is this border. remember, this is the border from jordan over into syria. jordan is here. this is the syrian border. 1.2 million syrians, according to the king of jordan speaking to cnn the other night have come across the border from syria into jordan. and they have this refugee crisis. the concerns that turkey will have the same crises. and we're beginning to see that happening now. so as our bombs fall in syria, what exactly will change on the ground? let's turn to p.j. crowley, now a professor of practice at george wash

four arab partners also flew over searia, the united arab emirates, saudi arabia, jordan and bahrain. fifth arab partner, qatar, contributed in some ways, just not with help in the air. we're told the decision to strike overnight was made early monday by a commander at centcom who is authorized to do so by the president. president owe baja has been receiving regular updates overnight and the president dialed capitol hill to fill in the speaker of the house, john boehner and house minority leader nancy pelosi with details about this operation and officials with syrian president bashar al assad's government say they also got a heads up about these isis strikes before they started from someone in washington, according to an ap wire that crossed in the last few hours. there should be more details on that soon. also one additional note at the end of the centcom release we received last hour there's a separate note about eight strikes in syria west of aleppo against korazan group an al qaeda offshoot apparently to disrupt what the u.s. military calls eminent plotting against the united stat

five arab nations sunni arab nations assisted in those air strikes. beyond that, the united states went solo launching strikes against an al qaeda cell called the khorasan group after intelligence emerged that this group was plotting an imest in attack against the u.s. homeland, also possibly interests in europe. want to bring in a cnn contributor and managing editor of quartz. bobby, we're talking about fighting isis, there were air strikes against isis in this part of syria. a separate unilateral strike by the united states against this group called khorasan over here in syria. who is khorasan? >> they're a small group. we've not heard a whole lot from them. but they've been building up infrastructure in that spot west of syria. they're led by a guy who was a very close associate of osama bin laden. >> from practically the beginning. >> before 9/11. >> he's said to be one of a very small group of people who knew about the 9/11 plan long before it was executed. he's managed to escape the attentions of the international sort of security community and

the arabs to do ground troops. then you get the europeans. we need the permanent five of the security council. britain, france, the united states, we're not going to get russia and china, but you get the principle movers in the security council. plus, i think you need the french and the british. their air power is very strong. we can't do it alone. we'll take the lead, but at the same time, i think both the british and the french have been aided here by what's backfired with isis, in other words the beheading of their citizens. the beheading of that frenchman has prompted the french public to realize that it maybe makes sense for some payback. and that's encouraging. i think the next step, chris, is some of the sunni countries that have stayed on the sideline, that haven't really helped. i mean, look, what we want them to do is put troops on the ground, militarily, not just food and humanitarian assistance and blankets. that is important, but it has to be a real wholesome coordinated effort, but it's really an arab

for getting these arab nations to sign off the fact united arab emirates, saudi arabia, jordan, bahrain and qatar are flying missions, qatar we're not sure flew strike missions but the rest flying f 15s or f 16s inside seara, bombing sunni terrorists is a huge deal. >> and many of our guests have pointed that out, the question remains, does isis care? that is sunnis also bombing it. people here in the united states worry that we're getting involved in other war and to group wants to kill us. is this going to make them want to kill us less? it's going to destroy them. but how long? and a president only seems to worry about the retaliation of a group like this. and what sort of stomach we have for that. >> this is a radical ideology that we have never stopped tonight we've taken a pause at times, maybe in public policy, it's always been there it's wanted to have another september 11th. and this is latest extreme so beyond that point do you think the country has been debating for a long time now whether the best way to protect us is to get out of wars? you know? end wars? another sign says

and so we have the arab allies this time around, and pretty impressive group of five arab countries. >> yes, in is a real success story for the administration. i was skeptical and you and i have talked about this, putting together a coalition putting together arabs willing to commit military force. normally, they will commit moral support, money, basing rights and all that, but they actually put the aircraft in the air and dropped bombs on syria. and this is a different story. >> does it make it different, christiane? >> well, it is, but don't forget that all of the nations want to see the end of assad number one and many of them are ainngry at the united states for not taking the line to assad. and so all of the countries are angry about, that and all of them want to see an end to what is a threat othem which is this militantism, but i agree with lieutenant colonel, it is extraordinary to see the allies. >> they get two things out of this, an end of isis which is a threat to them, and they can remove the regime of bashar al assad, and that is going to give them a leg-up in the const

>> well, the arabs. at the beginning of this, the president said we're going to degrade and destroy isis. well, the degrating part has begun. first round of strikes are over. we're doing bomb damage assessment. there may be a number of isis forces scattered as a result of the strikes. and there are secondary tarkt lists. but as far as destroying isis is concerned, you're absolutely right. what's really required is a force on the ground. air strikes are only good to support troops on the ground so they can take advantage of the situation, cease and hold terrain and so far nobody has stepped up to the plate to do that. we've had a lot of talk about support, but actually very, very little support, and in the end, it's going to take an arab force on the ground to make this work. >> and obviously the administration has had a difficult month pertaining to foreign policy. facing a lot of criticism from congress and aboard. but getting five arab states, including four sunni countries to join the strikes against

one arab nation, five arab nations, in fact, taking part in military action against another arab nation, really remarkable. but the administration saying that the timing not connected. that this was purely a military and intelligence decision. >> so jordan, qatar, bahrain, saudi arabia, united arab emirates, is this the beginning or is that it? and when i say that, clearly the pentagon has been very clear that the air strikes, this campaign will continue. what about rolling this out to other arab coalition members? >> reporter: i'll tell you, as these arab countries have begun to acknowledge publicly their participation and a line from the uae caught my eye, the uae warplanes took part in their, quote, first strikes against isis targets, telegraphing in that statement that this is just the first and they will continue to participate in these strikes. then you heard from u.s. officials at the pentagon a short time ago saying in so many words that this is just the beginning of a long, sustained campaign. ashleigh, look at iraq. it's six weeks, nearly 200 strikes into the u.s. air campaign

/arab chamber of commerce. morocco is africa, is an arab country, is a mediterranean country, and we've been hearing a lot about what we have been doing for the last decade by our minister, young minister, and very active indeed in morocco in supporting the government and policy. private sector. i have the honor, and to be elected a few months ago as the president of the union maghreb employers from the whole maghreb area. >> congratulations. >> thank you. it's a big job. because the region, our region is the last integrated, as my colleague said, in the world. and it does cost us about two to three point of gdp even though we have many free-trade agreements and we have his excellency mr. minister you talked about and many other agreements, but i think we should go about that, and be, as a private sector, more proactive. and we are, we are programming on having common standards, short list common interest to make it easier for our government to have this economic integration. we speak french in tunisia, morocco

said that we need arab partners. not just for the additional weaponry and fight power, but also they want to reach out to arab sunnis within the countries to say this is a much wider coalition force, broader coalition force than the western allies. indeed, because the ideology and the problem with syria and iran is that they are reaching out to villages where people are pulled towards i.s.i.l. forces, and really when the fighters go into the villages, they have a problem that they join in or are willing to hide from the i.s.i.l. fighters when they are retreating from certain villages. they want the arab sunnis to say that this is not acceptable, it's not an acceptable way of thinking as a sunni arab, you must recognise it's a warned ideology, as the u.s. secretary of state john kerry called it. and be firm and stand against the forces coming into iraq and syria. the way that the arabs are going in, they hope it will be psychological and adding to the coalition, fire power, knowledge and inteleligence adding to the gr

these are sunni arab nations and the u.s. wants to send the signal it's not just this western country going after these islamic militants. instead, there are countries in the middle east that realize this is not the threat to the u.s. homeland, this is a threat to the future of the middle east and joining us. >> important to have the coalition built with these arab nations. i want to flip the maps. you have the nations who are not with the united states. >> not fully in at least. >> it's interesting to point out that some of these are close allies like the united kingdom and france, although france did launch some air strikes. >> you have france which launched air strikes in iraq but made clear they're not going to at least for now launch air strikes in syria. the uk has been helpful as an ally to the u.s. ahead of the u.s. air strikes, nearly 200 now in iraq. the pressure on president obama here at when he's at the united nations meetings had this week to get key european allies like the uk to take on a bigger role and help

while you have those five arab countries taking part which is significant, saudi arabia, united arab emirates, jordan, qatar, and bahrain, two countries in the region not taking part -- one, turkey. nato ally. lots of sensitivities there but certainly would be a vital partner if they chose to take part. but two also, of course, syria. syria had said before this campaign started that the u.s. must ask for syrian permission. syrian officials had even offered to cooperate with the u.s. against i.c.e. the u.s. said we're not going to cooperate with syria, we're not even going to let them know when this is happening. it's interesting to think, don and alisyn, that going forward one entity that may very well profit from the u.s. and arab strikes against isis frankly is the government of basher al assad. because remember, while the u.s. government is against basher al assad, so is isis. so as you hit isis you conceivably give an advantage to basher al assad in this ongoing three-year-old civil war inside syria. it just shows the great intensity and complexity of this conflict. one last deta

other arabs. but i think also, you know, financially jordan is not in a situation to basically engage in a long military campaign. we just don't have the resources. having said that, i think there is a lot that jordan and other arab countries can offer. jordan has an excellent intelligence service. air bases that the united states are probably using already. logistical support. networks with the sunni community and tribes in iraq to lure them away from isis. there's a lot that can be done other than military -- other than boots on the ground. >> all right. marwan muasher joining us from web cam from jordan. certainly jordan's offered intelligence and a lot of aid in this effort but we'll all see how different nations vary as this effort continues. we appreciate you joining us here on cnn this morning. thanks very much. >> thank you. >>> you're watching cnn. we're going to take a short break right now. but just ahead, the desperate search for safety. syrians are fleeing their homes by the thousands

attack on an arab country. this is a coalition, including the united states and five arab countries attacking another arab country. i think this is, this is a victory for the administration. this is what they wanted all along. they wanted a broad coalition. and they wanted everyone to realize that this is not a threat just to the united states, not just to iraq or not just to syria, but to the region and to the world as a whole. so i think this is very positive. but we'll have to see the results of the air strike, what does it do? does it really hurt isis? or does it just galvanize them and we see a lot of retribution? >> there's also a question here as we the look at new information coming in to us as to how much the syrian government knew leading up to this, the foreign minister said any action by the u.s. without its permission would be perceived as aggression. now that these air strikes have been announced, syrian tv seeming to claim that they were given a heads up on monday. what should we make of that? >>

arab mascot at school games. >> it is dangerous to create a caricature of an arab or a native american it's always dangerous. our advice was not to create a mascot out of the character, and maybe we could explore with them and work again with them to find a way to highlight the arab heritage. >> he told me didn't believe the school meant to offend arabs. the school simply didn't know they were offensive. tony he also told me his group is not aware of any other schools or colleges in the u.s. with arab mascot. >> roxana, appreciate it. the superintendent of coachella valley school, it is good to have you on the program. >> thank you tony. >> how long have you been superintendent of that district? >> i'm beginning my fourth year. >> day 1 first day on the job did you think hmm, if i don't have a problem now with this mascot i am going to have a problem with this mascot? >> well tony born and raised in the deep south in memphis tennessee, i did take a look at it and went hmm. but i thought of the naming of the cities, oasis, mecca, i did understand the mascot. >> how much pressure have yo

we have a big problem in the arab world. after the defeat, we're seeing a great deal of introspection and self-criticism. we've not seen anything since the rise of al qaeda and since the autocratic regime turned the arab world into a searched earth and then the islamists grew out of this incredible mess. and now we are squeezed between the autocratic military men and the dark forces represented by these radical islamists. their roots going back to 1928, to the muslim brotherhood in egypt. >> gail, pick up on that point. talking about a political resolution to this. he underscores how long that process is going to take. how does the united states play a role in that particularly when we have just launched air strikes? >> it is a stunning turn of events, because the president, who was elected to end wars, now leads one, with no end in sight. i think that is what we're going to see come up over and over again. as we discussed, what is the end game here. there really is none at this present time. because the question is, exactly

and the arab coalition. inside the city of raqqa that was the scene of many of those strikes, one activist saying they most certainly welcomed this action saying that it was about time. and the international community came together to a certain degree because they felt as if they had been utterly left aside to their own means to try to fend for themselves. but he also said that isis was entrenching itself within the civilian population, that it had evacuated most of the facilities that the air strikes were targeting, anticipating this type of military action. but in other parts of the country, something of a different sentiment as it became apparent they were not just targeting isis, but they ooer organizations which is viewed by many activists, many residents as being the only entity that had been capable of standing up against the regime and standing up against isis. more and more fear and apprehension being expressed about what it is that the u.s. and its allies' true intentions are, and lot of anxiety ab

united arab emirates of the united arab emirates is leading here. they have a substantial air force. command and control most likely out of qatar. you may remember during the gulf war number two, the most recent gulf war, we have an enormous military base there. it has rarely been talked about over time, at least until the last defense secretary went over to visit it. but tremendous air capabilities here, outstanding command and control capabilities. again, that's in the nation of qatar. and the last one of course is jordan. this is this border. remember, this is the border from jordan over into syria. jordan is here. this is the syrian border. 1.2 million syrians, according to the king of jordan speaking to cnn the other night have come across the border from syria into jordan. and they have this refugee crisis. the concerns that turkey will have the same crises. and we're beginning to see that happening now. so as our bombs fall in syria, what exactly will change on the ground? let's turn to p.j. crowley, now a professor of practice at george wash

arabs fighting arabs. u.s., our allies and five arab nations unleash a massive air attack inside syria. u.s. jets iing 20 targets in raqqa. more amateur video reportedly from inside the strike zone. missiles lit up the night sky. nbc news is still trying to verify the authenticity of the video. and we also have this video. the first daylight images are now in. several targets were obliterated. as for the air power being used -- it is big. a mix of u.s. fighters and tomahawk missiles all launched from air ships. firing tomahawk land attack missiles from the red sea. and one of the most crucial equations in the air strikes, the arab allies who helped. saudi arabia, the united arab emirates, bahrain, jordan and qatar. we're covering every angle this morning. we have nbc's jim maceda standing by in london. but we start with nbc's brian mooar from washington on the first wave of strikes. >> reporter: the pentagon confirms that president obama gave the green light for this attack, allowing his centcom commanders

more than 14,000 arabs were at work. through on-the-job training, they were playing increasingly important roles. most are employed by arab some -- subcontractors. men who only had never seen modern machinery were operating equipment of all sorts. the majority of these men had been reared in an atmosphere that changed little in a thousand years. when they came to work with americans on the project, every american had to become a teacher. the arabs proved surprisingly adaptable. they managed to bridge a wide cultural, and linguistic gap. their basic thinking continued to abide faithfully. by the precepts of the prophet. as originally planned the , pipeline was pushed simultaneously from both ends. the situation delayed fieldwork at the mediterranean and until the fall of 1949. the scenery was in sharp contrast. to that of arabia. the city of beirut, the capital of lebanon, with headquarters. -- was headquarters for the western division. 35 miles to the south, the terminal site for the pipeline, the seaport with castles bu

five arab nations, including the united arab emirates, jordan, bahrain, and qatar all helping out with the mission. all american personnel, aircraft and people, are safe this morning. that's an update. brian? >> 29 minutes before the top of the hour. joining us now to expand on what steve just talked about are lieutenant general richard newton, former assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, bing west, and anthony schaefer, all have their own sources about this very strike. first off, general, what stands out to you about what happened? for us we're used to hearing many more strikes overnight. we hear just 14 in syria. what do you think? >> i think first off it's significant. it's a relentless strike against isis forces last night. it was also what stands out for me is the fact that we had this coalition carved together with arab sunni leaders. i think that's significant. it's historic. i think we'll see more of this in the coming days. >> it's not an easy thing to do to get these sunni nations to attack a sunni terrorist group, is it? >> no, but the question

united arab em rates, and bahrain, they played a role in these attacks on isis. we're waiting to hear from the president at any moment who is expected to speak for about five to seven minutes and could take a question or two. he will then leave the white house, head to new york where he will be giving a high stakes coalition building speech before the u.n. security council. that is going to happen tomorrow morning. i want to start with nbc ayman mohyeldin who has been closely following the developing with isis and the attacks come nearly two weeks, ayman, after of the president authorized air strikes in syria. this is significant. >> absolutely. i think on one hand, it's not surprised a lot of people who are anticipating this. obviously the u.s. had been forewarning it was going to take the actions. a lot of indicators on the ground suggested such as well. but more importantly i think now there are at lot of questions as to what happens next. and this strike, the strikes that happened overnight are going to mean different things. the conflict is going mean someth

the other non-gulf arab nation but other nation involved in this pan-arab coalition, as it were, were the jordanians. now, it was very early on yesterday that i got to speak to one of the ministers of state there, who confirmed to us here on cnn that it wasn't just intelligence gathering they were providing in support but airplanes as well had been up in the air. at that point they had run their sorties and they were back. and this is what he had to say yesterday. >> this is going to be an ongoing operation, through which we will pre-empt any attempts to try to cross our borders and infiltrate our borders and to make sure that our borders are secure and safe. and this is the high interest of the jordanian states, toe ensure the security and stability of our borders and our soil. >> reporter: so rosemary, you asked me as well about the feeling on the street, on the arab street. and i think it's a very good question. and those you're expecting to hear on the street and those in positions of authority to say look, this isn't something that comes naturally, the idea you put a coalition of

target isis, arabs fighting arabs. the u.s., our allies and five arab nations unleash a massive air attack inside syria. u.s. jets pounding 20 targets and isis stronghold. target list, it is big. the life blood of isis. we're talking about weapons dee poes, training sites and command centers. take a look at this amateur video reportedly from inside the strike zone. missiles lit up the night sky. we are still trying to authenticate the video. as for the air power being used -- it is big and it is destructive. a mix of u.s. fighters, bombers and missiles all launched from airstri airstrips. and the u.s.s. firing tomahawk missiles from the red sea. and one of the most crucial equations in these strikes against isis, the arab allies who assisted the united states. we're talking about saudi arabia, u.a.e., bahrain, jordan and qatar. we have jim standing by live in london. but we want to start with brian moore with the first wave of strikes. >> the pentagon confirms that president obama gave the green light for this attack a

plus richard engel on the arab response and where the arab street supports the arab leaders, all of them monarchies who have also joined in the u.s. air strikes against isis. then we're back with the "hardball" round table, what's the threat to americans at home? and how safe is the president's own home, the white house, following that stunning security breach on friday? this is "hardball," the place for politics. some come here to build something smarter. ♪ some come here to build something stronger. others come to build something faster... something safer... something greener. something the whole world can share. people come to boeing to do many different things. but it's always about the very thing we do best. ♪ >>> british prime minister david cameron spoke to nbc news about the air strikes on isis in syria, saying this say group which poses serious threat to every country in the world. >> there's no doubt in my mind, it has already undertaken and is planning further plots in europe and elsewhere, specifically in belgium, brussels. it was an isis plot that went into a jewish muse

a village that used to have sunni arabs in it. >> they let us through. the peshmerga mosque was shelled by the militia. we arrive in the village. it's deserted. houses have been torched. one is still smouldering. the peshmerga has a position close by, but they are pulling out, leaving the militia in control. the commander says his men respect the arab sunni house they set up camp in. ti.d we are giving us lives to protect ... >> we are giving our lives to protect all people's property. >> reporter: the peshmerga have gone house to house disnantling improvized explosives. this had wires buried under the road. this was under a toilet seat. >> they were taken to a nearby town where shi'a fighters beheaded a sunni residence. >> when we witnessed it, it made us angry, we can't accept it. we told them if it happened again, we'll fight you. we ordered them to stop. >> the shia militia don't take orders from them. a peshmerga commander filmed this man on the day amerli fell. and is giving orders in farsi. the commanders witnessed fighters alongside the iraqi shi

as you mentioned, five arab partners taking part. the u.s. the only nonarab participant in the strikes tonight. that is something the obama administration was intent on building here, making this not yet another relatively lone american intervention in the middle east, but one that was joined by local partners. you have those local partners, saudi arabia, united arab emirates, jordan, qatar and bahrain. and to be clear, participation by at least three of those partners is in kinetic activities. that means dropping bombs, taking part in the air strikes. that is extremely significant. this is just the first fight. i'm told that this will continue, perhaps not at the same pace we've seen tonight and intensity. perhaps settling into more of the pace we've seen in the u.s.-led air campaign over iraq in recent days, which is now in its sixth week. but this is the first very decisive step, you might say, in what promises to be a long campaign. just one thing i might add as well, becky, i reached out to members of the syrian opposition and heard from

other arab nations involved in this u.s.-led operation include saudi arabia, bahrain, qatar, and the united arab emirates. the targets hit include the eastern city of rakka, the islamic state headquarters. it launched the strikes from warships in international waters here in the red sea and in the persian gulf. the targets included islamic state training compounds, vehicles, and storage sites. the first amateur footage that we're getting from the aftermath of the strikes is starting to come in. this was taken overnight, people showing us what they think are the remains of some sort of missile. and the sort of scene that people are waking up to is this one, seeing amateur footage coming in of the aftermath of some sort of strike in syria. let's get the latest now from richard lister. >> reporter: in the middle of the night, these explosions marked the beginning of a new offensive against islamic state. this amateur video was shot in syria's northern province of aleppo, one of several areas targeted. since august, the u.s. has

five arab nation join the u.s. in airstrikes against syria. >> will h assistance from the arab world help defeat isis? joining us is walid farris. thanks for joining us. i'm reading what intel is saying. i'm reading is isis is talking about striking back. does that mean striking back in the rejn or the west? >> that is the major question. actually isis will have to strike back especially when they realize many of their headquarters have been hit in front of their own constituency both in syria and iraq. they will have to do something about it. the problem is going to be too many targets for them. this is not just the united states conducting airstrikes. you have the saudis, bahrainis, the u.a.e. isis will have to decide where to strike. >> on that point, yesterday we heard another piece of propaganda that was released by isis. and in this 20-minute deluge they went on to speak on all of these countries and they said any country striking gens -- against isis they were encouraging lone world attacks. >> they are bank

the most important aspect is the arab coalition. five arab nations. four nations were dropping bombs. 14 aircraft and all u.s. made were participating and this now has an arab face. the fact the administration managed to put this together and they managed to coordinate is important. second is intelligence. if you listen, they attack teeded this group in northwestern syria and denied territory and were able to take them out without having boots on the ground. what does that mean the it means the quality of the intelligence has gone from zero to the point where they can do targeting quality intelligence. and the third thing is coordination. all 12 of these arab aircraft were u.s. made so that there makes it easier but to deconflict and coordinate and do the assessment speaks well for the allied cooperation and details put into the strikes. >> this could be taking place for a long time. you heard the general say a credible and sustainable and persistent campaign. how long are we talking about? we will ask that question of general scales when we return. 

for them an arab is an arab. in september 2000 the palestinians started to shoot through the jewish neighborhoods, and the authorities had to protect the kindergarten over here, and they put up this wall put up by the neighborhood council. but nevertheless, it's quite ugly. but if they shoot from the other side toward the kindergarten, what other measure you can take in order to protect the children? >> before returning home we went to visit a palestinian farmer whose life was devastated when half of his land was taken by the israeli army to accommodate the bending of the wall. -- the building of the wall. >> the majority of his land and the better part of his land is beyond that fence. all these walls he built by breaking this sporn land with his wife and his children and all his hard work is gone. he cannot go down and tend to his trees or cultivate it. ♪ >> i feel like i haven't found any anchor for the light at the end of the tunnel. is there any chance for people to believe that there is something else? >>

plus, we've got a number of arab partners. that number? imaginary. >> the obama administration is so far unwilling to name those arab partners. but as one senior state department official put it, i don't want to leave you with the impression that these arab members haven't offered to do airstrikes, because several of them have. >> stephen: there it is. an anonymous official is telling us that our unnamed arab patters in definitely maybe won't "not" contribute something! (laughter) and that quote raise as lot of questions. first and foremost -- what the hell is going on in that cnn graphic? we see a globe, highlighting the region in question, suddenly a gentle breeze blows a quote onto the desk of world affairs through a gentle rain of magical news dust. (laughter) that's cnn -- 24-hour coverage of whatever floats by. and the reporting is dead-on -- (laughter) (applause) we have confirmed the reporting is dead-on because my graphics team can also confirm that the "boston globe" now reports that, while traveling through europe and the middle

let me say this about the arab countries, the arab countries that joined us, i'm not going to give us all kinds of accolades. they should have been there in the beginning on the front lines, and if they were doing their job to police their own neighborhood, we wouldn't have to take the action we're taking. tom: well -- >> they spend billions and billions of dollars on military, yet they don't use it for their own defense. tom: well, that's what -- egypt, especially, the money we pour over to egypt, and egypt says, well, we'll sit back and wait a little mitt. what do you think we sent you the money for? jason, somewhere every general says somebody's boots need to be on the ground. i think that's going to be the real test for these arab nations. >> well, yeah. if somebody's boots are going to be on the ground, ask i'm going to say this, when are we going to be honest about what it takes to fight terrorism? this isn't some thing that's going to be over in six weeks or eighteen months. it seems like we're playing whack-a-mole. every time we do something with al-qaeda, then isis pops up, t

and arab allies. he's going to have conversations to see what britain and other countries can be doing to assist the united states. david cameron, the impression he creates in the language that he's used over the last few weeks is he would like to see britain taking a stronger position or more active role, perhaps involving the air force here, strikes inside syria but he doesn't yet have the political support for that. will he come home from the u.n. and try to build that support? there's an expectation that that's possible. but it is that that's lacking at the moment. and that's why we're not seeing britain at the side of the united states in these strikes, wolf. >> interesting development. you would have thought britain would be number one as far as partner -- military partners with the u.s., not necessarily right now. we'll see what happens in the days to come. nic, thanks very much. >>> up next, much more on the strikes against the al qaeda splinter group khorasan and its threat to the united stat