saudi has 18 million roughly, 18 million saudi citizens. despite the fact they have a lot more money spread over 18 million people, they can't provide the life style for which people in the gulf are accustomed. that gets noted by saudis who look and say why can't we live as well as they do? for the more conservative ones, as they say we don't want all of those polluting influences during the country that they are allowing in the western universities, alcohol, movie theaters, in like that. saudi arabia has tourism director now but to risen does not mean to you and me, as they want muslims in the village to the mechanisms to travel around the kingdom and spend the money and see things some muslim tourism, looking to get you and me or anyone else on a camel troops through the empty quarter. it is not tourism, the tourist place most foreigners would most like to visit. the holy city. if you're not a muslim, a lot of the reasons that would attract a fine to saudi arabia, is not possible in the tourism definition. >> host: your growing up in texa

iran and saudi arabia, yeah. after this transition of power problem we have in saudi arabia. no one knows what's going to happen after king abdulah. the role of the revolutionary guard, in 1988, 1989, when president bush invited iran for goodwill against goodwill for iran to facilitate the release of western hostages, american hostages. although i've explained in my book i have another friend in foreign ministry mandated by the president and foreign minister to manage this deal but very frankly speaking that couldn't have made a deal without the revolutionary guard. it was the revolutionary guard facilitated the release of hostages in lebanon. in 2001 the war on terror when again the u.s. invited iran to cooperate it was impossible without the revolutionary guard for cooperation to bring iran and the u.s. to cooperate to fight the taliban in afghanistan. it was the revolutionary guard. therefore it depends how you deal with them. then they would revolt. they have extensive power and organization. they are extremely powerful and they know how to react. iranian regional objecti

trust the saudis and what's stopping the saudis from doing more? >> no, they can't trust them. saudi arabia, at least on a private level, has been funding the islamic opposition in syria, which is -- which has morphed into isis. they have a radical ideology. they are strongly, strongly backing any radical militant islamic groups. they -- you know, they're schizophrenic about this because they're worried it's going to come back and get them. but at the same time i don't see them, you know, concerted way going after isis. they'll, you know, go through the motions, but that's it. >> and, nic, you've been to saudi arabia many times. what are some of the competing factors at work here, do you think? what's stopping the saudis from doing more to help the u.s. and the coalition? >> well, every country has its own agenda and the saudis have been pushing for a long time to get -- to get an international coalition. at one time they wanted to get 50,000 troops to back the moderate rebels to force bashir al assad out of government. in one sense they're keen to be part of a coalition that's

not that far away from saudi arabia. why isn't the desert kingdom doing more to step? we'll talk about. that. stumbles and mishaps undermining senate democrats and could hurt them in november and give the majority back to republicans. that's coming up. ♪ [laughs] again! again! when we're having this much fun, why quit? and bounty has no quit in it either. it's two times more absorbent than the leading ordinary brand. and then stays strong, so you can use less. watch how one sheet of bounty keeps working, while their two sheets, just quit. why use more when you can use less. bounty, the no-quit picker-upper. and try bounty napkins. ray, now a quick look what is coming up on "happening now." isis terrorists taking large sections of iraq and syria. with so many discussion about the brittish response, what should saudi arabia do about the islamist terrorist threat next door. >>> survivor of this man's killing spree suing lifetime television. he was known as the happy faced killer for smiley face he drew on notes. according

well it is it really is all traces saudi arabia as sort of. sort of vision of islam is actually exactly and very near to what the sonic estate is an indiana lety and the only place in the roles of which promotes starts. and sort of knew what the. sort of tech chidi ideology is saudi arabia and many observers has in the muslim holy see and origin also this is something to state ideology is from saudi arabia and until it has never been held accountable i remember there was a interview with one of the saudi princes this was supports the government and she was actually saying she was bragging about the fact that saudi arabia practically could get away with murder and the international community and u.n. and others are really not willing to challenge it and they are recently polls show that there are kitty cows and political prisoners in saudi arabia and these you know this is actually extremely huge number for a small country like saudi arabia and these people are sort of living like sardines and being there mistreated on a regular basis and inter

sa saudi arabia. yet, the saudis eventually became victimized by some elements of al qaeda in their own country. when the saudis got tough for a while back in 2003, you know, many of the al qaeda members in saudi arabia fled across the border into yemen and became al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, so saudi arabia has at times been very cooperative, at other times it's been questionable. and, again, the extremist version, much of the basis in fate, comes from the wahhabi sect within the sunni muslim group out of saudi arabia, so that's a huge problem dealing with saudi arabia. >> yeah, certainly. so many different things to worry about in this fight now. and so much to work out still. tom fuentes, preeshts yoappreci insight. >> thank you. >>> coming up, john kerry said the fight against isis isn't a war, then the white house said it is. is president obama's administration on the same page? we'll talk about it next. ♪ ♪ it's time to bring it out in the open. it's time to drop your pants for underwa

so saudi arabia has moved on from -- >> but they still behead people in saudi arabia. they beheaded 19 people last month. >> they do behead people. >> there's a commonality there, isn't there? >> isis' beheading is systematic and pervasive and not as a result of due process. having said that, the saudi legal system has a lot to advance towards and i'm certainly not saying it's a wonderful system but i think there is a distinction between the saudi form of islam and that of isis. having said that, it's true that not enough saudi scholars are condemning isis and it's probably because isis does have supporters within the kingdom. >> professor, thank you so much. we appreciate your insights. thank you. >> thank you. >> very sobering. >> that's the thing. a lot of people say that jihadism spread from saudi arabia and it's essentially the same doctrine which isis is following but it's just a lot more extreme. you know, the saudis have funded militants and groups in syria. a lot of the money for those groups come from qatar and kuwait. there is a bloodbath that these countrie

saudis doing away. if they do it here, hopefully they are more than mature, doing country. >> let me ask you this. you tweeted this comment from the council: >> it qatar trying to have it both ways like saudi arabia. >> in some ways it is. if we take the suicide bombing-justifying cleric given vip treatment inside qatar, that's one thing. qatar says they stand for modesty plur assy, openness, but being home in an extreme cleric in terms of justifying suicide bombing, and most saudi cleric would not go that far. there's a problem with qatar trying to have it both ways. yes, being modern, wanting great openness, and trying to be a home to taliban, hamas. that gives out mixed messages, and qatar ritely wants to be embraced by the international community and deserves the embrace, and has to shed the baggage of trying to bank roll extreme forms of islamist voices out there. >> thank you for joining us. "consider this" will be right back. >> al jazeera's investigative unit has tonight's exclusive report. >> s

a saudi spy. in fact, one of the hijackers concluded that, as well. >> it should be said that some key people that you talk to, including involved in the 9/11 commission, they had a look at this and they said either they didn't see anything explosive there or they didn't see enough evidence or it looked a little too wild to really point to something explicit. on the other hand, as you say, some key officials, including bipartisan members of congress, think there really is something there. >> right. and i've talked to the 9/11 commissioners, and governor tom kean for instance, he's seen those 28 pages. he thinks they ought to be released. he thinks not just those 28 pages. he says this is just a small part of a much larger story. there's lots of information that that joint enquiry and the 9/11 commission turned up that still has been kept from the american people, for instance, their interviews with president bush, with former president clinton, with vice president cheney. those still haven't been

the pipeline eliminated a 3000 mile oil tanker your knee around saudi arabia -- journey around saudi arabia to the suez canal. ♪ ♪ >> until recently, one of the leased export regions of the world was saudi arabia. -- int went drove there this fast desert without rivers, apart., they were far it was built more than 1000 years ago on a caravan from baghdad. the eat out ays, meager existence in a lost world -- eked out a meager existence and a lost world. ♪ on the same desert through the summer and winter of 1947, motor caravans appeared. camps were set up, the sorts never seen here before. airplanes on a reconnaissance mission roared overhead. arabs andcarrying americans, surveying the root for a great pipeline, a pipeline along western europe, the middle east, and the stability of the world. oil is garrison many areas today. -- is scarce in many areas today. the causes they lack of economical distribution. the logical source of oil for u.s. is the middle east. here are more crude and readily accessible reserves than in all of north and south america together. the region is rapid

saudi military forces are participating as are the united emirates. turkey, it's score of isil hostages, it's borders overrun with refugees may be looking for a role. qatar backed the streets but was not involved militarily. at the united nations president obama called for attack of isil. >> the only language understood by killers like this is the language of force. the united states will work with a broad coalition to dismantle this network of death. >> before the united nations general assembly president obama said once again the u.s. is not in a war against islam, and isil does not act alone. >> today i ask the world to join in this effort. those who have joined isil should leave the battlefield while they can. those who continue to fight for a hateful cause will find they're increasingly alone for we will not succumb to threats, and the future belongs to those who build, not those who destroy. >> the president obama said it was not us against them. and the worldwide should stand against isil. >> we reject the clash of specialalatio specialization.

one interesting thing is that kerry met earlier today with the saudi foreign minister and that the saudi foreign minister also met with foreign ministers from iran. you don't see that every day, and that there will be a follow up meeting in riyadh so that enmity with isis has brought together the shiite iranians and sunni saudis. >> why would the statement from the pentagon tonight and the information as publicly released by the administration so far not include any of those nations, specifically, that you mentioned to be participating on this? >> i think because the operation is still under way. because clearly, by the time the president faces the world tomorrow, either back home in the white house before he leaves or potentially in new york, by that point, he's going to have to thank the allies who were flying and joining this operation tonight. so i think that it is probably because it is still an operation midway through. >> and so clearly the decision was made in the white house that better to go to the united nations with this kind of attack already under way than to simply go ther

one interesting thing is that kerry met earlier today with the saudi foreign minister and that the saudi foreign minister also met with foreign ministers from iran. you don't see that every day, and that there will be a follow up meeting in riyadh so that enmity with isis has brought together the shiite iranians and sunni saudis. >> why would the statement from the pentagon tonight and the information as publicly released by the administration so far not include any of those nations, specifically, that you mentioned to be participating on this? >> i think because the operation is still under way. because clearly, by the time the president faces the world tomorrow, either back home in the white house before he leaves or potentially in new york, by that point, he's going to have to thank the allies who were flying and joining this operation tonight. so i think that it is probably because it is still an operation midway through. >> and so clearly the decision was made in the white house that better to go to the united nations with this kind of attack already under way than to simply go ther

saudi arabia, we all know our relationship with them. no boots on the ground, but we are training the one who is are coming from syria, the free syrian army, the moderate rebels whom we are training, we'll be training them in saudi arabia at a base there, that will take a year says the pentagon and then there will be boots on the ground. who will be the boots on the ground from now and a year from now? the president, everybody involved, analysts from hither and yon say there has to be boots on the ground or it will they cannot be stopped. we have no solution for boots for the next year unless they come up with something else. 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 capabilit

one interesting thing is kerry met earlier today with the saudi foreign minister and the saudi foreign minister also met with foreign minister zarif from iran. you don't see that every day and a follow-up meeting in riyadh so an enemy of isis has brought together the shiite iranians and sunni saudis. >> truly extraordinary situation. andrea, why would the statement from the pentagon tonight and the information as publicly released by the administration so far not include any of those nations specifically that you mentioned to be participating in this? >> i think because the operation is still rnd way. because, clearly, by the time the president faces the world tomorrow, either back home in the white house before he leaves or potentially in new york, by that point, he's going to have to thank the allies who were flying and joining this operation tonight. so i think that it is probably because it is still an operation midway through. >> and so clearly the decision was made in the white house that better to go to the united nations with this kind of attack already under way than to simply

world was saudi arabia. in this vast desert without rivers, streams, they were far apart. it was built more than 1000 years ago on a caravan from baghdad. since those days, they eked out a meager existence in a lost world. ♪ on the same desert through the summer and winter of 1947, motor caravans appeared. camps were set up, the sorts never seen here before. airplanes on a reconnaissance mission roared overhead. they were carrying arabs and americans, surveying the route for a great pipeline, a pipeline along western europe, the middle east, and the stability of the world. ♪ ♪ oil is scarce in many areas today. the cause is they lack of economical distribution. the logical source of oil for u.s. is the middle east. here are more crude and readily accessible reserves than in all of north and south america together. the region is rapidly being developed. in eastern saudi arabia, the arabian american oil company discovered five major fields during the decade after the first commercial producing well was completed in 1938. the output was over 400,000 barrels. this posed

between, shiaa dominated iran and sunni dominated saudi arabia. now both countries, iran and saudi arabia, are on the same page. the so-called islamic state. yesterday, the four ministers of saudi arabia, and iran, met in new york. and they have made it very clear, that, that the so-called islamic state represents a threat to their tone interests and to regional security and the national security at neighboring states. what the rise and the surge and the advances of isis, or the so-called islamic state in iraq and syria have done. is to send a powerful message to regional players. that national security is on the line. that the rise of the islamic state threatens not only -- the social fabric of co-existence in the region. shiites, kurd, and turkish, threatens the very foundation of the nation state itself. you have realignment, regional powers. realignment though they have major differences. you have a convergence of interest. when iran suggests it is willing to fight the so-called islamic state. again, this tells you a great deal. how the irania

he has to convince saudi arabia to do this. he has to work with iran, because iran have the only fighters inside iraq who are already fighting the islamic state. so basically the u.s. has no choice. the u.s. cannot be seen as fighting the flash of civilizations. it cannot be seen on any kind of solely adventure in the middle east. it needs saudi backing, all of the sunni backing, and it needs to work a little bit with shia iran otherwise this is not going to work. >> nick schifrin for us in jerusalem. >>> america is getting ready to target russia's big oil companies. and the midterm elections are right around the corner, so why aren't the candidates speaking more on the economy? that and story and more as "real money" continues. keep it here. >> the boing 787, >> the dream-liner is the plane of the future. >> an all new airplane in a once in a generation achievement of human ingenuity. >> but al jazeera discovers a dark side. >> three years late... fleet grounding... fires on the airplane... >> they're short changing the engine

saudi arabia as a funder of the islamic state in the u.s. role as an ally with saudi arabia, do you think it is putting the proper pressure it should, whether we're talking about saudi arabia or qatar were talking about jordan? >> the first point is, these countries don't see the situation as we do. as far as they're concerned, the top threat is iran and then probably the muslim brotherhood in the islamic state in third place. so to the extent the islamic state is useful in fighting the iranian-backed regimes in iraq and in syria, they're much more ambivalent. and that raises the question about a strategy and having the sound is involved in turning the so-called moderate islamic opposition. there's always a question about whether the saudis are moderate in this matter. in syria,her problem which i think people don't focus on, is some 35% of the syrian population is not sunni-air. that is to say, they are aloe whites, christian, jews, other religious minorities and kurds. the striking thing about this opposition is it doesn't include sick afr

the saudi willingness to host this is very significant. most of what the gulf states are willing to do has been only covert. the fact that they would so openly take on isis this way, maybe quite a significant shift for the saudis. and if we can get everyone on the same page in terms of who they would be behind, that also would be a significant shift. earlier in the conflict. i think the saudis, qataris, turk thousands, willing to throw money at any one willing to fight assad. that helped create the problem. there may be convergence on who we ought to get behind. >> are you with the president when he says he does not need additional congressional authorization to launch air strikes against isis targets in syria? >> wolf, i would prefer he come to congress. that we give that authorization. i think looking at what he laid out tonight as being the beginnings of his strategy. he talked about following what we have done in somalia and yemen. and where we have seen al qaeda really grow and what is still the strongest of the, al qaeda affiliates,

he has to convince saudi arabia to do this. he has to work with iran, because iran have the only fighters inside iraq who are already fighting the islamic state. so basically the u.s. has no choice. the u.s. cannot be seen as fighting the flash of civilizations. it cannot be seen on any kind of solely adventure in the middle east. it needs saudi backing, all of the sunni backing, and it needs to work a little bit with shia iran otherwise this is not going to work. >> nick schifrin for us in jerusalem. >>> america is getting ready to target russia's big oil companies. and the midterm elections are right around the corner, so why aren't the candidates speaking more on the economy? that and story and more as "real money" continues. keep it here. ♪ >>> the number of americans filing for unemployment benefits rose last week to a two-month high. first time jobless claims rose by 11,000 to 315,000. that was the most since the end of june. the data covers the week that included the labor day holiday. so no alarms are going off, but j

and more than a root in saudi arabia, it is saudi arabia's official religion. and we've seen a concerted effort by the saudi authorities to try to pin the blame elsewhere on the ideology, with a group of early heretics. nobody really believes that in the world of scholars who study political islam. and certainly least of all the theologians of the islamic state themselves. they're very clear they draw their reasoning and the works from the original thinker of the saudi arabian flavor of islamic orthodoxy. >> and it is not something they just practice at home. it is something they have been trying to support around the world, they are supporting madrasas for a long time, and much of the ideology they subscribe to. they use the religious texts from saudi arabia. >> yes, they're passing out photographs on line that show them using saudi textbooks in their schools. they have a kind of missionary kind of band that roams some of the streets with those writings. they're absolutely frank they're getting their inspiration from this area. a lot of them pin the blame else

while that happens do you think that saudi arabia could bear some of the responsibility for what we're seeing in iraq in syria with ice. they do they have an interesting relationship with ice or isis or whatever they want to call themselves in that they allowed for the funding from private individuals to go to these organizations when they were still receiving no donations while at the same time the quality if it's internal so they supported externally and they suppress it internally what kind of threat does the islamic state pose to the saudi regime. the biggest threat for them as they describe torment amongst the local populace with the corruption of the monarchy itself and so they opt for an alternative in addition to the two the lack of legitimacy those seen now with the with the scholarly elite a lot of the people in saudi arabia look at the scholars now as just scholars for the sultan's facilitate for toys for them to benefit their their rulers but when it comes to benefiting the population that's not the common fact religion is used as something to oppress the population and ben

>> i think saudi arabia. i think from a population base saudi arabia. it's going to be a tough sell. primarily because a lot of the wahhabiist, salafist ideology comes from that particular country. >> the sunnis. >> and that's going to be a hard sell for the population base. >> and they are. saudi arabia is the caliphate. they are -- >> that's where mecca is. >> that's the central aspect of the muslim faith right there in saudi arabia. >> and the sell in saudi arabia may not be that hard because isis has publicly said they want to come in and zroib the qdestr, it's an idolatry. they said remove the house of saud, the saudi royal family. and if you look at the maps, isis puts out its own maps and they renamed saudi arabia. it's just now called the land of the two holy cities. so saudi arabia has a vested interest in making sure that this operation that they're involved in works. >> can i go back to what you said before about the training of the free syrian army? i think that's an important point. because we can't do everything simultaneously in this camp

and former ambassador to saudi arabia. governor richardson, what do you make ever the fact that the saudis are making such an effort to let the world know that even the crown prince is in the cockpit in this attack on isis? >> well, this is very encouraging. it's a message to the arab world and the saudis are almost with the egyptians the leaders of the arab world, they finance and provide resources to everybody, that they're in deeply with the united states on this isis effort. that they're willing to risk a member of the royal family as a pilot. you recall prince bandar the same way he was former ambassador to the united states. he was always deeply involved and symbolically, when you put the royal family in there, it sends a very strong message. i think what's also encouraging, the united arab emirates are involved, qatar is involved. especially since the arab emirates and qatar and the saudis have had some tension with each other. that's good we have a unified gulf league effort. >> ambassador jordan, it seems to me qu

meanwhile secretary of state john kerry was in saudi arabia today. he's touting the fact that this coalition is being built to get behind the u.s. effort to expand air strikes from iraq across the border into syria. but the british foreign minister today suggested they're not on board with air strikes. and they're our key ally. later in the day the prime minister's office in britain suggested that they have not made a final decision. people are at the white house telling me they'll take the prime minister's word over the foreign minister's word. but the bottom line, confusion about whether even our key ally is on board with more air strikes, sean. >> and germany is out as well. one question to the follow-up question you had with josh earnest, you're right. the president said the idea to arm the rebels was always a fantasy. but it was mocking. i actually have the whole quote, he said the idea we could provide some light arms, even more sophisticated arms to an opposition of doctors, farmers, pharmacists and so forth that they were going to be able to

he has to convince saudi arabia to do this. he has to work with iran, because iran have the only fighters inside iraq who are already fighting the islamic state. so basically the u.s. has no choice. the u.s. cannot be seen as fighting the flash of civilizations. it cannot be seen on any kind of solely adventure in the middle east. it needs saudi backing, all of the sunni backing, and it needs to work a little bit with shia iran otherwise this is not going to work. >> nick schifrin for us in jerusalem. >>> america is getting ready to target russia's big oil companies. and the midterm elections are right around the corner, so why aren't the candidates speaking more on the economy? that and story and more as "real money" continues. keep it here. >> a crisis on the border >> they're vulnerable these are refugees. >> migrant kids flooding into the us. >> we're gonna go and see who's has just been deported. >> why are so many children fleeing? >> your children will be part of my group... >> fault lines, al jazeera america's hard hitt

saudis going to fight in iraq. they came back in 2003, 2004, they launched basically a mini insurgency against the saudi regime in which dozens and dozens of saudis were killed and the saudi government came down very hard on them. basically we're seeing kind of a rerun of what we saw during the early years of the iraq war where saudi arabia for its own internal political reasons is taking a very strong approach to this. >> so perhaps as loud as the message is who's with the coalition, those who are not with speak volumes as well -- turkey not taking part. britain not taking part. france not taking part. >> well, not taking part in the bombing of syria. france has already bombed isis targets in iraq. bri britain has not. but the prime minister david cameron is here in new york and is going to speak more about it. supports what's going on. both have pledged to arm, equip, train either the peshmerga and the iraqi forces or the free syrian army forces, required as the ground force against isis. >> and turkey -- >> turk

but the gcc led by saudi arabia and iran has a rivalry. the obama administration is trying hard to come up with an agreement with iran on halting their development of nuclear technology that would almost certainly lead to nuclear weapon and weaponization of their missiles. so qatar is a member of the gcc. it is very important, having an air base there when we are concerned about i.s.i.s., iran, and its hedgeo monnic ambitions, other groups in the area. all of this make qatar an important player for the u.s. and the gulf. as your report painted out, there are -- pointed out there are incredible numbers of relationship. >> they go further, because one the other countries that america is attempting to put pressure eastern on through the u.s. treasury, to try to stop the funnel of funds is turkey, in addition to other regional important roles, is an n.a.t.o. ally, and borders syria and iraq. this is a complicated scenario for people like you who have been ambassadors, where you say "hey, we need you to stop this", "we really need this from you

there's no surprise that saudi arabia is worried by this. the southern border is yemen's border and if the houthis are in control of large parts of the country. saudi arabia would be concerned. what was the real worry in practical terms? >> in practical terms we have a scenario for civil war building up in yemen. it could turn into a scenario like we have in iraq and syria. the rebels manage the to take control of the capital, and we have a scenario of a failed estate. we have a strong presentation to al qaeda, and we could see soon al qaeda taking advantage of the failed government in the tap tall, and creating their own state like i.s.i.s. did. from the abdulmalik al-houthi state. then we'd have a scenario of at civil war on the borders. and in yemen, this is a strategically located country on the one side, controlling the strait on one side, and on the other side the entrance to the other strait. this is a serious scenario for a country to have - like yemen to be in a civil war, while the at the same time, saudi arabia has civil war on th

many iranians go to saudi arabia for pilgrimage as well. we have always been neighbors that throughout many years of long history have managed to live well next one another. saudi arabia could be a regional power. iran could be a regional power. there are others. absolutely. there were other regional powers. >> turkey. >> surely. we must live next to one another. even now the united states is power. the european union is a power. it doesn't mean there aren't multiple centers of power. progress can be realized through the distraction or weakening of one another. the best solution for mutual progress is for both countries to collaborate and cooperate, and seek to obtain mutual objectives for the progress of not only one another but the region as a whole. someone could interpret it as the one seeking hegemony. other countries are also seeking hegemony. we have never sought regional hegemony. we are not seeking it today. nor will we ever. in the past 200 years of our country we have never invaded another country. there were countries who were b

but the gcc led by saudi arabia and iran has a rivalry. the obama administration is trying hard to come up with an agreement with iran on halting their development of nuclear technology that would almost certainly lead to nuclear weapon and weaponization of their missiles. so qatar is a member of the gcc. it is very important, having an air base there when we are concerned about i.s.i.s., iran, and its hedgeo monnic ambitions, other groups in the area. all of this make qatar an important player for the u.s. and the gulf. as your report painted out, there are -- pointed out there are incredible numbers of contradictions in that relationship. >> they go further, because one the other countries that america is attempting to put pressure eastern on through the u.s. treasury, to try to stop the funnel of funds is turkey, in addition to other regional important roles, is an n.a.t.o. ally, and borders syria and iraq. this is a complicated scenario for people like you who have been ambassadors, where you say "hey, we need you to stop this", but on

the saudis rounded up 60. the fact these people are engaged, it's because it's in their self-interest, right? because they feel directly threatened and they are closest to the conflict. >> i want to ask phil mudd about that. saudi arabia, united arab emirates, and jordan. how significant? fran believes it should not be a sproois surprise to i.c.e. because obviously they have interest in this. what do you make of this coalition? >> the significant isn't what these folks are doing to targets on the ground today. the significance is people tomorrow morning in cairo, in riya riyadh, saudi arabia, in amman, jordan won't wake up and say america is at war against another arab nation. they're going to wake up and say -- and i suspect in some of these cities they're going to find pride. they're going to say arab countries are involved in fighting an adversary that not only some of the population opposes but that religious leaders, prominent religious leaders in saudi arabia and egypt, which are the core of religion in

saudi, for example, a call with the u.s. president last night and the saudi king. the saudis agree on the need for moderate syria opposition and the saudis would host that program. thoughts? the stakeholders, for example, the saudis in particular with provide a pr vision against the idea that this is actually an islamic state. barack obama made the point this is not an islamic state regardless of what they call themselves. it's vital that the saudis are there as the custodians of the two holiest place in islam. >> thuf almost uniquely concerted narrative from almost tehran from tripoli saying isis is a scourge and we need to get rid of them. meeting with the secretary of state today. sunni-led countries including the uae. we have had the most detailed public statement from the uae. it is, and i quote, ready to join a coordinated international response. this from the uae ambassador to washington. the islamic state may be the most obvious and dominant threat at present, but it is far from the only one. and i think that's really interesting here. the uae has its focus

you've got saudi, the largest and most influential. abu dhabi. we do know that the uae is hosting australian jets and with a view to get into the theater of war. jordan of course which has incredibly good intelligence gathering and importantly, sitting right on the cusp of any spillover from isis into their very own country. and then you've got bahrain. i think you and i might also just flag the fact that qatar is involved, the country that flew its own jets over libya in 2011 as part of the coalition of the willing there. there has been a rift between qatar and its neighbors of late. but it does seem they are, they have command-and-control, cent-com from the u.s. in qatar and it looks as if they are on board. so i think we agree just how important it is that these arab nations make up the coalition of the willing. you say it's very unclear at this moment how long this goes on. what else are you getting from washington at this point? >> one thing, it will be long. because they know that air power is powerful, but it's limited. and we've seen it i

certainly here in the uea and saudi and bahrain. it has been a real concern about the rise of extremist violence here. not least the extreme brotherhood who have been of late in qatar which caused a rift. this is brief, quick and effective, then the u.s. will retain the will of the people. if it goes on longer and more get involved, the likes of iran covertly or overtly, then i think things might change a bit. we are yet, john, to find out exactly how, for example, uae is involved. there is the peshmerga gulf here on the border. saudis already said they will train militarily and these syrian moderate fighters. we are getting the flesh on the bones as it were through the day. fascinating to see those who have signed on and is crucial as you pointed out. the will of the people is reflected by the governments here against the group fighting in the name of islam that these majority populations. >> becky anderson in abu dhabi. now part of the crucial and fascinating coalition in the fight against isis. thanks, becky. >>> mocoming up, mor

saudi arabia can help eliminate some support for the islamic state group. >> saudi arabia has the power to persuade public opinion in the sunni arab world and particularly inside of iraq to encourage iraqi sunnis to break with the islamic state. >> reporter: turkey can prevent foreign fighters from joining and provide bases for fighting. but the important part are those battling the be islamic state on the ground. local fighters to take lead. >> we'll probably see a coordinated land campaign with the iraqis, both arab and kurd providing forces and the u.s. providing air power intelligence planning scrongz synchronize sayings. >> save haven for islamic state fighters to retreat to. >> we have a very good game plan. for the short run management of the islamic state threat. but we don't have actually any kind of a game plan for a regional alliance, regional understanding or addressing the problems long run. >> reporter: and so the test of the u.s. strategy won't be the president's words. it will be what the u.s. does to create political solutions and long term alliances to combat a common

the arab partners included saudi arabia, jordan, the uae, and qatar. the pentagon is not providing many details this morning except to say that at least 14 different isil targets in eastern syria were struck, and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff martin dempsey said eight were intended to try to disrupt what he described as imminent attack plotting. here is some of the video that the department of the defense released overnight of some of the tomahawk cruise missiles that were fired. the pentagon says at least 40 tomahawk cruise missiles were part of the initial volley of the attacks. as we wait for the president to talk about the details, let's bring in randall pinkston who is live from the north lawn of the white house, and randall what are we expecting from the president? >> we expect the president to talk about the significance of the fact that a coalition of nations has joined with the u.s. in going after isil. the president said from the beginning that america would participate, but he wanted to make sure that other nations especially nat

what human rights groups are saying about saudi arabia. enhance your eye color for a naturally beautiful look with consistent comfort. find your perfect color and get a free trial offer at airoptixcolors.com. >>> here is an interesting development in the search for the people behind some of these brutal killst by isis. the fbi says it knows the identity of that masked isis militant speaking in the execution video of james foley. >> uk media have dubbed the man jihadi john. you see him speaking with a british accept and wielding a large knife. intelligence officials believe he's the same man in the videos of steven sotloff and david hanes. david hanes' daughter is speaking out for the first time. he was killed by isis militants earlier this month, despite pleas from his family for his release. the daughter bethany says they still don't have his body to give him a proper burial. she wants to see the terrorist group eradicated. >> i can tell you, you can't do this to people and get away with it. hundreds of civilians have been killed by them,

the saudis have reached out. you have had the iraqis and iranians come visit them, so it does give them the opportunity -- right? >> yes, they -- they are. and -- and i think it does give you this opportunity. i think the processor is right about the government in bagdad. we have to keep pressure on them. if you want us to help you, you have to be become more inclusive. and the final analysis is up to them. they have got to solve it. it gives you the opportunity, but it's not going to be easy. >> the sense that this is going to be a long-term thing started to set in right after the speech. does that make all of this harder? that you have to keep these people in harness for perhaps years? >> it makes it harder and that much more important. there's a near-term game, and a long-term game, and this administration and its successful administration have to play both of them. if you look at the middle east even over the last ten years, you see the break down of old orders and equal lib reums and efforts to create new on

support from bahrain, saudi, qatar, and the uae. these are pictures of the aftermath of one of those strikes. this is "bbc world news." i'm geeta guru-murthy. (vo) you are a business pro. maestro of project management. baron of the build-out. you need a permit... to be this awesome. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. and only national is ranked highest in car rental customer satisfaction by j.d. power. (aaron) purrrfect. (vo) meee-ow, business pro. meee-ow. go national. go like a pro. for building a crossover.d script... we decided... ♪ it needed a major rewrite. ♪ stray the course. the agile all-new audi q3. unexpected luxury starts at 32,500. ♪ >>> hello. you're watching "gmt" on "bbc world news." i'm lucy hockings. our top stories, the campaign to degrade and destroy islamic state. president obama delivers on his promise and launches strikes on i.s. targets in syria. 14 early morning coordinated strikes launched from the gulf. five arab allies now joining the

i have little confidence in saudi capability to engage in thin the way described. my focus would be more on turkey and jordan. those are the two key countries that i would lean on to vet, identify, and further provide military support to rebels who are primarily based today in aleppo. >> wasn't the difficulty early on in this conflict in 2012 an and 2013 figuring out who it was safe to arm and train and back inside syria? >> absolutely. that challenge has not evaporated. there is now a new equipment by this administration to step up that effort. let's see what materializes and what it produces. >> rick, you train them, you set them loose in syria, but they don't have a sell-by date. even if they accomplish their objective they are now a trained armed group inside of a country. what do you do then? >> the president calls this a counter terrorism, what do we do after train them and get them on the ground? who do they fight? are they fighting the al nusra front? isil, the assad regime? and to what extent will they have the capabilities necessary to conduct those types

this is what the saudi arabian air force has. madam president, let me also quote from an article in "forbes" which details the strength in numbers of many of the militaries in the mideast. the article notes, "countries in the region have more than enough power to destroy the islamic state. turkey has an army of 400,000. iran as nearly as many in the army and paramilitaries. iraq has a nominal army of nearly 200,000 and some 300,000 police. saudi arabia has nearly 200,000 army, national guard and paramilitary personnel. syria's military, though degraded by war, numbers some 110,000 plus paramilitaries. jordan has 74,000 in the army. the kurdish pershmirgas number in the tens of thousands. all of them but iraq and kyrgyzstan have some air force ground attack capabilities. end of quote. furthermore, madam president, not only are countries in the region not stepping up in the fight against isis but, believe it or not, several of these gulf states are empowering isis and al qaeda related groups through their financial contribution. a