syria, the of a destabilized syria, the prospect of radical groups taking over syria or a syria that becomes divided into warring factions is also a concern for israeli strategic decision-makers. a complex situation as well. he also mentioned, in terms of russian interests, which we have discussed, there is also a shared interest. -- interest by the united states and russia in defeating these terrorist groups. he is right. rebels,e chechnya and some operating in israel, working with al-nusra and other groups. obviously, syria a lot closer to russia than the united states. those key points on israel and russia are worth considering. host: what is behind the difference in the reaction to -- of israel to the situation in syria, then -- than other countries? last month israel did fire one missile after mortar went over into their area. but up to a year ago, you could go up to the border of syria when you are in golan heights. why the difference in approach their? they called it a quiet border when i was there. guest: i think israel would prefer it remain a quiet border. as we have seen i

syria is no longer syria. syria is russia and the new that that we built -- iran we built which was one of the worst negotiated deals i've ever seen. nermeen: nato is seeking to station more troops in eastern europe in what reuters reports could be the biggest military buildup on russia's borders since the cold war. as part of a u.s.-backed plan, nato is planning to send battle groups to poland, lithuania, estonia, and latvia with forces ranging from armored infantry to drones. as tension mounts between russia and the u.s. over the crisis in syria national intelligence , director james clapper said tuesday he fears russia could shoot down a u.s. aircraft if a no-fly zone were imposed over syria. amy: well, our next guest says that two mutually exclusive, competing narratives are dominating discussions around syria and neither is enough to understand what's happening in the country. in a new article in the nation headlined, "the debate over syria has reached a dead end," bassam haddad writes -- "there has been

central syria. meanwhile, the administration's strategy to train and equip a large force to fight isis in syria was still in its infancy. >> today, the pentagon said it will deploy more than 400 u.s. troops to train and equip moderate rebels in syria to target isis. >> smith: there was a lot of skepticism about the plan, but the pentagon was at least encouraged that its regional allies were coopating. >> the troops will work out of saudi arabia, turkey, and qatar... >> initially as this effort was getting underway, we were able to get partners on board, we were able to work with the turks and the saudis and the jordanians to provide us facilities and space in which to do the training. >> the troops will train, equ, and arm as many as 5,400 fighters... >> smith: when i interviewed general john allen back in early 2015, he was surprisingly optimistic. >> we actually are in the process of recruiting now. we're finding a lot of enthusiasm, actually, amongst the syrians. >> smith: initially you had troub

it's to go to syria. and syria is right next door. going to syria is very cheap. and it's very easy. >> narrator: thousands of young european muslims joined up. unlike recruits to al qaeda, aspiring isis militants often knew little about islam. >> (translated): it was open bar: anyone who wanted to join the islamic state could do so. it was well known that al qaeda had created filters; you had to show you were trustworthy, there were a series of tests and an apprenticeship. it was not all that easy. in this case, anyone can join. even crazy people, very violent people, petty criminals. i even saw young people who were not yet radicalized going to syria. it was just a trend, a need to have fun and escape their boring lives. i'd never experienced anything like it before. >> narrator: one country, belgium, provided more isis militants for its size than any other in europe. among them was a petty criminal named abdelhamid abaaoud. the son of a shopkeeper from brussels, abaaoud had spent time in prison for assault and minor crimes. as isis was emerging in syria, abaaou

syria is no longer syria. syria is russia and the new that that we built -- iran we built which was one of the worst negotiated deals i''ve evr seen. nermeen: nato is seeking to station more troops in eastern europe in what reuters reports could be the biggest military buildup on russia's borders since the cold war. as part of a u.s.-backed plan, nato is planning to send battle groups to poland, lithuania, estonia, and latvia with forces ranging from armored infantry to drones. as tension mounts between russia and thee u.s. over the crisis in syria national intelligence , director james clapper said tuesday he fears russia could shoot down a u.s. aircraft if a no-fly zone were imposed over syria. amy: well, our next guest says that two mutually exclusive, competing narratives a are dominating discussions around syria and neither is enough to understand what's happening in the country. in a new article in the nation headlined, "the debate over syria has reached a dead end," bassam haddad writes -- "there has be

guest: israel is right on the border of syria. they are in a technical state of war with syria. obviously, while syria has always been a challenge for israel under assad, the prospect syria, theilized prospect of radical groups taking over syria or a syria that is divided over factions is also a concern. a complex situation as well. ofalso mentioned, in terms russian interests, which we have discussed, there is also a .hared interest some of them are operating in syria. obviously, syria is a lot closer united states.he those key points are worth considering. host: what is behind the difference in the reaction to israel? i was there one year ago, you could go right up to the border of syria in the golan heights. why the difference in approach there. would i think israel quiet border.in a concern anda hezbollah, which is again on the northern border, based in lebanon, but the expansion of the influence in syria is also of deep concern for syria. host: we have vonn calling in. you are on the line. caller: i have a question, or hypothesis and question, how is the relation related to

syria, the prewar population, 10% of the population of syria was christian. and yet 0.68% of the refugees being admitted by the administration are christian. mr. henshaw, why is the administration admitting such a disproportionately low number of christian refugees? >> our admittance of refugees is based on vulnerabilities of which religious persecution is one of them. syrian refugees, although christians were 10% of the prewar syrian population, they're only about 1% of the number of refugees that have fled. we believe there are a number of reasons for this. one of them is that many of the christians still reside in syria in government-controlled areas. in ail a alloite areas. they were located in there before hand. we have -- our program, however, is ready to take any christian who comes into the system. one of the other difficulties we face is that some of the christians who have fled, have fled to lebanon, and our program is relatively small there, but we're trying to build it up. >> do you agree that isis is persecuting christians and endeavoring -- and

think of syria. yes, al qaeda and iraq were a direct presume product of the u.s. invasion of iraq but surely isis is a direct product of the geostrategic regional rivalries over syria and iraq, whether you're talk can about saudi arabia, qatar, and turkey and iran. it was basically the geostrategic rivalry that has allowed both al qaeda central and nusra, and nusra front in syria which the official arm of al qaeda and isis to do as well as they have done, in particular in terms of fighters and resources, money, because all organizations need resources, and not just armies. they -- the sources come as a result of these strategic rivalry in region. >> i think also in the context of iran, i think that we should also be sure to mention that there are shia militias that are important. that people don't read that much about -- and that's also sort of the result of isis. it was ayatollah, the highest authority in iraq for shia and other shia in bahrain, other areas, who issued a fatwah in 2014, on the eve of the takeover of mosul, and isis takeover of muss sol. he called

and any option right now in syria is going to be aificky option. i think what we need to do and what is realistic is to alleviate the human suffering. there is, for example, we have now 250,000 to 270,000 people that are under siege by the syrian regime and its supporting coalition in eastern aleppo, that are being basically starved to death. so airdrops of humanitarian aid, airdrops over this region of medicine, of food, massive airdrops of medicine and food in the short term could help at least alleviate the human suffering of these people. i think we also need to, in the short term, to enable the armed groups, the opposition that's still in eastern aleppo to stay there and we need to enable the armed groups that are fighting against ice and i will that are fighting against the regime to continue to fight against isil, against the regime. but there is this element here that we are forgetting, that there are regional parties that have high stakes in this conflict, either the united states or russia today. these are countries that are going to cont

you were born in syria. we have tended, in recent times, to act as though the conflict could not get any worse. it seems there is a definite escalation. what are your thoughts and what are your feelings? maissun: you start your day with a cup of coffee and a feeling of satisfaction that your child is sleeping in his bedroom, and you start reading the news. the first thing you see, like what i saw today, a bunch of children swimming in a crater, explosion crater, resulting from the bombings of yesterday, filled with the water of the broken water supply, which civilians in aleppo do not have any more. then you see the syrian ambassador at the u.n. laughing when a journalist asked him -- peter: truly a shocking moment. maissun: asking, mr. ambassador, did you target the hospitals yesterday? he just laughed and walked away. you think it has been moving from bad to worse for the last five years. every day, we reach a worse condition. i do not know if we are going to have an end anytime soon. peter: after five and

kerry: i'm not happy with syria. i'm very, very dissatisfied with where we are in syria. i'm extremely concerned about where it is going and what will happen to the people of syria and to the region if a more rational and moral-based, common-sense approach is not found to deal with the situation. yemen, libya -- i mean, there are challenges, many challenges, that are extremely difficult right now. i feel good about where we are moving with isil. i think we could move faster to some degree, but i think the president has really gotten us on a track where you can see where we're going in iraq, you can see where we're heading in syria, and he's constantly looking for ways to try to accelerate that. i think the climate change agreement that we reached in paris is a monumentally -- a monumental agreement, extraordinarily important because of the threat of climate change, which we're seeing manifest itself on a global basis everywhere. and to have brought 185, 186 nations together to reach agreement, which really largely grew out of the effort we made with china when we got chin

in aleppo and across syria. especially in aleppo, because the last 10 days we have seen horrendous bombardment. you are right, the man in the clip was killed about six weeks ago during another rescue he was doing when a mortar round landed and sadly killed him. nermeen: in totatal, you have somethingg like 70 hours o of fofootage. can you tell us, and the documentary itself is 40 minutes, what went into the decision to include the part of the footage you include in the documentary and that all that you excluded? >> we wanted to try and capture the reality for what the white helmets live through. and like i said, these guys are normal -- they are normal syrian civilians. a lot of them have no prior rescue experience. they are teachers, builders. they are blacksmiths. isthe way the film works half of the film is set in the very you witness visceral, very immmmsive materialal of them saving livesn a daily basis. and the othehahalf is in a training center in turkey where they learn -- because they don't have these s

with regard to syria. or sanctions would be available to give russian action in syria. and how do you differentiate the destruction with russia and ukraine. >> whole idea of sanctions against russia is much of western europe continues to take huge amounts of russian gas and there is some european countries who say that's where the sanctions should go next. that would be difficult because i think 50% of german gas supplies come from russia. that's big stuff. and that would be damaging to those economies as well as to russia. >> i got to allow my colleagues, i hope we can continue this until 11:00. i just want to return briefly to europe. on brexit you said we will get the best possible deal for trade and services. not our gift, is it? perfectly possible there might be no deal. because we can't command the other side of the table and difficulty we face is that i think you may have had my question to the brexit secretary, that better the deal looks for the united kingdom the more difficult it is to deliver march 27. and we can't control that parliament. >> which is why i t

he has now left syria. we have learned european intelligence agencies are on a mission to find, capture, and return i.s. supporters. they're working with rebel groups to create an underground railroad bringing i.s. supporters home to face justice. now, they are in syria. these european jihadists want to come back. it will be a dangerous homecoming. quentin sommerville, bbc news, istanbul. katty: around the world, german media says a german bomb plot suspect took his life in the tension. jaber al-bakr was found hanged. the asylum seeker have been the subject of eight and tw -- of a two-day manhunt after giving the slip. he was turned over to police on sunday. lawyers for the only surviving suspect of islamic terror attack in error says they won't defend him. abdd objects the -- salah eslam has been held in solitary confinement here he says he refuses to talk. they say the 24-hour surveillance caused their client to clam up. praying outside the hospital in bangkok where the king is being treated. there is con

and russia agreed to fresh talks on ending the fighting in syria. those talks cannot come soon enough for the desperate people of aleppo. new airstrikes pound the city as russian forces back up the syrian army offensive. we'll get more on the chances for peace in the country just a moment. also, the number of asylum seekers arriving in germany drops to one quarter of last year's levels. religion says that is good news after months of criticism and the spike in support for anti-immigrant parties. and eight begins to arrive in haiti believe after -- a week after hurricane matthew. the wind and rain are gone for now there is a new danger -- an outbreak of cholera. ♪ >> good to have you with a spirit u.s. secretary of state john kerry is to meet his russian counterpart on saturday for fresh talks on ending the conflict in syria. carrie will then hold talks with his european partners on sunday. this fresh diplomatic effort comes amid international condemnation of the latest russian airstrikes on the northeastern city of aleppo. activists and rescue wor

this will be in the northwest of syria. an announcement that has made washington nervous. >> it is not clear why the placement of an f 300 in syria has faced such a stir from our western colleagues. it causes no threat -- it poses no threat to anyone. >> the f 300 system will reinforce russia passed offense of the syrian coast. it already has a system in place at an ever based just north. announcement comes a day after the u.s. halted talks with russia. on military cooperation in syria. washington has grown increasingly critical of russia's actions. on monday, secretary of state john kerry blamed moscow for the failure. john kerry: we will continue to pursue a meaningful, sustainable, and forcible cessation of hostilities throughout the country. russia knows exactly what it needs to do in order to get that cessation implemented in a fair and reasonable way. >> russia has been accused of indiscriminately bombing aleppo as it joins an offensive to regain control. and hasladimir addressed parliament just days after the u.s. pu

forces in syria. i think that would be a very serious mistake. don't think american troops should be holding territory, which is what they would have to do as an occupying force. i don't think that is a smart strategy. i do think the use of special forces, which we're using, the use of enablers and trainers in iraq, which has had some positive effects, are very much in our interests. >> it sounded to me that her response was very similar to the strategy of the current administration and even when president obama himself was asked about syria last month, he said it haunts him. you know, in terms of helping in the war then, what -- did you hear enough in her response? >> one very major difference from president barack obama. she said she would like to see a no-fly zone implemented in syria. that would offer some kind of protection to the civilians who have lived under that relentless bombardment for five years now. but she didn't give any details on how that no-fly zone would be implemented. the jury is

>> this represents a escalation of the fighting in syria by deploying this particular system to syria. russia is attempting to establish a military bubble in syria. a bubble that will make it difficult for the united states to it project air pour in to the region. it shows that russia anticipates the next step in a possible u.s. military response after the break down in negotiations. russia is raising the stake and making the very dangerous situation in syria all the more so. >> the only powers that have air power is the assad regime and russia. it is not who they are fighting on the ground. the only other air power is us that can fly in syria. is that who they are there to deter? >> it is very likely. isis does not have an air force and when negotiations over peace break down, the russia clearly calulated that a military option by the united states is in the cards and they have deployed the cutting edge air defenseto demo united states tries to use its air power there could be significant costs. this is a attempt to run off military air power. >> have we lost all leverage in syria! >

syria has imploded into a civil war and isis is headquartered in syria. and -- >> let me ask you. >> that's why we need change. >> so we understand you exactly, governor. whether in syria or not, this is a humanitarian crisis. a no-fly zone is one thing and a safe zone is something else. which are you suggesting? >> it is. >> that you do not favor a no-fly zone but you favor a safe zone? >> well, charlie, i th things. donald trump has been very consistent in saying we should establish a safe zone in the region working with our allies in the region so that people have a way to get out of aleppo and out of harm's way in syria. and whether that -- you establish a no-fly zone or whether you go beyond that with military force, i think that would have to be a real-time decision by our commander in chief. lines and faining resets with russia and wringing our hand and saying as the secretary of state recently said we are out of talks with russia, all the while the leader of russia, you know, flexing his muscles, expanding his influence in the region. the united s

syria's war long ago slipped out of the hands of syrians. rescuepo, it means this, workers rushing to a hospital bombed by the regime. the first victim -- he's dead, they say, and move on. searching from wall, they help an injured medic. despite talks to halt the killing, russia and the regime are bombing civilians into submission, says the united states, and now the trust must and. witherybody's patience russia has run out. they spent a great deal of credibility in making a series of commitments without any clear indication they were committed to following them. they were reduced to either acting unilaterally or supporting the iranians in dropping bunker busting bombs on civilian hospitals in aleppo. it is outrageous. the hope had been to restore a short-lived cease-fire from last month. that died in the burnout remains of a u.n. a convoy, bombed, says the united states, by russia and the regime. a war crime, says the united nations, which russia says it did not carry out. but the human cherry and deal, while humanitarian -- humanitarian de

that will discuss the situation in syria. afterwards, merkel and hollande will meet the press and say if there has been any results of the series of meetings. we can only say it will be a very long night for all of us. brent: we know this is the first time that vladimir putin, that he is actually set foot in berlin since 2013. he was greeted by protesters as he arrived at the chancellery earlier. let's take a listen to what they had to tell the russian president. >> where here today with a clear paleppo's children.bombing of we have laid out over 100 teddy bears to represent the alledge and children who have been bomb to death. we are hoping today that angela merkel says enough is enough and we as international community can no longer stand by. demand that putin starts working towards peace in syria. brent: enough is enough. thomas, is the german chancellor, is she going to say enough is enough? what can she realistically expect to come out of these talks? thomas: brent, i very much doubt that gentle -- chancellor angel merke

in aleppo and across syria. especially in aleppo, because the last 10 days we have seen horrendous bombardment. you are right, the man in the clip was killed about six weeks ago during another rescue he was doing when a mortar round landed and sadly killed him. nermeen: in total, you have something like 70 hours of footage. can you tell us, and the documentary itself is 40 minutes, what went into the decision to include the part of the footage you include in the documentary and that all that you excluded? >> we wanted to try and capture the reality for what the white helmets live through. and like i said, these guys are normal -- they are normal syrian civilians. a lot of them have no prior rescue experience. they are teachers, builders. they are blacksmiths. isthe way the film works half of the film is set in the very you witness visceral, very immersive material of them saving lives on a daily basis. and the other half is in a training center in turkey where they learn -- because they don't have these skills -

one we are talking about iraq and in another way we are talking about syria and one saudi form ermine ster said to you, if you guys are going after terrorist, who is the realtor risk in the regular owned and he said president assad has killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people, not isis. why would he say that and what does that show us about the complexity of the decisions we are making? >> there are two battle fronts really one in iraq and one much more challenging in syria. you take towns and ally yourself with let's say syrian kurds to help you take those towns, who is going to run the towns after you take it. you don't have a partner in the government and as long as there's a war, a civil war raging in syria, you're going to have ungoverned spaces that isis can take. and exploit, and so people across the middle east say you're not going to defeat isis in syria unless you can get assad to come to the table, to get a cease fire or depots.

about the to talk conflict in syria. thank you for joining us. latest on the conflict in syria. what led to the suspension of the talks? to backup the second, the u.s. and russia agreed they would try to work out a plan in syria that would do three things. one, coordinate military intelligence in target the al qaeda affiliate in syria. two was a cessation of hostilities. that would allow reduction in fighting and allow humanitarian assistance to reached the people. the peacewould allow talks to begin again. that collapsed for a number of reasons. thet, just a few days into cease-fire, the u.s. mistakenly bombed syrian troops. this was obviously not well received by the syrian government. a serious believer in going along with the deal. that same night, a u.s. convoy was hit in syria and russia and been implicated. went downhill from there. aleppou see happening is , russia and syria working together, pounding the city, and the secretary of state just said yesterday that he is calling for an investigation of possible war crimes. that is where we are. it is a grim picture. that is

it's not all about syria or ukraine. so we have different views on the -- what's going on in the world. >> so these are just flash points in a much larger battle? >> of course. >> it's a battle to secure russian interests in syria to protect its last holds of influence in the middle east. ukraine, to prevent another former soviet state turning to nato in the e.u. it is a strategy analysts say that sets russia and the west -- >> since collapse of the soviet union, the west had opportunity and capacity to reshape the world according ideas which the west believed were correct and right. what we see now, there are attempts to believe that this arrangement, the possible war arrangement can be restored or prolonged. unfortunately, not. >> what will replace it may not be to everyone's liking. matthew chants, cnn moscow. >>> now meteorologist derek van dam is here with a landmark climate agreement reached in rwan rwanda. it's about refrigerators and air conditioners. pardon my ignorance, but i thought this situation had been sol

equipment has been transferred to syria. i think i would start by observing that this equipment contradicts president vladimir putin's claim that their efforts in syria are focused on extremists. i'm not aware that i salt or al in syria is operating aircraft. it's possible he may have access to different intelligence information, but i highly doubt it. i do think it raises genuine questions about russia's credibility and their intentions inside of syria. with regard to sanctions, what we have indicated about the situation in syria is that there are a range of tools the president can use to further isolate the syrian regime and potentially the russians for the way they have supported the regime, but we have sanctioned, what we have sanctioned are among those tools and what we have learned about implementing sanctions is that they are most effective and their impact is magnified when we coordinate the use of that tool with our allies and partners around the globe. we will continue to have those kinds of conversations. i know t

syria is a very complex problem. to be honest with you i think much of what we are experiencing in syria and that part of the world as a direct result of the act that we went into iraq some 14 or 15 years ago but what is happening in syria is tragic. russia is complicating it. there are so many factions in syria and just let you say that i believe our first obligation is to keep americans safe and that's my intention. there's something so we can can do there. we can increase our use of airpower. we can increase our use of drones, we can increase our intelligence gathering but i will tell you one thing that i will never supported that is ground troops being reintroduced into that part of the world. we cannot solve every problem. this war has gone on in that part of the world for some 15 years and i think americans are sick of war. they understand that there are some things we can do. terms the refugees i believe the need to honor our values and we need to bring in those who are properly vetted. it takes a two-year per

>> no, with regard to syria. >> yeah. >> what sanctions would be available given russian action in syria? >> well -- >> and how would you differentiate those sanctions with the sanctions a applied to russia on ukraine? >> clearly, the big anomaly and the whole issue of sanctions against russia is that much of western europe continues to take huge amounts of russian gas. and, you know, there are some european countries who say that, you know, that's where the sanctions should go next. now, that would be very difficult because i think 50 of german gas supplies come from russia. you know, that's a, that's big stuff. and, you know, that would be damaging to those economies as well as to russia. >> i'm going to allow my colleagues -- i hope we can continue this until 11:00. i just want to return briefly to europe. on brexit you said we're going to get the best possible deal for trade and services. it's perfectly possible there might be no deal because we can't command the 27 on the other side of the table, and the difficulty we face is i think you may have heard my question to brexit secretar

on syria, on iraq. i mean her and obama whether you like it or not, the way they got out of iraq, the vacuum they left, that's why isis formed in the first place. they started from that little area now they're in 32 different nations. congratulations. great job. >> woodruff: this is something that donald trump used in the first debate. didn't get as much i think play, he went on longer. this is a tough one to come back on, isn't it? >> it is the message that donald trump should be pushing forward, message that any republican would be pushing forward right now probably doing so more effectively because we wouldn't be distracted by that person's own problems that they keep having to get out of. the fundamental question of this election when we started, question is americans want to see change or stick with the status quo. and what's interesting if you look at the way that this questions are asked in polling, "wall street journal" poll, nbc poll asked this question starting in may, want change, even if it'

with regard to syria. or sanctions would be available to give russian action in syria. and how do you differentiate the destruction with russia and ukraine? >> clearly the big anomaly in the whole idea of sanctions against russia is much of western europe continues to take huge amounts of russian gas. and there is some european countries that say that's where the sanctions should go next. that would be difficult because i think 50% of german gas supplies come from russia. that's big stuff. and that would be damaging to those economies as well as to russia. >> i got to allow my colleagues, i hope we can continue this until 11:00. i just want to return briefly to europe. on brexit you said we will get the best possible deal for trade and services. not our gift, is it? it's perfectly possible there might be no deal. because we can't command the other side of the table and difficulty we face is that i think you may have had my question to the brexit secretary, that better the deal looks for the united kingdom the more difficult it is to deliver march 27. and it may get veto

if it doesn't stop what-the-doing in syria. -- what it's doing in syria. but if russia were to change on these things the united states is prepared to partner with russia on a range of issues. but until putin changes the behavior, and the track record is very long of bad behavior, there are no bright prospect between the u.s. and russia. >> alena, you have the final word. >> just to go back to what i opened with there are many things that russia could do and putin could do to prove their trustworthiness. as long as he chooses not to do them, in regard to ukraine, in regard to syria, then i think our policy has to be what it is now. and i think we should ramp up sanctions. i think we should have sanctions related to what russia has done in syria specifically. there is no way forward. if we start giving concessions. that's a slippery slope. >> very g thank you. if there's one takeaway we can all come away from here, this is complicated and hard. [laughter] our next president whoever he or she may be is going to have to deal with this. and we certainly hope t

but syria is no longer syria. syria is russia, and iran, who she made strong and kerry and obama, made into a very powerful nation and a very rich nation very, very quickly. very, very quickly. >> our global affairs correspondent lisa labot is here doing fact-checking. he says assad, syria, russia and iran are fighting isis. are they? >> no. listen, the u.s. really wanted russia to be in there when they we want in there. about a year ago they said they would be fighting isis, but since then the u.s. says about 99% of russian air strikes have been against u.s.-backed rebels. if you look at what's happening in aleppo right now, wolf, the u.s. -- russia says it's targeting al nusra and other terrorist type organizations but they have not been. they've been targeting civilian casualties such as hospitals, ambulances. this is what the u.s. has been saying all along, that they would love to fight with russia against isis, but right now that's not happening. russia and iran together are both fighting those opposition tar

>> it's harder for me to talk about syria. we have less insight into syria. i presume extensive network within syria but i don't have anything to base that on other than just sort of common sense. with respect to iraq, again, of course, look, it's a common way of transferring wealth within that region and there's nothing theoretically wrong with it. and there have been -- there's historical trade you know relationships that existed prior to the war that were presumably financed through ha wa la. so these exist. and they're something that we look for and they're something you guys look for. the -- if you want to know what i'm most concerned about it's the change houses. but certainly i never want to give anybody the impression there's anything we're not concerned about. we've concerned about bulk cash and ha wala, we're concerned about exchange houses and even banks. although i do think that of all those banks are the least likely to be abused at this point. and then your third question, i apologize. i'm having a hard time. >> what is the transaction capacity

if you look at syria, russia wants to get rid of isis. maybe let russia do it. what the hell do we care? >> what the hell do we care? in tomorrow night's debate watch, watch, watch for donald trump's answer when he inevitably starts talking about fighting isis. just watch for it. and then remember this. today "the washington post" reported that russia has completed its elaborate interconnected comprehensive anti-aircraft system in syria. it's a system of anti-aircraft missiles, an air defense system. it's designed purely and only to shoot down airplanes. isis does not have any airplanes in syria where russia just set up this anti-aircraft missile defense system. isis does not have any airplanes. but we do. we're using american aircraft to help this big iraqi ground operation against isis right now right next door in mosul. donald trump believes that russia is our great ally against isis in syria, but what russia is doing in syria is setting up missiles that only shoot down planes, which isis does not have. donald trump does not appear in the mainstream media all

aim of what the russia is doing in syria. what russia is doing is assisting at the request of the legitimate government of that country, assisting its fight against terrorism. reporter: the truce in aleppo announced by moscow still held today. there were no u.n. medical evacuations, however, and no civilians were able to leave. both sides blaming each other for blocking the routes out of the city. but the show of strength off the south coast was a reminder that the truce will not hold forever, and more russian firepower is on its way. bbc news, in the english channel. u.s.: today the presidential candidates continue to crisscross the country in pursuit of every vote before election day. clintont just hillary and donald trump out on the trail. the clinton campaign has sent the first lady, michelle obama, to key locations. last night that included arizona, a state which traditionally has gone republican, but democrats see an opening this time. rajini vaidyanathan is there. rajini: thousands of people have gathered here in arizo

two threats in syria that matter to us. assad being in power gives yet another arab capital to the ends if he stays in power because no arab nation and the people in syria will not accept him as their leader. so if the russians and iranians bent on keeping him in power i side with the syrians. get a regional force together to go after assad and after you destroy isil. >> do you believe the history will judge this administration hashly because of what happened in the middle east? >> i think they are giving the next president a lot of headaches. nothing i said is ea and if it's provocative, i'm sorry. i know two things about syria for sure, that to destroy isil you have to take the land away from them and hold it. the people we are training, the kurd do not have the ability to destroy isil and rocket syria because they are not arabs. i know this. there is no military pressure on assad at this moment to make him leave. i want to create military pressure so a political solution and without military pressure changes. >> you said

the candidates, sparring over russia's involvement in syria, and hacked e-mails. is putin pushing for trump to win the election? we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> this is cnn breaking news. >> we're following breaking news in this unprecedented white house race. the first poll showing the impact of that shocking recording of donald trump bragging about groping women. an nbc news "wall street journal" poll that's just been released shows trump trailing hillary clinton by 11 points nationally. it was conducted before the candidate's second debate in which trump and clinton sparred. despite trump's improvement of the first debate, 57% of debate watchers think clinton won. and trump's troubles are continuing today. in a remarkable today, paul ryan told fellow lawmakers he will no longer defend trump or campaign for him between now and election day. ryan stopped short of pulling his endorsement but said members of congress facing re-election are free to do what's best for them

not the clinton or -- when clinton was secretary of state -- >> what about libya and iraq and syria? all of those areas, for example, are a lot more deadly, worse shape today than they were seven, eight years ago? >> now, wolf, you know these are very difficult, complex issues. if you cut me off after six seconds i can't explain libya. let's take libya. if donald trump supported the same idea of overthrowing gadhafi, take iraq. donald trump favored going into iraq, and then he lied about it. donald trump also favored, and this is really important, russi russian/u.s. troops out. in 2007 when george bush was president, donald trump called for the immediate withdrawal, call it a victory and pull out. those are donald trump's position. so what mr. pence was doing, in fact, was criticizing either the positions of george bush, which happened before hillary was secretary of state, or attacked positions that his very man on the top of the ticket had as well. the middle east is very complicated. if you were listening to trump and pence, everything that happens there is washington's fault nap

huge destruction across syria, cities destroyed, communities destroyed. ultimately, what we are seeing is that it has been propped up by russia. just when it seemed like the assad regime is going to be toppled, russia has come in and really held it up. it really supported it, offering security. it has had a massive impact on the number of deaths and the widespread destruction of the syrian state. sarah: why did russia decide to get involved in the first place? >> a number of different reasons at play. there is a geopolitical game that russia is playing with the u.s.. moscow is quite keen to demonstrate you can't get these issues resolved. i guess a demonstration of russian might. russia has control of a naval base in syria, which is a really quite strategically important naval base for russia. i think that is the second dimension. there are a couple of strng and important points this year. sarah: it has been the role of the syrian president bashir al-assad. how closely is the leadership allied? could they dropped him at some point if it was no longer adva

syria has imploded into a civil war and isis is headquartered in syria. it's all emblematic of the and -- >> let me ask you. >> that's why we need change. >> so we understand you exactly, governor. whether in syria or not, this is a humanitarian crisis. a no-fly zone is one thing and a safe zone is something else. which are you suggesting? >> it is. >> that you do not favor a no-fly zone but you favor a safe zone? >> well, charlie, i think it's -- they are two different things.na region working with our allies in the region so that people have a way to get out of aleppo and out of harm's way in syria. and whether that -- you establish a no-fly zone or whether you go beyond that with military force, i think that would have to be a real-time decision by our commander in chief. but we cannot stand idly by the lines and faining resets with russia and wringing our hand and saying as the secretary of state recently said we are out of talks with russia, all the while the leader of russia, you know, flexing his muscles, expanding his influence in the region. the

syria has imploded into a civil war and isis is headquartered in syria. it's all emblem mattic of the weakness of this administration and -- >> let me ask you. >> that's why we need change. >> so we understand you exactly, governor. whether in syria or not, this is a humanitarian crisis. a no-fly zone is one thing and a safe zone is something else. which are you suggesting? >> it is. >> that you do not favor a no-fly zone but you favor a safe zone? >> well, charlie, i think it's -- they are two different things. donald trump has been very consistent in saying we should establish a safe zone in the region working with our allies in the region so that people have a way to get out of aleppo and out of harm's way in syria. and whether that -- you establish a no-fly zone or whether you go beyond that with military force, i think that would have to be a real-time decision by our commander in chief. but we cannot stand idly by the way america has, removing red lines and feinting recess with russia and wringing our hand and saying as the secretary of state recent

. >>> a new round of talks on the bloodshed in syria. but expectations are low. >>> plus, cuba hopes to capitalize on the cigar market in a country that once banned its products. >>> welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i'm paula newton. "cnn newsroom" starts right now. >>> there are now two more sexual assault accusations against u.s. presidential candidate donald trump, bringing the number to at least eight. now one woman says trump fondled her under her skirt at a new york nightclub in the 1990s. another says trump grabbed and aggressively kissed her after she was a contestant on the reality show "the apprentice." trump says the stories are not true, and he's the victim of a cemete smear campaign. jim acosta has more. some of the language you're about to hear is graphic. >> reporter: no apologies and no admissions of guilt from donald trump who is still angrily denying he's ever sexually assaulted women. >> i look on television, i think it's a disgusting thing, and it's being pushed -- they have no wi

was the thriving commercial center of syria. today it is in ruins, bombed by synonymousegime and with suffering. no one suffers more than the children. the world health organization says in under a week 100 children were killed in the rebel-held area of aleppo. these images are distressing. reporter: tenderness from a father who must watch the slowly stings of his child's body. he was wounded in an airstrike, his stomach ripped open. he is trapped by the sea. a child starving because of the damage to his bowels and absence of proper nutrition. only basic facilities, doctors struggle. 7-year-old suffers. "big boy, we are almost finished," the doctor says. home.taken his grandmother wants to get him to turkey. before shehe sound speaks. there is still an irrepressible longing for normality. he is missing the walk to school with friends. the children are now taught in the basement in the hope they would be safer from falling bombs. really, nowhere in east aleppo is safe. he knows this. he has already lost a close friend. reporter: