if it was isis, that contradicts your theory. dr. katz if it was an isis attack. chairman: correct. i will look into it. the group that did it was a nusra.a -- was el dr. katz: that makes sense. chairman: and that is a radical islamic a group? contrary does that go to what you are testifying? -- dr. katz: they are a radical group. chairman: does that go contrary to what you are testifying? dr. katz: i think what we are seeing is that as assad regime weekends, ultimately, we will see a conflict between it and isis. they are not going to kiss and makeup, because they are both radicals. chairman: with that, mr. saradshyan, and then -- with that, go ahead, and i will have some questions later. be a littlehelp it confused about everything that was said here. first, let me make an observation. for the last few weeks, we have been hearing about how the syrian army has been weekend and -- weakened and everything else. i thought that was a setup for the russians to come in to syria. today, i understand the russians -- i wrote ite down here, the free syrian army. .ut that wasn't isis so what

2400 russian nationals are in isis. we should not discount al qaeda, which has its own unit from russia and the republics of central asia. that unit counts about 1500. imagine what would happen if all these individuals came home, whether because isil prevails or because isil was defeated but these individuals were not apprehended or eliminated. i should note that both isil and al qaeda have maintained ties with insurgents and terrorist networks in the north. this summer saw isis establish a province in the north caucuses. the emirate caucuses, the umbrella terrorist organization operating in the north caucuses has had long-standing ties with al qaeda, and its leaders have praised their leader. no surprise that russian foreign officials including the security minister and secretary of the security council have described isis as the main threat to russia and the main threat to global security, respectively. on the u.s. side, there is less agreement of whether isis represents a top threat. so, since neither the united stat

we could defeat isis in two days. we have the fortitude, the military fortitude but instead we depend on the coalitions to degrade and destroy and the big loser here is america because it destroys our pride and destroys our self esteem. >> staying with you for a second r. you okay with russia taking care of isis, at least in syria? maybe not necessarily iraq but syria. >> we're the loser, eric. again, if it's a moral threat to us, if it's an actual threat to us, why do we have to outsource it to russia, a country we can't depend on and trust? that's the american foreign policy these days. love thy enemy. >> michelle, one step further. okay. so the water's under the bridge. president obama decided to lead from behind and syria is a mess. the middle east is a mess. going forward, should we be doing the work in syria that russia is doing or should we let them do it? >> well, look. it is concerning to think that put season on our side. put season not interested in helping us. he's interested in expanding the military powe

isis is further to the east. they will eventually deal with isis and al nusra, but they will face the moderates first. they have to explain the timing. that explains the strikes. charlie: did they know exactly what they were doing? did they have sufficient intelligence to know exactly who they were striking? mike: i think that they had enough intelligence probably given to them by the syrians. this is not their own intelligence. they had enough intelligence to tell them that they were shooting at opponents to assad, people fighting syrian military. i don't believe they had enough intelligence to tell them that they were fighting u.s.-backed rebels, right? i don't think they had that. i don't think that is what attracted russian fire. i think the fact the group was fighting assad attracted the fire and nothing else. charlie: the cia is well known for having profiles on foreign leaders. what is the u.s. assessment of vladimir putin for his intelligence, strategic sense, his need to surprise, his ability to think be

the fundamental focus is on isis. charlie: so we should believe his fundamental opponent is isis, and the reason is there to --assad prop up a sawed because he believes that they are needed to defeat isis. mike: i believe that. russia has had its own islamic extremists problem in the caucuses, dagestan. there were times where there were terrorist attacks throughout russia, including in moscow. we have to remember that isis and al nusra are on his continent. they can go more northward easier than to the united states. isis is a deep concern of president clinton. -- i thinkt clinton that is the primary reason he is there, but he will attack these other groups because he needs to prop up assad. reason number two is because at some point, the syrian situation will turn towards negotiation, and having forces on the ground, being a bigger player there, will give putin a bigger say around that negotiating table. the third reason he is there, and i think you saw this clearly in your interview with him, is that russia in gener

central asia is completely penetrated by isis recruiters and isis propaganda. talking of danger to the united states, those things are rarely contained within natural borders . this is one of the offshoots, regardless of what putin does and what we do. >> do you agree or disagree? mr. saradzhyan: i agree. the primary threat that emanates assad is nota weather stays for a bit longer -- from that area is not whether assad stays for a bit longer. >> do you think he poses challenges to our efforts in syria? mr. saradzhyan: think it's in the interests of the united states, just as it's in the interests of russia. >> we are going to have another series, which gives me an excuse to be able to ask some questions . if you would like to ask some, we will get that in. i would like to place in the record a letter from john quincy hiss to his fellows about observations about russia even as far back as john quincy adams , who i believe was our first ambassador to russia. he pointed out in his letter and lengthy analysis that the russian character had been developed in great

but that wasn't isis. today, i understand the russians bombed the free -- i wrote it down here, the free o what does all of that i mean, i assume that they were here to fight isis. the people in the area are opposed to isis says the vice president of the coalition, speaking by telephone. his account could not be independently verified. mean? this is the heart of the matter. putin claims he is there to fight isis, but he is really there to protect the bashar al-assad regime against forces that protect -- that oppose him most strongly, which are not isis. he is not going to put until he asleep avoid those forces -- punk tilia's -- punctiliously avoid those forces. dr. aron: putin is there to show that russia does not bandon its allies. >> in complete contrast to what people are saying about us. dr. aron: make your own conclusion. that point does not escape putin, definitely. immediately, almost coincidental, iraq now is cooperating with russia on intelligence matters, and we are not worried what secrets our

if you're hitting rebels, you're helping isis. those rebels are fighting isis. and if you look at the positioning of russian assets, they're not poised to attack isis. if you look at where they are, what do you think they are trying to accomplish in these next few months before believing that they may get sanctions lifted? >> well, it seems to me that they will adjust their actions, and they will start hitting isis targets. because it is quite possible for aviation to fly over heads of asaad opponents and then to hit behind their lines, somewhere on the territory controlled by isis. i do think they will do that, but still will keep doing their own business, defending asaad. which is still a sort of side effect of their policy. >> and what fascinates me watching this is it's done despite the many risks of taking such action. you noted they only have two enemies, russia and the united states. russia is on fumes but could this intervention invite an isis family memb attack on russia? >> it could and i'm afraid it will will. there is the branch of isis. we can't dis

isis. bought a ticket to go to the theater. at the last minute she decided not to go to the theater. moscown i was working in in 2003. two blocksn happened down the road from where i work. you have the threat of being blown up by black widows or other suicide terrorists which and 2004.ften in 2003 i have studied terrorism and counterterrorism over 10 years now. has deep in russia roots. 1991, when chechnya declared independence, the threat of terrorism became apparent. they started using terrorism as a tactic to secure independence of chechnya. at the time, the general, a secular general, he was using islam as a force in the fight against russia. jihadually declared against russia and used terrorism to confront the more superior forces of the russian federation. terrorism became a constant threat in russia. the first major attacks happened 1996, the hostage crisis. the more notorious case of attack.m was an it was not perceived seriously in russia. a leader oftime, chechen separatists, seek

isis. the u.s. we're learning will deploy a small number of special operation forces that announcement follows defense secretary ash carter's remarks early this week warning the u.s. would step up attacks against isis including "direct action on the ground." carter's comments eluding to the u.s.-backed raid to free isis hostages in iraq last week. now the shift comes weeks after the pentagon announced it was ending its program to train moderate syrian rebels. joining me now from the white house, nbc's ron allen. we're also joined by michael mcfall, former u.s. ambassador to the russian federation and msnbc contributor and nbc military analyst colonel jack jacobs. lay this out for us. this came as a surprise that we're hearing this today and not hearing it from the president. >> i think we're not going to hear from the president because the administration does not want you emphasize this too much. although, it's hard not to emphasize a change like this. but clearly, things are happening and things ar

isis wants... and weigigng a military response shouou be the *last* thing *israel* considers. /sot/ braniff "hopefully they will have thought thru this and they will have communicated with egytian counterparts to mitigate whatever crisis may occur should the islamic state begin to start this campaign of violence." /sot/ "isis is calling for the killing of americans in america. isis is calling for the killing of people in country after country around the world... so its part have." /vo/ and senator markey says the *latest* mission in that plan appears to be seizing a new region that sits on israel's i'm m ff barnd reporting.. larry>> taking a live look out over dakota dunes tonight on our sky watch camera... some cold, fall rain is on the expect it... next. larry and kayla>> larry and kayla talk about today's weather and the upcoming forecast. metrocam sprinkles and showers have started across the area and will continue throughout tonight and the day tomorrow. kayla>> . metroca spnksdows ve rt aosth

they are talking about isis a lot. they know well that isis has no friends and if russia emphasizes the target, no one will contradict them. they also said their priority is supporting the government of bashar al assad. vladimir putin a couple days ago at the u.n. called him a valiant fighter against extremism. it was a mistake for the west not to give more support to bashar al assad and his government. that is the priority now. they are striking isis targets, but striking other targets as well. the kremlin doesn't draw distinction between isis and other groups. it puts them all in the same basket as islamic terrorists. it committed itself to fighting all of them. it is particularly focusing, it seems on the groups that pose the biggest threat to the regime of bashar al assad. these are non-isis groups in the first stage. that is why the strikes are focused on the groups other than the islamic state. >> matthew, thank you. sergei lavrov will meet with the secretary of state later today. >>> congress passing a stop-gap

support if it stresses the isis targets it hits. we have seen from video evidence from reports on the ground that there were other areas which are controlled by other rebel groups, non-isis groups that were hit in the russian air strikes. the russian government is ambiguous on this. the russian foreign minister speaking with john kerry yesterday. saying we were invited by the syrian government to assist against isis and other terrorist groups as well. so clearly the russian objective here is to support the assad government and to fight the enemies or those that provide or propose the biggest threat to the government. that is clearly what is going on on day two of the russian/syrian war. >> if they are striking moderate syrian rebels. the very people the united states has tried to support and train up to fight isis and to blunt the assad regime, that is russian at odds with the u.s. interests in the middle east. >> reporter: right. it won't be the first time that happened. i think it is important to remember that the kremlin don't dr

we can defeat isis. in respect to the severe -- syrian civil war, we do not have a dog in that fight. the job of our military is to defend america and not nation build. personalouple of questions. what time did your day begin this morning and when will it end tonight? began at: the day about 8:00 and i've been on the and i have done six or seven town halls, visiting coffee shops in traveling from town to town to town. andve done radio interviews a few meetings. tonight, i have three hours to drive and i will crash and get a few hours sleep and get up in the morning and keep traveling across iowa. host: how are you preparing for the debate on wednesday? sen. cruz: i have a great team of people who i really like and trust. we have done a number of mocks and we go through questions and do some back and forth. approaches, i try to spend time getting some sleep, spin solitude, spend time reading the bible -- spend solitude, spend time reading the bible and in prayer. i will say one thing that was really encou

this is all mostly isis controlled or isis influenced territory. no russians over there. >> when you look, the red all under isis control and isis influence. then you look at where the blasts are. those are where the russian air strikes have been over the past two days. that really is not coordinated at all where isis is or where isis is under control. >> this is the point. at the u.n., putin said the russian operation was against the terrorists, was against isis. if you look at the actions of his troop, that's not where they're hitting. they're protecting the perimeter of assad's territory. and the people who are at that perimeter in largest numbers are rebels, not isis. they are the rebels that are backed by the west. some al qaeda positions, but the one group of people who are not here really is isis. >> right, if you want to hit isis, you go after raqqa right now, where they're based, the eastern part of the country where they are, near the rivers. just to give you a sense of where the u.s. is hitting and going after isis, this of course is ira

assad and isis are evil twins. assad brought isis into being by being so brutal against his mostly sunni population. we have got to get assad out and then turn the attention and here's where we and the iranians and the russians have a similar interest, of taking care of isis. but i also think you're right, some indication of military intentions will help in vienna because it strengthens our hand diplomatically. but those talks in vienna today are very important. they are early, i don't think they are going to be any breakthroughs but the fact the russians and the iranians who are totally supporting -- assad would have been gone three years ago without them, that they're at the table voluntarily and also the regional other countries to talk about how do we get rid of assad, as richard said, you know, it may not be day one, but how do we get assad out and yet still have a functioning government, then everybody turns their sights on isis and that's how this is going to be resolved. what the administration has done is

but overall, isis apares to be but overall, isis appears to be the net loser. >> this is, this is isis controlled here. >> you know, that is an interesting term. isis controlled. i have seen a lot of maps. reports about the pieces. there is big large swaths of red territory, isis controls. but really you are seeing very small pockets of where isil really is. this is vast open desert. really, they're concentrated on a few small locations along these lines of communications leading into syria. >> syria, where isis has its headquarters and where the civil war only promises to get hotter now that the russian air force has intervened on the side of syria's dictator bashar al assad. the russian jets in yellow on the screen are tracked by the command center. >> whale they intend to operate in syria. and we intend to operate in syria like the past year. >> you don't want the russians to come too close, obviously? >> right. >> how close is too close? >> well, i don't know. i throw a definition out there the what we didn't want is to have a midair. we want to maintain level of safe separation. >

tens of thousands of them desperate to escape isis. and many more are fleeing syria. >> we're running now with these migrants and refugees. >> all of them on a dangerous journey to reach europe, to reach safety. >> we hope to get germany. >> governments there are struggling with how to handle the gigantic numbers. some are closing their borders or worse. >> sorry. okay. i can smell that tear gas now. they are chanting. >> the risks the refugees take have become heartbreakingly clear, but still, they come because for many, the alternative is this. ♪ [ gunshots ] >> the most dangerous band of thugs the world has ever seen. >> our knife will continue to strike the next of your people. >> the beheadings, the mass murders, the rape and enslavement of women. all of it was born of the rage and chaos that have crippled the country since america first went into iraq. >> if it were not for the american invasion of iraq and the subsequent disbanding of the iraqi army by the united states, there would be no isis. >> now this is camp. >> indeed t

assad and isis are evil twins. assad brought isis into being, and the fact that iran and russia are ready to talk about what we are going to do and trying to move assad aside is pr probably a positive development. we are always uncomfortable negotiating with people like iran and having those discussions, but i remember president kennedy saying that we should not negotiate out of fear, but never fear to e negotiate. but this is, it is going to be -- it has to happen, wolf, if the we want to get assad out, it is going to take iran and in particular russia to decide he is no longer viable, and keeping him there is only going to keep isis going. and eisis is a direct threat to russia. they have to make that calculus. >> and this is a significant shift in the obama administration's strategy as the future of syria is concerned ashs tpd u.s. was willing to e negotiate directly with iran on the to make leer deal, but they said that they were not talking to iran about what is going on in iraq, and not coordinating with iran

but overall, isis apares to be the net loser. >> this is, this is isis controlled here. you know, that is an interesting term. isis controlled. i have seeee a lot of maps. reports about the pieces. there is big large swaths of red territory, isis controls. but really you are seeing very really is. this i i vast open desert. really, they're concentrated on a few small locations along these lines of communications leading into syria. >> syria, where isis has its headquarters and where the c cil war only promises to get hotter now that the russian air force has intervened on the side of syria's dictator bashar al assad. e russian jets in yellow on the screen are tracked by the command center. >> whale they intend to operate in syria. and we intend to operate in syria like the past year. >> you don't want the r rsians come too close, obvivisly? >> right. >> how close is too close? >> well, i don't know. i throw a definition out there the what we didn't want is to have a midair. we want to maintain level of safe sepp rationaration. >> russian aircraft have come within 500 fee

they're holding back isis. and many of the minorities, the yazidis and others, christians, are fleeing behind kurdish lines. but, as they tell us, as their foreign minister, who's been here on three occasions, to tell us, they're out of ammunition, they don't have mortar shells. they don't have the equipment. so for them to push back isis, they need that kind of support directly from the united states. they're not going to get it from an iranian-influenced government in baghdad. and so far, the administration has not moved forward with that direct support. although we have tried to move legislation to to it. but they have indicated they would veto that legislation. >> let me get both of you quickly to respond to what the prime minister of israel benjamin netanyahu just told the united nations general assembly. he was very firm, fiery speech, obviously bitterly complaining about the iran nuclear deal. and among other things he said this. >> does anyone seriously believe that flooding a radical theocracy with wea

isis needs to be destroyed. we cannot turn our backs and put our heads in the sand and pretend that it's not going to harm us, our allies and our friends around the world. so we have to make a major mission in terms of destroying and degrading isis. and in doing that unfortunately we're going to have some casualties from time to time. >> because this iraqi governmentin creasingly is relying on the iranians and now russians as opposed to the united states despite all the blood and treasure the u.s. invested in iraq going back to 2003. you must be concerned about that. >> i'm very concerned. and i think as you're stating it it's quite correct. it's very galling particularly so much american blood was lost and shed in iraq. of course putin is running around with his mischief in syria and every place else. he's coordinating things with the jordanians, he's doing all kinds of things. he's going to keep doing it. he's going to keep poking fingers in our eyes and trying to do what he perceives to be in russia's nationa

closer to defeating isis? >> brown: well, i mean, every day we go out and strike it, it's one step closer. i can't tell you how many steps it's going to take. it's going to be more than a handful, that's for sure. >> martin: and every day, more bombs are unpacked and assembled. these are the 2,000-pound bunker busters used in the attack we witnessed. crews insert fuses and dial in a delay of several milliseconds so the explosives inside won't go off until after the bomb has penetrated the target. next, tail fins that will guide the bombs are attached. the geographic coordinates of the target will be programmed into the bombs, and gps satellites-- the same ones you use to navigate your car-- will steer them. the bombs are hauled out to one of the busiest military air fields in the world and, along with some smaller 500 pounders, loaded aboard b-1 bombers. the u.s. is spending $10 million a day, launching aircraft from bases in kuwait, qatar, the united arab emirates, jordan and turkey. counting allied planes, t

can we fight isis in iraq? when there really is no iraq left. >> at the end of the day we can't put that country together. >> the blame blame escalates. president bush or president obama. >> the person i blame is barack obama, not george w. bush. >> when we return, the finger pointing versus the facts. if you have high blood pressure many cold medicines may raise your blood pressure. that's why there's coricidin® hbp. it relieves cold symptoms without raising blood pressure. so look for powerful cold medicine with a heart. coricidin® hbp. (ee-e-e-oh-mum-oh-weh) (hush my darling...) (don't fear my darling...) (the lion sleeps tonight.) (hush my darling...) man snoring (don't fear my darling...) (the lion sleeps tonight.) woman snoring take the roar out of snore. yet another innovation only at a sleep number store. >>> what put iraq in the position now? the beginning, bush's invasion or the end, president obama's withdraw? >> we're here because of the disastrous blunder that got us into this war in iraq and dev

fight against isis. u.s. special operations forces going into syria to help rebels take on the terror group. >> president obama has authorized the deployment of these troops. we are told fewer than 50 right now along with military aircraft. we're talking a-10s as well as f-15s, going to an air base in turkey. want to bring in bob bair, former cia official. he joins us now. the ground in syria right now, the battle on the ground there is somewhere where the united states has had poor intelligence up until now. can this make a difference? >> i think it's a hail mary pass. syria is a mess on the other hand, these special forces are going to the kurdish area to support the so-called ypg party, makeshift militia. a very dangerous area. you run the risk, it looks like we're supporting a kurdish state in iraq. there are no good solutions but the best fighters are the kurds and that's what we're left with. >> we want to read you a little bit that we are just getting in. we're just getting an e-mail. spokesn for the s

in iraq, another key isis stronghold. the top u.s. general laying out his own call for u.s. boots on the ground. >> if it had operational or strategic impact and reinforce success, that would be the basic framework within which i'd make recommendation for additional forces to be co-located with iraqi units. >> reporter: president obama has to approve any new plans but the pentagon still resistant to establishing a no-fly zone to protect civilians and rebels on the ground. an idea backed by key republicans and hillary clinton. >> anyone we sent in and train, we're going to protect from russian air attacks. >> we have an obligation to do that. >> we haven't done it. >> he's killed 250,000. >> reporter: one republican senator and presidential candidate pressing for direct u.s. action against president al assad. >> when russia's going to fight for him, iran's going to fight for him, hezbollah's fighting for him, we're not going to do a damn thing to help people take him down. do you see any credible military threat to take hi

another key isis stronghold. the top general laying out his own call for boots on the ground. >> if it had strategic impact and we could reinforce success, that would be the basis framework for making the recommendation for additional forces with units. >> president obama has to approve any new plans but the pentagon still resistant to establishing a in-fly zone to protect civilians and rebels on the ground. an idea backed by key republicans and hillary clinton clinton. >> anyone we send in and train we're going to protect from russian air attacks. we haven't done it. >> reporter: one republican senator pressing for direct u.s. action against bashar al assad. >> russia is going to fight for him. and we're not going to do a thing to help people take him down. do you see any credible military threat to take him down? >> i think the balance of forces right now are in asaad's advantage. >> not his advantage. he is secure as the day is long. >> reporter: but the question is when does all of this turn into u.s. forces

what happens to the sunnis in iraq that are welcoming isis because they would rather have isis than the iranian backed militia that are shiia? that is a bad choice. in terms of a timeframe and the exact conditions, president ours on he told us he was first worried about isis. i think it is very much undecided. is things that are decided they are not going to work through baghdad again, they will work towards independence. is a book and of the aspirations of iraqi-kurdistan. he was born on the days and all of that. we were certainly assured there is no precipitous action. to have the international thatnity ignore the fact they are not working to baghdad anymore is a mistake her. >> it is important to see baghdad for what it is, not for what we wish it were. the supply of weapons from russia to the base required oversight. through iran and iraq. u.s. officials on september 5 raised concerns with iraqi counterparts. they were ignored. we learned on a monday morning reading the international news that iran, iraq, russia, and syria have formed an agreement to share intelligence. recognize wh

soldier to die fighting isis in iraq. elizabeth pram has more. >> the brand-new video obtained from news station arab 24 appears to be body cam footage showing the intense withdrawal of approximately 70 hostages, u.s. and kurdish troops stormed the prison after a tip the hostages were on the verge of being murdered. there are a couple of different shots you can see. in one of them you can see an isis flag hanging on the wall. another shows the troops clearing a line of men, some in blood-stained are robes with their hands above their heads. another you see a stream of hostages also be hurriedly pushed through a dark hallway barely lit. gun fire can be heard through the entire video. defense secretary ash carter said on friday the raid was not originally intended to include u.s. commandos, but as we know it did. and it took the life of master sergeant joshua wheeler. he had been deployed to iraq and afghanistan 11 times. he was training and advising kurdish forces in fighting isis. despite the fact there has been tension i

isis completely dug in. the goal to get fighters to get it back and hold it really going to be a real long haul to get their most u.s. officials will tell you. 50 special operations forces, they can help. they can facilitate and give the fighters confidence and give them some technical assistance, but isis very well dug in. there's no way around it. this is all going to be a very long haul. john? >> barbara starr for us at the pentagon. thanks so much. >>> president obama's decision, which whatever you think of it it is a big change for him. >> i do not foresee a scenario where boots on the ground in syria, american boots on the ground in syria would not only be good for america but also would be good for syria. i will not put american boots on the ground in syria. i will not pursue an open-ended action like iraq or afghanistan. the resolution we submitted today does not call for the deployment of u.s. ground combat forces to iraq or syria. >> joining us now, jim acosta at the white house with more. jim, wha

isis is taking advantage of that. they're okay with isis being where it is, because isis, if they can beat back the rebels and maintain assad's power there, they have a balance of power with isis doing their thing that they're okay with. >> i'm glad they took that video down, but it was freaking me out. colonel, last word on the implications here and what the united states needs to do in your view. >> win. come on, we have the greatest military on the face of the earth. we have chosen to not only half step. we have chosen to allow for this situation to develop. president obama got caught with his pants down. he wants isis to destabilize assad so assad will fall, at the same time trying to do things to destroy isis so it doesn't get out of control. you have to figure out what to do first, what the objectives are and he's not willing. >> do you think he was trying to bide time and see what happens between assad's people and isis before the u.s. did anything significant? >> megyn, we are not the junior varsity. >> we're

that's what isis does. isis works locally. they work from the bottom up. that's how we can have an effect as well. the other thing i want to point out is special ops. they are advisers. that's a combat mission. to call it anything other than combat is a misnomer. >> say that again. advising is a combat mission. >> advising is a combat mission. to characterize it as anything else, when we have troops out there working by, with and through indigenous forces like the kurds and arabs is disingenuous. i can tell you these guys when they do this, it's a very vulnerable mission because they go out with them and advise them and they assist them in combat. and to characterize it as anything other than that i think is a disservice to what the guys are doing. and frankly, it sets the american people up for failure because what they are doing is a dangerous combat mission. it's necessary. we need to be doing it but we need to call it what it is. >> on that point, let me just toss to this piece of sound. this was jim acosta drilling down on that point moments ago with

they were not hitting isis, isis isn't in the area. were hitting the city of homs. which is a stronghold for treat syrian army. our allies we are supposedly supporting and training and the allies of our arab allies, the ones in the gulf and elsewhere. and we do nothing, but then you've got the scene you showed, brett, about 20 minutes ago of before the show, actually, live of our secretary of state coming out in a jolly. with lavrov, the foreign minister of russia, as a buddy, and saying we've got a little problem about the nature of the targets that russia attacked today. but we'll go on to other stuff and worry about that later. as if it's a side issue. the point of the obama inviting in the russians first time in half a century, a complete revolution in our position on the russians staying out of the middle east was on the premise they're going to join a coalition against isis. i was saying last night, the russians have no interest in fighting isis. their only interest is supporting assad. keeping him in place and the reason they are hitting homs, is because it's

isis stronghold and administrative capital. we been clear for some time that we need to keep up pressure and to that end we will keep working. we plan to strengthen through our new equipping approach and i will talk more on that in the moment. we will work overtime with other syrian and forces that push toward rocca. to this south we hope to strengthen our partner jordan and from the skies above we intensify our air campaign including additional u.s. coalition aircraft that target isis with a higher and heavy rate of strikes. this will include more strikes against isis high-value targets as our intelligence improves. also its oil in a prize which is a critical killer of their financial infrastructure. as i've said last friday, we've already begun to ramp up these deliberate strikes. part of this pressure includes our new approach to the train and equip program. i, like president obama and members of this committee was disappointed with that program result. we examine the program this summer and have since changed it. i use the

ally and the fight against isis. in a statement, isis dismissed the raid as a failure, but the pentagon is calling it a big success despite the loss of life. our chief foreign correspondent richard engel has the dramatic details. >> reporter: the raid was supposed to rescue kurdish hostages like these held by isis in cages. u.s. intelligence have learned they were about to be executed. so when the kurds, washington's closest allies in iraq asked for help rescuing them, u.s. forces agreed. at 2:00 a.m., american special ops and kurdish forces headed to the town landing near an isis prison on the outskirts of town. sources say isis had already dug mass graves for their hostages. kurdish troops stormed in. about 20 isis guards inside fought back. so the u.s. troops there to assist, guard the perimeter and communicate with u.s. aircraft above decided to step in, to protect, the pentagon says, their kurdish allies and the hostages. about 15 isis guards were killed but not before an isis fighter shot one american commando

yes, going after isis? maybe, we're certainly going after isis. is there a common goal here? isis. and let's work on it. it's going to be tough but we have to talk about it otherwise there will be very serious accidents and incidents, otherwise the ball will roll down the hill. who knows where it will go? >> do you support a u.s. no-fly zone over syria? >> yes, near the border turkey it would make sense to do that. we need to make that part of the discussions with russia. they say no listen we have refugees all over the place. we have a serious humanitarian problem. it would make sense to have a no-fly zone in that area a safe haven. >> let's talk about afghanistan, what is going on. the u.s. blew up a doctors without borders medical facility killing a lot of patients staff, as you well know. there are not a lot of reports, but earlier afghan troops raided the facility because they had communication that this doctors without borders medical group was actually feettreating taliban fighters who came in for treatment. have you heard that report? >> yes, i heard that. that came out. it

they're up against the center of ss of isis. and secondly, the special forors will, i think, just as they have in iraq, make these fighters better strategically and better tactically, hel them make better decisions militarily. >> pelley: now, the russians haveveroops on the ground at a military base in syria. does this increase the likelihood of a u.s.-russia confrontation? >> scott, i don't think so. these syrian forces, t tse kurdish forces forces that we're going to be supporting are focused entirely on isis. they're not focused on fighting the assad regime. so i think the chances of us butting up against the russians here is unlikely. >> pelley: michael morell, former number two at the c.i.a., michael, thank you. in another important story tonight, the lgest mass release of federal prisoners began t tay. thousands of nonviolent drug offenders are walking free in a program to ease overcrowding. we have more now from our justice correspondent jeff pegues. >> this is about as far as i can go. >> reporter: after being in a halfw