they had canceled the pentagon that it was a bad idea. that is the scientists it could be the human. i was told, the group that has become more important, the defense science board, the pentagon think tank, the president, very knowledgeable superman of science what is also true full-time academic and part-time defense scientists , the defense science board members as was explained how defense contractors and stillstood on the boards of a lot of these defense contractors which raises the question that eisenhower raised, not me, which is let's make sure that the citizenry maintains and knowledge that they are aware of what the military-industrial complex is planning to do. >> in that same speech he warned about the scientific technological. we are going to open it up to questions from you. please raise your hand. we will have microphones coming around that can be picked up by the cameras. [inaudible question] >> yes, it's a great question. the place where i observed i observed that had to do with the situation in the role on terror in iraq

that did not fly at the pentagon so they looked elsewhere for director. that iraq was heard york but what a spicy way to start an agency, with controversy, secrecy, back story, so i immediately look into it and when i learned how little has been written about darpa, this is going to be a great. >> host: as a science geek, and byzantine isn't the guy and about for quite some time. maybe we should say it is the defense advanced research projects agency, get that out of the way. for clarity at stake was called our but at one point. we will call it darpa to keep it consistent. might as well talk about tonight, there is some dangerous innovations we use in everyday lives that other result of darpa research. when your book came out, there had to have been a book about darpa but there has not been a major work of this level. i want to talk about the origins of darpa and why it comes about and a little about what is as an organization. darpa is different from a lot of military research organizations in that it is not really a military research organization, doesn

her new book the pentagon's brain was published on tuesday and after reading it it will not be long before it joins her other two books as a best seller. welcome. >> do you have on your bookshelf copies of your books and all five languages ? >>. >> i actually do. especially the chinese one in particular. >> one fame that we have bothers here especially they tend to read about field that is not the most conducive the secret world of intelligence and how did you come across the idea of writing a book about darpa and how well to find your sources? about a top secret agency that does things that we don't want the story to be known. >> for starters thanks for coming. the way i got the idea eighth came on the tail end of the last book learning about what was going on i was surprised to learn he was going to be the first director of the new agency at the pentagon called darpa. he wanted to be the director but he wanted to bring 12 of his former colleagues with him and that did not apply at the pentagon so they looked elsewhere but i thought what a spicy way to start off an agency with controversy

the pentagon i'm told was caught offguard. the russian war planes began dropping bombs in syria within an hour of a russia three-star general entering the u.s. embassy in baghdad and issuing a verbal statement saying that russian war planes would begin flying soon. sources said it was a tense conversation. the russian general went on to say if you have forces in the area, we request they leave. which elicited this response from the defense secretary here at the pentagon. >> this is not the kind of behavior that we should expect professionally from the russian military professionally and that's one reason why i think it's a good thing to have an avenue of communication. that is less unprofessional than a drop-in. >> the secretary said he had ordered his team to keep talking to the russians. >> i take my, the russians at their word. my problem is not that i don't understand what they're doing. i think in my problem is that this i think what they're doing is going to backfire and is counterproductive. >> the first russian strikes

which the pentagon pulled 50 out to get quick fraing had ho traie the ammo. gates testified the u.s. should find motivated tribes or ethnic groups and arm them. >> they may not fight in iraq. or outside of their own turf. against i.s.i.s. but they play well fight to the death to protect their own home land, their own villages. >> reporter: as u.s. and russian airplanes now operate under agreed safety protocols in the syrian air space, a video released by the russian defense ministry shows a recent close encounter between a russian jet and an american reefer drone. understanding between russians and americans immoral, giving clear skies to bomb u.s. partners. the pentagon says it understands why some frustrated iraqi lawmakers may be calling for strikes in iraq, but the coalition air strikes are coordinated on the ground and designed to prevent civilian casualties to the greatest extent possible. so far the iraqi prime minister has not asked for russia's help, something the pentagon says would be highly problematic. jamie mcintire, al jazeera, pentagon. >>> pa

while the pentagon says the u.s. forces will have no combat duties in syria for now it is not rulings out an expanded role in the future. a senior defense official explained the u.s. is not as comfortable with the syrians as it was with the kurdish peshmerga fighters, forces it has worked with for years. this is a start to gauge what is possible. randall. >> pentagon special correspondent jamie mcintire. >>> discussing possible deployment solutions fodiplomat, u.s. secretary of state john kerry and his counterparts from other countries could not agree. mohammed jamjoom has the story. >> they were two long and arduous days but finally common ground was formingd. at thforged. u.s. secretary of state john kerry was heappe happy to introe points of commonality. >> we agreed that syria's state institutions will remain intact. we agreed that the rights of all syrians, regardless of ethnicity or religious denomination must be protected. >> reporter: diplomats had hoped the presence of iran might finally lead to a break thro

the white house says the pentagon could eventually deploy as many as 300 troops there. the multibillion dollars industry of fantasy football is under investigation by the fbi. players and law makers allege draft kings, one of the two main companies that operate sports sites used inside information to prey upon other players. one employee has already admitted he inadvertently released data before lineups for nfl games had been locked in. they admit many of their employees consistently win large prize amounts >> law enforcement agents freed 149 children from traffickers in a nationwide crack down led by the fbi. more than 150 people were arrested in sting operations in 135 cities. officials say the youngest trafficking victim recovered was 12 years old. and the sweep called operation cross country is aimed at helping children who ran away from home. >> they run away from possibly a bad family situation, and then get pulled into drugs or, again, lifestyle that leads to prostitution. >> this is the ninth year the fbi has carried out initiatives like this >>> a 19 year old m

the pentagon is confirming that it did, and said there was no accident. the operation was intended as a challenge to china's claim to territorial rights to the spratly islands. the u.s.s. lawson sailed by the reef in defiance of repeated warnings from beijing. jamie mcintyre has more from the pentagon. >> antonio, the united states said it will not recognise china's territorial claims, and pentagon sources confirmed to al jazeera that the authorisation has been given to the u.s. navy for the egers class destroyer, u.s.s. lasson to conduct what the pentagon calls a freedom of navigation mission moving within 12 miles of the islands in, islands in that the pentagon says were manmade out of reefs, and which china says is legitimate territory that has been there for years. when the chinese president chi made a visit to washington. president obama - both presidents made their decision clear. >> we had sessions on the heest and south china seas. we nav quitted to all countries. >> islands in in the south sudan since ancient eshent times. we have the right to up

jamie mcintyre reporting to us from the pentagon. you have been watching our special coverage of developments in syria. the obama administration saying dozens of special forces will be heading to syria. thanks for joining us. i'm stephanie sy. >> al jazeera america brings you independent reporting without spin. >> not everybody is asking the questions you're asking me today. >> we give you more perspectives >> the separatists took control a few days ago. >> and a global view. >> now everybody in this country >>> foreign ministers from 19 countries have met in vienna for top level talks to resolve the civil war in syria. she say a number of agreements have been reached. >>> well, the talks come as more than 60 people are killed and dozens wounded in a syrian government missile attack on a crowded market. >>> at least 30 refugees including 11 children drown as more boats sink off

my question is why is it the pentagon ordered it? >> well, that's been a lot of people are upset that the pentagon can't audit itself. it's supposed to get there soon. 2017. the latest. there have been plans to speed it up, but from what i understand right now is it's still tracking toward that 2017 time frame. it takes a lot and a lot of the systems and computer systems that they have can't communicate with each other and a lot of back end bureaucratic type stuff and until that's all fixeded, it's unable to audit itself, which a lot of lawmakers say is unacceptable. talking about f-35, there was a hearing on it on capitol hill last week. one of the people who asked questions of department defense officials was martha mcsally. she talked about concerns she has about the plane itself. i want dwrou listen to it and maybe expand. >> this airplane is is replacing all of our legacy fighters and the jack of all trades master of none and specifically, replacing the a-10 in the close air support missions that bring to the fight. when we talk

and was overruled by pentagon chiefs. in fact, the vice chairman of the joint chiefs wanted to keep it as a way to, perhaps, defend the homeland against missiles coming into the homeland. it has not worked very effectively as have you documented and other journalists have documented. in fact, it wasn't working according to the head of norad on that day when that plane flew close to the capitol. there were big questions on capitol hill about that at the time. the blimp is made by raytheon. so there will be big questions as to how it became untethered and whether it was ever really provided the kind of surveillance that the u.s. military had claimed it would. >> here is a weird thing. from what i'm hearing now, norad says we have the capability to remotely deflate this thing. question. if you have the capability to remotely deflate this thing. and it's dragging a string along and taking out power lines and uprooting guardrails, how about you deflate the thing? has anybody asked that question? [ laughter ] >> i'm sure people

my question is why isn't the pentagon audited? are upsetot of people that the pentagon cannot audit itself. it is supposed to get there soon, 2017. there have been plans to speed it up. from what i understand, it is still tracking towards that 2017 timeframe. a lot of the systems, the computer systems that they have, cannot communicate with each other. a lot of backend bureaucratic stuff. until that is fixed, it is not able to audit itself, which a lot of lawmakers say is unacceptable. host: for republicans, (202) 748-8001. for democrats, (202) 748-8000. (202) 745-8002 for independents. speaking about the f 35, there was a hearing on the hill last week. martha mcsally asked the question, talking about concerns she has about the plane itself. i want you to listen to it and maybe expand on what she has to say. [video clip] this airplane is replacing all of our legacy fighters and the master of none. specifically, it is replacing the a-10. when we talked, in april, we had a discussion about the limitations in the replacement of the u

nothing from the pentagon. except, quotes from nameless, faceless officials who won't go on the roared, and nothing at all from the president. he found the cameras very well last year and the year before to tell us repeatedly no boots on the ground. now that he changes his mind he sends josh earnest out to tell us almost nothing, except this won't be a game-changer, as we help local opposition fighters battle isis that syria can't be solved militarily ever. yet in goes the military on the ground, just as isis wants. what are the specifics? when does the engagement end? nothing on any of that. wait, is it legal? judge napolitano says no. it's noble to try to help suffering and theÑi dying. noble. but absolutely illegal, and where is the congress? congress is supposed to authorize military action, but it will not. it sits on the sidelines, sitting on its hands, refute fusing to get in the met of the war. senator mccain said predictably it's not enough. but there won't be a vote as required by the constitution. t

my question is why isn't the pentagon audited? are upsetot of people that the pentagon cannot audit itself. it is supposed to get there soon, 2017. there have been plans to speed it up. from what i understand, it is still tracking towards that 2017 timeframe. a lot of the systems, the computer systems that they have, cannot communicate with each other. a lot of backend bureaucratic stuff. until that is fixed, it is not able to audit itself, which a lot of lawmakers say is unacceptable. host: for republicans, (202) 748-8001. for democrats, (202) 748-8000. (202) 745-8002 for independents. speaking about the f 35, there was a hearing on the hill last week. martha mcsally asked the question, talking about concerns she has about the plane itself. i want you to listen to it and maybe expand on what she has to say. [video clip] this airplane is replacing all of our legacy fighters and the master of none. specifically, it is replacing the a-10. when we talked, in april, we had a discussion about the limitations in the replacement of the u

charity delivering humanitarian supplies deep inside north korea was actually a spy ring run out of the pentagon. and the bibles they carried were just part of the plan. plus, pick your poison. you got your morning bacon, your ballpark hot dog, salami on your hogie. the heartbreaking report that these processed meats could be as much of a cancer risk as smoking. >>> welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. our politics lead. three polls all of them finding that dronald trump is losing in at least one key state. breaking this afternoon a monmouth university poll out of iowa showing dr. ben carson on top trumping trump by 14 points. two other polls already showed trump trailing. that has the businessman taking aim at carson on issues such as immigration, on his energy level, even raising questions about carson's faith. cnn political reporter sara murray is here. sara, my interview with trump that aired yesterday he went at carson full boor. did he keep it up today? >> we are starting to see how trump reacts when he's under there and he's not holding back on carson or really any of his republican ri

in addition, you know, the pentagon has been concerned about this since really last week. i talked to an official last week before russia had conducted any air strikes, and they pointed out to me that all of the drone surveillance that russia was doing as a familiarization with the area, was reconnaissance in the area where u.s.-backed rebels were operating. so there were red flags raised even then. the question was why are they doing these drone surveillance over areas where isil was not a significant factor? so, you know, as for the direct evidence on the ground, there are a lot of reports from people on the ground at the -- that the people who were hit in these strikes were not affiliated with isil, and that is going to be something that is going to be difficult to sort out. one of the things that this whole episode has underscored is while the pentagon has had this disastrously failed policy of trying to train syrian rebels and equip them, the cia has always been mounting a sort of parallel operation much more quietly, and it has trained and equipped quite a large numb

the pentagon is choking on bureaucra bureaucracy. he wrote that 14 years ago and the problem has only gotten worse. ultimately we must ask whether the defense department is succeeding in its development and execution of strategy policy and plans. the office of the secretary of defense, the service secretaries and service staffs, joint staff, and the combatant commands are all bigger than ever. but is the quality of civilian oversight and control of the military better? has the quality of military advice to civilian leaders improved? are the joint duty assignments or military officers must perform producing a more unified fighting force? in short, is the department of defense more successful at planning for war, waging war, and winning war? goldwater nichols was perhaps the most consequential defense reform since the creation of the department of defense. and while the world has changed profoundly since 1986, the basic organization of the department of defense, as well as the roles and missions of its major civilian and military actor

have any cohesion in the pentagon. you have got all these generals that are wanting to be big shots, and he is shelling out the really selling out the really good people and putting be fixing font in power -- the sycophants in power. obama is just totally incompetent. it is because my son is over there. i am just scared to death of his incompetence. host: that is john from new mexico. quite what not sure mission the collar is referring to as a humanitarian mission. the pentagon and the white house have been pretty clear that the situation in afghanistan and iraq -- we are calling it and advise and assist. increasingly there is a lot of about the fact that it has been widely conceded that is what these servicemembers are facing. to the broader point the caller makes, and i think this is important, there are not a lot of alternatives that we are hearing about of the pentagon from the senior military leadership. when there is a disagreement between the white house and the pentagon we hear about it on background and off th

david martin is at the pentagon. >> reporter: a pentagon official said american special forces will spend up to 60 days at a time in the headquarters of u.s.-backed fighters in syria. they will north, for the foreseeable future, go out on operations against isis. their mission-- to coordinate a drive by various bands of arab and kurdish fighters on the isis capital of raqqa with the help of american airstrikes. the number of jets flying strikes out of a nearby base in turkey will quadruple from just six to 24. "we want to be prosecuting as many isis targets as possible in syria," the pentagon official said. american and allied jets have been bombing raqqa for months. earlier this year, a jordanian pilot had to bail out over raqqa. he was captured by isis and burned alive. >> we are near iraq every day. >> reporter: but as lieutenant colonel mike jones told "60 minutes" earlier this morning at the command center for the air campaign, a lot of time and fuel is wasted flying those strikes from bases 1,000 miles away. >> all of our fighters coming out of the arabian gulf, way down here, two a

kurdish raid on an isil prison in iraq, the pentagon says the small number of u.s. special operations troops being sent to northern syria will not be going along with local forces on raids or engaging in offensive combat. a senior defense department official briefing reporters at the pentagon on background said flatly, those forces will be doing a strictly advise and assist mission, not going out and doing joint operations. the white house called it any intensefication of the kurd strategy. >> the fact is, our strategy in syria hasn't changed. the core of our military strategy inside of syria is to build up the capacity of local forces to take the fight to isil on the ground in their own country. >> the pentagon says it's a straight up, no kidding advise and assist role limited to helping moderate civil rebel forces with planning, tactics and logistics. and it says u.s. forces won't do joint raids, calling airstrikes or even establish their own headquarters, at least not initially. the pentagon says the force of fewer than 50 american command owes will showk deploy

bill: let's see whether or not that can be confirmed by the pentagon. >> the pentagon is going to tell you that, well, i don't know what the pentagon is going to say at this point because they have been in a fetal dog position for last couple weeks and yesterday's reaction -- secretary of state, white house press spokesman what this dough he come out and say. russians pun of us in the jaw, sending three-star russian general in embassy in baghdad, we're many bombing syria, one hour get out. what is our response? this is committee. part of our plan. people in moscow yesterday were breaking out vodka and caviar, to say look what we did to the americans and look at their response. they're lying down. they're taking it. let's go. ref the jets. bill: last point, while the world is watching what is happening in syria watch the other hand. >> watch ukraine. if i will pick your pickket, bill, i will not tell you look at your pocket. i will divert your attention and then pick your pocket. bill: kt we'll rely an out quite a bit. kt mcfarland in new york. patti ann. patti ann: money can be tight.

now when i was in the pentagon invited would say you all the women leaders in the pentagon you would overflow the executive dining room. so that is good. but at the very highest levels it still, i was often the only woman in the room for many meetings. i think it is improving in our agency but still women are definitely the minority. i think progress since the 1990's, definitely better than it was but more progress to be made. >> would you be willing to entertain some questions? we have two microphones. if you would come down and state your name and where you are from , what you are affiliated with and offer a question. we have 13 minutes. we could take your questions. pleased him be shy. this is a wonderful opportunity. shy.ease don't not be about theou elaborate jag luncheon you had? and jags female judges can takeh, the system care of this problem but it is not being properly used. there forced -- in their first point it is about climate. promotion and future in the service depends on how they handle these issues on the watch. and saying so-and-so did a really good job in afghanis

something that the pentagon insists would be problematic. >> well, jamie, the what if question. let's say that the russians ask the iraqis for help, and how would that change the conflict in iraq? >> the pentagon said that it has plenty of planes and fire powers, and it doesn't need russian planes. and one spokesman called it an uncoordinated player on the battlefield and that would raise all kinds of complications. the u.s. has made its position clear to iraq, they don't want russia there, and russia is not flying there, and the united states hopes that it stays that way. >> okay, jamie mcintyre for us at the pentagon. >>> there appears to be no end of violence in the middle east. and that has left dozens of palestinians dead. five soldiers were injured when a palestinian man drove into a group of he soldiers in member ron, and meanwhile, a soldier stabbed in the jewish settlement the occupied west bank, and then clashes between security forces. as carl reports from the occupied west bank, to some people, the violence is personal. >> reporter: a widow scratches the earth where

the pentagon insists the u.s. troops were still advising and assisting and that the new strategy is not a slippery slope to a ground role, something last year president obama specifically promised wouldn't happen. >> i think we always have to guard against mission creep. what i have said in the past, let me repeat, american combat troops are not going to be fighting in iraq again. >> under the new strategy, they are fighting and dying in combat. just not according to defense secretary ash carter in an overarching combat mission. >> the overall mission of the u.s. forces in iraq is to enable by equipping, training, advicing, assisting, a capable and motivated local forces and rather than to substitute for them as a matter of a combat mission. >> we are in tie back. that's why we care guns. >> a united states military spoemingdzman in baghdad struggled to make the distinction saying american troops with twill accompany friendly forces on raids in limited situations: namely short duration, in and out operations in wh

but the pentagon,on going pentagon investigation and a separate investigation by nato, doctors without borders says that simply is not enough. >> the facts and circumstances of this attack must be investigated independently and impartially particularly given the inconsistencies in the u.s. and afghan accounts of what happened over recent days. we cannot rely only on internal military investigations. today we announced we're seeking an investigation into the kunduz attack by the international humanitarian fact-finding commission. this commission was established in the additional protocols of the geneva conventions and is the only permanent body set up specifically to investigate violations of international humanitarian law. >> just a few minutes ago, the white house said president obama had telephoned doctors without borders and personally apologized for the incident. we have not gotten any reaction yet from doctors without borders. presumably their insistence on an independent investigation is still standing. during the briefing they gave today, they pointed out that as recently as sep

jamie mcintyre has more from the pentagon. >> reporter: russia launched the latest strikes against a number of groups in syria with varying ideologies, including the army of conquest, a coalition who oppose i.s.i.l., including the al qaeda-affiliated al nusra front. >> at the united nations, sergey lavrov insisted moscow and washington were confronting a common enemy. >> if it looks like a terrorist, acts like a terrorist. if it fights like a terrorist, it's a terrorist. i would recall that we were saying that we are going to fight i.s.i.l. and other terrorist groups. >> the u.s. says it has no evidence russia has struck any i.s.i.l. forces. and it conducted its first direct talks with moscow over the question of deconfliction. sorting out issues such as which radio frequencies, and what language will be used when russian coalition talk to each other in the air. in one sense the u.s. and russian pilots are deconflicted with the u.s. flying over areas controlled by i.s.i.l. to the east, while so far russian attacks have been in others not controlled by i.s.i.l. to the west. and the u.

the pentagon hosting deconflict deconfliction talks. russia as conducted about 20 strikes insisting they are bombing isis targets. the pentagon and witnesses on the ground in syria tell a completely different story saying that doesn't appear to be the case with strikes hitting to the north and east. russian positions ear

we're hoping to get a read from the pentagon as soon as it is over. what they are looking for are the procedures, the plans, the coordination, how do we share information. u.s. pilots have a lot of intelligence they feel they can stay safe, they can keep away from the russians. but in a situation like this, you don't leave it to chance. you sit down and talk about it. that's what they're doing right now. >> barbara starr for us at the pentagon with the latest on that meeting, said to have begun a few minutes ago. we'll get a readout on the results from you a little later on. >>> one of the charges now from some officials in the u.s. is that russians are hitting fighters trained by the united states. essentially american allies on the ground in syria. what's the u.s. going to do about it? what can the u.s. do about it? is there a way to retaliate? we'll ask former nato commander wesley clark. >>> will he or wouldn't he? >>> information into cnn about how long joe biden could wait to make his decision about running for president. much more on that ahead

we have jim miklaszewski at the pentagon on stand-by. both gentlemen and this appears to be new video. you just see the sizeways drift. it looks like a dolphin. this is bloomsburg, pennsylvania. that kind of mid ships from the right of your picture to the left. what an incredible sight. we learned that some very sharp eyes and perhaps bored to tears student at the local school was the first to spot this looking out the window. we suspect and this is sure being borne out on social media where this has taken over twitter. we suspect a whole lot of different views will come in of this. both still and moving images. but what an incredible thing. there's no way to know what you're looking at given the profile of this. in the sky. had you not heard that they were tracking this up the east coast. again, when we first came on the air to say we had this untethered airship, jim miklaszewski, we said at the time it was at 16,000 feet. >> that's right. >> that puts it up there in the altitude with certainly general aviation. and some commercial avia

when -- [indiscernible] -- at the pentagon. aboutnt to talk meaningful reforms, i mean, i am working on faa reforms. let's look at the pentagon and how many -- much money they waste in their procurement programs. it is, like, don't worry about reforming your procurement process. don't worry about the fact that you are the only agency, the only agency of the federal government that is not audited good they keep saying, oh, we can't do it. well, i think you have a problem. every other agency has been audited for more than a decade. the democratic demand that domestic spending at least be increased to the level they want to increase military spending, how does that get resolved in the long run? or is it another december showdown? mr. defazio: i think we are going to have a fairly chaotic month around here. but i can't support their budgetary priorities. i can't support student financial aid cutting and nutrition programs for kids. they should come to my hometown of springfield, oregon. 76% of the kids are eligible. the middle clas

why the man who writes checks for the pentagon is growing increasingly frustrated. all that and more tonight on "nightly business report" for thursday october 15th. >>> good evening, everyone, and welcome. thanks for joining us. a rally day on wall street. the major indexes all climbed more than 1%. one reason, some not so hot economic data. information that traders say lengthens the odds the federal reserve will boost interest rates this year. low rates is of course good news for stocks, all other news being equal. here are the numbers for thursday. the dow jones industrial average rose 217 points. it finished at 17,141. nasdaq notched an 87-point gain. and the s&p 500 was 29 points higher. as for that iffy economic data the labor department said its index of consumer prices fell a seasonally adjusted .2% in september. it's not much, but it's the biggest drop in eight months, and it leaves inflation well below the central bank's 2% target. now, the reason for the decline is primarily because of falling gasoline prices. >>> and it is that drop in gasoline prices tha

one pentagon official said the first time it happened, we thought the russians got lucky. then it happened two more times. on at least one occasion, a u.s.-manned aircraft flying over syria had to be rerouted to avoid a russian fighter jet. >> it's largely reactive. >> the cruise missile strike marks the first time that the russians have targeted isis-controlled territory. u.s. officials have repeatedly criticized the russian military for lying about their intentions, arguing that the russians are merely killing the u.s.-backed opposition who are fighting assad. today in italy, defense secretary ash carter criticized the russian escalation. >> we believe russia has the wrong strategy. they continue to hit targets that are not isil. we believe this is a fundamental mistake. despite what the russians say, we have not agreed to cooperate with russian. >> the russian defense ministry took a page from the pentagon's playbook. saying it has grounds to believe the u.s. is not always hitting terrorist tarring targets in syria. as russian president vladimir putin celebrated his 63r

the pentagon has just issued statement, i understand. >> that's right. the spokesperson has just issued a statement saying the train and equip program is no longer going to focus on recruiting and basically putting through boot camp vetted syrian moderated who are interested in fighting against isil. instead what the u.s. military is now going to do is identify groups that already exist, such as kurdish fighters, and provide them with equipment so that they can actually take the fight to isil. now this is a big change, because the u.s. congress has put aside a half billion dollars over three years for the u.s. military to train some 15,000 syrian rebels. well, basically, they have trained fewer than a hundred, and the first unit, about 54 men basically fell apart, dropped their equipment, and ran when they were deplayed in 2015. the second group, well, their leader basically turned over his weapons and said he wasn't going to try to fight. so this was basically a program that fell apart almost from the very beginning, and the obama administration is admi

for the first time the pentagon now concedes u.s. troops in iraq are fighting a ground war against isis forces contrary to president obama's assertions and just days after the first u.s. casualty in the fight against isis. is the u.s. once again locked in a war in iraq? vladimir putin's power play. russian warplanes buzzed an american aircraft carrier in the pacific while russian vessels lurk near vital data cables in the atlantic. and now russia is inserting itself in talks on syria while stepping up military support for the regime. is putin trying to become the dominant force in the middle east? trump's spin. donald trump claims victory in the latest republican presidential debate as all the candidates scrambled for a boost in the polls. but jeb bush now finds himself facing poor reviews for his performance. is his campaign now facing an existential crisis? i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> this is cnn breaking news. >> we're following two major breaking stories including the fire on a boeing 767 that was taxiin

something the pentagon says would be highly problematic. jamie mcintire, al jazeera, the pentagon. >> al jazeera national security advisor, doug olivant joins us. doug good to see you again. >> good evening. >> so what is the purpose of this trip, why would assad and putin decide to meet? they could clearly talk ton phone. they don't need to be face to face to get business settled. >> clearly there's some message here. as you said, this is the first trip assad has taken out of the country since the civil war began and putin doesn't host these types of leaders very often. this is a big deal for both partners. putin is trying to demonstrate to the world that is he a reliable ally, that he's all in and assad is trying to show the world that he now has a partner and he's probably not going anywhere. >> some interesting tidbits came from this session, assad said political settlement could include all ethnic groups and the syrians should have the deciding vote. what do you read into this? >> first he's trying to say, this is an indigenous process

it is imperative, as we rebuild the pentagon, we also make sure that we make the pentagon is efficient because it is inefficient just like the faa you experience as well as to don't spend any more than what you need on things you don't need because it deprives our men and women in the military of having the resources that they need. >> [inaudible] the benefit to building these weapons goes to these corporations. >> i could care less about the benefit to corporation. i care about having a strong defense. eliminatingolved the b-2 bomber. i wanted to build 13 and the result was we built 20. i fought every major contractor in america to get that done, and i had nothing to offer them but a cold cup of coffee. i think you are with me on that and you are with me on that and johnson was with me on that and we got it done. i don't really care about the lobbyists. they can have their opinions. sometimes they will say something that is right. but they're not -- they don't tell me what to do or my team. the minute you do that, you lost the high moral ground. -- yes, sir, back right back your. >> t

pentagon while the , cuts remain in effect for domestic programs. the bill would also make it more difficult to close guantÁnamo. >> sending a back to congress and i message to them is very simple -- let's do this right. we are in the midst of budget discussions. let's have a budget that properly funds are national security as well as economic security. let's make sure that we are able in a constructive way to reform our military spending to make it sustainable over the long term and let's make sure that in a responsible way, we can draw down the populations in guantÁnamo, and make sure the american people stay safe and we're not providing the kinds of agreements rules -- tools to terrorists. amy: republican congressmember paul ryan has formally declared for the house speaker's race. ryan confirmed his bid on thursday after securing support from the far-right house freedom caucus. ryan had said he would only be willing to run if he could be assured of wide support from divided republican factions. the house vote is expected next week. the obama ad

the pentagon says the u.s. will be stepping up its fight against isis with more air strikes and boots on the ground. >>> on the front lines, we'll take you inside syria, kurdish fighters are battling isis and hoping for more u.s. help. they may be poorly armed but they do have a devastating secret weapon. >>> school room shocker. the fbi is now investigating the violent takedown of a high school student by a sheriff's deputy who moved in after she allegedly refused to leave clasp standing by for a live news conference with the county sheriff. >>> trump falls. ben carson delivers a one-two punch. according to one poll, taking a nationwide lead among republicans. trump is back on the attack but admits he doesn't get it. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> this is cnn breaking news. >> all that coming up. but breaking news right now, columbia, south carolina. a deputy was caught on video grabbing a teenage student, throwing her across a classroom floor. the incident in spring valley high school s

blue line track between arlinton cemetery and pentagon city. blue line. joopz outer loop, 66 inbound looks goo good and the quantico to the beltway moving along nicely. remember to listen to 1003.5 wtop when you hop into your car. >>> we're working to final out if an all clear has been given to tennessee state university after an overnight shooting left one person dead. the latest after a break. >>> parent says their children took video of a prince george's county bus driver. the bus driver is accused of texting while driving. what they're doing about the allegations. >>> starbucks, look vo: does hal parrish share our values? as mayor, parrish cut school funding nearly three million dollars. reading and science scores fell. parrish said no to opening new women's health clinics, denying access to cancer screenings and breast exams. so instead of dealing with the economy and jobs, parrish will join with the richmond extremists to slash education and threaten women's health care. hal parrish -- too extreme for virginia. feinblatt: everytown for gun safety ac

top story live from the pentagon. >> reporter: hi, shep. this report of cuban troops now in syria first came to light from the institute of cuban and cuban-american studies at the university of miami. moments ago state department spokesman john kirby was asked ash the report, he said he was not in a position to confirm but independently, a u.s. officials the it for fox news saying the evidence comes from intelligence reports that cuban paramilitary and special force units are now on the ground in syria. he describes it as a kind of cuba-angola arrangement. a cold war reference dating back to the 1970s when cuban forces operating under the auspices of the then soviet union worked in several african countries including angola and adds cuban troops may have been training in russia and may have come to syria via russian transport plane. the course wouldn't speculate just what the troops are doing there but the university of miami reports mostly to man russian tanks supplied to the assad regime. the white house said as recently as yesterday that

national security correspondent jennifer griffin is at the pentagon tonight with the latest. >> the pentagon has released the identity of the first american soldier to die in iraq since u.s. troops withdrew in 2011. master sergeant joshua wheeler of roland, oklahoma, 39 years old, a decorated elite commando assigned to u.s. special operations forces at at fort bragg, north carolina. he leaves a wife and four sons. he was a legend among the delta force, he had 11 bronze stars for valor. >> he stood up and all the indications are, it was his actions and that of one of his teammates that protected those who were involved in breaching the compound and made the mission a success. >> he was killed while helping kurdish forces rescue 73 hostages at an isis prison. the pentagon said he died from enemy small arms fire, but has refused to say he was killed in combat. quote it is important to realize that u.s. military support to this iraqi rescue operation does not represent a change in our policy. u.s. forces are not in iraq on a combat mission, and do not have boots on the ground. the white house an