is the feeling one of optimism, one of nervousness because of the weight of this trip? how would you describe that to our viewers? >> reporter: i would say there's a very strong sense of optimism and confidence because some of the metrics that have come in in terms of the fight against isis are very positive. now remember, the special envoy and general dunford are both obama holdovers so they have seen this fight since 2014 take place. and they were able to present some incredible metrics in terms of the amount of territory that's been taken back from isis. 55,000kilometers, they say. and also in that sense 2014. that's not since january of this year. but they also say, and this was very important. defense secretary mattis said since it used to be that there were 1500 foreign fighters arriving in syria to fight for the so-called califit every month. that number is down to 100 a month. they are really tightening the