Transcripts For FOXNEWSW Hannity 20140923

And untold thousands of locals across iraq and syria. But the beheadings themselves reportedly happened in syria. That led to president obamas announcement just two weeks ago that he would in fact take the fight against the Islamic State beyond the air strikes hed already ordered in iraq. So now the United States is going after isis regardless of borders. The group controls large territories in both iraq and syria. It doesnt see that border at all. In fact, sees it as their own Islamic State. According to pentagon officials speaking to fox news the United States is attacking with bombers, with fighter jets and with tomahawk missiles. Sources tell us include Islamic State command centers, Training Camps and spots where the terror groups stores huge caches of weapons. We dont have the ground intelligence to know exactly who they are and exactly where they are. Were told four arab nations are also flying in the missions over syria, flying until the missions. And those have saudi arabia, jordan, bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Defense Officials Say a fifth nation, qatar, is also helping in the effort but not by air, which is very interesting in and of itself. Well get to the reasons for that later. The white house tells us president obama does not plan to speak publicly tonight about these strikes. When the president announced the plans to strike in syria he made a point of declaring that as commander in chief he does indeed have the authority to order these strikes with or without approval from congress. Of course theres more to that and well get to that. Lawmakers will split about whether they should take a vote. But congress did pass part of the president s strategy to take on the Islamic State by approving a bill to train and arm socalled moderate Syrian Rebels. Those moderate Syrian Rebels as the administration likes to call them would act in theory as Ground Forces for the west to fight the Islamic State. President obama has repeated over and over that he will not send american troops into combat. So tonight president obamas strategy to attack isis or the Islamic State from the air is fully under way. The opening salvo no longer confined to iraq but stretching into syria where the bombs begin falling tonight. So who are the Ground Forces . At this point make no mistake there are no Ground Forces. President obama says they will not come from the United States. We are hoping as a nation its our understanding to find groups on the ground who can help us eventually. The president has said that this Free Syrian Army, which is a group of people who have banded together over the past couple of years to fight against Bashar Al Assad and his murderous regime in this area. There are more than 100 other small groups and in some cases large groups that are also fighting against each other in some cases and against assad in most cases but in almost every case they have been outmanned along the way. There was a call more than a year ago for the United States to arm those rebels on the ground to help take out Bashar Al Assads forces. The decision was made by the president not to do that. Now we find ourselves in this place where giving weapons to the enemy of our enemy may be the best course of action. But have you trained them . Well, the president says they will be trained in saudi arabia. And that training according to the pentagon will take one year for 5,000 troops. So it will be at least one year from now before any of this moderate rebel contingent will be available to fight on the ground. Tonight, and for the foreseeable future its air strikes. So what will they do . What kind of planes and military power are involved at this hour . What sort of equipment is the military using . Where is it coming from . Where is it going . Lets get right to Jennifer Griffin and her post tonight at the pentagon for us. Jennifer, sounds like this thing is well laid out and clearly planned well in advance. Its been clearly planned, but according to rear admiral john kirby, the spokesman here at the pentagon, the decision was taken by centcom commanders earlier today. The first missiles were tomahawk missiles from the r. Lee burk based in the red sea and also from a second direction from the u. S. S. Philippine sea which is out in the persian gulf, the northern arabian sea. Thats where the tomahawks came from. They were the first to fly and the first bombs to land in the center of this isis thats where the command and control is for isis, the headquarters for isis if you will in syria. Were told that there are between 20 and 25 targets. Those f18s would take off from the u. S. S. H. W. Bush which is in the persian gulf. The f16s would take off from bases around the region. But as we mentioned the United Arab Emirates is flying in the lead as part of this coalition of arab states. Saudi arabia Fighter Pilots as well as jordanian, bahrainian Fighter Pilots. We also understand that much of the command and control is out of qatar. So you have five arab countries, this is almost unprecedented in terms of the history of u. S. Warfare in terms of the number of Fighter Pilots involved from arab states. We know jordan to the east has a terrible refugee crisis. 1. 2 Million People according to the king of jordan have come across there amounts to more than 12 of his population. Says they cant take anymore. The other one that has a refugee crisis going on at the time is turkey. Is there a chance, is there an understanding that turkey will or will not be involved with this . Its very interesting, shepherd. We just heard today from the president of turkey who is in new york for the u. N. General assembly. He spoke at the council on foreign relations. And he was asked about how his diplomats who had been kidnapped and held hostage for the last 102 days by isis how they were released over the weekend, was there any money that changed hands. And he suggested that he was asked whether there was a prisoner release involved. And he was cagey and suggested that maybe there was a prisoner release involved. He ruled out that money had changed hands. But remember, turkey has not allowed the u. S. To use its bases to go after isis in iraq and syriae to use their bases. Thats fwoing to be very significant in this war effort because as you mentioned jordan is already flooded with refugees and is perhaps the most vulnerable of all the nations right now in terms of isis and itself potential threat to the stability of that kingdom. So the fact that jordan is involve tonight very significant. The fact that saudi arabia has publicly said that it will allow the u. S. To train using bases in saudi arabia also a very significant move because remember these isis terrorists they are going to strike back at these arab countries. And all of these arab countries know that. In the past its been very difficult for the u. S. To get public support from arab countries for that very reason. But it looks like turkey is on the verge of getting involved in this coalition and allowing in fact the president erdogan said he did not like the implications in the press that his country was not which by the way is a member of nato was not a part of this coalition. Expect for turkey to step up in the coming days. Jennifer griffin at the pentagon. I want to let our viewers understand where we are in this new world and this new war against the Islamic State in syria. Weve all heard a lot about damascus, thats the capital. Weve heard a lot about aleppo. This is a si youre going to hear more and more about. Its raqqa taken over by isis in march of 2013. March of last year isis came rolling up in there. This is the first provincial city. This city is the capital of this province. About a Million People in the province of raqqa, about a quarter Million People in the city of raqqa. So its like new york state and new york city. New york city the capital except that its albany, but you know what i mean. The province is raqqa and the city is raqqa. They made it clear to syria in the very beginning exactly what they were doing. If you were caught stealing, they held publy amputations of hands. If you were running from police or isis militants, public amputations of legs there. Defacto capital now of this Islamic State they believe stretches from here generally into the north of iraq. All right. In addition raqqas city hall houses the Islamic Services commission. Raqqas former Police Office there contains the sharia court, the religious court which hands out religious rulings. Traffic Police Located in the first sharia high school. At any rate all this is the capital. And this is what we first started hitting now in the Early Morning hours on a tuesday there inside syria. We are told there are some storage bases for all of this equipment which in large part they got from us, ammunition, those were the initial targets. Not the leadership, because we cant do that yet. But instead these important military weapons caches and the rest. These are the countries involved in all of this. Bahrain, remember tiny island nation right across from saudi arabia, theres one bridge right there. Our fifth fleet is based in bahrain. Bahrain has had its own troubles over the years. And saudi arabia at one point came over the bridge and knocked them down. These are countries which we have almost nothing in common thank god when it comes to how they treat their people and especially their women, but we are in a coalition with them now. Saudi arabia, we all know our relationship with them. No boots on the ground, but we are training the one who is are coming from syria, the Free Syrian Army, the moderate rebels whom we are training, well be training them in saudi arabia at a base there, that will take a year says the pentagon and then there will be boots on the ground. Who will be the boots on the ground from now and a year from now . The president , everybody involved, analysts from hither and yon say there has to be boots on the ground or it will not stop. United Arab Emirates of the United Arab Emirates is leading here. They have a substantial air force. Command and control most likely out of qatar. You may remember during the gulf war number two, the most recent gulf war, we have an enormous military base there. It has rarely been talked about over time, at least until the last defense secretary went over to visit it. But tremendous air capabilities here, outstanding command and control capabilities. Again, thats in the nation of qatar. And the last one of course is jordan. This is this border. Remember, this is the border from jordan over into syria. Jordan is here. This is the Syrian Border. 1. 2 million syrians, according to the king of jordan speaking to cnn the other night have come across the border from syria into jordan. And they have this refugee crisis. The concerns that turkey will have the same crises. And were beginning to see that happening now. So as our bombs fall in syria, what exactly will change on the ground . Lets turn to p. J. Crowley, now a professor of practice at George Washington university. Sir, nice to talk to you. Hello, shepherd. Help our viewers understand what weve just started. Well, i think weve started a process to begin to degrade the Islamic State as you said. Its going to be some time before theres meaningful action on the ground. I think the concern was to try to chip away at the de facto safe haven that the Islamic State enjoys in syria. Go on. I thought my mic was closed. So weve been taking meaningful action in iraq over the last several weeks. But this is a twofront campaign. You cant begin the process of degrading and ultimately defeating the Islamic State without doing meaningful action on both sides of the border. So what were doing at the moment is just slowing this advance down, is that fair . Well, obviously the Islamic State has had some offensive operations in iraq. And now youre taking a rear guard action. And they have to look in two directions, not just one. And whats meaningful here as you just were laying out is that you have very significant involvement and very public involvement by several of the major sunni majority states in the region that are most directly affected by the rise of the Islamic State. And this is a significant statement in terms of their willingness to step up and take a leading role in the military operation. P. J. , i suppose we could call this as it relates to our war in syria the equivalent of shock and awe on the first night of the gulf war. And on that night we had no way to know what the future would bring, just as we dont tonight. What is the level of concern that as bombs fall and civilian casualties happen that isis or the Islamic State will take those pictures, use it for recruiting, in the end make themselves stronger and make us seem in the region as having entered a civil war thats been raging for years on the side of iran. Well, i dont think that i would necessarily draw an immediate parallel to what happened in 2003 or to what happened in 1991. One of the critical questions here will be, you know, what is the response of the Syrian Government obviously has an interest in what other countries are doing within its borders. Iraq is some distance from damascus as you were just laying out. So it doesnt necessarily mean that the air operations by the coalition necessarily interferes with ongoing syrian operations. Well have to wait and see what the syrian reaction is. Another pivotal aspect here as jennifer was just laying out whether in tonights missions or in future missions the United States will have access to air base in turkey. Thats a relatively short distance, a quick jog over the border, drop bombs on raqqa and back over into friendly territory. Well see how the United States responds to attacks not just against its forces deployed within iraq, but forces that around its de facto capital. Obviously this is a major escalation. Indeed it is. Pj crowley with us. You mentioned what the Syrian Government how it will react tonight. We know what it said before this happened. The Syrian Government said that would be seen as an act of aggression. The Iraqi Government was all about us dropping air strikes because isis was attacking, the Central Government was in fear it could lose more ground. Well, in the case of syria, Bashar Al Assads government has said no one elses air strikes, this is our battle to fight. And interestingly on some level back on september 8th sergei lavrov, who is the foreign minister over in russia said this would be seen as an act of aggression there. Moscow urging the west to respect International Law. Again, moscow urging that, respect International Law and undertake such acts only with the approval of the legitimate government of a state. His comments came shortly after washington announced plans to go on the offensive of the Islamic State group. So a bad act against International Law, syria says it would be seen as an act of aggression. Lets bring in john bussy now, in a way owned by the Parent Company of our network, we have multiple parents. Yes. If we are sitting in that region, weve taken a side. Yeah, this is the beginning of the beginning. There were air strikes in iraq, but now were in syria as well. And the intent is to try to take pressure off of iraq. So theyre hitting supply depots along the syrian iraqi border that have been supplying isis in iraq. A lot of things are still really unclear what happens now. We know there are arab nations flying missions tonight. But to what extent are they going to stay engaged in what inevitably will involve some Ground Forces of some sort. If not actual combat forces, then intelligence gathering on the ground. Pj crowley very good point about turkey. Turkey is standing back from this. We have an air base in turkey. Turkeys situation in this is really dicey. It is now seeing huge number of refugees coming across the border. Thats destabilizing its relationship with its own kurdish population, parts of which it has defined and the u. S. Has agreed is a terrorist organization. So theres a lot of ga mishing going on here. Turkey at some point is going to have to decide were in this or not in this. Weve just gotten new video come to us i must admit from youtube. On camera four now show you what it is. And camera six will pick us up. This is this new video thats come in. And, john, if you can get over here, i want to show our viewers. We believe this is from this is not Islamic State video. But this is amateur video coming in, the first strikes we believe. This is very interesting also in that syria has advanced Russian Air Defense systems. Julian barnes reporting on this in the wall street journal tonight. Apparently isnt using those. Why . Either the Stealth Fighters that are in this engagement are evading the air defenses or syria says, look, bring on the bombs. If youre going to be bombing the group that i, assad, have been seeking to push out of the country, then im not going to interfere with your aircraft. This video is interesting. You might be asking Fox News Channel how can you take this off youtube like it is something. We have ways. One is we geolocate cell phones. And this video was taken in raqqa and taken within the last couple of hours. And Jennifer Griffin has been looking at it with us. We know weve struck in raqqa and we know this video came from raqqa. What we know is we have geolocated the person who posted this video. In fact, its been posted by three people at this point from different angles. And they are located in raqqa. So we feel comfortable while we cant confirm with the pentagon that this is in fact u. S. Air strikes on the ground, we do know that those who are posting these videos are based in raqqa. And this is certainly what u. S. Air strikes would look like. Do not expect this to look like shock and awe. This is not shock and awe. This is approximately 25 targets. It will be carried out. There wont be any Stealth Fighters involved. There are f16s and f18s. They are not Stealth Fighters. So as john bussey was pointing out it is interesting that the syrians clearly did not turn on their air Defense Systems. Or if they did turn them on, they have been blocked in some way. And the u. S. And its allies certainly have the ability to do a number of things that might have prevented the syrians from turning on those air Defense Systems. But i do not have any indication from defense sources that identify been speaking to that theyre terribly concerned about those air Defense Systems. It is significant that they started with tomahawk missiles. That would be normal in a situation like this to maybe take out some of those air Defense Systems. You normally see the tomahawks fire first off of the u. S. Navy warships as weve been reporting they started in the red sea and in the north arabian sea, those destroyers and cruisers were the ones who fired those first tomahawk missiles. Also the Coalition Partners were working with, those arab nations, they would likely be flying f16s. So those are not Stealth Fighter jets. But again, shepherd, you cant put too fine a point on it on just how historic a coalition this is. We often have heard in the past about the coalition of the willing, but we really have never seen four arab nations flying air missions with the United States simultaneously dropping bombs on targets. This is a very risky move by the on the part of saudi arabia, jordan. Jordan has a lot to lose in this if isis is to begin to come across its borders. Its very close to syria. It already has more than a million refugees as we pointed out. So for the United Arab Emirates to be taking the lead flying missions, this is something that the president and the administration has said all along that this would not be a u. S. Only air war. This was going to be a United States air war along with its arab allies. And tonight weve seen four arab allies step up and begin dropping bombs on isis, which they see as a great threat to their livelihoods as they do to ours. Understood. Jennifer griffin, great report. Take it full in there, mike. Im going to start it from the beginning. Here we go. Listen closely. [ gunfire ] we dont know what theyre hitting there, but assuming by the multiple explosions it could be weapons. Youll notice theres a building in the foreground and thep another explosion. John bussey will be seeing a lot of this in the days ahead. This will become the ratatattat of the daily news cycle as this can of worms has now been open. Anybody that suggests he or she knows what the days, weeks, months and maybe years ahead will bring maybe disingenuous. Thats true. These are targets that were stationary primarily. They were arms depots, command and control centers that the u. S. And its allies had identified. Those are going to move. Those are now going to go on the road. They did not or so they were reporting reveals they did not target leaders of isis. Theyve been very careful to stay out of the public eye, off of cell phones. But now things change a bit, right . Now that you have this kind of bombing, it smokes out a certain degree of the leadership. It creates new targets. I think thats what well see now in the days ahead. Before you cannot underscore what jennifer said enough. The fact that you have other arab nations flying in the skies over syria, this is historic. And it does open problems for these nations potentially if this is a protracted conflict because there are a lot of people in their own domestic population that are not in favor of supporting the u. S. In this. John, thanks. Stay with us. I want to turn to bret baier, host of special report and live with us in washington. Bret, we know that these arab nations are involved in this process. Were told by the pentagon theyre flying along with us tonight. We dont know the extent of that involvement or what it will be in the days ahead or do we . We know a little bit, shep. I want to echo a couple of things. John is right. Im just getting from sources that these first targets were hard targets, they were arsenals, depots, command and control facilities. They were not targets of opportunity or ones that were time sensitive. These were hard targets that had been planned in the blueprint essentially laid out for the president at centcom when he was down there. And obviously theyve chosen these targets specifically. Another source telling us just to answer the other question about air defenses that most of the still active Syrian Air Defense is located in the western part of syria, as you continue to look at this video we believe is on the ground in raqqa. Most of the air defenses assad controls are in the allah wide areas. It is believed that thats the isis controlled area in the east. So with only a few dozen targets, lets say 25 targets, this source describes that as low hanging fruit, easily identified and relatively easy to strike without even coordination with the Syrian Government. We heard, shep, from the u. S. Government that it would not be this coordination with the syrians and assad obviously in the situation between the u. S. And syria as it is. But this explains a little bit about what were hearing about air defenses. To your point about the coalition. Its hard to overstate the importance and i think youre going to see the president tout it allot at the United Nations tomorrow morning. All right. We talked about turkey and whether and to what degree turkey to be involved. That air base across the way just across the border in turkey is going to be crucial. It will be. And turkey, you know, has been pointed out has a real problem with refugees along the border there. You know, they will have to make a decision. Despite the fact weve heard turkey has not been willing to really step up here in part because they had hostages in isis. Those have now been released. And we may see turkey do something more publicly. The fact in this Arab Coalition you have saudi arabia, the uae, jordan and qatar as well as bahrain, qatar being the other nation along with turkey that has been not only red sant but there have been concerns about that funding going on. We know that qatar obviously had been funding hamas during the hamas israel fighting. So i think the fact qatar is even listed in these five nations is significant. Bret baier, thanks. I want to show our viewers some of whats coming in now from the region. Were getting some tweets on the news deck. These are all confirmed to be from this region. The air strikes, five or six, concentrated near the governor norate building, isis main headquarters, meanwhile sounds of warplanes can be heard clearly. Huge explosion shook the city in what might be the beginning of u. S. Air strikes on isis headquarters in raqqa and indeed they were. Also, talibad on the turkish border. That is a border city. It is very, very close to the turkish border. I should say the Syrian Border on the syrian side. And reports of similar air strikes on tabga town and brigade 93. All in that isis controlled area, the isis controlled area of syria certainly all our work continues in iraq as well. Now, working across the border in two different countries. But the Islamic State sees it as all one thing. The Islamic State ruled by baghdadi. And now he has professed himself to be the leader of all muslims around the world. Where does this take us . The days ahead . We have no way to know. But tonight we know the opening salvo has happened just before the Early Morning hours in syria american drops. Its 10 30 on the east coast. 7 30 on the west coast. Im shepherd smith in new york and this is Fox News Channels continuing coverage of the new war against isis or the Islamic State now not only in iraq but beginning tonight also in syria. The United States targeted some 20 different locations, hard targets as bret baier put them, fuel depots, weapons depots, command and control headquarters, according to the tweets that were getting out of the region isis headquarters right there in the city of raqqa. Raqqa the city first overtaken by the first provincial capital at least overtaken by the Islamic State when they marched into sir in march of 2013. Since then there have been public amputations there for people who stole. There have been public executions in that spot. And that is the place in government buildings which existed as the provincial capital of raqqa, thats tonight, command and control targets have been hit. And these are but the opening salvos of what may be a week, month, even years long battle against the Islamic State. Lets get to wendell. Congress has been notified . Congress has been notified, shepherd. We know from spokesman from House Speaker john boehner that the president spoke with him. And its likely he spoke with all four democrat and Republican Leaders of the house and senate. The president s aides say he has the authority to launch these strikes against isis under a 2001 law that granted him the authority to or granted thenpresident bush the authority to go after al qaeda even though isis had split from al qaeda. Officials say isis doesnt get the right to determine its own fate by doing that. The president would like congressional authorization for this action. He says its much stronger when the world believes the United States is united in this effort. But congressional authorization is complicated by the fall midterm elections. Senate majority leader harry reid very reluctant to make some blue state democrats vote in favor of renewed military action in iraq and also in syria. So its likely we will not see congressional authorization until a lame duck session after the november vote. The decision to launch tonight as weve heard made by the commander of Central Command who spoke with the president last week. The president said then he would build a Broad Coalition against isis. We see now at least four arab nations, the United Arab Emirates, bahrain, saudi arabia, jordan taking part in tonights kinetic air activity. The president also aims to build a broader coalition when he heads to the United Nations General Assembly tomorrow and chairs for only the second time in history a meeting of the United Nations Security Council at the head of state level. We woept hear from him tonight, but we do expect to hear from him tomorrow. The president has stressed there will be no u. S. Boots on the ground. But his advisors say someones boots will have to be on the ground in syria and iraq. The president also said in address to the nation on the 10th of september that we cannot do for the iraqis what they must do for themselves nor can we take the place of the arab partners in securing their region. Finally, i want to touch on turkeys involvement in this. My colleague Jennifer Griffin talked about that a bit. Turkey was widely seen in the early stages of the Syrian Civil War as a part of the problem, especially when isis fighters began to emerge it was thought that they were getting into syria through the 800mile border that country has with turkey. One official said today on background that is a huge part of what were trying to impact. Were meeting with them very specifically on the problem. Over the past year weve seen an increase in turkeys awareness of the problem and trying to do something about it. And now about 50 turkish diplomats and family members who had been held by isis, shepherd, have been released. Wendell golar live in washington for us. Its interesting the role turkey has played not by way of information or contrast or contacts even. Remember the last time we fought in iraq whengh÷ gulf war 2 beg we went to baghdad, took the place over and occupied it and did some nation building. Turkey was among the original problems. Apparent le we were ready, our correspondents were staged, as a result we had some background information. We realized it was time for this war to begin and we needed one more partner and that one more partner was turkey and they were two or three votes short in the Turkish Parliament of giving us permission to take the fifth infantry division, remember it would come from texas, it would fly up to turkey and it would make its way down into iraq and would secure the northern part of iraq. Would help what amounts to kurdistan, the fifth, i meant the fourth, they werent allowed to do it. Thats when a meeting came together and said do we wait . Because this is part of our strategy and rumsfeld said, no, we can do it. As a result they went in more quickly than they would have gone in before. They left some fighters behind. And, well, we all know how the rest of that story played out. Not that thats the whole reason for it, but thats part of the story. Walid is with us. Where do you see us tonight as the first tomahawks have been dropped . Well, shep, the most important happening tonight in my eyes is the formation of what i can coin already an arab nato. Let me precise which one, saudi arabia, the uae leading the air force, bahrain and jordan. This is the core. Obviously qatar has a different situation which we cant discuss. But these four counts now are at war with isis and alongside with us. Now, remember a few weeks ago there was a question about the uae air force bombing a jihadi position in libya. So this has been in preparation. These four countries are going all the way. They know that isis and al qaeda are eyeing them. The two questions are about one qatar and one about turkey. Let me say, shep, about turkey. We will really know if turkey is shifting towards being part of this campaign not if it allows u. S. Air force to use their bases, but if it uses its own air force, the Turkish Air Force which is equipped wonderfully by american jets to participate in the bombing in syria. Well, that remains to be seen. Turkeys not yet joined this coalition, if you will. Interesting qatar here, walid. We speak around it because were not on the ground to know for certain. But the following we do know, qatar has repeatedly negotiated the ransom of hostages held by the Islamic State for those nations in europe and otherwise that pay ransom for hostages to isis. Turkey was sorry, qatar was the intermediary, if you will. And there have been further claims that qatar was actually helping fund the isis militants on their own. Your sense of where that puts qatar with our big military our air force base there and all the rest. Now, this is the day qatar will have to make a choice. The fact tells us that qatar has been funding jihadists. Now, qatar claimed it has not been funding isis, but many of those jihadists it funded over the past three years shifted and switched to isis. That is a fact. Number two, qatar basically has a problem because its a mediator. So it has contact with isis. Did it decide to stop the mediation and now become part of the the fourth problem, shep, is if you look at the map, show the United Arab Emirates and bahrain as well as egypt have a problem with qatar diplomatic problem with qatar, they have accused qatar of being the supporter of the muslim brotherhood. So qatar coordinating with these other partners, this is why i think those clearly in the campaign are jordan, saudi, ewe nated Arab Emirates and bahrain and qatar with us. The last did not tell us if qatar is flying planes over syria or not. The brutal Assad Government says this is not something syria to do this is a syrian matter alone. You wonder if bashar assad doesnt welcome this. It is these very fighters who have worked to take him on. That could in essence prop him up. Shep, now we are getting very close to the real deal. Number one, of course the Syrian Regime will have to do a bonanza. I will not you know, i will oppose he will lose everything he has in terms of antiaircraft defenses. But the real challenge is going to be on the ground. If we have a sustained campaign, were not sure maybe its eight hours, nine hours, maybe its more. If you have a sustained campaign, then isis will lose on the ground. The real question, which units are going . Xao move to control those isis positions. Is it going to be the opposition . Is it ready . Or is it going to be assad . My bet is assad and hezbollah and iranians looking to see if isis is going to be destroyed in these positions and this is a little bit early. But that would be their thinking tonight. We often overlook this. Apparently we overlook it at all levels of our society that this civil wars been going on a lot longer than weve been a nation. And if you are from there and you are religious and either sunni or shia, you might look at this as the United States entering this civil war and taking a religious side. To what degree are you concerned that that will be a problem for us longterm much more than isis could ever have been . Excellent question. Now, if we are intervening to weaken isis and isis basically is a sunni extreme sunni organization. Then help other sunni moderates to take over, thats why you have arab moderates, sunni air forces working with you now. If that is the case, then we dont have a big risk. But if we move in, remove isis and then those move in on the ground, shep, are going to be the syrian allah wyatt and shia, then seen favoring said they were doctors and lawyers and kichiropractors and then went out to become an army. And now were going to arm them and make them our fighting force on the ground. He said it sounded like fantasy. Thats what the president said. Why isnt it a fantasy now . Well, look, there are no other choices. I know. Walid, if youre left between i have fantasy or i have do nothing, fantasy is the president s word. And its the pentagon that tells us 5,000 of these people to be trained in saudi arabia, which is where well presumably train them, the pentagon says that will take one year. So between now and the time we get the fantasy players in play, we have a what, just a dream . Because there are no forces on the ground, are there . We have a bridge that is not getting us anywhere at this point in time. We are bombing and weakening isis. Thats a fact. Were seeing it. Youre reporting on it. What we dont see, again, going back on the ground the fantasy or reality, they are not ready at this point in time. Do you have five, six brigades to move into raqqa tomorrow, next week . No. So we are bombing and weakening isis and then training the opposition. My concern is that the most organized on the ground are not going to be the fsa, my friend. Theyre going to be the assad forces, the hezbollah forces. Thats why im saying tonight those units are saying should we move in, should we wait, should we wait for the americans to destroy them or should we wait for the opposition to move later. Bret baier in washington for us, this is a difficult prospect what the president called the fantasy players wont be ready for a year. Now weve got bombs in the air and the possibility of all these other fighters coming in from these ore nations. Yeah, shep. I mean, it is serious. Its a three dimensional chess game here that they are trying to get these fighters on the ground. But as you mentioned theyre not a trained force as of yet. There are some estimates they could be in country in three months. But its going to take some time. A couple things to think about after these bombing runs happen about these as we mentioned hard targets for isis, command and control, their arsenals also training grounds that have been spotted and intelligence has singled them out especially around raqqa in eastern syria. There also will be questions, eventually, about while youre in syria on these bombing runs, why not take out the Assad Government structure . This is a president as you remember and as you see this video again from the ground in raqqa, this is a president who said assad must go some 20 different times. So there will be some calls to have that continue. And that is a big, big policy question. Were not there yet. These have specific targets about isis. But there will be a question about that. And if the Free Syrian Army is the are the boots on the ground, are they going to be able to hold off the assad folks, the hezbollah folks to try to fill the void if isis is destroyed by these air strikes. Because that would go ahead, sorry. Excuse me. No, i mean, the key thing is this has an arab face tonight. As walid mentions these Coalition Countries are the key part of this. And this is what is going to be the public face of this, these five nations. But you are still going to have questions about the Syrian Government and where we go from here after this night is finished. Bret baier in washington. Walid, stay with us if you would. Continuing coverage live all night long. First though, is what the United States and its Coalition Partners did tonight legal . Under International Law can the United States launch its tomahawk missiles from the sea, fly its fighters over the air in a sovereign nation . Is that legal . Jennifer griffin on that in just a moment. In is continuing coverage of americas new war against isis. And well be right back. I thought itd be bigger. dad theres nothing i cant reach in my subaru. vo introducing the allnew subaru outback. Love. Its what makes a subaru,a subaru. And tkind of like you huffing sometimes, grandpa. Well, when you have copd, it can be hard to breathe. It can be hard to get air out, which can make it hard to get air in. So i talked to my doctor. She said. Doctor symbicort could help you breathe better, starting within 5 minutes. Symbicort doesnt replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. Symbicort helps provide significant improvement of your lung function. Symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. It should not be taken more than twice a day. Symbicort contains formoterol. Medicines like formoterol increase the risk of death from asthma problems. Symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. You should tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high Blood Pressure before taking it. Grandfather symbicort could mean a day with better breathing. Watch out, piggies child giggles doctor symbicort. Breathe be. Call or go online to learn more about a free prescription offer. If you cant afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. Years of swedish experience in in perfecting the rich,150 never bitter taste of gevalia. We do it all for this very experience. Thats good. I know right . Gevalia. Ugh. Heartburn. Did someone say burn . Try alka seltzer reliefchews. They work just as fast and are proven to taste better than tums smoothies assorted fruit. Mmm. Amazing. Yeah, i get that a lot. Alka seltzer heartburn reliefchews. Enjoy the relief. A brand new start. Your chance to rise and shine. With centurylink as your trusted technology partner, you can do just that. With our visionary cloud infrastructure, Global Broadband network and Custom Communications solutions, your business is more reliable secure agile. And with responsive, dedicated support, we help you shine every day of the week. Iwith something terrible to admit. I treated thousands of patients, risked their lives, while high on prescription drugs. I was an addict. Im recovered now, but an estimated 500,000 medical professionals are still out there, abusing drugs or alcohol. Police, airline pilots, bus drivers. Theyre randomly tested for drugs and alcohol. But not us doctors. You can change that vote yes on proposition 46. Your lives are in our hands. Breaking news in syria. Tonight history was made. Jennifer griffin at the pentagon. Jennifer . That is right. Just confirmed with u. S. Officials f 22 raptor, the Stealth Fighter jet, the most state of the art in the u. S. Air force was used, it would have been used likely against those air Defense Systems against the assad regime because there has been concern about those air Defense Systems, likely what you would do after tomahawks fired and would be sent in or to evade those air systems. It shows there is concern about the systems. This is the first time in the history of the u. S. Military the f 22 has been used this, is a 143 million plane not yet, until tonight, been flown into combat. Another subject now than one we had planned. Isis did not strike the United States as far as any hard evidence weve seen imposes no threat to the United States. Yet, we attacked isis tonight. Is that legal . If so, how . Its a very interesting question. U. S. Officials say the president acted under article 2 of the constitution as well as 2001 j authorization. Its been a controversial law on the books for past 13 years. What the aums said is that the u. S. Has the right to selfdefense to protect u. S. Citizens at home and abroad and the has the authority to take action to deter and prevent acts of International Terrorism against the United States. What is interesting is that earlier today, u. S. Officials, Administration Officials held a background briefing with select journalists explaining for the first time, we thought there this was curious, they said some of the 100 american fighters who have gone through syria, they believe now have made their way to the United States and fbi was tracking some of them. This is the first time weve heard this and this came just days after last weeks Administration Officials and secretaries as well as the president said there is no imminent threat to the homeland today, that changed. This could be the pretext they needed to show that International Terrorism had made its way to the u. S. Shores, that the u. S. Has the right under current u. S. Law the priet rite to selfdefense, to protect americans at home and abroad. That is what the 2001 law says and that the president is acting legally. So that is the legal justification the question is will it hold up according to International Law . The president going up to the United States to deal with that very issue. Big issue, tomorrow, and wednesday, jennifer, thank you very much the news continues right after this. Means keeping seven billion ctransactions flowing. G, and when weather hits, its data mayhem. But airlines running hp endtoend solutions are always calm during a storm. So if your business deals with the unexpected, hp big data and Cloud Solutions make sure you always know whats coming and are ready for it. Make it matter. While a body in motion tends to stay in motion. Staying active can ease arthritis symptoms. But if you have arthritis, this can be difficult. Prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain, and improve daily physical function so moving is easier. Because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain. And its not a narcotic you and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. All prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. They all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. This chance increases if you have Heart Disease or risk factors such as high Blood Pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. Nsaids, like celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions, or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. Patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. Dont take celebrex if you have bleeding in the stomach or intestine, or had an asthma attack, hives, other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. Get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. Tell your doctor your medical history. And ask your doctor about celebrex. For a body in motion. Watch this. Sam always gives you the good news in person, bad news in email. Good news fedex has flat rate shipping. Its called fedex one rate. And its affordable. Sounds great. [ cell phone typing ] [ typing continues ] [ whoosh ] [ cell phones buzz, chirp ] and we have to work the weekend. Great. More good news its friday woo [ male announcer ] ship a pak via Fedex Express saver® for as low as 7. 50. [ male announcer ] ship a pak via Fedex Express saver® i research. I dig. And dig some trader more. Search. Because, for me, the challenge of the search. Is almost as exciting as the thrill of the find. announcer at scottrade, we share your passion for trading. Thats why we rebuilt scottrade elite from the ground up including a proprietary momentum indicator that makes researching sectors and Industries Even easier. Because at scottrade, our passion is to power yours. Most interesting on this night, the war against the is hammic state. Four different arab nations involved in this. A fifth preparing to be involved and the possibility turkey will as well. With the United Arab Emirates leading arab nations in air strikes were told by the pentagon in the first hours if it happens tonight. Its 11 00 on the east coast. 8 00 p. M on the west coast. 6 00 a. M in syria the sun has risen above isis militants in a new world. We have continuing coverage of tonights breaking news the pentagon confirms the United States began bombing targets in that country linked to the Islamic State terror group we heard from a senior official the military is briefing president obama on the operation throughout the night. We have reports of the first amateur video from inside seara. First on fox tonight. Were told this shows some of the first strikes in the syrian city of raka. This would be the capitol