mosul. the last remaining isis stronghold in iraq. last week i traveled to baghdad with defense secretary jim mattis. his top commander in iraq says american troops are fighting closer than ever to the front lines. it is true that we re operating closer and deeper into the iraqi formations. we adjusted our posture during the east mosul fight and we embedded advisors a bit further down into the formation. he also said today that the u.s. has had conversations with the iraqi government about the u.s. and nato having a long-term presence in iraq training iraqi forces. so we will learn more next week when defense secretary mattis presents this plan to the president. bill: no one has said the battle over mosul will be easy but it is progressing. if you beat isis in mosul, is there a feeling or belief that