it doesn t mean there haven t been areas of set back as we saw in ramadi. to refer to what happened in ramadi as simply a set back and that we will help to say that we will help the iraqs regain it, frankly the gap between the rhetoric and getting it done, i think, is pretty significant. they have got ramadi, they have got fallujah, they have got mosul. getting them out of these cities is going to be incredibly tough. former defense secretary bob gates talking about basically the situation were isis terrorists on the ground in iraq. we re back with the panel. charles, what about this back and forth how the administration is playing it and the reality on the ground? the administration is delusional or cynical. i would hope cynical because, otherwise, we are in deep trouble. this is a tremendously defeat. this isn t only a geographic defeat the fact that fallujah is gone and ramadi is gone it s that the iraqi army once again ran. our whole idea is we are
the question is whether our government the people running the war have any idea what they re doing. the commander in chief doesn t have any idea what he s doing. but the american people know what needs to be done. the american people want to send ground forces to iraq right now to fight isis. there was a poll in march that said 36% of americans want to send ground force to iraq including 73% of republicans and 53% of democrats, a majority of democrats think we need ground forces. there s absolute consensus among the american people that we need ground forces there s consensus in our military commanders. the only one who doesn t seem to realize that we can t win this without ground forces is the commander in chief. even the washington post addressing that saying president obama refuse to send special forces and military assistance that could meet the threat. he thinks everything is a commitment to a long-term war. we ve lost mosul, with eave got
there are no land mines in the united states. morgan county alabama with a population of 100,000, they have two. they don t need this type of equipment to do good policing. good prising requires commune conversations and taking criminals off the streets. none of those includes tear gassing americans. this is not a war zone. ramadi is a war zone. you look at the equipment they re prohibiting, with it s like the m raps that he s referring to bay nets grenade launchers. do the cops really need all of that? they may not need it but you know what why give it to them. in the event that they do i would rather they have it. what i ll tell you is this. when you talk about riot gear lack of something as simple as riot gear there are cops in baltimore, cops in new york that very hurt certainly in baltimore, there are cops being killed ambushed i hate to interrupt.
weapons down. it s a serious problem because we re not there with them. and all eyes are on baghdad as a city fall to isis. this was an important one and a an important one to get back. pete thank you. thank you, megan. joining me with more mark who just penned a washington post column. mark thank you for being here. the wag post out with an editorial from the paper calling this a stunning fall in ramadi saying it exposes president obama s weak strategy saying the u.s. lack as strategy going on to say, there was hope that the president s half measures might be enough but now even modest optimism is questionable. what does it tell you? it tells me that we re talking about the wrong thing. we spent the last week talking about what happened in iraq 12 years ago. while we wer doing that in the here and now, the terrorists
pete we show that video. of course not to be sensational sensationalist about the loss of american lives but to remind the audience of the blood and treasure that was left on the streets of that city. and for what? now that it s back in the hands of these terrorists. you know to the veterans of ramadi and anbar province i salute you. to the 238 men who gave their lives in that soil we will never ever forget you. and for the policymakers in that administration who forsake that and threw that under the bus, shame on you. this policy has consequences. retreat from the battlefield before it s finished has consequences. ramadi is strategically significant. the logistical supply lines between baghdad and syria and the dam that could unleash water on baghdad. this is a huge blow to the effort of defeat isis and a