at bay for longer than anticipated? absolutely not. this is what the trump campaign is hanging on in terms of pushing their point, i don t know where it s going. look, there s a very big difference between isis in iraq and isis in syria. these are very nuanced and frankly yemen, for that matter, these are very nuanced differences and these are differences that frankly hillary clinton understands and donald trump does not. iraq is important, it s a success simply not just because we are pushing isis out but also, we are doing so under the auspices of the iraqis. this is an iraqi operation. it is an iraqi operation to unify that country and when it is successful, iraq will be a stable, secure, self-sufficient state. that is progress that we haven t seen since we toppled saddam hussein. that is a huge win. to argue against it, i don t know where it s coming from. gary, you heard arwa talking
of people trying to flee. already from the areas around mosul that we were in we ve been seeing an exodus of thousands of families, young, old, women and children, all trying to get as far away from the fighting as they possibly can. some women who we spoke to earlier today were telling us that they have relatives inside mosul who attempted to flee, carol, but they say isis fired at them and forced them back into their homes. all of this is part of the great concern that so many have over the fact that isis may attempt to use the population of mosul, more than 1.2 million people, as human shields. and of course the more we re talking to people who lived under isis brutal rule, the more horrific the stories that we are hearing. one woman who we spoke to yesterday, she s a mother of ten. and she told us that isis enslaved her, kept her with them for a year and a half, raped her, and she gave birth to a baby boy. and she was saying that all she can do is pray that he never finds out who
good morning. i m carol costello. thank you for joining me. a u.s.-led air strike hammering isis right now as iraqi forces enter mosul for the first time in two years. an intense battle now under way. cnn s arwa damon is with forces on the outskirts of the city. hi, arwa. reporter: hi, carol. those forces that entered the neighborhood from the iraqi army s ninth division have only managed to go about two blocks, coming across a number of car bombs that were pre-positioned by isis as well as snipers on rooftops. all of this expected as isis is believed to put up quite the fight, trying to keep its grip on the city of mosul and then coupled with all of that, you also have the growing humanitarian crisis and concern. we are already beginning to see people fleeing from the fighting on the outskirts of the city itself.
intense fighting inside mosul right now with iraqi forces enter the isis stronghold. approve this message. i could stand in the middle of 5th avenue and shoot somebody and i wouldn t lose any voters, okay? and you can tell them to go f รก themselves. you know you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever. you gotta see this, i don t know, i don t remember. he s going like i don t remember.
to those women who it s coming from experience. who are fleeing mosul, right? so there s some success there, right? of course. look, we first off, our thoughts and prayers are with the u.s. forces on the ground assisting the iraqis. of course we want to see isis removed from and defeated in mosul. but the point that mr. trump has made and the campaign has made is that this administration is foolish in its handling and its tactical employment of these practices. so tell me specifically about the operation in mosul. gary, tell me specifically about the operation in mosul, about how ineffective it s been when iraqi troops are entering the city now. how ineffective it s been and the price that it will be is that in this day and age when you allow an enemy to know you are coming and the path of your entry and if you actually expose your avenues of approach, these