regime and isis. in a lot of ways, they re basically playing the supporting role. that s why they might not have five say on the timing. there s some sensitivities here because different nato members want to go and have different schedules for when they want to attack. some wanted to see it happen even sooner. craig. hans nichols traveling with defense secretary carter bringing us that exclusive interview this morning. hans, thank you, sir. to utah now, a traditionally red state that is now in the toss-up column. jacob is there live. good morning, sir. good morning to you, craig. here in utah. we could see a potentially historic election day. republicans could lose here for the first time since 1964. who s behind that and why that is, i ll have that for you right after the break, stick around. ai so wheit cesopa rievers y put up wh just part of a day? aleve, live whe nopart.
in an nbc news exclusive, defense secretary carter says he is pleased with the progress in mosul and says the isis capital in syria is next. i m very encouraged by what i see there. it is all proceeding according to plan. meanwhile, raqqah, we also have a plan for. it starts in the next few weeks. and that s long before our plan and will be capable of resourcing both. more of that exclusive interview in moments. right now, let s get the very latest from the ground in northern iraq. nbc s matt bradley in erbil for us. secretary carter saying everything is going according to plan. is that what you re seeing as well? good morning, craig. well, we re seeing that everything is going according to plan but that s a very unambitious plan. a lot of the advances that have been made around mosul have been other towns and villages that
have been entirely or almost entirely uninhabited by civilians. a lot of civilians left two years ago. this plan to move into raqqah is something the u.s. have tried to do before. to recruit fighters from the more moderate rebels and it s been with disastrous results embarrassing for both congress and the administration. we have to take them at their word that things here in iraq are going to plan. that s not representative of how the rest of this fight is going to go. as these iraqi security forces and the kurdish peshmerga proceed into mosul and begin the really nasty task of actually piercing isis defenses and moving into that city itself. again, this is all up to isis. if isis stands their ground in mosul, this could be a long and bruising fight. but if they stand their ground in raqqah, as they certainly will, it s going to be a suicide mission. raqqah is the self-declared caliphate of the islamic state. it s the last standing position of the islamic state in the
they re planning that assault in the coming weeks. here s a little bit more of what the secretary told you about that fight against isis. take a listen. it s been long part of our plan that the mosul operation would kick off when it did, as is the plan that goes back many months now, and that raqqah would follow soon behind. so we ve planned for that. and we have the resources for both. mosul, as you know, i was over there in baghdad and erbil. very encouraged by what i see there. it is all proceeding according to plan. meanwhile, raqqah, we also have a plan for. it starts in the next few weeks. and that s long been our plan. and we ll be capable of resourcing both. hans, one of the criticisms from not just donald trump but
and talk there that should be shown in journalism classes all over the country. thank you very much. from tampa, florida. donald trump s star, his star, literally taking a beaten on the hollywood walk of fame today. in fact, someone took a sledgehammer to it. deadline hollywood reporting that a man dressed as a construction worker destroyed the star early this morning. what seems to be a hollywood first. we re going to talk to ali velshi in a little bit about whether trump s brand has been irreparably tarnished. also, kurdish forces closing in on the isis stronghold in iraq, now just miles away from mosul. we are live on the ground there. and an msnbc exclusive. a new interview with the defense secretary ashton carter. seconds can me the difference beeelife andeath. r partners in health, times fewe he 1800 p around the wld