that they were so successfully routed by isis militant forces and what can be done differently and how the u.s. can support them to try and push back some of that militant momentum here in iraq. fredricka? thank you so much. be safe. president obama says u.s. military efforts are hopeless without a change in government. in a one-on-one interview with cnn s kate bolduan, he told her that iraq needs a political solution to unify its country. here s kate with more on what she discussed with the president. reporter: i started by asking the president about prime minister nuri al maliki who the president just a few months ago had commended for ensuring an inclusive and democratic iraq. but the prime minister has done none of that. so how can anything get fixed in iraq with him in power? reporter: we gave iraq the chance to have an inclusive democracy, to work across
town near the border. the location is key because they could connect with their bases in syria. and they re making process, iraqi forces say a large part of al qaim are now in the hands of isis. meanwhile, 300 advisers are expected to be there to determine if any additional security measures are needed before more advisers are sent in. u.s. secretary of state john kerry is also headed to the region this weekend. he s visiting jordan to discuss ways to stabilize iraq and push for an inclusive iraqi government that includes shiite, sunni and kurdish factions. president obama said u.s. military efforts are hopeless without a change in government. on a one-on-one interview with cnn s kate bolduan.
severe, significant consequences that russia could face, whether they are militarily military consequences, it s clear the u.s. has little it could do in terms of military efforts at this time, alex, but obviously, the president on this stage wants to make it very clear that the u.s. is watching and there will be consequences. i want to thank you, peter. i want to swing over to the white house where nbc s kristen welker s kristen, what s interesting here is so much of our sort of main foreign policy priorities right now hinge on russian cooperation. that could be nuclear deal on iran, it could be some kind of resolution to the situation in syria. and there is a sense, i would love to know your thoughts on this, this white house has been a little more hesitant in and around certain issues because russia is such a major player in so many areas. certainly the white house feels like they have been they have to and must comment on this, given the situation over there. but one would
solution to this and if that doesn t happen, then the president would get the authority to do the military efforts. so i think that that has to be the needle that s being threaded tonight. the whole hearted, you know, full throttle attempt to pursue this diplomatic initiative to it s end and if that doesn t work, also, to build the case for a military strike. let s not forget the massive and international debate over what won t be a land war or any kind on sustained military campaign but perhaps a couple of days of cruise missile strikes and perhaps air strikes they call stand off strikes. does anyone believe that they are getting into a war that will end up that raises an interesting problem is that there are two rational for the action but two groups of people who want some kind of military action. the people who want action that deals with the issue of chemical weapons and the importance of
buy time to consolidate his position. i ve been in foreign capitals and you hear similar messages, people recognize the moral imperative to do something, they recognize the strategic impa imperative to do something they just don t know what to do. there is frustration within the administration that i m hearing about kofi annan s posture in this because they thought it was really giving assad the regime, time to play for time, you hear the british foreign secretary said that the cease-fire s used as a cover for intensified military efforts. france calling the claims of withdrawal a flagrant and unacceptable lie. you were in paris, beijing. but the chinese supported russia in blocking tougher u.n. action against assad. that s right, andrea. the chinese and russians are going to back assad for time to come. for them it s a strategy exic they don t want to see the assad administration fall.