you know, al baghdad dee his position is fortified with the withdrawal or pull out of u.s. troops? not only may it take the pressure off, but it may also improve isis morale. they may be able to spin this as them pushing the americans out or as a god given deliverance, and that could be for the global jihadi movement as a whole. isis also has a growing is significant presence in other parts of the world, notably in afghanistan. they appear to be trying to rebuild an international attack capability and transfer it over to afghanistan. we ve seen a number of plots in europe, which have been tied back to isis in afghanistan in recent months. so all of this very, very concerning. i can say that officials, counter terrorism officials and others in europe are absolutely alarmed by this development. they believe that it was very necessary to finish off isis but
fredricka, and the american people understand that. as a reminder, as you heard mitch mcconnell, he gave a challenge to chamber there, get to business. it s still 24 hours, you know, before a vote on a measure that they can even, you know, all agree on. it s ironic because he s the one in charge of the chamber. all right, we ll leave it there. maria, cardona, alice stewart, thanks to both of you. appreciate it. happy holidays. happy holidays. still ahead with the fight against isis still raging on in syria, how will defense secretary jim mattis s resignation and president trump s troop withdrawal impact the entire region? and later, what does this government shutdown mean for the men and women who keep us all safe? right now we re watching lawmakers on capitol hill hopefully working on a compromise. with lush honey, known to replenish and royal jelly and propolis, known to nourish and repair. as a whole blend, it helps heal damage to the ends. blended makes us better. who
now deciding to stay in syria. this was the new trump administration policy to stay in syria, to defeat the remnants of isis so it didn t come back in a worse or greater form, and then was headed off to brief the coalition about it. he was in the region, talking to iraqi partners in the northern part of iraq when president trump made what sources familiar with mcgurk s thinking called the sudden and reckless announcement to pull out troops, and he felt that he could no longer not only explain this policy, which was totally against what he was talking about just a few days ago, but let alone execute it. now it s careful to note that mcgurk was scheduled to leave in february. he was going in march to take up a position at stanford university, has a young child, was looking to have a life after government for a while. but really one of the best and
these are the scenes at the front lines of the war against isis. as a push forward through town, the isis flag waves in the distance. again, they re forced to shelter, this time in a nearby building. all right, that is exclusive reporting from cnn s nima albager showing isis is very much active in syria. today the president sending out a tweet saying isis is largely defeat sked and reiterating he bringing home u.s. troops from syria. his decision prompting the resignation of the man he put in charge of defeating isis. cnn now confirms brett mcgurk, a special presidential envoy for the global coalition to counter isis has resigned, and this follows defense secretary jim mattis s resignation which stunned u.s. allies and continues to cause fallout here at home and abroad.
affairs correspondent. what more can you tell us about him, his role, and what inspired his resignation? well, fred mcguirk is a decades long career diplomat. he has been working in iraq. working on issues related to the region for decades, and in 2013, he had been appointed deputy envoy to the isis coalition and then took over when general john allen left, and really has been overseeing a 60-plus member coalition of states working not only on the ground but in the on the internet, countering messages to counter isis, and by large measure that job has been successful, but just a week ago you heard brett mcgurk at the state department podium talking about the idea that the u.s. was