in order to dominate any territory location where it is. it s frankly the enemy of civility, the enemy of rule of law, the enemy of pluralism, the enemy of decency and we need to make it crystal clear as we have the united states views it as a threat to our interest as well as the interest of our friends and allies in the region. let s bring in pentagon correspondent barbara starr. so read between the lines for us, barbara. look, carol, i think straight up it is absolutely clear the white house is saying that the president has not made a decision about how to proceed. there are things other than air strikes. he could announce more armed sales. he could announce intelligence sharing. if it does come down to air strikes, what we hear at the
taking control of key cities, what was once unthinkable about this anti iraq war president. i ll be a president who ends this war in iraq and finally brings our troops home. as we come this i don t rule out anything. they come here and find a relief. a tiny shelter in texas home to families from foreign countries trying to get into america. you look into these people s eyes, especially the children. what do you see? fear. they re scared. we ll take you live to the border border. that s one for you changed your mind? i have to say, i think you are being persistent the hillary npr interview. same-sex marriage and a quip pi clinton. i m trying to clarify so you can understand. no, i don t think you are trying to clarify. what happened? let s talk. live in the cnn newsroom.
this morning president obama has already met with his national security team to discuss the crumbling situation in iraq. a senior administration official tells us a decision on what action, if any, could come as early as this weekend. terrorist fighters continue to parade through the captured towns. itn reporter jonathan rugman was at a checkpoint in keerp cook as fighting broke out and iraqi military abandoned their posts. reporter: outside kirkuk, iraqi troops from the 12th division were filmed trying to halt the islamist advance. it seems they didn t try for long. somebody filmed the iraqi soldiers fleeing, many in civilian clothing. apparently leaving behind this military base as a playground for jihadists from the islamic state of iraq and el sham.
tikrit. this video shows iraqis boarding vehicles to fight the militants. president obama says he does not rule out any option in helping iraq stop the terrorist advance. possibilities include air strikes but not boots on the ground. last hour we heard from a leading critic of the obama administration and its handling of iraq through the years. the iraqis rejected our troop retention plan, they didn t want to sign it. the american people wanted us out of there. the president won the election in large part by promising to end the war. weren t those all circumstances that demanded we get out of there. it s not our fight. well, it s interesting, that narrative. but the fact is we could have negotiated a residual force just as we could have in afghanistan. by the way, you ll see the same thing happen in afghanistan that s happening in iraq if the president goes through with total withdrawal. senator john mccain. joining me by phone, a man who
minister maliki and now he s being asked to come to the rescue. how is that being handled behind closed doors. you can lay irony on top of irony here. this is a president who xwaned on a promise of ending the iraq war. he did that nearly three years ago. now he is on the precipice of making a critical decision as to whether or not to reengage the united states militarily in that country. it s a big critical moment for this president. there s no other way to put it. keep in mind, carol, i ve talked to senior administration officials all morning. they say the president has not made a decision yet on whether to proceed with some sort of air strikes over iraq, targeting isis militants. i have been told that the president may decide on a route to proceed this weekend and that route may include air strikes. so we re just going to have to wait and see how they proceed on this. another senior administration official says the white house is working this, quote, on an urgent basis.