Transcripts For CNNW The Situation Room 20140909

Threats from isis supporters. Youre in the situation room. President obama has braefed top congressional leaders on his plan to defeat the isis terror group. He will address the nation tomorrow night. Youll see it live here on cnn 9 00 p. M. Eastern. While the public may be war weary, polls show strong support for taking action against the brutal jihadist who seized a broad swathe of territory inside iraq and syria. U. S. Aircraft have been hitting isis targets in iraq for weeks. The Sticking Point has been syria. And while the president seems ready to begin strikes there, the case of a murdered american hostage is racing new questions about whether the United States now has anyone it can count on to help inside syria. Our correspondents and analysts and guests are standing by with full coverage. Lets begin with jim sciutto. Tonight the Obama Administration with the fbi is investigating exactly how Steven Sotloff was capture and who was responsible. There are competing allegations. Was it moderate rebel, was it a local colleague. The white house is acknowledging that these questions highlight one of the Biggest Challenges for the president going forward. Who is reliably on americas side there. President obama is preparing to address the nation on his strategy for defeating isis. Which will defend in part on supporting moderate syrian rebels. So the allegation first on cnn from Steven Sotloff friend and family spokesman was alarming. For the first time we can say steven was sold at the border. We believe that the socalled moderate rebels that people want our administration to support, one of them stole him. Reporter he tells cnn that a moderate rebel group tipped off isis to sotloffs arrival by telephone. It then swooped in in an elaborate mobile check point overtaking sotloff on the road and taking him away. A seniored a hin strags official tells cnn there is no evidence to support the claim that sotloff was in the custody of the moderate opposition at anytime. Syrian opposition officials consulting with sources and activists on the ground also deny the story. However, white house spokesman josh earnest acknowledged that there are lingering questions about which parts of the opposition are truly trustworthy. This has been a difficult challenge for not just the United States, but for other countries to confront. And that is vetting the individuals who are elements of the Syrian Opposition to ensure that the support that were providing is going into the hands of the right people. Reporter today the Syrian Opposition is made up of some 12 different rebel groups. Some moderate, some extreme, some in between. Key reason president obama has resisted arming rebels in any signature w significant way. For the most part we know who their leaders are. We know whether or not they want to institute a more islamic form of governance or whether they want secular governance. And we can pick and choose who our allies can be if the u. S. Decides to fight the Islamic State in syria. In one more measure of just how confusing the situation is on the ground, Syrian Opposition official presents an entirely different allegation that sotloff was given up by his local translator and assistant who unknown to sotloff was part of another Islamist Group which transferred him on to isis. Sotloffs family has strongly defended his assistant. This is just a real measure of confusion. So many groups, some clearly on the side against assad, some more pro western, some less so, some in between. And i know what worries the Obama Administration and a u. S. Officials, as moderate as pro western as many elements of the presyrian army might be, there are elements there who are in fact cooperating, they acknowledge certain elements of el nisra. And its seen as more rad rat than isis because isis is so out there. No one is that great on the ground except the Free Syrian Army and some groups allied with them. But theyre not necessarily the most effective fighters on the battlefield and thats an issue going forward, as well. U. S. Doesnt want to provide weapons to the Free Syrian Army that could wind up in the ands of el nusra. Theyre allegedly using social media to issue death threats. That comes as investigators pin down the identity of the isis executioner who killed the u. S. Hostage james foley. Pamela brown is looking into these developments. What are you finding out, pamela . Now that officials believe they know who jihadi john is, theyre working feverishly to gather as much intelligence as possible as to his whereabouts. Actually bringing him to justice could come with some major risks. Any attempt by you, obama reporter u. S. Sources tell cnn the man seen holding the might have to james foleys neck is a british citizen. But authorities arent naming him, signing sensitivity of the ongoing investigation. Only way you have categorical proof is about if he takes his mask off. If there is doubt, it would be hugely embarrassing to say this is the killer and it turns out its somebody else. Reporter they have used voice analysis to trace his accent. Spokesman for Steven Sotloff says former isis hostages have helped the investigation. British guards, we had a lot of information on them. We know that they had east london accents, people told us from inside the prison. So we know a lot. Reporter identifying the masked man is one thing. Finding and capturing him is another. U. S. And british authorities would have to weigh the risks of a manhunt, looking at options such as drone, sending in special operations troops. A failed rescue attempt of other hostages this past summer shows just how risky any operation could be. Hes a guy who is with isis. Deep behind enemy lines. So just very, very difficult to mount these kind of operations. And every time y e you do it, y put u. S. Special forces at risk. Reporter meanwhile isis supporters continue turning to social media to spread their message of fear, some allegedly targeting twitter employees with threats of violence. One message says time has arrived to respond to to wit Ares Management by directly attacking their employ years and physically as say tsassinating. Twitter responded saying their Security Team is investigating with relevant law enforce the officials. And i just heard from the fbi, were told they are aware of this and will investigate as appropriate. Do we know if top executives at twitter have received extra Security Protection right now . At this point, officials rbts goi arent going into that kind of detail. Twitter will only release that statement. So theyre staying tight lipped. Very disturbing information. Lets go indepth with marie hart. Thanks very much for coming in. Happy to be here. Lets talk about a couple things. This twitter threat, how serious is the u. S. Government taking the threat from isis supporters that because twitter removes tweets from isis out there, that maybe some top executives at twitter could be in danger . We take any threat seriously. Certainly any threat from isis. Weve seen the level of their brutality many times over the past several months how. So we obviously take it very seriously and look for all of the good that happens with such an open social media world and such open internet. Theyre also unfortunately are people like isis able to use it. So weve talked to twitter and youtube and others about their own terms of service and making sure isis videos or photos dpts vi dont violate those. Presume bring taking tighter security which is prudent. Lets talk about the killer of these two american hostages. Do you know without telling us the name, does the United States government know who killed james foley and Steven Sotloff . Were still looking into that. Its something weve talked about a number of times here on your show. The Intelligence Community is looking at the videos, looking at all the intelligence they have gathered to see if we can pin that down. Are they close . We keep getting closer every day. But of course dont have anything to share publicly yet. That is and ongoing process. But as you heard the president and secretary, we will find who is responsible and hold them accountable. And what do you make of the claim from the sotloff family spokesman that sotloff was actually sold by some supporter of the Free Syrian Army or moderate rebels and eventually wound up in the hands of isis . He wiwell, the fbi has an op investigation into the entire sotloff and foley cases. Obviously thats for them to talk to most specifically. But we dont have any information to see that he was ever held by the moderate opposition or to verify those claims made here by their spokesperson. Obviously we vet who we work with in the syrian moderate opposition because we know there are a lot of different people on the ground claiming to represent different groups and we want to make sure that the people we provide assistance to have been vetted and are appropriate for that assistance. You want to respond to some of the other allegations . I assume youve heard what hes suggesting, that the u. S. Didnt do enough to save teach sot lof of Steven Sotloff. We go to any possible link we can to find these americans and bring them home. Our Intelligence Community has been incredibly focused on this looking for any bit of information that could indicate their location. Weve reached out to over two dozen countries for anyone who has any information or anything that could lead to finding the americans and bringing them home. But unfortunately, isis has shown there is no bounds to their brutality. We continue to put every effort behind finding remains americans behind isil and hopefully bringing them home. All right. Stand by. I want to look ahead to the president s big speech tomorrow. Will the president tell the world the u. S. Is ready to attack isis targets. Not only in iraq, but in syria, as well. Much more when we come back. An Unprecedented Program arting busithat partners businesses with universities across the state. For better access to talent, cutting edge research, and state of the art facilities. And you pay no taxes for ten years. From biotech in brooklyn, to next gen energy in binghamton, to manufacturing in buffalo. Startupny has new businesses popping up across the state. See how startupny can help your business grow at startup. Ny. Gov years of swedish experience in in perfecting the rich,150 never bitter taste of gevalia. We do it all for this very experience. Thats good. I know right . Gevalia. Having a perfectly nice day, when out of nowhere a pickup truck slams into your brand new car. One second it wasnt there and the next second. Boom youve had your first accident. Now you have to make your first claim. So you talk to your Insurance Company and. Boom youre blindsided for a second time. They wont give you enough money to replace your brand new car. Dont those people know youre already shaken up . Liberty mutuals new car replacement will pay for the entire value of your car plus depreciation. Call and for drivers with accident forgiveness, Liberty Mutual wont raise your rates due to your first accident. Switch to Liberty Mutual insurance and you could save up to 423 dollars. Call Liberty Mutual for a free quote today at see Car Insurance in a whole new light. Liberty mutual insurance. Not only in iraq, but in syria, president obama has just wrapped up a meeting with the congressional leadership. Hell be briefing the nation indeed the entire world tomorrow night 9 00 p. M. Eastern. Were back with the state Department Deputy spokeswoman marie hart. The president went on National Television in 2013 and said this. After careful deliberation, i determined that it is in the National Security interests of the United States to respond to the assad regimes use of chemical weapons through a targeted military strike. He says after careful consideration. That was against the al assad o are a dweregime regime. Now he might be saying hes ready to Order Limited air strikes against the opposition to al assad. I think what you will hear tomorrow night is a comprehensive way we will work to fight isil. Thats not just potentially military. But its really more than that. Its diplomatically, how you cut off financing, how you cut off foreign fighter flows. Putting together this very broad coalition. Secretary kerry is headed to the region to help build the coalition to take the fight to isil in a comprehensive way. It wont be just military. It cant be. Should we expect limited air strikes against isis targets not only in iraq but in syria . I wont preview the speech, but what you can expect and what weve been talking about for many days and weeks now is how you take the fight to the terrorist organization. It is a long fight. It doesnt happen overnight. First you push them back, then you cut off the leadership. These are all pieces to the puzzle that were putting together with our partners right now. And you say its being pieced together. Secretary kerry going to jordan, elsewhere in the region. It looks like that is still a work in progress. Here is the question. Before all those things are aligned, why is the president going to address the nation . I think the president believes its important to speak directly to the American People about a threat that still a work in progress. If you dont have the countries on board. I think youve heard they are committed to fighting isil. Some have already mpledged support in iraq. Some have provided weapons and humanitarian aid. So this is something weve been talking about quite a bit. So i think the president is important to speak he directly to the American People, but this is and ongoing effort. This fight against a terrorist organization is different than fights i think we saw in the past, but very similar to things weve done in this administration against other terrorist groups elsewhere around the world. When it comes to isis per se, just isis, is iran paying a positive or negative role . What weve said to the iranians, and we wont share intelligence with them, but it affects the whole region. And weve said very publicly that they could play a role supporting an inclusive new Iraqi Government. Weve had a huge milestone where that yesterday. And support the iraqi forces as they battle isis in iraq. Because the answer isnt that li militias. Its the iraqi and kurdish forces. So iran can play a role. Are they playing a positive role in terms of trying to defeat, destroy isis . Theyre working with the coalition were putting together. Secretary of defense hagel was in turkey with our european allies. Is qatar playing a positive or negative role . Were asking every country including qatar to ask this any way they can. And they can tracrack down on private citizens financing isis. We need their help in really cracking down on trying to cut off the money that has really helped isis grow. Theyre working on it, but its a tough challenge. Most funding comes from crime, ransoms paid to it, kidnapping, bank ropry obberies. But private citizens. We need everyone to help. When they took over mosul, they stole all the money in the banks. Hundreds of millions of dollars. So isis has a lot of money i think its fair to say. Thursday is the anniversary of 9 11. What is the latest, are there any specific Credible Threats to u. S. Diplomatic compounds whether in baghdad or anyplace else shall. The president has spoken to this, we dont have specific and Credible Threats that we are following at this moment. But it is an anniversary that we Pay Attention to. All of our posts know to Pay Attention on that day. Its an anniversary where he here in the United States and at the state did tent take very seriously. Its a somber day for us. Tent t seriously. Its a somber day for us. Well be honoring those we lost. Two years ago the attack on the diplomatic compound this benghazi. Lets hope its quiet on this thursday this anniversary of 9 11. Absolutely. And we always Pay Attention and our Intelligence Community puts Additional Resources in to looking at any possible threats. But no credible threat yet. Nothing has changed on that yet. Were still watching. Thanks very much. Coming up, u. S. Aircraft step up targets in iraq. Are they also targeting the leadership . Does president obama need congressional approval to strike isis in syria . Ill ask bob docorker, hes standing by live. train horn vo wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. Norfolk southern. One line, infinite possibilities. So what were looking for is a way to plus our Accounting Firms mobile plan. And minus our expenses. Perfect timing. Were offering our bestever pricing on mobile plans for business. Run the numbers on that. Well, unlimited talk and text, and ten gigs of data for the five of you would be. Oneseventyfive a month. Good calculating kyle. Good job kyle. You just made partner. Our bestever pricing on mobile share value plans for business. Now with a 100 bill credit for every business line you add. Searching with devotion for a snack that isnt lame but this. Takes my breath away with the top speedou compare of comcast the top speed of business dsl from the internet. Phone company well, theres really no comparison. Why pay more for less . Call today for a low price on speeds up to 150mbps. And find out more about our twoyear price guarantee. Comcast business. Built for business. President obama just briefed top congressional leadership on a strategy to defeat isis. He will unveil his plan tomorrow night in a nationwide address, 9 00 p. M. Eastern. Joining us now, senator bob corker. Thanks very much to joining us. Good to be with you. The way i see it, the president will outline his strategy and then it is up to the senate and house to either do nothing, keep on talking, vote a formal resolution authorizing the use of force against isis targets in iraq and syria, or simply wait on funding because the administration will need a lot of money to begin this new phase of the war against isis and the war on terror. What is your preference . Obviouslyic t i think the president should come to congress and ask for the authorize for the use of force. Bush 41 in desert storm felt like he had the authority, but they realized that to get the u. S. , congress buyin was very important. Bush 43 did so in 01 and 02 and this president came to us with syria last year again seeking buyin from the American People. So i think it would be extremely lacking in judgment for him to not seek that from us, a formal authorization. I dont think he will ask for that and im dismayed by that because when you begin these kinds of efforts, thip things wrong. We dont have a lot of credibility in the region because our allies in the syrian conflict had to watch on cnn the president say that he wasnt going to strike, he was going to go to congress. And as you know, what we did with russia and assad ended up delivering a great setback to us and certainly the efforts of the moderate rebels. So i think to have congress buyinto them would show strength, would show credibility, would show a durable effort. So im dismayed by the fact that at present, theyre not seeking that authorization. Just to get back to that one point, the president would point out that that effort with russia and others to eliminate syrias chemical weapons stockpile that effort worked, right . Well, sure it worked if that was the goal. There were 1200 People Killed by chemical weapons. I hate to say this, the smartest thing assad ever did. And we never delivered aid and training at the levels we we said we would to rebels. As sasad is still in office. Weve elevated putin. So certainly weve gotten rid of the chemical weapons we know about. We believe there are those that Vice President been disclosed yet. But its been a loser for us in syria. Its one of the biggest issues that has caused iraq to go through the destablization they have gone through. So now we have two countries joined. It was a terrible policy to do what we did it and to ignore supporting at a time when it would have mattered. So its the lack of policies that our nation has had in iraq without leaving forces there not to combat, but you just to stabilize. And it was our lack of policy in syria that has driven us. But we need to focus on the future. And again, im dismayed that this president would not come to congress and seek the authorization. I think you can debate whether he has the authority. Most people in the white house would say most president s do. But thats not the debate. The debate is are you going to involve congress, are you going to ask for the authorization in advance so that he knows he has support for the longer term. Well, you can introduce a senator on your own saying here is the authority for the president to strike. In other words members of the house and senate, they could take the Initiative Even if the president doesnt. But the part of the process that is important here is when you seek the support of congress, you also come up here and explain in detail what your strategy is. What your objectives are. You have members of your cabinet up here explaining how youre going to go about it. One of the things that ive not heard yet is any coherence city to how we deal with syria. And in iraq, we have the ability to build off the Iraqi Military. We have things if place that you can build off of on the ground. We dont have that in syria. And i havent heard anyone yet from the administration explain how well deal with that. But think about it, we have to go into syria. So weeds be going into another country that were how totally uninvolved in relative to military efforts. President talking about a three year effort and not seeking authorization. And no effort to Sell Congress or the American People. I think most people here want to deal with isis in a strong manner that exterminates them. But i think not seeking that approval on the front he said is extremely lacking in judgment. Very quickly on this sensitive issue, looking ahead, you say the u. S. Should be providing weapons to the moderate syrian rebels. Heres the fear that those weapons could wind up in the hands of el nusra or isis, other terrorist groups. Given how strong they are and how weak that Free Syrian Army is. So, look, ive advocate that had a year and a half ago. We had a strong bipartisan vote in our committee to do that. It never has happened. Is it too late . I question whether its too late. Hes talking about 500 million in support. I dont know what is left of the moderate opposition. The vacuum that we helped create there with our policies have now caused them to be a de minimus factor. And so i do question that. And i want someone from the administration to explain to me that that is still a viable strategy. Because like you, ive got concerns. We left them hanging. Weve gotten to where we know or recognize people in these rev due gee camps that we left hanging. America. We told them what we were going to do. We didnt do it. Theyre son, uncle, brothers have been slaughtered. And i do question whether there is much there that matters of the moderate opposition. That is a factor that i think we s should though about and they should be discussing with us. But its not occurred yet. Because we know a lot of the weapons in iraq are u. S. Weapons. Surface to air mill stistill mi tank, a complex problem. Well hear what the president says tomorrow night. Senator corker he, thanks very much. Coming up, new details about the latest u. S. Air strikes in iraq as the u. S. Also targeted the top leadership of isis for assassination. And later, why air strikes against isis targets in syria present more of a challenge than they do in iraq. Are the largest targets in the world, for every hacker, crook and nuisance in the world. But systems policed by hps cyber Security Team are constantly monitored for threats. Outside and in. Thats why hp reports and helps neutralize more intrusions than anyone. In the world. If Hp Security Solutions can help keep the Worlds Largest organizations safe, they can keep yours safe, too. Make it matter. An Unprecedented Program arting busithat partners businesses with universities across the state. For better access to talent, cutting edge research, and state of the art facilities. And you pay no taxes for ten years. From biotech in brooklyn, to next gen energy in binghamton, to manufacturing in buffalo. Startupny has new businesses popping up across the state. See how startupny can help your business grow at startup. Ny. Gov its been that way since the day you met. But your erectile dysfunction it could be a question of blood flow. Cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be Ready Anytime the moments right. You can be more confident in your ability to be ready. And the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph like needing to go frequently or urgently. Tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. Do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. Do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. Side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. To avoid longterm injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than 4 hours. If you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. Ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30tablet free trial. But parallel parking isnt one you do a lof them. Ings great. Youre either too far from the curb. Or too close to other cars. Its just a matter of time until you rip some guys bumper off. So, here are your choices take the bus. Or get Liberty Mutual insurance. For drivers with accident forgiveness, Liberty Mutual wont raise your rates due to your first accident. See Car Insurance in a whole new light. Call Liberty Mutual insurance. U. S. Military says air strikes over the past two days destroyed 14 isis vehicles in iraq including a pair of transporting antiaircraft artillery pieces. Pentagon also confirms reports of a strike targeting a large isis ground unit killing 50 to 70 isis fighters. Has the United States also targeted top isis leaders in this Current Campaign inside iraq . Brian todd has been looking into this part of the story. The u. S. Has been bombing isis for more than a month and tonight were learning that not once have the terrorist groups top leaders been specifically targeted. The administrations critics are furious saying they should be putting more pressure on the isis leadership. East specially t hes considered the new bin laden p, the man behind the isis tactics of be headings, but so far,ed a baghdadi has not been in the sites of u. S. Warplane, a spokesman saying we have not conducted any targeted air strikes on specific isil leaders. They are supporting humanitarian efforts and iraqi forces, a policy that has critics fuming. We need to be targeting the top isis leadership. Our policy up to now hasnt been good enough. Its a daylight and a dollar short and thats why isis is a threat to the United States. Military could recommend a drone or air strike on baghdadi, but any mission to kill him would have to be approved by president obama. When the president obama gives the word, it will be a formidable capability that we would launch against his organization. Why hasnt the president given the order yet . The white house says they need time to build intelligence. I would anticipate as intelligence crystallizes, that our american capabilities will expand accordingly. So far has there been any intelligence good enough to authorize an air strike . Im quite certain that isis is staying off the phone and nobody around baghdadi would have a cell phone for instance or any sort of communication. We are not well positioned to do this. But a u. S. Intelligence official tells cnn the intelligence on isis leaders is good and there is a tracked record of success. Osama bin laden in pakistan. Al awlaki in yemen. Some analysts say killing baghdadi wont be effective because someone else will simply take his place. Others disagree. Saying leaders like baghdadi bring special skills. What he brings is really a different image and mentality, mindset, and what we see this playing out through the groupsing a a agrees saggressie use of tactics, its ideology. Everyone the twitter campaign. All centerly planned and organized. Officials point on the threat from baghdadi is relatively recent. An official urges patience telling us it is a real cat and mouse game and in this case the cat is an experienced hunter. You have information on how tough it is to track this leader. We get the clear picture he is a very clever and elusive operator. He survived the u. S. Surge in iraq. Hes been in address out of u. S. Custody in iraq over the years. He is obsessed with staying in the shadows. It there are reports he covers his face even when meeting with his open people. Only team he was in the public eye was when he gave a sermon in early july. Since then, we believe hes gone underground. Mosul now under isis control. Thanks very much. Lets get more now. Joining us, Nicholas Chris to have and author of a brand new very important book, agent storm. If the cia is charged to do a targeted assassination of isis leadership, walk ugs through how it unfolds. They would need to know where he is and the trouble is, they dont have good human Intelligence Networks in syria right now. It took time to develop those in afghanistan, pakistan, also yemen. High bo my book is about a double agent who managed to help them track down some of these people. But the United States does not have those Intelligence Networks yet in syria. And really no more in iraq. Its interesting in the meeting the president just wrapped up at the white house, we got a readout saying he wants the president to authorize what he called lethal targeting of isil or isis leadership. Is that a good idea to start targeted assassinations of the isis leadership right now whether in iraq or syria with drone strike, hell fighter missiles or other capabilities . I think if we can locate al baghdadi or other isis leaders, they should be taken out before one of the things that has been going for isis, it has been charismatic and perceived as successful. But i agree, i think it is really hard. When al baghdadi spoke in mosul, apparently the Cell Phone Networks were turned off in the city so nobody could inform foreign intelligence organizations where he was. So i think its worth trying, but i wouldnt hold my breath about its success. The other day the u. S. Launched a drone strike against the he wi he wi he will sha bob terrorist leader and killed him. A lot of people think they may have had someone on the inside in that attack. They took on a lot of the top leadership. Very specific time and place and military encampment were meeting at. A year ago almost to the day, the president delivered a speech to the miles per hoamerican pubg other things he said this. Listen. Its true that some of as sat o assads opponents are xem x. Extremists. But al qaeda will only draw strength if people there see the world doing nothing to prevent innocent civilians from being gassed to death. That was a year ago. And now we know whats happened in that year. Give me your analysis of what went so horribly wrong over the past year. I dont know whether alternative policies would have worked better, but i do think and speaking as a fan of president obamas policy, i do think that this is not one of his stronger areas. There has been something of a vacuum that we havent had much of a strategy. And assad did have a strategy. He went after weaker commanders in syria that helped isis grow. Isis was very smart and shrewd about making money. Governing territory, using that to pay for fighters and then indeed going across into iraq taking advantage of al malikis extraordinarily poor governance. And the upshot is that today isis controls an area across a few countries that is roughly the size of great britain. So i do hope that remember some of the Cautionary Statements that he made before. Hes under tremendous pressure to move into syria in a big way. I think its fine and important to exercise some containment, to try to degrade their capacity, but i would be really careful about trying to embark on a kind of war when we dont have any kind of allies on the ground who can follow up on our air strikes. Fair enough. Guys, thanks very much. Up next in our special report, why its more difficult to go after isis targets in syria compared to striking isis targets in iraq. And in our next hour in the situation room, ray rice reaches out. Stay tuned for the message he sent to cnns rachel nichols. Eenie. Meenie. Miney. Go. More adventures await in the sevenpassenger lexus gx. See your lexus dealer. So what were looking for is a way to plus our Accounting Firms mobile plan. And minus our expenses. Perfect timing. Were offering our bestever pricing on mobile plans for business. Run the numbers on that. Well, unlimited talk and text, and ten gigs of data for the five of you would be. Oneseventyfive a month. Good calculating kyle. Good job kyle. You just made partner. Our bestever pricing on mobile share value plans for business. Now with a 100 bill credit for every business line you add. Could save you fifteen percent or more on Car Insurance. Everybody knows that. Well, did you know you that former pro Football Player ickey woods will celebrate almost anything . Unhuh. Number 44. Whoooo fortyfour, thats me get some cold cuts. Get some cold cuts. Get some cold cuts whooo gimme some geico. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on Car Insurance. Whoo fortyfour ladies, thats me whoo. Gonna get some cold cuts today could mean less waiting for things like security backups and file downloads youd take that test, right . What are you waiting for . You could literally be done with the test by now. Now you could have done it twice. This is awkward. Go to comcastbusiness. Com checkyourspeed. If we cant offer faster speeds or save you money well give you 150. Comcast business built for business. U. S. Jets and drones have carried out 153 strikes on isis targets in iraq since last month but syria presents a greater challenge. If you look at the top 20 military powers in the world, half of them are part of this coalition that will now focus its attention on trying to drive isis out of its strong holds in syria and iraq. To do that they have to look at whats been working. What has worked over in iraq . Strikes by faa 18s and drones have driven isis back from positions theyve held. Degraded their command structure to some degree. Cooperation with the Iraqi Military such as it is has allowed them to exploit that air power, and the presence of a friendly government. A government that wants to work through the United States, makes all of that in the eyes of the white house work in iraq even if it is slow. What happens if you move that over to syria . A very different equation. Yes, you can still fly faa 18s and drones in but youre flying into a country where theyre not necessarily welcome. When where some people might call it an act of war to be there. Youre not coordinating with an blishld military. The Free Syrian Army may be 50,000 people but these are rebel forces. To make them exploit these things properly, to lead you to the proper targets, much, much more complicated. And last of all, the government in syria, bashar al assad, a government the Obama Administration says they want out of power. You cant expect cooperation there. Thanks very much. Coming up at the top of the hour, president obama is ready to reveal his plan for a stemmed up campaign against isis. Were getting new details about tomorrow nights prime time address. And hes been fired by his team. Suspended by the nfl. Now ray rice is speaking out to cnn. President obama reveals parts of his new plan to attack isis. Before he faces the American People and orders military action. Ill talk to an insider who advised the president just hours ago. Plus, a disturbing new look at the Malaysia Airlines flight in ukraine. Were Digging Deeper into the cause of the disaster and what investigators left out. And suspended nfl player ray rice speaking out to cnn. His wife is sending a message as well after shocking video of him punching her in an elevator and knocking her out. We want to welcome our viewers from the United States and around the world. Im wolf blitzer. Youre in the situation room. Right now, president obama is on the brink of launching a more aggressive military assault on isis terrorists. He just briefed congressional leaders about his new long term battle plan that hell unveil formally. 9 00. That eastern tomorrow night in a nationwide address. This hour were learning more about what he will and wont say in his televised address to the American People who now see isis as a very serious threat. We have our correspondents and analysts and news makers standing by to bring you all the new developments. First, lets go to our white house correspondent, michelle cosmetic insky. Reporter they called it productive. They said the president told them he already has the authority he needs to move forward with his plan. Thats likely telling us that it is not going to be a lot farther in scope than what is already been put out there. Even though the white house is calling this a new phase in fighting isis. A next more offensive phase. They say that is what the president will announce to the American Public and the world tomorrow night. Of course, how much detail will be included is another question here. The president today meeting with congressional leadership with the white house again called consultation. One day before he lays out to the American People his plan against isis. The president will make his case based firmly on what he believes is in the best interests of the United States. Reporter the wous says this weeks formation of a more inclusive Iraqi Government plus progress from u. S. Air strikes now equals a turning point, a reason to maam out what the plan now is in this flew phase. Not a minute too soon for republican leadership. You need to identify military objectives and explain how those ends will be accomplished. Until we know what the strategy is, we dont know what will be involved. And so it is critically important that we take these in some organized steps, and the first step is whats the plan . Wheres the big disconnect there . Why do you think Congress Still doesnt even know what the plan is . Well, michelle, i wont speak to or try to assess the motivation of some critics of the president who may suggest that he doesnt have a strategy. That will not deter this administrations commitment to consulting with members of congress and describing to them the strategy that the president is pursuing and has been pursuing for some time to confront this threat. Failing that, i assume that each of these members of congress has televisions. Reporter an address that will be one year to the day after this prime time address on syrias use of chemical weapons. I will not put american boots on the ground in syria. I will not pursue an open edged action like iraq or afghanistan. I will not pursue a Prolonged Air Campaign Like libya or kosovo. Reporter those air strikes never happened but as to prolonged or open edged in this situation now, the white house acknowledges the president will not be telling the nation how much approximately his plan will cost or how long it will last. I wouldnt expect something quite that detailed. He will talk about the risks reporter so will the detail be there to reassure the public and to satisfy congress that this is a comprehensive strategy . Thats what well be looking at. In the latest polls, a large majority of americans do agree with some of the elements the president has laid out. The air strikes, humanitarian aid, no boots on the ground, the international coalition. A large majority of americans also see isis as a direct threat to National Security and feel that the president has not yet laid out a clear plan. Wolf . From the white house, thanks very much. There are many, many challenges for the president when he reveals his new isis strategy to the nation, including the fact that he once seemed to downplay the danger from this terror group by likening it to a jv team. He is trying to walk back from comment. We may see more of that tomorrow night. Lets bring in our security correspondent. It was in january of this year when he compared isis and some of these other al qaeda spinoffs as the jv team. Thats right. And since then, youve heard the Administration Argument on this that he was speaking about all groups in this area as opposed to isil. Specifically the organizations, Washington Post who check that and say thats not accurate. When you look at the transcript, he does seem to be answering that question in that context. It is not the only comment about this that has changed over time and i dont think it will be lost on people that tomorrow when he speaks at 9 00 on september 10th, it will be exactly a year since september 10th, 2013, when he spoke about not taking military action in syria. There was a particular comment in that speech that we came across in how he described the threat from extremist groups inside syria at the time. Lets have a listen. Its true that some of assads opponents are extremists. But al qaeda will only draw strength in a more chaotic syria if people there see the world doing nothing to prevent innocent civilians from being gassed to death. Here we are, a year later. Where those extremists that he mentions there that might have profited from air strikes against assad. Now those extremists, isis in particular are the target of the campaign that he is expected to detail tomorrow, one year later. And africa year after deciding not to take military action, he is taking military action. I asked the white house if this is on the oneyear anniversary, was it all the factoring, planning, they said no, it was not. What did they say about that he is speaking on the eve of the anniversary of 9 11 . They did not say thats a factor in particular but it is impossible to separate those two dates. Thanks very much. Some members of congress are urging a vote on mimt action against isis even though president obama told lawmakers he has the ability to strike without any formal congressional approval. Several senior members from both parties tell cnn, they dont expect a vote to actually happen. Joining us now, ben card from maryland. A key member of the Senate Foreign relations committee. Thanks very much for joining us. A pleasure to be with you. In a statement the white house put out, you heard michelle report, they told the leaders, he has the authority he needs to take action against isil in accordance with the mission he will lay out. There is no vote needed to allow the president to expand the war against terrorism right now. Are you with him on that . First i want to hear what he has to same. Lets say he says that the United States is about to try to destroy isis in syria and the u. S. Is about to launch air strikes in syria. Does he need a vote for that . The president has said and i agree. The United States acts in a stronger way when congress and the Administration Work together on a Foreign Policy. I hope that we can have a United Administration in congress on how we take action against isil. Does that mean you want the president to seek formal congressional authorization . I Want Congress working with the president. He may have the authority to act on what hes trying to do. I want to hear what hes trying to say. I want to make this also clear. Military action in and of itself will not get rid of isil. We need to make sure theyre marginalized as far as the support network is concerned. And were working in iraq to make sure there is an inclusive government, that cuts off the support for extremist groups. Do you want the u. S. To start targeting isis in not only in iraq but syria . I want us to take action with the International Community to marginalize and hopefully does that mean air strikes i dont want to be drawn into a long military campaign. I dont want to be drawn into other countries where their problems are internal and theyre not really going to be resolved by u. S. Military involvement. I am very cautious about military involvement. I voted against the 2001 for force in iraq. I dont want to see us revisit that type of authorization again. However i want to work with the International Community. I think we can have a plan that includes both military strikes and marginalizing the network. Military strikes in syria. Youre with that. I didnt say in syria. I said dealing with isil. Isis or isil, whatever we indicate. They have a huge amount of hand. About the size of great britain. Not only iraq but syria as well. There is no question. Theyre not a country. There is a different situation when youre invite into a country as we were in iraq and dealing in syria. Syria is a little more complicated. Of course the Syrian Government has its issues dealing with isil. It is not as simple. My viewcy want to work the International Community. We have to be very cautious to think we can do this in a military way and we have to be very cautious. The only way the u. S. And the other International Partners are going to not only degrade isis but destroy or defeat isis is with military action. You can have some political effort but if you are not going in there and kill them, they are going to expand. I think theres a matter for military action. Youre not going to get rid of them solely by military action. Youll have to deal with the support networks and the support networks mean you have to cut off their Financial Support which is several of the muslim countries, arab countries. And you need to deal with the Representative Government thats deal with moderate sunnis so they are not drawn to support of isil. Do you support targeting the isis or isil leadership for assassination . I believe we have to marginalize the isil leadership. Im not that concerned about how we go about doing it. Do you mean kill them . I think we have to take them out. No question you have to take out the extremists and they are extremely dangerous people. This is a brutal organization. It is not just a terror organization. It is barbaric. Most of the leadership are in syria, not in iraq. I think theyre in several countries. No question theres a problem in syria and a problem for syria itself. The fact they have isil in their country. I want to be cautious about this. We heard similar language in 2001. We were drawn into a long conflict. 2001 was the authorization for the war in afghanistan. In 2002, the end of 2002, there was authorization that congress voted to authorize the president to go into, to liberate iraq, if you will, to get rid of saddam hussein. That started in march 2003. Did you vote against both of those operations . The afghanistan authorizing the president to take military action . President obama in afghanistan and then authorizing president obama in 2002 to take action against iraq . I vote four of the actions in 2001. I voted against the actions at the end of 2002. I voted against that authorization. There was no evidence to me that there was a reason for u. S. Military to be in iraq. So right now youre undecided how you would vote if there were a formal resolution authorizing the president to go to war against isis in syria . I hope when it comes time for congressional action, that congress and the administration will be together. I want to make sure that any authorization i vote for is not open edged that could lead to long u. S. Involvement. Particularly in an internal involvement. Thank you for coming in. Still ahead, behind the scenes of the president s isis strategy, ill speak with a former u. S. Congresswoman jane harmon. She was at a dinner with the president last night at the white house. Ill ask her what advice she gave to the president and what she heard. Plus, were hearing for the first time from ray rice and his wife after he was suspended because of the video showing him punching her out. Rice has reached out to rachel nichols. When folks think about what they get from alaska, they think salmon and energy. But the energy bp produces up here creates Something Else as well jobs all over america. Engineering and innovation jobs. Advanced Safety Systems technology. Shipping and manufacturing. Across the United States, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. When we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. Thats not a coincidence. Its one more part of our commitment to america. When your favorite food starts a fight fight back fast with tums. Relief that neutralizes acid on contact. And goes to work in seconds. Tum, tum tum tum tums try great tasting tums chewy delights. Yummy. A newly released report has chilling details of the jumbo jet in july. There is one thing shockingly missing from the preliminary dutch investigation. Our aviation correspondent Richard Quest is working the story for us. Hell have much more in a few moments, first, cnns reporter is in ukraine at the crash site. Shem it is still effectively a war zone. Wolf, this really does feel like a god for saken place. It is not two months since mh17 and the wreckage is still strewn across these fields, across fresh craters from mortars and ground rockets. It doesnt feel like a cease fire here. You can still hear the artillery shelling. When you speak to the locals and ask them, what do you think of the cease fire . They laugh in your face them say what cease fire . This is a very pro rebel area. In the days after mh 17 came down, ukraine investigators did manage to come here to investigate the crash. Since then, because of the security situation, none of the International Investigation team under the auspices of the Dutch Safety Board have managed to visit the site. Mh 17 for the donetsk peoples republic which controls this area has not and is not a priority. So this wreckage looks like it is here to stay for the duration of this war which seems depressingly far from being over. Wolf . In ukraine for us, well have more on this story. More on isis and the president s speex. There is other news were following including the suspended nfl star ray rice and his wife. They are now both speaking out one day after ray rice was followed by the Baltimore Ravens following the release of this Surveillance Video showing him punching his then fiance, knocking her out. Ray rice reached out directly. Im quoting now, Im Just Holding strong for my wife and kid. Thats all i can do right now. Direct quote. Also speaking out, the nfl commissioner, Roger Goodell. Listen to what he told cbs news about the video showing rice striking his fiance. To be clear, did you know a second tape existed . Well, we had not seen any videotape of what occurred in the elevator. We assumed that there was a video. We asked for video. We asked for anything that was pertinent. But we were never granted that opportunity. Lets bring in rachel nichols. And jeffy tubin, our senior legal analyst. Walk us through the Text Exchange you had with ray rice today. I reached out to him and thats what he said back. When you match it next to janays comments, talk about her husband and her feelings, they certainly match up and it matches one the dialogue theyve had through this whole process. Look, janay and ray met when they were in high school. They are very sbined in each others lives. Theyve both main tained this was not an abusive relationship. It was one incident. It is up to everybody on the outside to think how they feel about that but this is consistent with what theyve been saying the whole time and they have a daughter together. They certainly intend to Stay Together through this, whatever comes next. What do you think of what we just heard from Roger Goodell, the nfl commissioner . He said we have not seen any videotape of what occurred in the elevator. We assumed there was video. We asked for anything pert nenl but we were never granted that opportunity. What is your reaction when you hear that . Well, first i do worry that we are overfocused on this video because it is so graphic and shocking and visceral and i understand that. You didnt need to see this video to make a different ruling than Roger Goodell initially did. There was video available of ray rice dragging his wife out of the elevator unconscious. Both ray and his wife have given full accounts of what happened in that elevator to police and nfl investigators and to roger gerell when they met with him. So the video is shocking. Watching him throw that punch tears your heart out but the question when was they saw the video and could they have done more to see it, i think they could have done more to see the video. Tmz object tained it. They could have obtained it. The video is not the key thing. A woman was punched unconscious and the nfl needs to take more responsibility with its players. Ray rice is not the only one. The company that owns the elevator, they say they cooperated with local law enforcement. They made that video available. For some reason the nfl didnt get it . I may not, it is sort of weird to hear that the nfl didnt get this video which was made available to law enforcement. They got the other video but not this. How unusual is that . It is often the case that prosecutors say to outside investigators, look, dont interview our witnesses whale our case is still active. That doesnt explain why they didnt get the video. This isnt a witness. It is a video. It wont change depending on how many people look at it. Also, they could have gone to ray rice whose lawyers had the right to see that video, who presumably have the video and say if you want to make a deal, you have to turn over to us all the evidence that youve gotten. So it certainly seems at best a very passive attitude on the part of the nfl in this investigation. One could applausebly say, they didnt want to know anymore than the bad outside the video. You and i know, you go to one of those casinos. There are video cameras, closed circuit cameras all over the plaxs especially in elevators. And you think anybody for the nfl would say we want all the video, they would specifically ask for any video in that elevator. Since the other video we saw, he was dragging her out of that elevator. It certainly shows that it was not a very rigorous investigation on the part of the nfl. It is possible, and i do want to say. This it is possible the prosecutors said dont mess with our evidence. Dont tamper with our witnesses. Thats fairly common. When you know for a certainty that there is video in the elevator, if youre the nfl, you want to get that individual he wrote and it certainly doesnt seem like they tried very hard. And were talking about seeing the video you dont have to get your own copy. You can make sure a high official walks into the casino not far away from the new york offices and ask to see it in the security offices. They dont even need to get their own little itunes copy. They could have gone to sight. A lot of reasons this is disturbing. I want to stress as much as this video shows the lack of attitude investigating this, you shouldnt have needed to see it. This is a problem we knew existed. This incident, we had all the information ahead of time. If i could just add, the other question that really needs to be asked here, you know, putting aside the nfl, how the Atlantic County prosecutors gave ray rice such a sweet deal of a completely clear record if he just went to some ridiculous counseling sessions. Why that video, which they clearly had. Everybody knows that. Doesnt lend that to an actual prosecution, thats really shocking. Thats the question i wanted to ask you. Celebrity justice. Is there one standard for average people out there . If some guy is seen in an elevator slamming his wife in the face, knocking her out, fiance then, soon to be his wife, dragging her out of the elevator, punching her out in the face and she is out cold, is there one set of justice for an average guy who would do that as opposed to a multimillionaire running back star . I have a piece up at cnn. Com about a federal judge named mark fuller who punched out his wife in a hotel in atlanta just in august. And last week, he got almost identical sweet deal that ray rice got. And judge fuller, amazingly enough, thinks he will go back on the federal bench in alabama. I certainly expect that the federal Judicial Council wont allow that. But it is true. And frankly, i dont know that it is just a matter of powerful and not powerful. I think it is more often a question of men and women. That men get away with Domestic Violence a lot in this country. Powerful men getaway with it more as illustrated by the rice case and the judge fuller case. On this is a crime thats not prosecuted as vigorously as it should be. And both these cases in atlanta and Atlantic City illustrate that. And you know theres a lot of pressure mounting to step down as the nfl commissioner. The argument is, the nfl, you know what . They didnt really want to know. There was too much money and reputation. They just wanted this to go away. Youve heard those arguments. Your reaction. I dont see that happening. The Kansas City Star called for that and in an editorial, ive seen tv commentators call for that. Roger goodell answers to 32 nfl owners who hes made a tremendous amount of money over the last few years. And i think he knows that he does have a chance to write the ship. They have put out a more stringent Domestic Abuse policy that is a good first step. Now they need to be leaders in applying it. I want to talk about two cases in the nfl system right now. You have greg hardy who plays for the carolina panthers. He was convicted. Not just charged but convicted of Domestic Abuse. What he did according to a Police Report was hurl his girlfriend to the bathroom floor, pick her up and then hurl her on to a couch that was full of assault weapons and other rifles. So i want to you picture that scene. He was convicted. He appealed for a jury trial and during his appeal, he is being allowed to play in the nfl. You have ray mcdonald of the 49 heres got into an incident with his pregnant girlfriend a couple weeks ago. The police found enough evidence that they charged him with felony domestic assault. He went and played a week later. The nfl needs to take a stronger stand and that is where i see Roger Goodell facing the most pressure. I dont see him stepping down but he is going to have to take these cases more seriously. And he can start with the two that are currently on his desk. Let me quickly get your reaction to janay rice. Now wife of ray rice. She instagramed a statement today. No one knows the pain that the media and unwanted options from the public has caused my family to make us relive a moment in our lives. If your intentions were to hurt us and take all happiness away, youve succeeded on so many levels. Explain her role in all of this. Because a lot of people are focusing in on her reaction as well. Well, look, first of all, janay rice is entitled to say and think anything she wants. I think people judging her have not walked in her shoes. I think it is important that we allow her to feel what she wants. She doesnt want to be seen as a victim. Thats understandable. And she has a complex relationship with the father of her child. She is right. None of us are in that relationship. When she came to the stage that you guys are showing now, and apologized for her role in the ings dental, that upset a lot of people. A woman cannot cause her own beating. That isnt something that can happen. And it was frustrating to see her fit into that role. That being said, it is understandable to see her doing. This we see this with Domestic Abuse quite often, frankly. If could i just add. We often use the phrase, does the woman want to bring charges . It is not a matter of a woman bringing charges. Domestic violence is a crime against the community as well as against an individual. And if she wants to stay married to ray rice, thats her business. But ray rice committing an assault is something that the state, here the state of new jersey needs to prosecute regardless of what she wants. Thats a big difference. A Quick Reaction. I want to get jeffreys Quick Reaction to the statement the white house put out on this case. This is from the press secretary. Hitting a woman is not something a real man does. And thats true whether or not an act of violence happens in the public eye or far too often behind closed doors. There has been some criticism for the use of the phrase, real man, jeffrey. Hitting a woman is not something any man, real man, not real man. Any man. No one should be hitting a woman. Yes. Thats true. I dont know. That seems like a rather overly precise parsing. I dont think anyone could accuse the white house of condoning Domestic Violence. I think all that josh was saying was common sense. Men should not hit women. I dont think anybody is any doubt about what he mental there. Final thought. The one thing out of janay rices instagram post. Weve now seen this video many, many times. Anybody who needed to be exposed to it has been exposed to it. Her comment that the media showing this over and over and over again. I dont want to jump set the people in the control room, she may have a point about that. We need to consider how many times do we need to see her husband hitting her and at what point are we victimizing her for our own entertainment of i think thats an important thought to take forward. Again, you dont have to see the video to know how bad the assault was and you dont need to act accordingly. But once you see the video, it makes you squirm. It is horrendous indeed. Thank you very much. Just ahead, president obama seeks vais before he shares his new isis strategy with the world. Plus, chilly new information about the downing of malaysian Airlines Flight 17. Stand by for that report and the Crucial Detail investigators left out. And even piano tuners were just as simple . Thanks to angies list, now it is. Weve made hiring anyone from a handyman to a dog walker as simple as a few clicks. Buy their services directly at angieslist. Com no more calling around. No more hassles. Start shopping from a list of toprated providers today. Angies list is revolutionizing local service again. Visit angieslist. Com today. Thebut in the case of the s to thlexus ls. Which eyes . Eyes that pivot with the road. That can see what light misses. Eyes designed to warn when yours wander. Or ones that can automatically bring the ls to a complete stop. All help make the unseen. Seen. And make the ls perhaps the most visionary vehicle on the road. This is the pursuit of perfection. We are a collection of smalls. A home saved. A hero homebound for a new opportunity. A kitchen that kick starts careers wells fargo invests in our communities a little differently. Small measures that add up to make our whole even greater. Little by little we can do a lot. Because. Small is huge. Visit www. Wellsfargo. Com to see how big small can be. At university of phoenix, this is a woman hesitating on a lifechanging decision. We know going back to school is a big decision. Thats why we offer students new to college a riskfree period. So you can commit to your education with confidence. Get started at riskfreephoenix. Com former Vice President dick cheney ripping into the policy. He met privately with House Republicans today. Hell go public with his criticism tomorrow. Cheney will give a speech here in washington that may turn out to be a preemptive strike against the president only hours before the president lays out his new strategy for defeating isis. He is reaching out to Foreign Policy experts as he prepares to address the nation. Joining us now, congresswoman jane harmon of the Woodrow Wilson central. She is in charge of. Think tank. She is one of the select group of advisers who had dinner with president obama last night. Very small dinner. Congresswoman harmon, did you get a sense emerging from that dinner that the president will announce as early as tomorrow night in his speech that he is ready to launch limited air strikes against isis targets, not only in iraq but syria . I certainly got the sense thats under consideration, wolf. By the way, the small group us who had dinner with him included prominent republicans, steve hadley, the form he National Security adviser, richard haass, heads the council on Foreign Relations and others and i was pleased to see that it was a bipartisan discussion and that the president was reaching out to people in both parties to talk about some of the tough issues. Yes, syria i think is on the agenda tomorrow. I dont know precisely what he will announce but he made clear he has the Legal Authority to do it and he is building a broader coalition to be supportive. And i was very pleased to see the fact that people in the region including the arab league are joining this coalition. Did you get the sense he would start trying to target the isis leadership for assassination . I dont recall that being specifically discussed, but we have in the past, we the United States, targeted terrorist organizations. This is a faux terrorist state so i think this is an even more dangerous group than some of those where we have successfully targeted and taken out leadership. For example, recently in somalia with al shabad. I would assume thats under consideration. The president did not say here are my five points for wednesday. What do you think . He said i want your best ideas about how to degrade and defeat isis, isil, which is his point. Isil meaning the l, a group that has aspirations beyond iraq and syria and he wanted the best ideas on ukraine and russia. The group was forthcoming. I talked about the role i think Congress Needs to play. And i think that role is to vote to amen the authorization to use military force or to provide other specific authority to the president to act. Thats congresss constitutional responsibility. I think it is a shame the president is continuing to use authorities which he has under article 2 as commanderinchief and under the 60day win over permitted under the war powers act. He is it clear he wont seek such a resolution of authorization. He thinks he already has it and doesnt need it. Not doesnt need it. He has all the Legal Authority he needs. Hes correct on that point. If were going to engage on a Long Term Strategy against isil, he will need more authority. And my point as a former member of congress who voted for the authorization to use military force in 2001 and 2002 is Congress Needs to step up to the plate. And this blame and hide game has really run its course here. Were just getting a statement from the white house. The president could not veenld his top National Security advisers today to review measures of preparedness american ours this, the anniversary, coming up thursday of 9 11. The president s national Security Team is continuing to take measures to prevent attacks against the homeland. The administrations top National Security priority. Very quickly, did he indicate there was any specific concern about an attack against u. S. Interests on thursday, the anniversary of 9 11 . No. That wasnt specifically discussed. Im certainly aware of the preparations were taking on an Advisory Committee to the home lanl security department. I talk today with jay johnson, the head of homeland security. You have to understand that there are at least 100 or so u. N. Foreign fighters. This is a publicly known fact. Connected to isil and there are also many more from europe. And these people have western passports. So there is some reason to worry. There is no such thing as 100 security but i am aware of precautions were taking. I hope theyre not going to be publicly announced. But his administration is paying a lot of attention on 9 11. Not just in the u. S. But to guard our embassies abroad. I think thats one of the reason he single 350 military personnel to the u. S. Embassy in baghdad to help protect the american diplomats. You bet. Thats our largest embassy. Jane harman, thank you for joining us. Just ahead, well have more on the downing of malaysian flight 17 over ukraine. Theres something that is missing. Many people will find shocking. Plus, troubling poll numbers for president obama as he prepares to address the nation about the Terror Threat to isis. So what were looking for is a way to plus our Accounting Firms mobile plan. And minus our expenses. Perfect timing. Were offering our bestever pricing on mobile plans for business. Run the numbers on that. Well, unlimited talk and text, and ten gigs of data for the five of you would be. Oneseventyfive a month. Good calculating kyle. Good job kyle. You just made partner. Our bestever pricing on mobile share value plans for business. Now with a 100 bill credit for every business line you add. But ive managed. I got to be pretty good at managing my symptoms, except that managing my symptoms was all i was doing. When i finally told my doctor, he said my crohns was not under control. He said humira is for adults like me whove tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohns disease. And that in clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief. And many achieved remission. [ female announcer ] humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. If youre still just managing your symptoms, ask your gastroenterologist about humira. With humira, remission is possible. Revolutionary by every standard. And that became our passion. To always build something better, airplanes that fly cleaner and farther on less fuel. That redefine comfort and connect the world like never before. After all, you cant turn dreams into airplanes unless your passion for innovation is nonstop. Unless your passion for innovatbig day . Onstop. Ah, the usual. Moved some new cars. Hauled a bunch of steel. Kept the supermarket shelves stocked. Made sure everyone got their latest gadgets. Whats up for the next shift . Ah, nothing much. Just keeping the lights on. laugh nice. Doing the big things that move an economy. See you tomorrow, mac. See you tomorrow, sam. Just another day at norfolk southern. Having a perfectly nice day, when out of nowhere a pickup truck slams into your brand new car. One second it wasnt there and the next second. Boom youve had your first accident. Now you have to make your first claim. So you talk to your Insurance Company and. Boom youre blindsided for a second time. They wont give you enough money to replace your brand new car. Dont those people know youre already shaken up . Liberty mutuals new car replacement will pay for the entire value of your car plus depreciation. Call and for drivers with accident forgiveness, Liberty Mutual wont raise your rates due to your first accident. Switch to Liberty Mutual insurance and you could save up to 423 dollars. Call Liberty Mutual for a free quote today at see Car Insurance in a whole new light. Liberty mutual insurance. Were now in the Malaysia Airlines flight 17, a new preliminary dutch report on the downing of the jumbo jet contains, one thing is shockingly missing. Falling from the sky. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashed in the middle of a war zone in eastern ukraine. I think with each new report of the unbiased investigation, well be closer to the truth. The report by dutch investigators show it was a normal flight. After takeoff from amsterdam. The plane was flying legally in unrestricted air space. It was following instructions. It was clearly identified as a boeing 777 by both russian and Ukrainian Air traffic control. But suddenly, the pilot stopped responding to radio calls. The radar showed the plane started falling apart and the flight recorders abruptly came to an end. No warnings, no maydays. No warnings or lergts of malfunctions were heard on the cockpit voice recording. The serial number on the flight recorders found by the rebels at the crash site matched those unique number, given to the plane. It showed there was no sign of tampering. Because of security concerns, dutch investigators have still not had coordinated access to the wreckage. The photographs taken by others do hold clues. The wide debris field indicates the plane broke apart in the air. Below the pilots seat, the floor is riddled with holes. And more shrapnel damage around the cockpit window and all of it indicating it came from outside penetrating into the plane. The aircraft was penetrated by a large number of high energy object. High Energy Objects as skribds in the report, the word missile is never used. The reason, investigators are looking at the cause of the crash. Not who was at fault. And so far, they dont have the final evidence to prove it was a missile. We are not involved in blame. We are not involved in that. Wolf, why this is a significant report is it is the First Official document that does say that it was an external force that brought the plane down and those high Energy Objects frankly leave little else to be desired, other than just ahead, what are americans saying about president obama and his plan to deal with the isis Terror Threat . We have new poll numbers. When a pro at any 2014 pga tour event sinks a holeinone, quicken loans will pay your mortgage for an entire year. That is how its done. Truly amazing get in the holeinone sweepstakes. Enter today at pgatour. Com quickenloans and you could have your mortgage paid for an entire year. Are the largest targets in the world, for every hacker, crook and nuisance in the world. But systems policed by hps cyber Security Team are constantly monitored for threats. Outside and in. Thats why hp reports and helps neutralize more intrusions than anyone. In the world. If Hp Security Solutions can help keep the Worlds Largest organizations safe, they can keep yours safe, too. Make it matter. Taken the time to learn i a little tiny bit ve ever of somebody elses native tongue . That opens up the doors to trust. My name is kanyon. Im a technician here in portland oregon. Every morning, i give each one of my customers a call to give them a closer eta. And when i called this customer, i discovered that he was deaf. Then i thought of amanda. Ive known American Sign Language since i was about 8 years old. Its like music for your eyes. And i thought that was an amazing gift to have, to be able to communicate with the deaf. My friend kanyon asked me to help him explain how todays appointment will go. He was nodding his head and giggling a little bit. I earned his trust that day, i guess. That corporate trial by fire when every slacker gets his due. And yet, theres someone around the office who hasnt had a Performance Review in a while. Someone whose poor performance is slowing down the entire organization. Im looking at you phone company dsl. Go to comcastbusiness. Com checkyourspeed. If we cant offer faster speeds or save you money well give you 150. Comcast business built for business. Visible numbers for congress in a new poll, only 14 of those asked approve how congress is handling the job, 80 disapprove, compare that to a year ago, 70 disapprove and more than 40 approve. And that might explain declining voting. And that is a sharp decline for the gop and more modest decline for the democrats which was low to begin with. Lets bring in gloria blouser and the former obama pollster. Gloria, these polls arent very enthusiastic. What does that port end for the future. Well people disapprove about republicans and democrats at the same rate. Nobody is enthusiastic. This is mid term voting, it is generally not great. But when you look at the enthusiasm, republicans are up over democrats and that is what scares democrats like cornell. That is an important number. Because the administration and democrats have to figure out a way to tell their voters, there is a stake here for you. We need to get you out there, or else the senate could go republican. And cornell, in 2010, the republicans were much more enthusiastic and went out and tock control of the house of representatives. That is real important. And to me this is the problem with democrats. If you look at what happened in the 2010, when we get at the voter file data and look at the six plus republican crowds, there is a 16 difference turnout. And you are talking about millions of votes. So as opposed as 2010 being a tea party wave, it was an ebb. And the same way right now, democrats have to get up then enthusiasm. I heard this arg again in 2012. But it was a president ial year. And it is energy with determination. And by the way, the president is key to a lot of that. The Obama Coalition and the younger and minority voters still believe in him first and foremost. But cornell, they may not show up and vote. And this is the tricky part for democrats. We have to put obama back on the ticket without him being on the ticket. Many dont want him on the ticket. Hes raising money [ overlapping speakers ] a lot of democrats want to run away. They want to run away with him, but they want to take his cha ching. And there is another number in our poll, wolf, and it shows that by fourpoints, voters prefer a republican congress. That is not 10 points, it is fourpoints and that still means that republicans have another advantage heading into this. Because if people dont know their candidates but they are going down the road cornell, what is the president the reelection number look, here are a problem for the republicans that control the congress. The poll is at an alltime low. Only 20 want to reelect their members. They dont like them. Why would they want to revote for them. People think the house is a done deal. Topsyturvy, anything can happen. Meaning the house stays republican. What does the president need to do tomorrow night . How much time do we have . Not much. What the president needs to do is tell the American People why isis is important to our National Security, why destroying isis is important to us. He has to say weve got to destroy them, weve got to kill them. This is why, and this is how im going to do it and this is how im going to assure because were doing this in conjunction with our allies that we can afford to do it. A lot of expectations, carnel has been raised. He has to deliver tomorrow night. I never count the president out when it comes to delivery. When the time comes for him to get bigger, he will get it bigger. He will lay it out. But with republicans, numbers move a little bit. And killing americans on the tv. The polls will show that. As long as hes not putting troops on the ground. All right, guys. Good discussion. Well see what the president has to say tomorrow night. 9 00 p. M. The prime time address. Follow us on twitter at wolf blitzer or tweet the show at cnn sit room. And watch us live or dvr the show so you wont miss a moment. That is it for me. Thanks for watching. Im wolf blitzer in the situation room. Erin burnett is up next. The president telling congress he has the authority to act on his own against isis. Is he making the proof to put troops on the ground . And ray rice. The commissioner speaks out for the first time after video is released after punching his wife. And what did the nfl know and when . And apple. Do they still have the power to wow . Lets go outfront. Good evening, everyone. Im erin et