Fast food chain is thinking outside the country. Robert reich on burger kings bolt to the great north. All in starts right now. Good evening, from new york, im chris hayes. U. S. Officials have confirmed to nbc news the u. S. Military is now flying unmanned and manned surveillance flights over Northern Syria using drones like this and other aircraft in what is widely seen as a step toward potential u. S. Air strikes against isis forces inside the current syrian border. Officials also told nbc news that president obama authorized the flights for the purpose of selecting potential targets for strikes including isis weapons, equipment, and a critical supply line from iraq to syria. This, as the u. S. Conducted two air strikes near irbil, iraq, today, in the continuing air offensive fweagainst isis in ir. If that campaign is expanded to syria, it would mean the u. S. Is effectively aligning with president Bashar Al Assad in the fight against isis, the same assad the u. S. Officials were threatening to attack exactly one year ago after his regime was found to have used chemical weapons in syrias horrific war. President obama believes there must be accountability for those who would use the worlds most heinous weapon s against te worlds most vulnerable people. Nothing today is more serious, and nothing is receiving more serious scrutiny. If it seems inexplicable, the u. S. Has gone from threatening to bomb assads forces to potentially joining the war against assads enemy, that speaks to just how ugly and messy the situation is in syria. The u. N. Estimates more than 191,000 people have been killed since the civil war began in 2011. Have a look at this graphic put together by think progress. This spider web shows all the many players in the syria conflict and how they are in conflict or aligned with each other from outside government seeking influence like saudi arabia and turkey and qatar, to the Syrian Government of Bashar Al Assad, himself, to various groups that are fighting for control inside syria against assad, islamists like al qaeda, islamic front and nusa brigades, viewed as more secular to fleed syrian army to the notorious isis, itself. Its often confusing. Any given stretch of time, different factions may be shooting at each other one moment or shooting next to each other at some shared third inmy the next. Speaking today in north carolina, president obama addressed the murder of journalist james foley by isis militants and vowed the u. S. Is committed to seeing isis vanquished. Rooting out a cancer like isis wont be easy and wont be quick but tyrants and murderers before them should recognize that kind of hateful vision ultimately is no match for the strength and hopes of people who stand together for the security and dignity and freedom that is the birth right of every human being. Earlier today i asked nbc news Foreign Correspondent ayman about the significance to start u. S. Air strikes over potential targets inside syria. Well, certainly in terms of u. S. Military operations a very significant step. Theres no doubt the u. S. Has maintained very strong intelligence over syria for some time, but the fact that this involves both unmanned and manned flights would suggest the u. S. Is planning some type of attack on syria. That doesnt mean it will carry out, but it does at least suggest that military preparations are under way. Keep in mind, we already know the u. S. Has put troops on the ground when they tried to rescue james foley, and not already has drawn criticism from the Syrian Government which is saying this is a violation of its sovereignty and warned the United States not to do it. So, its really difficult to get your head around the current battlefield conditions in syria because there are so many groups from the Free Syrian Army, to assads forces, isis, the nusra front. You can go on and on and on. What are the battledfield conditions . Seems to me theres been a chaotic stalemate for at least six months or so. Is that more or less accurate . Absolutely. In fact, theres a sense of cannibalism among some of the Syrian Rebels because theyve been fighting each other. And that has made it extremely difficult for the United States to identify potential lines or fault lines or even battlefield lines between the Syrian Opposition it has supported, given weapons to, that it wants to see succeed in toppling the regime of Bashar Al Assad. The hardliners and those hostile toward the u. S. And its allies including not only isis but al qae qaedaaffiliated groups operating inside syria. There are some pockets we know are firmly in control of some of the groups. That is possibly where the United States could start if it were to take out any operations. But its not going to be able to go beyond that to tip the balance of the fight in favor for one group over the other because in some areas theyre fighting side by side and others theyre fighting against each other. Given how complicated and chaotic it is in syria, given the fact that assad doesnt have many allies left in the region, and isis certainly doesnt seem to be ingratiating itself. As someone whos covered the region for as long as you have, how to you think american air strike s against isis in syria would be perceived . What would be the kind of regional ramifications of that . Well, certainly, you know, among several countries in the region, u. S. Military involvement would be welcomed news. You know, ive spoken to some diplomats in the region and they say the fight against isis is no different than the fight that the u. S. Is engaged in in other parts of the word. It would be an illogical extension of u. S. Military operations, but at the same time, what we are saying just a few seconds ago is the fight fwe against isis in itself is only one group. It would not necessarily be youre not going to be able to dry out the conditions for that ideology by military strikes, alone. You have to think about this from two perspectives. Shortterm military operations to contain isis, longterm defeat of isis ideology. Thats probably not going to happen on a battlefield. That has to happen with genuine reform across the arab world and muslim world, but for the time being, fighting on the ground, the u. S. Can certainly contain isis which has been expanding very rapidly both in iraq and syria over the past several months. So they can slow down that advance and certainly at least prop up some of the moderate rebels that it has been supporting over the course of the past several months as well. Theres also news today of the u. S. Resupplying Kurdish Forces with arms. At what point does kurdistan go from being basically independent in everything but name to being actually fully declared an independent state . You know, thats the aspiration of the kurdish people, but there are Geopolitical Realities that make it nearly impossible at least for the time being. Theres no doubt that any Kurdish National you speak to would like to see an independent kurdish republic. As you mentioned, theyre pretty much an effective independent state. They certainly have a lot of sovereignty in terms how they conduct their internal affairs and some extent their foreign affairs. Keep in mind if kurdistan was to be declared an independent state, it would be a landlocked state surrounded by countries that are not necessarily friendly to it including syria, iran, the new iraq, and turkey, and it would be at that point compelled to try to establish diplomatic rlelations for all kinds of reasons. Kurdish officials ive spoken to have always said their biggest reality on the ground is reason theyre unable to declare a state. They cant declare a state unless the neighbors around kurdistan want to see an Independence Day and for the time being none of those countries want to see an independent kurdistan. Ayman mohyeldin, thank you, yeahman. Big news today about two americans involved in this incredibly messy, complex situation, though in very different ways. This is douglas mccar thur mccain. San diego, california. Grew up playing basketball. Described as a goof ball in high school and who was, as first reported by nbc news, killed over the weekend allegedly while fighting with isis in syria according to the Free Syrian Army which was fighting against isis in that battle. U. S. Official confirmed todays death and his presence in syria. This is footage from the battle between isis and Free Syrian Army in which mccain is believed to have been killed. Both groups are opposed to syrian president assad, but the Free Syrian Army is viewed as the moderate, secular opposition by western forces. Free Syrian Army Forces discovered 800 in cash and american passport on mccains body after that fight, allegedly three foreign jihadis fighting with isis who died during the battle. 33yearold mccain who had taken to call himself sofala on social media tweeted this in may i reverted to islam ten years ago and i must say in sha allow, i will never look back the best thing that ever happened to me. Isis demanded a 6. 6 million ransom or release of a pakistani neuroscientist convicted of attempted murder in report in exchange for the aide worker. Before brutally killing american germist james i journal james foley, isis demanded ransom. Joining me, marie harf. I met you face to face a year ago. I came down to washington to interview john kerry, and it was about a push from the state department to the white house for possible military strikes against Bashar Al Assad. Here we are one year later and it looks like the groundwork is being laid for possible air strikes against a group that is fighting Bashar Al Assad. How are American People supposed to make sense of this . Well, i remember that day well, chris, and id make a few points on that. The first is that we will not be working with the assad regime or coordinating with them to fight isis. They are not the answer to isis. They are the reason that isis has been able to grow in strength. Theyve been able to flourish. Theyve allowed them to move freely back and forth to iraq. So on the one hand, while they may be fighting isis in places, on the other hand, they have allowed them to grow, so were very focused right now on how we, working with other partners, whether its the syrian moderate opposition as you just mentioned, the iraqis, the kurds, working with those partners to take the fight to isis. Were not going to be working with the assad regime. At a certain level, the enemy of my enemy if in fact you bomb isis, do you that then, ergo, strengthen assad . Well, unfortunately nothing in syria is as simplistic as that. From your reporting you just did, i think thats very clear. We have been clear we will take the fight to isis and do whatever we can regardless of g geographical boundaries to protect americans. Weve been clear assad lost all legitimacy to lead. You look, 190,000 people dead. Thats why weve increased our support to the moderate opposition because theyre fighting a war basically on three fronts. Against regime, against isis, and against nusra. The ap c had a story, quotg people within the administration. Things according to the ap of being contemplating of bombing isis targets and assad targets, that begins to start sounding like madness, were going to essentially going to try to ration out our bombing on both sides to maintain this horrific equilibrium because theres nothing but bad options left. Well, when ive heard conversations inside the administration and certainly what were focused on right now is how we can take the fight to isis directly. Weve talked about doing that in iraq. You mentioned more strikes around irbil today. What the president is considering is what options we can take, what actions we can take, to really degrade isis capabilit capability, but long term as your correspondent just said, theres not a purely military solution here. We need to cut off the flow of funding to isis which has been extraordinary and has allowed them to flourish. We need to cut off the ability for foreign fighters, like the american that we saw killed recently, from getting there. So its a challenge on all fronts here. Does the American Government know how Many Americans are fighting under the banner of isis right now . Well, we know there are dozens, possibly up to 100 americans who have fwoen to syria to fight for various groups, isis, nusra and other splintered groups. We dont have an exact number. We track the people. We knew this individual, douglas mccain, was there. Were aware of his death, as we said. We track these individuals because when it comes to the threat to the homeland, thats probably the most concerning aspect right now is that an american could come back to the United States and try to promote their ideology here. There was a period where we were talking about the vetted opposition. You just mentioned the Free Syrian Army. How can you give any assurances at this point of anyone being vetted in the maelstrom of chaos and violence that is syria . Well, we go to Great Lengths to vet people we give any assistance to. Particularly when were talking about this new department of Defense Program we asked congress to authorize, to train and equip the Syrian Opposition, we go to Great Lengths to vet them. For exactly the reason you mentioned. We dont want our assistance falling into the wrong hands. If an american kid who liked to play baseball and hip hop can end up fighting for isis, one imagining a Free Syrian Army fighter with an american weapon can someday decide he also wants to join isis and theres not exactly going to be a process in which he hands over his weaponen. Marie harf from the state department. Thank you so much. Thank you. Up next, a new audio recording surfaced, the lawyer of the man who recorded it said its from the very moment that officer Darren Wilson shot Michael Brown in ferguson. We have the tape. Well play it for you, ahead. Or the dads . With guaranteed low prices on colored pencils, its definitely the dads. Staples. Make more happen for less. I thought so what . , but now cai cant stop playing. Rst thats not how it works. I mean its so simple. Its like my Car Insurance. I saved 15 in fifteen minutes. Well esurance could have saved you money in half that time. Three in a row sweet 15 minutes for a quote isnt so sweet. Level 2 start with a quote from esurance and you could save money on Car Insurance in half the time. Welcome to the modern world. Esurance, backed by allstate. Click or call. [music] defiance is in our bones. Defiance never grows old. Citracal maximum. Easily absorbed calcium plus d. Beauty is bone deep. Theres some good news out of the middle east today. A new longterm ceasefire between israel and hamas would ease traffic restriction and allow much needed humanitarian aid into gaza. The current war began 50 days ago and rulesulted in the death of palestinians, and People Killed by air strikes just today, and 70 israelis including two civilians hit by rocket fooi just as the ceasefire was being announced. I have to say, it is very, very difficult to say after all this horrible destruction and death and cruelty and sorrow exactly what it was all for. Be right back. [ dog barks ] [ male announcer ] imagine the cars we drive. Being able to see so clearly. To respond so intelligently and so quickly, they can help protect us from a world of unseen danger. Its the stuff of science fiction. Minus the fiction. And it is mercedesbenz. Today. See your authorized dealer for exceptional offers through mercedesbenz financial services. See your authorized dealer for exceptional offers wouldnt it be great if hiring plumbers, carpenters shopping online is as easy as it gets. 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. Tonight weve got new audio recording purported to capture the exact moment when Michael Brown was shot by Police OfficerDarren Wilson. According to his lawyer, a man who wants to remain unidentified came forward with audio of the gunfire which he says he recorded inadvertently while taping a video message to a friend. While the recording has not yet been confirmed as the actual shooting, the lawyer, lupa blumenthal told nbc news the fbi has a copy theyre working to identify and speaking with their client. Shell be on the last word with Lawrence Odonnell tonight. They do confirm theyre collecting audio and video of the fatal incident on tape which the lawyer played for nbcs ron allen. You can hear what sounds like gunshots in the background of the mans amorous message. You are pretty. Youre so fine. Just going over some of your videos . We counted what seemed to be a burst of six gunshots followed by a threesecond pause then four more shots. This point, we dont know happened immediately before or after, and whether its the shooting of Michael Brown. The lawyer tells him shes confident its the real deal. No doubt in your mind this is real . Absolutely not. Hes a very solid citizen, you know, hes, i think that if it came to testifying, he would be a very reliable witness. And he has no reaso