You cant correct their wrong by doing wrong yourself. We cant fight reckless violence by being reckless and violent ourselves. We must become the change we seek as gandhi challenged us. Thanks for watching. Im al sharpton. Hardball starts right now. No quick solution in iraq. Lets play hardball. Good evening. Im steve ko rnacki. The u. S. Finds itself again entangled in iraq. Al malaki has thrown the government into a state of chaos. Hes refusing to seek power and has immobilized the iraqi army which is now surrounded with special forces and tanks. Today a new Prime Minister to replace malaki as the new government prepares to dislodge him. At the same time, u. S. Military action against the Insurgent Group in iraq known as isis continues to escalate. The u. S. Launched at least 11 rounds of air strikes against isis including four just today. Senior military official is now saying air strikes alone will not stop isiss advances. Late today president obama addressed the growing crisis from marthas vineyard. He didnt address doubts about the air strikes but made it clear the Iraqi Government must get its act together. Heres the president. I urge all iraqi political leaders to work through the political process in the days ahead. This new iraqi leadership has a difficult task. It has to regain the confidence of citizens by governing inclusively and by taking steps to demonstrate its resolve. The United States stands ready to support a government that addresses the needs and dpranss of all iraqi people. Michael crowley, chief Foreign Correspondent with Time Magazine and bobby gosh from quartz. Malaki is clearly making moves here, threatening to use military action, the military to hold him to power. My two questions are, one, will he go through with it . Is this a guy willing and capable to use the military to hold him to power. If he goes that route, will the military go with him . The second question is the one thats key. Will the military go with him . Hes already called him out. The tanks are already in the green zone and in the vicinity of the parliament. The president of iraq has called his bluff. Now the question is if malaki orders the military to take action, essentially to mount a coup will the military listen . There is plenty of evidence that at least a large portion of the military will not go with him. Thats the portion of the military that was trained by theUnited States. A lot of the commanders are in contact with american commanders. There is reason to believe they will not go along with any coup. The other question is what is iran going to say in this . Mall key very much a creature of tehran in recent years. Whats the response going to be from them . If the military wont go along with him, what happens then . Do you think he understands that, gets that . Maybe hes not happy and goes away. Does he have other means of trying to hold onto power. The person who has been selected as Prime Minister in waiting in his place is from his same Political Party as malaki. Not like he can rally his own party behind him. That ship has sailed. His last throw of the dice is the military. Thats his last card. If the military wont back him he has to go. Perhaps there is a villa in tehran waiting for him. We have the president talking today about wanting a peaceful
transition of power. Things you might expect him to say. Sounds like there is communication between the United States and the army in baghdad. Is there anything else the United States can be doing now to keep this from become ping a coup . Well, communicating with the military commanders we have relationships is part of it, as bobby pointed out. I think bobby touched on the key point here. Even within his own party it appears malaki lost support. I believe he didnt get a majority show of support within his own party when it came to the question of designating a new Prime Minister which hes calling unconstitutional. The u. S. Leverage is a sig that will out of the white house today, joe biden in his phone calls to the country suggesting more support in fighting off isis in the north could be if iraq could move forward with a political process, get out malaki, put in a new prime
minister. There is a carrot that says well help you guys presumably with more military equipment to support isis in the north. That may not come as great news to americans who dont want to see us get more involved in the country now militarily. It may be that thats the most useful carrot we have now. One thing the president has been clear about is we are not going to serve, in effect, as malakis air force. We cant be seen as fighting for malaki. We see too discredited, too despised by the sunnis. Lieutenant general mayville said in no Uncertain Terms air strikes would not break the momentum of isis. These strikes are unlikely to affect isils overall capabilities or operations in other areas of iraq. And syria. What i expect isil to do is look for other things to do. To pick up and move elsewhere. In no way do i want to suggest we have effectively contained or we are somehow breaking the momentum of the threat posed by isil. We were talking about the potential for isis to move into erbil. It sounds like that with the air strikes, that momentum has stalled. In terms of Bigger Picture momentum, an official today saying they are going to look somewhere else. The overall momentum unaffected by this. Whats the longerterm play here. There have to be boots on the ground. Clearly there is no political appetite for that here. There have got to be some boots on the ground. A combination of iraqi and kurdish boots, perhaps with some reinforcements from jordan and other neighboring countries. These are fighters. The isis or isil fighters, call them what you may. These are people who fight hand
to hand in close quarterers. You can take out the artillery. They are most deadly, most effective when they are sort of scattered and surrounding a town or a city. They have to be dealt with on the ground. Until those boots on the ground are organized the air strikes have a limited purpose. Lets not forget that will turn the whole story around and isil will be in the retreat. That raises a question. This is the thing a lot of people worry about. The idea of the air strikes is to provide eventually some support for the boots on the ground as bobby describes them. Nonamerican boots on the ground. If you have air strikes, boots on the ground, nonamerican boots on the ground and you still havent dealt with isis. At that point is the United States then committed in a way it wasnt before and its forced to escalate. Well, steve, thats the
classic slippery slope problem. You get him invested in a problem and you kind of cant walk away if its half solved. There was a school of thought not only do you want to solve the problem because its important but you start to get into the conversation about american credibility. In the situation room when president obama was talking about whether to surge into afghanistan several years ago, several senior advisers said just as a matter of american credibility we cant be seen as giving up and running away. It looks like the jihadists are driven about. Its a huge defeat for the United States. Its a recruiting tool for al qaeda and for the taliban. You could imagine a similar scenario here where we are fighting to avoid the appearance that we have lost or been outmanoeuvred or given up. These things take on a life of
oh your own. I dont think we are near that yet. The fighters are pretty effective when they do have enough training and supplies. You combine it with air strikes and have kind of a counterterrorism and Counter Insurgency campaign. We have done it effectively in other countries. There is a good chance we could turn the momentum. Although until syria stabilizes in some way, thats the corefestering wound that isis is oozing out of. Thats the problem to solve. President obama has described the militarys role in iraq as limited and targeted. On saturday he was asked by reporters about the risk that u. S. Involvement could drag on for some time. I dont think well solve this problem in weeks, if thats what you mean. I think it will take time. This will be a longterm project. The longterm campaign of changing that environment so that the millions of sunnis who
live in these areas feel connected to and well served by a national government. Thats a longterm process. Thats something that the United States cannot do. Only the iraqi people themselves can do it. We can help, advise. But we cant do it for him. The u. S. Military cannot do it for him. From an american standpoint, from the standpoint of continuing air strikes, how much time do you think this is going to take to get iraq into a place where you have provided thuf support for the nonamerican boots on the ground to keep isis at bay, you have a functioning government in place. How long do you think it will take in terms of u. S. Involvement now . We are talking weeks and months. The peshmerga are now being given fresh arms. That may help shore up their ability to protect the kurdish
areas. The iraqi army is in disarray. Showing more force outside the Iraqi Parliament in baghdad than they did when confronted by isil. Reorganizing the iraqi army. Getting the iraqi generals and commanders to feel they have a stake in this fight is going to be much more complicated. Much more to do with the politics in baghdad than with president obamas calculations. Any aerial support. All the u. S. Can hope to do with the air strikes is to halt the momentum. Use the peshmerga to push back, build the iraqi army a spine so they can attack from behind and essentially trap isil in a pinser movement on both sides. Appreciate the time tonight. Coming up, the republican criticize anything caucus for
weeks and attacked president obama for not taking action in iraq. Now that he has, they are screaming louder. Plus did we see Hillary Clinton take two giant steps away from president obama . Thats how people are viewing her interview with the atlantic when she said dont do stupid stuff is not an organizing principle. The death of james brady last week has been armed a homicide. Could john hinckley, jr. , be charged with murder 33 years after the fact . Let me finish with what happens when you have a coronation instead of a campaign. This is hardball, the place for politics. The sitting governor of hawaii is out after a big and i mean big primary defeat this weekend. Democrat Neil Abercrombie was defeated by state senator david ige who took twothirds of the vote versus 31 for abercrombie. Contests for the democratic nomination for the senate is much tighter. Still up in the air actually. Senator brian schatz was appointed by abercrombie and is leading by 1600 votes. Well be right back. Shes still the one for you. And cialis for daily use helps you be Ready Anytime the moment is right. Cialis is also the only daily ed tablet approved to treat symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently. Tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. Do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. Do not drink alcohol in excess. Side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. To avoid long term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. If you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or any allergic reactions like 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 free 30tablet trial. Ask your doctor about cialis for daily use thats why i always choose the fastest intern. R slow. The fastest printer. The fastest lunch. Turkey club. The fastest pencil sharpener. The fastest elevator. The fastest speed dial. The Fastest Office plant. So why wouldnt i choose the fastest wifi . I would. Switch to comcast Business Internet and get the fastest wifi included. Comcast business. Built for business. Hi, im richard lui with sad news to report tonight here on msnbc. Actor and comedian Robin Williams died in an apparent suicide. Police were called to his home today where he was found unconscious and not breathing. In a brief statement a representative for williams said he was battling severe depression. His wife Susan Schneider released a statement asking those remembering him to focus not on his death but the countless moments of joy and laughter he gave to millions. Robin williams was 63 years old. We have a release coming from the assistant chief deputy coroner from the marin county area. What they are saying in this release is at 11 55 a. M. Local
time there in pacific daylight savings time, four and a half hours ago the Marin County Communications received a 911 telephone call. In that call they got a report that a male adult had been located unconscious. Not breathing inside his residence in unincorporated tibron, california. Thats the town where Robin Williams lives. The Sheriffs Office and the Fire Department and the southern marin Fire Department district, they were also dispatched to the area. Then the male subject, as they are listing here in their release, they say was pronounced deceased at 12 02 p. M. , seven minutes after the 911 call. The individual was identified as Robin Williams, 63 years old, and a resident there of tibron, california. An investigation saying into the cause, into the circumstances of the death is under way at the moment. More on what his wife said. In a statement she says, quote,
this morning i lost my husband and my best friend. While the world lost one of its best beloved artists and beautiful human beings. Im utterly heartbroken. On behalf of robins family we are asking for privacy during our time of profound grief. As hes remembered it is our hope the focus will not be on robins death but on the countless moments of joy and laughter he gave to millions, end quote. That came from his wife Susan Schneider. Also a statement from a press representative for williams. She said, Robin Williams passed away this morning. Hes been battling severe depression of late. This is a tragic and sudden loss. The family respectfully asked for their privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time. If you are just joining us here on hardball with Chris Matthews. We are updating you on breaking news. We are just getting word thatRobin Williams, comedian and actor, 63 years old has passed away. Evidently, according to what we are getting from local authorities in marin county in the unincorporated town of tibron is that hes passed away as a result of asphyxiation, possibly suicide. Thats information that happened around 11 55 a. M. Local time. Its now 4 19 pacific. We are looking at this happening about four and a half hours ago. As the information comes into us here on msnbc well get it to you. Actor Robin Williams found dead in his California Home there in tibron, california. A longtime San Francisco and bay area resident. Well known in local circles early on in the 70s and 80s, no doubt by local comedians. Then throughout the country as
he had a flourishing career. Actor and comedian Robin Williams dead in an apparent suicide. Police called to his home in california earlier today where he was found unconscious and not breathing. Tibron, california, for those not familiar with the area, 30 minutes north of San Francisco across the golden gate bridge. A small town, but very quiet and affluent. Very close to marin county towns and shopping centers. Again, tibron, california, is where Robin Williams was found about four and a half hours ago according to the 911 calls and what the marin county authorities are saying. Again, to give you an update on what we are learning here on msnbc with the development that we are telling you about this hour. Thats Robin Williams at the age
of 63. Found dead there in california. No doubt fans across the country in the bay area of San Francisco, california, in california and around the world shocked by this development and the news we are bringing to you at this hour. 20 minutes after 4 00 in california. 7 20 here in the east. One who has made so many people laugh throughout the years. As we get more information, we are reaching out, of course, at this moment to find out what more developments we can get details on at this moment. Preliminary information in this investigation indicates, according to to the assistant chief deputy coroner that Robin Williams was last seen alive at his residence at around 10 00 p. M. August 10th. That was last night. He was located this morning at
11 55. He was pronounced dead at 12 02. Early information from the coroner is that Robin Williams, the actor and comedian, was last seen at his residence alive at 10 00 p. M. Last night on a sunday night. The piece of information that many will probably be looking at, as we get more details here is the information and the indication that he was battling depression as of late. Coming from his very own press representative and her official remarks saying that he