into crowds that police say threw rocks and molotov cocktails back. we've got full coverage of this story from ferguson to washington. perspectives from across this country. first to kristen welker, our white house reporter. she's been following the president and his actions. kristen, what can you tell us about the president's actions and what might come next? >> well, specifically, in iraq, you just heard president obama make the point that based on the u.s. team that gained access to the sinjar mountain yesterday it appears as though there has been significant progress in terms of relieving the humanitarian crisis there. on two fronts. both in terms of those air drops, getting food and water to people. that u.s. team determined the food and water was getting to those people. and also, in the context of getting people off of the mon. those air strikes have been incredibly successful, the president said, at pushing back isis and allowing people to get off of the mountain. so that's the first headline out of what the president said. in terms of what he said about the riots that we've all been witnessing in ferguson, ronan it was interesting he had very strong words for those who have been rioting, causing violence. but also those for the police department saying there's no excuse for arresting journalists who are just there doing their job. you also heard the president say that he'd spoken to governor jay nixon, and that he pledged u.s. support and the federal government support as this investigation continues. the president getting regular briefings last night and again today from attorney general eric holder. and a number of his senior advisers. not unusual for this president to speak out on matters of race and law enforcement. we, of course, saw this in the wake of trayvon martin, you'll recall. after that he came out and really called for some soul searching and saying that the nation needs to do a better job at training its police and improving community policing. what is happening in ferguson, of course, a reminder there's still a long way to go on that front. >> kristen, the president did not get into specifics about what kind of training might need to happen. exactly what kind of misconduct is being alleged on the ground by some of those police forces. what kind of conversations do you think are happening behind the scenes, and are you hear anything reports on the progress of that side of this conversation? the police forces and how they might fare in the wake of that doj investigation. >> you heard the frustration and concern in the president's voice. so i think there are a number of conversations going on at the moment senior levels in terms of urging calm and patience while this investigation continues. and, of course, you heard the president say that he did instruct the doj and attorney general eric holder to begin their own independent investigations and to come to a conclusion quickly about what specifically happened. what caused this. so i think that that is the role the president is playing at this point because, remember, this is an ongoing investigation. but, of course it also fits into a broader context and so i think those are some of the conversations happening behind the scenes. the president didn't come out and give specifics. i wouldn't be surprised, though, ronan if we didn't hear from him again on this topic once the investigation was concluded. and at that point, i would anticipate he'd give more specifics in terms of what he'd like to see. the improvements he'd like to see in terms of community policing. >> you make an important point raising his comments about iraq as well. we'll have much more an that as well. first this ongoing story and startling developments in ferguson. on that subject, let's go to a national reporter for msnbc.com who is in the thick of this on the ground in ferguson. you were caught up in this chaos all last night. what's your sense of the situation there now? >> right now it's kind of the quiet after the storm. it's still early. people haven't come out of their homes. typically the last four days, late in the afternoon, people start to gather here at the qt mart, one of the first casualties of the early rioting. in the wake of what happened last night, canisters of teargas being fired out. stun grenades and flash bangs sparking out throughout the night. u.s. senator claire mccaskill called on local authorities to demilitarize the situation and said today was a new day. president obama just moments ago said now is the time for healing. now is the time for peace. but once darkness falls on this town, and the military-like police assemble and protesters come out, we don't know what will happen. will it be a replay of last night or as senator mccaskill urged, a new day? >> trymaine, the headlines have been highlighted by "the washington post" reporter and huffington post reporter detained last night. also images of an al jazeera crew being teargassed. you've been a reporter in the field there. is your sense that police are blocking journalists from covering this story? >> my sense in any situation like this is not a matter of law enforcement trying to block the work of journalists, but they are not here to facilitate our psychie i seeking of the truth. and we have to remember that in this situation last night, whether there was a reporter in the crowd or a grandmother or teenager, we were all part of this crowd that the police felt they had to beat back with teargas. neutralize with sun grenades and rubber bullets. so it seems that this situation hasn't been handled in the most smooth manner possible. journalists have been caught up. so have innocent people. there have been some protesters that have leaned toward the more violent, volatile side. others peacefully. we're all kind of caught up in this entire mess. >> trymaine lee, thank you for that. the pictures coming out of ferguson and the kind of scenes trymaine was telling us about show a stunningly militarized police force there. it's enough to wonder what country you're looking at sometimes. republican senator rand paul just wrote an op ed saying the images and scenes we continue to see in ferguson resemble war more than traditional police action. and senator claire mccaskill says we need to demilitarize this situation. this kind of response by police has become the problem instead of the solution. and joined by john gaskin, a member of the naacp national committee and st. louis county executive committee as well as mark clask. also tim lynch, director of the cato institute's project on criminal justice who has been looking at the implications for this nationally. tim, police have been gathering in full riot gear, driving mine resistant vehicles around this suburb of 21,000 people. where are they getting this gear? >> the pentagon makes surplus military equipment available to local police department. so if the president is looking to take some concrete steps and members of congress, they can shut down this program where the federal government, and in particular the pentagon, is making, you know, armored vehicles, m-16s, camouflage uniforms available to local police departments. that's where they are getting this stuff from. >> and it is not clear at this point they are receiving the kind of training in how to use that against unarmed crowds. we're seeing the evidence of that on full display. your group, the local naacp just met with the ferguson chief of police. did you hear from him on the subject of how militarized this force has become? >> so you know, we're really very concerned, as congressman lewis just said, national leaders like senator claire mccaskill and president obama, people who have been allies with us on these kinds of issues. you know, it's not okay for that type of equipment, for that type of thing to be going on on the ground because what it does from my contact with local people here an the ground it heightens tension. makes people feel as though their rights have been infringed upon, especially for local people here who are from the '50s and '60s and can remember the civil rights movement and how hurtful it was to see people being beaten down on national television to see dogs out, to see armored trucks. it looks as though images you'd see over in a foreign country. and it's not something that is -- that should be a good reflection of america's heartland. we are so happy that finally the governor has finally spoken out on this and come here to be on the ground to show some type of support to the local people here. we're happy that national leadership is wanting to also hold the local law enforcement accountable and hold their feet to the fire on how they are treating people. we don't want anyone's rights infringed upon and what took place with the reporters last night. it's really unfortunate. >> let's look at that question, mark. you have experience as a police officer yourself. it's been in the news how these reporters were arrested. let's take a look at some video of exactly that. we don't have that video available right now. but essentially these two individuals, adam mcdonald and receiving what appears to be police brutality in this setting. is there a broader issue of having a press in local situations like this or is that a one off. >> there's a much broader issue that needs to be discussed. the situation in ferguson, it's obvious that the local elected, the police chief, the mayor of the town, even the governor, are compliceit in the activities that the police department is engaged in there in ferguson. this militarized operation in furtherance of violence of the threat of violence. the use of force. >> we're actually looking at that video right now of the kind of situation you are talking about. go on. >> this -- these type of incidents could not happen -- could not happen if the elected officials if those in power were not complicit in it. they are authorizing it, and it needs to be said. some of the statements that they've issued thus far have really been cookie cutter statements that don't really address the issue of a militarized, heavy militarized police force in a town using -- showing force and using force against citizens lawfully and legally protesting and jourmists who are attempting to uncover the truth here. it is inexcusable. it reminds me as i watch much of the video for the past couple of days, it really reminds me, is this the bridge in alabama? is this kent state? and unless someone steps in and uses some authority to demilitarize this situation, we are setting ourselves up for a huge tragedy and we're talking about peaceful protests. no one is condoning or accepting the thought that individuals should engage in a criminal activity. >> they claim they've released the name of the officer who killed michael brown. the police department said that isn't the name. but what is your take as a police officer on whether this individual should be outed. >> he most definitely -- this is a public servant that we're talking about. this is the job that you've chosen. i was in law enforcement for 20-something years. this is the job you've chosen. you have awe s responsibility but you have an obligation to the citizens. you have an obligation to the state and the city in which you work in. this is not -- his name is should not be hidden from view. what it does is further agitates the situation. not only is the overmilitarization of this situation agitating and invoking this kind of negative response from citizens. the secrecy. the fanning of an alleged investigation. we decide who to speak to as far as witnesses are concerned. it really is established a severe distrust in the xhoonity. and when you attack journalists who are trying to cover it. >> john, we just watched the president's remarks on this. has he assumed the kund of leadership that's needed in a case like this? >> i think so. i think it speaks volumes because the president has a history especially dating back to the trayvon martin situation of speaking up about police brutality and making his voice heard and using his stage and his office as an opportunity for people to hear the concerns that mean people have on the grond and speak for those that can't speak for themselves. we're thankful for him speaking up about the issue. we'd hope as congressman lewis just mentioned, we hope he'll use all the power of his office to ensure the justice department is doing everything within their power to ensure that federal intervention is taking place an the ground to ensure that st. louis county, to eninsusure they of ferguson is handing over all pertinent information. >> the question is, will this be a moment of national awakening on that question that we opened with about militarized, hypermilitarized police forces around this country. we'll have more an that coming up. tim lynch, stick around for that and thank you. up next, will the president need congressional approval for the growing number of u.s. forces in iraq? 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[ aniston ] because beautiful skin goes with everything. aveeno®. naturally beautiful results™. noyou can watch live tv anytime. it's never been easier, with so many networks all in one place. get live tv whenever you want. the xfinity tv go app. now with live tv on the go. enjoy over wifi or on verizon wireless 4g lte. plus, now you get up to a $100 prepaid card when you purchase any new verizon wireless smartphone or tablet from comcast. visit comcast.com/wireless to learn more welcome back. we are listening in to the ferguson chief of police, thomas jackson. talk a listen. >> community relations bureau. and we're going to put together a plan to try to give the sidewalks up in the area of west floresson to the protesters. we're going to put up some cones so they stay out of the street. we're asking that. and we'll put up port-o-potties for them to use and allow them to freely protest for as long as they want. what's happening now is not what any of us want. last night we started getting -- started getting rocks, bricks, bottles thrown at us and a molotov cocktail and gunfire went off. we need to get everyone to calm down and try to bring some peace to this. we want everybody to be able to protest. we know they're going to protest. we want to facilitate their ability to protest because it's a constitutional right. so working with these leaders, we're going to try and put this together and hope that everyone will take the opportunity to get the message out that they want to get out. we understand everybody's anger and need to have questions answer answered. so we're going to hope for the best. we're changing our tactics. >> the police approach has been widely criticized for being too much like a military unit and for being too aggressive with the protesters. i'd like your reaction. >> i understand that. the other side of that is, there is gunfire. there are fire bombs being thrown at the police. and i understand that -- what it looks like is not good. the whole situation is not good at this point, and that's why there's several meetings going on right now to evaluate tactics. how we approach this. we would like the protesters to stop the violence. we certainly don't want to have any violence on our part. we want this to be peaceful. this is going to be a long process. so we need to have everybody tone it down. >> some people are saying the biggest problem last night was the police [ inaudible ] setting off the problem. >> we have a basic obligation to allow people to get to their homes and businesses and to drive up and down the roadways. we can only have a part of town be closed down for so long before we have to open it back up. and we're trying to do that without physically hurting anybody. and so that's why we're using these less lethal tactics. >> are you satisfied with police handling of this thus far? handling of the protesters? >> what i'm satisfied with is that we haven't hurt anybody. nobody has gotten injured or killed. a couple of police officers, one officer did get hit with a brick and broke his ankle. and one other officer was injured. but in general, i mean, with the chaos that's going on right now, i am at least happy that nobody has gotten seriously injured. >> what's your take on how volatile this is now and the potential for things to get worse before they get better? >> it's a powder keg. we all recognize that. and that's why we're going to try to facilitate the protests tonight and we hope that the protesters will recognize that we are trying to facilitate, to help everybody bring this down. bring all the tensions down. >> people who claim they were teargassed -- >> i had a meeting scheduled with the family at 10:00 this morning. apparently the attorney, their attorney, didn't have an opportunity to adequately talk with them. so the meeting was postponed but they promised me that this afternoon that meeting will be rearranged. >> for today? >> today, yeah. >> [ inaudible ]. >> no, my assistant was. >> they say they're going to release pictures, names, addresses. how do you respond to that threat? >> anonymous has been doing that. it hasn't been accurate information but they've been putting out as accurate information. all we can do is counter it when they do it. they did bring our website down. it's possible they just did it again, but all we can do is react to that. >> so there are several names out there about the -- >> no, no, we're going to have cones and things like that. no, we're not putting up a barrier or barricadeses. we're asking for cooperation. that's what we want. >> your going to pull back the military-style vehicles or will they be out there again? >> the tactical units will be out there if fire bombs start getting thrown, property is getting destroyed, shots are being fired. we have to respond to -- >> but they were out there before that happened. >> we're going to talk about not only the tactics but the appearance. we're having conversations -- >> [ inaudible ]. >> chief why weren't those questions asked before? like this gentleman says, if police, military style units were out there from the very beginning, you came out and tried to control the crowd. there are people who were arrested who weren't shooting at anyone. there were people teargassed who weren't shooting at the police. can you give us some insight into the mind-set of the police, why they approached this crowd the way that they did and what is -- what goes into making the decision to actually fire the teargas? why was it fired? why did it always seem to be fired around 9:00 at night. take us inside some of those decisions. >> those decisions were made by the tactical commanders an the ground. and it was based on the threat. the threat of violence. if individuals -- if individuals were in a crowd that's attacking the police, they need to get out of that crowd. we can't individually go in and say, excuse me, are you peacefully protesting? are you throwing rocks? are you throwing a molotov cocktail? it's a crowd. if you aren't -- if the crowd is getting violent and you don't want to be violent, get out of the crowd. >> can you speak to the incident that happened with the media where the teargas showed up. the al jazeera group. >> i haven't been briefed on that. >> i'm with al jazeera. i'd like to ask a question because as they were pointing out earlier, we were in an area last night, our team was trying to cover the story from an area, we respected what the police told us to do. we were in a neighborhood where there were no protests going on. yet we found ourselves as a direct target. literally shot with rubber bullets and teargas canisters that hit our vehicle. why would that happen and who made the decision to do that? >> i don't know who made the decision. >> and why is the media a target? >> the media is not a target. >> what exactly was fired? teargas, rubber bullets? >> teargas, pepper pellets, pepper balls. >> perhaps the state police taking over the operation of command. what are your thoughts about that? >> the state highway patrol has been here in force all along. their s.w.a.t. team is don on the lines. and they've been very, very supportive in this situation. and, you know, i certainly welcome their assistance. they've been great. >> a different tone to the police response tonight and the county police have been pulled off of that. >> i haven't heard that. >> what specifically is the police response going to change tonight? >> they are having that meeting right now. i haven't heard the results of that meeting. >> [ inaudible ]. >> that's up to the prosecuting attorney's office. he's waiting to interview -- this has all been thrown out there before, but i see you're new. this -- all the evidence has to be examined. all the ballistics have to be examined and all the witnesses have to be, you know, talked to extensively. and when that's -- when all that is done and the toxicology reports are in and mr. mccully will have a clear picture of what happened out there. and then he's going to present that to the grand jury. >> why were they arrested yesterday? >> i don't know. >> chief, we have an alderman who was arrested last night. also some folks said he was pulled out of his car. other people across the street here last night said they were getting to their car, waiting to see [ inaudible ]. why would that be? >> all i can say, if anybody was arrested from what i understand, it was because they were in an area that was being cleared by the police. once it was declared by the commander an the scene as an unlawful gathering because of the violence and everything going, then they have to clear it. >> were they booked or just detained temporarily? like photographs or -- >> the jorurnalists? >> [ inaudible ]. >> and, chief, there were a few names circulating about this officer that was involved. any truth to that? >> we're going to have a conversation about the release of the name but they -- i guess it's anonymous put out a name this morning, brian something that is not the name. i haven't seen anything else. >> protesters who were just here announced another name. and that name, since you are giving first names, was daryl. >> okay. well, i'm not going to comment on it -- >> is that true? was that true? >> what do you think about that? are these guys just running name after name after name? >> i think that's probably what they are doing. they are taking the name of everybody and throwing it out there. >> is there a reason you're [ inaudible ]. >> the threats of death against him and his -- threats of death against the officer who was wrongly identified, as the shooter and also bob mccullough's office policy of not releasing someone's name until they are formally charged. we're having some conversations about that today. >> you were saying the other day you weren't going to release the name until -- >> i said if a judge ordered me to, i would. but i also said we're taking this day by day. and so again, we're talking about it today. >> are the tactical commanders that are on the ground when all is blowing up at night, are they -- which law enforcement agencies? there are so many different agencies? >> we have all the area s.w.a.t. teams are filtering through. >> are they in charge of every -- the operations in terms of what's happening? >> they are tactical command ee on the scene is the tactsical commander, yes. >> [ inaudible ]. >> i can't speak to the evidence. i can't speak to the evidence. that belongs to the conkon coun police department. >> officers look like soldiers. the word war is being used. are you surprised by the reaction that people are having the way these officers look and just the nature of the whole kind of militaristic look? >> the whole picture is being painted a little bit sideways from what's really happening. and it's not military. it's tactical operations. it's s.w.a.t. teams. that's who is out there. police. we're doing this in blue. anyway, thank you very much. >> you've been listening to the ferguson police chief thomas jackson. this is a situation that nobody wants, that they are, quote, evaluating tactics at this moment. we'll be following that story closely. in the meantime, tonight the nation is looking forward to a moment of national silence to commemorate these events. protesting this alleged police brutality in ferguson. that suburb sometimes looks more like a war zone than an urban setting. police in marine issued camouflage traveling in armored vehicles, carrying high-powered assault rifles with sniper scopes. a 1990s pentagon program allows surplus military equipment to be handed out to police departments and so north liberty, indiana, population of 1800, got humvees and land mine detectors. carroll county, georgia, has a couple of grenade launchers. you know, just in case. in my home state, watertown, connecticut, a town of 22,000, got an armored personnel mrat vehicle to shield soldiers from roadside bombs. there are no land mines in watertown. joining me, bradley of the "washington post." also the author of "rise of the warrior cop." and the director of the cato institu institute. baghdad usa was the headline showing a picture of ferguson. someone made this tweet comparing his gear in iraq to what officers in ferguson are wearing. really striking how armed people are in these suburbs. the program is known as 1033. tell me about it. why did this come into being and why would a police department need grenade launchers? >> it came into being informally in the early '80s during the reagan administration when reagan sort of off the cuff instructed the pentagon to start making surplus military equipment available to police departments across the country. it was formalized in the '90ss with the 1033 program which established a budget and an office. what we've seen is literally millions of pieces of military equipment transferred from the pentagon to local police departments. and i think it's important to stress. this is equipment that was designed for use on a battle field. designed to kill, you know, and annihilate a foreign army. and it's being used on american streets and american neighborhoods. there's the practical problem of, is this kind of ammunition or these kinds are explosives or this kind of truck, you know, sort of appropriate. but there's also a mentality problem that, you know, when you outfit police officers in camouflage, i note the police chief said this is being done in blue. it's being done in camouflage and olive green military fatigues. and when you armspaes them with military gear and give them military vehicles and weapons and train them in military tactics and tell them they are fighting a war, whether it's a crime on drugs or war or terrorism, what is the effect of an officer who assumes the mind-set of a soldier. a soldier's job is to kill a foreign enemy, kill things and break things. a police officer's job is to keep the peace and protect our rights. >> was there enough training about that difference? tim, you've called for this program 1033 to be shut down. do you think it encourages military-style tactics? >> i think it does. we have remember to, we used to refer to the police officers in the united states as peace officers. they are there to keep the peace. but what we're seeing is them adopt these military-type tactics. and you have to remember the military is not thinking of the constitutional rights of people on the other side of the battle field. their job is to find the enemy and wreak havoc on them. we want the police to use the absolute minimum amount of force that might be necessary to bring a suspect into a court of law where things can be sorted out peacefully with minimum amount of force. but sometimes these paramilitary units in our police departments are training with our special forces. and when you begin to confuse military mission with the police mission, you get the types of scenes we've been seeing in ferguson the past few nights. >> "the new york times" had a really striking graphic showing the surge of military equipment. this was a few months ago before this was a big story to police departments over the last eight years due to the end of the war in iraq. it's hard to see on screen for the audience. we'll put it online as well. this advanced equipment you see the icons of really flooding the nation. how much of this is due to defense contractors profiting off of this ability legislatively of the defense department to purchase to the point of surplus? >> well, i mean, there may be an argument there that the ment gone is overbuying due to the influence of military contractors. but i would point out that for the most part this surplus gear is sitting in a warehouse somewhere. i don't know that northrup grumman is lobbying to buy surplus stuff so that it can be given to police departments. i think it's disturbing in a lot of ways. i'm just not sure that that's the most pressing criticism. i will say, however, that since september 11th, the department of home ln security has been giving grants to police departments to buy brand new equipment, military grade equipment. and what that's given rise to is an industry that exists solely to build this new equipment in exchange for these checks. and here, you know, that industry is inevitably going to set up lobbying offices in washington to make sure the program continues and expands. and there, i think, there are very legitimate concerns about what you might call a police industrial complex. >> it's difficult politically to roll back that police industrial complex in, obviously, politicians going before their people sayings we want less equipment to protect you is not the most palpable message. tim, do you think congress needs to look at legislative fixes? this 1033 program was in the national defense authorization act. it's at their feet to change it. >> i think they do. because what happens is the role the federal government, i think, is distorting the decision making at the local level with local police departments. if the local police chief had to decide how to spend his money, do i need to hire a new officer o or do i need two new police cars, or do i need an armored vehicle from the pentagon? if he had to spend his own money for that, it really wouldn't happen. but it's because the federal government is giving these grants to local police departments to make purchases because they are kund ind of gi this stuff away. that's why the local police departments are acquiring this. if they had to pay for it on their own, i don't think we'd be seeing the armaments that our local police departments are acquiring these days. >> and i would add to that, once the department gets this stuff, they want to use it. they are further incentivized by grants that go just for drug policing. if you wait for an active shooter scenario that comes to your town, that doesn't generate revenue. if you send them out on a drug raid there's revenue from federal grants and through asset forfeiture programs. there's a financial incentive to use these s.w.a.t. teams once you have them. and i would also add, st. louis county in particular, just last year, a spokesman for the department confirmed that all search warrants in st. louis county are now served with a s.w.a.t. team regardless of the crime. >> regardless of the crime? that's a striking fact. >> so this level of force that was once reserved for emergency situations, where lives are at immediate risk because of all these policies, it's now the default position in places like st. louis county. of course, it's the st. louis county police department that is supplying a lot of the paramilitary or police forces that we see in ferguson. >> we have actually got breaking news coming in right now that the administration appropriately enough to this conversation has urged, this is through the justice department, to demilitarize that police response and the crowd control aspect of it. we'll see how that plays out. radley and tim, appreciate it. >> thanks. coming up next, colleague joy reid is going to pick up a lot more an the story including ryan reilly, the huffington post justice reporter who was famously arrested last night in ferguson. also the other news the president has been talking about. isis' path inching closer to iraq's capital. senator lindsey graham saying their goals are much closer to home. >> they are coming here. this is just not about baghdad. this is just not about syria. it is about our homeland. >> a look at the islamic extremist group's recent fighting through the lens of the almost conquested. next. with you for a second. unlimited. as in, no limits on your hard-earned cash back. as in no more dealing with those rotating categories. the quicksilver card from capital one. unlimited 1.5% cash back on everything you purchase, every day. don't settle for anything less. i'll keep asking. what's in your wallet? 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[ male announcer ] ask your doctor today [meow mix jingle slowly anright on cue.cks] [cat meows] ♪meow, meow, meow, meow... it's more than just a meal, it's meow mix mealtime. with great taste and 100% complete nutrition, it's the only one cats ask for by name. you just heard the president speak bought the violence still unfolding in missouri. he's also speaking out on today's other big stories. take a listen to that. >> we do not expect there to be an additional operation to evacuate people off the mountain. and it's unlikely that we're going to need to continue humanitarian air drops on the mountain. the majority of the military personnel who conducted the assessment will be leaving iraq in the coming days. >> this one day after the pentagon announced a new breakthrough in iraq saying that islamic militants sieging that mountain in sinjar has actually been broken up by the u.s. air strikes. and that u.s. marine and special forces landing on mt. sinjar yesterday had some good news. discovering far few ir refugees still an that mountain. and discovering that those that are on the mountain are in good condition thanks to drops of humanitarian supplies. nevertheless, the u.n. is declaring that this humanitarian crisis in iraq is at the highest level of emergency, level three. that means that's additional resources and funds will be marshalled to help the human fallout from this crisis. that includes 1.2 million people who are still displaced. duncan golestani went to a refugee camp in erbil where christians sought refuge after being forced from their homes by isis. take a look at that. >> reporter: we're in the grounds of the church here in erbil. i was last year about one year ago when you could come and sit in the gardens. it was peaceful. it was quiet, and it was empty. now it is like a village. tent after tent after tent. families trying to carve out a little space for themselves. and trying to get shelter from the scorching sun. it's about 120 degrees here at the moment. this all changed in just a few days. people arriving by the thousands because they were forced to leave their villages about 45 minutes west of here. local officials in erbil estimate in the last week around 80,000 people have come here for refuge. >> i need anything, all things. house, air condition, medicins.s >> i left my home because i heard that the terrorists were coming and people said they are going to kill you. they're going to slaughter you. i don't want to go abroad. i don't want to go to the u.s. or to germany or anywhere else. i want to go back home to our lives with all the members of our church. i'm looking for my future. i'm not looking for this future. what kind of future is this? >> what kind of future is this? duncan golestani is with us from erbil. really moving reporting there. thank you for that. with this rescue mission on sinjar now far less likely is the quote from the u.s. government, nfrd with this progress they've had, what is the u.s. mission there now? >> the u.s. mission, i suppose, is to continue helping to try and get the remanning people down, whether it is by air lift or through the corridor which the peshmerga have been able to open up. in the longer term for the refugees in the camps, the question is, where do they go to? the people i was talking to this morning are being well cared for. but in the long term, all they can do is wait and watch to see what happens in the towns and villages they left. can the kurdish forces, the peshmerga fight back isis and reclaim that land? i think it's definitely going to be a long time before any of them feel that it's safe enough to return home. and then there is the question of, do they really want to go home? some people telling me today that as christians, this is not the first time they've been persecuted in iraq saying they have been hounded before by their sunni neighbors. this is not new just because isis has come to town. the same goes for the yazidis. they've been persecuted, too. so many saying they don't actually want to go back and are looking for somewhere else to live other than iraq. ronan? >> so important those human consequences don't get lost in our reporting an this. duncan golestani, thank you. today, of course, a lot of questions looming about that question of mission creep and what exactly the obama administration plans to do next in iraq. that's partly because of a congressional deadline. today marks the first deadline for notice to congress about the sending of troops to iraq. that's because 60 days ago on june 16th, the president sent the first notice saying, quote, approximately 275 u.s. armed forces are deploying to iraq to provide support and security for u.s. personnel and the u.s. embassy in baghdad. some members of congress are pressing for a war powers vote. so what happens next? i want to bring in michael weis from foreign policy. thanks for coming back on the program. this is an interesting question here. there's this rising call for the president to go to congress again. senators tim kaine, rand paul and ted cruz all calling on him to get congressional authorization. >> there is a way for him to avoid doing so. the authorization to use forces against terrorism resolutions passed in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks. this gives the president the right to wage war against al qaeda. the tricky spart isis is technically not part of al qaeda any longer. several months ago they had a rather public row with ayman al zawahiri and they formally cleaved from that organization. so, you know, there's going to require some fidgeting and adjustment in the language and that particular resolution has before been invoked to refer to al qaeda aflts eaffiliated or a qaeda-like organizations. for instance in yemen and so an. so the president could very well make a case that isis is a clear and present and imminent threat to u.s. personnel, u.s. civilians who are stationed not only in erbil where we have a consulate but in baghdad. we have the largest embassy in the world built at great cost and great expense with thousands upon thousands of u.s. officials. isis has started, at least the rumors are it has started its official, kwoiquote, battle for baghdad. i saw there were two vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices that went off in baghdad, including one near a hospital. if isis marchs into the capital and threatens u.s. installations and u.s. civilians and u.s. personnel, president, i don't think, will have to go to congress to get approval to wage more air strikes and continue this threat against isis. >> the other interesting thing about this congressional authorization question is it does fly in the face of things the president advocated for himself as a candidate before getting into office. take a look back at 2007 when the president said this. the president does not have the power under the constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation. do you think that belief will weigh an president obam decision depending onow circumstances shape up on the ground? >> yes, although the context of that response was in connection to whether the u.s. could bomb iran to stop its nuclear weapons program. the president here has a much stronger case to say, as i said, this isn't -- this is an imminent threat to the nation because we have thousands of americans living in iraq right now. so again, it remains to be seen how he's going to do it. from a political standpoint, do these congressmen and senators and representatives really want to say, you know what? we won't authorize you to continue a war against a transnational terrorist army? not an organization. this is an army. it acts like a state, conducts military it acts like a state like a conventional military force. all u.s. officials from the head of the cia, national intelligence, eric holder i think called isis the worst thing we've ever seen. >> there's been a bipartisan call for that, too. >> absolutely. they are not interesting in stopping in iraq. their ultimate end goal is conquering the world. again, i look to anybody out there, did you anticipate this lightning strike into iraq? did you anticipate that they would be control of the territory roughly the size of jordan within the space of two or three months? don't underestimate what these guys are capable of. we've talked about that in the last few weeks. the turkish government has used to lower the water levels on the ufrates river where there is a command center. they've already talked about liberating istanbul. that's a native ally, turkey. so they are absolutely a clear and present threat to the united states. >> and we saw that map. >> sure. >> it's clearly something everyone on the hill wants to avoid and, to some extent, even the republicans pushing for this authorization are in a mind because they so aggressively called for the president to do more, faster, sooner. >> sure. and there's a rising isolationist with senator paul. turn off all of the lights in the middle east and get the hell out as fast as possible. they have certain ambitions for their own and they are strategizing in terms of how to sell their own policies. but, look, i support the if the in this. this is a national security issue. i don't see any analyst in the intelligence community who says isis is in their box, they are contained between syria and iraq that they now govern and control. this will come back to haunt us, make no mistake about that. >> that is certainly a remark for something that doesn't include a notice. thank you for joining me. >> sure. my pleasure. >> we'll be right back. don't go away. thlook what i got.p. oh my froot loops! 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