Its friday, september 12th, 2014. This is the daily rundown. Well have the very latest on the nfls ray rice assault investigation. Plus, an unprecedented and historic vote coming up in scotland. A fascinating story there. First, we begin with the fight against isis. The Associated Press is reporting this morning that the administration has tapped retired marine general john allen who recently served as the top american commander in afghanistan, to coordinate the campaign against isis. This, as a new cia estimate raises the number of isis fighters in iraq and syria from 10,000 to somewhere between 20,000 to somewhere other 31,000. The pentagon says the 475 additional u. S. Troops that obama ordered to iraq will arrive over the next week. As the administration Lobbies Congress at home, secretary of state john kerry is pressing middle east allies for support. Nbcs Richard Engel has more from erbil, iraq. Take a look. Kristen, secretary kerry traveled to turkey today as he is trying to expand this International Coalition against isis. He has already gotten some support from arab nations with at least ten Sunni Arab States signing a communique in saudi arabia, pledging to do what they can, potentially cooperating militarily, but definitely saying they will limit the flow of funds to isis and try to limit the flow foreign fighters who have left primarily arab countries to join the isis militants in iraq and syria. All of that is positive. It lends some moral support. But it doesnt fundamentally change the equation according to many critics who say that the u. S. Plan is still too vague and it grossly underestimates the problem. All right, richard, and thank you for that. Today, the New York Times calls the Syrian Rebels a group, quote, infighting with no shared leadership and hardline islamists as its most effective fighters. The state department acknowledged Additional Support for the rebels would not guarantee su ses. Saying, to be clear, in syria, its a very tough fight. Senior Administration Official told reporters on wednesday that saudi arabia had committed to members of the free syrian army. Kerry also refused to acknowledge that this is, that the u. S. Is at war with isis. The president ended the war as we know it in which the United States invaded iraq, occupied iraq. Basically ran the show. I believe what we are engaged is not a fullfledged war. Its a counterterrorism operation. Saying that they were, quote, fighting the same enemy, but warned the u. S. Should coordinate on air strikes so that u. S. Planes arent at risk of being shot down. Do you demand to know when u. S. Warplanes are going to strike your country and where . In order not to make any mistakes, i think close coordination should be conducted. So that your warplanes do not engage u. S. Warplanes . There should be no mistakes in this regard. Because when mistakes are being made, then both parties will pay the price for that. Nbcs chief global correspondent bill neely is live in damascus. Whats the very latest there . Im curious to the reaction to those comments that you just got from the foreign minister there, say, essentially the u. S. Needs to loop in the assad regime on its plan to launch air strikes. Well, kristen, this is a very dangerous and volatile moment now that the u. S. Has announced its intention to bomb syria. You can probably see behind me black smoke rising. Syrian warplanes are flying across damascus and bombing rebel positions about a mile and a half or two miles from where im sitting right now. Thats not isis positions. Thats other rebel groups that the syrian warplanes are attacking. The point i was making and that the Deputy Foreign ministry was making to me yesterday is that now were getting into the nittygritty, the dangerous tactical consequence of president obamas strategic goal. How will u. S. Planes enter syrian airspace without being engaged by syrian warplanes. On the broader diplomatic front, this is a very awkward day for president obama. As richard has just pointed out, youve had a very sttepid respoe from many arab countries putting their signature on a piece of paper that says vaguely they will get involved in a coalition, but most enthusiastic arab country, ironically in the fight against isis, is syria, but obviously the United States does not want a formal alliance with syria. Secretary of state kerry in turkey today, but the turks very reluctant to allow incirlik air base, for example, to be used in any air strikes against isis. Its a awkward moment strategically because the key thing is, how do you weaken isis without strengthening president assad in damascus . Bill neely, thank you. A consensus is building in support of the president s strategy. Speaker boehner will call back members on monday, a day early next week, to push through legislation to train Syrian Rebels. What the president has asked for, as the commander in chief, is this authority to train the Syrian Rebels. Frankly, we ought to give the president what hes asking for. Some democrats remain skeptical, though, of the president s plan. I dont think a comprehensive strategy to take on isis necessitates us getting involved. The consequences of getting it wrong are pretty catastrophic. We spent ten years, 1 billion, lost many precious lives in iraq and trained an iraqi army of 200,000 plus. And were talking about retraining them. And many members who support the white houses strategy say the authorization should receive a separate vote and not be rolled into a stop gap spending bill. Congress is rushing to pass as the white house has requested. I think its an incredibly poor judgment by the administration, regardless of their believing they have the authority already to do what theyre doing not to seek aggressively and explicitly an authorization for the use of military force. The number two democrat in the house, congressman steny hoyer, said yesterday he expects a twopart vote which would grant the president the authority next week to train the Syrian Opposition and consider a larger authorization for the use of military force after the election. Now, the president argued the 2001 authorization to use military force or the aumf passed after the september 11th attack, to give president bush the authority to take on al qaeda and its affiliates gives him the authority to use force in syria and iraq without a congressional vote. But just last year, the president called on congress to refine and ultimately repeal that law. Take a listen. Unless we discipline our thinking, our definition, our actions, we may be drawn into more wars we dont need to fight or continue to grand president s unbound powers more suited for traditional Armed Conflicts between nation states. The member of the Intelligence Committee join us this morning. Thank you, we appreciate it. Good morning, kristen. Lets start right there. Do you think that president obama has the authority to launch air strikes without congressional approval or do you think you deserve a vote . I do not think, i do not agree with the white house that the original authorization which of course targeted al qaeda gives him the authority to, without congressional approval do what he has said he would like to do. I suspect theres a Strong Majority in the congress for the concept of operating more aggressively in iraq. There are far larger principles than simply this operation at stake here. Do we, as americans, want to continue to cede authority, placed in the hands of the representatives of the people, in the hands of one man. I support the president on most of what he does but, you know, the logic they are using to say that he can now essentially m e make, you know, undertake hostilities is so we go into this heads u and some sense of consens consensus. The other debate which is going to start taking place next week is about arming and training those Syrian Opposition forces. Where do you stand on that . Because i know youve expressed a lot of concern about the fact its not clear who those forces are. Who the good guys are. Who the bad guys are. Would you vote yes if that vote were held today . Youve characterized that very well. For background, i think what the president is calling for with respect to air strikes and activities against isis makes sense. Its consistent with a pretty successful counterterrorism strategy which as the president says weve deployed elsewhere. By the way, does not end terrorism but certainly keeps them on their heels it the question of whether we should spend 500 million to arm the socalled moderate rebels needs to be closely examined. Youre right, im a profound skeptic. Ive had an opportunity to get a little closer than most. I will tell you, i couldnt have said it any better than you guys did when you showed the syrian foreign minister encouraging american cooperation while warplanes, syrian warplanes, were bombing the very people were talking about this morning. Weve got some profound questions to answer about whether this is wise, whether this ends up shoring up assad. That may be a good thing or a bad thing. Lets not believe that fighting in a threeway civil war is going to be anything other than messy. Then being theres real profound questions about vetting. A 19yearold that grew up in some dusty village in syria who now we have designated as moderate. I was 19 once too. I suspect that moderate label is highly influenced by whos got the money and momentum. These are things we as a Congress Must debate and be very skeptical about. Before i let you go, because were out of time, would you vote yes if that vote were held today . Theres a lot of talk and debate. At this point i would likely vote no on the provision of 500 million to arm socalled moderate Syrian Rebels. Congressman jim hunts, thank you for your time this morning, we really appreciate it. Thank you. Sounding more bullish than many congressional democrats, in fact, paul ryan weighed in in a press pass interview with Nbcs Chuck Todd. Take a listen. I support his ask. I think hell have bipartisan support. Look, we dont want to play arm chair governors. Im glad hes changed his policy. I think he needs to be supported for doing this. Chuck todd is moderator of meet the press and nbcs political director. Lets pick up on that point. You have paul ryan saying he supports the president s ask. This isnt exactly the legacy that president obama was expecting. No, its open not. You can tell they want to hurry up and do this. This is an ancient Congress Reacting to an anxious public. A year ago, the public said we dont want any air strikes in syria. Saying no, no, no, we must push back on the president here. I hate to be totally cynical here. They know the publics anxious. They dont want a riskier vote. This is going to go through pretty quick . It should. I think look, theres a lot of slippery slopes here. I thought congressman himes, senator murphy, these are the questions that im surprised more arent asking to have answered. This is should be the lesson for congress. President obama ran on the policy of withdrawing from the middle east, shifting to the asia region. This is not what he was planning on. It is what it is. Hes clearly a reluctant warrior. This is not somebody that felt that wanted to be making the speech he was making. This is going to be the dominant part of his foreign policy. I think hes hoping at this point can he at least leave the middle east a little more stable in 2017 than what it looks like today . At this point, thats the best policy. The asia pivot, theres a lot potentially in 20 years that people will look back on and say, you know what, they did some good there. But its all economic. The public doesnt see it. This really is about trying to create a more stable environment. I know youre going to do a deep dive on this on meet the press. Well have a lot on isis, well hear from the administration, and also jim baker on, former secretary of state during bush 41. Successfully built a middle east coalition. He knows the syrian problem very, very well. Hes one of those not involved in the iraq conflict of 03 that i think has a lot of wisdom to provide. Thats number one. Also, Hillary Clintons going to iowa so were starting our meet the candidate series with bernie sanders. Well look forward to that. Whats at stake for her, by the way . I think its her campaigning with her husband is always never gone as well as it could. I actually think that picture i know theres some hillary supporters are like, whys she making the trip with her husband . Risk involved. Because he is such a larger than life figure, more so than anybody in the room, whether its her or president obama sometimes. Congratulations on a great debut show. We look forward to watching this sunday. Although i miss you at the white house. I hear you. Check those local listing, will you . Indeed, we will watch. Coming up, hawkeyes on the prize. Bill and Hillary Clinton heading back to iowa this weekend. Some folks say theyre ready for hillary but is she ready for another run. That is the question well explo explore. Plus, negligent but not guilty of murder. Thats the judgment handed down to hiss stopistorius. Today, president obama speaks at the 20th anniversary event. Well be tracking that. Youre watching the daily rundown. Only on msnbc. Well be right back. I have moderate to severe crohns disease. Its tough, but ive managed. 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If youre still just managing your symptoms, ask your gastroenterologist about humira. With humira, remission is possible. 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. After a sixmonth long trial in south africa, former olympic athlete pistorius has been found guilty in the shooting death of his girlfriend reeva steen camp. He was found guilty of culpable homicide. Pistorius showed no emotion as the judge read the verdict during the trial. The track star broke down frequently though on the witness stand. Today, judge found pistorius did not intend to kill steenkamp when he shot her through the bathroom door on valentines day. Nbcs duncan goal stanny has been tracking the trial and joins us live with more on the reaction. What are people saying there, duncan . Hey, kristen, good morning. It hasnt come as a massive surprise because of course the judge started giving her reasoning yesterday. So we knew pretty much what the verdicts were going to be. Perhaps that is why Oscar Pistorius himself was quite impas impassive. He just stood up and listened to the verdicts. It was only afterwards when the judge left the courtroom that pistorius turned to his sister, gave her a hug. Very briefly being shoe the hand of his father from whom hes estranged. Then werent celebrating. They just looked incredibly relieved. Compare that to the other side of the courtroom where the family and friends of Reeva Steenkamp were sitting. Some shaking their heads in disbelief. Reevas friends were crying and her mother just stood for a very long timing hugging her supporters. About an hour ago, pistorius left the courthouse. A huge crowd of people swelled around him, blocking the road. Some people even cheering. We now understand pistorius is on his way to his uncles house, which is one of the conditions of his bail. Hell be back here october 13th for sentencing. He could face up to 15 years in prison, kristen. All right, donken golestani, thank you, we appreciate your reporting this morning. Coming up, business as usual on the field last night for the Baltimore Ravens without running back ray rice. Off the field, the nfl is playing defense as more details emerge about the Domestic Abuse incident. Who currently the most senior junior senator . Thats right, the most senior junior senator. The first person to tweet the correct answer will get an onair shoutout. The answer and more coming i on the daily rundown. Here we go, here we go, here we go. 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