world disrupted. i don't see that a cease-fire at this sort would have been possible without egypt, so early speculation on my part is that they were involved. and i think it's very important that they've put a longer time zone on this of 30 days. so that's showing at least a bit more gravitas on both sides about what they may have to face down the road and moving away from this scene we've been seeing. i think it helps us move from fragility into the possibility of something that is more enduring. >> yeah, and steve, you know, the outpouring you're seeing is -- and we're still looking at those live pictures on the streets in gaza. you didn't see that after the previous cease-fires. you had a sense they were each very tenuous. you had much more intensive bombing going on. the israelis conducts air strikes in the gaza strip. obviously, this densely packed community. over the last couple of weeks you've seen the coverage dissipate. but you have still continued to see both missiles being fired from gaza and air strikes more or less targeting buildings, right, up until really right up until the last 24 hours. >> oh, we had a whole family in gaza just killed the other day. and so while we may not have been paying as much attention because of other things on the roster, certainly those people both in israel and in palestine have been following this in the neighborhood. so the conflict has been one that has continued to kind of go back and forth, flare up, simmer down a bit, flare up again. but this has a different feel. i hope our early speculation is right, that at least we're seeing a new leadership. it's interesting that the political leader of hamas is now in the region. i think that's very important. >> important. well, steve, hold on. i'm going to ask you to pause for a minute. we're going to listen into the pentagon, which is currently giving a briefing on this very subject. let's listen in. >> what type of munitions are you talking about? >> well, this is an important point. what's great about this effort is many of these partner nations have in their stocks more than we do kinds of equipment that the kurdish forces use, which isn't necessarily just american-made material. so it covers the full range, small arms ammunition and other personnel-served weaponry. but i don't have a complete inventory for you. >> if i could change the subject briefly, could you confirm the reports of egypt and the uae carrying out air strikes in libya and the u.s. tried to warn them against it? >> we do believe there were air strikes undertaken in recent days by the uae and egypt inside libya. i would refer you to those governments for any further details. and as for our knowledge of it, i won't get into discussing the specifics of our diplomatic discussions. craig? >> has the secretary had any conversations with -- or any of his deputies had any conversations with people in those countries, uae, or egypt? recent days? >> not that i'm aware of. jen? >> if the u.s. sends surveillance drones into a country that it is not currently at war with, for instance syria, is that an act of war? and if not, why not? >> well, i'm not going to talk about hypotheticals, jen. >> i'm just talking about the law. >> i'm not an expert on international law either, jen. what i would tell you is that -- and the president's been clear about this. secretary hagel's been clear about this. this is a serious threat from a serious group of terrorists. and we need to stay mindful of doing what we need to do to protect american citizens at home and abroad. and it's been stated before. we're not going to hold ourselves to geographic boundaries in order to accomplish that job. so without getting into international law, for which i would be illeducated to speak to, i can tell you we'll do what we need to do to protect americans. >> for instance, you have talked about this special operations rescue mission that failed in july. is that considered an act of war when we sent special operators into a country you're not at war with? >> that was a res kai attempt. we only divulged it because we were forced to because of leaks. it was never an intention to talk about it. no, it was not an act of war. it was a rescue attempt of americans that were being held hostage by terrorists. is also would like to push back on this idea it failed. okay, it wasn't successful in terms of we didn't get them. but it was executed very, very well, very professionally. >> just one last question. can you characterize the relationship between the u.s. and qatar right now? because obviously qatar was very instrumental in securing the release of this hostage yesterday, american hostage. at the same time, there are so many reports that qatar is supporting other islamist groups in libya and elsewhere. how would you characterize the relationship between the u.s. and qatar? >> we continue to have a solid military-to-military relationship with qatar. as you know, secretary hagel has spent a lot of time with the gcc nations. we were just there a couple months ago. we want to continue to broaden that military-to-military relationship. that's our focus, on the military relationship. putting that aside, obviously, we don't encourage any support by any nation for terrorist groups and extremists, particularly in that part of the world. >> are you concerned that qatar has supported terrorist groups? >> i've seen those reports. if the reports are true, absolutely it's concerning. tony? >> cut to the chase, did the president authorize the white house -- the pentagon to conduct surveillance missions over syria, and what comes next? >> don't talk about intelligence matters, tony. i'm not going to start doing that today. we're a planning organization here. we have to be prepared for all kinds of options. and with respect to providing military options, we're going to be ready to do that. but i'm not going to get into the details. >> intelligence normally is sources and methods. you know, the james bond world. we're talking about airplanes now. you can't confirm you were authorized to fly aircraft over syria? >> i'm not going to talk about intelligence matters. >> one final thing. >> sure. >> last year, this very week, the world was consumed with potentially bombing syria with tomahawk missiles to get them to give up their chemical weapons. there was discussion of syria's air defense capabilities. last year it was characterized as dense and sophisticated. one year later, is that still the case with syria's air defenses? >> there's been no change in our assessment of syrian air defense capabilities. >> fair enough. >> back on the surveillance missions in syria, is the u.s. flying any surveillance missions in syria? before you say you can't talk about it, i just want to point out that how many times we've been told how many missions are flying every day over iraq right next door. >> sure. not going to talk about it, courtney. but i appreciate the warning, as you asked it. the difference here is in iraq we were specifically asked by the government of iraq to come in and assist them with an isr effort. it was an overt ask. so we accommodated that request and continue to accommodate it today. that's a different situation than the one you're hypothesizing about now. phil? >> there's been a couple members of congress yesterday and today who have said they believe the president should go to congress and ask for an authorization if he decides to order military action in syria. what is secretary hagel's view of that question, and more generally, does he feel the pentagon can operate under the existing authorization of military force or would congress have to change it some way if the president give that order? >> i'm not going to speak to a question that's better posed to the white house, phil. what i can tell you is we're operating inside iraq given the authorities that we've been given by the commander for chief. and we, not just the defense department, but the u.s. government has kept congress informed of what we're doing. the president's filed, i think, four war powers resolution letters in response to -- or because of what we're doing inside ike. so there's been a concerted effort to keep congress in facted. >> joe? >> do you know if the pentagon has enough information, a clear picture about isis capabilities inside syria? >> the way i would put it to you, joe, is we've been watching isil for many months now. we recognize that their development, their growth, the increase in their capabilities, it hasn't happened overnight. and it has happened regionally. they operate pretty much freely between iraq and syria. do we have perfect information about them and their capabilities whether it's on the syrian side of the border or iraqi side? no, we don't. we're gaining better knowledge in iraq because we have been flying more surveillance flights over the country since we were asked by the iraqi government to do so. and because we're in better and more frequent contact now with iraqi and kurdish forces. so i think there's a growing sense of knowledge there on the iraqi side. but it's mixed. >> just a quick question. how many flights have you conducted over iraq since the beginning of the year? >> i don't have -- i'd have to point you to -- i haven't been tallying each and every flight. as chairman dempsey said to you last week, we're up over about 60 isr flights per day in iraq. but it varies. some days it's more. some days it's less. i don't have a total for you. yes, sir? >> sir, the head of air combat command recently said he wouldn't fly a-10s over syria. this would obviously extend to other platforms, like, say, the predator. how are you possibly conducting these operations without some sort of coordination with the syrian government? >> well, the question presumes that i'm going to talk about the operations being conducted. i'm not going to do that. i just said i'm not going to talk about intelligence matters here. and i haven't seen the comments from the acc commander about the a-10, so i wouldn't have any comment on that. john? >> back in june when things were heating up in iraq, you all announced you had moved the george h.w. bush carrier group into the persian gulf. have any additional forces along those lines been added, either to the persian gulf or to the med in recent weeks? and also, did you ever get a response from the chinese about that barrel roll incident? >>. >> i'm not aware of any additional naval assets. that said, john, naval forces come and go t routinely swapping out on deployment. i'd point you to the navy for any update on the naval laydown in the persian gulf. i'm not aware of any major muscle changes. the bush is still the only carrier we have available in that part of the world. all i saw in terms of a chinese reaction was public comments they made through their media that they did acknowledge there was an intercept but stressed in their view that it was done at a completely safe distance and with professional demeanor. we obviously take deep issue with that characterization of the incident. >> is there a meeting with chinese officials later in the building here this week? >> i understand that the navy is having some discussions this week with some of their chinese counterparts. i'd point you to the navy for details on that. i would also, from what i gather this morning, john, this was something that was long planned, long scheduled, sort of routine staff talks kind of thing. the degree to which this incident will come up, again, i'd point you to navy. already got you, phil. nancy? >> i want to follow up on the uae flights over libya. last week out of this building from the joint staff and from osd, you said repeat there that the u.s. didn't know who was responsible for those flights. what is it that you're able to learn in the last few days to then say those flights were being flown by the uae and why couldn't you say so last week? >> i couldn't say so last week because i didn't know. and now we know. so now i'm able to acknowledge it. i mean, i don't think it's worthwhile going through all the mechanisms through which we learn information. last week there was -- i think it was the first such strike. and it was unclear as to who conducted it. all i could tell you for sure is we didn't. we've since gained more information. in light of this second strike over the weekend, we've been able to ascertain that we know it was conducted by uae and by egypt in some fashion. but again, i'd point you to those countries to talk about that. >> i guess i'm having a hard time understanding, if the u.s. discouraged them from conducting such flights, how did you not know they conducted them? >> i did not say we discouraged them. i said we don't talk about our diplomatic discussions. >> and is it the position of this building that you welcome that the uae and egypt are trying to tackle the terrorism problem independently without u.s. help? >> our position is the same as the united states government's position, which is we want the issue to be solved peacefully and through good governance and politics and not violence. we discourage other nations from taking part in libya's issues through violence. that's our position. yeah, david? >> will these weapons deliveries that you talked about from that coalition begin -- >> they've actually already started to begin. i can get you a better sense of that later. >> who's delivering it? >> i know albania and the u.k. have already started to deliver. but again, i'd have to get you more fidelity on that. this is an effort that's really just sort of starting. and i'd also point to -- and we've said it before, but it's worth reminding that we, too, have taken part in some of the delivery of equipment and personnel -- i'm sorry, equipment and material to kurdish forces, helping the iraqi government conduct that resupply using some of our aircraft. >> and another question on iraq, where does that request from the state department for additional security personnel stand? >> still reviewing it. still looking at it. i would also remind you that we get many requests for forces here in the pentagon. some come from the state department. some come from rpts combatant commanders. there are many options on how you address those kinds of force requirements. we're working through those options right now. yeah, phil? >> on uae and egypt on the strikes in libya, why wouldn't that be seen as something that would be helpful if the united states wants allies to step up in support against militant threats? why wouldn't it be something helpful? why wouldn't the united states be applauding that? >> what we don't want is more violence on top of the violence that's already existing inside libya. it's already a tenuous enough security environment as it is. and we do want to see that resolve. we do want to see a peaceful, stable future for libya and for the libyan people. it's not just good for them. it's good for that part of the world, which has already got issues of security as it does. but adding more violence on to it, we don't believe is the answer. yeah? >> i have to have ask because the parallel seems to obvious to iraq where we're conducting air strikes. that's violence on violence, as you describe. could you describe what differentiates the two situations? >> sure, sure. yeah, absolutely. first of all, we're there at the request of the iraqi government. this wasn't some unilateral decision by the united states to strike targets inside iraq. number two, we are -- the construct under which we're conducting air strikes are being done in a very limited, target, discreet manner to protect u.s. personnel and facilities, to assist the iraqi security forces as they go after this threat inside their country on behalf of their people. then two, to help contribute to any humanitarian missions that might evolve like we saw happen on mt. sinjar. but we're there at the request of the iraqi government. yes? >> along those lines, would the dod consider any role as part of an international force in libya? >> i'm not aware of any such consideration. yes? >> this terrorist organization, where do they get their financing, training, and military equipment or weapons? >> we've talked about this for a long time. they're well resourced. they get money from donations. they get money from ransoms. frankly, they get money from -- this is a group that tries to develop their own revenue streams. it's why they take over facilities. it's why they wanted to control the dam. i mean, they actually grab ground and try to keep it. they're selling oil on the black market. so they have many revenue streams. they're well funded. they get a lot of their sourcing and training and sustenance from across that border in syria, which is one of the reasons why we have to take a regional approach here. we've talked about this before. >> second if i may -- >> but this is it. this is your last follow up. >> yesterday there was talk about osama bin laden -- what i'm asking you, are you watching the situation right now, what's happening in pakistan? second, do you still believe they have training centers for the taliban which they used to have before? >> who has training centers? that pakistan has training centers for extremists? we've talked abo abouwe've talk again, too, before. we want to continue to work with pakistan to deal what we believe is a common challenge and common threat faced by both our countries and by afghanistan as well. that's extremist in the safe haven they continue to enjoy in pakistan. but the pakistani military has taken action against some of those extremist threats in their country. they've conducted operations not too long ago, just this summer. it's important to remember they've taken casualties in that fight. it's a common threat. we don't always see eye to eye on how to address it. that remains to be the case today. but what's different today is that we have better vehicles for dialogue and cooperation with the pakistani military that we continue to enjoy and want to continue to improve. yeah? >> regarding the interception that your counterpart spokesperson for the ministry of defense did respond and while the u.s. stressed that the p-8 was in international air space, that the chinese government, defense ministry, mentioned that the mission of that flight was to track chinese submarines and other military activities. so the in order to view military-to-military relations, the u.s. needs to reduce those number of flights or stop even. also from the pentagon's perspective, i mean, the two leaders of the two countries are calling for a better military-to-military relationship. so from the pentagon's perspective, how realistic is it to build such a relationship with all this going on in the south china sea and east china sea? >> it's important we continue to work at this relationship, absolutely. that's not made easier by incidents like we saw with the intercept of our p-8 patrol aircraft, which was on a routine mission in international air space. under no circumstances and under no rubric of military relations is it acceptable to fly a jet fighter around a reconnaissance airplane the way that was done. that said, that doesn't mean that the relationship isn't still worth pursuing. and we continue to look for avenues to try to increase the dialogue and cooperation and understanding and transparency between our two countries. but again, that incident did nothing to help that along. i feel like you got a follow up. go ahead. >> and the u.s. will continue to conduct those reconnaissance flights in that specific -- >> we're going to continue to fly in international air space the way we've been, just like we're going to continue to sail our ships in international waters the way we've been. the united states is a pacific power. we have responsibilities. five of seven treaty alliances in the pacific region. we're going to meet those security commitments. we want to do this in an open and transparent way. we want to share as much information with our allies and partners and with china as we can. we want to do that. but none of that cooperation is aided along by that kind of reckless behavior by that particular pilot. yeah? >> in the strategy that you sort of outlined for iraq in response to kate's question, the strategy against isis was very iraq focused. you and others always call this a regional problem. how do you square that? how do you address a regional problem with a very country specific response so far? >> well, kinetically, you're right. most of the action has been inside iraq. but even before we started conducting air strikes inside iraq, we had a regional approach. we were studying and trying to monitor and gain information about isil from a regional approach. it's no different than the way we try to and continue to try to get at the extremist threat on the border between afghanistan and pakistan to my previous answer. there's a regional threat there too. you can't -- you know, where we're authorized to act from a military perspective is inside iraq. and that's what we're doing. but it doesn't mean we're turning a blind eye to the regional threat they pose. and quite frankly, we're not turning a blind eye to their global aspirations as well. much has been made about, you know, the threat they pose and how imminent it is, and you don't need to look any further than the recruitment of foreign fighters and the degree to which not just the united states government but many western governments are concerned about these foreign fighters leaving their shores, going over there, getting radicalized, and coming back and executing attacks, which is not out of the realm of the possible. so we are taking not just a regional approach, but even a global approach to how we're trying to look at what they're trying to do. so i don't know if that answered the question or not. >> you mentioned the foreign fighters. nbc reported that one of the american fighting with isis has been killed. do you know anything about that? >> is i don't. i've seen the press report recently, but i don't have anything to add to that right now. barbara? >> what can you tell us about an encounter with u.s. maritime forces and the iranians in the persian gulf? >> i don't have a whole lot on that, barbara. i could point you to fifth fleet on that. as i understand it, a coast guard cutter, the small boat crew off a coast guard cutter, in a routine maritime security operation approached an iranian dow. the iranian dow pointed a machine gun at the -- or a small arms weapon at the boat crew. they fired a shot back. i don't know whether the shot was just a warning shot or it hit the dow. in any event, the dow pulled away and nobody was hurt. the coast guard cutter can retrieved the boat crew. that's all i know. i'd point you to fifth fleet for anything more. >> was it that they were planning to board the dow or seeking to board the dow? >> i don't have any more details than that, barb. i know there was one shot fired, nobody hurt. both the cutter and dow parted ways and there wasn't more to it than that. yes, ma'am? >> on north korea, recently north korea deputy ambassador to the united nations had mentioned at the news conference north korea urged to stop ongoing joint military exercises. and north korea was warning of pre-emptive strikes. >> i haven't seen those comments. our commitment to the security of the peninsula and to our treaty allies in south korea remains steadfast as they always will. our exercises will continue and we continue to call on the north to meet its international obligations. >> there's a strong mention about the pre-emptive strike -- >> i will just say that our commitment to the security on the peninsula and to our alliance with south korea is ironclad. yeah, phil? >> you've said a couple times today that american airplanes are operating over iraq at the invitation of the government there. is there anything about that agreement that restricts their ability to, for example, survey over the border into syria? >> i'm not going to talk about -- i'm just not going to go beyond the mission we're conducting inside iraq. we're there at the invitation of the iraqi government to do a couple of things. to help -- mainly to help iraqi security forces combat this threat by isil. we do that through surveillance flights but also through air strikes from combat aircraft. that's really the limit i can talk about today. >> are there any restrictions? >> i'm not going to get into r.o.e. from the podium here, phil. we're authorized to conduct air operations over iraq for two main purposes. i've talked about that. that's as far as i'm going to go. >> the u.s. doesn't recognize assad as a legitimate leader in syria. so by that logic, the u.s. could fly surveillance missions because the government of syria would never invite them to fly surveillance, right? >> can you rule out -- [ inaudible ]. >> we're not coordinating with the assad regime on the operations that we're conducting in iraq. or the operations -- or any efforts to combat isil. >> does the border between iraq and syria still effectively exist from your perspective? general dempsey said last week there's basically no border. >> there's a border. if you look on a map, there's a border. what we're saying is it's porous to the degree where in all practical purposes it doesn't exist for isil because they flow freely back and forth. >> does it still exist for the defense department? >> of course it still exists for the defense department. we recognize there's an international border between syria and iraq. what we're saying is isil treats that part of the world as if there is no border for them. i got time for one more. yeah? >> it's osd's responsibility to calculate the cost of the iraqi air strikes. do you have a cost yet, and will we have to wait for a comptroller's request before we hear -- >> who said it's our responsibility? >> sent com. >> look, right now what i tell you is funding for the operations we're conducting in iraq are being absorbed through current year allocations that central command has. the chairman and secretary both said we're okay in '14. and if operations continue, we might have to take a look at '15 to see if there's a need to request more. i don't have an estimate for you, specifically day by day. but it's being absorbed through current allocations that central command has at their disposal and the services have at their disposal. okay. thanks, everybody. >> rear admiral john kirby, the pentagon spokesman, giving a wide ranging press conference or daily briefing covering everything from the ongoing threat of isis in syria and iraq to u.s. actions in iraq to try to curb that militant group. he also took questions on united arab emirates and egyptian air strikes apparently over egypt that caught the united states by surprise. he also talked about a u.s. patrol plane that was intercepted by a chinese fighter jet. took several questions on that. and the tensions that has caused. but he did also touch in the early part of the press conference on the cease-fire in gaza. for more on that, we go to nbc's ayman mohyeldin, who joins me live from london. ayman, this didn't take up the majority of that press conference, obviously, but it's a significant development you do see what's being called a long-ranging or wide-ranging cease-fire in gaza. what can you tell us about it? >> well, absolutely. it also gives you a sense of how much things are just developing in the middle east. country by country, the u.s. has a list of challenges ahead of it. the one that you were referencing right now, the situation in gaza, one of those that was really on the top of u.s. foreign policy for the last several weeks. as a result of that cease-fire that brought out hundreds of palestinians to the streets in gaza to celebrate, the agreement as we understand it calls for a complete end of hostilities on both sides. that means no palestinian rocket fire into israel. no israeli attacks inside gaza. and a lifting of the siege, an easing, rather, of the siege that has been imposed on gaza. that would allow for humanitarian supplies as well as construction materials to go in. this was not what both sides were hoping for in terms of reaching a comprehensive, long-term agreement. israel wanted in the long run to try and demilitarize hamas and other palestinian factions in gaza. hamas and those factions wanted to have more access to international waters. they wanted to build an international airport. they did not get that. they're hoping, though, at least egyptian officials are hoping that this cease-fire could be the basis for long-term talks it and perhaps a long-term deal. right now this is a return, if you will, to the 2012 agreement that was put in place back under former egyptian president mohamed morsi. >> all right. thank you very much, ayman mohyeldin, as we continue to see people celebrates in gaza. and now to an exclusive report on the terrorist group isis. nbc news has learned that an american fighting for the group known also as isil was killed in fighting over the weekend. douglas macarthur mccain joined isis this year after growing up in illinois, in minneapolis. he eventually moved to san diego, where according to his twitter account he reverted to islam. his travels outside the u.s. brought him to europe, turkey, and finally into contact with isis, which this year has taken over large areas of northern syria and about a quarter of iraq. moments ago, the white house weighed in on mccain's death saying, quote, the threat we are most concerned about to the homeland is that fighters like this return to the u.s. and committing acts of terrorism. for more, we're joined by a senior writer for nbcnews.com, who broke this story. what can you tell us about this gentleman, mr. mccain? >> we know that douglas mccain was born in illinois. at some point he moved to minnesota, where he went to high school, made a ton of friends. everybody says he was quite a joker and a big goofball. later he moved to san diego. at some point over the past, i'd say, five or six years, he became more religious. he started talking a lot more about islam. about three months ago he traveled to turkey. that's what we learned from people who met him there. we found out that unfortunately he was killed on sunday in a battle between the free syrian army and isis fighters. >> and how does the u.s. confirm that he was, in fact, a member of isis? he did have a very active twitter account, as i'm reading from the reports, that he had started calling him the slave of allah and tweeting overt references to isis. were his twitter accounts being monitored? how does the u.s. confirm that's what he was doing? >> well, as you said, his social media presence was pretty -- a pretty clear sign he was sympathetic to isis. it became more and more so over the past several months. he was communicating openly on social media with several self-proclaimed isis fighters. we were able to confirm, myself and one of my rock star colleagues, that he was fighting with isis in northern syria. >> and has his family made any statements? have we heard anything from his family here in the u.s.? >> at this point, i'd rather not say. they're aware, and that's as far as i'm going to go for now. >> all right. we'll leave it there. >> as you know, they're grieving. >> of course. we appreciate your reporting. thank you very much. and up next, civil rights leaders and influential politicians are call can go on president obama to use his executive power to enact policies that would improve the relationship between law enforcement and minority communities. that's next. hey. i'm ted and this is rudy. say "hi" rudy. 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>> meanwhile, a coalition of lawmakers and activists are turning their attention to the obama administration and what they say the administration can do to improve the state of police relations with communities of color, including ferguson. joining me now, our center for global policy solutions president and ceo. the lead signature that story to a petition sent to the president yesterday. and eugene o'donnell, a professor of law. he's a former new york city police officer and a police academy instructor. and thank you both for being here. i want to start with you. you're a member of a group who sent a letter to the president calling for various reforms you think the president can do. give us a summary of what you want to see done. >> it's a mistake if we consider ferguson an isolated incident. there have been more instances across the country. amadou diallo, you name it, oscar grant, trayvon martin. if we treat it as an isolated incident, we'll be overlooking the fact this is happening in communities across the country. we have a problem. that problem is systemic racial bias that is distorting the perceptions, the views of our law enforcement, too many of our law enforcement officials. and so we need to actually treat this as a systemic problem, and the obama administration is actually perfectly positioned through the department of justice to basically embark on a seven-step policy change program. that's what we're calling for. >> and three of those steps our viewers can see on the screen. training, racial bias training under guidelines set by the department of justice, accountability, not having police investigate themselves, and diversity, meaning the doj can set retention guidelines. eugene, to you now. how do you think guidelines like this would be received by police departments? do you think they need them? >> we need a full frontal assault on racial discrimination. half measures are not good enough. the answer is to have the cops own that, to talk about their human dignity and to talk about how the good actors in police departments, the idealists, the people that go in for the right reasons, especially the younger people now who've grown up with different people. we have to nudge them. we have to encourage them to create an atmosphere of intolerance for intolerance. sort of a lights out on racism and law enforcement. you can have whatever political beliefs you have, whatever ideas you have, but in the police work force, there should be no room for discrimination. i think if we focus on the idealists, i think one of the things that happened in the last few days, and it's kind of understandable, is there's been a little bit of extremist rhetoric where some good cops who are reasonable sort of get pushed to the side -- or pushed to the corner with that. we need to come back to the center ground. we need to acknowledge we're policing an incarceration nation and political leadership has to step up and say, we're the architects of this system and not be seen to grand stand and pander and blame the police for the failures to solve these underlying issues. >> just to push back a little bit, the police departments around the country, which incorporate more than half a million employees, they receive generous grants from the federal government, the department of justice administers lots of money that goes to these local police departments. you have rules, laws, including the omnibus crime bill, the civil rights act of '64, the violent crime and control act under which police have to operate. is looking for idealists more important than actually having the federal government say, you know what, you're getting this money, you have to abide by these things, idealists or no? >> the problem is there's a lot of departments that have diversity training, and they're not good departments. it's preaching. it's telling people things, you know, with videos. this has to be a much more felt reform where the officers get the point. i did human dignity training in africa and europe for the police. so i know. there's no substitute for having officers -- it has to be premised on their human dignity, has to be premised on them seeing themselves in other people. there's no substitute for having officers themselves embrace this. that is a core consideration that has to be at the forefront. >> and is that the case that no rules will change these departments unless people within the departments decide to change themselves? >> it has to be dual. you're absolutely right. the justice department and the administration actually has a huge lever of over police departments through the administration of grants. any entity, local entity that's getting federal funding should be under the guidelines of the justice department. and we think that oversight is an important part of this framework. but another part is absolutely right. is has to be owned by individuals. when you get down to it, i mean, racial bias is the lens through which you see the world. and many times people don't understand that they have it. so they have to be taken through the right kind of training to understand what their implicit racial bias is or maybe they're explicit. but it cannot get in the way of the professionalism of the police department. what we are looking for are professional police departments across the country, and it serves the interest not just of the african-american community. it serves the interest of the nation for us to get this right. >> eugene, is it the case that perhaps the police culture overall, the fact a lot of police unions will give absolute 100% support to an officer unquestioningly when you have something like a police shooting. we had stories of the donations that go to an officer when a shooting happens. just the unwavering support and the pressure on other officers to follow suit. does that stand in the way of rooting out the bad apples that are in these departments? >> it's a cultural change. the difficulty we have, bizarrely in some departments s the good people are marginalized. they're pushed to the side. we need to make the good people the voice of law enforcement. there's a lot to work with here. you're talking about a profession where people go in and they're willing to put their life and limb at risk to help people in very difficult circumstances. we're talking about circumstances where in a lot of communities they really can't make things much better. they're managing the decline of these communities because of a lack of investment. we have to have a realistic message for the cops. i'm absolutely convinced on the grounds of the training i've seen done that if officers are given the power to make these changes, that's the most effective way. there's lots of this training going on that's not very effective so far. we need a new approach that looks at changing the hearts and minds of individual police officers. >> and very lastly and quickly, do you need to get police and police agencies sign on as well? >> absolutely. the more police officers and police department heads can embrace this agenda, i think the better off we'll all be. and the fact of the matter is the letter was signed by people of all faiths, all races, all ethnicities, from all across the country, multiple sectors. and they all know that we have to get this right as a country. so the police departments, the police chiefs, the law enforcement agents, they all need to get on board because we need to get ahead of this and not let unrest across the country occur. >> all right. thanks to both of youing for b here. up next, actor orlando jones talks about his twist on the ice bucket challenge and how he's using it to raise awareness about serious issues surrounding the shooting death of michael brown. >> i'm challenging myself to listen without prejudice, to love without limits, and to reverse the hate. this is the first power plant in the country to combine solar and natural gas at the same location. during the day, we generate as much electricity as we can using solar. at night and when it's cloudy, we use more natural gas. this ensures we can produce clean electricity whenever our customers need it. ♪ ♪ [music] jackie's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today her doctor has her on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. thlook what i got.p. oh my froot loops! [sniffs] let's do this? get up! get up! get up! get up! loop me! bring back the awesome... yeah! yeah! yeah! with the great taste of kellogg's froot loops. follow your nose! (vo) ours is a world of the red-eyes. (daughter) i'm really tired. (vo) the transfers. well, that's kid number three. (vo) the co-pilots. all sitting... ...trusting... ...waiting... ...for a safe arrival. introducing the all-new subaru legacy. designed to help the driver in you... ...care for the passenger in them. the subaru legacy. it's not just a sedan. it's a subaru. hi. i'm orlando jones. i'm joining lots of other people and bringing attention to this very serious disease by accepting this challenge. >> that was actor and lifetime nra member orlando jones taking the als ice bucket challenge to a new level with bullet shell casings. in the wake of the police shooting death of michael brown, jones is challenging himself and the rest of us to, quote, listen without prejudice, love without limits, and reverse the hate. >> this past week i've watched an american city become something akin to a war zone, and, you know, what's happening in ferguson looks like a copy cat because we've seen it happen in so many other cities around the world. >> and orlando jones joins me now live via skype. first of all, i want to congratulate you. i think you kind of won the als ice bucket challenge. there have been a lot of twists on it. yours was definitely the most gripping. when i watched it just before we even talked about it in the news room, i was astounded. what made you do that? >> i think obviously you're looking at a really, you know, heinous situation happen. when you look at jordan davis and you look at trayvon martin, there's a lot of pain going on, i think, in this community. there's dylan casey, the case in utah. there's people being shot in bahrain who were just protesting for their rights. it feels like human rights are being attacked again. i didn't want the discussion for me to be about race. i wanted it to be about the big issue, which is apathy. >> when you say reverse the hate, who is that directed at? is it directed at these police agencies? is it the people commenting on the michael brown situation? who are you really directing that particular piece of it at? >> for me, it's all directed at me because, you know, there have been other cases where people have died and where was my voice then? when i thought justice was not served, how did i get involved by which to create a better world to leave for our children? i did not. so for me, my entire message was directed at me. i asked people, would you like to join me on this journey? i know it's something i cannot do alone. i believe the us and them is truly people who want to leave a better world for our children and the people who are okay with the status quo. you know, those are are the us and them in this case. it's not about color. certainly not about politics. you know, it's really about fighting for human rights. in this case, people's human rights have been violated. >> and, you know, there's always this debate whenever a big issue happens and celebrities such as yourself weigh in. there's the back and forth of some people saying celebrities should stay out of these big issueses. you have people on both sides of an issue that are fans of yours. and then you also have people who say celebrities who stay out of it a derelict. there's been a lot of debate over whether enough hip-hop artists are speaking up. do you feel at all reticent of somebody who's prominent of jumping into a potentially divisive issue? >> i think people are going to hear what it is they want to hear. they bring their own bias to the conversation, which is why to me it was really important for me to listen without prejudice. it's very easy for me as a black man to look at what's happening and get on a plane and want to protest. frankly, i'm here working and wasn't able to do that. by the same token, what am i protesting? certainly not the job of the police. that's a difficult situation to be in. with training, that doesn't mean that you're going to behave properly in the circumstances. it doesn't mean that mistakes respe aren't going to be made. on a personal note, i think you can use technology to give them better tools. i think showing up with tasers is a lot better than showing up with tanks. >> and what has been the response? you did mention in the video you're a lifetime nra member. you had a very strong theme about gun violence, obviously, in your als challenge. what has been the response from fellow gun owners? >> it's been interesting. i think some people that was a real turn off for them that i was an nra member. they cannot conceive of a world where i could be a member of an organization yet not agree with everything that organization does. but for me, you know, jackie robinson broke the color line in major league baseball not agreeing with what that organization was previously about. but becoming a part of that organization by which to affect change. so for me, do i agree with everything? no, but that doesn't mean all gun owners are bad people or they're all criminals or they want people to die. that's a ridiculous assumption to make. >> well, orlando jones, you certainly made people think. thank you for doing that als challenge the way you did, and thank you for being here. >> thank you for having me. >> that wraps things up for "the reid report." see you back here tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. eastern. be sure to visit us online. "the cycle" is up next. hi, cyclists. what do you have going on today? >> >> hey, joy. nice interview there with orlando jones. interesting stuff. we're going to be talking about the president's speech at the american legion. where might we be headed in terms of isis? also, those republican critics who it seems like no matter what he does, they're always going to criticize, even if he's doing the thing they told him to do. so we'll talk about that. and did you watch the emmys last night? >> if i say no, will i be a bad american? >> no, you will not. >> you'll be just like me. >> we'll be talking about sophia vergara on a rotating pedestal. great for women. >> there you go. all right. go ahead. "the cycle" is up next. burn. did someone say burn? try alka seltzer reliefchews. they work just as fast and taste better than tums smoothies assorted fruit. mmm. amazing. yeah, i get that a lot. alka seltzer heartburn reliefchews. enjoy the relief. losing your chex mix too easily? deploy the boring potato chip decoy bag. with a variety of tastes and textures, only chex mix has twenty bags of interesting. pick your mix. [ male announcer ] it's one of the most amazing things we build and it doesn't even fly. we build it in classrooms and exhibit halls, mentoring tomorrow's innovators. we build it raising roofs, preserving habitats and serving america's veterans. every day, thousands of boeing volunteers help make their communities the best they can be. building something better for all of us. ♪ you're in "the cycle," the no spin zone, well, unless we're spinning. this hour, president obama bolts from the beltway once again, but this was no vacation. >> i have authorized targeted strikes. >> the white house takes a bold new step to fight isis in syria, and president assad has something to say about it. with every aftershock that hits california's wine country, your next happy hour gets a bit sadd sadder. a flight grounded when a woman tries to put her seat back and the guy behind her wasn't having it. plus, the primetime emmys. the biggest winner you might have missed on a bathroom break. good afternoon. i'm krystal ball. as we come on the air today, president obama is just returning to the white house after speaking to a packed group of veterans about va reforms. but it's those actively enlisted who were likely glued to the tv for one portion of the speech in particular. >> as i've always made clear, the blows we've struck against al qaeda's leadership don't mean the end to the terrorist threat. al qaeda affiliates still target our homeland. we've seen that in yemen. other extremists threaten our citizens abroad as we've seen most recently in iraq and syria. as commander in chief, the security of the american people is my highest priority, and that's why with the brutal terrorist group isil advancing in iraq, i have authorized targeted strikes to protect our diplomats and military advisers who are there. >> the president steered clear of those reports that we've sent drones into syria to scope out isis and identify potential targets there. syrian president assad has warned against any action without approval directly from damascus. and that leaves president obama with perhaps one of the most crucial dec