Were losing forever. Ifill plus, india sends a spacecraft to mars on its first try and on a shoestring budget. Ifill those are just some of the stories were covering on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. Supported by the john d. And catherine t. Macarthur foundation. Committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. More information at macfound. Org and with the ongoing support of these institutions and. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Targets at Islamic State again this evening with a new wave of airstrikes hours after president obama addressed the United NationsGeneral Assembly and appealed for action against both islamist terrorists and russian aggression. Margaret warner is in new york for the u. N. Gathering. We come together at a crossroads between war and peace; between disorder and integration; between fear and hope. Warner that stark statement headlined the president s address on a raft of major dangers facing the world. Starting with the renewed confrontation between russia and the west. Mr. Obama accused moscow of endangering the postwar order with its aggressive actions in ukraine. This is a vision of the world in which might makes right. A world in which one nations borders can be redrawn by another. America and our allies will support the people of ukraine as they develop their democracy and economy. We will reinforce our nato allies, and uphold our commitment to collective defense. Warner but the bulk of the speech was a direct challenge to arab and Muslim States to oppose what the president called a growing threat to global progress. That is the cancer of violent extremism that has ravaged so many parts of the muslim world. Warner he insisted again this is not a war against a faith but against those who pervert it. So we reject any suggestion of a clash of civilizations. Collectively, we must take concrete steps to address the danger posed by religiously motivated fanatics, and the trends that fuel their recruitment. No god condones this terror. No grievance justifies these actions. There can be no reasoning, no negotiation, with this brand of evil. The only language understood by killers like this is the language of force. So the United States of america will work with a Broad Coalition to dismantle this network of death. Warner to that end, the president urged to join a four part plan, degrading and destroying the Islamic State; ideological rejection of groups like Islamic State and al qaeda; reduce sectarian conflicts that stoke extremism; and creation of greater opportunities for people. Mr. Obama also argued, in blunt terms, that hostility to israel can no longer justify doing nothing about other regional challenges. The situation in iraq and syria and libya should cure anybody of the illusion that the arabisraeli conflict is the main source of problems in the region. For far too long, thats been used as an excuse to distract people from problems at home. Warner mr. Obama went on to say that while the u. S. Is integral to any blueprint for a revitalized middle east, the real impetus must come from the region itself. No external power can bring about a transformation of hearts and minds. But america will be a respectful and constructive partner. We will neither tolerate terrorist safe havens, nor act as an occupying power. Warner one partner in the newlyformed coalition against Islamic State is qatar, which aided the air strikes on syria that began tuesday night. The wealthy gulf emirate has long been accused of stoking and funding extremist rebel groups in syria. Today, the new emir of qatar did not address his nations role in the region. translated if societies were to stand with us in the fight against terrorism we need to be fair to them and we need not push them to choose between terrorism and tyranny or between terrorism and sectarian discrimination. Warner turkeys president Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke in midafternoon. He had signaled yesterday that turkey may join the antiIslamic State drive militarily. And this afternoon the president in an unusual turn chaired a Security Council meeting on a resolution requiring all countries to take steps to keep their citizens from traveling to join violent groups in the middle east, africa and elsewhere. After the resolution passed unanimously, he challenged everyone to back up their votes with deeds. Promises on paper cannot keep us safe. Lofty rhetoric and good intentions will not stop a single terrorist attack. The words spoken here today must be matched and translated into action. Reporter far from the council chambers, the u. S. Continued airstrikes against islamic targets in syria and iraq with the latest wave starting as midnight approached. Ifill more insights into this day at the u. N. After the news summary. Ifill militants in algeria have beheaded a frenchman after paris rejected their demand to halt air strikes in iraq. Herve gourdel was kidnapped on sunday. A group linked with Islamic State forces released a video of his killing today, and french president Francois Hollande confirmed it later. Woodruff a court in jordan today acquitted a radical muslim cleric, abu qatada, of plotting to attack israelis and americans back in 2000. Qatada, known for fiery proal qaeda speeches, was greeted by family and friends in amman after his release. He was deported from britain to jordan last year. Ifill nato reports a significant withdrawal of Russian Forces from inside ukraine in recent days, but the alliance said today thousands of Russian Troops are still deployed near the border, and special forces are operating inside ukraine. Thats in spite of the cease fire agreement signed in early september. The russians deny they have any troops in ukraine. Woodruff theres been another attack on healthcare workers in west africas ebola outbreak. Red cross workers in southwestern guinea were assaulted yesterday as they collected bodies of suspected ebola victims. Locals say relatives of the dead went after the volunteers. Last week, eight Health Workers and journalists were killed in guinea. Ifill authorities in ferguson, missouri called for calm today, after renewed unrest. Five people were arrested and two officers were hurt last night. The trouble started after a fire burned an impromptu shrine to michael brown, the black teen ager killed by a white Police Officer last month. Highway patrol captain ron johnson said today that officers also reported seeing gunfire from the crowd. We must all stand. The citizens must stand. The this agenda for peace, this agenda to make our community bert takes us all. We cannot have nights like last night. We cant have actions like last night that can result in injury or death. Those will not be tolerated. Woodruff a jury is still investigating the shooting of michael brown. Ifill a state grand jury is still investigating the shooting of michael brown. The Justice Department is conducting its own, separate investigations. Woodruff nascar driver tony stewart will not Face Criminal Charges in a fatal accident during a dirt track race. Prosecutors in upstate new york announced today that a grand jury decided not to indict. In august, stewarts car struck and killed kevin ward junior after they collided, and ward climbed out of his car and walked to the center of the track. Ifill there were calls today for the head of the food and Drug Administration to step down. 16 groups charged dr. Margaret hamburg has failed to stop an epidemic of prescription painkiller abuse. Opposition to hamburg heated up last year, when the f. D. A. Approved a powerful new painkiller over the objections of medical advisers. Woodruff a federal judge has ruled b. P. Must stick to its agreement to compensate companies for losses in the gulf oil spill. The ruling today, in new orleans, denied the oil giants bid to recoup hundreds of millions of dollars in questionable claims. B. P. Said it will appeal. Ifill wall street staged a broad advance today, the Dow Jones Industrial average gained 154 points to close at 17,210; the nasdaq rose 46 points to close at 4,555; and the s p 500 added 15, to finish at 1,998. Woodruff still to come on the newshour. Can the u. S. Convince more partners to fight Islamic State militants . How iraq and syrias treasured Cultural Relics are being destroyed. Why teachers are rejecting more rigorous testing standards for students. Indias Successful Mission to orbit mars on a shoestring budget. And, decreasing calories americans consume in soft drinks. Ifill it was a busy day at the United Nations. Chief Foreign Affairs correspondent Margaret Warner is there and joins me now. Margaret, thank you for joining us again. It was unusual to see the president chairing the national Security Council meeting this afternoon. Why did that happen . . Only the sixth time in u. N. Security council history. The president saw an opportunity to galvanize the entire world, finally, in this fight because it suddenly had become clear that citizens from 80 countries in the world have gone to join i. S. I. S. , Islamic State, one of the groups in the middle east, recruited because they are westerners or have foreign passports, some recruited to go back and reinsert into their home country to stage attacks later. He saw this opportunity to appeal to selfinterest and get other countries in this coalition who are not willing to join a military effort. Ifill what precisely is the resolution and how would they enforce it . Well, the wording is tough. It says every country must, as required to prosecute and penalize any National Citizen to tries to leave to go join one of these groups, anyone in the country who helps finance them, recruits them, gets them excited about the idea, helps them travel, make logistical arrangements. So its very, very specific. It also requires the countries to share a lot more intelligence with one another about nofly lists, the airlines to comply with the nofly list. I guess the question is what is enforcement mechanism. Ifill okay. Well, we dont know the answers to that question yet, obviously, but because well have to wait and see what happens. But, obviously, weve watched other nations including jordan and turkey respond not only to the president s speech but there watherewere a lot of leaders spg to that. What was the talk about what the plan was and whether it could be executed. Enforcement is mostly peer pressure. Ifill right. The react was muted when the president gave his speech. He announced he got 104 countries to sponsor it, even members who werent on the council. They all talked about the scourge of International Terrorism and how much threat they feel, and some leaders talked about specific steps theyve already started to take. As we know, the british and the french in particular are very exposed, have a lot of foreign fighters. The french president said of the 50,000 foreign fighters in iraq and syria 1,000 are french. So they have built in parliament. Theyve crossed Civil Liberties line about preventing your own citizens from travel if theyre reasonably suspected to be traveling for that purpose, that if any do to prevent them from coming back even though they hold passports. In britains case, to prosecute and suppress extremists, not just violent but extremists forces in schools and universities. So all will be controversial in various countries. Then you have the question of one persons terrorist is anothers freedom fighter. The most interesting reaction from the islamic countries, the president of turkey, of india, qatar, and the king of jordan certainly agreed this is a scourge but have all been criticized especially turkey and qatar for not themselves having fund the groups or cross the border. President of turkey took pot shots. He did say that now theres better intelligence sharing, they have arrested or stopped some 6,000 potential foreign fighters and arrested another 1,000 at the border. So he wouldnt admit hes doing more but did say he is doing more. Ifill fascinating and unusual day at the neighs. Margaret warner, thank you. Thanks, gwen. Ifill we get two views now on how the president s speech may be received in the middle east and around the world. Jessica Tuchman Mathews is president of the Carnegie Endowment for international peace, and Raghida Dergham, columnist and senior Diplomatic Correspondent for al hayat, the arabic language daily. Welcome to both of you. So the president made the case, Jessica Tuchman matthews, for concerted international interventions. Was that the right case to make . I think that speech hit it right on the nose for this audience in that he was tough, but at the same time engaging. He was, for the first time in a long time, not defensive and not backward looking at the war in iraq and afghanistan but forward looking, and the focus was not on what were not going to do, but what were going to do. I think the tone of this speech really finally captured a president ial tone he has lacked recently, indeed as a world leader. You could see it in the room people were listening, were engaged, were sitting forward in their seats. And the applause at the end was much more than pro forma. Ifill what is your sense of what he did and didnt say and perhaps what he needed to say, Raghida Dergham . I thought the president lacked the opportunity say what his strategy would be. He sounded more like a preacher, what and what not to do, and rightly so. What he didnt address is, for example, irans rule in the region, regional ambitions, its role in syria, in particular, which is a problem for his allies in the coalition. What he did not say is, for example, anything of the same or similar language about president assad whom, in the past, from the podium of the assembly, has called him a man who lacked legitimacy and at other times said your days are numbered, practically and this time he was very lenient on assad, he didnt leave a message there was urgency to address that part of the problem, not only the i. S. I. S. Problem. Significantly, in my view, he did not mention yemen, a place being taken over by those groups close to iran and thats something people were talking about. Libya which is falling apart, and i think there is a problem with that. But all i in all, his call for moderation is very important and call on other countries to make an effort in making sure theres moderation is very important. Its just a call for the moment and i think he needs to do more than that. Ifill Jessica Tuchman matthews, a very different speech than what he delivered at the u. N. General assembly in the past. Did it need to be . It did need to be. The contrast last year couldnt have been stronger. That was a defensive speech. He was apologizing for things. He went easy on talking about americas role. Today he was confident in americas role and unapologetic about both our strengths and our use of force, but also about two things, that the situation in syria only had a political solution, and about the need to confront the ideology of violent extremism. And i thought he did it without in any way being preachy or blustery or separating himself from everybody else in the room. Ifill what about the part raghida was saying about assad. Can i. S. I. S. Be defeated and assad . Everybody knows this is a tough line to follow. I think the most optimistic thing anyone can say thats accurate is our active engagement both in the air and on the ground, in training and equipping forces, provides an opportunity to perhaps get a cease fire to military forces on the ground and get a cease fire from which you can move forward with a political solution, but it isnt going to be easy. Ifill another interesting point today, Raghida Dergham, the president required the hypocrisy of wealthy nations who accumulate wealth just to endisable terror groups and heard King Abdullah from jordan make a similar point. Is that speaking in particular to anyone . To individuals, not states. Those states have been acting in alliance with the United States in fighting i. S. I. S. And other extremists who are right now part of the problem that is not for syria and iraq alone but also for them. So they have been very well aware of that. The trouble is there are individuals who support these extremist, violent, federalist groups and these are the ones we should worry about. In order for these countries, the governments to either take action against them or at least rally the public with the leadership in order to take action against them, you needed to give more. The president needed to give more than simply say, here, you have a problem, and heres how you do you know, do laws and then well incorporate with intelligence and then end of the line. Ifill at the same time, however, we are hearing here, Jessica Tuchman matthews, that the heads of alshabaab and france and khorsan, the strikes that began earlier this week, have all been eliminated. Jessica tuchman matthews, how important is that piece to making the larger case at the u. N. . Its enormously important because it allows him, with u. S. Planes in the air, acting as effectively as they have,