he has called for a task force to look at the way these complaints against police officers are handled. but that is a task force that has a deadline of march of next year to come back with a final report. ed, thanks very much. and new plans this morning to send additional u.s. commandos to iraq in the fight against isis. defense secretary ash carter revealing in congressional testimony that the pentagon is organizing what it is calling a specialized expeditionary targeting force. carter telling lawmakers the plan would take advantage of american forces unique capabilities and quote long reach. it puts everybody on notice in syria that, you don t know at night who is going to be coming in the window. and that s the sensation that we want all of isil s leadership and followers to have. iraq s prime minister says there is no need for foreign troops on the ground in iraq.
defense officials tell nbc news that the specialized expeditionary targeting force that secretary carter was referring to would be between 100 and 200 special forces troops. they are soldier, they will be wearing boots and they will be on the ground. does that make them the proverbial boots on the ground? joining us now a democrat sfr massachusetts, he served four tours in iraq as a marine and as a member of the house armed services committee. when you heard that testimony this morning, what was your reaction to it? first of all, there s no question these are combat troops. i was a military adviser myself in iraq in 2004. and when the iraqi army unit we were mentoring came under attack and started to get overrun, my platoon went to their assistance and it started the biggest bat toll that time. there s no question this is a
expeditionary targeting force to assist iraqi and kurdish peshmerga forces and put even more pressure on isil. these special operators will over time be able to conduct raids, free hostages, gather intelligence, and capture isil leaders. i want to bring in pentagon correspondent barbara starr. barbara, the pentagon last month announced there would be 50 special force troops who would be sent to northern syria to advise the battle of isis there. now they re talking about more. tell us what s happening there. the keyword you heard secretary carter say there was expeditionary. that means ground forces. no way around it, we are told. they will be very mobile. starting off with a relatively small number that the pentagon s not disclosing. but special operations forces being put into iraq with the potential they as well as those 50 already headed to northern syria, these additional forces
major developments out of the pentagon today on the u.s. fight against isis. defense secretary ash carter announcing a new u.s. combat force to head to iraq. in full coordination with the government of iraq we are deploying a specialized expeditionary targeting force to assist iraqi and kurdish peshmerga forces and put even more pressure on isil. these special operators will over time be able to conduct raids, free hostages, gather intelligence, and capture isil leaders. this force will also be in a position to conduct unilateral operations in sir why. secretary carter went on to say the raids conducted at the invitation of the iraqi government and unilaterally in syria. defense officials tell nbc news the number of special forces that will be deployed to iraq
announcing the pentagon will deploy a specialized expeditionary targeting force to iraq where terrorist forces control broad regions, including the country s second largest city. we re also following developments in chicago where the mayor, rahm emanuel, has fired the police superintendent amid growing protests over a deadly police shooting. dash cam video just released a few days ago show as white police officer firing 16 times at a black teenager. that officer now has been charged with first-degree murder. we re covering that and much more at this hour with our guests, including the president and ceo of the naacp, cornell williams brooks, and ranking member of the house armed services committee, congressman adam smith. our correspondents and expert analysts are also standing by. let s begin with the breaking news. our pentagon correspondent barbara starr begins our coverage. barbara, you re learning new details about this new plan to send u.s. special operation forces to iraq and the