iran and assad make up mr. putin's coalition at the moment. the rest of the world makes up ours. so i don't think people are fooled by the current strategy. it does not mean that we could not see mr. putin begin to recognize that it is in their interests to broker a political settlement, and as i said in new york, we're prepared to work with the russians and the iranians as well as our partners, who are part of the anti-isil coalition to come up with that political transition. and nobody pretends that it will be easy, but i think it is still possible and so we will maintain lines of communication, but we are not going to be able to get those negotiations going if there's not a recognition that there's got to be a change in government. we are not going to go back to the status quo ante. and the kinds of air strikes against moderate opposition that russia is engaging in, it will move us farther away rather than towards the ultimate solution that we all should be looking for. >> do you have anyone -- [ inaudible question ] >> julie, throughout this process, i think people have const

iran, and assad, make up mr. putin's coalition at the moment. the rest of the world makes up ours. so, i don't think people are fooled by the current strategy. it does not mean that we could not see mr. putin begin to recognize that it is in their interest to broker a political settlement. and, as i said in new york, we're prepared to work with the russians and iranians as well as our partners, who are part of the anti-isil coalition, to come up with that political transition. and nope poretends that it is going to be easy. but i think that it is still possible. so we will maintain lines of communication, but we are not going to be able to get those negotiations going if there's not a recognition that there's got to be a change in government. we're not going to go back to the status quo an tete. and the kind of air strikes that russia is engaging in is going to be counter productive. it's going to move us further away from the ultimate solution that we all should be looking for. julie, throughout this process, i think people have constantly looked for a easy, low-cost answer. all r

mr. assad -- but out of weakness, because his client mr. assad was crumbling and it was insufficient for him simply to send them arms and money. now he's got to put in his own planes and his own pilots. and the notion that he put forward a plan and that somehow the international community sees that as viable because there's a vacuum there. i didn't see after he made that speech in the united nations suddenly the 60-nation coalition that we have start lining up behind him. iran and assad make up mr. putin's coalition at the moment. the rest of the world makes up ours. so i don't think people are fooled by the current strategy. it does not mean that we could not see mr. putin begin to recognize that it is in their interests to broker a political settlement. and as i said in new york we're prepared to work with the russians and the iranians as well as our partners who are part of the anti-isil coalition. nobody pretends it's going to be easy. but i think it is still possible. and so we will maintain lines of communication but we are not going

mr. gadhafi and mr. assad. and those countries are falling apart and he's now just had to send in troops and aircraft in order to prop up this regime, at the risk of alienating the entire sunni world. so what was the question again? [ laughter ] no, no, but i think it's really interesting to understand. russia's not stronger as a consequence of what they've been doing. they get attention. the sanctions against ukraine are still in place. and what i've consistently offered, from a position of strength, because the united states is not subject to sanctions. and we're not contracting 4% a year. what i've offered is a path way whereby they can get back onto a path of growth and do right by their people. so mr. putin's actions have been successful only insofar as it's boosted his ratings inside russia, which may be why the belt way is so impressed because it tends to be the measure of success. it's easier to do when you have a state-controlled media. but this is not a smart, strategic move on russia's part. and what

mr. gadhafi and mr. assad. and those countries are falling apart and he has now just had to send in troops and aircraft in order to prop up this regime at the risk of alienating the entire sunni world. so, what was the question again? i mean, i don't know. i think it's really interesting to understand. russia is not stronger as a consequence of what have been doing. they get attention. the sanctions against ukraine are still in place. and what i have consistently offered, from a position of strength because the united states is not subject to sanctions. and we're not contracting four percent a year. what i've offered is a pathway whereby they can get back on to a path of growth and do right by their people. so, mr. putin's actions have been successful only insofar as as it's boosted his poll ratings inside of russia, which may be why the beltway is so impressed because that tens to be the measure of success. of course it's easier to do when you have a state-controlled media. but this is not a smart strategic mo

iran and assad make up mr. putin's coalition at the moment. the rest of the world makes up ours. so i don't think that people are fooled by the current strategy. it does not mean that we could not see mr. putin begin to recognize that it is in their interest to broker a political settlement. and as i said, in new york, we're prepared to work with the russians and the iranians and our partners who are part of the anti-isil coalition to come up with a political transition, nobody pretendeds it is going to be easy. i think it still possible. we'll maintain lines of communication, but we're not going to be able to get those negotiations going if there is not a recognition that there has to be a change in government, we're not going back to the status quo ante, and the kinds of airstrike against moderate opposition that russia is engaging in will be counter productive, moving us father away rather than toward the solution we should be looking for. julie, throughout this process, i think people have looked for a easy, low-cost answer. whether it is we should have sent more rifles in ea

assad's behavior. the moderate opposition in syria is one that if we are going to have a political transition, we need. and the russian policy is driving those folks underground or creating a situation in which they are the capacity did -- citated and strengthening isil and that is not good for anybody. in terms of our support of opposition groups inside syria, i made very clear early on that the united states could not impose a military solution on syria either. but that it was in our interest to make sure that we were oppositionh moderate inside of syria because eventually, syria will fall. will fall.e we have to have someone we are working with that we can help take up the pieces and stitch back together a cohesive, coherent country. and so we will continue to support them. the training and equip program was a specific initiative are the defense department to see if we could get some of that moderate operation -- opposition to focus on iso-in the eastern portion of the country and i am the first one

their main allies in the middle east were libya and syria, mr. gaddafi and mr. assad. those countries are falling apart. in troops had to send and aircraft in order to prop up this regime at the risk of alienating the entire sunni world. so, what was the question? [laughter] president obama: i think it is really interesting to understand -- is not stronger as a consequence of what they have been doing. .hey get attention the sanctions against ukraine are still in place. what i have consistently offered, from position of strength because the united states is not subject to sanctions, and we're not contracting 4% a year, what i've offered as a pathway for they can get back on the path of growth and do right by their people. mr. putin's actions have been successful only in safar as it has boosted his poll ratings inside of russia, which may be why the beltway is so impressed. that tends to be the measure of success. of course, it is easier to do when you have a state-controlled media. not a smart, strategic move on russia's part. russia has now done is not only committed

mr. qaddafi and mr. assad, and those countries are falling apart. now, he just now had to send in troops and aircraft in order to prop up this regime at the risk of alienating the entire sunni world. so, what was the question again? [laughter] no, i think it's really interesting to understand. not stronger as a consequence of what they have been doing. they get attention. this, the sanctions against ukraine are still in place. and what i have consistently offer, from a position of strength, because the united states is not subject to sanctions, and we are not contracting 4% a year, what i have offered is a pathway whereby they can get back onto a path of growth, and do right by their people. putin's actions have been successful only in so far as they have boosted his poll ratings inside of russia, which may be why they are so impressed. because that tends to be a measure of six -- success. course, it's easier to do when you have a state-controlled media. but this is not a smart, strategic move on russia's part. what russia has now done is not only c

mr. gadhafi and mr. assad. and those countries are falling apart and he is now just had to send in troops and aircraft in order to prop up this regime at the risk of alienating the entire sunni world. so what was the question again? no. but i think it's -- i think it's really interesting to understand. russia is not stronger as a consequence of what they've been doing. they get attention. the sanctions against ukraine are still in place. and what i've consistently offered from a position of strength because the united states is not subject to sanctions and we are not contracting 4% a year, what i have a offered is a pathway whereby they can get back on to a path of growth and do right by their people. so mr. putin's actions have been successful only insofar as its boosted his poll ratings inside of russia, which may be why the beltway is so impressed, because that tends to be the measure of success. of course, it's easier to do when you've got a state-controlled media. but this is not a smart strategic move on

because his client, mr. assad, was crumbling iran and assad make up mr. putin's coalition at the moment. the rest of the world makes up ours. >> i thought he was talking about bad guys, right? it sounds like some kind of wutherring heights novel. the way he refers to mr. assad, mr. putin, heathcliff. this isn't wutherring heights, it's the middle east where we have been compromised. >> the president tends to go on for a long time when answering questions, at a press conference. he said wait, what was the question again. the question is, what are we doing? what's happening and i think, i don't think his answer was as reassuring to the americans as they would like. but i understand also that having gotten themselves into this position, they don't have a lot of room. i think one thing to watch over the weekend was any action by turkey. turkey is now also fighting against assad. but they're fighting assad along with us. they're a nato partner. russia is now saying that they're going to prop up assad. they're attacking our people and the free syrian army. this

their main allies in the middle were libya and syria, mr. gaddafi and mr. assad, and those countries are falling apart, and he has now just had to send in troops and aircraft in order to prop up his regime at the risk of alienating the entire sunni world. so what was the question again? [laughter] no,ident obama: i mean -- but i think it is really interesting to understand. is not stronger as a consequence of what they have been doing. they get attention. the sanctions against ukraine and what in place, have consistently offered from a position of strength because the united states is not subject to sanctions, and we are not -- what ig 4% a year have offered as a pathway whereby they can get back onto a path of growth and do right by their people. 's actions have been successful only insofar as it has boosted his poll ratings inside of russia, which may be impressed.tway is so because that tends to be the measure of success. of course, it's easier to do when you have a state-controlled .edia but this is not a smart, strategic move on russia's part. what rus

iran and assad make up mr. putin's coalition at the moment. the rest of the world makes up hours. so, i don't think people are fooled by the current strategy. it does not mean that we could not see mr. putin begin to recognize that it is in their interests to broker a political settlement. as i said in new york, we are prepared to work with the russians and the iranians as well as our partners who are part of the anti- isil coalition to come up with that political transition and no one pretends it's going to be easy, but i think it is still possible so we will maintain communication, but we are not going to be up to get negotiations going if there is not a recognition that there has to be a change in government's. we are not going to go back to the status quo and the kinds of airstrikes against moderate oppositions of russia is engaging in will be counterproductive to read it will move us farther away rather than towards the ultimate solution that we all should be looking forward to. [inaudible] >> julie, throughout this process i think people have constantly looked for a easy blo

but what was very clear and regardless of what mr. putin says, he doesn't distinguish between isil and a moderate sunni opposition that wants to see mr. assad go. from their perspective they're all terrorists. that's a recipe for disaster. and it's one that i reject. we're not going to make syria into a proxy war between the united states and russia. that would be bad strategy on our part. this is a battle between russia, iran, and assad defense the overwhelming majority of the syrian people. well, earlier they said that airstrikes against isil are useless unless coordinated with his government's forces. only russia is having an impact against isil because it was invited to intervene. the u.s. and it's allies are bombing the armed group but without president assad's permission. >> terrorism cannot be fought only from the air, and it has only led to its present outbreaks. airstrikes are useless. the only force in syria that is combating terrorism. >> we have more from the united nations president assad does not come to the gathering of

backing mr. assad and syrian government. militarybeen providing upport and financial aid since start of the civil war. audi arabia is a number of groups and opposes mr. assad and the foreign minister on tuesday new york said there were no circumstances in which his russian ould accept a effort to keep mr. assad in power. britain are part of the not fighting because of strong opposition to in syria. france also part of the u.s. led recently are just expanded its air strikes against and other state iraq. in syria as well as so there's all the players and what they're doing. bret a democrat. good morning to you. what do you think? caller: good morning. that it's high time that america step back and stay out this fighting going on in the middle east. these people handle their wn business and clean up their own mess, saudi arabia and countries these other over there. president obama brought the young men home. i don't want to see another on ica die for what's going in these other countries. host: take a listen to what mc cain had

the best way to achieve peace would be for assad to step down. >> mr. putin had to go into syria not out of strength, but out of weakness. his client, mr. assad, was crumbling and it was insufficient for him simply to send them arms and money. now he's got to put in his own planes and his own pilots. and the notion that he put forward a plan and that somehow the international community sees that as viable because there's a vacuum there, i didn't see after he made that speech in the united nations suddenly the 60 nation coalition that we have start lining up behind him. iran and assad make up mr. putin's coalition at the moment. the rest of the world makes up ours. the top line message i want people to understand is we are going to continue to go after isil, we are going reach out to a moderate opposition. we reject russia's theory that everybody opposed to assad is a terrorist. we think that is self-defeating. it will get them into a quagmire. it will be used as a further recruitment tool for foreign fighters. >> meanwhile, the presidents of russia and

iran and assad make up mr. putin's coalition at the moment. the rest of the world makes up ours. the top line message that i want everybody to understand is we're going to continue to go after isil. we're going to continue to reach out to a moderate opposition. we reject russia's theory that everybody opposed to assad is a terrorist. we think that is self-defeating. it will get them into a quagmire and be used as a further recruitment tool for foreign fighters. >>> meanwhile here's more on moscow's air campaign in the country. >>reporter: it says it's destroying isil control and command centers along with arms dumps. >> the russian air strikes are determined only after thorough reconnaissance. >>reporter: but on the ground the syrian opposition tells a different story saying russian air strikes have been targeting civilians and armed groups opposed to the president bashar al assad and aerial campaigns are preparations to launch a ground offensive to retake territory. >> the syrian government has been hitting the north for months but it did not stop the rebel advance. there is inf

iran and assad make up mr. putin's coalition at the moment. the rest of the world makes up ours. the top line message i want everybody to understand is we are going to continue to go after isil, we are going to continue to reach out to a moderate opposition, we reject russia's theory that everybody opposed to assad is a terrorist. we think that is self-defeating. it will get them into a quagmire. it will be used as a further recruitment tool for foreign fighters. >> many feel that moscow's military action is serving to prop up president assad. >> the russian defense ministry says it is destroying isil command and control centers along with arms dumps. >> translator: to avoid hitting civilian targets, the russian have determined after reconnaissance whether they belong to terror structures. >> but on the ground it says russian air strikes have been targeting civilians and armed groups opposed to assad and that the aerial campaign is part of preparation to recapture lost territory. >> translator: air strikes could affect the opposition, but not that much. it's been hitting the nort

iran and assad make up mr. putin's coalition at the moment. the rest of the world makes up ours. >> let's go to our pentagon correspondent, barbara starr. i'm sure military personnel where you were at the pentagon listened carefully. what's the la test your herarin? >> they were watching closely as president obama delivered a message, warning to putin that the united states will not be operating on russia's agenda in syria, there will not be a proxy war between washington and moscow and listen to a little more of what the president had to say. >> an attempt by russia and iran to proper to prop up assad and isolation is going to get them stuck in a quagmire and it won't work and they will be there for awhile. if they don't take a different course but he doesn't distinguish between isil and a moderate sonny opposition that wants to see mr. assad go. from their perspective, they are all terrorists and a recipe for disaster that i reject. >> what the pentagon officials are watching for are decisions from the white house, decisions from the preside

assad or looks a lot like mr. assad. >> so sheila, talk about the ground, and how does russia's entry koch kate matters? >> well, it was already a difficult process, and russia has complicated matters. so you have the u.s. and it's coalition partners fighting against isis and now you have the russians coming in with the irrannians, who are fighting in support of the assad regime. the americans and their allies are not fighting the assad regime, but they want assad to go. and so what we have seen over the course of the last month, the last weeks, with russia carrying out combat sorties, we have seen them working in it concert with the syrian regime, with forces on the ground retaking some of the territory. >> so you have the u.s.-led coalition, and what's the impact? >> great question. 14 months, more than 7,000 combat sorties taking place, and when you look at the map from a year ago, and you look at the map now, and not much has changed. it is known that isil has lost between 10 and 15,000 fighters as a result of

the other is to put a lot more skin of our own in the game to remove mr. assad from power. the first option may be a little embarrassing. the second option may be a little catastrophic if it leads to a war torn russia and europe. >> what is the relationship between the u.s. and russia, one that's already deeply strained? >> it's certainly not making things better. russians and the americans have talked about doing deconflix whi confliction, a difficult concept to put into practice making sure no one steps on any toes. i think what putin has done in europe is make himself indispensable on the syrian question which touches the refugee question in europe which is the number one political problem for europe right now, with dealing with the refugees and cutting off the source of refugee flows. putin is using syria to kind of repair his relationship with europe which was badly damaged over the ukraine crisis. i think that's the real angle from the russian perspective. >> there's been a lot of criticism about this so-called bomb doctrine. i first want to play sound from obama in a

his clients, mr. assad was crumbling. >> russia insists they are only after terrorist. they say the us-led strikes have not been effective. j.c.: arne duncan will retire in december after seven years in the obama administration. in a letter to staffers he says he is heading home to chicago to be with his family. education department deputy john king jr. will serve as acting secretary through the end of his term. j.c.: a new york city high school teacher who accidentally crashed his drone at the u.s. open tennis tournament has been disciplined. daniel verley has been sentenced to five days of community service. verley had gone to photograph a park sculpture on september 3, when his drone lost signal and ended up at the nearby louis armstrong stadium. the drone plummeted into an unoccupied part of the stadium during the next-last game of a second-round match. no one was injured. phil: 50 degrees. we are looking at hurricane walking. it was a category four. it is still a monster storm. if you look up and down the east coast, we have people in new jersey in the carolinas, n

they consider everyone who is against mr. bashir assad a terrorist. no. and therefore our point as far as france's concerns -- and other countries as well, say that if it is against daesh and al qaeda, it is ok. we ourselves are against daesh and al qaeda. but if it is, how can i put it, some sort of pretense to fight against the opposition and reinforce assad, that is another story. charlie: who said assad has to be the future of syria? charlie: iran. f.m. fabius: when you discuss that with russia, they say, we will see. what are they doing today? reinforcing him. charlie: they say that. the russians say that. they say they are there to prevent assad from being overthrown because they think they need him. f.m. fabius: the argument is very good. to avoid chaos is not to maintain assad for eternity. it is not a matter of person, i have to be clear. imagine you are a syrian. your family has been destroyed assad. it is the situation of more than 50% of the population, and you say to this family, ok, assad is the one. no. it is not possible. they want to go t

arab world, the united states on the sunni side, so the russians are saying all right, we'll be on mr. assad's side, we'll also work with iranians and with other shias, saying in effect you want to work together to deal with the terrorist question. you can't keep us at bay. >> israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has ordered police to prevent government ministers and knesset members from entering al-aqsa compound. 5 marin plnian palestinians andr israelis killed since saturday. hashehoda abdel hamid has the s. >> one of the protestors died in jerusalem and then, own day of rage. now, the clashes lasted for several hours with israeli forces using once again live ammunition to push back the protesters. now, this has been going on for several days and there's one figure that really stands out at this state and that's the number of wounded. according to both the red crescent and the palestinian health ministry since october 3rd acknowledge 1642 palestinians were wounded and among them you have about 260 that were hit by live ammunition and about 650 that were wounded because of rubbe

mr. putin has his own agenda. he wants to protect the syrian president bashar al-assad. unverifiedres also are said to show the aftermath by one attack by mr. assad's forces on the outskirts of damascus. the russians have been accused in a joint western statement today of bombing civilians rather than concentrating on islamic state. president obama: regardless of what mr. putin said, he does not distinguish between isil and a moderate sunni opposition that wants to see assad go. from their perspective, they are all terrorists, and that is a recipe for disaster. john: david cameron seemed a lot more guarded. david cameron: the u.s. are saying this is indiscriminate striking. we need to examine. we need to examine very carefully the evidence for what has happened. i believe looking at the evidence first and making a comment afterward. there wasr the summit the same apparent reluctance to condemn russia to strongly. angela merkel and france while hollande talked about the need for russia to concentrate on attacking islamic state, but the german leader also stressed that any

mr. assad and the syrian government are ready for talks with insurgents who are committed to a political path. reporter: the iranian deputy foreign minister will travel to vienna on friday. his german counterpart hopes that having all of the relevant partners at the table will bring progress. >> starting a political process is what matters. i think this could pave the way for a political process that takes us further on the path of a solution and that above all brings us closer to the end of the suffering of the people in syria. reporter: but it is still unclear what role do syrian president, bashar al-assad, should play. he was visited by a french delegation headed by a parliamentarian his message was there could be no political solution without assad. paris wants to have a political change that outlines his resignation in a clear amount of time. the russian line, like iran, always supported keeping assad. with a meeting, vladimir putin reiterated his stance of the kremlin. no one can ef

so russians are saying all right, we'll be on the side of mr. assad and also work with iran and other shiites saying in effect you want to work together to deal with the eh terrorist question, you can't keep us at bay. >> israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has ordered police to prevent government ministers to enter the mosque compound in a move to reduce tension. fighting across the west bank has seen five palestinians and four israelis killed since sunday. the palestinian driver was also shot and wounded by israeli soldiers. officials say he tried to run over a policeman at a checkpoint. >>reporter: there were clashes in several areas around the west bank in jericho, bethlehem, and here in ramalla. israeli forces once again used live ammunition to push back the protesters. one figure stands out at this stage and that's the number of wounded. according to both the red crescent and the palestinian health ministry since october 3rd, 1642, palestinians were wounded and among them, you have about 260 hit by live ammunition and about 650 that

what they're really doing is securing that flank of mr. assad. these are things that are very different from what we're trying to do, which is to destroy this terrorist threat that not only threatens damascus but the world and is causing consternation that we're seeing in europe right now. >> if what they're doing is what you suggest, and john mccain and many other in the intelligence communities, they're not dealing with isis yet, they're only helping their friend assad. what is the u.s. able to do to stop them? i mean, the easy answer is nothing. they're doing whatever they want, flying over turkish air space. what are the options on the table? >> not much. i think we can continue our campaign against isis and separate what we might want to happen with mr. assad, which is for him to either step down or, as secretary kerry said recently, let's form a partner government with some of the opposition. you have to remember, chris, the large persian of the population do not want mr. assad in. do you continue to attempt to help them or go after a major

assad go. from their perspective they're all terrorists. that's a recipe for disaster. >> while the war rages on a political solution is a long way off. still syria says it is ready to participate in fresh talks led by the u.n. a so-called geneva three that might hammer out a freedom work for peace. >> the last round of piece talks broke down because the syrian delegation, which was led then by wasn't prepared to talk about transition of power even slowly for presiden bashar al-assad. >> the u.s. coast guard is searching for a cargo shiv ships that was on its way to puerto rico when it radioed it had taken on water and was listing 15 degrees. it lost propulsion and has not been heard from since yesterday. the now category 3 storm is now expected to affect the weather. a mandatory evacuation order was issued for. north carolina. and kevin corriveau joins us now. even if doesn't make landfall, it will have a significant impact. >> meteorologist: we'll see the circulation, it will bring moisture towards the east coast, and you can see some of

mrs. assad -- you you can find asylum in my heart. still creepy, sorry. got a little personal there. but it turns out the russians weren't doing us a favor. >> all indications in the u.s. view that the russian air strijs were an effort to prop up assad, not to fight isis. >> the real target appears to be opponents of syrian president assad, russia's ally, a direct challenge to the u.s. which wants assad out. >> larry: okay. let me break that down for you. aaahhh! yup, putin is stirring up trouble, bombing the very people we're supporting. we all thought the cold war was over but now russia has once again become our biggest problem. man. obama did not see that coming. in fact, you know what, he was so blind to this threat, he actually mocked mitt romney in 2012 for suggesting that russia might be a threat. >> a few months ago when you were asked what the biggest geo political threat facing america, you said russia. not al qaeda, you said russia. in the 1980s or now, calling that for their foreign policy banks. >> larry: the 1980s called, a bit of nearsight

assad, was crumbling. so mr. putin's actions have been successful only insofar as it's boosted his poll ratings inside of russia, which may be why the beltway is so impressed because that tends to the measure of success. lou: russia today bombed syria for a third day mainly hitting areas held by rebels opposing the assad regime not the islamic state fighters russia claims it is targeting. president putin faced western leaders for the first time since the start of the bombing campaign holding bilateral meetings with french president francois hollande and german chancellor angela merkel, on the same day that the u.s.-led coalition waged war against the islamic state and on the same day it called on russia to immediately cease its attacks against the syrian opposition forces and focus on fighting the islamic state. at the united nations, however, syria's foreign minister welcomed the russian airstrikes. >> airstrikes are useless unless they are conducted in cooperation with the syrian army, the only force in syria t

iran and assad makeup mr. putin's coalition at the moment. the rest of the world makes up ours. >> the president conceded his program to train and equip the moderate syrian opposition had not worked, but he vowed to continue to seek out syria to pick up the pieces when and if assad is forced out, and dismissed calls for an u.s.-military ex-canalation in syria. >> and we will find ourselves either doing just a little bit and not making a difference and losing credibility that way or drawing--finding ourselves drawn in deeper and deeper into a situation that we can't sustain. >> and paul, talks continue about how to insure that russian and american coalition warplanes don't end up shooting at each other over syria, but despite it all, president obama is open to speaking with russia concerning a post-war deal that does not involve bashar al-assad. >> washington bureau chief interviewed secretary of state kerr kerr. we're pleased to have you here with us tonight. thank you for being here. >> it's good to be here. >> he said there was confusion ab

i think mr. assad is safe in power for a very long time. >> mr. assad is safe in power. and take a listen to what one rebel commander who has been backed by the united states said to a cbs reporter. >> translator: i don't think president obama is sincere, he told us. the americans let us down and i don't trust them. >> we can argue whether syria matters in the grand scheme of the world but when you have that kind of message about the u.s. letting down what was its all is, what does it mean to the u.s. when it comes to china, when it comes to relations with every other country around the world? >> i think you nailed it, leland. literally, no one trusts the united states military to be able to put together a regional strategy or use force. oh, by the way, how about israel? i mean, mr. netanyahu going to russia to ask for military favors is just another indication that our allies, all of our allies no longer treat us as the serious military power in the region or anywhere for that matter as long as the american military doesn't have the ability to influence the situation on

because his client, mr. assad, was crumbling. and it was in sufficient for him simply to send them arms and money. now he's got to put in his own planes and his own pilots. >> my next guest is a veteran journalist and the author of the new book "imperial gamble." former moderator for "meet the press" and fox news contributor. marvin, great to see you. >> thank you. >> president obama yesterday, as you heard, criticized putin for his military approach in syria, saying he was pursuing a recipe for disaster that would require and result in a quagmire of sectarian violence. what does putin really want? >> you know, you asked that question, it was a fundamental question that i asked myself when i started doing "imperial gamble." terrific book, by the way. the question then and the question right now seriously is what does putin want? what at the end of the does will he settle for? i think the answer is the same, roughly the same with respect to ukraine and now with respect to syria. he wants to see russia recognized around the world o

you don't think mr. putin would have preferred having mr. assad solve this problem without him having to send a bunch of pilots >> did you know he was going to do all this when you met with him in new york? >> yeah, we have seen, pretty good intelligence the we watch. >> you knew he was planning to do it? >> we knew he was planning to provide the military assistance that assad was needing because they were nervous about a potential imminent collapse of the regime. >> you say he is doing this out of weakness. there is a perception in the middle east among our adversaries, certainly and even among allies that the united states is in retreat that we pulled our troops out of iraq and isis has moved in and taken over much of that territory, the situation in afghanistan is very precarious, the taliban is on the march again. and isis controls a large part of syria. >> i think it is fair to say, steve. >> they said, let me just finish the thought. >> okay. >> they say you are projecting weakness not strength? >> you are saying they. but you are not

iran and assad make up mr. putin's coalition at the moment. the rest of the world makes up ours. so i don't think people are fooled by the current strategy. >> so, russia doubled down on that strategy today, with russian news agencies reporting that the military plans to increase the number of and intensity of its air strikes. obama predicted that it will leave it mired this a quagmire in syria and said he's not going to turn syria into a proxy war between the united states and russia. that, he argued, would be bad strategy. and obama painted the war as between assad, russia, and iran on the one side and the majority of syrians who want assad removed from power on the other. the united states, obama said, is only concerned with fighting isis and ending the civil war in syria. and for that to happen, suzanne, the president said assad has got to go. >> all right. chris, thank you very much. appreciate that. i want to get more on the russian campaign in syria. i want to bring in lieutenant colonel tony shafer into this conversation. he's a former u.s. army intelligence officer. and

two years ago, mr. obama said this. >> we both agree, that assad needs to go. >> and on numerous occasions again this year, he said virtually the same thing. >> it will not be possible to fully stabilize that country, until mr. assad who has lost legitimacy in the country, is transitioned out. >> but analysts argue assad's not going anywhere any time soon. they say that's because under this commander-in-chief, the u.s. has given up its leadership role in the region. and vladimir putin, who backs assad, has eagerly filled the power vacuum. >> he's bidding for dominance in the middle east against the united states. and he thinks he can prevail. because he has a weak and feckless occupant in the white house. >> the debate over what to do about syria has hit the 2016 campaign trail. we spent $2 trillion, thousands of lives, wounded warriors all over and putin is now taking over what we started. and he's going into syria. and he frankly wants to fight isis. and i think that's a wonderful thing. >> white hous