Page 231 - Joint Task Force News Today

Objective then of them taking raqqah which would be a very important victory in the heart of isil territory. >> thank you. general, quickly, the command arrangements. general mcfarland is now the joint commander with operational control both in iraq and syria, i understand. are you satisfied and general dunford satisfied that you have the best framework for command now to integrate all of the dod elements and ancillary elements you need? >> yes, sir. the joint task force command structure in bag...

First with respect to the afghan experience, i agree with your general analysis of the history of those two. that was a circumstance in 2001 and 2002 where we were able very rapidly and extremely effectively to leverage a pre-existing indigenous force, namely largely the northern alliance, which we had over the previous decade or so built up in order to fight the soviets. and they actually succeeded in expelling the soviets from afghanistan. that force, that organization and other organizations ...

Assemble such force. we would certainly welcome that. with that, i also dont want to -- >> could i just say that i urgently and fervently ask you for a strategy that you can tell us when were going to take mosul, whether were going to take raqqah, and when were going to wipe out this caliphate. frankly, i have not seen that. general, did you want to add anything? >> so i would add three points. first, agree completely that defending the homeland is our top priority. second, taking the fight -- >...

Least isil and other radical groups -- and quite possibly elements of the assad regime would undertake to prove that it wasnt safe. and so it would have to be made safe. and that takes us back to the question of whats an appropriate force of that size to protect a zone of that size? in our estimates, its substantial. and again, i dont see -- much as i wish otherwise -- anybody offering to furnish that for us. i also think we have thought about who might want to reside in such a zone. i think it ...

Power alone and special operations forces are going to succeed in the short term in order to prevent further things such as san bernardino. id love to hear your response. >> a couple of things, mr. chairman. first of all, to your main point about more american forces, i would say special forces, but others as well that train, advise, assist and accompany, theyre not special forces, we are -- >> i was talking about a multi-national force. >> well, there, mr. chairman, as i indicated, i, too, wish...

Many people. when you talk to environmental activists they say until we find out a way to reverse all the damage done to the coastline, new orleans may remain as vulnerable as ever. melissa? >> thank you to msnbcs trymaine lee in new orleans. still with me at the table in new york, james perry, raised in new orleans, community advocate and, of course, my husband. laura flanders, host of grittv.org. a first, i want to bring in a man featured in trymaines story, three star lieutenant general, gene...

Shoot apparently so many people. and the fact that they got there quickly, as the bullets were whizzing over their heads kept advancing forward towards him, is a sign of immense bravery and heroism. >> they are brave no doubt about that. have you had a chance to be briefed on the status of the investigation, i know right now the fbi, the joint task force is overseeing this right now. but the local and state police are involved as well. can you give us a sense of the latest? >> yes, we keep updat...

They were joining the international relief effort and on their way back from one of those missions when they lost contact on tuesday. and the sad confirmation coming from the u.s. joint task force that this was indeed the wreckage of a u.s. helicopter. but they still dont know the location of the other five people who were on board. were continuing to check and well let you know what we find out here. back to you. >> all right, will tough to hear but we have to know. lets keep talking about who ...

Base. it has been there for a number of years, rosemary, very established. we visited it last year. its actually the headquarters of what they call combined joint task force, horn of africa, which overseas a number of operation has the you see. and read about in the news. suppose that would include, drone strikes, in somalia, youll remember nay killed one of our, leaders. last year. it includes, a number of naval operations. such as, escorting ships in and out of the djiboutian harbor. personnel...

Right next door to the hot zone of boko harom territory. >> they do. and boko harom operates across the borders. resident in the countries along the areas. niger lost 48 troops last saturday in an attack on an island in lake chad. more than 100 militants were killed. 48 chadian soldiers. there are troop losses on all side. as far as their coordination goes. this is now a multinational joint task force with an au mandate. effectively, they share logistical support and that they tell each other wh...