decision about sending in heavy u.s. forces to help them take that city. >> in terms of the fight, not only against isis and iraq, but the fight against isis overall, is it time to begin talking about committing u.s. troops into syria and into these kinds of places? i know you've written about this heavily. at some level, the pentagon brass seems scared to even offer that proposal. >> you know, there's an old soldier saying called ground truth. you can strip out the politics. you can strip out the hope and the well wishing. at the end of the day, conditions on the ground are going to dictate what the coalition does. my sense is that ramadi is a good sign. let me tell you, leland, mosul and raqqah and syria are huge, huge isis-fortified cities, with 20,000 to 30,000 fighters. completely different situation. i think in about 13 months in a new administration they're going to rethink this campaign and we're going to see the infusion