we will not send troops back in. >> this is a fight that belongs to the iraqis. that is exactly what the president and the world decided some time ago when we left iraq. so we are not, obviously, contemplating returning and not contemplating putting boots on the ground. this is their fight but we are going to help them in their fight. >> so let's talk about the growing influence of al qaeda in the middle east, in iraq, in syria. is this america's greatest -- right now? >> it's becoming that way. you have weak central governments throughout the region for the most part. we always worry about strong governments. in the middle east you worry about weak ones that can police their own territory and fulfill the obligations of softvereignt. they start going across the border into iraq so you're now having an entire region in many ways that is being overwhelmed. i don't know any better word for it, overwhelmed.