We are tracking major developments this hour. 35 new air strikes hammer isis targets across a vast front. And on the ground, iraqi troops drive isis out of a key city. Is the tide finally turning in the war against this terror group . And stunning, new images as prorussian rebels battle Government Troops in eastern ukraine. Is russia ready to bring more heavy weapons into the fighting . Congresswoman tulsey gabbert, an iraq war veteran, is standing by, along with our correspondents, analysts and newspapers. We begin, however, with isis. Despite growing concerns that it may join forces with al qaeda factions, growing doubts about the u. S. Strategy, the terror group is coming under heavy battlefield pressure from the u. S. Led coalition. Cnn Global Affairs correspondent elise labott is here. Whats the latest today . Jim, today the Coalition Announced three dozen air strikes against isis in iraq and syria. The militants also suffered a major defeat of a strategic stronghold in iraq, but their leader warns, this has only strengthened isiss resolve as the group forms a worrisome alliance with another u. S. Enemy. On the ground in kobani near the turkish border, isis fighters trade fire with syrian kurds, as the u. S. And other countries unleashed 35 air strikes against the terror group in the last three days between syria and iraq. Cnn is told intelligence estimates suggest isis, also known as isil, is showing signs of stress from the onslaught. Maybe one reason the Terror Network is cooperating with Al Qaedalinked al nusra front. Isil has to continue to advance to succeed. It has to maintain momentum, and weve begun to break that momentum. Reporter but isis leader taunting the coalition as a failure. In a purported audio message, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi called the coalition terrified, weak and powerless, threatening volcanos of jihad everywhere. It should come as no surprise that an organization like isil would be putting out these type of threatening rhetoric thats conveying and calling for more brutality. Reporter the campaign got a boost today as iraqi forces drove isis from the strategic town of baji, ending their monthlong siege on the countrys largest oil refinery. Government control of baji could be a turning point, cutting off isis supply lines to its stronghold in tikrit. To capture all of the territory lost to isis, the president s top military adviser said iraq will need 80,000 troops. And the joint chiefs chairman said additionally, u. S. Advisers will be needed for complex missions expected in mosul and to secure the syrian border. Im not predicting at this point that i would recommend that those forces in mosul and along the border would need to be accompanied by u. S. Forces, but were certainly considering it. Reporter for just the third time, the u. S. Went after the Al QaedalinkedKhorasan Group, believed to be the biggest threat to the u. S. , hitting them near aleppo. And today, the u. S. Released its first report on isis crimes, presenting a horrifying picture of life in isiscontrolled areas, including beheadings, torture and rape, concluding, isis is deliberately committing war crimes against civilians in their controlled areas. It is incredible, so much evidence of that. Thank you, elise labott in washington. I want to turn to Cnn International correspondent arwa damon. Shes on the ground near the turkish syrian border. Arwa, what are you hearing, what are you seeing on the ground . Any evidence that the u. S. Led campaign is starting to dampen, at least, isis momentum . Reporter well, jim, this is what we have been hearing and seeing for quite some time now, and that is that isis has been forced to change its tactics. They can no longer move around in larger groups, and they are oftentimes seeking shelter, deeply embedded within the civilian population where those air strikes could not necessarily target them. They also, as we have seen video emerging from fallujah, begun digging under ground, setting up elaborate bunkertunnel structures well under ground away from where air strikes could potentially hit them. At the same time, though, there has been something of a side effect to all of these strikes, especially those targeting the Al QaedalinkedKhorasan Group and other nonisis groups as well, and that is to drive even more fighters to the terrorist organization. We saw this when isis first moved into syria. They managed to actually lure quite a number of fighters away from the Al Qaedalinked nusra front, either because those fighters believed that isis provided them a better chance on the battlefield, because they were simply more powerful, or because when isis took over the areas that al nusra used to control, the fighters simply defected. And this we have seen accelerated as u. S. Air strikes continue to intensify. So, on the one hand, perhaps isis has been forced to change its tactics. Perhaps it is losing some momentum in the sense that its not advancing with the same speed we have been seeing it advance, but it is still managing to recruit fighters, both locally and internationally, jim. Big question, of course, is how good is u. S. Intelligence on the ground there to measure the effects of these things . And thats still a developing part of the story. Thanks very much to arwa damon on the turkish syrian border. Back here at home, after a series of problems, blunders and outright scandals in the u. S. Nuclear force, defense secretary chuck hagel today outlined a costly overhaul of the system. Cnns tom fordman is here. Tom, this is an embarrassing situation for some of the most sensitive forces. What did you learn today . Yeah, jim, this new assessment from the pentagon would be alarming to almost anyone and dismaying even to the most optimistic military folks out there. In the dangerous world of Nuclear Missiles and strategic bombers, its hard to imagine a simple hand tool could be a problem, but the pentagon review found supplies were so neglected, workers at three nuke sites were sharing a single specialized wrench for more than 400 missiles. How did they do it . They did it by federal expressing the one wrench around to each base. They were creative and innovative, and they made it work, but thats not the way to do it. Reporter the pentagon is now acknowledging many such troubles, including an inspection regimen that nitpicked insignificant details while ignoring potentially serious issues, like leaky hydraulic seals on aging missile blast doors, making it impossible to close them properly. A culture of inefficiencies, mic micromanagement and daily shortages in equipment, qualified personnel, facilities and funding, even badly outdated helicopters being used to service nuclear operations. Choppers that came into service under president nixon during the vietnam war. We just have kind of taken our eye off the ball here, and if we dont fix this, eventually, it will get to a point where there will be some questions about our security. Reporter Officials Say these problems grew in part from the fighting in iraq and afghanistan, which forced the pentagon to choose between sending resources to battle or to the nuke program. When you have to make a hard choice like that, youre going to support the war fighter, and you make as best as you can. Reporter still, embarrassing lapses have resulted, such as an incident last year in which a missile bay door was left open and unattended while one cerew member slept and another went for food. Recently, reports of missile officers cheating on proficiency tests. Making up for the shortfalls will cost a fortune. The pentagon spends 15 billion a year already on nukes and Officials Say that will have to be increased by 10 and even then, it will take years to undo the damage. Big morale problems there, too. We want to go more indepth on this. Congresswoman telsey gabbert served in iraq and now serves on the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees. Thanks very much for joining us. Thanks, jim. Great to have you on. You listen to this, its not just an isolated incident. It seems to be a culture of failure, inattention, morale, et cetera. How concerned are you about the danger, and is this a National Security threat . Im deeply concerned and this is a very dangerous situation that has to be a very high priority for us to fix. I think we can look back at administrations since the cold war from both parties that should take responsibility for us being in this position, but especially looking at the last decade. When we look at the trillions of dollars and spending money, unfortunately, sacrificing precious american lives in nationbuilding in iraq and the middle east and spending all of these resources there while neglecting very serious situations, such as this here at home. So, weve got to make it a priority to fix it for the safety of the American People, but also as we look at russia, putin flexing his muscles. Weve got to make sure that we have this Nuclear Deterrent in place. Now theyre talking about spending another 15 billion to solve the problems. Please stay with us. We want to get into isis and ukraine. Representative telsey gabbert. We have a lot more to come after this short break. I got this. [thinking] is it that time . The son picks up the check . [thinking] im still working. Hes retired. I hope hes saving. I hope he saved enough. Who matters most to you says the most about you. At massmutual were owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. Whether youre just starting your 401 k or you are ready for retirement, well help you get there. receptionist Gunderman Group is growing. Getting in a groove. Growth is gratifying. Goal is to grow. Gotta get greater growth. I just talked to ups. They got expert advise, special discounts, new technologies. Like smart pick ups. Theyll only show up when you print a label and its automatic. We save time and money. Time . Money . Time and money. Awesome. Awesome awesome awesome awesome all awesome i love logistics. Into one youll never forget. Earn triple points when you book with the expedia app. Expedia plus rewards. Big day . Ah, the usual. Moved some new cars. Hauled a bunch of steel. Kept the supermarket shelves stocked. Made sure everyone got their latest gadgets. Whats up for the next shift . Ah, nothing much. Just keeping the lights on. laugh nice. Doing the big things that move an economy. See you tomorrow, mac. See you tomorrow, sam. Just another day at norfolk southern. Were back with democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of hawaii, serving on the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees and also served two combat tours herself in iraq. Fewer people can speak more knowledgeably on the issue of isis and the strategy. General dempsey in the hearings yesterday said that he is, in his words, certainly considering that u. S. Forces accompany iraqi forces on a particular mission he had in mind, you know, eventually, if iraqi forces go to take back mosul, a key city and key stronghold for them. You know, this is the sixth or seventh time where he has refused to take that option off the table, whereas the president has said repeatedly there will be no ground forces. Is the president being honest when he says he will not send Ground Troops to iraq . Well, i think, first of all, weve got to recognize, we have troops on the ground in iraq right now. For sure. How about combat . Be more specific, because that sounds like combat to me. Look, theyre armed, and im sure theyre carrying ammunition. If fired upon, im sure they will return fire. But its more than that, because yes, they can defend themselves, but he was talking about sending them with iraqi forces on what would be an offensive mission, going to take back ground and would put them, if theyre you know, this is not being back in a command post in baghdad. It would be on the front lines. Thats combat, isnt it . Yeah, it is, absolutely. And i think that the American People can sense the dishonesty and the lack of clarity in exactly what our mission is there, which has been the problem from day one. You and i have talked about this before. Without a clear sense of mission, then we cant come up with a clear, effective, tactical strategy to defeat our enemy, the islamic extremists that are isis. I would not support and i do not support our troops, more american lives, going back into iraq, going back into the middle east, simply to prop up this stilldysfunctional Central Government of iraq and to still prop up this nationbuilding mission that really has been a failure for so long. Now, you said not just unclear, but dishonest. Youre saying that the policy is dishonest . We have troops on the ground there right now. And whats being proposed is putting american lives at risk in combat in the face of the enemy. I think weve got to take a look at what we should be doing. Weve got troops right now in iraq in the kurds, in the peshmerga, who still, i questioned general dempsey and the secretary yesterday will the arms and the funds that theyre requesting from congress go directly towards the kurds who have been the trusted boots on the ground in this fight from the getgo . And i didnt really get an answer, but basically, they said no. They said, no, these funds will continue to be funneled through the central iraqi government, which is still being led by a shialed government when we have the sectarian divide and fighting still going on between the shias, the sunnis, and the kurds. We cant go forward like that. So much distrust there. The other issue you pressed on was this idea of, again, were in a situation, we, the u. S. And the military, in training local forces, and basically, placing the success of the mission on the backs of local special forces, whether kurdish or iraqi. Your comments yesterday, you said how can the u. S. Be walking down the same path as a decade ago and hoping for a different outcome . Is the u. S. , in your view, repeating a mistake with iraqi forces . That is what i am so afraid of. And as i sat in that hearing listening to those words, i did feel i was in a time warp, and thats one of my greatest concerns, that the United States does the same thing again, continuing down this failed mission of nationbuilding and propping up this shialed government and not focusing on whats in the best interests of the United States. We have an enemy in these islamic extremists who are a threat to the United States and the American People, and the strategy thats being conducted right now is not one that directly addresses that threat. Rather, it pulls more of our resources away from what we just talked about, from nuclear arms infrastructure concerns that have to be addressed here at home and elsewhere. Because thats a fair question, because the u. S. Military had tens of thousands of troops in iraq, hundreds of trainers, became a central part of the policy then, trained up before. So 250,000 security forces, right. Now theyre calling them the national guard. Right. And these are the troops were talking about who dropped the arms that we left behind and ran away. And ran away. Why we would commit more u. S. Dollars and potentially put more u. S. Troops, putting their lives on the line to conduct this same mission makes no sense to me. Well, its interesting now, so, thats iraq. At least in iraq you have a couple hundred thousand iraqis, 100,000 or so, depending how you count them, kurdish peshmerga. Now, when you look to syria, in the bestcase scenario, youre training up 5,000 to 15,000 rebels who are clearly, often outmatched on the battlefield by both isis, al nusra front, assad forces. I assume when you look at the syria option, that looks even worse to you in terms of how thats going to work, training the local forces, as your Ground Troops. It does. It does, because in the socalled syrian moderate opposition forces, we dont have the trusted allies that we have in the kurds in northern iraq. What we see there is a group that we dont know who they will be fighting with or against. If we had armed these moderate sunni forces in the last year or two years, as secretary clinton and others had advocated for they wouldnt be so far behind, is that your feeling . We would have been arming what we see now today as isis. We saw just in the last week or ten days ago al nusra has switched sides and are now fighting with isis and overran one of these syrian moderate opposition elements, and they left behind the heavy weapons that the u. S. Had been providing to them. This is a concern that the shoulderfired missiles exactly. That isis has now, known as man pads, that they might have come from what gulf states gave to some of these fighters, our allies, frankly. I want to get to a big debate on the new authorization for the war. Even the president himself says he wants to seek it, which means he presumes he needs it. Does that mean the war now, run off the 2001 authorization dating back to 9 11, is illegal . I think we do need a new authorization. I think it is a stretch to justify, especially using the 2002 iraq aumf to authorize the action even thats taking place today, right now in iraq. We can identify who our enemy is in al qaeda, in isis. But to be clear, we need a new authorization. What the president said as well. But if we need it, does that presume that the war is illegal today without it . It depends on what the mission is. If the mission is to fight against these islamic extremists who are responsible for 9 11 al qaeda, isis, whatever name theyve morphed themselves into, whatever name they call themselves by, there are actions that can be covered in my view by the 2001 aumf. But to also use what the president is using, the iraq authorization, i think that the situation were seeing today doesnt have any bearing to what was intended in 2002. Can we get enough democrats, can you get enough democrats and republicans to vote for i new authorization . This depends on what its going to say. And major open questions including whether that authorization includes the provision of Ground Troops. A lot of open ques