Journal cspan. Org. Front page of the Los Angeles Times this morning, obama weighs direct action on iraq militants is the headline. Heres the president from yesterday. But what weve seen over the last couple of days indicates the degree to which iraq is going to need more help is going to need more help from us and going to need more help from the international community. My team is working around the clock to identify how we can provide the most effective assistance to them. I dont rule out anything because we do have a stake in making sure that these jihadists are not getting a permanent foothold in either iraq or syria for that matter. Host and the New York Times says u. S. Scramble to help iraq fight off militants. You can see this picture on the front page here, some shiite muslim iraqis volunteering for military service. , obama weighs air strikes. The white house confronted by an unexpected crisis on a battlefield it thought it had left behind, scrambled thursday to reassure iraq that it would help its beleaguered army fend off militants who have overrun much of the country and now threaten baghdad host after that briefing on capitol hill, some senators took to the floor to talk about the situation. Heres john mccain. The president needs to replace his entire National Security team which have been a total failure. Theyre the ones that described our departure from iraq as a great success. It can have many quotes that would attest to that. The president has got to learn that just because he dechairs a conflict over is not because its over, and the president needs to get a Reliable Team around him to provide him with the options that are available and the course of actions that ould be able to reverse this disaster thats unfolding before our eyes. You said air strikes arent enough no, i am not saying its not enough. I am saying that we need to get the smartest guys. Thats general petraeus, the people that won the war with the surge and get their advice and counsel. Air strikes may be part of it. Air strikes may not be part of it. I would rely on their judgment. I am not calling for air strikes. I am calling for the advice and counsel are the smartest people who won the war in iraq before the president of the United States lost it. Host a little bit more from the New York Times on iraq, u. S. Scramble to help iraq fight off militants as baghdad is threatened is the headline ost 202 is the area code. 5853881 for republicans. Iraq veterans, 2025853883. Should the u. S. Intervene in iraq is our question. Were going to begin with a call from jessica in l. A. On our independent line. Jessica, youre on the air. Caller hi, good morning. I just to want say, i have more of a statement. I am just disgusted by this. I am so tired of being in all of these wars. We were over there, were spending billions of dollars over in iraq and afghanistan. We have a crisis at our borders right now. We have all these children coming in. Nothing is being done about that. The taxpayers are going to be stuck with that. I think America Needs to wake up. We need to start hitting the streets. We need to start protesting. This needs to stop. Im just totally disgusted. When is it going to end . All of our money is going over there. People cant even get unemployment. This has to stop. Im totally disgusted. Host the state department sent out a tweet yesterday saying that they can confirm that u. S. Citizens under contract to iraq government are being temporarily relocated due to security concerns in the area. Tyrone in North Carolina, democrats line. Tyrone, what do you think, u. S. Intervene in iraq at this point . Caller no, sir. Good morning. She shouldnt go over there, and john mccain shouldnt have said what he said, because hes the reason so many people are dead by sending them into iraq under false promising there was weapons of mass destruction, and there was none. We cant police the whole world. If they want to send somebody, let them send their sons and grandsons and daughters. This stuff need to stop. Host is there a solution to whats going on in iraq right now . Yeah, prayer. Put god first instead of man. Thats the solution to all the problems in this world, pray. Pray to god first and not man, and youll see things change. Host thank you, sir. Diane f. B. I. Stine is the chair of the Intel Committee in the senate, and she also spoke yesterday about this issue. Im very concerned. I think it clearly shows that maliki was unable to make any accommodations with sunnis, and now the most violent of sunni extremist groups have grabbed hold of the situation and are on a march to baghdad. And this could be devastating. You know, id like an opportunity, assuming im asked, to give my views personally, but this is a very dangerous situation. Host and katherine is calling from north conway, new hampshire. Hi, katherine. Caller hi, good morning. There is an adage, the pen is mightier than the sword. Therefore, in like iraq and all arab countries, syria and afghanistan, so forth, perhaps the solution to the terrorist threat and to reach the hearts and minds of the people would be to drop millions and millions of leaf lets, twitter, ut on computer, tv, radio, the following very brief and strong message. If mom mad was living today if mohammed was living today, would he condone terrorist violence . Would he condone jihad . Would he consider anonymous limbs infidels . I think not. Being a spiritual prophet to many people, he would have grown and had new spiritual processes, just like other religions have. Theyve changed over women and gay rights in religion. Theyve changed about polygmy. Theyve changed about who can go to heaven. And people can follow and have faith in a religion, all the while the religion is changing for the better. Host all right, katherine, going to show you the front page of the wall street journal, iraq scramble to defend baghdad is the header. The story right below that, militants aim to redraw mideast map. At an annual security conference in israel this week, the head of the military showed pictures of two longdead diplomats, an englishman and a frenchman, secured their place in history by cutting a deal that drew the borders of the modern middle east host tone any fort worth on our democrats line. What do you think . Should the u. S. Do something . Caller well, i think we should go in in a very limited capacity, you know, because we done so much already. People saying we lost 4,400 soldiers or whatever the case may be, that were one of those 4,400 more by going in again. Theyve been fighting since the beginning of time, you know . Iran stopped fighting iraq so iraq could fight us when we first went over there. Theres always been wars in that region. We cant get involved in everything in that region. You know, if we go to war, hes wrong f. We dont go to wrong, hes wrong. If he gets on bergdahl in exchange for prisoners, hes wrong, and if he doesnt hes wrong. The president is in a nowayne situation in this case. For john mccain to come on and make those statements hes made about the president losing the war, we never should have been in the war in the first place. I dont know what happened to john mccain. I think losing the presidency to president obama really changed his whole outlook on life or something. But i think we should go in, but where is nato . I think nato forces would be berti quipped for this instead of the United States going in. They talking about the budget, we wont spend another trillion dollars on another war. I really dont know what the republicans want from the president. Host thank you, sir. The Army Statement on Sergeant Bergdahl, Sergeant Bergdahl was returned to the u. S. On june 13. He arrived at the san antonio military medical facility on Fort Sam Houston early this morning, where he will undergo phase three reintegration. Thats the Army Statement this orning on Sergeant Bergdahl, and shawna is calling from california on our republican line. Shawna, what do you think . Shawna, you with us . Caller korean war veteran, and we dont need to put any more money into any country that hates us. My husband is one of those veterans thats now sitting in a nursing home dying in a wheelchair permanently in diapers because the v. A. Broke their own policy in San Francisco and sat host do you know what . Thats not quite what were talking about this morning, but we got your point. I think we got your point on iraq. Usa today, lead story as well, islamist fighters set their sights on baghdad is their headline. And politte cohas this article politico has this article, g. O. P. On iraq, we told you so. And from the wall street journal, u. S. Secretly flying drones over iraq. The u. S. Since last year has been secretly flying unmanned Surveillance Aircraft in small numbers over iraq to collect intelligence on insurgents, according to u. S. Officials. The program was limited in size and proved little use to u. S. And iraqi officials when islamist fighters moved swiftly this week to seize two major iraqi cities. Before the islamist offensive, the program was expanded based on growing u. S. And iraqi concerns about the expanded military activities of Al Qaeda Linked fighters. Anna, texas, democrat. Good morning. Caller yes, good morning. May 19, 2005, my nephew was one of those 4,400 soldiers who lost his life in iraq. For all those people who want to spend our money and our young mens lives, young men and young womens lives, you take your children or your grandchildren down to the army, navy, marine base, and you let them fight the wars. We have lost so much of our young peoples lives. General president eisenhower always spoke, and nobody speaks about president eisenhower, because he said old men will start wars, and young men will have to give their lives for those wars. So for everybody out there, its been devastating for our 25yearold nephew to have he was the oldest person in the tank who was trying to save one of his soldiers lives and several other people. He was a gold star resilient. He has every medal, but that doesnt do anything for his child now. So if you think that fighting wars all the time will save anyone, those people are going to fight forever, and maliki should never have been put in place. This is not president obamas war. He inherited the war. We shouldnt inherit all of this mess. We should clean up our own country. And make sure that our young people are educated. The shiites, they dont include anybody. Saddam hussein kept all of those people out of iraq, but we went in and killed him because he knew so much on us. So for all those people out there who want it, you go down, and you sign up at the recruiting office, and also, on that young man who just came back, we should no, we dont leave him, and all of us who are piling on him, we should be ashamed. This is america. Host that was texas. National journal this morning, Congress Iraq vets helplessly watch their gains lost. This article says that there are 17 members of congress who served in iraq, and our next call comes from an iraq vet. Lee in sterling, virginia, here in the suburbs. Hi, lee. Caller hi. Good morning. Thanks, sir, for taking my call. You know, its with a heavy heart to see all this going on. I was there five times. I was a Navy Corpsman with the marines, and i did search and rescues. I did a lot of pain and suffering. I lost a lot of my brothers and sisters, and i hope today i still have that guilt that why am i alive and theyre not . But i got to say, i agree with the previous callers, one of the callers mentioned about her husband, about korean, vietnam veteran, suffering now, dealing with the v. A. I think that, first off, we do not have an obligation to go back. Thats number one. Weve been there. Weve sacrificed so much, and to our own demise. So an obligation, we do not. I think it was extended up to 2011 so we had to get all our troops out. The iraqis, they are the ones that didnt want us there. Theyre the ones that obama tried to keep troops there, but that agreement wasnt signed. For us to keep troops there without that agreement signed is essentially, you know, its like were committing suicide for our soldiers out there, and marines, sailors, etc. We just could not stay there. To me, iraq, they chose their own destiny. We do not have an obligation to go back. Im very disturbed that senator mccain made those statements, made those comments, because thats shaping the public perception, but we do not have an obligation. I got to say, what we need to do is have an intelligent footprint because we still have to we have to protect our borders, and we know that our borders have definitely widened, and we know we have assets all over the world, and we have to take care of them. I think we do need to have the intelligence. And thats all. Thats the type of footprint we need to have. Host what about drones . What about the use of drones . Caller i think it has to be done very strategically. It nk, again, you know, has bob ton very strategically, like if we have to target the leaders, im ok with that. But i think it will have to be based on very hard intelligence, and i think that should be the focus. Host lee, what happens if maliki falls if iraq is overrun by the isis . Caller well, i think thats where intelligence has to come in, and we have to try to contain, but i think the reality is theres going to be a civil war there. Just from being there, its destiny. Its destiny. I know theres a lot of people with faith in the scriptures, but just seeing how they interact with each other, you know, this goes back, you know, hundreds of thousands of years. And i think we have to respect that. I think we have to allow them to deal with it. I think the very fact to go back to the fact, the fact the agreement wasnt signed is a testament to that. We have to allow them to deal with it. I think for to us shed any more to provide any more resources, you know, our most valuable resources, i think we cant. We have so much look at this. The v. A. Was on the front page, and we were still focused on fixing the v. A. , and now we dont see it on the front page. Thats the focus right now. We have an obligation to take care of those who have given it all. Host all right, thats lee in sterling, virginia. This tweet from jack said the u. S. Should go in, train the army for two more years, and then watch the same thing happen again . Senator Lindsey Graham also spoke about this issue yesterday. To the American People, i know youre worldweary and tired of dealing with the mideast, but the people that are moving into iraq and holetting ground in syria have as part of their agenda not only to drive us out of the mideast, but hit our homeland. The head of the f. B. I. Said that the pipeline for the next 9 11 attack is likely to come rom syria. There are numerous american citizens who have gone to the jihad in syria. European jihadists are now in syria. Theyre coordinating in syria and iraq. They hold terrain. It is my worst fear come true. Host editorial, usa today, u. S. Policy failures leave few good options in iraq. That newspaper writes that. The most telling aspect of the isis success was what it said about president almaliki, who has stubbornly resist the u. S. Pressure to brings sunni minority into his government host next call is terry, dayton, ohio, democrat. Youre on the washington journal. Should the u. S. Get involved in iraq . Terry . Caller yes, im here. Thank you for taking my call. No, we shouldnt get involved, and im actually offended that the newspapers, the media is trying to push us back into another war. We cant even take care of our own people here. Weve been fighting this war for years for no reason, and now you got people like john mccain, Lindsey Graham talking nonsense, and its just so disrespectful. Its disheartening that we are being tried and being pushed back into another war over there. Wary done. Were out. Take care of our veterans. Take care of our Homeless People here. Feed our children. Educate our children here. Thats what we need to be thinking about. Thank you for taking my call. Host here very quickly, iraq by the numbers. When the u. S. Invaded iraq, that was march 19, 2003, eight years, nine months, and 12 days. 1. 5 million americans served in that war. U. S. Military deaths, about 4,500. U. S. Troops injured, about 32,000. Weve set aside our fourth line this morning for iraq vets, 2025853883 if you want to share your experience in iraq and tell us what you think about whether the u. S. Should intervene in iraq at this point, given whats happening. Heres a headline, iraq disintegrating as insurgents advance toward the capital. Kurds are now seizing kirkuk. We will be talking with Michael Gordon of the New York Times about that a little bit later when he comes out here. Wall street journal, lead editorial this morning, the iraq debacle is the headline. Heres the conclusion mr. Obama now faces the choice of intervening anew with u. S. Military force or doing nothing. The second option means risking the fall of baghdad or a fullscale iranian intervention to save mr. Malikis government, either of which would be a terrible strategic defeat host james, arlington, texas, independent line. Whats your view . Caller yeah, i cant believe people want to intervene in that, because the sunnis and the shiites, theyre headed for civil war. I mean, the sunnis regard the shiites as infidels basically. And basically, as long as youre right there battling each other, they dont have any time to concentrate on us. I mean, we should be more worried about it than united, all right . Theyre over there battling each other, and its the best thing we can have happen for us, because i mean, granted, we got to keep our eye on them. We dont want them to come to our country, but theyre over there battling each other, it aint none of our business. Thats a civil war between them. To get involved in it would be stupid. Host john, michigan, republican line. John, youre on. Caller good morning. Host hi. Caller i guess i have quite a few things that id like to express on this. First of all, i think that this whats , a lot of going on, with the world economy. If we let this region collapse, it will dramatically affect the world. In saying that, though, this area has been, you know, battling for centuries. In the recent history, you take iraq, which we went in