> without all of these photos and first-hand experience, we can't really tel">
> without all of these photos and first-hand experience, we can't really tel" property="og:description">
> without all of these photos and first-hand experience, we can't really tel">
in syria told ""the boston globe" about his passion for journalism. >> without all of these photos and first-hand experience, we can't really tell the world how bad it might be. good day. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. isis militants are threatening to kill another american journalist a day after releasing a video of the gruesome execution of american journalist james foley. he was kidnapped two years ago in northern syria. the video, which we will not be showing, has now been authenticated by u.s. intelligence. he was held in libya for 44 days back in 2011. after being released there, he spoke to "the boston globe" about the importance of his coverage despite all of the risks. >> we go through different emotions when you're in captivity. you say my career is over. you know, and then -- and you say, well, my career has just started. so you have these weird, you know, extreme ideas of where you are based on this capture. >> today foley's mother diane foley was seen at home before leaving for church in new hampshire. the family's pastor visited them last night. he spoke about their meeting today. >> jim's mother said to me just before i left, she hugged me, said, please pray for me. that i don't become bitter. i don't want to hate. that's what it's about. there's nothing i can say that is going to make any sense of any of this. because you can't make sense of insanity. >> phillip alboni, ceo of global post joins me now from boston. i can only offer our condolences. this is a horror for the nation but for you it's deeply personal. you've been so involved as his employer. tell me about the jim foley that you knew. >> well, thanks, andrea. first, i really want to thank the thousands of people from around the world who have sent messages of sympathy and support to us here at global post, to the foley family. we deeply appreciate it. i've talked to john and diane, jim's parents a number of time last night and this morning and they are very strong and brave people. my thoughts and their thoughts right now are with the other american hostages being held by the islamic state. we pray for them. we pray for their families and we hope that in some way our government is able to free them. we are so deeply sorry that we couldn't bring jim home safely. i think you know how hard we worked on this case every single day for almost two years. and we're broken hearted about it. but jim was a man of incredible bravery and courage and he showed that right to the very horrific end. i am in awe of the courage that he showed. >> i know you were working so hard on this, as you say. is there anything that you think the u.s. government could have done that could have saved him, rescued him without putting all the other hostages, the other westerners there at risk? >> obviously, andrea, we've thought about that and talked about it in our strategy group many times. i believe the government has tried very hard. i know i've had many conversations with people from high levels of our government. i think it's a terribly difficult situation. i would say this. something needs to be done to respond to this brutal murder. i think we have to take a stronger stand with the islamic state. i'm not an expert. i don't know exactly what should be done but this brutal murder of an american citizen cannot go unanswered. >> should we be paying ransom, the french that got out and other westerners other than the brits and the americans were actually ransomed out by paying off isis. either through intermediaries or through area own governments. >> yes, that's accurate. they released a stream of hostages starting in april, almost all of whom we have interviewed but have not released any of that information. and this is virtually ransom is paid and it's understandable why that position would be taken. whether it is -- whether it continues to be the wisest course, i think we have to reconsider that. >> and now we have -- we have the other american that we know of, steven satlof. there was another threat to kill him if the president did not back off on air strikes against isis targets in iraq, yet overnight there were two more -- >> yes. >> -- air strikes. what should president obama do regarding the air strikes against isis, given a threat against an american? >> you know, i don't know if you watched the horrific video. i hope for your sake you did not. >> frankly, i could not bring myself to watch it. >> i can understand. i fell compelled to and it's one of those things that will live with you forever. i think it was clear that the onset of the bombing which was done for a very good and sufficient reason by our government perhaps was the thing that sealed jim's fate. it's not up to me to suggest whether we should stop or continue. i think that clearly there are a larger geopolitical considerations at stake. >> do you blame the president for the bombing campaign? >> i do not, no. >> do you think the family does? >> i am -- i am positive that they do not. i think the foley's concern right now is with the other families. we know them. we know how worried they must be at this moment. and i think the only constructive thing that can be done at this moment is to find any way, any means of communication, any action that in the government's considered judgment can make a difference in stopping another brutal murder. >> diane foley made a statement posting on their page, "we have never been prouder of our son jim. he gave his life trying to expose the world of the suffering of the syrian people. we implore the kidnappers to spare the lives of the remaining hostages. like jim, they are innocents, they have no control over american government policy in iraq, syria, or anywhere in the world." it strikes me that what you're suggesting is there has to be some kind of back channel. is isis even open to any kind of negotiat negotia negotiation? >> well, we've had communication with the captors and there was at one time a receptivity to a release. it's hard to know because they ceased to communicate with us, with his family. so i don't know what their plans are now. we know what they have done and we have to believe that they are more than capable of doing this again. so -- >> did they cease to communicate when the bombing started? >> there was -- we have not released this, but there was one communication after the bombing began that went to the family that -- that stated that jim would be executed. and we hoped and prayed that it would not and we did everything else we could to communicate back to them that jim was just an innocent journalist who loved the syrian people, who understood islam and only wanted to tell the story of the syrian people. i mean, jim was -- you know, i got to know him so well over the past three years and living through the captivity in libya. i knew how deeply committed he was. not to journalism in the abstract, which is something we kind of, you know, practice every day, but to it being lived, you know, in the grit and in the sweat and the blood in the field and the people who are suffering in this case now both the people of syria and iraq. and we gave his life for that. and i think it's a shining example to other reporters of the importance of what we do, why people know about these wars and who causes them. >> phil balboni, i know you are grieving and it was nice for you to talk to us today. we stand in awe in the courage of this man who shines a light for all of us. >> thank you, andrea. and we turn to ferguson, missouri. attorney general eric holder is arriving at this hour in missouri. as the ferguson community continues to deal with the way that they are handling the shooting of michael brown. joining me now from ferguson is melvin and gabe gutierrez. protesters have showed up at the courthouse perhaps in anticipation of the arrival of the attorney general? >> yeah, andrea. within the past hour, a couple dozen or so protesters have gathered and it's been a very peaceful protest but a dozen or so officers have lined up outside the courthouse to keep the peace here. within the past few minutes, however, tensions flared just a bit. there was a supporter of officer darren wilson that showed up, saying that there had been a rush to judgment in this case. tensions flared just a bit as the protesters supporting the family of mi family of michael brown tried to shout over her and it's now once again peaceful. >> thank you very much. craig melvin, you've been in the thick of it for day after day, night after night. finally last night, a more peaceful protest, did the strategy change, the police strategy and perhaps that is why things did not ignite? >> reporter: you know, that's a good question, andrea. the answer is we don't know. we know that they did employ a number of different strategies. police had a few things working in their favor last night. the crowd of protesters, smaller, they seemed to have started earlier and they also seem to have heed the request from captain johnson that the peaceful protesters do their protesting during the day and leave at night the criminal element. so we saw a small group of protesters. we also saw a lot of clergy members talking to the protesters as well. mingling with the protesters as well. it seemed to be a little bit more organized. so that's -- you know, that's on the side of the protesters. on the side of law enforcement, you know, we saw what seemed to be a more scattered law enforcement presence. and by that i mean, previously you would see the law enforcement officers all -- they were decked out in riot gear, helmets and shields. they still had that last night but they were not standing shoulder to shoulder in the middle of the roadway. they seemed to be making more of a concerted effort to, once again, mingle, for lack of a better word, with the protesters. also, there's military-style vehicles not in the middle of the road. there was some traffic moving up and down florissant as well. i want to show you something here, andrea, because this may also be indicative of perhaps the tide beginning to turn here in ferguson. it may seem small but to a lot of folks in this neighborhood, it is not. that was the original red's barbecue that has been shut down because of the raids and riots and looting as well. all of the windows knocked out. we got word about an hour, hour and a half ago that the folks who opened up that barbecue joint want to make sure that all of the businesses that were shut down returned to ferguson. they say they are going to be leading by example. >> that is good news indeed. thank you very much, craig melvin. every little bit counts. coming up, trayvon martin's mother, sybrina fulton, her words of support for michael brown's family. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. od bacteria found in two parts of your digestive tract. i'm doubly impressed! phillips' digestive health. a daily probiotic. that's keeping you from the healthcare you deserve.. at humana, we believe the gap will close when healthcare gets simpler. when frustration and paperwork decrease. when grandparents get to live at home instead of in a home. so let's do it. let's simplify healthcare. let's close the gap between people and care. joining us now to talk about attorney general eric holder's challenge as he arrives in ferguson. joining me is matt. thank you very much. in the past it would have been you going to ferguson. what is the unique challenge? because you have a county prosecutor who many in the community do not believe is credible, do not believe is not conflicted. he's criticized the governor, some people are calling for him to step aside. he said he won't recuse himself. and in the past he and others have been accused of a controversial case. >> i think those challenges are exactly why eric holder is there today. obviously the community is upset not just about the shooting. they just don't believe they get a fair shake. clearly they didn't believe there would be any accountability. there wouldn't be an open and fair investigation. you see that anger spill open in the streets. holder's real mission is to assure them that no matter what you think might happen at the state, at the county level, the department of justice will conduct its own fair, independent investigation. and if there is room to bring charges, we will without favor, without worrying about what state and local prosecutors will do. >> and based on a civil rights' violation? >> yes. and it's a higher bar than what is available to the county prosecutors. you actually have to show that the officer knew he was using more force than was necessary. it's a frame of mind. it's much harder to demonstrate to a jury. so it's a harder charge to bring. >> and you have to also prove that he had a racial motive? >> no, for a civil rights charge you do but there's also in the civil rights statutes there is an excessive force by use. he only have to show that he knew he was using more force than necessary. >> he talked about having the police officer testify. there's a risk going into a grand jury room. you don't have your own attorney but at the same time, people are arguing that a police officer goes in and he's wearing a uniform, presumably, and he can tell his story to these grand jurors and if the prosecutor is working more or less with him rather than against him, if this isn't a true adversarial relationship. >> you know, there is risk both ways. that's certainly the case. the policeman would have the chance to make the case. but there is a lot of risk in doing that, too. in most cases you can take the fifth amendment and don't need to appear. anything he shows up and says to the grand jury can be used not just to indict but, of course, at trial eventually. >> what is taking so long? why couldn't autopsy results at the very least be released more quickly? >> it's hard to know. i mean, everything at the local level from the beginning seems to have been bungled. the investigation, the local policing, the crowd response. they just don't seem to be handling it well which is why i think you see such an aggressive federal role here in a way that is unusual for a case in this nature. >> pat miller, thank you very much. >> thank you. much more from ferguson ahead. sybrina fulton is joining us next. hey pal? you ready? can you pick me up at 6:30? ah... (boy) i'm here! i'm here! (cop) too late. i was gone for five minutes! ugh! move it. you're killing me. you know what, dad? i'm good. (dad) it may be quite a while before he's ready, but our subaru legacy will be waiting for him. (vo) the longest-lasting midsize sedan in its class. introducing the all-new subaru legacy. it's not just a sedan. it's a subaru. that would be my daughter -- hi dad. she's a dietitian. and back when i wasn't eating right, she got me drinking boost. it's got a great taste, and it helps give me the nutrition i was missing. helping me stay more like me. [ female announcer ] boost complete nutritional drink has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. all with a delicious taste. grandpa! [ female announcer ] stay strong, stay active with boost. grandpa! crestor lowered bad cholesterol in it's a fact. high-risk patients more than lipitor. bad cholesterol... you're going down! yeah! lowering cholesterol is a big deal, especially if you have high cholesterol plus any of these risk factors, because you could be at increased risk for plaque buildup in your arteries over time. so, when diet and exercise aren't enough to lower cholesterol, adding crestor can help. i'm down with crestor! crestor is not right for everyone, like people with liver disease or women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. tell your doctor about other medicines you're taking. call your doctor right away if you have muscle pain or weakness, feel unusually tired; have loss of appetite, upper belly pain, dark urine or yellowing of skin or eyes. these could be signs of rare but serious side effects. are you down with crestor!? ask your doctor if crestor could help you. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. my motheit's delicious. toffee in the world. so now we've turned her toffee into a business. my goal was to take an idea and make it happen. i'm janet long and i formed my toffee company through legalzoom. i never really thought i would make money doing what i love. we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom.com today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. if anyone can understand the pain that the brown family is going through, it's sybrina fulton. joining me now from florida is sybrina fulton, founder of the trayvon martin foundation. thank you very much for joining us today. i know this is very painful for you because it is reopening the wounds that could barely be healed. what do you think michael brown's mother and the rest of the family should be doing to get through this ordeal in. >> i think one of the things that they have to focus on, like right now immediately, is the home going service for their son because he needs to be laid to rest. and the other thing that they should probably be doing is surrounding themselves around positive people, around praying people, around support of people because that's what they are going to need right now. >> you went through such a tragedy and also had no information from officials for so long after trayvon's death. when you saw the fact that michael brown's body was left in the middle of the street for hours after he was shot to death, what does a family -- how does a family even deal with that kind of disrespect? >> it's -- it's just horrible how he was treated. i mean, when i seen the pictures, he wasn't even covered up and people were starting to gather around. and i think it needs to be some type of protocol that they have, the police department has that says, okay, let me respect the deceased person, let me respect the deceased person's family and the least they could have done was cover up the body. i mean, that's -- that's the least they could have done at that moment. >> i know that your attorney, your former attorney has been the attorney now for the family. at this stage, they just need answers and they need to figure out what to do, as you say, the funeral service. but they need answers about the autopsy results. is it helpful that eric holder is on the scene and there will be a federal autopsy? >> well, i think that everything helps. i know that they can't bury the body until the body is returned. but i think some of those autopsies could have been done simultaneously and just so that it's not going from hand to hand and it's not taking so long. but hopefully this is the last autopsy that someone is going to order and they will be able to lay their son to rest. i think that all the evidence that they get, everything that they can possibly get i think will help the case. so it's important that, you know, we follow the process and it's important that, you know, people just hold still for a minute, let them follow the process, let them get all of the information that they need so they can make the correct determination. >> what about all these protests, some started by people from outside the community in addition to the peaceful protests, totally understandable, what about the violence that ensued? >> well, i don't agree with the violence. i 100% agree with the protests. they have a right to protest in peace. they have a right to express themselves and i think as long as they are expressing themselves in peace, that it should not be a problem. i think that it's when the outside influences come in and then their help and their action and everything, it distorts what's trying to be done. but i think they have a right to protest. they are angry, they are upset about what happened. >> sybrina fulton, thank you so much for joining us. thank you for all of the compassion that you have for michael brown's family at this terrible time. we really appreciate it. >> thank you. and you're being looking at live pictures from martha's vineyard where we expect president obama is going to be making a statement within the hour on the american journalist killed in iraq, james foley. we'll bring that to you live. stay with us right here on at a ann dree yeah mitchell reports" on nbc. two. (singing) snack time and lunch. (singing) snack time and lunch. gogurt because lunch needs some fun. this is kathleen. setting up the perfect wedding day begins with arthritis pain and two pills. afternoon arrives and feeling good, but her knee pain returns... that's two more pills. the evening's event brings laughter, joy, and more pain... when jamie says... what's that like six pills today? yeah... i can take 2 aleve for all day relief. really, and... and that's it. this is kathleen... for my arthritis pain, i now choose aleve. get all day arthritis pain relief with an easy-open cap. ounds] the wait is over for even faster internet. xfinity is now doubling the internet speed... ...on two of our most popular plans. xfinity continues to innovate, bringing you the fastest, most reliable internet...period. xfinity internet from comcast, now double the speed. welcome back. joining me now for more on the impact of michael brown's death on ferguson and the nation, political analyst and washington post editor eugene robinson live in ferguson. first to you, the night was calmer. did the police finally get their signals straight and did they manage to control the situation? >> i think police did a much better job in being able to calmly tell the protesters to go home. there was no tear gas or smoke. police, while they were able to tell people to move, they also didn't use the tactics that we have seen in the past. the community leaders formed a barrier around protesters as police made their line and formed their line, protesters and peacekeepers formed their line to try to keep the calm. >> you have a county prosecutor that is refusing to step aside besides a record that some in the community shows that he is not -- >> he's not trusted by the community. >> he's not trusted at all by the community. and at the same time, you have a grand jury process which some say is necessary, some say not necessary. but also a real delay in any kind of information still about the circumstances of michael brown's death. >> exactly. the first thing attorney general holder has to do is demonstrate. everyone in the community, both the members of the community and local officials that the justice department is on the case, that justice is involved and -- the sheriff has arrived in town. this is going to be done and this is going to be done right and we are going to reach the right conclusion whatever that is. it's going to be a good day. they are going to present evidence to a grand jury beginning today. some people say this is a hasty and perhaps way to approach this sort of case before we know all of the facts. again, i'm sure attorney general holder will have that conversation with him when he talks to the local prosecutor. and i'm just trying to get the thing under control. >> and we're expecting, of course, if the president takes any questions when he comes out in the next 15, 20 minutes, that he will be speaking about ferguson as well. but the burden is on eric holder to show a federal presence and a presence that can be more trustworthy to all sides of the community. and yameish, looking forward to what the protesters may do today and tonight, i guess it depends on how they react from what they hear from eric holder and the grand jury? >> i think that's completely right. i think people are trying to figure out what eric holder coming to ferguson means to them. most of them say he's not going to be among the protesters and what does it really mean for eric holder to be here. i think it's going to depend on how he interacts with protesters. if they feel inflamed and it become as volatile situation where people are having to be tear gassed and people are having to run from the police but if police maybe are just calmer and police people just ask people nicely to move on and peacekeepers are continuing to talk to people, maybe the situation will be like yesterday which, of course, captain johnson called a turning point. >> let's hope it is. yamiche, thank you so much. eugene, if you could stay with us for a moment, we've got some actually good news. good news to report. it's about mo'ne davis. she's already in a league of her own. the 13-year-old star of taney dragons, is the first little leaguer, boy or girl, to grace the cover of "sports illustrated" and as the magazine declares, remember her name, as if you could forget it. a 70-mile-per-hour fast ball has been unforgettable. the first to throw a shut out in little legal history. the eighth grader is expected to take the mound again tonight. kate, you've got the best assignment of all. all of my friends in philadelphia are over the moon about this. >> reporter: it really is a good assignment. it's always nice to see kids play baseball but having mo'ne take the mound, it's kind of an honor to be able to see it. my favorite quote of hers, andrea, is that she likes to hit home runs and strikeout boys. if you ever played sports as a little girl, that's what you tried to do. you tried to play like one of the guys. this girl really does play like one of the guys. she's better than most of the guys. she throws a 70-mile-per-hour fast ball. that's really, really fast. that's like throwing a 90-mile-an-hour ball in the majors. she's 13 years old and has so much potential. she says she throws her curveball like clayton kershaw and her fast ball like mo'ne davis. she's humble and really enjoys the sport. the tension has really been immense out here. everybody is trying to get her autograph. adults are trying to get her autograph. we're all trying to get more interviews with her and her coaches are trying to keep a lid on it and, yeah, she's pitching tonight. superstitions are very important in the game of baseball. you don't want to rattle the pitcher before her big game. the excitement is building. the lines have stretched around the block. they are expecting 40,000 people to show up to this game. a lot of people that have been here a long time say they haven't seen this much excitement this early on ever, really. and on sunday, that's when the big game, the big world series match will happen. this is the semifinals right now. if they win tonight, they have great chances and i guess we're all rooting for mo'ne. me especially. how about you? >> i hope they don't overdue it because a 70-mile-an-hour pitch, you have to protect the arm. she hasn't pitched since last week. thank you so much. we'll all be watching you tonight, katy, on "nbc nightly news." and we're waiting for president obama to make a statement about the american journalist killed in iraq, james foley. stay tuned for "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. anges. when frustration and paperwork decrease. when healthcare becomes simpler. so let's do it. let's simplify healthcare. let's close the gap between people and care. it's been that way since the day you met. but your erectile dysfunction - it could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than 4 hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30-tablet free trial. so factors like diet can negatively impact good bacteria? even if you're healthy and active. phillips digestive health support is a duo-probiotic that helps supplement good bacteria found in two parts of your digestive tract. i'm doubly impressed! phillips' digestive health. a daily probiotic. i'm spending too much timer our calhiringer. and not enough time in my kitchen. need to hire fast? go to ziprecruiter.com and post your job to over 30 of the web's leading job boards with a single click; then simply select the best candidates from one easy to review list. you put up one post and the next day you have all these candidates. makes my job a lot easier. over 100,000 businesses have already used zip recruiter and now you can use zip recruiter for free at a special site for tv viewers; go to ziprecruiter.com/offer99. and you're looking at a live picture in martha's vineyard in the briefing room waiting for the president who is on the way. joining me is washington post associate editor eugene robinson. you were the foreign editor "the washington post" before you were associate editor and you run correspondence all over the world and were posted overseas as well. he was held captive for 44 days in libya. >> it's incredible. >> spoke about that and then went to syria because he was completely dedicated to telling the story of the more than 100,000 people that were already killed. >> as an editor, what you are usually doing is restraining your reporters and photographers because they are so eager to go and witness the truth and tell people about it. that's what they lived to do. unfortunately, you know, in a few tragic cases, that's what they live and die to do. it can be so dangerous. >> and his parents, james foley's parents just came out of their new hampshire home and spoke to the media and said that the president had just called them and spoke to them before he is going to appear before the cameras. the burden on them, they, of course, have known every step of the way of these secret negotiations that philip balboni, his employer revealed to us in the last hour, this is what he said about the communication that has been going on for two years between the global post and others trying to get the information out. >> we are so sorry that we couldn't bring jim home safely. i think you know how hard we worked on this case every single day for almost two years and we're broken hearted about it. something needs to be done to respond to this brutal murder. i think we have to take a stronger stand with the islamic state. i'm not an expert. i don't know what should be done. but this brutal murder of an american citizen cannot go unanswered. >> and what he also revealed was that the last message to them from isis came with the word that now jim foley would be killed because of the resumption of air strikes in iraq. there was also, on that horrendous videotape, a threat against another american journalist hostage, one working for the atlantic, a threat that something would happen to him unless the air strikes stopped. president obama and his administration cannot be held hostage by isis but it raises questions for the president. there were two more air strikes last night after james foley was killed. >> it puts the president and everyone, really, in an impossible position. you can't let u.s. policy, which is governored by strategic forces, be governed by the brutality of isis. there's just nothing that could be done in this case. i'm sure if the u.s. had been able, had known where he was and had been able to mount a rescue mission or something like that, that probably would have been done. but we didn't know. >> i think my indication is from the french journalist and others who were released in april, they knew approximately where he was at that time but any rescue mission, richard engel, said would have been impossible without killing others that were there. the other is the ransom issue. isis is demanding money. the french and others were released because money was paid, money was exchanged. they deny it from the government's standpoint but should we be paying to get people out? >> well, that's a very good question. and frankly, there are questions as to whether we have paid in the past and other ransoms have been paid in order to effect releases but paid in a way that has deniability. we can't say it was a direct payment but through some third party or whatever. i'm not aware of what sort of discussions around that issue were held in the case of mr. foley and it could be, again, that isis, especially once the air strikes began, was determined to do what they threatened to do in that communication with the family. >> one of the things that phil balboni of "global post" said is we have to take some action. he was beheaded. it's a video that has been taken down off youtube, i think, twitter will no longer permit posts of it, it's so horrendous. i know i couldn't watch it and don't want to. but just when you think about this, it brings you back to what happened to daniel pearl at the hand of khalid sheikh mohammed back in 2002. that was al qaeda. that was pakistan. this is isis, an offshoot of al qaeda. it's true that they are beheading men, women, and children in iraq, according to all reports, that they are beheading yazidis. >> and doing that because it's so horrific, because of the visceral impact it has. >> that's the definition of terror. >> that is terror. and we saw it today. and unfortunately, we'll see it again. it's becoming very dangerous out there for journalists. >> the committee to protect journalists says syria is the most dangerous place in the world for journalists. the numbers are hideous. one of the reasons why this civil war continues unabated and there's so much focus on the deaths in iraq and on other conflict zones, ukraine where journalists are at risk but still able -- >> it's still at a boil. and as an editor, if i were a foreign editor today, you know, automatically you would think twice if a correspondent came and said, okay, i'm going to go into syria. this is how i'm going to do it. would you interrogate that kind of correspondent about how are you going to do it, who are you going to be with, how is this going to happen? and today you would think twice. you know, about okaying even the soundest plan for getting out of syria but you certainly wouldn't allow anyone to get out of syria, it would be too dangerous. >> we expect the president in less than a minute, his remarks have been placed on the podium. he called the foley familiar flee new hampshire today and that he is going to be questioned about that if he answers questions, he's going to be asked about the air strikes that are continuing, two were air strikes last night and it's hard enough to order americans into battle. there's always a risk. >> right. >> any time you order and with the battle for iraq, he knows that isis can retaliate. >> isis can retaliate against innocent people who are there to witness, who are there to help, who are there -- who are not there to fight but who are not in the crossfire and who are targets here. this is not much a vacation for the president at martha's vineyard. >> there's been one crisis after another the entire time. here's president obama. >> today the entire world is appalled by the brutal murder of jim foley by the terrorist group isil. jim was a journalist, a son, a brother and a friend. he reported from difficult and dangerous places bearing witness to the lives of people a world away. he was taken hostage nearly two years ago in syria and he was courageously reporting at the time on the conflict there. jim was taken from us in an act of violence that shocks the conscience of the entire world. he was 40 years old. one of five siblings, the son of a mom and dad who worked tirelessly for his release. earlier today, i spoke to the foleys and told them that we are all heartbroken at their loss and join them in honoring jim and all that he did. jim foley's life stands in stark contrast to his killers. let's be clear about isil. they have rampaged across cities and villages killing innocent, unarmed civilians in cowardly acts of violence. they abduct women and children and subject them to torture and rape and slavery. they've murdered muslims, both sunni and shia by the thousands. they target christians and religious minorities, driving them from their homes, murdering them when they can. for no other reason than they practice a different religion. they declare their ambition to commit genocide against an ancient people. so isil speaks for no religion. their victims are overwhelmingly muslim and no faith teaches people to massacre innocence. no just god would stand for what they did yesterday and what they do every single day. isil has no ideology of any value to human beings. the ideology is bankrupt. they may claim out of expediency that they are at war with the united states or the west but the fact is they terrorize their neighbors and offer them nothing but an endless slavery to their empty vision and the collapse of any definition of civilized behavior. and people like this ultimately fail. they fail because the future is won by those who build and not destroy and the world is shaped by people like jim foley and the overwhelming majority of humanity who are appalled by those who killed him. the united states of america will continue to do what we must do to protect our people. we will be vigilant and we will be relentless. when people harm americans anywhere, we do what's necessary to see that justice is done. and we act against isil standing alongside others. the people of iraq who, with our support, are taking the fight to isil, must continue coming together. the people of syria whose story jim foley's story told, do not deserve to live under the shad shadow of a tyrant. from governments and peoples across the middle east, there has to be a common effort to extract that cancer so that it does not spread. there has to be a clear reaction of these kind of anialistic i ideology. we share a common set of values that are rooted in the opposite of what we saw yesterday and we will continue to confront this hateful terrorism and replace it with a sense of hope and civility. that's what jim foley stood for. a man who lived his work, who courageously told his stories of his fellow human beings and was liked and loved by friends and family. today, the american people will all say a prayer for those who loved jim. all of us feel the ache of his absence. all of us mourn his loss. we keep in our prayers the others separated from their families and will do everything to protect our people and the timeless values that we stand for. may god bless remember james' memory and god bless america. >> president obama without taking questions, saying that there has to be a common effort to extract this cancer, the cancer of isil, also known as isis and see that it has not spread, calling for people throughout the united states to do what is necessary. he says that he will defend, do everything that is needed to defend our people. he did not say explicitly what will be done but it's clear that is he going to continue the air effort in iraq and said that there needs to be more done by iraq and people throughout the region. gene robinson, quick reaction to the president? >> he sounded angry and resolute and saddened by what happened to jim foley. and just before coming in, i saw a little news note that there have been more than a dozen air strikes in the past 24 hours against isil. one wonders if the air strikes might be stepped up a bit and one wonder if they will be targeted, at the people who did this, he sounded really angry. >> he is an angry commander in chief. he is not backing down. it's clear, though, that they are reluctant to go after the safe haven in syria because they know that that may well be where other western and american hostages are being held. >> but it's also clear that the air strikes are having an impact on isis or they wouldn't be doing this. they wouldn't be doing these dramatic and terroristic acts. if they weren't hurting. i think it's had a real impact on them. >> eugene robinson, thank you so much for being here on this very, very difficult day. that does it for us. this edition of "andrea mitchell reports" and i hand off now to my colleague ronan farrow. up ahead, it's 1:00 p.m. on the east coast and 10:00 a.m. out west. president obama speaking about the frightening beheading of morning journalist james foley. the president speaking from m t martha's vineyard just moments ago. listen to that. >> earlier i spoke to the foleys and told them that we are all heartbroken at their loss and join them in honoring jim and all that he did. now, jim foley's life stands in stark contrast to his killers. they have killed unarmed civilians in cowardly acts of violence. they abduct women and children and subject them to torture and rape and slavery. they have murdered muslims, both sunni and shia by the thousands. they target christians and religious minorities, driving them from their homes, murdering them whenever they can, for no other reason than they practice a different religion. they declare their ambition to create genocide against an ancient people. so isil speaks for no religion. no faith teaches people to massacre innocence. >> kidnapped in syria nearly two years ago, isis claimed responsibility for that brutal killing which has been shown