Good day, everyone. Im Andrea Mitchell in washington. President obama will be meet with his National Security team this afternoon as the administration continues to decide what to do about the threat from isis. Im joined by state Department Spokesperson jen psaki. Thanks for being with us. My pleasure. Isis, there are a lot of decisions to be made. How close do you think the president is to deciding whether air strikes, given the surveillance right now to find possible targets in syria, air surveillance missions, how close are we to a decision an whether air strikes should be taken . Well, ive been in this town long enough to know what to make predictions on behalf of the president and his thinking. However, as you mentioned, the National Security team is meeting this afternoon. The secretary will be participating via video conference. The president has made clear that were going to take on the threat that isil is posing not just to, United States interests but to the global community. Thats why were building a coalition around the world. This will be a big topic next week. And i expect there will be a discussion but i couldnt expect any announcements coming out of this afternoons meeting. Let me share with our viewers the New York Times editorial boards comments today on whether decisions should be taken. They wrote no comprehensive strategy has been worked out, and without that, it would be unwise to expand a mission that president obama has acknowledged wont be easy and it wont be quick. Your reaction to that . I think what we all know and what the American People should know is that the threat from isil has increased over the last several months. Its not limited by borders. Its not just in iraq and to the people of iraq. Its to the countries in the region and its to the global community. And thats why the president and the National Security team are looking at options. Now its true that there needs to be, of course, a comprehensive discussion. There are always contingency options. Thats part of what the National Security team will be discussing and they want to go into this with a strategy, if theres a decision made and absolutely, thats how the president and his entire team would approach this. Exactly a year ago, in fact, labor day weekend, a year ago, we heard from secretary kerry very strong statements regarding the red lun that had been crossed by assad on the use of chemical weapons in against his own people in syria. And then the president made a different decision. He decided to proceed with air strikes but first ask congress knowing as we all know that Congress Still hasnt taken that up. Now secretary kerry has said most recently that isils brutal ideology poses a Severe Threat to iraq, the region and the United States. Weve also heard from secretary hagel that this is a sophisticated wellfunded, as any group that weve seen. Theyre beyond just a terrorist group. They marry ideology, a sophistication of strategic and tactical military prowess. There have been sharp comments from the cabinet secretaries but the president has been famously reluctant to use force in this kind of instance. Well, i would disagree with that, andrea. The president made a decision to do air strikes in iraq, to not only protectmileanhour interests but to help the iraqi people and the Security Forces take on the threat of isil. There are a lot of factors that need to be weighed and its a serious decision. Hes been clear in the white house and the administration has been clear were not going to let this threat were going to focus on building a coalition in the International Community to take an this threat. There are a range of options on the table. It takes time to discuss those. We want to do this right. Were not going to be limited by the pressure of making a decision more quickly than the president or the National Security team is ready to. Do we have any International Partners willing to participate in military action . Well, 1first, i think youve seen the International Partners play a variety of roles in iraq. Whether its humanitarian drops or air drops. Theyve been providing a range of assistance. Weve been in touch with not just countries in europe and in the arab world but also countries in asia. Australia has been a country thats been out there eager to help. Countries can play different roles. Its not just military assistance. Its political assistance, humanitarian assistance. And what we want to do through this coalition is see how we can cobble this all together and take an this threat over the long term. Its not just an overnight effort. Despite the stark warnings from secretaries hagel and ker rye, joint chiefs chairman dempsey said to reporters traveling back on a recent flight that theres no evidence that isil or isis is plotting against the homeland. Is that we dont have evidence that they are doing a 9 11style attack, but weve seen the brutality of their actions. Weve seen just last week with the horrific killing of jim foley. Weve seen what theyve done around the world and to citizens in iraq. And we know what they are capable of. So were watching this closely and were not were going to be watching closely to see what they are preparing and what they are doing. And thats important for us to do and important for us to do to protect the American People. As if they werent enough trouble on the middle east front, ukraine. Youve been very careful as has president poroshenko to say that russia is lets say, launching incursions, not a fullscale invasion. If theres artillery firing across the border and tanks moving and movements of soldiers, whats the difference between an incursion and an invasion . Well, i think this is a discussion about terminology. It doesnt change what kind of support we are providing, what kind of discussions are happening within the administration. What weve seen here is an escalation of aggression by the russians, a pattern over the last several months. Thats what were concerned about and thats what were watching closely. Next week is also a very an important opportunity for the International Community at nato with the president there, with secretary kerry there, secretary hagel there to have a discussion about whats next. There are sanctions we can still do, a range of tools at our disposal and i expect that will be a prominent part of the agenda next week. Finally, just a quick question about u. N. Peacekeepers. Theyve been there since 1974 in a continually extended mission ever since the israeli syrian conflict. And a number of them were taken by militants in were not sure exactly which Syrian Rebel Group or syrian army group. More than 40 have been held. Others are being held at gun point. Do we know anything about the u. N. Mission there . Absolutely. And these reports are just coming out. Obviously, were concerned about the safety and wellbeing any of u. N. Peacekeepers around the world. I dont have Additional Details to confirm for you at this point in time but well remain in close touch with the u. N. And other counterparts about what can be done in this case. Thank you, jen psaki, from the state department. And what should the president s strategy be for deal with isis . Im joined by steven simon, former National SecurityCouncil Senior director of the middle east for the obama administration. Now a senior fellow at the middle east institute. Steven, thank you for being with us. My pleasure. Some tough decisions. Weve seen the president back off. He took action, limited action, in iraq but weve seen him back off in syrian action. Its a very different matter when you look at the syrian air defenses and getting engaged in that. Hes been famously reluctant. What decisions do you think he should take as he tries to confront isis . I think the decisions that he takes on isis are going to have to depend on how he defines a u. S. Interest and objectives. An the one hand. And the precise threat that isis presents to the United States on the other. In the setting of syria in the setting of iraq, its koond of clear. In the setting of syria, its less clear. And one of the reasons that these decisions, i think, are so hard to make is that the more the u. S. Gets involved on the syria side of the line, the more it looks like the u. S. Is finally intervening in syria but on the side of the regime. And this is perception. Clearly the United States would want to avoid. So figuring out exactly how far they can go without triggering that perception while at the same time really hurting isis, is kind of tricky. Isis is the worst threat. The most serious threat to as d assad. So if we go after isis, we are helping assad who weve been saying for three years now has to go. In effect, yes. And im sure there are people in the white house who are saying, just because this works well for assad doesnt mean we shouldnt do it if it works well for us. There is a disagreement internally in the administration between you could very, very loosely call them hawks and doffs on this. The New York Times editorial continuing an that front said one problem is the administrations incomplete knowledge about isis. Its numbers and orgs. This is alarming given the billions of dollars spent since september 11th, 2001, in developing technologies and strategies for detecting and assessing terrorist threats. That a fair criticism . Well, intelligence is really uncomplete on isis. Thats for sure. The Intelligence Community has said that there are between 10,000 and 17,000 people affiliated with isis. And they are broken down by maybe 3,000 to 5,000 foreign fighters, iraqi fellow travelers, like exbaathists, People Associated with saddam, and a core isis. But the numbers really are very uncertain. One striking thing about the numbers is even at the upper range, they are quite small. And theres some very strange alliances here because isis could not have existed without support certainly from qatar and its the qataris who helped us get theo curtis out, as well as be bergdahl. So they are playing a very confusing duo role here and are, in fact, involved in Armed Conflict most recently with the emira emirates, the uae, in strikes in libya. Yeah, they definitely are strange bedfellows here. And the role of the players is constantly shifting as their threat perceptions shift. So you can back isis because you think its really, you know, doing the lords work for a while. When you think its going to turn back on you and bite you, well, then you feel differently. But its not yet clear how the kuwaitis will be cooperating in the International Coalition that the administration is now trying to set up to battle isis. Do you think that they actually can build an International Coalition beyond the uk, lets say . You know, i think they can certainly get lip service from a number of capitals but in terms of practical, real world assistance, i think it really does come down to the u. S. At the end of the day. Thank you so much, steven simon. Good to see you. Now to breaking news. Legendary comedienne and Television Host joan rivers is reportedly in Critical Condition after being rushed to mt. Sinai hospital in new york city this morning. The fdny confirms they transported the 81yearold woman in cardiac arrest. Rivers reportedly stopped breathing while undergoing a throat procedure. We will, of course, continue to follow the developing story about this iconic performer. Well be right back. Defiance is in our bones. Defiance never grows old. Citracal maximum. Easily absorbed calcium plus d. Beauty is bone deep. Great. This is the last thing i need. seriously . Lets take this puppy over to midas and get you some of the good ol midas touch. Hey you know what . Ill drive i really didnt think this through. Brakes, tires, oil, everything. whistling if energy could come from anything . Or if power could go anywhere . Or if light could seek out the dark . What would happen if that happens . Anything. Men behaving badly on capitol hill . What a surprise. New york senator Kirsten Gillibrand pulls back the curtains on some comments from male colleagues. From the article, gillibrand shares a sobering incident in the gym where an older male colleague told her, good thing youre working out because you wouldnt want to get porky. On another occasion she writes, after she dropped 50 pounds one of her fellow Senate Members squeezed her stomach and said, dont lose too much weight now. I like my girls chubby. Joining us now, Chris Cillizza and managing editor of post politics. Com and Bloomberg Deputy managing editor gene cummings. Laughing matter only because its 2014. I covered the senate in the late 80s and 90s. We all had our stories of whom youd not get an an elevator with and whom youd protect your young female interns from. Some of those former senators were actually expelled. Its funny in a, i cant believe this still happens way. Which doesnt make it funny. Is it bipartisan . She does not say democratic or republican. Just male. Its gender. Its gender. Its maybe im naive, which ive been accused of many times. Maybe im naive, but i do find it somewhat appalling that not only do people think those things, right, which is one thing, but that they feel comfortable sort of saying them. Saying them directly to someone. Thinking it okay. Its outrageous. Its totally outrageous. Is it surprising . Yes, it should be because we learned this lesson in 1991. Thats when i came to the senate to cover the senate as well in the midst of the anita hill hearing. I covered those for nbc. Weve been there. We know this lesson was supposedly learned 25 years ago. And the very idea that one of them touched her, justice totally creeps me out. I mean, were digressing here. Were not getting better. Were going backwards. And this has got to stop. So women and men and people who are in this country and covered the senate should not be surprised. They should be angry. This is ridiculous. This doesnt get to some of the other issues she touches on in the excerpts released to people, the challenges of a working mom with two little kids. She was elected to the senate right after having her youngest child. And was losing, you know, the baby weight or whatever. But also the fact that she was breastfeeding and trying to figure out a way. You cant even use a blackberry an the senate floor, no less breastfeed. No place for the kids. They only recently put in a rest room on the house side for women members. And just the the remarkable insensitivity of the old boys network. The oldest White Male Club in the world is the United States senate. And at least shes there now with one of the largest, if not the largest female class. 20 women. They have already made themselves heard on military sexual attacks. Theyve made themselves heard on issues regarding women working women and at least shes in a position now where she and that class of women can go to read with real numbers, Real Authority and make change for the next generation. I think its worth noting. I think we focus an biggest class ever. N thats absolutely progress is progress is progress. But its 20 out of 100. Id remind people, women in the last 40 elections have made up between 52 and 53 of the electorate. Hispanics would have a lot more representation if that were true, but it is stunning we look at 20 and say, oh, look at all this progress when women are a clear majority of the people deciding elections. And you could argue 2012 and 2010 helped in senate races certainly and at the president ial level, too. The womens vote coalescing so strongly behind Democratic Candidates is part and parcel of why they still control the u. S. Senate. The People Magazine will be out on newsstands tomorrow. The republicans have certainly been trying to confront the whole issue of the womens vote. Jake sherman in politico reporting in their own survey, internal survey, they reported they still have a womans problem. Chuck todd asked Reince Priebus about that on the daily rundown. The poll just wasnt the republicans are stuck in the past. The gist of the poll was 50 of the women are saying that a negative view of the Republican Party and 40 of the women are saying they have a negative view of the democratic party. Id rather have 60 of the women liking me rather than 50 of the women not liking me. And they have a real problem. They know it. And it goes to, they are still being hurt by remarks made by some of their candidates in the last cycle regarding rape. It also has to do with policy. They moved the abortion debate into birth control. This is a huge step where women thats a threshhoild women for women. Its about birth control, controlling your life. This is being in control of your life. And they want to talk about taking that away . Thats a whole different conversation than abortion. We have to leave it there. Thank you Chris Cillizza and jeanne cummings. The fbi and secret service are investigating a massive cyberattack on banks including jpmorgan chase. The nations largest bank. Four other banks were hacked in a series of coordinated attacks earlier this month. They scooped up employee and customer data. So far the banks have reported no sign, though, that the information has been used to take money from any accounts. Can you fix it, dad . Yeah, i can fix that. dad i w