Empty. The skies are quiet and the problem is here on the ground at ohare, it is absolute pandemonium. People scrambling to get out of town. Its incredible images of just how chaotic this is. Now to the major stories of the day. The assault on isis. Breaking news on a fast moving development. Take a look at this. Live pictures from the pentagon and the white house. We are expecting action at both of these locations you are looking at there. At the pentagon, a rare News Conference from the nations top two military leaders. At the white house, the latest briefing from the press secretary at a tumultuous moment in the campaign. Breaking news from the British Parliament. They just this past hour voted to aid the u. S. In iraq. David cameron recalled the parliament for that vote and made the case for joining the coalition as a matter of National Safety for the british. I believe mr. Speaker, it is also our duty to take part. This International Operation is about protecting our people too. Protecting the streets of britain should not be a task that we are prepared to subcontract to other air forces of other countries. It is right for us to act. This is about psychopathic terrorist killers and we have to realize that whether we like it or not, they have already declared war on us. They unleashed a new strike and targets in iraq and syria. Over the course of this week, fighter bombers have taken out weapons depots as a key part of the cash flow into the organization. Joining me from london is carry simmo simmons. In washington chuck todd. Former ambassador to iraq is here to weigh in and with me in the studio, spokesperson sahi. Really appreciate it. His a power panel. This vote in the uk can have a major effect on the air tam wane against isis. Lets start with that. The yes vote only applies to iraq. Why not syria . Thats right. It only requires to iraq. The answer is because the british and british lawmakers are so nervous about getting involved in something if they feel like it could be a slippery slope, if you like. The reason they said that he only had called for a vote is there he said there was an elected government who asked for intervention. That of course not being the case in syria. Its interesting that you played that sound byte of him saying they shouldnt subcontract other air forces to do what they think should be done. In syria, the british are doing that. For now the u. S. And the coalition will be left to carry on with those air strikes while the british get involved in the air strikes on isis and in iraq. One crucial point, the british have said they have got people on the ground who will get involved and i think that means special forces. That could be an important intervention that those special forces, the British Special forces perhaps will be there and able to help guide in air strikes, particularly in urban areas where it will be difficult to target isis and not accidentally hit civilian population which would be psychologically damaging for the coalition. It is a small intervention from the uk and a small contribution, but psychologically it will be good for them to have the uk with them side by side. There is a lot at stake for the brits. One citizen already executed by isis and another still a hostage. He has been threatened with death. What influence is that having on this conversation over there . It has in the states. It has shifted Public Opinion there was so concerned and against intervention in foreign lands by the British Military after afghanistan and after iraq and after libya. That action by isis brought the british behind this intervention. It has made a real difference. Carry simmons, appreciate the work you are doing. Britain was not the only one debating whether to join the u. S. In the campaign. Denmark just committed war planes to the air strikes. They are going contribute seven f 16s. There is a lot of obstacles and including hold outs among arab states. We just talked about the potential for ground contributions. Is that something that the u. S. Has been working to secure . Absolutely. We have been working this day and night, talking to leaders in the region and in europe about what role they can play in the coalition. Its important to know that we are not asking everyone to play a military role. There many ways you can play it. Talk about the nonmilitary contributions. We are moving into this phase. The ongoing process of air strikes and military action will continue. There will be a pentagon briefing later today. We are in an important diplomatic place. We need to expand to the other components, addressing foreign fighters and expanding assistance and making sure we are delegitimizing isil. These are steps when they go to the reenj yon, they will talk about what roles they have been playing. We will be bringing any news coming out of that. We talked about how this vote applies to iraq and thats the approach that france has taken. Is there an approach that you will not get the same support . I can promise you that the uk and france are supportive of what our objectives are here. Degrading and destroying isil. The job is not done there. That is a linchpin country and we need to end isil and their expansion in iraq. This is an important role. The Opposition Leader came up and said in order to undertake strikes, he would want to see a resolution on that. There a range of steps that can be taken and a lot of support in the international community. We believe we have the International Legal justification to have taken action as do others who have taken action. We will see what happened around the world and what other steps people are willing to take. This is tough and they said yes at the un. If the right approach is not under taken in dealing with the issue at hand, we get closer to a turbulent and tumultuous region with repercussions for the whole world. The right solution comes from within the region and regional provide it. Is this war of the words affecting that in any way . Its not. There ongoing discussions and negotiations and the secretary will have another meeting later this afternoon. There gaps that need to be filled. In order for iran to have a greater place in the community, they need to prove they can have a peaceful program. There have been moments where we raised this and there is a role iran could play, but we are not mixing our apples and oranges here. As soon as we suspend major sanctions, the world will flood into that and including the Washington Post report. It doesnt mean that we dont have other concerns. There is no question that preventing iran from a Nuclear Weapon would be a huge contribution and we are committed to pursuing this. How are the conversations going . We have an air base right there. We will challenging issues we are hopeful about them playing an expanded role. Turkey is already playing a role. This is what i touched on earlier. They are playing an enormous role and onest things the general said in the meeting we had with arab leaders is as soon as the guns are quiet, we need to be hearing the sounds of hammers. We need to come in and give these countries an opportunity to see the alternatives. The success of this u. S. Operation will depend on progress on the ground. He is the former ambassador to iraq. They expressed a need for the government in iraq. Is this new government Strong Enough to sustain any gains made in the campaign. It was a positive snep which sunnis need. They fill the position of interior and defense minster which they have to do soon. That was very much necessary as a first step to get the sunnis to take up arms and fight isis in their territories. Without that, the sunnis were marginalized if they did not participate, that would help by increasing public support for them in those areas. Exactly that imbalance and lack of power is a criticism that has been against al maliki. You have been credited with helping that rise to power. He has been blamed not only for the sectarian government and the way in which that fuelled the rise, but making sure america did not stay in iraq. In 2005 at the beginning of 2006, we needed someone at that time to stand up against the shia militia which were killing our people and fighting the sunnis. Among the alternatives that were available, malik was the best option. He did good things in his first term. He went to basra and he worked well with our people. He fought the militias and its during the second term as we began to discuss withdrawal and the syrian situation. He began to lose it and did a poor job. I think his first term was successful. You dont think there were warning signs that he may not have been the right man for the job . The alternative to him at that time and remember we and they presented two candidates. One whose father was iranians and the sunnis rejected him because of that. On the balance, he was more acceptable to everyone. He was strong in terms of going after the shia militia. Is there anything you would have done differently with such chaos . I wouldnt have with drawn forces. Why we were there, we had a lot of influence. I would have remained engaged talking about the second terms. Across the sectarian leader with more seats in parliament, i would like to try to get him and we and iran came to an understanding that maliki was better for him to say rather than that. That was also a mistake. History will test the decisions. I have to ask you. You became the subject of a Money Laundering accused of money from oil and building in iraq to your wifes account in i haven that. That is ongoing and assets were frozen. How do you respond to that . Well, as you know, the Austrian Court made a decision on that and said there was no case and no basis for it. They threw the whole thing out. Regarding the account that was made in vienna for the purchase of an apartment and the austrian prosecutor overreacted to that by freezing the account, but the Court Decision is not on the record. We are happy with that decision. The clear denial from them. Thank you. With the air strikes in iraq and now in syria, a president who staked his legacy is playing war president in a congress that wants avoid fallout. Chuck todd hosted meet the press. The president has been criticized for maybe caution. Is this isis campaign forcing him to recast his leadership . I think it has. I think you saw the un speech. Its sort of going to be the prove that you see a president trying to engage the public on the issue of isis. Its a different president that over the last three weeks, you have seen the evolution where he i think made the decision. You cant go after them and not talk like you are ready to go after it. He had to add bravado to the actions. Its against his own dna. He doesnt he doesnt like the theater of politics and doesnt like to overdo it. From what i understand, he has come to the conclusion that sometimes you have to do the theater because you might look weak if you dont. We have a lot to definitely into and we will see the two big briefings. Live coverage as we await the briefings. One at the pent gon and one at the Defense Department. Well be right back. Deal with alot of pain. But it is nothing like the pain that shingles causes. Man when i got shingles it was something awful. It was like being blindsided by some linebacker. You dont see it coming. Boom it was this painful rash of little blisters. Red, ugly stuff. Lots of em. Not a good deal. If youve had chicken pox, uhhuh, we all remember chicken pox. Well that shingles virus is already inside of you. It aint pretty when it comes out. Now im not telling you this so that youll feel sorry for me. Im just here to tell you that one out of three people are gonna end up getting shingles. I was one of em. Take it from a guy whos had his fair share of pain. You dont want to be tackled by shingles. So please go talk to your doctor or pharmacist. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your risk. Fill their bowl with the meaty tastes theyre looking for, with friskies grillers. Tender meaty pieces and crunchy bites. In delicious chicken, beef, turkey, and garden veggie flavors. Friskies grillers. Everybody keeps saying what does that mean . The possibility of what do you do with the vacuums when you start making progress on isis . The one part of the strategy that a lot of folks are saying is sort of a head scratcher. You are dropping bombs and taking care of weapons depots that you might have. After you do that, is anybody coming in . Whats filling the vacuum here . How are you dealing with ground reports . The on the ground intelligence is not great yet. Let alone the first person reporting, our inability to see whats on the ground that we are stuck with only getting footage from government sources. I think that those are the lalths plans. Wouldnt it have been nice if you had seen the president demand congressional authorization and demand a change in the war and wouldnt have been nice if congress insisted on doing it. Neither are acting as the public would like to say is the greatest Lesson Learned from the iraq war which was missing was an act of debate before the decisions were meat. We have about two minutes before the briefing at the white house, but before we go to that, how was the contrast informative. They debate this in the way you described and our own congress which seems reluctant to touch it. They almost demand the action that David Cameron did. He wouldnt be going unless he had to. There is that. I think that there is this concern when you have congressional leaders, particular particularly and john boehner. The Senate Republican leader. They dont want new issues ri maining in the campaign. Of course this is a decision that is being dictated by the election. With so much at stake, there is some conversation about whether congress should revisit the cuts to defense spending. Do you think there is any room for that happening politically . I do. I think you are going to see movement on that for the first time. President obama thought that that would motivate republicans to the negotiating table which is whyry agreed to it at the time. That republican then was saying look, everybody has to take a haircut when it comes to fiscal issues. The briefing at the pentagon is now starting. Lets listen in. The campaign against i till. Let me make a few comments about the campaign and whats been going on the last week and general dempsey will make comments and then we will take your questions. As i said this week has been an important week for the u. S. And Coalition Forces as we began strikes in syria. Along with france, we conducted over 200 air strikes in iraq against isil. In support of iraqi forces. We conducted 43 in syria. With ongoing efforts in iraq, these strikes will continue to deny freedom of movement and k458 enj the ability to direct operations. We took action in syria against the network of al qaeda veterans known as the khorazan group. We are still assessing the operation of these strikes. This was a critical operation. Members of this group were plotting attacks against the United States and our friends and allies. With syria, there has been no woord nation nor will there be. Nothing has changed about our position that has shifted our approach to assad and his regime. Because this regime president assad has lot of all legit mas tow govern. As we continue operations from the air, i want to emphasize that no one is under illusions, under any illusions that air strikes will destroy i till. They are one element of our broader competencive campaign. It has diplomatic inteligence and other military components working with Coalition Partners and a new government in iraq. This week we moved forward on each of these fronts. In new york the president had a meeting focused on stopping the flow of fighters into and out of the region. What the pressury department and the United States and the Coalition Partners are also intensifying efforts to ought off isis financing. We continue to support the new Iraqi Government and the program of reform and reconciliation. That is the only longterm solution to the sectarian tensions that enabled isils rise in iraq. On wednesday, president obama met with the prime minister. The president affirmed americas support for him and his new government and iraqi people. Yesterday secretary kerry met with the Cooperation Council and president and Vice President spoke with the turkish president to strengthen the cooperation against isil. Senior officials continue to coordinate with our Coalition Partners. The other dimensions of military strategy are seen in progress. Now that we have support in congress are moving forward with the plain to train and equip the moderate syrian opposition. We have begun detailed military planning for the mission. Assessment teams have arrived in saudi arabia. In iraq, isils strongholds continue to pose a major challenge. But our support for iraqi and Kurdish Forces is enabling many units to go on the offensive. Forces will continue to maintain pressure on isil fighters throughout iraq. As the president emphasized on wednesday in his speech at the united nations, this broad diplomatic and Economic Campaign is under written by brought coalition of more than 40 nations. Including five regional partners. And this Coalition Continues to expand. Over the last two days, the governments of belgium, denmark and the netherlands announced their intention to participate in air strikes in iraq. A few minutes ago, i spoke with britains defense minster. He called me as he left the chambers of the parliament to inform me that the British Parliament had voted 524 to 43. Thats to join with the United States and Coalition Partners. A brought coalition has been and will continue to be a corner stone of strategy against isil and we appreciate all the contributions and commitments of our friends and allies as we continue to work closely with them and coordinate their part