War and its showing. Every day 22 veterans commit suicide. Were going to take a look at the oscarnominated documentary showing the people at the va. But first, major headlines in the middle east today. We start with the situation in yemen. Thousands have taken to the streets in protest against rebels who have tightened control over the capital city. The u. S. Backed president of yemen resigned friday. The volatile situation in yemen has led to reports that its having an effect on u. S. Counterterrorism operations there, a claim that president barack obama is pushing back on. He spoke about it this morning in a joint press conference with indias Prime Minister. I saw some news reports that suggested somehow that counterterrorism activity had been suspended. That is not accurate. We continue to go after highvalue targets inside of yemen, and we will continue to maintain the pressure thats required to keep the American People safe. Lets get to nbcs kristen welker, whos live at the white house. Why are we seeing this type of defense from the president . Well patrick, i think the president felt the need to come out strongly to refute some of the reports that weve seen in recent days that the u. S. Counterterrorism strategy would be impacted by the unrest in yemen. The administration being very firm in this point that it is in fact not going to impact the counterterrorism strategy there. But certainly there are big questions. The president made two points today. He said the United States two key priorities are first protecting u. S. Personnel in the region. We know there have been a number of diplomats who have been evacuated in recent days. Although, important to underskoerpunder underscore the point the embassy does remain open. He said u. S. Counterterrorism measures will continue in yemen. This is an area where we see Aqap Al Qaeda in the arabian peninsula. The United States has said it is very important to stomp out that threat. Its worked hand in hand with president hadi in doing that. A little bit of background on this patrick, the United States started its Counterterrorism Measures back in 2002 but increased the communication and the coordination with yemen once president hadi did take control. That, of course includes drone strikes. Now that president hadi has resigned, the big question is what happens . The Houthi Rebels who have taken control, are opposed to u. S. Drone strikes. So its hard to see there wont be some measure, some type of impact at least when youre thinking about coordination and intelligence. Having said that the United States very firm that stomping out aqap is a broader part of attacking militants and going after extremists. So theyre making the point right now that thats not going to be impacted. The United States monitoring whats happening very closely right now in yemen as president obama continues with his travels in india. Patrick . Kristen, thank you so much for joining us today. Japan today condemned the execution of a japanese captive held by isis militants, and its demanding the remaining hostage be released. President obama this morning called japans Prime Minister to offer his condolences. Isis posted a picture of the japanese freelance journalist holding what appears to be a photograph of his fellow japanese hostage beheaded. A message with the photo said he would be next. Nbc news chief Foreign CorrespondentRichard Engel is monitoring the story from istanbul. Whats behind the latest isis tactic . As you know from your own time in iraq, al qaeda in iraq was a formidable enemy, an organized group. The u. S. Thought at one stage it had defeated or at least seriously weakened al qaeda in iraq. But this latest demand from isis shows that al qaeda in iraq has just changed. It has moved to syria. It has transformed itself into isis. And the reason the latest video from isis makes it so clear is look at demand. Isis apparently killed one of the two japanese hostages. In exchange for the other japanese hostage, isis is asking not for the 200 million anymore. It is asking for the release of a woman that most of the world had forgotten about. Shes been held in a jor dane yan prison for nearly a decade. She was sent to do a Suicide Mission in 2005 by the leader of al qaeda in iraq. Clearly that Organization Never forgot about her. Still dreams about her freedom, still wants her to be released and is asking for her to be released in exchange for the japanese hostage. No other organization would be interested in this woman. It is al qaeda in iraq that left iraq, moved into syria, found a new home in the chaos of the civil war in syria, and is still fighting. Not necessarily fighting against just u. S. Troops in iraq but fighting a global battle. Nbcs Richard Engel, thanks so much for joining us today. Joining me now to discuss all this and much more is democratic congressman seth walton, a member of the Armed Services committee and the Budget Committee and a former marine corps captain who served four tours in iraq. Seth thanks so much for joining us here today on taking the hill. Great to be here. I want to start with isis. Secretary kerry said this past week that u. S. Air strikes have killed 50 of its leadership and all told about 6,000 foreign fighters. But a year after isis bursting on the scene, its show nothing signs of going away. Is the u. S. Strategy working from your perspective . I think we have to have a broader strategy. If you look back at what happened with this dramatic expansion of isis from syria into western and then Northern Iraq they didnt just defeat the iraqi army. The iraqi army put their weapons down and went home because they had lost faith in iraqs sectarian government under Prime Minister maliki. So what that tells us is that fundamentally, its a political problem in many dimensions. At the end of the day, iraq has got to be able to defend its own borders and protect its own people. But to do that, the iraqi army has to have faith in its government. Id like to see us putting a lot more effort into ensuring we have a table, trustworthy Iraqi Government that its own army can follow. Yeah seth its the battle for the 20 million sunnis. How about on a personal level . You and i both served in iraq. Whats your reaction when you see an enemy like isis driving u. S. Vehicles and using our weapons and Holding Ground that we both lost friends fighting for . Its incredibly frustrating. Its incredibly frustrating. Certainly one of the lessons weve learned from iraq is that you not only have to be very careful going into wars you also have to be very careful how we come out. And thats certainly a lesson that i hope will apply to afghanistan today. But as someone who fought in iraq and who worked with the iraqi army and who kept going back to try to put the country back together its very sad to see it falling apart. The reality is that we actually had a pretty stable iraq after the surge. But we didnt follow through with the Political Support that was really needed. And you know, it shouldnt have been a surprise. Ambassador crocker and general petraeus came back from the surge and basically said two things. First of all, the surge has been incredibly successful militarily. But it has not made as much political progress as we need. So they called for a diplomatic surge. We built the largest u. S. Embassy in the world in baghdad. But then we left it half full. Yeah. And with a new Prime Minister there, hopefully things are going in the right track. I guess time will tell. You know, hes saying the right things but we need to see results. I would agree. Now, theres a growing debate about the white houses refusal to discuss radical islam and terrorism. They wont even use the phrase. Now were seeing criticism from the left too. Your colleague, another iraq war veteran, called it disturbing and frustrating. Is there a problem with white house being too sensitive to address the real issue here . I think the issue is that weve look weve got to have a strategy. Congresswoman gabbert, who serves with me on the house Armed Services committee and is really becoming a good friend and tremendous colleague on the hill, shes right. We need to have a strategy to address radical extremists. But i do think that language matters. And our greatest allies in this fight will be moderates. So if were saying things or using terms that offend or alienate moderates, then were pushing away some of our most important allies in this fight. So shes absolutely right that we need a clear strategy. Its got to address this threat, these terrorists, these murderer murderers murderers. I think the white house could do a lot better job of articulating that strategy. Statement, i think language matters. Yeah. Last question on isis here. Article one, section eight, clause 11 of the u. S. Constitution states only congress can declare war. Sadly this president has asked the congress multiple times for a new authorization for use of military force against isis. Now, congress broke for summer recess. They said well get it in the fall. In the fall they said lets wait until after the elections. Then they said its late for the new year and a new congress. I know youve only been there for three weeks, but is a new aumf going to happen . Are you going to vote on it in the congress in both houses do you think . I dont know if its going to happen, but it absolutely should. This is a debate that Congress Needs to have. And its important that we have voices in that debate who have been overseas who have been in iraq, like myself. Weve got to be careful. We have got to be incredibly careful when we talk about putting Young Americans into harms way. Its congress responsibility. We ought to have a voice in this discussion. Yeah, as you know we have almost 2,000 of our troops back in iraq right now. And we just learned recently that the u. S. Is going to be training Syrian Rebels this spring. We have thousands of troops as i mentioned, on the ground in iraq. Are you concerned we talked earlier about strategy. Are you concerned ever about Mission Creep . Absolutely. I was a military adviser in iraq myself about ten years ago. I was an infantry platoon commander, but that was the mission of my platoon. When iraqi unit that we were assigned to advise and serve with started to get overrun by the militia, we went to their assistance, and that started the worst fighting of the iraq war until that time. So the point is that these are infantry troops who have just been given an Advisory Mission. And a military Advisory Mission can very quickly become ground combat. Lets not forget the vietnam war started as a military Advisory Mission. Yeah and i always remember the strategy we learned in vietnam. Where you have a clear mission, you have overwhelming use to accomplish that mission and a clear exit strategy. Lets focus now on afghanistan, seth. You know last year in 2014 lets look at what president obama said here at the state of the union. Tonight for the First Time Since 9 11 our combat mission in afghanistan is over. Six years ago nearly 180,000 american troops served in iraq and afghanistan. Today, fewer than 15,000 remain. And we salute the courage and sacrifice of every man and woman in this 9 11 generation who have served to keep us safe. We are humbled and grateful for your service. [ applause ] combat operations in afghanistan are over. When you still have 9,000 troops on the ground still going on missions providing support, when you have 3200 civilians killed last year in afghanistan, is the war really over for those thousands of americans and afghanis . No absolutely not. And i think a lot of america is forgetting that every day here there are Young Americans in harms way, fighting the fight at nights in afghanistan. And weve got to be very careful about how we pull out. The lesson of iraq as i said earlier, is that we not only have to be careful about getting into wars we have to be careful about how we come out. Were at that time in afghanistan, and we have got to take it very very seriously. I cant emphasize enough how serious it is for every Young American on the front lines over there right now. Yeah, well with two new leaders, obviously the Prime Minister in iraq and now the new president in afghanistan, lets hope that political solution really comes to fruition because theres a lot of men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice and all of us who served there that really want to see that happen. Absolutely. Seth thank you so much. Congressman, youre doing a great job. I know youre three weeks into that new gig. But were all pulling for you. So thanks so much for joining us on taking the hill. Thanks very much for having me, patrick. After the break, the new study on ptsd and how it is anything but a new crisis facing those who have served. And make sure you join the conversation using the hashtag takingthehill. In my world, wall isnt a street. Return on investment isnt the only return im looking forward to. For some every dollar is earned with sweat, sacrifice, courage. Which is why usaa is honored to help our members with everything from investing for retirement to saving for college. Our commitment to current and former military members and their families is without equal. Start investing with as little as fifty dollars. If youre running a business legalzoom has your back. Over the last 10 years weve helped over one million Business Owners get started. Visit us today for legal help you can count on to start and run your business. Legalzoom. Legal help is here. Here i am. Rock you like a hurricane. Fiber one now makes cookies. Find them in the cookie aisle. Push your enterprise and you can move the world. But to get from the old way to the new youll need the right it infrastructure. From a partner who knows how to make your enterprise more agile, borderless and secure. Hp helps business move on all the possibilities of today. And stay ready for everything that is still to come. As many as 30 of iraq and afghanistan veterans suffer from ptsd. But a new study finds that it goes back nearly as far as warfare itself. British researchers have found evidence of ptsd among the soldiers of the syrian dynasty in 1300 b. C. Before christ. Despite its long history, theres still far too much misunderstanding about what has become the signature wound of the iraq and afghanistan wars. Now a new book the evil hours, a very personal memoir of how trauma faces us. Joining me now is the author david morris a former marine corps officer. David, thanks so much for joining us. Thanks for having me. Good to be here. So let me just begin, can you explain to our audience what was your experience like with ptsd and dealing with that . Well i survived an ied ambush in southern baghdad in 2007 october 10th. Then came back to the United States. The transition was difficult for a number of reasons. I mean i think there are difficult its very difficult to find opportunities to be understood. Earlier we were talking about possibly bringing back the draft. When you only have 1 of the u. S. Population actually serving the military, there are less opportunities to be understood. But specifically, some of the symptoms i suffered, you know i didnt really think i didnt know what i was going through until about 2009. I was in a movie theater. There was a very realistic ied explosion depicted in the movie. I basically blacked out and woke up in the passageway in the hallway of the theater i was in. I had sort of completely lost it for about a minute and came back in and was able to watch the rest of the movie. But it was so similar to the movies now are so realistic. It was kind of similar in some ways to the ied ambush i had survived. My brain just switched off like an overloaded electrical grid. I know for me i went to see american sniper last sunday. I brought my wife with me because i was worried about the same sort of thing. Oh yeah. How about, david, you know, the treatment within the va . Its the Largest Health care system in the country. Are they unified on how we deal with these veterans coming back when we deal with ptsd . The va has rolled out a very broadscale, massive program on what they call evidence supported treatment, specifically prolong exposure therapy. And another one called cognitive processing therapy. Theyre both scientifically prove to be very effective. The problem is youre not getting personalized care. Theyre sort of one size fits all, scaleable, mass produced therapy. Theyre not therapies in the normal sense of you sit with a therapist and work through issues. Specifically, prolonged exposure has a 28 rate of actually making ptsd symptoms worse. I think the va has some questions to answer about this specific therapy. I interviewed dozens and dozens of veterans is and rape survivors and other survivors of trauma. Almost all of them said prolonged exposure therapy made their symptoms worse. Yet weve spent tens of millions of dollars on this therapy. It made my symptoms worse. I couldnt leafve the house for a week. Ive read the research. It has a 28 symptom exacerbation rate. The va, you know, there were no informed consent in my case. Theres no official policy of informed consent. Im even warning veterans that this therapy may make your symptoms worse. So thats a personal concern. Thats a part of the book that i looked at. I read the science, interviewed a number of researchers who developed the therapy and some researchers who have some countervailing opinions. The war against ptsd the va is fighting, its very broad scale. Theyre doing a good job, but its got to get a lot better. How about i want to take a quote from your book. It was very powerful when i