Woodruff those are just some of the stories were covering on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. Bae systems. Inspired work. United healthcare. And the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better lives. And with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. And. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. And by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Ifill House Republicans scrambled today to organize their party ahead of next weeks vote for a new majority leader. The race has been whittled down to two contenders g. O. P. Whip Kevin Mccarthy of california and Pete Sessions of texas, the chairman of the house rules committee. Fellow Texan Jeb Hensarling pulled out of the race. House Speaker John Boehner did not throw his support behind either candidate, but said he would work with whoever wins. The members are going to make this decision. Were going to do it next week. Im sure some will argue it was too soon, some will argue it was too long. But its important we resolve this issue in a fair amount of time so that we can do the work that we were elected to do. Ifill boehner also said americans frustration with president obamas failed policies contributed to eric cantors loss. But House Minority leader nancy pelosi said Republican Leaders are to blame and that a new leader wont make much of a difference. We have not passed inflation. We have not passed the Voting Rights act which has always been bipartisan. We have the votes for the immigration bill. It passed the senate in a bipartisan way. So i dont know how things could get worse than the obstruction that is already here. Ifill eric cantor, who was defeated tuesday, will serve out his term, but vacate the number two leadership spot at the end of july. Woodruff Army SergeantBowe Bergdahl is headed back to the u. S. From an Army Medical Center in germany. It was widely reported hell arrive early tomorrow at brook Army Medical Center in san antonio, texas for further medical treatment. He was held by the taliban for five years and freed almost two weeks ago. Ifill u. S. Drone strikes have started back up in pakistan after a nearly sixmonth lull. Pakistani intelligence officials said 13 suspected insurgents were killed overnight in two separate strikes. The targets were in northwest pakistan in north waziristan. It is home to a number of militant groups. The strikes come just days after the airport in karachi, pakistans busiest, was attacked. Woodruff Oil Prices Spiked to their highest levels of the year today on news of the spreading insurgency in iraq. In new york trading, a barrel of oil settled above 106 dollars, its highest close in almost nine months. The iraq turmoil also impacted stocks on wall street. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 109 points to close at 16,734; the nasdaq fell 34 points to close at 4,297; and the s p 500 shed nearly 14 points to close at 1,930. Ifill former president george h. W. Bush celebrated his 90th birthday the way he celebrated his 75th, 80th and 85th by jumping out of a plane. The 41st president made a tandem parachute jump over the skies near kennebunkport, maine. After his last jump, hed vowed he would skydive again, even though he can now no longer walk. Family and friends greeted him on the ground. This was his eighth jump. The first came under fire, when his plane was shot down over the pacific during world war ii. Ifill still to come on the newshour. Iraq struggles to stem a tide of insurgents across the country. A new survey finds americans are more polarized than ever. What to watch for as the world cup kicks off. A fresh take on Rising Economic inequality around the globe. Plus, the passing of an Award Winning actress and civil rights advocate, ruby dee. Woodruff as militants from the Islamic State of iraq and the levant continued their march toward baghdad and widened the groups areas of operation and control across syria and iraq talk in washington turned to whether the u. S. Should respond and how. At midday the president spoke in the oval office after a meeting with australian Prime Minister tony abbott. He said iraq would need more assistance not only from the u. S. , but other nations as well. I dont rule out anything because we do have a stake in making sure that these jihadists are not getting a permanent foothold in either iraq or syria for that matter. In our consultations with the iraqis there will be some short term immediate things that need to be done militarily and our National Security team is looking at all the options. But the basic principle obviously is that we like all nations are prepared to take military action whenever our National Security is threatened. Woodruff later, Administration Officials said that all options did not include u. S. Forces on the ground in iraq. The New York Times reported this morning, that iraq had asked the Obama Administration last month to conduct air strikes on militants in western iraq, but was denied. At the capitol earlier in the day, house Speaker John Boehner had a harsh direct appraisal of white house policy to date. Its not like we havent seen this problem coming for over a year. And it hasnt its not like we havent seen over the last five or six months these terrorists moving in taking control of western iraq, and now theyve taken control of mosul. Theyre a 100 miles from baghdad. And whats the president doing . Taking a nap reporter that anger was echoed on the senate floor from Arizona Republican john mccain. He laid blame squarely on the withdrawal from iraq at the end of 2011, pushed for by the president , amid failed talks with the government of Nouri Al Maliki for a further u. S. Presence. To declare that a conflict is over does not mean that it necessarily is over. A takeover of iraq in the iraq syria area which is now the largest concentration of al qaida in history is a direct threat to the United States of america. Woodruff but elsewhere on the hill, House Minority leader nancy pelosi said it was the original decision to invade, by the george w. Bush administration supported by mccain and boehner that was at fault. She said she opposed further u. S. Military action in iraq. Its just not a good idea, and whats next . Thats what the American People would want to know. Whats next . I think this represents the failed policy that took us down this path 11yearsago. Woodruff Vice President biden spoke with iraqi Prime Minister maliki earlier today, and according to a white house statement, he told maliki that the u. S. Is prepared to continue to intensify and accelerate security support and cooperation with iraq. Woodruff american Officials Say three planeloads of americans are being evacuated from an iraqi airbase in sunni territory north of baghdad to escape threats from the fast moving insurgency. Jonathan rugman of independent the Iraqi Government launched air strikes on insurgent positions in and ann around mosul. Jonathan rugman filed this view of intensified fighting from irbil. Outside katuk, iraqi troops from the 12th division were filmed. Seems they didnt try for long. Somebody filmed the iraqi soldiers fleeing, many in civilian clothing, and apparently leaving behind this military base as a play gowned for jihadists from iraq and alsham. A playground, from this footage, we could count 14 abandoned tanks. And so it was that kurds moved in. They said to stop it from falling. Kirkuk, the city kurds long claimed as their historical capital. The kurdish fighters here argue they are the only force for stability in this region because so much of the iraqi army has collapsed. But the temptation for the kurds is to hold on to kirkuk come what nay not just because of its oil wealth but because theyve always wanted it as part of a future kurdish state and a kurdish state is what might eventurelely happen here if iraq does indeed collapse. At this checkpoint north of kirkuk, we found Kurdish Forces inspecting the cars of refugees for jihadist weapons and bombmaking equipment. One of their commanders had earlier survived a roadside bomb attack, but one of his men did not. This man said he was a refugee from syria, had fled to kirkuk to safety and now was fleeing again, he and his family struggling to stay ahead of the jihadist lightning advance. And from tikrit, a restaurant owner, took these foafsz of the jihadists before he packed up and left town fearing his throat would be cut if he stayed. He took me outside and calling my family, maybe 1 million. And when he take the 1 million, he kill me. That the what you thought might happen . Because all these people did you see any foreign fighters . People from outside iraq . Yeah, yeah. Im seeing maybe afghanistan man and syrian man. But how could you tell . Ecause the face is different, you know. And when he say hello, the language of the pakistani is not the same as iraqi. From the north, you can hear what sounds like a jihady with a british accent reveling in the city yesterday. We are celebrating. Its a big achievement. And theres no doubt from an audio message to its followers that isis believes it now has in its sights baghdad itself. We have a score to settle ivme. Woodruff so how are iraqs leaders in baghdad viewing the crisis . For that i spoke a short time ago to jane arraf, a freelance correspondent for Al Jazeera English and Christian Science monitor. She was in irbil. Jane arraf, thank you very much for talking with us. How is the government in baghdad dealing with all this . We see reports that a large number of Government Troops are simply laying down their arms in the face of these insurgents. Its absolutely scrambling. One of the things that Prime MinisterNouri Almaliki tried to do alook with forming a new government because its now a government in the making is essentially he has tried to get parliament to agree to declare a state of emergency across the country. Parliament has declined to do that. They feel he was using all of this for political gain to further expand his powers. So its really a political crisis on top of a huge security crisis. Hes reaching out to the United States, as youve seen, and reaching out to kurdish leaders to try to solve this but this is such an intractable problem, and the sail, the impones of it, the potential repercussions of losing iraqs second biggest city are absolutely huge ivment is there any question there, jane, about how serious a threat this insurgency poses . Theres very little question because these people are not going to go away. In the face of four days, they managed to take over iraqs second biggest city, one of the major cities in importance as well as terms of size. So, now we have a situation where, according to people who are still coming out to try to come to the kurdish areas, still coming to the checkpoint just 20 miles from mosul, they say that the city is now completely in control of this group, that essentially is a reincarnation of al quaida, but the group, the Islamic State of iraq and syria is working as well with tribal leaders, some tribal leaders from fallujah and the ramadi leader of alanbar and what appears to be fighters who come directly from anbar province. So this isnt just a foreign external problem but a domestic problem and one the Iraqi Government has been dealing with though not in this dramatic a form for many, many months ivment talking to people in the government, is it your sense that they believe they can hold this off without u. S. Military help . Theyre pretty much desperate for u. S. Military help. The problem is that u. S. Military help, whether more missiles or drone strikes, isnt really going to solve this. At the heart of this is a country being torn apart and torn apart largely because large parts of the country dont feel they have a say in their own future. They dont feel they can walk in the streets without being discriminated against by Iraqi Security forces. One of the things that has really come clear in the past few days, again, as people flood from mosul and half a million iraqis have left mosul is that there is a large residual anger against the Iraqi Security forces in many parts of these cities thats going to make this even harder to solve. Its not just a military security problem, its a political crisis as well with and one that really is its really hard to see where this will end. Jane, finally, we know the Obama Administration has been urging Prime Minister maliki for some time to reach out to the sunni leadership, the sunni population in iraq. Is there any sense on the part of his administration that theyre now prepared to do that or that they acknowledge its been a mistake not to . Judy, there are a few problems there. One, its not just a monolithic sunni community. Who does he reach out to . Its a very divided sunni Political Class, and were seeing that in the problems of forming a new government. The Iraqi Government seems to feel like its fighting for its life. This is a fight purely against al quaida and the latest incarnation of al quaida. There isnt a huge sense there when you talk to Iraqi Government officials that they feel that they need to make concessions. In fact, the incident here weve seen is pretty much to use force and then talk later. As for mosul, tikrit, is a maria and other cities, is it continuing to grow, and not just a security problem, but essentially what many fear is the disintegration of the country ivment jane arraf on the ground in irbil, iraq, thank you. Woodruff now, to the United States options. We turn to two men with extensive experience dealing with iraq. James jeffries was us ambassadaor to to iraq from 2010 to 2012. Hes now a distinguished visiting fellow at the Washington Institute for near east policy. Feisal istrabadi was iraqs deputy ambassador to the United States from 2004 to 2007. Hes now a professor of the practice of International Law and diplomacy indiana university, bloomington. Ambassador, let me start with you. Do you share i guess the perception we just got from jane arraf that this is a country that may be disintegrating and this is every bit as much as a political as military crisis . I do. I agree with much of what jane said now. Iraq is facing an existential crisis, a moment where the iraqi Political Class and the broader people of iraq have to answer the questions do we as iraqis want to live together in one country or do we not and what other ramifications of answering the question one way or another. The root of the solution of this problem has been for years and not just in the last four or five days a political solution and the current government in iraq has simply failed to live up to the expectation that it could find a political solution because as jane has just said it seeks a military solution first. So ambassador jefferies, if thats the case, does it really matter about this conversation back and forth about military help or not from the u. S. . Absolutely. I agree with everything the ambassador and jane has said but the point is right now were not facing some kind of longterm campaign of reconciliation or stability like in iraq, were facing a challenge as the i. S. I. L. Forces seize all of sunni arab iraq which is onethird the country in the west. Were in the position to encircle baghdad and cut it off from electricity, oil, water, everything it needs, and that is an extraordinary threat. That can pull in the iranians, cause the kurds to leave. Thats a military threat. What do you think needs to be done . In order to avoid iranians coming in, kurds going out and possibly extraordinary disaster, the u. S. Needs to put, as the president seems to be suggesting hes considering, air power in as he did in libya, effective against mobile columns as weve seen in the film clips. If thats what happens and there is air power, does that change the balance of whats going on there . I dont think so. The fact is the United States commencing in 2003 was never able to get ahold of increasing insurgency as it was building up in 2005, 2006, 2007. The way that general petraeus was able to make the violence decrease in iraq was by negotiating a series of political deals with sunni tribal sheikhs and others in the community. The Prime Minister of iraq reneged on all the promises. Without the political deals, there is, in my opinion, no military solution to the problem. If the United States was in iraq for ten years with tall the weaponry and intelligence assets it has was unable to defeat the insurgency, the