Investigation that spell out saudi arabias ties to the al qaeda hijackers. One entire section, 28 pages, that was taken out entirely. And the Bush Administration justified it on National Security grounds. Ifill those are just some of the stories were covering on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by ive been around long enough to recognize the people who are out there owning it. The ones getting involved, staying engaged. They are not afraid to question the path theyre on. Because the one question they never want to ask is, how did i end up here . I started schwab with those people. People who want to take ownership of their investments, like they do in every other aspect of their lives. Supported by the john d. And catherine t. Macarthur foundation. Committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. More information at macfound. Org and with the ongoing support of these institutions 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. Woodruff president obama picked up support at home and abroad today, for the growing battle against the Islamic State in iraq and syria. It came the day after his televised address to the nation. Our chief Foreign Affairs correspondent Margaret Warner reports. If you threaten america, you will find no safe haven. Woodruff with that stark warning, the president last night issued a call to arms against Islamic State militants both for americans and potential allies. America will be joined by a Broad Coalition of partners. Already, allies are flying planes with us over iraq; sending arms and assistance to Iraqi Security forces and the Syrian Opposition; sharing intelligence and providing billions of dollars in humanitarian aid. Reporter and today, in saudi arabia, secretary of state john kerry appealed to arab and gulf leaders for their support and participation in the effort. This is a moment, which is one of those rare opportunities in history, where leaders making the right choices, can actually bend the arc of history in the right direction. In the goals direction of the goals that we share. Peace and prosperity and security for all. Reporter the saudis and other arab states pledged to stop the flow of foreign fighters and funding to the Islamic State group. They also talked of joining a military campaign as appropriate. In syria, reaction to president obamas address was mixed. The Westernbacked Syrian National Coalition welcomed the prospect of expanding u. S. Air strikes into syria even though they arent to be directed against their number one target, Bashar Assads government. But a Syrian Government minister warned against any action without syrias consent. translated any action of any type without the approval of Syrian Government is an aggression against syria. Hence there is no possibility of talking about the Syrian Governments response to any aggression against syria unless it happens. But in International Law and political terms there must be a cooperation with syria and coordination with syria and there must be a syrian approval of any action whether it is military or not. Reporter the Russian Foreign ministry went further, saying an air campaign over syria would have to have u. N. Approval. The president of the United States has clearly declared the possibility of Us Military Air strikes on the positions of Islamic State on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic without the consent of the legitimate government. Such an action without a corresponding u. N. Security Council Decision would be an act of aggression. Reporter back in washington, president obama focused on winning congressional support. Last night he said he has all the authority needed for beefed up airstrikes. But he urged congress to approve an overt program to upgrade and professionalize the moderate rebel factions in syria facing Islamic State pressure. We have ramped up our military assistance to the Syrian Opposition. Tonight, i again call on congress to give us additional authorities and resources to train and equip these fighters. Reporter for the most part, republican and Democratic Leaders voiced initial support. Senate majority leader harry reid what we need to do is make sure that we can take care of what we need to do and that is train and equip the rebels and make sure that we dont do anything that is rash. We have to be very calm and deliberate, and we as a country have to pull together on this. Reporter House Speaker john boehner likewise called for giving the president what hes asking for. At the same time, he said many republicans have doubts about the strategy against the Islamic State group, also known as isil. Im not sure were doing all that we can do to defeat this terrorist threat, and if our goal is to eliminate isil, there is a lot of doubt whether the plan that was outlined by the president last night is enough to accomplish that mission. Reporter other republicans said they still believe it will take u. S. Combat troops to defeat the militants something the president said last night he will not authorize. Well hear the perspectives of the white house and a top House Republican on all of this right after the news summary. Ifill in other news today, the nation marked the 13th anniversary of the 9 11 attacks and honored the nearly 3,000 People Killed that day. In washington, president obama led a moment of silence at the white house then joined defense secretary chuck hagel and military leaders at the pentagon. 13 years after small minds conspired to break us, america stands tall and america stands proud. And guided by the values that sustain us, we will only grow stronger. Generations from now, no matter the trial, no matter the challenge, america will always be america. Ifill this year, for the first time, the National September 11 Memorial Museum is now open at the site where the twin towers once stood. And, a new Tower One World Trade Center is nearly complete. Woodruff Syrian Rebels linked to alqaeda have released 45 u. N. Peacekeepers from fiji whom theyd held captive for two weeks. The troops were captured by al nusra front fighters in the golan heights, a disputed buffer zone between syria and israel. Today a convoy of u. N. Vehicles carried the peacekeepers back to a u. N. Base in northern israel. U. N. Officials said they were all in good condition. Ifill in south africa, a judge ruled today that track star Oscar Pistorius cannot be convicted of murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend. But the doubleamputee olympian may yet be convicted of a lesser crime. Rohit kachroo of independent Television News reports from pretoria. Reporter evidence of murder that had taken months to build was dismantled in moments, and this was the consequenc e. The accused is charged with premeditated murder. In respect of this charge, the evidence is purely circumstantial. Reporter she agreed there was in planning, no plot to kill his girlfriend, and in court, the emotion now was of man who learned that he is not guilty of the gravest charges against him. But the judge finished by warning that shell reveal tomorrow whether he is guilty of manslaughter. He failed to take any step to avoid the resulting death. I am of the view that the accused acted too hastily and used excessive force. In the second sentence, it is clear that his conduct was negligent. Reporter he could still be given a severe sentence for killing Reeva Steenkamp or for the three gunrelated charges that he faces. He left court to hear the sound of cheering fans, but hell return tomorrow, when more of those remaining questions at the heart of this case will be answered. Ifill prosecutors had argued that pistorius intentionally killed steenkamp after an argument. The athlete testified he mistook her for an intruder when he fired through a closed bathroom door. Woodruff the European Union announced today its imposing new penalties on russia for aiding rebels in ukraine. As of tomorrow, expanded sanctions will target Russias Energy and hightechnology sectors and freeze the assets of more top government officials. The United States plans to announce new sanctions on russia tomorrow. Ifill on wall street today, the Dow Jones Industrial average lost more than 19 points to close at 17,049; the nasdaq rose five points to close well over 4,591; and the s p 500 added one point, to finish at 1,997. Woodruff still to come on the newshour. Reactions to and analysis of president obamas plan to cripple the Islamic State group. The n. F. L. Investigates its own handling of the ray rice scandal. And what do stillclassified pages from the 9 11 investigation say about saudi arabias links to alqaeda . Ifill the president s plan to go to war against islamic militants in iraq and syria dominated much of the debate in washington and in the region today. We begin ours with National Security advisor susan rice. I talked to her from the white house a short time ago. Joining us. I want the start by asking you whether the mission the president described last night has any geographic limits. Well, you heard the president say, gwen, that anybody who seeks the attack the United States anywhere in the world will find no safe haven. Now, this is a fight against isil, a terrorist organization thats most active in syria and iraq, and the president made clear that we have a comprehensive strategy to take the fight to isil and to roll them back through degrading them and ultimately destroying them in iraq and to the extent necessary in syria. The president made clear that he would not hesitate to act in syria if necessary to roll back isil. Given the safe haven there, it is in all likelihood necessary. Ifill as part of the president s fourpart strategy that he outlined last night, he talked about arming the Free Syrian Army, the moderates who we had declined to support or arm before. Whats different now . Well, in fact, gwen, the United States has been providing a degree of military support to the moderate opposition for almost two years now. Back in june, the president asked congress for 500 million as part of a broader regional Counterterrorism Partnership fund to provide direct, lethal support and training to the moderate Syrian Opposition. Now that we are also in the context of having to deal with isil and degrade and destroy them, its critically important that to do that in syria we have a partner on the ground. In iraq we do have a partner on the ground and, in fact, the president was very deliberate about waiting until a new Iraqi Government was formed that was inclusive and can represent the interests of all of iraq. Now we have the capacity and the ability to work with the Iraqi Security forces and the kurds in iraq as our partner on the ground. The analog in syria requires that there be a ground force that we can work with. The Free Syrian Army is the best option that we have in that it is moderate. It is fighting isil. It is also facing the fight from assad. Its been a partner to the United States. We have experience working with them, and we want to continue that. Ifill you mentioned assad. Is there any concern at the white house that by basically allying ourselves with him and with iran and with hezbollah against isil that you are aiding your own enemy . Gwen, were in the aiding the enemy, nor are we alying ourselves with syria, the assad regime, iran or any other partner. We may have a common enemy in the fight against isil. I think we should be candid about recognizing that isil has no state support, threatens all the states in the region and threatens people, including americans in the region and threatens europeans and has issued threats against the United States of america. So we have a common enemy, but that doesnt mean we are allied or coordinating or working together in any deliberate way. In fact, were not. Ifill if this is worth doing, why isnt it worth putting boots on the ground, combat forces on the ground in syria or iraq . Because, gwen, i think weve learned that that can be counterproductive. And at the end of the day, even after ten years of combat in iraq, where our men and women served with great bravery and suffered enormous losses and sacrifices, if you dont have a government that is prepared to sustain those gains through the right policies that are inclusive and representative of all the people, but also through maintaining a military capacity, those gains can be quickly diminished. So in this instance, rather than replicate that experience, which was very costly, the preferred method is to build up the iraqi capacity, both the political capacity as well as the military capacity, to take this fight to isil and sustain it. It is the iraqis themselves and indeed it will ultimately be the syrians themselveses that have to control their own territory and have the push out this threat, this cancer that is threatening them most approximately. Ifill what if congress will not approve the funding that the president has requested in spite of some positivesounding signs from capitol hill today . Well, certainly were hopeful that congress will recognize the necessity. Its part of a comprehensive strategy of enabling the United States to provide training and support to a moderate opposition in syria. Without that, the United States doesnt have a partner on the ground. And i think most members of congress agree that its not preferable to put american boots on the ground in this region again in a combat role, and therefore we need to have a viable partner that over time can join in this fight against isil. So i think when members of Congress Weigh the alternatives and understand that to accomplish the mission, we need a the ground, i think theyll see that the best alternative in that regard is, in fact, the moderate opposition. White house National Security advisor susan rice, thank you. Thank you, gwen. Ifill for a republican response from capitol hill, i also spoke with House Armed ServicesCommittee Chairmen buck mckeon of california. Congressman mckeon, thank you for joining us. You said in the speech today at the American Enterprise institute that after last nights speech the president is finally waking up to what must be done to stop this evil. Is it enough . Enough . I think its just barely a start. But it does make a change. You know, it was just a few weeks ago when the president was calling isil junior varsity. I think now hes come to the point to realize what the rest of the world realizes, that they are a grave threat. I just came back from the middle east. I melt with the leadership over there. Theyre all very concerned. They want to go after. King abdullah told me hes ready to go right away. They want to go right now. They understand how serious this threat is. Im glad to see that the president is starting to get that message. What were going to have to do is make sure that we go in with an adequate force, that were already serious about finishing something that we start. Ifill House Speaker john boehner said today we have one commanderinchief and he supports, as far as it goes, the president s initiative so far. Do you agree with him . I said in my speech today that as long as the president s engaged and moving on this, i want to support him. He is the commanderinchief. But he does have military leaders, and he should listen to their advice. I know that theres been a story reported that the commander of the area asked for more Ground Troops to give us a robust position in iraq. And he denied that. Ifill well, lets talk im sorry. Esplanade [no audio]o they can hold the ground. And thats what we need to do. Until the president is fully engageed and i hope he will be. I hope this doesnt become a speech last night like weve seen in the past, and then he kind of fades and goes off into something else. This is something he needs to be engaged in. Its the most important thing confronting him as commanderinchief. We need to win on this. Ifill do you believe that isil represents an immediate threat to the domestic security . Sure they do. We have probably 100 fighters from america over there right now. Two of them were killed a week or two ago in a firefight over there. One of them was a tenyear veteran working in air traffic control. He could have used his. He could have done something here. We know that a lot of