I want to figure out how to partner with life to make the things we need, in a way thats sustainable and beautiful. Woodruff those are some of the stories were covering on tonights pbs newshour. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by at bae systems, our pride and dedication show in everything we do; from Electronics Systems to intelligence analysis and cyber operations; from combat vehicles and weapons to the maintenance and modernization of ships, aircraft, and critical infrastructure. Knowing our work makes a difference inspires us everyday. Thats bae systems. Thats inspired work. 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. And the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better lives. 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 the air war against Islamic State forces has now moved into syria. Bombs and missiles rained down on targets there overnight. Another group was also hit to avert a possible attack on the United States itself. In all, the more than 200 air strikes, included bombing from u. S. Carrierbased aircraft, as well as sorties from regional arab nations, plus nearly 50 tomahawk cruise missiles launched from u. S. Navy vessels, all aimed at more than a dozen locations across northern syria. They included Islamic StateTraining Camps and other facilities in raqqah, and also in hasakah, in deyr aw zour, and hard by the iraq border at abu kamal. As he left the white house this morning, president obama said the aerial assault made a vital point. We were joined in this action by our friends and partners saudi arabia, the United Arab Emirates, jordan, bahrain, and qatar the strength of this coalition makes it clear to the world that this is not americas fight alone. Woodruff separately, on its own, the u. S. Hit a group called khorosan, an organization of veteran al qaeda operatives. Eight air strikes hit near aleppo, where the khorosan militants are linked with the alnusra front, al qaedas principal syria franchise. Pentagon leaders said the strikes were successful. The top Operations Officer for the joint chiefs, Lieutenant General william mayville, said the aleppo attacks aimed to disrupt an active plot. Weve been watching this group closely for some time, and we believe the Khorasan Group was nearing the execution phase of an attack either in europe, or the homeland. Woodruff mayville also made clear the air campaign against Islamic State forces in iraq and syria is openended. Could this take years . I would think of it in terms of years, yes. Woodruff there were some reports of civilians killed on the ground and video of syrians apparently trying to dig out people trapped in rubble. Mayville said they were unaware of any civilian deaths. He also confirmed the u. S. Carried out the vast majority of the bombing. But jordan, bahrain, saudi arabia and the United Arab Emirates all flew combat missions, too, while qatar provided support. Jordans information minister spoke in amman. We will continue to identify and to attack the positions of these terrorist organizations, in order to secure our country and our national interest. Woodruff the state department denied reports that it coordinated with syrian president bashar alassad. It did say the u. S. Alerted damascus ahead of the strikes. After the strikes, the Syrian Government issued its own statement on state television. translated syria will support any International Effort that may help in fighting terrorism. But this should not affect the lives of civilians and National Sovereignty of syria as well as the international laws. Woodruff on the streets of damascus today, reactions to the air campaign varied. When we see american warplanes flying in the air over syria, it is impossible to be optimistic about this thing. With all my respect to america, it should stand by the Syrian Governments side in a serious, way. Woodruff there was also word that a key nato ally might join the fight turkish president erdogan had refused to pledge military action earlier this month at a nato summit, while 49 turks were held hostage by Islamic State militants. The captives were released saturday. And today erdogan said we will give the necessary support to the operation. The support could be military or logistics. Later, after arriving in new york, president obama met with leaders of the antiIslamic State coalition. He will make the case for the campaign tomorrow, before the u. N. General assembly. Also today, the wife of british aid worker alan henning said shes received an audio message from him, pleading for Islamic State captors to spare his life. And in iraq, Islamic State fighters in iraq paraded captured government soldiers in fallujah. The militants overran an army camp in Anbar Province on sunday, killing 40 troops and capturing nearly 70. Israel shot down a syrian fighter jet today for the First Time Since 1982. The Israeli Defense minister said the plane entered israeli air space over the golan heights. Amateur video from syria appeared to show a Patriot Missile battery downing the jet. The crew managed to get out, and landed in syrian territory. Special forces in israel have killed two alleged hamas militants wanted in the murder of three israeli teenagers. The teens deaths in june ultimately triggered this summers 50day war in gaza. Early today, israeli units stormed a west bank hideout and shot it out with the suspects. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the outcome. translated i said whoever carried out the kidnapping and murder of our teenagers would face the consequences. I vowed we would not rest until we reached the last of them, wherever they tried to hide. I also said this was our First Mission and it would be carried out. This morning it was carried out. Woodruff palestinians held funerals for the two men this afternoon in hebron. Hamas leaders praised them for a long life full of jihad and sacrifice. translated hamas mourns for the Palestinian People and the two martyrs. Hamas blames the Israeli Occupation for the assassination of the two martyrs, and this is a war crime which the Israeli Occupation is responsible for. Woodruff the killings sparked a new round of clashes in the west bank and threatened ceasefire talks in cairo. But palestinian negotiators agreed later to move forward. The Ebola Outbreak in west africa could lead to 1. 4 Million People being infected. That new estimate came today from the u. S. Centers for Disease Control and prevention. Its more than double any previous figure. The c. D. C said the projection assumes the number of cases is currently being substantially underreported. A germanamerican journalist was freed today in somalia after being held hostage for two and a half years. Michael scott moore was kidnapped by somali pirates in january 2012, while researching a book. Its unclear if any ransom was paid for his release. In china, an ethnic uyghur scholar was sentenced to life in prison. Hed been convicted of advocating separatism, for speaking about the muslim minoritys plight. The penalty is the most severe in a decade for illegal political speech. Prosecutors said ilham tohti led a criminal gang seeking to split the country. The white house said its deeply concerned and called for tohtis release. The outgoing president of afghanistan, hamid karzai, aimed a parting criticism at the United States today. In his farewell address, he thanked other nations, but he charged that americans did not truly want peace in his country. He spoke in kabul and called for washington to be honest in its dealings. translated we want to have strategic relations with america. We want to have deep relations with america. We want to have the best relations with them in the west. But america should follow the path of friendship with afghanistan. Afghanistan can be their best friend on condition their actions and words are the same. Woodruff afghanistan inducts a new president , ashraf ghani ahmadzai, on monday. Osama bin ladens soninlaw and spokesman will spend life in a u. S. Prison. Sulaiman abu ghaith, was sentenced today in new york, for aiding alqaeda after the 9 11 attacks. He warned the United States will face retaliation. Its about to become legal to carry a concealed handgun in the nations capital. The washington d. C. City Council Voted unanimously today to allow it, but with a number of restrictions. In july, a federal judge struck down the citys ban on carrying weapons. Eight national fraternities announced efforts today to fight sexual assaults on colleges campuses. The Initiative Includes training members to prevent and intervene in sexual violence, hazing and binge drinking. Wall street had a down day. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost more than 116 points to close below 17,056. The nasdaq fell 19 points to close at 4,508. And the s p 500 slipped 11 to finish at 1,982. Still to come on the newshour air strikes target Islamic State strongholds in syria, Global Leaders put a spotlight on Climate Change, hackers rewire the biology of living organisms for practical uses, and the secret Service Comes under fire after a man breached security at the white house. Woodruff now back to the u. S. And partners air strikes inside syria. Our chief Foreign Affairs correspondent Margaret Warner is at the United Nations this week and has more on the International Reaction to the new campaign. Hello, margaret. Youve been talking to a lot of people today. What is the reaction there to these air strikes . Well, judy, since the president has signaled that he was going to take the fight against the Islamic State or isil or isil into syria as well as iraq, it did not come as a shock here, but the reaction was, well, where you stand is where you sit. I went to a small meeting with president rouhani of iran. He declared them illegal because they violated the sovereignty of the Syrian Government, that syria had not given its permission. He further said the only way to defeat isis in this whole region is youre going to have to partner essentially with the Syrian Government. He said the syrian option, you cant fight the only government that could step in if the Iraqi Government could step in and reclaim territory, you cant do both fights on one. The president of turkey had small gathering yesterday. He didnt know about the strikes yet, but turkey clearly did not join the coalition and did not play ball. He said to secretary kerry when they met two or three weeks ago, look, as long as isis has 49 hostages, we cant do anything. But after we get them out, which they did last weekend, perhaps we can. I thought the most interesting reaction, judy, was from jordan and the four gulf states that did participate. None of them boasted about it. I saw one of them late this afternoon. I cannot name who he was, who said this is very sensitive for us. Were now partnering with the United States. We have a reputation on the line, and what we keep asking the americans is what comes the day after. He left the suggestion that they really dont have an answer yet. Woodruff margaret, its interesting because a number of these countries have been critical of the u. S. s uncertain leadership. Are they taking a different tone about that today because of the u. S. Leading these strikes . You know, judy, you put your finger right on it. That is the. The concern is the constancy of u. S. Leadership. From president obama saying he would strike syria last year over chemical weapons and then backing off or announcing hes going to afghanistan but announcing an end date. Even countries that didnt want the u. S. To do those things were shaken or rattled by that. So these countries do feel they could be out on a limb. They joined this Public Coalition now with the United States. So that is the. I would say that is the numberone concern. I still think the United States has a long way to go to persuade them that this president is in it for the long haul. I did ask the gulf leader about this, i said, do you have any doubts about the president s constancy, he went youll have to ask him. That concern remains. Woodruff just quickly, margaret, we know the u. S. On its own undertook these strikes against this group. We really havent heard very much about before, this Khorasan Group, theyre called veteran al qaeda fighters. What are you hearing about that . Well, u. S. Officials today from. Well, i cant say from where, gave a briefing for all of us. They really got into it. They said these are seasoned operatives out of afghanistan and pakistan. Their specialty is recruiting foreign fighters, bringing them, training them, sending them back, explosive device, mounting attacks on homelands in various parts of the country and moving money and material around. And they saw a safe haven they could exploit, and they moved into syria into this area. Theyre not necessarily affiliated with isis, but u. S. Intelligence had received what they said was credible information that a big plot against they said u. S. Interests and european allies was in the works, was imminent. President obama went to centcom last week to do it. It was also convenient that it coincided with the decision to also launch the air strikes against i. System militants in syria. Woodruff margaret, thank you very much. Youll be in new york all this week covering these u. N. Meetings. We thank you. Thank you, judy. For analysis on the strikes and how they affect an already complicated civil war in syria with multiple sides, im joined by retired colonel derek harvey, a former Intelligence Officer and special adviser to the commander of u. S. Forces in iraq, general david petraeus. Hes now director for the Global Initiative on Civil Society and conflict at university of south florida. And joshua landis, director of the center for middle Eastern Studies at the university of oklahoma and Andrew Tabler, a senior fellow in the program on arab politics at the Washington Institute for near east policy. Welcome you all back to the program. Colonel harvey, to you first. How do you size up this military operation last night . I think its an important event, but its just the beginning of a very long journey. The president has laid out a strategy thats going to take a long time to pull the pieces together. The financial aspects going after foreign fighter flow, delegitimizing the Islamic State. Most importantly from last night, we had sunni arab and shia arab buyin in this attack, and the attack on the Khorasan Group i think was the most important element last night. Woodruff so youre saying the u. S. With this coalition, five countries, went after the right targets . I think for the initial stages it was the right target. Its going to be a long campaign. The Khorasan Group, a legitimate, serious threat, and then going after the Islamic State, even though theyve had plenty of time to disperse and prepare for this, because they knew this strike was coming. So its not a decisive strike that we made last night against them, but its the first step of a long journey. We have to understand that. Woodruff Andrew Tabler here with me in washington, first step in a long journey, is that how you see it . Absolutely. I think the air strikes are first step to contain isis and eliminate it inside of syria. Woodruff quickly to you, joshua landis. Is this. For the United States, have these five countries in the region on board, what does this look like to you as the beginning of a campaign . Well, its great to have five monarchies as your wing man on, this all sunni arab. This is the big challenge for the United States is to convince sunni arabs that were not attacking them and were not against