This Week with George Stephanopoulos – September 14, 2014

Host: Martha Raddatz

Guests:

Alex Marquardt

Jeff Zeleny

Steve Ganyard

Lt. Col. John Nagl (Ret.)

Dan Benjamin

John Cohen

Raddatz: omg another vicious

beheading by ISIS this time

of a British citizen

Marquardt: Prime Minister Cameron

called them fucking evil and wankers

and the dogs bollocks

Marquardt: Obama has bombed

ISIS 160 times prompting the

question why won't Obama act

Kerry: we want Saudi Arabia on board

Marquardt: Turkey and Egypt

support fighting ISIS but only

if no one notices

Marquardt: Obama admits it will

take years to crush ISIS if ever

Raddatz: does this beheading make

it more likely the British will get on

board fighting ISIS?

MacDonald: well the British government 

called ISIS the embodiment of evil

Raddatz: there are even British terrorists

MacDonald: the top terrorist beheading

innocent people is a British rapper

Raddatz: whoa

MacDonald: British muslim leaders

condemned ISIS as heretics

Raddatz: why behead Westerners

– it seems intentionally provocative

Ross: because they can't attack

America or Britain conventionally

Raddatz: General how can the US defeat ISIS?

Cartwright: ISIS is taking control 

of the Tigris and Euphrates

Raddatz: omg they own cradle of civilization

Cartwright: and the crib of 

can't we just get along

Raddatz: what's the first step toward victory

Cartwright: we will give Iraqi troops

air cover for their retreat from ISIS

Raddatz: where else can we bomb?

Cartwright: it depends on if we get permission

Raddatz: what about Syria – can

they shoot down our planes?

Cartwright: maybe

Raddatz: can we destroy ISIS?!?

Please?!?

Cartwright: only forces on

the ground can do that

Zeleny: should Congress take

a vote on starting a war on Syria?

Kaine: Congress declares war!

Obama: I don't need your damn approval

– but give me weapons for moderate fighters

Manchin: I don't trust these crazy rebels

Boehner: this is too serious to

trust the weirdos in Congress

Begich: we shouldn't get involved

in another quagmire in the middle east

[ break ]

Raddatz: welcome Dennis

McDonough: nice to see you Martha

Raddatz: will the British

finally help us destroy ISIS?

McDonough: damn right

Raddatz: will anyone else

join our coalition?

McDonough: we will keep sending

John Kerry to Turkey until they

agree to fight ISIS

Raddatz: are we at war with ISIS?

McDonough: we are at war with

ISIL just like we are at war with al-Qaeda

Raddatz: what does that mean?

McDonough: bombs!

Raddatz: how do you kill 30,000

ISIS troops without US ground troops?

McDonough: we get the Iraqi

army do it for us

Raddatz: we trained them for eight

years and they ran like cowards

the last time they fought ISIS

McDonough: yes but now we

have a new multi-ethnic Iraqi army

Raddatz: how many troops

will you send to Iraq?

McDonough: enough

Raddatz: thanks for coming

[ break ]

Raddatz: what about the Iraqi army?

Nagl: I trained them and trust me

they are not ready to fight ISIS

Raddatz: is this a war or anti-terror effort?

Ganyard: ISIS are assholes

but they are not terrorists

Raddatz: they're not?

Ganyard: no they are an army with tanks

Raddatz: does it matter whether

we call it terror or an army?

Ganyard: yes because words matter

Raddatz: what about mission

creep which is inevitable

Nagl: Obama is right – we are at war

except it will take more than he said

Raddatz: how many days until we

defeat all the crazies in the middle east?

Ganyard: never – is never good for you?

[ break ]

Raddatz: omg the Secretary of Defense

said ISIS is an imminent threat to your neighborhood!

White House: whoa hold on a second

Raddatz: 90% of Americans

are terrified of ISIS

Raddatz: How serious a threat is

ISIS to the average American?

Cohen: deadly serious because

there are many Westerners in ISIS

Benjamin: it's totally exaggerated threat

Raddatz: oh?

Benjamin: sure – we've never

had foreign fighters here even

after wars on terror and Afghanistan and Iraq

Raddatz: how do you fight an invisible

and deadly enemy like terrorists?

Cohen: ISIS is recruiting Americans!

Raddatz: why do Americans join ISIS?

Do they have a really good

health care plan or something?

Benjamin: it's not about us –

it's about chaos in the middle east

Raddatz: thanks for coming guys