The Heat: Containing the Islamic State in Iraq

The Heat

The U.S. is sending an additional 130 military advisers to Iraq to contain Islamic militant forces and help the displaced Yazidis.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has called moves to replace him in office a “conspiracy woven from inside and out.” Will Al-Maliki go quietly or fight to stay in office? And how effective are the U.S. airstrikes in combating the Islamic State militants? We speak to a former Iraqi Ambassador to the U.S.

The United States continues its airstrikes against the Islamic State militants. The U.S. is also sending more military advisers to Iraq. The United Nations says tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped by militants on a mountain in northern Iraq and need “life-saving assistance.”

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says it’s “imperative” that Iraqi security forces refrain from intervening in the political process leading to the formation of a new government. He has warned that heightened political tensions and the security threat from the Islamic State extremist group, which is backed by Sunni militants, could plunge the country into an even deeper crisis.

CCTV Correspondent Jessica Stone reports.

Ambassador Samir Sumaida’ie, is a former Iraqi ambassador to the United States.

Cedric Leighton, is a former U.S. Air Force colonel and the founder and president of Cedric Leighton Associates.