• ISIL attacks Iraq’s main oil refinery

    ISIL attacks Iraq’s main oil refinery

    Jun 19, 2014 12:36 AM EDT

    ... defend Sunni Iraq or just the Shia bit of it? Amid jingoistic scenes like this, Iraq's army is becoming an ever more sectarian force. Iraq's Kurds, too, are fighting for the Kurds, battling to keep ISIS out along the 600-mile border now, not defending Iraq so much ...

  • Sens. Kaine and McCain debate U.S. exit from Iraq, prerequisites for new military response

    Sens. Kaine and McCain debate U.S. exit from Iraq, prerequisites for new military response

    Jun 19, 2014 12:36 AM EDT

    ... This is something... SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: No, I'm saying -- I'm saying it is a lie to say -- to say that we -- that the Iraqis rejected. It was -- it was President Obama's commitment to get everybody out of Iraq. That's the overriding fact here. JUDY WOODRUFF: This ...

  • CIA facing gaps in Iraq as it hunts for militants

    CIA facing gaps in Iraq as it hunts for militants

    Jun 18, 2014 01:27 PM EDT

    ... of the fast-moving Sunni insurgency. Other options under consideration include deploying a small contingent of U.S. special operations forces to help train the Iraqi military and boosting intelligence available to the Iraqis. More broadly, the Obama administration is also pressing for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to ...

  • What Iraq’s violent sectarian split means for its neighbors

    What Iraq’s violent sectarian split means for its neighbors

    Jun 18, 2014 12:46 AM EDT

    The insurgency by Sunni militants in Iraq, known as ISIL or ISIS, adds conflict to an already volatile region. Gwen Ifill talks to Hisham Melhem of Al Arabiya News and Mary-Jane Deeb of the Library of Congress about the failure to stifle ISIL’s growth in Syria, the prospect of U.S. collaboration with Iran and the...

  • Shia militiamen rally in place of Iraq security forces, while ISIL releases recruitment video

    Shia militiamen rally in place of Iraq security forces, while ISIL releases recruitment video

    Jun 18, 2014 12:29 AM EDT

    ... GWEN IFILL: President Obama is expected to meet with congressional leaders on Iraq tomorrow. At the same time, a State Department spokeswoman said she doesn't expect the U.S. and Iran to have any more discussions about Iraq on the sidelines of nuclear talks in Vienna. In Baghdad ...

  • In Congress, prospect of new Iraq fight turns hawks into doves

    In Congress, prospect of new Iraq fight turns hawks into doves

    Jun 17, 2014 07:28 PM EDT

    ... called for assistance to his government in battling the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant insurgency. ISIL has conquered several cities in Syria and Iraq. The administration is sending almost 300 American forces in and around Iraq to help secure U.S. assets. "I support almost anything that would ...

  • U.S. troops move into position for Iraq security mission

    U.S. troops move into position for Iraq security mission

    Jun 17, 2014 02:53 PM EDT

    ... Qaida-linked militants that have swept through Iraq. Still, the White House ruled out the possibility that Washington and Tehran might coordinate military operations in Iraq. Obama met with his national security team Monday evening to discuss options for stopping the militants known as the Islamic State of Iraq and ...

  • Is the U.S. heading back into Iraq?

    Is the U.S. heading back into Iraq?

    Jun 17, 2014 01:19 PM EDT

    Today in the Morning Line: Obama’s first steps on intervention in Iraq US ‘open’ to coordination with Iran and airstrikes are possible Expect some fireworks with Hillary Clinton on Fox later The importance of Obama’s gay rights push Some troops back to Iraq: President Barack Obama took his first steps to address the situation in...

  • Militants capture Iraqi town near Syrian border

    Militants capture Iraqi town near Syrian border

    Jun 17, 2014 12:25 AM EDT

    ... GWEN IFILL: The crisis in Iraq continues to escalate, with reports of mass killings by Sunni extremists, as government forces lose more territory. Jonathan Rugman of Independent Television News is on the ground. Some viewers might find elements of this report disturbing. JONATHAN RUGMAN, ITN: This is Iraqi air ...

  • What’s fueling and funding the insurgents behind the violence in Iraq?

    What’s fueling and funding the insurgents behind the violence in Iraq?

    Jun 17, 2014 12:23 AM EDT

    The Sunni militants known as ISIL or ISIS continue to broaden their control over the northern Iraq. What are their origins and how does the group compare to other insurgencies? Gwen Ifill learns more from journalist Rania Abouzeid and Brian Fishman of the New America Foundation.