Turkish Border City 'About to Fall' to ISIS; Turkey: Border City 'About to Fall' to ISIS
BLITZER: Let's continue with the breaking news. There's now growing concern that ISIS is on the verge of a huge victory. Turkey's leader says the city of Kobani -- that's just across the border from Turkey -- in Syria is about to fall to the ISIS terrorists. With hundreds of lives, Kurdish fighters have been desperately trying to hang on against ISIS tanks and artillery. The U.S.-led air strikes in the area may not be enough to turn the tide, and Turkey's own powerful military has decided not to intervene at all. Let's bring in our national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto. He's following this very disturbing story.</s>JIM SCIUTTO, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: No question. In the last 24 hours, U.S. and coalition aircraft have struck ISIS positions in and around Kobani more aggressively than we or the rebels on the ground have seen. Still, despite the desperate battle playing out, oftentimes on television, and the desperate calls for help from Kurdish fighters defending the town, administration officials are making it clear that saving Kobani from ISIS is not an American priority.</s>SCIUTTO (voice-over): With Kobani on the brink of falling into the hands of ISIS, a Kurdish rebel told CNN the U.S.-led coalition finally woke up. The situation on the ground deteriorating, coalition warplanes unleashed several airstrikes overnight and into the day. Relieved Kurdish fighters welcomed it. However, U.S. officials are making clear that saving Kobani is not a priority inside Syria.</s>JEN PSAKI, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: Certainly no one wants to see Kobani fall, but our primary objective here is preventing ISIL from gaining a safe haven.</s>SCIUTTO: Airstrikes in Syria remain focused on ISIS command and control, critical infrastructure, and funding sources, principally, oil. Still, as he visited the refugee camps across the border in Turkey where many of Kobani's residents have fled, the Turkish president said even the broader air campaign is doomed to fail.</s>RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKISH PRESIDENT (through translator): You cannot resolve this conflict with air bombardments. Months have gone, but nothing is achieved. Right now, Kobani is about to fall.</s>SCIUTTO: In his own country, however, demonstrators are demanding that Turkey do its part. Turkey's Kurdish minority taking to the streets in protests that turned violent. The Turkish parliament authorized military action in Syria last week, but President Erdogan has yet to take it. Turkey's priority is less combatting ISIS than taking down the government of Bashar al-Assad.</s>REVA BHALLA, STRATFOR: The more ambitious goal is to topple the regime in Syria and to put in place a friendly regime that's going to look, first and foremost, to Ankara for guidance.</s>SCIUTTO: I spoke at length with a senior administration official who explains that it's not just Kobani but any number of towns and cities in Syria that are not, at this point, a priority for the U.S.-led coalition. What they say the focus now is on degrading ISIS's capability inside Syria. That's going after command and control, going particularly after the funding sources, these oil facilities that we've talked about, if not so much a focus on taking back territory in Syria, because you don't have the ground forces there yet; still training up the rebels. In Iraq, the administration says gaining territory back here is a priority, because you have that ground force, Iraqi security forces, Kurdish rebels, and they claim as victories now taking back the Haditha Dam, the Mosul Dam. Because you and I have talked about this many times, Wolf. ISIS still controlling a great deal of territory. It was 13 cities at the start of the campaign, and it's 14 cities now. So in terms of taking back big chunks of territory, that hasn't happened in Iraq either.</s>BLITZER: A really worrisome development all across the board, several weeks now into these U.S.-led airstrikes. Jim Sciutto, thanks very much. Let's go in depth right now. Joining us, CNN military analyst, retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling and Oubai Shahbandar. He's a senior adviser to the Syrian opposition coalition. Guys, thanks very much for joining us. Oubai, what do you want Turkey to do as far as Kobani is concerned, and what about the U.S.? What do you want the U.S. to do?</s>OUBAI SHAHBANDAR, SENIOR ADVISOR, SYRIAN OPPOSITION COALITION: Well, you heard the Turkish president and the Turkish prime minister actually made a very good point, when they specifically pointed out that you need a comprehensive approach to defeat ISIS, that an air campaign is important but is not sufficient. Because you cannot just bombard ISIS without establishing a ground force on the ground that not only pushes ISIS out but ensures that the Assad regime is not able to retake areas that ISIS once occupied. Now, the United States is doing the right thing. It has intensified airstrikes against ISIS forces in and around Kobani, and absolutely has helped and slowed down their advance. But what the United States needs to do is now take the next step to ensure that the Free Syrian Army forces and the Syrian Kurdish self-defense forces on the ground are fighting now street by street, house by house, have the necessary ammunition and have the necessary tools to not only defend their homes but to push back</s>ISIS. BLITZER: Oubai Shahbandar is joining us, by the way, from Amman, Jordan. He's been meeting with top U.S. officials and others in that neighboring country of Syria. General Hertling, why aren't the Turks doing more militarily on the ground? I know they're doing a lot of observing a lot of those Syrian and Iraqi refugees, more than a million, that have fled over these last three years into Turkey, but why aren't they doing more? They've got a huge military, hundreds of thousands of NATO-trained troops. Why aren't they doing more?</s>LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, truthfully, Wolf, there's a part of me that doesn't understand why they're not doing more. They certainly have the army that could do it. Even a partial attack, a limited attack to relieve Kobani would be -- would be helpful. But I think you just pointed it out. They're very concerned about getting involved in this civil war. They want Bashar al-Assad to be defeated. And they see this as interfering with that. And it's sad, but I also believe that there are certainly some conclusions that, if they relieve the Kurds, that's -- that's something they don't want to do right now. They might want to see ISIS take over and then eventually have a fight with them in the future.</s>BLITZER: And Oubai, very quickly, why do you believe Turkey is not doing more militarily?</s>SHAHBANDAR: I think Turkey is looking for the United States and for the NATO alliance, specifically, to back Turkey up on this because this isn't going to be a one-off type of deal. This is going to be -- this needs to be a comprehensive campaign, not only against ISIS but against what the Turkish government believes to be the root cause for terrorism in Syria today, which is the Assad regime.</s>BLITZER: Looks like Kobani could be gone within hours unless something develops. It doesn't look like it's going to develop from any outside source. We'll watch it very closely. Oubai Shahbandar, General Hertling, guys thanks very much. Let's turn to politics right now. President Obama is raising money in New York and Connecticut today. While many Democratic candidates don't want to be seen with him, the first lady, Michelle Obama, is in Wisconsin today campaigning for Mary Burke, the Democrat who's challenging Tea Party favorite, Republican Governor Scott Walker. The first lady also is defending her husband's record.</s>MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY: By almost every economic measure, we are better off today than when Barack Obama took office.</s>BLITZER: Today, by the way, marks four weeks until the midterm elections on November 4. Just ahead, where is the North Korean leader? He hasn't been seen in public for a month even as his top deputies pay a surprise visit to South Korea. Are they now in charge?