Sunday: Dueling crises in Syria, Ukraine
(CBS News) --Another week, and another set of foreign policy headaches for the Obama administration. But as the President candidly admitted, "We don't have a strategy yet" to tackle the growing threat from the terrorist group ISIS.
ISIS fighters continue to gain ground in Syria and Iraq and are growing their influence in the region. President Obama has dispatched Secretary of State John Kerry to the region to build a coalition of diplomatic partners and has asked his top military commanders to present a range of options to defeat the group, which he called a "cancer" that poses a threat to the US homeland and European allies. How to respond to the threat is the big question facing the Administration and US allies - including Great Britain which raised its terror threat level In response to the growing number of British citizens who have joined the terrorist fight as members of ISIS.
The President did take military options off the table in dealing with the situation in Ukraine as Russian forces entered Ukrainian territory, an action that some Western officials have deemed an "invasion." NATO said as many as 1,000 Russian troops are operating on the ground in Eastern Ukraine, and there are no signs that Russian President Vladimir Putin will back down.
This Sunday we'll hear from Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., an outspoken critic of President Obama's foreign policy. We'll also talk to Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., a senior member of the House Homeland Security Committee, and Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee about the threat from ISIS and what the options are for defeating it.
These lawmakers will play a critical role in any future vote in Congress to authorize US air strikes against ISIS targets in Syria. The Obama administration has been mum on whether they'll seek that approval.
Later in the program, we'll get analysis about these stories and more from Danielle Pletka of the American Enterprise Institute and Michael Singh of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
We hope you'll tune in. Check your local listings.