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Phil, let me start with you in terms of what we're seeing. While the world is focused on what was going on at the Gaza Strip, while the world was focused on MH-17 and the Ukraine, ISIS was moving ahead. It seems like at lightning speed.
PHILIP MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: I think that's right. I think we've seen since we last talked about this at some length a fundamental change. It's really profound. When we're talking about this before a month or two ago, we're talking about a U.S. decision about whether to side with Nuri Al-Maliki who is seen as a leader of Iraq that doesn't represent Iraqi minorities.
The question of intervention had to do with, how would we be perceived if we sided with someone who is viewed by many as corrupt leader of Iraq? The story now is forget about Maliki. Do we want to intervene in what is a rapidly humanitarian crisis?
Remember a year ago, we were talking about whether to intervene in favor of Syrian civilians with Bashir al-Assad was massacring them. We chose not to and I think a lot of people are saying let's now replay that story.
BURNETT: General Marks, what does that -- it seems like the only thing that's a little bit different this time is that there are 40 Americans in Irbil. There are 245 military personnel, Americans in Iraq, which the president put in there to try to stabilize the situation provide advice. But if they are indeed at risk, would that then justify the United States doing military strikes and can those strikes be surgical or is that the slippery slope towards a combat situation?
GENERAL JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Erin, that's exactly the point. The United States can intervene at will. I don't think they need any justification. They have a partner in Iraq and very shaky and a very tenuous relationship with the government in Baghdad, which is unfortunate.
But we have to right that and we got to make sure we can stand that up. The fact that Americans might be in harm's way certainly gives sufficient justification albeit not necessary to go do something to extract those folks. But what the real issue is, is the United States should not at this point say what they are not going to do.
This could be an escalation and we could be as Phil described be in the middle of not only a humanitarian disaster, but an increasing challenge to Baghdad. Those are two separate issues. We've seen humanitarian disasters in our past and we've sat back.
What are we going to do at this point? But the other decision is, is Baghdad at risk? Is Iraq in total at risk as well based on ISIS' advances and we could say, yes, they are on the slope to achieving that right now.
BURNETT: Phil, the question, though, facing the White House tonight in terms of whether to strike is whether that is central to the national security interests of the United States. Has that changed in the past month? Is ISIS rising in Iraq now a direct security threat to the United States?
MUDD: I think when you look at the history of insurgent groups and the terrorist groups that I followed for a quarter century at the agency, this is pretty much unprecedented. You watch what happened in the 1990s in North Africa when insurgent groups were prominent, they were turned back by government forces.
You saw Taliban emerge obviously in the 1990s until 2001 in Afghanistan. Their focus was not on the United States. That was solely typically the focus of al Qaeda. I think this is a new problem that the White House is struggling to try to understand.
And I don't think there's a precedent for understanding this yet. One final comment, when you sit in that decision-making chair at the White House, 9/11 changed something.
That is if you see an insurgent group emerging that might potentially attack America how long do you want to wait? Do you want to wait for that attack to happen or do you want to prevent it by strike early.
MARKS: Erin, can I jump in. I absolutely agree with Phil. The point is we have a plethora of challenges around North Africa and the greater Mideast. The issue becomes that. What's the trigger event and when do you start to act. And I think we are at the point where you begin now to chip away at these challenges or they become much more robust and empowered going down the road.