Face in the News: Building a coalition to combat ISIS

WASHINGTON (CBS News) - The international coalition to take on ISIS militants is coalescing, with major commitments from U.S. allies, senior Obama administration officials said Sunday on "Face The Nation."

The Obama administration secured a major achievement over the weekend, as reports emerged that a handful of Arab nations agreed to launch air strikes against ISIS. But there was also a grim reminder of the challenges that lie ahead: The militant group released another gruesome video, the third in a month, showing the beheading of British hostage David Haines and threatening yet another Western hostage.

Secretary of State John Kerry, who spent the past week in the Middle East trying to convince Arab leaders to join the US-led coalition, told "Face The Nation" host Bob Schieffer that he is seeing progress.

"I have been extremely encouraged to hear from all of the people that I have been meeting with about their readiness and willingness to participate," Kerry said. "I can tell you right here and now that we have countries in this region, countries outside of this region, in addition to the United States, all of whom are prepared to engage in military assistance, in actual strikes, if that is what it requires."

But as foreign leaders commit military assistance and humanitarian aid to the effort, the Obama administration faced criticism at home for its mixed messaging. Administration officials said the U.S. was not "at war with ISIS," only to reverse course the later in the week. Kerry dismissed the semantics.

"I think there's, frankly, a kind of tortured debate going on about terminology," Kerry said, but adding moments later that the U.S. was in fact "at war" with ISIS just like the U.S. is at war with Al-Qaeda.

The secretary of state's comments were covered by Reuters, AFP, The New York Times, the Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Politico, The Hill, National Review, Time, The Weekly Standard, The Week, Newsmax, the International Business Times, the Fiscal Times, the New York Post, the New York Daily News, the Washington Times, the Orlando Sentinel, the Huffington Post, Business Insider, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, Bloomberg, The Guardian and the BBC.

White House chief of staff Denis McDonough also appeared on the show Sunday. He sought to reassure Americans that the administration was "not aware of any credible threats to the homeland right now," but that a "strong" campaign against ISIS was needed. This was covered by the Washington Post.

But Kerry and McDonough stopped short of asking Arab nations to commit ground troops -- a mistake, according to Rep. Michael McCaul, the Republican who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee.

"I don't know why we wouldn't consider that option of all the Arab nations," McCaul said.

These comments were picked up by the Associated Press, Reuters, Politico, The Hill, Newsmax, the Washington Times and the Washington Examiner.

Later in the program, Schieffer spoke with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, the Democrat from New York who is out with a new book promoting the role of women in politics. She said she was "outraged" by the NFL and how league officials handled the domestic violence scandal surrounding Ray Rice.

While critical of the league, Gillibrand did not call for the immediate resignation of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, instead calling on him to "lead the reform." But in her view, he is on very thin ice.

"If he lied to the American people" about seeing the videotape of the incident, she said, "he has to step down because he won't have the forceful authority to change how they address these issues."

Her comments were covered by Reuters, Politico, The Hill, the New York Daily News, the Baltimore Sun, CNN, MSNBC, Newsmax and The Guardian.