there are pro assad people in damascus cheering for the assad rep regime. we heard from arab media that the strikes carried out on the chemical facilities and production plants and pentagon, that people are staying this was ineffective and limited strike. two of these strike locations are places that the israelis had struck in the past. and we are hearing from arab tv in the region that it was a limited strike and they are not doing much in the way of damage to the capabilities of the assad regime or even for the assad regime to carry out the war against the rebel and opposition forces in syria. what type of impact this has in terms of the willingness of the assad regime in the future is debated. the u.s. carried out 59 tomahawk missiles fired a year ago and that struck ought assad aircraft and capability. those analyst believe are more effective and limiting the assad regime to carry out strikes. the pentagon going after the production facilities. whether or not, kelly, whether it will limb his ability to carry out chemical strikes is it a question. that i

the president giving the assad regime a warning. listen. >> the purpose of our actions tonight is to establish a strong deterrent against the production, spread and use of chemical weapons. establishing this deterrent is a vital national security interest of the united states. the combined american, british and french response to these atrocities will integrate all instruments of our national power -- military, economic, an diplomatic. we are prepared to sustain this response until the syrian regime stops its use of prohibited chemical agents. >> the strikes carried out by u.s. navy ships and b-1 bombers and british tornado fighter jets. joseph dunfort had more. >> we conducted strikes that will result in a long-term degradation of syria's ability to deploy chemical weapons. important information was destroyed. they will lose years of research and development data, expensive equipment and chemical weapons precursors. it's not only a strong message to the regime but inflected maximum damage without unnecessary risk to innocent civili

bashar al assad on a plate. they don't have that kind of influence. they have some influence this syria, for sure. but they don't control syria, and they don't control or micro manage everything that bashar al assad does. >> former u.s. ambassador to syria, robert ford, and congressman adrian espana, we appreciate that. that wraps up this hour of msnbc live. >>> in a moment, "a.m. joy" will pick up on the very latest in the syria strikes. stay with us. david. what's going on? oh hey! ♪ that's it? yeah. that's it? everybody two seconds! "dear sebastian, after careful consideration of your application, it is with great pleasure that we offer our congratulations on your acceptance..." through the tuition assistance program, every day mcdonald's helps more people go to college. it's part of our commitment to being america's best first job. with a class leading 31mpgs nx combined estimate. lease the 2018 nx 300 and nx 300 all wheel drive for these terms. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. i'm all about my bed

and while that happens, president assad is almost ina sense, happens, president assad is almost in a sense, on a still free to use weapons as brutal as barrel bombs which he has been using since the start of the war. and civilians are still being killed. the rebels are still being killed. the rebels are still being killed. the rebels are still being slaughtered, in assets. the message is it you can kill but not with chemical weapons. the estimated half a million people who have died over the last seven years have died over the last seven years have not died from chemical weapons. they are from artillery or aircraft oi’ they are from artillery or aircraft or barrel bombs at missiles, rockets, gunfire. the real tragedy is that assad still has licence to kill as many as he wants. is there any way to bring the side of say the united states and russia, for example, who are willing to accept a syria with assad still at the helm at some point and the rebels who see that as they redline. we shall not come to the table is assad is here in any shape orform. come to the table is assad is here

that there tenuous in support of assad? >> well in the past we've always notified moscow when having action we gave them time they moved ships out of the harbor moved their plane every step was taken to mitigate civilian casualties look at timing of the strikes, it was between 3:00 to 4:00 a.m. civilian populations kind of -- >> we did right steps. >> i got to ask you, your very involved in the outcome in syria grateful this president took action but you are saying this morning you don't think necessarily it has enough russian iraround assad declaring victory. why do you say that i want to thank the united states of america the brave men and women who undertook this mission the president of the united states standing up against war crimes unfortunately assad is creating his people around damascus declaring victory because it they are saying it wasn't hard enough they coupled something harder assad regime also will continue to use barrel bomb weapons against civilians syrians safe from chemical weapons continue to be in dang

trump is the muchjust —— assad is pretty muchjust egging on trump is the muchjust —— assad is pretty much just egging on trump and is the muchjust —— assad is pretty muchjust egging on trump and the international community, saying, look what i can do. like i said, this was not the first chemical weapons attack. it is one of the more severe ones this year. it seems to have use sarin gas because of the effects that we have seen, the foaming at the mouth, the seizures, all the medical symptoms that we have been seeing relate to sarin gas. so this is the most severe we have seen but it is reallyjust be assad regime trying to egg on president trump based off the previous attack. thank you very much. the is the executive board committee for the syrian american counciljoining us committee for the syrian american council joining us on committee for the syrian american counciljoining us on a breaking news story, the attack on the military airfield in the centre of syria near homs. the united nations security council is to be meeting later on to discuss the alleged chemical attack in syria

assad. one man claimed that. he mitigated the western missile for the opposition forces but the militia calls himself the heart of islam called the strikes a farce and citizen a strategy to save the people there from the brutality of the assad regime. if support from countries like turkey right now. which the leader often is a harsh critic of the west. the israeli prime minister issued a statement today saying that the resolve of president trump remains and israel remains supportive of the president. more specifically he said it should be clear to the president assad his disregard for international law and provision of forward base by rand and his proxies in danger syria and the people. back to you. >> thank you. >> meanwhile, president trump saying mission accomplished. meanwhile at a summit in peru, the vice president saying that the missile strikes crippled that syria chemical weapons capability. >> the president was focused on the actual chemical weapons regime itself. and our hope is th

and nato to not take action against russia and assad. host: deborah is on our democratic line from kansas. caller: i just want to say, she just said that she thought that people were asking if syria started it or if president trump is doing it. she indicated they have some proof that syria is starting this. i trust president trump. cautious and very safety he has americans' at best. i think syria probably is doing it. i really like him. i hope it goes well. host: what about that? act,nited states did making a military strike is one of the most important things a president has to do. what is your reaction? guest: this is a president that does not fundamentally want to be engaged in additional military conflict in the middle east and signaled his desire to withdraw from syria. it is important and noteworthy that president trump made the difficult decision to undertake this kind of military action, and it is difficult decisions like that in upholding international norms in the prohibition of this type of egregious violence that makes us the

for bashar al assad. russia and iran are both helping prop up the assad regime. here was the president last night. >> i also have a message tonight for the two governments most responsible for supporting, equipping, and financing the criminal assad regime. to iran and to russia, i ask what kind of a nation wants to be associated with a mass murder of innocent men, women, and children? the nations of the world can be judged by the friends they keep. no nation can succeed in the long run by promoting rogue states, brutal tyrants, and murderous dictators. griff: so you will hear it call the assad axis, russia, iran and syria. but for the context of all of this, last saturday was the latest in upwards of 50 or more che chemical attacks on his own people. the suffering likes of which you cannot find anywhere else on the planet. it was horrific. it was ignored by the previous administration. it was a failed attempt to remove these chemical weapons. and, yet, last saturday, president trump and his administration saw children, women holding babies with chemical bubbles c

the united states of america will not allow the assad regime to continue to use chemical weapons. last night we obliterated the major research facility that it used to assemble weapons of mass murder. i spoke to the president this morning and he said the syrian regime uses this poisonous gas again the united states is locked and loaded. when oui’ states is locked and loaded. when our president draws a red line, our president enforces the red line. and there was a strong reply from syria's ambassador to the united nations. the syrian arab republic bromley condemns this tripartite attack which once again shows indisputably that they pay no attention to international law even though they say they do repeatedly. these countries have shown their conviction for the law of the jungle and the law of the strongest. so what is the mood in washington? let's bring in our state department correspondent. how do you read both the warnings coming out of some us officials but all that sense of these president trump's words mission accomplished. in washington in the foreign policy establishment a

that is because of the assad regime. we need to remember that everything that's happening, with respect to the murder of these people, innocent people, is the responsibility of the assad regime. so we were very confident about the evidence that we had. and it was clear and the secretary said yesterday he was confident about the intelligence as well as the evidence. the two other questions on russia and the size of the... evidence. the two other questions on russia and the size of the. .. we have an active deacon flickion arrangement with russia. the size of the programme. you made lots of assessment, you have a good idea, in comparison to what the assad...” would say there is still a residual element of mitt. —— it. i'm not going to say they can't conduct a chemical attack in the future, but i think they will think long after ha rd think they will think long after hard about it after last night. president trump tweeted mission accomplished, which has not born out when the phrase has been used. you have leapt the op

president trump denouncing assad and now praising the u.s. military for what he calls a perfectly executed attack reading mission accomplished. and british prime minister tourism a dispenser nation's role in the strikes and she's pointing the finger at russia of failing to hold the syrian regime accountable for its use of chemical weapons. and residents take to the streets in damascus in a show of defiance as syria's president says the strikes will only increase his country's resolve the quote pockets russia terrorism and every inch of the nation. being. unhappy clawson welcome to the program the united states and its allies britain and france have carried out air strikes on suspected chemical weapons facilities in syria u.s. president trump says they were in response to last week's alleged gas attack in the syrian town of duma which left dozens of civilians debt missiles began hitting targets in or around the cities of damascus and homs within minutes of his announcement. the cells launched would syria from the u.s. navy ship part of a wave

assad still remains in power. there's no question he continues to have an arsenal of chemical weapons. i think the real question about whether or not this strike was worth while will be determined in the future, not the present. >> so you're sure that he still has a stockpile of chemical weapons? >> i don't think there's much question but that he would not have put all of his chemical weapons in one place. he's distributed those chemical weapons throughout his country. that's been his approach as long as i can remember. >> and so what do you make, what would be the next step? you know, president trump overnight talked on wednesday when he announced -- on friday when he addressed the american people about all of the tools at america's, military and economic and diplomatic, that it would be sustained if assad crosses the line again. i guess all of the leaders said that the ball is in assad's court and to an extent russia's court. do you think they'll do it again, whack him again if he uses these weapons again? >> i

it reacted to assad's continuing wbd use, and now they have to see what assad is going to do next. >> nicholas kristof, we know the president wanted a stronger and quicker action, quicker than this. did he get what he want said, the president? >> it sounds like he did not. it sounds like he made a speech that reflected his larger ambitions when he talked about that sustained attack. but in fact what seems to have unfolded so far as you're going with what secretary mattis described was more limited. and i think that reflects the fact when you're in the white house situation room it's very easy to plan massive campaigns. if you are in the pentagon you remember in 1999 when we were bombing bellgrade in the kosovo operation it was hard to imagine what might go wrong and then we hit the chinese embassy and all of a sudden we had a crisis with china on our hands. and particularly now the it's so sensitive with russia, with iran. i felt reassured when i heard secretary mattis talk about the constraints of the operation, the fact it would not be sustained in any meaningful way. >> how likely

assad got reckless and used it in a way that was far more aggressive. we have to be very conscious of the fact that we can't allow even the smallest use of chemical weapons, that's why you saw the president strike this past weekend, that's why you saw him expel 60 russian spies after the attack in salsbury, this easily could happen in the united states if we are not smart and if we are not conscious of what's happening and so this was a message sent to assad, we will see how smart he is. chris: but to press my point, if i may, are you saying that going forward there's zero tolerance of any use of chemical weapons will trigger military response? >> i don't think there's any way that i can answer that. we don't know what he's going to do, the level of what he's going to do or anything else. i will tell you that the president is watching and the national security team is ready, so basically we will watch his actions. he now dictates his life and he dictates what happens between the united states, our allies and his regime and so hopefully he's gotten the m

to say at peaceful syria with assad as its head,it peaceful syria with assad as its head, it would not be accepted by the people and it doesn't make sense. there must bejustice the people and it doesn't make sense. there must be justice and accountability in order to ensure a sta ble accountability in order to ensure a stable country. hundreds of people have been attending protests in budapest. it was against the theft of the election. it might be the beginning to the resistance of viktor orban's rule. thousands of people marched to the parliament to voice their anger with last week's election result. blanket on the electoral system. they blamed it on his domination of the media and they called for new elections. for me,... translation: if we do not fight in an unified way, then we do not want another 100 years of oppression or eastern pressure and we do not want to see another wave of retaliation like in 18118. to see another wave of retaliation like in 1848. week, the people, have to stand up now and show are power. i hope we are rewriting history. which one of his opponents proteste

tonight for the two governments most responsible for supporting equipping and financing the criminal assad regime to iran and to russia i ask what kind of a nation wants to be associated with the mass murder of innocent men women and children the nations of the world can be judged by the friends they keep no nation can succeed in the long run by promoting rogue states brutal tyrants and murderous dictators last night british french and american armed forces conducted coordinated and targeted strikes to degrade the syrian regime's chemical weapons capability and deter the use this was not about interfering in a civil war and it was not about regime change as i discussed with president trump and president macra it was a limited targeted and effective strike with clear boundaries that expressly sought to avoid escalation and did everything possible to prevent civilian casualties we would have preferred an alternative path but on this occasion there is none. we can also now the use of chemical weapons to become normalized or russia has warned they would be consequences for the attacks present

chemical weapons were used in at least chlorine and that they've been used by the regime of bashar assad in the charlottesville we're looking very very seriously because you go situation in. which you have these folks who feel happy to. have the world produce those in a position like king george johnson would look germany will notice that it's a pain and i don't muscle military action but i want to stress again that no decision has been made on that in that we acknowledge and support that everything has to be done to signal that this use of chemical weapons is unacceptable and mr. nick thought no one authorized western leaders to take the role of the world's police and at the same time investigating this prosecutors judges into execution is crazy. so we begin the day with a crisis over syria u.s. president donald trump or so far held off on his threat to bomb the assad regime after last weekend's suspected poison gas attack but his allies do seem to be rallying round after an emergency cabinet meeting britain's prime minister theresa may said her government agreed on the need to take act

president donald trump or so far held off on his threat to bomb the assad regime after last weekend's suspected poison gas attack but his allies do seem to be rallying round after an emergency cabinet meeting britain's prime minister theresa may said her government agreed on the need to take action to deter the further use of chemical weapons by assad's regime president macro france said he's spoken with donald trump several times this week and now says he has proof that the syrian regime did use poison gas meanwhile forces on both sides are getting ready. the destroyers the u.s.s. donald cook and u.s.s. porter have been positioned off the syrian coast. but if and when they'll get the order to strike is not yet clear. after this bill the co's tweet us president donald trump is holding back for the time being and we're looking very very seriously very closely at that whole situation and. we'll see what happens folks we'll see what happens it's too bad. the world put in a position like that but you know as i said this morning we've done a great job with isis we have just absolutely deci

pressure on assad. the only thing we're doing right now and what we did in the prior administration is focus on chemical weapons and isis. right now, as you laid it out exactly right. that's a serious problem because it does in some way give huge credibility for the reaction it's iranians and that's a problem not just for syria alone but in the region. we're not going to stand by the folks and things that that we say. >> jamil, thank you for your input. thanks to both of you. >>> the president is prepared to sustain attacks on syria but his secretary of defense tells a different story. coming up, what is the strategy? >>> and in the next hour, did the president's tweets on syria back him into a corner? we'll ask a military analyst. experience a blend of refined craftsmanship... ...and raw power, engineered to take the crown. presenting the all-new lexus ls 500 and ls 500h. experience amazing, at your lexus dealer. where we're changing withs? contemporary make-overs. then, use the ultimate power handshak

president assad emerged very strong. his base of support is much stronger now. 100 missiles were actually fired at syria or syrian targets. 70 of them were shot down by missiles from syria and russia. they promised us they will punish the russian and the iranians, but i believe it has completely backfired. i believe assad is in a very strong position now. you say you don't know what it has achieved. in terms of these specific strikes overnight friday to saturday, theresa may and others have been clear it's about sending out a signal that the use of chemical weapons must not be repeated. would the three nations involved there not see that success is the result and other chemical weapons use? i believe there are opposing voices in the american administration. many people believe this kind of strike is illegal. it was not under the umbrella of the united nations. and also, until now, we do not know whether chemical weapons were used and if it was used, and do we have proof? the defence minister of the united states said two

assad is a war criminal. so the question is now are we just going to launch missiles again, which, of course, assad and the russians will ignore, or is the united states prepared to deal with the fact that there's a war criminal running syria? i don't know if president trump has the understanding of foreign policy to deal with this kind of problem. >> he is pointing fingers at russia though. he is tweeting russian president putin's name condemning him directly. that is a change. >> that's a change, but what's the follow-through? i mean, it's really important that we stand up to russia, but here's the challenge. look at what we've been saying about russia for a year. we send the missiles in to say to russia, don't do this with assad, don't let him do this and then our president talks about putin as if he's a good -- he's a good man, as if we shouldn't be worried about him. only lately has the u.s. government been able to put pressure on russia. the fact of the matter is all the authoritarians around the world

i asked if they want to invest in assad, and neither country likes assad. his not a his father, not a visionary, whether you like his vision or not. this is a guy with an opt moll is -- ophthalmologist, not a big thinker and is just trying to survive. so, this is a factor i think that is tremendously important and we don't invest enough time it because the opposition has been effect, divided, ego tis stick cal egotistical and if the a dictator can hold 30% of a population, he has enough to stab -- staff his police and civil sars and military that's all day need to survive. this kurds are the only people who have provide evidence, whether the military force or leadership, and the kurds are separate entity, always have been to the arabs in syria and they're not an alternative. >> one more for you. how does syria play in iranian internal politics? during recent protests -- i could never really understand whether or not this notion that you, the regime, are squandering our resources and our assets on foreign military ventures. does that resonate and does it mat

animal assad would have been history. president trump acknowledged or realized he is laying out a red line himself and he is being hypocritical in his tweets? >> i would say this is the latest in years of confusing and contradictory statements of syria coming from citizen trump and now president trump. that message and approach is a hallmark of the president's syria policy. some days he is for a tough humanitarian response and some days he says it is not our problem. some days he says we will kill isis. some day he says we will get out. this overall strategic confusion is what undermines the effectiveness of the u.s. policy in the region in my view. you know, the bottom line here is that nobody understands what president trump is willing to do and what he will do and in that vacu vacuum, other actors are advancing. this is not the first chemical strike by the assad regime in syria since president trump struck last year. he has been doing it the whole time. the message the assad regime and others have gotten there will not

but blame that on assad. blame that on those that are supporting him, the iranians and the russians, and they need to know that donald trump will actually take action >> we have heard a lot of talk tonight about the fact that he campaigned and a lot of people voted for him on the fact he was going to extricate the u.s. from a lot of places overseas. it was something that he talked about just, you know, days ago, about us coming home from syria. tonight he says this. he says america does not seek an indefinite presence in syria under no circumstances. as other nations step up their contributions, we look forward to the day when we can bring our warriors home and great warriors they are. congressman, you have been and continue to be one of them, how important do you think that part of his message was tonight? we're going to act when we have to, but we want to get out of there. >> i think it's a good part of the message. we do want to get out of these places. in afghanistan we want the afghan government to stand

my friend, my friend, my friend, this is not the government of bashar al—assad, this is not the assad regime. stop demonising, stop using the same tactics used in iraq and libya. we are sick of this tactic. come up with a new tactic, please. this is the country of syria, we are defending ourselves. when 2 million people, when 500,000 refugees from eastern aleppo live in our neighbourhoods... and you call... but you are interrupting me. you are interrupting me. you are missing my point. i am not. we are not defending the president. 11 million people at least from your country, pretty much half your country's population has had to flee its home so when you say to me, this isn't about bashar al—assad, it is about the syrian people defending themselves, half of the syrian people have been forced to flee their homes. your country is ruined. ask the ones, listen to me, ask the ones who left, why did they leave? more than 90% of them left because they wanted to escape from terrorism that nato supports. please, when you have the saudis and the qataris, the most backward fanatical regimes in

assad defiant after the attack. "the washington post" reports after the strike, a twitter account maintained by assad's department says it honorable cannot be humiliated. to go deeper, i was to bring in the author of "the future is history." she is a known expert to our office as a putin explainer, even if you are more than that and that's not the only thing you want to do with your life. gives you plenty of fodder. you are an interesting thinker, independent thinker. you don't play for a team, so you bedevil people. you are critical of vladimir putin, but disagree with some of the american presumptions about him and what's going on. let's begin with the conventional wisdom that putin controls trump. that's what many people think, right or not, and that trump can't stand-up to putin, which i was discussing with other experts, which seems to be, to some degree detonated by him standing up to putin this weekend. how do you explain it? >> i don't actually think it requires an explanation. we have seen russian-american

the british could have planted that and blamed it on assad. i ain't no assad fan. they need to get rid of him. israel could have done it. i was listening to a man on coast-to-coast the other night, and he was saying that all these countries, saudi arabia, israel, england, the united states, all they want is war. i like trump, but this one here, i got a big question on it. they should have taken time. i can understand doing a launch, but they should have taken time to research this. ide groups are saying that the use of chemical weapons in syria is no longer unusual. ," says ayork times suspected chemical attack that killed thousands through a retaliatory strike from president trump, but if chemical weapons were used in the attack, which president trump blamed on the syrian government as well as russian and iranian allies, it would be the latest in such a string of attacks in syria in the last five years. syria, russia, and iran have all denied the government used syrian -- chemical weapons. internationalt commission of inquiry on syrian arab republic says it is con

since 2011 and the demonstrations and assad firing on his own people. he slaughtered tens and thousands of people. he's incarcerated, in one prison alone, amnesty international said 13,000 men were tortured to death. he's killed children. so, the kind of -- we come awake when we hear chemical weapons. >> yes. >> and there's a kind of moral imperative to impose -- >> which is not wrong. >> which is not wrong and should be done but i think we should not forget that shouldn't be a red line drawn. you can't use poison gas but you can do everything else. you can commit every heinous war crime as long agency you don't use chemical weapons. we forgot what is happening to syria and the syrian population and the suffering they've undergone for seven years. why should we care, because to have a failed state is not in our political interest. >> right, and there are examples of that in syria, lebanon, india, every time there's a failed state in the world, there are lots of people willing to gill that gap. in syria, we have not only the islamists prepared to fill th

without at assad government, without bashar al-assad, none of this access to the mediterranean and ultimately to the atlantic and the rest of the world is guaranteed to moscow. i want to take the story back to syria, right inside. i want to speak to mahmoud who is a syrian journalist and for the past year has lived here in the united states. he was forced to leave syria and he know what people inside that country are suffering. the message is the world and america may be missing the point here and that while chemical weapons are awful and they should not be used against i innocent civilians, what the assad regime has done to people inside syria is much worse than kwepo chemical weapons. >> absolutely, ali. first, thank you for having me. i consider the strikes took a place yesterday night as a pathetic strikes. why? now the syrian people are more desperate and more depressed because they think that regime now is stronger. that for two reason. first, bashar al-assad still capable to produce chemical weapons. second, the message the countries seasoned to bashar al-assad is you could kill your o

what was the message to assad? you can do as you please and be in charge as long as you don't use chemical weapons? that is the message. you need to steer clear of anything that is chemical weapons or biological. clearly,... anything that is chemical weapons or biological. clearly, . .. (audio problems). we will try and stick with you and see how we get on. how is the point? surely the syrians wa nt is the point? surely the syrians want more than this surgical strike. they want something more substantive. absolutely. that is the whole thing. the rebels have been there for so many years and will continue. the people of a syria are suffering and to see this and say this is not good enough. i don't think anybody had any expectation that this would go the way they preferred it to go. they all knew it would be a limited strike against chemical weapons facilities. what is so terrible about accepting president assad at the helm in syria? because, president assad at the helm in syria ? because, of president assad at the he

not just a punishment for president assad, but about a wider principle, too. this was not about interfering in a civil war, and it was not about regime change. it was a limited, targeted and effective strike with clear boundaries. we must reinstate the global consensus that chemical weapons cannot be used. this action is absolutely in britain‘s national interest. the lesson of history is that when the global rules and standards that keep us safe come under threat we must take a stand and defend them. will you do the same again if president assad does the same again? as you have suggested he has. and do you feel you have the public‘s consent, given you have not even consulted mps in parliament? we believe the action was successful, but the syrian regime should be under no doubt of our resolve in relation to this matter of the use of chemical weapons. and i have taken this decision because i believe it is the right thing to do. ministers‘ legal advice justifies the strikes as an exceptional measure to alleviate humanitarian distress by degrading the syrian

they're not going to stop assad. the only way this is going to happen is if you go after the russians and iran, which we're not going to do. also, this is is in the middle of a war that syria has about won. we kicked isis' ass out of syria, but the war in syria has been won by syria. the context is interesting. as good an operation as it was, it's going to have an effect of stopping chemical attacks. neil: the president seemed to telegraph as much last week before when he hinted just get out of syria. what do you make of that and what our position should be now going forward, especially after in? >> again, in context, as you know, we helped start this thing during the last administration. with the saudis, intel stuff, we began to try to get assad out of there and it went upsidedown on us, and everybody else fast. this is now, has been won by russia and iran and syria. the russians got a port that they've always wanted. iran's got influence. this is a bad situation, we cannot get back in the middle of because again, 1

position that much and puts assad on notice. >> what about what assad could be thinking as far as we saw the statement from senator mccain, right, president trump last week signalled to the world the u.s. would prematurely withdraw from syria. emboldened by american inaction, assad has reportedly launched another chemical attack. it goes on. how do you think, andrew, how does assad see these recent comments? do you think at all green lit this attack? >> yeah, it's a good question. it seems to me in president trump's mind the issue of staying in eastern syria and fighting with the kurdish-backed forces there and the chemical weapons red line are two different issues. whether president assad understands that or not is a good question. it's all part of his calculus to hold on to power, and assad is in quite a precarious military situation. he's very strong and heavy with russian and iranian support. but on his own he's very fragile and susceptible to u.s. strikes. we'll have to see what the president decides in the coming days and what the outcome will be. >> why are syria's chemical we

they were not trying to cut out the head of the assad regime. she said it was a limited and targeted strike that does not further escalate tensions in the region and tries to prevent civilian casulties. limited and targeted strike. two key words to look at here, sean, as we watch what is unfolding with the jets taking off from cypress and getting the initial bomb assessment. it is just about day break in syria. the sun will break through there in an hour's time. slaun sean john roberts at the white house. the president if you just joined us ordered air strikes in the wake of the chemical weapon's attack against men, women and children. it was a coalition of the willing including the french and brits. the president going through the heart wrenching videos that the world saw of men, women and children and infants and victims of the vicious and horrible and terrible weapons. we wish our military forces much success. they are in our prayer and thoughts. we are waiting on a pentagon press briefing and stay with the fox news channel for continuing and

from donald trump to bashar al assad and his russian masters. firing more than 100 missiles into the heart of syria's chemical weapons program. >> i spoke to the president this morning. he said if the syrian regime uses this poisonous gas again, the united states is locked and loaded. >> reporter: defense secretary james mattis in the late night pentagon briefing not shutting the door to future military action but also not saying what would lead to more air strikes. >> right now this is a one time shot and i believe itd sent a very strong message to dissuade him from doing this again. >> reporter:-shortly after these horrific videos emerged of an april 7th chemical weapons attack in a damascus suburb that the pentagon began planning for military strikes. the target list, a chemical research center in damascus and two chemical weapons in equipment storage facilities located west of homes. the pentagon said there were no reports of civilian casualties and all the military objectives for this strike were achieved. >> i believe we took the heart of

better assad than chaos. i'm of the view that the current formula of the view that the current formula of america standing off and letting russia run the show is a formula for worse than chaos. it will entrench iran in server. give them access to the mediterranean and create huge problems for saudi arabia, jordan and israel. —— iran in syria. problems for saudi arabia, jordan and israel. -- iran in syria. has there been an effort to deal about this organisation of iran, syria and russia? iran and russia did not have the same interest in syria. russia wa nts to the same interest in syria. russia wants to go home as a victor and remaina wants to go home as a victor and remain a diplomatic orbiter, economic arbiter. but they don't have the resources to escalate into war. the iranian regime, not the people, particularly the general pa rt people, particularly the general part of the revolutionary guard, they want to create this transnational shia brigade, centre more ever do is a fact —— send them we re ev

about assad. except i think we know this morning they don't want to do anything to upset his power. >> well, i was going to just comment when you talked about russia because that's an important part of this dynamic. we did have as you recited the history clearly while some chemical weapons were removed and as we have seen the evidence not all. we must hold the regime accountable. that means putin paying a price for these chemical attacks. unfortunately, as part of this, even though congress has by unanimous bases passed the sanctions on the regime. this white house refused to follow the law and follow through on making sure those sanctions stick. that has to change and i hope president trump is finally waking up when it comes to vladimir putin. he's no friends of the united states or the west. we need this white house to put into place the sanctions that congress passed overwhelmingly. >> congressman, can i ask you, do you think bashar al-assad is scared this morning? do you think russian leader v

>> it's up to assad. if assad acts again with chemical weapons, withere will a response from this pentagon and this administration. the line we hear here, sustained, legitimate and proportional. >> bill, your thoughts on this very concept of one-off being sustained and the perception from the middle east? >> reporter: well, as hans was saying, all the allies are singing from the same hymn sheet. the french foreign minister said exactly the same thing today, that if he uses chemical weapons again, then we will take -- we reserve the right to take military action again. the one thing that isn't quite clear is what is the red line? what kind of poison gas? is it any kind of poison gas? is it just sarin? is it chlorine? we're not clear on that but i think locked and loaded from nikki haley tells us all we need to know. >> i'm joined by the best in the business. thank you all three. so now that the strikes have been carried out, the question that is being asked, what is next. coming up, the president's strateg

that is because of the assad regime. we need to remember that everything happening with respect to the murder of these people, innocent people, is the responsibility of the assad regime. we were very confident about the evidence we had. clear. the secretary said he was confident about the intelligence and evidence, that is why we move forward. an active channel with russia that has been used months before the attack and through this strike and afterwards. i cannot comment on anything more specific. >> the current program with what the regime has now? you made an assessment, you have a good idea, in comparison -- >> there is a residual element of the syrian program out there. i believe we took the hard out with the attacks last night. i will not say that they will not be able to conduct a chemical attack in the future, however i suspect they will think hard about it based on the activities of last night. >> president trump tweeted an hour ago "mission accomplished." you left the option open for future strikes in case chem

but what happens if assad uses chemical weapons again and where does this leave u.s. policy for dealing with civil war and terror threat in syria? in a moment with we will speak live with u.s. ambassador to the united nations nikki haley, but first to national security correspondent jennifer griffin with the latest on the military operation. >> over 100 u.s., french, british missiles all hit targets successfully landing simultaneously within a few minutes despite being launched from military assets deployed from the mediterranean to the persian gulf. >> clearly the assad regime did not get the message last year. this time our allies and we have struck harder. >> the three targets included

president assad could not be allowed to use chemical weapons. and that he had crossed a red line in this latest attack, which they regarded as being attack, which they regarded as being a significant escalation. it is about sending a message to president assad and also a message to his allies. ultimately, dealing with the wider issue of syria and dealing with the problems caused by the conflict there and indeed the difficulties with president assad's regime, that is much more complex. already you have political opponents of president trump here in washington saying, it is very well to say that you were going to do something, that you are going to address something, but ultimately what does that mean? you have a strategy for it? president trump himself is not someone who has campaigned on the idea of america sorting out the world's problems. he has had an american first agenda. it was only two weeks ago that he was saying he wanted the 2000 us troops inside syria to go, to leave syria, to go back home to america asked to leave syria for other peo

that is because of the assad regime. we need to remember that everything happening with respect to the murder of these people, innocent people, is the responsibility of the assad regime. we were very confident about the evidence we had. it was clear. the secretary said he was confident about the intelligence and evidence, that is why we move forward. >> we have an active channel with russia that has been used months before the attack and through this strike and afterwards. i cannot comment on anything more specific. >> the current program with what the regime has now? you made an assessment, you have a good idea, in comparison -- >> there is a residual element of the syrian program out there. i believe we took the hard out with the attacks last night. i will not say that they will not be able to conduct a chemical attack in the future, however i suspect they will think hard about it based on the activities of last night. >> president trump tweeted an hour ago "mission accomplished." you left the option open for future st

is locked and loaded to act again if damascus carries out more gas attacks syria's president assad has said the western air strikes were based on a campaign of lies in the un security council a bid there by russia as regimes main backer to condemn the strikes has failed. all it took was a show of hands gone but are and with that russia failed in his bid to get the united nations to condemn the u.s. led strikes in syria sort of cynical to stay in a group of western countries decided to take military action without waiting for the results of the investigation russia condemns in the strongest possible terms of attack against syria where russian military personnel are assisting the legitimate government in its counter-terrorism three year proves i spoke to the president this morning and he said if the syrian regime uses this poisonous gas again the united states is a lot and loaded when our president draws a red line our president enforces the red line. that informant came in the early hours of saturday when u.s. french and british forces launched more than one hundred missiles at what the

. capabilities of syrian dictator bashar al-assad. a combined operation with the armed forces of france and the united kingdom, is now under way. we thank them both. tonight i want to speak with you about why we have taken this action. one year ago assad launched a savage chemical weapons attack against his own innocent people. the united states responded with 58 missile strikes that destroyed 20% of the syrian airforce. strikes that destroyed 20% of the syrian air force. last saturday the assad regime again deployed chemical weapons to slaughter innocent civilians, this town —— —— this time in the town of douma near the syrian capital of damascus. this massacre was a significant escalation in a pattern of chemical weapons use by that very terrible regime. the evil and the despicable attack left mothers and fathers, infants and children thrashing in pain and gus being the air. —— gasping for air. these are not the actions of a man, they are crimes of a monster in stead. following the horrors of world war i, as century ago,

assad moved his air force is to russian bases in recent days and wouldn't take out assad's air forces take out russia's and provoke a flood of your response. this is what keane said to that. >> russia is a second-rate powertrain depend they are a superpower. the united states has significant combat and military over amount of russians. >> he added that he believes that as long as russia and iran pop up the assad regime there will never be a political solution. as they were carried out the strikes were classic case of a proportional response. over 100 missiles were fired from ships, submarines, as well as from french and british airplanes from the mediterranean seas in the persian gulf. all 100 plus hit their targets. satellite photos show the targets were obliterated. there were no coalition casualties and not an insignificant factor considering the antiaircraft batteries in and around damascus. >> we also know that we've successfully destroyed three buildings in damascus one of the most heavily defended airspace areas of the world. this will set their programs back for years. >> the

it could go after russia's support for assad. you can put more sanctions on russia, you can shame them at the united nations, but is there any action that's large enough that would make a difference against russia that president trump would be willing to support, i'm not necessarily sure, but that's something they'll be talking about tomorrow. >> josh, we have seen strong language from both the u.s. and russia, trump saying big price to pay, russia threatening most serious consequences. you seem to think that this is all a lot of talk and no real action is going to come from it? >> well, president trump said last week, let others have handle it, we're getting out of syria, a month ago standing alongside the -- i take president trumped a his word that he believes that these are horrible atrocities and he believes it's not america's job to solve it. and that can only lead you to one conclusion is that today's bluster leads to his stance that american intervention ask not the solution to this problem is how he feels. we have seen ov

that is because of the assad regime. we need to remember that everything that is happening with respect to the murder of these people, innocent people, is the responsibility of the assad regime. we were confident about the evidence we had. it was clear. the secretary said yesterday he was confident about the intelligence as well is the evidence. that is why we moved forward. activekenzie: we have a deconfliction jenna with russia. it has been used through reporter: the program that the syrian regime has now? you have a good idea and you have lots of targets. gen. mckenzie: i say there is still a residual element of the syrian program. i believe we took the heart of it out with the attacks. i'm not going to say in they will be unable to conduct a chemical attack in the future. i think they will think long and hard about enough to the activities of last night. reporter: president trump tweeted mission accomplished, which is starkly not borne out when the phrase has been used. you have left the option open for future strike

this time our allies and we have struck harder together we have sent a clear message to assad and his murderous lieutenants that they should not perpetrate another chemical weapons attack for which they will be held accountable but right now this is a one time shot and i believe that is send a very strong message to dissuade him to deter him from doing this again. now is introduce our panel for today's inside story joining us in moscow alexei cabinet corfu is a middle east specialist at the russian international affairs council in beirut rami khouri a senior fellow and professor for public policy at the american university of beirut also a senior fellow at the harvard kennedy school and in a red cell in italy via skype is joshua landis director at the center for middle east studies at the university of oklahoma gentlemen thank you for being an on inside story welcome to you all joshua if i can start with you was this military operation enough to achieve what the americans say was their goal to stop bashar assad from using chemical weapons again i believe it will be successful the unit