east and and this cannot be good for the rest of the world when the energy supplies in the middle east are going to be controlled by one bloc of powers and can therefore threaten the rest of the world with by cutting them off on the energy supplies so therefore this is something that is dangerous for the rest of the world and. ok i mean i think we all agree that saudi arabia is an important i need to be a supplier but jason. what about the fact that. the united states in all three of us on this program agree about energy but saudi arabia looks at it through religious prism ok sunni against shia in isn't that going to drag the united states into making choices that we you've already agreed to that are not convenient choices based on our values. peter it's an extremely messy world and it's a very messy region and the united states has very difficult options and sometimes very problematic friends but i think that given this very complicated equation that the united states has to play with and not just the united states i think that it's it's generally been on the right path of trying to s

so the middle east, the greater middle east region that we are talking about is still of vital importance, and i think certainly in the second administration, the obama administration is going to have to really take the whole area much more seriously than it did in its first administration. not just the arab israeli conflict that continues, but the whole post arab spring situation, whether it's the debacle and democracy in egypt or the continued carnage in places like syria, and all of these things are still on america's plate and they won't go away no matter what the reliance on oil is. >> we want to tie this now to "your money." and we have the largest trader in bonds, mohammed, the threat of u.s. military action in syria already put pressure on stock prices and sent oil higher, and the longer president obama and congress wait the more nervous investors seem to grow. check out the history here. 1991, operation desert storm and the two weeks leading up to congressional authorization, the s&p 500 fell nearly 5%, and same story with oil that jumped 12.5%. once the bombing started, oil plun

east and it's vacuum up here why is the middle east on stable right now and really what is the u.s. how much of that has to do with the u.s. policy was the fact that there was such repressive regimes for so long had a lot to do with u.s. policy the united states armed these governments these dictatorships we supported them politically and militarily and so for years they kept a lid on the people there and all of a sudden things unraveled and in such an unpredictable way this twenty six year old tunisian street vendor had had been insulted one time to mehdi and set himself on fire and then the middle east unraveled and it was unpredictable it was unpredictable to. american intelligence u.s. intelligence they didn't see this coming and they spread from tunisia to one country after another and there's an obviously a yearning for some kind of freedom and dignity and economic and intellectual and political freedom in that area but the but there's not much of a tradition of civil government and there's not much of a tradition so what you've got are extremists who are oppressed for a long

the part of the map that could be carved up was the middle east. the reason that was, was because -- in a case of really awful decision making, the ottoman empire came in to the war on the side of germany, on the side of the central power, germany, u.s.a. -- austria, hungary. if nay -- they won, germany, they would economically and politically dominate the middle east. after the war, if britain and france won the war and russia, the triple -- they were going carve up the entire region. and as soon as the ottoman empire entered the war, the british foreign was a, -- office, say that started referring to it as "the great loot." that's what -- it's going to be just a looting that was going to happen after the war. i just want to briefly talk about what the ottoman empire was like. one -- and again, this goes to today. it existed for five centuries. it was nibbled away at. one of the -- probably the unique future of the ottoman empire and the key to its surviving. economically and politically and militarily it was always weak in comparison to any of th

you heard leland talking about the middle east. a lot of people say the president flinched. >> the president made the right decision. he was very clear that he had not decided on military action. i think he recognized that in the long run he and the country and the world would be stronger if congress was supportive of his activities. this is not just a short-term effort. this is a longer-term effort. also, too, his response was in recognition of many republicans and democrats who were calling for congressional participation. he has to work hard for consensus. he has to work internationally to build a strong international coalition. so that will help not only carry out the operation but also give him additional support within congress to build the coalition. he made the right choice. >> senator inhofe, before the president made the decision to go to congress you were public and critical of what you saw as the president'slimited plan to strike syria. best dweguess, will congress approve the authorization of the use of oh force? >> i

east and and this cannot be good for the rest of the world when the energy supplies in the middle east are going to be controlled by one bloc of powers and can therefore threaten the rest of the world with by cutting them off on the energy supplies so therefore this is something that is dangerous for the rest of the world and. ok i mean i think we all agree that saudi arabia is an important any to be a supplier but jason. what about the fact that it the united states in all three of us on this program agree about energy but so he really looks at it through religious prism ok sunni against shia in isn't that going to drag the united states into making choices that we you've already agreed to that are not convenient choices based on our values. peter it's an extremely messy world and it's a very messy region and the united states has very difficult options and sometimes very problematic friends but i think that given this very complicated equation that the united states has to play with and not just the united states i think that it's it's generally been on the right path of trying to su

this could be a war in the middle east. it's serious, and you have to realize what this president has done to our military, and our military is so degraded now. it's not just me who says this. i want to read one quote by the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general dempsey. he said our military force is so degraded and unready it would be immoral to use force. that's exactly what they're talking about doing and using force. >> congressman king, we keep hearing, and in fact we hear from secretary kerry, from the president himself, how war-weary the congress -- the country is. what do you think of the chances that congress will reject the use of force and if they were to do that, goss the -- twos -- does the president consider act unilaterally. >> first, i felt bad for secretary kerry defending the indefensible. it will be difficult to get approval from the congress. the president has not made the case and you see the president being weak and vacillating, many members of congress will vote no. i intend to vote yes but b

what is the story in the middle east today? >> reporter: well, it most certainly is all centering around whether or not there is going to be a missile strike potentially by the u.s. and its allies. you've got lebanon's leading daily english newspaper talking about obama winning key backing on syria. some of the arabic media here, this paper in particular talking about how the syrian debate is actually about much more than just syria itself, that it has to do with a broader regional policy that centers around yes, the protection of america's number one ally, israel. and talking about the potential for a u.s. strike. a lot of editorials debating what the possible fallout of military action is going to be. interestingly too, syrian state television was airing an hour-long documentary that gives, from their perspective, an indepth look on u.s. policy towards the middle east over the last few decades, specifically talking about how american mettling in the middle east has always been to serve israel's purposes, playing up the role o

egypt is the cornerstone of the middle east, so really how goes egypt, so goes the middle east in many respects. >> there is a little tradition of democracy in that part of the world. egypt had a monarchy. >> unlike the early days of egyptian monarchic democracy, good way of describing it. egypt was weirdly cut off from everything. tourists came, but basically it was cut off. now everybody in egypt, poor, rich, educated, uneducated, they're in touch with the rest of the world and know what they're missing. that's one of the revolutionary forces. >> what about the broader question. in the end, will we see the arab spring as bang good thing as everybody thought it was when it happened, but now seeing chaos in libya, yemen is problematic, syria, you know, we have discussed ad nauseam over the past few weeks. >> i think your original question about the cultural and religious element here to the middle east, many people where the arab spring broke out thought this was going to be the fourth wave of democracy, europe, latin america, eastern europe and now the middle east was going to go in t

but peter why is the middle east on stable right now and really what is the u.s. how much of that has to do with the u.s. policy was the fact that there was such repressive regimes for so long had a lot to do with u.s. policy the united states armed these governments these dictatorships we supported them politically and militarily and so for years they kept a lid on the people there and all of a sudden things unraveled in such an unpredictable way this twenty six year old tunisian street vendor had had been insulted one time too many and sent him self on fire and then the middle east unraveled and it was unpredictable it was unpredictable to. american intelligence u.s. intelligence they didn't see this coming and it spread from tunisia to one country after another and there's an obviously a yearning for some kind of freedom and dignity and economic and intellectual and political freedom in that area but the but there's not much of a tradition of civil government and there's not much of a tradition so what you've got are extremists who are oppressed for a long time

vacuum up here why is the middle east on stable right now and really what is the u.s. how much of that has to do with the u.s. policy was the fact that there was such repressive regimes for so long had a lot to do with u.s. policy the united states armed these governments these dictatorships we supported them politically and militarily and so for years they kept a lid on the people there and all of a sudden things unraveled and in such an unpredictable way this twenty six year old tunisian street vendor had had been insulted one time to mehdi and set himself on fire and then the middle east unraveled and it was unpredictable it was unpredictable to. american intelligence u.s. intelligence they didn't see this coming and it spread from tunisia to one country after another and there's an obviously a yearning for some kind of freedom and dignity and economic and intellectual and political freedom in that area but the but there's not much of a tradition of civil government and it's not much of a tradition so what you've got are extremists who are oppressed for a long time

can obama get out of the middle east. it was meant to help americans reeling during the financial crisis. president obama is making the case for military action in syria. >>> a president accused of apologizing for america and now touting america's greatness. here is what newt gingrich said during his run for the republican nomination during 2012. >> i stand for american exceptionalism. i believe in the declaration of independence. it is clear the president believes in socialism. >> this week, president obama cited america's exceptionalism as he made the case for action in syria in his address to the nation. >> when would modest effort and risk, we can stop children from being gassed to death and thereby make our own children safer over the long run. i believe we should act. that's what makes america different. that's what makes us exceptional. >> russian president vladimir putin takes exception with president obama's claim of american exceptionalism. he responded in an op-ed entitled "a plea for caution from russia." quot

sunni muslim strength in the middle east and thereby. iran and i think that what happened a few years later is the direct result of this and any the odd thing is that it was in libya they had actually pressured gaddafi to release the various islam is who he had imprisoned largely at the behest of the united states as part of the war on terror the extraordinary rendition program and so these very same people that got huffy had released and then joined forces with the united states and nato and sold to topple the regime and much the same is going on in syria where again the united states and saudi arabia got into bed with the muslim brotherhood there a few years before the uprising still plays ok jason it looks like intentional instability for the entire region it doesn't work out very well for american or western interests does it. thank you peter i just i might add my breath is taken away a little bit by george's last comment so let me just provide an alternative explanation for what's been happening across the region for the last couple

putin is under pressure from the americans and their new allies in the middle east, the french. and britain, of course. >> prime minister, you have been the leading advocate of action against syria, yet you find yourself in negotiations essentially with no hand to play. >> i don't think so. onis right to make a stand it is right to take that to parliament and respect parliament, but britain, apart from not taking part in military action, britain will be leading the discussion on humanitarian aid and bringing forward plans for a peace process for syria. the prime minister says more evidence is emerging that chemical weapons were used in damascus. the government's research laboratory has found deadly sarin gas in the soil. david cameron first urged president obama to intervene in syria's civil war. he is deeply frustrated that britain, unlike france, will not take art in any military action. 4000 miles away, in new york, the talk is not about what britain will or will not do. america's ambassador to the united nations launched this verbal assault against russia. the wake of the fl

east and and this cannot be good for the rest of the world when the energy supplies in the middle east are going to be controlled by one bloc of powers and can therefore threaten the rest of the world with by cutting them off on the energy supplies so therefore this is something that is actually dangerous for the rest of the world and. ok i mean i think we all agree that saudi arabia is an important any to be a supplier but jason. what about the fact that it the united states in all three of us on this program agree about energy but so he really looks at it through religious prism ok sunni against shia in isn't that going to drag the united states into making choices that we you've already agreed to that are not convenient choices based on our values. peter it's an extremely messy world and it's a very messy region and the united states has very difficult options and sometimes very problematic friends but i think that given this very complicated equation that the united states has to play with and not just the united states i think that it's it's generally been on the right path of try

i was deployed a couple of times in the middle east. i understand the importance of our national defense, the importance of national security. it's because of that importance that i am coming out in opposition to these limited military strikes because they are not only not acting in our national interest but they will be harmful to our national defense. >> tell me what happens. we lob cruise missiles, 150 of them or so, into syria. after the cruise missiles hit the ground and 24 hours later the dust settles what to a see happening? >> that's a great question. that's the line of questioning that i have had over the past few days as i have gone through the briefings and hearings speaking with officials. i think there are two things to be concerned about. of course i look at this from a military mindset. when you take military action, you have to have a tactical objective that's achievable. a clear strategy to execute. re sources to execute and an exit plan. the criteria is not there with what's being proposed. the objective that's been st

east and and this can all be good for the rest of the world when the energy supplies in the middle east are going to be controlled by one bloc of powers and can therefore threaten the rest of the world with by cutting them off on the energy supplies so therefore this is something that is dangerous for the rest of the world and. ok i mean i think we all agree that saudi arabia is an important any supplier but jason . what about the fact that. the united states in all three of us on this program agree about energy but so he really looks at it through religious prism ok sunni against shia in isn't that going to drag the united states into making choices that we you've already agreed to that are not convenient choices based on our values. peter it's an extremely messy world and it's a very messy region and the united states has very difficult options and sometimes very problematic friends but i think that given this very complicated equation that the united states has to play with and not just the united states i think that it's it's generally been on the right path of trying to support sta

do we want to be the paid hired hitmen of the middle east? >> no. the babysitter of the middle east, of uncertain jihad. who is on which side. you brought up a great point in the beginning, in the open, the cost of freedom. theirs, not ours. what are the objectives here? what are we hoping to accomplish? more than the billions of dollars we have to go further to establish a no-fly zone. the cost of american lives. where does this end? i don't think it's foolish and naive to go in to think we can do a couple of strikes, flex our muscles and walk away and call at it day. not realistic. >> eric: kimberly has a good point. we have can't put a number on american casualty. if we are to think that if we go in to syria and we do bomb syria that there won't be repercussions or american casualties, that is foolish thinking; is it not, wayne? >> it's stupid. eric, you are absolutely right. look, hezbollah is with assad. we know that. al-qaeda is with the rebels. we know that. why not let them shoot each other? we have no selfish interest there to protect. it's

putin does not have power in the middle east. now i think let them do it out front. the question is, is he not going to do hit is he going to go through this and not do hit? it's not in his interest not to do it. the question is are you going to get a line in there that says if you don't get rid of chemical weapons, united states can use weapons to get rid of them. that's the >> brian, this language about the united states not being exceptional included in the editorial ourks where have i heard that language before that we're not exception hl and shouldn't be involving ourselves in these foreign conflicts? >> you're 100% right. it's president barack obama . as early back as cairo he indicated that. everyone thinks their country is most important. if we're exceptional so is every other country. let's put that aside and say president barack obama says that's not actually the truth. this is an opportunity. if you look at responses, it's rare. all responses go across party lines. me then dez said he wanted to sorrow mitt. jay carney comes forward and retorte back that we

east and and this cannot be good for the rest of the world when the energy supplies in the middle east are going to be controlled by one bloc of powers and can therefore threaten the rest of the world with by cutting them off on the energy supplies so therefore this is something that is actually dangerous for the rest of the world and. ok i mean i think we all agree that saudi arabia is an important i need to be a supplier but jason. what about the fact that if the united states in all three of us on this program agree about energy but so he really looks at it through religious prism ok sunni against shia in it isn't that going to drag the united states into making choices that we you've already agreed to that are not convenient choices based on our values. peter it's an extremely messy world and it's a very messy region and the united states has very difficult options and sometimes very problematic friends but i think that given this very complicated equation that the united states has to play with and not just the united states i think that it's it's generally been on the right path

he is in charge of the qud force basically he is in charge of what iran does in the middle east. as i discovered in my piece that is an awful lot. they are everywhere. >> rose: you agree with the cia forces that he is the most powerful op rattive in the middle east. >> it's unbelievable. as i reported this piece, i didn't know any of this when i started. >> rose: what made you want to do the piece? >> his name kept coming up everywhere. you know i was in-- i didn't know who it was. and so i was in beirut and hi dinner with a politician there. and he was expressing frustration with hezbollah. an armed group also political party. and he said hezbollah doesn't decide. was imsuleimani decides. and i thought you know w who is that. and then and then earlier this year when i was reporting a piece on syria somebody in the pentagon said to me this is the guy who is running the war in syria. he's got a command post in damascus. he's got hezbollah at his disposal. he's got his own revolutionary guards. flown in from iran. he's got-- . >> rose: flown in to be on the battlefield or other pur

shaking down of the old regimes in the middle east. this is an area in constant flux. putin looking forward is very worried about what the russian role in the middle east is going to look like down the line. there are still interests there. russia wants to see some stability in the middle east just like everyone else but it is not really sure when the final accounting is done where it is going to be. jenna: i don't mean to cut you off there but i want to get to this last question and you explain why it is so complicated with so many players on the stage in the middle east. the cover of your book shows a lot of different, i don't know if it is costumes are the best term or propaganda photos of president putin but we've all seen them of him riding bare-chested on horseback and doing crazy stunts, at least to us it seems that way and some have suggested there is a chance for our president to communicate with the russian president, but the question remains about how to do that. does our president need to appear more like this, fiona? would

sanctions in the middle east, cruise, explicit and not as explicit. we even tried ignoring the region and pretending the atrocities have nothing to do with us. >> we even attempted dialogue. every eight years or so. >> every eight years or so. ah, there we go. i knew that was coming. it is like even though we are a superpower we haven't figured out yet we actually don't have superpowers. but we just keep jumping out of the building thinking we are going to fly! you come out of the phone booth and tear your suit off and you know what, you are (bleep) clark kent. there is nothing there after all! any time we just went back to where a lot of these problems started. the original sin, the british man 100 years ago drawing a map of a place he never had been to filled with people he never met, forming new countries with no attention paid to ethnic race or tensions. >> i give you sir maps a, archibald maps a lot iii. >> nice to see you, sir! >> absolute pleasure to be here, jon! now what is all the bother about. >> it is actually amount the middle east, archi

this is the middle east this is syria it's a tragedy what's have been with the gas but the go let's just stay out of it what's what's it our business how do you respond to that. well you know the new yorkers responding to the sentiment in the country. people are very frustrated with wars and with military involvements and you know if you look at the middle east we've had the crisis in egypt we've had the benghazi were people were killed arm bassett or was killed the situation in right now in syria where you know hundreds of thousands have been killed i think it's basically a war weariness and a reflection on the american view that let's concentrate on our economy on jobs on our own people there's a little sense of isolationism out there and the new yorker which is you know a very good strong mainstream publication is reflecting that view what if it goes to congress and this is the again a what if and congress rejects it then what well then i think it's going to be very tough for the president to move with a military strike you know he chose courageously to go to congress for approval if

east why is the middle east been a member clinton told president clinton told me that the british and irish conflict was a piece of cake compared to the middle east. of the middle east so they have been add it for so long and the problem is that you know in the last hundred years or so now the only are we coming up against these long entrenched and transit g.'s between different tribes or you know different people within different tribes and event and planted these new national borders so we created more difficulty on top of the difficulty that was already there and so i think that we know we created new problems without ever really solving the old problems and so now we just have you know this multi-layered conflict that you know you dig you dig apart when you pick apart one part of it and then you simply you know you've arrived on a new issue it's not that much different than my thanksgiving table you've got you've got religion politics cultural differences that go back thousands of years and so i don't think it's that much of a surprise that you've got this hodgepodge of misaligned

east and and this cannot be good for the rest of the world when the energy supplies in the middle east are going to be controlled by one bloc of powers and can therefore threaten the rest of the world with by cutting them off on the energy supplies so therefore this is something that is dangerous for the rest of the world and. ok i mean i think we all agree that saudi arabia is an important i need to be a supplier but jason. what about the fact that. the united states in all three of us on this program agree about energy but so he really looks at it through religious prism ok sunni against shia in isn't that going to drag the united states into making choices that we you've already agreed to that are not convenient choices based on our values. peter it's an extremely messy world and it's a very messy region and the united states has very difficult options and sometimes very problematic friends but i think that given this very complicated equation that the united states has to play with and not just the united states i think that it's it's generally been on the right path of trying to s

and it's vacuum up here why is the middle east on stable right now and really what is the u.s. how much of that has to do with the u.s. policy was the fact that there was such a repressive regimes for so long had a lot to do with u.s. policy the united states armed these governments these dictatorships we supported them politically and militarily and so for years they kept a lid on the people there and all of a sudden things unraveled in such an unpredictable way this twenty six year old tunisian street vendor had had been insulted one time to many and set himself on fire and then the middle east unraveled and it was unpredictable it was unpredictable to. american intelligence u.s. intelligence they didn't see this coming and it spread from tunisia to one country after another and there's an obviously a yearning for some kind of freedom and dignity and economic and intellectual and political freedom in that area but the but there's not much of a tradition of civil government and there's not much of a tradition so what you've got are extremists who are oppressed for a long time

and it's not just syria that's at stake, it's really the whole middle east in the middle of a transition to a new order, and we are being very kind of political and parochial in our views of what we do kind of with each country. there's no grand principle. there's no helping design whether it's using our aid, using our -- the kind of infrastructure we have to assist people in writing constitutions, in getting there. now, one of the messages out of the middle east today is they want to be the ones to make the decisions of what their future looks like, but at the same time this is where when you look at the middle east, you can argue we haven't had a real success since jimmy carter. even the gulf war in 1990/'91 was a tactical victory but a strategic failure in that it unleashed, you know, al qaeda, osama bin laden and a period where islamic extremism really began to define the region. we need something much bigger to put out there to deal with the issue of syria, the issue of egypt, the issue of the middle east. >> well, andrea, the question for everybody, but andrea started this, we are

the president laid out a policy rich middle east agenda. as andrea said and bobby said, these chemical weapons were used against iran, hielgt how secretary kerry is directed to negotiate with the iranians. these are key and stubstantive and that's going to galvanize activity in the next couple of days. >> susan page, as you listen to this speech, what was it that the president wanted the american consumer, the american voter to hear? what was his message here at home? >> well, he talked about the dangers of disengagement and we obviously saw that in the debate in congress over the response to syria's use of chemical weapons. i would notice a second headline, iran was a terrific headline but another one was his commitment to a peace between israelis and palestinians. you know, that has been a john kerry initiative. the president today said that is one of his two priorities moving forward, and i think one thing to note, john kerry at the center of both of them. he's meeting with the iranian foreign minister on thursday. it's his initiative to

the middle east is in many ways in the middle of this enlightenment, this war for religious pleurallism. we saw with the beginning of the spring this lunch towards islamic parties. now there seems to be alunch in the other direction as more secular types are pushing back. they are not democratic, the secular types. they are running into the arnls of the military. and -- the arms of the military and that's not a good dynamic for a democratic transition. the meaning of the process. >> but the extremists we're seeing on the other side are certainly not democratic either. >> that's the problem, the liberals -- >> go ahead joshua. >> the liberals tend to be dictatorial as well as the islamists are intolerant. in egypt at least the islamists had elections and so forth and now they're accused of moving the close down democratic procedures. but we don't have a surplus of democrats in the middle east, that does seem to be the case. >> chris, final word? >> that certainly seems to be true, but we do have hope in middle east. don't want to sound like polly anna. >> we hope that pollyanna is right.

putin does not have power in the middle east. now i think let them do it out front. the question is, is he not going to do hit is he going to go through this and not do hit? it's not in his interest not to do it. the question is are you going to get a line in there that says if you don't get rid of chemical weapons, united states can use weapons to get rid of them. that's the issue. >> brian, this language about the united states not being exceptional included in the editorial ourks where have i heard that language before that we're not exception hl and shouldn't be involving ourselves in these foreign conflicts? >> you're 100% right. it's president barack obama . as early back as cairo he indicated that. everyone thinks their country is most important. if we're exceptional so is every other country. let's put that aside and say president barack obama says that's not actually the truth. this is an opportunity. if you look at responses, it's rare. all responses go across party lines. me then dez said he wanted to sorrow mitt. jay carney comes forward and retorte back

of the middle east. we are going to pivot to asia. the middle east doesn't matter to us. now all of a sudden after six years the president is like hang on, hang on. it is pivotal we carry out this strike. it is an serious strike. i think in a way the american people might take this more seriously as a larger strike. that is bad politics and people don't buy this tomahawk argument. >> what is your headline, ms. holmes? >> i think president obama faces congress and is bracing for a plaque eye. you know, david and i were having a very spirited conversation in the green room about what happens if our congress and senate votes for strike but house votes against it? where does that leave president obama? unfortunately, because of his lack of leadership, we don't know. >> dana milbank, is that true, do we not know? or are do you think are or you hearing the president will strike nonetheless? >> i think the president has it strike the house. i don't see how we get out of the log jam where everything is broken. n

in the more broad middle east. >> you may have riled michael duran. i want to talk about what may be the more difficult scenario. both houses of congress in their own separate ways, both down to the idea of the strike. if they've of vote yes, what does the president do with that new permission, does he just pocket this until a future date, or you would support the strike? or has he essential committed himself by asking to their -- for their permission? >> let me start by saying something that is very obvious but that we should think about for a second. i agreed with almost everything the per -- that jeremy said. what i want to say that is very obvious is we have a resident who, for two years, showed not just a reluctance, basically informed the american public, that intervention in syria is pure folly. nobody can argue that president obama has been looking for a pretext to get involved. opinionfactor, public is overwhelmingly opposed to this. this is also obvious. the third factor is that the military doesn't want to do this. i have never seen body la

i thank them for their continued and critical engagement on the middle east peace process and other issues, and i look forward to meeting regularly. we will have our next meeting at some point in october, probably after the middle. >> there you have it, secretary of state, john kerry discussing peace in the middle east citing the tough decisions that have to be made between israel and palestine. kerry also addressed the economic and security issues in palestine that would have to be resolved in order to get a quote final statis agreement with israel. he also said the u.s. does not want to take up syria's civil war and cited what he called assad's deplorable use of chemical weapons against his own people. al jazeera will have live coverage of president obama's prime time speech on tuesday. and get the latest on syria by going to aljazeera.com and

but peter why is the middle east on stable right now and really what is the u.s. how much of that has to do with the u.s. policy was the fact that there was such repressive regimes for so long had a lot to do with u.s. policy the united states armed these governments these dictatorships we supported them politically and militarily and so for years they kept a lid on the people there and all of a sudden things unraveled in such an unpredictable way this twenty six year old tunisian street vendor had had been insulted one time too many and set himself on fire and then the middle east unraveled and it was unpredictable it was unpredictable to. american intelligence u.s. intelligence they didn't see this coming and they spread from tunisia to one country after another and there's an obviously a yearning for some kind of freedom and dignity and economic and intellectual and political freedom in that area but the but there's not much of a tradition of civil government and it's not much of a tradition so what you've got are extremists who are oppressed for a long time an

but peter why is the middle east on stable right now and really what is the u.s. how much of that has to do with the u.s. policy was the fact that there was such a repressive regimes for so long had a lot to do with u.s. policy the united states armed these governments these dictatorships we supported them politically and militarily and so for years they kept a lid on the people there and all of a sudden things unraveled in such an unpredictable way this twenty six year old tunisian street vendor had had been insulted one time too many and sent him self on fire and then the middle east unraveled and it was unpredictable it was unpredictable to. american intelligence u.s. intelligence they didn't see this coming and it spread from tunisia to one country after another and there's an obviously a yearning for some kind of freedom and dignity and economic and intellectual and political freedom in that area but the but there's not much of a tradition of civil government and there's not much of a tradition so what you've got are extremists who are oppressed for a long ti

he is in charge of the qud force, basically he is in charge of what iran does in the middle east. as i discovered in my piece that is an awful lot. they are everywhere. >> rose: you agree with the cia forces that he is the most powerful op rattive in the middle east. >> it's unbelievable. as i reported this piece, i didn't know any of this when i started. >> rose: what made you want to do the piece? >> his name kept coming up everywhere. you know, i was in-- i didn't know who it was. and so i was in beirut and hi dinner with a politician there. and he was expressing frustration with hezbollah. an armed group also political party. and he said hezbollah doesn't decide. was imsuleimani decides. and i thought, you know w who is that. and then, and then earlier this year when i was reporting a piece on syria, somebody in the pentagon said to me this is the guy who is running the war in syria. he's got a command post in damascus. he's got hezbollah at his disposal. he's got his own revolutionary guards. flown in from iran. he's got-- . >> rose: flown in to be on the battlefield or other

he is in charge of the qud force, basically he is in charge of what iran does in the middle east. as i discovered in my piece that is an awful lot. they are everywhere. >> rose: you agree with the cia forces that he is the most powerful op rattive in the middle east. >> it's unbelievable. as i reported this piece, i didn't know any of this when i started. >> rose: what made you want to do the piece? >> his name kept coming up everywhere. you know, i was in-- i didn't know who it was. and so i was in beirut and hi dinner with a politician there. and he was expressing frustration with hezbollah. an armed group also political party. and he said hezbollah doesn't decide. was imsuleimani decides. and i thought, you know w who is that. and then, and then earlier this year when i was reporting a piece on syria, somebody in the pentagon said to me this is the guy who is running the war in syria. he's got a commnd post in damascus. he's got hezbollah at his disposal. he's got his own revolutionary guards. flown in from iran. he's got-- . >> rose: flown in to be on the battlefield or other

. >> this could be a war in the middle east. it's serious. you've got to realize what this president has done to our military. and our military is so degraded now. >> many lawmakers support a full debate before any u.s. action does take place. that doesn't mean they're on board with an attack. many also note the cost of involvement, jamie, just one missile costs more than $1 million. so we'll hear a lot more from lawmakers as the day continues. >> a lot of military experts say one just wouldn't cut it. we'll do the math. thank you, elizabeth. >>> jamie, according to reuters president assad says, quote, the american threats of launching an attack against syria will not discourage syria away from its principles. state controlled syrian media today is mocking america because of the the president's decision, calling it the beginning of, quote, an historic american retreat. what sort of message does the president's surprising delay send to the syrian opposition, our allies in the region and more importantly, to tehran? judy miller, pull bitser pri

policy in the middle east? >> you can't just expect people to go to the polls and they cast a ballot, and suddenly it is just like california. there's democracy, look at that. >> how is president obama handling the syrian crisis. >> plus, why the general would like to see hillary clinton as the next u.s. commander and chief. >> i don't think there's ever been anyone in history that is better prepared. >> from san diego, california, wesley clark is our guest on talk to al jazeera. general wesley clark, welcome to al jazeera. let's start with syria, looks like a diplomatic path forward reading chemical weapons. does the threat of the u.s. take military action still need to be on the table. >> absolutely. this is a long and arduous path within you know, we have experience in this, because when we went into iraq, in 1991 at the end of the gulf war, the u.n. create add special commission. and it took them several years to dig through everything, and make sure they had it all. now, if bashar at asaad really wants to

east and in wars and conflicts in the middle east. the results had not been good. >> president obama has said regime change is not his goal and any intervention in syria. is that plausible given horrific crimes president assad is accused of? lieutenant colonel rick francona, you spent three years in syria at the u.s. embassy in damascus. do you think assad must go? >> oh, absolutely. he's done so much to that country. i think he's gone too far down the road. there's been too much bloodshed for anybody to let this go. there needs to be a syria without assad in the future. >> if he does not get congressional support to strike, will it hurt him politically, do you think? will he somehow hurt america's credibility? >> if we don't strike syria, i think our credibility is on the line in the middle east. in the middle east, it's more about perception than the reality. it's how we look there. i can tell you by reading the syrian press, watching some of the reporting coming out of the middle east that while it looks very good to the west and t

bought a company in the middle east. >> rose: where was that started? >> in jordan and then it moved to dubai. >> rose: so when i go we know there are startups in israel. it's become a center for entrepreneurship in the tech sphere -- >> this is what surprised me. a lot of people in silicon valley say what's going to be the hub of this. as we say, amman is amazing. one of the big stories here is now that technology is everywhere and in so many people's hands you see hubs of innovation where anybody has access to broad band devices. amman is extraordinary and the king of jordan has put emphasis there but the fact of the matter is they've seen some of the best entrepreneurs in cairo, they're in the gulf, dubai, beirut is a thriving center of startup tech and i have to tell you tragically--s have very important-- some of those remarkable young women and men i saw were in damascus and some of them are still building companies. >> rose: despite what's going on in syria they're still there? >> it's been a mix. some have stayed there for a long time and one co

national security interests in the middle middle east no ball addressing the world body president obama said that if the u.n. fails to act on syria it will mean that the institution is incapable of enforcing the most essential international law which prohibits the use of chemical weapons the u.s. leader told told the general assembly that thinking syria could go back to its pre-war status quo is a quote fantasy and he said it's time for russia and iran to realize that insisting on. rule would lead to the rise of extremism but here is where some. is necessary because since the start of the syrian conflict russia has always maintained support for the syrian people and said that it's up to them to decide the fate of their nation and president assad's political future moscow maintains that this should just be done without outside forces president obama said that america must remain engaged in the middle east for its own security and he insisted that the world benefits when the u.s. is involved he once again alluded to american exceptionalism when saying that the u.s. stands up for the inter