syria's best friend, russia, saying that, in fact, syria will sign on to that ban. and syria will allow the international community to take all of its chemical weapons and destroy them. and syria seems to be going along with what russia says here. and that is why everything changed today in washington, and that is why the senate has delayed its vote and the u.s. government and the president say now that the only reason this progress was made is because of a threat of u.s. military force seeming real in this case. and they're saying that is what russia and syria responded to. and if it is up to the guy who i guess saw this coming, then the senator, joe manchin pass out of here, the way forward is that the u.s. and the senate and the president should change tact to reflect this progress today. say yes to this offer from syria and russia. say yes to this offer from syria to come in from the cold and hand over their chemical weapons. lead the world in universal approval of that move. see to it that it happens and save the prospect of the use of force for if they don't f

soldiers in syria. how could iran help me. >> charlie: supplies, weaponry. >> we always have this kind of of -- >> charlie: hezbollah fighters have been here. >> in the border -- only on the border where the terrorist attacked them on the border with lebanon. this is where hezbollah retaliated. this is where you have cooperation. that's good. >> charlie: hezbollah forces are in syria today? >> on the border area of lebanon where they want to protect and serve and cooperate with us. but they don't exist all overseer i can't. they cannot exist all overseer i can't. from any region that they exist on the border. >> charlie: what advice are you getting from the russians? >> about? >> charlie: this war. how to end this war. >> looking for a solution, we have this advice and we are convinced about it. >> charlie: do you have plan to end the war? >> of course. >> charlie: which is -- at very beginning it was fullly political when you have these terrorists the first part of the same plan which is political shou

the alawites have the right to live in syria. no one should be excluded from society. >> narrator: the next morning, just as the united nations truce begins, ahmad and his comrades prepare for battle. >> (translated): we always try and pray before battle. it makes us stronger. we've realized that only god will help us. so we ask god for the strength to attack more checkpoints. >> narrator: ahmad is going to attack a large government base at wadi daif. it's a major launching point for artillery attacks in the region. it also protects the regime's main supply route from the capital, damascus, to syria's embattled second city, aleppo. >> narrator: for weeks, they've been besieging the base at wadi daif. the fighting has been intense. the brother of rebel leader jamal marouf was killed here only weeks ago. today they plan to storm the base and overrun it. the fog allows them to move unseen to within striking distance. the base lies less than a mile down this road, and is manned by up to 500 regime soldiers. >> narrator: jamal used to

our subject is syria. what began there two and a half years ago as part of the arab spring has turned into an all-out civil war. now has come the shocking evidence of poison gas attacks. a fatal escalation that has led president obama to ask congress to authorize the limited use of military force. and if we take action, where and when does it stop? historian and analyst andrew bacevich is here asking those questions.[ a graduate of west point and vietnam veteran, he served in the military for 23 years before becoming a professor at boston university. his books include "the limits of power" and "washington rules." his latest, "breach of trust." andrew bacevich, welcome. >> thank you very much. >> well, i'm pleased to have this chance to chat with you for a lot of reasons. one, i don't know who else has more cred than you. what would a 23-year graduate of west point offer us now regarding the dilemma in which obama finds himself, regarding syria? >> well, i mean, if i could have five minutes of the president

to syria's substantive questions being raised. continuing, in consultation with the president, we expect the house to consider a measure the week of september 9. this provides the president time to make his case to congress and the american people. with that we will take a short break and talk about congressional authorization and what was said today by the president in the rose garden. >> having made my decision, i'm mindful that i'm the president of the world's oldest constitutional democracy. i long believed that our power is rooted molt just in our military might but in our example as the government of the people, by the people and for the people. that's why i made a second decision. i will seek authorization for the use of force from the american people's representatives in congress. okay, listen up! i'm re-workin' the menu. mayo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of great-tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and 9 grams of protein. [ bottle ] ensure

the military strikes in syria. right now that has muted the economic summit that has drawn world leaders, including president obama and syria's most important ally. russian president vladimir putin. at any moment, the two men will take part in a photo op shaking hands, but in recent days, they've been wagging fingers. obama scolding putin for opposing the strikes and putin accusing the united states of unfairly blaming the assad regime. in fact, putin is now accusing secretary of state john kerry of lying to congress this week when kerry denied al qaeda's role in aiding rebel fighters. >> translator: it was somewhat unpresent for me to even watch it. because we worked with the u.s.en the assumption that they are decent people and he lied. he knew that he was lying and he went on lying about it. it is sad. >> shortly we're going to talk to cnn's brianna keilar and jill dougherty over in st. petersburg, russia, for that g-20 summit. you can see these limousines pulling into this russian palace. it's beautiful. used t

the best way forward in syria. general keane. what do you think of the president's plan as he laid it out? short-term, limited, basically focused on attacking assad's chemical weapons capability. >> first of all, i don't like the fact we have given the enemy so much time to harbor resources. i think this action should have been over by now. secondly, i did support the limited action. if the objective is to reduce significant military capability and i was suggesting that assad would never use chemical weapons and have to give up his air power. that is within the means of the instruments that we're doing. shut down his air support and structure. that is still obtainable to a certain degree. we're going to have to work very hard, i believe, to make this strike very effective. i think it should be tied to something strategic in terms of moving the advantage to the opposition forces and not just a punitive measure. it should be coupled with military aid to the rebel forces. the moderate forces leading the attack and the jihad forces.

the see sizive ally syria has. what stops hezbollah from firing away with its tens of thousands of conventional rockets? what do you russia will do? will putin sit there like a puppy and take the humiliation? will he act in ways he knows and we will know that hurts precisely what we're attempting to do in the region? i'm betting he does something. he's not the kind of person who sits and thinks and pouts. he acts. finally, iran. what will iran do when we attack another shia-led country? its number one and actually only friend in the region. do we believe the people of iran, the secular more modern part of the society as much as the more traditional and religious will think that the united states is behaving like an imperialist? i do. when the pictures from the hospitals hit television sets throughout the arab and islamic world, throughout the globe, does anyone think the united states will not be rallied against, hated once again as we are each time we decide to strike in an islamic country? does anyone sane on thi

syria is not alone. syria has major allies in many places. and if america decides to attack syria, syria's allies would take action into their own and attack america's interest. in the same way that al qaeda acted on its own and attacked america on 9/11. he was really trying -- it's an awkward and misleading analogy with 9/11. but the big point he was trying to really say, look to americans, look, i will defend myself. i will use everything at my disposal. i will use every action, all my allies on my side expect the worst case scenario. instead of saying so he used the notion as 9/11 to say to americans, look you experienced 9/11, you might experience another moment of 9/11 if you decide to attack america all out war against my country. >>> also talk about the signals we're seeing from the state department and now russia, regarding a proposal that came out sort of unscripted but some diplomacy is unscripted that we could divert it intervention if a stockpile was put under control. does it show even the threat of force is actually potentially

>> syria definitely came first. syria has been going on for two years. where we had fundamental disagreements with the russians about how to deal with the russians there, well before the current -- the latest chemical weapons attack. but i think you have to see the biggest context. we've had a lot of nonprogress on a lot of fronts. missile defense. >> nonprogress. >> nonprogress. >> that's diplomat-speak. >> we have not really maintained the progress that we started five years ago. which is not to say we haven't continued cooperation where we had it before. so it's important to remember that on afghanistan, north korea, iran -- >> you don't believe there's progression? >> not on those fronts. that's important to remember. even the economic front, trade in investment continues despite these other agreements. we work hard to continue that cooperation even when we disagree on big issues like syria. >> there's one thing that's changed. the american president's the same. the russian president is different. there was always this sense that was he really runnin

syria crisis is no exception. we have elevated our focus on the discourage of gender-based violence and worked to provide assistance both inside and in the camps. the single greatest factor limiting assistance remains the on going and intensifying conflict. the u.n. estimates 2.5 million people in need haven't received help in almost a year and the regime is actively blockaded those areas. this lays down clear markers for syrian regime regarding the world's expectations that it will enable long denied humanitarian access. we're encouraged that russia and china supported this agreement and we must now see that support translated into meaningful pressure. a quick word on the neighboring countries. we are working to combine our development and humanitarian resources so that we're providing help not just for the refugees, but the host communities that are buckling under the strain of this influx of refugees. we're working with closely with the international humanitarian donor community to make those resources count fo

syria's neighbors worry that u.s. air strikes will deepen the humanitarian crisis by sending another massive wave of syrian refugees spilling over their border. the u.n. revealed today 2 million syrians have poured into neighboring countries at a rate of about 5,000 people a day. the u.n. estimates that lebanon is already home to 700,000 refugees while the lebanese government puts that number closer to 1 million or about one-fifth of lebanon's population. nbc's ayman mohyeldin joins us live from beirut with the latest there. we've been talking about this for many days now, how the different countries there are bracing for the air strike and again this humanitarian crisis that has started and will inevitably get worse. >> reporter: absolutely. just hearing in the previous discussions you were having, the foe us us ccus is on the day of strike. the focus here is about the day after. that's really the unpredictable fact factor. does syria respond? does hezbollah respond? does iran respond? that's the uncertainty that mak

you've written a lot about syria. you called it, i believe, the global capital -- the world's capital of human suffering. as we see this sort of flood the zone strategy that the white house is rolling out, what do you think needs to be said in addition to what is already being said to convince the american public of the urgency here? >> sure, alex. well, and as you said, indeed, i come at this more from the humanitarian intervention point of view. i think those people who perceive iraq are against intervention. those that perceive it like me through the prism of bosnia are more likely to favor intervention. i think the administration has its work cut out for it. i think it's going to be an awfully tough battle in the house in particular. i think they have to address concerns americans have about intelligence. frankly a lot of people just don't trust the intelligence that is coming out of the white house and out of the state department. i think they also need to absolutely ensure there are not going to be boots on the

i asked him about syria. just simply if he was concerned about the security of the chemical weapons. when he talked about it, that's when he indicated if the use of chemical weapons, that that would be a red line for him. and that's when that phrase first sort of entered the current political debate. but on this issue, it seemed to me it was the white house's intention on saturday and the president today to say, you know, stop making this about the president personally, depersonalize this. part of that reason is there are some house republicans who are looking at this only through the view of the prism of their disagreements and dislike for president obama rather than the policy itself. they're trying to make the policy argument. forget who's in the seat as commander in chief. would the united states believe this was a red line no neither who was president. that's been the argument they're making. that's the argument they're making on the hill. i do think it's interesting. we ought to note. the impact that th

we begin with the fate of syria's chemical weapons and potentially the fate of syria itself being hammered out right now in geneva, switzerland. that's where the top american and russian diplomats are meeting to try to find a resolution to the crisis sparked by that chemical weaponstt

. >> hands off syria! hands off syria! hands off syria! >> whatever they're saying on the streets right now it does now seem a strike against syria is in the hands of the united states congress. jim acosta is covering events for us at the white house while dana bash is in our washington bureau. and, jim, the timing of this decision simply fascinating and based on what you're hearing, really last minute. >> very much so, john. this was a very dramatic development that took place here at the white house yesterday after his administration was essentially moving in the direction of eminent military action, perhaps as soon as this weekend. the president made a different decision. at 7:00 last night he really made a last-minute decision to slow down, buy himself some time, and seek authorization from congress. according to senior administration officials who explained how all of this played out to a group of reporters, within the last hour, it sort of takes a little bit of time to explain but it's worth listening to. at first the story first sta

crisis in syria. that interview airs at 6:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. >>> coming up on "the lead" she's kept quiet on syria until now. former secretary of state hillary clinton weighs in on the president's proposal. >>> plus, two months after he was found not guilty in the death of trayvon martin, george zimmerman is in police custody again. what did he do this time? [ female announcer ] a classic macaroni & cheese from stouffer's starts with freshly-made pasta, and 100% real cheddar cheese. but what makes stouffer's mac n' cheese best of all. that moment you enjoy it at home. stouffer's. made with care for you or your family. ...amelia... neil and buzz: for teaching us that you can't create the future... by clinging to the past. and with that: you're history. instead of looking behind... delta is looking beyond. 80 thousand of us investing billions... in everything from the best experiences below... to the finest comforts above. we're not simply saluting history... we're making it. ♪ hooking

however, syria is connected regionally. it's a battle field for proxy war that includes iran, iraq, saudi abribe ya, lebanon and turkey. so the concern the markets have is that the syria instability and all the human tragedies there will have adverse regional effects that will destabilize the only market and impact our economy. >> all right. so mohammed, there is syria, that the very important, but also, you just heard in all of our reports there is negotiation over the debt ceiling. there is also this fed stuff going on, tapering, a new fed chairman coming up. as you look at all of these trouble spots, which could be most disruptive for the market in the u.s. economy? >> the most disruptive thing is for many of them to happen. so at our last count, we identified eight important uncertainties. you already mentioned three of them, the debt ceiling and continuing resolution in syria. in the last few weeks we talked about two fed uncertainties, who will succeed ben bernanke and will the fed taper and how? when you put the whol

we begin with the crisis in syria. this hour, the shadow of syria hangs over the white house. minutes from now, president obama meets with house speaker john boehner and minority leader nancy pelosi. the president's mission, chip away at congress's queaziness at military strikes, the debate so heated, stakes so high, lawmakers are trickling back to washington about a week early. in fact, an afternoon hearing with top administration officials, secretary of state john kerry, defense secretary chuck hagel, and joint chiefs chair general martin dempsey all will be there. we're covering all the angles this morning both here and abroad. let's begin with cnn's white house correspondent brianna keilar. good morning, brianna. >> reporter: good morning, carol. this meeting is expected to take place here at white house in just about 45 minutes. this is important, the second day of meetings here with key lawmakers at the white house. we'll see john boehner as well as house minority leader nancy pelosi and you'll have the top democrats and republicans from key congressional committees. the

of syria. so you have a situation where you have a lot of chiefs or would-be chiefs and very few indians. and whats that that has done is really to hamper the rebel progress in terms of communicating together. and it's also opened up up the door for more extremist forces to come in because they are organized, they are disciplined, they do have a more coheesive structure. and that has ultimately been much to the debt iment of the rebels. >> and where are they they -- >> i think the rebels aren't getting much support to be clear and particularly those sort of free syrian army commanders who espouse more secular value os, who are not part of supporters of more observation treatmentist groups. they say that they feel very letdown by the west. that they have not been given money, weapons, many of them feel, in fact, that the u.s. has gone out of their way to ensure that they don't get any of these heavier weapons. >> rose: because they are worried it will fall in the wrong hands. >> they're worried

military force against syria "remains real." vice president joe biden will be shaking hands and slapping backs at a steak fry from iowa today. that's whipping up talk of a biden presidential bid in 2016. the pick particulnic has a hist drawing potential presidential candidates. >>> colorado bracing for more rain today after devastating storms claimed four lives. another 500 people unaccounted for. thousands have been rescued as flooding washed away roads and bridges. a helicopter carrying the colorado governor and members of colorado's congressional delegation was diverted twice to pick up people waving to be rescued. >>> "reliable sources" begins at the top of the hour. now back to "fareed zakaria gps." >>> secretary of state john kerry arrived in israel to talk about syria and other major initiative on his plate. the middle east peace process. now perhaps just perhaps the solution to that problem could be found in food. anthony bourdain traveled recently to israel, the west bank and gaza to find out. the second season premiere

we don't know what is going to happen to syria. we don't know if syria will hold. we know syria is broken into these different parts. we do know that historically syria was, it has the sunni cities and damascus, it had the alawite coast and druid area in the southeast and kurdish part in the northeast, so in a way, syria itself is being tested and the proposition is being tested whether syria could hold together. one note on, i am very sympathetic to what david ignatius says that we can't really solve the sunni shia schism, the sunni shia schism dates back to karbala, it is not calling on the united states to solve that crisis but the united states has to have a syria policy that worked, but this idea that is threatening bashar al-assad with a red line, threatening with the bombing that never came and then turning to the russians and to the iranians, and we now have a proposition by the united states that we want iran to be party to the negotiations over syria. how you could ask iranians, whose revolutionary guard is a hezbollah proxy in killing syrians that we inv

they speak several times a week on syria. the russians share an interest with us in syria about not having that country become a ace extremism. basis of concerned about the country, were assad to leave, becoming totally an anarchichal place, and talk about needing a manage transition. you cannot have that until the opposition is forward proposals that the russians and the others can look at, senator. otherwise we are in an absurd chicken and egg situation. i've been talking extensively to the opposition about putting some things on the table that the russians and the rest of the international community and, most importantly, other syrian's can look at to say -- >> give us a sense of what that would be that would assuage the syrian people and the russians tonight find this opposition? >> for example,, if assad to go, who would replace him and what would their authorities be? we have talked to russians extensively about what that would be, and we agreed with them that the new transitioning governing body will have the authority

syria or what? secular is a word that is really associated very much with the political systems of the west. we are dealing with the middle there is anh intermission between religious traditions and political power. i think what has been distinctive about syria in not a years, and syria is democracy by any means, and i make no such mistake, is that within syria, there was more accommodation and toleration of religious diversity than in some of their joining arab states, which were claimed themselves to be engaged in a policy of liberation, but which in effect sectarianlicy of one nation over another in rejecting this complex internal arrangements that had heretofore existed in syria, in which i would think one would wish to preserve even without assad. the'm afraid it has to be last question. >> i would like to add one sentence. interestingly, there is one dimension of the syrian situation which is very much emphasized in russia but almost absent here in debating in the u.s. there is a future of chr

strikes syria. ayman mohyeldin will join us with how that area is reacting to the possibility of any u.s. strike. let's go back to ayman mohyel n mohyeldin. ayman, give us an update on the region and how reaction and word is spreading of the drum beats of potential air strikes or any type of u.s.-led military action. >> reporter: well, the comment that came out from that interview with president bashar al assad, it's not going to calm nerves here across the region. tensions have been running high. in fact the lebanese government and other government its that have been concerned about the u.s. military strike saying the unpredict ability of what could happen follow the strike is precisely why there should be no action. the concern among many people is precisely what president bashar al assad tried to touch on today. he didn't give any specific details as to what that worst case scenario could look like but the veiled threat is enough to keep jitters here very high and that is exactly why countries li

extremism until syria will harm all of us. extremism until syria cannot be contained today syria. our friends in the region will be the first targets and victims of extremism as our friends in pakistan were the first victims of taliban extremism. we all need to realized that past mistakes should not be repeated. we all need to work together. we all need foresight. we all need to have a forward-looking future orientiated outlook. let the people decide their future. >> still ahead, would iran attend a peace conference on syria? we will ask iran's foreign minister. >> on america tonight a remarkable breakthrough in the treatment of cancer. >> just a miracle... >> people who had no hope now tell their extraordinary stories. >> i thought i was gonna die... on america tonight on al jazeera america >> evey sunday night, join us for exclusive, >> every sunday night, join us for exclusive, revealing and surprising talks with the most interesting people of our time. next sunday: thinking about how to structure movies, so this is highly unusual. >> the director of the sixth sense, says there

okay, syria. blame israel. >> wow. >>> next up, are more americans outraged that miley cyrus is twerking than they are about syria? maybe. miley cyrus attracted 12 times for attention than syria following her vma performance citing results from an expansive survey of web traffic to over 100,000 online publishers. while she didn't mention miley cyrus, sandra day o'connor talked about how americans are. said quote, the more i read and the more i listen, the more apparent it is that our society suffers from an alarming degree of public ignorance. and she pointed out that quote, less than 1/3 of eighth graders can identify the historical purpose of the declaration of independence. and it's right there in the name. for her part o'connor has sought to fight for icivics.org which has games to teach students about american government. >>> finally, rush limbaugh is at it again. this time he's using the racially charged phrase shuck and jive to describe obama's policy. let's take a listen. >> when it comes

should militarily intervene in syria. congresswoman did anything tonight that you heard from the president, both in laying out the case and laying out the case to push off a vote, so that diplomacy can have some time to work. did any of it push you in one direction or the other? >> chris, let me start and say i am the mother of a marine war veteran. served both in iraq and afghanistan. i come to this process -- probably like most americans. i am against war. and the last thing i want to do is send anybody's dad or son into a war. the president has come to congress, a man i respect very much. to ask for military action in syria. despite my bias. i want to take the time to be deliberate. what the president, gave a 15-minute speech. i have spent the last ten days or so. talking to world leaders, i was on a trip, to the mideast when, when, he started this conversation with congress. myself and colleagues we have read classified briefings. we have had many, many discussions today. i spent a couple of hours, colleagues with the

of course, on syria. according to sources on that call, secretary of state believes more ally support is coming. other countries, getting behind the president's plan to strike syria. also revealed on this call, there are apparently still no specific targets for this proposed limited strike. right now, president obama is sitting down behind closed doors with two men who have called on him to do more militarily. not less. senators lindsey graham and john mccain. senator mccain also thinks leaving this whole thing up to congress is a bit risky. >> i want to talk to the president. i want to find out whether there is a plan and a strategy. i want to find out whether this is just a pinprick that somehow bashar al assad can trumpet that he defeated the united states of america. but i will say that if congress overrules a decision of the president of the united states on an issue of national security, that could set a catastrophic precedent in the future. it would be very dangerous precedent to be set. >> we are

syria was identified. action should have been taken then. >> the president didn't believe it was compelling enough case to win the support of the american people as well as the world. this is. the president did respond. he upgrade ed what we were doin significantly. he came to congress. we have to struggle to get a congress to agree to let him do the things he wanted to do to upgrade that effort. >> chemically -- >> your time is expired. we need to go to mr. jerry connelyly connely of virginia. >> thank you. mr. chairman, late last night we delivered to all members of congress and i did a bit of that today of an alternative resolution very narrowly drawn that codifies what the president said he wishes to accomplish and codifies no boots on the ground to try to make sure that we stay focused on the issue and a response to that issue and possibly provide the white house with a path to authorization here in the congress. i commend it to both secretaries and urge you to look at it. mr. chairman, i hope we will

should carry out some kind of limited attacks against syria, the head of syria's opposition group today in cairo, the syrian national government asked them to pass a tough resolution in support of military action. the arab league condemned the use of chemical weapons. they have put the blame squarely on the assad regime. but so far, their position has been and it remains with the message today that they want the u.n. security council to take charge when it comes to approving military action. obviously that's not happening so that explains why the arab league did not give the green light for a military explicitly but if washington does go ahead with a strike, it would not be in violation of the arab league's position but i think when's paramount here, fred, and a bigger point is that the arab league's position is probably not going to be a difference maker for the vote that will take place in the u.s. congress. that's the vote that will decide if the u.s. attacks syria or not, despite what the arab league delivered with its message today. >> all right. thank you so much from cairo, egypt

a major development in the crisis in syria. syria's foreign minister said the country, quote, welcomes a proposal to put its chemical weapons under international control. all of this could be a result of a statement by president obama's secretary of state, because let me take you back this morning in london. john kerry may have muddied the waters regarding the march toward an attack on syria. take a listen to this, if you would. >> is there anything at this point that his government could do or offer that would stop an attack? >> sure. he could turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons to the international community in the next week. turn it over. all of it. without delay. and allow a full and total accounting for that. but he isn't about to do it. and it can't be done, obviously. >> that was john kerry this morning. syria and its good buddy russia both seem to think it is an ocean worth exploring. putting those weapons under international control as a way to avert an attack. we have to talk about this more with nick p

this is a civil war taking place in syria. there are so many unknowns that are going on in syria, chris. so why in the world wouldn't we look at alternatives rather than make some decision to use force, not understanding what the full implications are. but i have to commend the president for coming to congress, because now we see how this debate is taking place, and we see what the possibilities are. and we see that many of us are very concerned that a political settlement and a negotiated settlement would be set way back if in fact the use of force is enacted right away. >> okay. let me go to jeremy of the "new york times." let me ask you about the whole scope of the black caucus, which grows every year. there are almost 50 members right now. is congresswoman leanne example of the -- i mean charlie rangel the other day came right out against the president. he may have issues of obama period. everybody's got issues one way or the other. is this pretty much the theme now? they love obama. they like the fact that they get to vot

you were in syria, damascus, days ago. you were also there for some of the earliest reports of possible chemical weapons use. as the president abruptly delays his response to the apparent use of the chemical weapons, what's the early reaction, fred, that you're hearing from syria and also in the region? >> well, it's interesting, you know, because it usually depends on the front line that you're on. clearly in the syrian capital and the part that's government controlled, people are happy because a lot of them were nervous about what would happen, how intense the strikes would be if these strikes would destabilize the regime. bashar al-assad as unpopular as he is he does still have a core of support by many people, especially in the damascus areas. people were very wary. on the other hand, of course, people on other side of the equation, peopler instance in the areas that were hit by he's chemical weapons are saying that they're very disappointed. they're not only disappointed in that but they felt the air strikes themselve

to attack syria, period. on the other, well, that's the point the president's top staffers stressed today before the house armed services committee. they say if syria is going to hand over its stockpile to international control, the u.s. needs to keep the threat of a strike very real. >> a lot of people say nothing focuses the mind like the prospect of a hanging. well, it's the credible threat of force that has been on the table for these last weeks that has for the first time brought this regime to even acknowledge that they have a chemical weapons arsenal. >> we must be very clear eyed and ensure it is not a stalling tactic by syria and its russian patrons. for this diplomatic option to have a chance of succeeding, the threat of a u.s. military action, the credible, real threat of u.s. military action, must continue. >> still, there is word that president obama is feeling less pressure to push for a strike as he's meeting with democrats and republicans today on capitol hill. here he was. and his address to

strikes against syria. i think he's expecting some other countries to show their public support in the next 24 hours. >> elise, what does that mean saudi arabia supports u.s. strikes? that the arab league supports the u.s. mission? that the arab league also agrees or believes chemical weapons were used. are either of those committing to military force as well as alongside the u.s.? 0. >> saudi arabia has been one of the strongest opponents of military action and made statements. prince bandar, the former ambassador to washington has been traveling the world to drum up support for some type of military campaign. thick you might see saudi arabia, whether it's base, overflight rights, they haven't announced anything yet but i think secretary kerry is looking for something like that. i think some of the other countries will be a little bit more private about what they'd be willing to contribute. qatar today said -- the qatar foreign minister said his country supported intervention and looking what they can do.

how would syria respond? what about our frenemies, russia and china, who are syria's side and given the company the russians keep, can the u.s. afford to? tom foreman joins us. >> we could lob the muscles, that would be it, the message would be sent but there are many variables that could change the equation. the very first one you have to talk about is the reaction. >> it's clear syria will respond militarily and strongly diplomatically. i think what's most important is syria has three really strong allies in the form of russia, china and iran. they provide support to syria and have some quite some time. we would anticipate that support would continue and at the end of interest strike, syria may come out strong aer than it is befor the strike. >> they could bolster their support, more weapons, more support and they'd have the pretext to do so, saying we were just attacked by a super power, of course we can send you more things. >> without the implementation of a no-fly zone, that could occur. >> that would b

now, syria's foreign minister says syria welcome the proposal. our senior international correspondent nick paton walsh is joining us from the u.p. u.n. secretary of state john kerry actually mentioned this as a hypothetical proposal earlier in the day. the state department quickly backtracking though. is this now considered a serious proposal toe avert a new round of u.s. military attacks in syria? >> well, wolf, we're almost into the diplomatic long grass. remarkable what's taking shape. what started as seeming will i a slip of the tong by kerry has now snowballed into something which ban ki-moon welcomed as a potential avenue out of this crisis. of course, seized upon by the russians and syrian government, too. bear in mind cynically perhaps this process could take a number of weeks if it got under way in which of course curse international opinion may begin to side along with those who say the u.n. should be allowed to do its work. let me read to you what ban ki-moon said earlier on. i'm considering urging the security council to command the i

much more on the crisis in syria coming up. into but there's another story, an extremely frightening situation in northern colorado. torrential downpours have triggered deadly flash flooding in boulder county. the raging waters are washing away homes, setting off rock and mudslides that are closing roads. at least three people have been killed. rescue crews getting calls all day from people trapped in water and under debris. one of those amazing rescues captured on videotape. look at this. >> what an amazing rescue. ana cabrera joining us live in boulder. ana, it just great to see that they rescued this individual. how many of those dramatic rescues, as far as we know, have been carried out today alone? >> reporter: we know about at least a few, but certainly there are likely countless others. and there are still dozens of people who need to be rescued that officials that are there trying to get to them just can't get access just yet. we heard in one case, the national weather service reporting a 20-foot wall of water coming do

or a strike in syria. is there something more the president could do to get putin's agreement to find room in syria? >> i highly doubt it. i'm sure they're working it as much as they can but given that putin has already called secretary kerry a liar, given that he said the evidence is other worldly nonsense. they went to aleppo, even though the attack was in damascus, they won't to aleppo and said the shells were homemade shells -- >> they've done what they can. >> they've publicly closed that option. >> michael, the president is over at the g-20. we know there's a major debateneck week in congress. how important is it the president have some achievement, a compliment at the g-20 in order to get momentum here at home? >> the problem is he has no momentum. his real problem is that every day now we get more and more no votes on the record in the house. he's making a very complicated case internationally to a group of countries who have already made up their mind. i think one of the problems, you watch the pr

strike in syria. and it's still not clear how he's leaning after all this talk with his constituents today. >> i'm reading a book by colin powell. it's his autobiography. one of the things he says is war should be last resort. we should have a purpose people understand and support and should go in to win. with that in mind, you opened the door, syria. where are we at? what are we going to do? >> the president drew a red line. you only have one president. he's asked us to support him, which i'm glad he asked the congress. and he asked us to support him in that. and rejecting that request is a very serious matter for the united states of america. to turn down the president's request is not a matter to be lightly done. i also said, number three, i don't think the united states foreign policy will be destroyed if we say no. >> so it's not clear how he's leaning. and a lot of people, it's not clear. take a look at all the gray on your screen. all the gray, these are the votes. that means undecided. since t

in syria itself as well as outside of syria, the whole area needs peace. we don't need further wars. we don't need further destabilization. after all, all of these bloodshed, that would happen sooner or later. all of the victims will be innocent, whether they are -- syrians, iranians turkish and saudis or jordanians. >> mr. jaafari. >> the sons will be the victims. >> thank you for joining me. >> thank you. >> christiane, thanks very much. christiane amanpour, i want to pick your brain for a second before i let you go. what did you think, it's not often we hear a syrian official, high ranking syrian official envoy from the government of bashar al assad to the united nations making their case. give me your reaction. you had obviously very forceful tough interview with the ambassador. >> well, it's to be expected. he's obviously defending his government. they obviously don't need to be struck by the united states. it is going to be something whereas i try to get out of him women degrade their military facilities, at least many of them, even if it's not an in

mcconnell knows the american people are against a strike in syria. so he did what any desperate republican would do, he gave a speech slamming the president of the united states. >> it is long past time the president drops the pose of the reluctant warrior and lead. you can't build an effective foreign policy on the vilification of your predecessor alone. at some point, you have to take responsibility for your own actions and see the world the way it is. not the way you would like it to be. if you wish to engage countries that have been hostile, so be it. but be a realist. know the limits of rhetoric and prepare for the worst. >> the only republican using these events to criticize the president in order to build political capital with their base. fellow kentucky senator rand paul announced he will deliver a video response to president obama's address tonight. live streamed on his youtube page. paul's office told the hill, he isn't responding on behalf of the republican party, but simply offering his thoughts as a concerned senator and citizen. joinin

attack on syria as unbelievably small. but there was another odd characterization that you may have missed. an unidentified source in the pentagon compared the effect of a limited strike by us to eating breakfast. quote, if assad is eating cheerios, we're going to take away his spoon and give him a fork. will that degrade his ability to eat cheerios? yes. will it deter him? maybe. but ooel still be able to eat cheerios. while this created the new york magazine to create this image, the quote was met with criticism from many who point out making war is not at all similar to eating cheerios. when asked to comment, cereal maker general mills said they had nothing to add. finally our sideshow trivia question. who was the first u.s. president to visit syria? eight months after the yom ki purr war. this president was able to normize relationships between our two countries despite a shaky start. take a look. >> president nixon flew to damascus, syria, today. and the president's plain took evasive action when syrian jets unexpecte

it said we can use force in syria, we can use force beyond syria. and it was an enormously broad resolution for the use of force. one that seems to contemplate a much broader action than something less than war, which is what their own constitutional theory requires. >> if it's a lesson, we've seen this parsed out in these hearings. what we're doing isn't war in the classical sense. and to play devil's advocate on behalf of the white house, it seems to me there's a difference between a ground invasion in iraq -- president clinton for instance fired several missiles into north africa, during his presidency. season the there space in between war and military action? >> that's the theory that they use in practical terms, yes. there are a couple problems here. neither resolutions passed today do not require ground troops. the senate version prohibits combat troops, that leaves it open for troops for other reasons. it's not at all clear how limited this use of force is going to be. >> is there a precedent for a president going to congress, i'm going to c

>> with respect to syria? syria wasn't the topic of our conversation. the topic of our conversation was their nuclear program. we have not seen a significant change in that period of time with respect to syria. and needless to say it would certainly be welcome and it would be a very important sign with respect to good faith in terms of resolving the regional issues and showing a desire to have stability over business as usual. so we would certainly welcome it but it was not a topic of the conversation and i want to stress that. we were uniquely talking about how we would proceed with respect to the nuclear negotiations. and -- ect to assad sand the time frame, it means what it says. the language is very clear. the language says that there, you know, should be no delay in this process, that this will not be open ended and that it ought to if you're acting in good faith be able to be completed in, you know, within months, within some period of months. now that gives you a time frame. and, you know, i think that it would be wrong to prejudge what that is.

syria? >> well, i think on the ground in syria that they assume it's assad responsible for the gassing of a lot of people. very similar to what we went through with saddam way back in iraq when they did the same thing to the kurds in the north. >> so based on the fact that you believe it happened, that there was some kind of gas or chemical attack there, do you support the kind of limited action that seems to be on the table right now? >> no, i don't. and the reason i don't, john, is i am the ranking member on the senate armed services committee, i've watched what's happened in the last four and a half years with the president downgrading our military. and it's to the point where we're in a position right now where we don't have the assets to get involved in another intervention. >> so your opposition, it's really just based on funding? you don't think that a chemical weapons attack is a dire enough event to demand a response? >> i said yesterday that if you guys sell this idea, even though

." >>> no doubt the united states will strike against syria in syria. president obama and secretary of state john kerry presenting the evidence making the case for u.s. military action. horrific new video surfacing showing another -- another attack in syria, this time involving a school and an apparent incendiary device. and my interview this hour with senator rand paul. he questions the goals of a strike on syria and says the president should not act without the support of congress. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." the united states government today declaring its high confidence that the u.s. did carry the devastating chemical attacks that killed 1,400 people, more than a third of them children. an intelligence estimate says the u.s. was able to track preparations by syrian chemical weapons personnel and the tomb firing of rockets. president obama today insisted he has not made a final decision on how to respond, but he also made it very, very clear the u.s. is p