... >> welcome to al-jazeera, i'm dale walters. syria gives the okay for u.n. inspectors to take a look at the site of the suspected chemical weapons attack in that country. and wind makes things worse for firefighters as they continue to fight the flames. and the army major turned killer now prepares to hear his fate. ♪ sir ra -- syria will allow

u.n. inspectors to visit the site of the alleged chemical weapons attack and inspectors say they will visit the area tomorrow. they have agreed o ceasefire to allow the inspectors a safe passage. state tv was claiming it was the rebels using chemical weapons, the rebels are blaming the state. will the u.n. inspectors be able to get to the bottom of this? >> well, it is a pretty tough problem, dale, you are right, and that will be the focus of the inspectors as they go in there tomorrow afternoon just outside of damascus. the prevailing thought on all of this from doctors without borders who have an office here in beirut is that if a military entity like the government of syria is using chemical weapons, it will show up as the more professional usage of that product, of that item, than it would if rebels were using it and making it themselves.

presumably, there is quite a difference in the way the two would be handled and that is what inspectors are looking for when they get on the ground. >> and yet no one suspects that if it were the state that were using the chemical weapons, that they wouldn't try to cover their tracks? >> well, they have been uncovering tracks all along and that is why they are trying to get the inspectors in there as quickly as possible. it has been alleged that syria is slowing the ability of inspectors to visit the sites giving them time to clean up their tracks. and once autopsies are performed on any of the 355 who died, it should be easy to determine exactly what this was that caused their deaths.

>> david, we're going to go to washington in just a moment where we will talk about what the opposing sides in washington say that syria wants but you are on the ground there. what do the syrian rebels want from the international community and are those rebels united so that the international community can get behind them? >> well, they are united enough, del, that they want to be able to say the syrian government, assad's government is responsible for the chemical attacks and what amounts to sustaining this warfare in the nation of syria. but right now on the first step they would like to take is that it be defined it was the government that used the chemical weapons because that will be a game-changer in syria and something the rebels to want see. >> us live from beirut, david, thank you very much. mean white reuters is quoting a senior white house official saying there is very little doubt that chemical weapons were

used by the syrian government against the civilians there. it was only a year ago that obama warned about the use of chemical weapons saying it was a red line for the u.s. mike joins us now with more and mike, that red line seems to be moving a lot these days? >> well, and by comments of the senior administration officials this morning, the red line has been crossed for a second time. really remarkable here over the last 24-48 hours, dell, it seemed more and more obvious the u.s. and its allies are moving towards some sort of military action against the assad regime. essentially one official says it is too late to allow the inspectors in. at this juncture, any position of the government to allow the inspectors in is too late to be credible. and also getting them onboard for some sort of consensus. what about congress or a

domestic consolidated opinion in the united states? the foreign affairs committee, top democrat on the fortune affairs committee both coming out today in favor of some military action and including strikes by cruise missiles. hagel traveling in maylaysia had this to say this morning. >> asking president obama to prepare for all contingencies. we have done that and again are prepared to exercise whatever option, if he decides to employ one of those options. >> reporter: and dell, we have talked about the american war weariness on the part of the public, sort of a hangover from the iraq and afghanistan wars that have dragged on.

president obama elected in part on a promise to bring down those wars and made good on his references to iraq. he has been warned time and again against a rush to judgment and doesn't want that to happen in syria but here is a reflection of where america stands right now. according to a reuters poll, only 25% would support a military intervention. 45% oppose it, 49% don't know enough to answer. so dell, what is the objective of any military strike by the u.s.? the u.s. on record for more than a year calling for the assad regime to go but if this were to go forward, the objective would be to suppress the ability to deliver councilmember a call weapons and nothing more. >> you are now in washington and i was there yesterday and one of the things that is curious to the american public is we think

all of washington is talking about syria and egypt. the truth of the matter is what they are talking about and i had a feeling yesterday that it was about back-to-school sales? >> yes, if you are going to do something in the rush hour, do it in late day and out of rush hour. the talk on the sunday shows today, largely about syria but also about the martin martin luther king anniversary as well. there doesn't seem to be a lot of focus and the principle point i should make here is congress has been out the last five weeks. they don't come back till september 9th. a lot of the opposition you would usually hear from congress, you are just not hearing right now. >> thank you very much. and joining us now to discuss u.s. military options in syria is a military analyst and former

deputy assistant secretary of defense joining us via skao*eup from the middle east and you heard mike say it, quoting the poll that it seems that there is no appetite for military intervention should that dictate what the white house does. >> well, i think that is right and quite frankly, i was surprised the numbers were that high in support of military intervention. it is clear america is war-weary after iraq and afghanistan but it is equally clear that the president has not made the case to the american people why an intervention or military action would be necessary. that would be the tough job of the president to take a very reluctant american public into another intervention in the middle east, particularly one that has campaigned on getting out of the middle east and pivoting to the far east. >> we have been here before, thinking of bosnia and the situation there where a united states president was called out for not doing something where phoeupbgs were broadcast across

the world and the atrocities happening there. now we're seeing atrocities in syria. will this be another moment where the president is going to be called out to do anything? >> well, he is being called out to do something now. the fact is if the question by reuters was asked, are we going to, as a american people, continue to allow the slaughter of syrian civilians and the use of chemical weapons in that region, are we going to allow it and sit back and do nothing? i think the overwhelming consensus of the american people would be no, we must be doing something and i think this president has a responsibility particularly since he has put the credibility of the united states on the line by saying if you cross this red line, there will be consequences. well, america is waiting to see what those consequences will be. >> okay, mark, now we know the red line has been drawn and a belief that the president should do something. what can he do? >> well, i think everybody should realize from the

beginning that the u.s. military has a broad range of capabilities. if i was assad, i would be very careful where i slept tonight but this could range anywhere frankly from diplomatic action, it could be u.n. condemnation. but if you are talking about strict military actions, it could range anywhere from cruise mice cyl strikes. on those elements of the syrian military that have been maintaining the battlefield calculus on the side of the syrian government forces. it has been clear that the syrian air force has been a game changer on the battlefield. it is clear that the tanks and the artillery used by the syrian military are decisively -- given decisive advantage to the syrian forces so i would expect to see some sort of military action against those elements on the battlefield keeping the advantage on the side of the syrian forces. so that would be going against

the syrian air force and armored capabilities. >> mark kimmit joining us live via the middle east, assistant secretary of defense. and al-jazeera is closely watching the developments from all parts in the middle east and for all news on syria, visit us on our website. the fast-moving wildfire continues to rage in and around yosemite national park. it is now only 7% contained. at risk, more than 4500 homes and businesses. what is going on at this hour? this map shows us why there is so much concern. the hydroelectric plant there provides water and power for more than two million people including greater san francisco. as you can see, the flames are burning next to the reservoir and water and power station. that plant has been shut down

for safety reasons. now more from melissa chan who has been in tolume county on the front lines of this fast fire for several days. >> firefighters are doing their best to battle the fire at yosemite national park. we tried to travel as close to yosemite as possible and actually hit fire. we saw firefighters trying to prevent the fire from crossing the road, they had to pull back and we pulled back with them. the reservoir and power plant have since been closed but san francisco residents will obtain their water and power elsewhere. two of the three electric power plants that serve san francisco providing 16% of the power from the city which is bad news but officials say they will purchase

the electricity from elsewhere. major nidal hasan will enter the penalty phase of his trial on monday. he was convicted of 45 charges including premeditated murder. one of the penalties the jury could recommend is death. he could become the first soldier to be executed by the united states military since 1961, convicted of murder for the november 2009 shooting spree against unarmed soldiers in fort hood, texas. and former egyptian president ho*eub goes back to court amidst growing sectarian tension across egypt. and the attorney general wants to haul donald trump into court. the charge? bad business. and stay with us, more news and weather after the break. al jazeera america presents gripping films from the world's top documentary directors.

welcome back to al-jazeera, i'm dell walters. against the back drop of sectarian violence and rising tensions, former president hosni mubarak was back in court today, facing charges for failing to stop the killing of some 900 protestors back in the airplane spring of 2011. previously he was convicted of the chargers and imprisoned for life but today his sentence was appealed. he served as vice-president to egyptian president anwar sadat and then became president. in january 2011, anti-protestors took to the streets to demand his resignation. he stepped down one month later. in june 2012, he was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the killing of demonstrators during the uprising and then earlier this year, the appeals

court overturned the sentence saying the prosecution failed to prove that the protestors were killed by police. a new trial was ordered by court and then just three months later, he was released. he will he is more charges for failing to disclose gifts he was given to stay in office. then a month later, he is released from prison where he goes back to court. >> we have two ends of the spectrum here. the big one is hosni mubarak opposed in the revolution in 2011 appeared in court this morning in the traditional place you have seen him before, wearing sunglasses and in a cage inside the courtroom. he faces several charges but the most serious one was heard today, his role in the deaths of hundreds of protestors in the revolution 20,611. keep in mind he was just released from prison on thursday, put under house arrest

and there was a lot of speculation whether he would appear in court. but he did appear in court, the judge making a concentrated effort to say that this would be a fair trial, he would be given a transparent process and that the lawyers would be given access to the public documents they need. the trial is set to continue next month. the other trial is with the muslim brotherhood leaders including badier, he and his group also facing deaths of protestors most recently in june. they did not appear in court because of security concerns. the hearing was very brief, charges read and the hearing delayed till october. the big question is about morsi, remaining in jail in an unknown location, has not been charged

and as we understand, not given access to an attorney. every year, millions of people visit the western wall of jerusalem. they leave notes for god in all the little holes of those stones but what happens to all those pieces of paper? well, jewish workers are clearing those holes for the annual event of rashashana. the chief rabbi says it is important to make sure there is always room for new notes. contents of the letters are never read and buried in jerusalem's mount of olives. five bodies pulled from the graves in the outskirts of mexico have been identified. police believe they are victims of the kidnapping but don't in a

13th body is related. twelve people were abducted from an after-hours club on may 26th. prosecutors say the abductions were linked to a controlling effort by gangs on par of partf the city and the bars. donald trump is being sued by the new york attorney general for running a fake university. many of the 5000 who applied to get in thought they would meet trump but didn't. trump says the attorney general is filing the suit because he felt trump should have done more campaign fundraising. a small plane has crashed in massachusetts. investigators are now trying to determine just what went wrong. and posthuman -- posthumous

works by j.d. salinger may soon be coming to a book store near you.

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