>> hello, everyone, this is tony harris from new york. our top stories. >> i was elected to end wars, not start them. >> president obama said he's not itching for military action but will confront syria. [ protesting ] >> the president's threats of action spark rage in lebanon. now diplomats are urged to leave for security reasons. >> the federal government release new unemployment

figures. >> president obama has made one last push at the g20 summit for action in syria. obama said he's encouraged by his meetings with world leaders, but the host of this year's g20, russia, has paint a very different picture. mike viqueira has the story. >> reporter: the president said that the u.n. is paralyzed and there is no consensus among the leaders at the g20. the president left the g20 as he arrived, insisting that chemical weapons attacks cannot go unpunished. >> i want people to understand that gassing innocent people, delivering chemical weapons against children is not something we do. we've got to stand up to that principle. >> reporter: two days of attacks

including one-on-one with russian president vladimir putin did not bring agreement. he said the president had is wrong on who used chemical weapons. >> many whom are facing opposition at home to strikes. the president announced he will speak to the nation from the white house on tuesday. he previewed his argument here in st. petersburg on friday. >> over 1400 people were gassed. over 400 of them were children.

if we're not acting, what is that saying? >> reporter: the president said he has no choice but to push for strikes. >> i'm not itching for military action, and i think that i have a well deserved reputation for taking very seriously and soberly the idea of military engagement. >> reporter: with the vote this congress expected to be tight, the president said he won't launch the attack with no authorization with congress, only to say that he expect congress to pass the measure. >> there is still a deep divide between president obama and mr. putin. he describes it this way. >> we're back today, not just in a different place or setting, we're discussing 20 minutes, 30 minutes, it was very comprehensive, constructive in a good atmosphere, everyone had

his own opinion, but there was a dialect, we hear each other. we understand the arguments, but i don't agree with his arguments. he doesn't agree with my arguments. but we hear the arguments which are total lies. >> the international peace envoy for syria met with several representatives from g20 countries. brahihi warned that intervention in syria would be illegal without the united nations supreme court council approval illegal. john kerry will head to london and paris for talks with leaders. president obama is being pressed to consider political alternatives in syria. but according to the u.s.

ambassador to the u.n. samantha power, all has been exhausted. >> it's only after the united states pursued these military options without achieving the desired results of deterring chemical weapons use, his only choice is to view the chemical weapons as a weapon of war. >> it is unclear if there are enough votes to pass it, randall pinkston joins us live. randall, what did the senate do today to move the resolution along? >> well, tony, what happens was the senate majority leader opened what he called a short seasosession. that starts the talk clicking. that allows the resolution passed by the senate foreign relations committee this past wednesday, it allows it to go n

the calendar for monday when the senate returns, and then there is a motion to limit debate because there have been some threats especially from senator rand paul that he was going to filibuster. they would take steps to limit that debate, and bring it up for a vote possibly as soon as webs. however, just because it's being brought up for a vote does not mean it will pass. there will be amendments. some think it's strong. others don't think it's strong enough, and some senators don't think that we should be involved in military action. that's where we stand. >> how much are you getting of the hurdle does the obama administration face of winning congressional approval here? >> we've seen a transition of what appears to be pro-support on the part of bipartisan

senators, the leaders of the house, and the senate saying they were going to support the president's move. but then as the week has progressed we've seen a lot of senators, congressman from new york, saying that he has changed his mind. that he is not going to support the use of force. he said initially he supported the use of force because reading by initial reaction as a marine combat veteran is to stand by the command center chief. unfortunately, the moment to show strength has passed. the president has weakened our position as our leader and

deteriorate our credibility on the world stage. nonetheless there are some political ramifications here. there's a lot of push back at home from constituents who don't want america to be involved. >> randall, administration officials have already given several briefings on capitol hill. what else do they plan to do to reach out to congress? >> reporter: vice president biden had some democrats over to thtotry to persuade them over te side of the president. you know, this all gets to an issue raised by mike viqueira in his report. president obama being asked, well look, if you don't get the support of congress what are you going to do? the president commented on that

earlier today. >> i do consider it part of my job to help make the case, and to explain to the american people exactly why i think this is the right thing to do it. it's conceivable at the end of the day i don't persuade the majority of the american people that it's the right thing to do. and then each member of congress will have to decide if i think it's the right thing to do for america's national security, and the world's national security, then how do i vote? that's what you're supposed to do as a member of congress. ultimately you listen to your constituents, but you've also got to make some decisions about what you believe is right for america. >> and so the president and administration still have a tremendous sales job to do with some unofficial polls showing that right now there are very

few yes votes in either house, and most members of the house or senate are either undecided or adamantly opposed. >> it sounds like an up hill fight for the president and his team. randall, appreciate it. thank you. as members of congress debate a possible strike against syria there is also a pretty heated debate going on the streets of syria. >> reporter: people in allepo are bracing for airstrikes. areas like this airport are likely targets. >> we're ready for any strike near the airport. we normally don't wish to see a foreign power raiding our airports but the regime has forced this on us. >> members of revolutionary council say they have mapped the section of the city still under

government control. >> we've raised our level of raidiness with special focus on the likely aftermath of the strikes such as possible chaos and detearation of security. >> many theory all--many worry. >> if they're coming to attack in order to help us overthrow the president, then we support them. but if they're com coming for another objective he will oppose them. >> all we wish for is that bashar steps down and leaves us alone. >> in egypt people seem to be more supportive of an u.s.-led attack. u.s. lawmakers vote for airstrikes to prove to upheld ud the ethics of humanity.

these demonstrators chant, for them the need to punish their syrian president is far overdo. >> the congress debates strikes over syria. the state department is urging no traditional to lebanon. >> here in beirut, you can see here lebanese soldier bringing a barricade so people cannot go up to the u.s. embassy. which is up to a windy road. all non-urgent officials were told to leave lebanon. today there was a protest here, and it was done by pro assad

members of the lebanese people here. they wanted to bring groups out to tell america that they do not want strikes against. >> they destroyed two years ago, church, not mosque only, but church. i can't understand. >> obama, you idiot, you are stupid. >> as you can see red paint and cardboard many of the protesters put it on their hands that the u.s. would have blood on their hands if they, indeed, strike

syria. the mention here is do it do it. keep it regional. they do not want outside forces to do anything to interfere with the separation. most here said they wanted the u.s. to talk with russia, talk with the u.n. sit down with bashar al-assad and figure this out. from this area here, from the protests, from the gates as lebanese soldiers continue to clean up from the protest, no one wants an u.s. strike. >> taking extra steps to protect it's diplomatic facilit facilit. >> the united states has authorized the drawn down of the southern city. thithis is not a mandatory pull, it's rather a voluntary and highly vicessible move.

it's important to point out this measure is not being indicated in neither the embassy or in the main consolidate in the large city of istanbul. it is only in the southern city, and there is a specific american collection there, that being the turkish air base where we see n.a.t.o. stationed along the turkish, syrian border. this comes when turkey was nervous about any retaliation from syria now of course, turkey shares it's longest border with syria, and over the past couple of days we have been seeing the turkish military enhance or increase its presence along the border, more military vehicles sent out in that direction, also

with workers with injuries of chemical weapon attacks. >> gathering across egypt. rallies were reported in cairo, alexandria and six other areas in the country. protesters are demanding the return of ousted president mohamed morsi. organizers told protesters to get off the streets. the demonstrations come just a day after egypt's interior minister narrowly escaped assassination. we are not naming him for his own safety. if you would, how much sport were the protest organizers able to get today? >> they were able to muster

nationwide support. there were largely peaceful rallies by the anti-coup alliance, those who want mohamed morsi reinstated as president. they've been protesting for weeks. we've been able to see the protest, and generally they are strong. at the sit-in there were thousands of protesters remembering the people who were killed in the aftermath of the security forces ending the set-in. some of them have been defying the curfew quite openly. in the last hour we know that people were still rallying elsewhere in egypt as well,

northern sinai, and even in naturacentral kay row. they've been out on the streets after dark defying that curfew. >> coming up on ankle the august jobs report has been released, and there is more discouraging news for the unemploymented. details yesterday. plus how the nsa is finding its way around your attempts to keep your information private.

>> welcome back to al jazeera. i'm tony harris. here is a recap of our top stories. >> obama: 's syristories. >> obama: syria's continue use

threatens national security. spoke in an address on tuesday night. the state department has ordered u.s. diplomats to leave lebanon citing security concerns over possible military action in syria. non-essential staffers and american citizens were instructed to leave the capitol of beirut. new information about the jobs in america. the labor department reports that employering added 169,000 jobs. economists say that number is dew pointing. we have more. >> reporter: when 34-year-old alex from brooklyn earned his masters in technology design from nyu, he never thought two years later his full time option occupation would be looking for a full time job.

>> it's stressful feeling every day my 9 to 5 is looking for a job, which is really quite stressful. >> reporter: alex, who doesn't want to use his full name on tv because it is afraid it might hurt his chances of getting a job has gone through 20 interviews and several network. fairs, and he has boosted his resumé several times. his fear is employers will only see his gaps of employment. >> if you haven't worked for a little bit of time it's hard. it feels like a sigma where management wants to fir hire whe employed now. i feel its another way to be discriminated against. >> reporter: 4.3 million americans are in alex's position, so-called long-term

unemployed. the number is off its peak, but still high and could spell trouble for the economy. >> a lot of people get discouraged and stop looking and that reduces the number of people who are available and willing to work. that will slow down the growth of the economy. >> reporter: we might be four years into the recovery, but a lot of job seekers who have been in it for the long haul are starting to lose hope. those who are have a job and are looking for one has not been this low since 1989. >> the economy is steadily adding jobs, but not fast enough. and the quality is lacking, too. 8 million americans working part time would rather have full time positions. as far as alex, he's not giving up on that dream.

>> there is a wealth of talent and ideas in the community of people who have not worked in awhile. >> and we have been following the allegations of nsa eavesdropping all over the world at the g20 summit in. brazil president spoke to president obama about the allegations of spying on her. spies in the u.s. and britain have been able to crack codes that protect information on the internet. >> the u.s. super spy agency has cracked many of the codes that are meant to keep sensitive internet communications private. according to new documents released by former nsa security contractor edward snowden the

nsa has spent billions of dollars in custom design computers built to break encrypted confident documen documenttation. they persuaded or legally forced technology companies to provide them with keys to their inscription programs so they could decode builds of we mails, internet chats and phone calls in the u.s. and across the world. in a 2010 briefing memo the u.k.'s count part the u.k count. saying that vast amounts of online data that was previously ignored is now being exploited.

the british agency reported it had developed what it called access opportunities to google's encrypted traffic. there are 400 million users of g mail. other companies targeted by code breakers include yahoo, facebo facebook, and hot mail. the documented collected by snowden have been shared by "the new york times," the guardian. it coincides with a new poll showing half of americans are worried about the information available about them online. seven out of ten believe laws and government policies are inadequate to protect their previous data. >> the snowed den revelation about the nsa i think that focused a lot of attention on this, and i think that the pew poll shows people are increasingly concerned. >> the nsa appears to believe that their code breaking

abilities are a touch card. rivalries with russia, china and other countries. in the future one document states super powers will be made or broken based on the strength of their crypto-analytic abrahams. >> what happened to my baltimore ravines, oh, peyton manning happened. >> reporter: just like a fine wine, peyton manning just keeps getting better with age. at 37 years young the future hall of famer sparked against the republicans with seven touchdowns--with the ravens with seven touchdown. the broncos would go on to spank the defending super bowl champions, 49-27. aaron hernandez back in court for indictment. and he pleaded not guilty to six charges including first-degree

murder. the 23-year-old hernandez continues to be held without bail, but his attorneys reserve the right to request bail at a later date. hernandez has been connected to a 2012 double homicide case. djokovic continues to impress, and sick tore i can't asarinko won they are semifina l match. real money. victoria azarenko ç]

>> welcome back. here are our headlines. president obama continues to make the case for global support against syria. the president spoke at the g2 g0 summit and said that the world cannot stand idly by. yocongressthe senate will debat,

and it's not clear when the house will take up the measure. putin conditions to warn against military action while president obama pushes for intervention. >> failing to respond to this breach of this international norm would send a signal to rogue nations regimes and organizations that they can develop and use weapons of mass destruction and not pay a consequence. >> let me remind you that use of force against the sovereign state is only possible if done in they have defense. >> iif attacked how might syria respond? >> there is a fear that the syrian regime has an expanding

array of retaliatory tools at their disposal if a strike is used. bashar al-assad has been in power for over 13 years. he's the bad guy in all this. because if there was a chemical attack carried out on his people he would have to sign off on it he or his brother. how bad could he effect us. let's take a look at the syrian hardware. now these are mig fighters. some are reconnaissance, and others are fighters, but most of their military hardware is provided by the russians. they also have some from the czech republic, germany. that's why the russians also vote in fair of syria in the u.n. security council.

if this air force is not destroyed in any initial united states attack they could take off and firebombs and attack the u.s. ally jordan or worse, even israel. what about iran's--what about syria's main ally in the region, which is iran. let's take a look at iran here. now it's possible that iran could carry out some kind of attack on u.s. assets in the reason. it's not thought likely at the moment. hasahasan rouhani is making nois towards the west, and they have uranium enrichment plants, and there is concern if there were to be attack on iran by any u.s. allies oru.s.orallies in the re. what about the iranian proxy in

the region which is hezbollah. now we know it's been widely reported there has been intercepted communication involving tehran and various militant groups in the world with iran asking for attacking assets in the event of an attack. the real fear is they could launch roberts into israel, particularly if there is a launch of a long-range rocket as far south as tel aviv. that would be dangerous because that would really drag israel in the conflict, and israelis have said if they are attacked they will retaliate, indeed. as you can see there are a lot of options on the table in event this attack goes ahead. >> i want you spend more time talking about israel. as you see that map, you see the precarious position israel is in.

>> rale is at the heart of this. we've heard from a very senior member of the iranian revolutionary guard who said only this week an attack on syria would result on the destruction of israel. that's pretty searous rhetoric coming from the iranians. but the options that i've outlined do not stop there. there are other things that bashar al-assad could do. he could carry out a nasty vicious attack against his own people if he wanted to, in retaliation, which is what this attack is designed to attack. and there is cyberwarfare as well. something that people don't give much thought to these days. but syria, and the chinese, they could carry out cyber attacks and they could turn to the chinese for help even though the affects that we've seen in various u.s. corporations in the last couple of months. >> including the n times. >> exactly. >> steve cook from washington, d.c. he is a senior

fellow at the council of foreign relations, steve once favored military action against syria, but now he believes acting would do more harm. what has changed for you? >> well, the nature of the conflict has evolved in such a way that whereas one point it did seem that a more rebust u.s. policy and intervention in syria could do some good. now we--the united states would be getting involved in someone else's very nasty civil war that is overlaid by a proxy war that includes different factions of foreign fighters, and different groups of countries in the region pitted against each other. a limited strike of the nature that the obama administration is considering would make the united states a party to those multiple conflicts going on in syria at one time. >> what is the core national interest? i have heard it mentioned.

what is the core national interest, everyone i've spoken to who is concerned about this, why would we get involved? >> well, there is an important principle involved here. the syrian regime did use chemical weapons against its own people. that is an egregious violation of international norms. but when you dig down into the details of syria and consider that against what the administration is considering, it strikes me that the disadvantages of undertaking that kind of military operation far youth weighs the possible benefits. >> wouldn't have been the case a year ago when you advocated some kind of an action? >> well, more than a year or so ago there might have been an opportunity for the united states to get involved in a way that did significantly tilt the balance of powers in the battlefield. this was never going to be an easy proposition. it was always a risky

population. i was writing at the time when only 5,000 people had-killed, and anyone who knew anything about si syria knew that assad would try to kill his way out of a political challenge, what was the up rising of a dictator, that this was far less. >> you see where i'm going. it's 100,000. 5,000, okay, there is a case to be made. certainly there is a case at is hundred thousand? chemical weapons aside. >> chemical weapons aside. that's the case that the presidenadministration has not . after two and a half years and 100,000 dead suddenly the administration is saying there is a humanitarian issue. secretary kerry said before the senate foreign relations committee said now is not the time to look the other way while innocents are being slaughtered. well, the administration did do

that for the past two and a half years. the only question that the administration has not answered is if there is a military opposite ration against syria, and do in the use chemical weapons again but use conventional weapons to kill 1400 or 14,000 or another 100,000 people, what is the u.s. response? >> are you surprised the president has not been table rally pore support for his position? he seemed ex-aster rated, frustrated that folks don't seem to register his sense of moral outage. >> i think the president is having both at home and abroad is similar to 2003 and the invasion of iraq. certainly americans are weary of being involved in the middle east, and the ther the precedenn

in 2002 and 2003 make it's much more difficult for the president to argue about international norms. >> the time has come for google and apple to pay more taxes. they're pushing for new tax rules to make it difficult for companies to hide profits abroad. and in addition multi national companies would have to pay taxes inside the country that they make their money. this despite initial resistence from china energies north dakota in north dakota an oil boon.

that is something that tribal leaders will discuss. >> diane est erbrook is live where the crowds are gathering today. diane, native americans are benefiting from the state's employment track record is so ? >> well, some are, some aren't. north dakota has the lowest unemployment rate in the nation, at 3%. the problem, though, on many of these reservations will ther ths chronic long term unemployment. and that unemployment rate could be 40% to 80%. that's why these tribal community colleges are training

to retrain people to take advantage of some of these jobs. >> how do tribal colleges aim to use some of this grant money to compete for these jobs? >> well, the united tribe technical college where i'm at right now, received funds from the state. one of the things they're doing is launching a program for medical coding and taking advantage of the big oil and gas boon here. they started a program that they suspended many years ago and they're training people to be heavy equipment operators. it's also going out to high schools and down to junior highs and primary schools to talk to kids about careers where they can actually get jobs so hopefully by the time they get to college, or they get out of school, they can be retrained and take advantage of some of these jobs.

japan is defending the safety of fish coming from the waters from the fukushima nuclear site. the plant has been leaking for two years. the japanese officials say that readings show radiation levels below the safety threshold. tokyo is bidding to hold the 2020 olympics, and some worry this announcement could russian their olympic bidding. we'll hear more tomorrow. three cities are in the running to host the 2020 olympics, we know who one. and nfl has produced great stories of perseverance over the years. we've got one of those for you coming up in just a minute. we call obamacare.

it could change costs, coverage, and pretty much all of healthcare in america. my show sorts this all out. in fact, my staff has read the entire thing. which is probably more than what most members of congress can claim. we'll separate politics from policy, and just prescribe the facts.

>> welcome back to al jazeera, everyone, on saturday the international olympic committee will vote on who will host the 2020 games. three cities are still in the running: tokyo, istanbul and madrid. tokyo is the favorite but all three are optimistic they'll wait. >> london 2012 provedded the olympics can do wonderful things for a country's reputation and pride. now throw cities are represent representedded in buenos aries. tokyo is the favorite having failed the bid for 2016 and now have increased support from their public. they have an stadium upgrade.

but in the final lap, bid leaders had to insist that the city has been affected by the radiation. in istanbul where east meets west, clashing police and subsequent riots went on for days. in madrid there is genuine optimism the third time is lucky. their bid utilizes existing venues that keep costs low. such as this one, the tennis

venue that is considered world class because it hosts the madrid open every year and is hosting a cup match next week. >> they want to place where they feel comfortable, where they know the place, where they think that the sports can be held easily, professionally as they're supposed to be staged. that's the first thing, that it will be a good host for the olympic games. >> the ioc members will vote on which sports will be included and for a new respect to replace the outgoing jack. >> you know sometimes you just got to say it exactly the way it is, and peyton manning is the man. >> how good was he? >> that was terrific. >> peyton manning made a lot of fantasy football owners happy,

seven career highs. seven touchdowns. the last time someone threw seven touchdowns in a a game, bass was $0.37 a gallon and man had landed on the moon. and tony harris was just a boy. >> there go. >> denver dominated. manning using wes welcker, and they scored 21 points in the third quarter. welcker caught two touchdown passes and manning using all of his weapons last night tossing for 462 yards. manning tied a nfl record. now five other players have done. before, but you have to go back to 1969. 44 years ago when joe kapp

through seven touchdowns. our kick off series kick off tonight with another rising tiger, the cincinnati bengals with some of the nastiest defense around. we sit down with the former sun devil. >> reporter: last season he was the leading tackler for the cincinnati bengals racking up 127, and get this, he wane even a starter until week three. making the feat even more impressive it marked the best season ever by a rookie free agent in bengals' history. now expectation for bufect and the bengals is high this season. >> we're in a hard division. we have browns, steelers, ravens, they're nothing easy. for us it's doing the little

things right. >> reporter: what a difference a year makes. burfect sounds like a veteran now, but to understand the weight of that record-breaking rookie season you have to understand how it began. he was a projected first round draft pick. burfect had a less than stellar junior season at arizona state, and he looked like the picture of a player who was slow and troubled. every nfl team passed him that. >> i just think it was a lesson learned, and it made me humble. >> why do you think the bengals took a chance on you, do you think? >> i don't know. the question is i don't know why the other teams didn't take that chance on me. i think they might have seen something in the film. he tries to compare me to ray, the greatest linebacker, so obviously he sees some kind of resemblance between me and him.

that's why he's so hard on me. he wants me to be better than him. >> reporter: and the gamble paid off for the bengals and burfect on and off the field. >> what position does ray lewis play in your life? >> i never had a father in my life. i come in every day and tell him good morning. >> reporter: burfect is not the same kid who came in to training camp mentally or physically. he had only taken ten days off in the offseason. he's humble and hungry for success and he wants to make good on a promise to his mother. >> i wouldn't say we were a poor family when i was younger, but we didn't have everything. i just had my mother, and she worked three jobs a day. i told her if i make the nfl i don't want you to work any more. i have two younger sisters that i take care of so she doesn't

have to work. it's a lot of food on my plate. >> at what point of the season did you sit back and recognize what you had accomplished. >> i broke down crying, i wasn't drafted, and then i came in and started. it's motivation for me. it's something that i work hard for and i never thought i would be in the nfl, but here i am today. >> aaron hernandez back in court for indictment, and i spoke to the judge for the first time. hernandez said not guilty six times to six charge including first-degree murder. he was held without bail but his attorneys reserved the right to request bail at a later date. hernandez has also been connected to a 2012 double homicide case. over to tennis.

the semifinal match between serena. >> serena the brightest star in the galaxy, trying to figure out a way to segue into this shot. yes, there we go. isn't that nice? >> beautiful. >> all right? that almost looks like an effect. nasa is heading back to the moon. it's experimental spacecraft is called laddie. the multi use design and assembly line production could drastically reduce the cost of spacecraft in the future, much like the model-t did for ford. it will blast to the monday and send information about its surface. former presidents bill clinton and george bush sr. spent the afternoon together. clinton tweeted in photo with

the caption that said, quote, enjoyed my lunch with president bush and i'm envious of his so socks, sock swag. they have partnered in recent years over their shared commitment to humanitarian causes. your first look at weather with rebecca is next. >> meteorologist: we're looking at flooding watches in washington state where we had record rainfall on both sides of the cascades. now it's traveling east words. we'll show you where it's going to hit next. ç]

center i'm meteorologist rebecca stevenson, record rainfall for parts of the pacific northwest as the storm system and low pressure center tracked onshore. now the rainfall has been over an inch and a half in seattle and getting close to an inch and a half for portland. all this rain coming down. you may say there is always rain in the pacific northwest, but this amount, this speed, at this

rate with that much lightening we had yesterday and last night is far more than normal. this storm system will continue to bring rainfall to the pacific northwest for the weekend. but the amounts will not be as heavy west of the cascades. as we follow the rain system, we'll expect that to continue into the midwest. so the rain here is the only map i think show you because my remote control is absolutely not working. i'm here to tell that you that rain spinning around counterclockwise will track its way into montana. we expect it to bring in the risk of severe thunderstorms tomorrow. that means lightening. that means heavy rain at times and gusting winds and hail. and it's going to be moving into montana and the western portion of the dakotas, but the midwest itself, you're going to stay hot. temperatures as we get into parts of oklahoma will be back

to the mid and low 90s. temperatures in texas, some triple digits will be expected, and hot weather is going to be mostly dry where it won't stay dry. well, definitely we know the pacific northwest, but again without the remote control, it's just not working. >> you're doing fine. >> meteorologist: florida is getting a lot of rain, especially along the coast right now. there is a line of showers and thunderstorms that are tracking right along the tallahassee area over across pensacola, mobile, and even into alabama, mississippi, and that is tracking a little bit towards texas. the thunderstorms in the florida area in the panhandle, and we'll expect that to continue for the next day or so. then finally cool, dry air comes in for parts of the southeast. that is going to be a relief for them. it's been a very wet spring.

>> this is al jazeera, i'm tony harris from new york. president obama has made one last push at the g20 summit for action in syria. obama said he's encouraged by his meetings with world leaders, but the pos host of this year's, russia, has stood firm regarding the attack. john mccain has been an ardent supporter of action on syria, but he made it clear a short time ago that there would be no u.s. troops on the ground in syria. >> i promise you that if we put an american boot on the ground, i will do whatever i can c