about john lewis. for years. book one is now officially a best-seller, available in stores and online. it is a fantastic read. that's it for "ed late." i now turn you over to wolf blitzer in "the situation room." john, thanks very much. weighs options for a military strike on sir gentleman. hackers take down "new york times" website. the correspondent is here with the paper's latest reporting on syria. plus the emotional 50th anniversary of the march on washington, and the historic speech that galvanized the civil rights movement. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." we begin with an historic moment. the country's first african-american president, standing on the steps of the lincoln memorial, commend rating

the legacy of a man who stood in that very same spot 50 years ago today and delivering an iconic speech that paved the way for what we saw a little while ago. the celebration of dr. martin luther king's legacy. comes as the -- cnn senior white house correspond jim acosta is over at the white house with the latest. what's going on, jim? >> reporter: >> reporter: wolf, president obama did not touch on the situation at the lincoln memorial, though he did address some domestic political issues. it was a brief diversion for the president, who is facing one of the biggest foreign policy challenges during his second term, if only he can overcome some major diplomatic hurdles. as the u.s. moved closer to military action, president obama interrupted his deliberation over syria to mark an historic

milestone, the 50th anniversary of martin luter king's "i have a dream" speech. the words belonged to the ages. >> unmatched in our time. >> reporter: it was one of the only few public appearances for the president, who has little time to spend away from the white house. any decision to strike syria over the alleged use of chemical weapons is growing more complicated by the day. over at the u.n., syria's ambassador sounded the alarm and accused rebels of launching their own gas attacks. >> we are in a state of war, preparing for the worst scenario. >> accusing russia of blocking u.n. action. >> we cannot be held up in responding by russia's continued intrance jens at the united nations. >> the british may require the u.n. to present its evidence.

>> it is understandable that people want to see what the u.n. inspectors say. >> reporter: a white house official sell the president is spending a lot of time on the decision, calling allies while his national security staff weighs legal justifications for a strike. one potential concern, cyberattacks after hackers based in syria claimed responsibility for shutting down "new york times" online. up on capitol hill, more than 100 husband members have signed a her signing for congressional authorization before a strike. gop senator rand paul said we should have an open debate over whether the situation warrants u.s. involvement to satisfied so many demands the u.s. and its allies could wait to attack until after president obama's trip next week. >> in many ways there would be unintended consequences if we do attack, and they may be even worse if we don't. >> first, defense analyst any thoin courtsman says the

administration has to be sure that the has global credibility. >> if it simply comes across as a piece of propaganda, it is going to do far more harm than good. >> reporter: now administration officials say all this diplomatic maneuvering will not impact the decision on whether to strike syria. a response the white house has said over and over again is coming, but delayssh another question, and the united king done, is the they're one of the indispensable allies that the u.s. cannot do about. i spoke to an official will in hiccup and the official says it does indeed complication things. house speaker john boehner has put out a statement, a letter to president obama, calling for more answers, asking him to explain to the american people what is at stake in syria and why the united states should commit military resource there.

this el debate is intensifies. jim accost aa, thanks very much. let's bring in our political panel. joining us, john king, our chief political analyst gloria borger and host of the new "crossfire" van jones. it's very interesting when the president was a senator and he was dealing, this is what he said back in 2007 about using -- about congressional authorization being required. the president does not have power under the constitution -- this is senator barack obama -- to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involved stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation. that was then. vice president joe biden, when he was a senator back in 2007, in a different context going to war against iran, said this -- i

want i want to make it clear, and i made it clear to the president, that if he takes the nation to war in iran without congressional approval, i will make it my business to impeach him. that's a fact. that is a fact. >> that is a fact. he said, that is a fact, if he goes to war against iran without congressional approval, i will call for his impeachment. you know, john, iran is a major supporter of syrian president assad. the iranians say they will retaliate itches that's one of the strategic calculations about how to do the military operation, one of the great skepticism you get in congress, you talk to retired diplomats and generals, can you deliver that blunt force on syria, as the president is plachbing, without causing a domino effect. look at a map, you know the whole gulf region right there. the administration is trying to

come up with a plan that punishing syria without having a ripple effect. wolf, you know the neighborhood very well. it's very small. there's a lot of hangover at the iraq war debate, whether it's skepticism about the intelligence, the president publicly saying this is not about regime change. so if the president has tough calls to make. >> there's a big hangover, obviously. and the letter from house speaker that jim acosta just spoke about, is so interesting to me. what he specifically -- he asking a whole bunch of questions. one of his questions is, what results is the administration seeking from its response. so what -- in other words, what he's saying is what's your mission 125i789 here? tell me what you want to do. >> you worked for the president. if this were bush in the white house and he was still a senator and bush was about to launch

missile strikes against syria, wouldn't that senator barack obama want congressional authorization? >> well, welcome to checks and balances. of course, when you're on the legislative part, you want to make sure you have the role there, but i think the president is very clear. he's threading a needle here. he has to react. we can't have a week go by while we talk, and then more people get gassed. if we're sitting here a week from now -- >> 1 4u7bz,000 people have already been killed through conventional weapons. >> that is terrible, but we cannot have a new normal in the world where chemical weapons -- >> but it happened last spring, too. >> there was dispute and discussion about whether it was then or the rebels. this is now we know for sure, according to the u.s. government, that this is innocent civilians, men, women, children, babies being gassed. he's got to respond, but he can't tip us over into a situation where we get sucked in. he has to send a message --

>> but the law of unintended consequences, and that's what john boehner and 0er9 members of congress are asking, okay, does assad do? do we get drawn into a quagmire here that we're not willing to pay for? or we're not willing to pay for in money, blood or treasure, right? >> again that's a hangover from iraq. we thought it would be a short war. >> that was said. >> none of that happened. so a more assert -- if the tide were turned and we had a republican president, there's a letter circulating -- >> the difference between then and now, 2003 and now, is there was congressional authorization to go after issaddam hussein.

>> i think the president needs to respond to deter further action, to response to degrade the capacity for more men, women and children to be gassed. we cannot have a new normal without -- since we didn't do it in march -- >> i want to move on, but i want to be clear. so if the president were to do this, even though there's no congressional authorization, no nato vote, no united nations security council vote, no arab league vote, that he is bakesly going in with a few allies, you say it's okay for the united states to do that some its i say it's okay for a limited retaliatory strike this week. to send a message. for humanitarians reasons. >> u.s. interest -- >> if the u.s. has a national security interest in nothing having a new normal on the new stage. that is true, and then you stop, with -- >> but there's no guarantees.

that's the probable. >> i agree with you. there's more risk now. >> we heard a lot about martin luther king appropriately today. a lot of people don't remember -- i remember and i'm sure all of you remember, after that speech 50 years ago, xwf he was assassinated a few years later, he became one of the principal opponents of the u.s. war in vietnam. let me play you a clip of what he said in opposing that kind of warfare. >> the world now demands -- of america, that we may not be able to achieve. it demands we admit that we have been wrong from the beginning of our -- that we have been -- to the life of the vietnamese people. the situation is one in which we must be read counter to turn sharply from our present ways. in order to atone for our sins,

and in vietnam we should take the initiative and bring a halt to this tragic war. >> that was dr. martin luther king jr. in 1967. quick question -- if he were alive today, i wish he were, would he support military operations in syria? >> i'm sure that dr. king would not. it's interesting. i actually was born in '68, born the year he was killed -- >> don't rub it in. >> true story. true story. i was born the year he was killed, and bobby kennedy was killed. certainly in my generation, has learned that you do not go into -- and put troops on the ground recklessly, but this is not what the president is proposing. he's basically saying we're going to do a brush back, tell this guy you can't keep doing it, and he should come to congress and discuss what's going forward, and we should build a coalition of forces to move frashd. >> we'll continue to conversation, but a gl start to

our program here in "the situation room." thanks very much. "new york times" knocked off-line apparentlily syrian hackers. we've invited the paper's security correspondent to deliver the latest reporting. stand by for that. plus presidents carter, clinton and obama all speaking at this very emotional 50th anniversary on the march on washington. mom, dad told me that cheerios is good for your heart,

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against targets in syria. our chief congressional correspondent dana bash is joining us on the phone. i've got through this letter. i know you have as well. he's raising all sorts of questions, this speaker. >> reporter: all sorts of questions, very specific questions about not just what kind of military action might the administration use, but more specifically what kind of information would they be basing this on, with regard to chemical weapons. what's very interesting about this letter is a couple things, first of all, the speaker make pretty clear that he agrees with the administration that syria is a very important area in national securitywise, and that he supports being aggressive with regard to potential for chemical weapons. he also says this -- i respectfully request that you as the country's commander in chief personally make the indication to the american people and congress for how potential

military action will security american national security, and he goes on to say preserve america's credibility and deter the future use of chemical weapons. what he's trying to do here is kind of be the voice of not just republicans, but also some democrats who are raising a lot of questions. this is a very odd time, because congress has been gone from washington for weeks, not coming back for two weeks, so he is -- he's doing this to try to sort of jolt the president to not just being more aggressive and consulting with congress, which then has some concerns he hasn't done enough of you but also making the cake to the american people. people out there are very war-weary, and even though chemical weapons is a big deal, they're not sure this is the right thing to do. >> they've been in recess now for week, not coming back for several more days. any chance that they could come back, reconvene to deal with this kriz in syria?

>> well. >> the president hasn't asked for it, and hard to see him doing that. my sense in just covering congress, world, is that at this point it's probably unlikely. maybe the best reason for that is because if the speaker, for example, calls back the house and he does it to have a vote, if at this point, probably not likely to pass. that would be hugely problematic, and embarrassing for the president, and for the u.s. at a time when it's very critical, very delicate, and either the president is trying to get partners on the world stage to have that kind of vote would not be a good thing. as you see, in going through this her, again the speaker is being very -- also making clear he supports it generally the idea of taking care of -- he just wants that answered. very reminiscent, i have to say, of the way the speaker dealt with the president on libya. he sent him a series of very,

very similar questions, asking him for answers, not necessarily for a congressional vote or authorization, but to make sure that he wants his constituents, members of congress's constituents and the american people to know exactly what the u.s. is getting into. dana, thanks very much. let's bring back our panel. you know, joan, he can't get -- dana connectly says he may look that vote in the house of representatives, so my sense is he's going to act very quickly. has no vote in the u.n. security council because of rurala and china will veto it, no vote among the nato allies, no vote among the arab league, even the friends of the united states, clearly no vote in the house or senate. i think he's going to have to go ahead and do it if he wants to retain that credibility. what is your sense? >> now that they have laid this out there, now that secretary kerry has been so clear that the united states will act, the white house has signaled it would act. if he did not act now, it had not just be bashar al assad.

look at the region and the things that would happen form the united states would be viewed as a hollow leadership in the region. here at home, to your point about the president, woulder talking about republicans here, and there's a growing number of republicans, some libertarian, but also a few with the neocons, what about the president's own democratic party if you had that vote? a lot of democrats either just oppose this flatly because it's a military action or have huge skepticism. yes, one other calvia, the british prime minister says he needs to go through the united states. so that's going to take a few days threat rue there until they realize that russia or china will veto it. >> democrats do have, there is some skepticism, about you it's also clear to me if you're democrats who believe in international law, you talk about they're opposed to torture, that there is a convention in 1993 against the use of chemical weapons. >> syria is not a signatory to

that. >> that's right. that's right, but -- and if there is a coalition and if it includes britain, then i think more democrats than not could be convinced. the democrats i talked to in theory saying, well, like van, if you keep it narrow, if you keep it targeted, so they're tiptoeing up to it, about you this el also understand that there could be -- >> there are unintent the consequences. you can start with a narrow objective and get sucked into something for 10 or 12 years you don't want to be sucked into. >> i think the letter is constructive. i welcome it. i think he's actually speaking for the american people in a good way, but he's not saying, mr. president we're not going to let you go forward, number one. number two, there's a difference between legality and legitimacy. the president to be legal in doing this he's got to go to the u.n. we know china and russia will not let the u.n. act.

can it be legitimate? it gets legitimate in two ways. >> like kosovo. >> just like kosovo. you get a real coalition to act, after the strike, then a real coalition to act, and you've got to go to congress. so i think that we have -- we're in an emergency situation, the president's got to respond, but got to be limited and narrow. >> or could jordan and turkey ask you to act? >> that would be even better. don't hold your breath. remember, the big concern is that the obama administration has, you don't know who these opposition guys you are helping are. they could be worse than some of them. it could be worse. >> i would say he's got to deter and degrade, but not decapitate. >> is it worth it? >> it's very tough. >> is it too late? >> a lot of people are

concluding it's not necessarily worth it, but we'll see what the president of the united states decides the i think we'll know fairly soon. all right. guys, thanks very much. coming up, a cnn is live in the syrian capital with new exclusive and very chills video showing the after does that math of that chemical attack. plus moving remarks by three presidents, as this nation marks 50 years since the march on washington. [ male announcer ] come to the golden opportunity sales event and experience the connectivity of the available lexus enform, including the es and rx. ♪ this is the pursuit of perfection. ♪ [ female announcer ] nothing gets you going quite like the power of quaker oats. today is going to be epic. quaker up. todaythank you very much.. ok guys, i'm back. i need a template of a template.

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happening now syria warns the world it's now in a state of war as the united states gets

potentially closer to -- just ahead we're going live to damascus, where cnn has one of the only western journalists recording live from inside the country. 50 years since the historic "i have a dream" speech. two former presidents come together to tail tribute to the leg angels. the germ chancellor and the british prime minister speaking by phone just a little while ago about the crisis in syria. they also agree that international reaction is inevitable. some u.s. lawmakers are calling for more details as the white house weighs all of its options.

fred polite again is in the syrian capital with exclusive video, showing the aftermath of the attack. what are you sealing and hearing in the syrian capital? >> reporter: the individual with we've gotten is from the district that was hardest hit. up to 400 people were killed form it's also the district the inspectors visited to try -- we had a crew there before and have a look at some of the gruesome things that they saw. possible evidence in those places before the u.n. chemical weapons were not able to go out

to an area, they were citing security concerns saying that they wanted to be sure that things were actually safe for them to travel. this is the outskirts of damascus, and what that filmer brought us back was very interesting video on the days after that happened. there's very little space still in that mask grave, and shows a lot of dead bodies that are still there. therefore, it seems as though they might have inhaled something that would have killed them, but there were also

miraculous tales of survival. he showed a makeshift gas mask. he says that appears to have been enough to save him. >> fred is joining us once again live from damascus. fred, are people in the syrian capital preparing themselves for a possible u.s.-led military strike? if you look at damascus, if seems absolutely normal, but then when you talk to people, they are very concerned. they're not concerned they might get hit by american missiles,

but they are concerned this might change the balance in the battlefield and that the balance could come closer to central damascus. there's people i have spoken to who say they are stocking up on food, canned food, on dry food, and a lot of them are very uncertain to what all of this means. they're waiting to see how big and how expansive the american military operation is going to be. of course, on the face of it, they will tell you they support the regime and that they believe that god will protect them from anything, but certainly people here are very, very concerned. it certainly is the talk of the town, this possible military intervention. wolf? >> don't go too far away. we're coming back to you soon. the obama administration clearly weighing options targeted missile strikes seem most likely. let's get some analysis now from the former centcom commander an

sthoin zinni. thank you for joining us. you have unique perspective, especially at the military central command. give us a flavor about the decision-making process, the ramping up, if you will, to a military strike that could last a few days, if not longer against various targets in syria. >> well, i'm sure all the planning has been done and everything is in position. i think the key thing here is the long term strategy. any military commander wants to know how his -- and in terms of the end state. if there is a strike and they are continuing up acceptable act, where does this lead us to? what is the next stage? the next step? we may want to limit it, but the

actions of the enemy may require that we start changing midstream. i would say if you look back at iraq, before the iraq war in the containment era, there was international support, there was a strategy of containment, and as we retaliated against unacceptable act, for example, to degrade and to eliminate some of its other capabilities incrementally. i think what's important here, this can't be a one and done. there has to be a long-term strategy. i think our military commander want to know, how does the military fit? and what military actions do you want to achieve those political objectives? where do we go in the long term if he continues down this path of unacceptable acts. >> and you've raised the possibility that the u.s. could get sucked into a long-term military experience adventure in

syria. stand by, general zinni, we have a lot more to discuss as we continue this coverage. also ahead, three american presidents remember dr. martin luther king jr.'s dream. ( bell rings ) they remind me so much of my grandkids.

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shaq 1, pain 0. [ male announcer ] icy hot advanced patch with 50% more medicine. pain over. we're continuing our special coverage of the crisis in syria. let's get more now from the former u.s. military central commander, retired u.s. marine corps general anthony zinni. you suggested that unintentionally, with the best of intentions, the u.s. right now could get sucked into a long-term military crisis inside syria. what's your concern?

well, my concern is this is not simply a matter of regime removal. we thought that in iraq and we thought once we popped the top in saddam, it was a liberation, and it wasn't. we went into somalia with purely humanitarian intentions, and got bogged down. this is a mess. there's a religious war underneath this, and you're going to take a side. there's ethnic and tribal differences. wherever you come down, you will make an enemy. there would be some degree of order that would be created, if we attack now, and i think there's good humanitarian reasons for a response, but we have to be prepared to follow up. there may be more unacceptable acts. they may not just be the once we might expect, like use of chemical weapons again.

there might be terrorist attacks, attacks on allies like israel, all sorts of things could lead us down the road. you need a strategy. you need to be prepared to do this. a military commander plans against enemy capabilities, not against assumptions. we should have learned extra from the last iraq war. >> i've been speaking to a lot of generals, your former colleagues in the u.s. military. if you listen to what martin dempsey has told congress, there's no great love, no great desire on the part of the u.s. military to get involved in syria right now. one of the deep concerns is you don't know, a, how the syrian regime will respond, b, how their supporters, the irani iranianings and hezbollah will respond, but you have to assume a worst-case scenario that they will take action against the united states. >> absolutely. like i said, a military commander if he's prudent plans against all possible

capabilities. sometimes or political masters want to assume away a problem, and don't let the military commanders ease voice be heard. it's important that everybody understands what the sticker price for this could be down the road. this is not going to be confined to syria. this is a regional conflict, and it looks more and more like it's going to explode. with ed a lot of work to do to build international and regional cooperation and support for this. i don't see it there now. there's a few selective allies, the tried and true that are with us, but we need to be sure they're going to pony up and share the burden and be there at the point when we do something, and be able to support us. it's not there now. that concerns me greatly. >> and it concerns a lot of military officers, and as i say, i've spoken with several of them over the past few days, and they are deeply, deeply concerned that even with the best of intentions, simply trying to

punish the regime in damascus for killing all these people with the use of chemical warfare, the u.s. could get, in your words, sucked into a whole new adventure, something the u.s. clearly doesn't want to do, and certain the american public doesn't have the stomach for right now. gentlemen, we'll continue this conversation down the road. much more, by the way, on the crisis in syria at the top of the hour, our special report will begin right at the top of the hour. coming up next, though, an emotional and inspirational day as the nation marks the 50th anniversary, but first, cnn's new "crossfire" debuts september 16th. here's a "crossfire" classic. >> doesn't shy away from controversial guests, and those guests don't get a free ride, either. in 1984, tom brayden and pat buchanan confronted candidate

angela davis. >> of course i'm a member of the communist party of the united states of america. there is, of course, a relationship between all communist parties throughout the world, including the communist party of the soviet union, but of course i think the effort to portray the soviet union as a country where repression reigns, as an effort to divert people's attention away from the real accomplishments of the soviet union. not to say -- >> you would agree that -- >> i certainly would agree that repression reigns in the united states of america. humans. we are beautifully imperfect creatures living in an imperfect world. that's why liberty mutual insurance has your back,

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let's take a quick look at the other top stories in "the situation room" right now. a military jury recommending the death penalty for the convicted ft. hood shooter. there was no reaction from the army psychiatrist who represented himself and did not participate in the dramatic closing arguments. 1/2 asan could become the first american soldier executed in more than half a century. some are claiming responsibility for an attack that's crippled "new york times" website. the syrian electronic army says it's responsible for the online assault that led to a 20-hour outage of the online home. it's the latest in a series of similar online attacks the group says it's carried on against major u.s. and uk news

organization. the united states is hopeful a special envoy to north korea will secure the release of american prisoner kenneth bain. u.s. ambassador robert king and a small delegation will fly to pyongyang this weekend with the sole purpose of trying to free him who's been held since last year for supposedly committing hostile acts. when we come back, a rousing tribute to dr. martin luther king jr. 250 years after his iconic i have a dream speech. oprah, two former american presidents as well as the current president of the united states. they commemorate this historic day. he little tiny chipmunks go all the way up... ♪ [ female announcer ] when your swapportunity comes, take it. ♪ what? what? what? [ female announcer ] yoplait. it is so good. what? what? everybody has different ideas, goals, appetite for risk.

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50 years since dr. martin luther king, jr. delivered his history changing i have a dream speech and prominent leaders returned today to pay tribute. >> and as we, the people continue to honor the dream of a man and a movement, a man who in his short life saw suffering and injustice and refused to look the other way, we can be inspired and we too can be courageous by continuing to walk in the foot steps of the path that he forged. he's the one who reminded us that we will never walk alone. >> on that day, martin luther king, jr. made a speech built he

also delivered a sermon. he transformed these marble steps of the lincoln memorial into a modern day pulpit. he changed us forever. we didn't go to jail. but we got the civil rights act. we got the voting rights act. we got our fair housing act. but we must continue to push. we must continue to work. >> i'm greatly honored to be here and i realize that most people know that it's highly unlikely that any of us three over to my right would have served in the white house or be on this platform had it not been for martin luther king, jr. and his movement, his crusade for civil rights. he gazed at the great wall of

segregation so that the power of love can bring it down. he made our nation stronger because he made it better. >> what a debt we owe to those people who came here 50 years ago. [ applause ] the martyrs played it all for a dream. so how are we going to repay the debt? dr. king's dream of interdependence, his prescription of whole hearted cooperation across racialed lines ring true today as they did 50 years ago. we can't be discouraged by a supreme court decision that said we don't need this critical provision of the voting rights act because look at the states that made it harder for african-americans and hispanics and students. and the elderly and the infirmed and poor working folks to vote. what do you know?

they showed up, stood in line for hours and voted anyway so obviously we don't need any kind of law. [ applause ] but a great democracy does not make it harder to vote than to buy an assault weapon. [ applause ] >> through set backs and heart breaks and gnawing doubt, that flame of justice flickered. it never died. and because they kept marching, america changed. because they marched, the civil rights law was passed. because they marched, a voting rights law was signed. because they marched, doors of opportunity and education swung open so their daughters and sons could finally imagine a life for themselves beyonds washing somebody else's laundry or

shining somebody else's shoes. [ applause ] because they marched, city councils changed and state legislatures changed and congress changed and, yes, eventually the white house changed. [ applause ] and that's the lesson of our past. that's the promise of tomorrow. in the face of impossible odds, people who love their country can change it. powerful day here in washington, d.c., indeed from the lincoln memorial the president went back to the white house presumably once again focusing in on this crisis in syria and coming up at the top of the hour we'll have a special situation room report, the crisis in syria. that begins in a few minutes. ( bell rings ) they remind me so much of my grandkids.

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happening now, our situation room special report, syria in crisis. with u.s. war ships poised to punish syria's regime for a chemical attack, a top syrian diplomat said his country is already at war. we're taking you inside syria and we're now hearing extensively from president obama about his plans for syria. you will hear what the president has just said. that's coming up momentarily. while the u.s. moves towards a likely missile strike, a fuel might of america's military will be ready and available. we'll show you how all of this could play out. and she's a glamorous former

investment banker who once boasted to be the real strong man to syria's dictator. i'm wolf blitzer and you're in "the situation room". the obama administration today is sounding tougher than ever about the horrific chemical weapons attack on syrian civilians. and the dye may already be cast for pawnishing u.s. military strike. a top syrian official says his country is ready for the worse. president obama says he's not made a final decision about sir area but he is speaking extensively. we'll bring you his comments momentarily. our correspondents are deployed in the united states and around the world to bring the complete coverage that only cnn can deliver. we begin inside syria. fred, first of all, what's the

mood there? >> reporter: well people certainly are very worried here on the ground, wolf. there was talk earlier today about some sort of exodus of people trying to make a break for the lebanese border. we haven't seen that. but people are very concern and unsure what the next couple of days and hours begin with these american air strikes looming. let's have a look. even with u.s. war ships ready to strike off syria's coast and washington saying it's certain the assad regime used chemical weapons on its people at first glance damascus doesn't appear to be on the edge. this man is with the police force and said he's not afraid of u.s. air strikes. this is my country he says i believe we're winning. others are counting on help from above. this doesn't stair me she says, i believe in god so much that i know the usa can't do anything. the war is never far away in

damascus with plumes of smoke from artillery strikes constantly rising from the outskirts of the capital. at damascus university many students remain tloil bashir al assad and say they don't believe the military used nerve gas against civilians. i believe that chemical weapons were used in some way in certain areas he says. but i don't think the government did it because they know what the results would be. but dig down and you find a since of unease. the historic market is far empty engineer. syria's economy is in a state of crisis and many fear things could get worse. quite a strange mood here in damascus. people seem unsure as to what the future will bring with those american air strikes looming. very few people will talk about it openly. there are some who bought additional food stocks, things like canned foods just in case. and, wolf, the rumor mill is, of course, flying as well.

syria's ambassador to the u.n. was asked whether position were abandoned. we can deny or confirm that. however, it does seem very quiet here in damascus tonight. normally you would be hearing a lot of artillery pounding at this time of night. right now it's fairly silent. >> in other words, maybe some military loyal to bashir al assad might be getting nervous that the u.s. is poised to launch air strikes and they may, we don't know for sure they may be abandoning their positions, is that what you're suggesting, fred? >> reporter: there's a report on media saying that that could perhaps be the case that perhaps some senior leadership might have given up some of the position, the headquarters of the aufir force and army might have less staff in fear of air strikes. we can't confirm or deny that. but the picture we're getting

normally behind me i would see plumes of smoke and hearing artillery. it may be the case something is going on. we can't confirm that. it is almost an eerie silence here. >> stand by we'll get back to you. one of the only western journalists reporting live from damascus. we'll get back to you momentarily. stand by. this is cnn breaking news. breaking news is this. the president has just completed an interview with pbs weighing in on a potential military strike against syria. watch this. >> mr. president, you've just come from making a speech celebrating a nonviolent event the march on washington, martin luther king speech 50 years ago. we'll get to that in just a moment. first we want to ask you about a place that has had too much viles, syria. how close are you to authorizing a military strike and can you

assure the american people that by doing so, given iraq and afghanistan that the united states will not get bogged down in yet another war halfway around the world? >> well, first of all, identi'v made a decision. i've gotten option from our military. had extensive discussions with my national security team. let me talk about what's at stake here. i think we understand terrible things have been happening in syria for quite some time. that the assad regime there has been killing its own people by the tens of thousands. that there are sectarian arguments that have spilled over into bloodshed, and have escalated over the last couple of years. and although what happened there is tragic and although i have called for assad to leave and make sure that we got a transitional government that can be inclusive in syria, what i've also concluded is that direct

military engagement involvement in the civil war in syria would not help the situation on the ground and so we've been very restrained although diplomatically we've been very active, providing a lot of humanitarian aid to people displaced by the war. what i also said if the assad regime used chemical weapons on his own people that that would change some of our calculations, and the reason has to do with not only international norms but also america's core self-interest. we've got a situation in which you've got a well established international norm against the use of chemical weapons. syria has one of the largest stockpiles in the world of chemical weapons. this is a voluntaatile country. turkey is a nato ally, jordan a close friend that we work with a

lot. israel is very close by. we got bases throughout the region. we cannot see a breach of the nonproliferation norm that allows potentially chemical weapons to fall into the hands of all kinds of folks. so what i've said is that we've not yet made a decision. but, international norm against the use of chemical weapons needs to be kept in place and nobody disputes or hardly anybody disputes that chemical weapons were used on a large scale in syria against civilian populations. we have looked at all the evidence, and we do not believe the opposition possessed nuclear weapons or chemical weapons of that sort. we do not believe that given the delivery systems using rockets that the opposition could have carried out these attacks. we have concluded that the syrian government, in fact, carried these out and if that's

so then there needs international consequences. so we're consulting with our allies and the international community, and, you know, i have no interest in any kind of open ended conflict in sir area but we do have to make sure that when countries break international norms on weapons like chemical weapons that could threaten us they are held accountable. >> mr. president, with all due respect what does it accomplish? this would be a limited strike of limited duration. if it's not going to do that much harm to the assad regime, what do you accomplish? what's changed? >> again, identify not made a decision. i think it's important that if, in fact, we make a choice to have repercussions for the use of chemical weapons, then the assad regime which is involved in a civil war trying to protect itself will have received a

pretty strong signal that, in fact, it better not do it again. and it doesn't, obviously, end the death of innocent civilians inside of syria. and we hope that, in fact, ultimately a political transition can take place inside of syria and we're prepared to work with anybody, the russians and others to bring the parties together to resolve the conflict. but we want the assad regime to understand that by using chemical weapons on a large scale against your own people, against women, against infants, against children, that you are not only breaking international norms and standards of decency but also creating a situation where u.s. national interests are affected, and that needs stop. >> the president of the united states in an interview just granted to pbs.

let's get some analysis right now. joining us our chief international specialist, christiane amanpour. nick peyton and fred flight one of the western journalists. christiane amanpour, what do you think what we've heard from the president. obviously he remains very cautious at least publicly right now. >> well, clearly saying that they have the evidence and they are not mincing any words that a chemical attack happened and it was a assad regime but clearly saying it will be a limited response once he takes the decision. i have spoken today to the former head of israeli military intelligence who says that they did have the evidence, if israel had it they would have given to it the united states and they want to see a robust enough response that really significantly degrades syria's military capabilities. they fully know it won't be a ground invasion or anything of that manner but it has to be

something robust and the israelis say they don't feel they will be retaliated against despite the rhetoric in the region as long as assad doesn't feel that he's going to be tossed out of power. clearly the united states is not planning on a regime change kind of game changing military action. >> nick peyton, i take it the prospect of a security council resolution authorizing the use of force is nil right now, is negligible because of a russian and china reto. >> absolutely. the uk wants to have it discussed. that meeting didn't last very long, very tense faces emerging. u.s. state department saying they believe there's no avenue to further pursue the united nations. so not many believe here there's likely to be further meetings on

this particular issue. but then as you just heard barack obama talk about the need to consult with their allies. one military partner wavering a bit, a government motion put to the uk parliament tomorrow which if passed would require the u.n. inspectors currently on the ground in syria to deliver some kind of a report to the u.n. security council before a further vote is then taken again by the uk parliament that could authorize military action. that want puts a day if not week's delay. we spoke to the source here at the u.n. saying look when these inspectors come back they've give some evidence from laboratories. no certainty on the timetable here. we know the u.s. has said they will pursue their own timeline today but if they do that they may have to go without the

allies they clearly want here because the united kingdom's timetable is slipping substantially. >> fred is in damascus for us. fred, this program is being seen live around the world right now including in syria. i assume top syrian officials are watching the president of the united states and this pbs interview we just aired. what's their likely reaction? >> reporter: well, i think that the syrians are starting to realize all of this might have bean miscalculation if indeed it was done by the syrian military. we're hearing less bold rhetoric from syrian officials than we have before. the foreign minister came out and said rebels conducted chemical attacks of their own and demanding the u.n. weapon inspectors check that out as well. it seems they are trying buy time. i was interviewing the information minister of this country yesterday and he also said we really need to give the weapons inspectors time to finish their mission, we need to

get them out the all these places, we need to get them to sample things and wait for their report. because of the mandate they have will not create very much in the way of certainty. the only thing the weapons inspectors will find out is whether or not chemical weapons were deployed and maybe they will find out what sort of chemical weapons were deployed and maybe there will be some conclusions from that. it's unclear whether or not that will bring clarity as to who exactly did all that. that's not what the weapons inspectors are there to do. syrian officials say it's better to wait because they do understand that the united states is very serious about the use of force here in this country. christiane amanpour a lot of us remember that interview you did with bashir al assad. you got a little taste of this guy. give us your flavor. does he really appreciate personally, does understand what's going on? >> well, probably yes and he's obviously in survival mode.

you know, some people for so many years theens of us who interviewed him when he first came into power believed that he was different. that he was a new face of reform. that's been swept away. everybody says he's fully in charge. that this is not a question of his more ruthless younger brother or his powerful uncle or whoever might be controlling him. no. this is president assad in charge and all his friends, people who defected, people who we've interviewed said don't make any mistake he's in charge. king of jordan told me that not so long ago. he's in charge, he's focused entirely on survival and he'll do what it takes to survive april and to that end i was saying the israelis don't believe if he's not threatened with regime change which right now he's not threatened with regime change, that he'll not retaliate and hezbollah and

other such allies won't retaliate. the real question is as judy woodruff asked the president what is the point, what is the aim if you're taking such minimal, limited punitive strikes what do you hope to achieve and that truly is the real question going forward. >> christiane amanpour joining us, nick peyton. up next on our special report a u.s. strike against syria may be limited to cruise missiles but the full might of the u.s. military is on call. we'll show you how this can play out. we have the video of last week's chemical attack. it's shocking and disturbing. is it also the proof that the world is looking for?

up next on our special report a u.s. strike against syrian targets may be ineactivitiable but we'll show you what it could look like.

the u.s. official says the scope of any u.s. military action has yet to be decided. a limited military missile

strike looks very likely. cnn tom foreman is joining us along with a cnn military analyst. walk us through, tom, what's going on. >> we don't know, wolf, if there will be a strike. what we do know is that the process is well under way. phase one the preparation, planning going on for days talking about how this will happen. we're already into phase two which is staging. in military terms if you talk about a possible strike on syria what does staging mean >> tom what that means is the united states will take advantage of its strategic presence. it's already in places like places like italy, turkey and qatar. they will increase their munition stockpiles, their fuel, their medical capability, ability to rescue downed pilots so a decreasing amount of time that the u.s. needs to strike. >> they are building up these faraway assets. let's talk about the close up

activity when you talk about syria here. we have these ships that have moved into the mediterranean closer to the shore. what's that all about? >> they just came from the sixth fleet. they are in the eastern mediterranean. they are over the horizon from syria. >> can't be seen from shore. >> they are in a protected position but strike any target we choose in syria. >> submarines are out there. there's this. this a cones of airplanes. circling just outside of syrian airspace. what is this all about >> this restricted operation zone allows aircraft to loiter in a very restricted area so they can refuel and be prepared to be deployed very quickly. again against targets as they are designated. >> just outside of syrian airspace. this is in preparation for phase three if it comes we don't know that it will but the execution phase is when -- let me get rid

of the airplanes, when we'll have these cruise missiles start lurching into this country, some may come from ships some may come from submarines, some may come from airplanes. how many are we talking about? >> we could see 200. we saw 275 when we went to war ironing. 171 two years ago in libya. they would be launched very, very quickly. flash to bang time is instantaneous. >> from the time the president decides to launch them. very specific targets in mind. command and control. why does this matter >> we want to blind assad. i want to deny him the ability to see us and assess his own capabilities. >> i want to take out his missiles. why do we care about that >> the purpose is to deny and degrade capability of launching missiles. >> there could be attacks against airfields and aircraft in the syrian military. this is not so much about the chemical weapons it's about something else. >> it's about retaliation.

we don't want to have assad strike against our capabilities as we are preparing and as we are executing these tasks. so we'll go after those. they will be in the target list towards the top. >> that's roughly the battle plan, reaching ultimately phase four in all this which is stability. you make a very clear point that for all this happening if it comes to pass, that goal is not stability for syria in the end, there would still be a civil war. this is a different type of stability. >> carnage of civil war will continue. stability is we're not striking them and they are no longer striking us. >> that's the culmination of these four steps if they dome pass, wolf. this is the classic military approach to this and that's what military forces in the u.s. and among allies in the region are getting ready for if it leads to that. >> as we heard the president says he has not wret made a final decision. guys, thanks. just ahead on our special report, did a leaked letter from

america's top general to a congressman encourage syria to use chemical weapons?

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twic twitching of the eyes, the lethal effects of poison gas. and she consoles the families of the dead while standing by her husband's side. just ahead up close look at the woman a "vogue" magazine once called the rose of the desert, the first lady of injury. i'm wolf blitzer. this is a special edition of "the situation room," crisis in syria. all that coming up but first more of the president's interview and he just granted to pbs. they asked him to defend a decision to strike targets in syria, how would he defend such a decision to the american public. >> and if, in fact, we can take limited tailored approaches, not getting drawn into a long

conflict, not a repetition of, you know, iraq which i know a lot of people are worried about, but if we're saying in a clear and decisive but very limited way we send a shot across the bow saying stop doing this that can have a positive impact on our national security over the long term and may have a positive impact one the sense that chemical weapons are not used again on innocent civilians. those are big ifs the president is laying out in his case for potentially using military action against syrian targets. here's a question. is the united states prepared to go it alone in punishing syria for all practical purposes. we have some new information coming in to "the situation room" right now. our foreign affairs reporter is standing by. what your learning? >> reporter: there's a lot of talk today whether the u.s. would seek a u.n. mandate.

you know there were efforts at the united nations security council to talk about a draft authorizing the u.n. to take all measures to protect civilians in syria, prevents chemical weapons from happening again. that was what did not go through because of what the u.s. calls russian intransigent. they say they will not wait for a report. they will not wait for british parliament to make these requests such as looking for this u.n. report, looking for more therebiations in the security council. what i was told by senior u.s. officials tonight is the u.s. will act on its own timeline. doesn't need a u.n. report to tell us what they say they already know that syrian regime used chemical weapons. they want to get this done, wolf. they want to offer a swift response to the assad regime. >> complicating all of this for the president, is the president is supposed to next week go to russia to st. petersburg for the g-20 summit, russia a key ally

of the syrian regime. is it possible there could be u.s. military action based on what your reporting is telling you before the president leaves for st. petersburg? >> reporter: i think that's the preference. we had been hearing earlier in the week this could happen wednesday or as early as wednesday or thursday. now the u.s. is looking to put out its intelligent assessment, offering what they say is an undeniable case that the syrian regime was involved. i think you can see some action pretty quickly after that. the u.s. officials say they would like to get this done before the president goes to russia. he'll be in russia. you know those relations are already strained over the edward snowden affair. he'll not be having a private meeting with president putin. so i think the preference is to do this as quickly oppose. they have the egypt crisis on the burner. they want to get syria attack behind them. this won't be a drawn out attack. a very limited strike to show

president assad to answer for those chemical weapons. >> thanks for that reporting. let's get back to our chief international coast christiane amanpour and fred who is in the syrian capital of damascus. this looks like this could happen in the next day or two or three before the president heads off to sweden and then st. petersburg for the g-20 summit. could make things acward though at that g-20 summit. what do you think? >> well, i don't think anything can get more awkward between the united states and russia than it is already. there's such a bad relationship between the two countries and i want does stand most recently from the nsa/snowden affair but also over the last two years because precisely syria and other issues. russians along with the chinese have simply thwarted every attempt.

there's very little appetite in the united states to having a major battle against syria. we're not talking about boots on the ground in any form or fashion but even a prolonged air campaign to severely degrade president assad's military capabilities and to prevent him not just from using chemical weapons which is as you know a war crime not just using those but from using all the other weapons, his aircraft, his missiles and all the rest that are responsible for killing 100,000 people by the u.n.'s estimate. that's not in the card. a slap on the wrist natural is apparently in the cards. we'll wait to see when that happens. now, wolf, there was a huge amount of activity here in europe where i am earlier today. there was a sense and tweeteding out to prime minister david cameron in england his office saying this is unacceptable this use of chemical weapons by assad, the world cannot stand by. they went for broke by laying out this draft resolution before

the u.n.. crucial wording that authorized military intervention. that of course came up, was swatted away by the russians as many people expected. now much less action perhaps from the brits at least at the moment. the french say they stand ready to punish anybody who took this vile decision. >> fred is on the ground there in the syrian capital. fred i don't know if officials fully appreciate the drive that's under way led by u.s. officials and others in europe to have the international criminal court in the hague begin the war crimes tribunal in effect going against the syrian leadership not just the president but top generals because of this use of chemical warfare. do you get a sense they appreciate that they could be

charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity and be wanted by the international community in the weeks and months to come? >> reporter: i don't think they appreciate that at all. what they are trying to do is keep up their business as usual at least on the face of it. it's interesting how when you go to pose these questions to senior syrian officials, i kept telling them do you understand that the united states is serious about this, that the united states is going to most probably conduct air strikes in retaliation for the fact that they believe that your government used these chemical weapons and they will tell you about how it would be a mistarks how there would be a lot of civilian casualties. one point they make if the u.s. strikes syria they say the u.s. would be strengthening al qaeda and its off shoot which is fighting against syrian regimes. so what they are trying to do is mix up two points really.

you tell them the air strikes that are probably going happening are going in relation to using chemical weapons. they have nothing to do with the civil war in syria and that's something where they say you really cannot pull two apart. if you do weaken syria military you'll be stengtherengthening t islamic groups. i don't think they have woken up to the fact how far along the process this is. other countries are about all of this and what dire straits the regime is at this point in time. it will be interesting to see. they are sort of waking up to it but haven't moved along and trying to go about or at least put a face on as being business as usual. >> we're going to be obviously in close touch with both of you. thanks once again. up ahead on our special report a british born former banker standing by the side of a dictator.

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the the president hasn't made a decision yet. the scuttlebutt is it comes soon. >> you support that? >> do i. >> without congressional authorize jays. >> the same people who were clamoring authorization, president reagan went into grenada, president bush went into kosovo. war powers act to me says that the congress has to be notified, is to be robust discussions and the president has 60 days. >> no vote in the house or snoerkts no vote at the united nations security council, no vote among the nato allies, no vote from the arab league. for all practical purpose the president is going to do this alone? >> well, i think the president makes that decision then i support him. i think it's the right decision to make. >> you trust this president. if it was president bush making this decision would you trust him? >> i would trust any american president but i certainly trust this president. i've seen the horrific pictures as you have of children being gassed and i think the world has

to show its revulsion and this is a way to do it. >> if it bolsters the al qaeda elements and opposition and they come to power you wouldn't be happy about that. >> i would hope we aid the free syria army. >> that would mean a long term u.s. involvement in nation building in syria. do you want that? >> i think the president doesn't want that. >> do you want that? >> do i want that? i would like to see us help tip the balance in favor of the rebels. >> the american people after iraq and afghanistan they don't want ten years of u.s. military involvement in another middle eastern country. >> nor do i. for all intents and purposes assad is the proxy of iran. hezbollah terrorist organization has entered syria on the side of assad tipping the balance. when we are saying to iran that we won't let you have a nuclear weapon, iran is watching us very carefully to see what kind of a

resolve we have in syria. i don't want boots on the ground. >> if u.s. were to strike you don't know the unintended consequences. we spoke to the former command in the last hour. he said the u.s. military can get stucked into a long term quagmire in syria like it with in iraq, afghanistan earlier in vietnam. >> there are a lot of bad choice in syria. there's no good choices. the worst choice we can make is to do nothing. >> because you know the old colin powell comment if you break it you own it. the pottery barn rule if you will. if the u.s. goes into syria even on a limited basis right now you don't know how the syrian regime will act or the iranians will react, hezbollah, if they will attack israel for example some reservists in israels were calmed. they are handing out gas masks. you don't know what the consequences of a u.s. limited air strike will be.

>> i do know the consequences of doing nothing. that means assad can gas his own people including children. there will be despots in the world to do that. that's a war crime to do that. >> why does the united states have to do it? why can't the europeans the? the arabs. why does the united states need to get involved in these kinds of situations. >> that's a good question. it's difficult to answer that question. but i think as a united states we stand for something in the united states. we stand for democracy. we stand for human rights. we stand for not allowing innocent civilians including children to be gassed. there has to be decency in the 21st century for allowing this to happen should never be allowed. in the united states we have principles and i'm froubd an american and a u.s. congressman. these are difficult decisions. no boots on the ground. assad has to pay a price for

gassing children. >> elliot engel is the ranking member of the house foreign affairs committee. up next on our special report we'll have a close look at syria's first lady. license and registration please. what's this? uhh, it's my geico insurance id card, sir. it's digital, uh, pretty cool right? maybe. you know why i pulled you over today? because i'm a pig driving a convertible?

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she's appeared in vogue magazine and was once an investment banker and not what you would expect from the wife of syria's strongman. >> reporter: she is photographed consoling the families of deceased soldiers. in a glowing profile vogue magazine called her a rose in the desert. these are the contradictions of assad married to syria's embattled dictator.

>> how does she rationalize this? >> i think it would be hard for her to do that. i think she is standing by her man. >> reporter: analyst knows her, worked with her at a charity in syria. he believes the syrian first lady clearly understands the gravity of what is going on there. in an interview with cnn two years before the ups are started she spoke about the condition of palestinians in gaza. >> this is something i think about on a daily basis. you put your children to bed at night and expect to see them in the morning. that is a luxury that people do not have. what would it be like for you having living under those circumstances. >> reporter: before syrian children found themselves under those circumstances she was all about helping them. she established charities, worked on literacy programs. since the war started she has not been seen as much in public. >> how much influence does she

have over him? >> i think influence in terms of pointing out some of the basic problems in the country and particularly these issues about reform but politicly she is not accepted by those around the regime's core. >> reporter: born in london and raised in this home, educated in the best schools in england she worked for two investment banks after graduating, closed some lucrative deals. but since marrying bashar al assad her knack for showing her sense of style has led to brushback. last year some private e-mails were released and obtained by cnn, the guardian and other outlets. the e-mails revealed at one point she ordered $16,000 worth of candle sticks, tables and chandeliers from paris. >> reporter: in one e-mail she boasted she was the quote real

dictator in her marriage. >> i think she is torn but made her decision. the fact is that she has made her life around the assad regime itself is. she is, i think, a divided person very much like her husband between wanting to reform and carry out good works in the country and being the first lady of syria. and those two things particularly with this regime are incompatible. >> there has been speculation since the war started that she may leave syria. he thinks she will stay until the bitter end. fleeing the country he says would mean leaving her husband and possibly her three young children behind. >> no indications that she is planning on doing anything along those lines even to get her kids out of there? >> no. no indication. earlier in the war there was speculation that maybe she left.

it does not appear that that has happened or will happen anytime soon. >> thanks very much. to our viewers thank you very much. that is all the time we have. i'm wolf blitzer in the situation room. "erin burnett outfront" starts right after this. adults and kids six years and older. zyrtec®. love the air. and kids six years and older. help the gulf when we made recover and learn the gulf, bp from what happened so we could be a better, safer energy company. i can tell you - safety is at the heart of everything we do. we've added cutting-edge technology, like a new deepwater well cap and a state-of-the-art monitoring center, where experts watch over all drilling activity twenty-four-seven. and we're sharing what we've learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. our commitment has never been stronger.

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next, breaking news. president obama in his own words on his plans for syria. what he means by consequences for the assad regime. a montana man quicked of raping his 14-year-old student, how could a judge only sentence him to 30 days in prison? an exclusive interview tonight with the victim's mother. and four famous words, i have a dream. dr. martin luther king's vision 50 years later. has the dream come true? let's go outfront.