and an even better fall. by the way, if you you missed anything, you can catch all of today's conversations on cnn.com. or go to itunes and check out the podpodcast. join us next sunday at 11:00 a.m. eastern. state of the union begins right now. crisis in syria and conflicting signals at home. >> i have decided the united states should take military action. >> but not so fast. >> i've made a second decision. i will take this case to congress. >> at stake, american credibility. did the president blink in the face of assad? will the u.s. congress deliver the same blow as the british parliament? and what happened to the president's red line? >> this is the indiscriminate,

inconceivab inconceivable horror of chemical weapons. >> john kerry joins us. a and today the state of the obama presidency on this special edition of state of the union. good morning and welcome to washington. i'm gloria borger in for candy crowley. this morning there is growing urgency over president obama's surprise request for congressional approval of military action against syria. this morning secretary of state john kerry told me the u.s. now has evidence that syrian forces used sarin in the august 21 chemical attack that killed 1400 people. members of congress will get a classified briefing on that in a couple of hours. and also this morning u.n. officials promise that impartial and credible investigation, but did not say when the results would be announced.

earlier today, i spoke with secretary of state john kerry. mr. secretary, thank you so much for being with us this morning. i have to say that it was a surprise yesterday when the president announced that he was going to seek congressional approval for military action in syria. you can tell us whether this administration is prepared to act even if congress votes no? >> we don't contemplate that the congress is going to strovote n gloria. i believe this case is powerful and grows more you powerful by the day. i can share with you today that blood and hair samples that have come to usyou powerful by the day. i can share with you today that blood and hair samples that have come to usou powerful by the day. i can share with you today that blood and hair samples that have come to usu powerful by the day. i can share with you today that blood and hair samples that have come to us powerful by the day. i can share with you today that blood and hair samples that have come to us through an appropriate chain of custody from east dwee maamascus, from responders, it has tested positive for signatures of sarin. so each day that goes by, this case is even stronger.

we know that the regime ordered this attack, we know they prepared for it, we know where the rockets came from, we know where they landed, we know the damage that was done afterwards, we've seen the horrific scenes all over the social media. and we have evidence of it in other ways and we know that the regime tried to cover up afterwards. so the case is really an overwhelming case, but the president really felt very strongly that the congress of the united states weighing in makes our nation stronger in whatever action we take. >> but doesn't it worry you that you have put this heavy responsible on a congress that is notoriously paralyzed and divided? >> we have confidence. there are good people in the congress of the united states. i know politically it's been difficult, but this is a matter of national security, it's a matter of the credit and bilitye

united states of america, jordan which is threatened by what's happening, israel, turkey, leb about a november, all of which are just a stiff breeze away from chemical weapons being used. there are huge interests here. and in the long term, gloria, what we may or may not have to do if we cannot find a peaceful resolution with iran, what we need to do with north korea, all of these things are part of a continuum of decision making that is made in foreign policy and we believe the congress of the united states will recognize that responsibility and do what is right. >> but mr. secretary, the head of the council on foreign relations, for example, says that in fact president obama has gone -- these are his words -- from leading from behind to not leading by going to congress. he says that it raises doubts about the united states' reliability and determination. can i get your response on that? >> absolutely.

of course you can. the fact is that the president of the united states is leading and he's leading very powerfully and he's leading in the right way. if he didn't do this, i can hear all of the critics saying why did not the president go to congress. why didn't the president -- key have asked. he had time to ask. it didn't make a difference. all of those -- >> but then they could ask why didn't he go sooner. >> the president made his decision first. and he announced his decision. his decision is that he believes the united states of america should take military action to deter assad from using these weapons and to degrade his capacity from doing so. that's the president's decision. but he -- >> no matter what congress does, the president -- >> he has the right to do that no matter what congress does. he asserted that in his comments yesterday. but the president believes and i hope we will prove to the world that we are stronger as a

nation, our democracy a stronger. when we respect the rights of the congress to also weigh in on this. and since it is not the an emergency overnight as we saw at a plaes like libya where people are about to be slaughtered, sense we have the right to strike isn't if assad is fall lish enough foolish enough to engage in another attack, we believe that it is important before this takes place to have the full investment of the american people and of the congress. >> what are you telling the syrian opposition now who was clearly counting on military action sooner rather than later and now it's been delayed? >> sometimes the wheels of democracy require us to take an extra day or two to provide the legitimacy that our founding fathers contemplated in actions that we take. and i talked yesterday with the president of the syrian opposition. i believe he understands that america intends to act, that we are going to continue to support

the opposition, that we may even as a result of this be able to provide greater support to the opposition. and do a better job of helping the opposition to be able to continue to fight against the assad regime. i think they will be stronger, we will be stronger in the end, and it's amazing to me to see people suddenly standing up and taking such affront at the notion that congress ought to weigh in. i mean, i can hear the complaints that would have taken place if the president proceeded unilaterally and president said, well, why didn't he take to the congress. >> i think the questions are being raised because it seems that from the onset of this over the last couple of weeks, it seems that the president was poised to take action sooner rather than later. you came out and said it matters if nothing is done about. >> it does matter. none of that has changed. >> so why didn't he decideabout >> it does matter. none of that has changed. >> so why didn't he decidebout. >> it does matter. none of that has changed.

>> so why didn't he decideout. >> it does matter. none of that has changed. >> so why didn't he decideut. >> it does matter. none of that has changed. >> so why didn't he decidet. >> it does matter. none of that has changed. >> so why didn't he decide. >> it does matter. none of that has changed. >> so why didn't he decide to go to congress immediately? >> you because the president needed to gather the evidence and ask me and others to make judgments and ultimately to make the case to the american people. >> yet he concluded he didn't have enough political support in the country to go to alone? >> absolutely not. the president of the united states asserted yesterday that he has the right and i believe he has that right. but the president made i think a very courageous decision. just because he disappointed some people who thought -- who thought -- without any basis that he was setting up to go take a strike doesn't mean that he didn't reserve the right to make the judgment that he made. no decision is made by a president until the decision is made. and this president did not make the decision until he finally came to the conclusion that he wanted to take this to congress in order to have the greater

strength of the american people speaking as a whole. i think it's -- i personally believe at a time when the institutions of governance are being doubted by many people, i think this is a very courage krus decisi yugs decision and no one should misinterpret it. >> but it's also risky, isn't it? the risk is if congress were, and i know you don't expect this will, but if congress were to vote no, and then the president were to strike, wouldn't that set up a constitutional crisis? >> the president has the right and he has asserted that right that he could do what's necessary to protect the national security of the united states at any point in time. the president believes that we are stronger as a nation when we act together. the branches of government that are designated with powers with

respect to foreign policy. and so the president has made his decision. and he courageously went out yesterday and announced his decision to the nation and the world. he believes that this outrageous attack by assad merits the united states joining with others to stand up and defend the international norm with respect to the prohibition of the use of chemical weapons. the president announced that decision and now he has asked the congress of the united states representing the american people to join in with him in that decision. >> mr. secretary -- >> and we are stronger as a nation when that happens. >> let me ask you about our coalition. when you were running for president in 2004, you said that in iraq we should not have relied on what you call the coalition of the few.

isn't that what we have? >> this situation will grow as the evidence comes out. that's why there is a value going through this process. i've talked with a number of nations who have offered to be helpful. no decisions have been made about what shape that will take. but i believe that there are many, the arab league has already spoken out, voices as far away as japan, new zealand, australia, other places have spoken out. i think the world takes enormous affront at this incredible abuse of power, this attack on decency and incredible crime against humanity. i think voices will grow over the next days as people see the evidence. and that evidence is becoming more powerful every day as i mentioned to you, we no you have the additional evidence of the signatures of sarin gas from the first responders.

>> is this from the united nations? >> no, this is independent. this came to the united states, it's independent. but it is confirmation of the signatures of sarin. and so the case gets stronger by the day. and i believe the case for action will grow stronger by the d day. >> in speaking with members of congress this week, it seems that a lot of the disagreement with the administration is not so much based on the evidence of the use of chemical weapons, but i think the questions are largely about whether your plan for a so-called surgical attack will actually deter assad. so it seems to be more substantive. and my question to you is how can you be sure that a surgical attack will not just be a slap on the wrist as john mccain might say, but will actually deter him from the use of these chemical weapons.

>> i think, gloria, there are a number of ways that there are messages that could be sent in an attack. without going into any details. that will make it very clear that if he were to attempt to do it again, things could be consider bring worse. number one. but number two, let me return that question around on anybody who asks it. how can you -- what happened if you don't do it? you can be absolutely certain 100% that you have have sent a message that he can do this with immunity, that it doesn't matter. i'd far rather be where the president of the united states is ready to show him that he can deter and degrade his capacity to do this with the obvious threat that more could be done if necessary as opposed to sending him a message that the chemical weapons con quenks that has been in place since 1925 as a result of world war i no

longer means anything, that the world will look the other way and iran and north korea and z hezbollah and others will look at the united states and say nothing means anything. that's what's at stake. and the president has made his decision. this is squarely now in the hands of congress. and i have confidence that my former colleagues in the united states senate and my friends in the house, they will do what is wright because they understand the stakes. >> and mr. secretary, is the president's legacy also on the line here? >> you know, this is not a time for legacy and all of that discussion. this is a time to recognize that here in this country we have a very important decision to make about its united states, the interests of our friends. i ask any americans to think what will iran think with respect to america's efforts to not have it have a nuclear

weapon if we're not prepared to enforce the chemical weapons convention with respect to assad. what will north korea think? what will any group in the world think if the united states is unprepared to follow through? the president has made it clear he is prepared. but he wants our nation to speak with one voice. he wants our nation to be united through the elected representatives of the people who can how exercise their prerogatives with respect to american foreign policy. i think it's a courageous decision by the president. i think he ought to be congratulated for respecting and not exercising the power of the imperial presidency where he just goes off and does what he thinks is right without regard to that. the president knows he has the power to do this. but he is empowering the congress to empower the nation through the decision that we make together. >> thank you very much, mr. secretary, for being with us this morning. and now i want to bring in

cnn's chief international correspondent christiane amanpour and fareed zakari. let me go to you you first, fareed. it certainly sounds like the secretary is saying that even if congress votes no, the president would use some type of military force against assad. is that a wise decision? good i think the decision making has been so confused that it's difficult to put the word wise in front of anything they're doing. the administration has hesitated between nonintervention and intervention. it is caught between those stools. for a long time president obama had explained in a very disciplined way that this was a messy internal civil war and the united states couldn't do much to effect it. but now all of a sudden this is huge every implications for american interests spanning

north korea, iran, the entire credibility of the united states. so why are we talking about two days of strikes? you see the same confusion in the whole issue of congress. if this is as massive an important violation of international law, standards, decency compelling american action, then as you were pointing out the united states should have acted and acted quickly. the president seemed to have made that determination. and then all of a sudden he wanted it both ways on this one, as well. so i think that you have these two confusions between intervention on the one hand and nonintervention and trying to have it both ways. and on the president, presidential authority, and congressional approval, and in both cases, the administration seems to want to have it both ways, but it can't. >> both ways they want to have it? ? here is the thing. it's generally assumed and viewed that none of the world

leaders have made a compelling public case for the strategic necessity of stopping the carnage in syria over the past 2 1/2 years. now the bar is raised by international law because weapons of misdestruction have been used and that is a crime as you heard secretary kerry say against humanity, the most egregious crime. but now both president obama and secretary kerry have made strong cases over the last couple of days and in your smer interview secretary kerry was incredibly strong and i'd be really surprised if the united states doesn't go ahead. i think what's important at the moment is what's being viewed overseas, the syrian opposition is saying that right now as we speak, this delay is being met by the assad regime moving people out of harm's way, putting personnel into civil places like schools that would be incredibly complicated when it comes to targeting.

also in syria and amongst hezbollah, all of those people today are celebrating what they are describing as u.s. capitulation in the face of their strength, that is the kind of stuff they do in this regard. >> thanks so much. and when we return, making the case to congress and to the american people. i will be joined by a group of panelists who have had to make and carry out decisions to use u.s. fire you power. stay with us. he keeps serving up sneezes... [ sneezing ] she may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec®. powerful allergy relief for adults and kids six years and older. zyrtec®. love the air.

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and more on the situation now in syria. retired u.s. marine corps general anthony zitty, john negraponti, director of national

intelligen intelligence, peter bergen, and jeremy bash who served at the department of staff and cia. thanks to all of you for being here this morning. jeremy, let me start with you you. you have been in these meetings where the national security team has to make a decision like the president made the other day. it seemed clear he was heading in one direction, going for the use of force, and then suddenly stopped. decided to go to congress. how does something like that occur? >> i think the president did two things yesterday when he came out. first of all he said he wants to seek congressional authorization, but then he also said here is where i stand, what i favor. and i think he and you satisfies the case for action grew because intelligence was so strong that it was going to be to his benefit. sure there are risks. >> sharing responsibility with the congress? >> let me tell and you quick story.

pet peter peter wrote a great book and panetta brought congressional leaders in to his office and said here's what we're looking at in terms of where bin laden may be hiding. why did he do that? in part because if heaven forbid something went wrong, congress would have our back. >> so is this about buy-in? he needs that, but he also needs to get the military some kind of clear direction. >> that's right. and what concerns me most is not the immediate action, it's the long term action. we know what can happen, what the alternatives are, what the assad options may be. our question would be for the military are you prepared to react to those. 's t what's the long term strategy, we shouldn't assume this is one and can done. and i can prepare all couldnkin

responses, but i'd like to know that we have buy ghsh to take this all the way through, that there is a strategy. >> indeed. and another point is about the international element. even if you can't get u.n. security council approval, there are things you can do to get a bit more international buy-in. secretary kerry mentioned the neighboring countries that are concerned. there a whole international community watching this situation. so now over the next several days with the laying out of all the information, intelligence, and so forth, i think you may at the very least get an understanding of what we're doing if not explicit approval from a growing number of countries. so i think that's a positive thing. >> unfortunately, so far obviously u.n. resolution is out of the question. nato unlike in kosovo hasn't said we have a humanitarian need to intervene. the arab league has said it's a heinous crime, but stopped short

of saying we're in favor of military action. so these international bodies so far aren't getting to the point where they're saying this is okay. that could change. >> i'm not suggesting a decision by the international community, i'm suggesting better understanding and maybe it will provoke a little internal debate in their own countries. we certainly know some countries like the gulf countries, the gcc countries, are sympathetic. >> what message are we sending to assad, to iran, to north korea? we're heading in one direction, oh, wait a meant, we'inute, we'. >> i think the message will be powerful when as i expect and i hope congress votes to approve this. i think it will be good to say -- >> but they might not. >> they might not, but the president has said he has the authority and the constitutional power to go forward in any event. but it will be better, it's preferable, once congress is briefed, it's better if congress votes to authorize this.

>> and u.s. central command also has iran in its area of responsibility. we've laid down red lines on iran on weapons programs. so the implication can clearly carry over there. what does it mean for the planning that they have done in regard to iran so far. >> and if you're in jerusalem, what are you thinking? >> as jeremy said, it could work. i think the president is l. take risks if he thinks there is a big payoff. congressional support is a big payoff. bin laden, he risked being a one term president, taking on hillary clinton when he was a junior senator was a calculated risk. so i think if the payoff is big enough, he'll take a risk. obviously this is a risk, but it might work. >> let me ask you, do you think the president looks prudent or weak or both? >> well, frankly, i think he looks prudent. and i don't doubt his resolve on this. i actually don't doubt it. i don't think he's looking for an excuse to get out from a box

or a situation that he painted himself into. diagnosing -- >> although he did paint himself into a box. >> -- why they changed their approach late last week, i wonder if the decision of the uk parliament wasn't a watershed event. and i wouldn't rule out the british parliament maybe having a different view. other point, let not forget we have the g-20 meeting next week of all places taking place in st. petersburg. so there has to be some interesting discussion there. >> if there is a conversation between the president and putin, i'd like to be sitting in on that. because putin said today that the evidence on chemical weapons is what he called utter nonsense. so i'm sure they will be having a discussion on that. thanks to all of you for being here with us. and when we return, congressional reaction to a troubling question from president obama. >> here is my question for every member of congress and every member of the global community.

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earlier on this program, secretary of state john kerry told me the u.s. now has blood and hair samples skating syrian regime used sarin in that attack that killed 1400 people. a short time ago, i asked house intelligence committee chairman congressman mike rogers about the impact that that could have on the debate in congress. don't you think a lot of your colleagues believed the president decided for a vote because he wanted a congressional buy-into share responsibility? >> why shouldn't congress share in the responsibility? if you believe in the war powers act, which do i, in you believe in a constitution that firmly put abouts the responsibility for congress to provide for the general defense, that means that we're involved in this discussion. and we should be.

it sends a very firm decision that we're serious about the proliferation of chemical weapons. you think about a country like north korea that many believe has a large stockpile of chemical weapons and biological weapons pursuing its nuclear program, same in iran, same in other places in the world, we better send a very clear message in a unified way that we're not going to tolerate proliferation of weapons of mass destruction let alone their use. if you don't accepted that message, that has real world consequences. >> those are very strong words from the house intel againligen committee chairman. and now i'm joined by members of congress that will get a classified briefing and they come at this from a very different point of view before we go to them, let's go to our chief congressional correspondent dana bash oig.

okay. we don't have dana bash, but we'll goat to the members of congress. joining me now representative elliott angle, a new york democrat and he is ranking on foreign affairs committee, representative scott ridgell, and joining us with about 140 signatures on a letter asking for congress vote, and we have congressman adam smith, top democrat on the house armed services committee, and he just returned from the syrian border. let me start with you, congressman smith. is there anything that you have heard from the president so far and from the secretary of state john kerry this morning that has convinced you to change your meepd? i know you were very skeptical about this mission and whether it could succeed. >> i'm skeptical about whether or not the use of military force in this case will accomplish the

very legitimate goal. i think what mike rogers said about proliferation of wmd and how tufl it is wh how awful it is, it's being a a really. the question is whether or not the burden can fall simply on u.s. military. we don't have a u.n. resolution, we don't have support from the international community to move forward with military action. so i don't question the awf awfulness of the indication. i situation. it's a matter of whether military action will accomplish the goal. >> and if the president were looking for key ally, you'd be one of them. elliott, you have a different point of view. >> i think absolutely the president is correct, i think that we cannot allow assad or

anyone else to gas his own people and get away with it. i was the author of 2003 syrian accountability act and i've been watching syria for it a long, long time. this is a brutal dictator of a brutal regime. i think there is no question that sarin gas was used. and it's a war crime. and the question is can we afford to sit idly by and just allow this to happen. and if we do, every despot, every terrorist in the world will feel free to use it because there are no repercussions. >> my views are more closely aligned with think ranking member smith. the president laid out three object he said tsz, hold the regime accountable, i go, also to deter future use of chemical weapon and degrade the ability of the assad regime to do it again. my question is, one of them, is if after this limited strike will the assad regime still be

in place with a military, with chemical weapons? if that's the definition of success, i question that. >> so you're saying it's a slap on the wrist. i want to play but the president's now infamous statements about the so-called red line which is giving so many people so much stubble. let's listen and we'll talk about it. >> we have been very clear to the assad regime, but also to other players on the ground that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. that would change my equation. >> so congressman smith, did the president back himself into a corner on this that he can't get out of, so he's coming to congress to help him out here? >> he stated a policy. he didn't back himself into a corner if he believes in that policy.

and i'm sympathetic about holding the folks accountable, but you can look at iraq. saddam hussein did the same they think post 1991, he used chemical weapons against his own people. and it took a while, but eventually we did hold him accountable. we removed him at an enormous cost. we've seen what's happened with the iraq war. and the interesting thing is that this will send a signal to deck at a time tors that you can't do that. well, here we are not too many years later and assad is using chemical weapons. >> what's your response? >> my response is that the pictures, the horrific pictures of those children foaming at the mouth and gasping for breath. my god, we're the united states of america and we have to stand for something. if we're not going to stand up to a thug like assad and say we're not going to let you commit war crimes, who are we as a nation? i think we need to stand up and

clearly say this is unke7able. we can argue about whether there should be a minimal strike or maximum strike or whatever it is, but i cannot continence the fact of sitting there and doing nothing while people are being gassed. and war crimes are being xhbein committed. >> so can congress agree on anything on this? the three of you have different points of view and two of you are in the same party. >> party does not have anything to do with this. i really believe that. i've not heard one member of my republican conference mention anything about partisanshpartis. this is a sobering decision that he's rightly bring to go congress. >> and let me just go around the table here and i'll start with you, congressman smith. if you had to vote today, how would you vote? >> i don't have to vote today. so we'll have the debate in the next week or so and i'll give the president the chance to make

his case. i think the arguments are compelling. it's just very difficult. there are a lot of awful humanitarian cries ceahugh man tea humanitarian crises throughout the world. >> so i'll count you september c skeptical. >> right now i'd vote no, but i'm looking forward to the debate. >> and you? >> i would vote yes because the whole world is watching and so is iran. >> thanks to all of you. and other lawmakers are complaining president's willingness to go to alone in syria seems like a face saving move. coming up, how much the president's credibility and u.s. global image has been damaged. being active. and being with this guy. [ male announcer ] getting to know you is how we help you choose the humana medicare plan that works best for you. mi familia. ♪ [ male announcer ] we want to help you achieve your best health,

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when we return, has the president tarnished his image at home, abroad or maybe both? that's next. ?hña @8@x

joining me with their perspective on syria, former under secretary of state steven burns and david gergen who has advised four u.s. presidents. david, you've seen what happened this week which was kind of stunning, the white house seemed to be moving in the direction of the use of force. stopped. president decides to go to congress. secretary of state this morning tells us that if congress votes no, they might go anyway. so why did this occur? you've been in those rooms. you know what the discussions are. >> i think that when david cameron lost in the british parliament, that forced his hand. he had no choice but to seek additional approval from somewhere, otherwise he was totally isolated. he didn't have the u.n., he didn't have a willing coalition. and he didn't have support at home either from the congress or

public opinion polls. he needed to have something that was with him. and by the way, i think he's likely to win. there will be a lot of kerfuffle between here and there, but if you look back through history, starting with the first world war, presidents have sought congressional backing on 18 different occasions and they have never lost. >> but this is a different congress. you just heard those members of congress, two democrats disagreeing, one saying a think rag democrat saying he wouldn't go with the president at this point. >> but i think when you put all the cards on the table, that the democratic majority in each chamber is likely to be with him and i think republicans will lean up. stlt t there is the israeli factor, but also the factor that especially among democrats, they don't want to cripple their commander in chief with more than three years

left. i think those kind of arguments will have great weight as time goes on. >> and neick burns, what are th implications of the delay for our allies or in syria for that matter? >> there are risks here. risk one is that assad will misread this, not understand what the president is trying to do as david has described in terms of domestic affairs and believes we're a paper tiger and that will embolden him. the second risk is that the coalition supporting assad will feel they have license to continue what they're doing. i think the president and secretary kerry have an opportunity now to reach out to israel and to have israel become much more vocal in support of what the united states is try aing to do and also to reach out to the arab league, they're meeting today, the arab league has not kret pronounced itself on whether or not it supports an american strike. it should now. i think with those two groups on board, israel and the arab

league, then our international position will be greatly strengthened. >> the president is embarking on the g-20 summit in russia. he will face putin eye to eye. putin has called this evidence of chemical weapons utter nonsense. what do you think the president is prepared to say to putin? i'm sure they're preparing something. >> whatever it is, it will be frosty on both sides. i don't think they will talk very much. i think a risk as nick was pointing out, there a very definite risk that russia now will step up its armaments of the syrians in preparation for an attack. this is their friend. they will say this is a wrongful action and well step it up. i think the bigger risk, what the president has to work on here, is that you can say it's wise to call for the congress to do this, but the way he went about it, it was so jerky and unpredictable, that i think it's raised questions about just how

firm a grip he has on the wheel as a commander in chief. after all, starting with the drawing of the red line itself, which seemed to be sort of almost by the way, it's a red line, as opposed to a well thought out plan, and now we have no apparent strategy for long term in the middle east. nick knows this better than i do. but presidents need to be seen in control of events and guiding events and not just reacting or bouncing around. i'd welcome nick's views. >> go ahead, nick. >> i think david's right. the united states has to -- the administration has to regroup here. the congress has to vote in favor of this resolution. or else the credibility of the united states as a global power and the middle east will be f t vastly reduced. it means the administration has to give the powerful performance that secretary kerry gave this morning on all the sunday shows including state of the union, he gave a ringing endorsement for

why it's important for us to act. we have to see that kind of consistency, resolve, and strength in the administration. that's what the world is looking for. it didn't see this way. i hope we'll see it in the next week or two. >> thanks so much to you both. and at the top of the hour, a special edition of if a read sa regard i can't gps, he's in turkey today with which share as 500 mile border with syria. [ gerry ] you really couldn't have come at a better time. these chevys are moving fast. i'll take that malibu. yeah excuse me. the equinox in atlantis blue is mine! i was here first. it's mine. i called about that one. it's mine. customers: [ echoing ] it's mine, mine, mine. it's mine! no it's not! it's mine! better get going. it's the chevy labor day sale. [ male announcer ] the chevy labor day sale.

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stay with cnn for continuing coverage of the crisis in syria. thank you so much for watching state of the union. i'm gloria borger. candy crowley will be right back here next week. fareed zakari gps is next for our viewers right here in the united states. welcome to all our viewers in the united states and around the world, this is a special, live edition of "gps," the global public square. i'm fareed zakaria in istanbul, turkey. if you cross behind me and went a few hundred miles, you'd be in syria. if you went through the other way you would reach the mediterranean where u.s. warships are at the ready for possible orders to launch missiles at syria. and that's where we'll focus the show today on president obama's dual decisions announced