-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good morning. i'm carol costello. thank you so much for being with me. we begin with the crisis in syria. this hour, the shadow of syria hangs over the white house. minutes from now, president obama meets with house speaker john boehner and minority leader nancy pelosi. the president's mission, chip away at congress's queaziness at

military strikes, the debate so heated, stakes so high, lawmakers are trickling back to washington about a week early. in fact, an afternoon hearing with top administration officials, secretary of state john kerry, defense secretary chuck hagel, and joint chiefs chair general martin dempsey all will be there. we're covering all the angles this morning both here and abroad. let's begin with cnn's white house correspondent brianna keilar. good morning, brianna. >> reporter: good morning, carol. this meeting is expected to take place here at white house in just about 45 minutes. this is important, the second day of meetings here with key lawmakers at the white house. we'll see john boehner as well as house minority leader nancy pelosi and you'll have the top democrats and republicans from key congressional committees. the point that president obama will be making is that he needs their help, and without it, a message may be sent to not only syria if there is no retaliatory

strike, but also to other american foes, like iran and hezbollah. basically, a message of, you know, maybe you can go ahead and try us on some of our policies, because you may just actually get away with it. and i'll tell you, i'm actually watching at this point a motorcade come in right now, as i imagine we're expecting some of the arrivals for this meeting here, carol. >> yeah, i see them, too. while you're watching that this morning on cnn, earlier this morning we heard from senators john mccain and lindsey graham, two of the more hawkish republicans who met with mr. obama yesterday. of course, they still have some serious concerns. listen. >> and to think that the syrians aren't making accommodations to the likelihood of a strike by moving their assets around, including military assets into civilian areas is just foolishness. this kind of telegraphing punches could make our mission much more difficult and much more damaging to the civilian

population. it's, frankly, it's crazy. >> if we get syria wrong, if we show a weakness here regarding assad's chemical weapons utilization, you're almost ensuring a war between israel and iran over their nuclear program, and we would surely get drawn into that. so to the american people, if you're worried about the iranians getting a nuclear weapon, as i am, the last card to play to stop that is how we handle syria. >> okay, so we just saw the vice president exit one of those black cars and go into the white house. we're expecting, of course, john boehner and nancy pelosi to arrive at any time. brianna, in light of what you just heard, is the president making any headway with these meetings? >> i think that's really interesting to play that sound, carol, because when you listen to that, you hear mccain and you hear graham saying, hey, but we still have concerns. i think the real headline of what you have to listen to, and we heard this yesterday after they came out of this meeting, and we also saw today when senator john mccain was on cnn,

the first thing he emphasized, even though he dinged the president there, was the area of overlap that they have. and i think that is something that the white house is taking as a very positive sign, and i think it's something they should take as a positive sign. you're hearing from lindsey graham, you're hearing from john mccain, they want something done. yes, they still have concerns. they want to make sure the rebels are given more resources so perhaps they ultimately can weaken the assad regime a little bit. there's other members of congress with other concerns, they don't want boots on the groind, they want to make sure this is time limited. but i do think this is tentative support from two key hawks, from two of the most prominent hawks in congress, and i think it's key to president obama he tries to find a sweet spot in a resolution that may be able to pass congress. it's still, and we should emphasize this, carol, and i know it's a point you're making, it is so fair, it's still a very heavy lift and that's why you see all this outreach. >> i know you're going to stay there and watch for the arrivals

and hopefully get some interviews for us, brianna keilar live from the white house for us this morning. as the world waits for u.s. response on syria, israel confirms it has fired a successful missile test in the mediterranean sea. that's according to a spokeswoman at israel's ministry of defense. according to the ministry's facebook page, the test was carried out from an israeli air force base. israel says the test was conducted in order to determine the ability of a new target missile system. a u.s. official told cnn the launch was an expected systems test. tonight, president obama heads to russia. he's attending the g20 economic summit, and it's sure to be awkward, not just because vladimir putin is standing by syria, but because of so many other things like edward snowden and russia's crackdown on gays and lesbians. phil black is in moscow this morning. good morning, phil. >> reporter: hello, carol. you're right, when president

obama and putin come face to face in st. petersburg, it was always going to be awkward, because they agree on so little. in relation to being so poor recently, you may recall president obama cancelled a big one-on-one summit that was supposed to take place here in moscow just before the g20. as diplomatic snubs go, that's pretty huge. since then, the division on syria has become even greater. more intensified over this issue how to respond to the issue of chemical weapons there. syria isn't formally on the agenda for the g20, because it's an economic summit, but it's expected to dominate talks on the sidelines where leaders will get together and hold one-on-one meetings. at the moment, there is no meeting planned between obama and putin. they will be in the same room a lot of the time. president putin will greet each of the leaders individually with a handshake, presumably, so it could change, but at the moment, these two leaders are not scheduled to talk about this very important issue.

>> well, you know there's another rumor we heard that russia is talking about sending some kind of delegation to the united states to lobby members of congress. is that true? >> reporter: that's what they are saying. deliberate attempt by russian politicians to try and influence that vote in congress. a group of members of russia's parliament say they want to travel to the united states to meet with members of congress to try to bring them around to the russian view to persuade them to take a balanced view on syria, which means they want them to object the president's proposal to intervene militarily. we don't know precisely who or when they are going, but they have to get there before the congress votes. carol? >> phil black reporting live from moscow this morning. weak and indecisive, that's how some are characterizing president obama after he decided to seek congressional approval on possible action in syria, but given the anger in the wake of the iraq and afghanistan wars and a country tired of war, did

the president have any other choice? david gergen, cnn's senior political analyst joins me now from cambridge, massachusetts. good morning, david. >> good morning, carol. >> okay, so you've worked with both democratic and republican presidents, so let me run this by you, a senior house democrat had this to say to politico, "the syria situation could be the biggest miscalculation of his presidency. not only is his credibility on the line, but the country's credibility on the line, so he's rolling the dice by taking this to congress." do you agree? >> yeah, i certainly agree he's rolling the dice, and i do think an enormous amount is at stake for the country and for his presidency. typically, carol, a president in a second term spends a lot of time in the first year on domestic policy, but as power runs out or wanes, then he spends a lot of time on foreign policy. this president's had an unusually choppy first year for a second termer, so he's not

getting as much done as he hoped to get done. he was planning to put more time into foreign policy. if he gets stripped of his authority, if congress rejects what he's asking, it will be the first time it happens to a president in the last 200 years. that would hurt him, might even cripple him in foreign affairs. yes, he has a lot on the line. did he have to take this risk? i think he felt boxed in. >> because of his red line comment. let me play devil's advocate even more. republicans have long complained the president is a dictator, americans don't want another war. 7,000 troops have die the in afghanistan and iran, 50,000 more have been wounded and it will cost us $1 billion a month just to get rid of the chemical weapon s. in light of all that, doesn't the president have the responsibility of taking this to the people? >> absolutely, and i think that's what's going to happen in the meeting today with john boehner, nancy pelosi, and the other leaders, both boehner and

pelosi are going to put pressure on him to go to the country with the argument, mr. president, first you have to bring along the public, then you can bring along the congress. you know as well as i, the country is very split, very weary for the very reasons that you suggested, so i think once he gets back from the g20 meeting, there's a very strong likelihood he will make a national appeal, whether it come in the oval office or as bill clinton did, you know, many people believe bill clinton turned around a situation in the balkans when he went and made a joint appearance against congress. that swung the day, he brought the congress and the country with him. if he wants these votes to bring the country around. today's hearings are sort of a warmup for that, to start getting the arguments out there more persuasively. >> what if congress says no? what's the president do then?

>> i don't know. i think it's extremely likely that he would not act. minister of britain was in a e similar situation and as soon as he -- a strike was rejected by his parliament, his government has ever since taken the position, well, we have the authority to go, but we're not going to do it. we're going to listen to the voice of the people. i do think this vote is pretty darn important. it may be that the president could get a different worded resolution out of the two chambers. they would be in conflict, but each chamber would authorize him up to a degree and he would go anyway. i think there are a lot of twists and turns ahead, carol. it's going to be a fascinating story. the president has an uphill fight. i believe that at the end, going back to what brianna said about the mccain and lindsey graham arguments, about how catastrophic mccain believes this would be for the country, i believe that argument is going

to have a lot of weight over time and that the likelihood is the president will win. he's definitely taking a risk, and he's putting a lot of his presidency, as well as the country's prestige and credibility, say, with a country like iran, he's putting it on the line. it is a gamble. >> okay, you're going to join us at the bottom of the hour, david gergen, thanks for joining us right now, we appreciate it. we're also watching another story out of washington, hagel, secretary of state john kerry, martin dempsey, all preparing to testify this afternoon. the big question, will they be able to win over support for a strike against syria? cnn's erin mcpike joins us with that side of the story, good morning, erin. >> good morning, carol, there's two big things to watch for in the hearing today and the first is simply these administration officials have to convince beyond a shred of a doubt there was a chemical weapons attack in

syria. believe it or not, there's still skepticism about that. the other is how these attacks affect national security. many lawmakers don't understand what the president is saying when he says this is a problem for national security and u.s. strikes would be helpful in protecting american national security. so two big things the administration officials will have to do to convince congress today. the other thing i want to tell you about is the republicans who will be in the hearing today. we've got john mccain and bob porker, the ranking member of the senate foreign relations committee, who have been largely supportive of the president on this, but there is a big divide, rand paul and marco rubio will also be in this hearing, and as you know, rand paul has been very against the united states striking syria, so we'll have to see how republicans in this hearing fall. will they follow john mccain's lead or rand paul's lead, carol? >> rand paul has a point in many americans' mind, how is syria

threatening our national security. how is it threatening our national security? can anybody really answer that question at this point? >> well, that will be up to chuck hagel and john kerry today, but that's what lawmakers, again, have been saying all weekend, and that's what john kerry and chuck hagel will have to answer. >> erin mcpike live on capitol hill. we'll get back to you soon. i'm picking up my ipad because i want to show you something. see how your lawmaker is voting. cnn is keeping track. it's easy, just go to cnn.com/politics and click on "counting votes," and you can see how your senator, how they would vote on syria today and some of the comments they've made. and if you switch, oh, my ipad's messed up. well, there it is. that's how the senate and this is the house member. if you want to know how your house member might vote and has said about it, it's all right here, cnn.com/politics. we'll be right back. if there was a pill

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right now, president obama meeting with two top house leaders at the white house as he tries to build congressional support for a strike on syria. actually, those two top congressional leaders aren't there yet, he's expecting john boehner and nancy pelosi. somebody already at the white house, is the vice president, joe biden. pelosi and boehner expected to arrive at any moment. this will likely be the president's last face-to-face meeting with lawmakers before he departs for an overseas trip tonight. also, united nations weapons inspectors are analyzing samples

taken from syria at labs at finland and sweden. that will take up to three weeks. joined now by david kay, who led several inspections into iraq following the gulf war. good morning, sir. >> good morning, carol. >> thanks for being with us. we really appreciate it. >> happy to be with you. >> the united nations is testing samples right now, but the u.s. has already tested samples and has already come to a conclusion, so why is it taking these u.n. inspectors so long? >> well, first of all, they've got to vastly increase number of samples over what the u.s. had and there are different media. the u.s., according to a statement, used blood and urine samples. they have a lot of soil samples and more importantly than just the complexity of the task, and it really is more complex than any lab has done before in a chemical area, is the fact that you've got to be careful. the view stated by the u.n. and the u.n. inspectors is going to carry a great deal of weight, and after iraq, you know, it's

very important not to make a mistake in this area. >> okay, so speaking of iraq, some internationally wonder where the united states got its samples in syria. it said it got it from independent sources. who were they? >> well, it said also in various statements they got it from first responders. and i take that to be the medical personnel that you've shown and other stations have shown on video who treated them. let me just say, if you look at that video, those first responders were extremely courageous. they were not equipped to deal with bodies that had sarin on them and they went ahead and tried to save lives. they have my greatest admiration. >> that's for sure. okay, so the key question here remains, not if chemical weapon were used, because the united states has already made up its mind, but who used the chemical weapons. u.n. inspectors, you know, they are still checking to see if chemical weapons were used, but they are not going to get into who used them on these people.

why don't they get into that? >> well, this is the security council in its best or worst, depending on your perspective. because of russian and chinese objections, the resolution authorizing the inspectors limited them to be determination whether chemical weapons were used. now let me say, there is an out. if some of these samples were, as i suspect, collected from artillery shells, bombs, rocket warheads, you can describe, even have pictures that show them as some of those are things that the syrian rebels in no form had access to, so without saying specifically this came from the syrian government, you can provide some damning evidence if you want to. question is, how aggressive will the inspectors be in this regard? >> okay, so ban ki-moon, we talked about it's going to take a couple weeks for u.n. inspectors to determine conclusively, but ban ki-moon is saying hurry up, guys, because i want the united nations to remain relevant.

wouldn't it be nice to have the united nations report for the g20 summit? that's not going to happen, because on thursday president obama will be in russia, then ban ki-moon is saying wouldn't it be nice to use it around september 9th and maybe it won't be ready then either. if the u.n. report isn't ready until after that, does the u.n. at that point become irrelevant? >> well, look, being nice is not as important as being accurate and being able to speak with a great deal of conviction. remember, these results will be analyzed and reanalyzed around the world, so as an inspector, you want to get it right rather than necessarily get it quick. are you relevant? i think you're relevant because of the shadowing effect of iraq. to be able to say this occurred and it was a chemical weapons attack takes that completely off the table. i think it is off the table for the administration and off the table for many americans, including myself, but that's not enough because of iraq.

>> david kay, thank you so much for your insight. much appreciated this morning. >> happy to talk to you, carol. still to come in the "newsroom," diana nyad reaches shore after 100 miles and 53 hours in the water. the first person to swim from cuba to florida without a shark cage talks to dr. sanjay gupta next. [ 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. just announced: $500 labor day cash now through september 3rd on most 2013 chevrolet vehicles!

wow, what more could you say? diana nyad, she did it. her epic 53-hour journey ending on a beach in key west, becoming the very first swimmer to cross from cuba to florida without a shark cage. nyad was on her fifth attempt. she had inspirational messages for the crowd on the beach as she stumbled to shore. she said never give up and, hey, you are never too old to chase your dreams. nyad also received messages like this tweet from hillary clinton, flying to 95 countries is a lot

until you swim between two. seems i swimmed with the sharks, but you actually did it, congrats. we sat down with diana nyad hours after she finished her swim. >> i'd get up, but i can't. hi, honey. >> how are you? >> you know what's so great about it, sanjay, it's all authentic. it's a great story. you have a dream 35 years ago, doesn't come to fruition, but you move on with life. >> sunburned and still swollen, that 64-year-old diana nyad speaking out about her incredible feat, and it's just been hours after swimming across the treacherous waters between cuba and florida without a shark cage. it was a dream decades in the making. and it wasn't always a sure thing. >> i'm just like every other human being, even the bravest soldier has doubts, has fears.

>> in fact, she tried four separate times over three decades to do something that no human had done before, and each time -- she failed. we have followed diana every step of the way, and this past saturday, we were there again. this time she wore a full body suit, gloves, booties, and a new silicone mask to protect against those jellyfish stings. 53 hours and 112 miles of actual swimming and then this. >> we should never, ever give up. >> but it was no surprise to those of us that know her that she agreed to sit down and talk to us just hours after getting out of the water. >> i don't wake up gay or even female or 64. i just wake up like a -- get me

at another day, you know? i'm not relating to that, but i must say that i'm extremely -- vain isn't a good word. i sit down with you today with no makeup, what 64-year-old woman would even do that? it's not vanity, but it's more like pride of fitness and youth. i think that i'm just the youngest 64-year-old that ever live the and i go by a store window sometimes and catch myself in a mirror, oh, no, you're right on 64. >> and if you're ever wondering what goes on in the head of someone like diana, just listen to this. >> my whole mantra this year was find a way. >> find a way. find a way, and she certainly did. congratulations, diana nyad, and thanks, sanjay gupta, for bringing us her story. man, she is one inspirational lady. also tonight on cnn, continuing coverage of the obama administration's push on syria, but first, erin burnett takes an in-depth look at a scandal

that's engulfed the white house earlier this year, the irs. >> cnn tonight at 7:00, an "outfront" investigation, is the irs politically biassed? we get to the truth about the irs. and at 9:00 on "piers morgan live," what happens while the world waits for washington to vote on syria? wolf blitzer fills in for piers with the very latest on the war of words plans of attack, it's all cnn tonight starting with "erin burnett out front" at 7:00, anderson cooper at 8:00 and "piers morgan" at coun9:00 . >> all tonight, 7:00 p.m. eastern. fleeing their homelands in the millions and what's being called the great tragedy of the century. a live report from a refugee camp just ahead. man: sometimes it's like we're still in college.

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good morning. i'm carol costello. thank you so much for being with me. in just a few minutes, president obama's expected to meet with the two top house leaders about the crisis in syria. president's calling on speaker john boehner and minority leader nancy pelosi to the white house as he tries to build up congressional support for a strike on syria. you're looking at the parking lot near the white house and i believe i just saw john boehner get out of one of those fancy cars and go into the white house. joe biden is already there. they'll all be having this big meeting about syria and whether the assad regime was responsible for killing more than 1,400 people in a chemical weapons attack. as the united states decides what to do in the next 15 seconds, another syrian will become a refugee. the crisis has escalated to the point that 2 million syrians are now living in refugee camps, half of them are children.

a year ago that number was nearly 231,000 people. cnn's senior international correspondent ben wiedeman joins me from a refugee camp in northern jordan. good morning, ben. >> reporter: good morning, carol. we are at a refugee camp about 15 kilometers from the syrian border. there are 120,000 people living in this refugee camp. every day, more are arriving. and it's a very difficult situation. in the summer it's very hot and dusty, in the winter it is cold and rainy. we are told that 75% of the inhabitants of this camp are women and children, half of them under the age of 18. and really this is just a drop in the bucket. in jordan, for instance, the unhcr says there's 519,000 registered refugees, but, in fact, there may be twice as many syrian refugees in this country.

and not only is there a problem with refugees outside of syria, but within syria itself, there are 4.2 million people who have been internally displaced, so this is a crisis that is really shaking many of the countries, all of the countries that are bordering syria. carol? >> ben wedeman reporting live this morning. as the obama administration works to boost support for action in syria, both at home and abroad, one nation has emerged as a surprising backer. >> our oldest ally, the french, said the regime, quote, committed this vile action and it is an outrage to use weapons that the community is banned for the last 90 years in all international conventions. >> that may come as a surprise to the british and also to some of the french who were roundly criticized by many americans after slamming our involvement in the iraq war, so good-bye, freedom fries, hello, french

fries. let's talk, cnn senior political commentator david gergen with is us, brianna keilar, nick paton walsh is at the united nations and in moscow, phil black. welcome to all of you. >> thanks, carol. >> you're welcome. >> good morning. >> good morning. david, i want to start with you. let's start with the french. suddenly our military friends, let me throw you a curve. why doesn't france lead the charge? >> who would have believed it after all those years with the french fries, but the french government has been very tough on this. they've got a long-term relationship in syria, it goes back historically, and they have the whole government doesn't have to and doesn't want to submit it to the french parliament, so they are ready to go, but they are not ready to go alone, and they do want the united states not only to come in, but to bring other allies. that's why the g20 meeting could be important for the president. he needs to round up more

support. >> speaking of support, brianna, we have top congressional leaders coming to the white house while defense officials go to the senate. what do they plan to do if congress votes against any type of military action? >> that is the huge question, carol, and if you ask the white house that, you hear from white house officials they say, well, the president still has the authority to act, but officials won't say that he will do that. and i have talked with some long-time observers of the u.s. relations with syria and of this administration's policy when it comes to syria and they say, you know what, without congress okaying this, president obama may very well not go ahead. i think that that is a distinct possibility and i think that's part of the reason why, as we look at all of these lawmakers coming here today, why we see senator mccain and senator graham really tentatively lending their support to president obama. you recall they were here yesterday for that meeting, as well, carol. >> they had strong words of

support for the president. nick to you, ban ki-moon wants the weapons report released very soon so the u.n. doesn't appear irrelevant, but that report isn't back for a week or two, plus two members of the security council, russia and china, won't vote for anything to punish syria. is the united nations already irrelevant? >> well, i think we have to look at two elements of this, the inspectors report, which is going to feed massively in the the court of public opinion and president obama says the u.n. is completely paralyzed, he does care what the rest of the world thinks and can't imagine it would be helpful for u.n. inspectors to declare they found traces of chemical weapons during their inspections. we're hearing the tick tock of samples taken from syria, should be under way in hague. angela kane will be briefing a number of u.n. members who asked for more information about this process and the u.n. secretary general will be telling members of the security council a little more about how the process is

going. you say one to three weeks, we've heard all sorts of different timelines, u.n. won't give one specifically, but we are hearing it's possible they could be ready by the time congress debates. but on top of that, there's the broader issue of russia and china will veto any western-based resolution against syria, because they have done historically in the past. the question is, if the u.n. inspectors say chemical weapons were used, would that lead to a resolution condemning that more broadly, the u.n.'s been deadlocked, but they are informing the world's opinion about what happened in syria. >> russia doesn't seem to be holding its breath for the report to be released because russia is sending its own delegation to the american congress after the nation's foreign minister said claim s made by the united states and france don't convince russia, so what's their strategy, phil, what are they going to say to these american lawmakers and do they think they'll listen to the russians at this point, you know, edward snowden and all?

>> i guess they are hopeful, carol, yes. the number one policy goal for russia for more than two years now has been to block any sort of suggestion there should be international military intervention, because russia believes it will only make the situation in the country worse. so when the british parliament recently voted against a military strike, russia saw that significantly as validation for its longstanding consistent opinion. now that president obama is going to congress, russia says opportunity to try and talk around as many members of congress as possible into thinking there might be something to that russian view, which is any military strike could have devastating consequences in syria and across the region, as well, carol. >> david gergen, brianna keilar, nick paton walsh, phil black, thanks to all of you. so appreciated. >> thank you. still to come in the "newsroom," syrian regime supporters have already launched one weapon in a cyber attack on the united states. now there's concern the hackers could go beyond a propaganda war.

some of the top leaders in congress now meeting with president obama. he's called them there to make his case again for a strike against the assad regime in syria. the u.s. suspects the regime was behind a chemical weapons attack. house speaker john boehner, minority leader nancy pelosi, and other members in the house and senate are all attending this meeting. brianna keilar is there. we'll check back with her in just a few minutes. ahead a possible military action, syrian electronic army hacked the u.s. marines

recruitment website, urging u.s. marines not to attack syria. this isn't the first time we've heard about the syrian electronic army. what is it, who's behind it? cnn's pamela brown has some answers. good morning, pamela. >> good morning to you. marines.com, the main website for the united states marine corps became the latest target of a cyber attack, apparently by the syrian electronic army, a group of hackers known for taking over various media websites. while not believed any classified information was obtained, it instills fears the attacks could continue and cause a real economic toll. if you try to visit marines.com monday, this is what you would have seen, a letter addressed to u.s. marines trying to persuade them against military action in syria. along with these pictures of people dressed in u.s. military uniforms holding up signs like "stay out of syria." a marine corps official tells

cnn the site is primarily for recruiting and no military intelligence was compromised, but this work of pro syrian hackers once again raising concerns about the vulnerability of u.s. sites and servers. >> i think at this point it's a little bit along the lines of more bragging rights, hey, look at what we have been able to do, look at what we've been able to impact. >> the same group took responsibility for taking down "the new york times" website for 20 hours last week, showing servers this server not shown website. the u.s. post, bbc, and cnn have also been recent targets. back in april, the syrian electronic army claimed responsibility for the twitter feed and posting this fake tweet about alleged chaos in the white house. the dow jones plummeted, but quickly recovered once the hoax was zovrecovered. so far the hacking has been limited to posting propaganda on

websites, but future targets could include online retailers, banks, or the stock market. >> the fact they are able to get engaged with things and create the type of pandemonium they are looking for seems to have intensified their interest in attacking these sites. >> and other targets that officials are concerned about are the electrical grid and government computer systems and if the syrian electronic army were to get support from other powerful countries and groups, what they could be capable of increases dramatically, so, of course, that is the big concern, these attacks will continue to escalate. carol? >> pamela brown reporting live for us this morning. thanks so much.

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southeast rhode island cleaning up from heavy rain and flash floods today. firefighters used both to rescue dozen of people from flooded apartment buildings. in new york city, check out these pictures from cbs 4's torrential rain delay play at the u.s. open. those are very, very dedicated fans. cnn's andrew peterson is live in new york keeping an eye on today's weather. we're sick of the rain. >> i was just going to say it's almost a little payback for us in the northeast after everything the southeast has been dealing with. you can see the heavy rain. we saw records yesterday. philadelphia almost two inches of rain. also providence, b ro rk, rhode

almost three inches of rain. we are going to be watching that cold front now making its way offshore in the northeast and mid atlantic. keep in mind though the tail end of this just like we've been seeing all summer long is going to sag into the southeast. here's what it looks like tomorrow once we go into thursday and even through friday. we are still going to be talking about that same cold front and a chance for showers in the southeast.

"50 shades of grey," have you read them all? they're being made into a movie. they just announced what might have been one of the most eagerly anticipated casting decisions of the entire year. >> got footage from a security camera. that's obie torching the meth lab. >> that's us doing it, caught on security cameras. obie's face plain as day. we uds estimated them. retaliation is undisputable. but if we do it now, we're doing it half blind. >> charlie hunt, he was the blond guy, star of "excess," he will play the billionaire

playboy christian grey and dakota johnson just what happens to be melanie griffin and don johnson's daughter will play the innocent college student. cnn entertainment correspondent michelle turner live in new york. i was just -- i was just thinking, i don't know these actors very well but after the movie comes out i'll be seeing them in their birthday suits probably. >> well, yeah, more than likely, a few times, carol. you know, this is actually a big announcement. effort fans of the books which have sold more than 30 million copies. i am one of those fans of the become books. the biggest shocker was probably the casting news of dakota johnson. her parents are actually probably more famous than she is right now. her name doesn't out there as a potential for the role. not t that she hasn't had a few roles. she's been in films like the "five-year engagement," "the social network." she started in "ben and kate." according to google more than 2

million people were googling the name of charlie hunnam yesterday. d he was one of the names kind of in the mix for the role of christian grey. he may star, as you see him there, bearded, engy, ripped. he's one of the bikers on "sons of anarchy." he's british. he's had a few other roles of note in his career. he was just in "pacific rim" this 134summer. he also in the series "undeclared." so he's been there. he hasn't had that big role yet but i think this may be, by design, carol, you know, the "twilight" series, they had unknown people and they became big stars. maybe this will happen for w. him, too. next on "cnn newsroom" after a quick break. [ male announcer ] let's say you pay your guy around 2% to manage your money.

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right now with congressional leaders. can he convince them that the u.s. needs to intervene in syria? plus, is the u.s. even prepared to intervene? are budgets stretched? are troops stretched? what would success really cost us? and -- >> my whole mantra this year was to find a way, you know, i'm doing well, find a way. >> and she did.

35 years after her first attempt, diana nyad finally completes that brutal swim of 100 miles. he says it's about basketball, but can he help free an american doing 15 years of hard labor? the "cnn newsroom" starts now. good morning. i'm carol costello. thanks for being with me. right now debating syria behind the closed doors of the white house. just minutes ago we watched john boehner and nancy pelosi arrive with a number of other key lawmakers. they're meeting now with the president over military action in syria. the debate so divided, the stakes so high lawmakers are trickling back to washington about a week early. in fact, later today the senate foreign relations committee holds a hearing with top administration officials. secretary of state john kerry, defense check tear chuck hagel,

den martin dempsey, all will be there to testify. as the administration pushes the pause button on military strikes though we're getting a better view of the high stakes. the huge costs associated with this. the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff said it could cost taxpayers a billion dollars a month. let's head first to the white house before we get into that part of the story. brianna keilar, has everyone arrived at the white house who is attending this meeting with the president? >> they've all arrived, carol, and the meeting has begun. we're talking about the top leaders in the house of representatives and the senate, as well as key committee chairmen and chairwomen as well as the ranking members. you've got huge group of democrats and republicans, very key members. i will tell you our pool of reporters and cameras has already gone into the cabinet room and has come out. we have tape of it but we're trying to prep it so that we can bring it to you as soon as possible. this obviously is very important meet for president obama. this is really day three of

lobbying congress. he's been doing one-on-one phone calls as his vice president joe biden and white house chief of staff. this is the second day of meetings. president obama certainly will be leaning on house democrats to lend some of their support. i think nancy pelosi is pretty significant in this. and we do expect obviously that house speaker john boehner would put up a rest lags for the vote on the house floor. what's unclear is there are a lot of house republicans while they want to vote on this they want to vote no. that's why house democrats will be so essential to president obama if he's go to get the support and also as well he's looking for support in the senate. that's why we saw john mccain and lindsey graham here yesterday. two key republicans, hawks in congress who right now are tentatively lending the president their support it sounds like. and the white house is taking that as a positive sign, really relying on that. but i don't think this is anything they can say is a done deal at all at this point.

it's still up in the air. >> i know you're trying to get your hands on that tape. as soon as we get it turned around we're going to come back to you at the white house this. right now, let's talk about the costs of possibly taking military action in syria. as i said, it's going to cost taxpayers a billion dollars every single month. that doesn't even factor in the immeasurables like the legacy of suicides and ptsd haunting veterans from our last decade of war. william cohen served as the defense secretary under president clin ttonclinton. he now leads an international consulting firm that represents defense contractors and others. good morning, sir. >> fwood mogood morning, carol. >> let's just first talk about that cost because it's estimated that if the united states destroys syria's chemical weapons it's going to cost us a billion dollars every month. can we afford that? >> the first issue is, are we seeking to destroy their chemical weapons.

i doubt whether the chemical weapons storage sites are going to be targeted for the very fact that it might possibly release a toxic plume that would kill hundreds if not thousands of innocent civilians. i'm not sure those are going to be the targets. aside from that, any time you launch tomahawk missiles you're launching million and a half dollar weapon. so if you have 200 of those, you're getting up to a quarter of a billion dollars very quickly just for the launching of those tomahawks which doesn't take a month to do. i don't think they're also planning on putting troops on the ground. so i don't know where the figures are coming from. but there is a dr. doolittle characteristic to all of this. a push me, pull you type of policy. where on the one hand last week the president appeared to be ready to go and then suddenly he turned around and -- >> secretary cohen, i have to interrupt because we turned that tape of the meeting inside the white house. if you will kind enough to stay and listen. >> sure. >> let's listen. >> the fact that i've had a

chance to speak to many of you and congress as a whole is taking this issue with the soberness and seriousness that it deserves is greatly appreciated. i think indicates the decision for us to present this issue to congress. as i've said last week, secretary kerry made clear in his presentation last week, we have high confidence that syria used in an indiscriminate fashion chemical weapons that killed thousands of people, including over 400 children, and in direct violation of international norm against using chemical weapons. that poses a serious national security threat to the united states and to the region. and as a consequence, assad and syria needs to be held accountable. i made the decision that america

should take action, but i also believe that we will be much more effective, we will be stronger if we take action together as one nation. and so this gives us an opportunity not only to present the evidence, to all of the leading members of congress and various foreign policy committees, as to why we have high confidence that chemical weapons were used and that assad used them. but it also gives us an opportunity to discuss why it's so important that he be held to account. this norm against using chemical weapons, that 98% of the world agrees to, is there for a reason, because we recognize that there are certain weapons that when used cannot only end up resulting in grotesque deaths but also can end up being transmitted to non-state actors, can pose a risk to allies and

friends of ours like israel, like jordan, like turkey, and unless we hold them into account, also sends a message that international norms around issues like nuclear proliferation don't mean much. and so i'm going to be working with congress. we have sent up a draft authorization. we're going to be asking for hearings and a prompt vote. and i'm very appreciative that everybody here has already begun to schedule hearings and intends to take a vote as soon as all of congress comes back early next week. so the key point that i want to emphasize to the american people, the military plan that has been developed by our joint chiefs and that i believe is appropriate is proportional, it is limited, it does not involve boots on the ground. this is not iraq and this is not

afghanistan. this is a limited proportional step that will send a clear message, not only t to the assad regime but also to other countries that may be interested in testing some of these international norms that there are consequences. it gives us the ability to degrade assad's capabilities when it comes to chemical weapons. it also fits into a broader strategy that we have to make sure that we can bring about, over time, the kind of strengthening of the opposition and the diplomatic and economic and political pressure required so that ultimately we have a transition that can bring peace and stability not only to syria but to the region. but i want to emphasize once again what we are envisioning is something limited, it is something proportional, it will degrade assad's capabilities at the same time we have a broader strategy that will allow us to

upgrade the capabilities of the opposition, allow syria ultimately to free itself from the kinds of terrible civil wars and death and activity that we've been seeing on the ground. so i look forward to listening to the various concerns of the members who are here today. i am confident that those concern can be addressed. i think that it is appropriate that we act deliberately but i also think everybody recognizes the urgency here and then we're going to have to move relatively quickly. so with that, to all of you here today, i look forward to an excellent discussion. >> mr. president, prepare to rewrite the authorization and does that undercut any of your authorities here? >> i would not be going to congress if i wasn't serious about consultations and believing that, by shaping the authorization to make sure we accomplish the mission, we will be more effective. and so long as we are accomplishing what needs to be

accomplished, which is to send a clear message to assad, degrading his capabilities to use chemical weapons, not just now but also in the future, as long as authorization allows us to do that, i'm confident that we're going to be able to come up with something that hits that mark. all right? thank you, everybody. thank you, guys. >> all right. so a little taste of what's happening inside the white house. let's go back to secretary cohen and ask him what he thinks about this. did it sound like president obama? i mean, he was asked, are you serious about consulting congress? will you act on your own if congress votes no? what did it sound like to you? >> well, i am a little bit surprised that the president decided to go to congress, not simply to consult but to actually seek the congressional vote of authorization. that has -- that's a river boat gamble. he may very well get the support of the senate now that he appears to have senator mccain

and senator lindsey graham on board. the house is still problematic. the problem that i have is that they are also sending signals to the administration that even if congress votes no, the president retains the power and may very well go without a congressional authorization. that seems to me to let the congress off the hook. if you're doing this to say, i want you onboard on this because when the going gets tough i want you there and then say but even if you don't vote to support this i'm going to do it anyway, that to me is counterproductive. again, i get back to this push me pull you. i think that he should have consulted congress to get the leadership involved, get the heads of the intelligence committee, armed services committee. once you put it to a vote in congress and say, i'm asking you to authorize this, then you're going to have to live with it. and if he then decides to take action, then i think you will see something that will set in motion a different kind of dynamic that he is now acting on his own after asking the american people to speak through their elected officials.

i think that would be a real challenge for him going forward in the future. >> at this point, if you were secretary of defense under president obama, what kinds of things would you be saying to him? >> well, i would be saying to him is consult with congress, really make a case for why this is important, show me the intelligence. again, conflicting signals coming out last week. on the one hand it was clear and overwhelming secretary kerry made a powerful presentation in saying that it was almost overwhelming evidence. and then almost immediately thereafter there were leaks coming out of the administration saying, well, it's no slam dunk. now, i don't know what that is intended to convey other than ambiguity which then caused the brits and others to say, let's wait and see what happens here. one of the problems was the president seemed to be moving off to taking military action, he turned around and found the arab league was not with him. they had backed away. and then the brits had backed away. and then said, here we are, all

alone. i guess i better bring congress in. one on a consulting basis but i want their vote now. so i think the way this has been handled has been very -- very push me pull you type of thing and i think it needs to be clarified and to get senator mccain and senator graham on board, that's going to be helpful but i think if president still has a tough case to make to the house. >> let's bring our political director mark preston into this conversation. mark, it was interesting that that tape was made available to us, of the president meeting with lawmakers in the white house. >> well, it was, carol, because what we're seeing from the white house right now is that they're trying to show that they're open and trying to get congress' involvement in this. they're trying to have congress own this vote and to own this military action if it is taken in serious. and the secretary's absolutely right. this is a push me pull me type of strategy at the white house has done. you know, i just got off the phone with the democratic congressman before i came on here, carol, and he told me right now that if the vote were to happen today, nobody knows

what would happen in the house or the senate right now. it's too amorphous at this point. you have hawks. you have doves. you have libertarians. you have democrats and republicans creating these unholy alliances right now. what's interesting for the white house is they're going to have to get republican involvement. they're going to have to get john boehner to try to whip some of his republican it is he will even whip this vote to come onboard and support this resolution. before this meeting let me read you something i was going back and forth with the house gop leadership the day before speaker boehner went in. this is what the leader shid said. we're only going to help the president as much as he's willing to help his. if he pushes hard and makes the case and shows he actually wants it, we may be a able to get there. this aide also noted that sending john kerry to the hill, sending other cabinet officials to the hill is nice but this really rests on president obama's lap. carol? >> and secretary cohen, through all of this, i would assume that some sort of military plan is already in place.

so what do you do? do you tailor the plan depending on what congress does, do you not come up with a plan until they decide? >> it seems to me the plan is evolving. one of the problems i've had is tell me what the mission is. and the president initially was saying, well, very limited. not too hard, not too soft. it's going to be a goldilocks solution. i had a problem with that because there is no goldilocks solution here. hit just hard enough to do some damage because even though these cruise missiles are very accurate. some of them go awry. it's not simply a very neat antiacceant antiseptic type of strike, which means kill lots of innocent people. i had the question, what is the strategy underlying this. it is not to take the regime down but the president initially said assad had to go. we didn't do anything to help bring the regime down. i think what's taking place right now, senator mccain and

also lindsey graham are saying, mr. president, we can support you on your so-called limited strike provided you're willing to give the withes necessary to the rebels that we're supporting, to help change the military dynamic on the ground and, therefore, takes a sad down. so i think that sort of negotiating is going on behind the scenes. and what i suspect is you've got the military out there. you've got at least four or five of our warships. they're all prime. they had their targets. some of those targets will have to be recalibrated because i'm sure that assad himself has moved some of the initial tar ges, what he expects will be the targets into a different location. so there will have to be some recalibration of that. i think the real negotiation that is taking place between senator mccain, senator graham and others saying this has to be serious enough that you're going to do real damage even though you're not seeking regime change with the attack. you've got to balance that off with supporting the rebels with much more firepower than you have today. that's what i think is going on.

>> which could lead to regime change. you're doing it without really saying it, right? >> right. >> that's all politics. brianna keilar at the white house. why isn't the president coming forth with a clear mission? even from his remarks today, it seems like we have to send a message because other countries might use chemical weapons and for many in america that's not good enough. >> for many people in america, it's not good enough. this is the interesting divide, carol. i think you talk with a lot of regular americans and i have and they say they're sick of engaging in the middle east. they don't want to see anymore potential american lives lost. and a lot of them even say it's taxpayer dollars. we just don't want to do it. what's the point? and they don't really see a point, many of them. and the poll numbers reflect that. but i think the case you hear president obama making and that even though i don't think he really has an appetite to be engaging in something as well and we heard him say as much yesterday when he said i'm war weary. his point and his administration

and he had been making this for days now, is that if you don't do something here, it's not just chemical weapons but it's -- when he's talking about other international norms and nuclear weapons, you know other weapons of mass destruction. that it sends of message to other foes of america that, hey, you know what, maybe you should try us because we may not actually come back to you with any consequences. that is a real concern of this administration and i think there is a sense from the administration that they certainly don't want to go this alone. he doesn't want to be doing this alone. but i think there is a sense that they need to act to send a message, carol. >> brianna keilar, mark preston, secretary cohen, thanks for your insight. "newsroom" will be right back.

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all right. just moments ago we showed you that picture from inside the white house where the president was meeting with the house speaker and also nancy pelosi, and he was meeting with other lawmakers serving on powerful congressional committees to talk about syria. that meeting is now over. another meeting is about to begin because the white house is sending its heavy hitters to capitol hill in a few hours to try to sell this strike against syria. secretary of state john kerry, defense secretary chuck hagel and joint chiefs chair martin dempsey is going to testify before the senate foreign relations committee. that's later this afternoon, around 2:00 eastern time. so what can we expect as the white house makes this hard push for military intervention? cnn's aaron mcpike joins us on capitol hill to tell us more about that.

good morning, erin. >> good morning , carol. the brunt of this will fall on chuck hagel. he will make the case that we should use a military strike against syria. martin dempsey will be the one to answer questions from members about what that military strike will look like. it's his job to say essentially that whatever the president orders, the military will be able to carry out. and the last is secretary of state john kerry and he's going to warn that the failure to act could mean that weapons in syria could get into the hands of others and that there's an urgency to do that right now. i want to point out something that the president said today which was in that meeting you just showed before the break, he said we have a high confidence there were chemical weapons used in syria. the problem with that, is that the lot of the members in the hearing want to hear that the intelligence was sound and chemical weapons were indeed used in syria. that's the first problem. they also want to know what the

limited military strike looks like. they want to know when the end game is and want to see what the u.s. strategy will look like. they don't want any questions about that, carol. that's what we're going to hear from a lot of the members today. >> should be an interesting meeting, huh? erin mcpike reporting live for us today. you can watch this afternoon's senate hearing right here on cnn. it starts at 2:30 p.m. eastern time. of course, cnn will have specific coverage for you before then. still to come in the "newsroom," the obama administration putting that full court press on lawmakers to support intervention in syria. i'll talk to one of the lawmakers. he's trying to bring onboard. [ female announcer ] the best thing about this bar

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and focusing on what you need to know so you can get a degree at your pace. and graduate at the speed of you. flexpath from capella university learn more at capella.edu welcome back. this is a live picture of the white house. you see all the microphones put into place, well, those microphones are awaiting member of congress and the senate to come out of that white house meeting with president obama to make a few comments about what went on inside those walls. as soon as those lawmakers appear, of course we'll take you back live to the white house. joining me now by phone though, one member of congress will have to vote yes or no to any kind of attack. republican congressman of louisiana. good morning, sir. >> good morning. it's great to be with you. >> it's great to have you. thank you so much. defense secretary chuck hagel will be testifying before the senate foreign relations committee later this afternoon. of course, you will be watching and listening with great

interest. what do you want to hear? >> well, i'm very interested in knowing what exactly is being planned with regard to military action and understanding what is the utility of military force at this point in time to achieve -- in order to achieve other political and diplomatic ends that we're looking for. you know, there's no military solution to this very complex civil war. and there are bad actors on both sides. we're trying to understand what exactly is the best approach the u.s. at this stage. i do believe we have a strategic interest in what's happening and in the outcome of this. and so it's important that we get whatever we do right. and so the military piece to this has to fit into a larger strategy in my mind. >> some people are calling the president weak because he went to congress. in your mind did the president do the right thing? >> absolutely. i was one of a number of members

of the house who were pushing for the president to get authorization, prior authorization from congress. for the president to take military action here, we need broad support. and if we can't get the broad support from congress and the american people, then the prospects for success are not good. and so i firmly believe the president did the right thing from a constitutional standpoint. but also it was the prudent step to take. >> senators john mccain and lindsey graham also have met with the president and they seem to be on his side, as far as military action goes. in fact, senator john mccain talked to cnn's "new day" program earlier this morning. can you listen to his comments and then talk about it on the other side? >> okay. >> here it goes. >> the credibility of the united states is at stake here. not just the president. the president announced two years ago that bashar assad had to go. a year ago he said that it would

be a red line if they used chemical weapons. they already did several times. and now this big use of it has put american credibility on the line. >> so congressman, you've outlined your concerns just a few minutes ago. is credibility a good enough reason to launch a military strike? >> i do believe credibility is on the line. that's why we have to be very smart in strategic interaction at this point in time. i think if we use military force indiscriminately or not wisely or however you want to put it, without understanding how the use of military force fits into a larger strategy, then i do think we -- bedoing so we also put american credibility on the line, as well as potentially american lives. so i think it's very important for us to have a full debate. we need to understand all aspects of the intelligence and its limitations. and we need to understand what

is the utility of force in this situation and how does that help us achieve a longer-term diplomatic and political end -- end game in all of this. that's my concern. because if we jump in without a real plan, that also puts american credibility on the line. >> i think a lot of americans are with you. thank you so much for joining us this morning, congressman charles boustany of louisiana. >> thank you. great to be with you. we'll be right back. okay, listen up! i'm re-workin' the menu. mayo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of great-tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and 9 grams of protein.

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enter now. welcome back. i'm carol costello. happening route now, president obama has just met with key lawmakers at the white house. he's trying to convince them to support military strikes on syria and the assad regimes. house leaders john boehner, nancy pelosi were in that closed door meeting along with the chairs of the house and senate committees. just a short time ago the white house released some video of that very meeting. i want to play that for you now. >> i want to thank the leaders of both parties for being here today, to discuss what is a very serious issues facing the united states. and the fact that i've had a chance to speak to many of you and congress as a whole is taking this issue with soberness and seriousness that it deserves

is greatly appreciated. and i think indicates the decision for us to present this issue to congress. as i've said last week, secretary kerry made clear in his presentation last week we have high confidence that syria used in an indiscriminate fashion chemical weapons that killed thousands of people, including over 400 children, and in direct violation of international norm against using chemical weapons. that poses a serious national security threat to the united states and to the region. and as a consequence, assad and syria need to be held accountable. i made the decision that america should take action, but i also believe that we will be much more effective, we will be stronger if we take action together as one nation. and so this gives us an

opportunity not only to present the evidence, to all of the leading members of congress and various foreign policy committees, as to why we have high confidence that chemical weapons were used and that assad used them, but it also gives us an opportunity to discuss why it's so important that he be held to account. this norm against using chemical weapons, that 98% of the world agrees to, is there for a reason, because we recognize that there are certain weapons that when used cannot only end up resulting in grotesque deaths but also can end up being transmitted to non-state actors, can pose a risk to allies and friends of ours like israel, like jordan, like turkey. and unless we hold them into account, also sends a message

that international norms around issues like nuclear proliferation don't mean much. and so i am going to be working with congress. we have sent up a draft authorization. we're going to be asking for hearings and a prompt vote. and i'm very appreciative that everybody here has already begun to schedule hearings and intends to take a vote as soon as all of congress comes back early next week. so the key point they want to emphasize to the american people. the military plan that has been developed by our joint chiefs and that i believe is appropriate is proportional, it is limited, it does not involve boots on the ground. this is not iraq and this is not afghanistan. this is a limited, proportional step that will send a clear message not only to the assad regime but also to other

countries that may be interested in testing some of these international norms that there are consequences. it gives us the ability to degrade assad's capabilities when it comes to chemical weapons. it also fits into a broader strategy to make sure we can bring about, over time, the kind of strengthening of the opposition and the diplomatic and economic and political pressure required in the transition that can bring peace and stability to the region. but i want to emphasize what we are envisioning is something limited. it is something proportional. it will degrade assad's capabilities, at the same time we have a broader strategy that will allow us to upgrade the capabilities of the opposition, allow syria ultimately to free itself from the kinds of terrible civil wars and death

and activity that we've been seeing on the ground. so i look forward to listening to the various concerns of the members who are here today. i am confident that those concerns can be addressed. i think it is appropriate that we we act deliberately but i also think everybody recognizes the urgency here and that we're going to have to move relatively quickly. so with that, to all of you here today, i look forward to an excellent discussion. >> president, are you prepared to rewrite the authorize if they undercut your authority? >> i would not be going to konlg if i were not serious with consultations and believe that, by shaping the authorization to make sure we accomplish the mission, we will be more effective. and so long as we are accomplishing what needs to be accomplished, which is to send a clear message to assad, degrading his capabilities to use chemical weapons, not just now but also in the future, as long as the authorization allows

us to do that, i'm confident that we're going to be able to come up with something that hits that mark. >> all right. that's president obama. like i said, the microphones are set up at the white house. and soon those lawmakers will be behind those microphones commenting on what the president said in that closed door meeting, or at least partially closed door meeting. we'll bring their remarks to you as soon as they happen. tonight, president obama boards air force one and he travels to russia for the g-20 summit. but syria is likely to loom there as well. russia, syria's most important ally and russia's president has made his loyalties all too clear. over the weekend president putin said this. quote, we need to remember the number of times the united states has initiated armed conflicts, has it solved a single problem? and continuing his criticism of the united states, he said, afghanistan, iraq, after all, there is no peace there, no democracy, which our partners allegedly sought.

cnn's phil black is in moscow. phil, you couldn't hear it but the president just said that a military conflict in syria would be nothing at all like iraq or afghanistan but vladimir putin is saying the opposite. >> the russians feel strongly about this. that comment you just read sums up the russian position very well. they do not believe in military action in order to promote democracy or preserve human rights because they ultimately believe these sorts of military actions are t not able to achieve those goals. and so they point to iraq, they point to afghanistan, they point to libya. they make the point that in their view, the united states has got it wrong repeatedly. and that is what really fuels the russian objection to military action in syria on this issue and as it has throughout the entire syrian crisis. the russian policy goal has been to block any sort of international military action

because it believes, as with all those other examples, it will only destabilize the country and region as well. sdmarl. >> in fairness, russian sells arms to syria, doesn't it? >> well, there are these other connections between russia and syria. and russia does have other national security interests, as well. it does have interest in this country. but they have to be fair or so be degraded, substantially over the course of the civil conflict. the point where there are no future arms deals on the stable. whatever business deals strategic ability or benefits the relationship with syria brought russia have pretty much been degraded to being largely worthless. and a lot of russian analysts believe this very strongly. even the talkable the russian naval base that exist there's is not much of a naval base. it's a few ships and a dock. it's more of a logistics center. it has very little strategic use for russia. so russia keeps coming back to the point that its belief is

really that the situation could become a whole lot worse. as bad as things are in syria right now, russia thinks that any sort of military strike will only add to greater instability and ultimately greater bloodshed. >> there's lots of movement out there in the mediterranean. in fact, one of our destroyers just left the eastern mediterranean. we don't know exactly what that means by barbara starr is on the case right after the break. mine was earned in djibouti, africa. 2004. vietnam in 1972. [ all ] fort benning, georgia in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve military members, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve.

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>> the five navy destroyers are now headed home. its crew returning to its home port. they say this is not a big deal but got to get the crew home. they still have four missile equipped ships in the eastern med and they are ready to go if the order from the president comes. but what is ready to go really mean right now? well, the syrian regime, another u.s. official tells us, is moving its own weapons, its own material and troops around inside syria a great deal, a good deal of disbursal of syrian forces are being noticed by u.n. intelligence overhead. that means targeting has to be redone. and it is now, we are told, a continuous process. updating the targeting, sending the satellite targets to the missiles. the u.s. missiles on those navy ships. so if the order comes, they will be ready to go. the strategy the u.s. thinks that the syrians are engaging in is to disburse their forces and

keep them disbursed in anticipation of a u.s. attack but the pentagon says u.s. military officials say they can deal with that. they will keep reprogramming the targets into the missiles ready to go whenever president obama orders a strike. that is what the u.s. military will tell congress today. carol? >> is it possible to completely hide, let's say, the chemical weapons that are in syria? >> well, you raise a very good point. the two biggies, if you will, the chemical stockpiles, will the u.s. know exactly where those are? they don't want to hit the chemical agents because that could disburse into the atmosphere and cause a real catastrophe so they've got to keep on top of that. they are worried that they will know where all of that is. and, of course, the other issue, as this retargeting happens, human shields, civilian casualties. they need to make sure as much as they can that they will not inadvertently strike any target

with human shields or civilians. the pentagon is going to tell congress that they are going to put the burden of that right back on the assad regime. that it's going to be their responsibility to keep their chemical weapons and their people safe. we will see how all that works out. >> i know, because the big worry is the chemical weapons inside of schools and mosques. who knows at this point. >> well, that's -- i just want to add very quickly, carol, what you said is just exactly right. we have seen this in iraq. we have seen it in other areas around the world. when these critical targets, these critical things are hidden in schools and mosques, hospitals, which the u.s. has a policy of not striking, this becomes a very difficult targeting issue as days go on. people will be watching very carefully to see if the assad regime undertakes this strategy that we have seen so many times around the world already. >> sadly, yes. barbara starr reporting live from the pentagon. thanks so much. we'll be right back.

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all right. the microphones still set up in

front of the white house. as you know, president obama is meeting with key lawmakers to discuss the situation in syria and what the united states might do about that when those lawmakers exit the meeting. of course, we will bring you back live to the white house. tensions grow as international community waits for a u.s. response to syria. and more people are calming on the united states to intervene. cnn is, of course, covering the story from around the world. our jim clancy is in jerusalem where israel says it has successfully conducted a missile test in the mediterranean. cnn's atika shubert is in london where british lawmakers said no to military action. and jim bittermann is in france where lawmakers there have become a surprising key u.s. ally against syria. >> i'm jim clancy in jerusalem. israelis were stunned that in the expected run-up of a missile strike on syria for its alleged use of chemical arms, u.s. president barack obama suddenly hit the pause button. many israelis think that sends

the wrong message to damascus and just as important to them, tehran, that u.s. resolve is wavering. israel's prime minister reminded everyone it was a matter of american democracy and numerous reports say cabinet ministers and other officials have been warned not to criticize mr. obama in the run-up to what is expected to be a tight congressional vote. all of that aside, two out of three israelis hope the u.s. will strike to underscore opposition to chemical weapons in the region. and the sooner, the better. >> atika shubert here in london where british lawmakers last week said no to military action in syria. the latest poll shows that 68% here agreeing with them. only 16% said no, they should have backed a u.s.-led strike in syria. but all that could change if substantial new evidence comes out either from u.n. inspectors or in the run-up to the congressional vote. then british lawmakers may reconsider.

>> i'm jim bittermann in paris. the vast majority of the french are opposed to any military intervention in syria, according to public opinion polls. in fact, 58% of them said they wouldn't trust their president to conduct an attack against syria. it's not so much that there is war weariness here, it's the fact that the french seem to be in this alone after the vote of the british parliament and the potential vote of the american congress. many here fear that congress will not approve american action in syria. >> cnn's jim clancy, atick iska shubert and jim bitterman. thanks so much. erin burnett takes an in-depth look at a scandal that's engulfed the white house, the irs. >> cnn tonight, at 7:00, out front investigation. is the irs politically biased? are certain political groups specifically targeted? we get to the truth about the

irs. and at 9:00, on piers morgan live, what happens while the world waits for washington to vote on syria? wolf blitzer fills in for piers with the very latest on the war of words and plans of attack. it's all cnn tonight, starring with erin burnett "out front" at 7:00, anderson cooper at 360 at 8:00 and piers morgan live at 9:00, tonight on cnn. >> all that for you. it begins tonight, 7:00 eastern. thank you so much for joining me today. i'm carol costello. "legal view" starts after a quick break. mom always got good nutrition to taste great.

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flexpath from capella university learn more at capella.edu hello, everyone. i'm ashleigh banfield. it is tuesday, september 3rd. we are not getting far away from the issue of syria at this hour because right now the president is meeting with members of congress as well as his administration, trying to convince lawmakers to authorize an attack on syria in response to that alleged use of chemical weapons on the syrian civilians. first, however, live right now, 64-year-old diana