make sure to follow me on twitter. and also at the lead cnn and check out our show page for videos, blogs, extras. that's it for "the lead." i'll be back at 11:00 p.m. eastern for a special on the crisis in syria. i now turn you over to wolf blitzer who is at the white house. jake, thanks very much. happening now, a "the situation room" special report. crisis in syria. i'm wolf blitzer reporting live from the white house, where i have just interviewed the president of the united states on a critically important day. what sounded like an off-handed comment from the secretary of sta state, john kerry, now potentially a way out for the united states and for syria. just ahead, the possible, possible new alternative to military action. a number of key diplomatic voices now seem willing to consider. meantime, the president is pulling out all the stops with his legacy potentially on the line. will his last ditch effort to

sell the case for military strikes shift the dwindling support in congress and in the polls? and my far-reaching interview with the president is coming up. you'll see it here in its entirety. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." we begin with the breaking news, a potential game changer in the u.s. stand-off over syria. secretary of state john kerry apparently veering a little bit off script earlier in the day, making some controversial comments that are fueling questions about a possible way out for the united states, quickly gaining critical endorsements both here in washington and around the world. our chief national security core responsibility jim sciutto is working this story. a very dramatic development today, potentially a game changer in this current crisis with syria between the u.s. and syrian regime. update our viewers, jim, what

happened. >> no question. a dramatic difference over the course of the day. this morning, officials i talked to privately were dismissing this idea out of hand. one called it a major goof by secretary kerry. but over the day, it gained traction overseas, not just from russia and syria, but our allies, the uk, france, germany, the u.n. which could be submitting a resolution it says before the u.n. security council. this idea no longer just a hypothetical. >> what is your response? >> reporter: it began this morning with what sounded like an off-hand comment to reporters. secretary john kerry inadvertently raising a way out for syria president bashar al assad. >> he could turn over every single bit of his chemical weapons to the international community in the next week, turn it over, all of it. without delay. and allow a full and total accounting for that but he isn't about to do it. >> reporter: a state department spokesperson quickly qualified the secretary's statement as a

purely rhetorical argument. but russia heard something more. by late morning, its foreign minister had promised to encourage its ally syria to accept it. >> translator: we are calling on the syrian authorities to not only agree on putting chemical weapons storage under international control but also for its further destruction. we have passed our offer to the syrian foreign minister. >> reporter: who, speaking just 60 minutes later, declared his country on board. >> translator: i declare that the syrian arab republic welcomes russia's initiative on the basis that the syrian leadership cares about the lives of our citizens and the security in our country. >> reporter: by the end of the day, some very powerful american voices were at least in theory publicly endorsing the idea. >> if the regime immediately surrendered its stockpiles to international control as was suggested by secretary kerry and the russians, that would be an

important step. but this cannot be another excuse for delay or obstruction. >> reporter: but the rhetorical may be getting ahead of the practical. emptying syria of one of the largest chemical stockpiles in the world in the middle of a war would be next to impossible. >> you have to literally open up the entire country, have to have a cease-fire, have to have a prolonged period where u.n. weapons inspectors would come in, blanket the country, identify what's there, inventory it, then manage to extract it. and it seems to me almost unimaginable. >> a phone call today with the russian foreign minister, secretary kerry made clear the u.s. does not want the play games here and that this cannot be a reason to delay getting the congress to authorize military action, but it may turn out to be just that. the u.s. may not trust syria or russia, it also does not want to look like it's dismissing a serious diplomatic solution.

>> potentially could be a game changer right now in this current stand-off. let's see. we should know in the next few days. thank you. this dramatic new development certainly isn't stopping president obama from making his all-out push to shift the growing momentum against military action that's unfolding in congress and amongst so many americans. his latest move, a string of television interviews here at the white house, including one that you're going to see, the interview he granted me just a little while ago. that interview coming up here in "the situation room." our senior white house correspondent jim acosta is here at the white house as well. he's got a special report for us. i want to warn our viewers that what they're about to see in his report is very graphic and very disturbing. tell our viewers what you have, jim. >> well, wolf, as for that russian proposal that we heard jim talk about, the administration officials are all using the same words when talking about it, saying that they're going to take a hard look at it and even as that proposal is being considered,

administration officials are as you said pulling out all the stops to get that vote for congressional authorization up on capitol hill, including welcoming an estimated 70 members of congress to the white house just today. it hasn't let up all day. a steady stream of republicans and democrats from top gop leaders to hillary clinton and the congressional black caucus, all meeting with administration officials making the case for lawmakers to approve a military strike against syria. the administration shifted into overdrive with the release of video showing the victims of last month's poison gas attack in syria, then the dinner with the vice president and gop senator sunday night, a slew of network interviews today and the address on the nation tuesday night, not to mention the administration's big guns that went before the cameras both past -- >> the world will have to deal with this threat as swiftly and comprehensively as possible. >> -- and present. >> if we begin to erode the moral outrage of gassing

children in their bed, we open ourselves up to even more fearsome consequences. >> a new cnn/orc poll shows nearly six in ten americans oppose military action against syria. white house officials say they want congress to go out on a limb, despite what may be a trial balloon from secretary of state john kerry for syria to give up its chemical weapons, an idea that was immediately embraced by russia and then syrian officials. >> that would be terrific. but unfortunately, the track record to date, including recent statements by assad not even acknowledging that he has chemical weapons, doesn't give you a lot of confidence. but that said, we want to look hard at what the russians have proposed and we will. >> is this an ultimatum coming from this white house to bashar al assad? is this an escape hatch for him? >> we will look at what the russians proposed, talk to them and see where it goes. >> the russian proposal is proof. white house press secretary jay carney suggested that administration policy is working. >> the only reason why we have a dynamic today where the russians

have proffered a proposal and there has been some response from the syrians with regard to stockpiles of chemical weapons they have heretofor not even acknowledged they have is because of the intense pressure being placed on assad by the prospect of the united states engaging in military force. >> but just last friday in russia, president obama seemed cool to a similar idea, offered up by west virginia democratic senator joe manchin to give assad 45 days to surrender his poison gas arsenal. >> so far at least, i have not seen ideas presented that as a practical matter i think would do the job. >> now, asked whether secretary kerry's comments that led to that russian proposal were some kind of trial balloon or escape hatch for syrian president bashar al assad, a senior administration official tells me that it is not even a tiny bit in that regard and as for president assad's implicit threat to president obama that if a military strike were to occur, that there might be some

kind of response from syria, a white house official told me watch the tv interviews that the president is doing this evening. there will be a response to that in those interviews. wolf? >> including in my interview, that will air in its entirety right at the top of the hour. i just wrapped up that interview with the president. jim acosta, thanks very much. even wall street seems to be rallying a bit on the possibility, the possibility of a diplomatic alternative to u.s. military strikes in syria. the dow closing up 140 points today while the s&p 500 and nasdaq were also about 1% up, each of them. the market had been trading higher for most of the day. on capitol hill, the president is facing what seems to be a steeper and steeper climb to get support for u.s. military action. our chief congressional correspondent dana bash is outside the house intelligence briefing room, where a classified briefing for members now under way. dana, is this new proposal that has been floated today by the

secretary of state picked up by the russians, accepted at least for now by the syrians and ban ki-moon at the u.n., is this potentially a way out for congress? because a lot of members don't even want to vote on this sensitive issue. >> reporter: it absolutely could be, wolf. not just for members who don't want to vote, who are undecided or flatly no, but even for those who are actively and outwardly yes, people who think military intervention is the right way to go. for example, dianne feinstein from the senate intelligence committee released a statement very quickly after this became news, this idea, and she said that she very much believes that this would be a way out. i think big picture, for members of congress, just like for the administration, if there's a way for them to make this work, it would be allow them to say look, even the threat of military action got bashar al assad to step down. of course, it would be the best of all worlds. having said that, as you can imagine, there are a lot of people here on capitol hill who

are very skeptical that the russians will be able to do anything and will be willing to do anything, that they will be able to accept as legitimate when it comes to really making sure that the chemical weapons inside syria will be given over and will be secure. >> the president and his top aides have been pushing and pushing and pushing for the last two weeks. which way is the tide turning right now, if there had to be a vote this week on the use of military force in syria? >> reporter: at this point, i have to say the tide is still turning against the president. as you mentioned, i am standing outside of a very, very important briefing. you can see members of congress are still coming in. they are going -- there you see the ranking democrat of the armed services committee there, going into this room back there. it's an auditorium where every single member of the house of representatives, 435, actually fewer now who are actually in office, but they're all asked to come in there and to talk to or

to listen to members of the administration, highest ranking members. secretary hagel, secretary kerry and others. this is really one of the biggest efforts so far that we have seen and we have seen a lot of efforts over the past week, by the administration to convince these members to go for it. the problem as i've talked with so many of these law makers coming in here, is that they are coming back from five weeks at home and especially the last week, they are getting pounded, pounded by their constituents saying please do not do this. and i have even talked to some members who have said they were surprised to hear from their colleagues that they were hearing the same thing that they are. so this is going to be an incredibly important briefing but there are a lot of minds i think that are pretty much secure in voting no. a lot of leaning no as well. at this point, it's not looking very good for the president. >> yeah. let's see if there will be some votes, given this latest diplomatic potential breakthrough. dana bash up on the hill, thank you. when we return in our "situation room" special report, breaking down the votes for and

against the president's plan in congress. john king is over at the magic wall with the very latest tally. also, my interview with the president of the united states. that's coming up at the top of the hour here in "the situation room." you are going to see it, the entire interview, that's coming up. this isn't my first career. but it might just be my favorite. [ female announcer ] welcome to the new aarp. we're ready to help you rediscover purpose and passion with programs like life reimagined to inspire you and connect you, resources to help turn your goals and dreams into real possibilities. aarp, an ally for real possibilities. find new tools and ideas for work, money, health and fun at aarp.org/possibilities.

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welcome back. i'm wolf blitzer at the white house. just ahead at the top of the hour in our special report, crisis in syria, my full interview with president obama. i just finished talking with him over in the white house. you're going to see it in its entirety. that's coming up, an important interview with the president on syria options. stick around for that. meanwhile, the number of no

votes in congress for president obama's case for potential u.s. military strikes, that's growing, while the number of lawmakers planning to vote yes has dwindled, according to cnn's latest count. let's bring in our chief national correspondent john king over at the magic wall, breaking down the numbers for us, the voting, the potential voting, i should say. what is the latest tally? >> it's nice to see you back in that familiar spot on the north lawn there. you know the reason you're there, the reason the president is giving these interviews, the reason the president will address the nation tomorrow night, is because at the moment, he's losing when it comes to the vote count on capitol hill. here's our latest count, when it looks at the senate. we have 49 undecided senators. that's the biggest bloc. 26 no votes on the record, 25 yes votes on the record. if you look down low, you see blue and red, that's 26 democrats undecided, 21 republicans, 18 democrats yes, 7 republicans yes. that's the senate vote right there. if they need 60 to avoid a filibuster, that's one big number. if they do that, obviously it would take 51 to pass. the president just about at the halfway point, nowhere near enough. and the senate side, that's the

senate side where they are reasonably optimistic. here's the president's biggest problem. the house of representatives. 255 members currently say they are undecided but already on record, 153 nos, including 121 republicans and 32 democrats. only 25 yes votes on the record in the house right now. that's trouble for the president. 17 democrats and 8 republicans. let's take a closer look at some of the analysis. look at several different groups here. in the senate right now, there are 42 members who are around for the iraq war vote back in 2002. ten of these 42 were in the house then. they're all in the senate now. here's how they voted then. here's what they're thinking at the moment about syria. only 15 on the record saying yes, 21 saying undecided, six no votes. that's the senate comparing iraq and syria. here's the house breakdown. you see there, 143 members of the house that were still there in 2002. 77-66, again, undecided. largely carrying the day and quickly, two key constituencies for the president.

on opposite ends of the spectrum. the congressional black caucus, these are mostly anti-war liberal democrats, the president needs them desperately. in the house of representatives, 29 undecided at the moment, six on the record saying no. only four on the record saying yes. watch this number. watch this number over the next few days as the president makes his case. he needs to move the undecided black caucus members over to yes to have any chance in the house. one last look, he needs republican votes as well. tea party members in the house, we're looking at 50 members here, 32, you see 42, 51 members that we have identified as close to the tea party. 32 already on the record as saying no. 19 undecided. so again, the newer members of the house, those affiliated with the tea party, much more likely to say no. shows you the president's steep challenge. i just go back and show you the senate count. there's the first count. they're reasonably optimistic there. it is this house count that is quite a daunting challenge for the president as he tries this important week to make his case. wolf? >> if they can get a diplomatic breakthrough right now to avoid those votes, especially in the

house of representatives, that would be excellent news, political news for the president of the united states. certainly a lot better than losing a vote of confidence, if you will, along those lines. john king, thank you very much. coming up, cnn's "crossfire" debuts tonight. its two co-hosts are here with a preview as they go head-to-head over syria. plus, police in florida detained george zimmerman after a dispute allegedly involving a weapon. we're learning new details. lots of news happening today. she's always had a playful side.

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just ahead here in "the situation room" at the top of the hour in our special report, crisis in syria, my full interview with president obama. i just finished speaking with him here at the white house. you're going to see the interview in its entirety coming up at the top of the hour in "the situation room." we'll have much more on the crisis in syria in just a moment. first, let's take a quick look at some of the other top stories unfolding right now. george zimmerman's estranged wife called 911 this afternoon, saying he threatened her family with a weapon and punched her. punched her father, i should say. punched her father. shelley zimmerman filed for divorce last week. here's part of that 911 call. >> we do have units en route to you, ma'am. is he still there? >> yes, he is and he's trying to shut the door on me. >> is he inside now? >> no. he's in his car and he continually has his hand on his gun and he keeps saying step

closer, he's just threatening all of us. >> step closer to what? >> he's going to shoot us. >> wow. police say as of now, george zimmerman is not being charged in this latest incident. it happened in lake mary, florida, not far from where george zimmerman was acquitted back in july in the death of trayvon martin. a previously unknown painting by vincent van gogh has been discovered and authenticated. the van gogh museum says the landscape was believed completed in 1888, two years before the artist's suicide. where has it been all these years? the museum says it will reveal that next month. coming up here in our special report, crisis in syria, my interview with the president of the united states. i just finished speaking to him. you are going to see the interview in its entirety at the top of the hour. plus, just how realistic is this latest possible diplomatic alternative in syria?

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sfx: oil gushing out of pipe. sfx: birds chirping. happening now, a "situation room" special report, crisis in syria. i'm live here at the white house, where i sat down with president obama to talk about syria just a little while ago. we'll play the entire interview for you. also, debating syria's

chemical weapons. two cohosts of cnn's new "crossfire" are here with us as we count down to the debut of their new show that airs just about one hour or so from now. plus, cnn's dr. sanjay gupta is right in the heart of the syrian refugee crisis and an unfolding humanitarian disaster. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." congress and the american people are still very, very leery of a u.s. military strike on syria in retaliation for its alleged chemical attack last month. the obama administration says some 1400 people, including hundreds of children, were killed. two-thirds of the people surveyed in a new cnn/orc poll say a u.s. strike will likely lead to american troops on the ground in syria. let's get some more with two of cnn's new "crossfire" cohosts, former obama advisor, stephanie

cutter, former house speaker and republican presidential candidate, newt gingrich. thanks very much for joining us. good luck with the new program later today. let me play a little clip. this is the white house deputy national security advisor today responding to a question about russia's proposal for damascus to put all of its chemical weapons under international control. >> we would welcome assad giving up his chemical weapons, doing it in a verifiable manner so that we can account for them and destroy them. that's the whole purpose of what we're trying to achieve to make sure that he can't use them again. that would be terrific. but unfortunately, the track record to date, including recent statements by assad not even acknowledging that he has chemical weapons doesn't give you a lot of confidence. but that said, we want to look hard at what the russians have proposed. >> if that proposal works, it would be a significant development. newt gingrich, if it works, could the president, could the obama administration, declare victory? >> i think so, if they actually

got an agreement that was enforceable and if they actually had the united nations rounding up the weapons and destroying them, i think the president at that point absolutely can take a victory lap, and i think that this is a very shaky moment and a fascinating moment in terms of how all these different pieces come together. >> what do you think, stephanie, about this prospect? is it something serious, is it not serious? what do you think about it? >> well, i don't think anybody knows at this point, wolf, but i think everybody hopes that it is serious. and i think it's important to recognize that we probably wouldn't be at this point with russia and syria coming forward saying that they are going to hand over these weapons of mass destruction, these chemical weapons, if there wasn't a threat of use -- threat of force on the table. so that's an important thing to recognize, and i think that we need to keep the pressure on. we can't let up right now. >> you know, wolf, i think the

challenge for the president is that the american people aren't there. >> would it be possible, mr. speaker, let me interrupt for a second. would it be possible, mr. speaker, if this diplomatic compromise, if you will, if this diplomatic proposal works, for there not even to be votes in the house or the senate? >> well, i'm not sure it's going to work that fast. if it did work that fast, i think the president could ask to withdraw the request for a vote and i suspect that speaker boehner would consider it seriously because at that point, you know, if you win, you're not going to have a bombing campaign, there's nothing to vote on. he doesn't need authorization. it would be a remarkable turn of events. >> it certainly would be. stephanie, here are the latest poll numbers we have, because it tells something about the president's popularity right now. this is the new cnn/orc poll approve of how obama is handling foreign affairs, it's now down to only 40%. it was at 44% in june, 49% back

in april, 54% last january. it's really been going down. i suspect this whole issue has hurt him. mpl >> well, i think that any time this country is discussing using military force or the potential of going to war, those numbers are going to go down. this is a very war-weary country, after a decade of war and being duped into war in the first place in iraq. so i don't think that's surprising but look, the president's making his case. the president did a round of interviews, including an interview with you, and he's speaking to the country tomorrow night. he's making his case about why this is in america's security interests to degrade and deter assad from using chemical weapons. >> wolf, this is a good example of where we disagree deeply. i would point out first of all that the duping that stephanie just referred to was exactly the same intelligence services offering exactly the same guarantees on a worldwide basis. >> let's just say we're double checking them now and have got it on film. there's no guessing about whether there's weapons of mass

destruction. >> the country is very dubious about this. something like 85% of the country is opposed to taking sides in the iraq civil war, and the result has been that frankly, the administration has stumbled a lot in trying to have this balancing act of you want to hit him, you don't want to hit him too much, you want to hit him enough and if you watch the way they've tried to juggle this, i think they have actually over the last six or seven days weakened their case by the clumsiness with which they have handled it. >> that's not what i have been seeing from the white house. that's not what i have been soggy from the president's interviews so far. he's speaking to the country tomorrow night and there is no better place to speak than from the oval office. the president is going to make a forceful case why this is in our security interest. look, these are chemical weapons that indiscriminately kill, killed more than 400 children, basically suffocated them. it's in our security interests because it impacts our troops, our peace and our security. that's why we signed on to the chemical weapons ban in the first place. >> look, the problem the president has is that 80% of the

country believes chemical weapons were used, and they have said, they rendered judgment and said yes, these are terrible things, yes, assad is a terrible guy, i do not want to get into war. >> do you think we should make all of our national security decisions based on the latest poll? because that's a very dangerous place for this country to be. milosevic would still be in power. >> but as you point out after ten years of fighting -- >> we are a war-weary country. >> maybe having some respect for the american people is a useful thing. >> having a full debate on this, speaking to the country, laying out your case, that is respect for the american people. but look, we have to make adjustments of what's best in our national security interests and the commander in chief can make that judgment. >> i used to be a whip in the house. they are behind 6-1 right now. that's a big mountain. >> they just got back today. let's see what happens this week. i'm not disagreeing with you that this is not an uphill climb

for the president. but he's making his case and he's out there doing it. we have to see what happens this week. >> we should know in the next few days whether this proposal that russia has put out there after the secretary of state, john kerry, floated it, if it's serious or not serious. guys, thanks very much. they'll have a lot more debating coming up on syria when "crossfire" debuts at the bottom of the next hour. stick around after "the situation room." still ahead in our special report, crisis in syria, my one-on-one interview with president obama here at the white house as he struggles to get congress and the american people behind a strike against targets in syria. plus, lies, manipulation, threats. what expert sees that and more in president bashar al assad's interview on american television. [ male announcer ] these days, a small business can save by sharing.

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president obama answering some tough questions about syria in my one-on-one interview with him here at the white house. you're going to see it in its entirety coming up right at the top of the hour in our special report, crisis in syria. the syrian president bashar al assad is making his case against the u.s. military strike on his country and is making that case

directly to the american people. he's speaking out on u.s. television network, but what he's saying, the question is, is it credible at all. cnn's brian todd is working the story for us. brian, what's going on? >> reporter: wolf, john kerry says flat out he is without credibility. analysts say bashar al assad appeared nervous in this interview, he came close to outright threats against the u.s., and when pressed about the august 21st chemical attack, he pulled a classic denial. we have this warning. some viewers may find some images in this story disturbing. he was asked what the reality on the ground was that awful day, when u.s. officials say more than 1400 civilians were gassed to death in a chemical weapons attack. syrian president bashar al assad, in an interview with cbs's charlie rose, said not only did his forces not launch that attack, they weren't anywhere near it. >> in the area where they said the government used chemical weapons, we only had video and we only have pictures and

allegations. we were not there. >> reporter: an outright denial. what do you make of it? >> this is textbook assad. he'll come out and deny the most egregious incident. >> reporter: this analyst met with assad and worked with assad's wife. he says assad is capable of looking you in the eye and outright lying, saying he's also a manipulator, that this remark from assad was a calculation to touch a sensitive nerve in the u.s. >> that reminds me about what kerry said about the big lie but colin powell said in front of the world lies about the wmd before going to war. when you say this is our evidence, actually he gave false evidence. in this case, kerry didn't even present any evidence. >> reporter: kerry rebutted that directly. >> we know by tracing it physically where the rockets came from and where they landed, and it is no accident that they all came from regime controlled

territory. >> reporter: assad, who once told cnn he doesn't threaten, now seems to be threatening retaliation for a u.s. strike. >> may take different forms, direct and indirect. direct when people want to retaliate or governments, indirect when you are going to have instability and the spread of terrorism all over the region that would influence the west directly. >> more than once he talks retaliation. >> that's right. he's threatening direct response in terms of the syrian government or its allies in tehran and the indirect threat is the a symmetrical attacks that could be from hezbollah, iranian-backed groups in iraq against assets there. >> reporter: that was a gangster-like threat, according to tabler, responding to that particular comment of assad's, one official told me the u.s. is concerned about potential retaliation, that hezbollah, which is allied with syria, are indeed threats but saying the

groups may assess the damage to the syrian regime before trying to strike back. >> brian todd with the latest from bashar al assad and what he told the united states on this television interview. thank you. coming up at the top of the hour, my full interview with president obama. you'll see it in its entirety. plus, far from the debate playing out here in washington and around the world, are the thousands of lives directly affected by the bloodshed in syria. our own dr. sanjay gupta reports from a refugee camp right near the syrian border.

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far from the heated debate over strikes playing out here in

washington and around the world are the people, the people so desperate to flee the bloodshed in syria. more than two million refugees forced to start fresh in countries that can barely accommodate their own people, and they are stuck there. our chief medical correspondent, dr. sanjay gupta, has a rare look at a refugee camp on the syrian border. >> wolf, we will take you inside one of these camps and show you first-hand what is happening here and also encourage people at home not to typecast who these refugees are. many of them come from decidedly middle class backgrounds in syria. they had jobs, they had cars, they had a way of life, and suddenly all that's disrupted because of the concerns about violence. so we'll take you inside, show you the challenges here and also what ed constant shelling was becoming too much. it was after this occurred to her middle son, 4-year-old yousef, she knew she had to leave.

it was an explosion, she told me, that led to these burns. she packed up her three sons and what little she had, traveled 12 hours, mostly by foot, to arrive here at this camp. >> the youngest son is 8-month-old, and she spent half his life as a refugee. he's severely malnourished, even though he's breastfed. how difficult is it to have food? it is tough to breast feed, she tells me, when the mom herself hasn't had enough to eat. they get drastically needed medical care, but make no mistake, lebanon is buckling under the weight of the refugees, who arrive here every 15 seconds. in this country of over 4 million, the united nations say there are some 720,000 registered refugees. doctors here believe the number to be more than twice that.

>> very, very a lot, very lot. >> reporter: more than one out of every four people is a refugee, he tells me. it is the people living in these surrounding communities that are now sending a message to the refugees in they valley camps. this will never be your home. this can never be your home. the children's smiles belie a particularly awful way of life. their story is one of fleeing the violence of their home country, and not being wanted in their adopted one. after two years, there are no fixed water facilities or system of sanitation. instead, just a steady stream of sewage snaking its way through the 5,000-person camp. they have lost everything. their material possessions, their dignity, their permanence. , to simply live like this, aid groups say refugees are required to pay $100 u.s. dollars a month to the town's sheriff. the only way to make it work is to send these young kids into

the fields to work for just $2 a day. it is heart-wrenching. within these camps, there's the constant friction between two groups -- those who support the syrian regime, and those who hate it. but they do share something in common, they all want to go home. arkin and her three sons, they can't wait to leave. wolf, they want to leave because the situation is just not tenable for lebanon as a country, the numbers explain that. for the people themselves, $100 a month to live on these small plots of land is not something they can sustain. as far as the concerns about strikes, nobody here knows what's going to happen, obviously, but the numbers, because of those concerns, are likely to increase here, not decrease. at least in the short term. wolf? back to you. thank you very much, dr. sanjay gupta on the syrian border with that hardbreaking report. coming up, my interview with president obama here at the white house. we go one on one, that's right

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just a few minutes away from my one-on-one interview with president obama. you will see it in its entirety. that's coming up right at the top of the hour. stand by for that. first, though, for some insight into another depottic regime we've been covering for a

long time. we're looking into the controversial remarks by a controversial figure. the former nba star den any rodman speaking out about his most recent visit to north korea, his friendship with the new leader kim jong-un and truly shocking comment about the president of the united states. jason carroll pressed rodman on it. jason is joining us live. what did he have to say? >> rodman had used a derogatory word in terms of how he referred to president obama, and former secretary of state hillary clinton, but he also had a glowing review for the north korean leader, a man whose regime is known for running labor camps and developing nuclear weapons. former nba star den any rodman on the defense about his second and most recent trip to north korea. the man he calls a friend, kim jong-un. >> he has to do his job, but he's a very good. >> reporter: rodman described him as a man who wants to change.

during his five-day trip, he was allowed to hold the leader's baby daughter, who he says is named ju ae. >> for. >> reporter: and then there's his uncensored thoughts about president obama and secretary of state hillary clinton caught on tape shortly after he returned from pyongyang. listen to what he said if questioned if he was able to secure the release of kenneth bay. >> ask obama about that. >> reporter: they want you were going to talk about that. >> ask those [ bleep ] about it. >> reporter: when you were overseas, you referred to the president and former secretary of state using a derogatory term, which is caught on tape. do you stand by what you said about the president and the former secretary of state clinton? >> absolutely. i would say that's very easy, i would say it direct. obama, what are you afraid of? come talk to me.

obama, i don't hate your guts. hillary, i love you, bill clinton, i love you. >> reporter: earlier in the conference you talked about a dictator as a very good guy, how do you recognize that with a man who is responsible for oppressing millions of his people. >> i've said this to him, i say, your grandfather and your father did some bad things, i said, but you are trying to change something. >> reporter: as for basketball diplomacy, rodman says he inked a deal with the north korean dictator to train their basketball players for the olympics, also saying kim will allow a game between u.s. and north korean players to take place on january 8th and 10th of next year. his efforts at diplomacy not convincing to some experts in the region. rodman's behavior now on both of these trips are just absolutely outrageous. it just aids and abets one of the most dangerous regimes in

real time. >> reporter: when asked more about trying to secure bay's release, rodman says he's not going there to rescue somebody. he simply said he's going there to open doors. his next trip is scheduled for this december. wolf? >> jason, thank you. happening now, breaking news, my interview with p.m. many and his first pup response to a possible way out of attacking syria. i have to say that it's unlikely we would have arrived at that point where there would have been public statement without a credible military threat. >> i asked the president if this is bashar al assad's last chance to avoid a punishing u.s. military strike, and if he's worried about a new threat that a gruesome chemical weapons attack like the one in syria might be launched against

americans, all part of my one-on-one interview that's about to air. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer at the white house, this is a "the situation room" special report "crisis in syria." let's get to the breaking news. i sat down with president obama here at the white house just a little while ago, as a new proposal aimed at avoiding a u.s. military attack on syrian targets appearing to be gaining serious momentum. russia urging assad to give up control of the stockpiles to the international community, seizing on an idea suggesting earlier in the day by secretary of state john kerry. i asked president obama about that and more on this, the eve of his address to the nation, as he faces serious risk of losing votes in congress on the use of force. right now, my interview with the

president mr. president thanks so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> the latest idea floated by secretary of state john kerry picked up by the russians, is it possible this could avert a u.s. military strike on syria? >> it's possible if it's real, and, you know, i think it's certainly a positive development when the russians and the syrians both make gestures towards dealing with these chemical weapons. this is what we've been asking for, not just over the last week or the last month, but for the last couple of years, because these chemical weapons pose a significant threat to all nations and to the united states in particular. that's why 98% of humanity has said we don't use these. that protects our troops, and it protects children like the ones that we saw in those videos inside of syria. so it is a potentially positive development. i have to say that it's unlikely we would have arrived at that point where there were even

public statements like that without a credible military threat to deal with the chemical weapons use inside of syria. but we're going to run there to ground. john kerry and the rest of my national security team will engage with the russians and the international community to see, can we arrive at something that is enforceable and serious? you know, one reason this may have a chance of success is that even syria's allies like iran detest chemical weapons. iran, you know, unfortunately was the target of chemical weapons at the hands of saddam hussein back at the iraq/iran war, so we may be able to arrive at a consensus in which it doesn't solve the underlying problems of a civil war in syria, but it does solve the problem that i'm trying to focus on right now, which is making sure you don't have over 400 children gassed insdrim instantly about i these chemical weapons. >> ban ki-moon, the

secretary-general says not only control of the stockpile of chemical weapons, but then go ahead and destroy them. he's ready to take that to the u.n. security council. that's a lot better than deterring the syrians from going ahead and using these chemical weapons. >> absolutely. that's why we're going to take this seriously, but i have to consistently point out that we have not seen these kinds of jess it you realize up until now. in part the fact that the u.s. administration and i have said we are serious about this i think has prompted some interesting kofrgz. these are conversations that i've had directly with mr. putin. when i was at the g-20, we had some time to discuss this and i believe that mr. putin does not see the use of chemical weapons as a good thing inside of syria or anyplace else. and so it's possible that we can get a breakthrough, but it's going to have to be followed up on, and we don't want a stalling or delaying tactic to put off

the pressure that we have on there right now. we have to maintain this pressure, which is why i'll still be speaking to the nation tomorrow about why i think this is so important. >> is this bashar al assad's last chance? i want well, you know, i think that it is important for assad to understand that the chemical weapons ban, which has been in place, is one that the entire civilized world just about respects and observes it's something that protects our troop even in the toughest war theaters from being threatened by these chemical weapons. it's something that protects women and children and civilians, because these weapons by definition are insdrim nan. they don't just targets somebody in uniform. and, you know, i suspect that some of assad's allies recognize the mistake he made in using these weapons. it may be that he is under

pressure from them as well. you no el, again this doesn't solve the underlying terrible conflict inside of syria, but if we can accomplish this limited goal without taking military action, that would be my preference. on the other hand, if we don't maybe tain and move forward with a credible threat of military pressure, i do not think we will get the kind of graeme i would like to see. >> you're being seen on cnn and cnn international around the world, including in damascus. what i would like you to do, mr. president, if you're amenable, look into the camera, talk directly to president bashar al assad, tell him specifically what you think he must do to avert a u.s. military strike. >> i don't need to talk to the camera. i suspect he's got people who will be watching this. >> he's probably watching himself. we've been very clear about what we expect, and that is do not use chemical weapons, control

the chemical weapons, and now because we have seen assad's willingness to use chemical weapons, we'll have to go further and give the international community assurances they will not be used, potentially by getting them out of the there. at minimum, making sure that international control over those chemical weapons takes place. that can be accomplished, and it does not solve the broader political situation, i would say to mr. assad, we need a political settlement so you are not slaughtering your own people, and by the way encouraging some elements of the opposition to engage in terrible behavior as well. you know, what i'm thinking about is right now, though, how do we make sure we can verify we do not have chemical weapons that can be used not only inside of syria, but could potential drift outside of syria. >> he said in an interview with charlie rose, if the u.s.

attack, he said expect anything, not only from him, but from his allies. that sounds like a threat to the united states. >> yeah. mr. assad doesn't have a lot of capability. he has capability relative to children, he has capability relative to a -- an opposition that is still getting itself organized and are not professionally trained fighters. he doesn't have a credible means to threaten the united states. his allies, iran and hezbollah, could potentially engage in asymmetrical strikes against us, but frankly the kind of threats they could pose against us are typical of the kinds of threats we are dealing with around the world which i have spoken of recently, which is embassies being threatened, u.s. personnel in the region. those are threats that we deal with on an ongoing basis, they are always of concern.

obviously we saw the situation in yemen just a few weeks ago, where we wanted to respond by getting some of our folks out of there, but the notion that mr. assad could significantly threaten the united states is just not the case. there's more of my interview with president obama coming up in our special report, crisis in syria. i'll ask him about possible threats to the united states on wednesday, the 12th anniversary of 9/11. we'll get his answer to that question, coming up later. let's bring in gloria borger right now. gloria, you heard the president, he seems much more positive, shall we say, than some of hess other officials who spoke out earlier in the day about the potential for some sort of diplomatic breakthrough right now that would avoid the yield for u.s. military action. >> what stood out to me, wolf, is he seems to be talking about the utility of the threat of the use of force more than he's talking about the actual use of force, which is the case, of

course, that he's got to be making before the united states congress and the american public tomorrow night, so the question is, whether this shift is going to be longlasting, or whether it's just today, because they believe they have to kind of give the russians their due. we don't know the answer yesterday, wolf. stand by, gloria. we have a full panel also standing by with more thoughts on what president obama just said in the interview with me and what he didn't say. my interview -- more of my interview is coming up as well.

i'm here at the white house after my in-depth interview with

president obama about the crisis. much more of that interview coming up here in "the situation room." we also have a panel standing by to assess what the president said, his admission that a new russian proposal may actual by be a breakthrough, a way out. stand by. a writer and a performer. ther, i'm also a survivor of ovarian and uterine cancers. i even wrote a play about that. my symptoms were a pain in my abdomen and periods that were heavier and longer than usual for me. if you have symptoms that last two weeks or longer, be brave, go to the doctor. ovarian and uterine cancers are gynecologic cancers. symptoms are not the same for everyone. i got sick... and then i got better. everybody has different ideas, goals, appetite for risk. you can't say 'one size fits all'. it doesn't. that's crazy. we're all totally different. ishares core.

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vo:remember to changew that oil is the it on schedule toy car. keep your car healthy. show your car a little love with an oil change starting at $19.95. potential breakthrough in the syria crisis. i spoke about that with president obama. he used the word "breakthrough" himself. more of the interview coming up in "the situation room." in the meantime, let's bring in our chief national correspondent john king, our chief domestic correspondent jessica yellin, and chief political analyst gloria borger. john, it seems like there's been a dramatic shift in u.s. tone, conversation shall we say, as a result of this russian proposal. >> wolf just a week or so it looked like we would go into

military action within hours or days, and you heard the president in the interview you just head essentially volleys hope this report mocked at the time by some of his own deputies, and by this even has become a serious proposal. in an odd way. the president is almost betting on it. that we see in the congress and more importantly that we from left to right. the president didn't take much time to talk about does he have a viable plan? as much as they're threat in this the use of force, they certainly don't want to do it.

>> we could call it the goof that saves the president, maybe a bit of an intentionally if somewhat devious slip by john kerry, giving this is something that's been discussed privately by some of the leaders, but never quite publicly like this, wolf. the president was talking about how he's shifting this discussion to a threat of force rather than so much focused on the actual use of force. what's striking about this is that it doesn't become a real threat when you're acknowledges that it's merely a threat. so once again, a very confusing conversation we're having and you have to wonder what the president intends, so once again we're questioning why is the president in this position? why is he going to congress? >> and wolf, you could get the public behind you if the public

doesn't know where you are. i think in listening to your interview, wolf, it's sort of not clear where the president is. he hasn't sort of cleaned up his own am bifflens, if you will. when you want to project to the american public and say, yes, we need to use force, they need to hear that. >> all right. guys, stand by. we're going to continue this analysis. coming up next, hillary clinton gives president obama a helping hand on syria. our special report, more of my interview with the president on this cite in syria. that's after this. sfx: oil gushing out of pipe. sfx: birds chirping.

hihing, helicopters buzzing, and truck engine humming. sfx: birds chirping sfx: birds chirping the 12th anniversary of 9/11 is this coming wednesday. i asked the president about that in our one-on-one interview. 9/11, the anniversary this wednesday. should americans expect some sort of attack? his answer, when our special report continues. [ male announcer ] when you have sinus pressure and pain,

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hillary clinton, she spoke out publicly for the first time, and about the potential military strike. the former secretary does these days is seen through the prism of a possible run for the white house. once again jessica yellin. >> reporter: former secretary of state hillary clinton spoke up in support of president obama's syria policy. >> it demands a strong response. >> reporter: but she managed to avoid a full-throated endorse muppet of a military strike. >> potential international control over syria's stockpiles only dao take place in the context of a credible military threat. by the u.s. >> reporter: he didn't mince words. >> the regime of bashar al assad must come to an end. the horrible event that chemical

weapons were used. that's a red line for the world. >> privately clinton pushed to arm the rebels, but the president did not sign on until after she left government. now the white house needs her help, with a cnn poll showing 55% of the american public opposed to striking syria, even with congressional approval. the administration wants clinton to lend her credibility to their plan. the president is pulling clinton in a tricky and all too familiar position. flash back to 2008. >> i was opposed to iraq from the start. >> reporter: in a primary, then candidate obama beat up senator clinton over her vote to use force in the iraq war. >> i think i made a reasoned judgment. unfortunately the person who actually got to execute the policy, did not. >> reporter: it helped establishing obama as the outsider candidate of change. clinton as campaign hit back. >> it's 3:00 a.m. and your

children are safe and asleep. >> reporter: it was too late to help clinton, but in some quarters that impression stuck. last week as the president worked through his position, former rnc chair ed gillespie tweeted -- clear now, when the 3:00 a.m. call came, barack obama couldn't find his glasses, knocked phone off nightstand, still reaching around for receiver. it's a reminder that nothing in politics staying in the past, a lesson hillary clinton knows well. wolf, as a private citizen, former secretary hillary clinton has no obligation to take a definitive position on whether he supports a military strike on syria, especially since he has no ability to control how that can play out. wolf? >> she certain did. jessica, stand by. let's get back to the breaking news. my interview with president obama just a little while ago.

remember we're only two days away from the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. i asked the president about that. one final quick question, 9/11, the anniversary this wednesday, should americans expect some sort of attack. >> i think we're always on heightened alert on 9/11. we will continue to be. what we have seen over the last decade is because of the heroism of our troops, bomb enormous sacrifices, america is safer than it was right before 9/11, but we still have threats out there, particularly outside of the homeland. we also have lone wolf threats, as we saw during the boston marathon bombings. so we have to remain vigilant. we will not be able to protect ourselves 100% of the time against every threat, but what we can do is make sure we understand these threats are

real, we have to be prepared, but not overreact in ways that potential compromise or values and ideals over the long term. >> mr. president, thanks very much. >> i appreciate it. thank you, wolf. breaking news that's happening now. let's go to dana bash. dana, what's going on? >> reporter: what's going on is the russia developments have caused a change in the united states senate. the senate majority leader harry reid was going to set things up for a wednesday procedural vote on authorizing military force. he's decided to delay that, and the specific reason i'm told by a senior democratic source is because of these developing in russia. they don't want senators to be locked in to have to vote. they want to give things more time, i'm told, to have things percolate. very interesting that they are delaying this. >> are they upbeat, a bit more encouraged maybe there would be a peaceful diplomatic way out of the this current crisis as a result of this initiative?

>> reporter: i don't know if they are upbeat or encouraged, but definitely hopeful. i just had a member pull me aside coming out of a private briefing, who said that he's getting a lot of questions about what's going on with russia, and a lot of members very clearly are really hoping, every finger and toe crossed, that this is a way out. also for members of congress 206 to deal with this as well itches a lot more on this story. remember, what the president just tole me, he said he actually discussed this idea with putin when they met in petersbu petersburg. remember, you can always follow what's going on here in "the situation room." go ahead and tweet me@wolf blitzer. thanks very much for watching. "crossfire" starts right now. tonight on "crossfire" have the russians found a solution to

the crisis in syria? >> it's possibly if it's real. can we arrive at something that's enforceable and serious? the president faces a skeptical public. and sevening poll numbers. what should congress do now? on the left, stephanie cutter. on the right newt gingrich. in the crossfire, senator rand paul, who opposes a military strike on syria, and senate foreign relations chairman robert menendez, who supports a limited strike. can the president convince congress to attack syria? tonight on "crossfire." welcome to "crossfire." i'm stephanie cutter on the left. >> i'm newt gingrich on the right. astonishingly, today the russians off to help round up and secure syria's chemical weapons. the syrians said yes.

here's what the president told wolf blitzer. >> it is a potentially positive development. i have to say it's unlikely we would have arrived at that point where there were even public statements like that without a credible military threat to deal with the chemical weapons use inside of syria. >> the president told abc news that strikes would be, quote, absolutely, end quote, on pause if assad gives up the chemical weapons. i've heard of leading from behind, but did you ever think you would see putin bailing out president obama? >> newt, i don't know where you've been over the past two years, but we couldn't even get putin to acknowledge syria was a risk. he vetoed three u.n. resolutions. syria wouldn't even negotiate with es over the last two years. i don't think this is leading from behind. i think the only reason the russians are coming forward is because the pre