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you're watching "around the world." i'm suzanne pal row. >> ike mimal holmes. president obama heading to capitol hill this hour to make a personal push for law packers to authorize those military strikes in syria. >> the president's rare visit to congress comes amid a stunning turn in what appeared to be a run-up to the war. syria accepted russia's plan for bashar al assad, the regime to place its chemical weapons under international control. >> according to syrian state television. what does it all mean? it's a connen session that puts the white house on something of a dual practice. the president's national security team back on capitol hill today making their case for air strikes in the strongest possible terms, even if it ends up being as a backup. secretary of state john kerry, defense secretary chuck hagel and general martin dempsey all

testifying before the house armed services committee. >> so kerry makes it clear the administration is willing to listen to the russian proposal but will not fall for any kind of stalling tactics from the russians or syrians. here's what he had said. >> assad's chief benefactor, the russians have sonded by saying that they would come up with a proposalto do exactly that and we have made it clear to them, i have in several conversations with foreign minister lavrov that this cannot condition be a process of delay. this cannot be a process of avoidance. it has to be real, has to be measurable, tangible and it is exceedingly difficult i want everybody here to know to fulfill those conditions. but we're waiting for that proposal. but we're not waiting for long. >> we don't know how long that is, but the proposal for syria to hand over the chemical stockpiles, it is an idea that is at least gaining momentum,

china, iran say they will actually support the russian plan. >> the big question is, is it doable? there is a war going on. we're going to take you around the world looking as the all of the angles in the crisis as only cnn can. phil black live from moscow, phil, to you first. the russians had the idea they sort of jumps on what secretary kerry said, then the syrians said okay, we'll play, but how do you do it? how are the russians going to move forward now? >> well, that's very much the challenge now, michael. turning this idea into a reality. the russians say they're working on it, along with the syrians coming up with what they say will be a viable, credible plan for making this.ha and they say they'll be leddy to present that to the world in the near future. but they're not giving a specific time frame, not giving specific details. the challenge is considerable as kerry was saying there. they have to come up with an international framework acceptable to everyone. the goals, the punishments poe

itentially, as well. a key issue there is,ing will any resolution that goes before the security council be binding and enforceable potentially with military action? will it be a chapter 7 resolution? the russian context is russia doesn't like those and stood in the way of them throughout the military crisis. the other goal which you've alluded or the chag i should say is how to make this happen, how to identify secure, potentially destroy the top secret weapon system within the context of this on going civil war which is still very much tearing apart the country. >> nick, let's wring you in here. the security council, how do they get everybody on board here? you've got the five members who are able to veto. russia says they'll accept no language with any kind of punishment for syria. that would not jibe with what france is proposing. is there any kind of language or resolution on the table now that you see all at least the five permanent members would agree to? >> reporter: that's what's

happening behind closed doors here at the u.n., the diplomat didn't explaining the french are very much involved in one-on-one meetings with security council members to try to get some sort of text together which everybody can accept. there's a huge amount of daylight between what the french want, along also with a suggestion that the perpetrators should be put on trial in the international criminal court. so a lot of daylight between the two. we have heard from the afp news agency, the french foreign minister believes the russians are opposed to a binding resolution that would encapsulate all thetings they've currently proposed. they put an awful lot in there. many are wondering if that will be acceptable to the russians. are we now looking at the resolution falling on its feet in the unlikely. so many signs suggested there needs to be an international control mechanism for chemical weapons. perhaps we're looking into negotiation for the days ahead to baby water down the intensity of the initial french proposed

text, take out some of the things which would cause the russians problems but there's still the big issue here. what happens if this mechanism doesn't go the way that the french would like to see? will there be serious consequences for the sir yab regime? >> phil black in moscow, nick paton walsh live trt united nations. they're not close. these sides are not close. they're very powerful. >> very hard it 0 see the russians and the chinese on board with a resolution that would make president obama and the british and french happy. really is. all right. let's go back to washington actually right now. there is much going on there. it was just less than an hour ago we heard from defense secretary chuck hagel. >> he says he is optimistic and realistic about a possible diplomatic solution to the syrian crisis. here's how he explained it. >> all of us are hopeful that this option might be a real solution to this crisis. yet, we must be very clear-eyed

and ensure it is not a stalling tactic by syria and its russian patriots. and for this diplomatic option to have a chance at succeeding, the threat of a u.s. military action, the credible real threat of u.s. military action must continue as we are talking today and will continue to talk and discuss throughout the week. >> want to bring in dana bash in washington. dana, it seems like a lot of lawmakers conent want this military strike at all. they're trying to come up with something, whether it's an amendment or an alternative resolution, a bipartisan one to avoid a military strike. explain for us, what's on the table now? >> well, what's going on right now is everything is kind of in suspended and i participation. nobody knows what is going on and they're waiting to see what happens at the u.n. but in the meantime, there is some discussion behind the scenes bipartisan group of senators including john mccain

by the way and chuck schumer. veteran senators on both sides of the aisle working on an alternative that takes into account what is going on with this potential diplomatic break through with russia and what this would do would say that the u.n. would have to pass a resolution saying assad did use chemical weapons and, of course, say he's going to have to gub them over to the international community. as that is going on, the tempers are flaring on capitol hill, particularly over the fact that these votes have been delayed on the authorization. and there was one moment that just happened a short while ago in the house hearing where republican member who is against this said let's face it, these votes were delayed because the votes weren't there. listen to what the secretary of state said in response. >> look, do you want to play politics here or get a policy in place? the policy that can be put in place is to try to get this particular option of getting control of chemical weapons in place. if you want to undermine that,

then play the politics. okay? >> how about this. >> if you want it to work, then i'm asking you. >> mr. secretary, reclaiming my time, sir. >> how we got here. >> mr. chairman, would you please ask the witnesses to limit their answers to the questions that are asked. mr. secretary, would you please explain what an incredibly small strike is? >> it's not iraq. it's not iran. it's not eight year's war. what i was doing was trying to point out to people that we are engaged in a strike which again and again, i have said this will be meaningful. it will be serious. the assad regime will feel it because it will degrade their military capacity. but compared to iraq, kosovo, libya, it's small. it is not any of those things. that doesn't mean that it would be anything less than what i've suggested previously and the

military has suggested that assad will know. we don't do pinpricks. the president has said that. we will degrade and i believe we will deter but it is not iraq, afghanistan and compared to them, it is small. >> and that is the kind of questioning that you're hearing across the party lines, suzanne and michael, from members of congress. they say they want to hear that from the president tonight. the president is on his way to the capitol to meet with first senate democrats and then senate republicans to have a discussion about this, to talk about what he plans to discuss tonight. but even as he's doing this, you're seeing senator after senator, republican and democrat, even the man who took the seat of john kerry in the united states senate saying that they are against military action. so that is the backdrop through which the president is going to speak tonight. >> all right. thanks, appreciates it. the syria sorry so complex,

things changing hourly. we wanted to get a sense of wa do people think and have a good handle on what's going on? our new cnn/orc poll asked people how they understand the president's policy on syria. 53% say somewhat, 15% say not much and 13% say they don't get it at all. >> goodness. president obama going all out to explain his position to the american people as we have seen and making that nationwide address tonight that dana was pointing to. but lawmakers saying no, generally speaking to a possible military strike in syria if the diplomatic efforts don't work. >> so in the house, the number planning to vote no has now jumped to 166. in the senate, the tallies up to 29 no votes. and my guest, one of those lawmakers who has a lot of concerns about a possible military strike inside of syria. bernie sanders is an independent from vermont, caucuses with the democrats. scenario, good to he sue you here. we know that you are in a hurry,

you're on your way to meet with the president in about 15 minutes or so with other members of the senate democratic caucus. what do you want to hear from the president right now the in terms of can he make the case, the dual case, one track being military strike, the other being diplomatic action? >> well, what i want to hear from the president is that he recognizes that the overwhelming majority of the american people do not want to get sucked into a war in syria. they were misled about iraq. they were misled about afghanistan. and i think the response that you're seeing, and i've got to tell you in vermont, 95% of the e-mails and calls we're getting are against the war and i this i you're seeing similar numbers from around the country. what really this tells me is the american people are saying you, you know what, mr. president, the middle class is collapsing. our kids can't find jobs. why don't we as a government start paying attention to the enormous needs we have in america? i hope the president recognizes

that and now seizes the opportunity that russia and france have offered us to get these terrible chemical weapons out of syria without the united states getting unilateral little involved in this bloody and complicated war. >> and senator, i'm assuming you would you support the break through plan for syria to turn over its weapons to an international body. in a practical accepts, how does that get accomplished? how does that get done when you've got a civil war taking place inside that country? do you think this is a realistic plan, a realistic alternative? >> look, nothing is easy, especially as you've indicated in a horrendous civil war, but you know what? united states involvement in a bloody war in syria is not easy, as well. so i hope and what excites me very much is now we have finally russia playing a constructive role, china getting involved, france playing a good role, the

united nations playing a good role. if, and i understand this is more difficult than it looks, but if in fact we can get these chemical weapons under international supervision without the united states getting involved in that war, i think that will be a great thing not only for our country but for people throughout the world. >> nor, would you support the amendment to the resolution that is now being floated by a group of your colleagues bipartisan group of your colleagues saying look, we will go ahead and work with the u.n., work with russia, work with china to make sure that those stockpile of weapons can be seized, can be controlled and at the same time, possibly if that's not going to work, go ahead with a military strike? >> i think what we're seeing now in a bipartisan way is a constructive effort. i don't think there is a final resolution yet that i can comment on because it hasn't been wrip. b but let me repeat, i am very, very concerned of what happens if this country gets involved in

syria's civil war. >> all right. thank you, senator bernie sanders. let us know how your meeting goes with the president. we'll hear back from you and get a sense of what he told you afterwards. thank you very much. appreciate your time. >> you can watch president obama's address to the nation tonight 9:00 eastern right here on cnn. our special primetime coverage starts at 7:00. and still to come here on "around the world," even some lawmakers who backed the president on a possible strike against syria, they want to know a lot more what he has in mind. more detail. >> there's a degree of incoherence which is incomprehensible to me when the secretary of state says that a vik would be unbelievably small, then many of us who support it say, what does that mean? what could that possibly mean? [ tires screech ]

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to give the rebels, if you like, a leg up in the fight to oust president al assad. earlier i spoke with the senator and asked him about this proposal to have syria turn over its chemical weapons in order to avert a military strike, whether it's for real, even doable or whether it's a game of bluff calling and stalling. i'm very, very skeptical, but i think that the option has to be explored. i think we can find out the validity of it almost immediately because then bashar al assad who has never admitted that he has chemical weapons would agree to immediate dispatch of international monitors to these chemical weapon sites so that they can be secured and not used again against the syrian people. while we work out the provisions and modalities and all ta for the disposal of these chemical weapons. so we can find out very quickly so i'm very skeptical. but to ignore this possibility i

think would be obviously a serious mistake, as well. >> i suppose though that the reality is when it comes to logistics, lease a war on. how would you go about getting these weapons together under any sort of supervision internationally and do anything about them anyway while the fighting continues? it. >> i think it's very difficult, but we know where these sites are. i think that the free syrian army would respect these areas if the international monitors were there and these chemical stocks, chemical weapons stocks were placed under their control. is it difficult? yes. is it worth exploring? yes. am i very skeptical? yes, and i still believe that we need to have assistance of the free syrian army to change the momentum for a negotiated departure of assad. >> it certainly seems congressionally speaking, there was a lot of opposition, certainly indecision when it came to having a vote on

military action by the united states. where does ta vote stand now? what is the mood of kong conditioning res when it comes to authorizing any military strike and should the threat of that the strike still be hanging over ba sar al as sard? >> well, i think the threat of it still must be hanging overall, though there's a degree of incoherence which is incomprehensible to me when the secretary of state says that a vik would be unbelieve little small, then many of us who support it say, what does ha mean? what could that possibly mean? does ha mean that we're not going to harm anybody? so there is a degree of invo harns in the message here that from my town hall meetings, people in my state do not understand, they do not understand the threat of this becoming as it is a regional conflict. the million children who have become refugee, the 100,000

people who have been massacred that and the need for a negotiated departure for bashar assad. so there's got to be a i honed message and i hope the president gives it tonight, but right now, this option will have to also be modified to some degree in our resolution that we are working on before the senate to take in consideration the possibility of this negotiations on chemical weapons stocks. and that means guidelines, reporting procedures, et cetera, that would have to be adhered to. >> and senator mccain says he does hope that president obama will clearly explain the national interest of the u.s. when it comes to syria in his address tonight. suzanne? >> and coming up, you're going to hear from the president himself, president obama talked to our wolf blitzer after word of that russian proposal on syria came out. here's how he said it.

>> it's possible ta we can get a break-through, but it's going to have to be followed up on. we don't want just a stalling or delaying tactic. [ male announcer ] research suggests cell health plays a key role throughout our lives. one a day men's 50+ is a complete multivitamin designed for men's health concerns as we age. with 7 antioxidants to support cell health. one a day men's 50+.

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president obama is counting down the hours until his syria speech tonight. he is also trying to persuade members of congress to back his plan. >> yeah, indeed. just a few minutes from now, the president will meet with the senate democratic caucus and then next hour with the senate republican conference. >> president obama is going all out to explain his position, of course, making his nationwide address tonight, but he also spoke to our own wolf blitzer last night about exactly what he wants the syrian regime to do. >> and also whether he thinks the assad regime poses a real direct military threat to the u.s. have a listen. >> 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've seen assad's willingness to use chemical weapons, we're going to have to go further and give the international community assurances that they will not be used potentially by getting them out of 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 that you're not slaughtering your own people. and by the way, encouraging some elements of the opposition to engage in some terrible behavior, as well. you know, what i'm thinking about is right now though, how do we make sure that we can verify that we do not have chemical weapons that can be used not only inside of syria but potentially could drift outside of syria. >> he said in an interview with charlie rose that if the united states attack, launch military strikes, he said he will respond

anything, 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 rel tuv to a -- an opposition that is still getting itself organized and are not professional trained fighters. he doesn't have a credible means to threaten the united states. his allies, iran and hezbollah, cog potentially engage in asymmetrical strikes against us, but frankly, the kind of threats that they could poez against uses are typical of the kinds of threats that we're dealing with around the world and that i've spoken of recently which is embassies that are being threatened, you know, 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. >> coming up on "around the world," the people have spoken. >> and be syria not on the top of the list of the most important issues facing americans. plus, how they view the president, up next. ♪ [ male announcer ] a woman. a woman and her truck. a woman and her truck... and a 1,200-pound passenger. ♪ and two bodies with one mind. and a ribbon that goes on her wall, not in her hair. the all-new chevy silverado. with the best available towing in its class. strong. for all the roads ahead.

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what we've seen over the last decade is because of the heroism of our troops, because of the enormous sacrifices of them and tear families, america is safer than it was right before 9/11. but we still have threws out there. >> president obama there in his interview with our own west virginia on the crisis in syria trying to make the case for taking action over the chemical weapons attack there. >> and tonight, he's going to address the nation at 9:00 eastern. as he does, there are those questioning now his leadership. take a look at the latest. this is a cnn/orc poll. we asked is president obama a strong and decisive leader. this is split down the middle. yes, 50%. no, 49%. i want to bring in wolf to talk about this.

you sat down with the rez yesterday. he was pretty cool under pressure but clearly he has a case to make to the american people. why do you suppose that the country, the people now are so split on his ability to lead? what do you think is behind that? >> well, the country has always been split about him, even though he's won two treshl elections, he's only won with 51 or 52% of the vote. and his opponents got almost as much but clearly not enough in the popular vote and certainly not in the electoral college. so the country is pretty evenly divided when it comes to the president of the united states. a lot of americans love him and they like him a lot and a lot of others don't like him and i think that's reflected in the polls. right now, this has been such a sensitive be issue whether or not the u.s. should go to war in effect with syria, it's further divided this country and it's certainly reflected in our latest poll numbers. >> wolf, you've got your finger on the pulse of washington. i'm curious whether there's a sense there that the u.s. has in the world sense here on this

issue lost the initiative if you like? you've got the russians jumping in coppi i coming up with this d the president trying to win over a reluctant congress. is there a sense that the u.s. isn't leading this? for the last few years, there's been this theory that came out in a new yorker magazine article. the president leading from behind, if you will. and that theme has certainly carried over into this current debate right now. look, you did have the u.s., john kerry made this informal proposal, the russians immediately grabbed it. the syrians have now accepted it. the chinese have accepted it. the french go to the u.n. security council. looks like the president was talking to the british and fench leader today. they seem to be on board. let's give this initiative a chance. maybe it will emerge that it will work, that the syrian chemical weapons will at least

be controlled if not destroyed. if that happens, i think president obama will be able to make a case, look it wouldn't have happened unless there was a credible threat of military force. i did that. we'll try to get credit for it in the process. look, there's a long way 0 go between now and then and a lot can go wrong. >> the next hour, wolf will sit down with former ambassador nick burns to talk more about this analysis. it will be interesting to get his take on who are the ones that the u.s. can really work with? can they work with russia, with china on this? >> do they want to play if there's going to be a stick at the end of any u.n. resolution. that's the big question. the other big question, can you even go into this country and get those weapons and destroy them safely? a lot of people don't think so. >> very tough questions in a couple of minutes, we have another he story we're following. apple expected to make a big announcement. it's a cheaper and even more techie iphone on the way. we're going to explain up next. you're watching "around the world." [ male announcer ] this is pam.

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all right. there's a lot of anticipation over this one. just a couple of minutes, apple is going to unveil two new iphones. >> we were just playing around comparing the galaxy and the iphone. look at us. we're nerds when it comes to this. this is the 5s expected to feature a faster processor, improved contaminate ra. they predict the 5 s will the have a fingerprint scanner that will allow users to log in without a password. >> apple will unveil the 5 c, a cheaper version of the 5 s. alison, tell us what's behind this. it's all about competition.

>> you know what it is, it's all about the pressure. the pressure is really on apple, suzanne and michael. one analyst says when this event starts in the about 20 minutes for apple, apple needs something more than just a standard upgrade. apple is losing its edge. it doesn't control as big a piece of the smartphone market as it once did. back in 2011 at its peak, it had a 24% market share. now they're at about half that, 14%. compare that to android phones. they now have a 79% piece of the pie. iphone sales overall slowing down in the past, iphone sales rose 100%, 0 mers, 60%. now you're seeing less than 20% of growth. yes, one more problem in this. china, iphones are definitely losing ground there. it's a huge market, the largest one outside the u.s. so yes, i think i'm being kind in saying the pressure, it's just pressure on apple. there's a lot more going for apple this morning. >> hence the cheaper one, as

well and the whole trade-in thing too they're making it easier for people. those numbers are staggering, the android ones over the iphone. i'm an equal opportunity user. galaxy and your blackberry there. what about tim cook? he's been criticized in the past for sort of lacking a little innovation when it comes to the product. >> that factors into this, too. one analyst puts it this way saying at this point, apple needs a hero product. that's pretty strong language. the reality is, iphones are still really strong sellers. the inn phone ipad sales are still up. here's the point here that everybody's trying to make. apple really needs a wow moment. it hasn't had its wow moment in such a long time. it hasn't launched a new smartphone or tablet in a year. rivals put out new devices faster. there was a time when the iphone and ipad were the revolutionary ones. they came out first. guess what, now others are taking the spotlight. that is making everybody nervous

at this point, especially invest ares. we're seeing the stock down a bit ahead of this launch event enhappening in about 20 minutes. >> a rough ride on the market for the last year or so. alison kosik there, we'll wait for that announcement. >> they need to make the fonts bigger for those of us who can't see anymore. >> that's us getting older. that's what that is. >> moving back to syria, france at the united nations officially now proposing a plan on how to handle syria's chemical weapons. >> what is that plan. >> will russia play ball? that's "around the world" after the break. ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life.

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>> russia's plan for syria to hand over its chemical weapons to international monitors is now gaining some momentum. president obama is working this idea. he spoke earlier with french and british leaders to explore the viability of this russian proposal. >> france is going to the u.n. today. as we told you a little bit

earlier. it's going to be presentingity own five-point security council resolution. now, the french plan calls for the u.n. to condemn the massacre committed by the syrian regime. the russians, will they go along with that? also to make syria place its weapons under international control. >> as well as allow international inspections plus it calls for severe consequences if syria violates its obligations. it also demands that the perpetrators of the august 21st massacre face international justice. i want to bring in jim 3wi9er man who joins us from paris. explain to us, why are there two ditch proposals, the french one and the russian one? >> reporter: i don't think it's really two different proposals, suzanne. basically what we're seeing here is the french trying to put specificity to what were very vague notions that lavrov and the syrian foreign minister talked about yesterday. this is an attempt by the french to make it concrete, to say

okay, you want to put this into a resolution, here's what it would say. here's five points. now they're in the process of negotiating those five points. they may not get all the five points in the final resolution that goes to the council, but this is sort of the optimum attempt to the pushing the edge as far as it will go and see what will fly. >> so it's acclaim, they're going to throw out these things and reading through them, there's very little in there you can see the russians jumping up and down about and saying, yeah, we'll go along with that. they'll work backwards from this, presumably? >> well, exactly. and as a matter of fact, one of the things we've heard just in the last half hour is the french foreign minister had a conversation with lavrov, the russian foreign minister and he's reported to have said to the press as he came out of a commission hearing over at the parliament, he said that russians weren't very keen on his suggestions. so it's possible that we'll see a russian version of these five points come out in this

negotiating session that will take place in new york. >> jim, it all sounds like dip plo speak, very diplomatically put whether or not they're keen onnal proposals. i imagine the russians will not accept any language that will condemn the syrian regime and any responsibility for the chemical weapons attack. >> well, yesterday, nobody thought the russians would go as far as they did with the syrian foreign minister. we don't know what the russians will accept and i don't think anybody does. so basically this is an attempt to see where the limits are, see where the boundaries are, see what they can come up with that will get through the security council. >> thanks for that. jim bitterman in paris. one thing we have not discussed in depth is what does the syria opposition think. there are elements that say this is just a ploy. if they don't play along, how will any weapons inspectors get safely into syria. >> and you've got the more extremist elements, al nusra and

al qaeda. they're not going to let the u.n. supervise weapons destruction, too. it's a very, very difficult one to envisage at least in the current proposal. >> a lot to sort out. it has been three weeks since that chem counsel attack that killed at least 1400 people. this was just east of damascus. at least 400 were children. there were, however, some survivors. dr. sanjay gupta went to a refugee camp in lebanon. >> and he's been in contact with some of the medical worker who's treated those victims. sanjay standing by in our beirut bureau. we're going to talk to him next. [ jackie ] it's just so frustrating... ♪ the middle of this special moment and i need to run off to the bathroom. ♪ i'm fed up with always having to put my bladder's needs ahead of my daughter. ♪ so today, i'm finally talking to my doctor about overactive bladder symptoms.

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this of course, it was the horrific event that shocked the world, created this international crisis in the first place. we're talking about just three weeks ago in damascus, syria, this chemical attack that killed more than 1400 people including some 400 children. >> unbelievable. thousands of people actually were treated after the bombings and survived. well, now, dr. sanjay gupta is reporting that medical worker who's cared for these patients are afraid to talking >> sanjay is joining us from beirut is, lebanon. first of all, explain to us why. why are they reluctant to even talk about this?

>> you know, it's unclear. the overall tenor is one of nervousness and anxiety. you know, you hear from these doctors. they're concerned possibly of any retaliation against them. also the hospitals, they don't want to the identify some of the hospitals where they're practicing. so why exactly that is is harder to say. as you know, you guys have been hearing, it's a very fluid sort of situation from a reporter's standpoint, we have contacts sometimes with these doctors and then the doctors will suddenly go dark. we don't hear from them. the phones that will are being used are disposable phones. one day it's one number, another day it might be skype foens. all of this makes it more challenging. exactly what they're fearful of and from whom is still uncertain. >> risky to be treating the victims. from a medical standpoint, when you talk about the chemical weapons and we've all seen the videos, horrible stuff, talk to us and different chemicals cause different types of suffering,

what you've seen on those videos. what sort of symptoms did you see there? >> reporter: you know, when you think about something like sarin and you're right, it's pretty gruesome to watch. but you think about this neurotoxic agent ta essentially turns everything on in the body. and what i mean by that, is you look at the lungs for example, and you see the frothing at the mouth because the lung secret n secretions are turned on. same sort of thing happening in the sinuses and most sort of obviously in the muscle groups. when you see these nonstop con eventual sib activity it's because the missiles are turned on and that's why you're seeing that. ultimately what happens is the diaphragm, that big muscle that allows one 0 breathe in and out, that muscle goes into a state of convulsive activity and is unable to function properly and someone essentially can't breathe. it's its tough to talk about and gruesome to watch. that's what sarin does in a very small amount, even getting it on

your skin, you can absorb it. it's odorless, doesn't have a taste or smell. often times you don't know you've been exposed till you start to develop symptoms. >> sanjay, you've been able to see the treatment, the antidote. i assume that's a large part of what you've been observing on the ground, yes? >> there are very good antidotes to sarin. the key is making sure the antidotes are available and administered quickly. this is an example of an and the dote, something anthony in as atropine in just about every major hospital around the world, uses a heart medication. this is a medication that can turn off some of those on switches or interfere so the body can start to relax. you administer it, see if the frothing at the mouth stops, if the pupils start to return to normal. they do, you can stop the treatment. this is a commonly used medication. the key is to be able to use it early. >> and to get it in there to those inside the country.

sanjay, appreciate it. thanks so much there in beirut, lebanon. thanks for sticking around for us tonight. getting late in beirut. and if you want to help those affected by the syrian crisis, do pop over to impact your world on cnn.com. on cnn.com. >> we'll take a quick break. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com but i feel skinnier, you know? not really. aaah! jessica! whoa! your friend's a rate sucker. her bad driving makes car insurance more expensive for the rest of us. try snapshot from progressive. snap it in and get a discount based on your good driving. [pop!] stop paying for rate suckers!

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new yorkers are choosing their next mayoral candidates. voters have just about eight hours left before the polls close and the primary election in the biggest u.s. city. >> unclear at the moment whether the front-runner bill deblaiseio can avoid a runoff on his heels, the former city controller, bill thompson, the only black candidate in the race. >> the other main challengers are city council speaker christine quinn an open lesbian who would be new york's first female mayor. former congressman anthony weiner has been getting a lot of publicity. he was an early front-runner, now a distant fourth after admitting to sending lewd online messages. so that will go on this evening and we'll see how the vote turns out. >> mean highway, all eyes on washington, of course. the president making his moves to convince lawmakers to still have that strike on syria up his sleeve. >> that's happening 9:00 eastern

tonight. you can watch his speech right here on cnn. our primetime coverage starts at 7:00 eastern. >> thanks for watching "around the world." wolf blitzer is up next. >> "cnn newsroom" starts now. >> president obama faces a crucial test of leadership at home and on the world stage. right now, the president is on capitol hill. he's trying to lobby very skeptical lawmakers. he wants them to authorize u.s. military action against syria even as a diplomatic proposal plays out right now. and tonight, the president faces another tough audience, the american people. right now, the secretary of state john kerry is warn tag diplomacy on syria can't just be a process of delaying a u.s. military strike. kerry told lawmakers the administration is waiting for russia's proposal but "we're not waiting for long." those were his words. we'll have the very latest on the push to