came true, as well. dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, reporting. >> that's awesome. congratulations, annette. fantastic. "around the world" starts right now with suzanne malveaux and michael holmes. you're watching "around the world." i'm suzanne malveaux. >> ike mimal holmes. world powers right now intensifying their efforts to defuse the situation in syria. nothing set yet. nothing decided. but the u.n. security council members, the five permanent members might meet later today to try to work on that plan to take control of syrian chemical weapons. >> there are so many people skeptical that a diplomatic deal can even be reached. france is pushing a five-point solution, a resolution, russia and western nations are fighting over whether the u.n. should authorize military attacks on syria if it violates a diplomatic agreement.

any resolution would need approval from the u.s., france, britain, russia, and china. >> of course, the five permanent members of the security council. they have veto power when it comes to resolution. the p-5 as they're called. a report just out from the united nations says both sides in the syrian war are guilty of grave crimes. not the first time that will allegation has been made. crimes that include murder, torture, and hostage taking >> the report looks at nine massacres, eight believed to have been carried out by the government and one by the opposition. our nick paton walsh joining us from the u.n. to talk about what are some of the details we've learned today? >> these reports have been coming out periodically for the past year, plus, and they make for horrifying reading, emphasizing the violence that happens every single day on the ground in syria in a conflict that kills 5,000 people on average a month. some things stand out from this. you mentioned eight of the nine

mass killings seemingly committed by pro regime forces. one particular series of incidents near the western area of ban yas march 2nd or 3rd where up to 400 people might have been killed. some seemingly killed by large objects dropped on their heads. the sheer brutality of what seems to happen every day brought home much of the sexual violence in this report, mostly accusations against the regime for doing that and some terrifying incidents where it seems like rebels one instance used a 13-year-old boy for soldiers operating near da ra. he was wounded. a 15-year-old boy accused of blasphemy by rebels in aleppo and then executed for that, really chilling details though, suzanne. >> horrible stuff. nick, when it comes to the u.n. and you've been covering that side of things for us, and you look back at the last two years, there's been really nothing meaningful coming out of the

security council because of the vetoes we mentioned earlier. now you've got the u.s., great britain, fans, wanting there to be consequences if any resolution is not followed through. and russia says that's not going to happen. could we be in the same impotent position when it comes to syria and getting some sort of resolution up? >> some ways we're in a new situation because it seems like the members of the permanent five have something they all seem to agree on which is that syria should happened over its chemical weapons to international control. that's pretty much what everyone is focused on. what they're torn over, should there be a stick somewhere in any resolution which threatens syria if it doesn't move fast enough in the french first tabled a resolution that threatened serious consequences, then a weakened down version, standard u.n. language for the part of the u.n. charter they're using. the issue is, can john kerry and sergey lavrov tomorrow in geneva bridge big gasp and try and get something that pass the security

council and doesn't get a veto. >> suzanne. >> thanks so much. nick paton walsh at the u.n. for us. >> back to the diplomatic front, secretary of state john kerry heads to switzerland tomorrow. meetings with russia's foreign minister, they have talked nine times since that deadly gas attack in the suburbs of damascus, syria. now they're digging down on russia's proposal for syria to hand over chemical weapons. the rush for a deal comes on the heels of president obama's speech. he told the nation he is willing to give peace a chance. but is not taking is the threat of military force off the table. >> it's too early to tell whether this offer will succeed. in any agreement must verify that the assad regime keeps its commitments. but this initiative has the potential to remove the threat of chemical weapons without the use of force. particularly because russia is one of assad's strongest allies. i have therefore asked the leaders of congress to post

phone a vote to authorize the use of force while we pursue this diplomatic path. >> actually, expect to hear more from the white house a little later this hour. the daily briefing that will be held. right now, we want to bring in our congressional correspondent dana bash. dana, that vote on the president's request to authorize a military strike, obviously on hold. probably a lot of people relieved about that. the open door that some had been looking for. what has been reaction there from lawmakers to it the next approach? >> reporter: you know, the reaction is interesting. i think it's fair to say a lot of members aren't sure what to say because there is such a holding pattern right now, which is -- and the brakes are on beyond the holding pattern. but what is also interesting is to talk to members about how they thought the president did with their sales job because the message was obviously to their members of their constituencies who are overwhelmingly opposed to this. and one of the things that i heard from some of the

president's closest allies that they wish he said more of is talking about the regional interests. not just the moral imperative to deal with this, any dictator using chemical weapons, but also why it matters for national security interests in the region. and that's something that it seems that the senate majority leader harry reid picked up on this morning. listen to what he said. >> as the president said, we have to send an explicit message to not only syria but the rest of the world. remember, who has more chemical weapons than syria? only one country. north korea. think about that. if they get away with this, what's north korea going to do? >> the president is concerned about syrians. syrians being killed by syrians. i wish he was just as concerned about americans being murdered by terrorists in benghazi, libya. >> that second sound bite was a

republican, more focused on the producter problem they see happening with the obama administration and also he was talking about the day that we have today, which is the anniversary of september 11th, not just about 1 years ago but last year in benghazi. but the idea that this was being rushed through has certainly changed. and what is happening now is members of the senate and the house in both parties are kind of quietly working on an alternate resolution that would take into account any diplomacy and but they say even that is kind of very much on the back burner as they watch what happens, particularly with this meeting tomorrow. >> all right, dana bash, a dramatic turn on capitol hill. thank you. appreciate it. we're following this. a car bomb exploded this morning in benghazi, libya. important to remember, of course, on what day here when we talk about benghazi. nobody was killed in the attack, but it is the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and the one-year assault on the u.s. consulate that killed four americans

including ambassador christopher stevenson september 11th, of 2012. >> since that day, bombings and shootings in benghazi indeed throughout much of eastern libya and the rest evident country have been pretty common. arwa damon is in beirut, lebanon right now. you have spent an awful lot of time in libya and in particular benghazi on this the anniversary of the assault there. and, of course, remembering 9/11 at the world trade center site and the pentagon, as well. you know, what is interesting and a little troubling i suppose is that you were able to find one of the people that authorities were looking for when it came to the benghazi attack but nobody has been arrested. >> reporter: that's right. and it's been a year. to some degree, a lot of critics of the obama administration will say that this is completely inexcusable, especially given that the fbi last named a prime suspect, ahmed, the individual that we were able to meet with when we were in benghazi back in

may. this is a man not even bothering to try to hide. he does not feel as if anyone is going to be coming after him. he spoke to us quite openly for a few hours. he denies any sort of direct involvement in coordinating the attack but does admit that he was on scene. of course, the big question raised in all of this is, if he is not in fact a suspect, if he was not, in fact, involved at the very least, he is a key witness. why has no one reaped out to him just yet. herein lies the inner dynamics that currently govern libya and also perhaps a certain reluctance on the part of the u.s. administration to try to pressure the libyan government to bring him and others into custody, acknowledging and knowing full well that the libyan government quite simply does not have those capabilities. benghazi today, in fact, is much worse than it was a year ago. you see al qaeda graffiti all over the place. people so anxious that they won't even talk to you about the attack on the u.s. consulate.

that's how sensitive it is at this stage, michael. >> two years after the overthrow of gadhafi. thank you so much. we appreciate that, arwa and 12 years ago, as you know, we all remember it so vividly, so well. it was late morning. new york, beautiful, beautiful sunny day. and throughout turned instantly to surreal mosaic really of horror, grief, as the world turned into a very different place. >> it did indeed. today the u.s., of course, remembering and mourning 9/11 and honoring those who died. you're looking there at live pictures of a memorial event going on at ground zero. there are many going on today. loved ones remembering those who lost their lives when the world tradescenter towers came crashing down. >> we can't forget those in pennsylvania as well as at the pentagon. vice president biden leading the nation in a moment of silence. that was at 8:46 eastern, the

exact time the first plane hit the north tower in 2001. [ bell tolling ] >> later, the president spoke directly to the loved ones of those killed on 9/11. >> even more than memorials of stone and water, your lives are the greatest tribute to those that we lost for their legacy shines on in you. >> coming up next hour, we'll hear from nypd commissioner ray kelly, that is next hour on "cnn newsroom." >> coming up here on the program, the united nations starting planning for that chemical weapons mission in syria, but really can it be done during a civil war, and what if syria doesn't cooperate as promised? some scenarios we'll outline for you coming up next. >> plus, how the world is reacting to president obama's syria speech. you're watching "around the world."

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so syrian leaders have bought themselves some time agreeing to three things here, that they'll give up their chemical weapons, tell u.n. inspectors where those stockpiles are and that they'll stop making more. >> that will at least temporarily put on hold those u.s. plans to launch military strikes into syria, give the diplomats some room to work. hopefully prevent scenes like those from happening again. let's get david kay in here. he's not only a cnn analyst, he was a u.n. weapons inspector in iraq, a member of the state department's international security advisory board. david, before we talk about the process and boy, is it a process, we've got a new development for you. we learned russia has given the u.s. its plan for controlling syria's chemical weapons stockpile and the handover thereof and the u.s. and russia will be discussing that tomorrow in geneva. positive step i suppose, some cooperation, not that we know

the details of it. it probably doesn't include the stick the u.s. would like. >> it's a necessary step. without knowing the details, you can't say whether it's positive or negative. i'm happy the russians have done it in advance of the meeting rather than just drop it on secretary kerry at the meeting. >> and david, to finally remove these chemical weapons in syria, this is something that people are discussing that's on the table here. walk us through the process here. i imagine this is going to be very much involved here. what even has to be established before there are any inspectors author on the ground? >> first of all, you have to know the syrians must produce a declaration that says where the chemical weapons are, what type of chemical weapons they are, how they're stored and the other ancillary production capacity. it's easy to forget, they have a production capacity capable of producing 100 tons a year of agent. you've got to know where they are. look, the major step and no one has ever done this before, you've got to figure out how the you do this in the midst of a

civil war. it's not only government forces you have to worry about. it's rebels who are both fighting government forces and would like some of them would like to have access to the chemical weapons themselves. >> yeah. that's a very interesting point because you're right. it's not like you've got two the sides you can stop in place, have a cease-fire and let people come in. elements on the rebel side would be delighted to take shots at u.n. weapons inspectors. the other thing too, we saw it in iraq. when they found the weapons back there, the evidence of chemical weapons, it took years to deal with it. and that wasn't even during the war. >> an that wasn't during the war. one of the principal reasons is most people don't realize unless you're living in the united states or russia near one of the disposal sites how hard technically it is to do this and do it in an environmentally responsible way. and one of the problems in iraq is how we could do it without causing great damage to the iraqi civilian population. >> so david, how would you

actually protect the inspectors once they get inside of the country? and how would they potentially protect these chemical sites to actually make sure they don't get in the wrong hands? >> they're two very good questions. first with regard to protecting inspectors, the resolution has to make it clear, it's the responsibility of the government of syria to provide the security for the inspectors. now, that sounds nice, but let me tell you from our iraq experience and from the chemical inspectors just two weeks ago. once you do that, the government can say it's not safe to go to this site. we have to delay it. it's very hard to separate as an inspector out what is an intentional delay and an attempt to frustrate the inspections from what is a real security problem and in a civil war, it's almost impossible to do this. and to tell the difference. >> that is going to be a very difficult task. >> we're out of time, david. very quickly, realistically, do you see this happening any time in the next few years?

>> if you're talking about going all the way through to the destruction of chemical weapons, no. is the short answer. >> david, you're probably not the only one. appreciate it, david kay. we'll have more on this later this hour. good to have you on. >> a lot of skepticism whether this kris osbocoul could work. in the middle of a civil war, there's got to be some sort of peace on the ground before this happens to begin with. the plan to take control of syria's chemical weapons is the number one issue at the u.n. people around the world are reacting to that as well as the president's primetime address. what they're saying up next. [ female announcer ] are you sensitive to dairy?

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for a store near you go to benjaminmoore.com/bayarea. welcome back. president obama hits the pause button telling the world in a primetime speech last night that he is stalling his push for a military strike on syria. he wants 0 give a diplomatic plan a chance to actually take shape potentially even work. >> exactly. we're looking at reaction from

around the world to this new plan. let's start with nic robertson and how it all played out in syria. >> reporter: syrian state television didn't tape president obama's speech live, instead ran a ticker saying obama delays the vote and that gives time for russian diplomacy. the opposition are saying it's just a political delaying tactic. amid all the discussion about chemical weapons misses the point, fighting and killing by conventional weapons continues they say. 76 people killed in fighting in syria on tuesday. nic robertson, cnn, beirut, lebanon. >> president obama's speech came too late for most of the newspapers here although one that came out toward midday basically did a straight reporting job on what the president had to say. president all along did take some action and reaction to the president's speech. he gathered his defense committee together at the palace to talk about the president's speech but also to update his ministers what exactly he's been hearing from the russians and

other sources. afterwards, he issued a communique saying that france basically wanted to explore all avenues of diplomacy, but, as well, it stood ready to take military action if necessary. >> i've been spending part of the day at a cairo tea shop. customers are deeply divided about the basic issue what to do about syria. one man said that the assad regime should be bombed for its reported use of chemical weapons while another said he believed the u.s. had no role to play as a world policeman. however, all did seem to agree that after tuesday night's address, president obama now looks weak and indecisive. they say that he has flip-flopped between the threat of attack and now his decision to give diplomacy a chance. one man said that president obama could no longer be seen as a man of his word after backing away from his red line on chemical weapons use. and another man said the clear winner here is russia's president vladimir putin who has emerged he says as an honest

broker but also has protected his ally syria. a lawyer i spoke to even suggested that president obama had wasted his time and money studying at harvard university saying that it clearly failed to learn how to develop a clear thought and stick to it. >> here in moscow wednesday, the lower house of parliament, the duma, urged the american congress and parms around the world not to allow what it calls aggression against syria, but to work toward a peaceful solution of the conflict. in the russian media, the mood seems to be score one for vladimir putin, score one for russian diplomacy. as president obama puts his plans for military action on hold. the real challenge now is to come up with a plan that will put syria's chemical weapons under international control. and that is what secretary of state john kerry and russia's foreign minister sergey lavrov will try to do when they meet thursday in geneva.

>> all right. we are waiting, meanwhile for the white house briefing. mentioned that earlier. that's due to start at any moment. i think we've got live pictures there. we expect to hear more on syria and the president's plan to give diplomacy a chance. >> and, of course, we'll bring you this live as soon as it starts. going to be a lot of questions about the president's plan up next. you're watching "around the world." we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] this is brad. his day of coaching begins with knee pain, when... [ man ] hey, brad, want to trade the all-day relief of two aleve for six tylenol? what's the catch? there's no catch. you want me to give up my two aleve for six tylenol? no. for my knee pain, nothing beats my aleve. there's a lot i had to do... ... watch my diet. stay active. start insulin... today, i learned there's something i don't have to do anymore. my doctor said that with novolog® flexpen, i don't have to use a syringe and a vial... or carry a cooler. flexpen® comes prefilled with fast-acting insulin

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live pictures from the capitol, of course. this is a sound that we are turning here just moments ago, senator dianne feinstein on the floor giving credit to russia for bringing forth their plan. a diplomatic solution, a way to avoid a military strike on syria. let's listen in. >> foreign relations committee to provide time for diplomacy, perhaps that won't be necessary.

i'd also like to take a minute 0 give russia credit for bringing forward this plan for a negotiated solution to the conflict. i disagree with the senator from texas. as the russian ambassador described to me on monday of this week, russia is sincere. wants to see a united nations resolution, and supports the geneva 2 process, which would accompany a negotiated settlement to syria's civil -- >> of course, that's significant. she's the chair of the intelligence committee and she says look, there's a lot of skepticism. she believes russia is on the right side of this and doing the right thing by pushing for this plan. >> interesting to see how that plays out in washington. right now, we're waiting for the white house briefing to begin. we do expect to hear more about the obama administration's plans for syria. we will take you there live. you see there the live picture. nobody's there yet. still a lot of unanswered

questions about potential diplomatic resolution to this crisis involving syria's chemical weapons and even if the suggestion is made thus far are doable. >> sometimes that briefing time will slip as it often does. so we'll be waiting for it. and bring it to you live as soon as it happens. russia's official news agency is reporting moscow has submitted a plan to the united states for putting syria's chemical weapons under international control. the president just said last night he is willing to explore this plan. >> let's bring in our chief political analyst gloria borger. these developments moving pretty fast really if we look back to yesterday. i want to look back at the president's statements on syria and how they have evolved and then we'll discuss. >> sure. >> we have been very clear to the assad regime but also to other players on the ground that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical

weapons moving and or being utilized. >> i will seek authorization for use of force from the american people's representatives in congress. for the last several days, we've heard from members of congress who want their voices to be heard. i absolutely agree. this initiative has the potential to remove the threat of chemical weapons without the use of force. particularly because russia is one of assad's strongest allies. i have, therefore, asked the leaders of congress to post phone a vote to authorize the use of force while we pursue this diplomatic path. >> it's quite an evolution. is there a sense that the president really lost the initiative here, that the momentum is now gone in a way? >> well, look, i think it's political reality here. once great britain decided they were not going to join us in this and david cameron was humiliated in parliament, i think the president did not want

to have that occur to him. he will decided to go to congress, it became very clear, however, that even though he was offering congress shared responsibility, they didn't want it. and public opinion is overwhelmingly against it. and then john kerry threw this suggestion out in an offhanded way and suddenly, the russians picked up on it. now we're at the u.n. i think this buys everybody a little bit of time. i think members of congress wanted time. i think the president wants time. but what was interesting to me about his speech last night, guys, is that he didn't specify how much time he wants. what's the deadline for the united nations, what's the deadline for syria, what are our specific demands from syria. so this also has to play out but i think it can't play out for an eternity. >> sure. >> i think the commander in

chief needs to set some parameters here. >> in the meantime, you bring up a good point here because there has to be some sort of timetable or guidelines here. this is put on hold, but congress still have to grapple with other business, if you will. you're talking about balancing the budget, you're talking about the dealing with the debt ceiling, implementing obama care. how does that all fit into what we're dealing with here? do they put that stuff on hold while they deal with syria? >> no. here you are, president obama. who would you rather deal with vladimir putin or are house republicans? it's kind of a tough choice for him. he has to deal with both at the same time, right? he's going to have to pursue syria, but on the other hand, republicans say they're going to be very, very aggressive on this quell of whether you -- how you raise the debt ceiling. there are some republicans in the house now in the leadership talking about tying that to the implementation of obama care. so republicans are not getting any less aggressive on the

domestic agenda because the president has this foreign policy issue, in fact, i would argue it may make them more aggressive. >> all right. thank you. appreciate it. he's got a lot of work cut out for him, as well. we're following other news. a man charged with running down an italian newly wed as she walked with her husband on the boardwalk in venice beach, california, now back in court. >> horrible video. you see it there nathan louis campbell is accused of steering his car into the crowd, killing the woman, injuring 16 other people, by the way. he is charged with murder, witnesses say he deliberately drove his car into the crowd. he's pleaded not guilty. >> and a former security screener at los angeles international airport is now in custody. accused of making threats linked to today's 12th anniversary of 9/11 terrorist attacks. the man was taken into custody just outside l.a. according to the fbi, he made the threats hours after he resigned yesterday from his tsa

job. he worked at tsa. >> investigate serious say left behind a suspicious package at the airport, no explosives were found, but they do say a search of the man's apartment turned up a note containing an unspecified threat that did cite 9/11. now back to the crisis in syria. here is what one syrian american told senator john mccain at a recent town hall meeting. watch. >> we cannot afford, we cannot afford to shed more syrian blood. >> so is she happy with the president's move to focus more on diplomat sit? we're going to be talking with that lady right there when we come back. vo: at meineke we know that oil is the lifeblood of every car.

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she made an impassioned plea to senator john mccain stay out of syria's war.

ji ma na ha deed, a syrian american describes herself as a long time mccain supporter but she lashed out at him last week as he was making his case for military intervention, urging him just to reconsider. listen. >> for me, to listen to you saying there's no good option, i refuse to believe that. the good option right now is to take saudi arabia and iran and force them to stop supporting the two sides in syria. and you could do it. you can do it by diplomacy. and negotiation, not bombs, senator mccain. we cannot afford, we cannot afford to shed more syrian blood. >> and jumana hadeed joins us now. i know you went to that town hall meeting not planning on speaking out. what was it that made you get to

the microphone? >> well, actually, i've been trying to contact senator mccain's office for a while. and unfortunately, i always get a quick reply via e-mails and no response whatsoever. when i heard he's going to be in town doing a town hall meeting that day, i just rushed out the door and i made sure that i wanted to hear what he has to say. i want to make sure he hear what the majority of the syrian people and the american people want. but he came to this town hall meeting with an agenda. he was trying, his mind was already made up. and i hesitated to speak but finally i just could not take any more of this stubbornness that he was speaking to the rest of us. >> so jumada, what do you think now? we see applause here, possibly a diplomatic solution. what do you think of what's been put on the table for the united nations to get involved and somehow take control over

assad's chemical weapons. >> this is great. >> do you think this is a realistic proposal? >> absolutely, absolutely. i think president bashar al assad, i think he's agreeing to this. i think this is the only solution. this is the only good solution. it's very promising. it's a new day in american history that we have diplomacy right now. i see this as a really a huge accomplishment, and i really -- i want to thank president obama for doing this because to me, see, i had a dream that he will use diplomacy over bombs. i had a dream that he would listen. >> russians have come forward with it and put forward the idea and it really has led to all of this. i'm curious from your perspective. you're a syrian christian. when you see what is going on by both sides it has to be said in syria and you sue he what is happening to the christian community there, what goes through your mind? >> it's very appalling to see this, to see the massacre of so

many innocent people on all sides. not just the christian, au though they've been targeted by the militant extremists, islamists coming from saudi arabia to cause havoc in syria. it's very appalling to sit and watch this and also not to mention the innocent people who are victimized by this positions who basically they don't have the welfare of their syrian people at heart. they just have their own personal agenda. i think the majority of the syrian people are fed up, enough is enough. 100,000 people who surprised their lost their life is enough. i think right now, we need to sit and talk and negotiate. >> jumana, i'm curious if you think assad should go. if he turns over chemical weapons, do you think part of the talking should be him stepping down, negotiating some other leadership? >> no, listen, i think in -- what we are forgetting that

2014, there's an election going to take place in syria. i think what we need to do right now immediate cease fire to stop both sides from fighting is the united nations needs to intervene. i think that will be a great step. also, we need to also stop countries like saudi arabia to fund those terrorists who are coming to syria to cause havoc. i think as soon as we have a good cease fire in syria, ta people could pay attention to the 2014 election. and have candidates. i think we need representation from all sectors of the syrian people. >> thanks so much. out of time. with a different very different viewpoint when she was speaking with john mccain before this other option was on the table. so she was sort of ahead of herself in a way. >> very passionate. in syria, plans to find and destroy chemical weapons picking up some momentum. many experts are wondering if this is even possible. what would actually need to happen to take control of the

chemical weapons inside of syria. i describe myself as a mother, a writer and a performer. 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.

>> the of course, we know that president obama says he's going to back off planning military strikes against syria for now. letting diplomacy and perhaps weapons inspectors get to work instead. >> the president says he's encouraged that syria agreed to give up all chemical weapons, but experts we've talked to say

an agreement is one thing but actually finding and destroying weapons, something completely different. and maybe cannot be done. jim clancy has more from jerusalem. >> reporter: well, officials in damascus, tehran and moscow gushed about a deal that could avert a u.s. military strike on syria, a virtual avalanche of questions left it smothered in doubt. one expert said it amounted to a mission impossible. >> for the moment, it seems mission impossible in the conditions in which the syrian conflict finds itself just now. a cease-fire between the two forces, then the two forces have to retreat in order to allow the inspectors to enter and verify where the facilities are. >> even if syria accepted a cease-fire, there are serious doubts the rebels would go along. >> the solution may be a good idea. about you, and this is a very big but, the technicalities.

as much as this offer is tempting on the surface of it, still we need the russians are not being regarded as honest brokers. >> israeli researchers have compiled a detailed list of syria's chemical storage sites, five major facilities. but experts say there are dozens more sites and syria's suspected 1,000 tons of chemical agents have been dispersed. someone most likely the u.n. would have to oversee any operation, but there's an even harsher reality. the timeline. >> it's a very long-term solution at least in my opinion taking into account a huge arsenal in syria and the very complex situation on the field at three of the three, four years. >> remember iraq. u.n. inspectors spent years searching out saddam hussein's chemical stockpiles. eventually gathering rockets, artillery and raw chemicals at a sprawling desert site called

mutana. iraq may have had more chemical arms but the inspectors weren't working in the crossfire of conflict. as one expert noted in a world weary of wars, any deal that avoids another conflict may be welcomed but there are still important questions to be asked. does it help the people on the ground inside syria? or simply salve the conscience of the world outside. jim clancy is, jerusalem. >> some of those chemical weapons could end up in the hands of hezbollah. israel very, very involved in keeping an eye on those, as well. >> the obama administration is going to have to account and answer questions. we're waiting for today's white house briefing expected any moment now. >> they're late again. >> it usually slips a little. that is typical. we expect -- there they are, jay carney to the podium. let's listen in.

>> good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. thank you for being here at the white house for your daily briefing. before i take your questions, i just wanted to note as many of i 0 p you know, earlier today in honor of the 12th anniversary of the september 11th attacks, the president, first lady, vice president and dr. biden led white house staff in ob verring a moment of silence on the south lawn. throughout the day, the president, first lady, vice president, dr. biden and members of the cabinet will be participating in a number of memorial events here in d.c., also in virginia and new york, pennsylvania, and other states. as you know, this morning, the president joined secretary hagel and general dempsey at an event at the pentagon where he delivered remarks and participated in a wreath-laying ceremony to honor the victims of the attack there. in the afternoon, he will participate in a service project to be commemorate the september 11th national day of service and

remembrance. the first lady will visit with military children and families at the new uso warrior and family center. the largest center in uso history. the warrior and family center supports wounded, ill and injured troops, their family and caregivers as well as local active duty troops during her visit, she will participate in an activity making patriotic crafts with military children. this evening, the vice president and dr. biden will host a barbecue for wounded warriors and their families at the unable ob serer to and as i mentioned, members of the cabinet are participating in events across the country, including at memorial events in new york city and in shanksville, pennsylvania. with that, i'll take your questions. julie? >> thanks, jay. i have a question about the decision the president announced last night to delay votes in congress while pursuing this diplomatic track on syria. so much of the conversation has been the administration saying it's only feasible because of the pressure and the threat of a

military strike. but if you pull back on the votes, then don't you ease up on the possibility of a military strike? don't you make that less imminent? >> what the president said is that he believes it was the right thing to do for congress to post phone a vote. congress is obviously ob continuing to work on this issue and a number of members have begun looking at resolutions that might take into account the diplomatic avenues that are being pursued. and that is certainly worthy of pursuit. and we're in consultations with congress about that. there is no question that the credible threat of u.s. military force brought us this diplomatic opening. until two days ago, syria did not even acknowledge that. it possessed chemical weapons.

we have seen more cooperation and helpful activity on this matter from the russians in the last two days than we've seen in the last two years. and i think that is clearly because of the president's forceful comments about the need to hold bashar al assad accountable for the use of chemical weapons against his own civilians. so we are doing the responsible thing here, which is testing the potential here for success of resolving this matter of syria's possession of chemical weapons and deterring syria from using chemical weapons again through diplomatic means rather than military means. >> do you have a timeline for when you need to see some kind of tangible progress on the diplomatic front before going back to the hill? >> i don't have a timeline to give to you. what i can say is that it

obviously will take some time. there are technical aspects involved in developing a plan for securing syria's chemical weapons and verifying their location and putting them under international control. secretary kerry is leaving for geneva, as you know, at the president's request to meet with his russian counterpart, foreign minister lavrov where anial discuss this matter and each side, the american and the russian side, will bring technical experts, bring a team, a delegation to evaluate the proposal and to assess paths forward. so i expect that this will take some time. but we also are not interested in delaying tactics, and we believe it's very important to hold assad accountable. what is, i think, very clarifying about this is as the president paid clear all along,

the potential use of limited military strikes by the united states was in response to assad's use of chemical weapons. it was not as he said, an effort to involve the united states millerly, directly in the syrian civil war. it was not designed to precipitate regime change. it was around the question of chemical weapons and if assad's chemical weapons to o stockpiles can be secured and removed from his possession absent force, ta would be a good thing. >> specific date for when you want something to be done, but in talking to experts about this process, this is something that could take months, even years to carry out. so don't you feed to give some sort of firmer timetable for when you need to see progress? >> otherwise this could drag out and become a delaying tactic. >>ing this initiative has been

presented only in recent days. we are deploying the secretary of state to meet with his russian counterpart in geneva and these discussions will take place. separate from that, there are discussions in new york at the united nations around framing a united nations security council resolution on this issue and on the removal from assad's control of his chemical weapons stockpiles. so let's be clear. i don't want to suggest because it's certainly not the case ta we are interested in delay or avoidance of accountability here. and you know, there are steps in this process if it were to succeed and that is, obviously, demonstration of sincerity and a verifiable way to secure the weapons and remove them from assad's control. ultimately to destroy them. and the fulfillment of that process would certainly take some time, but the implementation of it, you know,

could egin, obviously before its completion. we're going to work with the russians. it would be irresponsible not to explore this potential diplomatic resolution of this very serious matter. park? >>. >> reporter: thank you, jay. talk about what the president expects from the diplomatic process. has the united states seen the french draft resolution? and would the use of force in the failure of diplomacy need to be part of any u.n. resolution, the possibility of force? >> i'm not going to draft a u.n. security council resolution from here. that's a process that will take place up at the u.n. and we are working within the p-3 with great britain and france on that and obviously, within the broader p-5. separately in geneva, secretary kerry will meet with foreign minister lavrov to explore the

path forward when it comes to how we would go about securing assad's chemical weapons, identifying, verifying, securing and ultimately removing from his possession those weapons with the final goal of destroying them. so you know, this is a process that will take a certain amount of time. but it needs to be credible. it needs to be verifiable. and we will work with our allies and partners to test whether or not that can be achieved. >> has the president spoken with putin since last night or since the discussions in russia and what does the president hope for kerry to achieve with lavrov? >> i don't have any presidential calls to read out with foreign leaders. >> you've been listening to jay carney at the white house briefing. we're going to continue coverage with wolf blitzer but obviously making the case from the obama administration about steps next

and working with russia and the change in behavior from syria and russia because of the threat of a possibility military strike. >> indeed. you've been watching "around the world." thanks so much for your company today. wolf blitzer in the cnn newsroom next. >> happening right now, a ceremony is getting under way over at the pentagon on then, the anniversary of the september 11th attacks. earlier, a moment of silence marked the exact moment of impact. also right now, authorities are inspecting trucks at two bridge and tunnel locations in virginia after a threatening phone call. state police are on high alert in the hampton roads area. also right now, the obama administration facing new questions on syria after the president's primetime speech last night. reporters are looking for answers at today's white house briefing.