this is cnn breaking news. this is piers morgan live, welcome to our viewers and around the world tonight. putin's extraordinary plea for caution in a new op-ed piece appearing tomorrow, he says that he cites history, saying relations between us have passed through different stations, the cold war, we were allies once and defeated the nazis together. they were trying to prevent such

devastation from happening again. we'll have much more on that extraordinary op-ed from putin. and more, on secretary of state john kerry on putin's plan, and will it solve president obama's syria problem? >> we're not going to play games here. >> what the russians have proposed may have been the best thing to come out of russia since vodka. >> all of this reviewed during the president's speech last night, definitely not a hit. >> he just cannot follow through. he cannot speak to the nation as a commander-in-chief. >> i talked to many who couldn't disagree more about what the country is doing about syria, rick santorum, tom rich on the right, why they think the president needs to heed the lessons of iraq. and my story on diana nyad, critics who believe she cheated on her extraordinary swim from cuba to florida, but we begin

with our big story tonight, syria, the president is taking on everything. meanwhile, on capitol hill, frustration on how the white house is handling the crisis. joining me now, dana bash, this is a bit of a mess, now you have vladimir putin taking over "the new york times" op-ed piece, to give his statement to the american people. >> it is really remarkable, just when you think the story can't change anymore and get anymore weird, frankly, sometimes it has. the idea that vladimir putin wrote in "the new york times," is also fascinating because he knows how to get to the american people. but the idea that he pens something like that and the substance that hits home to the american people how difficult it will be for john kerry to go on this trip right now, to meet with his russian counterpart, to find common ground. because at its core, what his

message is in "the new york times," the whole idea of military force is bad, it is wrong, he made clear he is opposed to it and he is doing it again in this paper. and that is the opposite of what we're hearing from the president, both in private and public. he says you need to keep military action on the table as the teeth to getting any diplomatic solution out there. >> i mean, he says in this piece that there is growing trust between him and president obama, but at the same time he also attacks him for using this phrase that america was exceptional because of the policies it follows. he says almost bordering on arrogance the way putin reads it, saying it is not exceptional at all, and countries shouldn't be saying it. it is an extraordinary piece, you can't help thinking what it shows the american people

>> i mean, you saw the senate majority leader on the senate floor today, reminding everybody he was the head of the kgb. so on that reminder, the issue of congress, this issue with regard to the president has scrambled party lines more than anything i could remember in recent history. and the president is getting blowback big time, even from the republicans who have been supportive of him, like bob corker who helped write the resolution for military authorization that passed the foreign committee. he not only questioned him last night, but his abilities as commander-in-chief, listen to him. >> i really do think they have

hurt our credibility around the world, just in the muddled way that they dealt with the syrian issue, just a complete muddlement, if you will. i don't know, the president just seems to be very uncomfortable being commander-in-chief of this nation. >> what makes you say that? >> it is just the results. we have these conversations. it appears that it has an impact. i would think that most republicans who are were at the luncheon yesterday would have believed last night he was going to make the greater case, the strategic case for us on syria. i heard no word, not one word of it. he is very good in an interpersonal setting. he just cannot follow through. he cannot speak to the nation as a commander-in-chief. he cannot speak to the world as a commander-in-chief. he just cannot do it. and i don't know what it is.

>> remarkable attack there on the president, dana bash, thank you very much indeed. i'll bring you a team who disagrees on syria, rick santorum is a form presidential candidate, also the author of "the american patriot." and the former new mexico governor, welcome to you both. an extraordinary review on this piece by vladimir putin, i want to read you if i can, first of all. bill richardson, what he says about american exceptionalism. he says i would rather disagree with the case he made on american exceptionalism, stating that is what makes us different, exceptional. putin says it is extremely dangerous for people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation, there are countries big and small, both with democratic ideas, and we're all different. when we ask for the lord's blessings, we must not forget that god created us equal.

pretty top-thumping piece here. what do you make of it? >> well, putin is playing games, playing to the congress, to the american people. in a way, he is in a driver's seat. but you know, it is also a product, this op-ed of president obama and president putin have bad chemistry with each other. and putin is playing, i think, a very dangerous game. here is a guy that lately has gone after gay people. he has muffled the press. he has jailed the opposition. his whole kgb self is coming forth. but it is essential that the united states and russia work together in the security council to rid ourselves of these chemical weapons. and i believe we are in a way, in a driver's seat by keeping the military strike option on the table. and we should go further. we should insist on dismantling

these weapons. time-certain, we should also move forward in other areas. one, potential cease-fire. find ways to discuss a political settlement that involves -- that involves assad leaving. a weapons embargo. i know i'm getting a little greedy here, but i think the security council debate allows us to bring those issues up, and veto -- >> okay, let me bring in rick santorum. because you heard there what bob corker said earlier, a stinging attack on the president personally for the leadership he has shown. did you agree with it? >> well, the president's leadership has absolutely failed. and we're not in a position of strength right now. to suggest the president's speech was anything other than another capitulation, an obvious delay tactic to something he doesn't want to do, has created

putin the peace-maker, here in the new york times. this is what happens when we have weak leadership out of the united states and try to lead from behind. and have indecisive actions, then we have other leaders lecture us to peace, and who in fact should be leading the world. the bottom line is, first, america is exceptional, and we are all created equal by god. but not every country is equal and not every country is good and moral and just and has the constitution that we have and the track record of enforcing the human rights that we have. certainly russia is not a model for those things. >> it may not be, but you see where putin has got the upper hand here is i think in terms of the clarity of his own message. he says that no one does -- poison gas was used, by opposition forces to provoke

intervention by the powerful foreign patrons who will be siding with the fundamentalalists, this time, the attacks cannot be ignored. here is the problem, bill richardson, who do we believe? you have president obama, you have assad saying it was not me, you have them saying no, definitely was not assad, it may have been the rebels, is there incontrovertible evidence that says it was definitely assad that ordered this chemical attack? >> yes, i believe there is incontrovertible evidence. our intelligence agencies, which i trust, assad and his people have used these weapons. look, assad recently has admitted that he had chemical weapons when in the past, in the last few days, he says they didn't exist. there is a credibility gap. but i think this is the time to rally around as a country, forget the politics, forget what

happened. i think the president, in my judgment, i disagree with senator santorum, has shown leadership. he is prepared to use military force. a surgical strike at a time when the american people are war-weary. he says it is in our national security interest. i believe him, it is few human rights establishing international war crimes are a reason to take such action, and give us leverage. >> let me jump in, governor, i watched the speech last night. and i couldn't really work out what president obama really wants to do. and that seems to me to be his problem. he says on the one hand, assad is a very evil man, likened him to the nazis, and so on. on the other hand, all the talk last year of regime changes and getting rid of him, now it is all gone. now we're supposed to sign on with a peace plan with the russians, i would be thinking, what does he want to do?

does he want to get rid of this guy? attack him, does he want peace? what does he want us to sign up to? >> and the problem there, piers, he doesn't know what he wants, to make the case as he does last night that the humanitarian demand for this, the fact it could proliferate other chemical weapons attacks that must be responded to, and say yet, i'm going to wait and see if the russians can negotiate removing the chemical weapons from syria, which everyone knows will take years to remove and destroy, and he is willing not to do military action if he gets this deal. he already said if he gets the deal he wants he is willing not to strike syria. well, what kind of message does that say, we should, but if i can find a diplomatic solution then we don't need to. well, let's find a diplomatic solution, i'm all in favor of that. because i don't think we should strike syria when we don't have

a horse in this fight. we have al-qaeda on one side, hezbollah, and iran on the other side. this is oh no-win proposition for the united states. we should have acted sooner. as you know i said that 18 months ago when we had a rebel force that could have been aligned with us. but now it is too late. we missed our opportunity. we are in a no-win situation, and digging a deeper hole. >> and governor, the other point that putin makes in his piece, these rebels, nobody really knows what the constituency is in this rebel army. he is worried that they actually emboldened themselves with assad, and attacking, they have a point -- >> we don't know who the rebels are. >> well, i believe that general edrss, the leader, is not al-qaeda, he is an ally of the united states, a member of the union.

what i think we need to look at here is taking the military strike is in the national interest of the united states. it is important to not give hezbollah a foothold in the region, and what the president said he is ready to do, he said in his speech, the russians suddenly with the syrian, probably because they didn't want a military air strike have said they're ready to pursue a diplomatic solution. we should focus on that, look at ways we can not just eliminate the chemical weapons from the region, have international inspectors, not politicians, looking at those sites. but also go one step further. an arms embargo, finding ways for a political settlement, because the russians, maybe they're getting tired of assad, he is a loser, he is going to go down. it is a matter of time. >> i have to stop you in mid-flow there, governor, it has been a terrific debate, we'll

carry it on after the break. governor richardson, senator santorum, thank you both very much. all right, new york's top cop, ray kelly, giving me his opinion on the chemical weapons threat here in america. probiotic cap each daylipsh helps defend against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. live the regular life. phillips'. [ male announcer ] that's why there's ocuvite to help replenish key eye nutrients. ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. ocuvite. help protect your eye health.

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divisions in the senate on syria have been fueled by a piece by vladimir putin in the "new york times" op-ed. joining me is presidential candidate and the first homeland security under president george w. bush. welcome to you both. you heard the earlier debate there. obviously putin's piece tonight will get everybody going. what did you make of it? >> i think the story is over. putin now wears this and we

are not going to attack. if they do use chemical weapons, putin will look terrible and we will attack and go to congress. i think this is over. >> what happens if what he is really doing here is buying time for his mate, assad, and the weeks and months drag on, and it turns out that it was the real game plan? >> he can buy time for assad to stay in power but he can't buy time for assad to use chemical weapons again, that won't happen. if it does, we'll do something about it. >> it will take months, years to actually deal with the chemical weapons supply. >> the first half of the putin piece was right there are blocks of al qaeda who are on terrorist lists fighting with the rebels. that's a danger. the rest of the piece was russian propaganda. human rights watch was hardly aligned with one side or the other, didn't have really good analysis on who could use chemical weapons, and they

concluded that only the government could have used chemical weapons because of the vast amount they were used and the way they were delivered. you can't take assad or putin seriously when they said they didn't use chemical weapons. >> nor should we take the intelligence reports 100% given the problem with iraq. >> iraq is a huge problem. >> i'll come to that. tom ridge, this is from putin's piece. a strike would increase violence and unleash a new wave of terrorism and undermine multi lateral efforts to restore the iranian nuclear problem and the israel palestinian conflict and further destabilize the middle east and north america. putting aside he is the russian leader, does he have a point? >> the last individual in the broader world community that the united states, our president and republicans and democrats should take advice from is vladimir putin. he has the audacity to talk about trust and about democratic traditions, and about human

rights, and about worry and unrest in the middle east. at the end of the day, i think that it's a failure of the -- our approach over the past two years and it began with the moral indecision or indifference of the broader world community when we let the assad government for the first six to 12 months use weapons to kill a lot of people. now suddenly, the moral ambiguity changed and now the world is concerned about the chemical weapons and at the end of the day, if you take this to a logical conclusion and let's say there is some kind of diplomatic resolution, where is the accountability? where is the punishment? it's the extent the little boy in the neighborhood has a slingshot and busts windows along main street and find him and he says he's not my slingshot and admits and it you take the slingshot away, what have you done? what's the accountable? i don't think we should take this very seriously. i think putin filled a void. unfortunately, the world and

to a certain extent, president obama created this situation by being hesitant, and with their indifference, and when you draw a line in the sand you have to defend your word, your credibility, and the president has not done that. >> president obama talked about the red line being crossed and regime change and getting rid of assad and this week john kerry saying an unbelievably small strike. what message does that send from the american military, never mind anything else? >> the problem is, things have changed a great deal. when this started out, as bill richardson said earlier, the general was clearly pro-western, leading the syrian free army. today, he may be leading it in name, but the bulk of the fighting is being done by other al-qaeda affiliated. things changed dramatically.

although i supported the president when he called to go to congress, which i thought was a good move, i actually think that armed intervention would be dangerous because i don't think we want to pick sides. imagine a government over throwing assad having al qaeda in it on the boarder of israel -- >> if you don't take any action -- let me ask you this, tom ridge. if you don't take any action having said my red line is the use of chemical weapons. if you as the leader of the united states of america then don't do anything when somebody crosses that line, you had said where does that leave your authority? >> well, it diminishes whatever credibility you may have had or may have built up over the past five years and one can argue he hasn't been as assertive on certain occasions as some of us wish he had been. i think the president backed himself into a corner. at one point in time, he expressly gave the impression that he was prepared to act alone, and then suddenly, obviously his consultation perhaps not with the military advisors but political and domestic advisers, he chooses to

go to the congress of the united states. i mean, one of the questions that needs to be asked is you did not seek the endorsement of the congress when you went with france and libya, why now? i tell you what, there is a subplot nobody is talking about and that's the expanded influence not of russia, they are filling the vacuum, the leadership the united states provided but iran. iran, you take a look at the map. go east to west. iran, iran is now more influence in iraq than we do. we spent $2 trillion and 4500 men and women dead. they are controlling and working with assad providing weapons, flying over iraq even though we asked iraq to deny them access to the air space and by the way, they are helping with hezbollah and go inside the map into lebanon and look at the other countries in the region and nobody wants to talk about the bigger issue, the expansion of iran's influence in the region and that's a significant plot in this. >> i totally agree and one of

the things the president must do is cut off arms to malachi. he is getting away with impunity. we may be occupied by syria, but have to stand up for people who can't defend themselves when every single one has updates. >> give me an update -- >> the state department did help negotiate a solution that removed the 50 or some odd people that survived. six were kidnapped and will probably be extradited to iran where they will be tortured and murdered. we owe these people. when we disarm them, we promise them in writing, each one has a piece of paper in writing that said that the united states would protect them. we have not done that, and why -- malachi is really becoming a stooge of the iranian government, and why we are

arming a stooge of the iranian government, i have no idea why. >> final word to you, tom? >> the 52 people that were basically political assassinations, piers, shot with their hands tied behind their back, at the end of the day, every one of them may have been buried with a written guarantee from the department of defense when they surrendered means of self-defense sometime ago and concerned about the remaining 3 100. here is where the u.n. can do something, they ought to put blue helmets until the united states knows how to get these defenseless prodemocracy iranians out of iraq because sadly, iran has more influence in iraq than the united states of america. >> okay. well, the state of affairs, thank you very much indeed. what about chemical weapons here in the u.s.? i'll ask new york's top cop next. and later my prime time exclusive with dianna nyad. she is the swimming legend who beat the elements, now she is taking on the critics who cast

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welcome to you. what are your thoughts each year on 9/11? i know you weren't the commissioner when it actually happened but what do you go through emotionally on this day? >> there is a lot of different emotions. i lived there on 9/11 and a block away from the world trade center site. it is always touching. certainly the moments when there is a pause, 8:26 when the first plane hit, 9:59 when it actually fell. i actually saw the south tower and the height of the floor and i saw the south tower fall. now, in 1993, i was the police commissioner. and i remember sitting in the basement of the world trade center with engineers and having them say that this building could never come down. i thought about that. just a horrendous sight. and obviously, we knew there

were just thousands of people dead or injured. >> that kind of thinking, the unthinkable goes with the territory of your job and people had never predicted what may have happened on 9/11 with these planes being hijacked and bombs bringing down huge buildings. did you expand when you came back to run the police department in new york, expand that thinking, the unthinkable element of your work? i mean, did you have a whole lot of people now who literally just sit there trying to work out any possible way that an attack can come? >> in a sense, yes. we brought in experts from the federal government. we have also created a group of first-class analysts from some of the top educational institutions in the country. we think about a nuclear event or a dirty bomb. that's what we're paid to do. we've had 16 plots against the city since september 11th. >> remarkably, i would say

remarkably there is not another attack since 9/11 but looking at syria and the chemical weapons and the possibility they have a lot of stuff and could get in the wrong hands and how this stuff gets moved around, how worrying is that to you as the police commissioner of new york, clearly a massive terror target? the sarin gas and stuff like that, that may well be lurking all over syria, that could get into dangerous hands? >> it has to be and is a concern for us. we have table top exercises, that sort of thing to attempt to plan for it. we have chemical detection devices deployed in the city to help us, but quite frankly, if in fact some sort of chemical agent is used, the first thing you would see is people falling and we have an extensive system of cameras that may help in that regard. definitely, a chemical attack

is something that we have to be very much concerned about. >> one of the key strengths of america is when america is perceived to be very strong. are you concerned, as some people are, that the president's apparent wavering of what action to take in syria, sends the wrong kind of signal and message and therefore makes cities like new york perhaps a little more vulnerable? >> our job is to prepare. the president makes those decisions. our job is to be prepared as best we can in the event there is any blow back from actions taken overseas, taken in syria. that's what we're doing. we have contingency plans that if in fact, we do go forward in syria, that we will deploy additional resources to predict key locations. >> what is your sense of new yorkers that you built up in your time working in the police department? what is your sense about their spirit? >> new york is very resilient. they are tough. interesting, someone told me, and i've heard it a couple times, the population of new york city has basically turned

over. like 50% of the people who live here were not here ten years ago. so there is an influx of new people. but i think the spirit is strong. new yorkers pride themselves on being tough, resilient people and i think god forbid there is another event, we'll rebound and, you know, if it's such a traumatic event on september 11th, now it's a little bit in the back of people's heads that we'll be able to rebound very quickly. >> final question, commissioner, did you believe that new york is a safer city than it was on september the 11th? >> oh, undoubtedly, no question about it. we've invested a lot. the federal government has invested a lot. and we have been able in some way, shape or form with the federal government to prevent

these attacks, so we're much stronger. there is no guarantees. there is always a possibility of something happening here. >> commissioner, good to see you >> thank you, piers. good to see you. i want to turn to howard who dropped his son off before heading to the world trade center. it probably saved his life. they lost 658 employees that day, including his brother and firm reopened two days later. this is what howard said at the time. >> it's going to be a different kind of drive than i've ever had before. it's not about my family. i get to kiss my kids tonight, but other people don't get to kiss their kids. and i just have to help them. >> he has a global work force. nearly 12,000 people, and he is the chairman and ceo. howard, good to see you again. >> great to see you. >> when i see that clip, the raw emotion you must have gone through and the families involved, so many lives wrecked that day and you said before you weren't sure you could ever rebuild it. i was at your offices.

you have this extraordinary charity day where all the trading profits around the world will go to charity. how much do you raise? >> we raised $12 million today for 100 charities around the world and remember, i was here last time and said we would go to oklahoma with the money. so september 23rd we're going and take care of those families. >> amazing thing, dr. ruth, billy jean king, prince harry. an amazing group of people, an amazing coming together, but the reaction to fitzgerald since you took charge and said i need to rebuild this company. i need to pay the families of those who died and look after them and you've done it. >> think about 658 people you can't -- there is nothing i can personally do that will make a darn bit of difference if you divide it by 658. so we had to have a company, a

serious company and that was the drive we had and set out to rebuild the company for a poor purpose, and i think that is the only reason it worked because it was a pure purpose. >> a new documentary, "out of the clear blue sky." what did you make of it? >> when somebody makes a documentary, you sit around. obviously when this was a family member of one of our senior executives that got killed, we weren't able to defend ourselves. we had no abilities, so she was just around with a camera. so she just did it. we really had no control what would come out or how it would work out. what it is is a raw story of what happened. it's extraordinary because we made it through. if we fell over in the middle, it would be a different ending. because i'm sitting here talking it really is an extraordinary tale of how we all came together and helped the families and rebounded and came together. >> amazing film. one point before you go, america's place in the world right now, you have a global business with 12,000 employees, are you happy about where

america is in terms of it's authority? many questioning it at the moment. >> i think america has given up a lot of ability to stand strong on fundamental points. they allow things to waiver. i mean, is chemical weapons allowed or not? if it's not allowed, then why are we talking about it? why don't we just act on it. he said he was going to act and he chose not to act. i think ultimately what america is supposed to go back to is the lines in the sand and bring the world along with them or let the world lead. i think america has led in the past and it would be great to see america lead again. >> great to be at your firm today. incredibly inspiring. thank you for having me, it was a great honor. and congratulations to what you do. amazing and to think where you were september 11th all those years ago and now it's a remarkable thing to watch. good to see you. >> thanks, so we had our memorial at the 9/11 memorial this evening and all together as

a great group of families. and i'm really proud of it. >> fantastic, thank you, good to see you. tonight a record inspired american and under scrutiny, 64-year-old dianna nyad swam from cuba to florida in 53 hours without a shark cage. just by talking to a helmet. it grabbed the patient's record before we even picked him up. it found out the doctor we needed was at st. anne's. wiggle your toes. [ driver ] and it got his okay on treatment from miles away. it even pulled strings with the stoplights.

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tonight, a record, under

scrutiny from sceptics. she made history, but then the questions started. >> people, people's individual reactions mean everything. so i'm sure this swim will be ratified in due time, and that's fine, but just don't care about it. >> tonight she's here live and unleashed to defend her open water record and tonight, dianna nyad the prime time exclusive. welcome to you. >> piers, i appreciate it. i wondered if you would allow me a brief moment to say on behalf of my team we express our sincere respects to those who suffered their losses on 9/11, let us say that first. >> absolutely can and good of you to say that. here is my take of this. you're 64 years old and swam for 53 hours, 110 miles and there are people banging on about whether you touched another boat for a few seconds. i mean, i couldn't swim a mile.

so what is your reaction to the critics you've come out chomping at your record? >> well, you know, i guess it's two-fold. number one, fair enough. you set a big record like that, i mean, my god, not just me, people have been trying since 1950 to get across. it did seem nearly impossible. most of my crew thought it was impossible, so someone does it, whether me or somebody else, it better be vetted. it better be vetted right down to the end degree. was it fair? was it fair and square? we have done that. we provided now all our logs. there is just no -- no doubting. it was clear that we went from the rocks of cuba to the sand of florida without ever touching that boat without ever getting out on the boat, without ever using fins or, you know, anything that would be untoward. our team is squeaky clean. i'll tell you the negative reaction i have to being scrutinized and that's my team.

i have my head handler bonnie the most ethical person on this planet and our navigator is a clear genius and our doctor is the number one boxed jelly fish expert in the world. we had 44 people out there and for them to be doubted we would do anything against the rules, that irked me but i think we're getting past it now. >> let's go through the cheat sheet and i want your quick and firm responses to these. first and foremost, did you get any assistance? did you have anybody help you touch a boat to get a rest or anything of that nature? >> never, never took a rest, never touched a boat, never got out on a boat. >> okay. unequivocal. >> out in the open ocean the entire time. >> that's the first question. you couldn't have been more unequivocal. after 27 hours of swimming you

went from 1.5 mph to more than 3 mph which many marathoners say was deeply suspicious. >> you know, it's just pure math. i can't imagine. i can see from a lay public who doesn't understand currents but people from the marathon swimming world, you have to know you're in the gulf stream, you can pick up the navigational charts and any website available that shows these things and sometimes you're going with no current whatsoever, so then of course, you're just going the exact speed you swim. other times you're going north against an eastern faced current and now you're going with a little bit of your own speed added with a tiny bit of an eastern current. now you go north with an exact current, if you got lucky, which i did that day, then you add those two vectors together. if i'm swimming at 1.7 miles per hour and i have a current at let's say 2. 2 miles per hour

it's very easy, you add those together and you're close to four miles an hour. it is easy, easy. >> i did see an ocean expert confirming it was almost perfect conditions for you, that the currents were aligned in the way you described. so let's leave the viewers on a cliff hanger. we'll come back with two more issues. is it true you didn't eat or drink for seven hours, which people say is impossible and second you're wearing a wet suit some people say that is a bit naughty. after the break, we'll find out if that is naughty or not. any last requests mr. baldwin?

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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. >> that was diana nyad's arrival in key west after swimming 110 miles from cuba. she is back with me now, so number three, you left the cliff hangers, they say you didn't eat or drink for seven hours, which would be impossible, what is the truth? >> piers, never happened. we have careful loggers out there. evidently the doctor said. from the university of miami, she had terrible stomach issues because of taking in salt water, she had a lot of trouble taking

in solid food. that doesn't mean you don't eat. the handlers make me nutritional supplement drinks. and i'm always taking in food, every half hour, every 45 minute, every hour, seven hours, never happened. pure fiction. >> okay, and the last one, the question was, you violated the tradition of the sport by using a specialized mask and wet suit to protect yourself from jelly fish, how do you plead? >> listen, these are the most dangerous jelly fish in the world. they're fatal. so what does one do. i didn't use any neoprene, they're against regulations, so i used it to protect myself against life and death. it is not an aid, believe me, you wish you didn't have it on, so difficult to swim, cumbersome, it is anything but an aid, believe me, but you need to be protected. and in many parts of the world those types of suits are allowed. just not in the english channel.

i tell you something, piers, we swam, fair and square, squeaky clean across that thing. and nobody is going to take our joy and our moment that the world was inspired by, away from us. >> it is very generous to say "we," but i had nothing to do with it, neither did anybody else. it is an extraordinary feat, and you would be pleased to know that evan morrison, one of your earlier critics has apparently done a big u-turn, and has conceded that you did swim from shore to shore, so that is taking care of the critics who maybe had the green-eyed critics who began to realize, maybe, just maybe, diana, you are as extraordinary as it seems. >> perhaps the dream really did come true. i tell you, piers, it did. >> well, all i could say is i couldn't do it in a month of sundays what you did. i think -- you don't look 64, you look great.

it is an astonishing feat of endeavor, i'm delighted you came on the show. what is next? any plans on the pipeline? >> well, yes, you know, piers, on the eve of the anniversary, we are going to build a pool, put it in the middle of harold down, a bunch of well-known new yorkers, and i'm sure maybe a couple of londoners such as yourself will dive in the lane next to me and we'll raise a bunch of money for those people still put out and homeless after hurricane sandy. >> well, good for you, you are what i love about america, and i'm thrilled to have you on the show. thank you so much, diana. >> thank you, piers. >> a great woman and great effort, and just stop being so damn cheerless, for those who are trying to snipe at her. we'll be right back. ♪

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tomorrow night, cheryl crow, as you probably have never seen her talking about on marriage. >> you know, it is fun yes, i have read a couple of times that jennifer aniston, that the two of us have been dumped more than

any other people, and it is not true. >> i know her ex, lance armstrong. >> well, the rest i can't put into a book until everybody is dead. >> that is all for us tonight, "ac360" later. starts right now. >> good evening, everyone, a very busy night on syria, a diplomatic maneuvering, the political doubts about russia, and the shaky problems about the civil war. john mccain joins us, so does the man who led the u.n. weapons inspection team in iraq. later, george zimmerman's strange confrontation with his wife, shellie zimmerman. and christie story, murdered at age four, his mother, condemned to die on death row. w,