they are both democrats. they have fabulous daughters. they each married far above themselves. and they each love our country. and so please join me in welcoming number 42 and number 44, bill clinton and president barack obama.

>> mr. president. >> are you interviewing me? >> i've been talking a lot today. >> that was a good thing you did. thank you for coming. >> well, it is wonderful to be back and let me start just by saying to all the people who have for years now supported the incredible efforts of cgi, thank you, because wherever we travel all across the globe, we see the impact that it's making every single day. we're very proud of what you all do, and let me say that we still miss our former secretary of state, and i should add that there's nothing she said that

was not true, particularly the part about us marrying up. >> well, that brings me to my first health care comment. this is going to be a conversation about domestic and international health but i want to begin by telling you that i think the first lady's done a great job in this fight against childhood obesity. we have been honored at our foundation to be asked to represent her effort in 18,000 schools, where we've lowered the calories in drinks being served in the schools by 90%. but she's been great on that. the other thing i think is that i was a little upset and as you know, called one of your administration members when you got to africa whshgs i re, when article that said you didn't have a big initiative in africa. i said -- i can't say exactly what i said, but i said that is

inaccurate. that's the sanitized version of what i said. because when the president took office, our programs begun under president bush was giving antiretroviral medicine to 1.7 million people. because of an agreement that i made with president bush to use generic drugs that were approved by the fda, about half our drugs were being purchased in that way. under president obama, we have gone to 99%. we are treating more than 5.1 million people, three times as many, for less money. that is a stunning legacy so that more money has been put into malaria medicine, bed nets, so you saved a lot of money and saved more lives while doing it, and i'm very proud of that. and i want to thank you for it. it's important.

now, maybe at the end of this conversation we can get back to some of your current global health initiatives, but let's talk a little about the health care law, because we're about to begin on october the 1st open enrollment for six months, and i'd like to give you a chance first of all to tell them why when you took office we were teetering on the brink of a depression, you had to avert it, you had to start the recovery again, why in the midst of all this grief did you also take on this complex issue? many people were saying why doesn't he just focus on the economy and leave this alone. so tell us why you did it. >> well, first of all, i think it's important to remember that health care is the economy. a massive part of our economy.

and so the idea that somehow we can separate out the two is a fallacy. second of all, the effort for us to deal with a multi-faceted health care crisis has been going on for decades, and the person who just introduced us as well as you early in your presidency had as much to do with helping to shape the conversation as anybody. the fact is that we have been up until recently the only advanced industrialized nation on earth that permits large numbers of its people to languish without health insurance.

not only is there the cruelty of people who are unable to get health insurance having to use the emergency room as their doctor or their health service, but we're also more efficient than anybody else, and so when we talk about, for example, our deficit, you know this better than anybody, the reason that we have not only current deficits but also projected long-term deficits, the structural deficit that we have is primarily based on the fact that we have a hugely inefficient, wildly expensive health care system that does not produce better outcomes. and if we spent the same amount of money on health care that canada or france or great britain did or japan or any other industrialized country, with the same outcomes or better outcomes, that essentially would

remove our structural deficit, which would then free up dollars for us to invest in early childhood education and infrastructure and medical research and all the other things that can make sure that we're competitive and growing rapidly over the long term. so my view when i came into office was we've got an immediate crisis. we've got to get the economy growing. but what we also have to do is start tackling some of these structural problems that had been building up for years and one of the biggest structural problems was health care. it's what accounts for our deficit. it's what accounts for our debt. it causes pain and misery to millions of people all across the country. it is a huge burden on our businesses. i was out at a ford plant out in missouri and making the f series out there, it's a big stamping

plant. ford is now the biggest seller in the united states. we took that lead back from the japanese auto makers. but we are still burdened by the fact that every u.s. automobile that is manufactured requires a couple of thousand dollars in added health care costs that our foreign competitors don't have to pay. so this has everything to do with the economy in addition to what i consider to be the moral imperative that a mom should not have to go bankrupt if her son or daughter gets sick, that, you know, a family who's dealing with a layoff and is already struggling to pay the bills shouldn't also be wondering whether they're one illness away from losing their home. and i think most americans agree with that.

>> so first of all, folks, for those of you who are from the united states, that's about as good an overview as you're ever going to hear of what this economic issue is, but you remember the president said our structural deficit would disappear if we had a comparable health care system in terms of cost to the french and germans that are consistently rated the highest. it's about a trillion dollars a year and somewhere around 44% of that money is government funded money. so you just run the numbers. think of over half of our deficit's already disappeared because of economic growth and the revenues you raise and the spending we cut, and you pretty much get rid of the rest of it if we just had a comparably expensive system to any other country. before you took office, we lost a car company that wanted to

locate in michigan that went instead to canada, and they announced, they said look, we're a car company that provides health care benefits to our employees. we're not a health care company that sells cars to cover our bills. we have to go to canada. so i think -- and it was one of the few companies willing to go on record and say this. so thank you for doing it. so let's talk about this. what does this open enrollment mean? how are people going to get involved? when you have universal enrollment, you can manage your costs better and cut inflation down. i'll give the president a chance to talk about all the good stuff that's happened but i just want you to know one thing. in the last three years, just since we started doing this, inflation in health care costs dropped to 3% for four years in a row for the first time in 50 years. 50 years.

before that, the costs were going up at three times the rate of inflation. for a decade. so now what. what are you going to do on october 1st. tell them how this has got to work. >> well, let me give folks just a little bit of background about what's already in place and then what happens on october 1st. when we passed the affordable care act, there were a number of components to it. a big part of it was essentially providing a patient's bill of rights that americans and advocates have been fighting for for decades. so what we wanted to do was make sure if you already have health insurance, that you get a fair deal, that you're being treated well by your insurors. so we eliminated, prohibited insurance companies from imposing lifetime limits, which oftentimes if a family member really got sick, they thought

they were covered until suddenly they hit that limit, and now they're out hundreds of thousands of dollars with no way of paying. we said to insurance companies you've got to use at least 80% of your premium that you're receiving on actual health care, not on administrative costs and ceo bonuses. and if you don't, you've got to rebate anything that you spent back to the consumer. so there are millions of americans who received rebates. they may not know that they got it because of the affordable care act or quote, unquote, obama care, but they're pretty happy to get those rebates back. because it made sure that the insurance companies were treating folks fairly. we said that any young person who doesn't have health insurance can stay on their parents' health insurance until they're 26 years old, and as a

consequence, what we've seen is steadily the rate of uninsured for young people dropping over the last three years, since the bill passed. and obviously providing a lot of relief to a lot of parents out there, because a lot of young people as they have been entering into the job market at a time when jobs are tough to get and oftentimes benefits are slim, this is providing an enormous security until they get, you know, more firmly established in the labor market. we provided additional discounts for prescription drugs for seniors under the medicare program, so seniors have saved billions of dollars when it comes to their prescription drugs. so there have been over the last three years a whole array of consumer protections and savings for consumers that result directly from the law that we

passed, and for those who say they want the repeal it, typically when you ask them about what about all these various benefits, they say that one's good and that one's pretty good and we'd keep that, and you pretty much go down the list, there's not too much people object to. you will recall also at the time that part of the way that we paid for the health care bill was we said medicare's wasting a lot of money without making seniors healthier, and there was a lot of hue and cry about how we were taking money out of medicare. well, it turns out that we were right. that we could change how doctors and hospitals and providers were operating, rewarding them for outcomes as opposed to simply how many procedures that they did, you started seeing practices change among millions of providers across the country.

medicare rates have actually slowed in terms of inflation. seniors have saved money. folks are healthier. and some of those savings, we have been able to use to make sure the people who don't have health insurance get health insurance. now, this brings me to october 1st. the one part of the affordable care act that required several years to set up but a critical part was how do we provide health insurance for individuals who don't get health insurance through the job. it's a historical accident that in this country, health care's attached to employers. and part of the problem is if you're out there shopping for health insurance on your own, you're not part of a big pool, well, there's no aggregation of risk taking place for the

insurors so they're going to say you're 50 years old with high blood pressure -- >> we will move away from president obama as he speaks about health care with former president bill clinton, the current president of iran, the new president, hassan rouhani, is addressing the united nations general assembly speaking about the situation in syria right now. let's listen in. >> -- suffered and lost their lives and many more who continue to suffer all through their lives. these sanctions are violent, pure and simple, whether called smart or otherwise, unilateral or multilateral, these sanctions violate inalienable human rights, the right to peace, the right to development, right to access to health and education and above all, the right to life.

sanctions beyond any and all rhetoric cause warmongering and human suffering. it should be [ inaudible ] that the negative impact is not only limited to the intended victims of sanctions. it also affects the economy and livelihood of other countries and societies, including the countries imposing sanctions. mr. president, excellencies, violence and extremism nowadays have gone beyond the physical realm and have unfortunately afflicted and tarnished the spiritual dimensions of life in human societies. violence and extremism leave no space for understanding and moderation as the necessary foundations of collective life of human beings, and intolerance

is the predicament of our time. we need to promote and reinforce tolerance in light of the religious teachings and appropriate cultural and political approaches. the human society should be elevated from the state of mere tolerance to that of collective collaboration. we should not just tolerate others. we should rise above mere tolerance and dare to work together. people all over the world are tired of war, violence and extremism. they hope for a change in the status quo. >> all right. we are going to continue to monitor the speech at the united nations general assembly here in new york. hassan rouhani is speaking right now. rouhani is speaking right now. we are also monitoring three events actually at the same time. president obama reunites with bill and hillary clinton to try to boost his embattled obama

care, the health care law. iran's president you just saw. apparently a little bit more moderate, at least there's a charm offensive going on. he's addressing the u.n. general assembly right now. we'll get some hints about where he's going ne. also, you can see ted cruz, the senator from texas in a marathon protest against obama care, saying he'll speak until he drops. we will continue to monitor all of this in "the situation room." our coverage continues right after this. [ male announcer ] who loves social networking as much as you? identity thieves. they can find your personal information and do some serious damage. like your birthday or your mother's maiden name. you need a new friend. lifelock. we scour billions of data points every day, and if we discover that any of your personal information is misused...

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posts and stories into real-time business insights that help nascar win with our fans. hassan rouhani, the president of iran, you see him in the middle of your screen, has just declared iran has no intentions of developing a nuclear weapon, opposes all weapons of mass destruction. you see the president of the united states answering questions posed by the former president bill clinton on his obama care law, fully going into effect, a lot of it going into effect october 1st. on the right part of your screen you see senator ted cruz.

he's speaking against obama care. he says he will speak on the senate floor until he drops. but let's listen in to the iranian president, hassan rouhani, who is speaking right now. >> translator: in this context, the islamic republic of iran insisting on the implementation of its rights and the imperative of international respect and cooperation in this exercise is preferred to engage immediately in time-bound and result-oriented talks to build mutual confidence and removal of mutual uncertainties with full transparency. iran seeks constructive engagement with other countries based on mutual respect and common interests and within the same framework does not seek to increase tensions with the united states.

i listened carefully to the statement made by president obama today at the general assembly. commensurate with the political will of the leadership in the united states and hoping that they will refrain from following the short-sighted interests of warmongering pressure groups, we can arrive at a framework to manage our differences. to this end, equal footing, mutual respect and the recognized principles of international law should govern the interactions. of course, we expect to hear a consistent voice from washington. mr. president, ladies and

gentlemen, in recent years a dominant voice has been repeatedly heard. the military option is on the table, against the backdrop of this illegal and ineffective contention, let me say loud and clear that peace is within reach. so in the name of islamic republic of iran, i propose as a starting step the consideration by the united nations of the project the world against violence and extremism. let us all join. i invite all international organizations and civil institutions to undertake a new effort to guide the world in this direction. we should start thinking about coalition for peace all across the globe instead of the

ineffective coalitions for war in various parts of the world. today, the islamic republic of iran invites you and the entire world community to take a step forward, an invitation to join the world against violence and extremism. we should accept and be able to open and new horizon in which peace will prevail over war, tolerance over violence, progress over bloodletting. justice over discrimination. prosperity over poverty. and freedom over despotism.

as beautifully said -- >> all right. we are going to continue to monitor the speech of hassan rouhani, the iranian president, the new iranian president speaking at the united nations general assembly. but he flatly declared only moments ago that iran is not developing a nuclear bomb, has no intention of developing a nuclear bomb, says it's against the muslim religion to develop a nuclear bomb, and promises that iran is not developing or has any weapons of mass destruction. also at the same time seeking respect from other nations and seeking to engage in a dialogue, including with the united states, and he said that he appreciated and listened closely to what the president of the united states said earlier in the day here at the united nations general assembly. barbara starr is our pentagon correspondent. barbara, he's definitely trying to project a much more moderate tone. if you compare what he's saying today with what his predecessor, mahmoud ahmadinejad, said only last year, very different tone

at least coming from this new iranian president. >> absolutely, wolf. here at the pentagon tonight, this is being watched word by word very carefully as it is all across washington. we have never heard this from an iranian leader on this podium at the united nations, declaring flat out that i believe his words were nuclear weapons had no place in iran's national security, talking about iran not posing a threat to anyone, that he's looking for a new horizon, he says, in peace and stability. this is really fresh territory for the u.s. to deal with iran. the question, of course, is what does it really all mean, what's the bottom line. i think that many in the u.s. intelligence community and intelligence services around the world are going to look at this very carefully but still be somewhat doubting. israel, of course, will believe the doubters. they have a lot of concern about the threat that iran poses in

the region with its nuclear program, whether it's civilian energy or potentially nuclear weapons. this is going to get looked at very closely and a lot of people are looking at who is hassan rouhani and what is the u.s. facing with him now. iranian president hassan rouhani just might turn decades of hostile relations with america on its head. insisting in an nbc interview iran is not trying to make nuclear weapons. >> translator: we have time and again said that under no circumstances would we seek any weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons. >> reporter: testing the iranian leader, president obama now ordering secretary of state john kerry to pursue a nuclear dialogue with tehran. >> i don't believe this difficult history can be overcome overnight. the suspicions run too deep.

but i do believe that if we can resolve the issue of iran's nuclear program, that can serve as a major step down a long road towards a different relationship. >> reporter: who is the man that obama is now up against? >> hassan rouhani is a long time regime insider. he's not a reformer. he's not a jeffersonian democrat but he is a moderate. >> reporter: he is on a charm offensive, calling for the end of what he says is the age of blood feuds in a "the washington post" op-ed. rouhani has a twitter account, posted pictures of himself and wishing jews this month a blessed rosh hashana. but experts caution look at his background. he lived in exile with the ayatollah, the force behind iran's revolution. he worked with senior regime leaders his entire career. he is viewed as completely loyal to iran's current supreme leader. and he's a savvy negotiator.

>> he actually helped negotiate the last agreement on iran's nuclear program that they struck in 2003 with the europeans that led to the temporary suspension of iran's enrichment program. >> reporter: earning him the nickname diplomatic sheikh. rouhani was elected to get iran out from under crippling economic sanctions over its nuclear efforts, but israel warns the new rouhani doesn't match the man they have watched closely for years. >> this is the same rouhani who back in 2004, bragged about smiling at the west and installing centrifuges for a nuclear weapon. he says that iran never wanted nuclear weapons. american intelligence knows that's a lie. israel intelligence knows that's a lie. >> reporter: but here's maybe the most fascinating thing of all right now. president obama and president rouhani have one big thing in common right now. a domestic political audience that they both face in both countries where there are many

doubters, much opposition, a lot of people who don't want to see a new relationship between washington and tehran. wolf? >> that's a good point, barbara. may explain why there was no handshake, no meeting, no encounter today between president obama and president rouhani. the u.s. side was clearly ready for something, but they say it became quote, too complicated for the iranians, maybe because of that domestic opposition to seemingly be too moderate in reaching out to the united states. we'll continue to watch this story. barbara starr reporting for us from the pentagon. so can iran's new president, despite his more moderate tones, really be trusted? we will get reaction from the chairman of the house intelligence committee, representative mike rogers. he's standing by live. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." mom, dad told me that cheerios is good for your heart,

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welcome back to our special coverage from here at the united nations. i'm wolf blitzer.

iran's new president says his country is ready for immediate nuclear talks that are, in his words, result oriented. is he just engaging in a charm offensive or is there a real change of heart? let's discuss with the chairman of the house intelligence committee, republican congressman mike rogers of michigan, who is joining us live. congressman, thank you very much. i want to play a sound bite from what we just heard from hassan rouhani, the new president of iran. >> translator: all other countries must pursue exclusively peaceful [ inaudible ]. i declare here openly and unambiguously that notwithstanding the positions of others, this has been and will always be the objective -- >> he says that it's his objective and it always will be. you heard some of the farsi over there, that they will never be,

never be a nuclear weapons program in iran. here's the question. you know all the inside information. is he telling us the truth? >> in the midwest vernacular, horse pucky. they have been very aggressive in pursuing and actually accelerating their development in their nuclear weapon program and the one thing that rouhani was involved with, by the way, in the most recent past before becoming president, was part of negotiating to have the next meeting on negotiating nuclear weapons and they have been masterful at trying to draw this thing out while they're continuing to pursue the advancement of their nuclear weapons program. and that, in my mind, there is absolutely no doubt. that's why i think we need to -- it's not even trust but verify. if they don't show up with something concrete, and i thought the president was exactly right by not meeting him by saying hey, we're willing to talk but you've got to actually show up with something, i

thought that was an important step. >> well, what do you want them to show up with? what do they need to prove to convince you and other u.s. officials that they are not trying to build a bomb? >> immediate suspension of over 20% enrichment, number one. number two, i would open up to u.n. inspectors immediately without delay and really start surrendering pieces of their program that we know are designed to be part of a nuclear weapon program. remember, wolf, this guy was -- we think this guy got elected across the great populace of iran because he was this moderate thinker. he's very close to the supreme leader. the supreme leader picked him to get on the ballot to run. he wasn't elected. he was selected. so what i think we're seeing here is somebody who is trying to buy more time unless they absolutely want to change that thought pattern of many of us,

they have to actually do something, having speeches, talking about what we might do and starting to negotiate, meetings to have negotiations for other meetings is not going to stop their program to develop a nuclear weapon. if they started with those very basic steps up front, i think we could get somewhere. i'm not sure we're going to see that. >> do you have a problem with the fact that the secretary of state john kerry will be meeting with the iranian foreign minister thursday when the five permanent members of the u.n. security council plus germany, they have this meeting with the iranians, apparently there will be a one-on-one between kerry and the iranian foreign minister. >> you know, i think this is prudent. it's the right environment to have that meeting. but i would never have another meeting if there isn't something concrete that comes out of it. it cannot be just for more negotiations. in that particular setting, especially around the notion of a security council meeting, i think it's prudent. one of the things that's important, i think we're seeing

here, is that the sanctions are taking a bite, they're taking hold. this is no time to let up. this is no time to give him any breathing space. i think it's appropriate for the secretary of state to gauge at the united nations, i think this is an appropriate place for this to happen. where he's really at. and if they're taking such a bite that maybe they're looking for some space and would like to give up parts of their nuclear program, fantastic. i don't believe that's true. i think they're looking for space. use the secretary to determine that. don't have the president meet with him. the very next meeting of any consequence has to be where they agree, pre-agree, that they're going to allow inspectors, they are going to shut down their enrichment capability. i would do that now. without that, i would continue, i would ramp up sanctions, i would act as if they haven't changed a bit because candidly, many of us believe they really haven't changed a bit. >> all right. mike rogers, chairman of the house intelligence committee, thanks for your reaction. appreciate it very much. we are going to continue to follow all the developments here

at the united nations. we're also following what's happening a little bit across town. the former president bill clinton is hosting an event with the current president, barack obama. there you see live pictures. we will go back there. little q & a between these two presidents. live coverage after this. she's always had a playful side.

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we're here at the united nations watching what's going on but also, we're also watching what's happening elsewhere in manhattan. two presidents, a former president, a current president, they're having a dialogue right now on obama care. the former president bill clinton in effect interviewing the current president. i want to listen in but also ted cruz, by the way, you see him at the bottom right hand part of your screen, the senator from texas, he's on the senate floor. he's really speaking out against obama care. he's getting some support from marco rubio, from senator rand

paul. we will listen in to him as well. but let's listen to this unique conversation now between president clinton and president obama on obama care. >> -- providing health insurance for those who don't have it, to provide these health or these tax credits in the marketplace, and at the same time, because we're driving down costs, we actually end up saving a little money. it is a net reduction of our deficit. the irony of those who are talking about repealing obama care because it's so wildly expensive is if they actually repeal the law, it would add to the deficit. it would add to the deficit. now, there have been a couple republicans in the house who have been smart enough to say we're going to repeal all the benefits so 20, 25, 30 million people don't get health insurance, but we're going to keep the taxes that obama raised. we just won't talk about that.

in that way we can say we reduced the deficit. but obviously, you're doing some funny business there with the budget. but look, nothing is free. the bottom line, though, is do we want to continue to live in a society where we've got the most inefficient health care system on earth, leaving millions of people exposed to the possibilities that they could lose everything because they get sick, or we've got little children and families going to the emergency room once a week because they got asthma and other preventible diseases because their families aren't linked up with a primary care physician who is providing them regular care, where the costs to society for reduced productivity, illnesses, et cetera, all burden our businesses, is that the kind of society we aspire to? i think the answer is no.

and the notion that we would resist or at least some would resist as fiercely as they would or as they have, make this their number one agenda, is perpetuating a system in which millions of people across the country, hard-working americans, don't have access to health care, i think is wrong. >> we have to -- we have to close but i will close with a >> i told you all that morning, the employee that our health access program lost in the kenyan mall shooting was a dutch nurse. we spent a lot of time in the

netherlands, we get a lot of support there. oxy is one of our biggest supporters. i went to celebrate their 200th anniversary with them. they started as a fire insurance company. and we're out there in this big, farm field with an in a tent in the shadow of a 13th century church and a big dutch windmill, and i asked the chairmannen of the company. i said you write health insurance? because in the netherland's, there's no medicaid, no medicare and you subsidize people based on their incomes. he said i write it, we all do, and he looked at me and said we don't make any money on t and he said, we shouldn't. he's a huge insurer. can you imagine somebody saying that in america? he said if i can't make money on

traditional insurance business, i got no work. you've got a way to finance it for everybody. and he said it's just an intermediary function that somebody has to handle. but in the end, it's how it's delivered. how it's priced, and how healthy can you keep your people. so the first lady's trying to keep us all healthier, and you're trying to change the delivery and pricing, and you have to cover everybody to do it. i think this is a big step forward for america. this will, over the next decade, not only make us healthier, but it will free up in the larger sector funds that can be invested in other areas of economic growth and give us a much more well-balanced economy. but first, we've got to get everybody to sign up. >> everybody sign up. go to health care.gov.

they're here in new york city. they're talk being for about an hour or so about the obamacare initiative which is coming under fierce, fierce criticism, even as they were speaking on the senate floor. senator ted cruz from texas, he has been railing and railing and railing against it. he's getting some support from a few republican senator, marco rubio, rand paul, mike lee, but not many others, at least not yet. we'll see what happens. we'll continue to monitor that effort on the senate floor to derail obamacare, but it's clearly not going anywhere in the senate. they'll pass legislation approving funding for the government, send it back to the house of representatives. we'll see what happens in the house. if there's no resolution passed, the government will stop funding huge chunks of the government by

monday morning. this weekend will be critical. we'll have full analysis of that. we're also watching what happens in this u.s. iranian relationship. lots of news happening. we'll continue our special coverage from here at the united nations right after this. the day we rescued riley was a truly amazing day. he was a matted mess in a small cage. so that was our first task, was getting him to wellness. without angie's list, i don't know if we could have found all the services we needed for our riley. from contractors and doctors to dog sitters and landscapers, you can find it all on angie's list. we found riley at the shelter, and found everything he needed at angie's list. join today at angieslist.com

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we're continuing our special coverage here at the united nations. just heard from the new iranian president, hassan rowhani declare iran has no desire to build a nuclear bomb. listen very carefully to his remarks. and there was clearly a more moderate tone there. the question is, does he really mean it? >> there was a lot there you could consider an improvement. there was no denial that the holocaust never happened or questions about 9/11.

but at the end of the day, there were still a few phrases there that would have made obama very uncomfortable. about drones shouldn't be used against innocent people, and the irani speeches against israel as well. they simply want nuclear technology because the world's moved on. but i think people will be looking at that speech. >> there was a lot of speculation that the president was ready for some kind of encounter, shaking hands. it was rowhani that decided that was not necessarily going to happen. they told them it was too

complicated. >> maybe they saw the speech in advance. but it could have been a potential to have a diplomatic breakthrough. still enough rhetoric in there that could have made it uncomfortable. >> an exciting few days here. thanks very much for all the help. happening now, u.n. intrigue. why iran's president didn't meet with president obama after all? we're told it's complicated. plus the president's diplomatic moves. did he make the most of his big day at the united nations? or was an opportunity missed? and after a dangerous end to the kenyan mall siege, we're learning about attempts to

obtain members here in the united states. you're in the situation room. we begin with the breaking new this is hour. iran's president telling the united nations just a few minutes ago he's ready to engage immediately in time bomb talks on his country's nuclear program. he reached out just as president obama had reached out to him hours earlier. but after talk that the two leaders could meet and shake hands, it didn't happen. >> reporter: it was a toast to diplomacy at the united nations as president obama staked much of his second term on ridding syria of its chemical weapons. mr. obama tried to ease tensions taking note of the moderate tone

struck by hassan rowhani in recent weeks. >> we are determined to prevent iran from developing a nuclear weapon. we are not seeking regime change and we respect the right of the irani people to pursue peaceful the nuclear. >> reporter: covering a broad range of subjects, president obama defends his throats against syria for its alleged use of chemical weapon, and he urged the u.n. to pass a resolution that forces bashar al-assad to surrender his stockpiles. >> if we cannot agree on this it will show that the united nations is incapable of

enforcing the most basic of international laws. >> reporter: there is even a focus on his unlikely partner, vladimir putin who recently criticized notions of american exceptionalism. >> some may disagree, but i believe america is exceptional. >> reporter: but all day, the world waited to see whether obama and rowhani would meet face-to-face. in the end, it was said that it was too complicated. >> translator: iran poses absolutely no threat to the world or the region. in fact, in ideals as well as in actual practice. >> reporter: despite the diplomatic strides made in new york, president obama has more pressing matters awaiting him in washington where a potential government shut down is days away. it's now secretary of state john kerry's task to keep tabs on iran's nuclear program. kerry's next meeting with

iranians is set for thursday. thanks very much. we're going to have much for on what's happening here at the united nations, but i want to go to capitol hill where ted cruz is vowing to blast obamacare until he can no longer stand. cnn's chief congressional correspondent dana bash is watching what's going on. explain to our viewers what we're seeing. there's ted cruz on the senate floor. >> reporter: that's right. he's been on the senate floor for almost three and a half hours now. and it really is kind of ironic that he is down there make being the case, he says, for so many conservatives in america who really think obamacare would be a debacle. you have the president and president clinton trying to

explain that this is the right way to go for americans. what is going on here is ted cruz confirmed his stance. he's been speaking for about three and a half hours to largelarge ly empty chamber. rand paul was there. i was told marco rubio was going to be heading there soon. he said he was going to be speaking all night. this is effectively a long speech to get attention. it's not going to change anything with regard to the timing of these votes or the outcome of the votes that will be tomorrow. >> we'll see what happens on the senate floor. lots at stake. thanks very much. let's get back to the latest developments. the breaking news here at the

united nations. jim sciutto is our chief national security correspondent. that speech we just heard was indicative of a new charm offensive. but you heard some, they don't brief it. >> no specific proposals about iran's nuclear program. but their is all about sinlding perhaps more subtle messages. and it struck me the phrasing that he used about the need for mutual respect and mutual interest in terms of the basis of the u.s./iranian relationship. he used those words a couple hours after president obama used the exact same words. let's listen to how president rowhani put it. >> translator: mutual respect and common interests. and within the same framework does not seek to increase -- >> we obviously have the wrong

sound bite there. it's hard to understand when you're listening to both farsi and english. >> they both use the exact phrase mutual understanding and mutual respect. this is very important to iranians. they think we've tried to pressure them, treated them as a second class nation. so president obama earlier in the day offering the olive branch, saying this is the way forward. president rowhani using the exact same terminology. and that shows where there is some common ground. >> what was accomplished? what wasn't accomplished? >> one thing, he didn't get his meeting. the white house reached out, made this opening, saying we would be willing to meet with the iranian president, which is difficult to do in public. because you're laying yourself out there. and in effect, he took a risk. he did not get that meeting. and we said that this morning. where we stood two weeks ago in

terms of the iranian, u.s. relationship, where we are today, dramatically different. you have the president sends the secretary of state with the perception to make a deal. >> we'll see what happens thursday when john kerry meets. >> another crucial meeting. >> jim sciutto, thanks very much. up next, the time moments of that deadly mall attack in kenya. the possible linked to minnesota. we're told about the recruits on u.s. soil. but going back to school is hard... because you work. now, capella university offers a revolutionary new way to get your degree. it's called flexpath and it's the most direct path, leveraging what you've learned on the job and focusing on what you need to know so you can get a degree at your pace.

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the president of ken ca kenya says the terrorists have been defeated. at least 61 civilians are dead. dozens more are injured or unaccounted for. 11 suspects are in custody. experts are trying to confirm their identities and whether any americans were involved as the terror group al shabaab has claimed. what are you finding out? >> reporter: many somali families risk everything to get here. we've been looking into why so many somali men would want to go back into violence and chaos.

we're finding that for so many the opportunities here weren't what they expected. the families scrambled out of somalia. made their way to the streets of minneapolis. why would dozens of young somali men have left it all? returned to somalia to fight with al shabaab, one of al qaeda's affiliates. >> he doesn't get out. >> reporter: a growing gang problem have taken many opportunities away. bob fletcher, a former sheriff here says there's also an identity issue. >> most these kids are torn between two cultures. they're americans, but they're not necessarily, they don't feel totally accepted by americans. they know they have a somali history. many do not have a father. >> reporter: enter the al shabaab recruiter.

some get to them over the internet. this features one from minneapolis who's since been killed. >> if you guys only knew how much fun we have over here. it's a real disney land. >> reporter: when the recruiters actually arrive here, they have an impact. >> they tell them that they will go back to their own country that they have never seen, that they dream about. they say it's a country that's just like you. you can marry whom ever you want to. nobody will scream against you. you can find a job. you can be a leader. they make them leaders before they leave here. they give them titles. >> reporter: once they get there, what happens to them? >> wow, that is a nightmare for them. >> reporter: a suspected al shabaab suicide bomber struck at a graduation ceremony. an event many in minneapolis recoiled from. >> al shabaab's appeal is

waning. what are you going back to at this point? you're going back to a life of almost certain death. >> reporter: more and more somalis in this town are aware of that. and as a result, fletcher says there have been only five confirmed cases since 2009 of young somali men actually going back to their homeland, back to that violence. and no cases since july of last year. >> i know you and your team experienced some hostilities. some frustration among some of the young somalis that were there as a result of your coverage. tell us what happened? >> reporter: yesterday we were at the somali community center. we were kind of wrapping up our day, and a group of them became very agitated. in their minds, they thought we were portraying this place as a real pipeline to terrorism, when it really has been just a few

people. there are a hundred thousand somalis here. and they started yelling at us. we ended up having a dialog, trying to talk them down for more than an hour and eventually we did. we got our message across, and they got theirs across. but there is a real frustration here among the young people about how they're being portrayed. >> thank you. the turmoil in egypt. i'll get reaction from egypt's foreign minister. he's here with me at the u.n. and we'll also tell you what michelle obama, the first lady has been up to during her husband's busy day in new york city. hero: if you had a chance to go anywhere in the world, but you had to leave right now, would you go? man: 'oh i can't go tonight' woman: 'i can't.' hero : that's what expedia asked me. host: book the flight but you have to go right now.

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hosted a luncheon. more news from the united nations right after this.

in a speech here at the united nations president obama also addressed egypt's political turmoil and some sharp words for the country's interim leaders. >> the interim government that replaced him responded to the desires of millions of egyptians who believed the revolution had taken a wrong turn, but it, too, has made decisions inconsistent with democracy, through an emergency law and restrictions on the press and civil society and opposition partners. we have not proceeded with the delivery of certain military

systems, and our support will depend upon egypt's progress in pursuing a more democratic path. >> let's get some reaction now to the president from the egypten prime minister. you heard those pretty stinging words from the president of the united states. what do you think? >> i think you need to listen to the whole speech. the point that egypt was going through a transition, that he wanted to work constructively with the interim government and he wanted to help the egyptian people. he did make remark does three specific issues, emergency law, the press and i think it's taken out of context. we are building a new society, a democratic society. and these issues will not be part of the future. >> is the muslim brotherhood now banned in egypt? >> no. it's not yet banned.

what happened was a court decision in response to a claim by another political party. and the court has now decided that the muslim brotherhood movement, which was banned in 1954 had its finances frozen. that is the first level the court. they have appealed that, so there is still a long process. the government has not taken any steps at all as of yet. but anyway, egypt will be open to anybody who's peaceful. it will not be open to those who use violence. >> so the supporters of mohamed morsi, and i take he is still under arrest. >> he is in a secure facility. he's been accused formally by the courts and the attorney general has processed his papers. >> what is he accused of? what did he do? >> they're still investigating how many charges will be made against him. but the ones i'm aware of relate to incidents in front of the

palace while he was president, instructions he gave to the security force does deal with demonstrators. and there were other accusations. let's leave that to the court. >> as the president says certain military systems that egypt has ordered from u.s. contractors will not be delivered -- >> he didn't say they wouldn't be delivered. >> he said we have not proceeded with the delivery of certain military systems. >> he said the support will be dependent -- >> and it will be dependent on egypt pursuing a more democrat eck path. >> a new constitution, an election. that's our objective. whether there was an aid package or not, that was our commitment. so i'm not worried, frankly, about that. because we intend to do that.

>> so the billion and a happlf, whatever goes to egypt, that's still going to egypt? >> the payment of that funds to purchase certain equipment, that's a decision by the u.s. government with the egyptian counterpart. we're in the new budget for next year. >> the argument or concern that so many administration officials have, morsi, whether you liked him or not, he was democratically elected. >> so was hitler. >> so you're comparing morsi to hitler? >> no, i'm not. it's not how you are elected. it's what you do after you're elected. president obama himself said he did not govern conclusively. >> so then the military steps in and they remove morsi, and that, to a lot of americans looks like a military coup.

>> the military stepped in in 2011. president mubarak resigned. and they continued to rule for a year and a half and you did not consider that to be a coup. that's the essence of, did they seize power and govern? they did not. they responded in the street to prevent chaos and they handed over -- >> while you're here in the u.s., will you be meeting with john kerry? >> i already did. >> how did that go? >> in the spirit of the relationship, it's a constructive, frank relationship. we discussed things we agree upon and things we disagree upon and we explained everything the different context. and we will continue to do that. >> how would you describe, in a word, the u.s./egyptian relationship right now? >> i think it's as engaged as ever. it's dealing with a lot of sensitive issues, particularly the domestic issue in egypt.

>> thank you for joining us. good luck with your speech here at the united nations general assemb assembly. >> thank you. take a look at this. we're showing you live pictures of marco rubio. he's joining others led by ted cruz in opposing obamacare. they're suggesting they're going to be speaking until, at least ted cruz has said, he's going to be speaking until he can no longer stand. it's been several hours now that he and rubio, maybe senator rand paul will come as well, mike lee of utah. they are railing against obamacare, but all their railing will be for naught. they will fund obamacare. they will continue to send legislation to the house of representatives funding the government, also funding obamacare. that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer at the united

nations. crossfire starts right now. tonight on crossfire, on the eve of a senate showdown over obamacare, the president gets some high-profile help to make his case. >> tell us why you did it. >> health care is the economy. >> on the left van jones. >> on the right, newt gingrich. republican senator lindsey graham, can they defund obamacare? can they avoid a government shut down? tonight on crossfire. welcome to crossfire. i'm van jones on the left. >> i'm newt gipg rich on the right. you know obamacare's in trouble when the president has to have both bill and hillary clinton prop it up. it's another pathetic performance in new york city, never might united nations. obamacare is going down, call in the