accordingly we have taken unprecedented steps to declassify and make facts available to people who and judge for themselves but still, to protect sources and methods some of what we know will only be released to members of congress to representatives, that means some things we do know we can't talk about what do we know that we can talk about? we know that the assad regime has the largest chemical weapons program in the middle east. regime has used those weapons multiple times this year and has used them on the smaller scale but still it has used them against its own people including not very far from where last

wednesday's attack happened. we know that the regime was specifically determined to rid the damascus suburbs of the opposition. and it was frustrated that it hasn't succeeded in doing so. we know that for three days before the attack the syrian regime's chemical weapons personnel were on the ground. making preparations. and the syrian regime elements. and putting on gas masks and taking precautions associated with chemical weapons. and we know where the rockets were launched from and at what time. we know where they landed and when. we know rockets came only from regime controlled areas and went

only to opposition controlled or contested neighborhoods, and we know, as does the world, that just 90 minutes later all hell broke loose in the social media with our own eyes, we have seen thousands of reports from 11 separate sites in that damascus suburbs, all of them show and report victims with reading difficulties, people twitching with spasms, coughing, rapid heartbeats, frothing at the mouth, unconsciousness and death, and we know it was ordinary syrians citizens who reported all of these orders and just as important, we know what the doctors and nurses who treated them didn't report. not a scratch, not a shrapnel wound, not a cut, not a gunshot

wound. rose of dead line up in burial shrouds, the white linen, and stained by a signal drop of blood. instead of being tucked safely in their beds at home we saw rows of children lying side-by-side scrawled on a hospital floor, all of them dead from assad's gas and surrounded by parents and grandparents who had suffered the same fate. the united states government now knows that at least 1,429 syrians were killed in this attack including at least 426 children. even the first responders, the doctors, nurses and medics who tried to save them, they became victims themselves. we saw them gasping for air, terrified that their own lives

were in danger. this is the indiscriminate, inconceivable horror of chemical weapons. this is what assad did to his own people. we also know that many disturbing details about the aftermath. we know that a senior regime official who knew about the attack confirmed chemical weapons were used by the regime, reviewed the impact and actually was afraid that they would be discovered. we know this. and we know what they did next. i personally called the foreign minister of syria and i said to him if as you say your nation has nothing to hide, then let the united nations in immediately and give the inspectors the unfettered access so that they have the opportunity to tell your story.

instead for four days, they shelled the neighborhood in order to destroy evidence, and bombarding block after block at a rate four times higher than they had over the previous ten days and when the un inspectors finally gained access, that access, as we now know was restricted and controlled. in all of these things that i have listed, in all of these things that we know, all of them, the american intelligence community has high confidence, high confidence this is common sense. this is evidence. these are facts. so the primary question is really no longer what do we know, the question is what are we in the world going to do about it.

as previous storms in history have gathered with unspeakable crimes within our power to stop them, we're in more about temptations of looking the other way. history is full of leaders who were warned against inaction or difference and especially against silence when it mattered most. our choices than in history had great consequences and our choice today has great consequences. it matters that hundred years ago in direct response to the other quarter and inhumanity of world war i that the civilized world agreed chemical weapons should never be used again. that was the world's resolve than and that began nearly a century of effort to create a clear red line for the international community. it matters today that we rid the

world of the worst weapons, that is why we signed agreements like the new start treaty, the chemical weapons convention which more than 180 countries including iran, iraq and lebanon have signed on to. it matters to our security and the security of our allies, it matters to israel, it matters to our close friends jordan, turkey and lebanon call all of whom live the stiff breeze away from damascus. it matters to all of them where the syrian chemical weapons are and if unchecked, they can cause even greater destruction to those friends and it matters deeply to the credibility and future interests of the united states of america and our allies. it matters because a lot of other countries whose policies challenge these international

norms are watching. fate are watching. they want to see whether the united states and our friends mean what we saw a. it is directly related to our credibility and whether country still believe the united states when it says something. they are watching to see if syria can get away with it because then maybe they too can put the world at greater risk. make no mistake. in an increasingly complicated world of sectarian and religious extremist violence, what we choose to do or not do matters in real ways to our own security. some cite the risk of doing things but we need to ask what is the risk of doing nothing? it matters because if we choose to live in a world where a thug and a murderer like the shark assad can gas thousands of his

people with impunity even after the united states and our allies said no and then the world does nothing about it there will be no end to the test of hours of the dangers that will flow from those others who believe that they can do as they will. this matter is also beyond the limits of syria's borders. it is about whether iran, which itself has been a victim of couple weapons attacks -- chemical weapons attacks will be emboldened in action to obtain nuclear weapons. it is about hezbollah and north korea and every other terrorist group or dictator that might ever again contemplate the use of weapons of mass destruction. will that remember that the assad regime was stopped, 4 current or future use or will they remember that the world's the side and created impunity?

our concern is not just some far off land oceans away. it is not what this is about. our concern is the cause of the defenseless people of syria about choices that will directly affect our role in the world and our interests in the world. it is also profoundly about who we are. we are the united states of america. we are the country that has tried to, not always successfully, but always tried to honor a set of universal values around which we have organized our lives and our aspirations. this crime against conscience, this crime against humanity, this crime against the most fundamental principles of international community, against the norm of the international community, this matters to us

and it matters to who we are and it matters to leadership and to our credibility in the world. my friends, it matters if nothing is done. it matters if the world speaks out in condemnation and then nothing happens. america should feel confident and gratified that we are not alone in our condemnation and not alone in our will to do something about it and to act. the world is speaking out and many friends stand ready to respond. the arab league pledged, quote, to holds the syrian regime fully responsible for this crime. the organization for islamic cooperation condemned the regime and said we needed, quote, to holds the syrian government legally and morally accountable for this heinous crime.

turkey said there is no doubt that the regime is responsible. our oldest ally, the french, said the regime, quote, committed this vile action and it is an outrage to use weapons the community has banned for the last 90 years in all international conventions. the australian prime minister said he didn't want history to record the we were, quote, a party to turning such a blind eye. so now the we know what we know the question we must all be asking is what will we do? let me emphasize, president obama, we in the united states, we believe in the united nations and we have great respect for the brave inspectors who in toward regime, gunfire and obstructions to their investigation, but as the secretary general has said again

and again, the u.n. investigation will not affirm who use these chemical weapons. that is not the mandate of the u.n. investigation. they will only of term whether such weapons were used. by the definition of their own mandate, the un can't tell us anything that we haven't shared with you this afternoon or that we don't already know. and because of the guaranteed russian obstructionism of any action through the urine -- the un security council the un cannot galvanize the world to act as it should. so let me be clear, we will continue talking to the congress, talking to our allies and most importantly talking to the american people. president obama will ensure that the united states of america makes our own decisions on our own time line is based on our

values and our interests. we know that after a decade of conflict the american people are tired of war. believe me, i am too. but fatigue does not absolve us of our responsibility. just longing for peace does not necessarily bring it about and history will judge us all extraordinarily harshly if we turned a blind eye to dictator's wanting use of weapons of mass destruction against all warnings, against all common understanding of decency, these things we do know. we also know that we have a president who does what he says he will do. and he has said very clearly that whatever decision he makes in syria it will bear no resemblance to afghanistan, iraq or even libya.

it will not involved any boots on the ground, it will not be open ended at anthem will not assume responsibility for civil war that is already well underway. the president has been clear, any actions that he might decide to take will be limited in tailored response to ensure that a desperate's brutal and flagrant use of chemical weapons is held accountable and alternately, ultimately, we are committed, we remain committed, we believe it is the primary objective to have a diplomatic process that can resolve this through negotiation. because we know there is no ultimate military solution. it has to be political. it has to happen at the negotiating table and we are deeply committed to getting there. that is what we know. that is what the leaders of

congress now know and that is what the american people need to know. and that is at the core of the decisions that must now be made for the security of our country and the promise of a planet where the world's most heinous weapons must never again be used against the world's most vulnerable people. thank you. cheryl: secretary of state john kerry making what seems to be a very strong case for engage in syria. and the syrian government's use of chemical weapons and of course according to this report is assad's regime using chemical weapons against his own people, 1,049 people including 426 children and that damascus suburb. according to secretary of state they were doing all kinds of research, thousands of reports,

videos, social media, u.n. reports the largest chemical weapons in it lease held by syria. the regime was so frustrated by the opposition in that damascus suburbs that they went ahead and used chemical weapons and was not the first time assad used chemical weapons, it sounded like a strong case that launching missiles in syria, a short of snow boots on the ground. and we now have to listen for the president's instructions from here. as for the market reaction we did see selling during the secretary of state's commentary. the dow is coming back strong, only down 14 points. light of the speech it was off 70 points so we're covering the markets we looking at the oil barrel, that is of utmost concern. always concern of delays and disruption especially when you put egypt into the scenario as

well so we are following all the market reaction, crude oil reversed course down $1.23 a barrel, and -- dennis: before we check markets one last time we want to go to the white house, rich edson standing by. that is that four page government assessment of the syrian government's use of chemical weapons, the first line says the government assesses with high confidence the syrian government carried out a chemical weapons attack in the damascus suburbs on august 21st but at this point the case is made, it would seem, by john kerry, without any dates as to when we may act. rich: not much other than a high tease for actio of certainty when it comes to the intelligence they released today but the only specifically again, no boot on the ground, tailored response and whatever decision the president is making he will make on his own time line. john kerry saying we need to ask what are the risks of doing

nothing? you see this in a historic context of one of action but questions as to whether or not or when they're going to act, that is still all out on the table right now but when you look at that intelligence report john kerry saying it was carefully reviewed and has done so, the intelligence committee, with the iraq experience ever mindful. the administration calling them preliminary findings that have a high level of confidence on this intelligence and using that to make their case. >> i am not asking you to take my word for it. read for yourself, everyone, those listening, all of you, read for yourselves the evidence from thousands of sources, evidence that is already publicly available. and read for yourself the verdict reached by our intelligence community about the chemical weapons attack, the assad regime inflicted on the

opposition. rich: the united states cleaning the assad regime has largest chemical weapons stored in the middle east and used it multiple times on people, days before the attack on the suburbs the administration says assad had chemical weapons, team members with gas masks on and that the rockets containing those weapons came from areas controlled by the assad regime and will launch into areas where they did not control. that, they say is the conclusion they reached, the evidence they say leads them to believe that it was in fact the assad regime launching this against their own people and the administration will act. the question is when and how. we don't know that yet. dennis: the reason the secretary went to great lengths to say it the un tests would not say who launched the attack, only that chemical weapons were used? rich: when you have a report from the un and we expect the u.n. inspectors to pull out this weekend, when it comes to a

conclusion only evidence of let's say it does say we do no chemical weapons were used but doesn't assign blame to anyone opponents of moving into syria would say is they are not assigning blame and there is this dynamic on the u.n. security council, a familiar dynamic that it's russia against the rest of the members of the security council. that would block any movement against syria as russia's staunch supporter of the assad regime. lori: secretary of state john kerry make a case for engage in serious but saying the u.s. will make our own decisions on our own time line. the president has very little choice but to act at this point. his credibility is on the line. michael l. hamlin with the brookings institute, thank you for joining us. i will send it over to you for your impressions, secretary of state and how does a dance is our situation with syria. >> excellent and emphatic speech and it left extremely little

doubt that the united states will take military action and i would also add to your correspondence, very good report the one more reason for downplaying the u.n. is we don't want to wait for their report. and they are still in syria and props coming out in the next few hours and i would expect the administration would wait for them to leave before striking. i don't expect the administration to delay much longer, there will be strikes in the course of the weekend. mr obama traveling overseas on tuesday, headed for russia. and and he left no room for the president. he said shea and on those who would be indifferent in the face of this atrocity. having said that kind of statement, i don't see any plausible case the administration will fail to act militarily. cheryl: what is the risk of doing nothing? we have to ask these choices that affect our role in the world.

obviously in flint is voting down getting involved in syria, france, who knows, earlier this week the rest of the world, coalition of the women was much larger than it seems to be today. what is the likelihood we engage syria on our own? >> pretty high. if it is not on our own it will still feel like a small coalition. e talkative in many ways of the 2003 iraq coalition much more than the afghanistan coalition or the kosovo coalition from 1999 because at least in that case u.n. approval was lacking that nato was unified. in this case as you indicated nato is not unified. the arab league is interested in holding assad accountable but not authorizing military strikes and it really is the u.s. and one or two other countries in the actual operation. hopefully a lot of countries responding well to john kerry's very good speech which i think will make the hand-wringing stock. i think the hand-wringing has gone too far.

understandable why president obama needed to wait for these things to play out but what you are seeing, a lot of people voicing concerns and objections, that is understandable but john kerry reminded people don't forget about the concerns and objections of not acting. i think he will >> reporter: where the debate goes from this point on but it will be a unilateral u.s. action. cheryl: what i the risks? we are taking our time, many critics say the president is dragging his feet, we finally get this report today after days of wringing our own hands in the u.s.. aren't we just targeting to assad our plans? no bids on the ground, won't be open ended and leon zeroing in on assad at regina and we know the opposition had nothing to do with the chemical weapons attacks. >> the danger is now they are

going to explain why they are allowing the war to go back to how it was just because chemicals aren't being used they're willing to tolerate the same brutal dictator killing innocent people with artillery. in other words i support the pending action and i think it is correct in so far as it does but doesn't go very far. doesn't do much to address the underlying civil warfare. most americans are not interested in seeing us address that. i am not in favor of anything overly muscular myself but i think doing more than we have been doing is important and this administration being so emphatic on the atrocities that have been committed by assad is going to have to explain maybe not today or tomorrow but in coming weeks why we are not going to do anything more than one day a cruise missile strikes. lori: secretary to the john kerry was emphatically will not make the same mistakes we made in iraq. that you thought about the likelihood that these weapons could be what we've looking for in iraq all of those years ago?

>> i think no. lori: we were looking for, it was a big gap in the bush administration the we never found weapons of mass destruction. could these be those same weapons? >> there were some things across the board but i don't know that assad and saddam hussein collaborated. both saw chemical weapons as crown jewels and they would have had some wariness of each other, i don't know. they had some kind of limited cooperation at various points in their careers but for the most part the ayman al-zawahiri data is the assad regime and the saddam hussein regime were not allies. maybe there's a chemical agent but we're pretty confident that assad told his forces to prepare these actions, we saw three days of preparations and people being told to put their gas masks on

and the attacks went into insurgent held areas and we saw the victims. lori: i need to ask about israel and the rest of the region before we run out of time. it is real be concerned? iran, hezbollah, proxy state, they threatened israel, iran has, what is israel thinking right now? >> great question. i think the risk of a hezbollah attacks on israel is the most plausible likely escalation but if hezbollah were to do that israel would retaliate and go beyond a pure proportionate response and even put the hold on -- in question. they might go after the leadership of hezbollah this time around and knowing in advance that israel will escalate will probably not take this opportunity to do anything foolish but you can never be sure in the middle east and certainly not with hezbollah. cheryl: israel called up reserves the other day. a very tense situation. you believe we will see missile

strikes as soon as this weekend. thanks for your expertise. dennis: the dow is only down 20 points, will lend gold trading down, investors seem to be taking what the secretary of state was a as this will be for lack of a better term surgical strike. if it takes place without boots on the ground. oil down $1 in new york. when we come back we will check with phil flynn and john kingston about where we go forward with oil as this issue heats up. when we made our commitment to the gulf, bp had two big goals:

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bounce keeps my clothes fresh for weeks, even when they've been sitting in the drawer a long time. like those jeans you can't fit into anymore. uh...by that, i mean... [ male announcer ] how do you get your bounce? long-lasting freshness. all your imptant legal matters in just minutes. protect youramily... and launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. lori: time for stocks now as we do every 15 minutes. let's head to the floor of new york stock exchange and lauren simonetti. lauren, apache corp announcing a new joint venture. >> yeah, apache is focusing on a

new joint vent t what they're doing is selling their 33% stake in their egypt oil and gas business to china's sinopec. that is a stock we're watching. but, lori i want to talk about what happened to the market during secretary of state kerry's speech. we were down 45 points and we tumbled to the low of session, essentially doubling declines for the dow, with 14, 763. sharply lower for the month of august. this is the final trading day. at 114 eastern time when he said action against syria would not involve boots on the ground and would not be open-ended, we thought the dow might have went into the green, might have turned positive. it didn't happen. or at least not yet but we certainly came off lows. also looking at vix, the high of the session, 17.6, up 4 1/2%. that is the fear. lori? adam: lauren simonetti on the floor of the new york stock exchange. thank you. oil lost more ground on secretary of state john kerry's

comments. we want to bring in phil flynn. he is in the pits of the cme and flats global director of news, john kingston joins us. first we go to phil. seems like investors and traders looking to oil and gold seem to sympathy this with only be limited action if we take it but won't disrupt and spillover to foreign markets, is that accurate. >> that is accurate or at least pushed out into the future. lauren simonetti did a great job explaining how the market moved on every word in john kerry's speech. in the beginning of the speech, when he used the word when and if, the price of oil actually broke. we started his speech, the price of oil was 107.41. when he used the word, if we should act, the price went down, broke 10, hit the low of the day at 106.75. buu then as he started building the case for war and the chemical weapons, the price of oil rallied. we went from, not only the low but from 107.40, we put on over

a dollar. it looked like we were going to stay up there until the final part of the speech when john kerry came out and said, before we act, we'll put this in front. american people, we're going to talk to people and then the market came back down. based on what we're seeing right now, before the speech and after the speech, there was only slight chance more that we're going to see an attack over this weekend. the traders could be wrong but that's what they're pricing in. adam: phil, stand by for us. john, thanks for joining us. what phil is saying investors and traders are saying this could wait until next week. is that reflecting that because gold and oil are down? >> that could be but nothing's changed this week. one firm fact here which is that this is unlikely, if it is a cruise missile attack or even if you throw in some stealth bombers this is unlikely to affect the flow of oil anywhere in the world. to affect the flow of oil you're going to have to see some kind of expansion. you will have to see iran do

something retaliatory in the straight of hormuz in the persian gulf -- straits of hormuz. you will have see spillover in iraq and affect production there. production has flat-lined, no more growth because of all the strife. in the crazy week with the big run-up, and there was a drop today phil talked about, that fact has not changed. this sun likely to affect the flow of oil. syria at its producer 350,000 barrels a day. down to 50,000 barrels a day. adam: the real question is libya. >> the libya scene is a totally different scene. not really affect the to this but the market is very tight and to a large degree, several things but libya is a real factor in that. they came back nicely after qaddafi fell and they're down there, various industrial action, all sorts of things. adam: i'm going to be an optimist hire that whatever action the u.s. takes is quick and none of our people, men and women who will be potentially in harm's way are harmed. in a week from now we're back to

what we can call a normal world. phil, do we see oil go back to about $100 a barrel any heard you talk about a 10-dollar per barrel risk premium that is already priced in. >> absolutely and the traders are pricing exactly that. yesterday when the market broke we've been reporting on this all day, we saw a surge of buying in the 100 october puts. so a lot of traders are betting that if an action does not happen, or if it is a limited strike, prices go right down below 100 and very quick lift i hope john kingston's right. he usually is but i'm very concerned, you know, if president could come out and say, hey, we're going to do a surgical strike and nothing else is going to happen, then sell as much oil as you can but you know, but i don't think he can guaranty that to the american people and if we knew, that then i everybody would be on board for a strike. the question is, a lot people in the in the world don't believe it is going to be that easy ande countries supposedly the

coalition of the willing are now the coalition of the unwilling. adam: john i want to bring you back into this and ask you very quickly, this is a distraction. nobody wants this. i mean, 1400 people killed in syria, the u.s. prepared to act forward a month from now when this is in the rear view mirror. there are more serious issues regarding oil. iraq, syria, and global demand? >> this, one aspect of this all the focus on price of oil because of syria focus ad lot of people also on the fact over the last two or three months the supply side has not been particularly good. you mentioned libya. iraq is flat-lined. nigeria is in the midst of one of its down times. only question in nigeria, what level of turmoil is going on. goldman sachs came out with a report i believe last week, global inventories are drained by 32, 33 million-barrels over last two or three months. nobody understands that taken as its own, but that's a lot of oil. i saw a report that put it at

27 million. the world oil market significantly tightened. adam: to wrap it up, once syria is no longer a headline. don't be sure that oil stays at $100 a barrel, it might be higher? >> there is focus on supply tightness. chinese demand was zero or 1%. that is going back up. that is one. real shocks there. i saw some numbers this morning from bea report. gasoline sales in u.s. in july were up 3% so. adam: john kingston, thank you very much. phil, you should know in addition to being thankful you brought a smile to john's face when you said he is always right. >> so is phil, of course. >> thanks. lori: the u.s. response in syria, secretary of state john kerry saying bashar al-assad is quote, a thug and a murderer and confirming assad was the person behind those chemical weapons attacks in the damascus suburbs. adam: the market fallout and how investors should trade going into the weekend. sent, which is historically one of the worst trading months of the year. that's all coming up. [ indistinct shouting ]

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lori: stoxx are mostly lower, drifting in direction here midday after hitting session lows a few moments ago during secretary of state john kerry's speech where he made a very strong case for action in syria but how big of a concern should it be for investors? joining us is michael jones, riverfront investment group, chairman and chief investment

officer. thanks for your time. how big of a concern should our possible, potential, imminent, if you will engagement in syria be for investors right now? >> well, traditionally whenever there is a flare-up in the middle east it creates a pull back in the market that proves to be a buying opportunity. something bad happens. there is retaliation for the bad thing that happens. when the dust settles the market gets back to climbing. that is, the base case scenario. it is why the market after initially reacting badly to, to secretary kerry's speech, sort of settled in his, actually a little bit higher than when he opened up his remarks? the reason? let's get this over with this is sort of attitude within the market. lori: i want to jump to emerging markets that is where we're seeing a rout. emerging markets currencies multiyear lows and bonds taking a hit. i don't have to tell you emerging market is one of the

preferred ways u.s. investors diverge portfolios. what should we know about emerging market because of syria and unrest in the middle east right now? >> the emerging markets, let's remember they have been under pressure all year long. the initial fears china was slipping into soft err economy than people were ready for. just as people were starting to get comfortable with china having stablized you had taper talk from the fed and emerging markets have been extremely dependent on hot money inflows that are chasing yield given the qe policies here in the u.s. or keeping yields so very, very low. so you take away the china prop, pull away some of this hot money and puts their markets under tremendous pressure. rising oil prices are the latest boy. we think that the emerging markets, as we move into the back half of the year will separate into the haves and have-nots. the haves are those markets that pretty much so insulated from the end of qe.

they have lots of foreign currency reserves and trade surpluses. think china, singapore, korea. the have notes are those folks who have been very dependent to fund trade deficits and budget deficits on the hot money coming from qe. india and brazil are the poster children for that. lori: yeah. >> we think the back half of the year, some markets will be very, very good performers and brazil and india probably still weak. lori: meantime, speaking of the rest of the world, foreign investment dollars are drying up in the u.s. how will that affect our markets? it has been tremendous impact on fixed incomes. >> without question. and i think the rotation out of fixed income is still in its early chapters. the fed kept the rates artificially low on the long end through operation twist and qe. we've got a long way to go in the bond rout, we'll continue to lose foreign capital from the bond market. equity markets are poised to reaccelerate to the upside. let's remember that 2003, washington has not been kind to the economy.

we've had big tax cuts. excuse me, big tax increases, big spending cuts. we've had the reduction in hours worked as employers are getting used to and ready for obamacare, trying to get workers under that 30-hour limit. lori: right, right. let me come in here with this. sorry to interrupt you. always on a time schedule here. where should my, where should i be overweight in my asset allocation? >> we think that right now europe is probably in the best position to reaccelerate. they're very, very cheap, relative to the u.s. we like cyclical u.s. that could be consumer discretionary. that would be the oil services and exploration and production companies. we also are very, very high on the parts of the emerging market that are the haves that are not dependent on qe. lori: and your cash thoughts? >> cash is always something that is going to drag you as long as the fed keeps interest rates at zero. we've got inflation at 2%.

longer you stay in cash the more you lose. lori: michael jones, thanks so much. >> thank you. adam: unfolding crisis in syria, former assistant defense secretary kt mcfarland joins us next following secretary of state john kerry's speech on syria this hour. lori: the tech-heavy nasdaq composite the biggest loser right now. let's get a check of names causing the biggest drag. ♪ nascar is about excitement. but tracking all the action and hearing everything from our marketing partners, the media and millions of fans on social media can be a challenge. that's why we partnered with hp to build the new nascar fan and media engagement center. hp's technology helps us turn millions of tweets, posts and stories into real-time business insights

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lori: oil building on its losses after secretary of state john kerry's speech on syria. sandra smith has latest in the

pits from the cme. sandra? >> hey, lori, the market really not moving any one direction based on secretary of state john kerry's words but we do continue to see a liquidation out of commodities market. crude oil prices right now still down as you said, building on their earlier losses down more than a dollar on the session. we're looking 10.70 dollars for a barrel of oil -- $107.70. for a barrel of oil. not good to go long in this market heading to a long holiday weekend f they're long they're leaving it at that they're not building on their long positions. gold watching this. it too was volatile during john kerry's words. gold is down $17 and firmly below $1400 a troy ounce. lot of movement to the downside. guys, certainly a spike in volatility as traders figure out what exactly to do ahead of this three-day weekend. back to you. lori: thank you, sandra. adam: president obama is going

to discuss the syria situation, and this is a quote from the administration to some extent during a meeting that will take place at 2: 15 eastern with baltic leaders citing senior administration official sources. joining us with more on all of this is kt mcfarland, former assistant defense secretary and fox news national security expert. what did you think of the secretary's speech? sounds like we'll do something and do it soon, or is that correct? >> but you don't know what. kerry laid out a very compelling case that the syrian government syrian government did use chemical weapons t was emotional and forceful. he said president assad shouldn't get away with it. but what he didn't do is tell us what we are going to do about it. it is time to not let emotions get away from targeted military on shuns. emotion don't win war. they are won by military

objectives and supplying resources to achieve those objectives and stopping once those objectives are acleaved. i walked away from the speech what did he say? i guess we want to punish assad and maybe deter assad from using chemical weapons and three we might want to send a sisnal to anybody else that might want to use them. but what happens if our goal, secretary kerry and secretary hagel and president said we're not talking about a military action? we're not talking about a limited strike. it is frankly nothing more than a spanking. it doesn't destroy chemical weapons. what if assad does it again? lori: you raised some good points. we're in the middle of ticktock here. we heard the secretary of state laying out the case and presenting all the evidence and we're expected to hear from the president at 2:15. maybe we're in the middle of unfolding events and we will get more details as to a specific plan. we know we heard from the president the other night on pbs saying they're looking to do a shot across the bow and deter

chemical weapons and we'll learn more in terms of timing momentarily littlely. >> the problem with that, by telegraphing in advance to the syrians and american public, what we'll do, largely limited and symbolic. we'll not remove assad from power. we're not going to destroy his chemical weapons. it is not clear to me how that action achieves any objective. it doesn't deter him. assad still has chemical weapons to use again tomorrow. the only thing worse than doing something is doing something that fails. then it sends the opposite message. adam: kt there is the possibility of this spilling over. there is no way to anticipate how the assad regime would react. you can't expect them, if we do indeed attack selected targets that they're not going to retaliate. the question, how would they retaliate? would it be out of the question they might try to bring someone else into this fight? >> well i think they have to retaliate. they have to -- the problem with any kind after war or military

action the other side gets a vote too. they respond. what happens if this is poker game and assad says and looking at obama i will meet that bet e you. will president obama have another round of military action that escalates the situation? as you point out will other countries and other nations get involved? you can see if our objective is to deter and stop assad i wouldn't be stopped. i don't think leaves that country other than in a box. feet first. what if he keeps fighting, he escalates, are we willing to match that? remember he is not fighting alone. he has got russia on his side. he has iran on his side. he has hezbollah on his side. we may decide it is worth that fight but it is a much bigger fight than we've been led to believe. adam: kt mcfarland, thanks for joining us here on "markets now." >> thank you. lori: secretary of state john kerry making the case, a very strong case in fact for military action in syria. the president scheduled to appear on camera in the next hour. tracy byrnes and ashley webster

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read and consider it carefully before investing. risk includes possible loss of principal. tracy: welcome back, i'm tracy byrnes. ashley: i'm ashley webster. breaking news on syria. secretary of state john kerry just laying out the u.s. case for military action in syria but he did stress it would be limited. president obama is expected to address the crisis. we'll bring us his comments and very latest just ahead. tracy: stocks turned sharply lower during secretary kerry's speech. down seven points. they have since recovered. oil and gold are under pressure. we're tracking the markets every move until the close. america's shale boom, oklahoma one of several states fighting possible new regulations on fracking. attorney general scott pruitt on why he says it amounts to regulation overload. that is all coming up.

as we mentioned, markets coming back a little bit. we go down to lauren simonetti on the floor of the exchange every 15 minutes. hey, lauren. >> two hours left to the month of august, right? it has been a terrible month. dow, nasdaq, s&p, all down sharply. the dow is looking at sharpest monthly loss since may of 2012. the stocks are down for the week. what happened today as stocks doubled their decline as secretary of state john kerry spoke on the syria situation. at 1:14 eastern time he said the u.s. plan and attack against syria would not be open-ended. we saw the market come up a little bit. almost went into positive territory but right now we're off about 43 points. the vix index has been higher most of the session. 17.6 is, well, actually we are at new highs of the session right now for the vix index. and the dollar also higher, it is about a four-week high right now. back to you. tracy: thanks, lauren.

see you in 15. ashley: secretary of state john kerry making a strong case for military intervention in syria, telling the american people to read for themselves the evidence that is now available. rich edson at the white house with the very latest, rich? >> well the secretary of state is saying that the president is considering a limited tailored response one that will not involve boots on the ground. they say the intelligence they laid out here showing that the assad regime has used chemical weapons, we need to ask ourselves if we do not act, says kerry, the risks of doing nothing especially if it embowlens the assad regime to attack again, iran, hezbollah and north korea. essentially what kerry is saying that our national values compel us to act. >> this crime against conscience, this crime against humanity, this crime against the most fundamental principles of international commune, against the norm of the international

community, this matters to us, and it matters to who we are and it matters to leadership and to our credibility in the world. >> so here's the evidence according to the obama administration saying that syria has the largest chemical weapons stash in the middle east. that assad has used those weapons multiple times on his own people three days before the august 21st attack, there were chemical personnel from the assad regime in the area that was eventually attacked. the missiles were launched from assad-controlled areas and assad regime troops were using gas masks during the day of the event. pictures tweeted out on social media including doctors on the ground there prove, the administration says it was assad regime launched the chemical attack against his own people. as for the response there is no guidance beyond a limited targeted attack from the administration on this. nothing on timing.

they only continue consultations with congress and international community but extremely strong case for the administration, a compelling one to act and given what kerry said today, it would be quite strange if the administration took no action from here. back to you. ashley: you're absolutely right. rich edson from the white house, thank you. tracy: joining us with more by phone, walid phares, fox news terrorism expert. sir, thank you for jumping on the phone and talking to us about this. >> sure. tracy: do you believe that, we're now at a point based on what secretary kerry said at this point we're in this, there is no backing out? >> when the secretary made the case and he actually made that case very well based on facts, to me the most important when he mentioned that those units who fired, regime's unit, we have the evidence i hope and the area that was fired on were rebels areas and non-regime areas, the core of the evidence presented to the international community. on that level kerry and the administration did well.

the two questions now, who is going to be on board internationally? that's what we want to know, and number two, what's after the strike if the administration is going to follow up with a strike specifically against those weapons systems? ashley: well, walid, listen if it is a, you know, a limited attack, maybe on those mechanisms that are used to inflict chemical weapons on the citizens of syria, what impact does that really have if it's a limited strike? my question is, so what? >> well, that's the biggest question and the international debate. i have been on arab tv, middle east tv for the past 24 to 48 hours, that's the biggest question. meaning will the limited strike do more than affect this is our obligation? if we reduce the capacity of syria's regime to use those weapons, it is my assessment and assessment of other experts that the russians will rush to supply

assad with different kind of weapons, including anti-aircraft. so we'll go into escalation. does the obama administration have a plan b, and c, and d? once we enter the window it will be a long process. tracy: that's the thing. this notion there is no boots on the ground, i don't believe it. i think many of the american people don't believe it. do you think reluctancy to make a decision made this whole thing worse? >> i think so. i think so. first of all my opinion was discussed it many times, it is basically we were late two years and a half and what happened in those last two years 1/2 basically that iran now is in syria. hezbollah is in syria. we left iraq without real allies. more importantly in the opposition, al qaeda is making inroads. so the syria we're handling now is the different than the syria we should have handled 2 1/2 years -- there is much higher price of any intervention when it is late, that late. ashley: walid, the u.n. weapons inspectors are due to leave

syria tomorrow. is that a critical point? obviously the u.n. has been very reticent on what exact action to take but once those weapons inspectors are out of the country, does that kind of raise the odds of some sort of military strike, perhaps this weekend? >> many are making that connection. i don't think the obama administration will rush into actions because they have a couple things to do. number one, the president has yet to make the case for the international community formally speaking. he would tell the world, i told you so, this is our information. number two we need enough assets on the ground and on the sea and beyond so the next strike, if ordered again by the president, will be followed up by possible second and third strike. you know what? the most important thing how the syrians and iranians and hezbollah are going to respond. that will determine if it is going to be a long campaign or a short campaign. tracy: you're referring to the 27-month civil war that is going on in syria. so you play this out, if you

could make the decisions for our country right now, what would you do? >> number one i would go against those weapons, not limited fashion. either we go full, and get all strategic weapons with syria, follow up on the ground with a true security zone, if we have the stomach for that, then we begin. if we don't it will be a worse situation afterwards. ashley: walid freire rest, thanks so much, for joining us on short notice by the phone. >> thank you very much. tracy: that was great. get a chick check on oil. the oil falling down 49 points remaining in the red after secretary of state john kerry's speech. sandra smith in the pits of the cme. hey, sandra. >> a lot of people want to say it is still down and selling off. we're pricing out syria premium in the market. not so much the case. i was talking to a trader on the floor, he was basically saying we're not see a max exodus out of these commodity contracts. he thinks the fact we're only

down in the crude oil front month contract less than a buck, still above $108 a barrel, that is a sign for at love folks, as risky as it may be going into a three-day weekend are holding up to the long positions they built up over the past several days. that is something to note. gold prices down 16 bucks. premium taken out of there. not a mass exodus out of this long weekend. by the way the vix, you want to watch that as well. there is green in the vix. the vix up nearly 4% on the session, definitely getting a spike during secretary of state john kerry's words, there was added volatility, added fear in the marketplace right now and as we end up, august, guys, the best performing commodity at cme, silver, up 20%. back to you. tracy: sandra smith and that's a great point, everyone is holding on. that means they're anticipating something. we're tracking this market's every move on the syrian developments. the dow down about 50 points right now. ashley: plus the president is expected to speak this hour on syria. of course we'll bring that to you when it happens. keep it right here on fox

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where he made the case for action in syria but how big of a concern should it be for investors? hank smith is cio at haverford trust. he joins me now. hank, these are turbulent times. vix is now up 5%. no big surprise really i guess. it has been a tough month for stocks, august, let's face it september is not traditionally that great either. as an investor how do you wade yourself through this kind of well, volatile environment at the very least? >> well, ashley, you're absolutely correct, sent historically is the worst performing month and pretty consistently for that matter. and perhaps august has brought forward those bad returns. let's hope. but we continue to remain optimistic in, and look at pullbacks like we've had this month as opportunities to deploy cash and let's face it, there's still a ton of cash on the sidelines that is earning

nothing in terms of returns. ashley: that's a good point so where are you telling your clients to put that cash? what do you like right now? >> well, we like one area that has been beaten up while all indices are up, most of them double digits, not true with emerging markets. that is down double digits year-to-date. so we're looking to add a little arkets as an assetthere. class is either at bottom of the heap or the at the top of the heap and rarely ever in between. we might be a little early but then also, defensively, in consumer staples and health care, and an area that led the market in the first but has -- first half but pulled back here and we think offers an attractive entry point. ashley: so you see these pullbacks as good opportunities for buying? >> absolutely. look, the markets can't go up in a straight line. pullbacks within a bull market are healthy, and we haven't had a correction.

that is 10% or more. we can't rule that out. but, we don't think it alters the long-term, positive outlook for equities and we still say, even today, equities are the most attractively priced asset class, relative to your alternatives, bonds, cash, even real estate. ashley: that is interesting. what is your target for the s&p? it is trading right now around 1631? where do you see by year-end the s&p? >> we think it he will be margin alley higher. we're not going out on a him here t will be a volatile road for the rest of the fall. you stated all the reasons this afternoon. the middle east, after labor day we'll have a heightened focus on the debt ceiling debate, on the budget debate. on immigration, reform, et cetera and on top of tapering and who the next fed chairman or chairperson will be. so, but we think, equities

should be modestly higher. maybe the s&p at 1750 plus or minus, from these levels. ashley: quickly, hank, does the fed taper? are they kind of committed to that now do you think? or it would have to be a really bad jobs number next friday for them to change their mind? >> well i think you're right. i think they are committed and, i also think there's another motive here. it will make whoever is nominated confirmation's process much smoother in the tapering process has already begun. i think that is on the fed's mind as well. ashley: i'm sure mr. bernanke would like to oversee that before he actually leaves. hank smith, thanks for joining us. we appreciate. >> it another great point why it will start in sent september, exactly. tracy: quarter past. we have to check on these markets. lauren zimmmerman still on the floor of the exchanges. lauren we're still down 47

points. >> vix index, the fear is popping. that fear is seen in the way our sectors are trading. you have, only positive sector being consumer staples. energy, telecom, utilities they're holding on but the worst decliners and this goes to show you that, folks out there are a little bit fearful today. consumer discretionary and technology, down sharply. speaking of tech, i want to quickly look at two tech companies, blackberry and apple. both are down. blackberry we have a director of the company saying it could compete as a niche company in the global smartphone market. finally with apple, the stock is down today as well but today the trade-in plan goes into effect in stores. if you want to trade in your old phone. of course the new phones, we think, are coming out at an event september 10th. back to you. ashley: we think. we'll find out. >> we always think with apple. ashley: of course. we'll be back with lauren at bottom of the hour. tracy: as lauren mentioned, market down 46 points t was down 70 points during secretary

kerry's speech. we're waiting for the president to also make comments on his speech as well. plus we're talking about america's shale boom. oklahoma attorney general scott pruitt says more regulation will actually stifle the u.s. energy surge. he is here next. ashley: but first let's look how the u.s. dollar is moving on this volatile day on the markets. the markets are down just 47. but there is a lot of uncertainty out there and dollar stronger in europe. euro and pound moving lower in somewhat of a mixed picture. we'll be right back. nascar is about excitement. but tracking all the action and hearing everytng from our marketing partners, the media and millions of fans on social media can be a challenge. that's why we partnered with hp to build the new nascar fan and media engagement center.

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>> at 21 minutes past the hour i'm arthel neville with your fox news minute. secretary of state john kerry making the stays for limited u.s. military action against syria for its suspected use of chemical weapons. kerry saying based on intelligence, the u.s. nose that the syrian regime carefully prepared for days to launch an attack, which killed 1429 people including at least 426 children. officials at yosemite national park are expecting 3,000 cars a day to pass through the gaetz this labor day weekend despite the wildfire. the blaze is 33% contained. 20,000-acres of the fire covered the northern edge of

the50,000-acre park. san diego mayor bob filner is leaving office in disgrace today, amid sexual harrassment allegations. the former congressman is stepping down one week after defiant farewell speech he told the city council he was victim of a lynch mob. those are the headlines on the fox business network. get you back now to tracy. ashley: arthel neville, thank you very much. we appreciate that. look at markets with a big day from washington, d.c. and latest on syria. the dow off of the session lows, down about 38 points. we should point out as you can see the nasdaq and s&p also moving slightly lower. the president is expected to speak briefly on syria this hour. he is actually greeting some leaders from the baltic nations and then during that process, in front of the media he is expected to follow up comments on what we heard from secretary of state john kerry earlier today. so as soon as we get those comments we'll bring them to you. tracy: all right. but now, our special report, america's shale boom.

so oklahoma is one of several states fighting a push for new federal regular layings on -- regulations on fracking. the interior department could release the rules any moment. oklahoma attorney general scott pruitt and colleagues from four other states wrote a letter to the interior secretary arguing that state regulations are working just fine. he joins us from oklahoma city. thank you for taking time to with us. the other states, alabama, alaska, montana and west virginia. the argument you as a state have been handling this just fine, why does the federal government have to get involved right now? >> tracy, it's a question what is wise and effective. as you indicated there is not a gap of regulations. states have been regulating hydraulic fracturing not just over the last couple years but for decades. this is not a new process, we have highly trained, highly educated individuals and a very robust regulatory regime regulating this for quite some time this is an effort by the federal government in our explanation either to displace

the states or duplicate what the states are doing. either way it will not be effective i think in reaching the ends, best of the industry and also best for the environment in respect to states. tracy: we're talking about areas in your state that would fall under federal jurisdiction, other areas would not. and according to the american petroleum institute, these costs can get much higher, anywhere from 30 million to $2.7 billion because of all the additional regulations. what's so bad though, about letting people know about the chemicals, the water tests, things like that? why is that so bad? >> well, tracy, if there weren't regulatory bodies in place already then there would be much more i think necessary to look at what blm is looking at but that is not the case. tracy: right. >> we have nogaps in regulation. we have, the regime in place to regulate this effectively. and this is, this is something that is concerning as far as the federal government taking steps

to regulate hydraulic fracturing. epa as you know is engaging in a two-year study. they're a year in. it is a first step toward that you have to ask the we with the blm expressing this reproposed rule, why are they doing it? tracy: yeah. >> eventually it will lead to longer permitting processes for the states. tracy: that was my next question. you're talking about the bureau land management. why are they doing this? why do we have all these environmentalists involved in this now when to your point this is sort of been working at the state level for a while now? >> well, it's a question that we're asking. that is why we sent the letter. we believe it is not wise, it is not effective. it is not question of authority, tracy. it is clear that the interior department has the authority to regulate its own lands but this is quintessentially a state function. the court, supreme court has recognized that the states are the primary regulator of land and water. and so we're trying to communicate to the interior is department as we did last year this, is the second round of

this proposed rule. they withdrew it last time. we're sending a message it is not wise to do what the blm is proposing and hopefully they step back and slow the process down. tracy: right, at this point no clear benefit to the new rules the federal government is proposing. sir, thank you for taking the time to be with us and good luck with all of us. ashley: we're starting to get headlines as mentioned before. president obama meeting with leaders of the baltic nations but of course all questions for the president regarding the situation in syria, we're getting a few headlines now coming across. the president saying that the syrian chemical weapons attack is a challenge to the world, saying that it threatens both u.s. allies such as israel and jordan. get to rich edson at the white house. rich. >> from the wires, ashley, probably the most important headline the president is saying he has not made a final decision on response to syrian chemical weapons usage. he is looking at limited action

and not an open-ended commitment. very much before the administration, strongly making the case through the statements of secretary of state john kerry, however, the administration saying and the president saying he is still not has come up with a final determination of exactly how the united states will respond. again the administration working with congress, working with the international commune, looking for as many people on board as possible, before any type of strike in syria. but again, from the president and he is is in a beating right now, with number of heads of state from the baltic nations, the president has not made a final decision on what exactly and how exactly to respond to bashar al-assad. back to you. ashley: rich, quickly, one thing that secretary kerry said was, we don't need to get the findings of those u.n. weapons inspectors who have been in syria. they are due to leave the country tomorrow, but secretariry kerry making it very clear we don't need that type of intelligence. we know for ourselves that these chemical weapons were used by

the assad regime. >> right. the administration laying out a very detailed report of its own showing the assad regime did use chemical weapons according to the report and according to the obama white house. the report we'll get from the united nations focuses only on if chemical weapons have been used. not assigning blame for who may have used them. so, kerry is saying basically, don't really pay attention what you get out of united nations. this is intelligence we're going with. the other problem with the united nations, russia blocking anything on the security council, a dynamic we've seen many times before in the history of the united nations. u.n. out of the fold here according to the u.s., trying to pick off some other allies around the globe and here in congress. tracy: you wonder if that was almost a speech, riff, to the rest of the world, right? to try to garner support for this. really someone has to pull the trigger, i should say someone has to make a decision on this. all the flip-flopping and reluctancy is actually making

whole thing worse. >> when you look at what secretary of state john kerry said, you're right, tracy, a message not only to the united states and people here but around the world. a very forceful case why the united states and the global community should react but almost laying out the cases in our national value set that the united states should be reacting and we do want others to join us and we do want the support of congress. still waiting to heaa exactly what kind of support congress will give, but on the flip side of this, congress is still waiting to hear exactly what the administration is going to do here. they want a detailed plan of action. all we're getting is limitedded tar guest and no boots on the ground. president has yet to make his decision. ashley: rich, this pitch to the international community is a hard sell. very surprised that the u.k. parliament said no to british prime minister david cameron? >> exactly the french seem to be

on board. the turks seem to be on board. british could have been on board but prime minister david cameron tried to take it to parliament first, really a political move in that country trying to appeal to domestic politics and parliament rebuffed him. cameron probably on board but government system they have in the u.k. not really allowing them to move forward on that so the united states it is pretty clear now will likely have to move forward without the brits, our strong et al. lie. ashley: looking a little isolated. rich, thank you, joining us now, phillip swagel, professor at university of maryland and former treasury department assistant secretary of economic policy. phil obviously we're talking about what the u.s. is going to do with syria. we have a very strongly worded statement from secretary of state john kerry. we're starting to get some headlines from the president as well. just to the point that we were just making with our reporter rich edson, the u.s. looking a little bit isolated here, would you agree? >> i do. we look a little isolated, a

little bit hesitant. i worry that that translates into people's confidence in the president's leadership and then into the economy ultimately. tracy: so then what happens from here? we have been, we're sitting on this we keep talking about reluctancy. we heard from the president, still no decision, no what, when, where, how, we know nothing. what happens now? >> you know we're waiting. they're waiting in syria. we're waiting here. tracy: right. >> remember congress is on recess. so d.c. is empty. when congress comes back next week, syria will be on top of the plate but syria are fiscal policy, right? we have the debt limit and government that will shut down at the end of sent, if there is not legislation. so there's a lot to done at economy let alone foreign policy. that's my concern. that the distraction, president's hesitancy on leadership issues will make it so it will be more difficult to deal with the key economic

issues. ashley: is it a difficult, sell, phil to this country that's very weary from a lot of these protracted wars with iraq and afghanistan? is there that fear we could start getting involved in something where we might have trouble getting out of? >> yeah. it's, i think everyone understand that the human cost and certainly the economic cost of what the past decade in iraq and afghanistan. it is just hard to contemplate going in there. one thing that is striking, the president hasn't enunciate ad rationale for what he is evidently doing. it is fascinating he is not putting himself on live tv. he said no cameras. he has to make the case. tracy: he does. philip, hang with us for a second. rich edson down in d.c. has reaction from boehner. go, rich. >> house speaker john boehner's spokesperson says if the president believes this information make as military response imperative it is his responsibility to explain to congress and the american people the objective, strategy and

legal basis for any potential action. we and the american people look forward to more answers from the white house. that is what we heard from boehner before. saying still not satisfied on the congressional level from the information, with the information that they're getting from the white house. phillip swagel pointing out the congressional calendar here. they have a lot to accomplish. they're not in town. they have eight days in session before government funding runs out on october 1st. there is a lot in congress, if they play a role here has to do on top of anything they have to consider with regards to syria. ashley: that's a good question, rich. phil, let's bring you back in. how much of a hard sell is this going to be too congress? >> that's is what is striking. so far he hasn't even tried to sell it at all, right? he you have to provide information and we know nothing. i don't even know what the goal is, other than maybe making the president not look as bad as he looked so far. that doesn't seem like the right goal for the united states of america.

tracy: you know, we're still waiting on ape from the president on comments from syria. we'll bring it to you as soon as we get i had. -- get it. ashley and i were talking about it earlier, we need money to take care of our own people. people are saying they don't have health care. people living in the streets in our own country, yet we're so quick to get out there and support the rest of the world? >> yeah. i have mean the u.s. is the world's greatest nation and the superpower, so there's a role for us in the world. i would like the president to explain it. and for to us know, as a people, what his objective is and what his strategy is for achieving that objective. if he can enunciate that, i think people will rally behind him. sounded like speaker boehner was very much open to hearing more. he just, the president hasn't made the case yet. ashley: that is what he needs to do. let's take a look at these markets. lauren, we're off session lows. the dow down 23 points which is

interesting considering all the volatility an uncertainty right now is it? >> there is lot of volatility in the market as seen by the vix index today. see in the nasdaq today, it is pretty bumpy, right? it is up and down. we're final 90 minutes of trading before the month of august, ahead of long holiday weekend which would kick off traditionally historically, a terrible month for september. we're waiting tape for the president. we're watching these markets move all over. look it is not out of the question. that stocks go back in the green today. that could happen. we're always seeing a radical move in the final hour of trading. ashley: laura, thank you very much. the vix is now up 17.3. it is up 3.5% on the day. definitely vix on the rise. tracy: rich down in d.c. phil made a really good.how the president needs to articulate a plan. this is something we say often

about our president, articulate, tell us what's happening. here we are again, waiting for that. >> right, i think two things congress is looking for here, are means, strategy, goals and that's really what has yet to be articulated. first off, you had the administration say this sort of need to be a punishments for the -- punishment for the use of chemical weapons but cripple as scede's ability to use chemical weapons against his own people. administration officials or intelligence officials have been telling fox news because this is taking so much time it is very likely the assad regime moved much of that capability away from where they think they might attack. on the other front, do you want to try to help the civil war in any sense? do you want to try to help rebel opposition in any sense? any tack that you make? this is something the administration is saying, look our goal is targeted towards the chemical weapons usage. however you had comments from state officials saying well as a

by-product, if then because of our attacks, in, in, punishing those using chemical weapons, we happen to help the rebels. so be it. so, that's yet also to be defined. strategy, what's the goal and what exactly are the means and targets. what kind of a commitment and what the costs are as well. you have to remember the cost-consciousness, the sequester all of this plays in when you talk about costs. we've been talking about government spending now for the last few years in congress at the white house. so all of these issues are kind of coming to a head and you're not really getting much detail from the white house. not publicly. lawmakers in congress are saying they're not getting it privately with the administration either. tracy: seeps to be an on going rich.

>> the administration pitching in particular, one is the united

nations. russia, a permanent member of the security council as it has been for decades, continues to be a challenge, allied with the assad regime. nato, there's problems with internal politics in germany, internal politics played out in great britain yesterday, france and turkey on board, some maybe members of the arab counsel also, apparently, on board, but, again, you don't know to what extent they are open to any type of attacks, so as this plays out, it appears the united states, again, is the primary drivers, largest military in the world, and what you heard from secretary kerry today and what you heard from president obama right there, there was a preference to get the international community involvedded, even last weekend, the administration was releasing all the calls the president had been making to european leaders and leaders around the world, many unsuccessful, and now you're seeing the administration saying we would have liked the united nations, more european countries, countries around the

world, but it is in our national fiber to act almost the case from john kerry. words, maybe not explicitly saying so, but as close as you can to saying, we, the united states, prepared to agent on our time line because it's in our national interest. >> good point, rich. stay there, phil, hang with us. joining us now by phone, research group, chief political strategist, greg, thank you for joining us. how heard john kerry's speech, getting some headlines from the president. what's your take on the message today from the administration to syria? >> caller: we're going to move, ashley. i think that it's likely. it's just a question of when and how vigorous the attack will be, but i think we've reached a point where there's no turning back. tracy: you were on the other day saying missile attacks were imminent, happening any moment. here we are, probably, i mean to your point, could be any day now. what happens, though? you can't just end with missile attacks, can it? >> caller: probably not. i think the longer we delay, the

longer a lot of problems arise. number one, president obama's political opponents both on the right and left will become emboldened, and number two, i don't think this is a real big surprise for assad. i think he knows it's coming. i think he's hidden a lot of the key weapons out of sight, so the longer we wait, the more difficult this becomes. ashley: what are the consequences, greg, the chances, i guess, a better question of this escalating. as you say, it's paying lip service. we appal what you did to your people, here's missiles to blow up strategic areas and perhaps areas, infrastructure used to transimportant chemical weapons, but bottom line is, what purpose does it serve? >> caller: the big story by far, ashley, is iran. if iran feels we have attacked their allies, syria, and inflicted damage, does this mean the iranians back out of talks later this year on nuclear, you

know, proliferation? the iranians decide that the u.s. is now not cooperating at all, i think the lack of talks on a nuclear settlement could provoke israelis. this could get wider based on what will happen in the next several days. tracy: greg, i was going to ask about israel. where are they on this? coming up on the holidays, too, what happens with israel now? >> caller: my sense is syria would not be so crazy to attack israel. assad threatened that, but if they did, israelis respond massively and lethally, and it would be, you know, a humiliating defeat for syria. we don't think the israelis are involvedded. again, the wild card is iran and russia. i think russia would condemn this and probably step up aid to syria. tracy: what about the response on the -- ashley: what about the response to the international community? the european parliament said no for now, some others are on

board, perhaps, but we look isolated. >> caller: we do, but the problem is obama boxed himself in. he's check mated himself with his own rhetoric about the red line. because of that rhetoric, we almost have to move. tracy: that's the problem, though. the rhetoric has been the issue here, isn't it? at some point, someone needs to make a decision on this. >> caller: we can't keep saying, as kerry said, how horrible this is, how appalling this is, and not do anything. in many respects, obama, ironically, has check mated himself. ashley: greg, we talked about this earlier about the u.n. weapons inspectors leaving syria tomorrow. does that open the door, if you like, for some sort of military strike, maybe this labor day weekend? >> caller: that's the catalyst. i think something's going to happen this weekend. for the financial markets, for all your viewers who are investors, it's difficult going home long tonight.

going into tuesday morning, the first day back, a conflict could be underway. tracy: thankfully, the market is holding on now, down 22, you expect a selloff between now and the end of the day, don't you? >> caller: the issue is the push back from hezbollah, russia, what israel does. i think what iran does -- the push back is the real story, and that's going to be a big dominant theme coming back to work tuesday. ashley: rich, have you had any sense, rumors, whispers around the nation's capitol that if we see action it happens this weekend? >> the timeline, today is a holiday in syria, and then the weekend is probably a time people in washington speculate about only because president obama is headed to the g20 and a european trip tuesday. the thought is, and this is what

we do in washington, try to read schedules, try to predict the future based on what people's schedules are and what past behavior has been, but the president is on a large, international trip. he will head to europe, and in russia for the g20 with the thought that if the united states were to engage in any type of military action, that it wouldn't come with the president outside of the country. he leaves tuesday night having people think at some point over the labor day weekend if he decides to do it. if it's over the labor day weekend, would he want the calculation to change in congress? they need more legislation, and they have to sign off or the leadership in congress have to sign off based on that information, or our international partners would have to sign off on any type of plan the administration has put together. the president still saying, as of just a few minutes ago, he still has not made the decision on what he plans on doing about this, and so until that point, you really can't begin moving forward.

tracy: that's the problem. to your point, rich, no one's around this weekend. i mean, you know, good luck trying to find someone to sign off on this. i think at this point, we go through next week. >> it could be, and remember -- ashley: rich, i have to interrupt you. we talked about it, let's get to the comments from the president with regards to syria. >> before i begin, i want to say a few words about the situation in syria. as we've seen, today, we released our unclassified assessment, detailing with high confidence that the syria regime carried out a chemical weapons attack that killed well over a thousand people, including hundreds of children. this follows the horrific images that shocked us all. this kind of attack is a challenge. we cannot accept a world where women and children and innocent civilians are gassed on a

terrible scale. this kind of attack threatens our national security interest by violating well established international norms against the use of chemical weapons by further threatening friends and allies of ours in the region like israel, turkey, and jordan, and it increases the risk that chemical weapons will be used in the future and fall into the hands of terrorists who might use them against us. i have said before and met what i said that the world has an obligation to make sure that we maintain the norm against the use of chemical weapons. they have not made a final decision about various actions that might be taken to enforce that, but as i already said, i have had my military and team

look at a wide range of options. we have consulted with allies. we've consulted with congress. we've been in conversations with all the interested parties, and in no event are we considering any kind of military action that would involve boots on the ground, that would involve a long term campaign, but we are looking at the possibility of a limited act that would help make sure that not only syria, but others around the world understand that the international community cares about maintaining this chemical weapons ban and norm, but, again, i repeat, we're not considering any open ended commitment. we're not considering any boots

on the ground approach. what we will do is consider options that meet the narrow concern around chemical weapons understanding that there's not going to be a solely military solution to the underlying conflict and tragedy that is taking place in syria, and i will continue to consult closely with congress in addition to the release of the unclassified documents. we are providing a classified briefing to congressional staff today, and we'll offer that same classified briefing to members of congress as well as our international partner, and i will continue to provide updates to the american people as we get more information. with that, i wa welcome presidents to the white house.

these countries that they represent all share very deep ties to the united states, both as allies and because of the extraordinary people, the people's relations that we have with these countries. i want to thank all the presidents who are here and their nations for all they do to promote democracy, not only in their own countries, but around the world. the baltics are among our most reliable allies in nato, and our commitment to their security is rock solid. our soldiers sacrifice together in afghanistan, and they support our troops as we transition to the nato mission. today, we're going to spend time talking about our shared commitments to the transatlantic trade and investment partnership negotiations that add jobs in the baltics and in the united states. we'll work on development assistance projects including building institutions and strengthening society including building democracy in eastern

europe and central asia. we'll, obviously, have discussions about our nato relationship and the security concerns that we share together, so, again, i had occasions to meet with all three presidents, you know, on a wide variety of settings, a wide variety of summits. they have been outstanding friends of the united states of america, and we are very proud of them, and i want to thank each of them for their leadership. we know how far estonia and lithuania came in the last two decades, and i know we'll accomplish more in the decades to come, so, with that, i want to give each of the leaders a chance to say a few words. we're going to start with. >> thank you. i'd actually like to begin by thanking president obama for inviting. >> jumping in here now as we hear from the leaders of the baltic nations who picked a heck of a day to visit the white house. president obama saying part of

the u.s. obligation is to ensure when the government uses weapons, action is taken, and he said that a lot of people in the world believe something should be done, but u nobody wants to do it. let's bring back greg, the chief political strategist of potomic research. greg, that seems to be a fair statement, do you agree? >> caller: everyone in the administration is haunted by iraq, weapons of mass direction that were not found, and so he wants to convince the public there's a compelling reason to move, but move very cautiously. i think a big theme of what he said is that whatever we do is not going to be massive. >> rich, i know you are hanging out with us, and, you know, the congress is not going to want to do this. how does the president convince them this is something they need to do? >> it's not quite ruled out, and boehner just wants more information, and to greg's point, this is an administration

incredibly focused on iraq, a president politically who ran against the type of intervention in iraq, and so he wants to make it clear what he's proposing is not that type of intervention. even secretary of state, john kerry, says information released today was done so with the experience of iraq in mind today, so when you look at where congress goes from here, no one has really ruled it out. i mean, you do have a number of lawmakers who are certainly have pause about going in, but they want more details from the administration, and they have not gotten them yet. >> bringing in phil who has been with us through this whole hour, pretty much, seems like, phil, what's your thoughts what the president has to say backing up secretary of state kerry's comments saying, look, we have to do something. we are trying to figure out what. >> yeah, i mean, it's just striking to me he has not said why we have to do it. it's horrible what happened in syria. it's just -- i'd like him to

connect it better to the interests of the united states; right? i mean, a hundred thousand people died in sere -- syria already. i wish we could have prevented that. why now another thousand? of course, chemical weapons are different, but i think he's going to make the case in more detail and what it means to the united states. look, he can do it. i agree that congress is open it it, he needs to do it, but it's not clear that he understands that that he has to make the case. tracy: leader boehner looking for that as well. sandra, what's oil doing? people are not filling, holding on, something's going to happen. >> well, oil is down, and it settled down, a dollar 15 on the session, and, tracy, you are not seeing that max exodus out of the market that, you know, arguably has been propped up by the syria fears, and the fears we are going to attack there, and we could see a significance

of wide disruption. the fact we are not seeing that especially heading into a long three-day weekend, does that sort of speak for the longs hanging on here in anticipation of something happening over the weekend or come monday, the beginning of next week. not a significant amount of selling, but still down on the session. brent crude, by the way, the european benchmark contracts, it settled down, a dollar-15, ended at 114 a barrel, but, tracy and ash ri, -- ashley, most calls whether it's stock gen, or barclays, they were saying we should be at about 115 in our wti contracts. if we do attack there, meaning, if we do have something happen over the weekend or beginning of next week, folks might be caught in the wrong way in the market, and you'll see a pile in to the upside for the longs in the oil market, so it's one of those markets today where we're just watching every single word from washington, and there's a lot of

volatility, a lot of anticipation that something is going to happen so, you know, it's on jitters right now. tracy: so right. thank you for sticking with us this hour. all of you, thank you for chiming in and adding great insight. coming up, "countdown to the closing bell," shares of krispyy kreme are down, and how the markets react in the last hour of trading. we'll be right back. ♪ to fly home for the big family reunion. you must be garth's father? hello. mother. mother! traveling is easy with the venture card because you can fly any airline anytime. two words. double miles! this guy can act. wanna play dodge rock? oh, you guys! and with double miles you can actuay use, you never miss the fun. beard growing contest and go! ♪

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>> in the face of a clear violation of international noise. you know, i recognize that all of us, here in the united states, great britain, and many parts of the world giving

afghanistan, there's a certain suspicion of any action post iraq, and i appreciate that. on the other hand, it's important for us to recognize that when over a thousand people are killed, including hundreds of innocent children through the use of a weapon that 98 or 99% of humanity says should not be used, even in war, and there is no action, then we're sending a signal that that international norm doesn't mean much. that is a danger to our national security. obviously, if and when we make a decision to respond, there are a whole host of considerations i have to take into account too