have a great weekend. see you on "the five." ♪ ♪ this crime against conscience, this crime against humanity. this crime against the fundamental principles of the international community, my friends it matters here if nothing is done. >> uma: fleet awading word from president obama. if america launches an attack. we will largely go it alon, as the international community stands mostly silent. the white house says intel shows with high confidence bashar assad, a man they call a thug and murder gassed his own people including hundreds of children. hello, i'm uma pemmaraju. america's news headquarters live from the nation's capital

starts right now. ♪ ♪ >> uma: we begin with live coverage in latest development of the syrian crisis. a team of military experts and analysts, including colonel oliver north on how the mission may unfold. house foreign affairs member, iliana ross layton will join us for more on the debate whether the president needs the okay from congress before he moves ahead with the military strike. live reports on what is happening on the ground on syria from connor powell, molly henneberg. we have coverage and breaking news with conor powell. >> reporter: the u.n. inspectors left syria today wrapping up a four-day trip. they are investigating claims of a chemical whens attack there. they arrived a few hours ago. this removes a major obstacle

for a u.s. military strike in syria now that they are gone. the pentagon no longer has to worry about the safety in syria. now begins the process of analyzing all of the data and the evidence they collected in syria. things like hair and soil samples. the u.n. says it could take two or three weeks before they produce any type of report. however, it looks like the white house isn't in any, isn't going to wait for the u.n. report. secretary of state john kerry said the use of chemical whens by syria is "clear and convincing." kerry claiming the attack killed at least 1,42ed 9429 syrs and including 426 children. >> we know where the rockets were launched from and at what time and where they landed and when. we know rockets came only from the routine controlled areas. and went only to opposition control or contested

neighborhood. >> uma: as confident as secretary of state was, he didn't lay out intelligence to back up the claim. in syria, there are clear signs they expect a strike any minute. syrian tv began airing special war programming today showing the patriotic music videos and the syrian troops in the field. some reports are suggesting part of an effort to raise morale. not only among the military, but also among population there in syria. in israel, jordan, turkey, a high expectation there is a retaliatory attack if the u.s. does strike in syria. there are preparations things like the gas masks handed out in israel. there is a lot of fear and tension about what just may unfold in the next few days and hours but as the sun sets here, there is expectation of a strike in syria and the region result. >> thank you for the update.

>> uma: they are setting the stage for releasing the declassified intelligence. the president says it's our obligation to act. molly henneberg has more. >> reporter: president obama trying to convince skeptical congress and skeptical public that the u.s. should intervene in syria. defense secretary chuck hagel and the chairman of the joint chiefs dempsey arrived at the white house. they will hold the conference call to brief republicans and democrats separately. a lot of people in the international community want something done in view of the attack in syria but nobody wants to do it. >> the world has an obligation to make sure we pain tain the tomorrow against the use of chemicals weapons. i have not made a final decision.

about the various actions that might be taken, but i have military and our team look at wide range of options. we consulted with allies and congress. we have been in conversation with the interested parties. >> but the white house has not said that the president would wait for a vote by congress before he makes a decision, even if it includes military strike. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are concerned that the u.s. may not be prepared to get involved in a larger conflict. west virginia senator joe manchin put out a statement saying, "i'm deeply concerned by the use of chemical weapons in syria against innocent people. but after a decade of war in the middle east there needs to be compelling evidence that there is an imminent threat to

security of the american people or the allies before any military action is taken. i do not believe that this situation meets that threshol threshold." both house speaker john boehner and harry reed would have to call congress back to session early. so far it's not looking like they will do so. >> uma: molly, thank you. with still no word on president obama's course of action in syria, international support is waning. the biggest ally great britain is sitting this out so it means the u.s. would go it alone or almost alone. a senior fellow at the stanford university and expert on the middle east. he is joining with us the insight. >> uma: many people have concerns about the overall mission here. even though john kerry spelled out the evidence they believe is there to back up the claims that assad used the chemical whens against his own people, do you think he has made a convincing argument for the unilateral against syria?

>> this what been secretary kerry's finest hour. he has known to have good feelings for bashar assad. he called him in 2009 and 2010 and he has been forceful. this is a big issue. this is a crime of war. we have to do something. but the commander in chief is reluctant warrior and coalition around him, if there is such a thing, fallen apart. >> uma: what is your reaction to vladimir putin is rejecting claims of the syria weapons act as utter nonsense, though kerry says 1400 people died. >> vladimir putin is a thug. thugs line up with other thu thugs. we looks to syria as client state. assad as his man in the world. we have shouldn't worry about

what putin says. we could have done it earlier without worrying about the russians or the security council again. this is the worst time to do the war. this isn't going to be such a happy expedition. the president has telegraphed the assad regime he is not coming after him. this is not about the regime change, but this is a punis punishment. if we do this for one or two days and we leave, we haved nothing. >> uma: does it have any impact? >> it has no impact. if they walk out to the wreckage, if he goes to a crater and stands there, the day after the bombing and says we are still here, we would fight americans. this effort will have been in vain. i said destroy the regime or hold your fire.

president obama signaled that he doesn't really believe in his open war. who is president obama's closest ally in the region? the prime minister of turkey. prime minister erdogan of turkey says he wants a real war and a real campaign to topple the assad regime and he doesn't believe in the program that president obama has in mind. the arabs are nervous because they suspect president obama is not in to this. if you are going to be a war leader you need conviction. >> uma: do you believe white house not getting britain on board there will be unintended consequences for the u.s. because of this? >> this is a devastating blow to the effort. not a statement on britain, itself, on the end of the warrior epic in britain. because of tony blair but a comment on the obama

administration. president obama is not trusted worldwide. not in britain or the middle east. people didn't want to march under the banner of the commander in chief. >> uma: a tough situation we find ourselves in at this moment. great to see you with the insight. thank you for joining us today. >> thank you. president obama said any strike will be limited in scope and won't put boots on the ground. but there are those who say we waited too long to have effective impact in sir yeah. joining us now is oliver north. welcome. >> great to be with you. >> this is a great way for the weak presidents to feel good about themselves when you look in mirror. when you look for those who will back you up afterwards, there are none.

this is not a strategy. this is punishing because he shot from the lip and said there is a red line. he crossed the line in the stand. this is the third i vent we know of that chemical weapons have been used. worse yet, the message in tehran where the war is being run islamic revolutionary guard core is heart and soul of assad's regime. this is the way they mastered this campaign. it's why they are succeeding. erdogan in turkey is not supporting the united states. he wants a radical islamic state. that is why all the aid going to the syrian rebel movement is going through the muslim brotherhood support of entheties. it's coming from the saudi arabia in emirates. the propaganda will show assad

holding a dead child saying this is what the americans have done. we oar still here. he has to beef up at every embassy in the middle east, sub sahara and africa. 9/11 is nine days away. it will always be an anniversary for terrorists. he forgot that last year and didn't want us to remember. that's why benghazi went down. no preparation. keep israel as the closest friends. israelis will be targeted by the iranians. syria is unable to reply to airstrikes three times. this is the thing that irain yaps will send hezbollah and the israeli interests around the world. third, he ought to go and make an immediate effort with the congress. not so much to get approval for this bombing. which i think he has decided to do. but what he ought to be doing is a covert action finding. that tells our risk averse and

inept intelligence agencies go hire 1,000 military contractors. recruit, train, field from the refugees 2.3 million of them. freedom fighter force. >> uma: that's what i want to ask you. there are those who say if you don't at least do that, you plan to give the people on the ground arms, whens to help them in the struggle. oh about that we are saying how many missiles might be use and the target, that we don't want a regime change here. how can assad take us seriously? >> i stopped by the pentagon on the way here this morning and chatted with old friends. there is not a single u.s. military officer i spoke to in the last two days that thinks this is a good idea. there is apparently none of them with the guts to stand up and say so publicly. i'm not talking about lieutenant colonel or lance corporate. i'm talk about people with four stars on the shoulders. ought to be standing up to tell the president in the

white house situation room today this is not a good idea. here is why. hagel should back them up. >> uma: you think this is having credibility after being boxed in a corner? >> he put himself in corner, went off script and created the problem for himself. having done that a year ago. at the least he should have started to line up, okay. if he does it again, what are we going to do? he didn't do that. he played golf and cards. this is a totally failed foreign policy. of the president of the united states that is going to increase the jeopardy to the united states of america. from evening i have seen, this is going to happen tomorrow night. limited duration. no effect.

even though at president clinton firing to baghdad or afghanistan. barack obama ought to read this book. >> uma: true. >> this is about a president who forgets an anniversary called 9/11. forgot it once and better not again. >> uma: always great to see you. the stake remain high. breaking news, we are hearing that president obama will hold a briefing at 1:15 eastern time on syria to bring us the latest information and statement to this point. we have take it live when it happens. approval before launches a military strike. before we go to that, we would like to hear from you on the concerns about the crisis. tweet us your answers. we will read them throughout the show.

half past the hour we talk to a congressman about concerns for military intervention. this afternoon, white house are planning to brief senators about option of the u.s. attack on syria. the president will hold a briefing at 1:15. are they enough? what some members of congress say the president needs to do before making the decision. they are pulling out the stop for the president healthcare law. wait until you hear the big name asking them to help sell obamacare to america. republican congressman ron sanchez is refusing to opt out of obamacare. congress can opt out if he wants to. we ask him why he is not taking it next. stay with us. [ male announcer ] running out of steam? ♪ now you can give yourself a kick in the rear! v8 v-fusion plus energy. natural energy from green tea plus fruits and veggies.

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>> welcome back. president obama will deliver a briefing on syria in less than an hour from now, 1:15 eastern time. we'll bring it to you when it happens live. many at home wonder if the u.s. will strike sir yeah. some are raising questions about how much it will cost us. in a july 2013 letter to the senate armed services committee. giant chiefs staff dempsey

outlined number. should u.s. engage? tomahawk weapons would be the choice, but $1 million a piece. then training the rebels. if it got to the point of putting a no-fly zone in place, costs could be pushed to a billion dollars a month. joining us now with more on the syrian crisis, ron sanchez. welcome, sir. great to have you here. we were going to talk about healthcare but now that the news is breaking around us, we want to focus our sights on what is at play now. i understand you were part of the briefing that were given to members of congress yesterday. from the white house. can you tell us how much you actually learn in the brie briefing? >> i think what we learned or they affirmed was what they think assad did in terms of using gas.

they said, i think correctly, that that is a serious issue. that deserves international attention. what they didn't really tell us is how the proposed action that they are contemplating would further the interest in either dealing with assad or with wmd. so i think that remains unanswered. they stress it's a limited engiambiment. but lobbying a few cruise missiles there. if that is what they do, i'm not sure it helps set a precedent. it sends a signal of weakest in. that the president had a red line, assad crossed the red line. we lobbed a few missiles, that is what we're going to do, that may embolden the regimes like iran and korea. they need to figure out better what the strategy is and how it could achieve american national security objective. >> uma: are you of the mind congress needs to approve

military action or force before the white house acts on this? >> i think we should debate it in congress and vote on it. there are instances where the president as the commander-in-chief can act. this is an instance where we don't have an imminent threat against our country. this would be more of humanitarian intervention. we have strategic interest, of course, in the region. the problem is that the people fighting assad by and large are anti-american as well. so it's not as if tipping the scale in favor of the so-called rebels would be something that is necessarily in our interest. so, given all the dynamics we need to have an open debate about it in congress. both the house and the senate. i certainly would be be prepared to come back. you know right now if we did that. but certainly when we get back next week, i think we should debate it. >> speaking of that, obviously, we heard knows of the british parliament coming back from the vacation to discuss the matter and to vote.

why haven't we seen members of the u.s. congress come back early from vacation to debate the serious issue? >> i think part of it is i think the administration does not want a congressional debate because the result could be what happened in britain. you could lose the vote. if that happened, i think they would view it as an embarrassment. it would be embarrassment for them. this particularly, this issue with syria given the dynamics on the ground. given the different allegiances of the rebel groups. we really need to make sure that we are doing the right thing and not sticking our head in to a hornet's nest. as soon as we get involved, if we get involved more than just a few cruise missiles, you know, we then become the main protagonist in this. one thing that all the groups can agree on, they don't like the united states. i just think we need to see the result of any intervention. >> does it concern you at all that vladimir putin is offing up comments saying that the

evidence that so far has been presented in his words is "utter nonsense?" and he is putting that out there just as we get set perhaps to launch a military strike against syria? >> well, that is to be expected. assad is being backed by putin and iran. there is no question about it. so in that sense it's clearly a regime that is toppled to the united states. but je to look on the other side of the coin, jug because you have assad aligned with the adversaries, doesn't mean folks who don't like assad in syria will be friends of the united states. of course, that is what i would expect from putin? i think he wants assad to prevail. he wants to be able to maintain influence in that part of the world. >> uma: do you, there are those who are speaking out -- we have people on the program earlier speaking out of the concern about broadcasting early on about what the plans are to the assad regime. by stating right off the bat

that this is not about the regime change. this is punishment for chemical whens announcing the target might hit. how is this productive? >> that is so frustrated. never tell your enmy what you won't do. he says we take the action we want. you don't want to telegraph the target you look at hitting. guess what he is doing? he is moving the key assets. he is deploying human shields. so if we do lob a cruise missile over there the picture is going to be of americans destroying civilian infrastructure, or collateral damage. that is the image put up throughout the arab world. e's disconcerting that it was done like that. you should never give up the element of surprise and telegraph that the way it was

done. leaks to the "new york times" in particular was mindboggling. >> uma: indeed. congressman, thank you for joining us. you are standing by for further information. we're all waiting what the president has to say at 1:15 eastern time. thank you for joining us today. we have appreciate it. >> anytime. >> uma: as we have been saying any moment now we'll be briefed by the united nations about what inspectors found in syria. when that happens we will bring it to you live. as soon as it begins? plus, should president obama have to consult congress as we have been asking for any attack on syria? we're going to ask member of the house foreign affairs committee. congressman ileana ros-lehtinen after the break. stay with us. okay, listen up! i'm re-workin' the menu. mayo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of great-tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and 9 grams of protein. [ bottle ] ensure®.

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>> uma: welcome back, everybody. a fox news alert. we're awaiting a briefing from

the united nations on whether or not inspectors believe chemical whens are used in syria, as it comes hours after the inspectors left syria. as i understand it, the briefing is underway now. let's listen in. >> activity pertaining to the 21st of august incident in the area. she thanked the syrian government and the opposition for their cooperation during this mission. the mission will be in a position to transmit its conclusions the to the secretary general, as soon as it has received the result of the laboratory example of the samples. the secretary-general looks forward to receiving the mission's finding as soon as possible so he can promptly present the results to the member states and to the security council. the secretary general expressed his sincere appreciation to dr. salstrom and the team, including the security personnel and the interpreters for the exceptionable bravery and exceptionalism. he praised the world health

organization for the extraordinary cooperation. finally he thanked miss king herself for her effective coordination between the mission and government of syria, despite the extraordinary and difficult circumstances. the secretary general spoke briefly with dr. salstrom after the chemical weapons team arrived in the netherlands. this was simply to say thank you to the team. the secretary general will be briefed in more detail by the secretary tomorrow. that is being done by telephone. you will not be hearing personally. that is what i have for you tomorrow. to update you on one other aspect. the team in the netherlands will be spending the da dayco

lathindaycolatingthe samples. i have am happy to take questions. please use the microphone. >> thank you for briefing us. thank you. >> yesterday, the secretary of state john kerry has said clearly there is nothing that the inspectors can tell them they don't know already. the manner does not include finding who used the chemical weapon. only if it was used or not. the administration has concluded that the chemical weapons have been used. my question is why doesn't the united nations and the secretary-general step up to the plate and expand the

mandate of the inspectors to include finding out who is the culprit that used chemical whens? because when i asked the question to the secretary general he said he would give the evidence to the community and they will decide. we know the division in the security council would lead everybody to incriminate the other side. no nearer to finding out who used this. we need an independent, fair, impartial, detached body like the u.n. to determine who are the culprit who used the chemical weapon. >> that is a long question. thank you for your vote of confidence in the united nations. that is the point here. let me say clearly and forcefully the united nations' mission is uniquely capable of

establishing in an impartial and credible manner the use of chemical whens from evidence collected on the ground. with regard to the other part of your question, the mandate is the mandate. the team and the secretary-general will abide by the mandate to be expectation of the international community come one an impartial and credible manner the evidence collected from the ground and then analyzed. those findings will be made as i just said a while ago, available to member states. as soon as that analysis is completed. >> i understand this is the mandate. but my question is why doesn't the united nations secretary-general take a great step of stepping to the plate and expanding the mandate? expanding the mandate to

determine who did this? we know there is capability -- >> you seem to misunderstand where the mandate is derived from. the secretary-general mechanism as defined -- you can read details online. derives from a general assembly resolution that was subsequently endorsed by the security council resolution. therefore i think you can see whether difficulties might arrive changing the mandate. the mandate is robust and provides for the united nations to be able to provide impartial and credible manner, a picture of what happened. let's be also very clear that the secretary general and the team have stepped up to the plate already. let's not forget that these are scientists, and technical and medical experts who braved

sniper fire to interview survivors. that is a definition of stepping up to the plate. >> martin, of course, we haven't learned yet who shot the team when they were a -- >> frankly, it doesn't matter who is shooting. when you are under sniper fire going to do a job, it doesn't matter who is shooting. we don't care who is shooting. it's outrageous they were shot at. what is your question? >> what happened to the investigation of the original or the first reported one and this is where evening was initiated and based on? -- where everything was initiated and based on? >> i'm glad you asked it. i said yesterday and i'm happy to repeat it again, the team has been given a clear undertaking to the syrian authorities that it will return, the team will return to conduct investigation in to

assad. the team left syria this morning so they could take the sample safely to the laboratory where they will be analyzed. and, of course, beyond the samples, there is a both of evidence. it needs to be colated and translate and analyzed. so they have work to do. but they have an undertaking that they will be returning to complete the investigation in the pending allegations. all of them. >> follow up on that, given that the time lapses and given that the opposition has controlled cannot for some time now shouldn't they have suffered -- would you expect they tampered with the evidence? >> this is an argument that is being put forward with regard to houta and the team has been able to collect sal

approximatelies, medical and environmental samples neighborhood are satisfied they have material to analyze. there are many other ways to help to investigate the pending allegations. as we said before, the work has begun to analyze and collect information it was possible to collect information on the spot. i'm going to someone else. please, yes. you. >> secretary-general tried to convince the united states not to strike soon before the report of the inspectors coming out. >> what the secretary-general said is the team needs time to do the job and time to analyze information and samples it's collected.

there is no a terptive to the political solution -- alternative to the political solution to the crisis in syria. of military solution is not an option. yes? >> speaking of that time, is there a time frame given, earliest or a latest date, any time frame given for the results to be analyzed in the laboratory? >> we are not giving a timeline simply to say, and i can help you here that the mission left syria and arrived in the netherlands today. in the hague. begin evaluation of the available material and information regarding the incident and the analysis to the designated laboratories

and all the samples. but before they draw conclusions the laboratory process must be completed. the secretary-general requested for the laboratory phase of the investigation to be expedited as much as feasible. a he put it this morning, speaking with miss cane, whatever can be done to speed up the process is being done. we are not given a timeline. panel? >> you mentioned yesterday that the secretary general in the p-5 meeting which includes the united states and france underscored, i think was your word, the importance of the charter, which of course prohibits use of the military force. is the secretary-general reaching out to the u.s. and france who have indicated the possibility of a military strike to encourage restraint or discourage a strike? what are you doing for the 1,000 u.n. staff in syria to

protect them? >> i'm glad you asked the last question. i'll deal with it first. i have seen reporting to suggest departure of the chemical when team opens a window for the military action of some kind. that is grotesque and a front to the more than 1,000 staff, u.n. staff who are on the ground in syria. delivering humanitarian aid and who will continue to deliver critical aid. of course, it would be only prudent to look at the composition of the team, the 1,000-plus, to see who is most critical to the work that is being done. but i can assure you that humanitarian work that has been going on in extremely difficult circumstances working with the syrian arab

cescent and others to provide aid to millions of displaced people. not to mention those in the neighboring countries who are refugees. that work will continue. >> all right. thank you. >> on the first part, i would simply just say what i said yesterday. which is the secretary general underscored the importance of the charter. >> has he made any separate -- does he have separate conversations? >> i will stick with what i said. yes? >> thank you. >> i got it. >> helpful colleagues. >> yes, very. can you give some examples of which u.n. humanitarian bodies have a lot of staff in syria? secondly, i'm getting -- you said the secretary-general was being briefed tomorrow by the team. >> no, by dr. salstrom.

>> is he briefing somebody else after that? >> meaning what? >> like you, like me. >> we will certainly endeavor to provide a read-out of that briefing. with regard to the first part of your question on which humanitarian agencies under -- humanitarian agencies under the u.n. umbrella, unicef, and others and i will endeavor to provide a more detailed list. obviously, we're not going to get in to staff numbers and so on, of each individual agency. but simply say critical staff who provide critical assistance will continue to do so. >> are they international or local or both? >> they are u.n. staff. yes? >> thank you. just you said repeatedly there is no timeline for the repor reports. this is regarding the chemical analysis and everything what

is going on. what about the interviews? do you have any idea when the interviews are going to be translated and available? or it's going to go altogether in the report? >> the latter. of course, everything needs to be compiled in to a report. as we said yesterday, there will be this report, on the 21st of august incident. it hinges on the analysis of the samples. and the evidence, the witness statements that were collected. yes, they need to be translated. yes, they need to be compiled. but all of that is being put together and will be put together in that report on the 21st of august incident. in that one report. >> secretary-general after this report will be submitted to him, and he has seen, do

you expect from the information of the whereabouts of the origin of the chemical weapons, more clarity will be put in who did that? does he show that the curiosity when he talks to mr. salstrom, et cetera? >> the aim of the game here, the mandate is very clear. that is to ascertain whether the chemical whens wer -- chemil weapons were used and not by whom. that is the mandate. to the back of the room. yes, to the back of the room. what are you watching on the t this time? >> nothing. there is nothing going on yet. 1:15 probably. can you tell sus the president obama, will meet in person with the secretary-general after he gets more details tomorrow from dr. saltrom? the other part, will he be meeting with the security council on monday or tuesday after they establish the new

precedent of the security known will they meet with him in person? >> i don't know whether there will be a meeting of the full security council. that i do not yet know. i can tell you that the secretary-general has been in touch both with the outdoing president of the council, in other words the representative of argentina and with the incoming permanent representative of australia. that is what i have at the moment. with regard to the first part of your question, i do not anticipate any meeting as you just described.nt out that the secretary-general is going to be attending the g-20 summit in st. petersburg. we announced that yesterday. of course, that provides a good venue for meeting all kind of world leaders but at this point we don't know exactly, precisely which leaders he will be meeting with. marcella? >> thank you.

can you tell us if the secretary-general has spoken to president obama today? what did he say to you? >> i cannot. he has not. >> can you tell us what is the secretary-general position on whether a military strike would be legal, legitimate or helpful? >> i will say what i said earlier, secretary-general underscored the importance of the u.n. charter. okay. yes, please. >> yes, i am wondering about the report that came out today from the veteran a.p. reporter in the middle east who interviewed in of the rebels. and has said that the rebels had been behind the chemical attack. i'm wondering as far as the mandate goes, expanding it to who is responsible. he claimed that the rebels told him that -- >> i answered that question. i answered that question with respect. maggie? >> martin, our eagle-eyed cameramen in the lobby didn't see this or miss cain come in

at so after 12:00. of did they meet at the u.n. or sneak in through the garage or meet at his residence? how long was the meeting? >> i will simply say they met and met for just over an an hou. but not in the garage, no. >> not in my apartment either. >> my question is, during the meeti meeting, described her view on the attack by the united states front, the focus was on the mission that just has been completed in syria and the work that needs to now be undertaken to analyze all of the material, the evidence, that's been collected during what was, obviously, extremely arduous undertaking for the technical scientific experts and for the support team around them.

including miss cain but including interpreters, drivers, translators, security posts. this is -- if you look at it, if you look at the time frame, this was done in an extraordinarily swift fashion. extremely professional with -- limited number of hours to be able to get what they needed and they believe they have got samples this they can work with and that's what they intend to do now. >> yes. >> i knew the focus of today's meeting. but are there any reference from the -- miss cain political outcome? >> i would stick with what i said. >> once before the inspectors will come out and -- describes if it will happen, what will be the mate of the mission of the inspectors whether they will go back again to syria? >> i'm not going to -- speculate on hypothetical questions at this point. i would simply repeat that --

the -- we have given an undertaking, team has given an undertaking, to the syrian authorities that it will return to complete its investigation of all pending allegations that remains the case. i have time for two more questions. yes. >> thank you. russian president putin said that he asked americans to wait for the outcome of this u.n. investigation and also he asked if the americans has any other evidence to bring it to the u.s. what's your reaction to that? >> i don't have any specific reaction at this point to the president putin's remarks. i obviously have seen them. we have seen them. i would -- simply say, again, that -- this team had a mandated

job to do and is continuing with that job now, what they immediate to do is to analyze the samples and they need to then work on all of the other material evidence they have collected soy that they can come up with their findings as soon as it is feasible. as i just said, the secretary general said whatever can be done is being done to accelerate that process. last question. yes. >> have you had a chance to talk to him and understand whether it is -- >> i think my colleague has addressed that already. i would simply reiterate that the chemical weapons team has just left syria with the information and evidence and samples that it needs now to

analyze before coming up with its findings and intends to do that as soon as possible. thank you very much. have a good afternoon. >> okay. that was the united nations briefing there in new york city. over the latest report following the fact that the u.n. weapons inspectors have arrived back in the netherlands and are also going do be meeting with some of the u.n. officials there to talk about the information that they have gathered. again, mandate states clearly that the inspectors are not supposed to decide who is to blame for chemical attacks but just to decide whether or not chemical attacks had actually taken place. we are bring something the congressman that has been watching the events as they unfold. i know that -- you have some very big concerns about what lies ahead. let's talk a moment about your reaction to what you just heard from the united nations. >> i don't think that this press

conference helps a president obama and secretary cakerry bit. they are going to do a chemical analysis of the samples they gathered and make no conclusions yet. just suppose that -- with what the president has said, with what vice president biden has said, with what secretary of state kerry has said, they have said al assad has used chemical weapons. no doubt about it. secretary kerry's statement was a day ago, we know this and we know this and we know this. you have a spokesman for the united nations team saying we don't know anything yet. we need to analyze it. number two, they made it very clear with this press conference that they are not going to assign blame while the obama administration clearly said that assad has used these chemical weapons. the u.n. team says that's not our mandate. we are not going to assign

blame. this press conference, i think, was a hit against the obama administration. that was not the intent of it. but it really lessens the argument for quick action and definitive action that was the obama administration objective has been. >> congressman, thank you so much for joining us. really do appreciate it. with all the breaking news happening. we have to move on and we are going to remind our viewers that the president is going to be holding a briefing at the white house. 1:15 p.m. eastern time. when that happens, we will bring that to you live. we are going to continue to follow this developing story and bring you the latest developments on the syrian crisis as it unfolds throughout the day and this weekend. thank you so much for joining us. the boys used double miles from their capital one venture card 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?

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this is a fox news alert. we are waiting for rare saturday remarks from president obama at the rose garden. scheduled to begin at 1:15. you take a look at the rose garden will. a fleet of navy destroyers positioned off the coast of syria awaiting word from president obama if america launch essay tack, it will largely go it alone as the international community stands mostly silent. all show some allies are stepping in to support the u.s. the white house says intelligence shows with, quote, high confidence, al assad the president of syria, mandate called a thug and murderer, gassed his own