Skip to main content

tv   Hannity  FOX News  April 13, 2018 6:00pm-7:00pm PDT

6:00 pm
president of the united states from washington, d.c. you heard bret baier say the vice president is traveling in peru and he was pulled back to his hotel. we'll find out very soon. good night from washington. >> sean: welcome to hannity. this is a fox news alert. we are waiting for a statement from president trump. 90 seconds from now, we confirmed that the president approved military strikes in syria tonight. this comes after the suspected chemical attack that killed 40 men, women and children. joining us from washington is bret baier bear. the president is expected any minute. brett: that decision was made with national security team and that u.s. military strikes will go forward in syria. what they look like we don't
6:01 pm
know. the navy destroyer is in the eastern med. we believe that that destroyer will be part of the action tonight. it is armed with tomahawk cruise missiles. we saw 59 cruise missiles striking syria a year ago. and this decision has been made, sean and we are told that the president has made the announcement, and the vice-president rushed out of a dinner in limba, peru and he is waiting word from the president of the united states. >> sean: i will put up on the screen. you can see the heart wrenching images was men, women and children, like when president trump struck a year ago and you look at the images and it literally takes your breath away
6:02 pm
that it has happened again. again, here is the president. >> my fellow americans. a short time ago, i ordered the united states armed forces to launch precision strikes on targets associated with the chemical weapons capabilities of syrian dictator bashar a l- assad. a combined operation with the armed forces of france and the united kingdom is now under way. we thank them both. tonight, i want to speak with you about why we have taken this action. one year ago, assad launched a savage chemical weapons a talk against his own innocent people. the united states responded with 58 missile strikes that destroyed 20 percent of the
6:03 pm
syrian air force. last saturday, the assad regime again deployed chemical weapons to slaughter innocent civilians this time in the town ofdoma, near the syrian capital of damascus. this massacre was a significant escalation in a pattern of chemical weapon's use by that very terrible regime. the evil and the despicable attack left mother and fathers, infants and children thrashing in pain and gasping for air. these are not the actions of a man. they are crimes of a monster instead. following the horrors of world war i a century ago, civilized nations joined together to ban chemical warfare. chemical weapons are uniquely dangerous, not only because they
6:04 pm
inflict gruesome suffering, but even small amounts can unleash widespread devastation. the purpose of our actions tonight is to establish a strong deterrent against the production, spread and use of chemical weapons. establishing this deterrent is a vital national security of the united states. combined american, british and french response to these atrocities will integrate military, economic and diplomatic. we are prepared to sustain this response until the syrian regime stops its use of prohibited chemical agents. i also have a message tonight for the two governments most responsible for supporting,
6:05 pm
equipping the criminal assad regime. to iran and to russia, i ask. what kind of nation wants to be associated with a mass murder of innocent men, women and children? the nations of the world can be judged by the friends they keep. no nation can succeed in the long run by promoting rogue states, brutal tyrants and murderous dictators. in 2013, president putin and his government promised the world that they would guarantee the elimination of syria's chemical weapons. assad's recent attack and today's response are the direct result of russia's failure to keep that promise. russia, must decide if it will continue down the dark path or
6:06 pm
if will join with civilized nations for a force of stability and peace. hopefully some day we'll get along with russia and maybe even iran, but maybe not. i will say this. the united states has a lot to offer. with the greatest and most powerful economy in the history of the world. in siria, the united states with but a small force, being used to eliminate what is left of the isis, is doing what is necessary to protect the american people. over the last year, nearly 100 percent of the territory, once controlled by the so- called isis caliphate in syria and iraq has been liberated and eliminated. the united states has rebuilt our friendships across the
6:07 pm
middle east. we have asked our partners to take greater responsibility for securing their home region and including and contributing large amounts of money for the resources, equipment and all. anti- isis effort. increased engagement from our friends including saudi arabia, the united arab emirates and qatar can assure that iran does not profit from the eradication in isis. america does not seek an indefinite presence in syria. as other nations step up the contributions, we look forward to the day when we can bring our warriors home and great warriors they are. looking around our very troubled world, americans have no
6:08 pm
illusions. we can't purge the world of evil or act everywhere there is tir ranee. no amount of american blood or treasure can produce lasting peace and security in the middle east. it's a troubled place. we will try to make it better. but it is a troubled place. the united states will be a partner and a friend, but the fate of the region lies in the hands of its own people. in the last century, we looked in the darkest places of the human soul. we saw the anguish that can be unleashed and the evil that can take hold. by the end of world war i, more than 1 million people had been killed or injured by chemical weapons. we never want to see that
6:09 pm
ghastly specter return. so today, the nations of britain, france and the united states of america, have marshalled their rightous power against barbarrism and but trality. i ask all americans to say a noble prayer for our warrior and allies as they carry out their missions. we pray that god will bring comfort to those suffering in syria. and we pray that god will guide the whole region to a future of dignity and peace. and we pray that god will continue to watch over and bless the united states of america. thank you, and good night. thank you. >> sean: all right, that was the president tonight announcing he has approved u.s. military strikes in syria against the assad regime in light of the chemical weapons attack against
6:10 pm
men, women and children. the president had a strong direct message to russia and iran and notifying the u.s. and american people that it was great britain and france. from the white house tonight john roberts is standing by, john? >> reporter: we have not verified, there was a huge blasts are heard in syria's capital of damascus. and if that is it a case, it would be a very different attack from the april of last year when the united states hit targets in an air field from which the chemical weapon's attack was launched with 58 cruise missiles. this sounds like it is going after the government targets in the heart of the city there. the president has been deliberating all week about what to do and hearing from his advisors grander plan and smaller plan and what the
6:11 pm
response will be. the president has chosen something to send a message to the assad regime saying we have your number here and you better stop what you are doing or you will lose everything. the problem is, you can't take away everything from assad because of a power vacum. and you can't afford that. the president has to act tactically and strategically to give him a smack up side the head and make sure he doesn't send it crumbling in to the abyss. the president had a strong message with russia and iran saying you should not stand with the murderous dictator anymore. the president described the person as a monspher and they are not an action of a man, but these are a action of a monspher. and clearly the message to putin, if you want to be friends
6:12 pm
with united states, you have to end the friendship with assad. in the early going here, reports from agents in france that there are large explosions in damascus tonight. it is something designed to hit close to home for bashar al- assad. >> sean:ro roberts standing by. bret baier is joining us. and directly to russia and the regime of iran, what nation would want to be associated with. and the president ending remarks about the coalition that is formed with great britain and france and against syria and saying it si a fight against barbarrism. brett: he talked about assad and crimes of monfer and directly talking to russia and iran about what kind of nation
6:13 pm
wants to be associated with a mass murderer. and the links with france and great britain. and the president speaking to prime minister may. and now the coalition launching what we believe is tomahawk missiles. we are told that the pentagon will have a briefing at 10:00 p.m. eastern time. we expect that will show us specifically what strikes, that the president called targeted strikes associated with syria's chemical weapon's program. last time the missiles dealt with the ability of syria to get a specific air field where they struck last year and the chemical weapon's attacks had come from. it sounds like if it is it near damascus could be bigger as far as the number of targets hit. we expect to get that at the top
6:14 pm
of the hour and the president reiterated that he does not want a long- term presence in syria, he wants to get the military when they can. but there was not a time line, sean, in this message tonight. and it is clear he is sending a signal directly after the april 4th chemical attacks. >> sean: it was interesting he talked about the weapons with great emotion when he talked about the crimes used by monster and after world war i, and just how they unleashed widespread devastation and how he said tonight, we must stop the production and use of all of these chemical weapons. brett: remember that russia had pledged as part of the deal with the obama administration to get the chemical weapons out of syria. that clearly did not happen. and when they have been used, we
6:15 pm
are told by several officials that there are dozens and dozens chlorine bombs and chemical weapons attack of time and the u.n. has been tracking this and the u.s. believing that they have evidence that they are going to lay out specifically, much of it classified how they get it, that syria's military and air forces behind it. sthaun sean thank you, bret baier, we'll check in with you in the evening. jennifer, the president said precision target and associated with chemical weapons capability of the syrian dictator assad and a combined operation of forces of great britain and france. and it sounds like they know where the locations are militarily and they are looking at the syria military? >> reporter: that's right. they will look at syria military and chemical weapon's
6:16 pm
capability. i am told from a senior military official who has briefed the president in the past, a year ago when he first saw the image of chemical weapons attack and children and women writhing in pain and not able to breathe in the nerve agents or chlorine that was used at the time. and the president was emotional when he saw the initial videos. you heard in his voice this time around the same time of emotion as he laid out calmly his case why the u.s., britain and france had to response to this chemical attack. we have reported about the u.s. assets that are in the region. the uss donald cook, expect them to be in play. they have 75 tomahawk missiles on board that destroyer and joined by the french. they had 12 cruise missionils on board and the surface to air
6:17 pm
missiles to protect the ships. remember in recent days, sean, a russian admiral said that russia would strike back at any u.s. war ship that and named the donald cook by name if they struck syria. and we have reported that there are two u.s. warships in the red sea south of israel that are in play tonight. the uss monterey and uss montra boon. we have with held names at request of the pentagon. but they are in position. we don't know if any aircraft are involved in these strikes. the explosions reported on twitter and downtown damascus suggest that the u.s. and allies will be exacting a price from president bashar assad himself. and if you look at the strike
6:18 pm
a year ago when 59 tomahawk and air strikes, they targeted university one base where the chemical weapon's attack occurred a year ago. that only took out 20 percent of president bashar assad aircraft x. within 24 hours, his air force was flying again. and in order to provide a deterrent, this will be a stronger signal and we'll know more when the pentagon breves us on the targets. >> sean: the russia blocking u.n. condemnation and accusing the uk of using chemical weapons and russia pulled out all of their vessels from the area and we talked about and mentioned sabre was from moscow and not
6:19 pm
putin himself. >> reporter: we heard from senior russian officials whether it is labroov. he made the threat. and so very, very top officials that speak for putin were issuing those threats to at this time u.s., but again, the u.s. military has forced protection in place and so they did not take those threats seriously. and any threats to shoot down the tomahawks or incoming cruise missile. the russians have the air defense system and can fire off missiles from inside syria, but the sheer number of tomahawks and the u.s. and allies have in position and cruise missiles, they would easily overwhelm that air system. >> sean: the president obviously concerned about the spread of the chemical weapons and if the
6:20 pm
united states doesn't act here. they are especially worrisome because they are easy to produce and devastation is it beyond comprehension as we showed videos earlier. and mike tobin is in jerusalem. >> reporter: we are getting through the wire reports of loud explosions in the city of damascus. that is it from third party information as well. associated press is talking about bright flashes in the city of damascus and smoke over the city. smoke over the eastern part of the city there. we are hearing information that chemical weapon's facilities are targeted. it would be difficult on the ground to find out what is targeted and facilities that are hit. it is quite possibly they are extrap poalating what the president said. we learned that the israeli
6:21 pm
intelligence service shared information with the u.s. in terms of targets and in terms of helping them pick target and identify targets. the israelis don't want part of this particular fight given all. complexities of the people on the ground in syria and what a tinderbox that will cause out here. the latest information is it reports of loud explosions in the city of damascus and more specifically over the eastern part of the city and there is a lost smoke there. >> sean: mike, joining us in reaction to at this time news. sebastian goshov and former lieutenant and officer tony schafer. doctor, i begin with you. sometimes the countries act and it is it the right thing to do. the world sees horrific images
6:22 pm
of innocent people. the ongoing civil war here that is going on. and the president is sending a clear message. the evil attack that led mothers fathers and infant and children gasping for air. they are not actions of a man but of a monster. the challenge to russia and iran directly, your reaction? >> the president is not an interventionist and i know the left doesn't believe this. he is a very, very compassionate man. whether he's meeting with victims from parkland or looking at the footage of that chemical weapon's attack in syria. we are not interested in a large foot print. that's not what the president believes in. but he believes in for evil to triumph, all you need is for good men to do nothing. we are standing up for the
6:23 pm
moralitude of the nation. we can't fix everything. there are evil around the world and we can't solve all of them. but when we have a capacity to respond to a monster like assad who is responsible for a civil war that has caused the deaths in seven years of half million people. if we have a capacity to respond we are duty- bound to do so. he sent a very clear message to russia and iran, you have to draw your own internal redlines now. and you have to decide if you are prepared to pay a further price for sponsoring a regime as evil as bashar alassad. sfshgs and then he held out the advantages of being friends to the united states. economic and as high often does.
6:24 pm
the words of the president following the horrors of world war i, a century ago. civilized nations joined together to ban chemical warfare and they are uniquely dangerous not only because of gruesome suffering, but small amounts can unleash widespread devastation and the purpose of the action to establish a strong deterrent and use of chemical weapon and he went on about how they are specific precision strikes. it is not a long-term protracted conflict, it is it to stop the specific use of chemical weapons as we saw the images this week. >> yes, sean, absolutely. the president was right on the money in talking about the devastation that chemical weapons can cause and you know, it is part of our national security strategy. there are two underlying principles. one to stop the proliferation of
6:25 pm
weapons of mass destruction and including chemical and biological and nuclear weapons and the rule of law. the president is simply implementing our national security strategy and i don't remember in recent history or ever in historian administration that is so good at synchronizing the elements of power when the president mentioned diplomatic and military and economic. and i would add in there information. his tweets and the way that his administration shapes information and targets. heap laid out in one of his tweets an economic olive branch to russia to try to pull them away. and he has a tweet that sends the russian navy in to the mediterranean. that is powerful and that is an element of national power and diplomatically, we submitted a u.n. resolution and russia
6:26 pm
vetoed it as they did 12 other times in regard to protecting syria and the murderous regime. and so when you think about diplomacy and military and economic. this administration has it right on isis and north korea and getting it right here in my opinion. what we have tonight is brave souls out there flying air cover and cruise missiles going in and i would better money they are targeting the air defense systems that are russian spent and shoot down the u.s. airplanes and we can do battle damage assessment when the sun comes up and then there will be another wave. we are coming in with cruise missiles. but it would not surprise me if we have b- two bombers and others types of aircraft ready to attack targets in syria. >> sean: i would to go back to
6:27 pm
the doctor gorka. these are presipgz strikes a coalition. willing including france and great britain. what kind of nation wants to be associated. a direct appeal to russia and teheran tonight. what nation wants to be associated with mass murder of men, women and children. and nations can be judged by the friends they keep. and no nation can succeed with promoting murdering rogue despot dictators. remember it was obama drew the redline in the sand and john kerry said 100 percent of the weapons are gone. they're not. >> they are not. and it was russia that was supposed to guarantee the withdraw all of that weapons. the obama administration believed them. and the briggadersaid it
6:28 pm
correctly. it is not just horrible picture and emotional response. this is illegal by all standards of humanity and international law. you can go to war and defend your nation's international interest but you can't use chemical weapons and they are used against women and children. and what does it say to all of the fox viewers who may be worried. one question for you. what does it say about america if we do nothing after such an event? where a monster uses these types of weapons against children? america must respond. and it is going to be very precise, surgical and tomahawk capability and also symbolic targets that send a clear message to assad. we have saved western
6:29 pm
civilization already many times in the 20th century. whether it is it nazis and facist or winning the cold war or isis and taking down the caliphate. once again the united states is duty bound to respond to the horrors. >> sean:. the world has seen the devastation of chemical weapons. world war one. and you can see how easy it is to make the weapons and the president, john roberts in the white house, he clearly, john, put out the olive branch, saying that listen, hopefully we'll get along with russia and iran. maybe not. i say this, we have a lot to offer meaning the united states. >> when it comes to to iran in particular, sean, maybe not. but in terms of russia, the
6:30 pm
united states had fine relations with russia reagan and gorbachev got along and there was close relations between clinton and yeltsin. and certainly it is not beyond the realm of possibility. but the president was correctly articulating in the tweet when he said relations between the united states are low and surpass those of the cold war. there is no question that the united states, that the united states and russia are not seeing eye to eye here. but as he did with north korea and speaking to the parliament in south korea, the national assembly there, the president said look, the united states has a lot to offer. if you want to partner we'll be happy to do it but we have to work together to reign in people like assad.
6:31 pm
and the president saying what happened last weekend in duma, were not the action of a man but a crime of a monster. when you look at huge explosions heard over the eastern part of the damascus. this is a much different attack in terms of the targeting than it was a year and a few days ago when we fired 58 tomahawk cruise missiles. and that air field was 58 missiles and all aimed at the same place. we don't know how many were fired. we'll hear from the pentagon soon. they are aimed at sensitive target and designed to send a message ta bastharal- assad. we have your number and you better stop what you are doing. and the president is mulling over this decision for five days. he went out on a limb, early on
6:32 pm
last weekend saying the banned chemical weapons had been used. but it seemed in the last few days, the president was correct about his assessment and saying that france has proof that chemical weapons were used. and the president confident enough tonight he launched a massive attack against syria and some very, very sensitive targets right there in damascus. you know, just watching twitter here. the french press is talking about explosion and ap- talking about explosion. and one a rabic ic channel said syria claimed to shot down tomahawk missiles and things are happening quickly and no question that something that i would say on the scope much massive is happening right now in syria. >> sean: thank you. and we'll get back to you.
6:33 pm
jennifer griffin in the pentagon. the president said they rebuilt relationships with the countries in the middle east, jennifer it is it an important fact that we missed out of fear of iranian jimemmy, and obviously the russianrs. and what was unthought of. that is a corks alition with israel and jordan, and saudi and emirates and unprecedented cooperation and a new alliance emerging? >> it is interesting that coalesced around the fight with isis. u.s. has large air base in qatar and uae. and the air base in turkey. we just learned from u.s. defense officials that b- 1bombers were used in the strike and that is the first we heard
6:34 pm
that the air force was involve would. b1bombers typically fly out of the qatar and they are stealth and coming in to the damascus suburbs if you will. we are hearing explosions in holmes and it is not clear dpaktly what the targets are and the targets in the capital are designed to send a clear message to bashar assad. this was a different menu of options that the military presented to the president. it was a broader menu of options. last time they were trying to deter bashar assad with 59 tomahawk and 58 strikes on the one air base. he obviously did not get the message. and it is it a bit of irony that we have been reporting it was one year to the day that he
6:35 pm
carried out a chemical strike on his own people. it of the like he. daring the u.s. to do something. he believed that russians in air bases and iranian forces on the ground, he thought that the u.s. would not strike. you heard mike pompeo next secretary of state said the u.s. kill would hundreds of russians on the ground when they challenged a u.s. base in the easter part of the country. it is clear that the u.s., french and british were not going to stand by and allow the chemical weapons to be used. we'll get a bomb damage assessment and probably take first light before the pentagon to see what they hit. it was notable that the president said that this would be a sustained effort of military, economic and
6:36 pm
diplomatic effort. a sustained effort to stop bashar assad from using chemical weapons again. does that mean it goes on in the coming days in it is notable that the french president reached out to the russia president today, offering that olive branch saying that they want to find a diplomatic situation to the civil war in syria. in the recent days, we have noted as more time went on, the syrian air force was moved to protection apt the russian air base and the syrians are trying to protect key assets in the last few days after it was telegraphed that a strike was coming. >> sean: we'll see the first images of the british air force taking off from cypress bases. and a coalition of the great britain and uk and france and the united states tonight. and as you look at the comments
6:37 pm
that the president said, one thing you have to acknowledge. not many people are talking about a coalition. willing and france and great britain publicly condemned what happened here. bullpen the president's foreign policy, it is temperate and clear and resolute and purposeful and measured. talking about north korea and kim jong-un talking about the denuclearization. korean peninsula in the case of the concessions china made in relation to trade and tariffs and intellectual property rights and of course, a direct message to russia and iran and now syria obviously the world is watching all of this as it unfolds here and the president said we can't purge the world of evil acts everywhere because there is tyranny and no amount of
6:38 pm
american blood can secure peace in the middle east. we'll try to make it better. but it is a troubled place. there will be presipgz air strikes with the coalition. and now joining us live from washington is it chief washington d.c. ed henry is with us. you have new news? >> reporter: we in the last moment got a at the same time from president maconin france talking about the coalition. i will not read the long statement. the facts and the responsibility of the syrian regime are beyond doubt. the red line set by france in may 2017 has been crossed. and so that's from the president machron tonight talking about the alliance between key allies and you have all kinds of
6:39 pm
congressional reaction pouring in. most of it supportive of the president's military action tonight. senator warren hatch, a senior republican saying. the response, deliberated with international partners and carried out with backing and participation reflects the president's commitment to restoring america's leadership in bringing assad and his backers to justice. there are some republicans and democrats saying they did not believe that president trump should have moved yard without authourization. that coming from the congressman from kenen and and congresswoman lee from california. what the trump white house will say, there is not a pacific authorization for this military action, they will harken back
6:40 pm
for the use of force post9/11 by congress on the global war on terror. that was not only used by the bush administration, but the obama administration and now used by the trump administration as well. you will hear those voices of dissent. we should note that as well. we haven't heard from chuck schumer or nancy pelosi yet. but most senior republicans are supportive of the president and supportive that he put the coalition together, sean. >> sean: i also had a private conversation with senator lindsay graham who was encouraging to the president to go ahead and follow-up on this action. and here is lieutenant oliver north. the president making clear what this is about. this is a precision strike to send a message and deterrent to stop the use of chemical weapons and use the president a own words here, when he talked
6:41 pm
frankly passionately about all of this. it is bar ba richl and brutality. >> i laid out last night the target list. i haven't talked to anybody in the administration, i said if there is going to be a attack to deter the use of chemical weapons by the syrians it had to be more than a one off like last april. and it clearly looks like it will hit economic target and take out command and control in damascus. and first stakeout, and surface to air missiles which the russians put in. and further to the comment that ed just made. when ronald reagan 32 years ago did the same thing to gaddafi, strikes out of great britain and off navy carriers.
6:42 pm
he didn't go to congress and he just did it. and then i hope this is what the president does tomorrow and if necessary continues to strike at target and make sure that assad regime cannot do it again. going after the sea ports and all of those runway and command and control. i tell you, if russians persist in this effort to deny use the intelligence asset and so called drones and satellites. if that is what they want and interfere with our intelligence surveillance and recognizance. >> sean: stand by. the prime minister of great britain theresa may released
6:43 pm
a statement. this evening, i authorized britain armed forces to conduct strikes to deter syrian's use of chemical weapons. we are acting together with american and french ally and went on about the chemical weapons attack that kill would 70 people including young children in circumstances of pure horror. and the attack should surprise no one. mike has new information in the israeli bureau tonight. >> reporter: we are hearing from arab tv, the first wave latested 15 minute and they are reporting that at least two structures were hit downtown damascus and one much them identified as a scientific research center and as you git into the potential of propaganda. you have to be skeptical with the scientific research center. watch that and see how that develops.
6:44 pm
they are talking about chemical targeting facilities that can produce or support chemical weapons. in am skeptical with that bit of information and that is a identification of the target hit. and also goes along with what we are hearing that the coalition is directed at the chemical arsenal. and more specific they will be limited to the capabilities. syrian regime for the production of chemical weapon. this is it the reporting we are getting out of damascus now. couple of targets that are identified. skeptical on the identification. it could be a dual purpose or a fabricated name. >> sean: mike, in israel tonight. you can see the british jets taking off from cypress earlier before the strikes. we are getting reports of loud explosion and the skies around
6:45 pm
syria and damascus lit up tonight. we have fox news contractor sarah carter. we have other news. doctor gorcaand, general, statements from great britain and the france and the president. it looks like everybody is on the same page. deterrent and to send a message and also the president, it sends a larger message tonight to vladimar putin and russia. on one hand an olive branch and who would want to be friends with people who treat women and children this way. same message to iran. >> i think the president's comment was concise and he talked strategically and trying to separate russia and iran from this issue so we can focus operationally and tactically to
6:46 pm
destroy the surface to air missiles and get out with ouriet and bombers the precise locations where the chemical weapon's depos are. and you hear degrade and defeat. those are doctorinal ternals. >> sean: general, if i may interrupt. we are hearing in addition to the u.s. warships, we know the b1bombers took part of the strikes and chatter that the airport is destroyed in damascus. i got a report from some friend of mine in the region. that is too early to say 100 percent. but this is it a well coordinated tactical strike. and the interesting thing it was not a lot of the chatter, general that we would have an alliance in the strike tonight. >> that's what took extra days.
6:47 pm
pulling the allyiance together. you have air space coordination issues and seccors to each country and deconflict air space and altitude and target and making sure you do it right. you have to destroy air defense weaponry that russia put in there althroughout syria and damascus and get at command and control and so they couldn't communicate a response. and then you unleash the bone and b-two bomber and f35 and get in there and attack and you unleak the fresh and british brave fighter pilots and anybody else involved in this thing and allow them to attack and do what they do best. and that's what is happening right now. that is it carefully coordinated plan that is worked out over the last several dayless.
6:48 pm
people who are impatient it took a few days together. and rapidly put together for execution. >> sean: remember the lead up to the iraq war. and you can't give that much lead time. we'll go back to doctor gorkan i mentioned to jennifer griffin. there was a new configuration in the world that was unimaginable a short time. this is a moment in history where we may look back and see that iran has literally brought together the israelis, and jordan, saudi and emirate and i am sure by time it is all said and done and an amazing new coalition and all of the prosfekts for peace aligning against iran and with the help
6:49 pm
of soviet union. >> it is not just iran that created the coalition. we have a new commander in chief as of january 20th of last year. a global reset of the placed and not a cheap plastic button. the president sent a message. america is back and the world is dangerous without american leadership. and he went in to the heart of the muslim world. he went to riya d and gave a speech to say we are back and we are not going to allow the evil things that went on for 16 years to persist. up are very, very correct. think about the fact, that the crown prince of saudi arabia is comparing last week, the regime of the mullas in iran to that of adopt hitler's third reich. and countries like saudi arabia are now closer to israel than
6:50 pm
they have been since israel was created after world war ii. there are high hopes for the fact that evil doers like assad can be dealt in the way we never have seen before, sean. >> there is it other breaking news tonight. inspector general in the first of many reports. the initial report of fires of andrew mccabe that has happened and a stunning admission by james comey, he doesn't know if the dossier, we know that grassly grand memo had actually was the bulk of information that was used to obtain the fisa warrant application in the renewal applications. he doesn't know whether or not was presented to the fisa court judges is it true by law. fisa law is supposed to be
6:51 pm
verified and it is supposed to be. it is supposed to be vetted in every way. and so in the days to come, this is it obviously going to be a big issue. sarah carter is standing by. sarah, what do you have on that>> reporter: a scathing report by general horowitz was telling and not only verifies why the office of professional responsibility, sean, fired mccabe and it was not a move by president trump each if he wanted him fired. it was a move by the fbi. a detailed interview with comey and mccabe and the reasons he lied. he lied directly to the fbi director. he lied to the inspecter general and investigator and lied under oath and tried to throw two of his own fbi executives under the bus and tried to blame them for leaking and reprimanded them in
6:52 pm
a phone call even though he authorized the leak and now with comey, the same kind of issues are coming up. >> sean: we look at these image and we'll have a lot to say about james comb ep and the dossier and the fisa court. those images on the right side of the screen showing the horrors of the chemical weapon's attack. hang on, sara we have new breaking information. jennifer griffin is at the pentagon. >> reporter: those images taking off from the british air base. they are british tornado fighter jet and taking off as we speak and that is what we are getting from the base. and the b- one bombers. they are super sonic bombers that fly from a base in qatar. they were involved in the air strike tonight over syria.
6:53 pm
and they likely would have been escorted by f2 fighter jets. the b1is not stealth and so they would have had to be escorted. f-22 would be the most likely escort in case they were challenged by syria or russia aircraft. they are interesting. they can fire stand off missiles from up to 600 miles away. they are combaun as jasum missiles. they are lethal and janes the tomahawk missiles fired from the navy uss donald cook that is in the eastern mediterranean. those tomahawks can fly up to 1500 mimes and tomahawk at the rate of 550 miles per hour and radar evading and low and it is it like if you were to look up
6:54 pm
seeing a flying telephone going past. tomahawks are now join happen by b1bombers from the u.s. air force, sean. >> sean: the power and might of the military is inspiring. mike has more information on jerusalem breaking now, mike? >> reporter: got a lot of information that the syrian air defense did engage as the strike was beginning. specifically we have from syrian state tv respects or claim that they shot down 13 tomahawk missiles and we have heard from people on the ground and through arab tv that the first wave was rather brief. but the development that we have now and a claim through syria state tv that 13 tomahawk missiles were shut down and syrian air defense endpajed. >> sean: what about the cap anlt that you know of.
6:55 pm
go ahead. >> and they have the capability to take them out of the air. and if so. was that syria doing that or remember there was a threat from moscow to take it out of the air. >> i can't hazard a guess about cooperation about russia and in terms of activating the air defense. their stuff looks antiquated and certainly compared to the modern resources at the united states military had. and so it can guess that it is a stretch and precision to intercept a tomahawk missile and all i can give you is the report from state tv. claim of interception of 13 tomahawk. >> sean: we remind our viewers tonight, this is underway as we speak here, but john kerry said 100 percent of the weapons are gone as did russia.
6:56 pm
assurances came from often. we check about john roberts. what is going on there, tonight. >> reporter: we were told by the white house official that the president made the decision on whether to use military force against syria a while ago. and that probably would have been toward the beginning of this week. the question was not if we are going to take military action but what sort of military action we would take. the president met with the national security team several times over the course of the last few days and listen to the plan and options and varying dedprees of response and the president picked the one and he thought would be the most effective and that's what we are seeing going on tonight. it was not a matter of the president delivering over whether we should or shouldn't. and i asked him if it is inevitable. they will meet about it and we'll see. it looked like the president
6:57 pm
already made up his mind it was a matter of hearing from the pentagon and the targets that are effective and the order went down to put everything in to place. i have to say that the white house did a pretty good job of playing the cards close to its vest and there was a lot of theater going on all day today and into tonight with head picks and when the pool got called. even when the pool got called in the diplomatic room. we were told that the president and first lady were going to trump international holtz for dinner and we got the idea that was not what was happening. and you know, in the clear light of day tomorrow, we'll find out what the damage assessment was here. we'll not be expected to hear from the white house until tomorrow morning and we'll see what they have to say. and we'll hear from briefers in the pentagon about the target and assets that are used.
6:58 pm
>> was it deliberate or well thought ought? they didn't show their hand and that was a major campaign promise of the president and in the meantime. great britain and france said they, too, had their own redline in the sand and the coalition was put together without fanfare. >> it was and interesting to see the degree of forcefulness with which french president and the uk prime minister theresa may came out here. her statement saying that there is it no alternative to the use of force to deter and degrade the chemical weapons by the syrian regime. you can see them getting ready for the briefing. this is not intervening in the civil war or regime change. they were not trying to cut out the head of the assad regime. she said it was a limited and targeted strike that does not
6:59 pm
further escalate tensions in the region and tries to prevent civilian casulties. limited and targeted strike. two key words to look at here, sean, as we watch what is unfolding with the jets taking off from cypress and getting the initial bomb assessment. it is just about day break in syria. the sun will break through there in an hour's time. slaun sean john roberts at the white house. the president if you just joined us ordered air strikes in the wake of the chemical weapon's attack against men, women and children. it was a coalition of the willing including the french and brits. the president going through the heart wrenching videos that the world saw of men, women and children and infants and victims of the vicious and horrible and terrible weapons. we wish our military forces much
7:00 pm
success. they are in our prayer and thoughts. we are waiting on a pentagon press briefing and stay with the fox news channel for continuing and live news coverage and the pentagon will have the press coverage in mere moments. thanks for being with us. >>we're awaiting a news conference at the pentagon where we're told that military officials will lay out the specifics of these strikes. let's bring in fox news national security correspondent, who's standing at the pentagon. general madison is just stepping up. we'll go do that live. >>