>> this is "the journal" from berlin. our top story -- barack obama says the u.s. should strike syria, but he wants approval from congress first. >> u.s. ppt barack obama says he will seek support from congress for a military strike against syria. in a nationally televised address on saturday the president said he does not need congressional approval for such action, but would ask for authorization nonetheless.

boehm left no doubt that he himself reached the decision that military action should be taken. here's what he had to say -- >> after careful deliberation, i have decided that the united states should take military action against syrian regime targets. this would not be an open-ended intervention. we would not put boots on the ground. instead our action would be designed to be limited in duration and scope. but i'm confident we can hold the assad regime accountable for their use of chemical weapons, deter this kind of behavior, and degrade their capacity to carry it out. our military has positioned assets in the region. the chairman of the joint chiefs has informed me that we are prepared to strike whenever we choose. moreover, the chairman has indicated to me that our capacity to execute this mission is not time-sensitive. it will be effective tomorrow

or next week or one month from now. nd i'm prepared to give that order. but having made my decision as commander in chief based on what i am convinced is our national security interests, i'm also mindful that i'm the president of the world's oldest constitutional democracy. i've long believed that our power is rooted not just in our military might, but in our example as a government of the people, by the people and for the people. and that's why i've made a second decision. i will seek authorization for the use of force from the american people's representatives in congress. for the last several days we've heard from members of congress who want their voices to be heard. i absolutely agree. so this morning i spoke with all four congressional leaders, and they've agreed to schedule a debate and then a vote as

soon as congress come back into session. in the coming days my administration stands ready to provide every member with the information they need to understand what happened in syria and why it has such profound implications for america's national security. and all of us should be accountable as we move forward, and that can only be accomplished with a vote. i'm confident in the case our government has made without waiting for u.n. inspectors. i'm comfortable going forward without the approval of a united nations security council that so far has been completely paralyzed and unwilling to hold assad accountable. as a consequence many people have advised against taking this decision to congress, and undoubtedly they were impacted by what we saw happen in the united kingdom this week when the parliament of our closest ally failed to pass a esolution with a similar goal,

even as the prime minister supported taking action. yet while i believe i have the authority to carry out this military action without specific congressional authorization, i know that the country will be stronger if we take this course and our actions will be even more effective. >> president obama there speaking just a short while ago. let's go now live to washington and our correspondent, max huffman. max,-on-made very clear that he wants to act, but he also wants congressional approval. how will he go about getting that, president obama? >> he's already started lobbying lawmakers. he started with his administration on thursday, last thursday through a briefing. there have been briefings since, there have been conferences. there are going to be more conferences and briefings on saturday. on sunday there will be the first classified briefing at congress for members of the house. all earlier briefings were by a

telephone. and now he's going to have the first classified briefing. now we know why obama and his administration were seeking -- were aggressively pursuing convincing members of congress, convincing lawmakers -- that was kind of puzzling why they suddenly started doing that. that's because the president will seek congressional approval. >> max, how likely is congress to give president obama the approval he's looking for? >> that's completely up in the air. as you know, congress is made up of two chambers, and especially in one of the chambers, which is the house, which is controlled by republicans. that's going to be very tough. there's precedent for this. because before the americans went to strike libya together with a coalition, the house brought a bill to the vote and actually refused to give authority to use force in libya to the president. it didn't make a difference back then, because a senate is

democraticcally controlled. but back then the president did not seek congressional approval. so this is a different situation, and we really don't know when this vote is going to come, because congress is scheduled to come back from recess on september 9. they might come back earlier, as the british did this week. but that's not a given. and even if they do, it takes some time to restart this congressional machinery. so all the plans, the timetable, many people in washington saw was in effect for early military strikes in syria, that's off the table for now. max, thanks for that. do stay with us now. we'll come back to you in a moment. but first, the united nations team investigating the use of chemical weapons in syria has now arrived in the netherlands. the inspectors and the samples they collected while in syria have been taken to the hague where the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons is based. any suggestions that suggest

results were imminent have been dashed. a new york spokesman in new york said the experts will first have to analyze all the evidence before presenting their report. >> before the mission can draw any conclusions on this incident, the laboratory process must be completed. and the secretarytary general has requested for the laboratory phase of the investigation to be expedited as much as feasible. and as he put it himself this orning, when speaking with ms. king, whatever can be done to speed up the process can be done but were not given a timeline. >> vat mere putin said he remains steadfastly opposed to military intervention. moscow has challenged to show that the alleged chemical attack was the work of the syrian regime. putin said it was illogical that the serian government would provoke the international community by losing chemical weapons. >> the syrian government forces

are advancing. in some regions they have circled the rebels. under these circumstances giving a winning card to those who called for a military intervention is utter nonsense. it does not fit any logic. especially on the day of the arrival of the u.n. inspectors. >> let's go back now to washington. max, we heard obama say earlier that he's prepared to act without u.n. security council's support. is there anything that any country, including russia, can say or do, that will dissuade him from taking military action? >> well, the russians could change their position in the security council. that would make a difference. but other than that the u.s. have changed their perspective from looking outwards to looking inwards. i can't really stress how unusual this move is by president barack obama. he is now looking for congressional approval, that's what he's looking for.

so he said he will go it with congressional approval. he has made up his mind to authorize force. now, the big question, of course, is what happens if congress says no. and i think it's safe to say or at least fair to say that obama would have a very hard time to authorize force after having said what he said on saturday if congress doesn't give its approval. >> now, we've heard that there's inspectors who were in syria. they say it's going to take about two weeks to get their report on the table. is obama expected to wait for that? and what if the report does not support obama's case for a strike? >> right. we have to remember what the mandate is of the u.n. inspectors. their mandate was not to figure out who used chemical weapons, but if chemical weapons were used. and all the indications we have, the evidence that has been presented so far by different organizations, including doctors without borders, really said, yes,

chemical weapons have probably been used. and since they're not going to say anything else than that, we don't expect that really making any difference. >> max, thanks for bringing us up to date. max huffman there in washington. so if and when the united states does launch a military strike against syria, what could that operation look like? the u.s. military has been building up its strike capabilities in the eastern mediterranean. here's an overview of possible targets and the hardware that could be used to hit them. >> operations against targets in syria could include nighttime air strikes similar to those launched against libya two years ago. while they came from several western and arab countries, it looks like only u.s. and french forces are preparing for possible attacks on syria. the united states navy has its six neither stationed in the mediterranean, an armada made up of numerous ships and planes. an active attack would probably involve the u.s.s. mahan, an

american destroyer armed with up to 90 tomahawk cruise missiles. they have a range of at least 1,300 kilometers, meaning the mahan could reach any target in syria. in addition long-range bombers can attack from the u.s. the nato air base in turkey is likely to play a key role, as is brynn's base in cypress. even though the u.k. parliament has rejected taking part in military action against syria. an air strike is likely to target syrian army bases, weapons stockpiles and military positions, especially around damascus. sites where chemical weapons are produced will most likely not be targeted. to attack them would put civilian lives in danger. syria's neighbors, surky and jordan, are unlikely to get involved in any direct action.

nevertheless, turkish troops could face retaliatory strikes perhaps in the form of rocket attacks. should syria attack positions in turkey for jordan, patriot missile defenses stationed in both countries could come into play. the german army operates patriot systems in turkey. that means german soldiers could come under fire, although berlin has so far declined to commit itself to any possible military intervention. >> well, moving on now. in a moment we'll bring you news from the soccer action. but first, these stories making news around the world -- pope francis has appointed the archbishop as the new secretary of state for the vatican. the post is regarded as the second most important role at the holy see after the pontiff himself. the 58-year-old takes over from a fellow italian, who was

heavily criticized over a scandal last year. violence erupted in sao paulo, as demonstrators turned out to protest against corruption and income inquality. they damaged bank offices and a tv station during the protest. demonstrations in other parts of brazil remained peaceful. protesters are demanding that the government do more to support the poor. and thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets here in berlin to protest controversial new russian laws banning what the kremlin calls pro-homosexual propaganda. the demonstrators demanded a boycott of the 2014 winter olympics which russia is hosting. they want the russian parliament to retract the legislation. sports news now. in german soccer, two teams managed to improve their early-season performance with much-needed wins today. s hmp anka appeared uplifted by

their mid-week success and new signings. they had two goals to stop their opponent from claiming the top of the table. hamburg trounced their opponents 4-0 for their first within of the season. the captain opened the scoring d the substitute picked up a late brace. brawn some wige remain winless. let's look at saturday's other results. hanover had a big win, 4-1. berlin got beat. and nuremberg had a defeat at home. hamburg thrashed their opponents. -- ack on tuesday

frankfurt will host their opponents on sunday. recapping our top story, u.s. president barack obama said syria should be punished for the suspected gas attacks last week, but says he'll seek congressional approval. you're watching "the journal." stay with us. >> we're in a field on the outskirts of berlin. it's time for the radish harvest. everything picked here is sold and eaten. that might sound obvious, but it's not. half the food produced in germany ends up in the trash. that's 750 truckloads a day and 11 million tons per year. many farmers discard unwanted produce at the picking stage. spoiled vegetables are not allowed to be sold and retailers don't want anything that doesn't look exactly the way the customers want it.

this farmer says such vegetables are labeled misfits. he shows us one that has split. it normally would never be sent to market because of its appearance, but the farmer will definitely make sure it's appreciated. it goes straight into our crate, because we're on a ission to save food. we want to find out how to stop so much food from ending up in the trash and meet some people ho are already doing it. people like this farmer, who runs a project called "food well." every week he packs crates of fruit and vegetables for his customers, including, of course, the misfits. the farmer and his workers call it solidarity agriculture and

they began this year with three acres of land. hyman has a group of ready customers who finance costs for produce, such as this lettuce. hyman says that in conventional farming the size of a potato is decided before it is even grown. that way consumers have no choice about whether the carrots are curved or a radish is split. his philosophy that is consumers should be able to have a say in what they eat and they can choose locally grown vegetables from him. this lettuce may be locally grown and fresh, but it's too small for a supermarket. hyman's customers don't mind, and they're prepared to pay 13 euros for their weekly crate of produce. it might not be cheaper than the aesthetically perfect vegetables on sale at the supermarkets, but it is healthy nd it tastes just as good.

the next stage is all about getting the food to the customers as freshly as ossible. the farmer says he adapts his harvest to the number of customers, so he only grows as much as he needs. in the summertime when he often ends up with more than necessary, the excess is immediately used in some way. so if he has too many zucchinis, he'll make zucchini chut knee, for example. but the bulk of his crops go straight to his customers. s we visited one of them in an indoor market in the berlin district here. this chef runs a canteen there with a focus on regional produce and sustainable methods. he has no problem with worm-damaged vegetables, for example.

he showed us a radish that would never normally be used, but he points out that most of it is already once the bad bits are cut away. he says no one will know the difference, except for the fact that no food is being wasted. the cooking and the philosophy behind it have caught on in a city where many people are very conscious of what they eat. misfight radishes are always welcome here. -- misfit radishes are always welcome here. but in an affluent country like germany, that's the exception ather than the rule. it's well known that smacts throw away a lot of perfectly edible food. but how much? we contacted several major chains, but all refused to comment. still some people are reacting to the waste. they're known as dumpster divers. we decided to meet one, and we were warmly greeted as fellow food savers. he's a 21-year-old students.

he agreed to take us on a dive through some dumpsters in earch of edible waste. he insists he's not doing it to save money. he wants to keep his ecological footprint as small as possible while drawing attention to the huge quantities of edible food that end up in supermarket dumpsters. after closing time we head into the backyard of a small supermarket. first stop, the fruit and vegetable bins. his principle is simple -- check everything and put the good stuff into a crate. he immediately finds some good veg. we're amazed. it's like a culinary treasure hunts and the darkness adds to the thrill. in fact, what we're doing is theft. the food is still the property of the supermarket.

benjamin will even take slightly damaged goods, such as a split tomato if it looks like it's still fresh. we tried to get as much as possible without attracting attention, but then we are suddenly approached. a passerby has come by to express her support for what we're doing. she says she also gets angry about how much food is thrown away here so casually. so we're not the only ones who are concerned about food waste. is dumpster diving becoming socially acceptable? at the moment it's restricted to political activists and the poor. we continue to pull out one piece of perfect veg after another. this cauliflower doesn't have a single mark on it. but it's not all plain sail. the first bins might have been ok, but other are less appetizing. a lot of the things we are now finding have passed their sell-by dates.

there's pre-cooked food, meat and pates. it's illegal to sell these products once they've expired. we don't really want to take any of this home with us, but then again, there's still plenty of good food here, such as some tasty-looking bananas. by the time we're done we found some rich pickings, and it's not just fruit and veg. we have cartons of yogurt and curd cheese that are due to expire soon, but he explains they can keep for another couple of weeks or months after the printed sell-by date. we take a few items for ourselves and leave the rest for benjamin. he'll take his share and post the rest on an internet site

called "food sharing." the system allows people with more food than they need to pass it on for free. we find a tasty-sounding food basket in berlin and set up a handover with the user, rafael f. a few hours later we meet up with the 29-year-old, a longtime food saver. he tells us he can feed his family for free using the food-sharing system. in fact, he says he has too much at the moment, so he's giving it away before it goes bad. it sounds good to us. 2/3 of the food thrown away in germany comes from private ouseholds. rafael takes us to see a new project that the food sharers have started with local organic

supermarkets. many shoppers here are quite picky about appearances and tend to reject produce that is slightly bruised or spotty. but instead of throwing away the rejects, the supermarket saves them up for the food sharers. that saves money on garbage collection and is good p.r., too. this shop assistant says it feels good to pass on rejects knowing that someone will be pleased about it and maybe make a nice salad. and it doesn't end up in the trash. but with rafael and other food avers. rafael and his friends come here several times a week, and they often collect more than they can distribute. he says that if he posted everything on food sharing then he would be spending four or five hours a day handing it all out. few people have time for that.

so the crates are often simply handed over to those in real need or to family and friends. it's a good way of getting good food to people who can't go shopping themselves for whatever reason. but in the end rafael and his friends aren't necessarily doing this for social reasons. they want to draw attention to the culture of waste and to set an example with their actions. rafael points out that food waste is a problem that affects us all. and not just supermarkets, farms and restaurants. so we should all question our own behavior. he says food waste is a mainstream issue and everyone

should pull together to bring it down from its current 50% level. so far some 20,000 people have registered with the food-sharing fund alone and we can imagine joining them because we found out how to ave food, too. we've harvested misfit vegetables in a field, pulled some tasty tidbits out of a dumpster, and saved other food from going bad via food sharing. mission accomplished. not only did we rescue all that food from the trash, but we also saved a good 20 euros and have enough food for several proper meals. there's a big feel-good factor in this but it's still pretty shocking. was all this good food really being thrown away? while we can't see ourselves as

regular dumpster divers, we are determined to throw away as little as possible in the future. so now it's time to put this food where it really belongs -- in our stomachs.