this is not fantasy land. this is not some sort of conjecture. bashar al assad has used chemical weapons at least 11 times or so. >> not a single member of congress has rebutted the tem intelligence as i've consulted with them. what are the consequences for him having done this, and what does the world read from how we react to it. >> right now, on msnbc, full court press. administration officials flood the zone here and overseas to make their case for military action against syria. we're live at the white house. assad speaks. syria's president sits down with an american journalist for a rare interview. what he's saying about claims of

chemical weapons. and does he think the united states will actually strike. a live report from the middle east ahead. also, congress gets back to work tomorrow. i'll ask one congressman why he is still on the fence. i'll ask a senator who backs a strike. why now? good sunday afternoon. i'm craig melvin. we start in washington where the white house is working hard to convince congress and the american public, white house chief of staff, the white house chief of staff, denis mcdone now, and charlie rose. a defiant syrian president denied garsing his people and also dared the obama administration to prove their allegations. >> the most important thing is, he basically says there has been no evidence that i used chemical weapons in -- against my own

people, and that there is no evidence of that. and if in fact the administration has evidence, then they should show that evidence. >> nbc's peter alexander is at the white house for us. pete, what has been the white house's reaction to that assad interview? >> craig, shortly after we learned the details of that interview with bashar al assad, we did get a statement from the white house here, bernadette mayhan, a spokesperson telling me the following. it doesn't surprise us that someone who would kill thousands of his own people including hundreds of children with poisoned gas would also lie about it. the white house has heard these denials many times before. and frankly, they haven't been swayed. they feel confidently based on a variety of pieces of intelligence, including those videos, 13 of which were played for senate intelligence committee, that it was sarin gas that was used. it belonged to the assad regime, that killed so many people, more than 1,400 people.

many of them children in the 12 suburbs of damascus on august 21st. >> what's the president, and the vice president as well, what are they doing today in order to garner support for that plan to wage air strikes on syria? >> reporter: well, they have been doing a lot and will continue to do that, i think in the next week that could be described as the most significant, the biggest congressional push since the first year of president obama's first term, during the health care battle. the president, of course, is doing those network interviews. he will be doing six of them tomorrow, they will air tomorrow night on the eaves of his remarks, that will take place tuesday evening at 9:00 p.m. eastern time, primetime. the president has been making calls over the course of this weekend. the vice president, joe biden, who hosted bipartisan lawmakers to the situation room even for a classified briefing, this evening will be hosting specifically republican senators whose votes this white house believes is crucial in order to get the necessary authorization for attacks in syria.

>> peter alexander from 1600 pennsylvania for us on a sunday afternoon. pete, thanks so much. while the president works to convince the american public, action in syria is necessary, secretary of state john kerry is overseas trying to build international support. he talked about the danger of allowing syria's chemical weapons use to go unchecked. >> the message to hezbollah, iran, assad, will be that nobody cares that you broke this 100-year-old -- nearly 100-year-old standard, and you're using weapons that have been banned by 189 nations. >> andrea mitchell is in paris traveling with the secretary. >> hi there, craig. on a very windy day in paris, secretary of state kerry ran into some headwinds himself. he was meeting with the arab league members and he says he's picking up momentum. he got them to unanimously

endorse a condemnation of assad for using chemical weapons, as being deplorable crossing of an internationally recognized red line. but they refuse to endorse military use of force. the u.s. air strikes that have been proposed. and kerry says that the saudis are supporting air strikes, but the saudis have not said that publicly. the only public endorsement for military action has come pr the french. now the french say they want to go back to the u.n. security council. although they know full well the russians will veto it. there's a lot of public opinion against the use of force as there is back in the states. kerry is now on to london. we know that the british will not be part of a military coalition. that has already been defeated in parliament. he's cutting short his trip heading back to the united states to lobby congress. the white house believes kerry's very effective, especially with the senate where he served for almost three decades. perhaps also he can try to use

his persuasion with the house. craig? >> andrea mitchell there for us in paris. andrea, thank you so much. let's get straight to the sunday brain trust. a columnist for the "washington post," and david is a foreign affairs columnist for reuters, and amy holmes anchors the hot list at the blaze. good to see all of you. denis running the gaunt let, five shows this sunday morning. this is what he said on "meet the press." take a listen. >> here's what it does. it degrades his capacity to use them again. it also makes him think twice before he goes to these dastardly weapons again. if he's going to use these things more aggressively, david, he's going to take them out of secure storage, push them into the front lines. when they're on the front lines, do you know what that means? they're at greater risk of being pro live rated. >> stopping the spread, preventing the use of chemical weapons moving forward. that essentially has been the thesis of the argument over the past week from the white house. is that argument alone, is that

going to be enough to sway a reluctant congress to sway a war-weary public? >> i don't think so. earlier here on your network, on msnbc with david gregory, he spoke to tom udall from new mexico who voted firmly no on this resolution. leslie sanchez, a liberal democrat from california, she's going to vote no on military intervention in syria. in mr. mcdoneough's, statement, clearly the president of the united states saying he would draw a red line. that was ignored. do we have any assurances that this spampging via military is going to work? >> as this goes on, as the crisis drags out, david, is the president likely to gain support? or is he more likely to lose support? >> i think lose support. that's one of the problems the french just now said they want

to wait until the u.n. inspectors produce their results. >> which could be two weeks. >> and they want to wait for another security council resolution. whatever the broader issues here, the way this has been sequenced and handled by the white house has been, frankly, disastrous. i believe the story about that friday walk between the president and denis, but you had kerry out there pushing everyone expecting strikes, now we pull back and go to congress. now you have an address to the nation tuesday night and the french aren't ready to go with this. >> one of the consequences of that is it erodes confidence in president's commander in chief. >> come tuesday night, what can president obama -- what can he say, what can he do perhaps that he hasn't done, that he hasn't said? >> well, just the act of getting out there before the country and having some kind of address is something we haven't had so far. i mean, a lot of this has been lobbying of lawmakers as opposed to going to the american public itself. that's what we're beginning to see right now. but i think a lot of reasons for

the skepticism and on capitol hill is the hangover from iraq, and people are suspicious of the intelligence. they're suspicious of what exactly the war aims are, who's with us, who's not, what people expect the consequences to be. so far the administration said just trust us, it's classified. they really need to get out there with a lot more information, both their evidence against assad, and their -- the plan for what exactly they are doing here and what they aren't doing here. ultimately i suspect that lawmakers are going to have to come around, because it will -- if they don't, it will cripple this presidency, which the democrats don't want to do and it will also cripple the united states which even the republicans don't want to do. >> do you think a no vote would cripple the united states? >> well, i do. for the very reason that, friend or foe around the world, who would trust the word of the united states again, when a similar red line is drawn on nuclear issues with iran, with

north korea, with others. so whatever got us into this situation, and i agree that it's been handled -- it's been a real debacle so far, we're at a point if they don't do something, the reverberations go far beyond syria. >> let's talk about something you wrote this week that caught our attention. you wrote if the president can't convince congress, it will be because essentially he should have made a more personal and passionate case for strikes sooner, saying in part, quote, what may doom the president's effort in the end is not his short-term tactics, it is years of contradictory policies and unfulfilled promises by obama himself. your contingent is is a manifestation of a lot of folks just not trusting this president anymore. who are these policies -- what are these policies you're talking about? >> i'm talking about counterterrorism. this is about his liberal base. he talked about getting out of iraq, which he did. he talked about closing

guantanamo bay. that didn't happen. he's embraced secrecy in terms of drone strikes. the ed snowden leaks as well. he's sort of contradicting what liberals expected him to do and what they wanted him to do. i think that base does not trust him because he's sort of tried to have it both ways in a sense on national security. and he's not making a strong enough case here. >> i think the opposition to a syria strike also originates in the sands of the middle east. we have been there for a very long time. we have very little to show for it. president obama, he supported, of course, that nato attack on libya to get rid of gadhafi for the express purpose of protecting them. libya has basically become a gun depot for all the terrorists of the middle east. >> the real issue here, though, to be blunt, is israel. israel is our closest ally. the israelis want us to carry out this attack. what's happening this week, apac is backing this strike.

>> right. >> republicans on the right or liberals on the left. >> that's stunning. >> and obama's not making a case about our long-term strategy in the middle east. >> what we're learning in syria is the enemy of the enemy is still our enemy. we saw secular leaders saying they would quit if they don't get to work with al qaeda affiliated terrorists. a lot of the american public has no interest in that. >> dana, real quickly here, the president and secretary of state have both said they have this hard evidence that syria has used chemical weapons. we've seen the videos. is it that the american public does not accept or believe that, or is it that we've gotten to a point now where we've decided that not even the disturbing images and pictures like the ones we've been seeing are enough to drag us into another conflict? >> i think it's more that they haven't put enough information out there. and they are saying a lot of this has to be taken on faith. they want to protect sources and methods. we get the idea that the nsa has a lot of capabilities in terms

of eavesdropping and satellite images, why don't they just put some out there. >> the brain trust is going to be back in just a few minutes. we'll find out what they think the president needs to say in his address tuesday night to the nation. and also probably what the president will be saying tuesday night. we'll ask you guys to play soothsayer, if you will. congress, if you haven't heard, congress returns tomorrow with syria at the top of their agenda. i'll talk to one senator who thinks we need to strike syria now. we'll talk about the evidence that he's seen and why so many of his colleagues are still skittish. also ahead, royal standoff on police confronting prince andrew at buckingham palace. what the officials and the prince are saying about that today. and new jersey's chris christie heading to the big "d" for tonight's clash between the cowboys and giants. his trip, not sitting well with some giants fans.

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. secretary of state john kerry defended the administration's strategy of using graphic video, showing the aftermath of an apparent chemical attack in syria, to rally members of congress behind their plan for military action. >> the vast majority of members of congress, house and senate, are undecided. and that's why the videos are being shown and why the briefings are taking place. those videos make it clear to people that these are real human beings, real children, parents being affected in ways that are unacceptable to anybody anywhere, by any standards. >> right now, according to the "washington post," in the house,

227 congress members say they are against military action, or are leaning against it. 181 are undecided. and just 25 have pledged to get behind the administration. meanwhile in the senate, more than a quarpter of the members say they are against military action or leaning no. half of them are undecided. 25 senators, just 25 right now, say they support a strike. among that small majority, democratic pennsylvania senator bob casey, who is co-chair on the caucus of weapons of mass destruction terrorism. >> craig, thank you. >> you've had a number of briefings, both public and classified as well with regard to syria. what conclusive evidence, conclusive evidence have you seen that makes you feel confident, that we should intervene? >> well, craig, there's a lot of it. first of all, on the public record, when you consider the videos, you consider the summary of the evidence that sk kerry laid out, as well as the

classified briefings that i've had, and others, i've had two. and i'll probably have at least one or two more before we decide on the vote. but i'm going to vote for this action for a very basic reason. when you get elected to congress, one of the most important responsibilities you have is to make decisions as best you can about our national defense. i think when you consider the strength of the evidence, the gravity of the crime against humanity here, which is horrific, for over 400 children being killed, and then you consider the impact of saying something that would be very weak in the region, the only thing the iranian regime, or bashar al assad or hezbollah will listen to in this region is a message of strength. that's what we've got to be able to demonstrate in this situation. >> senator, the front page of "the new york times" says that the united states is known syria has been at least amassing the

ingredients to make chemical weapons since the early '90s. kerry also today, senator kerry also today -- excuse me, secretary kerry also today said assad used chemical weapons at least 11 times before august 1st. why is now the time to act, senator? how is syria a threat to our national security at this precise moment? >> well, first of all, craig, i think it shows a pattern that he's used it, but in very, very limited circumstance. this was an indiscriminate use. almost 1,500 people were killed and over 400 children. the message we've got to send to him is, when you contemplate this decision again, or the iranian regime does, or any terrorist organization does, like hezbollah, you will pay a price if it happens. you will be struck and you'll pay a price for violating this law, a crime against humanity. i think if we do that, it can be a very short duration.

and then we can move on to diplomatic measures and political pressure. >> senator, you can see a military strike in syria would do nothing to change the calculation on the ground. and it would perhaps do very little to actually punish president assad, the strike itself would be meant to send a message to iran, to send a message to north korea? >> well, it may impact what happens on the ground. but i think the most important message we've got to send is, you cannot impunity. if you do it, you'll pay a price. that's a very important message for the iranian regime as well. i don't hear many people in washington talking about this. the iranian regime tried to blow up a restaurant in washington, d.c., in 2011. hezbollah and iran tried to kill one of our ambassadors overseas. they are plotting every day against us. a message of weakness here would be very damaging to our national security over time. >> last question here really

question. president assad talked to pbs's charlie rose today. he said assad had a very clear message, charlie rose said assad had a very clear message for the american people -- stay out. take a listen. >> he had a message to the american people that it had not been a good experience for them to get involved in the middle east, and in wars and conflicts in the middle east. that the results had not been good. and that they should not get involved. and that they should communicate to their congress and to their leadership in washington not to authorize a strike. >> it's been a tough sell for this administration, senator casey. can you understand the pressure that your fellow lawmakers are getting right now from their constituents, who absolutely do not want to be involved in this conflict on any level? >> there's no question we're all under pressure, because of the aftereffects of what happened in iraq, where the american people were misled. but this is much closer to what

happened in kosovo, when president clinton akd without congressional authority. president reagan acted without authority. when they believed our national security interests were at stake. that's what we have here. i think the more people look at the evidence, consider what it is, and consider the gravity of this event if it happens again and again, i think they'll come to the right conclusion. i think when that happens, we'll have a stronger national security foundation in the middle east. >> ten seconds, really quickly, last question, senator. was it a mistake for the president to go to congress and ask for this authorization? would he have been better served to just authorize the strikes himself? >> no, i think it was important to get the views of congress. we still have a long way to go. a lot more evidence to look at, a lot more debate to go. i think by the end the congress will stand behind, not simply the president, but most importantly, stand behind what's best for our national security interests, and send a very powerful message that if you do this, you're going to pay a

price. >> senator bob casey of pennsylvania, senator, thank you for your time, sir. appreciate it. new jersey governor chris christie is in texas this weekend raising money for the republican national convention, but his official duties will not be keeping him from tonight's season opener between the dallas cowboys and new york giants. here's the thing, though, christie won't be there rooting for the giants who play in new jersey, he'll be cheering on the boys. christie is a self-proclaimed life-long cowboys fan. don't miss the premiere of football night tonight on your nbc stations. go skins. it starts with something little, like taking a first step. and then another. and another. and if you do it. and your friends do it. and their friends do it... soon we'll be walking our way to awareness, support and an end to alzheimer's disease.

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the mayoral primary in new york city, michael bloomberg is stirring up some controversy. in an interview with new

york magazine, he said the leading candidate ran a, quote, class warfare and racist campaign by promoting his mixed-race family. deblazio's wife is black. they have two children. bloomberg immediately walked back the comment saying he does not believe deblasio himself is racist. he said bloomberg's remarks were, quote, very, very unfortunate. and inappropriate. ♪

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britain's prince andrew said he is grateful today for the apology he got from buckingham palace police. the royal cops confronted him wednesday evening and demanded that he present his i.d.

contrary to some tabloid reports, police insisted they did not draw their guns on queen elizabeth's younger son. they may have been skittish because earlier two men were arrested trying to break into the palace. andrew issued a statement this morning saying in part, quote, i look forward to a safe walk in the garden in the future. i'm craig melvin. a look at some of the other top stories. the nsa may be accessing your data, if you have a smartphone, from the german newspaper. the paper said the nsa is able to snoop on iphones, blackberries, and other devices reading contacts, texting history and more. so far, no comment from the nsa on that report. and they are still celebrating in japan. that's because tokyo will be hosting the 2020 summer olympic games. they went crazy in tokyo last night. japan's capital, the fellow finalists, istanbul and madrid

for that honor. one sport you can count on, wrestling. the olympic committee voted today to bring back wrestling, baseball, softball and squash lovers, i'm sorry, olympic organizers maintain those sports are not medal-worthy. back to the crisis in syria, where president bashar al assad denied again today he had anything to do with the chemical weapons attack last month near damascus. i want to go live to lebanon. ayman, is assad's responsibility for that attack, is that still being questioned at all in that part of the world? >> reporter: well, you know, the short answer to that is it really depends on how you view the syrian revolution at large. keep in mind this part of the world is very divided on what is happening inside syria. those who support assad and those that think of the rebels of trying to destroy the

country, very much believe the narrative that is coming out of the syrian government. and that is, that the rebels perhaps launched this chemical weapons attack him selves to get international forces involved, to try to rally some kind of international sympathy for their cause. so there are those who do believe it was not the syrian government, ta it was the rebels. but for the most part, there are those who believe it is the syrian government. they've seen the brutality with how it has cracked down on protesters and the opposition in the past. they do not put it beyond the scope of the possibility that it was in fact president assad. not necessarily but his direct order but certainly from his troops or army. >> in the interview with charlie rose, he described this scene as quiet in damascus, as they watch the debate playing out here in washington. in washington. as we're watching it play out here, in that part of the world, what are they saying about the

debate that's raging in this country? >> well, they're saying a whole host of things. certainly those who are watching this very closely are saying that the united states has somewhat been weakened by what has happened in iraq and afghanistan. they're critical of president obama, those that are not at least -- those that are supportive of a possible military strike are critical of president obama for kicking this issue back to congress, so to speak, to get the congressional authorization. the nuances of the american foreign policy why he had to get that approval and the fact that america has been so jarred by the wars in iraq and afghanistan is sometimes lost among the general public in the middle east for the most part. they look at this as the united states blinking. that's certainly how the syrian government and its allies, including iran and here in lebanon, hezbollah have been trying to portray this. that this was a moment that the united states backed down in the face of the syrian government's defiance as what it was labeling as a western aggression. but for the most part, they're

viewing this as the united states backing down after really in the first 48 hours after that chemical attack, really coming out strong and by most accounts appear to be going ahead with the strike regardless. >> ayman for us live tonight in beirut, lebanon. always appreciate your insights, sir, thank you. after a five-week recess, congress returns tomorrow. at the top of their to-do list, of course, whether they will grant president obama approval to launch his military strikes in syria. democratic congressman hakim jeffries of new york is here. you've attended at least one of the briefings, in person, one on the phone as well. you said you're still undecided, correct? >> absolutely. this is a solemn moment of deliberation for all of us who have to make this decision as to whether to give authorization to the president to strike. >> what more do you need to hear? >> well, we're working our way through several things, at least i am. it is clear to me that the assad regime is responsible for launching chemical weapons

against its own people in the suburbs of damascus. we know it's a violation of international law. chemical weapons have only been used twice in the last 100 years, once by iraq in 1980 and now by the assad regime. >> now, there are those who said assad regime has used the chemical weapons at least a dozen times. >> absolutely. state actors deployed against their people. this is one collective set of instances. but we know that there should be consequences, or at least i've come to that conclusion. but what we have to figure out is the appropriate step right now, is it a military strike. and will that lead to consequences that include further escalation and possible engagement in a conflict, in the middle east, and that is why i think many of us have been given pause by what the appropriate step is from this point forward. >> though those who have said, including the chief of staff on the sunday shows this morning, that not striking, that not enforcing the so-called red line

would weaken, not just the president, but would weaken america's position abroad. would weaken this country's credibility. what say you to that? >> the united states is still the most powerful military in the world. and we've got bad actors on both sides of this conflict. we've got syria, the assad regime, their closest allies hezbollah and iran. on the other side we've got al qaeda fighters. we're not convinced -- >> you don't trust the rebels. >> certainly there be moderate rebel forces, but it's not clear to any of us i believe, if the rebels were to prevail in the civil war, what would come next? we saw when a dictator collapsed in egypt, that the democracy was supposed to flourish. we actually found ourselves in a worse position, both in terms of the united states' interests and interests of the allies in the region, including israel. >> among your democratic peers and peers in the black caucus as well, how worried are you that if the president doesn't get this vote, that he's so

weakened, that his domestic agenda suffers irreparably as well. >> i trust the president. and one of the reasons i haven't taken a position is we want to give him and the administration every opportunity to convince the american people, as well as members of congress, beginning tomorrow with some additional classified briefings, as to the administration's position and the wisdom of it. but i don't think that if congress were to work its will and decide not to grant authorization, the president's domestic agenda will be weakened. one of the things i'm hearing throughout the district is that people feel like we as a government should turn our attention inward after close to a dozen years of middle eastern wars and focus on the domestic problems we have. one could argue if congress were not to grant authorization, that part of the reason will be a mandate for us as congress and the president to get involved in our domestic issues, more significantly. >> democratic congressman hakim

jeffries of new york, thank you. >> thank you. there are 16 members of congress who are military veterans of the wars in iraq and afghanistan. only two of them, adam kensinger and tom cotton have supported the plan. patrick murphy a former democratic congressman from pennsylvania. also the first iraq war veteran to serve in the house. he's an msnbc contributor now. congressman, always good to see you. >> you, too, craig. >> the veterans have a unique perspective of going to war. just in broad terms, what's your take on this issue so far? >> well, listen, craig, you know, for those of us who were there, it breaks your heart. we are compassionate. but for those like myself who don't think it's the right thing that we should use military restraint, don't confuse that restraint with a lack of courage. i think it's indicative of this debate that 14 of the 16 iraq/afghanistan veterans

serving congress are a no on this. you were right to cite that. like the congressman -- like hakim said just before i got on, the american people want to devote our attention here at home. there are a lot of steps we should use before a military strike. >> you don't believe we've exhausted those steps? >> absolutely not. craig, number one, the investigation from the u.n. isn't even due back yet. it's going to be due back this month. so let's let the u.n. investigators -- i think assad used the weapons, let me be clear. but allow the u.n. to give their judgment on the investigation. >> if you think assad used the weapons like you said, what good does waiting two weeks do? >> because we cannot be just a unilateral policeman of the world, craig. we have to make sure there's at least a vote in the u.n. security council. that's 15 nations. i get it, i know russia and china will probably vote no. at least put them on the record for the atrocities going on in syria. also, this isn't a false -- this

isn't a false choice of doing nothing or military strike. how about being proactive and very aggressive humanitarian aid for millions of refugees from syria that are in jordan and lebanon. >> you're watching this unfold on the outside. no longer on capitol hill. what do you make of how the white house has led this march to military action so far? >> well, listen, i think part of it is that they were dealt a really bad hand, craig. before when the united states said we should act, do things, people rallied around us because we were honest. we did it for basically selfless service. and really, the legacy of the iraq war really clouded our standing throughout the world. so we say our intelligence agencies show that there were 1,400 killed in syria from chemical weapons, the rest of the countries are saying, well, let's see what the u.n. has to say. it's going to take a real effort to get them engaged. >> patrick murphy, appreciate

your insight as well, sir. thank you. >> thanks, craig. now to a bizarre live television appearance last night from grammy-winning rapper eminem. he appeared at half time at a noter game last night to promote his new album and single. it did not go well. >> sorry. live tv freaks me out a little bit. yes, i'm sorry, what was the question? i'm really uncomfortable right now. is really made of cheese?

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the brain trust is back. amy from the blaze who is now officially on twitter. we will give her address at the end of the broadcast. >> no comments about the hair. >> dana milbank, let me start with you good sir. there are lot of folks suggesting that this is not just about syria for the obama white house. should the president not get this vote in congress, it is going to very quickly turn him

into a lame duck president, that obama presidency itself, essentially hangs in the balance on this vote. is that an exaggeration or would that be an accurate and fair assessment? >> i don't think it is too much of an exaggeration. already, even before the vote, we see issues such as immigration being crowded out and basically this is sucking up all the oxygen right now. if he can't win this vote, you know, a matter of war, which is virtually unprecedent for a president to lose, it is hard it see how he gets the republican house to do anything. so barring unexpected victory, that does put him into sort of an early lame duck status. extraordinarily early. >> there's a lot of duck about precisely how the white house handled this particular matter, or not handled this particular matter. i want to play what he said and talk about this on the other

side. here it is. >> i wish he was more after commander-in-chief than community organizer. >> what does that mean? >> what i mean by that, is he was commander-in-chief for one year he said the red line was there and then, red line is cross and he sends kerry and hagel out to have an attack. >> how would you characterize how the white house handled this so far. >> confused. and maybe a reflection of how the president himself is confused. >> what do you mean? >> well everything was lined up for a strike. kerry gives the speech about moral obscenity. then the president says he is going to congress this week. he has it say something new in the state of the union. maybe more detailed intelligence. we have heard the argument about the moral issue, the stand of the united states. there has to be something new. >> is there something new, amy, that president can say? is it the messenger or message? are we at a point now in this country where we can see images like the ones we've been looking

at over the last 48 hours and as a country collectively we think with our heads maybe, not so much our hearts now? >> well i think it is beth. the message and the messenger. i think david was being rather generous. i would say the president bungled this. david gregory said there is a lot of dig zagging with this administration. i think we see smart power get dumber by the day on this and president obama announcing what those targets will be. craig, i'm sure have you seen the reports to that al-assad is moving weapons to civilian areas so if we do strike the images on the television screen might be coming vis-a-vis the united states. >> let's look at headlines here. dana milbank, i want to start with your headline first because i don't understand it. the headline, i think we can put them on the screen here. they broke it, we bought it. that's dana milbank's -- what does that mean? >> that is a twist of collin powell rule for the iraq war. but the whole thing is pretty

much broken over there having nothing to do with us and yet it seems to be up to the united states and nobody else to try to fix this problem that just may be insoluble. >> one of the things you write about, david, is also that what appears to be some of what a lack of focus on a coherent long-term strategy for the middle east as well. >> the basic message for years interest this administration is, i'm going to get you out of the middle east. we are going to pivot to asia. the middle east doesn't matter to us. now all of a sudden after six years the president is like hang on, hang on. it is pivotal we carry out this strike. it is an serious strike. i think in a way the american people might take this more seriously as a larger strike. that is bad politics and people don't buy this tomahawk argument. >> what is your headline, ms. holmes? >> i think president obama faces congress and is bracing for a plaque eye. you know, david and i were having a very spirited conversation in the green room about what happens if our

congress and senate votes for strike but house votes against it? where does that leave president obama? unfortunately, because of his lack of leadership, we don't know. >> dana milbank, is that true, do we not know? or are do you think are or you hearing the president will strike nonetheless? >> i think the president has it strike the house. i don't see how we get out of the log jam where everything is broken. no, once you are explicitly told no by congress, you don't do that which which they told you not to do. >> president says he has the authority to do it with or without congress. >> i think the house would impeach him if he carries out strikes. if house and senate vote know and he carries out strikes, if both vote no and he defies them and carries out strikes, i think the house would try to impeach him. so i think if he loses both houses, we won't do anything. when you talk about when the

house votes knno and the senate votes yes, then that's not clear to me. and you say, boehner doesn't see impeachment. this is a dangerous box he put himself in. >> which is so weird that the administration tells us how high the stakes are. this is war by proxy with iran and russia. yet proposed military strike is so weak. it doesn't make a lot of sense. it is very contradictory. >> are you saying we should go in guns ablazing? i don't understand what you are saying. >> i think if we make a military strike, which i oppose, and by the way, i ahad a lengths their conversation with a navy seal six team. the goal should be to drive sources to the table for a negotiation. >> last word, your ten-second headline. >> obama's presidency i think hangs in the balance. second term hangs in the balance, i should say. he is going to be weakened

internationally. and then domestically, if he looses, he is in worse shape. amazing what has happens. >> thanks to all of you. and thank you as well for watching this sunday afternoon. see you back here at next saturday at 2:00 eastern. up. in, "disrupt" with karen finney. ♪ fire, fire, you can take me higher ♪ ♪ take me to the mountains, start a revolution ♪ ♪ hold my hand, we can make, we can make a contribution ♪ ♪ brand-new season, keep it in motion ♪ ♪ 'cause the rhyme is the reason ♪ ♪ break through, man, it doesn't matter who you're talking to ♪ [ male announcer ] completely redesigned for whatever you love to do. the all-new nissan versa note. your door to more. ♪

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thanks for disrupt be your sunday afternoon. i'm karen finney. the president has what may be the biggest week of his second term. he has a range of issues, including sir why. >> obama's high stake syria gamble. >> he said, i can't confirm or deny that we have chemical weapons. >> nobody is rebutting the intelligence. nobody doubts the intelligence. just because assad is a murderous tyrant, doesn't mean his opponent are any bet are. >> it is not boots on the ground. it is not a