we are completely shocked, it's unbelievable. we completely condemn this very dangerous attack, and i convey my condolences to the american people, to the american president, and to the american administration, not only in my name, but on behalf of the palestinian people. >> and this comes on a day, katie, in which obviously there's been a steady deterioration of the situation in the middle east, but they were to meet today in the west bank. there has been some criticism of the bush administration for not getting more involved in the peacemaking efforts in the middle east in the past few weeks from within the republican party as well. >> because it has gotten increasingly volatile. >> it has. there's been a steady escalation of violence, incursions by israelis in the palestinian towns declaring martial law and pulling back. everyone thought the bomb was

ticking in the middle east. no one expected anything of these kinds of consequences to be visited upon this country in this horrific way that we have been witness to today. it is one more example as we have been saying this morning of events in far off places that have such an enormous impact here because the united states is in the eyes of so many people who are opposed to our system of government and our alliances is the devil incarnate. today this is a very sophisticated, very cold-blooded, very widespread attack carried out with the most chilling kind of efficiency on several of the great nerve centers of our system of government and our way of life. you've been watching an msnbc living history event, 9/11 as it happened. i'm chris jansing. this has been a day of solemn remembrances, tributes to the nearly 3,000 people killed on september 11th, 12 years ago

today. here in new york. [ bell ringing ] more than 2,000 people were killed in the collapse of the world trade center towers. there were moments of silence to mark the impact times planes hit the towers and when the buildings collapsed. and in what's become a heartfelt and emotional ritual after all these years, family and friends are reading the names of the 2,983 people who died on 9/11. >> my son, our son, port authority police officer christopher charles amaroso. we all love you and miss you very much. may god make your assignments easier in heaven than what you had on earth. >> jay lost his brother glen on

9/11, a volunteer firefighter and emt killed in the line of duty. he's the co-founder of the 9/11 day of servants. jay, good morning. >> good morning. thanks for having me. >> thank you for being with us. your organization has turned a tragedy into something very positive. you promote observing 9/11 as a day of charitable service, doing good deeds. so 12 years after the tragedy, tell us a little bit about that. how are people today honoring the victims of the attack? >> the response to this concept of good deeds and charitable service is growing in leaps and bounds every year. it's really pretty extraordinary. one of the nice things about the observance is it's very user friendly. we encourage people to just do storm some form of good deed, whether small or large. it doesn't matter. something in their own comfort zone. the same way people responded in the immediate aftermath of the attack. that really resonates. people clean up parks, clean up beaches. they donate books or blood or

write to our troops. they do all kinds of things to help other people and communities in need. >> you co-founded this organization to honor your brother and his service and his memory. so tell us a little bit about glen. >> glen was an extraordinary person. you know, he was for 20 years a partner at a large law firm located a block and a half from ground zero. for 20 years he was a volunteer firefighter and an emt, so he helped evacuate his law offices, ran into the south tower to save lives. so he lived his life and died in service to other people. he's a great inspiration. >> jay, what a remarkable story that you have to tell about the way you're participating today. thank you for sharing. we appreciate it. >> thank you. we encourage people to go to 911day.org to learn more about

how they can participate. >> thank you very much. the governor of new york at the time joins me now. good morning. >> good morning. >> i guess there's not a day that goes by you don't think about that day. >> you always think about it. those of us who were there, it will always be a part of our lives every day. it's comforting to hear someone like jay turning a personal family tragedy into something positive for the people and for the country. >> i've heard so many people outside of this country say to me that's kind of uniquely american. you know, the number of people who came to the city who wanted to help, the way, in some ways, despite all the controversies, how slow it's been rebuilding at ground zero, getting the freedom tower up, when i see it, and i can see it out the window of my apartment, it represents resilience. >> absolutely. it was extraordinary to see the outpouring of people, not just from across new york, but across the country. people from every walk of life just looking to do what they could to help.

it was really inspiring to be perfectly honest. inspiring to see how the heroes rushed there that morning. inspiring to see months later construction workers working 24 hours a day out on the still burning pile of rubble risking their health to try to move beyond this. certainly today i look at my office, went to see the freedom tower this morning, you just can't help but appreciate not just resilience but that we're americans. we're never going to live small. we're always going to look to rise to greater heights. >> this is one of those rare days we all remember where we were. i assume you were in the governors office. >> no, i was in the city. actually, my daughter called me and said, daddy, do you have your tv on? >> your daughter called you? >> my daughter. she was working at a news station and was rattled. i turned it on and was trying to comfort her then saw the second plane and immediately knew we were under attack. >> and president bush, we all recall, was in a florida elementary school. i want to play just a little clip of what he talked about

that morning. >> i have spoken to the vice president, to the governor of new york, to the director of the fbi, and have ordered that the full resources of the federal government go to help the victims and their families and to conduct a full-scale investigation to hunt down and to find those folks who committed this act. >> so you get a phone call from your daughter, and then you get a phone call from the president. >> i called the president, actually. >> what did he say? >> well, i called the president because one of the most troubling things is we didn't know what was going to happen next. there was shanksville afterwards, there were the anthrax incidents. he had already ordered the entire air space over the country be shut down. then we talked about the immediate need for help. he said basically whatever, we

will be there with whatever is needed. it was tremendous that morning to see how well everyone worked together. there was no, the state should do this, the city should do that, washington should do something different. we're all in this together. we're going to stand shoulder to shoulder. whatever it takes, whoever has to do it, we're going to get the job done. >> and so many symbols today about how that attitude continues. governor, always good to see you. thank you so much for coming in. >> thank you, chris. >> well, in the nation's capital this morning, president obama presided over two ceremonies. at 8:46 a.m., the president, vice president, and their wives gathered for a moment of silence on the white house south lawn. then at the pentagon, the president laid a wreath at the memorial there, followed by a moment of silence to mark the time when american airlines flight 77 struck, killing 125 people in the building and 59 passengers on the plane. >> our hearts still ache for the

futures snatched away. the parents who would have known the joy of being grandparents, the fathers and mothers who would have known the pride of a child's graduation, the sons and daughters who would have grown, maybe married, and been blessed with children of their own. they left this earth, they slipped from our grasp, but it was written, what the heart has once owned and had it shall never lose. >> and in shanksville, pennsylvania, an observance this morning in honor of the 40 heroes aboard united airlines flight 93, the only plane that day that did not hit its intended target. the names of all 33 passengers and seven crew members were read. tuesday, construction started on the permanent flight 93 national memorial visitor's center

scheduled to open in 2015. i'd like to bring in msnbc's craig melvin. he's live at ground zero. you have an update on the 9/11 memorial museum. >> reporter: that's right, chris. we found out just a couple of days ago that museum is going to be opening next spring. again, it's been a situation, as you know, there have been questions about funding, questions over construction. but we know now that it is going to be opening in the spring of 2014. i also want to call your attention to the building behind me. you were talking about one world trade center just a few moments ago. construction on it also wrapping up. that building expected to open in just a few months. 1,776 feet tall, the tallest building in the western hemisphere. once that building is complete, once the museum is open, there are a lot of folks here who

say -- a lot of folks here who say that is going to, of course, be the beginning of how they are going to remember 9/11 in the city for years to come. i spent some time this morning talking to the director of the 9/11 museum and asked what visitors can expect once it opens. >> they are going to, i think, be quite surprised because the beautiful building that's on the memorial plaza, the pavilion building, is really an entry building. the actual museum exhibitions are below ground. they're seven stories below ground. the roof of the mu sseum was th memorial plaza. so we occupy the space that was really the under space of the world trade center, the foundation of the world trade center. it's enormous. >> reporter: chris, she went on to explain to me, and this is something i really hadn't thought of until she pointed it out, if you really think about it, a lot of the kids who are starting school these days,

first grade, they know nothing of 9/11. so now it shifts to sort of an education campaign in addition to these annual remembrances as well. >> msnbc's craig melvin at ground zero. thanks, craig. if you'd like to donate to the 9/11 memorial museum, you can log on to the website 911memorial.org. you can donate right away or join the membership program as another way to support that organization. that's going to do it for me. i'm chris jansing. stay with msnbc. "now" with alex wagner is up next. hanging out with this guy. he's just the love of my life. [ male announcer ] getting to know you is how we help you choose the humana medicare plan that works best for you. mi familia. ♪ [ male announcer ] we want to help you achieve your best health, so you can keep doing the things that are important to you. keeping up with them. i love it! [ male announcer ] helping you -- now that's what's important to us.

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12 years after the day that changed america forever, the president finds himself at a cross roads between where the country has been and where it must go next. it's wednesday, september 11th, and this is "now."

on the eve of the anniversary of september 11th, 12 years after the course of american history was forever altered, 10 days after the president asked congress to authorize military force in another middle eastern country, president obama laid out his case for military action against syria while simultaneously delaying it. >> after carefully deliberation, i determined that it is in the national security interests of the united states to respond to the assad regime's use of chemical weapons through a targeted military strike. the assad regime has now admitted that it has these weapons and even said they'd join the chemical weapons convention, which prohibits their use. it's too early to tell whether this offer will succeed, and any agreement must verify that the assad regime keeps its

commitments. but this initiative has the potential to remove the threat of chemical weapons without the use of force. i have therefore asked the leaders of congress to postpone a vote to authorize the use of force while we pursue this diplomatic path. >> while this seemingly contradictory message was no doubt a reflection of the diplomatic seesawing of the past 48 hours as a call to arms turned into a cry for diplomacy, what has perhaps shaped this administration's syria strategy the most is the legacy of september 11th and the two wars that followed. that much was clear last night. >> this nation is sick and tired of war. america's not the world's policeman. terrible things happen across the globe, and it is beyond our means to right every wrong. >> writing in "the new yorker," george packer presents the difficult case for military intervention in a post-nen world. nearly two-thirds of americans don't think the united states should involve itself in solving foreign conflicts, packer writes. for better or forworse, we've

decided someone else should do this. that is the legacy of these past 12 years. this morning, just hours after calling on congress to authorize use of force, both as a means and possibly an end to the diplomatic process, the president was frank about his distaste for war and the limits of military might. >> let us have the wisdom to know that while force is at times necessary, force alone cannot build the world we seek. so we recommit to the partnerships and progress that builds mutual respect and deepens trust and allows more people to live in dignity, prosperity, and freedom. >> joining me now is washington bureau chief for "time" magazine michael share and also joining me from washington is the host of msnbc's "hardball," chris matthews. chris, i'd like to go to you first. before we get into the nitty gritty of the president's speech, i want to look at the big picture, sitting as we are, broadcasting as we are on september 11th. i wonder what you make of this

notion of america's policeman and whether or not this sense of caution around intervening in military conflicts elsewhere in the world is a reaction to 9/11 or whether that has been part of the american dna all along. >> well, i think we have been a reluctant warrior throughout our history. think about after world war i where we went in late as the dough boys and really decided that affair on the side of the allies. we were very hesitant to get into world war ii. then, of course, because of pearl harbor and then because the germans did declare war on us several days later, we were in world war ii without a lot of debate, obviously, on both the european and asian front, the pacific front. i think we are reluctant. i was thinking about 9/11 watching this, this morning, the replay of the "today" show.

we went to afghanistan because of 9/11. the argument was made we had to go to iraq because of 9/11. and i think part of the issue here submerged in it the issue of whether or not we should get involved with syria is the possibility of these chemical weapons getting in the hands of terrorists again. so terrorism, which was so magnified in its power on 9/11, has haunted us and has in a way offset, to some extent, our natural reluctant. but right now i think our reluctant is winning. >> michael, chris talks about our natural reluctance and how terrorism sort of complicates all of that. the president is no doubt i think a reluctant warrior. i want to talk about the speech last night. chuck tauodd, i thought, had th assessment of the evening, which is the first two-thirds of the speech seemed to have been written a week ago. it was a foot on the gas speech really making the case for military intervention. the last third of the speech was the foot on the brake, the idea we need to be cautious and look

into this possible diplomatic option that syria has presented. i wonder what you made of it, and what about the contention that perhaps the president should not have made the speech given all that's going on diplomatically right now, perhaps he should have waited. >> well, i think the president does have a problem that's arisen over the last few weeks because he's had to make these dramatic pivots. we had the pivot to go to war after the chemical attacks were confirmed. we had the pivot against going to war alone with just the president making that decision a couple weeks ago after he walks on the south lawn. then yesterday we have another very public pivot away from making this case to get congress to vote on it and saying, no, congress can wait, we have a diplomatic out. the president is making a very difficult, very complicated argument. you mentioned at the top the contradiction. he's saying it's not a pinprick strike, but it's a limited strike to send a message. he's saying we're going for humanitarian reason, but we're only going for humanitarian

reasons for those children killed by chemical weapons, not by regular bombs and bullets. he's saying, i'm willing and ready to be able to act even if the white house doesn't back me. for the white house, yesterday was too big of an opportunity to get some of that complicated message out to call it off at the last minute, which would make it look like a bigger pivot than it actually came across being. i do think it was problematic as a speech. the american people are used to tuning into these primetime addresses, especially around issues of war to have the president tell them what's going on and where they're headed and why they should head that way. obama's speech was a little more hesitant than that. >> chris, what did you think of the speech? this is such a quickly changing situation insofar as john kerry dismisses the syrians giving up their chemical weapons. one hour the russians come forward with a proposal. the next, the proposal seems to be taken seriously. the president seems to be

mitigating that, sounding words of caution. were you left anymore convinced here? "the new york times" says what started as a call for action was suddenly a plea for time. the president left the country uncertain. >> well, i'm a skeptic. i remained a skeptic last night. i'm not being sarcastic, i guess, here. the white house put out the word of the evening last night right before the speech that it wasn't going to change people's minds. well, it didn't. i think it was an effective speech and laid out the administration's argument. it contained, however, no value added. nothing that would have said, yes, two and two are five. something that would have put it together and said, yeah, i didn't think of that before. it had the elements they had to get across but nothing that surmounted the resistance out there. the american people would not have voted through their congress for an act of war. they don't want an act of war, even narrowly defined. they know even if you just say targeted, it's still an act of war. they know that. you'll never get unity between

the center right and the center left. john mccain is not going to go for a targeted strike. he wants to help the free syrian army. the liberal people are more conservative about this issue, and do not want to get involved in this fight. >> michael, i think part of the problem is each time a sort of option is presented, there is a lot from not only the peanut gallery but experts. when the president first sort of suggested limited military strikes, that has been sort of taken apart by a lot of military experts, people who have served in the military and there's been a lot of criticism over whether that's even feasible. the diplomatic option that russia proposed is receiving the same sort of breakdown. i think it does beg the question, should the president have even discussed russia's option yesterday given how many holes are being poked in it today? >> well, he had to just because he doesn't have the votes in congress. he had to explain why he was pulling back from the brink for a second time in two weeks.

so i don't think he really had a choice there. i think you're right. a lot of this deliberation has been done in a very public way, which is unusual for these sort of national security matters. i mean, there wasn't this sort of debate before panama with george h.w. bush. there wasn't this debate, you know, before troops were -- more troops were committed to, you know, grenada by reagan. he went and explained it afterwards. i think it's an unusual situation. >> it is developing, as they say. "time" magazine's michael sharer, thank you. and thank you to the host of "hardball," on at 7:00 p.m. here on msnbc, chris matthews. thanks for your time. >> thank you. >> after the break, as the old saying goes, keep your friends close and keep vladimir putin even closer. we'll discuss russian reliability and the diplomatic option when andrea mitchell joins me next on "now." ♪

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while much of president obama's address to the nation made the case for a military strike in syria, he ended by outlining the alternative, a diplomatic approach that would force syria to relinquish control of its chemical weapons. as soon as the proposal was introduced on wednesday, said to be under consideration by president obama later that day and accepted by the syrian government on tuesday, the fault lines have become clear. yesterday russia abruptly canceled an emergency session of the u.n. security council, resisting a proposed enforcement trigger in a draft french resolution. the trigger would threaten military action if syria does not cede its chemical weapons to international control. said putin, it is difficult to make any country in the world yun lat ri disarm if there's a military action against it under consideration. tonight secretary of state john kerry leaves for geneva, where

he'll meet with his russian counterpart sergei lavrov. joining me from washington is nbc news chief foreign affairs correspondent and host of msnbc's "andrea mitchell reports," andrea mitchell. thanks so much for joining us today. >> my pleasure. >> the talk coming out of the u.n. here as far as enforcement, john kerry said yesterday nothing focuses the mind like the prospect of a hanging. at the same time, the door seems to be open to weakening the enforcement mechanisms in a resolution. how likely is it, do you think, that we get a resolution without an enforcement mechanism in it? >> i don't think that the u.s. and the french and the brits -- i've been talking to diplomats on all sides, i don't think they will agree to taking that off the table. if they were to take that off the table, that would be conceding to vladimir putin everything and basically eliminating any kind of muscle behind a u.n. resolution. so i don't think this is going

to work unless putin gives a little bit and diplomacy is all about finding words that can smooth over these differences. how you smooth over the differences of what the u.n. has referred to as chapter seven military force as the ultimate enforcement. it's hard to say. >> andrea, to the point of the russians and what their motivations are, you've done some reporting that says that the white house has been discussing this option with the russians since, really, june 18th of 2012 at the los cabos discussions. if that is the case, if these discussions were happening, why the strange comments by kerry just on monday and then the abrupt proposal, seemingly abrupt proposal from the russians? >> i think it's really hard to say. i've got to acknowledge, you know, what kerry has said

consistently is that this was a rhetorical answer to a question asked at a news conference in london. it was on his mind because it had been discussed with lavrov as recently as thursday. this had been a theme, a consistent theme coming from the russians, never taken seriously by the u.s. when kerry said that, the russians within hours seized on it and said, you know, let's do this. and that's when, perhaps because they knew they didn't have the votes in congress, the white house and the state department decided this was worth pursuing, let's test the resolve of the russians. i don't know. then there was some suggestion that maybe it was a deliberate hint from kerry. i think we're going to have to wait a while to sort out. i'll be on the plane heading over to geneva with him in a couple hours. we'll find out whether they're willing to be a little more forthcoming. so far they have insisted that this was just a comment and that it was only afterwards that the

russians and then of course the syrians signaled they were willing. now, the syrians were in moscow, russia, as well as the united states looking for a way out of this crisis. russia wants to reassert itself in the middle east. it wants to protect the caucuses and the other areas on its periphery from resurgent islamic fundamentalism. they're worried about al qaeda. they want to figure out a way to preserve the regime in syria and avoid an american air strike. so they have a lost of interest here as well. >> on that note, the reality of actually confiscating and potentially destroying chemical weapons is hugely complicated. as this proposal has been floated, there's been more analysis about just how difficult that would be to do in any country let alone a country where there was a civil war taking place. the other question is the boots on the ground issue, and we're hearing today from the pentagon that almost -- it could be up to 75,000 soldiers that would be needed to go into the country to

seize the chemical weapons. so as much as this sort of option seemed like a convenient maybe exit strategy, if you will, the realities of it are much more nuanced and potentially much more difficult. >> well, it would be terrific if we could get our arms around all these stockpiles and get rid of them, but that said, it's true that this is very complicated. we don't know where they've been spread. we know pretty well 19 of the sites. there were 42 sites originally. how many more are there now? it does require boots on the ground. we don't know whether that 75,000 number -- it was one analyst in london, i think. i'm not sure that was a pentagon figure. the fact is that when u.n. inspectors go in, they would need protection. they would be subject to attacks from al qaeda related terrorists. last thing you want is for the u.n. to be collecting this stuff using american and british and french intelligence and have it attacked by terror groups who then make off with the chemical

weapons. so there are a lot of challenges indeed. if it could be done, it would be a great outcome for everyone. >> well, we look forward to your reporting from geneva. thank you, as always. >> thank you. >> nbc's andrea mitchell. you can catch "andrea mitchell reports" today and every weekday at 1:00 p.m. eastern. andrea, what do you have coming up today? >> we have mike rodgers, the head of the house intelligence committee. and we'll be talking to mark halperin and jeff goldberg and of course a 9/11 memorial. we've got a lot coming up at 1:00. join us. >> everyone should stay tuned. that is a jam-packed show. after the break, while the white house focuses on diplomacy, congress enters into a holding pattern. will the diplomatic push weaken or strengthen support for the military option? we will ask congressman elliott engle when he joins us next. is really made of cheese? [ crisp crunches ] whoo-hoo-hoo!

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while the president's speech last night may not have changed any minds t certainly lowered the temperature on capitol hill where congress has been granted a reprieve from a difficult vote. but it remains unclear how long the cool spell will last. afterall, delayed is not the same as done. indeed, while a senate vote on the current resolution seems highly unlikely, at least three new resolutions are making the rounds on capitol hill, all of which call for a limited military strike if syria fails to hand over its chemical weapons. in the end, allowing diplomacy a chance to succeed may not ultimately alter the fundamental dynamic of a congress and public opposed to u.s. military intervention. there remains, quote, little appetite to vote on any amended use of force resolution. several senators privately expressed skepticism this morning to nbc that the chamber would ever vote on a use of force authorization in syria at all. joining me now from capitol hill is democratic congressman from new york's 16th district,

elliott engle. congressman, thanks for joining us. >> my pleasure. thank you. >> i want to ask how the diplomatic option is changing the calculus on capitol hill in terms of either -- do you think in the end it will make a vote on use of force easier or more difficult? >> well, i think easier because i think that people are hoping that we can have a diplomatic solution to this. there are lots of different opinions. you know, you have 435 members of congress and 100 senators and probably 535 different opinions as to what should be done. i think the president is taking the right course and doing the right balance. i think his speech last night laid it out, that we hope diplomacy works. we're going to do everything to see if this russian proposal is real. we need to give it several days, not several weeks, because we don't want to be played. we don't want them to be buying

time or using delaying tactics if this thing is not real. but i think that we owe it to ourselves and the world to see if this is real. all of us would prefer a diplomatic situation, but the president made the point, and i think it's a very, very good point, that if, indeed, this is real, it was only the credible threat of american action, military action, that brought russia and the assad regime around because russia has frankly been a bad player all these many months at the united nations blocking anything we want to do. so we hope it's correct, and i think if it's correct, congress will be eager to support it. but of course, it's just begun, and even if we have an agreement, the implementation will be difficult. but i think it's the best plan for all. >> congressman, to your point, the president did spend a lot of time making the case for why it matters, why we must go into syria, both as a country and in

terms of international -- our role in the international community. and i guess my question is, given that, accepting that argument, what do you make of lindsey graham's tweet yesterday, which was, after this impassioned plea, i cannot imagine president obama not launching military strikes if diplomacy fails regardless of what congress does. can the president afford to not act even if congress votes down an authorization of force? >> well, i think only the president knows. i mean, i'm one of the people that felt that the president didn't have to come to congress. i thought the war powers act gave him 60 days to come to congress after he acted, and there was ample precedence by presidents clinton, bush, both bushes, reagan, but the president felt differently and felt he wanted congress to authorize it. it makes his case stronger. i think we should authorize it. i think the president makes the case. americans are war weary. we're not looking for boots on

the ground. we don't want to get bogged down in another middle east war. i think the president is trying to strike the right balance, a moderate balance to punish assad and make it harder for him to ever use chemical weapons again against his own people, and the president is trying to take a moderate course. but of course, we all hope that diplomacy works. if it doesn't, i think the president's going to have a tough decision to make, and i support him. i think he struck the right balance yesterday in his speech. >> congressman, one last question. do you think members of the president's own party -- we know where republicans are probably at on this issue, but did you think members of the president's own party, democratic congressmen like yourself, would stand by if the president did, in fact, go over the head of congress, they would understand why he had to make that decision? >> i just lost part of what you said, but i'm willing to stand by. i think the president has handled this just right. i think democrats -- i think

everyone in congress, democrats or republicans, should support what he's trying to do. i see some of my republican colleagues opposing it when they supported every other incursion that was made under both president bushes. i think the time for politics should end. i think democrats and republicans should support the president. >> new york congressman elliott engle. thanks so much for your time. >> thank you. >> coming up, 12 years after 9/11, public support for military intervention in the middle east continues to wane. but where do members of the armed forces stand? we will ask wes moore and former congressman patrick murphy when they join me just ahead. check it out.

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afghanistan, 14 are either opposed to military intervention in syria or leaning against it. said combat veteran congresswoman tammy duckworth, i've heard the discussion before that this type of thing is going to be a limited attack and will be done in a short amount of time. war is messy, war is never that simple. joining me now from baltimore is retired u.s. army captain wes moore. and with me here in new york is former democratic congressman from pennsylvania and a veteran of the iraq war patrick murphy. both served in the 82nd airborne division. by happenstance, you happened to be on the show at the same time. what are the chances? patrick, i want to ask you first, in terms of the discussion about whether or not we can have a limited effective military strike in syria, how feasible do you think that is? and do you support the president's plan? >> i don't think it's feasible. you're talking about civilian lives that are going to be killed. there are no pinpricks. there are no small engagements.

this is an act of war when we sent tomahawk missiles in. that is an act of war and something that congress needs to weigh in on. so i am glad that the president -- looks like we have the u.n., russian compromise here. i'm confident we're not going to let them jerk us around. i'm proud the president said we're going to trust but verify. i don't think that america or as a country we should be the unilateral policemen of the world. >> wes, i want to ask you about -- you know, given you are both combat veterans, the fact that the situation in iraq and afghanistan remains as uncertain as bloodied as it is --ty mean, the numbers coming out of iraq, 2013 has been the most violent year in iraq since the full-blown civil war in 2007. yesterday alone, roadside bombings killed 16 iraqis. it's not just the memory of 9/11 that we acknowledge and look

back on. today it is also what is happening in realtime in certain parts of the middle east that i think give a lot of american civilians pause let alone someone like you that saw battle over in iraq. >> well, and that's, i think, one of the biggest challenges that we're having in terms of, you know, just really being able to fully dissect what's happening here. first of all, patrick is absolutely right. the idea of an incredibly small operation doesn't even make sense. that's not even how our military prepares for operations. we can say it's only going to be limited and have certain missiles that go, but president fa -- the fact is the entire military is going to be put on alert. things aren't always that simple and easy. you always have to prepare for worst-case scenarios. even if you were to do that, the question of what exactly does success look like has to be answered. then even if you are successful in terms of the military strikes and operations, what then become the long-term implications and

ko consequences in the entire region? i think that's why a lot of people have a real difficult time wrapping their arms around it regardless of the absolutely inhumane treatment that bashar al assad is doing to his own people. >> patrick, the president -- i don't think it's -- it's worth mentioning, right, that the president is in a difficult position on this and that he's not in an enviable position. nonetheless, he is forced to sort of explain the case in two completely different fashions, two different audiences. you had a resolution coming out of the senate foreign relations committee that john mccain had a hand in drafting that was much more aggressive in terms of what it wanted, the deliverables out of u.s. military intervention in syria at the same time that the secretary of state is saying this is going to be unbelievably small. that gave rise to a host of criticism over the nature of this intervention and from military folks, including robert scales, who wrote, service members are embarrassed to be associated with the amateurism of the obama administration's

attempts to craft a plan that makes strategic sense. none of the white house staff has any experience in war or understands it. i thought that was incredibly harsh, but i wonder, as someone who's a democrat and looks at this administration sees them trying to do their best, whether you think there's truth to that. >> i'm an american first. i think those comments he made are disrespectful and uncalled for, frankly. and frankly a political cheap shot. there's a lot of veterans that serve in this administration, including in the white house and the west wing. i will tell you that as a military person, and i'm sure wes agrees, we have seen war. we know that it is messy. we know it's bloody. we know you see the face of evil. and we want a commander in chief that's going to be the reluctant warrior, that's not going to send our men and women into harm's way unless it's the only choice that we have. >> wes, i want to ask you, as we are on the anniversary of september 11th and we look at what's going on around the

world, what is your sense when you look at your time in iraq and being back in the united states, potentially seeing the country on brink of another military intervention in the middle east. what is your sense around -- what is your sense of america's role in the world, and do you feel, i don't know if satisfaction or a sense of completion is the word to use, but what are your feelings about iraq and your time over there? >> when i was first deployed, i remember when i first deployed to afghanistan, i asked my soldiers, and the vast major it i of my soldiers, the reason they were over there, the reason they enlisted was because of 9/11, which was amazing to me. i first enlisted in the military in '98, before these wars took place. that's got to be the crucial question as we're talking about syria or anything else. there was a very clear understanding as to why our men and women were over there, because the vast majority of them signed up because of that moment. we have to be able to make that same argument with syria. >> wes moore, thank you.

and thank you to former pennsylvania congressman patrick murphy. thank you, both, for your service. we do not highlight that enough and what you have done for the country. we thank you for it. thanks for your time. coming up, 9/11, the legacy of the war in iraq and the plan for syria. it's all coming up on "andrea mitchell reports." that's just ahead. ♪ [ woman ] i'd be a writer. [ man ] i'd be a baker. [ woman ] i wanna be a pie maker. [ man ] i wanna be a pilot. [ woman ] i'd be an architect. what if i told you someone could pay you and what if that person were you? ♪ when you think about it, isn't that what retirement should be, paying ourselves to do what we love? ♪

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let me make something clear. the united states military doesn't do pinpricks. even a limited strike will send a message to assad that no other nation can deliver. >> right now on "andrea mitchell reports," mixed message. the president talks tough but uses a primetime speech to ask