facility under construction. we're going to be talking about that. the president is going to talk about it at 8:30 eastern time along with an announcement about the g-8 being disbanded, umbrella g-20 over it, and some new decisions out of the g-20. we'll hear from the president when he speaks about that at 8:30 a.m. eastern time. also, benjamin netanyahu, if you could hold up "the new york post," he was upset. he puts scoundrel to shame at the u.n. also, general mcchrystal did a "60 minutes" interview and had some very interesting comments about afghanistan. we'll get to that as well. first we'll get to our top stories. harold ford will be in the chair with us as well too. a good cast of characters this morning. here's a look at the day's top

stories beginning with breaking news overnight. in a letter to u.n. officials, iran now says it has a second previously undeclared plant to enrich uranium. the disclosure comes on the same day "the new york times" reports britain, france, and the u.s. plan to accuse the regime of building a secret underground facility. we'll be following this all morning. this comes just hours after president obama praised the u.n. security council for adopting a u.s.-drafted resolution that pushes for the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons. although the resolution does not cite iran and north korea by name, the vote reaffirms previous sanctions against the regime. president obama calls the resolution a step toward nuclear disarmament. >> all nations have the right to peaceful nuclear energy. the nations with nuclear weapons have the responsibility to move toward disarmament. and those without them have the responsibility to foresake them. today the security council endorsed a global effort to lock

down all vulnerable nuclear materials within four years. the united states will host a summit next april to advance this goal and help all nations achieve it. >> in a nod to emerging powers like china and brazil, president obama will announce new chances this morning when it comes to economic cooperation. instead of relying on the eight most powerful economies, the full g-20 is set to assume the role of a permanent council on global financial issues. it comes amid fierce protests on the streets of pittsburgh which are expected to continue today. nbc's mike taibbi joins us live outside the summit location. mike, what can we expect today? >> reporter: well, you know, it's hard to predict, except, mika, all the components seem to be in place for continued ugliness. there was a fair amount of it overnight. 26 arrests resulting from protests by anarchists.

the police are on the streets here in the city of pittsburgh. these meetings go on for several days and attract large numbers of protestors because there are large contingents of media here. in the beginning all the conciliatory messages we're going to allow for peaceful protests, but the anarchists are looking for attention. what happened yesterday in the sanctioned marches, a small number broke away. there was some vandalism, and there were about 24 arrests yesterday, overnight a few more arrests. i guess the good word is the word minor can be used to describe what's gone on. arrests on minor charges, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, minor damage to about six businesses in the oakland area here, mcdonald's, bank, fedex, et cetera. most of that cleaned up already. we don't know what to expect today except it will be the one

big sanctioned march stepping off from where i'm standing now at noon today. and before that, actions against specific targets, according to resistance leaders. we'll see what that develops. we know what happened overnight. we know it's likely to repeat again today if the anarchists do what they did yesterday, and suddenly the air is filled with pepper spray and even rubber bullets and blasts of sound from long range acoustic devices, all the crowd control devices we used yesterday will be in place today in case and unless things get out of hand. mika? >> and then out of the summit, mike, the g-20 is now going to be having more of an umbrella role over the g-8. explain the announcement. i guess we'll be hearing from are the president at 8:30 eastern time. >> reporter: yeah, that's the important thing. the g-8 was the predecessor, a group ha had met, and now it's the g-20 with a meeting last spring in london and now here in pittsburgh. i guess the inclusion of asian countries, china, et cetera,

makes it a much more inclusive organization and a nod that in the global economy you just can't restrict it to a smaller number of countries. more have to be represented, as has often been pointed out by the protestors that 192 other countries are not included in these meetings. this is an expansion of that role. won't be conciliatory to the protestors at all. the anarchists particularly believe in the overthrow of all and any government. the protests will continue no matter how that designation is changed in terms of the organization of the g-20. >> nbc's mike taibbi, thank you. moving on to other news now, we're learning new details into what police say was a terror plot aimed at attacking sites here in the u.s. as nbc's pete williams reports, the prime suspect is now being charged with more than simply lying to investigators. >> reporter: as he was brought to a hearing in federal court in denver, nzazi and at least thre

others, heretofore unnamed, shopped at beauty suppliers carrying chemicals that could be combined to make the same kind of bombs used in the 2005 subway bombings in london. >> he wanted to try to conduct attacks and they were far further along in terms of planning than people thought a little while ago. >> reporter: three times in august and early september, zasi got a hotel room in suburban denver and heated the chemicals. sources say he struggled with the formula, repeatedly contacting someone for guidance, seeking to correct the mixture to make explosives. prosecutors say he searched the internet for stores in new york that sold similar chemicals. >> we have an individual who was trained in bomb making by al

qaeda and pakistan. he came back here. he had co-conspirators, and he was working on getting that bomb ready to go. >> reporter: but federal officials tell nbc news they do not believe zazi ever succeeded in making explosives from the formula before he was arrested. also, the judge in denver ordered zazi's father, accused of lying to agents, released on bail. and a cleric in new york was released on bail as well. supreme court justice ruth bader ginsburg is in the hospital this morning. she became ill yesterday following treatment for an iron deficiency. a hospital spokesperson said she was hospitalized as a precaution. ginsburg underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer in february. and the extended nbc family is mourning the loss of timothy joseph russert. that's the father of the late "meet the press" moderator tim

russert. he's known as big russ, and he was the subject of tim's best-selling book, "exploring the father-son relationship." big russ was 85 years old. we're moving on now to get a check on the weather. that's a quick look at the news. we've got a lot to talk about this morning. let's quickly go to wtvj miami meteorologist ryan phillips for a look at the weather. >> mika, thank you. good morning. as we get into the weekend, things looking pretty good across the region, especially in the northeast. on the cool side this morning. i don't think anyone is really complaining. nice to see fall-like weather to come on in. here's a beautiful start to the morning. in the big apple, just a few mid-level clouds pushing through. we're going to see a mighty fine start to the morning. overall, the temperatures into the 40s, 50s, and 60s through the northeast. it will be a nice rebound through the afternoon hours. we're done with the rain in the northeast. showers in the d.c. area will wind down first thing this morning. it's going to be a nice day as we wrap up the work week. 72 in new york, 75 in philly. we'll get the morning clouds out

in d.c. temperatures in the mid-70s. nice to see a drying trend in the southeast. wet for chicago for today and tomorrow. locally heavy rains across eastern tennessee and eastern kentucky. we'll have to watch that. most of the shower chances for the weekend here in the northeast stay off to our south. today in raleigh, could see showers. off to the west again today, lots of sunshine and heat. triple digit heat into the weekend out west. staying nice in the northeast, 63 in boston, 66 in new york, and storm chances back in atlanta. still trying to get over the flooding problems down there. if you're in the northeast, enjoy it. fall is certainly here. mika, back over to you. >> thank you very much. of course, the big story this morning out of iran revealing the existence of a secret uranium enrichment plant. we're going to speak more on that. the president speaks at 8:30 eastern time. at half past the hour, we'll talk about bibi netanyahu and how he got very angry at the u.n. yesterday. before that, willie, a lot of

crazy talk. >> another day at the u.n., more crazy talk. hugo chavez didn't get prime billing, the big day with obama and ahmadinejad and everybody else. he was there, though. remember last year he spoke of president bush, who had just spoken previous to his remarks. he said, it smells of sulfur in here because the devil is here and all the rest of that nonsense. a little more complimentary of our president yesterday. >> translator: it doesn't smell of sulfur here anymore. it doesn't smell of sulfur. it's gone. no, it smells of something else. it smells of hope. >> he drank some of the kool-aid too. it smells of hope in here. >> another good line for a 2010 campaign ad. >> that's exactly right. >> we won't be using that. >> you won't be. >> harold, this is not helpful.

>> we've got gadhafi and chavez putting out adds. >> not helpful. >> no. i mean, nothing constructive. but, hey, what have we come to expect? >> so we're following this. i just got handed -- i guess it's a wire thing. the international atomic energy agency confirming that iran told them on september 21st it's building a second nuclear uranium enrichment plant. andrea mitchell will be here, among many others, trying to figure out where this goes next. a bad step in a direction for iran. first, did the administration accomplish what it wanted at the u.n.? we've got washington post's eugene robinson and mark penn joining us. plus we'll check in with the moderator of "meet the press" david gregory, and nbc's savannah guthrie set to speak to

us from pittsburgh this morning. first, we're opening up the playbook from washington that everyone will be talking about today, including a game of musical chairs at the u.n. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. woman: in this house, nothing goes together like football and campbell's chunky soup. well, except for maybe these two. - nice. - nice. with unbeatable prices on nutritious campbell's chunky soup--

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why do you think he's getting involved? >> he probably just has a bunch of time to kill. oh, wait, he's the busiest man in the world, and yet he took time to bully me, a fellow black democrat. that's like the pope calling a local priest to tell him to go to hell. by the way, you know how to go to hell? you take the holland tunnel straight to new jersey. >> always ends with a jersey joke. here with us now, politico's morning playbook, chief political correspondent mike allen. hey, mike. >> happy friday, willie. >> happy friday to you. let's talk a little bit about general mcchrystal, the top commander for us over in afghanistan. we're getting a little preview

of his "60 minutes" interview where he's basically asked are things worse or better than you expected, were they worse or better than when you arrived in afghanistan? he said, frankly, they're worse. tell us more about that, mike. >> willie, i'm going to translate that. this is very difficult to say. what the general is telling david martin in that interview is even if we went in with all the fire power in the world, we would not win. it's a very tough message. but all of the evidence from the ground shows that. this bolsters the case that general mcchrystal made in that report that was linked to bob woodward for counterinsurgency strategy. what this means is we can't just keep clobbering the bad guys. we need to make the country safe for local people and work with the population to defeat the insurgency. they need to trust us. that means we have to provide security and services for them, and that takes more troops, not less. that's the very difficult

decision that's on the president's desk because there will be people who take this evidence, who take this interview with general mcchrystal who says that things are worse than expected, which by the way, is a statement of the obvious. you watch the video, and in sort of an offhanded way, people can take that -- >> wait paralegal it's worse than expected. if this is true, do we want to continue? that seems like almost a reason to not throw all your forces in there. >> it's pretty clear the afghan policy is going to change. >> it's going to have to. >> the president is going to have to learn to do this in a way that doesn't send a bad message. already you're hearing conservatives say this is a situation like vietnam or a situation like iraq before the surge where you can't pull out. >> i would agree. i'm curious, mike. are you saying you believe the general's words mean that a similar like surge in iraq would not work in afghanistan? i would say you would agree

there were two parts to the surge. one, negotiating with populations within iraq that found our policies more agreeable, and, two, sending more troops. do you discern from what general mcchrystal said that that strategy or any part of it won't work in afghanistan? >> what we can see here is him making the case for a change in strategy, more toward counterinsurgency, more toward providing security, than the overwhelming fire power. there will be people who say that this makes the case for fewer troops. i agree with those who are saying the strategy will change not only because of the case general mcchrystal is making in public. this is dangerous, right, because the president does not want to feel jammed. he does not want generals up on capitol hill at this moment telling him what to do. so this needs to be done very carefully. but people will also make the case for change based on the fact there's now an arguably

illegitimate government in there. there's still a possibility for a run-off, which will be a big help. if karzai stays there the way he is now, our guys and women are in the position of defending a government that's questioned by the own population. that's a huge problem. >> and interesting that we've seen in the last five days a report leaked to "the washington post" and now mcchrystal going on "60 minutes." a little pr battle being played there. i want you to walk us through something fascinating found on your site. rahm emmanuel and hillary clinton, a little musical chairs power play. walk us through what we see here. >> this is from our friends at "nbc nightly news." this shows that secretary clinton is very comfortable in her shoes, literally and figuratively. at the united nations, the chief of staff rahm emmanuel came over and took the seat that he always seats. rahm emmanuel takes pretty well whatever seat he wants except the boss'. he sat right behind the president.

secretary clinton then came up and very nicely said, excuse me. that's my seat, rahm. and he moved. and gave her the seat. so rahm has a couple of strong women in his life because just the other night on charlie rose he said that his wife amy often reminds him that his title chief of staff includes the word "staff." >> are you sure rahm wasn't just holding the seat until hillary got there? >> he's a seat filler at the academy awards. >> that would be a good talking point for him. >> mike, thank you very much. we'll be reading politico.com all day like we do each and every day. mika? >> all right. lots going on. this weekend, the city of mt. vernon -- this is the mt. vernon in washington state, not the mt. vernon 20 miles from here. they're going to be giving the key to the city to glenn beck. but apparently, not everyone agrees with that. apparently, a lot of people

don't agree with that. king 5's alisa hahn reports on this. >> mr. mayor, this man has done nothing for the city of mt. vernon and its citizens. >> reporter: the city council got an earful about what citizens think of the next recipient to the key to the city. >> we need that recipient to be a human being who inspires dignity, good will, and constructive solutions. glenn beck doesn't meet those qualifications. >> reporter: mayor bud norris single handedly decided to give the honor to fox news conservative talk show host glenn beck, who recently called the president a racist. >> i hope i'm wrong about barack obama. >> on these pages are the signatures -- are the endorsements of over 16,000 people, 16,000 and counting. >> reporter: a spokesperson for washington presented a suspicion voicing outrage over the mayor's decision. at times protestors got

emotional. >> that an elected representative would deliberately endorse anyone whose rhetoric would specifically defend to anti-humanize our elected officials. >> the mayor then at some point changed his mind but said he would not change his mind about the beck decision. >> i plan on following through with my commitment to give him a key to the city. >> there were those who stood up in the mayor's support. >> this is an entertainer. 700 people bought tickets, want to go see him. it's one night. let relax here. >> i'm with her. it's his hometown. he was born there. give him the key to the city. who cares? i don't care. >> i'm from memphis. i've got a key there. >> he's got one. i've got news for you. >> oh, lord. i've got so much to say, i'm just not going to say it. because sometimes -- and this is something we all can learn in this industry of cable talk, especially shrill voices, like maybe the one we just talked

about, sometimes it's worth just not saying something you want to blurt out. >> you talked earlier about civility in politics. >> we need civility in the political world. we need it in the media world. we need it badly. there is a hunger for it. it may be a longer road to success, but it's worth taking that oroad. >> don't you think, if he gets the key to the city, he'll become more restrained. it will unveil in him a sense of responsibility. >> that's the word. there's no responsibility there. >> he was born there. the guy's a big star. he's done well. >> let him have the key. >> take responsibility for your words and don't just blurt them out. coming up, there are just four months until gitmo is scheduled to close. this is on the front page of "the washington post." another big story we're following this morning. will the obama administration meet their self-imposed goal? there could be a problem here. that would be tough. that would be another goal they couldn't meet. plus andy card joins us for a look at today's must read op-eds when "morning joe" continues. pure cane sugar and the stevia plant.

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looking at live pictures from the top of the rock this morning. pretty little sunrise there. thanks, chopper 4. welcome back to "morning joe." just before 6:30 on the east coast. time for a look at some of today's top stories.

we'll begin this morning with the world's top nuclear watchdog agency confirming reports that iran says it is building a second nuclear plant to enrich uranium. "the new york times" reports president obama and the leaders of france and britain were set to accuse iran of constructing the facility. experts say the development could further complicate tehran's planned meeting with western powers, which are scheduled for october. yes, that would complicate things. that is a major complication. >> little wrinkle. >> there are big changes in store this morning at the economic summit in pittsburgh. the white house says the larger g-20 will soon take on the role of a permanent council on economic issues. the original g-8 nations will continue to meet on issues pertaining to national security. and according to "the washington post," the obama administration is admitting it may not meet a self-imposed deadline to close the prison at

guantanamo bay. the white house is crafting a new strategy and changing its leadership team on the issue. it comes with congress demanding answers about what officials plan to do with the more than 200 prisoners held there. you know, on the record, joe predicted that. let's take a look at the morning papers now. we'll start, willie, with "the new york times." >> let me show you "the new york times" live and in color. there's a new poll talking about the way the american public feels about health care and afghanistan. 20% of respondents say more troops in afghanistan. 32% say we need fewer. >> let's take a look at "the wall street journal." g-20 near deal on the economy. we're going to be hearing more about that at 8:30 eastern time when the president speaks in pittsburgh. >> "pittsburgh post-gazette," a welcome, rousing and rowdy, for the world in the city of pittsburgh. >> democrats are jarred by a drop in fund-raising. and white house regroups on

guantanamo. >> "los angeles times," man charged with terror plot in the united states. >> there is that. "the washington times," wilder to deeds, that's not leadership. that's better than saying he's evil. >> "houston chronicle," the fbi sting that foiled a dallas bomb plot. >> we've got a lot to get to pertaining to foreign policy. iran being the big story, afghanistan second up, and a lot going on in pittsburgh where the president is set to speak at 8:30 eastern time. coming up, andrea mitchell on the news out of iran on a second nuclear fuel enrichment plant. first, former white house chief of staff andy card joins us for the must read opinion pages. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. there was a time i wouldn't step out of the house

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pnc. leading the way. the man who called the holocaust a lie spoke from this podium. to those who refused at the come

and to those who left in protest, i commend you. but to those who gave this holocaust denier a hearing, i say on behalf of my people, the jewish people, and decent people everywhere, have you no shame? have you no decency? >> all right. bibi netanyahu speaking at the u.n., also expressing concern that mahmoud ahmadinejad was allowed to speak there. this on the news this morning about iran and nuclear weapons and information that is coming in that they are working on building a second uranium enrichment plant. here with us now, let's talk about this first and get to our must read op-eds. former white house chief of staff andy card. andy, thanks for being on the show this morning. >> top of the morning to you. glad to be with you. >> top of the morning. so we've got iran news this morning about this uranium

enrichment plant. what does the white house do in approach to this? especially given the fact that the president speaks in just about two hours in pittsburgh. what approach do you think he should take? >> first of all, this is not a surprising development. i think it is a very troubling development. the white house should take it seriously. you know, we're finding that these leaders come to the u.n., and they talk about things that are so bizarre. and then they proceed to do things that are really stupid. the leader in iran has done it again. and here's america trying to send a message that responsible behavior counts and irresponsible behavior is the reaction from other people. >> but isn't this -- i want to hear from everybody else here. isn't this really the time when it comes -- a pivotal time for the president to make it very clear what our relationship with iran is and what the rules are. it's now or never in terms of sort of laying down the law as to what the rules are in terms

of trying to negotiate, engage, or cooperate in any way. isn't this it? >> i believe it is. and i believe that president obama needs to demonstrate the real strong resolve that other presidents have demonstrated in the past and say enough is enough. we've given you the chance and shown an opportunity to be responsible. i think president obama has got to demonstrate the very strong, decisive leadership that all of us are paying for. >> two quick questions. one, did the president articulate this this morning at the summit? if you were in the white house, would you be advising him to do that? two, obviously with a reassessment of our afghanistan policy, how does this morning's development or announcement impact in your mind what the white house should do or should not do as it relates to afghanistan? >> i think the president should speak about what the problems in iran are today. i think it would be a mistake to allow it to go through a news

cycle, if you would, around the world without a strong reaction from the united states. and from the president of the united states. because this was really a slap at the united nations. it was a slap at the united states for kind of, you know, we're going to say one thing and do something else. and president obama should stand firm and say, enough is enough. we're not going to accept it. we're going to move forward to find a very difficult way to punish you and demonstrate that you have to take on responsible action rather than irresponsible action after you've given strange rhetoric. so, no, i think he should speak up to it with the afghan policy. the president -- his number one charge is to preserve, protect, and defend the united states. there's not a doubt in my mind that our national security interests include making sure that terrorists do not have safe haven in afghanistan and that bad people in afghanistan don't follow us into pakistan and have access to a nuclear weapon that we know pakistan has.

so i think that there's no doubt that there's a national security interest and the president should provide the leadership for america and the rest of the world to say we're going to stand up tall against that as well. >> but on afghanistan, we have two must read op-eds we want to bring to the table here. the first one is david brooks. actually, guys, i want to do the first one on brooks, which is "a." if you can get to it, that's fine. if not, i'll just read it. he says this, "there are the realistic choices for america's afghanistan policy, all out or all in. surrender the place to the taliban or do armed nation building. and we might as well acknowledge that it's not an easy call. the costs and rewards are tightly balanced, but in the end president obama was right. you don't muddle through the central front on terror. you don't muddle through stamping out the taliban. and if that's the case, mark halperin, take it to andy, doesn't that leave us with few good choices when it comes to afghanistan? >> senator card, good morning.

>> good morning to you. >> the president how faces a lot of big foreign policy crises while he's still focused obviously on the big domestic issue of health care. a lot of republicans have been critical. a lot of democrats are critical. where do you think the president builds a coalition? does he need to build a coalition in congress for a new afghan policy, or is this something he can just do as a unitary, strong executive? >> first of all, he's given very little indication of what he believes the right answers are in afghanistan. he hasn't defineded his objectives and what are america's interests and how do we defend them. i think he's got to do a better job of that. he's clearly got to do a better job of that even in washington, d.c., and people on capitol hill. >> does he need to go to the american public? does he need to go to congress and get both parties on board? or, again, can he just set this policy? >> i believe there are several different ways that you can have a strategy to deal with

america's national security interests in the afghan-pakistan region. i think he has several options on strategy. obviously, there will be hundreds of options on tactics. i think he's got to talk to the american people about how important it is. how important it is that we defend america's national security interests. and they go -- it's not about nation building. this is about protecting our national security interests, and he's got to describe it to the american people. he's been relatively silent over the past few months in terms of talking about the real challenge in afghanistan and why it's important to meet those challenges. >> what i have heard from a lot of folks when we talk about this, including you, andy, is that everyone says the president has so many different choices. there are so many different options. you know what, no matter which one he chooses, there's not going to be a great positive outcome. they're all bad. "wall street journal" says this, "if the president turns off the spig ot of american assistance

in afghanistan, he will be paying a substantial price for it. he'll be going back on his rhetoric about afghanistan as the good war, a war of necessity. he will cast the withdrawal from iraq in a different light, endow the jihadist with a public victory, which will only encourage future attacks and make it more difficult to achieve positive change in afghanistan as well as collect intelligence on terrorists. he may turn hamid karzai's government into an adversary. he will diminish his ability to help pakistan fight terrorists and will likely make the u.s. less trusted in the world. but those prices will be less than the cost of sending young americans to fight and die in a war the president is not committed to winning." harold ford jr., take it to andy. >> andy, i can appreciate some of your remarks, but i do think it's not fair to say the president has not been focused on this. he understands first and foremost his role as president and commander in chief in afghanistan as they work through

this. in light of the president's rhetoric throughout the campaign and where we stand today, and as we talk about bad to worse options here, you said we ought to commit more troops. but what should be the overarching strategy in afghanistan? we know it's to win. how do we achieve that? you all put forward a surge strategy in iraq. general mcchrystal is suggesting that may or may not work. how would you advise the president if you were in the white house this morning? >> first of all, i would advise the president to sit with the chairman of the joint chiefs, who is there to give him advice and counsel from a uniformed branch of our military. i'd sit with bob gates and the other people at the defense department to get their views. most importantly, i would say i am not going to ask young men and women to stand in harm's way if i don't believe the cause is right and the mission is clear. so he should decide and announce to the american people what the cause is, what is our mission. and then he should say, i need

your help. i respect that you're going to follow my command, those of you wearing uniforms, and i will stand with you. i will support you, and you will get what you need to win this effort. >> there you go. >> and he hasn't done that. >> willie? >> before we go to break, willie, i want to ask you if you, as chief of staff to the president of the united states, were ever asked to be a seat filler, as we saw rahm emmanuel. take a look at some of this video. at the u.n. talking to the security council. he's sitting behind the president. susan wright politely whispers, dude, get up. hillary clinton is coming, secretary of state. is that one of the primary roles of the chief of staff to fill seats behind the president? >> i have done many roles, including fill some seats, yes. >> that's good honesty. >> we have confirmation this morning. >> again, first of all, the top story of the morning pertaining to iran. the president is going to be speaking at 8:30 eastern time in

pittsburgh. this upon news that the iaea, international atomic energy agency, said iran confirmed to them on september 21st that it is building a second uranium enrichment plant. still ahead, another week, another top five tumble in college football. and which of these stories will make willie's week in review? it's all coming up on "morning joe." instead of $5 per person for fast food,

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join and get a month of unlimited meetings and online tools. so all you'll need is 45 minutes a week to take control, turn hungry off... ...and turn weight loss on. the free month offer's only available for a limited time so join today. hurry registration's free too. weight watchers. stop dieting. start living. another top five upset in college football. fred roggin has the sports. >> thank you and good morning. what is the best way for the tigers to get out of their recent funk? how about a trip to cleveland? a sweep against the indians is just what the doctor ordered. carlos guillen with a perfect 3 for 3 drove in a run in the seventh. justin verlander pitched a gem, struck out 11 in seven. the tigers now have a three-game lead over the idle twins.

red sox, david ortiz started the season cold but is heating up against the kansas city team. the umpire warned both teams. didn't sit well with trey hillman. he was done and so were the royals. dodgers and nationals tied at 6 in the eighth. rafael furcal got all of this one. a solo shot gave the dodgers a 7-6 lead. one on for ian desmond, who ripped a single to right. willie harris tried to score. andre ethier's throw to the plate was on the money. harris was out, and the dodgers won 7-6. hockey. the great one done in phoenix. wayne gretzky has resigned as the coyotes head coach and director of hockey operations. neither of the team bidding on the franchise wanted him to stay. dave tippette replaces gretzky as head coach. ole miss got more than they could handle from south carolina. down 16-3. rebels on a comeback.

connecting with marquis summers, and he was gone. ole miss down by just six. under two to play. last chance on fourth and 16. they wouldn't get it done. unranked south carolina upset number 4 ole miss 16-10. here's a question for you. if the detroit lions lose and no one is around to see it, do they really lose? we'll find out this weekend. the lions-redskins game has been blacked out locally because the team couldn't sell 10,000 tickets at ford field. in most cases this would cause fans to curse the nfl. in detroit, they're thanking the league. many think that boxing is dead and the sport is a joke. yesterday heavyweight chris areola was the one joking around. he played the role of prankster wearing a 20-pound flack jacket on his weigh in. he took it off and tipped the scales at 251. tomorrow he'll take on natale

kle klesczo. coming up, david gregory and savannah guthrie live in pittsburgh. first, the stories everyone is talking about. which ones made the cut for "week in review"? we'll show you when we come back. pure cane sugar and the stevia plant.

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available in stores now. i need to know. is it time? so great. >> time for the "week in review." it's friday after all. let's look back at the week that was. there was craziness at the u.n. but above all else, there was dancing.

>> i'm tom delay. i've been in politics for almost 30 years. >> at number three, the hammer drops it like it's hot. ♪ >> former house majority leader tom delay made his "dancing with the stars" debut this week gliding across the ballroom like a young hobbled fred astair. resplendent in tight brown slacks and a bedazzled vest, delay was actually less terrible than most people expected. >> you are crazy. >> on the dramatic elimination show, delay was spared by the american voting public, or at least by the voting public that watches competitive celebrity dancing. >> the next couple definitely safe to dance next week is tom and cheryl.

>> our political nominee for next season's "dancing with the stars," the graceful, fresh out of prison jim traficant. >> i want to get the irs, kick them in the crotch real good. i want to apologize to all the hookers in america. beam me up. at number two, a wee bit of a problem. no, these are not members of a tuesday night bowling league. they're members of the polk county florida drug task force. the deputies didn't know they were being watched on a hidden camera when they raided the home of a convicted drug dealer and then decided to bowl a few frames on the guy's kick ass nintendo wii. let's hope they didn't sample all the evidence they found during the drug raid as extensively as they did the wii. >> they shouldn't have been playing wii while they were involved in that search warrant. and the number one story of the week, party at the u.n.

>> translator: this is clear that all of you are can laing the energy. >> after spending most of the early part of the week inside our television. >> i was actually black before the election. >> president obama joined his fellow world leaders, many of them clinically insane, at the united nations. >> i will not waver in my pursuit of peace. >> with all due respect to the president, he proved to be merely a warm-up act for moammar ga dary. >> translator: this white book. >> gadhafi spent most of his time this week trying to find a place to put up his weird giant tent. he was even booted off donald trump's property. >> i'd love to have him back. >> in his 98-minute room clearing speech before the general assembly, gadhafi embraced obama. >> obama can stay forever as president of america. >> he also addressed the depressing world problems of swine flu, jet lag, and the assassination of john f. kennedy.

>> translator: somebody by the name of lee harvey and then another jack ruby killed lee harvey. >> little late on that one, moammar. i wonder what former congressman jim traficant would say about all this intellectual stimulation from colonel gadhafi. >> stimulate this. that's what i'm saying. >> stimulate this. the bumper sticker for his next campaign, jim traficant. there you have it. >> there you have it. it is the top of the hour. welcome to "morning joe." i'm mika brzezinski. we're going to begin this morning, though, with breaking news overnight. there's news on afghanistan and on the gitmo deadline, but we start with iran. the news pertaining to iran will change the course of events. the situation and the plans in pittsburgh, where world leaders are meeting for the g-20 summit. and here's what we've got so far. the iaea confirming that iran told it on september 21st that it is building a second nuclear fuel enrichment plant.

this news breaking overnight, acknowledging, again, in iran a second enrichment plant. it comes amid white house confirmation, though, that president obama, along with leaders and britain and france, will accuse tehran of concealing the nuclear facility at the g-8 summit this morning. so we're going to carry that statement at 8:30 eastern time. we've got andy card still with us. harold ford jr., mark halperin, along with me and willie. i kind of want to explain how this broke down behind the scenes because we get a sense that the president as well as two other world leaders are going to be making a very clear statement this morning. chris, you got word overnight -- just how did things unfold in terms of our news gathering in terms of finding out about the president's statement and what the white house was going to be.

>> the president released a press release saying there would be a statement at 8:30. then overnight, nbc news, "new york times" found out about the nuclear power facility. and now this morning the white house confirming this is what they're going to be talking about. a senior official saying those three leaders will make that statement at 8:30 this morning. >> and that they will appear together, which is important. the leaders of britain, france, along with president obama will be collective in their disgust, among other things, and their message. so let's talk about it. rapid fire here with our panel about what that message potentially should be. mark halperin, i'll start with you. 8:30 eastern time. isn't this pivotal when it comes to president obama and what he says pertaining to iran? >> look, in context this could be a positive development. we have talks coming up shortly at a lower level directly with iranians and other countries. this could give the united states, president obama, with these other world leaders the leverage to say, we thought they were cheating. they are cheating. now we need to do something about it. >> we need something decisive.

>> andy card, as a former chief of staff to a president, what would your advice be this morning? >> my advice would be firm and filled with resolve, and i'm glad that the president will appear with other world leaders. i kind of wish that the chinese leadership and the russian leadership would also show up and stand with him. that's important. but i think that president obama should leave no room for an und understanding that the united states is serious about this and the entire free world recognizes that this is a problem. >> harold ford jr., this is a problem who in his inaugural address talked about the unclenched fist, the open hand. a change in our foreign policy, a new dialogue perhaps with countries around the world. but now today, what does he need to do? >> make clear that we have not been shot straight by the iranians. number two, make clear that we will work closely with the security council to take steps if sanctions are need. and number three, to make clear to the united nations that as much as we provide forums for

some of these leaders who -- and i use that in a liberal sense -- at the u.n., it is incumbent upon them to make a strong, and for that matter, a resolved statement on what they're doing but coming before the u.n. without shooting straight with the american community. >> there's so many reasons why you have to be careful with whatever words you choose to use this morning, but being decisive, i think, would be key and pivotal for president obama. >> president ahmadinejad sat with our nbc correspondent ann curry on the "today" show and said that he felt that nuclear weapons were part of the past, that they did not involve the future. fo for us to learn that in the past few days is troubling. >> once again, iran confirming it is building a second nuclear enrichment plant, and the united states accusing iran of hi concealing this from everyone involved here.

explain the importance of the president being at the g-20 and with other world leaders. it is kind of handy at the time this news is breaking because they can collectively get together and perhaps even develop a message that is bigger and stronger because it is unified. >> we talked yesterday about the fact this president is still developing relationships with most of these world leaders. he's had meetings with them. he doesn't have yet, i don't think, the kind of strong working relationship that makes it effortless to pick up the phone or through aides convey the sense we need to act urgently. we've seen it in the past by coincidence you often have the world crises develop when the world leaders are gathered. it's probably to the president's advantage he's able to go up to these leaders face to face as the president of the united states and say, we must act decisively. i imagine at 8:30 we're going to see a show of force. which, again, you imagine if they were all in their separate capitals, we would not be able to see, to send that kind of decisive message andy talked about. >> and he cites a senior administration official saying iran has cheated three times

now, and they've now been caught three times. >> there you go. >> making the case, as you said, a moment ago that much easier for the united states to talk about tough sanctions now. >> we also have andy card still with us. we'll get to him in just a moment. we want to let you know we have david gregory coming up. jamie rubin coming up. all great folks to talk about this issue with. and we will stay on this. here are the latest information. this is, again, after the news overnight that iran has revealed the existence of a secret uranium enrichment plant, and president barack obama will be speaking at 8:30 eastern time in pittsburgh at the location of the g-20 summit. this was a speech, or a statement, that was put together late last night. he will be joined by the leaders of france and britain, who plan to accuse iran of hiding this facility in an address that they will have at 8:30 eastern time. this is according to the associated press. the official says that obama, british prime minister gordon

brown, and french president nicolas sarkozy will demand that tehran open the covert facility to inspections by the international atomic energy agency. there will be decisive message at 8:30 eastern time by three world leaders to iran. i believe, andy card, this is make or break time as to how this president sets out his foreign policy to countries that are potentially dangerous. >> i think this is a perfect follow-up to the expectation he raised at the united nations when it came to discussing nuclear weapons. yes, he's got to show resolve. he also has to say, we no longer can trust you in iran. we no longer can trust you. it's one thing to say, open up and let us look at the facilities that we know about. what is it that we do not know about? this is a slap at the world and the world should say, enough's enough. and i really hope that the russians and the chinese will join this effort because it's critical that they enter the

discussion and demonstrate some resolve as well. >> andy, we have savannah guthrie, white house correspondent, standing by in pittsburgh at the location of the g-20 summit where the president will be speaking in just about an hour and a half on this breaking news. savannah, have you heard anything about what the white house is planning? how is this going to go down? >> reporter: i think we'll hear the white house with a pretty tough tone on iran, urging the country to come clean about its nuclear activities. they think iran has essentially been caught red handed, not disclosing this facility. the u.s. has known about it for years, and, in fact, president obama was briefed on this during the transition. the way this was all developed over the last several days very interesting. on monday, the iaea, the international atomic energy agency, disclosed that to the u.s., that iran had written a very cryptic, as it's described to me, kind of a nonspecific letter, basically pretending to disclose this so-called pilot plant but didn't give a lot of

details. at that point, the u.s. felt it was important to essentially call out iran so that it wouldn't have the cover of saying, oh, we've disclosed this. but before they could make this announcement, they wanted to get allies on board. certainly, the uk and france have been heavily involved. they've contributed intelligence. but they wanted to brief the other countries that will be involved in negotiations next week, the so-called p-5 plus one. so that's germany, russia, and china. on the sidelines of the u.n. this week, officials, diplomats were briefing them, bringing them up to speed. we speculate and think that's probably true. that's why we heard a tougher line on sanctions from russia on thursday when the president met with president medvedev. at any rate, officials from the uk and france traveled thursday afternoon to brief the iaea on what the u.s. has known about this facility for years. at this point, they felt they could go public. i do think we'll hear a pretty tough tone when the president speaks later this morning. >> savannah, mark halperin is

with us. mark, i just wonder, in terms of the options here, what are they? what are they for the white house? this is the third strike. >> we talk all the time about this president's big agenda, some of the things he's choosing to do like health care. if you look at his foreign policy, all the things he's dealing with, upcoming talks on climate change, big, huge, important. change in afghan policy, big, huge, important. this may be the most important thing. >> i think this is a pressing issue. >> savannah, to the extent you have contact with people this early in the morning, is this being treated as a big crisis by the white house or just something they need to respond to because it's in the news and being revealed today? >> reporter: i don't think it's a sense of crisis. really the sense i get is a sense of opportunity. here we are on the eve of these negotiations, and this is a chance for the u.s. to really put the pressure on iran. i think they feel that iran was trying to feign disclosure basically with this letter to the iaea. iran learned recently that the

western intelligence agencies had known of this plant. so that's why they decided to write the letter. and so i think they feel this makes the case against iran even stronger. they think that they can get allies united behind this. and so they feel they're going into the talks next week with a pretty strong position, being able to say to iran, look, you are in clear violation. it was pointsed out to me this morning, the nuclear nonproliferation treaty, requires countries to disclose this kind of nuclear activity at the beginning of construction. that would be a violation. that there are u.n. resolutions against iran asking it to halt enrichment activities. that would be a violation. so they think they've got iran right where they want them. >> savannah, here with us now, nbc news chief foreign affairs correspondent and host of "andrea mitchell reports," andrea mitchell. thanks for getting on board here. give us a sense -- we're going to be hearing from the president at 8:30 eastern time. this was a hastily arranged statement that he's going to be

making, i understanding with with the leaders of britain and france. how strong do we expect the wording to be? and what are the options? >> well, i think, first of all, the fact that they have caught iran red handed and now have this evidence before the world, so it can have two big impacts. one could be that it would unite tehran, the regime which they had thought was becoming fractured in the aftersmamath o those disputed elections, and unite tehran against the west. thatted can be one bad consequence. it could be this possibly strengthens the hand of the reformers and shows the rest of the world, and those people in iran -- and they are very connected to the rest of the world, as you know -- that iran really has been hiding something. there's strong support in iran for the right of iran to develop a civilian nuclear program. but as savannah has pointed out, you have to go along with the rules. this would be, if as described, this would be a complete

violation of all the treaties that iran has signed and has promised to obey. >> that's the key here. >> exactly. >> if as described, they have lied. if as described, they have hid this from the world and from it us. what are the options? >> the options are sanctions. first of all, iran can disclose. iran can invite in the u.n. inspectors, disclose everything, say, we're sorry. we were wrong. we're tearing it down. that is not going to happen. but if iran does not begin disclosing and begin complying, sanctions, the kind of sanctions that administrations -- not just this administration, but previoused amrgs, george w. bush, have talked about for years but have not been able to get russia and china on board. the big break through is if this persuades russia and china to change its position, and that's certainly what president medvedev indicated at that meeting. also at an interview at

university of pittsburgh yesterday, medvedev went somewhat overboard saying he likes president obama, obama doesn't lecture him, obama doesn't act like he knows everything. clearly criticizing george w. bush. medvedev described obama practically as the second coming. it was a very interesting conversation with university students. this is a huge change with russia. and it's clearly this intelligence and the personal diplomacy that barack obama has engaged in. >> and let me ask you about that. we have afghanistan. we have gitmo on the front page of the papers today and lots of different potentials there, and people criticizing the president on some of the decisions he's made and had to back off on. what we've got this morning at 8:30 eastern time is the president is going to meet and stand together with the leaders of france and britain and to accuse iran offed hiding the facility, this nuclear facility that we have found out about in an address at the opening of the g-20 economic summit. that's in pittsburgh. they will demand that tehran

open the covert facility to inspections by the international atomic energy agency. he does have two world leaders by his side. that does help. but how would you characterize this as a moment in terms of the president -- well, the perception of this country's view of the president's approach to foreign policy. >> well, if this had been the previous administration, probably there would have been a lot more skepticism about these results. but given the fact that the obama administration has been so open, and this president as a candidate has been so open about being willing to change policy and engage even with adversaries and enemies, i think it will have a lot more credibility. this has very big implications also for american intelligence, which got the wmd wrong on iraq. so that, of course, is a test. there will be questions asked about that. but it could shore up a very battered intelligence community. and it certainly strengthens

israel's hand in warning that, if there aren't sanctions, the west should consider military action. that's not something the u.s., britain, and france want to consider, though. >> we want to thank andy card for joining us. andrea mitchell, thank you as well. come back, if necessary, if you can. we've got a lot of guests coming up who can deal with this breaking news story we'll be covering all morning. again, the president speaking at 8:30 eastern time addressing the issue pertaining to iran that it is building a second nuclear-fueled enrichment plant, something that they were concealing. the moderator of "meet the press," david gregory, will be joining us. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. [ woman ] dear cat. gentle cat. your hair mixes with pollen and dust in the air. i get congested. my eyes itch. i have to banish you to the garden. but now with zyrtec-d®, i have the proven allergy relief of zyrtec®, plus a powerful decongestant.

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with us from washington, moderator of "meet the press," david gregory. david, let's get right to it on iran. not surprisingly bad news, but not good news. what's your take on the president's problem? >> in many ways, it strengthens

the administration's hand and could potentially validate a strategy of engagement with iran, where they say on one hand, if you want a relationship with the west, come clean on your nuclear weapons. let's get into a round of negotiations where you will negotiate away your nuclear weapons program. if you don't, we have now the evidence to galvanize the international community in a way we have not before, to apply very tough sanctions against you, a regime that's politically vulnerable and an economy in iran that is also in dire straits. you put those things together, perhaps the administration has a critical opening right now and an opening that it has not had up until now. >> okay. an opening, but also i wonder if there is risk here that they will be insulted once again. is there anything they can do to alleviate that risk? this is the third strike. they have been lied to openly. sanctions, i would think, if anything, whatever they say, perhaps they don't give much of a time line for a response.

>> the route of sanctions is something that the u.s. has not been able to pursue with any teeth because they haven't been able to get china and russia on board. the opening by russia this week of a willingness to do that is an important development. the israelis would like the united states to pursue military options. the united states does not want to do that right now. the administration won't do that. again, you know, you get to a point where with the iranian leader who harangs the u.s., who sort of dances around this question of the holocaust, basically just baits the international community, now he's in a more difficult position. if he wants to negotiate, then he's got something that he can negotiate. if not, there's mounting evidence against him that will make it more difficult for him to hide behind. you know, when the international community says, okay, enough is enough, let's see what they're actually prepared to do. this is a huge moment of testing for the administration. that goes without saying. again, they have an opening here to put this as a top priority with their allies, and now we'll

see what they can actually do with it. >> well, and one wire service reporting, where we're gauging all the news coming in pertaining to this, and, of course, waiting for the president's remarks along with the leaders of britain and fans at 8:30 eastern time, a short time from now. we're told they will be demanding iran allow immediate inspections. mark halperin, afghanistan, the global economy, health care, this just jumped to the top of list, did it not? >> this is a legacy issue. it's a paramount national security issue left to the president. by the previous administration. david gregory, i'm going to ask you, though. in the context of iran, israeli military action not a great option from the point of view of the united states government? sanctions because of china and russia not an easy option. how much does the administration feel, if they just manage the issue, they may see regime change from within iran, and that solves this problem. >> well, but they watched that over the course of these

demonstrations over the past month, and in the summer and only saw ahmadinejad consolidate power. you can wait for regime change for a long time and not see anything actually happen. the more international pressure there is, the more economic pressure there is on this regime at this particular point, and maybe that's a strategy that bears fruit. remember there's the washington clock, and there's the jerusalem clock. the fear has always been on the part of washington that the israelis felt there was this existential threat on this doorstep, would take some sort of action whether the u.s. wanted them to do or not. in some ways, that's leverage the u.s. has against iran and leverage it has against its international allies, like russia and like china, and maybe strengthens the president's hand in negotiating all thf nof this. mika, you said it. this is more of an immediate trip wire. you let inspectors in right now. if that's a demand we hear by

the president this morning, that moves up the clock. that makes this more urgent. we're going to get a response to that, and then you'll see some movement. this is probably one of the initial examples, aside from the economy, of an international issue presenting itself on the president's desk in his in box, that's sort of being thrust on him as a priority. >> absolutely. i take it this will be topic "a" on "meet the press" this sunday. who do you have on? >> we'll talk to former president bill clinton and more on affection and iran. and governor david paterson, an important story for the midterm, already bubbling up now because the president has asked him not to run next year. we'll have it all coming up. >> david gregory, moderator of "meet the press," thank you very much for your insight this morning. coming up, former campaign adviser nicole wallace will join us. and nbc news chief political correspondent jim miklaszewski.

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live look at central park as we're following major international news developing

overnight. welcome back to "morning joe." i'm mika brzezinski. joining us now is nbc news chief pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski, following this story as well as the issues pertaining to afghanistan and gitmo. we'll get to those. let's recap a little bit. we're going to be hearing from the president in exactly an hour. he'll be standing shoulder to shoulder with british prime minister gordon brown and french president, nicolas sarkozy, and they will demand that iran allow immediate international inspections of what we found out overnight, covert nuclear enrichment plants. jim, i'm just reading one of the wires. one saying, this still incomplete facility was believed to be designed for about 3,000 centrifuges used for enriching uranium. so the president's going to be addressing this in just about an hour. what are the options for the president? and exactly what does this mean in terms of what iran has told us so far? they have completely and blatantly lied, have they not?

>> reporter: well, you know, absolutely. certainly, the israelis will take that case. this only bolsters the case that they've been making for some time for launching some kind of air strikes against iran's nuclear facilities. the u.s. has held them back up until now. but even in recent discussions we've had with u.s. officials, the israelis appear to be getting closer and closer to this idea that they're going to launch some kind of air strikes. now, in the short term, of course, the president could press for stronger sanctions. according to some officials we've talked to, the most punitive sanctions, of course, would be to cut off the supplies of gasoline delivered to iran. although iran has oil, they have no refinery facilities. but that would cause -- that would create an economic domino effect, if you will, because then iran could withhold some of its oil, and you would see oil prices sky rocket. >> okay.

mark halperin just handed me a wire. and there's a quote here, which is kind of interesting. iran's nuclear negotiator dismissing the threat of new sanctions. in an interview being released today, said jalilli says iran has the right to uranium enrichment, and we will never give up this right. we have lived with sanctions for 30 years, and they cannot force the great nation like the iranian one to its knees. that's nice. >> i think it's important to point out that the cia in a finding back in 2007 determined that iran some time ago had actually ceased any efforts to produce nuclear weapons out of their enriched uranium. again, the israelis argue that, once iran gets enough enriched uranium on hand, the iranians will make what they call a mad dash to the bomb, to very quickly build a nuclear weapon that obviously could threaten

all of the middle east, certainly israel. and, of course, we know that the iranian leadership, ahmadinejad, has taken the stance that israel should be eliminated. >> all right. just to recap the top story. do want to get to gitmo, though, but in just about one hour, we're going to be taking the live shot of pittsburgh, the location of the g-20 summit, where president obama and the leaders of britain and france will be making a statement, a clear statement we're told, about the latest news pertaining to iran and concealed uranium enrichment facilities. this is on the front page of "the washington post," jim. i want to ask you about that. there were plans to close guantanamo. the president made this very clear during the campaign. what is the status of those plans at this point? >> reporter: it's been clear for some time now, according to pentagon and military officials, that the president would not be able to meet his deadline, which was a day after inauguration day. so that would be january 23rd.

and primarily, you know, the white house is going to come up with a lot of excuses, but it's primarily because they can find no facility in the united states willing to take these prisoners. it's that not in my backyard argument. so according to pentagon officials, they're back to square one on that issue, and that is to start looking at military facilities to house these gitmo detainees. the problem, of course, is any of these facilities would have to be almost rebuilt to certain specifications in dealing with this level of threat and detainee. including separate medical facilities that would have to be built for these detainees. and there has not been decision one on where to put it, how to build it, or how to pay for it. and we're at the end of september. so that deadline is going to be impossible to meet. quite frankly, it was a political statement more than anything and somewhat arbitrary to simply step out on

inauguration day and say we're going to close gitmo. >> that's become obvious at this point. nbc's jim miklaszewski. joe said it. i challenged him. i was wrong. hey, jim, thanks for jumping into the conversation this morning. we appreciate it. again, the president is set to speak about iran in just about an hour. we're going to take it live. up next, former mccain campaign adviser nicole wallace is right here. plus former california governor gray davis on what that state needs to do to get out of its economic crisis. we'll be right back. show and tell you weren't always my favorite day. with all the pet hair in the air, i'd spend class preoccupied, bothered by itchy eyes. but now i have new zyrtec® itchy eye drops. it works fast, with just one drop, to relieve my itchy eyes from allergies for up to 12 hours. no other allergy itchy eye drop works faster or longer. which is good, 'cause there's a lotta paws to shake. with new zyrtec® itchy eye drops i can love the air™. (announcer) find it in the allergy aisle next to other zyrtec® products.

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welcome back to "morning joe." a lot to cover this morning. here with us now, republican strategist and senior former political adviser to the mccain-palin campaign and former executive director to president bush, nicole wallace. great to have you back. also joining us at the table, former democratic governor of

california, gray davis. lot to talk to you about, sir. >> good to see you. >> let's deal with our top story of the morning and let our viewers know in less than an hour we're going to hear from president obama. he's going to be standing side by side with the leaders of britain and france to talk about iran's -- news of iran's covert nuclear plant. and apparently the still incomplete facility is believed to be designed for about 3,000 centrifuges used for enriching uranium. the president, we'll be hearing at 8:30 eastern time, will be demanding immediate inspection. this is definitely, nicole, i would say crunch time for the president in foreign policy. >> this is a presidential moment. picking up on something that mark halperin said earlier in the hour, there is a totally unique dynamic. i traveled with the president to scotland, and the tragic train

bollings taking place, and prime minister blair was there. there's a different feeling when the world leaders are together. it's so intimate. you're in hotel rooms and abut each other. i think it really does provide an opportunity for the world to stand together and condemn iran's activity. >> it's an opportunity for the president, mark halperin, and useful that all the world leaders are in one place because he is still new to the stage, and it may be more difficult to establish relationships, and it's better to work one on one. what are the potential pitfalls here? because whatever they say or do pertaining to iran, they have to follow through on it at this point, or he would become, i think, in the eyes of some, a joke on foreign policy. >> no question. on the eve of these planned talks on the lower level, it gives the president an opportunity. a lot of things going on in the summit before this development, the president was being more of a multilateralist.

extending from the g-8 to the g-20. a lot of rhetoric about having the countries have some oversight over the united states economic policy. these are all things that cut away from a strong united states. make no mistake, the president will stand with other leaders at this event. this is when people look to the president of the united states. this gives him a chance to unite, not just the world community, but the american people. there's not a constituency in the united states for any policy on this issue, but very hard line against iran. >> they really have at this point blatantly lied and struck the third time. there's not a lot of options in terms of being nice. >> just to answer your question a little bit more directly, i think the danger is they set the wrong goals. they need to set a tough goal, but one that's achievable. for instance, we talked before calling for immediate inspections. what if the iranians refuse? >> which they're likely to do. the iranians have a record here too. the iranians have been developing an illegal nuclear weapons program under the excuse you just read in that quote, that they have a right to a

peaceful energy program. there's no evidence that's what their pursuit is. i think we have to look smart. i think we can't be played for fools. that's the pressure point. >> we can't underestimate the issue of israel pertaining to all this. we'll get to that. a lot going on this morning. the president speaking in less than an hour. we're going to stay on this. i want to get to other issues as well. we have gray davis here. what comes to mind beyond afghanistan and gitmo, which we'll get to, nicole. you'll get yours. you can say i was right. you can do it because you were right. gray, i want to talk about health care too, which is the other big issue the president is trying to get his arms around. take a look at the exchange the president had yesterday. >> mr. chairman, let me just complete my thought here. >> in one minute, you'll complete your thought. >> i'll complete my thought and then make another point, mr. chairman. >> mr. chairman, i am not delaying. i'm making an extremely important point.

>> it's a very, very important point, but you're also delaying. >> does this remind you of california? >> i think this is what turns people off on politics. >> i think it is. what's your prognosis on the baucus bill or any type of health care reform? >> first of all, let's describe health care as it really is. this is the toughest domestic issue that this president or any president could take on. medicare, social security, they affect you when you're 62 or older. this bill affects every living american. everyone wants to cover the uninsured, but they're a little nervous if their particular program will either cost more or the benefits will be diminished. having said that, i give this president high marks. i am confident we'll get a bill by the end of this calendar year. it may not do everything he wants, but it will move the ball forward. >> nicole? >> we were gossiping before in the commercial break about the california governor's race, and as a political junkie, i guess i'm the second most addicted political junkie here. how would you handicap the california governor's race?

>> you know, so far out -- >> come on. democrats tend to go back and forth between democrat and republican. arnold is finishing his last year next year, so the burden will shift back to the democrats. but the democrats need to show they're up to the task. >> your state is a mess. it's a holy mess in every way. i wonder what the rest of the country can learn from pal's crisis. you hear from other states now potentially using ious. we're in hard times. what can we learn from california? >> the up side to california, the thing that attracted me to california -- i was actually born here in new york. it's an innovative. it thinks big. it dreams. to some extent, it vents our future. the down side is, because it thinks all things are possible, it tries to do all things when it comes to government. like anything in life, you have to have priorities, mika, and

you have to have choices. i liken it going to a restaurant. we don't order everything on the menu. somehow we want government to order everything on the menu, but we're not willing to pay for it. the simple message is you have to live within your means. >> that did not happen there. mark halperin? >> obviously, your state is so big and diverse. it's impossible to think about what californians want in a big way. you see an agenda in washington, d.c., foreign and domestic. what are things you think your state, a country unto itself, needs from washington right now? what are people in california expecting from washington to solve the big problems? >> we're very optimistic that something will happen in health care, something will happen to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. what i really like about president obama is he is interested in science, he's interested in a green economy, and he's interested in innovation. i think, mark, if there's one thing america does well and will serve us for centuries to come, we are the world's greatest innovator in medicine, in science and technology. we have to remain that way.

we have to invest in science, medicine, and in our institutions of higher learning. we've done that big time in california. they're start to go do that in pennsylvania. obviously, massachusetts, florida. so what we'd like to see is more support for science and innovation. >> you mentioned a green economy. we've got the big negotiations coming up in copenhagen on a world treaty. do people in california expect president obama to be green and -- >> absolutely. i was privileged to sign the first greenhouse gas bill in america, and actually the president was good enough to use that bill as a model for cafe standards starting in 2016. i think he wants to get something done in copenhagen, and hopefully at least one house of congress will have passed something that will show progress as he goes to copenhagen. >> governor gray davis, thanks very much for joining us. come back when we haven't found out that iran has been hiding a nuclear plant for months. nicole, if you could stay with us, that would be great. up next, journalist gives his

gripping story of two tumultuous years in pakistan. later, we'll hear from the president in pittsburgh on iran. he's going to be speaking at 8:30 a.m. eastern time joined by the leaders of britain and france. we'll see what the president has to say in light of the developing news overnight. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. most for headaches.

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about 40 minutes from now, obama will make a clear state. side by side with the leaders on france. we are following a story, and very pertinent to it is our next guest. fellow of the new foundation, the author of "to live or parish forever, two tumultuous years in pakistan." thank you for joining us. on the heals of the latest news, we are going to be hearing from the president very soon on this. how stern should the president be with pakistan to stop the threat there? >> well, the situation with pakistan is a very complex one. we have a great ally in the war

against terrorism happens to be hosting al qaeda. a certain amount of pressure can be applied. by the same token, it's a very complex relationship to sustain. >> you spent two years in pakistan. from what you can -- there are obviously situations. what what can you tell us about the relationship between pakistan and the taliban. >> the taliban could make their presence felt, but i could see them and still get in areas and see what they were doing. the agencies knew what was happening to some extent. what has happened between the time that i was deported in

january of 2008 and today is pretty dramatic in that the pakistani taliban over played their hand. what they have done is caused the pakistani intelligence agencies to relies that. and one would think the pakistani intelligence agencies are still maintaining a relationship with them. >> when we start to talk about afghanistan and what we should be doing there, it's a story about afghanistan and pakistan. can you explain that link? >> for the pakistani national security establishment, they are looking at both borders. they are looking to one side and they see india, and our rival if you will, and then they see afghanistan, where the

pakistanis have enjoyed a working relationship with only one government in afghanistan in the past several decades. that was the taliban. and so making sure that the government and the -- whatever emerges from the current crisis in afghanistan is friendly towards pakistan and that's of utmost importance. >> i think at its best we describe the u.s. pakistan relationship as a partnership, and that's to mean something different to americans than how it plays out. can you explain what the partnership is between the u.s. and pakistan? >> well, because of the individuals and the terrorists networks based in pakistan tribal areas, some of whom who are considered quote unquote good taliban and some are considered quote unquote bad

taliban. if we look back to the august predator strike that killed a leader, that may have been the pinnacle. that was an example of pakistanis contributing to the u.s. >> thank you so much for joining us. >> we are waiting to hear from the president in pittsburgh. former state department spokesman, jamie ruben. and coming up, mark penn. you are watching "morning joe."

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welcome back to "morning joe." it's almost 8:00 here in new york city. we start in los angeles, where it's coming up on 5:00 p.m. las vegas, still having a good time there. we are dealing with serious news here that they are not interested. and we want to end in pitsbu

pittsburgh, pennsylvania. >> late last night we got word the president will be making a statement. they will be standing side by side demanding immediate inspections of a facility in iran. the building was designed for enriching uranium. i don't think the president has a lot of time for any type of reaction from them. here is the set, former state department spokesman, jamie ruben. and we also have "time" magazine's mr. helpburn.

andrea, we are getting information about what iran has been hiding and what the president wants to do about it. >> i-it was american u.s. intelligence that discovered it and discovered it years ago. they have known about the construction project for quite sometime. it's not yet operational. they would not have gone public with it, but iran found out that the u.s. knew about it and a preemptive strike -- what u.s. officials are describing of the preemptive strict, and they admitted to building a new plant. they should have notified the allies new plant.

and they should have made it out. that was persuasive for the russians for the first time. and in fact, of course, the big deadline is next week when president obama, as he promised to do with the candidate. >> i think andrea, stay as long as you can. we have savannah onboard. but jamie ruben, this is a dramatic moment for the president in terms of the how he is going to move in terms of the foreign policy and deal with the crisis. he is working with two world leaders developing a statement today. what does he need to say? >> i think it's a good opportunity for the president to gather the world behind him. what is going to be an

exstraurmly exercise, and when all of the news settles down, we will discover that this new facility like other existing facilities gives iran a capability to buildout and build a nuclear weapon. by itself it's no more clear proof of a nuclear weapon than the existing facilities, because it's still what we call a low-enrichment facility. and it's not actually a new policy for the united states to sit around a table with our allies and sit with the iranians. president bush did that in the last round of talks. >> i think the dynamics is a tad different now that we found out this. >> yeah, and i am just saying it doesn't affect the engagement policy. it would be affected if there was a one-on-one relationship

with the iranians. >> yeah, and how do you deal -- how do you negotiate when the guy on the other side of the table is a liar, quite frankly? >> some people say the ambassador's job is to lie. and i don't think it's different for leaders to deal with people and onstae. we need to convince iran to not develop a nuclear weapon. we have to take a deep breath, and even economic sanctions are not likely to make this system say uncle. okay, we are going to give up the materials and the science and the technology. >> what else is there? >> there are only two choices. one is to learn to live with the

iranian capability and the other is a military force. that will be a much, much bigger decision for the president than to what to say in the statement with the british and french. they have additional evidence that iran's capability is growing to break out of the nonproliferation treaty. >> we need to get to savannah for a moment here. i will just cap off what you are saying with this quote from iran's nuclear negotiating saying the threat of new sanctions is a joke to them, the right to uranium enrichment, we will never give it up. we lived with sanctions for 30 years, and they cannot force a great nation like iran to its knees. let's go to savannah guthrie, live from pittsburgh, the location where the president will be making remarks pertaining to iran in just about 26 minutes.

savannah? >> reporter: hi, there, mika. this all developed quickly over the night. it goes back to monday when the u.s. was notified about the letter from the iaea, from iran to the iaea, and it described as nonspecific and cryptic. and they felt iran knew it has been caught red-handed and wanted to feign disclosure. and so as we reported the uk and france were well aware of the report for years as was the u.s., but they wanted the other people that will be negotiating, the other countries, france, and china, and russia, to be informed about this. so they notified them on the sidelines of the u.n. and decided to do this statement. but first they had to dispatch officials to the iaea yesterday afternoon in vaeenna to brief them.

i think what we will see in 25 minutes from now is a statement just from president obama, and the leaders, however, brown and sarcozy will be with him on the stage. when i asked what the tone of the statement will be, i was told very direct. >> that's fascinating. savannah, stand by. do we still have andrea mitchell? andrea, symbolic the two other leaders will be standing by his side, for sure. a show of unity. given the fact iran has been called red handed, and the fact the sanctions have been joked about, what are the options of the direct tone? >> well, we can require them to comply with their obligations under long-standing treaties. and now that the intelligence is being disclosed.

this had been learned quite sometime ago by american intelligence, and this is not new information, per se, but the fact that they are disclosing is is because iran tried preemptively, they went and tried to claim that they were disclosing it. clearly the united states and france and great britain doesn't want iran to get credit for doing something when it's hiding something. and this facility is being built 30 kilometers from iran's holy city. that would potentially make it a lot more complicated politically, certainly if israel or anybody else were to decide on a military strike. so iran knew what it was doing when it chose the location for the facility. it does make that a lot more complicated. and there have been negotiating

in the larger setting with iran. iran has been refusing to engage and still says it won't engage in the nuclear issue. this is the president and the allies telling the world, look, we know what you are doing, and it's time to come clean. he will reach out, as he has ever since to the iran people from last year, and he will say that this is the time for iran to take the benefits of the relationship it can enjoy with the west. civilian nuclear power is very popular, the right and the pride, and the right to continue building civilian nuclear power, which is what iran claims that it is doing. they have to talk a tight rope to help the hard liners rally support for themselves and also trying to divide the regime which is considered to be somewhat fractured right now.

>> as andrea points out, and mark i would like for you to jump in, and it's a difficult time, they need to be extremely direct and concise in what they plan to do and require from iran at this juncture. they need to make sure they get the desired responses for many, many different reasons. >> yeah, and i you have been involved in preparing presidents for statements that come in important times. what are the audience he needs to reach? who will he try to convince the in whatever he says today? >> because he is standing next to the british and french leaders, the goal is really to convince in many ways rush yasid china and other leaders as well. there is a solid group of serious leaders that will follow the iran issue, and they are going to do whatever we can, as

he hit it during the campaign to not become a nuclear state. >> but iran lied about their nuclear program. not new. iran saying sanctions, we are used to sanctions, not new. and united french and british and america not new about wanting a hard line. what might move china and russia to a different place and how can he frame that today? >> well, what is knew is that at a time when the united states and britain and france were negotiating with iran to freeze their enrichment, to have a whole new facility come out is evidence that nothing we have done up to date as changed their calculations at all. so i think what this does is

give the president the opportunity to say to russia, to say to the other countries reluctant to do sanctions, we don't have much time left to effect the calculations. if you want to avoid the choice, he won't say it out loud, because it will be code diplomatically, which is living with iran or having to make the most important decision at all, living with the force, we have to make the sanctions work. >> and savannah, a pint nicole made earlier which is that you have all of the leaders in one place, and staying in a block of hotel rooms, talk about how the decision came about to address it this morning? >> well, i think they felt once iran was going to write the letter to the iaea, that's when they made the decision we ought to go public with the

intelligence that they have known for years. this is not a surprise. the president was briefed about this facility during the president-elect transition time. the countries that will be involved in the negotiations next week, they set it up to brief the countries. and so you raise a good question, one that a lot of people have. if you want to have a big splash and put the screws to iran, why don't you do it to the u.n. g-8 when you have the eyes upon you. the issue was not right yet to make that public statement. they wanted to loop in the allies and brief the iaea. >> i want to ask andrea mitchell and jamie ruben the same question. there is a collective announcement being made today. there is a president that will

have to put himself out there in the face of the news that developed overnight, but we are dealing with, among others, mahmoud ahmadinejad, who -- well, he likes to play games with people. we met with him at times. every conversation with him is a game of cat and mouse. you feel like he is laughing every step of the way. how do you deal with a person like this on the world stage when you are trying to get to the heart of the matter and find out whether or not they are lying when they have lied in three times in recent months? >> that's why the u.s. is asking for instant sanctions. i asked brown how do you feel with mahmoud ahmadinejad, he said there are nonofficial contacts that have been under way for sometime. and jamie knows this well from

having been in contact. and they don't think that mahmoud ahmadinejad is the answer to getting anywhere with iran. this is the time for the president on the stage to say come clean and iranian people will have enormous economic benefits or face the west. >> mahmoud ahmadinejad is a obviously a difficult character to deal with. i think we should be frank about it. it's hard when he can get, as you saw the other day, full coverage for his speech to the u.n. general assembly. the room is empty, practically, but the world is watching because tv finds him interesting, fun, new, different, and all of those things. i think that there are two issues. one is how do you deal with the diplomacy aspect of the thing? can he change the subject? can he get our friends and allies moving off in the nuclear issue on to the holocaust or something else? and then there is the diplomatic political issue of who do you

deal with in the government? i think one of the sad truths mahmoud ahmadinejad is increasingly relevant to the iranian government. i think it was fair to say this individual was more the face of the iran, but not necessarily the power, a decision-maker on the big issues. unfortunately after the last electi election, it's clear that mahmoud ahmadinejad is a crucial decision-maker in the elite that have now taken control in iran. going around him is perhaps not as effective as it used to be. >> nicole wallace, given the fact that we have a president that i think cannot afford to be mocked anywhere on the world stage? >> yeah, and you look at what disturbed conservatived this week is the whole farce of the u.n. and that we created a platform, that's what disturbed so many cities. and we gave him a stage and podium and carried his speech

live. >> in 14 minutes the president will make statements on iran from pittsburgh, the site of the g-20 summit. with the leaders of britain and france by his side. thank you all so much. we appreciate you joining the table for so much time this morning. the president is set to speak in pittsburgh in about 14 minutes. we will go to that live. we will have eugene robinson and democratic strategist, mark penn. you are watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. pure cane sugar and the stevia plant. two of nature's sweetest wonders growing together under the same sun. and now for the first time, in new sun crystals ® . the only 100% natural sweetener

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big news overnight. iran has been hiding a uranium enrichment plant. this news causing the president to make statements along with the leaders of britain and france by his side in just about ten minutes. we have jamie ruben still with us, and nicole wallace with us and mark hapbern still with us. and here in new york, we have democratic strategist, park penn as well as eugene robinson. you were with hillary clinton on the campaign advising her on various issues including iran. this was an issue hillary clinton said barack obama was weak on. what would be the advice given

the fact that that was one of the big campaign fights for them to make a statement that will get the desired response? >> i think this is a critical moment for president obama to be strong and clear and to be direct. i think it's also tied to the policy on afghanistan. the sooner he clears up the afghanistan policy, the stronger he will see on the iranian situation as well. this will be a key foreign policy month now. it's not going to be about health care. >> i am looking at a lot of different reports coming in from our correspondents and different wire services. andrea mitchell is reporting that it was u.s. intelligence that actually learned of the secret plant more than a year ago, jamie ruben. they most likely would not have gone public if iran had not discovered that the u.s. was on to them and then itself notified the u.n.'s international

inspection agency on monday. this -- the other thing she adds to the reporting is the site of the plant which is near iran's holy city, which means attacking it is more complicated than just the simple military strike. >> well, it's 30 kilometers away. if you believe in any level of precision air strikes, that's not actually a relevant point. >> but notice how iran only tip their hand when they figured the u.s. was on to them. there are lying on so many different levels here. what does the president do in eight minutes that says these people are not making fools and jokes of us. >> we need to bet 1200.

what better time to increase our argument for sanctions on iran than when all the leaders are together to show the way in which iran has touted the resolutions. i think we should be careful not to mislead people into thinking this is evidence of a immediate nuclear weapons capability. >> yeah, there are steps that need to be taken before you get

to that. we cannot deny that we have been mislead, died to, fair enough, and we have a president -- nicole wallace, and i want to get to eugene, that does need to make himself clear on this. >> yeah, enrichment is the hard part about making a nuclear weapon, in a country with as much oil with iran, i never understood why they need nuclear power so desperately. i think obama has an opportunity in that america's opposition to a nuclear iran is one of the lasting areas of bipartisan support for foreign policy. i think it's very important today, and as mark penn said, i think it will not be viewed from the american public as separate from afghanistan. we are about six minutes away from the remarks of the president out of pittsburgh. eugene robinson, what do you think the president needs to do at this juncture? >> what he needs to do, project

unity and strength among the important allies. there is no way, i think, mika, that he can really satisfy the point you have been hitting at, which is the way the iranians essentially thumbed their knows about the united states, and lied and lied again. you can't react irrationally to that sort of arat null behavior. he has to be calm but strong and forceful. i think however that jamie ruben really laid it out a little bit earlier, which is eventually a decision has to be made. we either live with a

potentially armed iran, or we take military action. i am not sure where in the continuum between those two points, not a lot of territory. colorado think the iranians are going to give up their program. i don't think sanctions are going to convince them to do so. and mahmoud ahmadinejad and the hard liners are more powerful in iran now than they were before the election. i don't think that they are going to -- they are not reasonable. >> well, eugene, you just nailed one of the key issues here. there is not a lot of room at this point, given what has happened. we are about three minutes away from the president's remark. mark penn, you know hillary clinton. what role do you think she will play behind the scenes in dealing with this? >> she was always particularly strong about the issue, that we cannot tolerate a nuclear iran. and i think it's a consensus position in the united states,

and a policy that we won't tolerate it. there is a tremendous amount of posturing here, and a tremendous amount of evaluations of just how serious the administration is. and what jamie ruben appropriately called a cat and mouse here, it's the most serious game of cat and mouse we have in the world. >> a dramatic moment coming up in terms of the president and his role on the world stage. to recab as we await, the statement will be made with the leaders of britain and france standing by his side. this was put together late last night, in light of new information pertaining to iran that became public. president barack obama, we are told, and the leaders of france and britain, plan to accuse iran of hiding the nuclear facility in an address to this opening of the g-20 assembly, and british

prime minister gordon brown and nicholas czar cossarkozy will d inspections. and french president may speak as well. initially we heard we would just be hearing from president obama with the symbolic representation of britain and france. jamie is smiling, and i am too. you are not surprised? >> yeah, it would be hard to imagine sarcozy not saying something. let's be clear, what they will ask for today, they will get. that's inspections of the facility precipitation reason the iranians wrote the letter informing them of the facility was because they were prepared to allow it to be inspected. they will call for and demand

inspections, and they will get it. iranians have been responding well to the demands of theiaea in terms of the inspection. the iran initiative that will complicate this completely is iran will offer in these talks next week an exchange of nuclear scientists across the board, the way the soviet union used to offer things. and in the end that will clarify that iran is not moving off its demand that it be allowed to enri enrich uranium. >> isn't it possible this facility might have been used for other things? >> highly unlikely. i have not seen the intelligence, and i don't want

to make speculative judgment, but from what they are calling it, it's an enrichment facility? >> so why did they hide it? >> i don't know. maybe they planned on it being inspected later down the road. it's not a big reactor or a small laboratory, but it's a fairly decent-sized facility. they would not have expected it to remain covert, i don't think. >> let's make plans here, because we are waiting for the president to speak. we are hearing there are some changes potentially that it won't be just obama speaking, that french president, nicholas sarkozy will speak. and we have developments overnight in iran. and the time has passed for the president to speak. they are still hashing out details, because clearly this is going to be a very important

message that they want to send to iran. and also the rest of the world. we will take a quick break and then be back with the panel. if the president does get on the stage, we will get right back to you. stay with us. you are watching "morning joe." it seems like the world will never be the same. but there is a light beginning to shine again. the spark began where it always begins. at a restaurant downtown. in a shop on main street. a factory around the corner. entrepreneurs like these are the most powerful force in the economy. they drive change and they'll relentless push their businesses to innovate and connect. as we look to the future, they'll be there ahead of us, lights on, showing us the way forward. this is just the beginning of the reinvention of business. and while we're sure we don't know all the answers, we do know one thing for certain,

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breaking news overnight. iran revealed the existence of a secret uranium enrichment plan

the. we are continuing our conversation as we await a hastily put together statement by the president, as well as french president and gordon brown. they will address this situation any minute now. we have eugene robinson still with us. and nicole wallace along with me and willie geist and "time" magazine's mark halprin. what do you tell the president, especially now, this president, given some of the critique he got along the way on the campaign trail on his approach to foreign policy? >> i think it's important for the world and the other

countries who are the audience to perceive the united states as the leader of the group. up until now president obama has not spent a lot of capital trying to be the acknowledged leader between merkel and sarcozy. brown tended to focus on other issues in other parts of the world. the idea of the united states leading the european allies is a traditional role that an american president has played. it's extremely important to the credibility of the united states and other parts of the world. i think that sarcozy makes it difficult, because he has his own views of who the biggest guy in the room ought to be. and he obviously has been around a little longer than president obama on the international stage. i think it's very important for the president to be seen as leading the western alliance. >> there is a six-minute hold up to the statement. you wonder what the dynamics behind the scene between the

three world leaders must be, but the bottom line is they are making a statement that they will have to stick to regarding iran. >> we had our differences on the world on the international stage on a number of issues, but there is a moment where everybody comes together? >> you hope. i think the hard time he is having a time with sarcozy is because he is tougher than he is. these moments were clear for george bush. moments like this, they wish hillary clinton had won. john mccain and hillary clinton were known for their clarity. and barack obama has not been tough in that regard. >> mark penn, what do you expect to see? >> again, i think that short, to the point and clear, strong, measured, effective. i think the notion of being measured in what you are saying because you don't want to really play all of your cards at this time. remember, i think this is all

connected here between, you know, between what is happening in iraq where we are withdrawing a key decision point in afghanistan, and then iran has been discovered with a secret facility. and so it's a very, very tricky situation, and a key turning point here. he may have to reverse his out look here. >> i wonder if there are any strategic parameters -- who is on stage here. chris, what are we hearing? we are going to zoom in because we are getting ready. that is the personal aide -- yeah, perfectly. we are moments away from president obama as well as president nicholas sarcozy, and gordon brown, the leader of britain will be on stage to address this issue.

what are the parameters given the fact that when you are talking to somebody like mahmoud ahmadinejad, you feel like you are talking to somebody that is constantly finding a way to trick you and make fun of you and mock you in the conversation? >> jamie said obama had a different idea of who the leader is. critics on the right have raised that. and i think today this may be the moment, even if we are building this up more than the white house plans to, this may be the moment where he proves his domestic toughness. it could help him define him the way president bush was defined after 9/11. he may step up as the leader of the world which is what he needs. >> we have the two minute warning that the president will be in less than two minutes

making the statement. jamie ruben, i cannot agree more, that this can pave the way for the president. this ain't easy, what he is trying to do right here and right now with iran? >> yeah, walking that fine line between resolve, determination, and not promising immediate result or immediate solving of the problems. that's the fine line that you have to walk. resolve, but a sufficient patience. i think he will probably do that and i would be very surprised if he did not say to each other in a few minutes when he is done that he managed to achieve the be ati be the objective. >> if he gets exactly what he wants out of whatever demands, or clear, firm statements that he makes. what you are looking at is the camera getting ready to focus on three world leaders about to take to the stage in pittsburgh,

the site of the g-20 summit. this was a statement put together late last night and arranged between the three leaders and worked out as we speak. they are 11 minutes late. this is in response to news that developed overnight that iran revealed the existence of a secret uranium enrichment plan. we are concerned about what they could do with that and could they produce a weapon down the road and escalate confrontations with the west and promote more problems with israel and create more problems on the world stage for this president to deal with. now, this president came into office with a completely new approach pertaining to countries like iran, and this is probably, i think, is fair to say, a decisive moment, because iran has made it clear that they are not telling the truth on every level. this is the third time that this has happened. we have got a situation in which this news comes at a time when

major world leaders, major world powers are gathering together to talk about trying to deal with the economic crisis around the world. the conversation has completely turned now to iran and the potential of the development of nuclear weapons. this was an issue that came up this week a number of times as pertaining to israel. and how we deal with israel's feelings about iran and whether or not we act if israel would like to act if they find out iran is developing nuclear weapons. >> mika, it's interesting. when ever there is a gathering of world leaders, an issue that people did not expect to take on a life of its own, a news issue or something one of the leaders brings to the table. we knew we were going to talk about iran behind the scenes, but i think it has taken on added significance, because it has a quality of a secret facility that has been resolvvr.

and they are meeting and talking and they hear the news, and they get involved themselves. had this occurred when they were all in the capitals, lower ranking officials right have argued for it being handled in a different way. >> and mark halperin was adding interesting color to it. the president was going to speak alone, and now we will hear from sarcozy as well and perhaps the british prime minister may feel he needs to chime in. president obama is in pittsburgh dealing with iran directly. let's listen to the president. good morning. we are here to announce that yesterday in vienna, there was

evidence that iran has been building a enrichment facility for several years. earlier this week, the iranian government presented a letter to the iaea that made reference to a new enrichment facility years after they started its construction. this under scores iran's continued unwillingness to meet the resolutions and the iaea requirements. we expect the iaea to immediately investigate the disturbing information and report to the iaea board of governors. iran's decision to build yet another nuclear facility without notifying the iaea represents a direct challenge to the basic exact at the center of the

nonproliferation regime. and the nations with nuclear weapons must move towards disarment, and those nations without nuclear weapons must for sake them. the exact has largely held for decades keeping the world safer and secure. that compact depends on all nations living up to their responsibilities. this site deepens a growing concern that iran is refusing to live up to the international responsibilities, including specifically revealing all nuclear-related activities. as the international community knows, this is not the first time that iran has concealed information about its nuclear program. and iran has a right to peaceful nuclear power that meets the energy needs of its people, but the size and configuration of the facility is inconsistent with a peaceful program. iran is breaking rules that all

nations must follow, and endangering the regime, and denying its own people access to the opportunity they deserve and threatening the stability and the security of the region and the world. it's time for iran to act immediately to restore the confidence of the international community by fulfilling the international obligations. we remain committed to serious, meaningful engagement with iran to address the nuclear issue with the p5s1 negotiations. obligations must be kept and the treaties must be enforced. and there is an upcoming meeting between iran and the permanent members of the u.n. security counsel and germany. at that meeting iran must be

prepared to cooperate fully and comprehensively with the iaea to take concrete steps to create confidence and transparency in its nuclear program and to demonstrate that it is committed to establishing its peaceful intentions through meaningful dialogue and concrete actions. to put it simply, iran must comply with u.n. security counsel resolutions and make clear it is willing to meet its responsibilities as a member of the community of nations. we have offered iran a clear path toward greater international integrags if it lives up to its obligations, and that offer stands. the iranian government must now demonstrate through deeds its peaceful intentions or be held accountable to international standards and international law. i should point out that although the united kingdom, france and the united states made the presentation to vienna that

germany, a member of the p5 wish to associate with the remarks. i would like to turn to president sarcozy of france for a brief statement. . >> translator: ladies and gentlemen, we met yesterday for a meeting, a summit meeting of the security council on disarment and nuclear disa disarmament. i recall all the attempts we made as a negotiation to the iranian leaders without any success, which what has been revealed today is exsep shaw

null. and it was designed and built over the past several years in direct violation of resolutions from the security council and from the iaea. i am expecting from the iaea an exhaustive strict and rigorous investigation as president obama just said. we were already in a very severe confidence crisis. we are now faced with a challenge, a challenge made to the entire international community. the six will meet with the iranian representatives in geneva. everything, everything must be put on the table now. we cannot let the iranian leaders gain time while the motors are running. if by december there is not an in depth change by the iranian

leaders sanctions will have to be taken. this is for the peace and stabili stability. thank you. >> america, the united kingdom and france are at one. iran's nuclear program is the most urgent proliferation challenge the world faces today. as president obama and president sarcozy have just said, the level of deception by the iranian government on the scale on what we believe is the breach of international commitments will shock and anger the whole international community, and it will harden our resolve. confronted by the serial deception of many years, the international community has no choice today but to draw a line in the sand. on october the 1st, iran must now engage with the international community and join the international community as a

partner if it does not do so it will be further isolated. i say on behalf of the united kingdom today, we will not let this matter rest and we are prepared to implement further and more stringent sanctions. let the message that goes out to the world be absolutely clear that iran must abandon any military ambitions for its nuclear program. thank you. okay. we just heard from president obama, a strong message to iran from the president and then from french president, nicholas sarcozy, and a fairly strong message from the president. but the strongest one, definitely, even looking at the faces of the panel here on "morning joe," was from gordon brown. we have a great panel to talk about all this, but first let's

get to savannah guthrie who is standing by in pittsburgh where the president just made the statements. i guess they all decided to talk. >> reporter: yeah, they did. i was getting conflicting information on that. i was struck. i think what you see is three world leaders true to form and their own character. the president was as promised very direct, making sure the facility was not consistent with peaceful nuclear activities. but the drama came from the french president and the english prime minister gordon brown saying the level of deception will shock and anger the international community. he said iran had been engaged in serial deception, and it must abandon its nuclear program.

so a very tough message from the three world leaders on the occasion of the disclosure of something that frankly u.s. officials have known about for years. as i reported this morning, president obama was briefed about this actually when he was president-elect, but the chain of events that it happened, where iran learned western intelligence agencies were on to them, and wrote to the iaea a very so-called cryptic letter, and at that point the u.s. decided we have to go public. >> okay. a touch on savannah's point, this was interesting on a number of levels, but gordon brown -- >> yeah, in fairness, the way the things are written. president obama is making for all three. and the statement he is read something negotiated on behalf of all three. as he pointed out, merkel as well. four countries signed up to that

message. it has classic diplomatic speak. we will underscore things and note things and ask for understanding. and then i think the action item was we are going to ask the iaea to investigate and report. that's really all this was in the end, was the three leaders getting together and got this problem, asking the international atomic energy agency to investigate and report. and then when gordon brown speaks, he can just speak for himself. this is the advantage of not being the united states. he can use very aggressive message. line mountain sand, shock and anger, and all of these things. if the british government draws a line in the sand and somebody walks over it, nobody minds that much. and if the united states draws a line in the sand and somebody walks over it, everybody cares.

>> well, a pivotal crossroads for obama. and he is saying there is an investigation needed. we have to take a quick break. we have been doing wall to wall coverage on the breaking story. we will be right back with more analysis. pure cane sugar and the stevia plant.

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it's time for what we learned. what we learned is there is still more talking to do about what happened in pittsburgh a few moment was go. the president along with prime minister gordon brown and french president sarcozy with a very strong message for iran. our thanks to a very great panel today. it was great timing to have all of you in as well as andrea and savannah. right now it's time for the "morning meeting" with dylan ratigan. the headline today, clearly the conference just held by the president of the united states revealing the existence of a second nuclear facility in iran. we will get to that in just a second. it's time to be joined by the

armed services committee, to discuss whether it adds meaningful rev ridge or not and their efforts to engage both western european allies and russia to create much more stringent sanctions for u.s. relations with iran. g-20 under way in pittsburgh today. the headline there will be all about compensation and banking. the nations of this world participated in that credit bubble and the nations of the world still have a lot of work to do to clean up the world after the credit bubble. if i can, i want to begin with the news of the day on iran. chuck todd in pittsburgh at the g-20 with what is going on. chuck, are you there? >> reporter: yes, i'm, dylan. the president with the french president sarcozy and gordon brown have said they reported

they are aware of iran having a secret nuclear facility to create fuel. as you heard in the president's statement a few minutes ago, these three countries believe this is a clear violation of what the nonnuclear nonproliferation is about, and it's a violation because they believe the facility was not created simply to enhance iran's capabilities of having just nuclear power, that this fuel facility suggests that they have other ambitions for this. the fact is, we apparently -- our intelligence sources have known about this for years, and what happened, dylan, the iranians found out that we knew and started to report it very late in a very vague statement earlier this week to the international atomic agency. so this is when the united states and the uk and france