we're talking about 22 members of the arab league.luding the united arab emirates, e jit, qatar, jordan and saudi arabia all weighing in on that according to reuters. >>> all right. number two. ford just announced it's recalling 370,000 cars. the company says the steering shaft may corrode which can cause loss of steering affecting 2005 to 2011 models of the mercury grand marquis, lincoln town car and crown victoria. >>> number three, former president mandela left the hospital today but he is in critical andal times unstable condition. the 95-year-old anti-apartheid leader now at home. the south african government says he will get the same kind of intensive care that he has been receiving at the hospital. only this time at home. he was admitted in june with a lung infection. >>> and number four, a sharp spike in radiation levels in japan is reported in pipes and containers holding water at the nuclear plant. tokyo electric power company says a single drop escaped the holding tank. they're confident that the crews can deal with the pro

what is expected then from the the arab the league? >> reporter: on sunday, first of all the meeting will be at ambassador level and later in the day the foreign ministers consider a draft text put forward by the ambassadors. already we know that -- a lot are saying the arab league have as far last tuesday in an ambassador's meeting. an issue which con tkepls what it called the haoe news crime can carried out by prointernational prohibited chemical weapons. i laid it at the feet of the assad government of in syria. it was suspended from iraq t lebanon and al tkp*e ria. i think the feeling today is that there won't be any show of unity. there will be a discussion put not a unifyed call for mill industry intervention and backing for any u.s. strikes on syria. >> what will that mean for the u.s. then? >> caller: it will certainly be a disappointment if the arab league doesn't give a unifyed green light or commitment to actually take part in any military action in syria. on friday john kerry was saying that the arab league was among americ

the arab league foreign ministers john kerry on friday listed the arab league as one of america's allies ready to response to the ahreblged chemical weapons attack in syria. let's not forget that the arab league did back in march give the syrian seats to the national coalition that omar was just talking about and of course some of the members notably the united arab tell rats took part in the military campaign against gahdafi in libya it's a lot more complicated. last week the arab league did issue a statement condemning the use of chemical weapons as an illegal act and putting the blame squarely on the government that bashar al assad in syria but some of the members think they did have major reservations. lebanon refused to take part in issuing that statement and iraq and algeria refusing to take part in putting the blame at the moment. i think in a meeting in the next few hours there's a lot of heated discussion. i that it's unlikely to be any unity when it comes to giving a formal backing to possible military action against syria. >> good stuff. in cairo, there. >> another leading fig

but on the whole the arab league only interested in influenceing the situation in syria it it's under the united nations. you have arab, tunisia, al tkpw*e ria, iraq, lebanon, against any intervention by the united states. france, on the other hand you have the persian gulf monarcies. they are more in favor of that sustained western intervention. i think more of anything what kerry is going to be looking for is a clear cut unanimous response to add to rhetoric to justify intervention. >> what's happening to the french position in backing strike against syria? >> reporter: well, i think that's had been some the concerns or the solidity of french position. it changed its pack if it were. it would now wait for the results of the u.n. weapons support before it backed any intervention. the feeling is france was dragging its heels in to the wait at some criticism here about possible intervention. up to the joy and press conference between john kerr arery and the french foreign minister that took place saturday evening. the clear case is both countries would be willing to stand be by side. b

that's a dilemma for the arab league.what the saudis tried to do is get the strongest resolution possible from the arab league condemning the action, chemical weapons, attributing blame to bashar al assad, calling on the international community to take action. not specifying that the united states should take military action with strikes. behind the scenes, i'm told by diplomats in the region, that is the intent. the hope is that this resolution by the arab league can strengthen president obama's position as he goes to congress and presents his case for strikes in syria. essentially the arab league is tacitly giving him the green light for strikes, john. >> it's a broad statement allowing for military action without explicitly calling for it. nic robertson live in jordan. thanks for being with us, nic. >>> a dark and disturbing mystery unfolding in florida now. remains found near the site of an old reform school. it's a story that goes back more than half a century. the question is what else is buried there? we'll find ou

the arab league moved the meeting from tuesday to sunday. why this sense of urgency when the league has been largely silent about the issue of syria for a long time now? >> reporter: i think the sense of urgency came really when they saw the debates about whether the u.s. should push for military action or go to congress. they want to have the voices of the arab league factored into the international debate if you'd like. we heard both sides of the argument in the session. you heard the egyptian foreign minister saying no to intervention. the saudi foreign minister saying it's not fair to say there should be no foreign intervention when hezbollah is helping the syrian regime. he said should we wait until the syrian regime has exterminated all people? of course, the international congress leader came up and said, i stand here asking you to support this military action, and he wants, in his words, to redress the balance if you'd like. he said iran and russia are very much a part of what's going on in syria, and he thinks there was some sort of

you keep doing what you are doing. >> foreign ministers from the arab league are meeting today. is that important? >> the arab lead made that decision quite clear. they believe the president bashad assad was responsible for this chemical weapons attack. i don't see them moving further earn political measures here. they can't move any consist incident use of force what they have already decided to do. they have divisions with iraq as well as the lebanese are problematic. i don't think the arab league is a vehicle for getting this situation moved forward other than giving the west some legitimacy to strike. >> what about america's oldest ally, france for 24 hours >> the freedom fries, yes. >> because he said with you must strike back. we must punish syria. >> i think it's interesting. the french have had success in muck of lar foreign monthly and in west africa and in material, from libya, they have done well. and so i think at the moment, you know, there is this sort of consensus in frons that actually must give a foreign policy works en if the public aren't that supporti of it. w

he's in paris today and i believe that the original hope was that the arab league would issue sort of a similar plea that they did over libya. you may recall that the reasons that the west was able to intervene in libya was because there was a sense that we had been invited by the arab league. in fact, the exact opposite has happened today. you have seen members of the arab league saying actually any intervention in syria would need to come through the u.n., which we all know, of course, won't happen because of the russian veto. >> and one of the other questions that i have to ask you see is: sometimes people say: is there a plan b? is there a back doorway diplomatically for the obama administration to force the u.n. to do something? >> it's very difficult to see how the u.n. is going to be used here clearly, the security council is a non-starter. there is the opportunity to use something called "r2p, responsibility to protect which would appear to give nations the responsibility to intervene in humanitarian disaster. but, of course, you have to want to do that. at the moment, there i

so let me begin thank the arab league secretary general arabi. i want to think dr. atia and the ministers and representatives who came here today from bahrain, egypt, morocco, saudi arabia, kuwait and the uae. i thank them for their continued and critical engagement on the middle east peace process and other issues, and i look forward to meeting regularly. we will have our next meeting at some point in october, probably after the middle. >> there you have it, secretary of state, john kerry discussing peace in the middle east citing the tough decisions that have to be made between israel and palestine. kerry also addressed the economic and security issues in palestine that would have to be resolved in order to get a quote final statis agreement with israel. he also said the u.s. does not want to take up syria's civil war and cited what he called assad's deplorable use of chemical weapons against his own people. al jazeera will have live coverage of president obama's prime time speech on tuesday. and get the latest on syria by going to aljazeera.com and following us o

the arab league seems somewhat divided. you have the southern arab states saudi arabia, qatar, the aeue and kuwait. you have also egypt, algeria, tunisia. the politicians in lebanon have come out firmly against intervention. you've got jordon going on record saying it would not commit its air space or military hardware to support any efforts. so it does look as if the arab league is condemning the assad regime for the chemical attack on august 21st still divided over the best course of action. the best course over americans taking place near paris. try to fetch out what is the kneunanimous action against syr. >> what you think president obama sending john kerry out being that he didn't get what he wanted from the g-20. >> it's a tough question it' an intense period of shuffle diplomacy starting in lithuania. i think john kerry felt that he this got more expected out of european union. they have a very strong statement against the assad leadership. they felt that they could not stand idle against what was going on there. her

he also came to seek help from members of the arab league. there's no military solution. what the united states is seeking, together with others - not alone, but with others, an increasing number - what we are seeking is to enforce the standard with respect to the use of chemical weapons. we are not seek something to become engaged in or party to or take over syria's civil war. >> the arab league has unanimously condemned the syrian leadership for its use of chemical weapons. qatar is among a cannedful of nations -- handful of arab nations supporting military intervention, but failed to answer what help it was prepared to give. >> translation: when it comes to syria and what qatar can do. we are examining and studying with friends and the u.s. what qatar can do to protect and save the syrian people. >> because of warnings like this from japan's foreign minister during a visit on sunday. >> translation: we are trying to prevent a war on syria. once it starts the warmongers will not be able to end it on his own. the u.s. president is trapped because he talked of going to wa

united arab emirates, bahrain all helping to try to get as strong a statement as possible from the arab league. the saudis believe they have 70% to 80% of support in the arab world. they have been pushing as hard as they can for intervention inside syria. they've been realizing that intervention without a political capability and will. the united states and european countries, not quite capable of doing that right now. they have been pushing hard so the fact that the saudis are weighing in, strongly as they are, this is the arab nation that's going to carry most weight in the region to carry the issue forward, don. >> so nic, what would arab support of intervention mean? weapons, troops, access to military bases in what does it mean? >> reporter: well, right now the saudis, qataris supplies weapons to the rebels, the saudis here through jordan do it in a low-key way. they don't want to bring retribution. what shape could it take? intervention forces anything between 50 to 200,000. numbers i have heard discussed with diplomats in the region here but nobody really thinks that anyone is close to

what reaction has there been to the syrian position to the position of the arab league on this? >> reporter: a spokesperson for the national coalition expressed his sorrow. this is how he described it he said the we welcome the fact that they co condemned the cheml attacks and called for measures against the syrian regime but said we are worry the decision made by the arab league was not clear enough and didn't go all the way to support action against the syrian regime to stop the killing of the syrian people. than same spokes fern mention there are differences within the country. there are countries that are clearly backing syrian resolution and countries that are clearly backing the syrian regime and as a result they didn't achieve what they wanted. this is coming from the syrian opposition. also final point on that is that the spokesperson did mention that the decision by the arab league would have a symbolic nature because the decisive action would be taken by the country by western countries and are a*eul able and capable of carrying a mil a military try s. >> did they have

position difficult the arab league did try to solve this initially it did not succeed because there are so many extra regional powers which led the syrian powers to leverage their politics. internationally rather than regionally. and therefore the arab league when it failed in doing this the security council to take charge thank you so much for this great interview that's it for today we were speaking to me foreign minister of egypt thanks for watching us and we'll see you here at sofia in co next time. legislators . place . plug lead. lives. for. a living as they come up very hard to take that live there is a club that has sex with the perfect hair plugs let's play. sports. lists lists lists . serious of mit's initial day job its chemical weapons fall into the hague pushed on a road map agreed by washington on what's. currently the midst of the syrian war pulled from an ancient greece in the village which fell victim to the schools of hardline jihad it make up to haul them down to government forces in the country. as it denies as base to present anything venezuela while allegedly u

the arab league is split over syria. they did condemn the alleged chemical attack, they blamed the syrian regime for the attack however they fell short of endorsing the military action. countries like saudi arabia are pushing for a wide and tough intervention, on the other hand you have countries like iraq, yeept, and algeria against action. we have to remember that the secretary general of the arab league says he does not want prefer or want a military action because he says the solution in syria is a political one. so i think secretary kerry will try to get more countries to back the military intervention so he can go back to the u.s. congress and convince them saying there is wide fourth from arab countries to back a possible military intrens against syria. -- intervention against syria. >> how much support is there when it comes to possible military strikes? >> yes, well, according to a source at the chiefs of staff of the there free syrian army telling al jazeera they do have coordination with the americans. however

the suggestion is that the arab league to the support that i will read from the resolutions of the arab league. never one to call upon the united nations in the international committee to shoulder its responsibility to take firm and deflective means and measures against perpetrators of this crime for which the syrian regime is responsible to take an end to such violations that it has been committed for more than two years. neil:? >> no except two of them i can go on. they strongly condemn sinn denounce this crime with the exception of two countries to denounce this crime that internationally prohibited chemical weapons were used in fifth flagrant denial of humanitarian value and i could go on. neil: the you think that is post decision and? >> this was held right after >> said they say it is imminent now that looks like it is not they get worried? >> they are very worried united states basically has advocated dell longstanding leadership role we have a lot of allies ever critical to us. israel of course, is now faced with a huge problem not only dealing with syria but iran it has been th

there's no dispute within the arab league, at least from their resolutions as to who is to blame. they want the international community led by the united nations to live up to the charter of that organization to protect innocent civilia. the saudi foreign minister making the argument the international community cannot hide behind the fear of foreign military intervention to absolve itself from the responsibility of protecting innocent syrian civilians. the allies of the syrian government here across the middle east, including iran and hezbollah striking a tone of defiance, saying this is an historic retreat and a victory for the syrian government which has vowed to retaliate and defend itself in the face any of military assault from the united states. richard? >> ayman moyheldin live for us on the story. >>> more details emerge about falsified statements in the naval academy sex assault case. an investigator says the three accused men lied about their interactions with the female midshipman the night of the attack. all three said they saw the woman at the party. they are charged w

the arab league's response to this is a joke. here we are, left to topple the last regime in the middle east. for the third time, in a decade, entering a national civil war in that part of the world, essentially alone, again, secretary kerry, you spoke on the world's response to the use of chemical weapons. even that history, one would think that more countries would join the u.s. in participating, not supporting, in participating in a military strike against syria. what gives? >> well, congressman, i will try to be quick here. first of all, i do not want to make this debate about what is happening in terms of regime change and a larger issues. a fruitwant to clarify. vendorwho was tired of corruption and being slapped around started the arab spring in tunisia and throughout a dictator who had been there for a long. of time. that's a long period of time. intel rear square, -- squareit was a bunch of young, in tahrir it was a bunch of young people with facebook and so forth who organized a resolution. it was not the muslim brother

the stop stories, concentrate john kerry meets arab league officials.told ministers in paris that the war in syria needs a solution. military strikes by international forces about degrade his military, says bashar al-assad, during an interview with television station cbs >> exit polls in russia suggest this kremlin-backed candidate will keep his post as mayor, the opposition is disputing the results. >> iran's foreign minister sa says... president obama wants to attack syria. he warneded that an attack on syria would set the middle east on fire. >> translation: we are trying to avoid a war on syria, once it starts war monningers will not be able to end it. the u.s. president is trapped. we hope he gets out of this trap. extinguishing a fire to this region will be tough. with cooperation from iraqi friends and other countries we hope to prevent the war. >> meanwhile speaking at that same meeting iraq's foreign minister says his country would not be used as a base for an attack on syria. >> translation: we have no information with regards to a set date fo

position difficult the arab league did try to solve this initially it did not succeed because there are so many extra regional powers which led the syrian powers to leverage their politics. internationally rather than regionally. and therefore the arab league when it failed in doing this asked the security council to take charge ok thank you so much for this great interview that's it for today we were speaking to me foreign minister of egypt fans were watching us and we will see you here at sofia in ca next time. wealthy british signs on hold some time to write in the front. of the. markets why not. find out what's really happening to the global economy cause a report on our t.v. . dramas that can't be ignored to. stories others who refuse to notice. the faces changing the world lights now. so picture of today's leaves no longer from around the globe. broke to. the. well but i will only react to situations as i haven't read the reports first so i'm not you know pleased to know i will leave them to the state department to comment on your latter part of the monthly so that it is secur

position difficult the arab league did try to solve this initially it did not succeed because there are so many extra regional powers which led the syrian powers to leverage their politics. internationally rather than regionally. and therefore the arab league when it failed in doing this the security council to take charge thank you so much for this great interview that's it for today we're speaking tonight being tommy foreign minister of egypt thanks for watching us and we'll see you here at sophie anchor next time. legislative . player . play . live. a listen they play very hard to make up lists or get along there is a club that has sex with the perfect pair of gloves let's play. just say. lists lists lists . syria submit initial data of its chemical weapons program to the hague watchdog a road map agreed by washington and moscow. palestinian homes were destroyed by the israeli army will not be getting crucial late to the military trucks with supplies and force a company european diplomats to lie face down on the ground. the u.s. denies airspace to president nicolas maduro of vene

meanwhile, you have countries that are part of the arab league, the foreign ministers of the arab leaguethey met in cairo. they issued a very tough statement, one that said the international kplun knit at this must hold them accountable for the use of chemical weapons. it implied and approved the use of force saying they must do whatever they can to punish the syrian government. you get two different narratives, one coming out from the arab league to say they want action against the syrian government. that's certainly how it's going to unfold in the political arena in the united states. it is being projected as a victory. across the board in general there is a bit of a sense of relief that this country has averted yet another military confrontation. >> ayman, thank you very much for that. that's the latest on the latest from syria. joining us is professor michael hudson director of the middle east institute. and middle east correspondent is with us. let's kick off with you. you just heard what ayman said, i hope, about the arab league coming out. how important is that? what does that mea

a country that's not a member of the arab league is turkey. turkey has a modern military, member of nato and in the neighborhood and borders sir why. >> and vested interest in the region. i'm certain we'll talk about it more in the weeks and months to come. >> thanks so much. >>> we have much more ahead in the newsroom and it all starts right now. >>> it's third hour of the "newsroom" this sunday. hello, everyone. a look at the top stories this hour. in less than 24 hours congress returns to washington to debate but can lawmakers be convinced the syrian regime is to blame for a seuspected sarin gas attack? members of the u.s. armed forces go online to oppose a strike. public dissent within the military? straight ahead. >>> plus, the consequences of a u.s. strike on syria. what will the blowback be in tomahawk missiles were to start flying? >>> u.s. secretary of state kerry is very busy to convince the international community to back u.s. military action against syria. >> what we are seeking is to enforce the standard with respect to the use of

i want to talk about the arab league. they put out an interesting statement calling for some type of international action, but they had specific language. >> reporter: yeah, they most certainly did. they are saying they blame the regime. at the end of the day, the regime is responsible for security. they want to see international action along the lines of an investigation and court. they are not specifically calling for military action. this is a very important distinction to make, especially if you remember the rhetoric when the same debate was going on about libya and the league came out and supporting military action. that key ally, the arab league and nation, not necessarily someone or an entity the u.s. can turn to to rely on and is going to support strikes. it's a complicated situation here. everybody who is watching is anxious. what is happening in syria is not confined to that nation alone and impacting syria's neighbors and could impact the entire region. people are worried about what is going to happen. >> no ov

in 2003, the arab league was opposed to action. now are calling for it. they have issued a statement holding the syrian regime responsible and asking the international community to overcome internal disagreements to take action over who is esponsible for this crime. >> a couple of days ago, i was expecting to oppose the overnment. is my honorable friend aware that his determination to go down the route of the united nations and his willingness to share it in this house will be helpful in making up my mind tonight. >> i want to unite as much of the country and as much of this house as possible. it is right on these vital issues of national importance, we should seek the break this consensus. that is the right thing and we will continue to do that. mr. speaker, the president of the united states, barack obama, is a man who opposes the action. no one could describe him as a president who wants to involve america in more wars in the middle east. he supports action in this case. when i spoke to president obama last weekend, i said we shared his view about the

. >> if you are asking the question does the arab league have sufficient capability to make a contribution to any contemplated military action - the answer is yes. they have some of the most advanced weapons systems in the world, some of the best fighter aircraft delivering some of the most precise weapons. it's an issue of political will, not capability - whether the individual countries are able to make a contribution to the coalition. >> the world is observing international literacy day. an un reminder that education is

to talk about iraq that we've just learned today that it's voted against intervention that the arab league is that not ironic bearing in mind of course in effect liberated pull u.s. forces. well you can see the tragedy of iraq the horrible tragedy that every day people are dying there over a million people were killed five million were made refugees or more than a quarter of the population killed wounded or made refugees by the us intervention and occupation you can certainly understand why the government in iraq and the government in iraq that was loyal to the interest of the iraqi people would want to

he says the arab league could in essence pay for the whole operation. >> shepard: the arab league hasmphatically said no. the ones who are affected by this, saudis and jordanians, where are they? >> secretary kerry was specific in saying that the arab league has the money and that they have the disposition to pay for it. >> shepard: the arab league said not only are they not going along with it, they came occupy formally saying they're against it. the british are against it. there's not a nation on the planet, congresswoman. with great respect and admiration, not a nation on the planet that said if you go do this, we're right there with you. the american people are against it in enormous numbers and the word from capitol hill is no boots on the ground. really? what about this? from the south of lebanon, hezbollah decides no you don't and launch something into israel. then the israelis retaliate. is it still no or if have we stirred a hornets' nest that will leave us in full scale war. >> excellent questions. none of that was answered in deliberations nor in the senate. he said perhaps

there is support out there. >> am i wrong here, tamara, or did the arab league say there should be no military action unless the united nations gets behind it? >> i think there a lot of division among the arab states on this question. the gulf states were pressing very hard within the arab league for a resolution like their resolution on libya that would have supported international military action. but they weren't able to get it and they faced opposition from egypt and algeria and others. the problem for the league they were very early out front against assad in the way he has been treating his own citizens and they can't put forward an alternative proposal for how to handle this. >> i think it's fair to say they represent some of the world's no anti-assad governments. having said that, there is this ongoing question that we are hearing from members of congress about how important it is to bring in the international community. let me play for you what congressman charlie rangel had to say about it. >> there is no way that i can imagine that the united states is the only country that

the regime to support the arab league initiative you dave. approved of a mission we've convinced. mr acid's. government. that made. it on the go to the. inspectors and to prove coffee on the plan. every time the mandate was cancelled we were also the organizers of the geneva conference and we saw were a communique coming out of it and everyone says that this is the bible so it is least a blueprint for the geneva settlements we've been talking about geneva two conference . and as we. agreed we've. convinced. mr are started who said she was ready to send a delegation to such a conference. to implement all of the items of the communique but we're not seeing the same signals from the opposition and the opposition was just. under the influence of. the. people in the countries of the region in countries which are staunch opponent of larry king. if you don't want any conference they are aligned with the military. and that's why the opposition don't want anything they want this toppling of the regime they don't have the forces of their own that's why they demanded military intervention fr

but i believe that there are many, the arab league has already spoken out, voices as far away as japan, new zealand, australia, other places have spoken out. i think the world takes enormous affront at this incredible abuse of power, this attack on decency and incredible crime against humanity. i think voices will grow over the next days as people see the evidence. and that evidence is becoming more powerful every day as i mentioned to you, we no you have the additional evidence of the signatures of sarin gas from the first responders. >> is this from the united nations? >> no, this is independent. this came to the united states, it's independent. but it is confirmation of the signatures of sarin. and so the case gets stronger by the day. and i believe the case for action will grow stronger by the d day. >> in speaking with members of congress this week, it seems that a lot of the disagreement with the administration is not so much based on the evidence of the use of chemical weapons, but i think the questions are largely about whether your plan for a so-called surgical attack will act

>> well, toure, like anything else in the arab league, it's not really an arab league. there's a group of arab countries that come together and then spend most of their time arguing among themselves. the qatar ris and em rat at thises and saudis who are part of the sunni religious block of the arab league want to see the strike and probably have already said that they're going to pay the check for it if, indeed, it ever occurs. the egyptians are dead set against this, frankly, because they're dead set against the obama's administration's foreign policy against egypt. the same thing for tunisia. if you went through the 22 members of the arab league, you can pick and choose those who have said, don't worry, if you go ahead and do this, we'll pay the check and then we'll send you a con grat gratulatory e-ma >> the country you mentioned is china. incredibly huge player. how do you expect those conversations to play out? >> well, krystal, the problem with china is it's been following lock step with russia for one reason. the only interest china has in syria is oil. syria does

that the arab league supports the u.s. mission? that the arab league also agrees or believes chemical weapons were used. are either of those committing to military force as well as alongside the u.s.? 0. >> saudi arabia has been one of the strongest opponents of military action and made statements. prince bandar, the former ambassador to washington has been traveling the world to drum up support for some type of military campaign. thick you might see saudi arabia, whether it's base, overflight rights, they haven't announced anything yet but i think secretary kerry is looking for something like that. i think some of the other countries will be a little bit more private about what they'd be willing to contribute. qatar today said -- the qatar foreign minister said his country supported intervention and looking what they can do. what secretary kerry said he hopes in the next 24 hours more countries would be signingt totn signing on to that statement from st. petersburg and seeing what they can do. in the next 24 hours, we will know wh

the arab league countries have condemned this. a number of them have asked to be part of a military operation. the turks, nato countries have condemned it. they have asked to be part of an operation. the french volunteer volunteered to be part of an operation. there are others who have volunteered, but frankly, and i will let general dempsey speak to this, we have more volunteers and we can use for this kind of an operation. in the next days, those names as they chose to as evidence comes out will be made more public. as i said here, we have 53 countries who have already condemned the use publicly area 37 have said so publicly. -- publicly. 37 have said so publicly. i think it total of 34 nations have said they are prepared to take action. that is growing. more countries are reviewing the evidence we have shown. as i have said, over time the president has purposively -- purposely taken this to congress. he has asked me and the state department to reach out to more countries and to build the kind of international support thatwe. >>

this is members of the arab league refused to go along with the syria attack including iraq which is still witnessing the effects of the u.s. led invasion there. radiation levels skyrocketed japan's crippled fukushima nuclear plant is reading show exposure could cause death in as little as four hours. on the merkel says that death stricken greece may need a third bailout as the country struggles to meet the terms of current payments and unemployment continues to be the highest in the e.u. . two am in moscow i met president bring you today's top stories and a look back at the week's news after being turned down by key international allies president obama's move to gain domestic support for a strike on syria asking congress to ok an attack aimed at punishing the assad regime for allegedly using chemical weapons last month lawmakers will debate the issue after they return from a summer recess on september ninth artie's marine important has more from new york . obama said although he does believe that he has the authority to carry out a military attack without approval from congress he f

i want to mention, come back to something you mentioned, arab league. the arab eagan league is weighing in on this, what are they saying? >> yeah. they met last night in cairo, gregg. much anticipated here in the region. also, by washington, the hope was that they could come up with a strong statement backing military intervention by the united states. well the concluding statement from that meeting fell short of that, simply calling for the international community to take all necessary measures against syria. we also didn't get too much of a comment today, gregg, from the hezbollah group. they are lob none-based. they are a major participate in bashar al-assad's war inside syria. they have said if there is a major strike they would retaliate, maybe retaliate against israel. if that strike was more contained, then maybe they would hang fire. a lot of questions but consensus building here in the region, gregg, about so far president obama's handling of the situation. we talked to one of the top political analysts here in beirut today and he says, if he co

members of the arab league refused to go along with the syria attack including iraq which is still witnessing the effects of the u.s. led invasion. radiation levels rocketed japan's crippled fukushima nuclear plant is reading show that exposure could cause the death in as little as four hours. says death stricken greece may need a third bailout while the country struggles to meet the terms of current payments and unemployment remains the highest in the e.u. . forum in moscow bring you today's top stories and a look back at the week's news after being turned down by key international allies president obama has moved to gain domestic support for a strike on syria asking congress to a can attack and it pushing the assad regime or punishing the assad regime for allegedly using chemical weapons last month lawmakers will debate the issue when they return from their summer recess on september ninth artie's marine important as more from new york. obama said although he does believe that he has the authority to carry out a military attack without approval from congress he feels that the country would

he met with the foreign ministers of the arab league and seemed to get arab support. saudi arabia supported any u.s. strikes. he was expecting some announcements from other countries in the next 24 hours, showing some support for this g-20 statement that was passed on friday. that was passed by -- signed by about a dozen nations. now, he's expecting some more arab nations to sign on, including qatar's f.m. today said they support it. >> to what extent will they support it? are they willing to give details? >> it's a little unclear. every country will speak for themselves. i don't think you will see all arab nations signing up for any type of coalition. saudi arabia has indicated it would be willing to support strikes and maybe even take part. you know, they haven't said so explicitly yet but secretary kerry's announcement sure seemed to move in that direction. the qatar foreign minister said his country would be looking what it could do and you might have other nations showing political support, clearly the obama administration thinks it's building more international

let's talk about the arab league for a moment. 20, a little more than 20 members of it. it started back in 1945. and they have been an important voice in saying that what syria has done is wrong. they actually suspended syria's membership some time back because they don't like the way the syrian government has been managing things there. but there are key reasons why they're not actually getting involved. which is interesting, because many americans would say if you're concerned, it's in your neighborhood, you have vested interest, why not get involved? first of all, culturely. there's a strong belief in the region despite many difference between regions, many say we're all arab brothers. we should not attack each other. religio religions. and there's overall a reluctance to side with the u.s. even though the u.s. may come in and do something that could be positive for the region and could help them deal with an enemy they don't like, many nations over there have a hard time publicly saying that they're with the u.s. in doing some

the arab league signed on to military action in libya.they have not done the same thing here, it is not because they like the assad government in libya. they say they want him removed from power for two years now, cutter and saudi arabia and other members of the arab league have been arming the rebels and funding the rebels fighting against assad. the arab league put out a statement blaming assad for the chemical weapons attack for damascus, they said they wanted international response to that attack, and they wanted the u.n. to get over its differences so the u.n. could lead to a response. why is that? the united states really is all alone in the world on this. maybe france. but all alone in the world. if the congress says no, it's not going to be the united states all alone in the world, it's going to be the white house all alone in the world on this. why is that? today the white house did a call to try to whip their own democratic vote on this issue, as reported by greg sergeant in the washington post. the white house held a call with

arab league ministers meet. >>> australia's prime minister launches his party's election campaign. >>> and the environmentalists with chain saws. we're deep in the indonesian jungle where it's man versus nature again. >>> first, former south african president nelson mandela has been discharged from hospital after almost three months. he's being treated for a lung infection in pretoria. the south african government says the former president and antiapartheid leader is still in a critical condition. tonya page joins me now live from johannesburg. his condition is described as critical and at times unstale. why is he being allowed to go home? >> reporter: well, i think the reason for that is explained by the south african president's office, which is the official conduit of all information pertaining to the former president's health. they make it clear that they have reconfigured parts of the former president's home in the house and suburb in johannesburg to allow for intensive care treatment at his home. they say that the same medical team, private and public service, and military exper

john kerry and the arab league meet on syria and say that bashar al-assad has passed a global red linethe opposition leader is contesting the results of the male oral election in moscow. and mazda takes a step closer to its fourth formula one title. >> syrian president bashar al- assad has told the american media there is no evidence he used chemical weapons against his own people. this comes as u.s. secretary of state john kerry continues a whirlwind tour to drum up international some work for military intervention in syria. international leaders are not the only ones who need convincing. many americans are skeptical as well. >> antiwar protesters demand the u.s. stay out of the conflict in syria. demonstrations like this one are meant to send a clear message to the obama administration and the world that there is broad opposition to military intervention. >> i have family living there. they worry about what is going to happen in syria. >> most protests only to a few hundred people but opinion polls show that they represent a majority of americans. shortly before the decisive vote in

however, other countries in the region led by the arab league have come out with a statement and resolution, calling on the international community, to consider punitive measures against the government for using chemical weapons. the arab league has remain defiant and steadfast that it wants a resolution, for the international community to possible use force. veronica. >> ayman, thank you. >>> more falsified statements in the naval sexual assault cases. all three men said they saw the woman at the party. they're charged with sexual assault. the hearing will determine if the three men will face a court-martial. >>> today's the final day of the music festival was canceled after two people died. it has been held on labor day weekend since 2009. police say overdoses of the drug, mdma, known as molly, may be the cause. three suspected overdoses at a concert in boston over the weekend. >>> firefighters gained a foothold over the two-week-old rim fire in owe semitooe. the fourth largest in california history, but firefighters believe the tide may be turning. with containment at 40% many are lookin

. >> the arab league is condemning syria for its use of chemical weapons. saudi arabia said it would support a u.s. strike if the syrian people did. >>> now that president obama has asked congress to authorize punitive strikes on syria the administration is rallying to being achieving approval from congress. >>> good morning professor how are you? >> good how are you? >> i'm well sir. it's clear obama wants to launch this strike but does he have any real political cover from congress or international community? >> that's exactly what he's trying to get right now. the british vote, the vote in british parliament that did not endorse military action by the united kingdom is certainly a bluff and now what he's attempting to do is to use this time between now and the end of the congressional recess to add that support. additional lobbying is taking place in the arab league foreign ministers meeting that there are other countries right now france turkey that do support the american endeavor, and now the attention in the united states is turning to congress, wher

the fact of the matter is they have not stepped up as the arab league.y have condemned it, what they have not stepped up advocating the use of force. some will participate, but there will not do it as a coalition. i find that disappointing. on the european side i have problems for a long time. henry kissinger has been right, saying for 20 years that no longer can national leaders in europe as their people to sacrifice for anything that does not happen in their backyard. the war's end of the other things we have dealt with, i think that is pretty accurate. it does fall to the united states at times to step up and have to deal with the challenges in the world and stability when it certainly is in our national interest. i believe this is related to our national interest. lou: always good to talk with you. thank you for being here. >> thank you very much. much more on the situation in syria. lou: we assess what is happening in washington d.c. and what will happen in syria next. stay with us. president obama says he has the authority to strike syria, but he w

or they want arab league participation. and all of these requests which are very reasonable unfortunately the lawmakers who are requesting that broad international coalition are just not going to get it. no matter what the evidence is. and so despite all the efforts by the administration, we're largely left right now with france, which is about to have its own parliamentary debate on wednesday. in congress, as you and i know, several things can happen. rand paul could filibuster a resolution. the rules committee could come out with a different resolution. there's any number of traps. >> the ambassador league saying they would like further action. stronger las veganguage. does that give the president what he needs diplomatically? >> congratulate secretary kerry for that diplomatic offensivive over the last 24 hours. the arab league needs to be able to provide greater cover. there's divisions within the arab league. egypt has most been opposed to u.s. intervention. the saudis and qataris, let me add, are arming the bad guys w