i want to ask chris lawrence about that.lk about drawdowns and reshaping our military and ending potentially two wars here, there must be a lot of discussion in washington and the pentagon about how to transfer these people into the labor market that's not really robust. >> there's a lot going on, christine. congress passed leverage lags that offers up to a $10,000 credit in some instances for some companies that hire veterans. each branch of the service has its sort of alumnae program to try to teach them some of these skills before they actually get out. but it's been very, very tough. i mean they're constantly going back and looking at some of these programs to see how they can be improved and to do more before the service member actually is out in the work force. >> you also have the issue of ptsd. it's really interesting because you've got people coming home. they've been in war for so long, and now they're coming to a completely different environmental. brian, what is the culture shock like, and how do you kind of help

>> oh, absolutely. >> chris lawrence is at the pentagon. of this? >> reporter: fred, there's thinking among some officials here in the building that he is simply being honest. this is what he believes, that israel may take this step some time this spring. look, an official told me, there's always this idea that israel goes through cycles, where they make very aggressive statements about their intentions on iran in order to push the west into getting tougher but there is a thinking among u.s. officials that to israel's belief, they believe, israel believes that iran has already made that final step and decided to go after nuclear when pop and they are getting very close to what israel calls an immunity zone, where even if you wanted to stop their program, it would be too late. so, all of that is factoring in here. on the u.s. side, publicly, the u.s. does not believe iran has made that decision. they think they have got all the materials there, but have not come to the conclusion internally that it's in their best interest to pursue the bomb.

i want to go straight to the pentagon to chris lawrence. chris, a landfill? how? did this happen? >> brooke, here's how it happened. these are remains that were either so small they couldn't be identified or so burned they could not go through dna analysis. so what happened was they were cremated. after the cremation, they were put in steel containers and then handed over to a medical waste contractor. that medical waste contractor basically dumped them with some other medical waste and incinerated them. what was left was then taken and dumped at a landfill, and that is what we are hearing for the first time. we knew about the problems with some of the servicemembers' remains, but this was the first time the pentagon has publicly admitted that the victims who either worked in the pentagon were on the plane that struck the pentagon, or were on the plane that struck shanksville, pennsylvania, were also some of the remains that ended up in the landfill as well. >> we talked about arlington national cemetary, other va cemetaries. are we learning about this because of

our correspondent chris lawrence is with us tonight. chris how did this come to light? >> reporter: they actually took the picture john in september of 2010. it was when it got posted on the internet that people started to get alarmed. just recently, over the last few months when this really came out some religious organizations have been calling for heads to roll over this photo. but ultimately, i spoke with a marine corps official about an hour ago who said what the marines thought they were doing was they looked at that ss, the lightning bolt, standing for scout sniper. she said those two lightning bolts have been sort of an unofficial symbol of the marine copps scout sniper, not sanctioned by the marine corps but it has popped up on t-shirts, hats, even some tattoos over the years. take a look at the official marine corps statement on what they determined after investigating this picture that the unit took. they said, "the incident was found not to be racially motivated. those involved acknowledged that the symbol could be misinterpreted and is not in keeping with o

we have chris lawrence standing by at the pentagon. first i want to go in and see ivan watson. he is there in turkey. that is syria's neighbor. ivan, what can you tell me more today about the syrian army crackdown, especially as it applies to this battered city of homs? >> a resident broke up this morning at dawn to another day of this pretty vicious syrian military assault, artillery assault, on this city lobbing mortars, rockets, tank shell lz into -- shells into a densely populated neighborhood which has been an opposition stronghold in the west of that city for the fourth day now. we've seen images of families cowering in basements away from the windows and still that has not done enough. activists say more than 50 people have been killed today alone in this onslaught. we're going to take a listen to what one of these activists has to say, but i have to warn viewers it includes the image of a dead child. take a listen. >> he was only about two years old. he got bombed in his house. this is what the u.n. has waited for. this is what the u.n. has waited for. they kill all the

cn's chris lawrence reports. >> they tell us the u.s.navigating a very fine line, trying to convince iran that military action is real and something to be feared, but at the same time trying to convince israel not to attack until to h toughtoug tougher sanctions have time to take effect. thousands shouted their support for iran's supreme leader friday as he issued a direct threat to americans. >> translator: they say all options are on the table, including war. the war itself will be ten times detry menial to the u.s. >> on friday, defense secretary leon pea in ta stood firm saying again the u.s. is, quote, prepared to respond if iran doesn't abandon their nuclear program. but israel says time is running out. >> translator: dealing with a nuclear iran will be more complicated, dangerous, and expensive than blood and money in stopping it. whoever says later may find later is too late. >> even son former diplomats say iran is full of hardliners who may not back down from sanctions. >> so i'm worrying that the overall strat jir of racketing

. >>> i want to go straight to the pentagon to chris lawrence. we're hearing, chris, about a leaked classified military report. it claims that the taliban already ready to retake pakistan. this would come after nato withdrawals in 2014. what are they saying about this? >> this is a classified report that was based on about 4,000 interviews with everyone from senior taliban to low-level, some al-qaeda fighters mixed in, foreign fighters. these were all people captured by the international security forces there in afghanistan and interviewed over the course of last year. it shows the taliban as a whole to be very confident. their thinking is come 2014, they will be back in power in afghanistan and will win, so to speak. it also shows that a lot of the taliban don't really trust pakistan. they feel pakistan is manipulative but they don't see any other area to get help so they go along and they take pakistan's aid, and that some of the senior taliban officials are still being given safe harbor there in pakistan. brooke? >> what about the ultimate goal

our cnn pentagon correspondent chris lawrence is now with us live. chris, are they backtracking here? >> reporter: john, the pentagon officials have certainly been trying to convince us that secretary panetta did not overstep his bounds telling us that of course transition takes time. but it's strange when former afghan commander now cia director david petraeus, who's gone to great lengths to sort of distance himself from his days as the general, has to come out publicly to defend panetta's troop announcement. and look, this announcement caught not only some members of the intel and armed services committees in congress by surprise, but also some of our nato allies as well. and some of the officials seem to be having trouble getting their messaging straight. secretary panetta seemed to suggest that the only combat american troops will be involved in would be to protect themselves, for self defense. but a nato official says no, these are still going to be offensive operations not just self defense. and a source here at the pentagon is telling us we may

. >> cnn pentagon correspondent chris lawrence joining me now. ou've heard what the general said. pretty emotional, moving words there. you've been in contact with some of those currently serving in afghanistan. what are they saying? >> reporter: i've been in touch with a few of the guys that i just kept in touch with over the years that i've met in iraq and afghanistan. and kate, they're just somewhat frustrated. it's not that they oppose the apology, so to speak, like you've seen some of the politicians making a political statement out of it. they're not necessarily opposed to it. but where they really feel rubbed the wrong way is that they don't feel it's reciprocated. in other words, everyone from the top general in afghanistan to the president himself has apologized for the burning of these qurans. but as one of the troops said to me, he said, look, we understand how significant the qurans are and how sacred they are. but no people died. and yet two of our u.s. soldiers were killed as part of these protests. and there hasn't been the same lev

chris lawrence joins me now live. chris, one activist calls this a huge crime against humanity. you've been reporting the pentagon now drawing up contingency plans. how detailed are these plans? how serious is this? is the pentagon really thinking about military options or is this designed to presht regime? >> reporter: john, the plans are very serious but they're also very preliminary and would need the president to call for them and authorize them. two administration officials confirmed to us that these plans have quietly been in the works for a couple weeks now. military official looking at options. and what that means is, they look at the other military commitments in the region and then they see what assets are available, what sort of missions they might be able to accomplish, and perhaps most importantly, what would the risks be to those troops, those ships, those planes? these are very early preliminary options. normally a document like this wouldn't even get to the president's desk unless he specifically asked for it. and at that point they would flesh it out. >> and wha

chris lawrence live for us at the pentagon. chris, thank you. >>> tomorrow night a talk with former defense secretary gates. >>> up next the obama campaign, why romney won florida. >> i think he ran a very strong negative campaign down there. [ female announcer ] the best things in life are the real things. nature valley trail mix bars are made with real ingredients you can see. like whole roasted nuts, chewy granola, and real fruit. nature valley trail mix bars. 100% natural. 100% delicious. 100% natural. i've tried it. but nothing helped me beat my back pain. then i tried salonpas. it's powerful relief that works at the site of pain and lasts up to 12 hours. salonpas. mathis team of guinea pigs to ty boanso to save some y, d inea pig: row...row. they genatectry, wch le me rf t. guinea pig: row...row.took one, 8 months to get the guin: ..row.ow...row. they genatectry, wch le me rf t. lile cbby one to yell row! guineaig: ro's kof strange. guinig: row...row. such a simple word... row. anncr: t an easierayof strange. save. get onl

. >> chris lawrence is working his sources tonight. what are they saying at the pentagon and the white house about threats to cut off funding for egypt? >> i spoke with a junior defense official who says he thinks the u.s. has to keep sending military aid to egypt. he said look, no matter what sort of government emerges from the upcoming elections, the egyptian military is going to still be a pillar of that country. he thinks the u.s. has to have a relationship with that military. look, egypt was the first arab nation to buy american f-16s. the u.s. has given up over $1 billion a year to the military. the militaries have trained together. so the official pentagon line is this -- the relationship is strong. we've just got to push through this crisis. but privately, the official tells me there has been some frustration that after all these years of building the partnership, the pentagon hasn't been able to be exert as much influence as it would like on this current situation. >> okay. chris as it plays out, i suspect there will be quite

cnn's chris lawrence reports. >>> the u.s.ry fine line, trying to convince iran that military action is real and is something to be feared. but at the same time, trying to convince israel not to attack until tougher sanctions have time to take effect. >> thousands shouted their support for iran's leader friday. they say all options are on the table, including war. the war itself will be ten times detrimental to the u.s. >> on friday, defense secretary leon panetta stood firm saying the u.s. is, quote, prepared to respond if iran doesn't abandon its nuclear program. but israel says time is running out. >> dealing with a nuclear iran will be more complicated, dangerous and expensive in blood and money than stopping it. whoever says later may find that later is too late. >> even some former diplomates says iran is full of hard liners who may not back down from sanctions. >> i am worried that the overall strategy of ratcheting up the pressure in hopes that iran will somehow say uncle is not based on a good reading of the iranian g

let's go to our pentagon correspondent chris lawrence. chris?e duty troops not exactly pleased about these constant apologies, but it's something that can't necessarily come out and say publicly. real quickly, i want to read you an apology from a u.s. military commander real quick. i come before you in a humble manner. i come before to you look in your eyes and say, please forgive our soldiers. stick around because just in a second i'll tell you why that quote puts this entire thing into context and why it may be very important to understanding what is happening with the military right now. >> from the president to the top general in afghanistan -- >> we admit our mistake. we ask for forgiveness. >> reporter: pentagon officials visiting a virginia mosque. >> we as a military did not meet our obligations to the muslim community. >> reporter: the apologies keep coming for the burning of the korans. >> we offer you our condolences. >> on friday, general john allen visited the base where two u.s. troops were killed. a man wearing a uniform shot and

chris lawrence is here with us. hard to imagine there's a problem more pressing than rage getting nuclear capabilities. >> in this case there is. u.s. military officials are preparing to fijd an asymmetric war. what that means is iran declares a military exercise zone that infins on the shipping lanes or inn gates riots during the pilgrimage in saudi arabia, even raiding desalinization plants that other nations use to get drinking water. it's not as dramatic as iranian subs blasting away at u.s. carriers, but u.s. officials say it's much more likely. they look like suicide speedb t speedboats around small, nimble boats that could be use to raj larger ships. a u.s. navy official says the threat has been overblown, but spilgts how iran has been developing the ability to wage low-level war. >> a lot of people think that iran has to start blowing things up to be effective, but we've seen that's not always the case with the speedboats harassing vessels in the gulf. could be done to shipping lanes. >> the folks that are c

chris lawrence joins me with more. i know, chris, this was a very sensitive issue. >> extremely. says they're taking extremely seriously, lisa. the problem is it's not just the taliban this time. even some members of afghan's parliament are urging afghans to take up arms against the u.s. military. the burning of korans has ignited a fire, one that's proving hard to douse. >> we understand that emotions are running extremely high. >> in eastern afghanistan, a man in an afghan army uniform shot and killed two u.s. troops, then ran back into a crowd of anti-american protesters who crowded outside their base. the taliban had urged afghans to retaliate against american soldiers, bases and convoys, but both state and pentagon officials seem unwilling to make that connection. >> there's no indication these are anything other than popular expresses of outrage over this incident. >> reporter: u.s. troops sent some korans to a burn pit this week. officials say they didn't intend to burn them as a religious document, adding this was not florida, a reference to the pastor who condemned the k

let's bring in chris lawrence. he's got more information. chris?officials tell us the u.s. is navigating a very fine line. on one hand, trying to convince iran that military action is real, it's something to be feared, while at the same time trying to convince israel not to attack until tougher sanctions have time to work. thousands shouted their support for iran's supreme leader friday as he issued a direct threat to american. >> translator: they say all options are on the table, including war. the war itself will be ten times detrimental to the u.s. >> reporter: on friday, defense secretary panetta stood firm, saying against the u.s. is, quote, prepared to fond if iran doesn't abandon its nuclear program. but israel says time is running out. >> translator: dealing with a nuclear iran will be more complicated, dangerous and expensive in blood and money than stopping it. whoever says later may find that later is too late. >> reporter: even former diplomats says iran is full of handliners who may not back down from sanctions. >> so i am worried the

chris lawrence working this for us at the pentagon. chris, a landfill? what do you know?port that the pentagon released and in a press release they just had. they brought out the fact or admitted the fact that hundreds, perhaps hundreds of remains, unidentified remains of 9/11 victims from both here at the pentagon and shanksville, pennsylvania, had been in s incinerated and then dumped in the landfill. apparently these remains were too small to be analyzed properly, perhaps too charred from those attacks, but again, this follows the pentagon's admission that, you know, up to 275 remains from servicemembers over a period of five years were cremated and also dumped into a landfill. so a rather startling admission that some remains from 9/11 victims were cremated and then placed in a landfill. >> i imagine, chris, that this is news to the families, so i'm sure you have yet to speak with any families, but is there anything a family member of a lost loved one from 9/11, anything they can do about that? >> reporter: certainly the families are going to be extremely upset by thi

chris lawrence is standing by with a closer look. chris? >> reporter: some of those americans have been branded as fugitives by egyptian authorities because they left the country but they're actually in a better position now because the u.s. is unlikely to ever force them to go back to stand trial. at issue are those americans still in egypt. as you mentioned, some have taken sanctuary at tembassy and today. the state department told other americans to come to the embassy, meet with lawyers and start to prepare for what could be coming. egypt is pressing ahead with the prosecution of 19 meshes. civilian aide workers accused of using foreign funds to stir up descent. offices have been raided and equipment confiscated all while the u.s. sends egypt $1.4 billion, mostly to the military. >> we said clearly these actions could have consequences for our relationship including regarding our assistance programs. >> some demand more than mere threats. they want to cut the purse strings. 41 outraged members of congress signed a letter secretaries pan

pentagon correspondent chris lawrence is joining us now. chris, what have you learned?basically they're still investigating this incident. but let's get a quick recap of what we know so far. we know seven marines were killed in this midair collision. two helicopters, a huey and a super cobra collided midair. they were in a remote area doing a routine training mission. the identities of those seven marines are being withheld. they're not going to release them until they're sure that all family members have been notified. right now the incident is under investigation. again, we know it was in a remote area. it was about 8:00 at night. so they were doing some night training. you've got the chocolate mountains there in that area. it's sort of on the border, yuma, is of california and arizona. still unclear exactly where they crashed in that area. but i can tell you, they do lot of night training. that's when a lot of the flying took place in iraq and afghanistan, so you've got to train that way. this is not the first time that it's happened. i think it underscores how dange

. >> for more context let's bring in cnn pentagon correspondent chris lawrence. hi, chris.so how serious does the u.s. take this threat of an attack to be? >> reporter: very serious, jessica. i mean, the director of national intelligence has said iran is much more willing to sponsor attacks right here on american soil. former defense secretary bob gates told cnn iran will retaliate, not just against israel but across the entire region. so what's that mean? a defense official i spoke with said, iran has been improving its options just for this moment so it could raid oil tankers, mine shipping lanes, use its influence to destabilize iraq, and even attack american embassies and soft targets all over the world. >> that's terrifying. what more do we know about efforts to wipe out iran's nuclear capabilities before they become active? >> reporter: well, there's the stuff that no one will ever publicly admit to, the devastating computer virus that infected iran's nuclear program and did as much damage as any military attack would do. there's the iranian nuclear scientist who eith

thanks, chris lawrence reporting from the pentagon. it our north american viewers, you can see john king's interview with robert gates at the top of the hour on john king usa. >>> think the florida primary is over is this maybe not necessarily. newt gingrich challenging the rules of the florida primary even though the votes have been counted. and mike am blochael bloomberg the backlash against a leading breast cancer foundation for cutting funds to planned parenthood. ♪ give your customers the added feeling of security a printed statement or receipt provides... ...with mail. it's good for your business. ♪ and even better for your customers. ♪ for safe and secure ways to stay connected, visit usps.com/mail i want to fix up old houses. ♪ [ woman ] when i grow up, i want to take him on his first flight. i want to run a marathon. i'm going to own my own restaurant. when i grow up, i'm going to start a band. [ female announcer ] at aarp we believe you're never done growing. thanks, mom. i just want to get my car back. [ female announcer ] d

here's our correspondent chris lawrence. >> candy, u.s.learned everything he knows from his father who ran syria for almost 30 years. what he learned has taught him the only way to deal with the opposition is to crush it. dozens more syrians were killed. the director the national intelligence issued this blunt admission. syrians's president will not stop. >> asaid himself, probably because of his psychological need to emulate his father sees no other option, but to continue to try to crush the opposition. >> u.s. intelligence officials are publicly admitting they have been infiltrated. >> they may not be aware they are there. >> so what's keeping assad's regime together? there have been some sdergz, but the military is still with him. same with syria's elite families. and the rebels are disorganized. >> unless something changes as far as assistance from the outside, do you see a continued stalemate in syria? >> short of a coup or something like that, assad will hang in there and continue to do as he's done. >> and the mats keratins? >> rep

chris lawrence has more. >> reporter: thousands shouted support for the leader. >> translator: they sayhe table including war. the war itself will be ten times detrimental to the u.s. >> reporter: on friday, defense secretary leon panetta stood firm, taking again the u.s. is "prepared to respond if iran doesn't abandon its nuclear program. but israel says time is running out. >> translator: dealing with a nuclear iran will be more complicated, dangerous and expensive in blood and money than stopping it. whoever says later may find that later is too late. >> reporter: even former diplomats say iran is full of hard-liners who may not back down from sanctions. >> and so i'm worried that the overall strategy of ratcheting up the pressure and the hopes that iran will somehow say uncle is not based on a good reading of the iranian government. >> reporter: a senior congressional official says the relationship with israel right now is the strangest he's seen. he's convinced the israelis aren't going to tell us if they strike iran. former defense secretary bob gates told cnn's john king, they di

first, the latest from chris lawrence at the pentagon. what other details are your sources telling about this apparent growing likelihood of a strike on iran. >> they're saying a number of intelligence factors came together that led secretary pennetta to conclude that israel could strike in say april, may, or even june. he also says that basically the thinking is that israel has concluded that iran has already made the jump and is thought to be pursuing the bomb. he also caveated all this by saying israel does have a history of making very provocative statements like this in order to sort of push the west, push the u.s. into taking tougher action against iran. >> how would a military strike actually work, and how effective could it be to stop them from making a bomb? >> i talked to a couple sources on this tonight. they say basically, it would involve the israeli fighter jets going through saudi arabia, trying to thread that needle between syria and turkey's air space, or just crossing over iraq to deliver their pay load. but some of the