defense secretary chuck hagel has indicated the united states intends to keep strengthening its alliance with the philippines. hagel visited manila at a time when the philippines and china are embroiled in an increasingly bitter maritime dispute. nhk world reports. >> reporter: chuck hagel ice visit to the philippines is a first by the u.s. defense secretary in four years. and his final stop on a week-long visit to southeast asia. he talk e held talks on friday. he stressed america's commitment to negotiations on a new military agreement between the two countries which began earlier this month. >> this progress is welcomed and encouraging. i noted that our negotiating teams are working hard to finish the framework agreement in the near future. >> reporter: the agreement would fit well with the obama administration's policy of placing greater strategic importance on the asia-pacific region. the so-called comes as chinese influence is also spreading. tensions are rising in the south china sea where several countries including china, the philippines and vietnam have overlapping claims to so

0's ♪ and chuck hagel says the vote against military intervention in syria will not change america'strategy. ♪ hello and welcome, i'm steven in doha and this is al jazeera, coming up, one of the most prominent leader is arrested and they are pulling out from the front line in their battle against the congo army. but first united states is still planning a military response to a suspected gas attack by syrian government forces. it had expected the uk to join a possible coalition but the british parliament voted against any strikes on syria as carolyn malone reports. >> reporter: the resistance outside of the white house against the u.s. attacking syria. and the leaders look at military options and an important ally is against intervening with syria with suspected use of chemical weapons and chuck hagel says the united states still hopes to act with other allies. >> our approach is to continue to find an international coalition that will act together and i think you are seeing a number of countries say publically state their position on the use of chemical weapons. >> reporter: on thur

bbc news. >> speaking to defense secretary chuck hagel there. contemplatees possible actions, and what could they do? our defense correspondent looks at possible options. >> a potential strike from the seas, submarine. there could be a military contribution to punitive action in syria. but what would be the aim? clear that itsde military efforts are already in place. there are warships and submarines in the gulf and the mediterranean. there are tomahawk cruise missiles. thousands of miles away from their target. and the military command and control. this is due to the alleged use of chemical weapons. but there is an urge of caution. involvement in striking serious in effect becomes an involvement in civil war. we are siding then with the opposition. that is what we will be doing. the west will have to be careful to avoid any civilian casualties and to avoid risk of retaliation from this theory and regime. this includes the threat of china. retaliation could hit allies in the region and even places such as cyprus. they are terrorists linked to al

defense secretary chuck hagel tells the bbc the u.s.y to go if president obama orders attacks on syria. let's bring in chris lawrence, he's our pentagon correspondent. chris, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, carol. you know, secretary hagel has been in asia all week traveling on preplanned visits, but it shows the seriousness of the situation in syria that he has been completely looped in. just this morning, he was making calls with his counterparts to the defense ministers about the uk and france, talking about the situation in syria and what the next steps may be. and then an interview with the bbc, he indicated that the u.s. military is all prepared, all options have been presented, and they are ready to go at a moment's notice. this follows a defense official telling us that once they get the order, once president obama has decided on an option and the order is executed, the assets in place could begin that mission within hours. carol? >> i was just going to ask you about some of the options. chuck hagel says the united stat

i want to go back to what he said about chuck hagel who is a centrist.huck hagel is not a right winger or left winger. he's a moderate republican nebraska. not exactly the westside of new york. he's a moderate. look at the language he used at him when he wanted to shoot this guy down. i've been accused him of mccarthy tactics. here he was at the nomination hearing for hagel back in february and cruz can relied on innuendo and guilt by association. let's watch him in action. this is mccarthy stuff. >> we saw with his nomination something truly extraordinary which is the government of iran formally and publicly praising the nomination of a defense secretary. i would suggest to you that to my knowledge, that is unprecedented to see a foreign nation like iran publicly celebrating a nomination. >> jim, he went on to say that the guy may have taken money from north korea, too. he may be working for them. this is chuck hagel, our now secretary of defense. he may have been working for north korea. he may have been an agent of the iranians. doesn't he know that k

defense secretary chuck hagel said no decision has been made on syria. speaking in manila, hagel said the u.s. won't allow politics to detour it from taking action, saying the obama administration would work to assemble a coalition. >> every nation has a responsibility to make their own decisions. we respect that of any nation. we are continuing to consult with the british, as we are with all of our allies. >> hagel is due back in the u.s. today. >> the team of u.n. chemical weapons inspectors are spending their fourth and final day talking to doctors in damascus. the u.n. says it is only looking for proof of an attack, not investigates who is responsible. we have three reports, lyndon with british reaction, beirut following the refugees flight. we begin with mike at the white house. any sign to the president is backing down? >> none whatsoever. it appears that the white house is doubling down. the backing of the french government will come as welcome news after the shock of the u.n. parliament saying no to the action. who would have thought all the comp

chuck hagel has said u.s. forces are ready to act if given orders. more on the military options available. >> the u.s. says it is ready to assist with any strike if asked and its capability is likely to be muted. washington committed much of the hardware to libya in 2011 and its firepower outstrips that of its allies, the uk and rance. the u.s. navy has four destroyers in the mediterranean equipped with tomahawk missiles which have been used in previous conflicts such as the invasion of iraq in 2003. the deployment is far from straightforward. >> it would be incredibly difficult to do to make sure strikes are precise and on target. and actually hit what is required to be hit, the chemical weapons sites or whatever and to make sure there is no collateral damage. >> the main targets are likely to be the suspected chemical weapons stock piles and production sites. the u.s. and its allies could meet resistance. syria has one of the most capable antiaircraft missile defenses. the surface to air missile. war planes and military transporters have been spott

(i don't think we have the destroyers) (uss mahan, uss gravely, uss barry and uss ramage) chuck hagel telling reporters: "we have moved assets in place to be able to fulfill whatever option the president wishes to take." all of the warships off the syrian coast are based out of norfolk, virgina. each with ballistic missile capability. "there must be a response." "regime change..syria" "putting boots on the ground" white house press secretary jay carney says "there must be a response" but reportedly, the white house is not mulling regime change in syria or putting boots on the ground." this, after secretary of state john kerry said washington is certain that the syrian government used chemical weapons against civilians in a damascas suburb, last week. "chemical weapons were used in syria." the situation has led oil prices to spike. "it's because all the producers and users of oil have a stake in what happens in syria." ¤triple-a says the rally in the futures market may be a threat to prices at the pump over the labor day holiday. it's renewed the call for alternative energy sources. "a

and then a sequester will cut more, and chuck hagel says the united states is ready to go if the president orders a strike in syria, but this is what he said just one month ago. >> the only way to implement an additional abrupt 10% reduction in the defense department is to make nonstrategic cuts, and disrupt operations, and erode our technological edge. >> are we ready or at risk? a former cyst assistant of defense, thank you for joining us. we are looking for your perspective here, because what would you say to those -- what do you say to those that argue that the belt tightening will hurt the u.s. military's ability to fight and win future wars? >> i think they are way overreacting. as your chart pointed out, the billion-war and projected increases and if you have the 500 billion over years, you will bring the defense spending where it was. you have plenty of money. and sequester is dumb, you have to cut everything equally, and $500 billion, that's exclusive of the war, and you have to add another $100 billion continuing the wars in afghanistan, and that's more than we spent even control

chuck hagel came out after that report and said we need to recertify every sexual assault counselor andecruiter we had. the army decided that people that they called in positions of trust needed to be looked at as well. those are drill instructors, and other instructors as well. >> the records of at least 35,000 troops have been reviewed, or still under review. do we expect to see more firings like this down the line? >> as i understand it, there are a number of folks still under review. so the army has not completed all of its investigations and doesn't expect to until october. i think we can probably expect to see more people going. >> now, tom, critics argue each branch of the military is enter preting hagel's orders to look at records differently. how do we know the pentagon is adequately addressing the pob? >> the army seemed to go the extra mile. in doing so, they uncovered 55 soldiers who they decided will no longer do those jobs. the other services just had a handful. it was only the navy that had five others. so perhaps there will be a call to do more, and look at those recruit

that's according to chuck hagel.ry options straight ahead. >>> political scandal in brazil forces the minister to resign. we'll tell you why it's latin america's version of edward snowden. >>> would you pay extra to make sure no kids sit next to you on plane. another airline giving you

for john kerry so you love ross chuck hagel and will walk out of that meeting on friday with a big smile on their face but the hope is that they will at least not let disagreements and scandals completely overshadow whatever progress the two countries ten actually make. now when obama announced his decision to cancel that want to one meeting with putin he also accused russia of slipping into a cold war mentality but geopolitical analyst william and also says it's the u.s. is actually guilty of cold war tactics. if i were president putin i would break open a nice bottle of champagne and celebrate the fact that he doesn't have to go through this ordeal of another photo op with obama who's got nothing to offer russia in any serious way so obama's statement on the tonight show as legally was about the russians somehow occasionally reverting to the cold war mentality is all they were. cured alcoholics who go on a drinking binge from time to time is really. not only insulting it it reflects a mentality in washington this is not serious statesmanship but the point is washington has an agenda of

for john kerry so you love ross chuck hagel and will walk out of that meeting on friday with a big smile on their face but the hope is that they will at least not let disagreements and scandals completely overshadow whatever progress the two countries can actually make. it was snowden situation is among the reasons why us a russian relations became strained his revelations are keep coming to often overshadowed by the political firestorm over his future and. a gun the rounds a website which gathers information about data gathering methods by intelligence services and he explains why there is you push for more government transparency in the u.s. now risk being considered terrorists. the statement of the former head of and is a saying that this new group supporting transparency that they might have to be light seen as to new terrorist i mean that's an amazing statement in a country that has been originally having a first amendment freedom of speech and transparency of governmental affairs was within that tradition something that was normal that simply amazing united states tried to apply a

for john kerry to get a lot of raw chuck hagel and. walk out of that meeting on friday with a big smile on their face but the hope is that they will look nice not let disagreements and scandals completely overshadow whatever progress the two countries can actually make. edward snowden's revelations have left the former n.s.a. chief to compare activists who support the whistleblower to al qaeda because they could be a major terror threat to the u.s. government but i. know who runs a website detailing worldwide intelligence collection says that's quite a turnaround for a country which prides itself on free speech. the statement of the former and is saying that this new group supporting transparency that they might have to be or seeing us a new term resist i mean that's an amazing statement in a country that has been originally having a first amendment freedom of speech and transparency of governmental affairs was within that tradition something that was normal that simply amazing united states tried to apply a lot of pressure on russia b

official john kerry taking a lover off chuck hagel and so he should go walk out of that meeting on friday with a big smile on their face but the hope is that they will at least not let disappointment and scandals completely overshadow whatever progress the two countries ten actually make. on let's get some insight on what might come out of this meeting jim political analysts after william and all it can give us just a little bit of analysis on this now russia's deputy foreign minister didn't have a particularly productive discussion with the u.s. undersecretary of state in brussels our other any indication that the same talks that are happening today will be any different. i doubt it rather seriously the the decision by president obama to cancel the meeting with putin before the g. twenty meeting. is really an indication of a lack of strategy on the part of obama rather than. putting down of russia and the background to that is the fact that there are. not only fundamental differences between the two sides the united states government to washington has been trying since the end of the col

official john kerry said a lot of raw chuck hagel and sergey shy go walk out of that meeting on friday with a big smile on their face but the hope is that they will at least not let disappointment and scandals completely overshadow whatever progress the two countries ten actually make. the u.s. is unwilling to back down and make any concessions to moscow on key international issues and that's according to geo political analyst william and. washington is determined to encircle russia with its missile defense which is an often said strategy not a defensive one by the way it's a nuclear first strike preparation strategy and that's something that russia understandably is not exactly overjoyed about the issue of syria is non-negotiable in terms of what the u.s. is trying to put into power in syria similar to what they tried in egypt and failed that is a muslim brotherhood controlled regime that would allow qatar to control pipeline flows in to europe and not to iran so among other things so this is there is not a basis of agreement on these fundamental questions noton is as i say is not the

chuck hagel said on friday the defense department that has responsibility to provide the president with options for all contingencies, being able to carry out different options, whatever the president might choose. during an interview, president obama said the time line for making a decision has been accelerated. take a listen. >> when you start seeing chemical weapons used on a large scale and, again, we are still gathering information about this particular event, but it is very troublesome. >> reporter: president obama has not decided whether or not to take action. he wants confirmation of what took place inside syria. he directed intelligence officials as well as u.n. investigative team. they are on the ground inside syria to get answers. while this is going on the pressure is mounting with lawmakers on capitol hill urging the obama administration to take action. back to you. >> john harwood is the chief washington correspondent, good to see you. >> morning, lester. >> trying to get troops out of afghanistan by the end of 2014. does he or this country have an appetite to get in anoth

chuck hagel spoke to his british and french counter parts by phone today. in an interview with the bbc, hagel said u.s. warships are standing by awaiting orders. >> let's get the facts. let's get the intelligence. and then a decision will be made on whether action should be taken, if action should be taken, what action. or no action. but if you come you are ready to go like that. >> we are ready to go like that. >> again the plan at this point is to deter assad and degrade his abilities. multiple pentagon sources suggest the strike will be limited. bill? >> bill: thank you, jennifer. jennifer griffin with that fox report tonight from the pentagon. secretary hagel says if the u.s. military does take action, we will not be going it alone. our team fox coverage continues now. chief correspondent jonathan hunt joins us. it looks like we see a coalition forming. >> forming and in place. important part of that coalition even if unofficially may well be the arab league. the arab league met today and issued a statement backing u.s. conclusions over the use of chemic

secretary of state chuck hagel told president barack obama. >> it indicates to look at what happened in syria over the last few days. some experts say not only assad has access to chemical agents. >> they may be the only ones who have access to the missile technology that may be being discovered at this time, but these types of chemical weapons are not very, very difficult to manufacture. >> reporter: syrian state tv is reporting the military have found chemical weapons in rebel control tunnels. syria's biggest ally russia say they must cooperate and allow the u.n. to investigate last week's attack. >> the shift is really, really small, and there is no education that should western countries or a group or coalition of the willing once again intervene in military fashion even in limited way. there is no indication that russia that would be slightly cooperative. >> reporter: barack obama security crisisser advisers aret the white house. >> let's bring in al jazeera mike in washington. let's be honest, in the u.s. believes it has happened before. >> reporter: that's right. >> this video

you saw that our secretary of defense chuck hagel calls general al sisi, the authoritarian leader ofpt, and he said the military relationship is at risk. that is a wairng to the egyptian government, if they don't come forward with a plan for political reform, the united states could take the more drastic action in the future. >> woodruff: joe stork, we just heard ambassador burns say the u.s. is among, if not the most powerful player in the region, yet we heard the president today say the u.s. can't determine egypt's future. so what is the influence? >> i think the fact that chuck hagel made these 15 to 18 calls to general al sisi yesterday, is one indication of the limits of u.s. influence. also, you know, the u.s. aid, this $1.5 billion, it's not small change, but on the other hand, it ain't what it used to be in 19 sphierng or 1999, and we're look at a situation where saudi arabia, yiepted arab emirates, kuwait are pouring in funds to support the general. it's not as easy a picture, equation as it used to be. >> woodruff: ambassador burns, in a way you're both saying there are lim

there's chuck hagel? then you have the vice president of the united states putting his signature on this. so this clearly, there is a little bit of a concerted effort here to build international support for the action that it looks very much like the united states government is about to take. >> all right. nbc's chuck todd. thank you. >> you got it. >> all right. i want to bring in our panel now. steve clements at the new america feds ration and david corn of mother jones magazine. and steve, this does feel like deja vu all over again. we hear talk of coalition of the willing, talk about strikes inside of syria. what we are not hearing is the idea of boots on the ground and regime change. >> i think that's right. this is a very different response that the obama administration gave just basically six weeks ago when there was an action to help begin trying to supply and support rebels inside syria because of chemical weapons, red line being crossed. this is a much more serious deployment of chemical weapons

after meeting with commanders chuck hagel ordered u.s.n and italy on to a higher state of alert. 1,500 marines aboard three war ships will now remain off the coast of yemen ready to react. cnn has agreed to a cnn administration request to withhold details of the intercept that help trigger the response because the information is so sensitive. but the top republican on the senate intelligence committee confirms it's the controversial nsa electronic surveillance program that picked up the alarming terrorist chatter. >> what we have heard is some specifics on what's intended to be done and some individuals who are making plans, such as we saw before 9/11. >> so, how serious is all of this? we learned that late last night defense secretary chuck hagel called secretary of state john kerry to discuss the latest about the threat. chris? >> barbara, let me ask you this. giving the information that we're closing these consulates and embassies and here's where we're doing it and here's why. what is the thinking why that is an effective deterrent? >

chuck hagel traveling in malaysia said that th they are ready. >> the administration has asked to be prepared for options of all contingencies. we have done that, and again we're prepared to exercise whatever option if he decides to employ one of those options. >> reporter: since the chemical attacks and the horrific images of death and suffering seen globally the white house has toughened its rhetoric against the assad regime and acted with urgency. two meetings in the last four days and a flurry of calls including one between president obama and british prime minister david cameron. the two leaders, quote, reiterated the significant use of chemical weapons would merit a serious response from the international community. >> reporter: today two senior members of congress, one republican, one democrat, called for action. >> do something in a surgical and proportional way, something that gets their attention, that causes them to understand that we are not going to put up with this kind of activity. >> i certainly would do cruise missiles strikes. i think you can do that without boots o

chuck hagel said today that the u.s.ilitary is ready to go if called upon by the president to respond to the mass deaths last week from that alleged attack with chemical weapons. secretary of state john kerry cited video, some of this video of the victims in his extraordinary condemnation. >> anyone who can claim that an attack of this staggering scale could be contrived or fabricated needs to check their conscience and their own moral compass. what is before us today is real and it is compelling. >> now that could also be taken as a swipe. i think it's fair to say it was, at syria's backer, russia, which says the u.s. has no evidence that the assad regime was behind the attack. the russians say a response could be catastrophic. phil black has the very latest on this from moscow. >> reporter: brianna, more tough talk from russia. the united states is behaving like a monkey with a grenade. the russian foreign ministry has warned against the latest attempts to bypass the united nation's security council by creating artific

that's from the defense secretary chuck hagel reacting to the rapidly developing crisis in syria.ecretary says any decision to strike will be based on whether the syrian government did indeed use chemical weapons to slaughter its own citizens. listen. >> we're working with our allies and the international community. we are analyzing the intelligence, and we will get the facts. >> trace: the secretary said the united states' confidence is growing that the regime used chemical weapons. the pentagon has drawn up a series of potential attack plans which the president is now reviewing. jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon. any suggestion the president has taken a decision about whether to use military force against the assad regime? >> we just heard from secretary of state john kerry. it was the strongest statement yet from the administration. and stood some contrast to those remarks you just heard from the defense secretary chuck hagel. >> what we saw in syria last week should shock the conscience of the world. it defies any code of morality. the indiscriminate slaughter of civili

the defense secretary chuck hagel has talked about syria. we heard about it a second ago. the u.s. desire to have an international backing. we need to hear a bit more. >> it is the goal of president obama and our government to whatever decision is taken that it be an international collaboration and effort. >> an international collaboration and effort of whom? >> the secretary said it was a goal. he didn't say it was a necessity. where are we right now? there are still five u.s. navy bar ships off the coast of syria. a target list of less than 50 targets or so. if ordered by the president they could be ready to go quickly. they would be ready to go with commanders and military equipment. what is the military goal? very limited. deter any of chemical weapons and send a message to the rest of the world that this kind of atrocity will not be tolerated. >> it was a crushing defeat for the prime minister. i want you to listen to how he explained this. >> i believe in a strong response to the use of chemical weapons but i also believe in respecting the will of this house of commons. it's

this as defense secretary chuck hagel says the u.s.ote, ready to go, if president obama orders attacks. his comments comes days after the u.s. moved warships armed with cruise missiles into the mediterranean sea. any strike could be completed in days. meanwhile in syria, u.n. expe inspectors will not examine sites. they were turned back because of the security concerns. >>> i have a dream. >> tomorrow marks 50 years since the reverend martin luther king jr. shared his vision of racial harmony. king's march on washington drew more than 200,000 people to the national mall. jesse jackson was part of dr. king's inner circle. he was in the crowd that day. he was one of dr. king's advisors. he was just 21 years old at the time and was a student leader. he's become one of the country's foremost political figures. good to see you as always. >> good to see you. >> i want to talk about that moment that day back in 1963. what was it that stood out in your mind when you were among a sea of people. did you realize what you were on the precipice. >>

we do know from secretary of defense chuck hagel that there have been military options being exploredthere's been some movement, military assets in position to give the president a range of options. one of those moments is the move movement of a warship to th mediterranean. and the missile attack is the likely course of action. but the president, although he has said in the past that the use of chemical weapons would an red line, and that there would be significant consequences if that line were to be crossed has said in recent days he still wants more information. he does want an assessment whether or not chemical agents were use, and if they were used by the assad regime. he would like to have international support, and that's something else being discussed at the white house today. >> given to what you just said, how soon could one expect intervention if one is to come? >> it's truly unclear. the president did say in an interview this week that the window for action had grown shorter but there was nothing specifically said what the time frame for u.s. action if there is any would b

they're mooth with secretary of state chuck hagel, secretary of state john kerry. those meetings are still on. russia's minister said he's disappointed that president obama canceled that meeting and that the invitation is still open if he changes his mind and wants to go to moscow. >>> wednesday, president obama alluded to an even bigger international crisis while at camp pendleton. the commander in chief arrived to some 3,000 soldiers and sailors. he said sexual assault in the military must end. mr. obama talked about that recent terror threat in the middle east. >> we don't get terrorized. we're going to keep standing up for our interests. we're going to keep standing up for the security of our citizens. and like generations before us, the united states of america is going to remain the greatest force for freedom that the world has ever known. >>> after a two-day swing out west, the president is back in washington today. >>> and as you heard from the president at camp pendleton, he mentioned that terror plot has closed numerous u.s. embassies. this morning, autho

i think this will stay primarily west of the chuck hagel area -- west of the hagerstown area. let's talk about how things change. pretty big change is coming up. >>> now to the breaking news we brought you this mning on twitter. a military judge has sentenced bradley manning to 35 years in prison for leaking classified documents. >> we have more on what his attorneys are planning. >> reporter: in a military courtroom today, bradley manning learned his fate a military judge sentenced the former tapes analysts to 35 years in prison for one of the biggest leaks of documents. to some he is a brave whistleblower. he was found guilty of espionage, theft and the military judge wasn't convinced that leaking those documents aided al qaeda. it's been more than three years since manning was first detexaned in iraq, suspected of leak a video of a helicopter attack that killed innocent civilians. he was later charged with the 2010 leak of three quarter million classified or confidential documents to wikileaks. he said he understood what he was dog but didn't believe he would harm the u.s.

defense secretary chuck hagel. martin dempsey, the chairman of the joint chiefs.kerry is here and also vice president biden. so, a number of things happening on a very quickly changing day and then finally, also, fred, tweets coming out and they've become very important, obviously. several coming from national security adviser, susan rice, who gave in a short form, the reason this administration believes you need to take some kind of action. she says at the core of this decision is u.s. security and preventing attacks on innocents using the world's most heinous weapons. back to you. >> thanks so much. keep us posted on these meetings today. let's go to pentagon now. barbara starr is there. what moves have been made by the u.s. military to get ready for these possible strikes? >> fred, over the last couple of days, we've watched as the us navy has assembled five warships in the eastern mediterranean equipped with about 40 tomahawk missiles apiece. very precise guided to their preprogrammed target via satellite gps coordinates. thousand pound warhead, very lethal. t

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we heard defense secretary chuck hagel tell us that he called his count counterpart. is there any reaction to that in egypt? >> reporter: no. the egyptian government right now has officially been very tight-lipped. we've tried to reach out to various branches including the president, the prime minister, the military. none have made any public comments on the u.s. statement. so you get a sense that perhaps it is causing a little bit of discussion within the egyptian government. the interesting point in the u.s. announcement was that it was a public rebuke of the egyptian military. there is a whole host of issues that the united states government could have taken against the interim government. instead, they decided to cancel military training exercises with their egyptian counter parts. that will be a rebuke by the way the military is conducting itself. nonetheless, some are saying that is insignificant, that the united states simply canceling a military exercise is not enough to put the pressure on the egyptian military and the government to try to reverse course with

as you say the president behind closed doors right now, meeting with cabinet secretary chuck hagel to figure this out. interesting that when you talk about semantics, the white house will still not say that it was a coup in egypt. lisp. -- listen. >> this administration prides itself on transparent si -- >> i answered this question two day ago. >> white why won't the administration be transplant parent with the people and the or -- >> i'm saying something that is available to anyone, we have made the determination about making the decision whether or not a coup occurred is not in the best interests of the united states. >> they won't say it was a coup because then legally they would be bound to have to cut off aid. so they're dancing around whether -- >> shepard: it's preposterous and absurd and everybody in the audience knows it. that the white house has not made a decision whether it was coup or not couldn't matter less. we have definitions for things that the white house transparent? are they out of their minds? what are the polls revealing about this aid? which two weeks ago we we

chuck hagel said the su.s. is ready to act. with what, how and on what targets? >> i tell what you we're going to see initially is a strike limited because it's going against an array of targets that have been identified which belong to the assad regime that enables that regime to conduct its war making abilities and deliver the chemical weapons, command and control facilities, intelligence facilities, barracks facilities, integrated air defense, even the navy. it's important that we realize those strikes could be initiated immediately because those target folders, as they're called, have been in place and updated as a matter of routine. the intelligence community does that routinely. so these targets are identified and it's just a matter of telling the combatant commander and the central command in conjunction with the european command to launch the strikes. >> and it has been said they would use tomahawk cruise missiles. it's never just tomahawk cruise missiles that have to be considered. beyond the missiles, what's the strategic objective here? >> it's good to

defense secretary chuck hagel asked the pentagon to prepare military options for syria and that requires posiinging our forces. we know a fourth warm ship armed with ballistic missiles has been is not to the mediterranean sea. and the chief is there to urge the syrian government to allow united nation's experts to look at chemical weapons attacks. aid groups said throw 55 people were killed and some have the number much higher and if confirmed it would be the wofrsous of chemical weapons since saddam hussein gassed curds. the civil war and estimates put it at more than 100,000. a yearing on president obama said chemical weapon used in syria would be crossing a red line. >> president conferred with another world leader on syria. >> he spoke with british prime minister david cameron about the possible chemical weapons attack. they expressed grave concern and agreed to work together and with the international community to figure out how to respond. president obama is getting reports from the u.s. enteleigence community which according to the white white trying to ascertain what happened in

defense secretary chuck hagel saying warships in the mediterranean are being repositioned.ore on what may lie ahead, molly henneberg has the latest on this story. molly? >> reporter: uma, the white house says president obama wants to hear from a united nations investigative team on the ground in syria. trying to determine if the chemical whens were used this week. before the president makes a decision about how the u.s. will respond. but the president has said that reports about a chemical attack are "very troublesome." in the meantime, the president has asked the pentagon to come up with strategic plans. in case the u.s. decides to go forward with some type of military action in syria. possibly airstrikes or missile attacks. defense secretary chuck hagel traveling in asia, told reporters yesterday "the defense department has a responsibility to provide the president with options for all contingencies. and that requires positioning our forces, poxing our assets to be able to carry out different options. whatever options the president might choose." meanwhile, the united nat

and when you have defense secretary chuck hagel today saying, look, u.s.ilitary is ready to go, it's very clear that is the leading option that the president is considering right now. but republicans like ted cruz wonder, is this just about the president following through on his rhetoric or is this actual action that is going to do something to damage syrian president assad and his hold on power. >> our concern should be those chemical weapons presenting -- preventing them from falling into the hand of hezbollah and al qaeda. that should be guiding our actions, not expressing some moral outrage. >> the next step here will be the president has ordered the declassification, we're told, of intelligence they say inside the white house will show assad is responsible for using these chemical weapons. as you noted, could be as early as today although some officials are telling me it's more likely tomorrow. trace? >> trace: ed henry live for us on the north lawn. thank you. >>> joining us now associate editor and columnist for "the hill." ab stoddard. good to see