for all this i'm joined by richard engel who is inner bill and bill neely who is in damasc damascus. richard, let me start with you. i want to get to this killing of the british aid worker here. the message that isis is trying to send, i saw your report last night. you believe they're trying to send a message to another country, not britain, not the united states. who is it? >> reporter: it's a message to the world. it's a propaganda message. but it's very special to turkey. isis is holding more than 40 turkish diplomats hostage. turkey has been sensitive about this issue. it's illegal in turkey to talk about the subject. turkey has been reluctant to join the coalition with the united states. turkey would be essential. it's right on the border if the u.s. wants to organize an effective campaign to build the free syrian army, it probably has to be done through turkey. this is one way for isis to say, if turkey joins, its diplomats are at risk. >> they have the best military in the region. let's talk about where you are in iraq. the iraqi military, president obwbama is relying on the i

i think it has kept assad at bay, and had we bombed assad last year isil would be in damascus. i think we're lucky that we didn't bomb assad last year, and we should be very careful about arming any islamic rebels in syria because the weapons may not stay where intended and they may have the unintended actions of aiding isil. >> we have not intended to arm the islamic folks in syria. the united states does not do that. we opposed it, and robert ford will tell that you, and robert ford worked very hard to make sure we're not doing that. i'm glad you're going to hear from robert ford so he can give an analysis of who the non-isis opposition is, and we'll break it down point for point, and he did that for me on many occasions and articulated who they were, and he was a passionate supporter that the moderate opposition get support and he fought for more support than they did get, absolutely. i think he should do that for you. let me make it clear that th the--i'm glad that you can guarantee that there would be a vote if the president sent something up here. i got 60 nominees, some

making gains in the damascus country side. sir an jets are bombing aleppo. in the areas in and around the capitol of damascus, the city has struck reconciliation deals with local rebels ending months of siege, destruction and starvation. damascus appears to be more secure than three years ago when syria's war started. syria's main opposition to the syrian national coalition seems weak and divided, you providing much needed weapons to turn the tides against government fors. >> as for president bashad assad, his plans are clear. he has just started a new seven year office with a promise to end the war and defeat what he calls the terror campaign against his country. al jazeera. . >> more ahead still ahead on al jazeera. anger in afghanistan. rallies are held as the men found guilty of a gang rape are sentenced. plus: >> musicians use the power of song top warn about ebola. west african nations take extreme action. coming up ahead, mercedes make it a 1-2 at the italian grand prix. the latest in sports. >>> in a return to fuel subsidies fighting in the north of

as lisa said, damascus said any attack in syria would be seen as an act of aggression if damascus was not part of the equation. give us an idea of how unlikely it is for damascus to be any part of this u.s. attack on i.s.i.l. fighters there. >> well, this was criminal the most controversial part of the obama strategy to, in his words, degrade and defeat the so-called islamic state group. why now? did the united states decide to carry out the strikes because i.s.i.l. is on the offensive against - against the kurds in northern syria. they have taken over kurdish villages. a number of kurdish villages are under a siege. more than 130,000 kurds have been forced to move to turkey, and thousands of kurds in syria are under threat. is this why they decided to carry out the strikes now? this was really the controversial part of the plan. most military experts tell you that you need to take the fight against i.s.i.l. across the border to syria in order to degrade or defeat them. they don't the just stay in iraq, it's in syria, that's the base. they cross the border freely, and the biggest prob

it's making gains in the damascus countryside. syrian jets are still bombing aleppo, and in areas in and around the capitol of damascus the syrian army has struck reconciliation deals with local rebels ending months of siege and destruction. syria's main opposition to syrian national coalition seems largely weak and divided and unable to convince western powers to provide much-needed weapons to turn the tied against government forces. as for president bashar, his plans are clear. he just started a new seven-year term in obvious office: >> filipino troops serving as united nations peace keepers in the occupied golan heights have been pulled from the region and will not be replaced. it comes after a dramatic escape from soldiers who have been besieged last week. the soldiers have been praised by their actions. >> reporter: they are considered one of the most battle-hardened armies in the world. filipino soldiers have been fighting in wars waged against communist insurgents and muslim rebels within the country. they're hoping to be a

it's not being well receive bid damascus, and how is the iraqi government reacting to obama's plan? they have long been asking for u.s. help. and this stopped boots on the ground. and that's good for iraqis, that was always a red line, and the air support and the creation of the national guard units is also key. they're going to defend the cities and the towns from the isis threat. and also what is key, the advisers they're sending, 475, bringing the total to 1600. they're advising in terms of intelligence gathering and tactics and training. all of this is being received very well. and what wasn't, the iraqis with much tougher language on syria. there was nothing in obama's strategy that would be able to pinpoint when any airstrikes might happen in isis, and thank you can't deal with iraq without dealing with them in syria as well. so a little disappointing for syria, but positive. and the islamic state, however, are defined through use of the social media, they said we haven't declared war on the u.s., and the beheads were a strategy that the u.s. should have headed. >> live from b

dozens in damascus in recent days. syrians christians are horrified at the latest isis beheading. >> what they are doing, it is bar bearan things. >> reporter: they pray for all of the war dead, a war now on the brink of western ache strikes and a deadly new phase. bill neely, nbc news, damascus. >>> and while the u.s. prepares to carry the fight for isis in syria, the battle in iraq is far from over. millions of lives have been impacted and many uprooted from their homes and on the run and still others face an ugly ultimatum from the terrorists. here is richard engel. >> reporter: the cost of doing nothing against isis is written on the faces of the iraqi christians. they escaped their homes when the militants took over last month. and now they live in a construction site and handing out food and cooking what little they have, sleeping in make-shift rooms, their lives are on the line. hanny gurgis fled, but his brothers weren't so fortunate. >> translator: we left 14 of us in one car when isis came. my fro brothers we

it's a mainly industrial area to the northeast of damascus. seven people are said to have been killed in yesterday's violence. >> the world health organization said the rate of ebola cases has dropped, numbers in guinea stabilizing, but getting worse in sierra leone and liberia. nearly 3,000 people have been killed since the beginning of the outbreak. >> in yemen, the government denies reports that the national security headquarters has been taken over by rebels. activists say fighters have seized 95 military vehicles, overare noting the capitol. the government missed a deadline to appoint a new prime minister as part of the peace deal signed sunday. there is a report that an al-qaeda group in yemen declared war. yemens ambassador to spain joins us live. i must apologize to you in advance. we may to have leave our conversation early when iran's president begins to speak at the united nations general assembly. why haven't they implicated sunday's peace deal? >> i think they have not because very obviously, they have not implemented their agenda

damascus is more secured than three years ago when the war started. syria's main opposition seems largely weak and divided, and able to convince western powers to provide weapons to turn the tide against government forces. as for bashar al-assad, his plans are clear. he's started a 7-year term in office with a promise to end the war and defeat what he calls the terror campaign against his country. >>> in world news, a ceasefire between ukranian government forces and pro-russian separatists has been breached. a check point in mariupol came under fire overnight. rockets were fired. it's a violation of a truce. harry fawcett sent this report from mariupol. >> this is what the current ceasefire looks like in eastern ukraine. shelling coming into the area around donetsk's international airport hours after a bombardment of mariupol to the south. fanning out from mariupol's eastern checkpoint on sunday, for the first time that we have seen, tanks were taking up defensive positions on the border. they are preparing for more of this. overnight in the spot is t

heads up around damascus. montgomery village at around 6:02.p you posted here from the storm center. >>> a former police officer convicted on assault charges had bond revoked after he apparently tried to attack prosecutors at his sentencing. a jury convicted johnny riley. prosecutors say he shot a handcuffed suspect where he was a police sergeant. this happened in 2012. riley had been out on $100,000 bond. his sentencing will be held in october. >>> there is no word on a motive or a suspect in the labor day killing in fairfax county. officers found the body of ramirez early yesterday morning in a garden apartment complex. we are told he was under a tree and had trauma to his upper body but investigators did not elaborate. helived a couple blocks away and at this point investigators are not sure if he was targeted or if the victim was a random crime. >> we cannot eliminate the possibility that this was a random act, therefore we do urge the neighborhood to be on guard. we don't have specific evidence that he was robbed but we don't know that tha

but syria says any attack without the content of damascus is considered an aggression. >> reporter: for past year, the islamic state group has proven to be the strongest and most effective force fighting troops loyal to president bashar al-assad. hundreds of soldiers have been killed in the last month, and the i.s. controls almost one third of syrian territory. the u.s. is faced with a dilemma, wow to weaken the group without interfering with participate bashar al-assad. >> translator: in syria the question is who will benefit most from the absence of the islamic state when it is defeated. >> reporter: u.s. president barack obama says he wants a moderate force to defeat the i.s., allocate money to train it and give it weapons. it is not the first time the u.s. tries ties to nourish a moe syria opposition. in the that hasn't worked. and some of the weapons ended up in the hands of more radical groups. so what the u.s. do this time so it works. the leading syrian opposition group says it is ready and willing to cooperate with the u.s. to fight the i.s., but they want to make sure western

d damascus as to be more secure than three years ago when syria's war started.ia's main opposition, the syrian national coalition seems largely week and divided, unable to convince western powers to provide much needed weapons to turn the tides against government forces. plans are clear. he has started a new 7-year term in office with a promise to end the war and defeat what he calls the terror campaign against his country. al jazeera. . >> security officials in yemen are clashing with shia houthis blocking the main road leading to the international airport in the capitol. a houthi says one has been killed and five injured. tens of thousands of houthis in the last few weeks. they want the government to resign and fuel prices to be cut. fighter jets have also carried out airstrikes against houthi residents. more than sent people have been killed in fighting in northern yemen over the past three days. >> riot police in the turkish city of istanbul have fired tear gas and water canon at people protesting over workplace safety. it follows the best of 10 construction

and bill neely in damascus. damascus, obviously, has been torn apart by civil war. three years ago, the president first said assad needs to go. and now damascus is going to have to be bracing for air strikes, which could help assad by going after his chief enemies, isis. >> well, yes, this is the big challenge. i mean, it's one thing to bomb iraq in support of the kurds and the iraqi government, to stop a genocide. it's quite another to intervene in a bloody civil war in syria to bomb the sunni militants of isis, and to try not to alienate the sunni population, to destroy the enemies of assad but not to help president assad who you are committed to getting rid of. so the challenges are huge in syria. not least, the end game. i mean, when the president says no doubt he will tonight, you know, my aim is to destroy isis in syria. what does victory look like in syria? what is the end game? and where does president assad fit into all of this? so the challenges are immense and president obama knows that ultimately you cannot defeat isis in syria and solve syria's problems

damascus had some concerns about the u.s.trikes. >> generally it's still many damascus concerning the the real targets of united states and the coalition. it's early for combatting or another agenda behind that. >> what might that agenda be? what is the government saying u.s. is trying to do? >> because you know that united states generally like saudi arabia and qatar, they were one of the most important supporter financely. now the problem is concerning a very serious problem. it's very dangerous for the city and region to know and for the world. any way at this point, i think that we need more comprehensive approach for combatting terrorists. it's not enough to attack air strikes. i think the main military officers know that. we need to cooperate more in land sources first. secondly, we need to close the borders with turkey while the government, one of the main supporter of isis. we should observe the financial support of these groups especially qatar and gulf states and saudi arabia. so it doesn't matter if saudi arabia pa

damascus is more secure since when the war started. the syrian national coalition seems weaning and divided -- weak and divided, unable to convince others to give them powers to turn the tide. as for president bashar al-assad his plans are clear, just starting a 7-year term in office with a promise to end the war and defeat the terror campaign against his country. >> protests are escalating in yemen, where shia fighters blocked the road leading to the airport. the houthis are calling for the government to step down. tens of thousands have been protesting. they have been rejecting offers from the president to name a new prime minister and reinstate fuel subsidies. mahmoud abbas is trying to win support for palestinian statehood within three years. they may be derailed by hamas. mahmoud abbas is threatening to break off a unity deal. mike hanna reports. >> mahmoud abbas held taught with his egyptian counterpart. a number of hamas members have been arrested in the west bank. the response from hamas was muted. a spokesman for the organizat

in areas in and around the capital damascus, the syrian army struck reconciliation deals with rebels, ending months of siege, destruction and starvation. >> damascus appears to be more secure than three years ago when syria's war started. the main opposition is largely weak and divided. unable to convince western powers to provide much-needed weapons to turn the tied against government forces. >>> as pore president bashar al-assad, his plans are clear. he's just started a new 7-year term in office with a promise to end the war and defeat what he calls the terror campaign against his country. >> in yemen, security forces clashed with i'm not government demonstrators, trying to clear a camp set up in sanaa. security forces fired tear gas and used water canons on the shia minority. protesters condemned the action and vowed retaliation. they called for cuts to fuel prices and the government's resignation. >>> on the streets of libya battles rage on. the fraction of power runs to the top. rival government is sworn in. the outgoing government in the east refusing to hand over power to those

the eastern district of damascus was taken by rebels in march last year.is only hundreds of meters away from the city center. [ explosion ] >> reporter: now there has been an unprecedented military campaign by the syrian government to clear it. rebels say the regime's air force is carrying out up to 20 air strikes a day. the destruction is extensive. tanks and other heavy weapons are used while army soldiers advance. the army says this tunnel was used by the rebels to bring in weapons and other equipment. but the rebels deny the syrian army is advancing. activists posted videos online that appear to show rebels touring the area. >> translator: the district is under our control, the regime is trying to enter the district from different fronts but thank god our fighters are standing firm. the government is extensively shelling the area and using rockets. >> reporter: this field commander says his forces are engaged in street by street battle. he says they have cleared the number of buildings and seized many weapons from soldiers. this activist video shows th

does that make sense on the ground there in damascus? >> it does make sense in that the assad forces have all given up in the east of the country, in raqqa, the provence where isis is strongest. you can't see american bombs falling, then the syrian forces moving in. having said that, this is a civil war that has had so many twists and turns. you know, you simply can't easily predict what might happen. i mean, it was only a year that we thought jabbar al nusra was the main rebel force here and possibly the main threat to the west only quickly to be superseded by isis. so i think in some respects there is some wishful thinking going on here that when the bombs drop there will be a force of moderate rebels who will move in and retake and hold the ground. i think that's exactly what that is. whether it's assad forces or the rebel forces, it's wishful thinking. >> chief global correspondent bill neely staying up into the predawn hours in damascus for us. thank you so much. fascinating point that things change in the middle of a civil war, thi

does that make sense on the ground there in damascus? >> it does make sense in that the assad forces have all given up in the east of the country, in raqqa, the provence where isis is strongest. you can't see american bombs falling, then the syrian forces moving in. having said that, this is a civil war that has had so many twists and turns. you know, you simply can't easily predict what might happen. i mean, it was only a year that we thought jabbar al nusra was the main rebel force here and possibly the main threat to the west only quickly to be superseded by isis. so i think in some respects there is some wishful thinking going on here that when the bombs drop there will be a force of moderate rebels who will move in and retake and hold the ground. i think that's exactly what that is. whether it's assad forces or the rebel forces, it's wishful thinking. >> chief global correspondent bill neely staying up into the predawn hours in damascus for us. thank you so much. fascinating point that things change in the middle of a civil war, thi

this is what the war has done, a district on the edge of damascus.t has been fought over since rebels seized it two years ago. a new government offensive, more airstrikes, is happening now. the way syrians used to live is a memory. the syrian alarm he allowed us into a corner of the frontline, about a 20 minute drive south of damascus. was recaptured recently from rebels after hard fighting. outpost, around three hundred meters separating the front lines. what happens here says a lot about the war and the way the fight against the islamic state might go. these soldiers said they were volunteers and the west was finally catching up with their belief that on the opposite side of the lines were really just extremist -- were really just extremists. >> morale was high. general seemed popular. he did not want to identify himself. islamic state is a threat on the world. they will take us back to the stone age. as a military power, they are not a threat. can crush them without the help of the americans. the afternoon firefights start when bullets came in fro

with damascus, but humidity it feels more like 87. talking about the range from last night to this morning, an inch and a half. right now 85 in urbana. it is a really heavy rain last night. -- from last night and into early this morning. factor in the humidity, it feels even warmer in frederick. the rain clouds move out. sunshine is ample. clouds are starting to the north and west. even a couple of sprinkles of showers to the far north and west. we will continue to watch throughout the day for a few pops of showers and storms developing across the area. not quite as widespread as yesterday. we will be watching that as we go deep through the afternoon. keep that in mind, this is a steamy, soupy air mass with showers popping up as we head into the afternoon. a few little showers on the map there, not everywhere. clearingis evening out, partly sunny again, tomorrow afternoon a better chance for showers and storms. in the middle of the week, drive but hot. low 90's this afternoon, tonight and tomorrow mid 90's could feel like 100 or great

it says any attack without the consent of damascus is considered an aggression. reports from beirut. >> for the past year, the islamic state group has proven to be the strongest and most effective force fighting troops loyal to syrian. hundreds of syrian army soldiers have been killed in the past couple of months, and the i.s. controls almost one third of syrian territory. >> the u.s. is faced with a dilemma. how to weaken and crush the i.s. group, without allowing that to translate into strengthening president asaad. by crushing his main opponent. >> in syria, the big question is who will benefit moat from the absence of the islamic state when it is defeated. >> u.s. mt. says he wanted to help cultivate an opposition force. to help fight the i.s. and replace them later. allocate $500 million to train it and give it weapons. it's not the first time the u.s. tries to nourish a mother at syrian opposition with teeth on the ground. that strategy failed. the fighters they crane couldn't deliver on the ground. and some of the weapons and equipment provided to these gr

town is a supply route for government force he based in nearby hills not far from the capital damascus. >> in this we see the fourth infantry division. now that the southern country side is under our hand we will continue to control the northern part and what is left from the army's 90th battle i don't know. >> reporter: several golf t government tanks have been destroyed. this commander says his forces have partially controlled roads to the south and to the damascus country side. he says the next goal is to fully control the route leading to the capital but that could prove difficult. elsewhere in syria government jets hit a number of targets. on the eastern distribute of the capital jobar was on the hit list and so was homs. the syrian affairs controls the skies, a weapon that's problem offing fatal for the -- that's proving fatal for the rebels. >> northern sinai region local media says a police officer has been killed in el arish. ten others are believed to be injured. last week 11 security personnel were killed by a road side bomb in the area. al jazeera is demanding the release m

in idlib, in aleppo, in damascus country side. but they require our support. >> for more on the moderate syrian opposition, i'm joined by ubay chabendar, ubay, good to have you back on the show. senator joe manchun said, quote, if money and military right could have made a difference, it would have by now. does very a point? is the free syrian army in any better shape than you and i talked a few months ago? >> it absolutely is. it's been the free syrian army that's led the fight against i.s.i.s, and has successfully expelled i.s.i.s. from two major provinces in northern syria that is fighting i.s.i.s. in eastern syria and the damascus country side and been able to do so with very little to no outside support. so imagine if you add american enablers, american trained and equipped program, to thicken the license to empower the free syrian army to expel i.s.i.s. from its real last safe haven from the northern and eastern syrian country side you really have a chance. >> but ubay, won't participate, defeating bashar al-assad is its top

has relations, obviously, with lebanon which still maintains its channels with the government in damascus. the syrian embassy is one of the few that remains open and operational in bay route in the region. and know that there are some further countries far from syria that are in communication with the syrian government. it has been one of the major problems in building not only this coalition but also the general policy of the region in the last several years is that the arab countries have been divided. some have been saying that the government in damascus is legitimate and has to be backed and is important in this fight against terrorism, while others say precisely that the persistence of assad to stay in power has led to groups like isis. but you can definitely expect that some of the countries in the region that the u.s. has been communicating with certainly have relayed that information to the syrian government. again, whether or not the syrian government has the capabilities to defend its airspace or even try to do so in the wake of what the u.s. is now doing as opposed to just simp

alerted damascus ahead of the strikes. after the strikes, the syrian government issued its own statement on state television. >> ( translated ): syria will support any international effort that may help in fighting terrorism. but this should not affect the lives of civilians and national sovereignty of syria as well as the international laws. >> woodruff: on the streets of damascus today, reactions to the air campaign varied. >> when we see american warplanes flying in the air over syria, it is impossible to be optimistic about this thing. with all my respect to america, it should stand by the syrian government's side in a serious, way. >> woodruff: there was also word that a key nato ally might join the fight: turkish president erdogan had refused to pledge military action earlier this month at a nato summit, while 49 turks were held hostage by islamic state militants. the captives were released saturday. and today erdogan said: "we will give the necessary support to the operation. the support could be military or logisti

some have been saying that the government in damascus is legts and has to be backed and is important in this fight against terrorism, while others say precisely that the persistence of assad to stay in power has led to groups like isis. but you can definitely expect that some of the countries in the region that the u.s. has been communicating with certainly have relayed that information to the syrian government. again, whether or not the syrian government has the capabilities to defend its airspace or even try to do so in the wake of what the u.s. is now doing as opposed to just simply turning a blind eye, because it is advancing the syrian regime's fight against the extreme elements, that also remains to be seen with the reaction expected probably as early as tomorrow morning. >> and the government of turkey has just issued a statement indicating that turkey will be discussing its participation in this at the united nations tomorrow. we're rejoined by chris jansing from the white house. chris, that's -- >> okay. >> that seems to indicate turkey's statement saying that we will be dis

. >>> the new united nations envy on the syria crisis has arrived in damascus for the first time sinceng appointed. he is due to meet president bashar al-assad. he is expected to seek permanent residence in damascus. >>> three al jazeera journalists have been detained in egypt for 285 days. baher mohamed, mohammed fahmy, and peter greste received long sentences after a trial seen by many observers as politically motivated. they are appealing their convictions and al jazeera continues to demand their release. >>> a preliminary report into the crash of malaysia airlines flight 17 says the plane was probably hit by what it describes as high-energy objects. the dutch report stopped short of saying it was shot down by a missile. 298 people died when the plane went down in july. tim friend reports. >> reporter: a short but revealing report. it does not explicitly say that mh17 was hit by shrapnel, but rules out virtually any other possibility. close-up photographs show the damage. the black box and cockpit voice recordings all suddenly stopped at precisely the same moment. wreckage was sprea

one, the call for international coalition to fight isil centered around damascus. but also i think a lot of this was to show that assad is fighting isil to get what support he was losing inside syria back inside. >> thank you very much, indeed. >> you're welcome. >> let's look at other news now. tens of thousands of pro- democracy demonstrators continue to rally in hong kong, despite calls from police to go home. these protests are now in their second week. it is peaceful in contrast to sunday night with police. we go among the demonstrators. what is the scenario this evening. i can see it's quite late in the evening. >> it is very late in the evening, and there is no sign of these thousands of people leaving. there are tens of thousands of people on the streets in hong kong. they've been singing songs, they have been creating chants. one of the most popular chants is for the chief executive here to resign. and occasionally there will be big cheers that will go up when certain banners are on display there is an effort to parade around here when people boo. and the

in damascus. one of the concerns about all of this has been if i.s.i.l. is stopped in iraq and stopped in syria that it might move toward jordan. what is the likelihood of that and why is jordan so concerned and possibly involved in this? >> no question if they were successful in syria as they would have been and inside iraq as they gain strength gain equipment, that is part of their caliphate to head towards jordan and eventually take that country as well, what would israel have done, would israel have launched something preemptively? >> when the united states went into iraq the american people were told what the american government thought would happen. it didn't turn out that way. how can the united states be certain that it will turn out the way that the president wants this time? >> you know, the difference is, you know had we had 20,000 troops there there's no question i believe that this wouldn't have happened. i.s.i.s. wouldn't be in iraq. that border would have been secure. but where the position we are in right now we have got to play the card w

i want to go to bill nealy in damascus. bill, is assad happy with the president's plan. does he see it as an opportunity to win the civil war? >> his men welcome u.s. air strikes but they say they want the strikes coordinated with them so that u.s. warplanes aren't shot out of the sky by syrian warplanes. the syrian warplanes have been in action on the edge of damascus this morning attacking not isis positions but another rebel group allied to al qaeda. we have had the rhetoric from president obama. now comes the reality of those difficult choices, the killing of a hostage is designed to put pressure on president obama. and he does face some hard choices now. when does he take action here in syria? and where does he strike isis? who are the moderate rebels who might retake the ground after u.s. air strikes? pressure on president obama now to deliver on intentions here in syria. >> bill neely in damascus for us. thanks very much. stay safe as you travel in that country. you heard live reports in iraq and syria. earlier i spoke to denis mcdonough. welcome back. >> thanks f

unless, of course, the americans and western allies want to go it alone. >> jeremy bowen there in damascus. for more on the coalition being formed, i was joined a short time ago from capitol hill by democratic senator bob casey, who's a member of the national security working group. senator, thank you very much for joining me. >> good to be with you. thank you. >> we have heard these 30 countries gathering to form late a plan. nobody is mentioning syria. nobody is mentioning iran. is that realistic? >> well, i think this coalition has to be a coalition that can work together and function in a manner that would lead to a coordinated effort, not only on the military aspects of this kind of campaign but on other matters as well. think it makes a lot of sense to limit this to those countries that can ensure there's a substantial buy-in or ratification of this strategy by sunni muslim nations and nations within the region. in addition to the help we're getting from european countries as well as our own. so what you don't want it to do is put something in the mix like having iran involved that w

they have a priority of trying to get rid of the assad regime in damascus, not necessarily fighting islamic state, so the americans have to win some trust. questions are being asked about where the americans were when chemical weapons were used, where were the americans and allies when sunnis around damascus were starving? there is a trust element as well. i think all this means the americans, the british, and allies have plunged into the very complicated politics of the war in syria and what is happening in iraq as well. that is something not going to be an easy ride for them because it is desperately convoluted and deadly. our middle east editor in beirut. for more on the vote in britain to join the u.s. led airstrike in iraq, i spoke with the former assistant secretary of state. he joined us from boston. ambassador, thank you for joining me. the u.s. has military power. it has other allies. what is the significance of today's vote in parliament to join strikes in iraq? >> it is highly significant because the united kingdom is our most important and valuable ally in the world. the fact we

. >> reporter: syria had said any operation within its territory should be coordinated with damascus, it appears the syrian government knew about the attack and has maintained a high level of communication with the iraqi government. saudi arabia, bahrain, jordan, uae, and qatar were also involved in the attack. but it's not clear what role they played. jordan is nervous about the isil advancement. >> there has been several attempts to infiltrate across our borders. we are striking the positions of isis, because we think we should do whatever is necessary to strengthen, enhance, and solidify the stability of our borders and country. >> reporter: the u.s. says there is a wide regional and western coalition behind its strikes. it is not clear whether the result of these strikes will be. but many people are uncertain that aerial campaigns alone can't defeat isil. >>> well activists say civilians were killed during the air strikes around aleppo. the u.s. military says there were at least 8 strikes in that area, targeting the al-qaeda linked group khorasan. >> reporter: there is anger in we

bill neely with us from damascus tonight. thanks. and reminder we'll be back on the air for the president's address to the nation 9:00 p.m. eastern time, 6:00 p.m. along the west coast. >>> millions of people in this country are watching for more severe weather tonight especially in the midwest. the possibility of damaging winds and flooding. and tonight a california couple lucky to survive after their van got caught in a flash flood in nevada. we get more on all of it tonight including the season's first big cold snap from nbc's kevin tibbles. >> reporter: passers-by powerless to help. the van carrying lauren and margie miller was swept away. >> i just started praying as soon as i got in that water. >> reporter: the couple from fresno, california, had just begun a cross-country tour when a flash flood in nevada took them by surprise. >> she said i can't hold on. and then she was gone. >> reporter: severe storms sweeping the nation. more than ten inches of rain in browning, missouri. nine inches in nearby kirksville. eight in paris,

damascus was more secured three years ago. the main opposition, the syrian coalition is weak and divided, unable to convince powers to provide weapons to turn the tide against government forces. as for president bashar al-assad, his perhaps are clear. he's started a new 7-year term in office with a promise to end the war and defeat what he calls the terror campaign against his country. >>> let's go to ukraine, and the latest on a ceasefire tested on several fronts. there has been explosions near don everybody and shelling hit a -- donetsk, and shelling hit a building in mariupol. harry fawcett is there and sent this report. >> reporter: this is what the current ceasefire looks like in eastern ukraine. shelling coming into the area around donetsk's international airport, hours after bombardment of pamariupol to the south. for the first time tanks took up defensive positions on the city border, preparing for more of this. overnight in this spot came a major brief of a ceasefire that took effect on friday. the government insists

certain from damascus they issued a statement saying that there there had been a letter from john kerrys. saying they didn't accepted any letter to get clairclarification i spoke to te syrian ambassador a man that is close to assad. he told me they played by the rules, they informed us. he said this he was told by samantha power the u.s. ambassador that the air strikes were going to take place. i asked him did you give them authorization to carry out those strikes? did you give them your permission? and he said that's something i will be discussing in 24 hours time at the security council. now, the meeting of the security council which will be taking place here in new york on wednesday is going to be presided over by president obama himself. most of those around the table, normally occupied by ambassadors are going to be world leaders and the other country we haven't heard from yet their position on all of this is russia. it's going to be a very interesting meeting. >>> we have some analysis from the former u.s. defense official who told us bashar al-assad shouldn't feel ahead east beca

from damascus, some shaking, some already dead. the seep soap reports it has validated this video. we're a lined of ap and can he trust them. we do not know who the alleged victims are. we cannot know which rebel group they were part of. the analyst says the islamic state is not known to operate in the area around damascus and that's true. we don't know if the victims are the moderate syrian rebels, the onesu(wk the united states plans to arm. the activists are claiming the assad regime launched a new chemical weapons attack. one more thing. i just got this in seconds ago. this is some context for the pentagon press secretary, rear admiral john kirby. asked about reports assad had used kim cal weapon -- chemical weapons and he said, no, at 9:10 am there had been reports that clorox bombs had been used. so we don't know. this is happening in real time. so "associated press" say it's happen. the activists say there has been a chemical attack. the best thing to do is wait and fine out about the facts on the ground. if assad crossed the red line is it possible we would have a new equat