among those testifying will be chuck hagel and martin dempsey and john kerry. jo it's good to see you again. what do you expect will come out of the the hearing? >> secretaries hagel and kerry will be making the case for an attack. if the u.s. does not act now they will be em boldened to use these weapons and attack u.s. allies and threaten u.s. interest. dempsey will make the case that no matter when the u.s. military strikes it will happen. >> how could it be the case that giving syria all this lead time won't effect the strikes and how potentially effective they are? >> you don't want to telegraph. the defense department arguing is they would bh adjusting their targets no matter what had they started this weekend or two weeks from now. syrian forces respond. they mover resources. the pentagon would be adjusting their targets. it's a difficult case to make because chemical weapons facility cases can empty. >> dempsey has expressed skepticism publicly and privately about the effectiveness of this potential attack. what is he going to say today? senators will br

kerry, hagel, and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff have been testifying before the house onervices committee, continuing to ask for congressional approval for a resolution authorizing the use of force against syria. >> president obama's first priority out there this process has been and is diplomacy. diplomacy is our first resort, and we have brought this issue to the united nations security council on many occasions. with have sent direct messages to syria, and have had syrias allies bring them direct messages. don't do this. don't use these weapons, all to date to no avail. >> reporter: and you hear secretary kerry expressing the skepticism about the intentions of russia and syria, or whether this is just a plea for time, but the president still faces another challenge, and that is getting votes from the senate and house to authorize use of force, and this morning the senate minority leading, mitch mcconnell of kentucky, announced that he has never been in favor of the participate's foreign policy, and announced that he will not be voting to authorize force, several other

secretary kerry, secretary hagel going before the powerful senate security committee, and we'll see if the committee gets behind it this afternoon. >> if two men know the senate well, it's both of those gentlemen, former senator john kerry and former senator chuck hagel. sherry from political co-,the white house must be smiling right now. oddsmaker would have said that this would not be the case. >> i think you're right, del. weekend when the president first announced this there was a struggle to rally the support in congress. i don't think he's entirely there yet in terms of making the case, and having the vote there, but having cantor and boehner is helpful. the president put out a statement soon after the remarks this morning saying that this is a conscience vote for his members. not suggesting that he's going to twist arms. he said that the president will have to make the case. while boehner gave him a boost stay which changed the momentum that will help the president in terms of making his case, this is boehner putting it back on the white house saying you have to argue this case.

hagel kerry and chuck testified on congressional authorization for a missile strike in syria. opening statements for about a half hour. this time to respond to the 426 children. acquire appropriately series and a section in the lease. term think he for welcoming the. the per public event early july. are all here. ase them against our allies, we convened for this debate, it is not an exaggeration to say to all of you, my former colleagues that the world is watching not just to see what we decide, but watching to see how well we make this decision. whether in a dangerous world we can still make our government speak with one voice. they want to know if america will rise to this moment and make a difference. the question of whether to authorize our nation to take military action is, as you have said and have echoed, mr. ranking member, this is obviously one of the most important decisions important responsibility for of any senator in the course of a career. the president and the administration appreciate you have returned quickly to the nation's capital to address it and appropri

again, we are meeting with secretary hagel and kerry today and i look forward to hearing that and thene will have our meeting tomorrow so i can, you know, move from that point. >> when you hear members of your party like john mccain saying that not to vote for authorize would be catastrophic. what do you think? >> i think the opposite. i think the vote to intervene right now, when you have iran threatening to attack israel and you have syria threatening to attack israel, like assad said, you have a powder keg ready to explode over there and i don't want to be the match that ignites that. >> i think there is general consensus it will be -- i think easy is probably the wrong word to use -- but the administration probably has a better chance of passing a resolution on the senate side than on the house side. there does seem to be division within your party from liberty tear iaian tearians, for example and other members of your party. what do you think in the end is the decisive factor in the house? >> i think the decisive action or the factor in the house would be if you can prove 100% thi

debate and then pred the word called vice president biden, secretary of state john kerry and defense secretary chuck hagel. saturday morning, he convened a principles meeting to finally the decision. >> the question is when do we collectively in the world going to do about it? >> reporter: hours before the president's abrupt move, secretary kerry had made a passionate case for urgent action. >> instead of being tucked safely in their beds at home, we saw rows of children lying side by side sprawled on a hospital floor, all of them dead from assad's gas. >> reporter: but aides say what kerry and the rest of the president's team did not know is that mr. obama is privately kicking around the idea of seeking approval of congress for days as kerry was turning up the heat, the president seemed to be turning it down. >> i am very clear that the world generally is war weary. certainly, the united states has gone through over a decade of war. the american people understandably want us to be focused on the business of rebuilding our economy here and putting people back to work. and i assure you nobody ends up being

foreign relations committee spent the afternoon hearing from secretary of state john kerry and defence secretary chuck hagel about action in syria. they warned congress should congress vote down the vote there'll be dire consequences world wide. john kerry told the senators president obama is not asking americans to go to war. president obama has been meeting with congressional leaders, republican leaders john boehner and eric cantor left supporting the

probably quite different tone than yesterday as senate foreign relations, obviously, secretary kerry and secretary hagel sat on the committee and secretary kerry chaired the committee. this is a quite different ball game than it was yesterday. >> arizona republican senator john mccain, a major proponent for military action in syria said a short while ago that he will not support this compromise resolution that is coming out out of his committee as it is. he doesn't like what he is seeing right now. okay. having said that, could that impact the president's efforts to get congressional approval if john mccain says, no, i don't like this? >> reporter: of course, mccain is a key player in all of this whether on the senate foreign affairs committee or the senate at large. meeting with the white house with lindsey graham, coming out and saying he's going to back the president. both graham and mccain have been pushing for more action. mccain, as you mentioned, saying this morning he does not support his committee's draft resolution in its current form. so there's still more work there to do. we have to see how

kerry is joining u.s. defense secretary chuck hagel in tokyo. kerry and hagel will be meeting with leaders in japan and indonesia. >> saturday, sneaker-con is a sneaker convention making its way around the country. it's going to be storming the bank united center in miami, florida, on saturday and have an array of choices on display. for more information, visit their website at www.sneakercondom. >> there's a conference for everything. 24 hours and counting. if no budget deal is reached by tuesday, millions of people are going to be affected, including military members. more when we come back.  here's a closer look at what the government shutdown could mean for our military. >> the last time the government shut down in 1995, it lasted 26 days. according to the pentagon, as many as 400,000 d.o.t. civil workers could be furloughed this time around. military service members servicing in afghanistan are not subject to furlough and they have to continue work without pay and they have to pick up the slack for civilian personnel doing their job

general dempsey, secretary hagel, secretary kerry, thank you for being here today. we're here to learn more about a very serious issue, an united states strike on syria. as member of the house armed services, as a 3 31-year vetera, and as a father of a son who is serving in the united states military i'm concerned about what we're hearing today. i have many questions about the proposed strikes, risk to our military, families, and allies, particularly israel, jordan, turkey, and iraq. secretary hagel, some have characterized the strike as a pinprick that will not prevent president assad from resuming his use of chemical weapons. how sure are you to degrade his abilities what will you do if he resumes these weapons and where do these weapons come from? >> congressman, thank you for your service and for your son's service. i can assure you on the first point you made i can speak for general dempsey and all of our military leaders that there is no higher purpose that we all have nor more significant responsibility than the protection of our men and women who serve in un

this afternoon secretary of state kerry, hagel and joint chairman dempsey will testify at a hastily convened hearing. the committee will hold a top secret closed door briefing with kerry and the director of national intelligence james clapper tomorrow. the house foreign affairs committee will hear from kerry and hagel tomorrow. to hope secure republican support president obama turned to an old adversary inviting senator john mccain and his colleague lindsey graham to the white house to discuss the issue. mccain said this morning that the president has put himself in a difficult position. take a listen. >> to do nothing is, as i said, would have consequences throughout the world. but to do something that really doesn't change anything -- in other words, some token strikes and some time later bashar assad uses chemical weapons again. what do we do then? go through the same routine? >> hoping to secure votes on the democratic side of the aisle, secretary kerry held a conference call with 127 house democrats for more than an hour. he said congress faces a, quote, munich moment, a reference to th

secretary of state kerry and secretary of defense chuck hagel and martin dempsey is testifying. they are bringing in the big guns for this session and they will argue a failure to act will endanger our allies and embolden our enemies. it is important step this afternoon. >> it is. it is a full court press for this president. not just him personally but enlisting the vice-president and secretary and all of them spanning over capitol hill. this is a president who kept congress at arm's length four and half and five years in office. what he has done is by pass congress and last week planning to by pass congress and consult them and not have a debate and seek votes in the house and senate. he reversed course over the weekend. he needs law makers now to help bail him out and get support for a mission that not a lot of americans are behind right now, the good news is that beg law makers will support it and listen to his case in the cabinet room. he continues to down play how robust this mission will be. >> joint military plan and i believe that is appropriate is proportional and limit

it is a signal it could be a tougher sell which you got a sense of today in the questioning of hagel, kerry and dempsey. you heard from lawmakers who want the administration to do more and should be about changing the equation on the ground. you heard from those who want to do less, sending strict limits on the scope and duration of military action. this is a congress that is very much divided on authorizing the use of force. >> as jim indicated for very different reasons people don't want to use it. some people don't want war at all and some think the president should go much further than he is planning to go. it all comes down to syria crossing president obama's so-called red line. >> i didn't set a red line. the world set a red line. the world set a red line when governments representing 98% of the world's population said the use of chemical weapons are aborant and passed a treaty forbidding the use even when countries are engaged in war. >> that is quite a change of tone, though, from this. >> a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being

john kerry and chuck hagel will testify before the senate. it has been 48 hours since he said that he needs congressional approval for the attack. do you have a sense of whether the congress will play ball this time. >> this is why the white house is go full court press calling in key members in chuck hagel and crown kerry to speak to the white house, and bringin to brig skeptical republicans. >> congress does not officially meet until monday, but that does not mean that they're not working on syria as we speak. >> that's right. the white house on the phone--top administration officials calling key senators and congressmen both in their home districts and those who are back here in washington working the phones. we understand that the president and vice president and chief the staff on the phone all day yesterday and today, so again they're working all the angles as hard as they can. >> and paul, that is washington inside the beltway. what about washington outside of the beltway or on the streets of dc. is there a sense that they feel that th

secretaries hagel and kerry head to the hill and america decides what to do about syria.two years after president obama told syrian president assad to step down, year after the red line was drawn, and two weeks after the syrian government appears to have used chemical weapons on its own people, the obama administration finds itself using a flood the zone campaign to authorize military action in syria. he laid out his plan of action. >> i want to emphasize to the american people, the military plan that has been developed by joint chiefs and that i believe is appropriate is proportional and limited and does not involve boots on the ground. this is not iraq and this is not afghanistan. >> so far president obama's reasoning seems to be resonating. they emerged signalling confidence in the president's strategy. >> this is a barberous act. it's clear that the united nations is unable to take action and nato unable to take action. i'm going to support the president's call for action and my colleagues should support this call for action. we have enemies around the world that need

john kerry and chuck hagel and general martin dempsey will have the first public hearing on the possible use of force in syria. the president is also making his case. >> this is not iraq and it's not afghanistan. this is a limited proportional step. it will send a message to syria and other countries that may be interested in testing these norms. >> president obama is confident he'll get congress to back his plan. others are pushing for them to vote. >> assad did it and hundreds of children were killed. this is behavior outside the circle of civilized human behavior. we must respond. >> this is something that the unites states as a country needs

general mark dempsey, secretary of state john kerry and secretary chuck hagel being grilled.o: two years of grad school. 20 years with the company. thousands of presentations. and one hard earned partnership. it took a lot of work to get this far. so now i'm supposed to take a back seat when it comes to my investments? there's zero chance of that happening. avo: when you work with a schwab financial consultant, you'll get the guidance you need with the control you want. talk to us today. >>> want to take you back to the senate foreign relations committee. dana bash broke the news. they authorized, this key hearing, authorized u.s. intervention in syria. this is senator dick durbin, democrat. >> any other member that wishes to be heard? >> thank you, chairman. i would like to thank my colleagues on this committee for the way that this debate hascon. as secretary kerry said it's not just important what we decide as a body but how we decide it but cautious and careful deliberation on the use of force is one that meets expectations of the american people. the outcome is not predi

so secretary kerry and secretary hagel, i take this very seriously. i understand this president, i understand his values. but i take it very seriously that the language be as precise as possible when it comes 0 this whole question of expanding this mission into something much larger, something that would engage us in a new level of warfare or a new authority for their president or a future president. so i hope that we can have your word and assurance that we can work together in a bipartisan fashion to craft this in a way that carefully achieves our goal but does not expand authority anywhere beyond what is necessary. >> senator, thank you, very important statement. and you not only have my word that it will not do that, but we will work with you very, very closely with the white house in shaping this resolution. we -- there's no hidden agenda. there's no subterfuge. there's no surrogate strategy here. there's one objective, and that objective is to make sure we live up to our obligations of upholding the norm with respect to international behavior on

that's the congressman from virginia asking questions of kerry and hagel. >> -- would do think that'sd question for us to have been asking. it comes down to this. this administration loves to use the military. use it, want to use it in syria, libya, resource to asia, balance that pitvot. the afghanistan surge. you just don't want to pay the price it takes to have a strong military. our final question, mr. secretary, you can answer after that, are you officially withdrawing your request for us to take action on a military response immediately and do you want us to delay that response? >> i'm not officially asking you to withdraw it, no, and i'm not asking you to delay. i've been inrm toed the president of the united states, while we've been sitting here, which i knew was going to take place this morning, has completed a conversation with president hollande and with prime minister cameron. i had an earlier conversation this morning with foreign minister fabbious and we talked about where we are with respect to the russian proposal, and they agreed to work closely together in consultatio

chuck hagel and john kerry will be testifying. we just got word that martin dempsey will be testifying. they added a second public hearing on the house side on wednesday. it looks like kerry and clapper are going to testify there. on top of that they'll have classified briefings pretty much all week. every day all week. tomorrow at 11:30. every day except for wednesday. white house says they are flooding the zone. this is flooding the zone. >> you have all those briefings going on. any reaction to the fact you have russian lawmakers who are planning on meeting with members of congress? >> reporter: isn't that interesting. we were talking about it within our team to try to figure out what the reaction will be. nobody's here. they are coming in and leaving. we're trying to get reaction to see if anybody will meet with them. >> it's going be a busy week. we'll be following you closely. we'll be on your toes. thanks again. >>> more u.s. fire power is led headed to the region as well. several u.s. navy ships are in the red sea. another

so secretary kerry and secretary hagel, i take this very seriously. i understand this president and i understand his values, uh but take it very seriously that the language be as precise as possible when it comes to this question of expanding this mission into something much larger, something that would engage us in a new level of warfare or a new level for this president or a future president. so i hope that we could have your word and assurance that we can work together in a bipartisan fashion to craft this in a way that carefully achieves our goal, but does not expand authority anywhere beyond what is necessary. >> senator, thank you. very important statement, and you not only have any word that it will not do that, but we will work with you very, very close we, with the white house, in shaping this resolution. there's no hidden agenda. there's no subterfuge. there's no surrogate strategy here. there's one objective and that objective is to make sure we live up to our obligations of upholding the norm with respect to international behavior on the u

and then placed calls later to kerry, hagel and biden. kerry had gone out on a limb and called for action. the senior officials insist kerry and the entire team came together in support of the plan in a meeting saturday morning. they want congressional buy-in. >> that i know the country will be stronger if we take this course and our actions will be even more effective. >> while the president called all four of the top congressional leaders. mitch mcconnell only staying president's role as commander in chief is always strengthened when he enjoys the express support of the congress. with polls showing the american public does not want more intervention than syria, in private, officials say they know there is a risk the votes may fail. the president hinted co-take action any way. >> we cannot and must not turn a blind eye to what happened in damascus. in a world with many dangers, this menace must be confronted. >> except the president's second decision means it is longer until that menace will be confronted. >> this is absolutely stunning.

. >> later today john kerry, defense secretary chuck hagel and martin dempsey will head to the senate foreign relations committee for first public hearing on possible use of force in syria. some of the administration have called this is a flood zone strategy. >> will the president get the support he needs? the key question. earlier the president made his case to top lawmakers and the american people. >> i want to thank the leaders of both parties for being here today to discuss what is a very serious issue facing the united states. the fact that i've had chance to speak to many of you and congress as a whole is taking this issue with the soberness and seriousness that it deserves is greatly appreciate and vindicates the decision for us to present this issue to congress. as i've said last week that secretary kerry made clear in his presentation last week we have high confidence that syria used in an indiscriminate fashion chemical weapons that killed thousands of people including over 400 children and in direct violation of the international norm against using chemical weapons. that po

chuck hagel and john kerry and martin dempsey facing the senate foreign relations committee in the first public hearing of the force in syria. we'll tap into the global resources of cnn to bring you the most complete coverage of the crisis in syria. we begin this morning with brianna keilar live at the white house. good morning, brianna. >> reporter: chris good morning to you. white house officials that i've spoken with feel positively about their prospects of hammering out an agreement with congress that would allow them to militarily strike syria but they admit there is still a lot of convincing to do. two key republicans voicing new optimism about president obama's plans in syria after a meeting in the oval office. senator john mccain, the president's former rival, now a key ally in the fight to get congress on board for military action. >> we want to work to make that resolution something that majority of the members of both houses can support. >> reporter: but it's not going to be an easy road. >> we still have significant concerns. >> we don't want endless more. >> reporter: congre

hagel and the chairman, but you didn't hear much from them. whe senator corker asked why no support since authorized by the president back in june, kerry and hageloth waffled. the hagel said the authorization -- in fact the objective is to deter assad from using chemical weapon degrading his capability and sending a message to other terrorists about weapons of mass destruction. then they went on to say it's going to be limited in type and scope and duration and assured everybody to include assad, iran, and all the others there's not going to be any boots on the ground. this is a disaster in the making in a civil war. >> and yet we have heard john boehner, the speaker of the house, eric can tore, the republican majority lder in the house, both men couldn't wait to rush to cameras and make their statements and support of this president. this is -- i mean where in the world is the opposition? >> they're re aren't any scoop jacksons left. the closest is frank wolf who has been pleading for a special committee to investigate benghazi. asaws has three chemical weapons delivery systems, artillery, aircraft and missiles, some as big as the scuds with a

eastern when hagel, kerry, and general dempsey testify. i'll be back later tonight 9:00 p.m.ave a lots of may jeer guests including the republican senator and ranking member of the foreign relation's committee holding the hearing tomorrow. you can follow us on twitter. follow me @wolf blitzer. erin burnetts starts right knew. >>> the breaking news on the crisis in syria. president obama says he wants to upgrade the opposition. does that mean arming al qaeda? >>> and then within an amazing feat that proves your never too old to chase your dreams. what one 64-year-old woman did today that defies belief. >>> and it has an innocent-sounding woman's name but it far from that. what is molly and why is it so deadly? a special record. let's go "outfront."

secretary kerry and hagel will testify before your committee this morning.t do you want to ask them? >> what is the threat to the united states of america. right now, i have already had a classified intelligence briefing with the obama administration and others who are pushing for this. right now, i am not convinced that this is in our interests. this is a syrian civil war in syria. what is the direct threat to the united states? i still have yet to figure that out. furthermore, i believe a strike or getting involved with rebels or opposition destabilizing the region even more. my final point. when look at the destabilization of the entire middle east right now, we are seeing profound cultural changes throughout the middle east. i do not wanted to expend our military capital on this issue when we may have more serious issues that are a threat to the united states. >> john boehner disagrees with you and moments after meeting with the president and his cabinet yesterday made his argument. let me play that. >> i'm going to support the president's call for actio

secretary of state john kerry and chuck hagel will lobby.ll try to sell the international community that is deeply divided on the way

tomorrow seactd joh secretary of state john kerry and defense secretary chuck hagel will speak to the senate. paul beban is in washington. he joins us with the very latest. paul, do you get a sense that the senate will play ball with the president on syria? >> that remains an sop question, and that's why senators like senator mccain are so important. he has been very critical of the administration's position on syria pushing for more comprehensive strategy. would be more important for him personally but also bringing other skeptical senators on board. to that effect the white house has been working the phones all day long top administration officials including secretary kerry, secretary hagel, national security evacuate susan rice and james clapper all on a conference call to make sure they're on board. members of the white house work both sides of the aisle for their support. >> congress returns to work next monday but i understand there are meetings that are taking place ahead of what's going to lap in the full session of coming. >> that's right. the senate foreign relations committ

john kerry and martin dempsey, chuck hagel set to testify. >>> in the first tv interview ali mansourkey and qatar. he rejected claims deposed president hosni mubarak's regime is making a comeback. >>> the man who police say drove into venice beach pleaded not guilty to killing an italian tourist and injuring nearly a dozen others. police say he intentionally aimed his car at the boardwalk on a crowded saturday night. if convicted campbell could get life in prison. >>> john mccain busted playing poker on his phi phone during a senate hearing an on syria. he tweeted later "scandal! caught playing iphone game at three plus hours senate hearing. worst of all, i lost!" those are your headlines at this hour, 7:37, let's talk to kate now. >> thanks so much, michaela. let's turn for more on the major breaking news overnight, convicted cleveland kidnaper ariel castro found dead hanging in his prison cell overnight. let's talk more about this and what this means for the victims specifically with psychotherapist dr. robi ludwig. no one saw this turn coming for good reason. you have this news bu

>> well, that will be up to chuck hagel and john kerry today, but that's what lawmakers, again, have been saying all weekend, and that's what john kerry and chuck hagel will have to answer. >> erin mcpike live on capitol hill. we'll get back to you soon. i'm picking up my ipad because i want to show you something. see how your lawmaker is voting. cnn is keeping track. it's easy, just go to cnn.com/politics and click on "counting votes," and you can see how your senator, how they would vote on syria today and some of the comments they've made. and if you switch, oh, my ipad's messed up. well, there it is. that's how the senate and this is the house member. if you want to know how your house member might vote and has said about it, it's all right here, cnn.com/politics. >>> we'll be right back. if there was a pill to help protect your eye health as you age... would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin dedicated to your eyes, from bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. ocuvite is uniq

the tension you saw playing out when secretary kerry and secretary hagel were testifying before the house arms serviced committee, there were plenty of substance but there were the flare-ups were members were reflecting the frustrations that people back home have and some of the questions about what comes next. john kerry pointed out he's not in politics anymore, he's not the vote counter. he was trying to argue the case for the administration, still wanting the authority for a strike while at the same time being open to these new opportunities diplomatically that could involve the russians and french and so forth. but kerry was also very cautious about not getting too far ahead on that path, not certain assad or russia could be fully trusted if not fully vetted. an unusual day. the president is still here talking with senators. we expect when those meetings break up, we'll get another sense of where the moment is right now. senators i have talked to have spoken to the president over the last few days have said it's been very substantive and the president has been listening and there's a

. >> kerry, hagel and dempsey testified before the house foreign affairs committee. con citiesinconsisting of 45 mee republicans, and 21 are democrats. the heated exchange whe about te topic of bengahzi. >> this is not about getting into civil war. this is enforcing the principle that people should not be allowed to gas their civilians with impunity. it and assad feeling like he can do this any day he wants to. that's what this is about. he let's draw the proper distinction, congressman. we don't deserve to drag in the discussion of bengahzi when the real issue is whether the congress is going to stand up for international norms with respect to dictators that have only been wrong twice until assad, hitler and sa saddam hu hussein. libby joins us live from capitol hill. libby, what was john kerry's message today? >> we're hearing a lot of what we heard yesterday, the continuing message that secretary kerry as well as president obama are trying to convince members of congress, to be aware not just how to vote and move forward, but even the discussion because the intern

it surprised me in your reporting john kerry and chuck hagel were not consulted that friday when the president decided to go for congressional authorization the day sergey lavrov offered they would cede their chemical weapons supply to the community. kerry seemed on the outside of the president and white house and rad manages decided to wrap their arms and embrace that suggestion. a lot there seems to be i won't say a disconnect but certainly the nexus of decision making in all of this seems to be coming back to the commander in chief without the assistance or guidance of his cabinet members. is that accurate? >> i do think this is an administration where you see the white house increasingly being the assertive player and determining foreign policy, in fact cabinet secretaries there to implement, explain and made it happen. that's not to say the white house isn't paying attention to john kerry or chuck hagel, they are, certainly. the president did come back with that walk with dennis mcdonough having made up his mind without needing to hear much more from his staff. convened them in t

john kerry and chuck hagel answered questions today for the senate relations committee

secretary john kerry, general dempsey and secretary chuck hagel is there as well. the senate of foreign affairs committee are expected to vote in two hours time. but now let's live to the testimony. >> the germane and the effective. germane would be directly related to chemical weapons. but the fact is we want assad to control, store, and keep control of his chemical weapons. and so you'll be seeking out targets some how related to the creations storage control or delivery of chemical weapons, and i think that instead you should focus on punishing and deterring assad by hitting valuable assets that will demonstrate to him that it was a military mistake to hit with chemical weapons, even with the air assets for the delivery of chemicals weapons will make that lesson to him. we've all learned a searing lesson from over 4,000 casualties in iraq. but there are occasions, and mr. chairman i would like to put in the record a crs listing and analysis of 150 occasions of the last four years when america has deployed it's forces into dangerous or hostile situations, and mos

tomorrow, a meeting at 10:00 a.m., meetings with hagel, kerry, the house armed services committee.he congressional black caucus was at the white house today, meeting with white house staff and the president, and they did not do a media availability after their time at the white house, so we were unable to hear from them. that happened today, and that was about syria as well. the deputy national security adviser to the white house briefing along with jay carney. the president is having lunch with senate republicans tomorrow susan rice is that the closed- door briefing on capitol hill. tank.so spoke at a think i believe it was a center for american progress. she spoke there this morning. all of this is available at our website, www.c-span.org/syria. you can find all these events as they continue going on. right now we are listening to your voices. alex is on our republican line. thanks for taking my call. we are in a really big catch-22 situation. if we don't go through with what the president had said, it will give a green light for other countries to use chemical weapons. just conf

you saw secretary of state kerry and defense secretary hagel. they're back on the hill on closed hearing. yesterday was open hearings. what they're trying to do behind closed doors basically with general dempsey, we should point out, the joint chiefs chairman, make the case with intelligence behind closed doors, what they can't say in front of the cameras. i have to tell you i spoke to one top official here told me they simply do not know if they have votes in the house and senate as of today to get this through the congress. that gives you idea of predictment president is in. number two at the news conference the president left the door open if congress votes no. he might act unlate israeli. that will open a wolin line of more questions. bill: one more question on the red line here, do you know, any knowledge where that comement came from? was that from the president? was that from maybe the strategy session yesterday or even ben rhodes traveling with him overseas? >> reporter: well, it is coming from the president because he has hinted at this

john kerry and chuck hagel will testify. all this as it appears the white house might have a persuasion breakthrough with two crucial lawmakers. brianna keeler reports. >> reporter: two key republicans voicing new optimism about president obama's plans in syria after a meeting in the oval office. senator john mccain now a key ally in the fight to get congress on board for military action. >> we want to work to make that resolution something that the majority of members of both houses can support. >> reporter: it's not going to be an easy road. >> we have significant concerns. we don't want endless war. >> reporter: congress has key demands, a limited strike and no boots on the ground. the white house will continue to make the case with them today behind closed doors and in public. secretary of state, john kerry, defense secretary, chuck hagel and martin dempsey will testify before the senate foreign relations committee. president obama hosting a new round of face-to-face meetings with lawmakers. house speaker, john boehner,

it was significant with kerry and hagel to be here today. one of the biggest points they will communicate is the need for accountability. they must uphold the crack down on the use of chemical weapons at the international norm that existed for about a century. andr andrea? is. >> thanks to peter alexander. as we have seen over the last couple of days, momentum growing for congressional action. this was a black and whited decision by the president. are there concerns about the uncertain nature? >> there has been a lot of questioning about how the administration will go about this. the republican on foreign relations along with the chairman democrat robbery effort menendez. the administration has been clunky, to use his words. urging the witnesses to be very direct and very forth coming about the case that needs to be made. they believe there was in fact a need to take action. it is hard to get the support because of how the public feels about the military action and there needs to be a stronger case made in support of the president. how to ma

you see kerry and hagel and dempsey out there a lot. do you feel comfortable with this?our position is that weak foreign policy is what invites these particular challenges. i do think this administration is right to separate an action in syria from what happened in libya where we tried to tip the balance against khadafy, or something against iraq. they're not talking about boots on the ground, though john is right that the minute you fire a missile, you inch your way toward more activity. i would not support a broad resolution. we should not get sucked into this and side with al qaeda-affiliated rebels who would oppose a tyrant who is not a friend of ours but has not been threatening our friends or interesting directly. >> the resolution to the senate is very broad based. when you put a resolution in front of the senate that was approved a couple days ago that says there can be ground troops in the operations but they can't conduct operations. i served in operation freedom and the troops in iraq were technically not conducting combat operations. like an operation new daw

seems to be going ahead, the senate foreign relations committee on which chuck hagel served as well as secretary of state john kerry, president obama and vice president biden all served on that very committee, they had a full day of hearings yesterday and that committee has marked up a resolution, which may be voted on as soon as this afternoon, and which has tightened the language regarding the authorization of force to be sure that the -- if there is a strike on syria, the strike will be limited in duration and scope and targeted for -- to degrade chemical weapons.

opposition to the president's proposal so that will be attended by secretary of state kerry, secretary of defense hagel and again general dem dem. senate democrat and republican leaders are supporting it, membership, question mark. stephanie. >> all right, randall pinkston, thank you randall. >>> foreign policy advisor to secretary hagel when he was a senator, currently editor and ceo of monitor. thank you very much for joining us from washington. you were the foreign policy advisor to chuck hagel when he was serving in the senate. i wonder if you are advising him today as he pushes for the obama's case for military action what you owould advise him? >> i think what's happening in the congress today is a difficult choice for many members. while the resolution seems to be going ahead, the senate foreign relations committee on which chuck hagel served as well as secretary of state john kerry, president obama and vice president biden all served on that very committee, they had a full day of hearings yesterday and that committee has marked up a resolution, which may be voted on as soon as this afternoon, a

i think our witnesses, secretary carry kerry, secretary hagel and general dempsey on the many difficultface as a country. i think there's no question at this point that assad used chemical weapons in syria. the evidence, intelligence case that's been made, it's been overwhelming in the hearings that i have been to. this, of course, is on the heels of a civil war in which assad has killed somewhere in the neighborhood of 100,000 of his own civilians which is a series of abhorrent acts in and of themselves. the challenge for us and this panel and the people who are testifying today is how best to respond to all this. how best to hold president assad accountable for all of this. there is no question, and i agree completely that trying control the privilege racing of chemical weapons say goal that we must have as a nation. we must go forward. but can a one-time, limited military strike accomplish that? and i think what our committee wants to hear today how will that happen? how will this one-time strike be enough to hold assad accountable while not creating a chaos or risk that these very d

secretary kerry and secretary hagel i take it seriously. i understand the president and his values.i take it seriously that the language be as precise as possible when it comes to the question of expanding this mission into something much larger, something that would engage us in a new level of warfare or a new authority for this president or a future president. i hope that we can have your word and assurance that we can work together in a bipartisan fashion, to craft this in a way that carefully achieves our goil, but does not -- goal, but does not expand authority beyond what is necessary. >> senator, thank you. an important statement. you not only have my word that it will not do that, but we will work with you very, very closely, with the white house in shaping this resolution. there is no hidden agenda, there's no subdetuj, there's no surrogate strategy. there's one objective and that is to make sure we live up to our obligations of upholding the norm with respect to international behaviour on the use of chemical weapons, and that is what the president is seeking in this author

kerry. when the president and the secretary of defense chuck hagel spoke, their combined effect at times was to blur somewhat the clarity of secretary kerry's message. all of this changed last weekend when president obama announced he had come to a decision on the use of force, and would seek from congress and authorizing resolution, "to use the armed forces of the united states as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in connection with the use of chemical weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in the conflict in syria." in order to one, to prevent or deter the use and proliferation within, to or from syria of any weapons of mass destruction. including chemical or biological weapons or components or materials used in such weapons. two, to protect the united states and its allies and partners against the threat posed by such weapons. congress is now actively engaged in hearing from the administration about the national security objectives and strategy in which likely cruise missile attacks on syrian targets will be embedded. this is of critical importance. much of the syria rel