a side but we haven't heard such direct claims as of yet of course hizbollah will react by firing missiles into israel this will lead the united states to need to respond and so you have the whole possibility of a regional conflict evolving when you talk to ordinary lebanese of course they don't want to see any kind of western intervention they very concerned about the very delicate political sectarian balance that this country has and what is happening in syria has a very negative effect on that. thank you paula that was artie's middle east bureau chief paula sawyer in beirut lebanon i was joined earlier by gareth porter investigative journalist and historian along with richard murphy the former u.s. ambassador to syria to help shed some additional light on the latest developments out of syria i start off by asking gareth what is the purpose of these military strikes. but that's the question i think that everyone is asking around the world really. it is so so difficult to figure out what the administration really thinks

that they will be making their way here to lebanon we understand that they will be meeting with hizbollah so this is presumably for you around to be fried and talk to its allies in the region we have heard from iran that all too and said will support the syrian president bashar assad with the supreme leader ayatollah khamenei saying that it will be a disaster for the region if damascus is attacked so the situation here in the region is extremely fluid many people extremely concerned that we will be looking at regional fallout if indeed damascus is attacked paula thanks very much indeed for that update ortiz put us in a lot of that in beirut well i don't learn of what we're closely following international tensions brewing over syria as well as the situation on the ground you can head to all two dot com for live updates. also on the website of the moment the u.s. government's assessment on the use of chemical weapons in syria in full you can read it closer and try to find where washington's high confidence of assad's guilt is coming from. right to see. her story. and i would think that you'

international community is not going to want to see something like that happen it can also activate hizbollah and the radio revolutionary guards corps that have networks around the world and that they could carry out potentially terror attacks against those countries that are supporting military action this is not going to be something that the west once and of course this is something that they need to mull over in their considerations we've also heard from iran here the chief of the revolutionary guard saying that an attack on syria would see the immediate destruction of israel that is not going to be something that washington is going to take lightly as a threat now as they view us and its allies prepare for a military strike what is syria doing to prepare for what may come. well from the reports we've been receiving the syrian army has evacuated almost all of its personnel from army and security command headquarters inside damascus as for army units that are outside the capital city here they have been confiscating from the reports we're receiving trailer trucks which understandably will

regard this as an attack on its thirty fifth provinces the thinking is that iran could activate both hizbollah and the rainy and revolutionary guard corps it could get them to use their fighters to attack those countries who are supportive of a u.s. led military strike inside syria at the same time iran could also close the strait of hormuz now this would affect around twenty percent of the world's supply of petroleum the head of the rainy and revolutionary guard is also said that if damascus was to be attacked this would see and this is a direct quote the immediate attack and the immediate destruction of israel this is of course something that the israelis are taking seriously the official word from the israeli leadership is that they are not involved in anything inside syria but that they of course will respond and respond harshly if they come under attack the israeli army is calling up reservists at the same time the israeli army has deployed the iron dome anti-missile defense system and other interceptors over the north of the country the public has been queuing up in the thousands at loca

traffic now here in lebanon itself the situation of course is extremely fluid and we're hearing from a hizbollah leader that the movement will not stand idle showed damascus come under fire from the waist we're receiving reports that as of yet are not confirmed that russia is carrying out a rotation of its naval forces in the mediterranean sea and increasingly we're hearing from all political forces that there needs to be a united nations mandate before they can be any kind of western military action we're hearing this from the u.n. peace envoy brahimi at the same time russia saying that the united states is jumping the gun and that there needs to be the findings of this u.n. investigating team before any conclusions can be drawn you have a stalemate situation at the united nations security council a draft resolution was put forward but behind the scenes both russia and china have voiced their opposition to it so certainly not a consensus in terms of the international community and that might be part of the reason why the latest word from the american president barack obama is that he hasn't yet

minister has spoken out against military action saying its air space will not be available either hizbollah which backs us armed forces has also made it clear that it opposes any intervention and would not stand idle if syria is attacked by u.s. and its nato allies now it is volunteer is in beirut with the details streeters angry apprehensive and fearful the mood in the region is that the winds of war are blowing in so we're both sides are vowing to fight for the country many are afraid that if america launches military intervention this will only result in a bloodbath here in lebanon hizbullah has said it will not stand idly by if assad is fired on this is the clearest indication from the military group that it plans to get involved and any kind of his bill involvement will see rockets fired at israel already in israel thousands of residents have been going to post offices to collect gas masks the country is in a state of high alert and army reserve soldiers have been called up there is clearly the sense that something big is on the cards policy r t beirut and would like to know what you t

traffic now here in lebanon itself the situation of course is extremely fluid and we're hearing from a hizbollah leader that the movement will not stand idle should damascus come under fire from the waste now this is the biggest so far the most surest information we're receiving that the organization will get involved if indeed assad is attacked the implications of this of course are that rockets will be fired at israel what we're seeing in israel is a panic among the population so much so that the information lines that people phone to get information as to whether or not they should be collecting gas marks have dropped we've seen hundreds of people turn up at post offices to collect those gas masks at the same time we're also hearing from iran and iran says it will do everything it can to prevent military action one of the u.n. weapons inspection team is working on the ground probing the alleged chemical attack that happened last week has achieved anything. well damascus did send a letter to the u.n. chief banking moon in which it indicated three other incidents where syrian soldiers came unde

traffic now here in lebanon itself the situation of course is extremely fluid and we're hearing from a hizbollah leader that the movement will not stand idle showed damascus come under fire from the waist we're receiving reports that as of yet or not confirm that russia is carrying out a rotation of its naval forces in the mediterranean sea at the same time the united nations team is currently inside syria where they are conducting investigations to determine what happened last week when there was an alleged chemical attack the u.n. inspectors say that they'll conclude their mission by him next monday they are talking to eyewitnesses they are gathering samples but the problem is that the only conclusion they'll be able to give is whether or not a chemical attack took place they will not be able to give any kind of indication of who was behind it such attack while damascus did send a letter to the u.n. chief bank you moon in which it indicated three other incidents where syrian soldiers came under fire to quote the letter and said with poison close to nerve gas sarin and increasingly we're hearin

using it as a staging ground for attacks across the board never to a rack, there i iraq, and the hizbollah it does not favor. frustrated time and fame den at the united nations and elsewhere by russia's backing of the assad regime, so just as inky just a minute, no good option for his the obama administration, today simply asking the united nation to his investigate this use of chemical weapons. >> that's mike reporting. onto egypt now where former president mubarak could leave a coulcairo prison at any time. he's being held under nation mum security since he was forced out of office two years ago and now an egyptian court has ordered him to be released while he is investigated on charges of corruption. here are did h details from cai. >> reporter: watching as the man they hold responsible foible the killing of their son, is ordered releaseed from prison. whatever the fate of former president knew bar he can, the decision is not hit for a family who are still waiting for answers. he showed me the picture of his 18-year-old that was killed during the up rising when a car ran him over. he's