jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon.uggestion the president has taken a decision about whether to use military force against the assad regime? >> we just heard from secretary of state john kerry. it was the strongest statement yet from the administration. and stood some contrast to those remarks you just heard from the defense secretary chuck hagel. >> what we saw in syria last week should shock the conscience of the world. it defies any code of morality. the indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, the killing of women and children and innocent bystanders by chemical weapons is a moral on obama -- obscenity >> action will be within the framework of legal justification. >> right knew as we speak, there are four u.s. navy destroyers in the mediterranean. they are now in position and could launch guided missiles or tomahawks at any time according to senior defense sources. no u.s. aircraft carriers have been moved into the mediterranean at this point. >> trace: with the ability to launch at any time, as you look at the optio

national security correspondent jennifer griffin has breaking details from the pentagon. good evening, jennifer. >> reporter: good evening, bret. fox news confirmed nearly one year after the benghazi attacks on the u.s. consulate and cia annex which left ambassador chris stevens and three other americans dead, the justice department has filed its first charges against those responsible for the attacks. the charges remain under seal in new york. in may, the fbi released images of three suspects wanted for questioning. it is not clear whether they are the ones charged, but reporters spoke to one of the suspects days after the attack and more recently. justice department officials would not comment about the charges, but issued the following statement. quote. the department's investigation is on-going, it has been and remains a top priority. we have no further comment at this time. the administration is under increasing pressure to show it is acting against the perpetrators. fox news has spoken to multiple military sources who say that operators have been monitoring several s

jennifer griffin is at the pentagon with the surprising story of what led to the bulking up of al qaeda in yemen. we begin with ed henry and the president's al qaeda makeover. good evening, ed. >> reporter: good evening, bret. the president used to say al qaeda was on the run, now he's just saying they're on their heels. addressing troops at camp pendleton, he said something he normally shies away from. >> we have been at war with al qaeda. >> reporter: on a late night comedy show, the president stressed to the troops he's all over it. >> even as we designate the al qaeda leadership that attacked us on 9/11, al qaeda affiliates and like minded extremists still threaten our home land. >> reporter: earlier, the president used the soft couch of the tonight show with jay leno, dropping his line about the terror about being on the run to defeat to claiming they're on their heels. >> it is a reminder for all the progress, getting bin laden, putting al qaeda between afghanistan and pakistan back on its heels, that, you know, this radical, you know, violent extremism is still out there, and you

you have jennifer griffin reporting, timing is still a big question. jennifer griffin saying this is likely to be a three or four-hour attack if it happens. what i haven't heard -- maybe you have -- what then? we go in, we cannot hit their chemical weapons because we can't get the underground. what happens after that. >> there's not a clear objective here nor a strategy that flows. we're just going in to basically say you can't use chemical weapons, at least not on this scale and not have some consequence but there's no determination of where we're trying to move things on the ground. >> that's the question everybody has. when you go in there, there's usually some kind of a goal. regime change. we don't know what the other regime would be if bashar al-assad is taken out of power. >> jay carney was asked, is this about regime change. he said it's not about that. but no accounting for which group or faction among the rebels who want to help, where we want things to go. >> it's fascinating. you look at the big pick expire think, okay, what happens next? w

>> jennifer griffin live at the pentagon. let's look at the reason for a move. jack keene is currently chairman of the ins tult for the study of war. thanks for being here. >> good to be here, bret. >> first of all, we haven't seen the intelligence laid out from the administration as of yet. is there any doubt knowing what you know about syria, knowing what you know about assad that the chemical weapons were used by him and not by the rebels to somehow spur some action by the u.s. >> no doubt in my mind. rebels moved into east damascus three weeks ago, assad pounded them with military, mortars, he couldn't dislodge them. they received a weapons shipment a number of days prior to use of chemical weapons. he went after them with next weapon to be success. knowing how important damascus is to him and the center of the campai campaign. his calculation is that we would one, not respond, because we have not to date, or number two, if we did, it would be minimal and it would not hurt his military capability. >> you think there's a risk in responding just for punishment

jennifer griffin at the pentagon has the latest on preparation for battle. james rosen at the state department with john kerry's big moment on the world stage. we begin with chief white house correspondent ed henry and a president on a very hot and lonely seat. good evening, ed. >> reporter: that's right, good evening, doug. a president that came to power opposing war tonight is on the verge of unilateral military action. after days of the commander in chief laying low on syria and twice letting his secretary of state take the lead, president obama called the gas attack in syria a challenge to the world, so he tasked himself as reluctant warrior, stressing this will not be another iraq by insisting any action will neither include boots on the ground nor an open ended commitment. >> i assure you nobody ends up being more war weary than me, when you have a regime that's willing to use weapons that are prohibited by international norms on their own people, including children, that they're held to account. >> reporter: his reset with russia in tatters at the uni

jennifer griffin is at the pentagon live for us tonight. jennifer, you can give the reaction that the pentagon is having. >> reporter: that's right. there are 300 marines onboard that amphibious ship but a lot of head scratching and surprise at the pentagon over the confusion created in the last 24 hours. after hearing secretary kerry, secretary john kerry speak yesterday, the pentagon thought the mission was a go. >> and it matters deeply to the credible in the future interests of the united states of america and our allies. it matters, because a lot of other countries whose policy is challenged these international norms are watching. they are watching. they want to see whether the united states and our friends mean what we say. >> apparently not. defense secretary hague p spokesman george little tweeted the following. "support decision on congressional authorization for use of force in syria. agrees we cannot turn blind eye to syrian, cw, chemical weapons use, already there are indications that assad is moving around the delivery systems f

jennifer griffin has the latest revelation. jennifer?may 2012 internal nsa audit shows thousands of privacy violations in one year alone. in some cases the nsa was monitoring the phone records of residents of washington, d.c. whose area code 202 is similar to that of egypt. nsa compliance director john delong says the violations were not willful or malicious and represented as you pointed out a "minuscule percentage" of nsa surveillance activity. the fsa whistle-blower edward snowden provided the newspaper documents months ago. former house speaker nancy pelosi called the revelations disturbing. the democratic senator bob ley said he plans -- pat leahy plans to have hearings to investigate. >> the nsa has become a menace. the constitutional rights of americans are under a broad assault here. fourth amendment right to be free of search and says sure and freedom of speech are under attack. >> 2,27 incident of privacy violation occurred in one year from 2011 to 2012 under the administration. the audit found nsa personnel were told to water

national correspond jennifer griffin has the amazing story. >> pretty much knew what happened. i didn't want to look or anything. i knew i didn't have any legs. >> reporter: when double amputee josh wetzel arrived, the least of his worries he thought was how he would be getting his next meal but for him and other wounded warriors housed at building 62, their uphill road to recovery looked like it was going to get a bit steeper last week when the military told them their meal cards would no longer be valid at the centrally located warrior cafe where some eat three meals a day. they were told they would have to go across the hospital campus to get their food. >> from building 62, i would it's close to a half a mile. for guys that don't have legs, new on their prosthetics or wheelchairs, that's a long distance to go. >> reporter: the military's decision sources told fox was based on legal concerns the government funds for the warriors meals were misappropriated and the warriors and families were alerted from a message from their squad about the change. >> the only resource is leav

jennifer griffin at the penalty gone with how the u.s. trained the man behind egypt's military takeover, but we begin with correspondent leland vitter live in jerusalem where it is early morning. hi, leland. >> reporter: good evening, john. in cairo, a state of martial law. tanks, armored personnel carriers and soldiers around with automatic weapons. the violence we saw today was a little different as residents of cairo took up arms against the brotherhood, angry that those members had turned their city into something of an urban battlefield, as egypt as a whole inches closer to civil war. flames burning through floor after floor of an office building marked the end of an epic battle for ramsey square. following mass funerals and noon prayers, tens of thousands of protesters began to converge, among them, gunmen firing their ak-47s ahead of the coming battle. the military will fall, said this man, in route. a few minutes later they attacked a police station, bringing the chaos of war, complete back to you. >> looks like it is going to go

we heard jennifer grins -- griffins report that could cause more casualties if you blow up the chemical weapons and we know the u.s. navy has the warships to fire off the tomahawk missiles. what is the possibility or the likelihood to just remove the chemical weapons? because that is what the president cleaned -- claims is the game changer islamic that is a great question. i don't think that would happen because that would mean boots on the ground we don't have munitions and to destroy just the chemical weapons. you have the danger of a spreading to create a greater problem that you try to mitigate. no question we to take their regime down. we have proven that with iraq and afghanistan but once you take it down, you go to nation-building and then we have proven those countries do not want to be jeffersonian democracy. they will take the money as long as it is coming but they go back to the totalitarian types of society that exist under muslim and sharia law. i am not a fan one that gives sharia law and a radical islamist nation. lori: what is the likelihood of that happening? why did pr

jennifer griffin is at the pentagon. but we begin with chief white house correspondent, ed henry on the politics of the syria crisis both here and overseas and where we are right now. good evening, ed. >> reporter: good evening. they believe that not only that chemical weapons were used but that they can pin it on the sire yan -- syrian government. secretary john kerry flatly declared president obama believes there must be accountability for the use of what he called the world's most heinous weapons. >> what we saw in syria last week should shock the conscience of the world. it defies any code of morality. let me be clear. the indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, the killing of women and children and innocent bystanders by chemical weapons is a moral obscenity. >> reporter: kerry's strong response came as u.n. inspectors were finally let in. syrian dictator assad blocked entry for five days. and they seemed to make the legal case for military action declaring the evidence against assad is grounded in fact. >> there is

as national security correspondent jennifer griffin reports, the group changed its name and crossed the border into syria trying to win the people of a volatile, war torn region. >> reporter: amidst reports weapons from sudan are flying in to help the rebels, delay in support for the syrian opposition allowed al qaeda to move in. >> i think we have seen under the assad regime currently and the situation they created on the ground that they've given al qaeda and other extremists more room to maneuver. >> reporter: martin dempsey says the u.s. is reaching out to moderate syrian factions. i think we're in a better position than we were six months ago in that regard of understanding the various players and their motivations. many supporters of al qaeda, many fighters from europe flooded into syria to fight the assad regime. four months ago, al qaeda in iraq, the same group the u.s. military pursued for a decade in iraq set up a base in northeast syria, changed its name to islamic state of iraq. >> the u.s. departure has made it worse. big mistake to pull out special operations forces that h

we begin with national security correspondent jennifer griffin at the pentagon and new information on what started all of this. good evening, jennifer. >> reporter: good evening, bret. u.s. officials are taking unpress dented steps out of abundance of caution in light of recent intelligence intercepts. a senior u.s. official confirms the state department decision to close 19 american embassies and consulates for nearly a week, resulting from interception of electronic communications betweenal was is a here ian yemen based head of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. it came during the weeks that the successor, thought to be hiding in pakistan, issued two audiotapes within days of each other. u.s. intelligence officials say decisions to close the embassy didn't have to do with audiotapes. >> this threat emanates from arabian peninsula. they're the most active operation there and active affiliate. >> chairman of joint chiefs martin dempsey went to state department to talk to secretary of state john kerry about embassy security and the situation in egypt. over the weekend, interpol put out

>> jennifer griffin, thank you. >>> a showdown over spending that could lead to the nation's capital actually being closed for business. some republicans are threatening to shut down the government in order to stop implementation of the president's health care law. elizabeth is live in washington with more on that. hi, elizabeth. >> hi, gregg. when lawmakers return next month, they'll need to work on preventing a partial government shutdown october 1st. we've seen no hint as to how they'll end the stalemate over the debt ceiling as the treasury remains on the verge of running out of its authority to borrow money. a big point of contention is the affordable care act, which was front and center during both parties' weekly addresses. house republicans say it's time for the senate to pass a delay on the individual mandate as well. they say it will relieve the inevitable sticker shock, especially for companies that could be forced to lay off workers. >> this time at the behest of insurance companies that say they need more time to comply. meanwhile, yes, you and your family are expected t

but first to jennifer griffin live at the pentagon with us this evening. jennifer, good evening to you. what would a u.s. military strike look likes a it stands now? >> bill, a senior u.s. official tells fox that any strike on syria is likely to last hours, not days. according to u.s. military sources, there are no plans in this initial mission set to go after assad's chemical weapons. it is not possible to carry out a surgical strike on chemical weapons storage facilities, assad is estimated to have 1,000 tons of those materials. such a strike could unleash those chemicals and lead to a lot of death and destruction, sources say. any plans to secure assad's chemical weapons would require special operations and boots on the ground. that is not on the table right now. the u.s. is planning a limited strike. four navy destroyers in position and at least one nuclear powered submarine. the british could provide another submarine if parliament vote slated late for thursday, bill. >> what about the time, jennifer. >> not before nato meets brussels tomorrow and we'r

we'll talk to him and get a live report from national security correspondent jennifer griffin.egulatory run-around. is the obama administration going around congress to push its environmental agenda? we'll have a fair and balanced debate next on america's news headquarters. ♪ ♪ >> eric: the president might have a lot -- >> we don't have a domestic spying program. >> new leaks are exposing this. >> wayne, can this get worse? >> i'm in favor of the fourth amendment. if you violate the constitution, it was written for a purpose. we're a society of law and not of men. we are not expecting those things to happen under any circumstances. there is no excuse for it. happening. when you start suspending the civil liberties for the purpose -- and abuse, too. it will get abused. the federal government abuses everything. people there don't know what the especially they're doing. have no -- don't know what they're doing. they will abuse it. if you emnoter them and they will abuse it. >> eric: we took heat standing by the fourth amendment and saying the nsa was violating people's privacy rig

jennifer griffin at the pentagon, jennifer, thank you. meanwhile, there's brand new evidence that shows the highly-secretive national security agency spying on everyday, law-abiding americans, and it happens thousands of times a year. the nsa admits breaking privacy rules and overstepping its authority, but it says, don't worry, it was all an honest mistake. nsa tells fox news, quote: alisyn: peter brooks is a senior fellowr national security affairs at the heritage foundation and a former cia operative. peter, thanks for being here. >> good to be here. alisyn: the disclosures we learned today came from edward snowden sharing them with "the washington post." "the washington post" has now published them, and they are eye-popping. basically, what they have found is what everyone feared when the nsa program first came to light, and that is that this happened thousands of times to ordinary americans -- sometimes by mistake -- but it's much broader in scoab than we had thought. >> i don't think we should necessarily be surprised by this. the f

>> jennifer griffin live at the pentagon. all stars dissect today's developments. first, two experts on syria about the decision to attack, but to wait for congressional approval and what message that is sending on the grounds. >>> let's go more in depth into the syria situation. back with us tonight is elizabeth, the senior research analyst at the institute of the study of war where she focuses on syrian politics and security and is in contact with the syrian rebels. joining us from miami is fox middle east and terrorism analyst ferris. i know you are headed back to syria this week. you had a conversation today with the head of the rebels by skype. what can you tell us? >> i think there is a lot of disappointment. they feel the u.s. specifically, but the international community as a whole has let them down in terms of what they expected and in terms of standing by what they believe is right in terms of stoping a brutal dictator who is using not only chemical weapons, but a wide range of weapons against its own people. >> the

we begin with the latest from national security correspondent jennifer griffin. live at the pentagon. >> reporter: at this point in time the only person that knows what the president is going to say in the rose garden moments from now is the president himself and his small circle of his national security team. here at the pentagon, again, those warships have been at the ready for days. you heard defense secretary hagel say days ago on his trip to asia that they were ready to go. they were awaiting orders from the president. but will is not a sense at this moment in time that a strike is necessarily imminent. in fact, again, reading the tea leaves here, those options that have been presented to the president, and we can report that there were at least three options presented to the president, one would include doing nothing at all militarily. one would include a possible 24-72-hour strike mission. and we are also told that there is a plan that would include up to 96 hours of strikes against syrian regime targets. we know from statement it is president, secretary o

potential air defenses by syria and he has been -- would you say, national security correspondent jennifer griffin, at the pentagon, in briefings, very reticent, if you will about any kind of action? >> i think that -- it is fair to say general dempsey for the last two-plus years, has been the most vocal voice against any sort of military action in syria. warning of the cost of the amount of troops hay would immediate in order to secure chemical weapons and to make any sort of difference and if, of course, regime change was what was being skrd ever considered, general dempsey warned against that for many months. when -- according to senior defense officials, when -- general dempsey was given the assignment of coming up with a plan for what would be a limited strike, what they call, in the pentagon, a deter and degrade strike, degrade be -- assad regime forces and deter him from using chemical weapons, that's a more narrow mission. i'm told that general dempsey was onboard with that. he presented options which were very limited in nature. that's why you see the limited buildup in terms of destroyer

national security correspondent jennifer griffin has this report. >> with assets awaiting orders off the coast of syria complaining that news reports have given syrian president too much intimation about the battle plan but he did that themselves. >> it will not involve the roots of the grounder be open-ended or assume responsibility for the civil war already endure way. >> there are reports that there using prisoners as human shields and evidence has already moved scud missiles and other launchers of the bases one official tells fox it would have been better to strike a couple of days ago before they had time to react. secretary of state john kerry said intelligence shows the military is making preparations. >> we know three days before the attack the chemical weapons personnel were on the ground, in the area making preparations. >> but talk hegel looked out of step after the british voted not to be involved. >> we will continue to fight it international coalition that will act together. >> they want to know if they'll ask for additional funds for the strike. >> we don't have the fu

jennifer griffin is on the story in the pentagon. that is unusual case. o unusual, jennifer? >> reporter: because this afghan served not only as translator for medal of honor recipient, dakota meyer but the afghan fought alongside meyer who without him would not be able to rescue the four americans in the valley in 2009. >> i need you, i need you to go with me. he said, you know what? it is very dangerous. he just had a new kid. and he said, but you know what? he said, he said, if it is my day-to-day die, it is my day to die. at that point he never looked back. >> he killed many taliban and he was yelling at them over the radio. and so the taliban know who he is and for four years he has been left out on the battlefield and gradually they are going to get him. >> reporter: here's the email the translator whose real name we're not using wrote to dakota meyer last monday, quote, the reason i'm bothering you the security situation where i'm living is getting worse. every need i am guarding to protect myself and family. if you are getting upset it is okay. i w

. >> jennifer griffin has brand new details from washington. jennifer? >> the may 2012 shoes violations in one year alone. nsa was monitoring phone records of washington d.c. 212 area code insure to that of egypt. they represented a minuscule percentage of nsa surveillance activity in a rare conference call. nsa whistle-blower edward now den provided the documents weeks ago. nancy pelosi said it is disturbing. >> the nsa has become a menace and the constitutional rights of americans are under broad assault here and the fourth amendment right to be search and seizure and these are under attack. >> the chairman of the house and senate and intel committees defended them and said the majority is unintentional and don't provide surveillance of americans. republicans law makers who proposed legislation believed that their legislation would have passed if new revelations had come to light then. healther. >> and turning now to the growing chaos in egypt. security forces storming the mosque in cairo and shots were fired inside out. there are hundreds of muslim su

national security correspondent jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon with more on this. you were working your sources all weekend. pressure on the president to act seems to be building by the day. what is the pentagon doing about that at the moment now? >> reporter: well, the bill, the pentagon is not prepositioning at this point a aircraft carrier off the coast of damascus. they were finally loud to leave the hotel in damascus today but washington according to u.s. officials is not waiting to see what they find out. the u.s. destroyers in the mediterranean could launch guided missiles and tom machs at anytime at a some regime targets. right now the administration is working through nato. >> if there is any action it will be in concert with the international community and within the framework of legal justification. >> reporter: the problem with using tomahawk misses tlam missiles off the destroyers they will be firing into densely populated areas and there is concern there i will will be civilian casualties as a result, bill. bill: what is the military option if there is

jennifer griffin reporting just minutes ago that it is their belief that assad has moved a lot of hisay from bases there in anticipation of u.s. attacks. is that kind of behavior that assad would do in your opinion? >> yes. i think at this point there has been enough messaging that most of the impact has been lost. cheryl: elizabeth, you were on the ground in syria. on the ground, it is chaos. your research shows you that the rubbles are much more organized than we believed. are the rubbles organized enough, do you think, to work with the u.s. and united nations to engage? >> i think it looks like a fractious bunch of different groups. when you are on the ground, you see a high level of coordination, cooperation and a high level of networks. cheryl: who are the strongest groups here? there are several. all of this, there is for different ones there. if military action is not an option for the united states, is there a group that is organized enough for us to go in and work with, potentially? >> part of which include the syrian liberation front and and a number of others. it has alread

jennifer griffin will have the details. martha: this is a fire the size of the city of chicago.irefighters are battling a place that already charred thousands of acres. and you need it now. ladies, let's goo vegas. cute! waiter! girls' weekend here! priceline savings without the bidding. made gluten-free cereals in a bunch of yummy flavors. like cinnamon chex, honey nut chex, and chocolate chex... we're in cereal heaven. so thanks. from the mcgregors, 'cause we love chex. martha: we start with this fox news alert. the u.s. military is, quote, ready to go. the obama administration calling syria's apparent use of chemical weapons to slaughter innocent men, women and children a quote, moral obscenity. senior defense officials telling fox that military strikes are not a question of if but when at this point. welcome, everybody. brand new hour of "america's newsroom." glad to have you with us on this really busy morning. i'm martha maccallum. bill: i'm bill hemmer. military assets, we marked this last hour, they are already in position. warships stationed in the eastern mediterranean

fox news's jennifer griffin is at the pentagon. jennifer. >> u.s.ls say any strike on syria is likely to last hours, not days according to u.s. military sources. there are no plans in this initial mission set to go after assad's chemical weapons. first of all it is not possible to carry out a surgical strike on chemical weapons storage facilities. in fact assad is estimated to have 1,000 tons of those materials. such a strike could unleash the chemicals and lead to a lot of death and destruction according to these sources. any plans to secure assad's chemical weapons would require special operations and boots on the ground. that is not on the table right now. the u.s. has four u.s. navy destroyers in position and at least one nuclear powered submarine in the eastern mediterranean. the brits have another submarine in the mediterranean for use in potential strike. during the libyan operation 2 -- 211 tomahawks were fired, most of them from submarines. each u.s. navy destroyer carries up to 90 tomahawks at one time. defense secretary chuck hagel has sp

here with that part of the story, fox is jennifer griffin.more can you tell us about this egyptian army general who appears to be calling all the shops? >> well, the general who is calling the shots, the leader responsible for the overthrow the president a crackdown on muslim brotherhood is well-known to theentagon. as you mentioned, he studied in the united states of the army war college in carlisle, pennsylvania and 2006. he was brought here to study democracy. known as a quiet student to listened intently, he encountered many u.s. military officers who had just returned from a very bruising experience. he wrote his thesis on democracy in the middle east. whereas americans believe in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness islamic cultures cling to presence of fairness, justice and equality, unity, and charity. this does not mean a theocracy but a democracy based on islamic beliefs. >> a very quiet, polite, reflective contemplate if individual. he has none of the authoritarian personal characteristics that one might expect. however, he

jennifer griffin reporting from our pentagon to the, thanks, jennifer.the news conference at the white house this afternoon, it will be the president's first solo news conference since april, and the president will likely face a host of questions, including that about what's going on in pakistan, the recent terror threats and the decision to cancel a meeting with russian president vladimir putin. there's a lot to talk about today. wen dell goler is live from the white house with more. wendell? >> reporter: it's the president's first news conference since the u.s. began chasing nsa leaker edward snowden after he revealed the breadth of the spy agency's information gathering, and one of the early questions to the president is likely why he canceled his summit meeting with russian president vladimir putin after saying he didn't want to damage u.s./russian relations over a 30-year-old hacker. secretary of state kerry and defense secretary chuck hagel are meeting are their russian counterparts right now. snowden is on the agenda, though officials said the tal

jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon. jennifer, how unusual is this warning? >> reporter: it is very unusual, kelly. the state department as you mentioned the 19 u.s. embassies and consulates mostly in the middle east will close through the end. week. intelligence sources say this is not a dress rehearsal. there is some word that it could involve surgically implanted device. there is word that a al qaeda in the arabian peninsula has a media plan in place for after the attack. >> after benghazi these al qaeda types are on steroids thinking we're weaker and they're stronger. the assumption it is probably most likely to happen in the middle east or about one of the embassies. but there is no guaranty at all. it basically could be europe, it could be. united states, it could be a series of combined attacks. >> reporter: what is most unusual, kelly, to hear politicians on both sides of the aisle this weekend supporting the obama administration's decision to handle the intelligence in the way that they have in terms of closing these embassies and consulates. >> give

national security correspondent jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon with that. jennifer, the chairman of the joint chiefs, martin dempsey is in the middle east. he talked about syria today. what does he have to say? >> reporter: that's right, jon. he told reporters traveling with him that the u.s. is better able to differentiate and separate out the anti-assad factions and moderate groups from the al qaeda linked groups. what he didn't say an estimated 17,000 foreign fighters many sympathetic to al qaeda have flooded into syria. those who fought for al qaeda in iraq announced the formation of the islamic republic of iraq and the levant essentially taking over the northeast part of syria. those are the same fighters who the u.s. spent years fighting in iraq. they have reconstituted themselves. there is even more concern in the wake of that prison break at the end of july in iraq which about 500 hardened iraqis were busted out of abu ghraib prison reportedly by al qaeda. a top al qaeda in iraq figure is based we're told in syria, a very worrying trend, jon. jon: me

national security correspondent jennifer griffin has breaking details from the pentagon. eporter: good evening, bret. fox news confirmed nearly one year after the benghazi attacks on the u.s. consulate and cia annex which left ambassador chris stevens and three other americans dead, the justice department has filed its first charges against those responsible for the attacks. the charges remain under seal in new york. in may, the fbi

our jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon. so, jennifer, what do we know about the preparation for any military action? >> reporter: well, alisyn a senior u.s. defense official explains the uss stout was on a routine mission in the eastern mediterranean and has now joined the four other u.s. navy destroyers. she will stay in position for a few days and overlap for a few days but will eventually trade out with one of those destroyers. so eventually they will be back down to four. but all of this coming at a very interesting time. we also received last night that the u.s. was going to keep a second aircraft carrier in the persian gulf region. that is not in the mediterranean off the coast of syria but over closer to iran and those vital straits of hormuz and the indian ocean. they will keep the uss truman which just arrived to replace the uss nimitz. both those aircraft carriers will stay in position, just a symbol how concerned the pentagon is about destablizing the middle east at this moment in time. also, it is safe to say tha

jennifer griffin live with the latest. jennifer, what's the latest?uck hagel will return late friday. u.s. army ships are standing by. the finalling of the strike rests with the diplomats and the white house. >> we believe it's too late for the u.n. inspections to be credible given the mass shelling that the regime has done in the affected areas. we'll make our own decisions, our own timelines, with our response. obviously we'll continue counsellations with our international partners around the world, but we are making decisions based on our own timeline. >> the white house is not going to wait for a u.n. security council resolution. harris? >> how does the administration say it knows the assad regime was behind the attack? >> western intelligence sources tell fox news that the initial confirmation that the assad regime was responsible came from a tip from the israeli intelligence service, in fact a special unit of the israeli defense force, an intelligent unit that goes by the number 8200, which is a military intelligence listening unit has been coop

. >> let's get to jennifer griffin live at the pentagon. jen, what are you hearing about how close the united states may or may not be to striking? >> reporter: trace, right now the pentagon is in a watch-and-wait mode. defense secretary chuck hagel will return from asia late friday. u.s. navy war ships are standing by waiting orders from the president. the president has been presented a range of options by the pentagon, u.s. navy destroyers and submarines ready, but the time rests with the diplomats and the white house. the white house does not believe it will get a un security council resolution and they're not waiting for permission from nato as a large body of 28 members. they are planning to go ahead with the british, french, turkish and australians. >> jennifer, ambassador bill richardson on this. version of studio b. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with her all day to see how it goes. [ claira ] after the deliveries, i was okay. now the ciabatta is done and the pain is starting again. more pills? seriously? seriously. [ gro

jennifer griffin with the news, live at the pentagon for us.is an unusual case for a number of reasons. >> that's right. because this was an afghan who not only served that's translator to this medal of honor recipient but he fought alongside the sergeants who says he would not have been able to rescue the four americans in afghanistan in 2009 without the translate you're. >> i said i need you to go with me, and he said, you know what, it's very dangerous and he just had a new kid, and he said, you know what, en shalla and if it's my day to die, it's my day to die, and he never looked back. >> he killed many taliban, and he was yelling at them over the radio, and so the taliban know who he is, and for four years, he has been left out in the battlefield and eventually they'll get him. >> here's the e-mail the translator, whose real name we're notogy, wrote last month: quote, the rope i am bothering you is the security situation where i am living is getting worse. and every night i am guarding to protect myself and my family. if you are getting u

jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon.e related to the terror threat that led to the closure of 19 diplomatic missions earlier? >> reporter: good morning. not according to u.s. state department officials who issued the following statement. quote: >> r eporter: this comes just days after the u.s. air force carried out an ordered departure of 70 americans from the embassy in yemen. the state department says this is a separate threat from the one that led to the closure of the 19 u.s. diplomatic missions across the middle east and africa. the u.s. embassy and cobs lates -- consulates in pakistan were not part of that alert. the personnel will move temporarily to the embassy in islamabad where there is greater security, and the state department issued a warning yesterday urging americans not to travel to pakistan right now. patti ann: so, jennifer, if this is not part of that broader terror alert, why specifically do officials think the lahore consulate would be a target? >> >> reporter: think say the taliban are looking for a

jenna: jennifer griffin, thank you.gg: new reaction to the charges filed in the benghazi terror attack. ambassador john bolton will join us next. ♪ ♪ so... [ gasps ] these are sandra's "homemade" yummy, scrumptious bars. hmm? i just wanted you to eat more fiber. chewy, oatie, gooeyness... and fraudulence. i'm in deep, babe. you certainly are. [ male announcer ] fiber one. i don't do any cleaning. i make dirt. ♪ i'm not big enough or strong enough for this. there should be some way to make it easier. [ doorbell rings ] [ morty ] here's a box, babe. open it up. oh my goodness! what is a wetjet? some kind of a mopping device. there's a lot of dirt on here. morty, look at how easy it is. it's almost like dancing. [ both humming ] this is called the swiffer dance. gregg: this just in, an airport in thad temporarily shut down after authorities say a boeing 737 skidded off the runway getting stuck in muddy soil. nobody was injured in this. this as we're getting new information on a spate of plane mishaps lately. investigators

first though let's go to jennifer griffin at the pentagon. t assad is moving assets out of way of military strikes? >> well, harris, there are reports that he is already busing prisoner to air bases outside of damascus to serve as human shields. assad has had days to prepare and to listen to u.s. news reports. about possible targets. statements from the administration about what to expect. the pentagon has watched assad move his scud missiles and other military launchers out of his bases. those bases are being emptied out, we're told, meaning that targets have to be re-set. a senior u.s. defense official tells fox it would have been better to strike syria a few days ago before the regime had time to move its scud missiles and other military hardware from those bases. harris? >> well, we talked about those five destroyers, amphibious assault vestlesz out there. what are you learning about what the military plan might be? >> well, i think what's interesting is if you look at the assets that have been moved into the mediterranean and look at the

kelly: jennifer griffin reporting from the pentagon today, thank you.na: more on that story, but in the meantime, big news for homeowners or any of you who someday want to own a home. the president is expected to announce new plans to overhaul america's mortgage system today. he's going to propose shutting down government-backed lenders fannie mae and freddie mac, plus, he wants to boost the number of 30-year mortgages in this market hoping it will make loans more accessible to more people so they can fulfill the american dream. carl cameron has more from washington. so a lot of proposals, carl. we're not sure exactly what will become of them, but what is the president proposing today in. >> reporter: well, he wants to strengthen the housing market by making 30-year mortgages more available, and one of the ways would be to do away with fannie mae and freddie mac and institute more capital into mortgage lending. shaun donovan is the president's hud secretary, the secretary of housing and urban development. he's how he put it this morning. >> we also have

national security correspondent jennifer griffin's on that at the pentagon. proved its facility since moving out into bethesda. >> reporter: we did too, bill, but fox news has learned the military decided to invalidate meal tickets ask reduce the hours that the warrior cafÉ, the sole dining facility in walter reed's building 62 which is where all the multiple amputees and long-term recovering patients live. the decision, which was announced at a town hall meeting last thursday, would affect sergeant josh wets el, a down l amputee, and about 160 other families who spend up to two years in building 62: they were told their meal tickets would no longer be valid, and they would have to walk or wheel themselves nearly a half mile to the temporary food trailer for breakfast, runs -- lunch and dinner. bill: any response from pentagon officials? any explanation as to why they did this, jennifer? >> reporter: well, we haven't had any response be yet. we interviewed the sergeant who is going to be affected by the decision. here is what he said. >> building 62, i would s