jim mattis' combat task force. we're looking at live pictures now at theuous us security council's weapons use in syria. the russian u.n. envoy is speaking now. he's calling for investigators to fly to syria where russian troops will escort them to the area of the, what they call the alleged attack. >>> up next reports from inside the iepa headed by scott pruitt is coming apart at the seams. i'll speak with current and former staffers about the drama surrounding their boss as they call a, quote, slow motion train wreck. - anncr: thankfully, prevagen helps your brain and improves memory. - dad's got all the answers. - anncr: prevagen is now the number-one-selling brain health supplement in drug stores nationwide. - she outsmarts me every single time. - checkmate! you wanna play again? - anncr: prevagen. healthier brain. better life.

first, secretary of defense jim mattis plays a significant role in these decisions. his stature, which we feared had been significantly undercut by the departure of his friend rex tillerson still in tact. he got the president to slow down, think about it, think about the targeting, think about the danger of conflict with russia. i thought that was important. second point, i think we're working together much more closely than this administration had in some other kri seize with allies. role of france and president macron saying he is responsible for shaping the policy. interesting not least because our allies feel a stake in what we're doing. they feel connected to it. i think that's an improvement. finally to richard's point, do we have a strategy for syria? the answer is no, but we're a little closer than where we were a week, ten days ago. we have nikki haley, i wish i was hearing this from the president, but nikki haley saying we're going to keep your troops in eastern syria for some long while. our goals there are complicated. we need to defeat isis. we need to e

don't discount jim mattis and mike pompeo. if the u.s.ks out of iran deal, a lot of people think that will make the robprobability of some agreement with north korean much less certain. they will have to wonder about the trustworthiness of the united states. whether when we say we'll do something we keep our word. our country committed to the iran deal. it was president obama. if president trump leaves it there's a big price to pay in american credibility. there may be new tensions. even raised prospects for conflict with iran. we'll have a big crisis with our european allies. this will not be smart for america if the president makes this decision. >> at this very moment it's about 47-31 to mike pompeo. we'll take a quick break but he will be our next secretary of state. we'll be right back. from the very beginning ... it was always our singular focus, a distinct determination. to do whatever it takes, use every possible resource. to fight cancer. and never lose sight of the patients we're fighting for. our cancer treatment specialists sh

jim mattis said the u.s. stands ready to act on the president's orders. >> we're still assessing the intelligence ourselves, and our allies. we're still working on this. >> is the u.s. military right now to launch a counter military strike? >> we stand ready to exercise military options if they're open as the president determined. >> are there any good options on the table for a u.s. strike on syria? we've got a team of reporters and analysts ready to talk about that, and more. nbc's kelly o'donnell is at the white house to start things off for us. hans nichols and cal perry is with us right now. kelly, from are things going on on two fronts for the president. he's looking seriously at what steps to take with respect to syria and looking serious with what steps to take with respect to the mooueller investigation. >> one of the most complicating factors of the office is that there are competing enormous crises that really are often on the president's plate and he alone has to make a lot of these decisions. we

there was apparently some pushback fromjim there was apparently some pushback from jim mattis, thereis, the secretary of defence, at the pentagon, to perhaps limit in scope so that things potentially did not spiral out of control, leading to a wider conflict where we could see the united states and russia each other. steve, at the risk of over reading this, president trump has been a very desperate not to be seen as someone who dithered, for talking about how president obama dealt with this during the first incidences of the use of chemical weapons in syria, where there was a red light that was cross and then subsequently no significant action was taken, and president drop seems to want to distance himself from that —— red line. seems to want to distance himself from that -- red line. obviously what is happening here is good natured. with a lease two other nations. it is probably going to involve not only air strikes, but also strikes from some us vessels. there is more naval strategic power from the united states moving into the region. if this is going to be sustained beyond a matt

his tweets earlier of course were extremely aggressive and then jim mattis was trying to counsel himit more of a measured response. i think this is as a result of that. but a one off strike is a one off strike until the next time and certainly trump has made this a more open—owneded possibility that there would be further strikes if there were more chemical weapons attacks. if the accounts are to be believed that there have been multiple ones, there will probably be another one and then we will have to see again whether there is going to be yet another as we call it one—off strike. all of this, the us in concert with london and with paris. yes, they're very much led by the us, but the french president macron has been very energetic about saying, look, we we want tojoin on this and theresa may, after some calculation and deliberation, did indeed join in. i think the british part sounds as if it is small. we are hearing of four missiles out of 100 and that being it. but a symbolic and an important gesture of support. we will talk a about the fact that the british parliament is not sitt

i have been a friend of jim mattis for many years. he's an amazing gentleman. he is like a a chameleon in many ways. on the one hand he can he to marines in the coarsest terms about intimate killing. on the other hand he can meet with world leaders and he can talk logic to the president. other times he can speak about cicero. an amazing man. >> last question, where do we go from here general scales? this is a question put to the prime minister of the united kingdom, put to the secretary of defense, to dana white as well. we haven't had the opportunity to ask the president of united states any questions about these strike. as you see it, is there a plan? do you think there is a defined red line going forward? do you think this administration has an answer to that question of what might prompt future strikes? >> this is my opinion. i think the whole chemical caper is over. remember, assad used these chemical weapons to achieve a very narrow tactical objective, and that was to eject the syrian defenders out of douma. the shock effect of those chemical weapons achi

there was a fierce debate with the pentagon, with jim mattis saying to the president, we're not done. we cannot withdraw 2,000 troops. he's saying, well, how long will it take? six months, a year? reluctantly he said -- he was angry. i want it to be months, not years. so that was exactly 11 days ago. then of course this chemical attack, the proof that they were trying to gather. they were obviously waiting until they had enough and had the allied response. but the fact is this was a one-and-done attack. twice as many weapons as a year ago, but the question that helene cooper, our colleague and friend from "the new york times" asked of jim mattis and general dunford, if it didn't work a year ago, april 6th, 2017, why will this deter bashar al assad and his russian and iranian protectors? one thing you were discussing is john bolton's first week. the language the president used in a speech that was vetted by the national security council was so different from the explanation, the description of jim mattis and general dunford that you have to think that is where the disconnect, the messa

syrian tv responding to the airstrikes, defense secretary jim mattis said there are no reports of anysses in what he described as a carefully limited assault. is a former assistant secretary of defense and former special forces officer, weighs in on this issue right now. we were just hearing stuart ramsey from our sister station in the uk on the grounds on the turkey border, he talked about the horrendous toll of war and the outcomes of it which are never good when you have more than 1 million people being refugees and so many lives being lost. what is this a solution. can we find a solution and bring it to the table to end the strife we are seeing in syria? >> there isn't an easy solution or when that is evident to everyone today. everybody agrees on our side that bashar al-assad is part of the problem is not the biggest problem. we are not quite ready to do regime change, it will fly in the face of russians and iranians but also there isn't any alternative solution. >> if you replace one you cut off the head of the snakes, you might regret what you get in place of that. >> you don't

right now jim mattis is at the white house. in half an hour the white house press briefing will start with possibly more on what the president plans to do. the president told us what he was thinking this morning, contrary to his comments on the trail that he would not broadcast his plans to the enemy he tweeted saying russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at syria. get ready russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and smart. you shouldn't be partners with a kiss-killing animal who kills his people is enjoys it. that was one of many tweets the president dished out today. according to him quote much of the bad blood with russia is caused by the fake and corrupt russia investigation. just out in the the half hour the "new york times" reports that the fbi agents who raided president trump's personal lawyer on monday were seeking all records realitied to the access hollywood tape. joining me is kelly o'donnell. with us from day beruit is bill neely. let's start with you, kelly. we are half an hour out from w

ontario is about something jim mattis said, saying that in a sense this attack was a form of self defenceself defence. —— on to something jim matias said. would you agree with that? they want to deter future use of chemical weapons, that is the real goal, that's why the chemical weapons programme was targeted but what's interesting about the strikes today is the russian factor, mentioned earlier. clearly the targets were chosen because they were part of the chemical weapons programme so i presume that means there was less likelihood of russian advisers or zero schumer officers being at that location. we heard on the pentagon briefing that the us notified russia through its the complexion channel, and ongoing 24/7 communications channel, that in fact the us would be operating in syria —— de—confliction channel. at that same breeding there was an pre— notification of targets but the risk of escalation with russia was one of the key factors. it's very interesting how this has been carried out. i miss characterised general mattis's statement, he said that it was us vital interests to destroy

jim mattis and john kelly and h.r.ticians, but they're operating in this political world inside the white house, where i spent four years with two presidents, and it is a tough, difficult, political environment. and it is -- it can be very toxic and it can destroy people and we have seen that. but to see john kelly and i'll be very specific politicize the death of his son to support the political outcome for the president was very, very distressing to me, but speaks to the -- speaks to the power of that environment and quite frankly, to the lack of understanding that any of us in the military have about that environment until we get in it and have to operate in ill. >> i have heard other senior military officers say the same thing about general kelly. should he really resign rather than play this role? from your point of view, for the good of the institution of the military, does it really make sense to have a general as chief of staff? that's inherently a political position, he can't really play it without being polit

his defence secretary, jim mattis, called for more evidence on the chemical weapon attack, and tonight the white house says no final decision has been made on a military assault. france's president macron said that france had proof it was the syrian government which carried out the chemical attack near damascus at the weekend, and syria has said independent inspectors are due to arrive in the affected area over the next day or two. here, theresa may held a cabinet meeting to discuss possible military action. more on that in a moment. first, here is our north america editorjon sopel. weapons locked and loaded, sailors ready for action, this us carrier battle group left its home port in norfolk, virginia, destination the eastern mediterranean, still 5000 miles away. and the senior officer awaiting orders to attack from the president. i'm so pleased and proud of the harry s truman carrier team, 6000 of the finest americans you could ever sail with or serve with. we are trained, we are ready. any mission, any time, anywhere, we are ready to go. although this powerful flotilla might be full

this president turned on jim mattis' advice on a dime, to do what needs to be done and then we are goinge. >> harris: he was meeting with a qatari defense minister. and now pushing back at that "new york times" report saying no, he was not wanting congressional authorization before launching the strike against bashar al-assad. and the regime in syria. thank you very much for being here for the breaking news and for your perspective. u.s. ambassador to the united nations nikki haley is also firing back after white house economic advisor larry kudlow suggested she was "confused" when she said sanctions against russia were imminent, following the horrific chemical weapons attack in syria. this all ties back in. all the details on the awkward exchange. we will talk about it coming next. replace one meal or snack a day. glucerna products have up to 15 grams of protein to help manage hunger and carbsteady, unique blends of slow release carbs to help minimize blood sugar spikes. every meal every craving. it's the choices you make when managing blood sugar that are the real victories. glucerna.

we've seen jim mattis go in, because he was worried that the president would break the world.s been outstanding. >> but they're both military men. >> trump likes military men. >> but jim mattis is much more effective. in terms of why doesn't john kelly depart now? it would most likely be somebody much worse. there's talk. >> but look what's happening to general matt is now, he's talking about what's happening to matt is. he's being circled by somebody, so as a result matt is -- john bolton starts tomorrow. >> a former colleague of mine, scarce me, because i know what he stands for. when you have donald trump surrounding himself with people who want to espouse his world view. larry kudlow who was against tariffs, until he's suddenly for them now. anything that john kelly brought to the take has long been gone, because this president does not believe in john kelly or anything he could have stood for, on he enenables the president or just pushed for the side. >> we don't have much time left. but scott pruitt, do you feel like his days are numbers here? here's the dirty secret. th

window of action for himself about making a decision that's already expired and we know he's meeting jim mattisead inside the oval office, potentially to hear about those options you heard, secretary mattis discussing in that clip just then. it is remarkable to hear the actions. he has troops on the ground that have been losing amongst their number in the last week or so because of a road mine far west of where i am here and introducing another dynamic into a which has cost tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of lives by some counts so far and it does not need another form of fomenting the violence, brook. >> the tweets we learned not on surprised some of his staffers but some of our u.s. allies. what are you hearing in regards to that from allies in the region? >> reporter: it is extraordinary, isn't it, because you expected him to be sure he had his chess board in order before making a statement like that. while we're hearing from the british prime minister theresa may that they feel definitely they should be alongside the u.s. on this and outrage against this, the french and saudi arabi

he did say he was to have a meeting with defense secretary jim mattis.nd other presidents have done this. george w. bush sent about 6000 troops to the border. over one thousand. they support because they can't actively engage in law enforcement activities. they can do surveillance, training, they can build the wall or other inastructure improvements. laura: and he certainly through a lot out there. seeing the mission isn't complete. what can we make of that? lot like campaign trump. spending money on u.s., less money and overseas engagements. pulling troops out he lamented the fact thatke we d not he oil fields and use the revenue from that when we of aided and that saudi arabia should be paying half the troops. it was the red meat of the presidential building campaign. laura:oi why is he to prison? >> rick davis and manafort, sit predates manafort' involvement with the trump campaign. it is a tangential investigation. he was convicted of lying to the fbi. they could lead rick davistho cooperate ederal investigators p a pressure on paul manafort. they ar

now jim mattis is pushing back. >> that story from "the new york times," any suggestion that mattis wantedn syria is wrong. mattis was asked about "the new york times" report just a moment ago. he dismissed it out of hand. >> i have no idea where that story came from. i found nothing in it that i can recall from my own last week's activities. >> defense officials believe "the new york times" inflated mattis' desire to notify congress ahead of the limited strike, which they did. >> shepard: jennifer griffin, live at the pentagon. thanks for the cleanup. ahead, the hero former fighter pilot that landed the southwest airlines jet after the engine blue apart. you'll hear the conversation with controllers. see the new video inside the plane as it was happening. that's coming up. first, a fox news weather alert. more snow in parts of the country. who forgot to look at the calendar. adam klotz has more. >> yes, it's never ending across the midwest. areas across iowa, over towards chicago, portions of wisconsin, all getting this snow right now. we have winter storm warnings in place even though we

but clear though interesting too that swrm jim mattis secretary of defines not willing to state that they have prove on is a sarin's use. just like there have been suggestions that sarin likeths color even a a house holds km chemical deadly in heavy concentrations used together is the use of color even enough for the u.s. to intervene again in we're in a messy picture for what it means going forward. but certainly days of anticipation led to 70 minutes worth of quite intense and focused strikes with a clear message and of course the uk and france onboard as well not just the u.s. acting by itself sfwroo indeed. i want to get to ryan brown at the pentagon. wove heard secretary mattis talk about the targets tonight and the goal of the strike. fill us in what he said, also any information on what else france or britain may be doing. >> that's right, don. the secretary mattis laying out the rationale for the targets that they're specifically tied to the chemical weapons program. a research facility near dpakz, the capitol, involving the chemical weapons program and a storage site near ho

we'll hear from jim mattis on his concerns about taking military action. that's coming up from the fox news deck on this thursday afternoon. you might take something for your heart... or joints. but do you take something for your brain. with an ingredient originally found in jellyfish, prevagen is the number one selling brain-health supplement in drug stores nationwide. prevagen. the name to remember. experience a blend of...and raw power,nship... engineered to take the crown. presenting the all-new lexus ls 500 and ls 500h. experience amazing, at your lexus dealer. miracle-gro guarantees results >> vo: these neighbors are starting right. with rich potting mix and essential plant food for three times the blooms. success is sweet. miracle-gro. three times the beauty. one powerful guarantee. >> shepard: jim mattis says that his biggest concern with any potential u.s. strike along with allies apparently on syria is killing civilians while also keeping any conflict from getting out of hand. >> there's a tactical concern, ma'am, that innocent people, we don't a

. >> secretary of defense jim mattis has modified his schedule for later in the week.ling to the west coast. he was scheduled to go to california and nevada. that was later in the week. he'll still be going to new york city on thursday night. he has a big gala there. then he'll stay there overnight. his schedule has him there the 12th and 13th. that's according to defense officials. he is also meeting with henry kissinger. i'll to say, it's pretty rare for the secretary to cancel travel this close to an event. when we spoke to officials they say they didn't know whether mattis cancelled before or after president trump cancelled his travel down to south america. >> the context is we're all wondering about what will happen with syria. the president said he will make a decision within 24 to 48 hours. >> we're trying to figure out if military action is imminent. i don't want to read too much into it. it's an indication something might be happening. it could be other things. it could be logistics. it's rare for defense secretary jim mattis to modify his schedule this late i

but now jim mattis has given him a weird work-around.et you build a wall on a military base we have there. that was like -- seriously. is he going to buy that? okay. but michael, back to the tariff issue, when does paul ryan or mitch mcconnell roar? kentucky burron. >> you are funny -- >> connell seems to -- >> come on, chuck. how do we get this far down the road and not have them say something. >> you are right. >> this is not strung on us the last 24 hours. so where is the leadership? where are the ideals and principles that free market conservatives and republicans have advocated for generations. you expect to hear that from the leadership. and to very politely and gently and publicly say to the president, well, let's talk about this. and then go down to the white house and say, are you nuts? do you know what this will do? you have an economy that is strong and growing, you have the states that are now buying into your economic plan with the tax cuts and all of that, why are you going to disrupt this market and watch 700 points, 500 p

plus, defense secretary jim mattis, a brief congress on syria. what president trump will or should do next. we debate that just ahead. okay folks! let's team up to get the lady of the house back on her feet. and help her feel more strength and energy in just two weeks yaaay! the complete balanced nutrition of (great tasting) ensure with 9 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. ensure. always be you. but he hasoke up wwork to do.in. so he took aleve. if he'd taken tylenol, he'd be stopping for more pills right now. only aleve has the strength to stop tough pain for up to 12 hours with just one pill. aleve. all day strong. wgreat tasting, heart-healthys the california walnuts.ever? so simple, so good. get the recipes at walnuts.org. so allstate is giving us money back on our bill. well, that seems fair. we didn't use it. wish we got money back on gym memberships. get money back hilarious. with claim-free rewards. switching to allstate is worth it. you know what's not awesome? gig-speed internet. when only certain people can get it. let's fi

defense secretary jim mattis is urging president trump to be cautious in responding to the alleged gas attack on civilians. in the meantime nbc news learned of new evidence that show both chlorine gas and nerve agent were used. one source says the u.s. government is confident the syrian dictator was behind the horrific attack. nikki haley says the u.s. has enough proof. >>> aldon smith is due back in court. smith is being held on a half million dollars bail. deputies arrested him last friday after they say that he showed up to receive an alcohol monitor with a potentially deadly 4.0 blood alcohol level. he'll be in court for his domestic violence case and likely receive permission to enter a substance abuse facility. >> at 6 t:03. las vegas seems to be locking in financing in time for the 2020 season. a financing bond this week sold out in last than two weeks. the stadium authority approved a debt service and groundwork for its own annual budget. construction crews expected to start pouring the stadium foundation in the next few weeks. >>> 6:03. another big tech campus project is movin

. >> reporter: defense secretary jim mattis spoke to congress before meeting with president trump about what to do about assad's reported use of chemical weapons. the attack in syria allegedly killed 43 people. this co-founder of the silicon valley start-up says the images hit home and heart. >> something deep down inside tells me look, that kid you just saw in the picture that has foam coming out of their mouth because of a nerve gas or attack or whatever it may be could have been you. i was born in syria. >> it is too bad that the world puts us in a position like that. now we have to make further decisions. >> reporter: in a tweet president trump thursday walked back from his previous threats saying, quote... a san jose teacher is worried about her parents and sib licks in drunk driver siblings in syria. >> i am -- parents and siblings in syria. >> there is conflict between the united states and russia. >> reporter: ktvu, fox 2 news. >>> the time is 4:35. former fbi director james comey in his new book calls president trump unethical and untethered to truth. his new memoir is titled a

"new york times" reporting defense secretary jim mattis urged president trump to get congressional approval before launching air strikes against syria last weekend. but, he was overruled by the president who reported by wanted a rapid and dramatic response. a spokesman for mattis tells axios the report is, quote, blatantly false. mattis was on capitol hill yesterday, along with the joint chiefs of staff, general joseph du dunford. senator lindsey graham expressed major concern for the president's strategy going forward. >> i support the goals of the destruction of isis. i don't think the strategy they have is going to lead to it. everything in that briefing made me more worried, not less. this makes no sense to me. i think assad after this strike believes that we're all tweet and no action. i think russia and iran is pretty convinced that we will not engage them in any fashion. >> joining me now, democratic congressman from new jersey and the republican congressman from new york, the co-chairs of the problem solvers caucus. chairman reid, do you share the same concerns as senator graham aft

contrast that with jim mattis, the defense secretary who has been urging a lot more caution about thiseing a one-shot deal and not necessarily a sustained assault. >> live for us tonight. we will check back in shortly. thank you very much. now to reaction from capitol hill. there's been this debate about whether the president needs congressional authorization to do what he's done tonight in syria or at what point that obligation kicks in. mike emmanuel is tracking responses from both sides of the aisle. good evening. >> a short time ago house speaker ryan praised the united states military for taking decisive action in syria saying, quote, we are united in our resolve that assad's barbaric use of chemical weapons cannot go unanswered. his regime's unconscionable brutality against innocent civilians cannot be tolerated. senate democratic leader schumer saying tonight quote a pinpointed limited action to punish and hopefully deter assad from doing this again is appropriate but the administration has to be careful about not getting us into a greater and more involved war in syria. senator

his defense secretary, jim mattis, told congrass that russiaomplicit in the suspected chemical attack in douma over the weekend. ilmean syria has said teams of independent chemical weapons inspectors are due to arrive in the affected area in the next daor two. editor's north america n sopel reports. jon: weapons locked and loaded, sailors ready for action, this u.s. carrier battle group left its port in virginia -- destination, eastern mediterranean, 5000 miay. the senior officer awaiting orders to act from the president. >> i'm so pleased and proud of the harry s truman team, the finest americans you could ever sail with or serve with. we are trained, we are ready. any mission, anytime, anywhere we are ready to go. jon: although this powerful flotilla might be full steam ahead, you s get tse in washington of rowing back. the talk was a lot less bellicose no longer a big price to pay, decisions in 48 hours, no more nice, new, and smartwn missiles raining instead, this. president trump: we looking very , very seriously and closely ato the whole situ and we will see what happens, folks.

. >> bob scales, this is an interesting discussion because yesterday esaw jim mattis going to the whitend after president trump's tweets we thought we might have been in the final stages of the plannering to for an attack. it seems whether it is jim mattis or someone else someone has gotten into the president's ears and said hold on, slow down, we need more anna target list, we need a strategy because an attack in syria may lead into something more serious. >> two elements. the delay of the military strike has to do with deacon flick. a strike like this in a complex medium like western syria is incredibly complex. the strike would have to avoid all russian installations at all costs. it would have to strike syrian military targets with some assurance of achieving an effect and avoid collateral damage. to your point about strategy. ali, it's over. there is no syrian strategy because for all intents and purposes as we have seen there is no more syria. the russian have their warm water port, assad is going to remain in power controlling the heartland of syria ask. the iranians have a prese

listen, remember, jim mattis, tillerson and kelly it was reported at one point suggested that none of them would actually all be out of the country at the same time because they had national security concerns about this president. but go simply to the day to day behavior of this president. this is a remarkably undisciplined president with a chief of staff who have nothing else, appears to be very disciplined. the former four-star commander of u.s. southern command, he understands staff discipline with a president who does not. this is a president who is behaving as though he is in the waning days of his second term not going into the end of his first term election. and what could be could influence the blue wave people talk about, an erratic president confusing a republican agenda going into november. >> donny, there is the last paragraph of a story maggie haberman and her colleagues wrote over the weekend. it is about what congressman jolly just talked about, the mid terms. the last graph describes in detail all the different power centers. it describes the family in the west wing. i

that source says defense secretary jim mattis had reservations about a more sweeping strike that could lead to a broader clash. with iran and russia. the u.s. military poised to act at a moment's notice with two destroyers loaded with tomahawk missiles. the "uss new york" a ship that can launch transport helicopters, and an aircraft carrier, the "uss harry truman" on its way. today, president trump spoke to the president of france as the white house stressed any action will be taken with allies. >> he will not as he did not last year stand by as innocent civilians are being gassed. >> reporter: on the eve of a possible strike, russia is once again defending the assad regime accusing the british of helping to stage the attack. something the brits deny. the u.s., france and now the world health organization all say evidence indicates chemical weapons were used and u.s. officials say they have no doubt assad was behind it. >> we know who did this. our allies know who did this. russia can complain all it wants about fake news. but no one is buying its lies and coverups. >> reporter: tonigh

hardliner, one who would want to go for the big strike and there was apparently some pushback from jim mattise secretary of defense at the pentagon to programs limit this in scope so things did onot spiral outf control leading to a wilder conflict where we could see the united states and russia battling each other. >> at the risk of overreading this, president trump has been very desperate not to be seen as someone who -- talking about how president obama dealt with the situation during the fir few san franciscos -- snadgeses of the use of chemical weans in syria where there was the red line which was crossed and subsequently no other action was taken and president trump appears to be distance himself from that. >> certainly and programs that was much that played into the strike we saw in april of last year butis obviously wha happening here is coordinated with at least t other nations. it's probably going to not only air strikes but also strikes from some u.s. vessels. there is more naval strategic wer of the united states moving into the region so if this is going to be su aained beyoatter

and france and while defense secretary jim mattis cancelled the plan to new york to stay in town, we're told no final decision has been made about potential military action. lester? >> hallie jackson, thank you. >>> as the world hangs in suspense waiting to learn if and when the u.s. will strike syria, the syrian dictator's forces with the support of russian troops have now retaken the site of that deadly suspected chemical attack. nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in the region with new images from inside the war zone. >> reporter: russian troops moved into the town of douma today and were greeted at least according to russian and syrian state tv by victory celebrations. this was the rebel held area where syrian president bashar al assad allegedly launched that suspected chemical attack killing families in their homes. now back under assad's control. assad's forces have long been protected by russia which has thousands of troops in syria and sophisticated air defenses deployed in the country. russia vowing to shoot down any incoming u.s. missiles. >> if the russians

strike, more than we saw last year and on the other side we're hearing that secretary of defense jim mattis wants a more squert approach. fearing the unk379ed cops agains of an extendedn strike campa inside sere heir. robert: is john bolton urging that aggressive posture? >> that's our understanding that essentially secretary mattis standing alone because of the same of the number of strikes, one that would involve a coalition of at least three nationmb the fng, the brits, and. united states and again, we're seeing the ass regime do things like hide their assets amongst russian bases near irisha. there's the possibilities that russian targets are hit and so there's a real concern about what are the consequences of a strike campaign. could we see a scenario where the s do damage but also lead to new conflicts with russia? and remember that the united states have a decon knicks line with russians on the eastern side of the country to make sure u.s. troops are not puppet i harm's way in the ongoing battle against iciss robert: russia has been denying the chemical attacks alaming the united kin

jim mattis is saying it is pinpointed at nuclear weapon facilities and that it was a proportionate responseical. we knoinm was one of the voices within this administration trying to bring back donald trump from a more bellicose age. his tweets earlier were more extreme, butjim mattis has brought him back. a one—off strike is a one—off strike until the next time. certainly, donald trump has made it a more open—ended thing. if the accounts are to be believed that there have been multiple chemical attacks and there will be another one, we will have to see if there's going to be another one—off strike. the us is in concert with london and paris. yes, very much led by the us, but emanuel macron has been energetic, saying we want tojoin in on this. theresa may after calculation did join in. the british part sounds like it is small. we hear stories of four missiles out of a hundred at it, but a symbolic and important gesture of support. yes, and we will talk leads about the fact that the british parliament is not sitting yet, which throws up domestic issues. i believe it is symbolic. it did not ac

strike based on insurgent tied social media sources well this is exactly what defense secretary jim mattis said at a briefing several days ago where he didn't have solid intelligence on any chemical attack and do know what he did have were social media reports people saying stuff on the internet and who were those people the same people that state department spokesperson heather now it's referring to there the syrian white helmets which has been funded to the tune of at least twenty three million dollars by the state department. the lack of concrete proof that the attack took place has been raised by some officials and democrats but such questions are often dismissed for example take a look at this b.b.c. interview if he has used chemical weapons it's absolutely right to do rough across his knuckles but i just wonder you know we have had some bad experiences on intelligence given that we are in an information war. with russia on so many fronts to use. perhaps it's inadvisable to be stating this so publicly given your your position and your profile isn't there a danger that you're muddying

towards the koreas has been one of hostility sanctions of threats fired hereis defense minister jim mattis threaten your korea with extermination and their policy essentially failed because nuclearization in north korea succeeded because jim jong un extended an olive branch to the south and because we were and has been so courageous in this effort to reconcile the war and so really the cause for donald trump to receive a nobel prize really reflects how insular and parochial view of right wing is right wing supporters is donald trump is really not played a role in the then it's around north and south korea. in the meantime could be about to start a trade war new u.s. tariffs on imports of european stale and aluminum they come into force on may first something brussels is making last minute of it's the try avoid with more correspondent peter all of. europe certainly launched the charm offensive to make sure that that exemption remains in place just last week we saw french president emmanuel the german chancellor angela merkel over across the atlantic in the white house talking about a number

koreas has been one of hostility at sanctions and threats of fire in theory as defense minister jim mattis threaten north korea with extermination and their policy essentially failed because nuclearization in north korea succeeded because kim jong un extended an olive branch to the south and because moon j.n. has been so courageous it is efforts to reconcile with the north and so really calls for donald trump to receive the nobel prize really reflect how insular and parochial view of right wing is right wing supporters is a downward trump is really not played a role in the then. around north and south korea. a humanitarian organization has raised the alarm over the use of force against protesters along the israel gaza border human rights watch has expressed particular concern over what it says is the deliberate targeting of the legs of unarmed demonstrators by the israeli military. started a series of planned demonstrations a month ago they have been protesting near a security fence which surrounds land the palestinians claim was stolen from them but they've been made up by a heavy respons

. >> reporter: later saying he'll be meeting with defense secretary jim mattis. >> i think it's something we have to do. >> reporter: the pentagon now readying options. so, could we see u.s. troops patrolling the border? it wouldn't be unprecedented. the obama administration sent 1200 national guard members to the southern border in 2010 to combat drug smuggling. president trump's complaint about weak border security now in its third day. >> we have horrible, horrible and very unsafe laws in the united states. >> reporter: despite the number of people crossing illegally plunging to its lowest level since 1971, mr. trump is seizing on reports of a caravan of migrants, claiming credit for stopping them in their trek north. >> i have just heard that the caravan coming up from honduras is breaking up and mexico did that, and they did it because frankly, i said you really have to do it. >> reporter: mexican authorities didn't bolster that claim. the president also reinforcing support for baltic allies anxious about their own shared border with russia, repeatedly touting a tough track record. >

the nose out jim mattis would feel about that? we have national guardsmen the point to the southern border. this is something president obama and president bush did beforehand. they cannot arrest people coming over the border, but they can provide logistical and intelligent support. the wall is probably not going to break ground anytime soon. this is something the president wants. host: i want to come back to the national border. --bc's this week this talking about the national guard, here is what he had to say. [video clip] >> that is where we get our statistics. the200% increase with seasonal uptick and the caravan, which is an annual event, they all trended in the wrong direction. the problem is that while there was an improvement, it is a comparative improvement. that has nothing to do with the alarming trends of border crossings we are seeing. we don't have the capacity to address that problem. that is what the president needed to address. >> we know the national guard cannot legally apprehend anyone crossing the border. what