you either trust or do not trust. >> jim sciutto is joining me live. the balancing act between too much action, too little, you get a sense of that from lawmakers today. >> no question. you have two vastly different and contradictory arguments and against military action. you heard from members whant the administration to do more. the limited strikes don't go far enough and should be changing the actual operation on the ground and you heard from those who want to do less, repeatedly getting secretary kerry to promise no boots on the ground and the u.s. won't end up strengthening al qaeda. in effect the goldie locks proposition here, authorizing military actions that are not too hot, too cold, too aggressive or soft. that's why we are seeing such a parsing on the wording and difficult to get wording that will get the votes on both sides of that debate. >> jim sciutto, good reporting. welcome to cnn. good to have you on the show. >>> up next my panel. david, let me start with you, you heard the president say he did not set a red line, the world did and h

let's head live to cnn's jim sciutto, secretary of state in geneva. any encouraging signs this morning, jim? >> reporter: i think, kate, that's one encouraging sign that they'll meet again. secretary kerry this morning saying that he and lavrov have a lot of home work to do, in the meantime working out the details. you get the sense of how the time line can sketch out. here in geneva, the morning session is over. as he left that meeting, secretary kerry told us they had a good constructive start to their talks. day two of crucial talks aimed at a diplomatic solution to the syria crisis. and the u.s. and russia still at odds over the time line for the syrians to comply but this morning, u.s. secretary of state john kerry stressed that both countries are committed to finding a solution. >> i think we would both agree that we had a constructive conversation. we are committed to try to work together. beginning with this initiative on the chemical weapons in hopes that those efforts could pay off and bring peace and stability to a war-torn part of the world

let's go to geneva now, jim sciut sciutto. we're told the secretary and foreign minister, they will be making opening statements at the bottom of this hour. we'll have live coverage of that here on cnn. but set the scene for us. i know you flew over from washington to geneva with the secretary. what are they saying to you, he and his aides? >> reporter: well, we were quizzing them on the flight to see how seriously they're taking this russian proposal. their answer is they wouldn't be here if they didn't think there was potential. that said, it's safe to say they're coming here with a healthy dose of skepticism. in their view a chance for the russians and syrians to show their card. one u.s. official said it's a chance to see if the russians and syrians are saying. this depends on bashar al assad's cooperation. how will you know he's a willing and responsible participant? the first step is how forthcoming he is with all of the details about syria's chemical weapons sites. that will be a first step to move this from the 30,000-

jim sciutto, cnn washington. >> that conversation led to outrage among some in iran.ew a shoe at iran's president as he arrived in tehran today. the man was among a large group of iranian protesters opposed to an open dialog with the united states. it was the first direct conversation between leaders in washington and tehran since 1979. shoe throwing is considered highly offensive in the middle east. >> in india, rescuers are working around the clock to save as many lives as they can at the site of a building collapse in mumbai. so far, 50 people have been killed in the collapse. 33 escaped with injuries. officials say they do not know how many people remain trapped. they say there may be more than a dozen people in-need of rescue. the building that collapsed on friday was deemed unsafe months ago. repairs were scheduled, and residents were warned. but many of them continued to live there anyway. coming up. we're told to turn off those electronic devices upon take-off and landing. but is it necessary? details on a new report that may say otherwise. plus. a violent d-u

let's bring isn't chief cnn international security correspondent jim sciutto. m, as you've been reporting on this, this evidence is remarkable. and there is even more that the administration is not sharing with americans, number one, what is it? number two, why aren't they sharing? >> well, it's the difference between what's classified and what's not classified. this has been the subject matter in these classified briefings you've been hearing about on the hill where members of congress are able to see additional information that members of the public are not. that said, as you ran through that, the evidence that the united state has released is pretty credible that the regime ordered the attacks. is it a smoking gun? not yet maybe smart not to leave a paper trail. but i do think we've moved on from this to some degree because now you have this administration deal that will the administration will stay is is tacit. one, that they don't have chemical weapons, and two, that russia doesn't trust syria with chemical weapons. because if syria is agreeing to possibly

>> jim sciutto, thank you very much. jim acosta, our thanks to you as well. >>> the new iranian president takes the spotlight later this afternoon the the united nations. president rowhani has vowed to revamp tehran's image around the world. barbara starr takes a closer look at the man who is inspiring hopes for better u.s./iran ties. >> reporter: all eyes are onh hassan rowhani, iran's new president, still largely a man of mystery as they try to figure out a nuclear weapons program as he told nbc in an interview. >> we have, time and again, said that under no circumstances would we seek any weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons. >> leading president obama to an historic step, ordering secretary of state john kerry to pursue a nuclear deal with tehran. >> i don't believe this difficult history can be overcome overnight. the suspicions run too deep. but i do believe that if we can resolve the issue of iran's nuclear program, that can serve as a major step down a long road toward a different relationship.

our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto is here. the iranians actually broke the news first. didn't just break the news, they started tweeting, specifically at hassan rouhani, a twitter account that the president of iran has. >> i saw this tweet, and it was right before the president came out and of course, i started calling everybody i knew and at that moment, the president comes out so the irony of ironies, the iranian president scooped the american president on this. not only in terms of telling people that the conversation took place, but in giving us the content of the conversation. so he went on to tweet that here's what he said to president obama. in regards to the nuclear issue with political will, there is a way to rapidly solve the matter. he says we're hopeful about what we will see from the p-5 plus 1 process and your government in particular in the coming weeks. so immediately just as the president said getting right to that nuclear issue. the president and the white house actually didn't give so much detail on what the

the terror group is based in somalia, rikt next-door to kenya, and as jim sciutto reports, this couldem. >> reporter: fredricka, we could look at this as the disturbing debut on the international stage of a new international terror threat. al shabaab has been around for a number of years in somalia, has carried out some smaller attacks outside of somalia's borders, but nothing on this scale. and in fact, african union forces had in recent years success of pushing al shabaab out of many of its strongholds in somalia. this would seem to indicate the possibility of a comeback, but also a greater intent on having an international impact. al shabaab is, in fact, an affiliate of al qaeda with a similar brutality and a similar focus on spectacular attacks like this one. there had been a recent split in the leadership about whether to focus its attacks inside somalia, against the government there or abroad. and this would seem to indicate the ascendency of the latter of particular interests for americans. al shabaab has had success recruiting somalia memberships, some of whom have gone ton to

here's chief national security correspondent jim sciutto. >> reporter: the revised authorization limitstrikes against syria to 60 days with an option for a further 30 days. it also explicitly bans u.s. troops on the ground, though, it would permit a rescue mission if needed. the bill comes after secretaries kerry and hagel and general dempsey, three veterans who know the immense cost of war, delivered an impassioned case to senators that military action is right and necessary. >> are you going to be comfortable if assad, as a result of the united states not doing anything, then gases his people yet again. and the world says, why didn't the united states act? >> reporter: attempting to thread a political needle, the administration had something for both supporters and skeptics of military action. who dubs strict limits on the scope and duration of any attack. many the hawks making sure the strategy also including strengthening, for syrian opposition. senator rand paul demanding that the president abide by the congressional vote, win or lose. >> if we do not say that the constitution appl

jim sciutto joining us from washington. hearing that john kerry and iran's foreign minister is sitting down with their counterparts, other leader there's, other foreign ministers, six major powers. how do we expect it to unfold and tell us again about the significance of the meeting. can't be overstated, historical nature of this. >> reporter: sure. first, let's talk about how it's going to set up this is part of the p-5 plus 1 process, permanent five members of the u.n. security council, including the u.s., plus one being germany and iran joining it. the way it starts, it will be catherine ashton, in effect the eu, european union foreign minister will convene the meeting with one step below the secretaries of state, foreign ministers, then the secretaries of state and foreign ministers come in and then the iranians kind of will be invited to join into the meeting later. and that's where you'll have kerry and zarif in the same room. these are the most substantive high level talks between the u.s. and iran. but a u.s. secret

jim sciutto, cnn, washington. >> jim, thank you for that.ining us more on al shabab and what it means, peter bcerge. it was almost like swatting the hornet's nest because now we've seen what it decided to do and it was like payback inside this kenya nairobi mall. the reason i lay that out is because i have to wonder if american foreign policy doesn't look at this and think perhaps it's better if these groups s y local because then the hornets stay in the nest or close to the nest s that wrong? >> you know, you could make that argument. on the other happenend, somalia controlled by al shabab and they were recruiting americans and training them and that's not a good outcome for the long term. al shabab has been dealt quite a bit of military defeats in the past and in a way this attack on the mall might be an attempt to show that they are still relevant because really on the battlefield the kenyan military, african union with support from the united states, for instance, u.s. navy s.e.a.l.s on occasion has been pretty effective against al shaba

and destroying these weapons, and that by everyone's estimation here is really a first step. >> jim sciutto with the very latest from geneva. thank you, jim. >>> let's bring in former republican senator and foreign relations committee chairman richard luger. he's with me in studio, now president of the luger center, a nonprofit that focuses on issues like getting rid of chemical and nuclear weapons. senator, it's a pleasure and honor to have you here. tell us about your efforts to rid chemical weapons of syria, to get chemical weapons out of syria. >> well, last august, 2012, i was in moscow, i made a proposal first of all at the defense department there, then in a public statement press conference, "new york times," reuters and others picked it up, as did the russian press, suggesting that russia and the united states had cooperated in destroying our own chemical weapons. we built this huge plant, for example, or even as we speak, the russians -- well, chemical weapons were being destroyed. i suggested this is a time we both respect each other, we ought to think about the syrian weapons wh

i want to bring in cnn's jim sciutto. he is our chief national security correspondent traveling with secretary kerry who met earlier today with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. jim, lots of speculation in washington as to what brought putin to this moment where he wanted to forge a deal. >> candy, of course the administration says it's all about the threat of force. both the russians and syrians want to avoid a u.s. military attack. that's what brought them to the table. you can see a broader calculation about it russians that assad went too far with this chemical weapons attack. and that he's getting weaker. i think coupled with the broader discussion of a peaceful end to the syrian civil war, peace talks and so on that you could see this as a first step towards a future in syria without assad. of course, meanwhile, this deal very much depends on assad's cooperation. he was the absent party at the talks in geneva. it all depends on the russians keepgs keeping assad to his word. >> it does. that brings up the sec

>> jim sciutto live from geneva, thank you so much. on the eve of this meeting, vladimir putin made it clear the u.s. and russia are coming to the table from very, very different sides. putin having scored a diplomatic coup -- the administration hates that word, i'm sorry. having scored a diplomatic upset by essentially forcing president obama to negotiate after he called for strikes. putin couldn't just leave it there. he penned an op-ed for the "new york times" claiming that it was the rebels, not syrian regime forces, who used chemical weapons. then he closed the op-ed by attacking the ideal that president obama mentioned in his speech on syria, that the american people that we are exceptional. putin writes quote, it is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation. sounds pretty critical of americans and their yankee blue jeans. this is not going over well with u.s. lawmakers of every political stripe. the chairman of the senate foreign relations committee, senator bob menendez, t

chief national security correspondent jim sciutto is live at our washington bureau. good morning, jim. >> reporter: good morning. in a single day at the u.n., incredible progress on two of the u.s.'s, really the world's most intractable problems in the middle east. syria and iran. let's talk about iran, the highest level meeting between u.s. and iranian officials in 30 years, john kerry and mohammad zarif. they sat right next to each other. then on the sidelines of that meeting, a bilateral between the two. now, coming out, some immediate expectations, management from secretary kerry. he said, quote, one meeting and a change in tone are not enough but many participants inside that room described an energetic and substantial discussion. today the iaea, the international atomic energy agency has a meeting as well. the u.s. and russia have reached agreement on a u.n. resolution governing the complete elimination of syria's chemical weapons, a draft text went to the 15 members of the u.n. security council last night. they will vote on it as soon as tonight. the key elemen

our chief international correspondent jim sciutto is joining us. how did this conversation come about? >> reporter: the white house says they made it clear to the iranians earlier in the week that president obama wanted to have direct contact particularly this handshake we talked about, but that the iranians at the time said, well, diplomacy takes time. this isn't the right time. it wasn't convenient for them. they cited some problems back home in tehran but that the white house left the door open. and that this morning, the white house got a call from rouhani's people saying the president of iran would like to speak to the president of the united states before he leaves the country. obama said i'd be willing to do that. they set up the call. now, just in the last few minutes we've heard some push back from the iranian side saying the call was totally unexpected and that it was the white house who was reaching out. again it reminds me of some of the backtracking we heard after president rouhani's comments earlier in the week to christiane amanpour

what are we hearing about these talks, jim sciutto? some word about possible progress? >> reporter: you're talking about overtime. until a few minutes ago they were still meeting and it's past 2:00 in the morning here in geneva. i saw secretary kerry walking back into the building about 20 minutes ago out taking a walk to get some fresh air because they've been talking so much. that's a good sign as the u.s. official here told me, they wouldn't be meeting if they didn't have something to talk about. we did hear earlier today that they had their first sign of hard progress, which is the u.s. and russia coming to agreement on the scale, the scope of syria's chemical weapons stockpiles. that sounds modest, but it is important because u.s. officials have been telling me that's the first test of how serious both the syrians and the russians are about moving forward in how forthcoming they are about giving all the details about how many chemical weapons they have and what quantities an where they're hidden. >> obviously one thing that's been discussed is whether the u.s. woul

cnn's jim sciutto is out front tonight with the latest. the "washington post" op ed that i just referenced, rouhani said he wants to get involved in the talks between the syrian government and the opposition. i'm just curious, we hear about this man. he's a reformer. others say no he's a wolf in sheep's clothing. he's just saying all these nice things. what do you think? how significant is all this talk? >> reporter: well, i've been to iran a number of times. i've always thought the term reformer is overused in iran. in general it's just different shades of hard liners there. this is a regime that's intent on its own survival. that said, there are different approaches. and this is as you said unprecedented outreach. i've spoken to a number of people, and they call it the most significant outreach since the 1979 revolution. and because it is quite broad. you have this invitation to the u.s. president to meet at the unga next week. you have an outreach to jews after years of his predecessor maligning jews and talking about pushing israel into

our international correspondent jim sciutto is standing by live in geneva. how do things stand after the first day of negotiations there? >> reporter: u.s. officials told us they're many coming in with a healthy dose of skepticism. you can see why those disagreements coming out very clearly and publicly on the first day of negotiations one over the use of force. secretary kerry saying from the beginning the u.s. is going to reserve its right to use force and that's the very reason the syrians have been brought to the label. the russians saying force cannot be a part of this. also a disagreement on the timeline. how much time to give the syrians to fess up all the information that's necessary about their chemical weapons stockpiles. president assad saying in his interview he believes he has 30 days that. would be standard. secretary kerry saying there's nothing standard about these talks because president assad has in fact already used these weapons against his people repeatedly. and that's why the focus in these talks yesterday and today are really on the nu

jim sciutto, what are you learning tonight outside the navy yard? >> reporter: what we learned today when alexis went to the rhode island police with the disturbing delusional story of being followed, controlled with a microwave machine, hearing voices that while as you say the rhode island police reported that to the rhode island naval station that, account went no further than there, did not come to the navy here in washington. still very serious questions as to how this was allowed to happen and at the same time still this overriding question as to why this happened. why did he do this? with aaron alexis's motives still unclear, two mysterious clues. newly discovered etchings carved on the shotgun he used. "better off this way" and "my elf weapon." information investigators are still deciphering. today secretary hagel and chairman of the joint chiefs dempsey detailed the first new measures to prevent a shooting like this from happening again. two department-wide reviews of security at military installations and the granting and renewal of securit

let's bring in jim sciutto. jim, what's going on?is the most significant outreach since the 1979 revolution. i've heard hope even from dissidents who have been jailed and mistreated by this same regime. one told me he's even joined the government. still, this is a relationship marred by repeated disappointment. and u.s. officials are waiting for substantive change to match the rhetoric. a new iranian president, a new outreach to the u.s. by a government until recently virtually defined by its ant anti-american postrat. tonight, he took to twitter to say he hasn't ruled out meeting with president obama at the general assembly next week in new york adding, everything is possible in the world of politics. asked about iran's digital diplomacy, u.s. officials we've spoken to are reserving judgment. >> everything needs to be put to the test. we'll see where we go. at the right moment, i think the white house and the state department will make clear where we're going. >> reporter: it the began with another surprising tweet two weeks ago, wi

jim sciutto is our chief national security correspondent.st heard was indicative of a new charm offensive. but you heard some, they don't brief it. >> no specific proposals about iran's nuclear program. but their is all about sinlding perhaps more subtle messages. and it struck me the phrasing that he used about the need for mutual respect and mutual interest in terms of the basis of the u.s./iranian relationship. he used those words a couple hours after president obama used the exact same words. let's listen to how president rowhani put it. >> translator: mutual respect and common interests. and within the same framework does not seek to increase -- >> we obviously have the wrong sound bite there. it's hard to understand when you're listening to both farsi and english. >> they both use the exact phrase mutual understanding and mutual respect. this is very important to iranians. they think we've tried to pressure them, treated them as a second class nation. so president obama earlier in the day offering the olive branch, saying this is the w

our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto is traveling with the secretary in geneva. jim, what is the very latest you're learning? >> reporter: well, wolf, as we speak, secretary kerry and foreign minister lavrov are having a private one-on-one dinner. we see them together, they've got a good rapport but when they start talking about the details, you see the sticking points here. secretary kerry in his first public comments in geneva mentioned one of them and that's the syrian president bashar al assad has said he wants 30 days to catalog his chemical weapons, that that would be standard. secretary kerry said there's nothing standard about these talks, they want much quicker action. but certainly, the starting point today promising, that is president bashar al assad saying on russian television that under russian supervision, they're willing to commit to giving up their chemical weapons. >> in the words of every u.s. official we've spoken with, promises are not enough. the u.s. is looking for a definitive verifiable plan of action. >> this is not a game and i said that

our national security correspondent jim sciutto. he administration has made a point, and many officials saying our action in syria is intended as a message for iran. what's at stake here? >> the administration wants to internationalize this and they're taking every opportunity, that it's about in effect all bad actors, hezbollah, north korea, but also certainly iran front and center. one because of its nuclear program and because of its close relationship with syria, and bashar al assad. we heard this from secretaries kerry and hagel this week. have a listen. >> iran is hoping you look the other way. our inaction would surely give them a permission slip for them to at least misinterpret our intention, if not to put it to the test. >> a refusal to act would undermine the credibility of america's other security commitments, including the president's commitment to prevent iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. >> reporter: so what's at stake specifically? with syria, it's about the use of chemical weapons. north korea, attacking the sout

our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto is traveling with the secretary. he's joining us live from geneva right now with the very latest. jim, what is the latest? >> reporter: well, wolf, this u.n. security council resolution development is significant because if true, it would remove the major disagreement between secretary kerry and foreign minister lavrov. they say here they're not negotiating the u.n. security council resolution here in geneva and that's true, but it's been hanging over these talks since the beginning and some has bubbled up in public with kerry and lavrov saying in public that they have a real disagreement there. kerry saying that force is the only thing that brought the syrians to the table. lavrov saying he wants force off the table. now, the meetings are continuing tonight and they are going to continue into tomorrow, involving kerry and lavrov as well. i spoke to an administration official who said that if there was no opening in these talks, we wouldn't still be here. and this administration official went on to say that they have

jim sciutto, thank you.onship with the obama administration making an impression here in the united states. a new gallup shows 50% of americans view russia has either unfriendly or as an enemy of the united states. compared to 44% who see moscow as an ally or a friendly nation. this is the first time in 15 years that more americans consider russia to be unfriendly, a huge downturn from 2006 when 73% of americans saw russia as an ally of the united states. >>> coming up here in "the situation room," some republicans fear their party is reporting to kamikaze tactics. a look at the struggle within the gop as a showdown nears that could potentially shut down the federal government within days. >>> starbucks says it got dragged into a political debate over guns. now it has a new policy to try to pull itself out. with angie's list, i save time, money, and i avoid frustration. you'll find reviews on home repair to healthcare, written by people just like you. find out why more than two million members count on angie

jim sciutto will travel with the secretary. he joins us tonight. what's the latest?avrov have spoken and more details emerges, syria giving up its chemical weapons to international control but syria signing onto an international chemical weapons ban. these talks in geneva, very key, as the administration puts it, the last thing standing in the way of u.s. military action in syria. with secretary kerry on his way to geneva, the administration's word of the day was time, as in any deal will take more of it. >> i'm not going to place a date or a time limit on it. i don't have a time line to give to you. so i expect this will take some time. >> reporter: the administration's made the basics of a deal clear, syria's chemical weapons must be secured, removed from president bashar al assad's control and destroyed. however, achieving those goals now relies on a negotiating partner in russia with a gaping trust deficit in washington. a point raised by cnn's elyse labott at the state department. >> you think the russians are doing this in complete faith. >> we have a long and

cnn's chief national security correspondent jim sciutto is looking at john kerry's return to the spotlight good evening, jim. >> good evening, joe. good to be on, and fiery is the right word, and you really saw the emotion coming across in that clip you showed and so many moments like that this week. and you know, speaking to people close to kerry, it's clear that he's taken on this assignment as the lead advocate for military action against syria without hesitation. you might even say with some relish. you know, as secretary of state, he now has the job he wanted, and he may in this case for going to war with syria or launching these attacks against syria, he might have the legacy-defining mission he's been looking for. today he's the administration's and the country's advocate in chief for military action against syria. >> are you going to be comfortable when assad, as a result of the united states not doing anything, then gases his people yet again and the world says why didn't the united states act? >> reporter: but for john kerry, war has defined his public life from the very beginnin

jim sciutto joining me now here. jim, just curious, why do you think he came out now?security report coming out and heading to new york? >> i think what you see there is the secretary john kerry exasperated with the comments and denials he's hearing from the russians in the five days since he was in geneva making the deals. the russians still trying to sell the story it was rebels who could have launched the attacks and not the syrian regime. quoting patrick moynahan saying you're entitled to your own opinion but not your own facts. he didn't mention the russians, but it was clear he was talking about the russian denials and he proceeded to knock them each down in succession. >> and he also said this fight is not a game. how big a sell do you think this will be? >> this has been his word really since he arrived in geneva last week and i was traveling with him, that this is very serious. by saying this is not a game, again, this is a dig against the russians who he says might be trying to score political and diplomatic points with these denials and other criticisms of t

let's bring in jim sciutto. he's with the secretary, live from geneva this morning. >> reporter: good morning, chris. flying in with secretary kerry and his team, they're coming here with a healthy dose of skepticism, in their view, this is a chance for the russians and syrians to show their cards in effect, are they serious. secretary kerry has in his team chemical weapons experts, security experts, they'll be getting to the nitty-gritty here to see if there is a way forward, to catalog syria's chemical weapons and collect them and destroy them. one u.s. official told me on the plane that this is, quote, a chance for us to test if the russians are seriously talking about this and if the syrians are serious about their promises. one of the first steps is going to be, are the syrians coming forward with an exact accounting of their chemical weapons, do they lay those cards out on the table so the russians and americans can begin working on a plan on getting rid of these things. it's interesting. a couple of notes