waiting to hear from secretary kerry as we are now. again, expected to build accountable for those that use these weapons and mentioned some of the intelligence that everyone has been waiting to hear. >> fault, stay close, of course we will keep an eye on that podium, and as soon as senate kerry starts speaking we will stop peeking. a senior staff writer. an international security expert at m.i.t. i want to begin with you, because you have written pretty pointently about how so many people in syria are just resigned to what they think is probably going to happen. almost just throwing up their hands. >> well, distrue. i think at no point have the syrian people been at center stage in this entire conflict, and the thing i worry about in the article for al jazeera was that basically throughout this entire 2 1/2 year period what they have done is greet each new phase with whatever preplations they can take on, but this time around they are not sure how they can prepare. it is correct to say that the syrian people have been left out of the

the problem is, you know, kerry thinks the u.s.an make the world a better place through diplomacy and sometimes military force. most americans don't at this point. this should be a great debate over the next nine days. you talked about it earlier today. and kerry, he'll be on five -- that's right, five morning tv shows. >> he is running the gauntlet. >> he is the point man. he is the one selling this policy. >> you know, one thing i would share with you, craig, from my time in the clinton administration and when we went into bosnia, remember that the process of convincing the american people, laying out your case, i mean, that can't -- some of us may not like it, but that can take a week, nine days. that's not unreasonable. because remember when we started yesterday was with an affirmation in the confidence in the documents that we had. trying to brush off the coasts of iraq, if you will. but really trying to ground this whole argument in a very strong moral authrgument in terms of w we've seen going on and our faith that the intel

up what secretary kerry just said. we are not rushing in to war and carefully consulting with people and getting ready to go. there are going to be lippingering questions about a president who came to power and talking about getting un man dates and congressional consultation but getting authization before using military force. >> that was a big question that everyone wanted to know if congress will be consulted. james rosen is waiting for us in the state house and he called assad a thug and a murderer and more they know that has to remain classified and whatever they do, it will not resemble iraq or afghanistan. how important is it congress to to hear? he said it matters to us. >> that was the main message of the message, this matters and that message he intended for several audience. congress, and american public and the rest of the populations of the arab and muslim world in the middle east an important audience. something he said significant and some things left out were significant. he said the united states and a

john kerry has been pretty focused on syria for a long time. he was chairman of the senate foreign relations committee. i think that having traveled in the region, i think he probably feels the humanitarian side of this more deeply. i think president obama, while certainly not callous at all to the humanitarian issue, is quite focused on the credibility questions that come out of syria's violation of what the president keeps calling international norms on chemical weapons. so, you know, we've always had this divide even before secretary kerry came in. you'll remember that secretary of state clinton and david petraeus, the former head of the cia were arguing a year ago for arming the rebels. the president was not anxious to do that at the time. even now the president says he's going in for the limited purpose of stopping another chemical weapons attack. now, as the conversation you previously had indicates, it's not clear if you just do a day of tomahawk strikes that, in fact is going to have any significant effect on the ground. >> that is prec

kerry saying based on intelligence, the u.s.yrian regime carefully prepared for days to launch an attack, which killed 1429 people including at least 426 children. >>> officials at yosemite national park are expecting 3,000 cars a day to pass through the gaetz this labor day weekend despite the wildfire. the blaze is 33% contained. 20,000-acres of the fire covered the northern edge of the50,000-acre park. >>> san diego mayor bob filner is leaving office in disgrace today, amid sexual harrassment allegations. the former congressman is stepping down one week after defiant farewell speech he told the city council he was victim of a lynch mob. those are the headlines on the fox business network. get you back now to tracy. ashley: arthel neville, thank you very much. we appreciate that. look at markets with a big day from washington, d.c. and latest on syria. the dow off of the session lows, down about 38 points. we should point out as you can see the nasdaq and s&p also moving slightly lower. the president is expected to speak brief

john kerry has been pretty focused on syria for a long time.he senate foreign relations committee. i think that having traveled in the region, i think he probably feels the humanitarian side of this more deeply. i think president obama, while certainly not callous at all to the humanitarian issue, is quite focused on the credibility questions that come out of syria's violation of what the president keeps calling international norms on chemical weapons. so, you know, we've always had this divide even before secretary kerry came in. you'll remember that secretary of state clinton and david petraeus, the former head of the cia were arguing a year ago for arming the rebels. the president was not anxious to do that at the time. even now the president says he's going in for the limited purpose of stopping another chemical weapons attack. now, as the conversation you previously had indicates, it's not clear if you just do a day of tomahawk strikes that, in fact is going to have any significant effect on the ground. >> that is precisely i think the fea

gwen: let's listen more to john kerry from today. we heard him at the state anartment in which he made expansive and emotional case. >> we know where the rockets launched from and at what time. landed andre they when. we know rockets came only from regime controlled areas and went to opposition controlled or contested neighborhoods. that, we saw the president come into the briefing the cabinetally, room, to meet with some foreign was so and in his tone much more different from kerry's tone. let's listen to that and then talk. >> we're not considering any open-ended commitment. considering any boots on the ground approach. considerill do is options that meet the narrow concern around chemical weapons. that there's not going to be a solely military the underlying conflict and tragedy that's taking place in syria. president is talking narrow, limited, no boots on the ground. he said it twice. it's a very different tone between the state department and the white house. why is that? it's the nature of this president's personality. figure.

would end its drone war there and it's not just the locals and kerry's pakistani counterpart. stressed that the answer isn't a slow draw down but instead an end to the strikes altogether and finally unable to avoid deal with it in the room any longer kerry respond to the question on pakistani television. the timeline that you and the sausage for ending this. strike with i think the president has a very real and we hope it's going to be very very soon. oh my god very very soon it's amazing it was almost a legitimate answer almost but even that vaguely positive affirmation was too good to be true see only hours later the very agency kerry overseas backpedaled issued

patty, what did you make of what john kerry had to say. >> it seems after listening to john kerry thathe u.s. is going to go ahead with some sort of targeted strike on the syrian military possibly in the hours or days ahead. they did not indicate that they were backing down. as the secretary was speaking, the white house was emailing out what they say is their evidence, they call it indisputable that the government of assad fired chemical weapons rockets at 12 different neighborhoods, killing 1,429 people, including 426 children. let's go through what they say their evidence is. they believe they have evidence and they're saying that this is from satellites and human intelligence, also intercepts that the chemical weapons teams in syria that worked with those weapons were in the area for three days before the attack. they have evidence that rockets were fired from areas controlled by the syrian government. they say they have absolutely no evidence that the opposition was seeking to fire chemical weapons. they say they have an intercept from a high ranking syrian official saying that th

it was different from kerry's. in a meeting he did it as a photo spray right before his meeting with some baltic state presidents. >> i have not made a final decision about various actions that might be taken to help enforce the norm. but as i've already said, i have had my military and our team look at a wide range of options. we have consulted with allies. we have consulted with congress. we have been in conversations with all the interested parties. and in no event are we considering any kind of military action that would involve boots on the ground, that would involve a long-term campaign. but we are looking at the possibility of a limited, narrow act that would help make sure not only syria, but others around the world understand that the international community cares about maintaining this chemical weapons ban. >> and it's so different. usually presidents say everything is on the table. i'm not telling what we're up to, because it could be worse than they think. here he is saying don't worry, bashar al assad.

john kerry said just a couple hours ago that the u.n.council wasn't going to be a fruitful option. that's something the white house has said all week. but u.n. inspectors are packing up now. they'll be leaving late this evening our time, syria tomorrow local time. the president goes to sweden then on to russia, which is president assad's sort of staunchest backer. that whole calendar really does narrow the president's options. it's somewhat difficult to launch a punitive strike fromovfrom oversees and certainly would be more of a slap in the face. it's probably going to come sooner rather than later. that's certainly cutting against what the u.n. secretary general would like, more time to form some sort of international consensus, get that formal report from the investigators. >> we should note for our viewers watching, we are just literally a few seconds away from president obama's comments from the white house on syria. colonel jack, let me come back to you quickly before we listen to the president. our national interests in syria, we

secretary kerry said that. pain and punishment that assad won't do this again and also get the message if we have to escalate down the road because he is foolish and does repeat the offense, then we can do that, too. so, i think that's the goal. and therefore the actual military targets is almost somewhat secondary. you have to hit things assad cares about but more the indication, the messaging you could do even more if necessary. that ideally restores deterrent so he doesn't do this again and the rulers in iran don't get the idea they can pursue nuclear weapons with impunity against mr. obama's read line on that weapons of mass destruction issue. so i think the goals are fairly well laid out. we can't be sure how things will play out and we have to worry before hezbollah's threat, for example to israel. but i think the mission is reasonably well specified. >> trace: be a little more precise for me. you talk about causing enough pain so he won't do this again. what do we do? there's been suggestions we take out

john kerry's, i mean. foreign ministers, to defense ministers, to heads of state, and he clearly does not have the support of the president of the united states. let's put it this way, whatever he says is not necessarily going to be believed as coming directly from the united states of america and other people, other foreign ministers, other heads of state are going to believe that it's just a matter of time before he'll be overturned. >> well, that does create a problem, if that is the way this evolves, because we've seen, mik, we only have a few minutes left, but we've seen what happens when the secretary of state does not have the ear of the president or is not part of the final decision making process. >> that's right, andrea. as a matter of fact, not only secretary of state kerry, but there's some question, too, among some quarters, about secretary of defense hagel and his strength. so if other nations perceive both the secretary of defense and the secretary of state as being somewhat weak in the obam

this is john kerry. if hillary clinton had wanted to do this four years ago she could have gotten the room to run with it, but for whatever reason hillary clinton stayed away from this issue. i think she stayed away in part because in her analysis she wasn't going to succeed. and john kerry -- you know, look these are all people with sizable egos and you're exactly right. let's put hit in the crudest terms possible. you get a nobel peace prize if you solve this problem. this is not armenia and azerbaijan where we can make page a-15 of the "times," even if there was a break through in negotiations. this is a big deal. and so the temptation, the siren call in a way, it's a huge temptation. and, you know, it's very hard for me to -- even though i am pessimistic it's hard for me to begrudge the idea of trying. i just think that -- and i've written this in the recent past that there was ground work to be done where the u.s. talking directly to the israelis and the u.s. talking directly to the palestinians sep

john kerry stepped forward. i think what kerry can bring to this, obviously being secretary of state is different from being a senator, completely different role, but he does have the relationships on both sides. he does seem to be well liked and trusted by both sides. i think he knows the issues relatively well as well from having sat on the senate foreign relations committee for so long. now he's going to step back and hand this over to a special envoy. martin, a person who knows these negotiations very well as well. secretary kerry in a sense will have to run interference with the rest of the region. as you said, there's a lot going on in the region, iran, syria, that is where secretary kerry will have to focus now. >> this idea of martin being the person doing it but what of secretary kerry told us if anyone says anything and you didn't hear it from me, don't buy it, i am the one person here who is going to speak. what do you think of this cone of silence secretary kerry is imposing here. is it to allow more

they let kerry do it and he delivered.dent obama did not have a formal speech but his remarks really sounded to me like he was pulling back from what kerry did. and i don't know that the american people may be confused. what's your take. >> i think the whole world is confused by what this president is saying and how he's saying. he's the reluctant president on this issue. and when you look at what's going on in syria, and the mess that it is, and mess in some regards by the president's own making. you know, let's remember this isn't the first time assad has used chemical weapons against his people. the president put a bright red line in the sand and then allowed assad to use chemical weapons again a second time. >> right. so, americans don't seem to want to do this, although i'm not sure they one what is it. richard, assess this for me from the standpoint of president obama. is this a winning issue for him ultimately or is this a losing issue for him? >> i think it's a very serious moment. you know, putting aside what may

we will hear from secretary kerry hopefully this hour. much for your expertise. >> thank you very much. alisyn: and, of course, keep up on all the latest developments with the power of fox news. sign up for our fox news first daily politics newsletter at foxnews.com/foxnewsfirst. ♪ ♪ jon: "happening now," as the government gears up for the rollout of president obama's health care law, critics are raising serious new concerns about hidden costs tied to all the promised benefits and giveaways. chief national correspondent jim angle's live in washington with more on that. jim? >> reporter: hello, jon. well, while the health care law promises all sorts of new free benefits, analysts argue nothing is ultimately free. listen. >> p.j. o'rourke famously said if you think health care's expensive now, wait until it's free. once you add on all these additional things, all these extras that insurers must provide, you have to pay for that. >> there's going to be taxes imposed, taxes on insurance, taxes on drugs, taxes on medical devices. all of that i

john kerry is expected to take to the podium any moment. the white house about 25 minutes ago. we will be right back. ♪ moments from john kerry giving a statement on syria, the treaty room at the state department, live pictures, we are going to take this statement as soon as the secretary of state comes into the room, he left the white house 30 minutes ago. let's bring in rich edson standing by at the white house. any guidance from the administration as to what we are going to hear from john kerry? >> the secretary has been making the case yesterday and earlier than that on u.s. intervention on some of the evidence the administration says it has. the public is waiting for that evidence. we expect to get that this afternoon. we will hear more from administration officials in the next couple of hours about the evidence that they reported the or they say they have showing the assad regime use these weapons against its own people. we are waiting for the administration to make this case. they did so last night with congressional leaders and john

were you surprised by how long secretary kerry spoke yesterday? >> i was. i was very surprised by his speech. >> it was about a 20-minute speech. >> very detailed and up-front confronted the issue of iraq that overhangs this and the perception of it and laid out the intelligence. i was surprised. this might be a speech we see from the president today that says, i've decided. here's how i decided. so far he said that the evidence is certain, but i have not yet decided. i'm considering my options. this might be the decision speech. not the i've launched speech, but that i've decided. >> but their styles are different and their roles are different. the role of secretary of state and president are two very different things. >> absolutely. i think the thing that was established yesterday is other than the president, it's certainly the secretary of state that's carrying water for this. he's the front person on this. he sort of led the charge, as it were, and i think whether you agree with the policy or not, i thought it was an effective speech yesterday. >> do yo

the second thing it tells me, secretary of state john kerry is a mess average or this. if i dare say it, he looked presidential, he is the secretary of state, but he is making the case for war, not the secretary of defense, not the president, not intelligence officials, it's john kerry. i think the white house has chosen him. he is a war vet and has national stature and try to carry that message. the other stunning figure is the report that has been released and i have gotten through all of it quickly. they assigned high confidence findings to all the key findin findings. >> therthere has been reform. we have low, medium or high confidence thai. are claiming high confidence. >> can you put it in comparison to colon powell's speech? this is against the back drop of all those things. >> i was going to say how notable it is it was the secretary of state delivering this message. people before hand on twitter was thinking it was a colon powell moment. you could tell the specter of iraq was hovering above his remarks. those are remarkable be numbers and this is a heinous regi

we'll ask secretary of state john kerry. also, senator rand paul from kentucky on his views of what the president is now seeking from congress. >> a big day. a big "meet the press." john kerry -- you're david gregory and chuck todd. thank you both very much. >>> with me on the phone now, senator tim kane. >> i think it was a very positive move by the president. i have been urging it publicly and privately that the white house team had with senator on the aermd services committee. i think it is a strengthening move. we'll have to see how the debate goes. here is my concern. the decision about initiating military action is the most solemn decision that congress or the president makes. we cannot afford to send american men and women into military action unless they are confident that the political leadership of the country is behind them. so if we had sent into this very challenging situation, all agree that the stakes are high. if we had sent our young men and women into even a limited action that could have had follow-on cons

obama and kerry say we, weary of war.think they're listening in iran and syria and troubling in their boots? this is a call to arms, this is an uncertain trumpet. >> respond to that? >> like i say, charles, i agree with you that all of the language and all of the announcement is weak, but we don't know exactly what the impact will be. >> i'll make you a small wager. >> on that note. >> as romney would say. >> on that note, we're going to blow out the lightning round this friday, stick with syria. more after this break. ♪ we go, go, we don't have to go solo ♪ ♪ fire, fire, you can take me higher ♪ ♪ take me to the mountains, start a revolution ♪ ♪ hold my hand, we can make, we can make a contribution ♪ ♪ brand-new season, keep it in motion ♪ ♪ 'cause the rhyme is the reason ♪ ♪ break through, man, it doesn't matter who you're talking to ♪ [ male announcer ] completely redesigned for whatever you love to do. the all-new nissan versa note. your door to more. ♪ your door to more. when you do what i do, iyou think about risk..

the point you made about secretary kerry. kerry came out and made this passionate case, this moral case for war and now you said you can wait. >> this is not such bad diplomacy and bad politics. what the president is doing is exactly what george w. bush did in the fall of 2002 when he went before the general assembly and said the international community has to take its responsibility for disarming hussein. >> i have to take a break. george w. bush also said i'm giving you hussein, one more chance before i invade your country. >> that in effect is what the president is doing right now. >> can i say, i misspoke earlier and said the secretary of state and the president went to play golf, it was the vice president. you don't like that. >> this doesn't look good. there was a moment when hillary clinton was secretary of state, she was going to istanbul for a conference on syria. she stopped in south africa and cut a rug on the dance floor in south africa. many people in the region war wondering what kind of behavior is this. we now

i listened to secretary kerry's speech.t was remarkably imfattic, resolute and frankly almost churchillian. it makes you wonder how they can get away with just doing a missile cruise ship. so i think there's virtually no doubt, even though president obama insists he still hasn't technically made up his mind, an attack will be forthcoming in the next couple of days f i had to guess. >> base on the poll ratings, it's clear the public does not want some prolonged kind of battle. i think it's clear the administration was assuring everybody this would be limited and narrowly focused. >> i think that's what they were trying to do. but every time you use force, you have to ask yourself, if my opening move doesn't work, what's next? about two years ago when we entered this conflict, it was a very different situation. about a year ago the president received advice from his senior defense officials. all of them united, cia, defense, state and the chairman of the joint chiefs arguing we needed to take more decisive action in order to

secretary of state john kerry concerning the situation in syria. we want to turn to david jackson, who has been watching the events concerning syria from beirut. what are they saying there and what are they expecting there? >> reporter: wree we showed the headline that is drums of war. there will be a limited military strike that will take place into syria. they are well aware of the fact there is american military positioned offshore and british military and naval ships offshore. they are expecting something along the desert fox lines mentioned a moment ago, that there would be some cruise missile attacks that would go into syria itself. the other thing being looked at is a lot of people trying to find information about what happens when they do these united nations inspections in damascus. they said they had a productive day today and people want to know what that means. they know they are going to a different location tomorrow morning and they are very, very concerned about getting some form of confirmation a chemical attack took place at all. e

when jay carney was asked about kerry's strong words, he said, well, kerry is speaking on behalf of thent. there is no mistaking what kerry was saying. i think you have to assume at this point that the united states along with allies is going to do some kind of military activity, whether it's launching a cruise missile at a surgical strike, as senator corker said, but i think they're preparing the american public and in the end you may and should hear from the president himself. >> let me ask you this. more than half of the americans we talked to said they don't want to get bogged down in another conflict in syria. if they are trying to prepare the american people, hillary, are the american people prepared? >> no, the american people are not prepared but the president has the bully pulpit to get us prepared. as long as the president sort of describe as mission that has a beginning, a middle and an end, my guess is that the american people are going to be with him. but, after all, this is a president who inherited two wars. he doesn't want to get mired and bogged down in a place where we

she not listening to john kerry, he is not listening to john mccain. they are hard line and they want him to go and go now. >> the time he should have been listening is before he made the announcement we have to act. before kerry said in front of the world the word of america is at stake. before the entire administration leaked the plan to explain exactly were it had to act. right now we are way beyond the other arguments, we are way beyond the polls. way beyond the issues, is this the best way to attack. i this it is not. the only -- >> it doesn't matter -- >> cannot be -- >> you have to listen for a second to martin dempsey if the chairman of joint chiefs of staff says to you, it doesn't matter if we go tomorrow, it doesn't matter if we go next week, we will still have an effective military strike against assad. we will hurt assad. then that open it is window to this that so many americans want to take place. >> why? there is no gap that we can hurt assad. and i don't think that the chairman of the joint chiefs is the one who decides how america shou

thank you, kerry.was hit by an earthquake and tsunami two years ago, officials trying to figure out how to clean up a power plant that is now leaking radioactive water. >> u.n. weapons inspectors spent the day coping through the site suspected weapons attack in syria. this is amateur video captured after a group of inspectors were visiting one of those sites. before that they were shot at. they're now back inside their hotel safely. convicted murderer and army psychiatriepsychiatrist nadal hs back at fort hood texas. he killed 13 people in 2009. the sentencing phase of that trial begins today. >>> ouout of control wildfires s spreading in california. they've burned 225 square miles. that blaze said to be edging closer to a reservoir where san francisco gets it's drinking water. japan's government promising to take urgent action to end leaking radioactive water, they ordered the operator to improve the oversight and replace tanks that are at risk of leaking. tepco acknowledged last week that hundreds of

a lot of information in that speech from secretary kerry. i also heard what was new, he put a number on it. he said more than 1400 people had been killed. that is an enormous number. much higher than the estimates coming out from doctors without borders or other organizations the they said hundreds or 450. this is almost what the rebels have been saying from day one. they've put the number around 1400. there are other estimates higher than that. one of the consistent numbers we've had was around 1400, including more than 400 children. so very specific information coming from the secretary. >> richard, i'm glad you pointed that out. he's saying 426 children and 1429 people. this is a very large number indeed. also to both of you, the british intelligence assessment released yesterday in advance of that devastating for the prime minister eight-hour debate in commons, they issued an intelligence assessment which referred to a redacted name of a commander. we understand that that was the brother and that that was part of their evidence as well.

secretary kerry was specific.e described the little victims' bodies wrapped up in white linen shrouds without a single drop of blood. he also spoke about america's role going forward. >> the united states government now knows that at least 1,429 syrians were killed in this attack, including at least 426 children. instead of being tucked safely in their beds at home, we saw rows of children lying side by side, sprawled on a hospital floor, all of them dead from assad's gas and surrounded by parents and grandparents who had suffered the same fate. this is the indiscriminate, inconceivable horror of chemical weapons. this is what assad did to his own people. we also know many disturbing details about the aftermath. we know that a senior regime official who knew about the attack confirmed that chemical weapons were used by the regime. reviewed the impact and actually was afraid that they would be discovered. we know this. and we know what they did next. i personally called the foreign minister of syria, and i said to

you saw him today stress that, you saw secretary kerry stress that. a lot of read-outs from both sides talking about how they just communicated with the president. remember, he still hasn't made the decision. >> phil, campaign issue down the line? syria? you think we'll ever hear about it givagain in the campaigns? >> impossible to predict. it's a lose-lose. >> remember the minute these members of congress get back to town in a week and a half, this will seem like ancient history. >> the fun of the debt ceiling will be back. >> absolutely. >> thank you so much for being with us. appreciate it. >> you might be feeling the effects of the syrian situation when you hit the road this holiday weekend. the possibility of the administration taking action is affecting gas prices. that's coming up. nascar is about excitement. but tracking all the action and hearing everything from our marketing partners, the media and millions of fans on social media can be a challenge. that's why we partnered with hp to build the new nascar fan and media engagement center. hp'

plus secretary of state john kerry making the case for u.s. action in syria but are those actions going to be limited? we'll be live in the middle east for you. >>> and the white house with the latest. david: we want to hear from you about what's happening over there and what's happening here in reaction to that. did secretary of state john kerry and president obama calm the markets or make them more jittery today by what they said? log on to facebook.com/afterthebell. we'll read your answers on syria later this hour. ♪ [ indistinct shouting ] ♪ [ indistinct shouting ] [ male announcer ] time and sales data. split-second stats. [ indistinct shouting ] ♪ it's so close to the options floor... [ indistinct shouting, bell dinging ] ...you'll bust your brain box. ♪ all onhinkorswim from td ameritrade. ♪ from td ameritrade. instantly changed my life- i feel so much younger. my husband has his confidence back. and he can enjoy the laughter of our grandkids again. i can have fun with my friends again. feeling isolated? ready to reconnect? the aarp hea

we just got secretary of state john kerry's comments. we'll bring you the white house comments live. meantime, the u.n. inspectors are there to investigate the claim that the syrian government launched a chemical weapons attack, deadly strike, that the rebels claim killed hundreds of hadn't men, women and children. now, fox news cannot independently confirm those numbers or the immigrations from the scene. last week president obama demanded that the syrian regime allow u.n. investigators to see the site of the agent a -- alleged attack but syria was silent for days on end, experts say enough time to allow the chemicals dissipate. those inspectors went to the alleged attack site today and quickly came under sniper fire. syria's government and the rebels accused each 0 of firing on the convoy, and the president called it a red line. with the reports of the latest attack that leaving scores of people dead, with their lifeless bodies in the halls, and others forming at the mouth consulsing the pain, pentagon sources say president obama is co

you're likely to hear that type of statement from secretary kerry. he's the person at the beginning of the week was laying out the argument already calling this the attack of moral obscenity and laying the bases for some super bowl type of response and also talk about the efforts for build support. >> let's go to the pentagon where we have barbara starr. the defense secretary chuck hagel has talked about syria. we heard about it a second ago. the u.s. desire to have an international backing. we need to hear a bit more. >> it is the goal of president obama and our government to whatever decision is taken that it be an international collaboration and effort. >> an international collaboration and effort of whom? >> the secretary said it was a goal. he didn't say it was a necessity. where are we right now? there are still five u.s. navy bar ships off the coast of syria. a target list of less than 50 targets or so. if ordered by the president they could be ready to go quickly. they would be ready to go with commanders and military equipment. what is the m

it was different from kerry's. in a meeting he did it as a photo spray right before his meeting with some baltic state presidents. >> i have not made a final decision about various actions that might be taken to help enforce the norm. but as i've already said, i have had my military and our team look at a wide range of options. we have consulted with allies. we have consulted with congress. we have been in conversations with all the interested parties. and in no event are we considering any kind of military action that would involve boots on the ground, that would involve a long-term campaign. but we are looking at the possibility of a limited, narrow act that would help make sure not only syria, but others around the world understand that the international community cares about maintaining this chemical weapons ban. >> and it's so different. usually presidents say everything is on the table. i'm not telling what we're up to, because it could be worse than they think. here he is saying don't worry, bashar al assad.

we are awaiting the statement from john kerry. amon can you gives an idea there has been a lot of pressure. it appears that serious that indeed crossed that line. >> officials here are sighing they are closer and closer to determine whether syria used chemical weapons. the problem is that syria if you go in on force whose side do you go ip. very difficult questions here facing the question. we are going to wait until we have the state. sent of urgency hear. what if anything can the united states doing to do pent prevent an approval that agrees with folks around the world. >> alongs the kaem kal attack. we were on the record saying yester take that there is the possibility that they had people go ip and gaclean up that video. dissuburbs the evidence and you can't problem any of it. this question of chemical weapons is a one going back to the beginning of the iraq war suggested that it was a slam dunk. now, making the same kind of case they are going to make sure that they have three, four, five six times to back that up. you can ge

. >> secretary of state kerry said the u.s. is now convinced that syria has resorted to using chemical weapons. as the white house considers a response. u.n. inspectors search the attack site near damascus for evidence of chemical warfare. >> i would be gone if i live there had, i would be gone. >> homes and wildlife are at risk as fires burn through yosemite national security. >> schools in chicago cope with budget cuts. >> the obama administration now says there is compelling evidence that syria has used chemical weapons against its own people. secretary of state john kerry calls last week's attack i in te damascus suburb as a moral obscenity. >> ii can't get the image of the man holding up his dead child with chaos swirling around him. >> what appears to be the game changer are those images that kerry referred to that so repulsed and moved on international television. the use of those chemical weapons outlawed years ago is a moral obscenity, and said the president will hold the assad regime accountable. what that means start

stocks are where they were pre-kerry speech. >> correct. >> the market is not moving on the kerry speech an attack is expected, it's already priced in period. >> talking about this for some time. one thing i'll say, an elevation in the vix, the wall street fear gauge but not monumental. >> 17. >> 40 used to be considered high in the vix and now it's 17 and it's panic. give me a break. option spreads, 1760 in the vix, you know. that's not high. >> that is not. >> that is not. >>> time for a regular segment. as of last week that we're calling the big three. we've rounded out three of our top-notch reporters to give us the three things to watch ahead of next week. why three? why not? >> a nice round number. >> a good round number. even, prime, i think, a negative integer. eamon javers, what are you watching for next week? >> you have to talk about the syria situation. we know the president was scheduled to speak at 2:15. we're expecting taped playback about his remarks about syria so that's going to dominate next woke, both here in washington and around the world. looking at the g-20. the p

>> the other question is where is kerry? >> where is john kerry?n't keep this conversation up. >> look, the thing about syria, though, is it's so multifaceted, right? we haven't gone into the iran part of this. haven't talked about turkey or the refugee crisis. we haven't talked about the long-term implications. we haven't talked about al qaeda. sam, you said yourself, we have not talked about the opposition forces almost at all in this debate. >> we know very little. >> what we know is we were researching iraq information in preparation for this segment, iraq is calling it al qaeda and iraq and syria. that, if we talk about dark clouds looming, the prospect of a resurgent al qaeda in syria as well as iraq, that's a whole completely different facet. >> this is why we've avoided arming the rebel factions largely to this point. we're so uncertain about where the weapons will end up, in whose hands. the other option is a no-fly zone. for various reasons we got rid of that. now we're looking at a limited stra teej cal -- this gas back to the same point

. >>> secretary of state john kerry laying out the intelligence for a war-fatigued nation. a war-fatigued nation. >> some cite the risk of doing things. but we need to ask what is the risk of doing nothing? >> tonight, u.s. warships are in position. will the president give the order to strike? "nightly news" begins now. >>> good evening. i'm lester holt in for brian tonight. the words and the signals couldn't be clearer. it is virtually certain tonight the united states will not let syria's alleged use of chemical weapons go unpunished. the president today said he has not made a final decision in the course of action, but the case for a u.s. military attack was spelled out in no uncertain terms by secretary of state john kerry. like a prosecutor making an impassioned closing argument to a jury, kerry today made a point-by-point assessment of the evidence against syria, and warning of the consequences should the world turn a blind eye. kerry offered new details of the chemical attacks and the assad government's involvement based on evidence he said was clear and compelling.

>> i listened to john kerry's announcement, i listened to president obama also. i think i figured this out. this is about ego, this is about president obama's ego, he wants to save face, said i am drawing a red line a year ago, it has been crossed twice. he is more inclined to go now because it violated his red line, and it is also about him defending america and america's ego when he says we have to do this or north korea or iran see we're weak. we're going to have to go kill people in syria, we have to do it because we're america. i think it is a bad idea. >> we have to check the box. >> i agree it is a bad idea. i don't like it because i think the middle east is a mess, i don't think us getting in there is going to necessarily solve questions. when i heard today the president, i hear john kerry say this is about iran, that's why i said to ed henry, it is a proxy war with iran. you have to be clear with iran, don't get the wrong message here, buddy. don't think you can get away with using chemical weapons or nukes without immediate and strong response from the

you are talking about as john kerry said earlier, france, australia, turkey.countries that are important to give legitimacy to what we're doing. >> people are suspicious because of the intelligence. that's one of the reasons they are making those parallels but these are different scenarios. we'll have more analysis on potential military strike in syria after the break. she's agreed to give it up. 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. [ groans ] all these stops to take more pills can be a pain. can i get my aleve back? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap. >>> we are following breaking news. secretary of state john kerry making announcement just in the last hour or so that the obama administration certainly is considering some kind of action regarding syria for the chemical weapons strike that syria actually did against its own civil

john kerry stressed america's oldest ally had called the attack and outrage. australia and turkey had given support. no mention of britain. hutchence,me against this crime against humanity, this crime against the most fundamental principles of international community, against the norm of the international community -- this matters to us. it matters to who we are. , and tors to leadership our credibility in the world. stressed theobama limits of action, and made it clear he has not made a decision. >> in no event are we considering no terry action -- military action that would involve boots on the ground, a long-term campaign, but we are looking at the possibility of a act.ed, narrow >> there have been protests against action, but it's not just that. more than 200 members of say they should be allowed to vote. an opinion poll suggests at least half the american public are against the strike. >> do you think it's too much of a hotbed, as far as the other nations that have their interests there? what is going on in lebanon, obviously israel, egypt. >> i think you

military attack was spelled out in no uncertain terms by secretary of state john kerry. like a prosecutor, making an impassioned closing argument to a jury, kerry today made a point by point assessment of the evidence of syria and warning of the consequences should the world turn a blind eye. kerry offered new details of the chemical attacks and the assad government's involvement based on evidence he said was clear and compelling. he said any u.s. military response would be limited in its scope without american boots on the ground and he revealed that more than 1,400 people had been killed in the chemical attack, including more than 400. here's how the secretary laid it out for us today. >> our intelligence community has carefully reviewed and re-reviewed information regarding this attack and i will tell you it has done so more than mindful of the iraq experience. we will not repeat that moment. we know that the assad regime has the largest chemical weapons program in the entire middle east. we know that the regime has used those weapons multiple times this year. we know

so now kerry has his own legacy problem.e doesn't want to go down as the guy who let assad skate by. he's got to double down. >> let's talk about the numbers in this country. we've gone over progressives who watch this show, a lot of them. look at these numbers now. 46-46, which is the argument we had last night with ignatius and somebody else right now. he is is is a "state" reporter. ignatius, but he is a moderate. the problem faces among smart, progressive people who are skeptical about military involvement, now look at this is a 50-50. even given the iraq. >> but you mentioned that the republican numbers are probably slanted because people dislike obama. >> he can say i'm going pardon the thanksgiving turkey and they'd oppose him. >> that number is probably slanted because they trust obama. so the number would probably be much lower. >> so people are the two sides flipping the anti-war democrats flipping him back into war a little more? >> here is the issue with the polls. it depends exactly how you asked the question. y

it was secretary kerry and secretary hagel and susan rice. they said without any kind of doubt that gas was used and that the assad regime is the one who did it. and they are positively sure about that. i think it's important for the president to do something, because i think to do nothing would show every spot around the world you can gas your own people, you can gas innocent civilians and you can get children and get away with it. the pictures of the children foaming at the mouth and died will last for me in a lifetime. in a 21st century we should say that is totally unacceptable and a war crime. >> we look over the history since 2007, he was then senator obama. he wrote the following. i want to play this. here is what several key members of your own party have said about the president striking another country without congressional consent. here is joe biden. >> i'd like to be clear. the president does not have the authority to launch military action in iran without first seeking congressional a authorization. >> we don't believe any author

secretary of state john kerry says while the u.s. respects the u.n.nd the bravery of the inspectors, waiting for the tests would not tell the administration anything it didn't already know. the inspector's job is not to determine who used chemical weapons, only to confirm that they were used. kerry said the government's estimate of what took place is as clear as it is compelling. >> it matters deeply to the credibility and the future interests of the united states of america and our allies. it matters because a lot of other countries, whose policies challenge these international norms, are watching. they are watching. they want to see whether the united states and our friends mean what we say. it is directly related to our credibility and whether countries still believe 9 united -- the united states when it says something. we are watching to see if syria can get away with it, because then maybe they too can put the world at greater risk. >> for the first time, we have a u.s. estimate of the death toll. secretary kerry said at least 1,429 syrians were

john kerry has only been secretary of state a few months.a convention. >> you bring up a great point. hillary clinton is a slam dunking as far as being the democratic nominee. as far as being the next president. will this go on her resume? this is something that happened throughout her secretary of state. will the media call out hillary clinton as -- out hillary clinton will this be one of the failures? >> all of the polling of the american people say they are loathed to get involved in this syrian situation. should the media be paying more attention to that? >> the media has i think paid attention. what cal is talking about in terms of congo and in terms of south sudan, these are all other areas we have not paid attention to. i would like the media to talk about that as well. >> roiters ipsos poll and 9% of those polled favor the action in syria. that's worse than any other foreign military engagement i can remember. >> what about the image of the gas attack itself? the media are not running the worst of that because there is horrific image