republican politics with senators john mccain and lindsey graham. plus their recent trip to afghanistan. >>> then the rapid increasing gas prices. how high and how long with the former ceo of shell oil. i'm candy crowley. and this is "state of the union." >>> the afghan government says the man who killed two american soldiers inside a highly secured government african building is an intelligence officer. hamid karzai has offered condolences of the families of the four americans killed since news that u.s. personnel apparently inadvertently burned copies of the koran at an air base in afghanistan. karzai called for calm in his country but insisted the u.s. must prosecute those responsible for burning the muslim holy book. joining me from kabul, u.s. achl bass door to afghanistan, ryan crocker. mr. ambassador, let me ask you first, the u.s., over more than ten years, has spent half a trillion dollars in afghanistan, almost 2,000 american lyes have been lost. and the american people wake up this morning to find that two high military officers sitting i

senator john mccain, senator lindsey graham, thanks for joining us. >>> after the break, secretary of hillary clinton on the violence in afghanistan and campaign politics. and later, will $5 gas be the norm in the coming months? we'll ask former shell ceo john hofmeister.hbor .. and our communities... america's beverage companies have created a wide range of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes and more low- & no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie labels so you know exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories, america's beverage companies are delivering. have 46 grams of whole grains... mmmm. ...and a touch of sweetness. you'll be delighted to discover how good they taste. get your free sample of quaker oatmeal squares on facebook. what ? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it ? hello ? hello ?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello ? ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of

senator lindsey graham offers his plan for american action right now. let's go "outfront." >>> i'm erin burnett and "outfront" tonight, hot rod show and tell. yes, you heard me right. hot rod. iran today defiantly flaunting its first iranian made nuclear rods. if iran is going to -- this is a crucial step towards building a weapon. now, a lot of this of course is propaganda and wearing the white labcoat for the cameras, president ahminedjad was on hand at a tehran nuclear facility as fuel rods were lowered into a nuclear reactor. rods contain the pellets of nuclear fuel. that's essential for nuclear reaction. while that was going on, iran was sharing other news. the plans of producing yellow cake, which is another step to enriching uranium to the 90% holy grail weapons grade level. now, ahminedjad, as we're all well aware, insists that iran's nuclear program is for medical and peaceful purposes. i.e. nuclear power. but no one buys it not even the watchdog i.a.e.a. and definitely not washington or tel aviv. have we reached a tipping point with iran? wher

senators john mccain and lindsey graham, they say, yes.rt seriously considering that. they're coming up next right here in "the situation room." we're reporting today from may saw, arizona, the site of wednesday night's republican presidential debate. ♪ ♪ wow... ♪ [ female announcer ] sometimes, all you need is the smooth, creamy taste of werther's original caramel to remind you that you're someone very special. ♪ werther's original caramels. >>> now, there are calls for this for the obama administration to help the rebels. joining us now from cairo, senator john mccain and senator lindsey graham. senators, thanks to both of you for joining us, lots to discuss but i want to start with syria first. very much on the minds of a lot of folks. are you both saying that the united states should now start arming the opposition to president bashar all asaad? the rebel forces in syria. senator mccain, first to you. >> we're say nothing option should be left off the table. the massacre goes on and there's risk of stalemate. the iranians are there. th

and it was said we have to fight them abroad so we don't have to fight at home now and senator lindsey graham in defending the national defense authorization act said we are bringing the battlefield where here how do you say no homegrown that there now is now the right is right wrong wrong to get you think though do you think of that kind of rhetoric actually works as they get the crowd riled up is that going to get voters to connect to come to you right because if you look at what the media is covering today it's not what ron paul said this week and it's about whether obama is a christian or not or whether rick santorum is actually talking about environmentalism and who you know whatever his excuse was well i think that's the issue we all have to face is what is the mainstream media really picking up on this is all law what bruce just said is law and this goes beyond what i was doing able danger what i wanted things are famous for we fought to retain basic data from a variety of sources and we were sold over there may be there may be u.s. pursed information in there now this may be the prism

0 says senator lindsey graham. if you are looking for a positive spin on this i do not have one to give the. it goes on to say that this congress is now a lame duck. guest: that is discouraging and i hope he is not correct. there will be sequestration, and all of the bush tax cuts will expire. the position i support and others is that most of the bush tax cuts should be continued, but tax cuts for people making more than $250,000 a year should not be and i hope the democrats would put that forward. maybe what senator gramm is saying is he represents a party that says even the you continue the tax cuts the taxes go up. i do not think that is where the public is. if that is the issue then we will vote on it. we as the republican party say there are two things we have to do. we have to cut spending or spend more on afghanistan. we have to do more to prepare for a war with the soviet union. again, we are going to be voting on that. we are about to pass a bill and they are going to help us pass a bill that will continue

tonight, lindsey graham, senior member of the senate armed services committee.e time to come on the show tonight. arwa damon, you just heard her r reporting and i don't know if you could see the picture of the dead child with his brother at the top, which was very moving and disturbing. arwa damon is saying there's a sense that government forces are beginning to fray. many still support the government. they feel there could be a civil war. is this something that is front and center for you as a member of the armed forces committee and of the senate? >> i don't think it's nearly as front and center as it should be, so reporting like this really helps. but i can show you places in the world where children are poorly treated and killed, sudan, the congo, and we have to look at this as a humanitarian issue, just as we did in libya, stoppinging the slaughter, but our strategic interests in syria are much greater than they were in libya. this regime is the biggest to iran. so it's in our national security interest without a doubt to aplace asaad and to break up this s

taste of the discussion when a senate armed services committee commenced and listen to senator lindsey grahamasked when chinese hacking into our defense would be consider a hostile act. >> there are other things that could rise to the level of a hostile act. >> and that would be? >> yes, hacking into the infrastructure. >> and allowing us to respond in kind? >> well, in my view, yes. >> so i'm having lunch with the vice president of china in 20 minutes, so what do you want me to tell him? >> happy valentine's day. >> okay. all right. okay. i will do that. >> this is just the beginning of his five-day trip to the united states, and tomorrow, he is headed to iowa. that is right, it is a town he visited in 1985. cnn's ted rowlands is with us in des moines tonight. ted, good to see you, and i know musketine is a little bit out of the way, about three hours from the capital. why is he going there? >> well, it is a great story, erin. when he came to musketine, iowa, he was not vice president of china, but part of a small delegation that came to tour a couple of iowa farms. when they were there, the

she was pressed by senate lindsey graham and others on syria.ore than 4500 people have died through the violence of president assad and asked by other senators asking that if he's war criminal, the secretary said that he would fit in that category. the testimony taking place here in washington this afternoon. here's more with secretary of state clinton. >> a few months ago i had the unique opportunity to travel to libya in the aftermath of that transition, it was a real -- i don't have a point of reference, but it was starting to watch pro-american graffiti on the wall. they knew had turn them back on them. i hope that will pay dividends in the future. we're several months into that transition and the u.s. involvement in that, my question is two-part, number one, how is that going in terms of our role there? and then, the second question is, one that hopeful that there will be a transition similar to that syria pretty soon? what are we learning from the libyan experience that as far as what role we can play, particularly making sure the sophisti

senator lindsey graham, thank you so much, sir.'s head to the newsroom, jon scott standing by as he gets ready for "happening now." jon: brand-new polling from rasmussen reports shows a big shift in the republican race, results that might surprise you. scott rasmussen joins us to fill you in. the honeymoon murder trial in alabama, both sides presenting opening arguments with very different accounts of what happened to a young bride on a cuba diving adventure that ended in her death. the latest from the courtroom. a counterfeit version of a very popular cancer drug is on the market in the u.s. a fake, it's all coming up at the top of the hour, "happening now." martha: thank you, we'll look forward to that. jon scott coming up at the top of the hour. and be careful what you say in front of your babies folks. if you think -- look at that cute little girl. if you think she can't understand you, well think again. gregg: but just girls. ♪ teach your children well. ♪ ♪ no matter what small business you are in, managing expenses seems to..

vice president, this is not part of the script, but lindsey graham is relieved you did not show up in january -- you may have won the republican nomination. secretary kissinger, you can see formality is still my forte. madam secretary, this lunch is a great start. i hope we can match the extraordinary hospitality that the vice president showed me in my four-day visit to china last august. the highlight of that trip for me, mr. vice president, was the time was spent in conversations together in beijing and cheng du, and i look forward to continuing the conversation we started this morning. the vice president has already participated in three meetings prior to this lunch, and they covered a broad range of constructive discussions. and we have a very ambitious agenda in the coming days as well. as vice president i discussed at some length the united states and china have much to do together, quite frankly, because our relationship is literally going to help shape the 21st century. we are not only the world's two largest economies, but we are both pacific powers and everyday the affairs o

states in the house of representatives the gang of five thirty five and deciding like this guy lindsey graham that cracker from south carolina is calling america a battlefield and saying that if you're accused of being tied into a terrorist organization or you are a belligerent is the way the act is now written you have no judge you have no jury you have no trial you don't have charges filed against you the military could come in and take someone like me that they may call of but are injured because they don't like what i have to say and they could take me away lock me up in detention blow my brains out no lawyer no hey these corpus it's the bill of no rights signed by president obama and what it does it also allows the military to take somebody like me or someone they don't like who they choose who they stop vote chooses to be called an anti american or it's working with a terrorist group i may give money to a group that they don't like and they could tie that back to me you have forecast that a trend involving what you believe will be economic martial law being implemented in the u.s. what

questions for syria those comments did come after she was pressured into answering by senator lindsey graham he's one of the republican lawmakers a handful here in washington who have been pushing to arm the syrian rebels who are opposing president assad also a point of controversy because again there's so little accurate information about what's going on on the ground it's really difficult to sort of tell who's who and who's really fighting for what side here the syrian government reacting to all these i mean surely must be very worried off to see what happened to come of gadhafi in libya. well. it's sort of of course difficult to tell exactly what he's thinking but yes i mean this a lot of critics have said that this sets the international precedent for intervention is and this is what happened in libya we did say sort of came to the united nations saying that this would just be a halt to the violence and turn into a full on military escalation and that is what other countries including russia and china are worried about sort of happening in syria but it does seem that the european communi

john mccain and lindsey graham are both on its board of directors such as well quite even talk about these relationships and how they've really had a hand in shaping actual policies. well it's outrageous for the international republican institute to claim that they're somehow independent they're also fully funded by the state department by us by national not for democracy and by congress and they represent the interests of the republican party in abroad in countries around the world the same with n.d.i. which is the national democratic institute this is these are organizations that were formed at the same time as the national now for democracy in one thousand nine hundred three one thousand nine hundred four with that goal precisely in promoting us for us agenda particularly political agenda in countries abroad so i mean if you look at who they are who sits on their boards who's managing their operations you'll see that i mean these are the high level players of the political and economic elite of the united states government there's no question about it and i do think it's important

senior members of the united states senate armed services committee senators john mccain and lindsey graham have called for u.s. and western help in aiding the syrian rebels to supply those rebels with weapons and other aid came in graham are in afghanistan and they said that to do so would not only help those rebels but it would help washington in its effort to weaken iran and the situation on the ground in syria still very tense and dangerous and as marie if an ocean now reports the violence is expanding far beyond damascus and also taking a toll on entire communities throughout the country. to kilometers northwest of damascus lebanon just over the border once relaxed luxury mountain resort the town has recently been the scene of brutal clashes between assad's forces and and to government groups there was a lull in the fighting and as we approached the city we have a choice who's of control at the checkpoint they are happy to see a russian television crew as somebody who's in charge here russia is among the few countries to talking to assad and calling for others to have dialogue with the

john mccain lindsey graham and joseph lieberman talking about that you know these opposition forces need to have weapons to be able to defend themselves. talk a little bit about some of the consequences though if that sort of avenue is taken . will who says won't use the word in the summer where it's already seeking place not western shipping a weapon but weapon coming from. qatar or saudi arabia other places who are injured one so who is one of them although this is already going on i think their objection to these calls even in the mood of the argument many. there's no likely prospect. shipping weapons to the opposition is going to allow them to you who has the syrian government forces here in the syrian government can get weapons from russia iran other places so the prospect is kind of in the. forces in homes or other places can we in the military confrontation with the syrian government if they get more weapons from the west or from drew so all you're doing you send in more weapons is just glee in the conflict militarily let's talk a little bit of a slow mo see here i mean there have

here in the u.s., senators john mccain and lindsey graham called on the u.s. to begin arming syrian rebels in an effort to topple assad. among those detained was media benjamin of code pink. one man has refused to eat since december. doctors say he is at immediate risk for death. he can be heard yelling from his hospital room, saying the strike continues until there is dignity and freedom. >> he is being held under administrative detention, which means israel can hold him without trial or charge. >> his health is addressing. his situation is getting worse, but his morale is strong and believes his situation will end with a victory. >> in new york police department monitored muslim college students across the northeast. in one case, the new york police department sent an undercover agent on a whitewater rafting trip where he recorded names and noted how many times they prayed. republican mitt romney's chairman paul the bu has stepped down after allegations he is gay and once threatened to deport his ex-boyfriend to mexico. he is a sheriff in pinal county in ari

an oracle to record them and what kind of blowback are you getting i know you know what's in lindsey graham has been probably the most outspoken saying no no we need this but is there is there no getting much pushback and no i you know i think it of course look all your views out there certainly can continue to help us in that the push that we've gotten when you see a congressman such as myself who's been hailed as a tea party guy and someone like senator franken. excuse me on the other side of where we're together that really scares everyone else and so i think that that push is going to get us to what we need which is to correct this language and at the end of the day this this will give instructions to the court if there is an incident then courts will have a clear indication of what the congressional intent is under the national defense authorization bill yeah it's a noble and great work you're doing congressman and and while we may be have opposite political philosophies in some areas i think you know our love of country and and belief in liberty is transport as i'm totally with you wh

steve, quickly on syria, some senators including lindsey graham of south carolina say this is the timee assad regime, actively, because that would be a crippling blow to iran. >> yeah, if you look at the two cases where the administration contemplated military intervention, libya, they made the argument on moral case. we need to do this before. humanitarian disaster gets out of hand. they made the argument there they were 1,000 in death toll. the death toe is higher here. the moral argument isn't as persuasive. they are not making it now. they abandoned it altogether because our european allies got a good chunk of their open from libya. they don't get it from sir yeah. syria is much more important especially with the relations with iran. than libya ever was. >> bret: as little as an a site for iran action there seems as little an a site for syria action from the administration. >> absolutely. the moral arguement is there but syria also has military. they are much more together. when the united states took action in libya, they imposed a no-fly zone on a country with no airplanes. it wo