that was richard butler's job the last time around. in the late 1990s, butler was the head of the u.n. special commission charged with disarming saddam hussein of his arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. how did it work? did it work? we'll ask him. so drawing on that experience, what would you say is going to be the single most important thing to look at when we address this issue, assume that there's some kind of deal and you actually have an inspections process? >> fareed, the first thing required is an honest and accurate declaration by syria of exactly what it has. intelligence reports that are now in the public arena suggests that they have 150 tons or so of sarin for example. >> how much is that to give us a sense? >> it's massive. it's a massive quantity. syria is widely regarded as one of the largest individual states possessing chemical weapons in the world. now, the first thing is that honest declaration. do we have a chance of getting that? not sure. let's assume that it is more or less honest. what then has to happen and

the former chief inspector in iraq richard butler takes us inside a sairng gas probe. plus, facebook, is it making a lot is of us depressed? can seeing friends happy pictures somehow make people sad? and is winning the u.s. open closed to men from the u.s? no american man reached the fourth round for the first time ever this year. is it game, set and match against men's tennis in the u.s? >>> hello i'm antonio mora and welcome to consider this. handing off the decision on intervening to syria to congress. >> all members of congress of both parties, i ask you to take this vote for our national security. i ask you to consider that some things are more important than partisan differences or the politics of the moment. >> the president is leaving one rancorous relationship in the government with another, with russian president vladimir putin. not on the table but likely to remain the main course. so who will make the next move in this delicate situation with syria? joining me to discuss the latest is hilary mann leverett, joins us from washington, d.c. and robert o'brien,

here to discuss the challenges is richard butler, who served as the united nations chief inspector in iraq from 1997 to 1999. thank you for joining us. how difficult do you imagine that will be to get an honest assessment of what the syrians have? >> it won't be difficult for the u.n. experts to make an assessment. they are highly skilled, diligent, dedicated and know everything you need to know. it relies on syria's willingness to cooperate. drawing on the iraq experience, it was the same. when saddam hussein did not cooperate we had problems. when he did, we got the job done. in the end we did get the job done. they need syria to cooperate. it's important that syria met the deadline in declare what weapons they have got. i'm not being starry eyed but it's a basic condition. going on from that they are going to sites in a country that's in civil war. i would emphasise that we need to be very sure that inspectors are able to do their job and you physically protected at they go through the dangerous places. >> given the safety concerns in parts of the country that are being battled ove

he is u.n arms inspector richard butler. we asked him whether the deadline is feasible. >> and i groom is being done that said it's over. you must get it done by the international process. >> would it ever be possible to know as this process goes forward that the syrians have given up everything that they have. >> this is serious. this is really serious as the framework from geneva sets forth. they'll see that and they'll cooperate with that. if they don't, then there is going to be serious trouble. >> now, of course, syria is still right in the middle, in the thick of the civil war. that must complicate this effort for the inspectors. >> absolutely. securing the inspectors will be paramount. securing the sites that they visit, where these sites are and what they contain is a declaration that will be taken over by the rebels. we have not had to do this kind of thing previously in the thick of the civil war. all of this can work in your estimation as long as you have 1 sew% cooperation from the syrian government. >> absolutel

guantanamo detainees saw a change of command when they reported richard butler. the military realized how serious the strike was, and it sent 40 different medical personnel to guantanamo bay. president obama formally acknowledged the hunger strike in his speech and reaffirm his commitment to permanently closing down the facility. the president began to lay off his plans to transfer the day needs of gitmo. he announced he would assign a senior envoy to lead that. it was the moment listeners had been waiting to hear for months during the hunger strikes and during the forced feedings. the momentum stopped abruptly on june 4, when the house of representatives not only voted to keep the facility open but to block the use of taxpayer money to help detainees transferred out of the prison. some members of congress wanted to see for themselves just how bad conditions were in gitmo. president obama's chief of staff travel to cuba. when they came back, they announced 104 people were refusing to eat, 41 of whom were being force fed. in order to show how inhumane force-feedin

still former weapons inspector richard butler says it is possible because he did it in iraq. >> it wasong process. our instructions from the security council were to destroy, remove, or render harmless iraq's weapons of mass destruction. and that, of course, included chemical. in my final report report to the security council i said we have done it. >> reporter: libya is different. international inspectors said they got rid of all their weapons only for find out after the fall of qaddafi, they hadn't. an acknowledgment from the white says says it will take years but say they will know sooner if it's likely to happen. >> this is a process that will take a certain amount of time. but it needs to be credible. it needs to be verifiable. and we will work with our allies and partners to test whether or not that can be be achieved. the one thing the a bomb a administration has avoided saying is how much time they are willing to give the idea of diplomacy. we should have a much better idea after the meeting in geneva of a possible time frame. al jazerra, washington. >> a group of u.s. military

. >> ambassador richard butler, thank you.nd once the president wraps up america tonight's joey chen, will be hosting a special town hall meeting she is in washington, d.c. tell us about the town hall tonight? >> good evening john, we are looking forward to the town hall. it is a special presentation for our program, we will be doing that right after the president's speaks after the top of the hour. our hash hag for that is #town hall. on the military, on international affairs and what is happening on capitol hill, we will also be hearing from all of you across america, and folks here in our audience, as the mu seem. what do you want the president to say tonight? >> we are hoping that president obama a necessity to involve in the syrian crisis. and explain what our interests are in the region, and the interests of our allies as well. >> i see a lot of nodding heads. >> i definitely think it's important for the president to clearly express why he needs congressional approval for these strikes and clearly articulate what is the

a new change of command on april twelfth when the obama administration appointed rear admiral richard butler as the new commander of the joint task force guantanamo on april twenty third the military realized how serious the strike was and it sent a forty additional medical personnel to guantanamo bay seven days later president obama formally acknowledged the hunger strikes in a speech and reaffirmed his commitment to permanently closing down the facility a little less than a month after that the president held his first major foreign policy speech in years at the national defense university we're going to get him to lay out his plans to transfer detainees out of gitmo he also announced that he would assign a senior envoy to lead that task it was the moment human rights advocates and prisoners themselves have. waiting to hear for months during the hunger strikes and also during those forced feedings but that momentum stopped abruptly on june fourth when the house of representatives not only voted to keep the facility open but to block the use of taxpayer money to housed detainees transferred

still former weapons instructor richard butler said it is possible because he did it in iraq. >> it's a long process. instructions from the security council were to destroy, remove or renderable harmless iraq's weapons of mass destruction and that include included chemical. i said we've done it. >> reporter: libya sa different example. international inspectors say they got rid of their chemical weapons only to find out after the fall of gahdafi they hadn't. it will take years but they say they will know much sooner it it's likely to happen. >> this is the process that will take a certain amount of time. but it needs to be credible it needs to be verifyable and we will work with our allies and partners to test whether or not that can be achieved. >>> the one thing the obama administration has avoided saying is how much time they are being to give the diplomacy. we can give a much better idea of possible u.s. time frame. al jazeera, washington. >> well, law is a form secretary of state. she led the disarmament efforts in libya during her time with state department. she joins us now from

we spoke with richard butler, the u.n. chief weapons inspector in iraq in the late "90s. >> they have to keep their nerve. they'll be in difficult circumstances, doing a vital job, great pressure will be upon them and the people around them, even though they might be cooperating are hardly going to be their new best friends. >> joining us to talk about this is a chemical weapons expert. thank you for being here, we appreciate it. there are several steps, we begin the first one, which is not necessarily to destroy the weapons, but the ways of making the weapons and delivering the weapons. that's expected to take a month. will it be enough time, faiza. >> it's tight. within a week of friday, 4 october, the syrians have to update the information provided on the chemical weapons stockpiles and the chemical weapons production facilities and research facilities, then the opcw inspectors have a month to visit the facilities. they are expected to be about 45 of them. >> there's a lot of facilities and a lot of ground to cover. is

we spoke with richard butler, the chief chemical weapons inspector in iraq. he said the inspector's job in syria will not be easy. >> they have to keep their nerve. i am sure they will. i welcome it. people should spare is a thought for these people. they'll be in difficult circumstances, doing a vital job, great pressure will be upon them, and the people around them, even though they might be cooperating are hardly going to be their new best friends. >> towns along turkey's southern borders are feeling the effects of the war in syria. in some cases the violence spills over. in others the economy has taken a nose dive. we report from a small fishing town. >> the scenic beaches in southern turkey. standing here it's difficult to imagine there's a war raging so close along the syrian mediterranean coast. the conflict had an impact on the fishing town across the border. a seasonal fishing ban ended. ordinarily all the boats would be at sea. >> translation: fuel prices shot up. the value of our currency is down, we can't export our catch through syria. >> yet so'

>>> then richard butler, the man once tasked with getting saddam hussein to give up his chemical weaponswith assad.

in fact, you know, richard butler, the man who headed up the last u.n.t said he thought all but a small handful of chemical weapons had been destroyed, and in point of fact, he argues that that is why we found no wmd, no weapons of mass destruction in iraq when we went in and invaded, that in fact the u.n. inspectors in a very long, complicated cat and mouse game, had managed to do it. but the key was they had to get, you know, the initial inventory is very important. what you say you have, and then the ability to check whether or not that is the key. these are all hinges really on whether the syrian government is playing a game or whether they believe naturally because of the threat that they now have to do this, they have to actually sign the chemical weapons treaty, and they will live up to it. if that is not their intention, then the inspectors, whether there's a war zone or not a war zone, it's irrelevant. they know where all the stuff is. they produced it. if they lie about it from the start, it becomes essentially impossible to verify. >> okay. le