the security council will begin its consideration of item two of the agenda. i wish to draw the attention of council members to document s/2017/337. a letter dated 18 of april, 2017, from the permanent representative of the united states of america to the united nations, addressed to the secretary general, transmitting a concept paper on the item under consideration. i give the floor to the secretary general, his excellency, mr. antonio gutierrez. >> thank you, mr. president, allow me to first thank the united states and to thank you personally for convening this meeting. the situation on the korean peninsula is one of the longest standing and most serious issues before the united nations. the security council first adopted the resolution on the democratic people's republic of korea, dprk, nuclear issue, in 1993. when it urged the dprk not to withdraw from the treaty of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. 24 years later, and despite extensive efforts, the challenge has defied resolution. in response to the dprk's accelerated nuclear and ballistic missile acti

just like the security council theso far no response from u.n. security council. [speaking foreign language, was spring] as far as was scheduled, the questions, the -- the approach to the denuclearization of the korean peninsula. the chinese proposal in the dual-track power approach that denuclearization and replacing the missile agreement this is the first -- i look back -u.s.e history of the dprk relations and the rolling back of the hostility of the dprk as a precondition of solving all the problems. established -- concluding the, peace agreement between the dprk and the united states. to turn it into a state of war and hostility. under the circumstances that no trust is like today. these two issues would restrict the progress of each other rather than accelerate it. since our nuclear positions is the product of the united states hostile policy towards dprk it is not an issue to be taken on the negotiation table. the formula is not new. and it is one that has faith in the process of negotiation. therefore we oppose the negotiation with two issues. as far as the

we believe it to be the duty of the security council but not just the security council, of the united nations organizations in all its bodies, to defend multilateralism. we are here to defend multilateralism. we have agreed this charter for the united nations must be respected. and this charter prohibits unilateral actions. any action must be authorized by the security council in accordance with the charter. allow me to read a couple of articles so we can remember this. charter 24 says that in order to ensure prompt and effective action by the united nations, its members confer on the security council primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security and a degree that in carrying out its duties under this responsibility, the security council act on their behalf. this security council, not just the 15 members seated at this table, we represent the 190 member states of this -- 193 member states of this organization and through them we represent the people of the world. we have agreed that unilateral actions violate international rule. as we were discussing y

security council that the u.s. pob pursuing a new strategy for north korea and its growing nuclear program including sanctions against countries that enable their nuclear ambitions. he chaired the final meeting of the security council under the u.s.' april 2017. and there was a report on nuclear nonproliferation efforts in north korea. this is two hours. the meeting of the security order. is called to the provisional agenda is nonproliferation, democratic peoples republic of korea. the agenda is adopted. i wish to warmly welcome the secretary general, ministers and other distinguished representatives present in the security council chamber. your presence underscores the importance of the subject matter we will discuss today. in accordance with rule 37 of the council's provisional rules of procedure, i invite the representative of the republic of korea to participate in this meeting. it is so decided. on behalf of the council, i lcome minister for foreign affairs of the republic of korea, welcome. the security counc

undoubtedly, unconditional compliance with security council resolutions is a key prerequisite to lower the provocations. the council may have to take additional robust measures with a view to compelling the dpr k to abandon its activities. that influenced the development of nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles and other types of weapons of mass destruction. we need to use every tool and avenue at the disposal of councilmembers to contribute to de-escalating the volatile situation. second, we share the necessity of neighboring state defense capabilities and threats. in this regard i wish to reiterate ukraine stands firmly by the side of japan, republic of korea and other countries which face the global nuclear threat. it is high time to think about what we can do to prevent any nuclear threat in any part of the globe. are we able to assess the whole range of challenges to the nonproliferation regime to avoid the disaster in the future? the nonproliferation treaty, a suitable platform for this. i need to underscore the following, international law and attempts to undermine the established

madam president the security , council has the primary responsibility to ensure peace and security. we hope the council can unite an d exercise that responsibility to investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons. it is important that this council sends a strong collective wedges -- message that any use of chemical weapons show not be tolerated and will have consequences. the secretary-general stresses the international committee has a responsibility to hold any perpetrator of chemical weapons attacks accountable and ensure that chemical weapons are never again used as an instrument of warfare. the protection of civilian accountability should be at the top of our peace and security agenda. in the case of syria, there can be no genuine protection if the parties are permitted to act with impunity and there continued to be human rights against itsommitted own citizens. protecting the syrian people requires immediate action which is rooted in the principles of the united nations and international law. mindful of the risk of escalation the secretary-general , has publicly appealed for r

uruguay has stressed the need to bring to an end the vicious circle where they violate security council resolution, the council that opposes surgeons and has reiterated that it's the responsibility of the state to have leverage to develop a new negotiating track in order to resolve this impasse. uruguay sees no other solution to the question that does not include dialogue negotiation of political commitment. we reaffirm our desire to work within the security council to find a peaceful solution to the denuclearization of the crimp and flood. thank you very much. >> i think the representative of uruguay for his statement. i now give the floor to the representative of france. >> mr. president, mr. secretary-general, i would like to thank the american presidency of the security council for taking the initiative to have this such important meeting. i would like to welcome the president of the secretary of state for the united states mr. req tillerson. i also welcome the presence of the secretary of the united nations. i want to read the statement by the foreign affairs minister and he could

the security council has the primary responsibility to ensure peace and security. we hope the council can unite an exercise that responsibility to investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons. councilortant that this sends a strong collective message and any use of chemical weapons show not be tolerated and will have consequences. the secretary-general stresses the international committee has a responsibility to hold any perpetrator of chemical weapons and ensure that chemical weapons are never again used as an instrument of warfare. the protection of civilian accountability should be at the top of their agenda. in the case of syria, there can be no genuine protection. areparties in the conflict permitted to act with impunity and at the syrian government continues to commit human rights about -- violations against its own citizens. protecting the syrian people requires immediate action which is rooted in the principles of the united nations and international law. the secretary-general has publicly appealed for restraint to avoid any act that could deepen the suff

then president, the security council has the primary responsibility of national security. we hope the council can unite and exercise that responsibility to investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons. this sends a strong collective message that any use of chemical chemical weapons shall not be tolerated. we look to ensure that chemical weapons are never used again. the protection of civilians should be at the top of our security agenda. in the case of syria, there can be no detection. protection. the syrian government continues to commit human rights violations against its own citizens. mindful of the risk of escalation, the secretary-general has publicly repealed any restraint that could lead to ask that would deepen the suffering of the people. we will take on necessary precautions to minimize civilian casualties. these president underscore our belief that there is no other way to solve the conflict than through a political solution. we call on the parties to renew urgently, their commitment to making progress in the geneva talks. communication -- we're looking for a

president i can done in the strongest terms of the relevance of the security council resolution that dprk in pursuit of a nuclear weapon program it is the science of demands from the council with international security with the non-proliferation efforts with that military escalation in the region i am concerned by the possibility of the activities increased tensions further to maintain unity as a peaceful solution for the dprk to comply at the same time the international community members manager and review tensions they get from these communication channels our conflict in northeast asia with the gdp with those global applications. we need to abolish the conflict this means the dprk from further testing and with the resumption of the dialogue from military to military of these understandings. so i take note of those political solutions and those efforts by the celts avers to have a peaceful and comprehensive solution that are working to reduce tensions from a proposal from targeted sanctions with secretary-general recommended to assist in any way possible that welcome guidance of the

security council. which is usurped by the united states using its role as the president of the un security council. it is well known that in her that -- that the u.s. as the president security council announced that the security council will hold the briefing under the pretext of the nonproliferation [indiscernible] -- it will be presided over by the secretary of state of the united states. first of all, i strongly and categorically [indiscernible] -- as another abuse of authority [indiscernible] -- as everybody knows nowadays, the united states has betrayed the sovereign state while proclaiming peace by strength. y knows nowadays, the united betrayed the sovereign state while proclaiming peace by strength. -- reason the the united states is disturbing world peace and insisting on beginning star logic that the invasion of a sovereign state is and and proportionate -- and theyle] apply it to the corian peninsula as well. the united states has used south this is the biggest hotspot of the nuclear strateg

, she has announced that the security council will hold the briefing -- it will be presided over by the secretary of state of the united states. all, this is another authority.e council werety acting on behalf of the united states. , the u.s. has betrayed the sovereign state. the recent missile attack on syria -- states is insisting thate gangster logic invasion of a sovereign state is just an proportionate -- and proportionate. then he to apply to the korean peninsula as well. this is the biggest hotspot of the nuclear strategic asset. they are threatening the peace of the peninsula and pushing the the brink ofre to war. war may break out at any moment on the peninsula. nothing of the bills in northeast asia. the situation in the korean peninsula is often in a state that goes out of control. the root cause lies in the united states. it is a hostile policy. it has an aggressive war exercise in and around the korean peninsula. this introduced various strategic assets and the murderous operation such as andear carrier charges bombers and stealth fighters. the focus on the precision

that mike flynn is gone, it's safe for steve ban none to give up his position on the national security council. okay, mike flynn left as national security advisor 51 days ago, if it was safe for steve bannon to leave that gig as soon as flynn was gone, why is he only leaving today. >>> north korea just had another missile launch. the new administration appears to be, on purpose or not, threatening a unilateral war against korea and maybe syria and the secretary of state this is online one in place. the -- is the only one in place. the national security council is filled with empty desks and empty offices. there's a presidential summit starting with china tomorrow. jared is supposedly point man on that. he's been in iraq this week with the president's bodyguard, in the sweatsuit. whatever you think about the companies of this administration, the world is not waiting for them to get it together. quite to the contrary. the world is now issing its first thing, all systems go right now. boogie-woogie. we're about to see whether they are up for it. when you're close to the people you love, does psor

steven bannon has been removed from his position on the national security council. was met with widespread criticism. lots of analysis on this. jeff stein is the national security correspondent at newsweek. thank you for your time, many people predicted this, did you see it coming? no, i don't think many people saw it coming but there is a lot of chaos in the white house so we just can't predict, day to day or hour to hour, what will happen. trump's some time confidant, roger stone, had been tweeting or writing in the last 24 hours that jared kushner, the son—in—law of the president, had been trying to oust bannon from the security committee, i think you have the right church on the wrong pew. it appears to be the general mcmaster, the head of the national security council, got a piece of gum out of his hair in removing steve bannon from the principal‘s committee of the national security council. some people would describe this as flexibility and willingness to listen from the president, others say it is weakness in his inability to hold a position. what is your anal

with the security council and the idea they are looking for peace and security for the people around the world, it is incumbent for us to look at the the conflict and how human rights relate to that conflict. if you're looking at syria and the story of the teenagers and how that set off so much. if you look at the fruit stand retailer that set himself on fire in front of the police in tunisia. if you look at all of these issues, it all comes back to the fact that could we have stopped it sooner? should we have called out something sooner? had we done that -- you can't help but look at syria and say all these we could of done prior, how we make sure we don't go through that process again it is not intended to in any way call out certain countries or use of this as the gotcha game. is to do respectively, what are the issues that lead to conflict? how do we allow extremism to come in because of the vulnerabilities of the human rights conflict? we think that is incredibly important. you do not see that on your program of work because some of my friends are struggling with that issue stil

that executive committee called the principals committee but still welcome at the national security counciltings, the larger council, maybe hundreds of people, whatever it is. he was at one of the national security council meetings today and i was told he wasn't going to the principal committee meetings all along even though he had the authority to be there so not sure a lot changes here. >> jennifer jacobs, white house reporter for bloomberg news. the story the white house is telling you about this is remarkable as a ship in a bottle. whether or not any of that is the truth about what happened here, it will take so many more layers to understand what happened and to get to it. you're getting the first draft. but i appreciate you getting the scoop and sharing with us tonight. use the chase mobile app to send money in just a tap, to friends at more banks then ever before. you got next? chase. helping you master what's now and what's next. anyone ever have occasional y! constipation,diarrhea, gas or bloating? she does. she does. help defend against those digestive issues. take phillips' colon

by making those allegations about susan rice, the national security council itself appears to be operatingat a political level to shape a conservative friendly alternative to the russia scandal. however you feel about that story itself, what does this mean in national security terms. national security council is there for any reason. is it weird that this is what the narms council is being used for right now? is it dangerous? hold that thought. why pause a spontaneous moment? cialis for daily use treats ed and the urinary symptoms of bph. tell your doctor about your medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have a sudden decrease or loss of hearing or vision, or an allergic reaction, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis. >>> today "the new york t

you have a lot of tool in the security council on terrorism, iran, yemen, syria, etc. are you planning to take a certain action or step in this regard? how would you conflate your position in iran? amb. haley: i have always been clear on what i think that iran is the main state sponsor of terrorism and it is something that is a problem in every area where they try to put their influence. that is something we went to deal with and i think as the national security council meets on these issues and goes through these issues, we will deal with iran in different ways in different places. the goal is to move that influence out of the way. we do not seen this particular helpful and we see it as being harmful to the world and is on is that is happening we will continue to call them out and show where and when they are being a bad actor and we will look at what we can do to change that he had very and to get others with us on our side to move collectively towards iran. >> thank you very much. western balkan media. we heard you talking very clearly on the sanctions to states. i

the un security council is hosting a debate on the chemical attack in syria.e's comments in the wake of his suspension from the party. the duke and duchess of cambridge have attended a special service at westminster abbey for the victims of the westminster terror attack. it's been a healthy day's trading day here in london — with the ftse pretty much ahead of the game in terms of the rest of europe. gains have been boosted by mining and oil stocks. a bit of uncertainty elsewhere — especially ahead of that meeting between donald trump and his chinese counterpart — and the release of the minutes from the last federal reserve meeting. here's what's been attracting a lot of attention. new car sales hit a record high in march, sparked in part by buyers rushing to get in ahead of a tax change. we've also seen sterling jump against the dollar. and there's been evidence that the services sectors is growing faster than expected. starting with the service sector figures, what is behind that boost in the sector? it is interesting that the sector has managed to hold onto

it's being described as a shak shakeup to the national security council. bannon has been removed. the homeland security adviser has been downgraded. h.r. mcmaster, the adviser, has been given responsibility for setting the agenda for the homeland security houn sicounci. the negotiations were going on about mcmaster becoming the adviser after the resignation of michael flynn. this was thought to be a condition of mcmaster. he is not going to take the job unlus ess he has the authority run the thing. the questions a lot of people had, were how will he do that with bannon in the room. having a presidential adviser in the room is unprecedented. it felt like the presidential eye in the national security council. this is a big piece of news. i'm joined by an opinion writer with the "washington post" to shed some light on this. bannon being on the nsc was always the issue. >> it was. this would be highly political. someone with no foreign policy experience. he was in the navy years ago. his views are extreme on the part of republicans, as well as democrats. was h

the un security council met for a briefing about the ongoing conflict in syria. the unite united nations undersecretary general for humanitariaundersecretary generr humanitarian affairs reported that the situation is a teary reading rapidly and called for a cease-fire to allow the routes to be open. we also hear from security council members including u.s. ambassador nick e. nikki haley. this is about two hours. >> [inaudible conversations] >> morning. the 7,931st meeting of the security council is called to order. the agenda for the meeting is

staffing not national security council has been a real issue for this administration besides michael n being fired as national security advisor after 24 days on the job, another deputy national security adviser position getting unfilled as soon as it got filled. there was also last week's reporting that two national security staffers were involved in the sharing of classified intelligence reports with the house intelligence committee chairman devin nunes shared those reports reportedly on the white house grounds in the middle of the night for reasons that still haven't been explained and that the white house is only partially copped to but not really. one of the staffers has been named at 30 year old ezra cohen watt nick. he was elevated to a fancy job, senior director for intelligence at the national security council while michael flynn was still there. i have to tell you, we have now reviewed the resumes of what we believe to be the nine people who held that job prior to ezra cohen watt nick getting it in this administration. we have found that none of the prior people who held that

security council on this equation in libya andn the crisis. >> how is the security council going to act? >> u.s. coming u.n. securityty e council. >> we are figuring out how we can list the people back up the peaceful protest in libya and the response of the government and how that led into the conflict we saw. and why we think that is so important. in reference to libya, make sure a strong political solution that extremism is not part of the product we are looking at and this is again another thing the united states will have to lookf at in terms of how we respond to that. all of this is still a work in progress.. t >> we only had time for tumor questions. >> ambassador come the race basketball in the beginning. it reminded me of something onee of your predecessors said.ld' it is a bit like madison square garden when the next lives. i wonder what your early impressions. do you see the u.n. as he sat tight institutional inertia and a loaded bureaucracy where do you see people continually reported are the divisions between member states. >> i have been very -- i have been surprised by th

just on this issue on the shame -- shake up at the national security council. mmander mcmaster should be commended. i was reading the memo that was issued today, dated april 4th, it outlines who should attend the meetings and it puts the deputy national security advisor for strategy, dena powell, she is now one of mcmaster's principal deputies and she will by attending committee meetings and i think that is a good and important change. >> this seems to be layering over also an offer to be an ambassador in singapore. when you talked about russia, in 2013 when they were looking at military options, and president obama backed off of that and didn't have congressional approv approval, russia was not in the air over syria. it was later they entered the area, within 24 hours of a face to face meeting with president obama and vladimir putin. all of a sudden russia entered the space. doesn't that make it so much more complicated to take an air strike. >> it does, and now across two amin stragss we have tested if they would or could cooperate, and that test has failed. r

it's weird steve bannon's on the national security council, right? still, especially if the national security city council turning outs to be the vehicle by which the white house is trying to kibosh the investigation. joining us is ned price. until mid february, mr. price worked at the cia as a spokesman and senior analyst. he has in the past served added senior director at the national security council. appreciate you being here. >> good to be here. >> so i highlighted the role of adam schiff here because he has been very aggressive in not just pursuing this investigation, but also raising questions about what the white house has done, how the national security council has behaved. he's basically described national security councils as being imp indicated? laundering intelligence as hiding the origination of intelligence and fed for political purposes. how does that strike you as an allegation? >> well, it's absolutely incredible and it certainly paps to be what happened here. look, rachel, president trump made a name for himself as a showman, and i

i'd be very pleased he's not on the national security council. my hope is he would have no role in government at all, that he would be completely out. because i do think that that's not the type of advice the president should be receiving in regards to diversity and our values as a country. we don't know all the facts concerning what happened yesterday. we do know, based upon previous activities, that president assad is responsible for what happened. we do know it was facilitated by the russians, we know that by what they've been able to do. we don't know the specific chemical. we don't know the exact plane or pilot. but if you go by what's happened in the past, it's very clear that the responsibility here rests with president assad, facilitated by president putin. reporter: what can the united states do at this point to deal with assad? he's already sanctioned up to here. it's been six years of opposition, failed efforts in the u.n. security council because of russia. what options are there? >> there's several things. first, we can have a clear

security couple meeting on -- council meeting on syria. and then a hearing on u.s. border security, and later a look the increase in immigration arrests with new jersey representative bonny watson-coleman. >> the u.n. security council met for briefing about the ongoing conflict syria. steven o'bryan, united nations undersecond general for humanitarian affairs reported the situation is deteriorating rapidly and called for a cease fire to allow aid routes to be re-opened and we hear from security council pens, including u.s. ambassador nicki haley. this is two hours. [inaudible conversations] >> good morning. the 7,931st meeting of the security council is called to order. the provisional agenda for this meeting is the situation in the middle east. the agenda is adopted. in accordance with rule 39 of the colony's provisional rules of procedure i invite mr. stephan know brian, undersecretary generalphone humanitarian affairs to participate in the meeting. it is so decided. mr. o'brien is joining today tos meeting via video teleconference from general geneva. i wish to dr

the status of the security council was responsible for the maintenance of international security. these aggressions in you law of the jungle the only way to deal with the regional and economic crises without any heed to the charter. when you killed millions of innocent starting in south asia of the way through latin america, what was your position? the member of france spoke on the issue and spoke about exceptions. you should not be the exception. you should be made accountable for the killings in the july of 2017 of hundreds. you and the international coalition must be held accountable for the killing of 800 civilians in syria at the beginning of 2017. you must be made accountable for your support of armed terrorist groups and the political cover as the continue their terrorist acts. the government of the syrian-arab republic proceeding from is beliefs that all efforts must be mobilized to combat terrorism, as it respects the rules of international law, the charter of the united nations calls in the security council to show its responsibilities according to the charter, to condem

security council.ears of previous attempts at changing assad's behavior have all failed and failed very dramatically. as a result, the refugee crisis continues to deepen, and at the region continues to destabilize. threatening the united states and its allies. tonight i call the nations and seeking to end the slaughter. and bloodshed in syria. and also to end terrorism of all kinds and all types. we ask for god's wisdom as we face the challenge of our very troubled world. we pray for the lives of the wounded and it for the souls of those who have passed. and we hope that as long as america stands for justice, then peace and harmony will in the end prevail. good night and god bless america and the entire world. >> president trump clearly, deeply affected by the images of those children, especially the babies who were so savagely slaughtered by this suspected sarah chemical gas. pulitzer prize winner who has had many years covering the middle east good to see you tonight from washington. did you expect t

labour's national security council. ken livingstone's status in the party following his statements about hitler and zionism and his suspension for another year. sport now and a full round—up from the bbc sport centre. good evening. there are some important fixtures in the premier league this evening. none more so than for the leaders, chelsea. they're hoping to at least retain their seven—point lead at the top of the table but have a real test in pep guardiola's manchester city. it's currently 1—0 after 15 minutes. belgian eden hazard taking advantage of some room in the box to sweep home, helped by a slight deflection off the city captain vincent kompany. spurs can close the gap to chelsea on 4 points if results go their way. they are currently trailing swansea 1-0 at they are currently trailing swansea 1—0 at the liberty stadium. elsewhere, arsenal and west ham is goalless. it's level at 1—1 between hull and middlesbrough in a crucial game at the bottom. —— middlesbrough lead 2—1. and bournemouth have the lead with th

security council in new york. it's about 45 minutes.

what a weird thing it was when we found out steve bannon was getting a seat on the national security council. this is the freaking national security counsel. steve bannon is the publisher of a right wing website. who lives on seinfeld royalties. what is he doing on the national security council? after an initial freakout that steve bannon was on the principals committee and the cia director and the chairman of the joint chiefs were not on that principals committee, after a furor over that development, those other high ranking officials were reinstated at the national security council. but bannon didn't go. they kept bannon there as well. even after they got rid of general michael flynn as national security adviser and replaced him with h.r. mcmaster, they still kept bannon on at the national security council. mcmaster was reportedly told he could hire and fire at will on the national security council. that didn't turn out to be true. he did try to fire a man named ezra cohen watnick, and the white house, including steve bannon, intervened to keep ezra cohen watnick in his job. and now watnic

we believe it to be the duty of the security council, but notjust of the security council but of the we have agreed that this charter, the united nations charter must be respected. and this charter prohibited unilateral actions. any action must be authorised by the security council in accordance with the charter. allow me to read a couple of articles so that we can remember this, charter couple of articles so that we can rememberthis, charter24 couple of articles so that we can remember this, charter 24 says that, "in order to ensure prompt and effective action by the united nations its members can fare on the security council primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security and agree that in carrying out its duties under this responsibility the security council axe on their behalf." this security council not just the 15 members better suited at this table, we represent the 193 member states of this organisation and through them we represent the people of the world and we have agreed that unilateral actions violate international law. now, as we we re vio

but what about the security council? we must prove that this institution is also serious about finding a solution to this crisis. proof is long overdue. i thank you, madam president. >> i thank the representative of japan. and now i will give the floor to the representative of china. >>. >>. >> translator: thank you, madam president. china welcomes the convening of today's open meeting, and thanks special envoy for his briefing. the syrian conflict has been going on for six years now. resulting in a large civilian casualties, and state destruction. china is eeply sympathetic to the suffering endured by the syrian people, and strongly appeal to all syrian parties to proceed from the future of the country and the welfare of its people to find an appropriate solution to the conflict sooner, through dialogue and consultation. recently, the relevant parties ade joint diplomatic efforts and launched their talks on syria. maintained the overall momentum of syrian cease-fire and created conditions to resume the geneva talks. chi

by makin those allegations about susan rice, the national security council itself appears to be operatingitical level to shape a conservative friendly alternative to the russia scandal. however you feel about that story itself, what does this mean in national security terms. national security council is there for any reason. is it weird that this is what the narms council is being used for right now? is it dangerous? hold that thought. it's an important question you ask, but one i think with a simple answer. we have this need to peek over our neighbor's fence. and once we do, we see wonder waiting. every step you take, narrows the influence of narrow minds. bridges continents and brings this world one step closer. so, the question you asked me. what is the key? it's you. everything in one place, so you can travel the world better. hey, ready foyeah. big meeting? uh, hello!? a meeting? it's a big one. too bad. we are double booked: diarrhea and abdominal pain. why don't you start without me? oh. yeah. if you're living with frequent, unpredictable diarrhea and abdominal pain, you may have..

it's weird steve bannon's on the national security council, right? still, especially if the national security city council turning outs to be the vehicle by which the white house is trying to kibosh the investigation. joining us is ned price. until mid february, mr. price worked at the cia as a spokesman and senior analyst. he has in the past served added senior director at the national security council. appreciate you being here. >> good to be here. >> so i highlighted the role of adam schiff here because he has been very aggressive in not just pursuing this investigation, but also raising questions about what the white house has done, how the national security council has behaved. he's basically described national security councils as being imp indicated? laundering intelligence as hiding the origination of intelligence and fed for political purposes. how does that strike you as an allegation? >> well, it's absolutely incredible and it certainly paps to be what happened here. look, rachel, president trump made a name for himself as a showman, and i

this is the national freaking security council. steve bannon is the publisher of a right-wing website who lives on "seinfeld" royalties. what is he doing on the national security council? after an initial freakout that he was on the principles community and the cia director and the chairman of the joint chiefs were not on that principals committee, after furor over that development, those other high-ranking officials were reinstated at the national security council. but bannon didn't go. they kept bannon there as well. even after they got rid of general michael flynn as national security adviser and replaced him with h.r. mcmaster, they still kept steve bannon on at the national security council. mcmaster was reportedly told he could hire and fire at will on the national security council. that didn't turn out to be true. he did try to fire a man named ezra cohen-watnick, and the white house, including steve bannon, intervened to keep ezra cohen-watnick in his job. and now ez ka cohen wa cohen-wa the top lawyer to the national secur

tillerson fridayng to new york on to chair a special ministerial meeting of the united nations security council at 10:00 a.m. know, north korea poses one of the greatest threats to international peace and security through its pursuit of nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles and other weapons of mass destruction as well as prohibited activities. meeting will give security council members an opportunity to discuss ways to maximize the impact of existing security council measures and to show their result to respond to further provocations with appropriate new measures. with that, over to you. matt: i want to start with the logistical thing. i don't know if you will have an answer. there is a possibility of a government shutdown on friday. each agency in the past has drawn up contingency plans put has one been drawn up yet for state? mark: i was going to save we have drawn up, obviously when any federal agency at of due diligence draws up contingency plans. i don't have that in front of me to share with you. frankly we are not dealing with the certainty of a shutdown, the white house and omb are work

the way the trump white house is spinning this is that he was only put on the security council in thest place to oversee the work of michael flynn. if you remember back and remember who he was, the former national security advisor who was fired by having alleged ties to russia that he lied to mike pence about. so just now, stephen bannon is being removed. which raises the question of why. >> why the time delay? that is a good question. president trump has downgraded stephen bannon which means he still keeps his national security clearance. is he still a force to be reckoned with? is he have the year of the president? >> they are being careful to describe this as a devotion. we know that he is very much a part of trumps inner circle. one of his closest advisers. so the question is still open, however, after this reshuffling, why, what other role he could possibly have, and are there more allegations that will come forward that they are trying to preempt? >> thank you very much. here in germany, the cabinet has approved a draft to a law that would impose big fines on social media compan

how likely is it that the un security council will come up with a resolution on syria and what use is it if it does? highly unlikely, the russians and chinese have already made it clear they are opposed to a resolution, particularly one that blames president assad and his government. i would suspect that if a resolution could come forward it would be a pretty toothless one. so what is to stop president assad carrying out similar strikes? he has already crossed a red line that president obama said he should never cross, in 2013. clearly if he has conducted these sarin attacks then he did not comply with the commitment he made to get rid of all the gas so that is one thing. secondly there is a clear rule against using this kind of material, both specifically on syria and past security council resolutions and also in the geneva bread gelling of gas warfare of 1925 —— geneva protocol. it has become a general rule of the monarchy if i can call it that and he is guilty of a couple of counts. the question is, absent of counts. the question is, absent ofa of counts. the question is, absent of

the white house spin is there is no big deal, he was happy to come of the national security council andlook over the shoulder of michael flynn the national security adviser who was demoted. that is their spin on it. i think this is the forces of mcmaster asserting themselves in the photos. let s go back to president trump's press conference a little earlier. he has been holding talks with king abdullah ofjordan. it's the second arab leader he has met this week, ahead of that crucial meeting with the chinese president xijinping tomorrow. let s have a listen to what else he had to say. the king has been a leader in calling for a plan to defeat islamic state once and for all and i am with you on that. we are both leaders on that, believe me. that is what we speak about the date and that is what we are going to do. it will be a shorterfight what we are going to do. it will be a shorter fight than a lot of people are thinking about, believe me. we have made tremendous strides as we have made tremendous strides as we have discussed. i don't want to sound too sceptical that we are in this posi

security council are not new. the question is whether there be a change after this really heinous escalation of president assad's war against his own people. again, children, women, and civilians, no fighters according to all the first responders on the ground. these were civilians and the russians don't even buy the fact that assad actually -- his aircraft could have launched the attack, they say it was an attack on a different facility that led to this, but most of the world believes it was an airstrike on the regime that did this. so the question is whether they can convince russia they have to hold the line at least in the face of a chemical weapons attack, a weapons of mass destruction attack or take their own punitive limited action, try to get a consensus that this actually was assad who conducted this and try to get a consensus just with their own allies, you won't get a security council resolution to take punitive action to at least disable some of the runways, stop the planes from flying, the ability of

the national security council is for a thing. it's not supposed to be concocting fake leaks of scandalous intelligence to republican congressman in order to subma arena the russia investigation. it's not supposed to be for entertaining donors. it's for a thing. it is supposed to rationalize and synthesize huge information on national security for the benefit of parking lot decision making on those matters. it's supposed to achieve consensus and a unified view and message within the government on sensitive national security issues. so when it's important and brinks man ship and war and peace are at stakes, the u.s. government a, makes decisions, and b, speaks with one voice. so stuff like what's happening now doesn't happen. yesterday the trump administration, secretary of state, said explicitly in writing that iran is in compliance with the nuclear deal yesterday. then today, the president said out loud that iran is not in compliance with the nuclear deal. even if you don't have an opinion on iran and the nuclear deterioration wh

donald trump had to work around that and part of that was putting steve bannon at the national security council which then ended up with a whole host of other problems that they didn't actually realize which they should have. in addition to that, yes, it's separating him from the national security which should happen because his focus right now as we speak is trying to get health care back on track, which he was involved in really intensely right before it failed. he has close connections with the freedom caucus. many of whom he helped when he was at breitbart. it's a combination of all of these and some of the new blood, the dina powell, who was a bush official who came in as somebody who had worked with ivanka and now is at the national security office. it's a shift and a quick maturing of the aides there. >> we just got a statement from adam schiff, the ranking democrat of the house intelligence committee on the removal of steve bannon from the national security council. steve bannon's departure from the national security council principals' committee is a positive step to gain control over

the us secretary of state rex tillerson will attend a un security council meeting.ted states and its allies are expected to turn up the pressure on china to use its leverage to rein in kimjong—un. speaking to the bbc, republican senator john barrasso explained the renewed diplomacy drive. well, of course the goal is a peaceful resolution of the process, that's what we want. we want north korea without nuclear weapons and this whole thing peacefully resolved. that's the deliberations and discussions with china so they can get much more involved because you know after all, that 85% of the trading that north korea does is with china and i think china right now realises their interests are aligned with the united states, with regard to a nuclear—armed north korea because the question is really can they or can't they in terms of delivering a nuclear warhead to where you live as opposed to will they or won't they — and i think that's a change in the position for china. while diplomacy is key in moving forward, at a senate hearing earlier today, the top us commander in the

time to act, quote, against the barbaric assad regime. >> this security council thinks of itself as a defender of peace, security and human rights. we will not deserve that description if we do not rise to action today. >>> all of this capped off by north korea launching yet another test for donald trump just hours ahead of his first face-to-face meeting with china's president. nbc's kristin welker is at the white house and hans nichols joins me from the pentagon. kristin, let's start with you. let's move on to the other big breaking news of the day and that is steve bannon being taken off the national security council. i also noticed he was not in the rose garden during that meeting with king jordan. >> people tell me he was brought initially to the national security council, a move that raised a lot of eyebrows because it was potentially putting a political appointment to the national security council, but i was told he was put in that position to oversee michael flynn to make sure he was carrying out his agenda. what was that agenda? to scale back the bureaucratic machinations of

the president removing him from the security council. supposedly ignited by h wrrks mcmaster. >> reporter: there is suddenly a shakeup in the national security council. steve bannon the president's chief strategist part of that principal committee named in the e early days was removed. general h.r. mcmaster is exerting his influence. steve bannon taken off that principal committee and two other people put back on returning back to traditional structure of the national security council. dan coats the director of national security intelligence and dunford joint chairman of staff, steve bannon stepping aside. this again seen as major shakeup because steve bannon one of the largely most influential advisors, he still will be involved of course but by not having a seat at the time it certainly is giving more power to the national security adviser h.r. mcmaster, inside baseball staff here change, but so significant that steve bannon we are told having a more diminished role now. >> thank you. bannon is not completely out of the mix, a official

the un security council will meet tomorrow to discuss its response. simon harding has the latest. >> the pictures provided by the syrian opposition purport to and an alleged gas attack civilians pouring into hospitals. if confirmed, the suspected gas attack will be one of the deadliest in the six year civil war. the nature of the gas used in the ball mark -- bombardment remains unclear, but the observatory for human rights activists have blame the government. >> medical sources have confirmed that one of the neighborhoods was bombed with material believed to be gas. >> the syrian government has repeatedly denied carrying out chemical strikes during the war, but this is not the first time that the opposition has blamed sad for using such weapons. the government was accused of areas rockets at several of damascus, killing over 300 people. other reports claim that aleppo had been the target of gas strikes. a you enjoy investigation in 2016 concluded that nearly 1500 people had been killed and chemical attacks, mostly perpetrated by the syrian regime , bu