the us senate foreign relations committee is meeting, considering a resolution for the use of force against syria. you're watching al jazeera. ç] . >>> welcome back to al jazeera everyone, the us senate foreign relations committee is holding a hearing considering a resolution for the use of force against syria. >> senator christopher coombes from delaware is questioning. >> has deployed cluster bombs and scud missiles. there's no doubt bashar al-assad is wanting to stay in power. the challenge now is to make sure we craft an authorisation for the use of military force responding to america's legitimate concerns, allowing the administration to act in a decisive and timely way to deter and punish the assad regime to what they have done. we have spoken to this before, but it is worth repeating. how do we strike a balance between military action which is too insignificant to deter or degrade assad's gapibilities, and -- capabilities, and one that is so decisive and overwhelming that reaches behind the scope and becomes regime-change effort. >> i won't recommend an option or a set of targets tha

the senate foreign relations committee has just passed a draft resolution to strike syria.includes a 90-day limit on punitive strikes, strikes that are limited to syria only. the language is clear. it argues for no boots on the ground. a similar proposal is being worked up in the house. the vote was 10-7. meantime, the folks at the pentagon want to assure the american people they are on the same page with the commander in chief. >> we're looking at a different kind of military mission that's meant to send a strong signal to a brutal regime that is conducting the worst kind of violence against its own people. when the president says no american boots on the ground, and that means no american troops on the ground, that's what it means. >> nbc's chief pentagon correspondent joins us now. two thoughts from you at the top here. number one, any reaction to this vote out of the senate foreign relat relations committee sending back a revised resolution authorizing strikes in syria, narrower than what the president's people sent down? number two, what does it mean from your view at

they are going through amendments that members of the senate foreign relations committee have to the slation. first one is by senator rand paul having to do with war powers resolution. interesting he's putting up an amendment because he said he won't vote for this no matter what but he wants to make a policy and political point. the most important thing we'll look for is amendment that john mccain is going to put forward. he has said that he wants to change this to make clear in legislative language to codify what the president told him in the oval office. it is the policy of the united states to make clear they want to push back assad's power on the battlefield. that's what we'll look for from mccain to vote for this that he's a key player here. he'll need that. it sounds like in talking to other senators on the committee that's likely to happen. we'll watch this process go forward. we do expect there to be a final vote in this committee by the end of the day. it could change. that's the expectation now and that would be the first major legislative move before this gets to the united

i haven't spotted the chair of the senate foreign relations committee bob menendez just yet. let's me take it back to david pakman, as you look around the room, you see john mccain on the screen. what is his role in driving this process. seemingly more like-minded senator mccain with the president in a long time. >> right, right,down mccain is still bitter he is not in the job but he's in favor of being more aggressive in many places of the middle east. and he's happy that barack obama has said that strikes are necessary. he just wants him to be more aggressive. that's what he's going to be fighting for in the hearing committee. >> you drew the parallels to kosovo, and you were correct. >> bill clinton was making a humanitarian argument. he said, look, people are dialing. dying. they never got approval from the house and senate at the same time but he was able to move forward with troops on the ground and limited strikes, and i think that's what obama is going to be shooting for. >> we saw secretary of state john kerry, i believe at one point he was the chair of this committe

so that's what they're figuring out in the senate foreign relates committee. they will vote and most likely it will come out. in terms of testimony john kerry has had today, he's faced a lot of skeptical members in the house of representatives. some folks have said we don't want to have this elongated commitment to syria. there are other folks who say we should do this because of the relationship between iran, hezbollah, and syria, and we node to show the world we are ready to act. tamron, we've had this conversation so many times before. this is going to come down to the house gop at the end of the day. i spoke to a house gop leadership aide that said they were sort of speaking to members today, not whipping by any means, but getting a lay of the land of the conference. there seems to be right now real opposition to american involvement in syria coming from house republicans. that's going to be the block to keep an eye on as we move forward here. and i was speaking to some today, tamron. one reason that was mentioned to me, that president obama has not kept t

faces its first big test when the president's war council faces questioning from the senate foreign relations committee. i talked to the chairman and a key supporter of authorizing the strikes. first could the president's about-face on getting approval backfire. a warning from senator john mccain who wants a tougher response than the president is planning. >> and now after saying that he would launch strikes is now referring to congress for their approval or disapproval. it's a very difficult game that he's playing. the stakes are incredibly high. >> and never give up. 64-year-old diana nyad's message after her triumphant 110 mile swim from cuba to the florida keys. >> you never are too old to chase your dreams. >> good day. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. president obama is getting his first real read as to whether lawmakers will support his plan for military action against syria. no more than an hour from now, trying to persuade the senate foreign relations committee. capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell will be joining us. the meeting today seemed to go much better than anyone could have an

we are hearing from the senate foreign relations committee that, indeed, that vote will not take place today because some of the members of the foreign relations committee, specifically senator john baraso and senator john mccain have some concerns about the draft joint resolution that would authorize the use of force against syria. the joint -- the draft joint resolution of that was publicized last night. it contained among other things a 60-day limit on military action with the president being allowed to come back to congress to ask for a 30-day extension. it also said no boots on the ground. no troops would be used in that action. there were a lot of limitations, and as we know, some senators want a stronger action by the president. others want no action at all, and so we have to wait and see what results when the full foreign relations committee does vote on the draft resolution. >> randall, just for context here, senator john mccain has been wanting action in syria for quite some time, and then the president comes out and says, i afwrgre agree. i do want some action in syria. it s

dramatic set of events and hearings in washington. >> yes, quick action before the senate foreign relations committee, president obama making some progress towards getting congressional support for a strike on libya. not so much in the house. the foreign relations committee - at times it seemed congressional courtesy was set aside. >> as the hearing began antiwar protesters held up red hands - a reflection. heated opposition officials faced from members of the foreign relations committee. in this exchange tom marino wanted to know who a strike would help. >> do you trust these people? >> that's not my business to trust anybody. >> it has to be the business because you are making decisions to go into war and put american lives at risk. >> we are not unaware of self-interest of different groups. >> excuse me, with all due respect, i think we are aware... . >> let me respond to that. the focus is not on good guys and bad guy, but a narrowly drafted resolution, asking authorisation... >> i wouldn't think good guys would use gas. >> it was a contrast to the cordial reception by the senate foreign relation

it likes the senate foreign relations committee chaired by senator bob menendez of new jersey will hold a hearing on tuesday this, process will be starting everybody if members are in disparate places and there is some time that it takes to get everybody in washington. the process is going to start to move forward to have this debate that the president is asking for. >> but what would they be voting on? >> on this authorization of power that the president put forth. we saw the white house send this draft resolution to authorize force, they have turned it to congress, lease it had publicly and said here is what we are asking for: the president made it quite specific. they are looking for the ability to go after these che chemical

. >> reporter: the resolution authorizing force in syria passed 10-7 in the senate foreign relations committee after an amendment offered by republican senator john mccain was added, saying a goal of u.s. military intervention should be to bolster the free syrian army. >> degrading his chemical capabilities, support for the free syrian army, and now changing the battlefield equation, which now gives us a package which is a policy, which i think will send a message to bashar al assad. >> reporter: it would limit duration of military action to 60 days with one 30 day extension possible. obama administration will submit a report for vetted, moderate opposition groups, and would strictly prohibit american boots on the ground. top obama administration national security officials returned to capitol hill to make the case for use of force in syria, but even after closed door sessions, some lawmakers are still opposed. >> inserting the united states in a sectarian civil war in syria is extraordinarily perilous, and could well have unintended effect of advancing the interest of the al qaeda terrorists.

there were questions asked in the open senate foreign relations committee and we heard secretary kerry several occasions say we can take that up tomorrow, which is today, and there will be classified information given that the administration will be hoping to make the case to get more votes, more support from the senate for military action in syria. meanwhile the senate armed services committee is also getting a closed door briefing at that one. at that one it will be defense secretary hagel and also the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff general martin dempsey, and then at noon, as you indicate the house foreign affairs committee will convene an open hearing which is likely to be quite robust and we will probably hear a lot more opposition to the president's proposal so that will be attended by secretary of state kerry, secretary of defense hagel and again general dem dem. senate democrat and republican leaders are supporting it, membership, question mark. stephanie. >> all right, randall pinkston, thank you randall. >>> foreign policy advisor to secretary hagel when he was a senat

wednesday, the senate foreign relations committee passed a key hurdle, but now the president faces a fierce debate in the house as he is also trying to drum up worldwide support for military action in syria. nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell has more. >> reporter: a sharply divide senate foreign relations committee voted to support the president. 10-7. but added time limits. 90 days for military action. and to satisfy john mccain, the white house has to deliver a strategy for syria within 30 days. the house was even tougher. as members asked the questions voters are asking. why should syria matter to them. >> why is it always america out front? i know we've got the best military and i'm very proud of that, but why are we out leading this again? >> ever been to the cemetery in france, you know, above those beaches? why did those guys have to go do that? because we were standing up with people for a set of values and fighting for freedom. >> not a one member in my district in south carolina or the e-mails of people that have contacted my office say go to syria a

and wall the senate foreign relations committee hearing was the main focus of almost every us media outlet today it did fail to hold the undivided attention of one senator senator of arizona former presidential candidate and advocate for syrian intervention john mccain he was playing poker on his i phone during the hearing through ups's not to awesome for mccain an hour mccain took it in stride reading this after the washington post published that photo scandal caught playing i phone game at three plus hours senate hearing worst of all i lost. can you do it happens anyway in other news we knew that the national security agency wasn't the only government agency keeping piles and piles of phone data on its subscribers but now thanks to some new documents obtained by peace activists we know about it the drug enforcement administration's hemisphere project they've been keeping tabs on every call that goes through the eight hundred eighty s. which dating as far back as one thousand nine hundred seventy now that database goes even further than the n.s.a. is records and unlike the n.s.a. eighteen

the senate foreign relations committee voted in favor of a resolution to strike syria. gets the white house past their first hurdle. what do you think are the biggest obstacles moving forward? >> they have substantial objects quells. this is not your usual partisan kind of fight. you have republicans who are against this, you have a large null of democrats who are against this. ic ti think the question we'll come to, as distasteful as it may be, do you want to embarrass the president and embarrass united states by the lack of support around the world.do you president and embarrass united states by the lack of support around the world. >> hillary clinton has come out in favor of the strikes. she's not a member of congress. but as a public figure. how do you think this issue will play out for potential presidential candidates in 2016, which side of this issue is more politically advantageous? >> well, that's an interesting question right now. and the answer is neither. i think that you have a real it is taste in this country for the possibility of another war. the country

the senate foreign relations committee, john kerry didn't want to rule it out entirely. >> i don't want to take off the table an option that might or might not be available to the president of the united states to secure the country. >> reporter: that sounded an alarm with the top republicans. >> i will say in response to your answer to senator menendez, i didn't find that a very appropriate response regarding boots on the ground. >> reporter: then kerry tried to clarify. >> let me be very clear now because i don't want anything coming out of this hearing that leaves any door open to any possibility. so let's shut that door now as tight as we can. >> reporter: foreign relations chairman bob menendez says loss of american credibility and further humanitarian disaster are consequences of inaction, that america's allies are watching. >> the decision we make, resolution we present to the senate and votes we take will reverb rate around the world. >> reporter: for the administration, the bigger challenge is winning over the american public. a pew poll shows opposition to air strikes is up 19

pushing that at the senate foreign relations committee. publican senator mark roe -- marco rubio was on that panel. thanks for joining us. there could be a draft resolution and even possibly a vote tomorrow. knowing what you know, after the hearing today, how would you vote? >> first of all, let me say this syrian situation is a mess because of the president's actions leading to this point. this conflict has been going for more than two years. there was a time early on, assad was on the ropes, the u.s. should have engaged finding moderate rebels, helping the syrian people get rid of them. he led from behind. now we have very few good options available to us at this point. so your question is how i will vote on the resolution. let's understand what it is. first of all, it is for military action. i don't believe we should take military action unless we have a clear, achievable goal in mind. one of the clear goals of the action he argues for is to impede assad from using chemical weapons in the future. i am highly skeptical, we have a closed h

while the resolution seems to be going ahead, the senate foreign relations committee on which chuck hagel served as well as secretary of state john kerry, president obama and vice president biden all served on that very committee, they had a full day of hearings yesterday and that committee has marked up a resolution, which may be voted on as soon as this afternoon, and which has tightened the language regarding the authorization of force to be sure that the -- if there is a strike on syria, the strike will be limited in duration and scope and targeted for -- to degrade chemical weapons.

senators in front of the senate committee there. he will also be there along with the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. paul is now in washington with more on the story. the senate foreign relations committee upcoming. paul, tell us about it. >> that's right, dale. obviously this is a key part of the white house sales pitch making their case before this important group of senators. now as you mentioned early whyier and we heard from randall ping ston at the white house, a sense the momentum may shift here. eric cantor posting on his website a moment ago. i'll read a little bit to you. i intend to provide the president of the united states the options to use military force in syria. he said this is a compelling national interest. pardon me. compelling national security interest. so again, a sense of momentum is beginning to shift ahead of this key meeting in the senate. secretary kerry taking the case to the senate foreign relations committee a couple hours from now. >> paul, thank you very much. of course, you have a very busy day ahead of you. one-tenth of syria's entire population, some 2 million people, are now said to be refugees. there's a new report out from the united nati

do so even to their own people today top members of the cabinet testified before the senate foreign relations committee to make the case for intervention in syria the chairman of the senate foreign relations committee senator bob menendez explained off camera to the secretary of state why he would vote in favor of intervention in syria this week in i was at a soccer tournament and i had a group of moms come up to me and say senator we we saw those pictures there horrific can't imagine. the devastation those parents must feel about their children but why us. why us and so i ask you would you tell them that we would be more secure or less secure. by the actions that are being considered for which the president has asked for the authorization of the use of force our chief political correspondent sam sachs was on the hill and i spoke to him earlier about this hearing and i first started by asking him what the main concerns of senators war and whether it's possible to gauge their support well this is the first in a series of hearings this week related to military intervention in syria you know in the senate

senator john mccain during the senate foreign relations committee hearing, well, the senator took hisoday, you know what i'm talking about, senator. there you are. there's the picture. during the three and a half hour hearing, at one point, you were playing a little poker on your iphone. >> well, as much as i like and always listen in rapt attention constantly with the remarks of my colleagues over a 3 1/2 hour period, occasionally i get a little board, and so i resorted, but the worst thing about it is, i lost thousands of dollars. on this game. >> so when war is at stake, the senator battled boredomle? if most american workers played games on company time, they would be fired. try it at work sometime. arizona taxpayers were dealt a joker in this hand. if senator john mccain thinks he's a five-card stud, he can keep on pretending. we've completely redone the house. it's hard to find contractors with the passion and the skill, and that's why we use angie's list. online or on the phone, we help you hire right the first time with honest reviews on over 720 local services. i want it done

marvin, thanks to you, as well. >>> there was one pretty surprising moment during the senate of foreign relations committeeing today. cameras caught senator john mccain with something other than syria on his iphone. i asked him about it afterwards. >> as much as i like to am always listening and wrapped attention constantly with remarks of my colleagues over 3.5 hour period, occasionally i get a little bored and so i resorted, but the worst thing about it is i lost thousands on dollars in this game. >> he was playing a little poker on his iphone. he was joking, of course, about losing thousands of dollars, that would be fake dollars but senator mccain always blunt coming forward, acknowledging he was playing poker, at least a little bit, during that hearing. >>> up next, we'll continue to discuss what is going none syria. also, the unraveling of the mystery of the flag that was raised at ground zero. what happened to it after 9/11? i'll talk to the former temperature firefight top firefighter, the man who was there, that's coming up. nascar is about excitement. but tracking all the action and hearing every

foreign affairs committees. on the left of your screen is the u.s. foreign affairs committee now this is interesting. the senate foreign relations committee, i should say, is right now working through the particular language of its own resolution. my understanding now is that once the language is agreed upon there will be a vote. what's interesting then is that the house may, in fact, work out language on its own resolution if the language is different in both resolutions. as you

the president's plans to get congress on board are falling apart yes on wednesday the senate foreign relations committee move forward an authorization for force in syria and a vote before the full senate is scheduled next week but the senate is not where the president's problems a lot it's in the house republicans and democrats are lining up together to oppose any military intervention in syria archies been on the hill all week and here were some of the responses we received from skeptical lawmakers unintended consequences are the result of the united states getting involved in this civil war is my concern as a member of congress i came here today with a very open mind. to hear the argument of why we need to strike syria and still today they said ministration has failed to show me the direct threat to the united states of america the question is what's best for us what's best for americans we are not under attack none of our allies are under attack and there is a reason why we call the department of defense the department of defense it's meant to it's to defend us and our allies against attacks that has

i referenced the hearings that we had in the senate foreign relations committee. i want to kraut senator menendez and senator corker, the chairman and the ranking republican on you are committee. we had a very open hearing. and we had bein access to classd information. we had an open process in our committee and all views were heard. we tried to recommend a resolution that we thought was responsible for the united states congress to weigh in on. it was not the resolution that the president had submitted to us. it was one that was much more limited to the authorization that we thought was appropriate. and i think it has served its purpose from the point of view of putting syria on notice that the united states is prepared to join the international community to say chemical weapons will not be allowed to be used. but we also made it clear that we will not be drawn into a civil war. president assad has done some horrible things in that country. he's lost, in my view, the legitimacy of leading the country. but it's up to the syrians to resolve their civil conflict. ame

then the afternoon, as the senate foreign relations committee, as you referenced, held an hours-long meeting. and you really can't debate whether there were republicans or democrats, new senators or seasoned senators, exactly how the issues would come out. i think the important question is how do we narrow the questions that this is not iraq, we're not considering even signing off on an unlimited commitment or an open-ended authorization. i am more comfortable that we have a president who is hesitant, deliberate, reluctant to go into war. and that they are not seeking, as siecretary kerry mentioned i the clip you just showed, they're not seeking an opposition for an open-ended ground troop in syria. so i think we'll have a vigorous debate as the senate foreign relations committee takes up the proposal for the force that was initially drafted and presented by the administration. >> senator, what do you think the most important limitation is that should be in a resolution? is it the time limit of 90 days? >> well, the draft that we have that has been sent around has 60 days with the pos

the senate foreign relations committee announces it will take up a revised bill tomorrow authorizing use of force in syria. the bill has a 60-day limit with an option to extend that for another 30 days. at this very moment, president barack obama is over the atlantic ocean on a flight to sweden, hours after top members of his cabinet began pushing his case before lawmakers and before you, the public, as to why striking syria is the best course of action to end the bloodshed we've seen there and preserve u.s. national security interests. today, the president sent his team to the senate to make his case. >> are you going to be comfortable if assad, as a result of the united states not doing anything, then gases his people yet again? >> facing public opposition and a skeptical congress, they said using chemical weapons against your own people is so evil, it's only been done three times. >> the third instance was used by adolf hitler to gas millions of jews. it was used by saddam hussein in order to gas iraqis and his own -- iranians and his own people. and now it's been used by bahar al

many democrats on the senate foreign relations committee were supportive. they talk about the heart-wrenching images of children killed by the alleged chemical weapons attack. members of the committee, like senator barbara boxer said her heart went out to the families affected by the assad government. they did, however, say, "we are behind you mr president, but only if we limit the scope of what these attacks would be like", and so they heard reassurances from secretary john kerry about how limited in scope this would be. >> president obama is not asking america to go to war. and i say that sitting next to two men secretary chuck hagel and jerm dempsey who -- general dempsey who knows what war is, senator mccain knows what war is. they know the difference between going to war and what president obama is requesting now. we agree there'll be no american boots on the ground pt the president -- the president made clear we have no responsibility for civil war. >> senator robert menendez brought up the boots on the ground. secretary kerry said he was thinking out

senate committee today? >> so the issue, jake, is whether that legislation that the senate foreign relations committee put in this bill authorizes the president to use military force for those purposes that he said was to try to change the balance. that is not the purpose that the president has articulated so that should not be the purpose of the authorization. what i don't know, because i haven't seen the whole thing is whether it's an authorization. after all, the president has said that our objective ultimately is to get rid of the assad regime, but he's been very clear, the president, that that's not the purpose of this military intervention. he wants to use it by supporting some of the rebel groups. so i have to look at this in context. >> absolutely. >> your bill, and correct me if i'm wrong, essentially would make it illegal for the u.s. to deploy troops on the ground. >> yes. >> it would also limit the president's authority to one round of strikes carried out over a 60-day period there's a limit on what -- it's temperaturing in the president's authority to wage warn, even though these initially reque

senate. and probably would have the votes based on what we just saw in the foreign relations committee, it looksbout 40% of the senate will vote against us anyway. but rand paul wants to leave it all to you in the house of representatives to try to stop this thing he wants to stop. what is your reaction to that, congressman yoho? >> i don't know how to take that. i am sure he has a plan, but in the house, i can talk for myself, i can't speak for anybody else, but i'm a definite no on this. >> congressman, i want your opinion, i know you are voting no. but i want you to consider the other side of the case for a moment. and in the testimony you heard today, what is the most persuasive thing that the administration said today that probably could get them some votes in that room. and i know your vote is not up for grabs. >> right, to me, i did not hear anything that swayed me. i went to a briefing yesterday. that did not sway me. i think there are too many ifs in this, and too many unverified facts for me to come out and change me. and i think other people will feel the same way. if you look at the

. >>> hello, this is al jazeera, and we are watching the senate foreign relations committee hearing on possible military action against syria for the 21 august chemical weapons attack in and on the suburbs of damascus. the president wants a strike. the senators are questioning the panel, including secretary kerry as it considers a resolution on the use of force against syria. >> as a photograph that is riveted in my mind, as a father and grandfather of the children on the floor in shrouds, victims of this chemical agent and gas attack. what the administration is asking us for is military authority to launch additional attacks. what have you been charged with in terms of the issue of collateral damage from the attacks as it would affect incident people and civilians in the nation of syria? >> senator, the guidance that we have received on targetting is to maintain a collateral damage estimate of lull. i briefly, on how we come up with our assessments of collateral damage - it's based on how much we know about a target through intelligence, its proximity to civilian structures and weapon

after a classified briefing, members of the senate foreign relations committee will meet to consider a resolution authorizing military force in syria. this will limit action to 90 days. live coverage on c-span to at 11:00 a.m. eastern. -- cspan2. in a few moments, of a look at today's headlines. at noon eastern, secretary of state john kerry, defense ecretary chuck hagel and general martin dempsey are on capitol hill to testify about syria at this time before the house foreign affairs committee. minutes, we will look at president obama's approach to syria and the international reaction for his decision to seek congressional authorization. pletka.t is danielle owens christine discussing efforts on the wage -- on the part of the low-wage workers and minimum-wage. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] >> the senate foreign relations committee meets to draft operations for syria. it prohibits american pats on the ground and limits military action to 60 days and requires a report from the obama administration. you

today, top members of the cabinet testified before the senate foreign relations committee to make the case for intervention in syria. the chairman of the senate foreign relations committee, bob menendez, explained off-camera to the secretary of state why you would vote in favor of intervention. >> this weekend, i was of the soccer tournament and i had a group of moms, to me and say senator, we saw those pictures. they are horrific. i cannot imagine the devastation those parents must feel about their children, but why us? why us? i ask you, would you tell them that we would be more secure or less secure by the actions that are being considered, for which the president has asked for the authorization of the use of force? >> our chief political correspondent was on the hill. i asked him what the main concerns of senators were and whether it is possible to gauge their support? >> this is the first in aries of hearings this week relate -- in a series of hearings this week related to military intervention in syria. in the senate, there is generally more support than in the house. you saw th

also today, secretary of state john kerry will testify before the senate foreign relations committee. he has been the white house point man. senators john mccain and lindsey graham met with the president. mccain who has long been in support of taking military action in syria said lawmakers must act. >> if a resolution like this was rejected after the president of the united states has already committed to action, the consequences would be catastrophic. >> mccain said he's meeting with the president with candid and he stressed the very importance of degrading the assad's regime capabilities and upgrading those of the opposition. the president has a lot of work still ahead of him. >> senators john mccain and lindsey graham at the white house monday to hear an people directly from president barack obama. they say his plan doesn't go far enough. they want him to topple the assad government. the president said that's not his plan. what he wants to do, launch cruise missiles add syrian military targets, sending a warning message to president bashar al assad. the senators seemed to indicate

on wednesday a sharply divided senate foreign relations committee narrowly voted to authorize the president's use of force in syria. five republicans and two liberal democrats voted against it. massachusetts senator ed markey who holdings his seat because of kerry's appointment to secretary of state, he voted present. democrats weary of another iraq war hammered the administration with questions at a wednesday hearing. >> not a one member in my district in south carolina or the e-mails of people that have contacted my office say go to syria and fight this regime. to a letter, they say no. >> mr. kerry, you have never been one that's advocated for anything other than caution when involving u.s. forces in past conflicts. >> i volunteered to fight for my country. that wasn't a caution thius thi do when i did it. >> mr. secretary -- >> i am going to finish, congressman, i am going to finish. when i was in the senate, i supported military action in any number of occasions. including grenada, panama. i can run a list of them. >> i want to make sure that you promise us that you're telling the truth.

foreign affairs committee that begins an hour from now. this hour, the markup begins in the senate foreign relations committee on a new draft resolution and set a 60-day deadline for military action in syria. it would also bar u.s. boots on the ground. >> it tries to capture the balance of the views expressed yesterday by members of the committee that i think are reflective of members of the senate. it is tailored and narrow in both scope and breadth and assures no american troops on the ground and has a time limitation. >> aside from a filibuster threat. kasie hunt reporting that senator john mccain appeared to be the president's biggest ally in arms says he won't support the senate resolution. political director chuck todd is traveling with the president in sweden. nbc's kasie hunt joins us live from capitol hill. i want to start with you on why senator mccain might now be changing his tune. >> reporter: senator mccain is okay with many of the limits that were included in this resolution, but he says that it doesn't do enough to focus on his priorities. he wants to see something that says that the goal of this is to change momentum on t

secretary of the state john kerry, chuck hagel and martin dempsey will face the senate foreign relations committee. dana bash, you're there with the chairman of the senate foreign committee. does he share president obama's optimism that this authorization will pass? >> reporter: thank you. you'll start what will be an incredibly important moment. jake's first question is do you share be president's optimism now we're hearing from the optimism from the senate majority leader that authorization can pass the senate? >> i believe so. i believe today will be an important part of that. when we have the case made on the intelligence that shows that the assad regime committed a heinous act in violation of international law by having chemical weapons attack innocent civilians and when we hear the follow on response to what we do in a response of that attack and the consequences of inaction i think that the senate will be supportive of a resolution for limited use of force. >> you just came this morning from a meeting with the president and the whole group of your colleagues but afterwards you had a little

the senate foreign relations committee expected to approve a measure supporting a military strike today. key senate democrats and republicans have agreed to back a no troops on the ground action in retaliation for alleged chemical weapons attacks. the obama administration says there have been more than a dozen chemical weapon strike business the syrian government on its own people. rebels say that number's higher. yesterday secretary of state john kerry told the senate foreign relations committee, syrian president assad's regime would continue to use chemical weapons against its people unless people take action. >>> putten is warning the west from taking action in support. he'll support a resolution on military strikes if there's evidence to back it up but will not support one-sided action by the u.s. putin hopes he and president obama will have serious discussions on syria during the g-20 summit in st. petersburg this week. >>> the crisis in syria continues to have an effect on our markets. good morning, bertha. >> good morning. the markets are jittery about the uncertainty over syria.

we're standing by for an important hearing before the senate foreign relations committee. christiane, we'll talk to you throughout the day here on cnn and cnn international. we're standing by and go to the senate foreign relations committee. we're going to hear the secretaries of state and defense and chairman of the joint chiefs getting ready to testify before republicans and democrats, a critical vote coming up maybe as early as next week on the floors of the senate and house of representatives after president obama urged them to authorize the use of military force in syria. we'll also get immediate reaction to what's going on, including christiane's interview. ron paul will join us live. we'll get a different perspective from mike quigley, a democrat of illinois, much more of our special coverage coming up right here in the situation room. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] some things are designed to draw crowds. ♪ ♪ others are designed to leave them behind. ♪ the all-new 2014 lexus is. it's your move. yeah... try new alka seltzer fruit chews. they work fast on heartburn and taste

as congress fought political wars in both houses, a sharply divided senate foreign relations committee voted to support the president, 10-7, but added time limits. 90 days for military action, and to satisfy john mccain the white house has to deliver a strategy for syria within 30 days. the house was even tougher, as members asked the questions voters are asking why should syria matter to them? >> why is it always america out front? i know we've got the best military, and i'm very proud of that, but why are we out leading this again? >> ever been to the cemetery in france, you know, above those beaches? why did those guys have to go do that? because we were standing up with people for a set of values and fighting for freedom. >> not a one member in my district in south carolina or the e-mails of people that have contacted my office say go to syria and fight this regime. to a letter they say no. >> i am not going to sit here and be told by you that i don't have a sense of what the judgment is with respect to this. >> reporter: members have doubts about the rebels. >> who are the good gu

it's a republican-controlled committee in the house, and more than 40 members have a lot to say, probably quite different tone than yesterday as senate foreign relations, obviously, secretary kerry and secretary hagel sat on the committee and secretary kerry chaired the committee. this is a quite different ball game than it was yesterday. >> arizona republican senator john mccain, a major proponent for military action in syria said a short while ago that he will not support this compromise resolution that is coming out out of his committee as it is. he doesn't like what he is seeing right now. okay. having said that, could that impact the president's efforts to get congressional approval if john mccain says, no, i don't like this? >> reporter: of course, mccain is a key player in all of this whether on the senate foreign affairs committee or the senate at large. meeting with the white house with lindsey graham, coming out and saying he's going to back the president. both graham and mccain have been pushing for more action. mccain, as you mentioned, saying this morning he does not support his committee's draft resolution in its current form. so there's

over in the senate foreign relations committee a resolution has passed but the vote of 10 to 7 with one voting present shows that even in a committee that works together passage is tight and the road is hard. the next steps, these classified briefings as members continue to work towards a resolution that a lot of different constituents can get behind. >> coming up. yearkts's sentence lasted -- ariel castro's sentence lasted less than a month. >>> plus a fresh food food bank, how one community is helping hungry people eat healthy. >> i'm meteorologist rebecca stevenson. today we had a storm basically right in the middle of the country. hot weather, 10 to 20° above the average for places like rapid city, denver, oklahoma into texas. but if you went to the east coast or the west coast, the story was cooling off and we'll continue that cooling trend on both sides of the coast. now for the east coast, this is where we're seeing temperatures already start to drop down, a much comfortable -- more comfortable i should say temperature in the east. we're expecting the temperatures to drop even fu

here with reaction tonight is a member of the senate foreign relations committee. good to see you, welcome aboard. >> good to be with you, sean. >> let me use the words of the white house. this is not open ended. no boots on the ground, this is days not weeks, by the way, this is not about regime change. so that raises the question, what are we doing this for in. >> well, sort of like, we've announced in advance, it's going to be just a little war, not a big war. just a little war, and it won't last too long. and we're not going to regime change. we really have no military objectives, but please support us in this little war that the president needs to have so he can save face because he drew a red line. that's not a compelling reason. i don't think they make compelling arguments today. >> we heard syria's moving a lot of their weapons into areas where there's a high population of civilians. are we planning on the potential collateral damage or do we have any chance even to get those weapons? >> i thought senator mccain made a great point. he and i don't always agr

a short time ago the senate foreign relations committee approved the president taking military strike. that move took place as the foreighouse foreign affairs cone to debate. >> the president is committed to additional efforts in support of the opposition, together with friends and allies in the region in a coordinated way in order to achieve that with the understanding that the ultimate transition will come and can come through a negotiated settlement, a political resolution. >> kerry, hagel and dempsey testified before the house foreign affairs committee. con citiesinconsisting of 45 mee republicans, and 21 are democrats. the heated exchange whe about te topic of bengahzi. >> this is not about getting into civil war. this is enforcing the principle that people should not be allowed to gas their civilians with impunity. it and assad feeling like he can do this any day he wants to. that's what this is about. he let's draw the proper distinction, congressman. we don't deserve to drag in the discussion of bengahzi when the real issue is whether the congress is going to stand up for inte

important change that senator mccain made to the resolution that was voted on in the senate foreign relations committeeesolution as it was originally written by senator menendez and how it was changed by john mccain i think would change the way that the house would perceive voting for this. jenna: why is that? >> and it would be for the negative. because what senator mccain, whom i love, i respect, he is a war hero and we thank him for his service. he knows warfare very well but what he wants to do, and he said it, he wants to change the momentum on the battlefield. this is not what president obama said we were going to do in syria. what president obama said and what secretary of state john kerry and chuck hagel have said is that we are going to be sending a message to the assad regime that the use of chemical weapons is illegitimate, it is ill-advised and it will be decisively met with force. that is different than changing the momentum on the battlefield. because. jenna: why wouldn't we want, why wouldn't we want to make a strong statement if that is the case? why wouldn't we want the momentum to cha

we also have the public worsen of the senate foreign relations committee public portion of the senate foreign relations meeting. at about 11:30, that will be on c-span2. senator john mccain saying he doesn't support the latest resolution to authorize military force against syria. the sitter and outspoken advocate of intervention for the advocate of intervention, here's how the ap reports what he is saying. the arizona republican threatened earlier this week to vote against the white house draft resolution unless presiden barack obama promised reuters support to syria'. mr. mccain and expressed support after meeting with mr. obama. he opposes a resolution. crafted by democratic senator bob menendez of new jersey and republican senator bob corker of tennessee. limit ond put a 90 day action and would say that no american troops can be sent into syria. senator mccain said in its current form, i do not support it. noonll be live at 12:00 right here on c-span with the house foreign affairs committee. there getting a briefing today the senate got yesterday from secretary of state john kerry.

in the next hour we're going to talk life with the chairman of the senate foreign relations committee, senator robert menendez. >> a lot more ahead. >>> a lot of news is developing at this hour, straight to michaela for the latest headlines. >>> the huge rim fire burning near yosemite national fire is slowing down, almost 80% contained. authorities lifted evacuation orders and advisories in the area. power plant damaged in the fire is back on line. that power plant supplies some of san francisco's electricity. investigators are working to find out how the fire started. one fire chief is blaming marijuana growers. >>> a montana judge ordered a new sentencing hearing for stacy rambold, who admitted to raping a 14-year-old student who later committed suicide. the judge saying the 30-day sentence he imposed last week may be illegal. he apologized for saying the 14-year-old girl was as much in control of the situation as rambold. >>> a new twist in the bitter custody battle over a little girl named veronica. the court issued an emergency stay that allows her to stay with her biological fat