sanjay gupta reporting all week from the syria lebanon border. joining me is my colleague brooke baldwin. >> you're next door to syria. i have a lot of questions for you as far as what you've seen in the last couple of days. let me just begin with what we have seen so far. we've seen the videos. it looks absolutely devastating. you are there. is what you've seen what you expected? >> reporter: i've been to many refugee camps around the world and as father you can't help but notice the children in a lot of these camps and sort of try to imagine what they're going through. what is particularly changing here in lebanon is a very chaotic situation. you have refugees coming across the border so frequently. after two years now of setting up these camps right along that border in sometimes some dangerous areas it's still very makeshift. they are always that way but more than i would expect. >> i want to talk about some of the people that you've met. let me first ask about this exclusive access that you and our cnn team had into this secret hospital steps

look at the situation in that country and the power struggles that transcend the border from syria. >> lebanon has long since been dragged into syrian's civil war. they are battling alongside government troops against sunni rebels. the war is also being fought on lebanese territory. bomb attacks have left dozens of casualties. it has a complex religious mix. the mountains overlooking the lebanese capital are home to leaders of several religious militias. godfathers who wield tremendous political power. there are those that oppose the president and those that support him. a former lebanese cabinet minister has close ties with the syrian regime and with president assad. he says a u.s. military strike would be a disaster. >> if assad has attacked, they will take revenge. if the americans bomb syria, the whole region will go up in flames. >> political parties are often of secondary importance. they are strongly influenced by their religious an ethnic affiliations. >> if assad is toppled, there will be chaos here. i can't be what the west wants. >> he no longer goes anywhere without bodyguards. the

they wanted what is today syria, lebanon, iraq, israel, and jordan. they wanted everything. what ensued was discussions between mark and his french cowrntd parts -- counterparts where they decided to divide up the region among themselves. it gets to the core historical controversy that continues to plague the region today. the difference between the promises made to the arabs in the mcmahon hussein correspondent and the -- how did the british get away with it? they never told hussein about the other agreement. and they never told the french about the hussein agreement. for two years, they delicately and carefully created these walls of separation so no one -- one side wouldn't find out about the other. the man who brought it to an end was t.e. lawrence, better known to the world as "lawrence in arabia" i'm not going to talk about lawrence, and if i can remember how to do this. i have a few slides that i was going to show you. hang on, what am i doing? yeah. [inaudible conversations] i want to get rid of this, sorry. there we go. that's lawrence on the -- okay. i think i'm se

officials are trying to protect americans from what they say are threats to security in syria's neighbors, lebanon and turkey. they've told most of their diplomats in lebanon to pull out, and they're urging u.s. citizens not to travel there. >>> turkey is taking steps to tighten security along its southern border with syria. this comes ahead of a possible u.s. military strike targeting the administration of syrian president bashar al assad. the country's military leadership has dispatched several dozen military vehicles to at least two border areas and opened six field hospitals. local media quote the governor of a province in the border area as saying that shells fired from syria have recently landed on the turkish side. they also say militants have been found hiding among syrian refugees and that the border area is no longer controllable. turkey had already deployed 20 fighter jets to the southeast and special vehicles to seven border sites to test if chemical weapons have been used. the country has been helping rebel forces against the administration of syrian president bashar al assad and is i

sanjay gupta is with those refugees near the syria/lebanon border on the phone right now. ou hear us? >> reporter: i got you, chris. i got you. i am literally walking distance from the border and as you mentioned, here in lebanon there are some three-quarter million refugees that came across the border and the numbers have just been increasing. there's a lot of -- the numbers are going up in part because of the nervousness of what's happening in damascus but also tense here just across the border because we have 750,000 refugees in a country that has 3 million people so there's tensions that develop here. let me tell you really quick. i know you've been reporting on this. we're in this makeshift hospital where the sickest and most injured of these refugees are coming and this particular makeshift hospital is a mosque that was essentially taken over by people who are sympathetic to the syrian revolution, the doctor and nurses and everyone here are part of it as are the patients and fully -- there y a at capacity and figure out what they'll do if more come in. >> doc, what ar

echoes of this conflict cannot resonates around lebanon and whoever you talk to in beirut has one question on their mind when is it going to be over. syria shattered into pieces. little remains of the peaceful little kept for a peaceful future. as rebels fight the government. of the people. his president. should. feel to share the border with such a neighbor. lebanon. with the syrians general michael. our own thank you very much for being with russia today. so a year ago when you were asked about the conflict in syria you expressed confidence that the opposition would lose you still think so. zero zero. zero zero zero zero what. the crisis it's a stop to. this. compromising you know. between. syria. and giving go. then it will be to not be for nothing you know syria has to get something. for that so all the process will continue to reach a final. final settlement but you know the opposition is heavily financed by the saudis and the west the western countries aren't even hiding it that they're actually supplying arms to the syrian opposition. in riyadh and the beginning and. grace is. face. lift. no it was decided. that there were. talkin

there are many other places like this year lebanon's border with syria.hey are fleeing the country just on the border because of the war. deplorable conditions here. this was a hole that was dug so that all of the people here can have a toilet to go in. after months of heavy bombing and fire fights, this woman and her husband left the suburbs of damascus. she says the children were so scared that all they did was cry all day long. >> translator: i never imagined i would ever be in this situation. because i built a new house. all of the money we saved we built the house. immaterial was a beautiful house, and we had to leave and come. so i don't know what will happen to us. >> reporter: lebanese relief workers are trying to help the refugees here. but she worries without more help from the international community, there is little hope for these families to survive in these conditions, and a return to syria seems years away. >> some people come they have nothing to wear, no money to spending, nothing to eat. they have some -- some people come with very sick

lebanon's 15 year civil war ended in 1990 and syria was left in charge. but, syria withdrew its military occupation in 2005. and since then, lebanon sectarian lines have become much clearer >> reporter: during the long civil war for lebanon that ended in 1990, this was the frontline of battle. the muslims on the west side, the christians on the east, both fighting for control of the country. >> since then, downtown beirut went through a sort of rebirth but many of the country's other deeply reported problems have gone unresolved. today, dozens of rival complicparties compete with one another. each has itsina gentry a. at any moment, tensions can return to the surface and violence can erupt. >> in the country, everybody is waiting to get rid of the other. >> in receipt months, car bombings have been on the rise, along with kidnappings and street battles. that leaves some here blaming the violence on sectarian spillover from the war in syria. >> the people are divided >> reporter: jahad has beeni has been a taxi rider for 20 years. he believes the war in sy

pentagon told him people the pentagon told him we were going into seven countries it was like syria lebanon libya rak iran or opening them in some way and now we're doing it so the question is do you believe l. ron hubbard when he says oh i'm creating this religion because it's a real religion right tom cruise is the burning bush will smith is the virgin mary do you believe him well that's similar to believing the idea that we're only going into syria for humanitarian reasons rightly camp they are not far away from wall street and were bankers hang out like bankers from goldman sachs goldman sachs set it up as a terrorist number one lloyd blankfein recently said that the upside of the war against syria it would break the school gridlock partisan bickering over the debt ceiling so he sees a lot of upside to murdering or syrian children with chemical weapons you're moment of clarity on this yes there's a lot of there's a lot of benefits to murdering people and i'm surprised we aren't talking about those i mean this this and say this is i think like listening to what they want what goldman sac

. >> a few miles from syria, anjar lebanon is in a beautiful part of the bacar valley. but many people who cross the border to get here are living in desperation. >> the sadness is so deep i just pray to god, we are fed up. >> abo achmad was a taxi driver in damascus. he said the syrian regime had him arrested twice and threatened his wife and children. seven months ago they left. today, they live in this makeshift tent-city along with dozens of other families. there is no electricity, food, water and shelter is scarce. they are not alone. there are many other places along lebanon's border with syria. >> fleeing the country just on the border because of the war. deplorable conditions here. this was a hole that was dug so that all of the people here can have a toilet to go in. >> after months of heavy bombing and firefights, radwa and her husband left the suburbs of damascus. she said the children were so scared all they did was cry all day long. >> i would never imagine i would ever be in this situation because i have built a if you house. all the money we've saved, it

pentagon told him people the pentagon told him we were going into seven countries it was like syria lebanon libya iraq iran or opening them in some way and now we're doing it so the question is do you believe l. ron hubbard when he says oh i'm creating this religion because it's a real religion right tom cruise is the burning bush will smith as the virgin mary do you believe him well that's similar to believing the idea that we're only going into syria for humanitarian reasons rightly camp they are not far away from wall street and were bankers hanging out like bankers from goldman sachs goldman sachs set it up as a terrorist number one lloyd blankfein ryssdal a said that the upside of the war against syria it would break the school gridlock partisan bickering over the debt ceiling so he sees a lot of upside to murdering our syrian children with chemical weapons is your moment of clarity on this yes there's a lot of there's a lot of benefits to murdering people and i'm surprised we aren't talking about those i mean this this and say this is i think like listening to what they want what gold

pentagon told him people the pentagon told him we were going into seven countries it was like syria lebanon libya rak iran or are opening them in some way and now we're doing it so the question is do you believe l. ron hubbard when he says oh i'm creating this religion because it's a real religion right tom cruise is the burning bush will smith is the virgin mary do you believe him well that's similar to believing the idea that we're only going into syria for humanitarian reasons rightly camp they are not far away from wall street and were bankers hanging out like bankers were goldman sachs goldman sachs set it up as a terrorist number one lloyd blankfein recently said that the upside of the war against syria it would break the school gridlock partisan bickering over the debt ceiling so he sees a lot of upside to murdering or syrian children with chemical weapons if you're moment of clarity on this yes there's a lot of benefits to murdering people and i'm surprised we aren't talking about those i mean this this and say this is i think like listening to what they want what goldman sachs want

you can get the latest on syria by going to our web-site. al jazeera.com. >>> in lebanon, syria's next door neighbor, it's been nearly 25 years since the country ended a floody drawn out civil war. the capitol of beirut is deep ladlydivides over syrian lines. robert ray reports. >>> on the surface, beirut seems to be booming. it's a city where construction cranes are in the skyline. people relax in the mediterranean sea and buildings sprawl in every direction with roman ruins alongside churches and mosques. it look likes a paradise. but it's a city on edge. sectarian tensions are simmering. suspicion and fear is in the air and the conflict in syria is only making things worse. >> we have many lebanons inside lebanon. every community feels, thinks of itself as the nation. those nations fighting each other. >> reporter: across the capitol, various neighborhoods have sharp divisions. flags and signs show who is in control and who is not welcome. lebanon's 15 year civil war ended in 1990 and syria was left in charge. but syria withdrew its military occupation in 2005 and sinc

syria. many refugees, over a million in lebanon right now, and people are definitely feeling it, del. >> robert, you say exactly that. there are a million refugees pouring across the boarders from syria. how are they affecting what is already a tense situation in beirut? >> well, they are everywhere. they are creating what people are concerned about, their health here some of the folks here are thinking that many of the syrians are taking away their jobs. the -- over a million refugees that are scattered around the country and even here in beirut are on the streets. visibly, you can see them. there have always been syrian refugees on the streets of beirut but now, pretty much any corner you go on, you may run into a mother and a baby, perhaps a group of small children begging. so, people here are concerned about the security and stability of all of these refugees coming over into beirut and perhaps affecting violence that may be coming up, car bombings, potential kidnappings that have happened in the past few weeks. this since is tension and everyone is waiting for america and the rest of the c

just up the road from where we are the border crossing between syria and lebanon. we're told last week when the u.s. first indicated it could hit syria with a military strike, this road was packed. something like 10,000 people coming over in one day from syria. now as you can see the traffic has swed down. but we're also told, with that threat still remaining, the number of people going back into syria is small as well. refugee flow is really picking up. already 700,000 here in lebanon. more and more coming every day. all it takes is words from syrian official like deputy foreign minister to get people even more on edge. he spoke with the "wall street journal" today. he said that syria would strike back against its neighbors, israel, jordan and turkey if it went along with the u.s. military strikes. lebanon is already seen its share of violence. and syria also said it was knot behind that chemical weapon attack last month. now we talked to a syrian on the border with lebanon to get his opinion. he certainly feels that the regime was responsible for the attack and he

. >> reporter: a few miles from syria, lebanon is in a beautiful part of the baka tr* valley. but many of the people who crossed the border to get here are living in desperation. >> translator: the sadness is so deep i just pray to god were set up. >> reporter: abdul akman was taxi driver in damascus. he said the syrian regime arrested him and attacked his wife and children. 7 months ago they left. today they lift in this makeshift city along with dozens of other families. there's no electricity here, food, water and clothing is scare. health service service virtually non-exist stand. >> these small children are fleeing the country just here on the border because of the war. deplorable conditions here. this is a hole that was dug so that all the people here can have a toilet to go in. >> after months of heavy bombing and fire fights, rada al hallal said the children were so scared that all they did was cry all day long. >> translator: i never imagined i would ever. in this situation because i have built a new house. all the money we saved, we built the house. it was very new.

this is not a conflict that is confined to just syria. lebanon is destabilized. jordan is badly destabilized. iraq has turned into an aiding place for al qaeda and islamic terrorists. we have to understand that not only is there a threat, that this conflict spreading, but the iranian issue is one and their pursuit of nuclear weapons that will be directly affected by our actions in syria. i want to -- again, we appreciate the president meeting with us. we had a candid exchange of views. and i think we have found some areas that we can work together. but we have a long way to go. >> the way i would turn the conversation is there is a consensus being formed that we need to degrade assad's capabilities and upgrade the opposition. the first thing i suggested to the president is get the opposition a chance to meet directly to the american people. -- speak directly to the american people. john and i and the president all believe that -- are not al qaeda sympathizers. they are not trying to replace assad, whose whole family has been brutal for generations, to have al qae

. >> we heard simon about the effect the war in syria is having in lebanon. and also turkey, what impact has it had in israel? >> well, certainly, not the refugee crisis, you could call it that syria's other neighbors lebanon, jordan, and turkey have had to endure. there's been no green light, at least that the israelis have given syrian refugees to come in this direction towards the occupied heights. i think as a political level th at for some, bettr the devil you know. one interesting development that has come to light is this motion that the israelis have opened their doors. quite how we are not sure, to at least 200 wounded people from syria. and a few days ago we went up to hospital in the north of syria where although there may be political p. r. the doctors we met with were clearly doing their work simply as doctors. >> the army brings them to a hospital 40-kilometers from syrian territory. but 96 syrians have been treated here in the northern israeli city this year. the army won't say how or where their journey starts. in recentn't mos many children ha

sandwiches, salads and more. >>> israel is bordered by egypt, jordan, syria, and lebanon.1967, after the six-day war, israel took control of the gaza strip, the sinai peninsula, the west bank, and east jerusalem. in 2003, israel began construction on a wall along the green line representing the israeli-palestinian border. the wall now stretches 450 miles. when completed, it will span 700 miles. 85% of it in palestinian territory. on one hand, there's no doubt that the number of suicide bombings fell drastically. on the other, there's this. you cross from jerusalem into the west bank. also called judea, sumaria, also called palestine. since 1967, half a million settlers have moved here, all in contravention of international law. many in contravention of international law. though it seems to make little difference. they're here and in ever-larger numbers. this is one of our drivers from tel aviv who i asked about graffiti on this house near the settlements. so what is price tagging? >> something happens in a settlement or some attack with jews, kids from the settlement would

it effects the syria of lebanon. it darn sure effects the future of israel, and therefore it effects the united states. i would keep the door open. i'd keep testing the russians and syrians on this chemical weapon thing. the president is right about this. syria should be settled with a negotiation because it's so complicated. >> should he have handled it differently? the president was criticized over coming out, setting that red line and then saying let's wait for congress. in retrospect what could have been doing better knowing that the people do not want war. >> he could have used air power soonerut it turned out for whatever reasons it may have all worked out for the best. at least we've got russia and syria now in a public arena of accountability. if this turns out to be a scam, they can't blame it on anybody else. it's right out there for everybody to see. i think the pressure on them to deliver is high, and if they do deliver and they get rewarded for it which they should. people should say that a boy, then the

. >> on this road connecting syria to lebanon, suitcases packed on the side of the street. families fleeing the country. one mother says she was in an area that was reportedly hit by chemical attacks. fearing the strikes, she left with five children. >> my husband, my family, all of my neighbors are dead. damascus, isl, only 50 kilometers away on the other side of the mountain. this family is headed towards many of the refugee camps in lebanon. not talk to each other. no one must be trusted. they follow the news, what is happening in their war-torn country. >> we are very worried about our future, but here, are we safe at least? will we go home one day? >> 11,000 refugees live in this camp, and more than half of them are children. many were told they will only be here for a short. keeper of time. their parents did not have the hard to tell them they do not know what lies ahead. their spiritsep up, and a psychologist has asked them to draw a picture of their home before the war. we work on preserving the culture. they arethem where from and what they have seen. we want them

be set either for the unfeathered forrou for e of such weapons we will either send a message to syria lebanon, hezbollah, that the world will not stand by when the use of chemical weapons are used. our silence would be a message to the ayatollah that the americans are not serious about stopping their march to acquir acquiring nuclear weapons. our silence would have embedde embeddenneemembolden kim jong-u. clearly at the end of the day our national security is at stake. i would like to thank our distinguished witnesses who will present the facts as they know them, and at the end of the day we will each set a sign across the world that we will no not sd by. the president is asking for limited force. it is not intention or ours to involve ourselves fully in syria's civil war. what is before us is a request, and i quote, to prevent or deter the use of proliferation of chemical or biological weapons within two or from syria, and to protect the united states in its allies and partners against a threat posed by such weapons. this is not a declaration of war but our declaration of the values of the w

one in which the incompetent as of family may gradually give way to those who need syria as a logistical bridge to lebanon. obviously syria is now completely dominating the headlines in this country. our purpose today however is to mark the publication of the marvelous new book about hezbollah. i will conclude by noting that iran's decision to employ hezbollah fighters to syria carries with it great risk. hezbollah's lebanon based determined and retaliatory capability represents an important, strategic asset for iran. saving the a sadr regime at least in a useful part of syria is a vital importance to tehran. jet in committing hezbollah to a fight that has because of the al-assad regime tactics become disturbingly sectarian in nature they have undermined the modicum of the lebanese stability required to secure that strategic asset in the south of lebanon. this is why it's critical for iran and hezbollah to win out right in the syria at least in a part of the country that counts. this is why they are determined to win in a military victory regardless whether or not the u.s. administration believes a milita

it's your move. >>> israel is bordered by egypt, jordan, syria, and lebanon. control of the gaza strip, the sinai peninsula, the the west bank, the golon heights and annexed east jerusalem. in 2003, israel began construction on a wall along the green line representing the israeli-palestinian border. the wall now stretches 450 miles. when completed, it will span 700 miles. 85% of it in palestinian territory. on one hand, there's no doubt that the number of suicide bombings fell drastically. on the other, there's this. you cross from jerusalem into the west bank. also called judea, sumaria, also called palestine. since 1967, half a million settlers have moved here, all in contravention of international law. many in contravention of israeli law. though it seems to make little difference. they're here and in ever-larger numbers. this is one of our drivers from tel aviv who i asked about the graffiti on this house near the settlements. so what is price tagging? >> something happens in a settlement or some attack with jews, kids from the settlement would come and ha

the one thing that's very clear in this part of the world, palestine, lebanon, syria, it's been cookedor many, many, many generations. on the other hand, you get jews from yemen coming here -- >> they say hey, my great uncle was in syria at the time. hey, i remember distinctly -- >> so there is actually no answer to it. but the question of food appropriation or who owns the food. you can go on arguing about it forever. the old city is divided into four quarters. there is muslim quarter. there is a jewish quarter. there is a christian quarter. and there's an armenian quarter. each one functions independently, but people that live in the certain area are all from that religion. so here you see these israeli flags over this house. so basically jews have bought this house, although it's in the muslim quarter. that's very controversial because it breaks the separation that people would normally expect in this city. now we're walking in the steps of jesus christ, right? >> as i so often do. >> so this is villa de la rosa, which is the last trip jesus did before he was crucified. people feel

the one thing that's very clear in this part of the world, palestine, lebanon, syria, it's been cookedor many, many, many generations. on the other hand, you get jews from yemen coming here -- >> they say hey, my great uncle was in syria at the time. hey, i remember distinctly -- >> so there is actually no answer to it. but the question of food appropriation or who owns the food. you can go on arguing about it forever. the old city is divided into four quarters. there is muslim quarter. there is a jewish quarter. there is a christian quarter. and there's an armenian quarter. each one functions independently, but people that live in the certain area are all from that religion. so here you see these israeli flags over this house. so basically jews have bought this house, although it's in the muslim quarter. that's very controversial because it breaks the separation that people would normally expect in this city. now we're walking in the steps of jesus christ, right? >> as i so often do. >> so this is villa de la rosa, which is the last trip jesus did before he was crucified. people feel

but jake, as you just saw, this is a particularly dangerous part, border area between syria and lebanon, so it is hard for them to get supplies and they themselves, these doctors and medical staff, are worried that they could become targets as well in all this. so it's a very sort of unstable situation for them and there's a lot of anxiety and nervousness. >> you were also in refugee camps less than half a mile from the border today. are the physicians and the refugees with whom you have spoken, are they worried about another possible chemical weapons attack? >> you know, it's interesting, we were basically walking distance from the border, we could see how these refugees were actually coming across from syria into lebanon. you know, there's so much confusion regarding these chemical attacks. talking to some of the refugees over there, some of them are convinced that they themselves or family members were in fact exposed to gas. we have obviously no evidence that they were. but there is concern. i think a lot of it revolves mainly around confusion about chemicals like sarin. i will tell

this is not a conflict that is confined to just syria. lebanon is destabilized, jordan is badly destabilized. iraq has turned into a breeding place for al qaeda, and islamic extremists. and so we have to understand that not only is there the threat of this conflict spreading but the iranian issue is one, in their pursuit of nuclear weapons, that will be directly affected by our actions in syria. again, we appreciate the president meeting with us. we had a candid exchange of views, and we -- i think we found some areas we can work together. but we have a long way to go. >> i guess the way i would term the conversation is, there's a consensus being formed that we need to degrade assad's capabilities and upgrade the opposition, vetted opposition. the first thing suggested to the president is give the opposition a chance to speak directly to the american people. john and i and the president all believe that syrians by nature are not al qaeda sympathizers. they're not trying to replace one dictator, assad, who has been brutal, his whole family has bee

i mean it's like iran iraq moving from east to west iran iraq syria, lebanon t goes all the way to the mediterranean and those r if not friendly governments then they have a group like hezbollah. and they built that. that is 30 years in the making. and if syria goes down you know it certainly looked like they were going to go down eight months ago you know then hezbollah would probably hezbollah would be in deep trouble maybe mall aki would be too in iraq. so i think they're all in. so this is a regime. iran which is under extreme economic stress and they are pouring everything they can into syria despite that. >> rose: again, "the new yorker" just out the most powerful op rattive in the middle east, thank you for joining us. see you next time. captioning sponsored by rose communications captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >>> a kqed television production. >>> like old fisherman's wharf. reminds me of old san francisco. like jean val jean. >> theeries and cholesterol and -- calories and cholesterol and heart attack. >> like an adventure. >> it remind me of oatmeal w

i mean it's like iran, iraq, moving from east to west, iran, iraq, syria, lebanon t goes all the way to the mediterranean and those r if not friendly governments, then they have a group like hezbollah. and they built that. that is 30 years in the making. and if syria goes down, you know, it certainly looked like they were going to go down eight months ago, you know, then hezbollah would probably, hezbollah would be in deep trouble, maybe mall aki would be too in iraq. so i think they're all in. so this is a regime. iran which is under extreme economic stress and they are pouring everything they can into syria, despite that. >> rose: again, "the new yorker" just out, the most powerful op rattive in the middle east, thank you for joining us. see you next time. captioning sponsored by rose communications captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> this is "bbc world news." funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, giving all profits to charity and pursuing the common good for

syria. want to take you back to the neighboring lebanon. dr.ay, the video, the video just continues to be very, very difficult to look at. there is absolute devastation and desperation in syria, but the refugee camps where you visited in lebanon, is malnutrition a problem for them, too? >> yes, it can be a problem here. i've just got to say, brooke, all the problems in the world that we talk about, and we've talked about a lot of them lately, feeding children should not be that big a problem. it is heartbreaking to look at some of that. and we saw some evidence of malnutrition in the refugee camps where we were as well. there was a boy that i met, he is 8 months old. he looks like he's about 4 or 5 months old, you know. i have children myself, so you get such a good gauge of being able to tell how big a child should be, and it is tough to see children who just aren't developing because of the lack of food. so, it is a problem. they're doing their best, i think, in some of the places, the ngos, to bring supplies in, but again, the numbers we jus