abc's chief foreign correspondent terry moran is in beirut with full coverage of the crisis in syria.hen a president speaks about possibility of taking america to war he addressing not just the nation but the world. i am here in beirut, a city wrecked by war twice in my lifetime. in lebanon, a country where the syrian civil war is already spilling over, refugees pouring in, the economy staggering, violence spreading. and just a couple hours from where i am standing syria and the horrors there. people here in the middle east who have seen so much of war over the decades are a lot like americans, they are skeptical about this crisis. they're anxious about it. so tonight in a make-or-break moment for him, president obama addressed all of these audiences trying to clear things up. make his case. and lead. president obama strode down the great hall of the was to talk to the american people about war. >> tonight i want to talk to you about syria. >> reporter: he had taken the long walk once before under very different circumstances announcing the killing of osama bin laden. >> tonight i can

. >> let's go now to terry moran, he's over in beirut, lebanon right now. terry, again, i was saying this is about u.s. leadership on the world stage. how will this speech be seen and these actions be seen tonight in the eyes of the world? >> diane, there are two things that you hear a lot in this part of the world. first you recognize the catastrophic calamity to american credible about the claims. people don't believe this administration when they talk about this attack an august 21 and they want to see real claims. the other thing is people in this part of the world respond to strong leadership. you hear around these words about obama that he's hesitant, indecisive, that he's been outmaneuvered by bashar al-assad. this is a real problem for the united states going forward to be clear backing up its claims with evidence and credible action as well. >> terry moran standing watch from the region. it's about 4:00 in the morning, a little after 4:00 in the morning in syria. we have no evidence that the president's speech was shown on television there. we will

>> abc's terry moran tonight. terry, thank you. i want to bring in retired colonel steve ganyard, abc news military analyst. great to have you with us. and now that the president has put this to a vote in congress, put this off, have we just given the world and syria in particular the game plan here? will it be any different two weeks from now? >> david, i think the white house has been very clear today that the strike that was ready to go last night or the night before, the one that was approved by the president, is the same strike we're going to execute two, three weeks from now, when the congress gives its assent. >> but steve, doesn't this give syria similarly more time to prepare? >> david, it does. and that's a risk, that the syrians could come in and harden some of those targets, move them around, but general dempsey has been very clear with the president. he believes that the military might of the five destroyers that we have out in the mediterranean will be able to take care of whatever changes on the ground the syrians ma

terry moran has that from beirut, lebanon. you've been reporting that syrian media is reacting to the president's surprising decision. >> reporter: absolutely, bianna. the bottom line from syria this morning is we won. there were church bells ringing out, prayers of gratitude, and the syrian government playing patriotic music. the syrian deputy prime minister said it was the syrian army that warded off the aggression that the u.s. planned. there is no question that this is a blow, at the moment, to president obama's credibility. and, as you said, it gives syria more time to prepare. we have been reporting that heavy equipment, missiles and tanks and launchers have been moved off of key bases. but that does leave the u.s. with a lot of tools in its tool box still. the destroyers and aircraft carriers in the mediterranean, b-2 bombers from around the world. and still plenty of targets. runaways, ammunition depots and bunkers, and, we understand, munitions factories. the delicate balance that the president has to strike is right

terry moran, abc news, beirut. >> certainly something the world is now watching. of course that brings us to our facebook question of the day. we're asking you, what action should the u.s. take in syria? we welcome your opinion obviously at wnnfans.com. of course, be sure to stay with abc news all day long, as we keep you up to date on all of the developments from syria. log on to abc news.com, any time. for the very latest. >> also from the mideast, seems former egyptian president mohamed morsi will be facing justice sometime in the future. egyptian prosecutors plan to try morsi for inciting violence among protesters while he was in office. morsi was ousted from office two months ago by egypt's military after days of widespread protest that turned deadly. no trial date has been set. >> for the first time in nearly three months, nelson mandela spending the night in his home. mandela, who turned 95 last month, was discharged from the hospital yesterday. he remains in critical condition. doctors say his home outside johannesburg has been modify so mandela can get th

we get more from abc's terry moran. >> reporter: looking confident, impeccably attired, president assad interview from the french newspaper "le figaro", that president obama cannot prove that the assad regime gads gassed its own people. we defy the u.s. and france to show us one piece of evidence he said. ever since the august 21st gas attack. the pictures of the victims especially the children have haunted the world's conscience. the rebels sought to exploit the strong emotions, kids at a protest holding signs urging a military strike. save the children of syria, one said. but in the damascus interview, president assad issued a dark warning. the middle east is a powder keg and the fire is getting closer he said. no one knows what will happen. everyone will lose control once the keg blows up. chaos and extremism will spread. the risk of a regional war exists. >> assad and his supporters clearly feel strengthened right now but they also know an attack by the u.s. and allies could still come. there is word that young people in damascus, supporters of assad are volunteering to become human

we're live with terry moran in the middle east, christiane amanpour from london. >> these are the facts. >> i'll go one-on-one with the man who made america's case to the world. secretary of state john kerry. plus the team of experts is here to break down the global and military consequences of the president's decision. and we weigh in on the politics of war and the fallout at home. it's all right here this sunday morning. >>> hello, again, when president obama took to the rose garden saturday afternoon, his first words had been telegraphed for days. >> i have decided that the united states should take military action against syrian regime targets. >> then the twist. the president's top military adviser joint chiefs chair martin dempsey said there was no need to attack now. >> the chairman indicated to me our capacity to execute the mission is not time sensitive. it will be effective tomorrow or next week or one month from now. and i'm prepared to give that order. >> but only after congress votes. >> i will seek authorization for the use of force from the american people's representativ

team covering the crises in syria tonight and we begin here with abc's chief foreign correspondent terry moran in our beirut bureau. terry, good evening. >> reporter: david, here in the middle east people are riveted by what they see unfolding on the world stage, a showdown between two men, barack obama and bashar al-assad. and obama blinked. at least that's the feeling here. assad was full of defiance and dire warnings. looking confident and impeccably attired, president assad told an interviewer from french newspaper "le figaro" that president obama cannot prove his charges that the syrian regime gassed its own people. "we defy the u.s. and france to show us one piece of evidence," he said. ever since that august 21st gas attack, the pictures of the victims, especially the children, have haunted the world conscience. today the rebels sought to exploit the strong emotions. kids at a protest holding signs, urging a military strike. "save the children of syria," one said. in the damascus interview, president assad issued a dark warning. "the middle east is a powder keg and the fire is getting c

abc's chief foreign correspondent terry moran is in the region for assad's next move. >> reporter: by accepting russia's proposal today bashar al-assad has shown he is a strong survivor. the ultimate operator. his strength is deceptive, the soft lisping voice, the weak chin. he sure doesn't look like this guy, or this guy. but while other arab dictators are toppled, dead or both, bashar al-assad has proven to be more tenacious, wiley and maddeningly successful than u.s. officials guessed during this high stakes, two-year long showdown with barack obama. >> it's time for that regime to move on. president al-assad has lost legitimacy. he needs to step down. assad needs to go. >> reporter: yet here assad still is, even cleverly playing on the fears of the american public in his interview this week with charlie rose of pbs. >> this is the war that is going to support al qaeda and the same people that kill americans in the 11 of september. >> reporter: assad fights this war surrounded by a small clique of advisers, none closer than his glamorous wife asma. raised in london where friends kn

abc's chief foreign correspondent terry moran has the very latest from beirut, lebanon. rry, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, amy. after one day of astonishment, there is today really a drop, a dramatic drop in the level of tension in this region, like a change in the weather almost. the reservists in israel who had been called up have been told to stand down for now. the breadlines and bakeries are open once again in damascus and the syrian government is right back at it hurling insults at washington saying that, should a military strike come eventually, that would be tantamount to the united states cooperating with al qaeda. there are jihadist fighters opposing president bashar al assad, and it is the position of the syrian government that all of the rebel forces are terrorists so they say the united states is going to side with al qaeda but generally here things have gone back to normal if there is such a thing as normal in the middle east. around the world, russia has said it does not believe the evidence that the united states has offered to prove its charges

terry moran has that from bei t beirut. and you can see that syrian media is reacting to the president's surprising decision. >> reporter: absolutely. the bottom line from syria this morning is we won. there were church bells ringing out, prayers of gratitude, and the syrian government playing patriotic music. it was the syrian army which warded off the aggression. there's no question it's a blow to president obama's credibility, and gives them more time to prepare. we have been reporting that heavy equipment, missiles and tanks and launchers have been moved off of key bases. but the united states has a lot of tools. the destroyers and aircraft carriers in the mediterranean, and still plenty of targets. runaways, ammunition depots and bunkers, and munitions factories. right now he doesn't want bashar al-assad to lose the war. there is no credible position to take power. he's got to damage his military enough to punish them, prevent them from using chemical weapons again, while keeping him in power. it's a tough balance. rig

but first, terry moran on a dynamic week of diplomacy. >> reporter: absolutely, george, what we havek represents the development of stunning you. a week of head-spinning. >> i spoke on the phone with rouhani. >> reporter: with a 15-minute phone call, 34 years of bitter relations thawed ever so slightly. 1979 was the tni

but first, terry moran on a dynamic week of diplomacy. >> reporter: absolutely, george, what we have seen this week represents the possibility of a stunning diplomatic breakthrough. but there's a lot of work to do. a week of head-spinning. in the making. >> just now i spoke on the phone with rouhani. >> reporter: so, with a 15-minute phone call, 34 years of bitter relations thawed ever so slightly. 1979 was the turning point, the shah of iran, a key american ally, toppled in a revolution. and a few months ago, the storming of the u.s. embassy in iran. enemies ever since. but the election of 64-year-old of rouhani in june brings hope. he's leashed a charm offensive on twitter and in interviews including with christiane amanpour on cnn. >> translator: i bring peace and friendship. >> reporter: so, when he arrived in new york for a meeting at the u.n. anticipation was running high and secretary of state kerry met with his irani counterpart javad zarif. but this new chapter is fraught with risks for both sides. can iran be trusted? president obama seems skeptical. >> the test will be mea