u.s. congress. ariel castro his prison cell. officials say the man who kept three women captive for decades -- for a decade in ohio apparently committed suicide. we start with russia's latest comments on u.s. plans to strike the syrian regime. latimer boudin says the u.s. congress has --vladimir putin says the u.s. congress has no right to a strike without a decision from the un security council, and doing so would be an act of aggression. the russian leader has accused u.s. secretary of state john kerry about lying to congress about al qaeda's role in the syrian conflict. the russian foreign minister issued a statement showing findings that the weapon used in last month's chemical attack was similar to ones used by a rebel group. a rock obama said earlier this wednesday he hopes putin will change his mind on syria and drop his support of bashar al- assad. this on a visit to sweden ahead of a g-20 summit in russia. the u.s. leader said it is not his credibility on the line, but that of the international community. >> first of all

u.s. congress to stand up for their responsibility. they will also mention in that statement that if the international community is losing, the u.s. does not end the suffering of the syrian people it will be a green light for the syrian regime to continue the killing of the syrian people leaving aside the official statement from the syrian national coalition and leading member of the city opposition it mentioned that he was very disappointed and surpriseed by the decision made by president obama because he said maybe the president, the u.s. president, fears any military intervention on syria could have regional repercussions and that's why he wants to cutoff his back with the u.s. congress to cover any mistakes or my wider complex within the region. >> omar, where does this leave the hopes of allies like turkey. the hopes for swift military action? >> reporter: the turks say just after the u.s. president spoke and they said they would respect such a decision because that it's a democracy and if the president chooses to consult with cong

u.s. president's waiting for congress for intervention. >> reporter: as u.n. inspectors arrived back at the hague, a u.s. strike seemed imminent. a small group of protesters outside of the white house urged restraint. their chants heard faintly in the rose garden as president barack obama came out to tell the world he wants to strike. he's ready, but it's going to have to wait. he now wants the approval of the u.s. congress. >> while i believe i have the authority to carry out this military action without specific congressional authorization, i know that the country will be stronger if we take this course and our actions will be even more effective. we should have this debate, because the issues are too big for business as usual. >> reporter: it won't happen soon. the president is not calling congress back into session. some politicians will return in the coming days for a series of hearings, but there won't be a full debate or vote until after both houses have returned from summer recess on september 9th. it came as a big surprise, since members of his adminis

u.s. congress of this week expected to vote on how to tackle syria and while it is tentatively where they stand well right now when you add up both democrats and republicans in the senate twenty three senators are in favor of the president's plan for intervening in the syrian conflict and twenty seven are against any military involvement and if we look at the lower chamber of the u.s. congress the house of representatives here we go it's going to be twenty five there we go twenty five members support a military strike while two hundred twenty seven oppose intervention and just a reminder that two hundred eighteen votes in total are needed in the house and fifty one in the senate for any resolution on syria to pass on syria president bashar assad meanwhile says he had nothing to do with any chemical weapons attack and there's no evidence linking him to it in the u.s. that claim was backed up in a letter to the president written by former intelligence and military analysts in mcgovern there's a cia veteran who signed that letter he told my colleague kevin knowing about the mood on capitol h

u.s. congress the house of representatives goes up to only twenty five members supporting a military strike while two hundred twenty seven the post just a reminder that two hundred seventeen votes in total are needed in the house and fifty one in the senate for any resolution on syria to pass syrian president bashar assad meanwhile says he had nothing to do with any chemical weapons attack there is no evidence linking him to it in the u.s. that claim was backed up in a letter to president obama written by former intelligence and military analysts in a governess a cia veteran who signed that letter. he told my colleague kevin knowing about the mood on capitol hill and why he thinks administration could be softening stance. yes friday kerry went before the cameras and say we got to do this and here's the not intelligence assessment mind you but the government assessment meaning the white has white house had a chance to massage it had it edited ok here's the s.f. and it didn't hold up to scrutiny or apparently the military got to the president and i see some evidence of this next thing we know

u.s. congress created the office of alaska delegate, a purely advisory position with no vote.hree years later, in 1908, wickersham ran successfully for delegate against the hand-picked choice of the guggenheims. >> wickersham has a long record of accomplishment in his time as delegate. one of the most important was the passage of the second organic act in 1912, which created the alaska territorial legislature. this was really the first time that alaskans really had a substantial say in controlling their own affairs. the legislature did have power to levy taxes, which was a power, by the way, that the salmon canning industry vigorously fought. >> narrator: throughout the territorial era, the powerful salmon canning companies made every effort to block taxation. wickersham wrote that "they resent the suggestion that the people of alaska have any right or interest in the salmon of the fisheries, and they resent it when it is suggested that they pay some little portion of the tax for the building of roads or the development of the country." in 1916, wickersham introduced in the u.

u.s. congress is still divided over whether to attack syria for the first senate showdown vote expected on wednesday on the first two of the nine eleven attacks. those with a chance of being out in washington d.c. with crowds marching from the white house to capitol hill n.b.c. poll has found nearly eighty percent of americans think the president needs congressional approval for any armed response against syria obama however says he would still have the authority to order him and. not support. also for the polls are showing up more than half of americans are against any strikes on syria that figure is even higher in france and the u.k. where sixteen eighty percent respectively are against military action and similar sentiments are shared in germany and italy the percentage of those against intervention in syria's neighbor turkey even higher or both houses of the u.s. congress this week expected to vote on how to tackle syria let's have a look at tentatively where they stand at the moment all right now when you add up both democrats and republicans in the senate twenty three senators are in

u.s. congress votes that does not give them the legitimacy to attack another country that you are the u.s. congress is a policy of the. country and that's. a mistake you know if i can just jump in here briefly i'm running very low on time but quickly to ask you quickly to ask you a fishelson saudi arabia and qatar have offered to bank roll any u.s. strike an intervention in syria why would that be the case how do you read that. well it's a pure and simple the real reasons why the u.s. and saudi arabia and qatar want to attack is because of the power balance in syria has changed today at that time to president assad was gaining ground again had nuru reason to provoke such a thing and there will be that there will be negotiations shortly and of course the assad regime will have a much stronger position and basically whether this is about is to change the power balance within syria for for a lot of reasons among the all the saudi arabia who will strengthen their influence in the reason against qatar by the way and the us who want to also buy this way weaken iran there's also the issue of isra

u.s. congress congress jumped on this russian proposal because they're being bombarded every day by their constituents who demand that they vote no to strikes against syria within hours after syria confirmed its willingness to get rid of chemical weapons the senate delayed the ball down strikes that were scheduled for later this week the president knowing that the house of representatives would most likely vote no on attacking syria was very vague about the prospect of the vote he said that i don't anticipate that you you would see a succession of votes this week or. any time. in the immediate future and so i think there will be time during the course of the debates here in the united states for the international community the russians and the syrians to work with us to see is there a way to resolve this the obama administration's rhetoric has been confusing and has raised lots of questions it is as it was building the case for strikes the u.s. wanted the support of the you when but would refuse to take classified evidence that washington supposedly has against the syrian leader to. the u

u.s. congress, as you know the u.s. l be voting on whether the united states should retaliate against syria in the next few days. >> reporter: given that and given kerry's comments, very aggressive comments saying there is a strong case for intervention, on the flip side of that they said the diplomatic canals to resolve the issue have not been exhausted, are there any other diplomatic channels they can go through? >> well, i think the most important channel is the russian channel. remember, russia has provided major political, military and diplomatic support for the regime and they try to prevent a potential american military intervention inside syria. russia's interests lie in finding a political way out of this. russia does not want the americans to become militarily inside syria because they want to preserve the central government in damascus and preserve their own interests. in fact, there is an an ambilical cord and that is why it's important and the question is do the americans buy the russian point of view, will

u.s. to launch this strike, even if president obama gets approval from congress? >> i think it is a bad idea because it builds the case for the united nations. i think he should do that, and if that fails, say to the world i have made the case, this is something the world has spoken out against historically. no one is willing to face up to the action i am willing to take with support. >> what about the damage to america's credibility if he does not strike? >> i don't think we gain much in this. this is more about iran than syria. this is the issue that the israelis have been watching us iran'sout, as far as nuclear program is concerned. if the president were to draw a line as he says we have and then not respond to it, i think that sends a signal to iran and in the israelis may say we cannot rely on the united states, we will do it ourselves. those are the issues involved. >> thank you for coming in. suspect he is glad he is not having to make these decisions today. just as american lawmakers grapple with this difficult process, politicians and paris have begun th

u.s. congress. stkphao while i believe i have the authority of carry out this military action without authorization, i know that the country will be stronger if we take this course and our actions will be even more effective. we should have this debate. >> reporter: it won't happen soon. president is not calling congress back in to session. some politicians will return in the coming days for a series of hearings but there won't. a full debate or vote until after both houses have returned from summer recess on september 9th. it came as a big surprise. they avoided secrets of seeking a kong congressional vote. >>> we are engaging in what we believe our responsibility is which is to consult with congress. >> we will consult with congress. >> we believe that we should consult with congress in a very robust way. >>> when taking much broader action in libya. they said they didn't need approval. air strikes and missiles didn't qualify. now they believe congress should weigh in on syria. a body which hasn't

u.s. intervention in syria as president obama calls for military action but god's looking for approval from the congress. he says the russian president appeals to the american leader as a nobel peace prize laureate what are you over the grave consequences of a campaign against syria. and a hike of radiation of the figures show nuclear plant levels are eighteen times higher than previously of salt which could prove relief so within four hours. the latest news on the week's top stories you're watching the weekly on our c with me thanks for joining us the u.s. president will soon launch a military strike on syria but he will still win a domestic political battle without to happen bronc obama is seeking congressional approval for that and congress will consider it on september ninth washington wants to punish damascus for an alleged chemical attack but the evidence so far presented has left much of the world unconvinced more and that's from more in a park not. obama said although he does believe that he has the authority to carry out a military attack without approval from congress he feels that the country

u.s. intervention in syria as president obama calls for military action but goes looking for approval from the congress. this sounds the russian president appeals to the american leader as a nobel peace prize laureate warning him over the grave consequences of the campaign against syria. and also this hour hike of radiation on the fukushima nuclear plant and levels are eighteen times higher than previously thought which could prove lethal within four hours. the latest news on the week's top stories we're watching our see the week here on our c with me you know thanks for joining. the u.s. president launch to launch a military strike on syria but he will still win a domestic political battle for that to happen barack obama seeking congressional approval for the top and congress will consider it for september the ninth washington wants to punish damascus for an alleged chemical attack but the evidence so far presented has left much of the world unconvinced montez from. obama said although he does believe that he has the authority to carry out a military attack without approval from congress he feels that

u.s. congress to pass this strike. they want it all to occur. saudi arabia also saying to the world that everyone must act, come to the backing of the syrian people. so, it seems that the region is looking for the united states to indeed pass this, come here, and create a strike and get this going. del? >> robert, you are in lebanon, one of the country tries affected by the situation in syria. what is happening in lebanon? >> reporter: yeah. we are in tripoli, north of beirut, about 50 or 60 miles from the syrian border. this is a primarily a sunni town. it is a very poor town. we spent the entire day basically talking to people on the ground here opposition forces that are in lebanon that support the forces in syria. some of these people go in and out syria to fight assad's regime. we spoke to a group today right on a borderline between assad's regime and the opposition forces. they told us that they wished, they wished very much, that yesterday the president would not have tossed this over to congress. they wanted to see action here they are i

u.s. congress sits to make a decision on intervention in syria america's military in the region is already waiting for the green light to strike its neighbor forces in the mediterranean to be boosted to five destroyers and an assault ship with hundreds of marines on board well officials are stressing that the troops are not part of any military planning and just a precaution but the destroyers pack some serious firepower you can see here each of them carries up to ninety tomahawk missiles and they can strike syria from a safe distance while dealing massive damage to the country syrian president bashar assad says he's ready to deal with any external aggression. is gauging the mood in damascus. i followed obama's message from the white house i was in with the syrians and i had a very good opportunity a chance to see their vivid reaction to their to read their faces and to see all the developments of the emotions and feelings that i have to say that if at the beginning of a bomb a speech people were nervous and would tans and of course were frightened obviously what i saw at the end of the ma

u.s. congress has yet to vote on the subject and the result position to it all in france so maybe this is the opportunity for a serious of radical initiative involving russia as well as western europe united states and obviously the gulf cooperation countries otherwise the u.s. will very involved there will be probably will be further killing the further mayhem and the record of afghanistan and iraq where those with western involvement there has not been a peaceful solution but has been one of continuous destabilization and. the syrian army has send reinforcements including tanks to the village of mali which has been at the forefront of heavy clashes this week and ancient christian century has been besieged by al-qaeda affiliated rebels since wednesday which is wary of an arson that has gained access to the stricken area we entered my lul or through its ancient gauge burnt and damaged in recent attacks shortly after the syrian army announces that most of the militants were pushed back signs of the recent battle and destruction a reverie where we were told to move fast and to follow the mi

u.s. congress has yet to vote on the subject and the result position to it all in france so maybe this is the opportunity for a serious attempt right initiative involving russia as well as western europe united states and obviously the gulf cooperation countries otherwise u.s. will get involved there will be probably will be further killing me further my. the record of afghanistan and iraq where the west involvement has not been a peaceful solution but it's been one of continuous destabilization and. as the u.s. congress they remain split on whether to attack syria and the latest polls show most americans oppose the intervention there's been a fresh and to all rally in washington as hundreds of calls for restraint from the white house. much of the public remains unconvinced to even washington's claims that it has added ins implicating the syrian government and the deadly use of chemical weapons but president obama maintains he still has that the afford to order an attack even if congress votes against said didn't is a done deal these are the means by the secretary of state to jump up supp

u.s. congress prepares to reconvene on monday and debate whether to wage war on syria the senate intelligence committee has released what it says is footage of last month's alleged chemical attack and might find the following images distressing despite the assertion of u.s. officials that the footage is authentic it cannot be independent and confirmed nor does it point to who was responsible for the ledge to trial city in which more than fourteen hundred syrians are said to have been killed. now the syrian army has sent reinforcements including tanks to the village of moola which has been at the forefront of heavy clashes this week an ancient christian sanctuary has been besieged by al qaeda affiliated rebels since wednesday artie's marie fanaa has gained access to the stricken area we entered my lulu through its ancient gauge burnt and damaged in recent attacks shortly after the syrian army announces that most of the militants were pushed back signs of the recent battle and destruction a reverie where we were told to move fast and to follow the military's vehicles without stopping or even sl

u.s. congress is still decided over whether or not to attack syria the first senate showdown vote expected a date on wednesday the anniversary instantly of the nine eleven attacks but a reuters poll says fifty six percent of americans don't want the country to use its armed forces against syria and some of it making their voices heard in the capital. they were the ringing chants in washington d.c. a snapshot there with crowds marching from the white house to capitol hill and n.b.c. polls now found the nearly eighty percent of americans think the president needs congressional approval for any armed response against syria barmer though says he does still have the authority to order a military strike even without lawmaker support so let's take a look at the polls they're showing over half of americans are against a strike on syria that figure is even higher in france and the u.k. sixty eight eighty percent their respect of the against military action similar sentiment shared in germany and italy too and the share of those against intervention in syria's neighbor turkey is even higher both hou

u.s. law the supreme law of the land for the united states is something that congress cannot supersede so this whole rush to war is illegal according to american and international law and there's really not yet really been any presentation of facts to provide a course for going to war and nevertheless they're moving ahead full speed. the british prime minister spoke in favor of military intervention in syria despite being rebuffed by his colleagues in parliament opposition labor m.p. jeremy tobin says a diplomatic solution is the only way to say syria from slipping into complete chaos. i decided it's decided not to go in the u.s. congress has yet to vote on the subject and the result position to it all in france so maybe this is the opportunity for a serious that radical initiative involving russia as well as western europe united states and obviously the gulf cooperation countries otherwise the us will very involved there will be probably will be further killing the further mayhem and the record of afghanistan and iraq where the spring western involvement has not been a peaceful solution

u.s. congress, the u.s. secretary of state talked about the good guys and the bad guys. the regime banking on this, on the fact that the armed opposition is not a unit force on the ground, and maybe this is why the west is scared to topple the regime altogether. the rebels, for their part. those are doing their best to exploit the situation if the regime is weakened, and, of course, al-qaeda-linked groups, we understand from people on the ground they have moved out of their barracks, and basically going almost underground, a low profile to avoid being targeted, because there is a lot of talk and fear in northern syria, particularly that they will be targeted as well. >> thank you zana. to other news, pakistan - the government says it will release seven taliban prisoners in order to facilitate peace talks with afghanistan. 26 prisoners were freed last year. we will talk about this. our correspondent in karachi. >> according to the foreign officer seven prisoners, and key amongst them is the brother of a taliban commander, killed seven years ago and was one of the importan

u.s. congress sits to make a decision on intervention in syria america's military in the region is already waiting for the green light to strike its naval forces in the mediterranean have been boosted to five destroyers now and then the abuse assault ship with hundreds of marines on board is also their official stressed that the troops are not part of any military planning and just a precaution the destroyers pack some serious firepower each of them carries up to ninety tomahawk cruise missiles now they can strike syria from a safe distance while dealing nassif damage to the country syrian president bashar assad says he's ready to cope with any external aggression there is gauging the mood in damascus. i followed obama's message from the white house i was in with the syrians and i had a very good opportunity a chance to see their vivid reaction to their to read their faces and to see all the developments of the motions and feelings that i have to say that if at the beginning of a bomb a speech people were nervous and would tans and of course were frightened obviously what i saw at the end

u.s. congress.n fact, i would be shocked if the mandate is not forthcoming in the next few days. >> such an important point. we often speak in the american context about principles around the world when people see those principles applied so seleiv selectively by the united states military. i wanted to ask you about this reaction around the world to our actual internal process. we have seen presidents with very aggressive foreign policies like the last one and more diplomatically inclined presidents like the current one. both go to congress. i don't know that you can really read that much into that act. is that how it's being seen around the world? >> no, not really. i mean, i think there's a great deal of cynicism, as you well know, of america's intentions. the iraq war is very, very much alive in the imagination of world public opinion, across the board, not just in the arab and muslim world. in russia and china, public opinion in britain and france and germany. in fact, president putin today in a

u.s. congress is still does some divided over whether to attack syria or not to attack it the first senate showdown vote expected indeed on wednesday the twelfth and the twelfth anniversary of the nine eleven attacks but a reuters poll says fifty six percent of americans don't want their country to use its armed forces against syrian some of making their voices heard in the capital. first. well those were the charms for a year in washington d.c. with crowds marching from the white house to capitol hill and n.b.c. polls found that nearly eighty percent of americans think the president needs congressional approval for any armed response against syria love barmer though says he does still have the authority to order a military strike even without the lawmakers support so let's talk about the polls there showing over half of americans against any strikes on syria that figure is even higher in france in the united kingdom where sixty and eighty percent respectively are against military action and similar sentiment shared in germany and italy to the share of those against intervention in syria i

u.s. congress votes that does not give them the legitimacy to attack another country that you are the u.s. congress is a bottom of that country and that. that was a. former deputy speaker of the belgian parliament and he joined us just a bit earlier in the program here on r.t. as we continue our g. twenty coverage from the north and capital the venice of the north this is. an amazing backdrop behind us now and i see this cathedral just behind my shoulder certainly surrounded by multiple unesco world heritage sites as well i'm very lucky . and he said now he has left the convention center called polish now joining us here on r.t. set so nice to see you in the fresh i've been looking at you on screen all day and had to take two boats to get here two boats and it took you long enough as well i'll have you know as the temperatures have dropped i'm glad you're dressed fairly well many for the meantime it is getting a bit chilly here in some people but it's quite chilly sort of represents the mood here. at home to say today's frosty over the past forty eight hours or so but you know you've had t

u.s. congress votes that does not give them the legitimacy to attack another country that you are the u.s. congress is a bottom of that country and that's. and i miss a lot of a new story that he was also saying that at the end of the day he says this has nothing to do with any sort of chemical weapons attack it's all about it's all about changing the balance of power in the region regarding israel iran saudi arabia qatar and of course the israeli influence in washington d.c. as well so it really is a multi level issue here when it truly comes to what is the motivation inside syria and whatever the case to date to hear in some papers bug of the g. twenty summit is going up salute pleasure doing the artsy live broadcast here if you can stay with us i will be joined by katie pilbeam the host of artie's business program venture capital that will be coming your way very soon hope you can stay with us. sir. yes more later and as you were saying there predictably than a lot of focus on syria the g twenty the latest from syria will government forces are battling al qaeda linked rebels who attacke

u.s. congress on yesterday and the day before the senate the day before and yesterday the house and another hour and a half session with the senate yesterday and the conclusion is what was presented as evidence there was no discussion whatsoever about did the government of syria used chemical weapons or even were chemical weapons used it was stated that the outset in each case that that's in fact what happened that weapons were used that this was an example of the weapons used that there were twelve hundred thirteen hundred casualties i forget the number and that the syrian government did this on the instructions of president assad now there was no discussion whatsoever about how they came to that conclusion and there was no one challenging it whatsoever they instead were discussing what to do as a consequence there also was no discussion of whether or not there was the u.s. had the power to act without the u.n. you know how to deal with the fact that this doesn't fall into article fifty one of the u.n. charter no discussion of that either so you know the rest of it it's like watching a cou

u.s. congress in the coming days that the u.s.rry out some kind of limited attacks against syria, the head of syria's opposition group today in cairo, the syrian national government asked them to pass a tough resolution in support of military action. the arab league condemned the use of chemical weapons. they have put the blame squarely on the assad regime. but so far, their position has been and it remains with the message today that they want the u.n. security council to take charge when it comes to approving military action. obviously that's not happening so that explains why the arab league did not give the green light for a military explicitly but if washington does go ahead with a strike, it would not be in violation of the arab league's position but i think when's paramount here, fred, and a bigger point is that the arab league's position is probably not going to be a difference maker for the vote that will take place in the u.s. congress. that's the vote that will decide if the u.s. attacks syria or not, despite what the a

u.s. congress? >> reporter: the odds in the u.s. congress are right now if this vote was taken today, i'm told by lawmakers on both sides, it would not pass. but as always, things can change. but if it were to pass, it would have to be unusual alliance of democrats and republicans. some libertarians and liberals are opposed. it's threatening a difficult needle. >> a huge gamble. thank you. let's bring in george stephanopoulos who is the host of "this week." let me ask this question -- let me put up a picture as i ask the question. this is the situation room on friday night, the president and the national security team. look at the faces. everybody so grim as they make the decision. as i look, let's ask, if the votes go against them, will they act anyway? >> he would be the first president in modern times to lose a vote on military force. that was the question that president obama ignored when he left the rose garden yesterday. that was the question being shouted out. i'm going to ask secretary of state kerry this morning. they don't

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congress. and retired u.s. air force lieutenant colonel karen kwiatkowski says the actions of the obama administration risk putting american forces alongside those they've called an enemy for years. we have allied ourselves twice now at least brock obama and washington d.c. the congress has done nothing to to prevent us from being allied with the very terroristic enemies that we talked about al-qaeda based al-qaeda linked organizations certainly in libya in fact in some of the same al qaeda groups in libya that are assisting and fighting the assad regime in damascus so i don't know what it will take to explain to barack obama what he is getting into the congress should be putting a stop to this several days of airstrikes will do very little it will demonstrate in many ways the weakness of the united states political regime and the lack of options that it has in really moving forward towards peace in the region. so to come this hour after the break marks twenty thirteen a bokken flight and you're watching live p