u.s. embassy has been closed for 18 months because of security concerns. but the prospect of a u.s. military strike on syria looming the message from washington is that it is simply taking precautions. >> i would caution you from inferring. what i'm going to say is i'm not going to comment on this alleged piece of intelligence and we will make decisions on our post on a day-to-day basis. >> a need for military action in syria, the secretary of state published this editorial on friday. in kosovo, without a single american casualty, the world is a better place because we did. it was the right thing to do then and it is right thing to do now. the draw down of certain personnel doesn't mean an attack on syria is imnentd or likely. what it means is the risk of attack on american interests has gone up as the u.s. tries to figure out whether it will attack are yrs pf. >> new fro tests outside the heavily fortified embassy. >> here in beirut in front of one of the entrances to the u.s. embassy you can see here a lebanese soldier creating a barricade so people cannot get up there to the u.s.

u.s. embassy right now are quiet. there was a protest that just wrapped up, about 200 people that are pro-assad, lebanese pro-assad that is. they were very peaceful in their protest, but very clear in what they wanted. they do not want the u.s. to strike syria, absolutely not. that was their message. they think this is a regional conflict and no one should come in here and strike their territory. although some of the protesters did tell us that if, indeed, there was something to happen they wanted the u.s. to sit down at the table with russia, the u.n. and even assad and figure something out instead of doing war. that was the message here. some of them with red paint with their hands and holding it up to the camera saying the u.s. will have blood on their hands, blood on america if, indeed, there is a strike. all is clear here in front of the gate at the u.s. embassy right now as the lebanese army and police are cleaning up what was a very, very peaceful protest but a very clear message from the folks on the ground he

u.s. embassy in tehran, holding dozens of americans hostage for 444 days. major garrett is at the white house with more about the historic phone call and these fast-moving developments. major? >> reporter: scott, the iranians called the white house this

u.s. embassies, has so far escaped blame for the ben ghazi terrorist attack. four state department middle level managers placed on leave after the assault were reassigned in august with no financial penalty. >> i submit respectfully, mr. chairman, that accountability includes being

u.s. embassy in ankara all embassies are open. that is not the case in damascus where the u.s. assy has been closed for 18 months because of security concerns. but the prospect of a u.s. led military strike on syria looming the message from washington is that it is simply taking precaution he. >> i would caution you from inferring anything i guess, what i would say is i'm not going ocomment on this alleged piece of intelligence and we will make our decisions on a day-to-day basis. >> the secretary of state published this editorial on friday. in kosovo without a single american combat casualty countries of conscience acted and the world is a better place because we did. it was the right thing to do then and it is the right thing to do now. the draw-down of some diplomatic personnel doesn't mean an attack is imminent or likely, what it does mean, the u.s. tries to figure out whether it will attack syria. rosalyn jordan, al jazeera the state department. >> with the new warnings in bay route, al jazeera's robert ray talked to some of the demonstrators. >> here in beirut in front of

u.s. embassies. u.s. embassy in nairobi, kenya, has been hit before. protecting those people. ple on the ground in that country who can protect that embassy? those are our people now exposed. and i don't have to say it's only been a little more than a year since our outpost in benghazi. it's the elephant in the room you have to say it. >> right. no, and that's absolutely true. this marine security guard attachment. regional security office, state department, their penle, we have some other people there worried about or working on security. but that's always the first -- any time you have one of these attacks you're always worrying about a trailing attack, a follow-on, a second, a third attack because it's possibly this could be setting up for that next assault. and so, shelter in place, that's a very common term. and what they're basically doing is saying everybody hunker down. we don't want any movement. we need to account for everybody, including u.s. citizens who are there on business. even if you're just travelling there. imagine a businessman who arrived in nairobi just fo

u.s. embassy in beirut nor u.s. diplomatic facilitys in high threat areas meet standards. >> that, to me is appalling. if you were ever at a place where you are putting people who are representing us in that country have risks it's beirut. >> reporter: it's the restructuring of the state department does not take place. the lives of more u.s. diplomates will be at risk. al jazeera, washington. >>> a blackout leaves most of venezuela in the dark. why some people sa sabotage is leading today kwros. >>> thousands oh of wal-mart workers across the country are doing the same but demanding what the nation's private employer. >>> the 16-year-old girl shot by the taliban after campaigning for girls rights to an education is speaking out about the fight against terrorism. the non- violent weapon she says can be used to defeat it. >>> the venezuelan government is claiming sabotage after they were left without power. venezuela's debt thety minister said several transit lines are down from the blackout. they suggested opposition

u.s. embassy in damasc damascus. more information as we get it at the live desk. >>> new this morning we're learning about a speech the president is getting ready to deliver this morning in prince george's county. he is heading to a local college to talk about health care reform. what we know now could be a very frank speech. megan mcgrath joins us live with more on what we can expect to hear today. good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning, eun. within the hour the white house released details regarding the president's speech. they say that he will be speaking very cheerily, very frankly about the details of the affordable care act trying to cut through the confusion and talk directly to the people about how it will affect them. now beginning october 1, health insurance marketplaces will open and people can go onis line and sign up for insurance through exchanges. now there's a lot of confusion about how it will all work, who is eligible, and today president barack obama will attempt to explain the law and what

u.s. embassy in london an entirely new embassy is going to be built at a cost of about walden billion dollars. the building looks almost exactly like a twenty first century castle it reminds me very very much of the norman keep as a sort of structure it has a thirty meter moat filled with water believe it or not which is both a landscape feature an aesthetic feature and the security feature and it involves a whole lot of blast proofing architecture is a whole lot of fairy intense security devices and systems many of which are confidential as you'd expect built into this glass and steel almost medieval castle like structure. we witnessing a rare nascence of medieval architecture with electronic city wools and bomb proof modes. fortresses have always had to deal function protection from the outside and for rulers protection from their own subject. major events such as the g eight and g twenty summits on the world economic forum demonstrate how the ruling classes are protecting themselves from their own citizens the security efforts are increasing from year to year. the distinction between polic

u.s. embassy in london an entirely new embassy is going to be built at a cost of about walden billion dollars. the building looks almost exactly like a twenty first century castle it reminds me very very much of the norman keep as a sort of structure it has a thirty meter moat filled with water believe it or not which is both a landscape. and aesthetic feature and the security feature and it involves a whole lot of blast proofing architecture has a whole load of very intense security devices and systems many of which are confidential as you'd expect built into this glass and steel almost medieval castle like structure. are we witnessing or a nascence of medieval architecture with electronics city wools and bomb proof modes. fortresses have always had to deal function protection from the outside and for rule is protection from their own subject. major events such as the g eight and g twenty summits and the world economic forum demonstrate how the ruling classes are protecting themselves from their own citizens the security efforts are increasing from year to year. the distinction between polic

u.s. embassy in london an entirely new embassy is going to be built at a cost of about walden billion dollars. the building looks almost exactly like a twenty first century castle it reminds me very very much of the norman keep as a sort of structure it has a thirty meter moat filled with water believe it or not which is both a landscape. and aesthetic feature and the security feature on it involves a whole lot of blast proofing architecture is a whole load of very intense security devices and systems many of which are confidential as you'd expect built into this glass and steel almost medieval castle like structure. are we witnessing or a nascence of medieval architecture with electronics city wools and bomb proof modes. fortresses have always had to deal function protection from the outside and for rule is protection from their own subjects. major events such as the g eight and g twenty summits and the world economic forum demonstrate how the ruling classes are protecting themselves from their own citizens the security efforts are increasing from year to year. the distinction between police

u.s. embassy in baghdad if there is a strike. joining me now dr. wally ferris.ood to have you join us today. in your briefings to congress and the european parliament last year and this year, you projected there would be regional counterattacks if the u.s. were to strike the assad regime. so why would the iranian regime in the first place be risking a confrontation with the united states and the west if this strike is directed against syria? >> i actually insisted on the fact that it is a strategic decision made in tehran. this is a result, number one, of the strategic alliance between the syrian regime and iranian regime. we have nato. they have a series of treaties between themselves. defense treaties that include hezbollah. if one is attacked, all others will counterattack. that is something to be taken seriously into account. the most important reason is that the iranian regime will lose everything regionally if they lose syria. if we look at the map, the bridge between the iranian regime through iraq and syria and to hezbollah goes through damascus, goes th

u.s. embassy in london an entirely new embassy is going to be built at a cost of about walden billion dollars. the building looks almost exactly like a twenty first century castle it reminds me very very much of the norman keep as a sort of structure it has a thirty meter moat filled with water believe it will not which is both a landscape feature an aesthetic feature and the security feature and it involves a whole lot of blast proofing architecture has a whole load of very intense security devices and systems many of which are confidential as you'd expect built into this glass and steel almost medieval castle like structure. are we witnessing a rare nascence of medieval architecture with electronics city wools and bomb proof modes. fortresses have always had to deal function protection from the outside and for rule is protection from their own subject. major events such as the g eight and g twenty summits on the world economic forum demonstrate how the ruling classes are protecting themselves from their own citizens the security efforts are increasing from year to year. the distinction betw

u.s. embassy. the state department earlier said all non-emergency officials and diplomats need to exit the country of lebanon, tourists should not come in. today there are protests. they're cleaning this up now, and this was done by pro-assad members of the lebanese group here. they decided they wanted to bring 200 young folks out to tell america that they did not want a strike on syria. [ protesting ] >> i can't believe how your proud about freedom, and you support syria. they're killing kids. they destroyed two years ago, church, not mosques only, i don't understand. [ protesting ] >> you obama, you idiot, you stupid, not for capitalism, not for terrorism. >> as you can see red paint on cardboard. many protesters put it on their hands saying the u.s. would have blood on their hands if they strike syria. the message here is do not do. at the do not want outside forces here doing anything to interview with the situation. most of the people hearsay they wanted the u.s. to talk with russia, to talk w

u.s. embassy in beirut. the state department is also urging all u.s.izens to avoided travel to lebanon siting current safety and security concerns. our own david jackson al jazeera reporting life from beirut, telling us more about what is going on here. and david, also making the point earlier, you made this earlier, it is important to stress this, the embassy itself is not closing down. so tell us what is happening many. >> the embassy will be functioning somewhat normally, it will be something of a skeleton that will be in there, but it will function as a normal u.s. embassy. that means that the friends and families rule, will take effect. and the friends and families of the people that work there, and the nonemergency staff as they call it will be asked to leave. it's all in an effort, really, to reduce the number of americans that are in this region. they want to make sure that americans understand that they should steer clear of this part of the world, the very extreme eastern end of the med train nan is viewed to be a dangerous spot, and they wan

u.s. embassy in beirut. the state department is also urging all u.s. citizens to avoid travel to lebanon citing, this is a quote, current safety and security concerns. david jackson is live in beirut with more on what prompted this warning. it seems with everything that is potentially on the horizon, this is almost to be expected. >> reporter: it is to be expected, richelle. you're right. it's happened before, many times before. it is often referred to by the personnel as the friends and family rule. it means friends and family are advised at this point to leave the country and leave the united states embassy. the issue is actually ordered by the state department, and they do this around the world, really, periodically in places that you might not expect. you see it pop up occasionally in areas that don't even seem to be particularly endangered. in this case they think they have good reason, and they're certainly ordering the nonessential personnel to be out of the embassy itself. the embassy will remain open. all the embassies here remain open, and ma

u.s. embassies? new threats and new evidence. >>> plus, with or without strikes and counterstrikes 2 million syrian refugees and counting. this is a catastrophe, an international crisis. >>> also stunning confession, posted online, he drank, he drove, and he killed someone, and he's saying so before he's even charged. is this a smart move? is it a legal maneuver? or is it just magnanimous? >>> hello, everyone, i'm ashleigh banfield, it's friday, september the 6th. >>> president obama making an international appeal for a strike on syria right after an unexpected meeting this morning with russian president vladimir putin at the g-20 summit in st. petersburg, russia, and the headline, the difference over syria's use of chemical weapons remains just that, differences. >> it was a candid and constructive conversation. which characterizes my relationship with him. i know as i've said before, everybody's always trying to look for body language and all that, but the truth of the matter is, is that my interac

u.s. embassy in tehran and the 444 day hostage crisis that followed has a u.s. president spoken to an iranian president. >> the very fact this was the first communications between an american and iranian president since 1979 underscores the deepness between our countries and indicates the prospect of moving beyond that difficult history. >> reporter: news of the call broke with a tweet from iran's president shortly before president obama announced it, rouhani turned down a face to face meeting when both men were in new york on tuesday, but the call was his idea. rouhani has been in new york all week, speaking at the u.n. and vowing warmer relations with the united states. the obstacles are huge, for years war with iran has seemed more likely than diplomatic progress. the president says he sees a chance for a big change. beginning with renewed talks on iran's nuclear program. >> i believe we have a responsibility to pursue diplomacy, and a unique opportunity to make progress with the new leadership in tehran. >> reporter: right after the president touted his hist

u.s. embassy in baghdad. >>> u.s.eanwhile on capitol hill when they move ahead for a large-scale air strike against the assad regime. >>> chief summit in russia. president obama taking questions from reporters just hours from now. you'll see it live here on cnn around 9:50 a.m. eastern. >>> a resentencing hearing in montana for a teacher who was given 30 days for raping a girl. attorneys are trying to block that. >>> the last day on the job for homeland security director janet napolitano. no replacement has been named to take the dhs job. we always update those five things to know and be sure to check cnn.com for the very latest. >>> right now we wrauant to tel you this story. troubling murder trial out of new mexico. tells us what kids are capable of. a boy charged at 10 years old. it happened in 2009. benjamin hillburn is now 14 and he is here with his mother as they await trial. a look at the story that captivated the entire nation. >> i need a doctor, my dad is dying. >> reporter: a 911 call made after benjamin hi

u.s. embassy in baghdad if there is u.s. military action against syria. that's coming from a senior u.s.poke with cnn's barbara starr. the united states is, of course, looking closely at all intelligence from the region, not only because of a possible u.s. strike against syria but also as september 11th approaches, which is not only the one-year anniversary of the attack on the u.s. compounds in benghazi, libya but also of course the 12-year anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. >>> also tonight, a major

u.s. embassy in baghdad.r military source confirms the existence of the threat to fox news but warns that this news has not been fully vetted yet. official also said he was not aware of increased security at the baghdad compound. >>> the state department ordered all nonessential u.s. diplomats, as well as american citizens, to leave lebanon. citing growing security concerns as congress and the obama administration debate on a possible strike on syria. in south beirut with more on the fallout neighboring countries are seeing at this time. >> reporter: the war in syria's already hitting home in lebanon. this memorial, hezbollah stronghold of south beirut, the site of a car bomb last month that left 27 dead. people are already trying to make repairs, trying to fix this place up. the blast widely seen as retaliation for hezbollah's backing of the assad regime. experts tell us if hezbollah hits anything, it will probably be its arch enemy and key u.s. ally, israel, but only if it's a big u.s. strike. memories of t

u.s. e embassy. and in 1988 the u.s. said it mistakenly shut down, killing is 88 people. >> states like these and their terrorist allies constitute the axis of evil. since then it's been threats, sanctions and sabotage of iran's nuclear program. now a new push for talks. diplomat john linbert they're out of touch. >> they have not practiced diplomacy with the other side. instead careers in both capitals seems to have been built on the ability to bash the other side. >> reporter: the first issue they disagree on is why iran is doing this. enriching uranium. they say it's for nuclear energy and research. the u.s. worries that it may be to build a nuclear bomb. >> many of the nuclear activities that iran has been pursuing do not make sense for nuclear energy program. i think what the iaea has said for many years there are not definitive evidence that iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, but they also cannot say for sure that nuclear isn't pursu iran ir weapons. >> reporter: they sit down to talk for the first time in a long ti

u.s. service members and embassies at risk. >> reporter: if american tomahawk missiles fly to syria in the about the blowback? >> the u.s. needs to be ready. one thing available is russian missiles. >> reporter: kirk lippold commanded the "uss cole" hit by terrorists in 2000. hezbollah hit this israeli ship with a missile in 2006. top u.s. commanders say american ships will keep a safe distance but what could also be in the syrians's range, forces in turkey. look how close the base is to the syrian border, well within the missile range. still, rick francona in syria says bashar al assad is unlikely to risk striking americans militarily. >> i think the risks associated with this operation are pretty limited. >> reporter: but there's an attack risk. >> to do something against an american interest, american company, an american family, yeah, there are risks involved. >> reporter: last year, u.s. embassies in several middle east countries were attacked and the most serious threat of all? terrorism. >> syria's a state sponsor of terrorism and has been since the list was made in 1979. so, it has

u.s. embassy was stormed. u.s. hostages were held hostage and a cold war began, one that would occasionally turn hot. the u.s. backed iraq in its war with iran. hezbollah was blamed for bombing the u.s. embassy and hammering barracks in lebanon. in 1988 the u.s. said it mistakenly shot down an iranian passenger jet killing 290 people. brief cooperation in afghanistan after the september 11th attacks didn't last. >> states like these and their terrorist allies constitute an axis of evil. >> reporter: the u.s. accused iran of arming iraqi opposition and killing u.s. soldiers. since then it's been mostly threats, sanctions, and sabotage of iran's nuclear program. now, a new push to talk. former iranian hostage and diplomat john lindberg says they're facing a huge challenge. >> the problem in this case is that both sides, both tehran and washington, are out of practice. they have not practiced diplomacy with the other side. instead, careers in both capitals seem to have been built on the ability to bash the other side.

u.s. embassy in tehran and the 440 day hostage crisis that followed has a u.s.resident spoken to an iranian president. >> the very fact this was the first communications between an american and iranian president since 1979 underscores the deepness between our countries and indicates the prospect of moving beyond that difficult history. >> reporter: news of the call broke with a tweet from iran's president shortly before president obama announced it, rouhani turned down a face to face meeting when both men were in new york on tuesday, but the call was his idea. rouhani has been in new york all week, speaking at the u.n. and vowing warmer relations with the united states. the obstacles are huge, for years war with iran has seemed more likely than diplomatic progress. the president says he sees a chance for a big change. beginning with renewed talks on iran's nuclear program. >> i believe we have a responsibility to pursue diplomacy, and a unique opportunity to make progress with the new leadership in tehran. >> reporter: right after the president touted his histor

u.s. embassy in beirut nerey significant number of u.s. diplomatic facilities in high-threat areas met the standards. >> that's appalling. if you ever have a place where you're putting the people representing us in the country at risk, it's beirut. ir >> reporter: if the restructuring doesn't take root, the lives of more americans will be at risk. >> phil and josh back here with us, and let's talk a little bit about what happened since benghazi. were there more spec recommendations beyond an undersecretary? >> reporter: they made 40 recommendations. most importantly, the overarching recommendation, one that we have been hearing time is time again, the department of state needs to create an undersecretary for diplomatic security. and it falls under the undersecretary for manage: but that office handles other responsibilities, and doesn't, according to the report, have the time or the manpower or the resources to be focused in solely on security, which clearly this panel needed to. >> so when you are talking about 30 years ago, the inman rep

u.s. embassy intl staff and family members are being evacuated from lebanon because of threats to u.s. mission facilities and personnel. >> there are also travel warnings advising them against going to lebanon. we 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 seconda

u.s. embassy was bombed. you heard the mention coming out of the administration about our workers there. the danger in that part of the world is very real for americans. this time specifically for non muslims as you heard connor powell reporting. the former u.s. ambassador to the united nations and a fox news contributor is with us now. ambassador, we are learning the terrorists from this al-qaeda-linked group, al-shabab, escorted muslims away from the mall and out of danger. what does that tell you? >> this sounds like a very concerted, well-planned attack. i think the dimensions of it are still unclear, but big. the possibility for the attackers may have hostages inside the mall. we don't know about that yet either. but the death toll is high and likely to go higher. i think the most significant thing here is that al-shabab is part of a terrorist organization. somali itself will be without a central government for over 20 years. and if this is really the export of violence from somalia into kenya, when you look at the violence across africa and algeria in january in mali and through th

u.s. embassy -- bombings of the u.s. embassy in tanzania.cyclic, the islamic courts union is dismantled. -- basically, the islamic courts union is dismantled. somalia returns to the civil war, and ethiopians are then committing rape, murdering civilians, rendering people back to ethiopia, and it becomes an utter disaster. what ends up happening is al- shabaab, this group of relative nobodies, that were on the periphery, they say we will be the vanguard and we will take up arms and defend somalia. they started mixing together the ideas and rhetoric of osama bin laden with a somali nationalist politics and they ended up getting a tremendous amount of support because they were the only people fighting. what happened there, and this is incredible, osama bin laden tried to take credit for the black hawk down incident in the early 1990's. it was a complete lie. he had nothing to do with it. osama bin laden tried to take responsibility for it. >> u.s. soldiers were killed, as well as thousands of civilians. >> thousands were killed. it is one of th

u.s. embassy in iraq if america strikes syria.e order came in a message intercepted by the u.s. from the head of the quds force, unit of iran's revolutionary guard known to carry out attacks abroad. but american officials have this warning for anyone who would try to retaliate, starting with syria's president. >> if assad is arrogant enough, and i would say foolish enough, to retaliate to the consequences of his own criminal activity, the united states and our allies have ample ways to make him regret that decision. >> still, precautionary measures are being taken. the u.s. has already evacuated some americans from its embassy in lebanon and told people in a consulate in southern turkey to be vigilant, joe. >> already signs of potential blowback. >> that's right. >> but i guess the question is whether any of this would be enough to stop the united states from attacking? >> there's no indication that it would be enough to do that yet. the analysts we spoke to said these are all worst case scenarios, but they have to be part of the

u.s. embassy was targeted. you remember that right?ve been targeted before. [ inaudible ] people believed housed [ inaudible ] had the majority of the occupants have been targeted as well, and really if you are facing a tragedy of that magnitude, you know, anybody who comes in -- i know that others from the world have also provided support. i know we will be talking to them. so when you are facing a tragedy of that magnitude, right, your friends come in and -- and they help. >>> in thailand a synthetic drug called yaba is causing major problems. ♪ >> reporter: bangkok's bright lights, party people from all over the world, having fun is a way of life in thailand and no one wants to be left behind. more and more people are turning to synthetic drugs to stay awake, and feel good. this is thailand's leading hospital for treatment of drug-related problems. has been a steady rise of admissions here, and particularly in young people. even children younger than 11 are coming in for help because they have been making methamphetamine in his pill

u.s. embassy which is empty right now in damascus, syria. a mortar round on or near the u.s. embassy in damascus. the russian embassy compound was hit a couple days ago on september 22. from the live desk, melissa mollet, news 4. >>> you know the show must go on. apparently nothing shakes one high school band in orlando. take a look. whoa. as you could see the lightning strike startled everyone on the field including the football players. the man who recorded the video said moments after the show ended and he turned the camera off it started to pour. it might have been an omen perhaps. this video was taken on friday, september 13. >>> i'll tell you what, though, from an instrumental perspective that percussion fit right in with the performance. it sounded great. >> maybe there was some higher power. >> being a part of the performance there. all right, coming up on 5:21 right now, there is a picture of a cloudy sky here for us this morni morning. no thunder or lightning to worry about, though. let's check in with tom. >>> notre dame fight song, one of the lines is shake down th

u.s. embassy in tripoli. letting them know that benghazi was under terrorist attack. to the diplomat security command post that the compound was under attack. >> cables were sent. so is there any doubt in your mind that the people who received those cables in washington understood that this was a terrorist attack? >> i'm sure they understood it was a terrorist attack but the analogy i like to use is a baseball term, that feet slows down the game. the response is never immediate as much as we might think it is necessary. >> it doesn't happen like in the books and movies. >> it is not an episode of 24. and that is one of the things that needs to be understood. that there was a response. a military response was not feasible in the time frame that the attack trpped and the transs over. >> i want to ask more about that in a moment. your response was that people who received this information must have understood it was a terrorist attack and not a spontaneous demonstration? >> you have to understand that the demonstrations in cairo were massive violent there were fires set

u.s. embassy in damascus. their supporting for president bashar al-assad and announcing a possible foreign intervention. >> we are not afraid of military strikes, but we condemn the obama speech. >> there is a rebel controlled suburb in the northeast of damascus, and members of the regime have been requesting for a military strike from the beginning of the issue two years ago, and some fighters remain skeptical. they are leaving enough time for the regime to move their weapons and troops. what would they bomb anyway? >> but not all syrians are as involved in the conflict as the members of the free syrian army. in fact, some residents are so removed from the fighting that the bombing will be viewed mostly as an inconvenience. the electricity and communications will be cut off. i really do not hope that happens. >> with the obama speech, i am not understood. today, what i want to do is go to the swimming pool. >> men and women pitched tents in damascus to be human shields to protect targets. being for or against

u.s. embassy in 1998. they are relying on the expertise and competence of foreign services. it is possible they will call for others to assist in the type of situation that was never seen before in kenya. >> thank you. let's go back to nairobi with our correspondent. the latest development out of nairobi, huge plumes of black smoke have been going outside the mall. we saw them running toward the mall interoperation that one media source is saying is being performed by security forces themselves going through the roof. can you confirm that is what is happening? >> i can confirm black smoke is billowing from the building and has been for the last 15 or 20 minutes. as far as running toward the building, i cannot confirm. i am not on that side at the moment. we do have other reports saying that. there is one kenyan media outlets saying the siege is over. that has not been corroborated by other sources we have spoken to. it is a fluid situation. i am not certain it is over. >> thank you. standby. we will go back to you. we now go to berlin for another story. it is these stork whe

u.s. embassy in baghdad, in the event of a strike. u.s. officials are worried about a hezbollah attack on the embassy in beirut. >>> an arizona senator john mccain ran into a wall of opposition from his constituents against the u.s. taking any action in syria. during a town hall meeting in phoenix, senator mccain insisted that no u.s. soldiers would be sent to syria. but that didn't go far enough for some in the audience. >> we cannot figure out a way to bring pressure to bear on assad to stop him in ways other than strikes that will kill innocent people. >> you talked about iraq. we went into iraq. iraq was as big a mess now as it was back then. >> and the fireworks may not be over just yet. senator mccain is set to hold another town hall later today in the city of prescot. >>> a bizarre incident. a southwest jet took off with its cargo door still open. people who watched from the terminal said they couldn't believe their eyes. >>> investigators say reckless hunter caused the destructive rim fire that raged across the area around yosemite.

u.s. embassy in damascus.general dempsey, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff said the capacity to strike syria is not time sensitive. do you agree, it could happen any time and would it make a difference? >> it depends what his target said. if he's going to have fixed facilities, the targets will always be there. you can't move air fields and control things and radar installations. they will be in the same place today and two or three weeks. if you're going after the chemical weapons delivery systems, primarily artillery, rocket launchers, things tactical things and movable, they are things syrian can hide and have a lot of places to hide things. >> why not it be a target? how difficult would it be for the u.s. to track, monitor any kind of movement over the course days or weeks? >> even if we have excellent satellite coverage what's going on. the syrians have a lot of these systems. they have hundreds, thousands of rocket launchers and artillery systems to move and a lot of places to hide them. they sp

they tack the hostages. >> of course, one of those embassies was located in nairobi. our u.s. diplomatic post there. conor powell is live in jerusalem. bring us up to speed. >> elite kenyan soldiers began storming the shopping mall several hours ago. the latest word is that the assault is still ongoing, it's far from over. but kenyan northerlies are promising this will be wrapped up, quote, tonight. when that will actually be is anyone's guess. kenyan officials believe that 10 to 15 al-shabab attackers are barricaded in the shopping mall. the assault began several hours ago. the authorities say they're going slowly through the building. they want to try to save as men lives as possible. there are an unknown number of f hostaged believed to be held, anywhere from 20 to 50 to 100 possible hostages are believed to be in there. it started 24 hours when al-shabab gunmen stormed the shopping mall with ak-47s and grenades. they were firing rifles into public areas, even telling nonmuslims and westerners to stay while allowing muslims to leave the area. it's clear they were targeting

u.s. embassy. what does that make you think of compared to this gecko >> i was horrified and surprised that the terrorists could actually get into the building. to my mind, the fact that they not only offailure kenyan security intelligence, but much more also the israeli intelligence, because that building belongs to israelis. it is their investment. it is also a failure of american and british intelligence. they are always listening in, listening to conversations. >> the president has made up his mind as well, saying that this is part of what he sees as an international war against terror is him, calling for more international partnership. how did you respond to what he was saying last night when he claimed this was a victory over terrorism? >> very much so. the way that the kenyans responded, i know from my own experience that kenyans are the first responders. they come in, they assist. we expect a very good response from our brothers. >> how hard will it be for this country to recover? it is not

u.s. embassy is activity reaching out to provide assistance.there are also reports of four israelis escaping with light wounds. however big the number is today, it has been a deadly attack in nairobi. >> the white house released a statement this morning condemning the attack and expressing condolences. it went on to state, quote, the perpetrators must be brought to justice. we will continue to stand with the kenyan people in their efforts to confront terrorism, including the threat posted by al-shabab. the cowardly akts will not shake our resolve. >>> also in washington today congress and the president have facing another spending crisis, another fight over health care reform and a looming government shutdown. nbc bay ya ears brian moore has the latest from the capitol. >> reporter: president obama is telling lawmakers to put aside their political differences as pass a budget. >> we're running out of time to fix this but we could fix it tomorrow. both houses can take a simple vote to pay our bills on time and then work together to pass a budget