-assad's use of chemical weapons. members ofm several the trump administration, ambassador nikki haley and national security adviser h.r. mcmaster. was very clear in his message to the american people that this strike was related solely to the most recent, horrific use of chemical weapons against women, children, and even small babies. the strike was a message to the that this would not go without a response in the future. russia to fulfill its commitment. we are calling on al-assad to cease the use of these weapons. >> you are hoping there is an opportunity to drive a wedge between assad and putin? utin to do more to d?move a sod -- assa >> i am hoping we can do more to have russia involved in the process that will lead to a more stable syria. assad's they are currently biggest ally. they should have the greatest influence on him about the decision to no longer used chemical weapons. is thinkinga carefully about their alliance with al-assad. any time one of these horrific attacks occurs, it draws russia closer into some level of responsibility. >> what we have seen at the united nations i

world. and yesterday we experienced the latest of an atrocity under the direction of president assad of syria. the use of gas against civilian populations. this is the latest because this is going on for six years. the barrel bombing. the targeting of humanitarian workers. the targeting of hospitals. the use of chemical weapons. this is not an isolated example. but it is now on the front pages of our paper. and we must act. and that's why we're here. to make it clear that we cannot allow that type of conduct to go. what we do know, it was a russian aircraft piloted by an assad pilot that dropped a weapon that is -- had the affect that reminds us of sarin. i don't know whether it was sarin or not but it had the impact, much stronger than the chemicals that were used in recent months. we need action. to me, it starts with a clear u.s. policy that president assad has no legitimacy as the leader of syria. and no future as the leader of syria. and that should be made very clear by the pronouncements of our administration. senator rubio and i have introduced a resolution we hope will be co

call a stunning reversal on syria and assad. remember, the president was silent about this attack for over a day and as recently as last week his administration opposed removing the brutal dictator. he had been out spoken of anything in syria after the much more serious attack by assad in 2013, so was this a legal move by the president and what happens next? we have the global resources of cnn covering this breaking story. let's begin with cnn's ryan brown live at the pentagon, what do we know. >> reporter: the 59 tomahawk missiles were targeting this air base that the pentagon believes was linked to the chemical attack. they show them leaving and returning, it's all designed to disable the base preventing it from conducting future operations and the pentagon says it was to prevent assad from carrying out any future attacks, and avoiding striking any russian personnel, they used existi existing de conflicticonflictin to avoid hitting russians. a missile that allows, prevents any threats to u.s. pilots but punishing strikes against this air base. >> thank you very much. there's a lot t

the syrian dictator bashar al-assad that the attacks on his own people, the sarin gas attack that killed more than 80 including 27 young children and injured hundreds more, that that sort of chemical weapons attack, forbidden under international law, a war crime by any definition, will not be tolerated any longer by the united states. such an attack took place in the year 2013. there was a chemical weapons attack and an end at which time president of the united states barack obama said it that was the crossing of a redline. rather than responding militarily, the president at the time saying as he put at the time a list of bad options, decided to continue with negotiations. negotiations which certainly did not bring an end to the syrian civil war. today international agency suggest that more than 500,000 syrian people have been murdered by the fighting, have been killed in the fighting, many of them burdened by the dictator bashar al-assad who at times has dropped barrel bonds from aircraft and helicopters murdering people and discriminate only in their homes and on the streets. an

from where the chemical attack was launched. using a deadly nerve agent, assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women, and children. it was a slow and brutal death for so many. even beautiful babies were cruelly murded in this very barbaric attack. no child of god should ever suffer such horror. >> now, the syrian government claims charges, they were responsible for the chemical attack are fabricated while a u.s. official confirms the russians who have backed assad were warned ahead of the missile launch. more than two dozen members of congress, including the gang of eight that includes both democratic and republican leaders of the house and senate were briefed prior to the strikes with mixed reactions on both sides. so the question now, is this just a retaliatory strike or the first step in a greater incursion in syria. we hope to delve into that in the next few hours. i want to bring in colonel jack jacobs and also msnbc correspondent to cal perry. i want to start with you, colonel jack. talking about the options that the united states could have taken here and the timeline.

the right thing by attacking the brutal dictator assad? we will have multiple tonight. >> it doesn't make sense for assad to make these decisions. >> bill: there is some on the friends you will not support american military action the matter what. we will take a look at that situation. >> the nomination of neil m. neil m. gorsuch to be an associate justice of the supreme court of the united states is confirmed. >> also ahead, the usa has a brand-new supreme court justice. is that a good thing for you? caution. you are about to enter into the no spin zone. that "the factor" begins now. hi max, i'm bill o'reilly. thank you for watching the sniper the usa attack syria, that is -- around nine eastern time, 50 missiles were launched from american warships in the eastern mediterranean sea. 59 missiles hit their targets. the goal is to destroy an air base from which syrian planes recently dropped sarin gas on civilians, killing 30 children. 30. and 20 women, according to the syrian observatory for human rights. according to reporting based on a variety of cities, this is the fifth time, at

is how will bashar al-assad respond. they finally backed down or will it be emboldened? on what are the wider implications that has been a civil war in syria, middle east, and u.s. relations. as well as president trump sending a blunt and direct message earlier last evening out of the deployment of a chemical weapons that were now spanned by the geneva convention back in 1925. >> we have assad choked up the lives of lifeless men, women, and children. it was a slow and brutal death for so many. >> it is just after 1:00 a.m. on the east coast. it is 8:00 a.m. in damascus where the sun has come up. we are seeing the damage of the strikes. thank you for joining us. i'm eric shawn. >> a barrage of american tomahawk missiles blast and airbase in central syria. retaliation for a political chemical attack that left 90 innocent civilians that earlier this week. the trump administration said syrian president bashar al-assad is to blame. >> around the world has been astounded with his military action, making many wonder if the new coalition of sunni arab nations will finally come from the assa

. russia faces a choice. either it takes responsibility for ensuring that assad complies with the removal of these weapons, as russia committed it would do, or it admits that it lacks the ability to control assad. very much putting russia in the picture in terms of blame for this chemical weapons attack being carried out because it had not met its commitments for guaranteeing that assad destroyed all of those weapons. also had a go at russia for the way it responded to this chemical weapons attack. its explanation was that the opposition chemical weapons depot had been hit and the gas was coming from that. they said it was completely implausible and that the russians promote a false set of facts every time the regime commits an atrocity. so they are really taking on the russians very much like we saw in the un security council with nikki haley. russia very much partly blamed for this attack. just to recap, rex tillerson says they feel the strike was proportionate. the us military says initial indications are that the strike has severely damaged or destroyed syrian aircraft and inf

. he said the united states is organizing an international coalition to respond to bashar al-assad's chemical attack on his own people. does this mean american military action in syria? it's breaking now. on capitol hill, we just watched history unfold. a move on the senate floor that could forever change congress and also the united states supreme court for many generations to come. you've heard about the nuclear option. today the senate republicans blew it up. the fall-out could be extraordinary. we'll explain exactly what it means and why it matters so much. and shake-up in the russia investigation. the republican chair of the house intelligence committee agrees to step aside as he is now under investigation. devin nunes blaming what he calls accusations from left-wing groups. ahead you'll hear the man who is taking over. and why the irs took millions of dollars from people that did absolutely nothing wrong. who are the victims? let's get to it. it is rare to have this many enormous stories breaking at one time. we are at that time. we'll take you to the fall-out from secretary of

president bashar al-assad and the russian government following a chemical attack against the syrian people. the attack left dozens dead including at least 30 children. the lawmakers spoke with a news conference during a press conference on capitol hill. this is 20 minutes. >> morning, it's a pleasure to be here with senator rubio. i think senator rubio is one of the great leaders in the united states congress on human rights. he speaks with moral clarity, which is something i believe is extremely important. and he's done that with human rights issues around the world. and yesterday we experienced the latest in an atrocity under the direction of president assad of syria, the use of gas against civilian populations. this is the latest, because this has been going on for six years. the barrel bombing, the targeting of humanitarian workers, targeting of hospitals, the use of chemical weapons. this is not an isolated example. but it is now in the front pages of our paper. and we must act. and that's why we're here, to make it clear that we cannot allow that type of conduct to go. what we

about donald trump, you're crazy. >> the syrian people will decide the fate of bashar al assad. >> the regime change is something we think will happen. >> we need a comprehensive strategy now. we have not heard that articulated. >> north korea is a rogue regime. >> we cannot allow north korea to become a nuclear super power. >> this is "new day" with chris cuomo and alisyn camerota. >> good morning. welcome to "new day." trump administration with a different talk of russian support for syria's brutal dictator. investigators are trying to determine whether the kremlin was involved in the chemical weapons. the president's top officials sending mixed messages about the top priority. are they now going to get rid of assad or are they going to defeat isis? >> this comes as secretary of state rex tillerson heads tos moscow tomorrow. and the u.s. is sending an aircraft carrier strike force to the korean peninsula among risings tensions there over kim jong un's nuclear ambitions. critical foreign policy challenges on day 81 of the trump presidency. we have joe johns live at the white h

assad, and defending missile strikes last week. even before rex tillerson landed, russia was already striking back. and the russian foreign ministry says relations with the u.s. have not been this bad since the end of the cold war. what can tillerson really do? let's get over to michelle kaczynski in moscow now. so this appears to be the first time putin has not planned to meet with a visiting secretary of state. is that in and of itself supposed to send a message? what are you hearing? >> definitely. that's a huge thing. to the point that originally the state department had it pencilled in on secretary tillerson's schedule that he was going to meet with putin after he met with lavrov, and then it would be sort of solidified later with an exact time. well, now the kremlin has not extended the invitation to have that meeting at all. yeah. the message is this relationship is pretty much in the gutter right now. what can either side do to make it better. the words exchanged are not helping. president putin himself today in an unrelated statement -- he is meeting with his italian counter

have predicted that assad will leave power through a political transition. how will you compel assad to participate in a political transition that leads to his own ouster. our war crimes charges on the table and how long will the united states meet for russia to come around? and foreign minister lavrov, if i may, your government and the united states government seem to be miles apart on the syria issue, on ukraine and other issues. did you feel that you cleared up any of those issues you mentioned earlier today since you've had those discussions with secretary tillerson? >> we did discuss at length the future role for assad, whether it be a future political process or not. clearly, our view is that the reign of the assad family is coming to an end. and they have, again, brought this on themselves with their conduct of the war these past few years. we discussed our view that russia is their closest ally in the conflict, perhaps has the best means of helping assad recognize this reality. we do think it's important that assad's departure is done in an orderly way. so that certain intere

♪ announcer: from our studios in new york city, this is "charlie rose." we begin this evening assad regimehe resumed bombing rebel targets a day after the u.s. launched missile strikes at a syrian air base on friday. it was the first time the u.s. directly intervene in the syrian the war. meanwhile, secretary of state tillerson criticized russia ahead of his first diplomatic trip to moscow tuesday. he suggested the kremlin may be complicit in the chemical weapons assault that killed dozens last week. questions are raised about president trump's syrian policy and the willingness to escalate. secretary tillerson sathat isis remains a priority, but the u.s. ambassador nikki haley focused on president assad. joining me from washington is derek chollet. here in new york is robert ford, a former ambassador to syria. i'm pleased to have both of them. let me begin with the obvious. tell me your assessment of this straight. -- strike. was a: i think the strike good idea. i saw a statement from secretary of defense metta's that it destroyed -- matches that it destroyed 20% of their airplanes.

assad regime. >> secretary of state rex tillerson is here, in his first sunday interview. >>> and, after promising to focus here at home. >> i don't want to be the president of the world. i'm the president of the united states. >> is the america first president going global? >> i now have responsibility and carry it very proudly. >> two key players in congress weigh in. senator marco rubio. and congressman adam schiff. a pivotal week as the trump presidency opens a new chapter. from abc news, "this week." here now, chief anchor george stephanopoulos. >>> good morning. all through last year's campaign, candidate trump promised to stay out of syria. not our fight, he said. it's time to put america first. this week, that all changed. the spark? these images. syrian children suffocating, gassed by the assad regime. and with that, the man who pounded president obama for his red line in syria reversed course in the rose garden, drawing lines of his own. >> when you kill innocent children, innocent babies. babies, little babies, with a chemical gas that is so lethal that crosses many, ma

president's brutality is nothing new. in 2013, eight days after assad launched a chemical attack, killed more than 1400 civilians, including hundreds of children, trump tweeted, what will we get for bombing syria besides more debt and possible long-term conflict? obama needs congressional approval. now, with the power of the presidency, mr. trump appears to haveve abandoned that point of view, at least for now. but what is his ultimate goal? >> we are prepared to do more. but we hope that will not be w necessary. >> just last week, mr. trump's secretary of state backed away from the policy of regime change in syria. >> i think the status and the longer term status of president assad will be decided by the syrian people. >> now, a week later. acts he has taken, it would seemhe there would be role for him to govern the syrian people. >> an american official says russians on the ground were given notice that the missiles were coming.le flights from the base have already resumed. and secretary tillerson's trip to moscow this week is still on. at home, most of washington's foreign policy esta

robert ford. >> we've got to deliver real pain on assad. and i think there's also the russian calculation as robert just mentioned. there is no question russia, which is more engaged in syria today than it was four or five years ago in terms of number of personnel on the ground, knew that assad had this stock pile, or there is every reason to believe that we knew he had it. the question is whether they were surprised by this use of chemical weapons. and if in fact they're angry that he has done it because it has put them in a terrible position. >> we continue with et approximater baker of "the new york times." >> it's not that hard to find statements from the campaign trail where he said you know, syria is not america's problem. we shouldn't go there, where he said we should be working closely with russia and stop alienating them. where he said, you know, china shouldn't be invited to dinner, they're our enemy. an here in the last week alone he has involved us more in syria's civil war than ever before, the first american military strike against bashar al-assad government. he

after the first direct u.s. assault on the syrian regime. message to assad after an attack of his own people of a long, bloody civil war. >> i will ask congresswoman who recently met with bashar al-assad in damascus. russia's role. the pentagon now investigating if the kremlin was complacent in the syrian chemical attack. moscow is fighting back and defending putin's ally bashar al-assad. on the outs at one o f the most crucial moments yet of the trump's presidency. we are learning a major staff shake up is becoming more likely. tonight, who's on the short list for a possible shake up? we want to welcome our viewers around the world, i am wolf blitzer, you are in "the situation room." this is cnn breaking news. >> we are following breaking news on the u.s. strikes in syria tonight. president trump's first major military action is sending a clear message that bashar al-assad must stop using chemical weapons. the pentagon says it struck the same areal base bashar al-assad used to launch a deadly nerve gas attack. we are told of 60 u.s. missiles degraded or destroyed their intended targe

regime, the leadership of president bashar al assad, are responsible for this attack. and i think further, it is very important that the russian government consider carefully their continued support of the assad regime. >> that, secretary of state rex tillerson. we also have this, word this afternoon from senator john mccain of arizona, of course, john mccain has been loudly calling for u.s. intervention in syria for years. he says that president trump has told him that he, president trump, will be consulting with defense secretary james mattis d with his national security adviser h.r. mcmaster, he will be consulting with them to try to devise a potential response to that chemical weapons attack in syria. again, a lot of moving parts here. lots of questions. nbc's hans nichols is standing outside the white house. hans, if the administration is moving toward some sort of formal response here, using some sort of force in response to this, what are the sorts of options we would be talks about? >> reporter: well, there are a lot of assets, steve, the united states has in the entire region, th

because of the regime. and this is all about, really, the assad family maintaining power. in a majority regime over a sunni population. and how do you unravel a proxy war between the sunni and shiite wars in the middle east where the saudis and the gulf states are supporting rebel forces on one side and iran and russia are supporting the assad regime and the united states trying to navigate what is the exact role the united states plays in a country that is completely, completely destroyed, where isis still has a capital that needs to be liberated, where there are kurdish forces supporting the united states, but whereas the russians are now confronting the united states because assad has used chemical weapons. host: this is the father that buried 19 members because of the chemical attack. the human toll it's causing. the question is how does the country survive economically? guest: it is an incredible question. most of the money pouring in to support the regime is coming .rom really three sources it's coming from oil the regime is still able to sell. host: to whom? guest: russi

petallides. lots of questions how bashar al-assad will respond as well as russian president vladimir putin, we will have complete analysis. lauren: the dow looking at the futures, dropped 113 points, now they came back. nasdaq futures down 7. nicole: in asia japanese stocks ending with a gain of one-third of 1% in china shanghai composite index also on the move. lauren: looking at europe stocks opened out of pressure. you can see across the board in europe stocks are down. nicole: commodities spiking on the news of strikes, oil up nearly 2% on concerns about middle east oil supplies. right now we are seeing oil at 52.35 the barrel one and a quarter percent to be precise. lauren: 5:01 a.m. in new york. friday april 7th, welcome to fbn:am, first look at morning markets, breaking news and what to expect for the day ahead. nicole: u.s. striking a syrian airfield with dozens of missiles. the pentagon says 59 tomhawk missiled were launched from uss porter in the mediterranean sea at the direction of president trump. lauren: missiles targeted support infrastructure and equipment at the airf

change in syria. >> i thi the stnk the status an longer term status of president assad will be decided by the syrian people. >> with the acts that he has taken, it seems there is no role for him to governor the syrian people. >> russians on the ground were given notice the missiles were coming. flights from the base have resumed, and secretary tillerson's trip to moscow is still on. most of washington's foreign policy establishment is applauding the strikes. >> the strikes were important. i think they were a signal that is as important as the damage that was dope. >> while a coalition of liberals and conservatives skeptical of interventi intervention. >> it is fair to say that no one has been more forceful of the response than nikki hailey. i asked if the trump administration believes they achieved what they needed to or if more needs to be done. >> this is a very complicated situation. we know there is no easy solution, but our focus is to make sure that we're strengthening the es ceacease f. we want to push towards a political solution. at the end of the day, than is what is needed t

attack that horrific by the syrian dictator bashar al assad. again, over 1,400 people killed in that gas attack in 2013. now, in terms of the american response to that attack four years ago, the decisionmaking process in our government was very much colored by the fact that the previous year in 2012, president obama had described the widespread use of chemical weapons as something that would be a red line in terms of the syrian conflict. that would be a red line for the united states. now, it's one thing to say that, right, to lay that out as a hypothetical, it's another thing to still have to decide exactly what you're going to do when that moment arrives in the future. and in august 2013, when that moment arrived, when that terrible massive chemical weapons attack happened, president obama prepared u.s. vy ships inhe mediterranean to launch cruise missile strikes against syrian military targets as retaliation. if that sounds familiar, it's because that's what we are being advised tonight, that the u.s. military may be making similar preparations this evening. but back in 2013, though,

now, as it says, there is no role for assad. that makes it very hard to figure out a diplomatic outcome. >> all right. thanks one and all for being here. really appreciate it. great conversation. follow me on facebook and twitter @jaketapper and on sunday my guest on "state of the union" u.s. absnikki haley. i'm jake tapper. turning it over to wolf blitzer in "the situation room." thanks for watching. >>> happening now. breaking news. strike on syria. the pentagon is reporting significant damage to a syrian air base after president trump launches a missile strike in response to syria's chemical weapons attack. it's the first direct american assault on the assad regime since the war began six years ago. >>> policy shift. president trump's decision to strike syria is a dramatic shift from his promises not to get involved in the conflict. did the horrific images from syria cause a change in his strategy? what message does the strike send to enemies and allies around the world? >>> putin responds. russian president vladimir putin calls the attack a significant blow to the russian-am

not only to assad, but o people throughout the world. assad'sis to neutralize airpower. his ability to kill people through conventional weapons has to be taken off the table in terms of air power. the next step to me would be, if assad goes back into the air and drops bombs and kills babies in another way, i hope we would hit him again. my goal and senator mccain's goal is to ground the syrian air force and basically take rocca in a fashion that will hold it, not relying on kurds. the bottom line is to get assad ushed out. the weight you push them out as you take his airpower off table, begin to train syrian opposition in a safe haven. the next step is a safe haven. we have to declare parts of syria say havens until the russians and the assad air force that if you come across this line, you will be shot down. with those, established humanitarian zones so people can live without being bombed and allow people to go back to syria and start training syrian opposition groups to take assad n. the ultimate goal is not only to destroy isil, it is also to push the assad regime out. >> mr. o'

president putin about syria. you've predicted assad will leave power through a political transition. how will you compel assad to participate in a political transition that leads to his own ouster? are war crimes charges on the table, and how long will the united states wait for russia, and for mr. lavrov as our parts. do you feel that you. since you had those discussions with secretary tillerson. >> we did discuss at length the future role for assad, whether it be in a future political process or not. clearly, our view is that the reign of the assad regime is coming to an end. they brought this upon themselves. we discussed that russia is their closest contact in the conflict, perhaps has the best means of helping assad recognize this reality. we do think that it's important that assad's departure is done in an orderly way so that certain interests and constituencies that he represents feel that they have been better negotiated. we lead you to the process forward. the final outcome, in our view, does not provide for a role in the assad family for the future governance of syria. com

strike in a brief statement. >> assad broked out the lives of helpless men, women and children. it was a slow and brutal death for many. >> this is the first direct military action the u.s. has taken against the assam regime. what's the direct reaction from syria? from moscow? and what is the monext move for president trump? our story begins from ryan browne. good morning or late evening, ryan. it's been a fast-moving developments since about 8:40 eastern time last night. >> that's right, christine. we're learning more details about the strike. it was 59 tomahawk cruise missiles launched against this airfield. the pentagon briefed reporters showing some of the evidence that links this airfield to the strikes that involves chemical weapons. that includes tracking data for the air force that took off and conducted that air strike. we're learning that this strike was targeted, not at personnel, but it was intended to make the airfield, nonoperational. it hit radar sites. fueling stations and air force belonging to the syrian regime. one thing we've learned there were russian personnel

president bashir al assad. >> it could be that russia is knowingly allowing chemical weapons to remain in syria. it could be that russia has been incompetent in its efforts to remove the chemical weapons or it could be that the assad regime is playing the russians for fools. the world is waiting for russia to reconsider its misplaced alliance with bashir assad. the united states will no longer wait for assad to use chemical weapons without any consequences. those days are over. >> that u.n. ambassador has been politically weaponized and is the star of the future. >>> i'm joined by chief correspondent richard engel near the turkey/syria border right now. richard, where does this stand internationally, the whole picture if you can give it to us? >> let's start with the immediate aftermath of the strike. so far, as you said, it appears to be contained. syria doesn't seem like it is interested at all in retaliating militarily and there are hundreds of military troops in syria. there have been some condemnations from russia and syria, but barely muted with the syria government calling this

the leading of the country, bashar al-assad. we will hear if she gets more specific, but expect a blistering speech from nikki haley any minute now. when she begins to speak we will take you back there live. >> julie: right now healthcare on the agenda on capitol hill as house democrat leaders huddle with their caucus today, discussing some fixes to obamacare, this has the president and his team hope to build bipartisan support for tax reform by working with the democrats. joining us now, a democrat from new york, chairman of the democratic caucus. thank you for talking with us. yesterday you said the gop would be better off trying to find a better consensus. what issues are democrats willing to middle republicans in the middle on and what will it take to get the opposing party on board? >> one thing we have to do is stop talking about repeal and replace, and talk about improving the law as it exists right now. that includes working with democrats to -- on the ideas of improving the risk card for insurance companies in states struggling right now in terms of the exchanges. there a

government. of course, continued violence in syria. including renewed bombing by the assad regime and coalition forces. it's a very busy morning around the world. let's welcome the united states ambassador to the united nations, nikki haley. ambassador haley thanks so much for joining us. you said on friday that the united states is quote prepared to do more in syria but i want to understand what the threshold might be for additional military action. it would be the use of chemical weapons or could even a conventional attack on civilians be the trigger. >> what happened this week was really one of the president's finest hours. to sit and watch all of the conversations and how he listened to each and every member of his security council and asked all the right questions. he wanted to know exactly what facts and evidence was. he wanted to know what the options were, what the risks were. and the political strategy and solution side of it. after all of that he made a very, you know, strong decision and i think it was one that was very good for the world. what i can tell you now is, this i

bashar al assad. the white house just released this photo showing the moments after president trump decided to strike against syria. this is a first for the u.s. government and a response to syria's use of chemical weapons against its own civilians, according to u.s. officials. u.s. warships in the eastern mediterranean launched 59 tomahawk cruise missiles against a syrian air base. we just received this russian drone showing the impact of the u.s. attack. this is the actual airfield that u.s. officials say was home to the warplanes that carried out the chemical attack killing dozens earlier this week. for several hours now, the united nations have been in an emergency meeting and moments ago the u.s. ambassador to the u.n., nikki haley, condemned syria as well as russia and iran. >> the united states took a very measured step last night. we are prepared to do more. but we hope that will not be necessary. it is time for all civilized nations to stop the horrors that are taking place in syria and demand a political solution. >> we have two senior correspondents standing by to cover t

tillerson‘s statement that they should not support bashar al—assad, and the russians have military personnel on the ground, air defence systems which could have been assumed to have struck out against these missiles coming through, and therefore you may expect the possibility even some russian casualties. so it is taking russians on in casualties. so it is taking russians onina casualties. so it is taking russians on in a way that the obama administration, even, never really wa nted administration, even, never really wanted to do. they always felt that this would escalate the situation with the russian. so, for an administration like mr trump's, mr trump has not said one critical word about russia or putin. it is quite a step, yes. buti about russia or putin. it is quite a step, yes. but i think... it seems to me that the dynamic here would be just as much this redline issue. if mrtrump is going just as much this redline issue. if mr trump is going to criticise president obama for setting alone in the sand, or setting a red line that chemical weapons can't be used or he would respo

. using a deadly nerve agent, assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children. it was a slow and brutal death for so many, even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this very barbaric attack. no child of god should ever suffer such horror. >> the syrian government, however, says accusations that they were responsible for that chemical attack are fabricated. official confirms that russians were warned ahead of time in advance to that missile launch. more than two dozen members of congress, including the gang of eight, including both democratic and republican leaders of both the house and senate were briefed prior to the strikes. the question now, is this just a retaliatory strike or first step in a greater incursion for the united states inside syria? here with an early read on the first military action by president trump, at the foreign policy research institute and former fbi double agent. good to have you with us. let's answer that question if we can. is this, do you think, a precursor to a larger u.s. incursion in syria or is this a one and done type of strike to

with president putin about syria. you predicted assad will leave power through a political transition. how will you compel assad to participate in a political transition that leads to his own ouster? are war crimes charges on the table? and how long will the united states wait for russia to come around? and for mr. lavrov, if i may, your government and the united states government seems to be miles apart on the syria issue, ukraine and other issues. did you feel that you've cleared up any of those issues you mentioned earlier today since you've had those discussions with secretary tillerson? >> we did discuss at length the future role for assad, whether it be in a future political process or not. clearly our view is that the reign of the assad family is coming to an end. and they have, again, brought this on themselves with their conduct and war these past few years. we discussed our view that russia, as their closest ally in the conflict, perhaps has the best means of helping assad recognize this reality. we do think it's important that assad's departure is done in an orderly way, an

bashar al-assad. at the united nations, russia blocked a security council resolution wednesday to denounce the chemical attack and to call on assad's government to cocooperate with an internatioil probe. meanwhile, russia has accused the united states of violating international law by bombing a syrian airbase last weweek. the rising tension with russia came as president trump wednesday reversed his long-running criticism of nato, saying in a joint press conference with nato's secretary general that he no longer believes the military alliance is obsolete. pres. trump: secretary-general and i hahad a productive discussion about what more nato can do in the e fight againstt terrorism. i complained about that a long time ago and they made a change. and now they do fight terrorism. i said it was obsolete. it is no longer obsolete. president trump described nato is obsolete on the campaign trail and doubt to reconsider u.s. membership unless other nato members increased their share of military spending. meanwhile, donald trump's adult son eric trump cited mounting tensions between the u

bashar al assad. officials have said there is no political solution in syria that would involve assad remaining in power. but a lot of questions still remain about what's going to happen next in syria. >> all right. athena jones in palm beach. thanks so much. the u.s. is mounting a show of force sending war ships towards the korean peninsula in response to north korea's latest missile test. i want to bring in pentagon reporter ryan brown. these ships were scheduled to head to australia before they were redirected. what more can you tell us about this strike group and its positioning now? >> the strike group is led by a aircra aircraft carrier and two -- they are capable of shooting down any enemy ballistic missiles. in north korea's case this deployment is being described as a direct response to some of pyongyang's maneuvers, particularly the recent tests of ballistic missiles, most recently an extended range scud missile test. this is seen as you said as a show of force. the u.s. has done this in the past. last year they flew a series of bombers in the skies over the korean peninsula

the reaction, it shows an eeg until t -- eagle flying, swooping down on assad and isis. >>> thank you. early start continues right now. >>> this is cnn breaking news. >>> tonight i ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in syria from where the chemical attack was launched. >> that breaking news a series of missile strikes by the united states on syria after the chemical attacks. reaction is strong and swift. what's the next move from president trump? live coverage around the world. i'm dave briggs. >> and i'm christine romans. 11:00 in the morning in syria, we welcome all of our viewers in the u.s. and around the world. u.s. warships launched 59 tomahawk missiles at the same airfield where the chemical attacks were based. >> assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children. it was a slow and brutal death for so many. no child of god could ever such horror. >> this is the first direct military action the u.s. has taken against the assad regime in the country's six-year long civil war. what's the reaction from syria? moscow? what will be the next move by pr

. >> the chemical weapons were banned by the gene veneta connection in 1925. assad has ignored that period of at least four times. there's been no military response from the united states or the west until last night. president trump decided to respond it to the the errant chemical attack with a stark message. >> it is in this vital national security interest of the united states to prevent and deter the use of deadly chemical weapons. this is our live continuing coverage on the here and the fox nation will hello i am eric. and i am jack ibanez. thank you for joining us. >> the surprise attack is a striking reversal for president trump who is a candidate warned against the u.s. being pulled into assad civil war. in 2013 he tweeted "stay out of syria. do not attack syria. if you do, many bad things will happen. there's no upside enter modest downside kits" during a scan is rich edson. >> secretary state rex tillerson and speaking of this issue spoke about this frequently and forcefully on any issue as secretary of state in the short time he has been secretary of state. the argument from sec

compared the syrian regime and bashar al assad so adolph hitler. >> the alliance between russia and syria is a strong one. it goes back decades. president putin has supplied personnel, military equipment to the assad government. what makes you think that at this point he's going to pull back on his support for president assad and for the syrian government right now? >> i think a couple things. you look -- we didn't use chemical weapons in world war ii. you know, you had -- you know, someone as despicable of hitler who didn't even sink to using chemical weapons. so you have to, if you're russia ask yourself if this is kurnt that you want to align yourself with. you have signed on to international agreements. rightfully acknowledging that chemical weapons are out of bounds to every country. this should be troubling. russia put their name on the line. so it's not a question of how long that alliance has lasted but at what point do they recognize that they are now getting on the wrong side of history in a really bad way. >> quote, hitler didn't even sink to the level of using chemical w

with russia here, but it did target russian's client state there, which is syria and assad. one final note, one consequence of this, and this is a significant consequence, that russia says it is suspending what's known as a decon flix agreement with the u.s. there. this is keeping lines of communication open so u.s. military assets do not come into contact with russian military aircrafts. they are suspending it and it is potentially risky to get u.s. airplanes in close proximity to russian airplanes. >> jim, stick with us. you have two main angles of analysis here. was this the right move for the president? did he have the right to make this move legally? on the political side, the administration has made a huge pivot. they have gone have saying assad's future is up to the syrian people, that intervention is a bad move for the united states, they went from that and in 24 hours a missile strike. live in palm beach, florida, where the president is now in the midst of what was supposed to be the big international test, his meeting with the president of china. >> reporter: chris, th

are all bashar al-assad but anyone else in the region. i would agree with that. i think it was a very limited and well-defined strike that had a very circumscribed political objective which was to determine assad.- determine -- it was very limited but it's an important international norm ashar al-assad and his patrons have all signed up to. use not broad support for the action. syriant going to solve crisis. can -- people cannot casually use these kinds of weapons you will have accomplished something. do you think the administration has or should make clear what action will result in another united states strike going forward? guest: i think there is certainly utility to having the president and all of his spokesman get out there and at least clarify what they believe this action means for american policy toward syria and communicate that both to the american people and the rest of the world. this is a president who seems to value some ambiguity in his policy. keep people guessing about what he may or may not do. i don't think he does want to in advancer commit exactly under what circ

? >> many people might be asking this morning what happened to the 2014 agreement with the assad regime to dispose of all chemical weapons inside syria. how could that happen? >> the syrian regime for its part is denying that they possess any chemical weapons or that they ever use it, use them. but that's obviously in contravention to the facts that we have been able to get out of syria. the syrian regime is saying that, in fact, that what their airplane struck yesterday morning was some sort of workshop, warehouse where syrian gee had dees were making chemical weapons. where the truth lies often in syria is very difficult to determine. but clearly the seyrian government i don't think you will find too many takers for that argument. poppy? >> thank you so much. all this is happening as the president faces another foreign policy test ahead of today's meeting with the king of jordan. the trump team responding to another defiant missile launch by north korea. america's top diplomat responding with 23 words. the u.s. has spoken enough about north korea. we have no further comment. ou

. military strike against the assad regime in the country's bloody six year civil war. today haley warned of possible military action. >> the united states took a very measured step last night. we are prepared to do more, but we hope that will not be necessary. >> reporter: the target of the strikes was the launch point for the syrian warplanes that carried out the chemical attack. the pentagon says 59 or 60 tomahawk cruise missiles severely destroyed their targets. they estimate some 20 aircrafts were destroyed. u.s. missiles left the runway in tact and avoided chemical weapon store age to prevent casualties. the planning began tuesday, the day the world saw the first images of victims, many of them children of the chemical weapons atta attack. president trump sat down to dinner and met to discuss military options, siting then to order the strike that night. at 8:40 eastern time the middle of the night the attack began. two u.s. warships in thee easten mediterranean launched towards the air base. then just 35 minutes later at approximately 9:15 p.m. eastern time the president's na

nted president trump clearly showed on he wanted to show that if the assad regime crossed the red line of using chemical weapons than the trump administration would respond in a way that the obama administration did not respond. we have president trump speaking now. let's go to that. innocent civilians. using a deadly nerve agent, assad choked out the lives of many women and children. it was a slow and brutal death for so many. even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered in this very barbaric attack. no child of god should ever suffer such horror. tonight i ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in syria from where the chemical attack was launched. it is in this vital national security interest of the united states to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons. the cabbie noticed but that syria used chemical weapons, violated its obligations under the chemical weapons convention and ignored the laws of the un security council. years of previous attempts at changing assad's behaviour are for all failed —— have all failed and failed dramatically.