none of that means that they have figured out what to do about bashar al assad. i don't think they like bashar al assad, but how to get him out, it's not clear the americans can do that now anyway. >> you brought the issue of russia into this, and i wanted to pick up on that because today the syrian president was meeting with russian enadvice. how do you think the air strikes that we saw over the weekend impact russia's role at all in syria? does this incline them or push them to double down? does this make them somewhat reserved and staying supportive of the assad regime? >> well, they will be supportive of the assad regime whether or not we strike in order to deter chemical weapons. you know, the strikes actually have the perverse effect of increasing russian leverage and influence over bashar al assad. bashar al assad needs the russians more, and, in fact, there are reports today that the syrian government is asking the russians urgently for more modern updated air defense systems. surface-to-air missiles, show in a sense it may help the russians influence ass

the president giving the assad regime a warning. listen. >> the purpose of our actions tonight is to establish a strong deterrent against the production, spread and use of chemical weapons. establishing this deterrent is a vital national security interest of the united states. the combined american, british and french response to these atrocities will integrate all instruments of our national power -- military, economic, an diplomatic. we are prepared to sustain this response until the syrian regime stops its use of prohibited chemical agents. >> the strikes carried out by u.s. navy ships and b-1 bombers and british tornado fighter jets. joseph dunfort had more. >> we conducted strikes that will result in a long-term degradation of syria's ability to deploy chemical weapons. important information was destroyed. they will lose years of research and development data, expensive equipment and chemical weapons precursors. it's not only a strong message to the regime but inflected maximum damage without unnecessary risk to innocent civili

there are pro assad people in damascus cheering for the assad rep regime. we heard from arab media that the strikes carried out on the chemical facilities and production plants and pentagon, that people are staying this was ineffective and limited strike. two of these strike locations are places that the israelis had struck in the past. and we are hearing from arab tv in the region that it was a limited strike and they are not doing much in the way of damage to the capabilities of the assad regime or even for the assad regime to carry out the war against the rebel and opposition forces in syria. what type of impact this has in terms of the willingness of the assad regime in the future is debated. the u.s. carried out 59 tomahawk missiles fired a year ago and that struck ought assad aircraft and capability. those analyst believe are more effective and limiting the assad regime to carry out strikes. the pentagon going after the production facilities. whether or not, kelly, whether it will limb his ability to carry out chemical strikes is it a question. that i

assad got reckless and used it in a way that was far more aggressive. we have to be very conscious of the fact that we can't allow even the smallest use of chemical weapons, that's why you saw the president strike this past weekend, that's why you saw him expel 60 russian spies after the attack in salsbury, this easily could happen in the united states if we are not smart and if we are not conscious of what's happening and so this was a message sent to assad, we will see how smart he is. chris: but to press my point, if i may, are you saying that going forward there's zero tolerance of any use of chemical weapons will trigger military response? >> i don't think there's any way that i can answer that. we don't know what he's going to do, the level of what he's going to do or anything else. i will tell you that the president is watching and the national security team is ready, so basically we will watch his actions. he now dictates his life and he dictates what happens between the united states, our allies and his regime and so hopefully he's gotten the m

why would assad act in this way? we have our leaders on the record saying they're convinced it was him, that he acted. france and the uk are saying the same. >> and let me give president trump credit where it's due. on the one hand, he's constantly being beat up for being soft on russia. this doesn't look soft on russia to me. syria and assad is absolutely 100% a client state, a surrogate of russia. they are armed by the russians. they've russian equipment. they are trained by the russians. if putin wanted to stop this today, he could do so. so the president is rightly calling the russians out for this atrocity. he also gets beat up in the media and other places for not being a humanitarian and not caring about humanity. and by all reports, multiple reports, he was incredibly emotionally moved by what was going on with this chemical attacks and the brutal suffering that people undergo, women and children. and yet the previous administration, obama did nothing. and then the third criticism you hear is that he doesn't

to pissure prdent assad. and the united states has onalso sanc russia, and, of course, that hasn't led to a change in its behavior on othe so there's a real problem of how do you change thiserrible stalemate on the ground that has so far, in a war, killed something like a half million people, that has led to the dilacement-- over half ofthe country's 23 million people-- and has led the majity to be dependent on international aid for their daily bread. >> sreenivasan: andhort of this particular response, it's gone relatively unchecked, aninghat there hasn't anyone exwn military aggression from an outside foe based on any actions that bashar al-assad has taken. >> that's right. and in the year since the united states last struc syria-- again, because of chemical weapons -- the regime has repeatedly used chemical weapons, the white house admitted today. and the facis the military strike does dnot eliminate there enange of facilities, chemical stockpiles, commad posts used for chemical weapons in syria. they did

president assad emerged very little. president assad emerged very strong. his base of support is much stronger now. 100 missiles were actually fired at syria or syria targets. 70 of them were shot down by missiles from syria and russia. they promised us able punish the russian and the iranians, but i believe it has completely backfired. i believe assad is in a very strong position now. you say you don't know what it has achieved. in terms of these specific strikes overnight friday to saturday, theresa may and others have been clear is about sending out a signal that the use of chemical weapons is a parliament and must not be repeated. would the three nations involved there not see that success is the result and other chemical weapons use? that success is the result and other chemical weapons use ?|i that success is the result and other chemical weapons use? i believe there are opposing voices in the american administration. many people believe this kind of strike is illegal. it was not under the umbrella of the united nations. and also, until now, we do not

and while that happens, president assad is almost ina sense, happens, president assad is almost in a sense, on a still free to use weapons as brutal as barrel bombs which he has been using since the start of the war. and civilians are still being killed. the rebels are still being killed. the rebels are still being killed. the rebels are still being slaughtered, in assets. the message is it you can kill but not with chemical weapons. the estimated half a million people who have died over the last seven years have died over the last seven years have not died from chemical weapons. they are from artillery or aircraft oi’ they are from artillery or aircraft or barrel bombs at missiles, rockets, gunfire. the real tragedy is that assad still has licence to kill as many as he wants. is there any way to bring the side of say the united states and russia, for example, who are willing to accept a syria with assad still at the helm at some point and the rebels who see that as they redline. we shall not come to the table is assad is here in any shape orform. come to the table is assad is here

>> it's up to assad. if assad acts again with chemical weapons, withere will a response from this pentagon and this administration. the line we hear here, sustained, legitimate and proportional. >> bill, your thoughts on this very concept of one-off being sustained and the perception from the middle east? >> reporter: well, as hans was saying, all the allies are singing from the same hymn sheet. the french foreign minister said exactly the same thing today, that if he uses chemical weapons again, then we will take -- we reserve the right to take military action again. the one thing that isn't quite clear is what is the red line? what kind of poison gas? is it any kind of poison gas? is it just sarin? is it chlorine? we're not clear on that but i think locked and loaded from nikki haley tells us all we need to know. >> i'm joined by the best in the business. thank you all three. so now that the strikes have been carried out, the question that is being asked, what is next. coming up, the president's strateg

that there tenuous in support of assad? >> well in the past we've always notified moscow when having action we gave them time they moved ships out of the harbor moved their plane every step was taken to mitigate civilian casualties look at timing of the strikes, it was between 3:00 to 4:00 a.m. civilian populations kind of -- >> we did right steps. >> i got to ask you, your very involved in the outcome in syria grateful this president took action but you are saying this morning you don't think necessarily it has enough russian iraround assad declaring victory. why do you say that i want to thank the united states of america the brave men and women who undertook this mission the president of the united states standing up against war crimes unfortunately assad is creating his people around damascus declaring victory because it they are saying it wasn't hard enough they coupled something harder assad regime also will continue to use barrel bomb weapons against civilians syrians safe from chemical weapons continue to be in dang

this time our allies and we have struck harder together we have sent a clear message to assad and his murderous lieutenants that they should not perpetrate another chemical weapons attack for which they will be held accountable but right now this is a one time shot and i believe that is send a very strong message to dissuade him to deter him from doing this again. now is introduce our panel for today's inside story joining us in moscow alexei cabinet corfu is a middle east specialist at the russian international affairs council in beirut rami khouri a senior fellow and professor for public policy at the american university of beirut also a senior fellow at the harvard kennedy school and in a red so in italy via skype is joshua landis director at the center for middle east studies at the university of oklahoma gentlemen thank you for being in on inside story welcome to you all joshua if i can start with you was this military operation enough to achieve what the american say was their goal to stop bashar assad from using chemical weapons again i believe it will be successful the united

president assad, time and again in recent yea rs, president assad, time and again in recent years, has been defiant, vowing, even against their wishes at times of his ally russia, in saying that he will take back every inch of syrian territory. he has been saying that again today, saying that these airstrikes make him even more determined to crush his opponents. they are saying tonight that all of eastern ghouta, that last suburb on the edge of damascus that was under rebel control, is now back in the hands of the syrian army and government agencies. the next target, widely expected, will be the province in northern syria that is largely under rebel control, and thatis largely under rebel control, and that is idlib. so there are still areas controlled by the syrian opposition but they have no kind of territorial foothold to be able to challenge president assad's rule. the big question is, when do you say, to use the phrase that you and many others have used, when is the war over? there is a great fear that when this war begins to draw to a close, at least in terms of the territorial ba

and nato to not take action against russia and assad. host: deborah is on our democratic line from kansas. caller: i just want to say, she just said that she thought that people were asking if syria started it or if president trump is doing it. she indicated they have some proof that syria is starting this. i trust president trump. cautious and very safety he has americans' at best. i think syria probably is doing it. i really like him. i hope it goes well. host: what about that? act,nited states did making a military strike is one of the most important things a president has to do. what is your reaction? guest: this is a president that does not fundamentally want to be engaged in additional military conflict in the middle east and signaled his desire to withdraw from syria. it is important and noteworthy that president trump made the difficult decision to undertake this kind of military action, and it is difficult decisions like that in upholding international norms in the prohibition of this type of egregious violence that makes us the

assad, with mr. putin, and with several other people in the area to change their behavior, more than just a strike which may destroy something on the ground, there has to be -- ambassador hailey is starting this tomorrow in the u.n. there has to be much more diplomatic effort toward this and probably a whole lot fewer tweets. you know, this has to be a face-to-face or verbal-to-verbal and not messages sent over the airways for both russia to pick up what mr. trump is saying, and for us to pick up what russia's saying which is what's been happening all day. it's got to go beyond just a kinetic strike or we'll see ourselves in this position again in a few weeks or a few months just like we did from last year. >> nate, i want to ask you about john bolton because he is the new national security adviser. he takes the reins tomorrow alongside the president. he's famously hawkish. he's been an advocate for preemptive strikes. do you think his new place in the trump orbit, so to speak, increases the likeliho

that really puts russia and iran and the syrian regime of assad on one side. typically that is going to be saudi arabia and united states and its allies on the other side. so relations between the us and russia could hardly be worse, of course. trump is part of the problem. he has no credibility as an interlocutor with the russians, as somebody who could sit down at the table and have a deal with them, because so many people in america right now see him as being in bed with putin. we also have to bear in mind the political situation he faces at home right 110w. situation he faces at home right now. he needs a distraction. the last few days has been a disaster for him, politically. his right—hand henchman, michael cohen, it is now clear he is under communication —— under investigation. his private communications, including those with trump, have been seized. trump is looking at possible impeachment. and so looking at possible impeachment. and so far he seems to have really remained loyal to vladimir putin. all along, that has really been the one thing he

you think resident assad cares —— de ute inc president assad ca res cares —— de ute inc president assad cares that his military assets have been targeted in this way? certainly edict —— certainly he cares because his assets are being degraded. whether this prevents further use of chemical weapons, if there is any self defence motive here is the principal that chemical weapons are weapons of mass destruction and should never be used on the battlefield under any circumstances thatis battlefield under any circumstances that is a strong us, uk and french interests. we will have to see. but i's tactical successes in driving the opposition out of eastern ghouta, exceeded the losses from tonight's attacks, he may not be deterred, he may proceed in the future. that remains to be seen. i wa nt to future. that remains to be seen. i want to bring your statement here from the russian politician, currently the us ambassador, the russian ambassador to the united states, he is saying in a statement that russia says" such actions will not be left without consequences. " this is from the reuters new

regime and to join us condemn the assad regime and to join us in ourfirm resolve condemn the assad regime and to join us in our firm resolve to prevent chemical weapons from being used again. we want our provider military update. good evening, i amjoined by brigadier general montague, and our british tache. secretary mattis has just outlined the policy and legal framework was knights strike in syria. at 9pm eastern standard time french and the british and us forces struck targets in syria in support of president's trump objected to deter the future use of chemical weapons. our forces are integrated throughout the planning and execution of the operation. the targets that were struck and destroyed were specifically associated with the syrian regime's chemical weapons programme. we also selected targets that would minimise the risk to innocent civilians. the first target was a scientific research centre located in the greater the mascot area. this military facility was a syrian ce ntre military facility was a syrian centre for the research, development, production and testing of chemical and

that assad is protecting the a ssedis and christians. we don't know who was chopping the heads off of people, but we were arming the wrong rebels. there are two sides to a coin. for everyone that hates assad, there are people that love him. we want to be on the right side of history. you have god on your side and can do good. last night the general said we chose these facilities because no civilians need them, but there are other facilities that make this, but they're closer to civilians. russia is never going to give up their warm water port. douma.isis was left in now they took it over. that is the end of our motive. host: are you concerned with the possibility that if we pull out it might leave a vacuum that isis could reclaim, or some other bad actor could fill that vacuum? caller: no. uses conventional warfare and will have a bomb that displaces them to oblivion. the rebels have little kids and wives just like boko haram. there is trouble all over the world. everywhere. did you know that chemical destroyed 64,000 americans last year

bashar al assad on a plate. they don't have that kind of influence. they have some influence this syria, for sure. but they don't control syria, and they don't control or micro manage everything that bashar al assad does. >> former u.s. ambassador to syria, robert ford, and congressman adrian espana, we appreciate that. that wraps up this hour of msnbc live. >>> in a moment, "a.m. joy" will pick up on the very latest in the syria strikes. stay with us. david. what's going on? oh hey! ♪ that's it? yeah. that's it? everybody two seconds! "dear sebastian, after careful consideration of your application, it is with great pleasure that we offer our congratulations on your acceptance..." through the tuition assistance program, every day mcdonald's helps more people go to college. it's part of our commitment to being america's best first job. with a class leading 31mpgs nx combined estimate. lease the 2018 nx 300 and nx 300 all wheel drive for these terms. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. i'm all about my bed

that he's chlorine and that they've been used one by the regime of bashar assad in the better it will be very very seriously very close to the whole situation. to see what happens for those who feel happy to. have the whole world producers in a position doing good shelter with germany when you don't you know just sit back and i think awful military action but i want to stress again that no decision has been made on this that we acknowledge and support that everything has to be done to signal that this use of chemical weapons is an acceptable mr. nuked or no one authorized western leaders to take the role of the world's police and at the same time investigators prosecutors judges into execution and storage. so we begin the day with a crisis over syria u.s. president donald trump or so far held off on his threat to bomb the assad regime after last weekend's suspected poison gas attack but his allies do seem to be rallying round after an emergency cabinet meeting britain's prime minister theresa may said her government agreed on the need to take action to deter the further use of chemica

to say at peaceful syria with assad as its head,it peaceful syria with assad as its head, it would not be accepted by the people and it doesn't make sense. there must bejustice the people and it doesn't make sense. there must be justice and accountability in order to ensure a sta ble accountability in order to ensure a stable country. hundreds of people have been attending protests in budapest. it was against the theft of the election. it might be the beginning to the resistance of viktor orban's rule. thousands of people marched to the parliament to voice their anger with last week's election result. blanket on the electoral system. they blamed it on his domination of the media and they called for new elections. for me,... translation: if we do not fight in an unified way, then we do not want another 100 years of oppression or eastern pressure and we do not want to see another wave of retaliation like in 18118. to see another wave of retaliation like in 1848. week, the people, have to stand up now and show are power. i hope we are rewriting history. which one of his opponents proteste

president donald trump or so far held off on his threat to bomb the assad regime after last weekend's suspected poison gas attack but his allies do seem to be rallying round after an emergency cabinet meeting britain's prime minister theresa may said her government agreed on the need to take action to deter the further use of chemical weapons by assad's regime president macro france said he's spoken with donald trump several times this week and now says he has proof that the syrian regime did use poison gas meanwhile forces on both sides are getting ready. the destroyers the u.s.s. donald cook and u.s.s. porter have been positioned off the syrian coast. but if and when they'll get the order to strike is not yet clear. after this bill the co's tweet us president donald trump is holding back for the time being and we're looking very very seriously very closely at that whole situation and. we'll see what happens folks we'll see what happens it's too bad. the world put in a position like that but you know as i said this morning we've done a great job with isis we have just absolutely deci

pressure on assad. the only thing we're doing right now and what we did in the prior administration is focus on chemical weapons and isis. right now, as you laid it out exactly right. that's a serious problem because it does in some way give huge credibility for the reaction it's iranians and that's a problem not just for syria alone but in the region. we're not going to stand by the folks and things that that we say. >> jamil, thank you for your input. thanks to both of you. >>> the president is prepared to sustain attacks on syria but his secretary of defense tells a different story. coming up, what is the strategy? >>> and in the next hour, did the president's tweets on syria back him into a corner? we'll ask a military analyst. experience a blend of refined craftsmanship... ...and raw power, engineered to take the crown. presenting the all-new lexus ls 500 and ls 500h. experience amazing, at your lexus dealer. where we're changing withs? contemporary make-overs. then, use the ultimate power handshak

assad. one man claimed that. he mitigated the western missile for the opposition forces but the militia calls himself the heart of islam called the strikes a farce and citizen a strategy to save the people there from the brutality of the assad regime. if support from countries like turkey right now. which the leader often is a harsh critic of the west. the israeli prime minister issued a statement today saying that the resolve of president trump remains and israel remains supportive of the president. more specifically he said it should be clear to the president assad his disregard for international law and provision of forward base by rand and his proxies in danger syria and the people. back to you. >> thank you. >> meanwhile, president trump saying mission accomplished. meanwhile at a summit in peru, the vice president saying that the missile strikes crippled that syria chemical weapons capability. >> the president was focused on the actual chemical weapons regime itself. and our hope is th

but blame that on assad. blame that on those that are supporting him, the iranians and the russians, and they need to know that donald trump will actually take action >> we have heard a lot of talk tonight about the fact that he campaigned and a lot of people voted for him on the fact he was going to extricate the u.s. from a lot of places overseas. it was something that he talked about just, you know, days ago, about us coming home from syria. tonight he says this. he says america does not seek an indefinite presence in syria under no circumstances. as other nations step up their contributions, we look forward to the day when we can bring our warriors home and great warriors they are. congressman, you have been and continue to be one of them, how important do you think that part of his message was tonight? we're going to act when we have to, but we want to get out of there. >> i think it's a good part of the message. we do want to get out of these places. in afghanistan we want the afghan government to stand

as far as the assad government is concerned, this is mission accomplished. this conclave near damascus has been crushed. but the methods used have energised foreign powers, notably france. the french drew their own red line last year. macron was very clear about the fact that france would even on its own be ready to contemplate military action, if there was demonstrated use of chemical weapons in syria. so there is no particular surprise there. macron knows what happens to presidents who do not abide by their red line. politically, britain's position is more ambiguous. downing street's readout of calls with presidents trump and macron today was carefully caveated, referring to reports of chemical weapons use, which if confirmed, would be further evidence of assad's cruelty. we are working urgently with our allies and partners to assess what has happened on the ground. if this is the responsibility of assad's regime, in syria, then it is yet another example of the brutality and brazen disregard for their people that they show. adding to caution is a complex m

joins us now from along the takis syria border some of the assad forces assad regime the government that has had some time now to assess the damage from these strikes these three strikes that took place about three hours ago what do you hearing from inside syria . well as the sun came up after these strikes ended the first statement that we heard which was not surprising from state media was a tone of defiance saying that this aggression destroyed partite aggression against the syrian state has failed this unnamed official now telling the world to the state agency that this attack has largely been foiled a third of the thirty or so missiles that were fired at syria were taken down the air defense back from these around damascus came into action and brought down these missiles as they came in and also syrian state t.v. saying that there's been some material damage but largely there has been they were aware of that these attacks are coming and this unnamed official actually thanking russian officials for giving them prior warning because they say that the russians told them this attack is

what was the message to assad? you can do as you please and be in charge as long as you don't use chemical weapons? that is the message. you need to steer clear of anything that is chemical weapons or biological. clearly,... anything that is chemical weapons or biological. clearly, . .. (audio problems). we will try and stick with you and see how we get on. how is the point? surely the syrians wa nt is the point? surely the syrians want more than this surgical strike. they want something more substantive. absolutely. that is the whole thing. the rebels have been there for so many years and will continue. the people of a syria are suffering and to see this and say this is not good enough. i don't think anybody had any expectation that this would go the way they preferred it to go. they all knew it would be a limited strike against chemical weapons facilities. what is so terrible about accepting president assad at the helm in syria? because, president assad at the helm in syria ? because, of president assad at the he

regime and to join us condemn the assad regime and to join us in ourfirm resolve condemn the assad regime and to join us in our firm resolve to prevent chemical weapons from being used against white the retired lieutenant—general daniel against white the retired lieutena nt—general daniel davidsson of the defence priorities... joins us of the defence priorities... joins us again tonight. we have this attack, this strike, but the end of the person who is the leader of syria and who is committing these alleged atrocities is bashar al—assad and he is still in office. it's like there is almost no point? i can't say that i disagree to strongly because again, you say you want a message to be sent, but he is still in charge so what secretary mattis just said about the intent, well, certainly russia doesn't angry that is the case because they don't even admit that there was a chemical attack by bashar al—assad so they are saying whatever your intent was, that's not us, we didn't do that so we're not going to... we get the message and do something different. he is still in charge, they are

assad still remains in power. there's no question he continues to have an arsenal of chemical weapons. i think the real question about whether or not this strike was worth while will be determined in the future, not the present. >> so you're sure that he still has a stockpile of chemical weapons? >> i don't think there's much question but that he would not have put all of his chemical weapons in one place. he's distributed those chemical weapons throughout his country. that's been his approach as long as i can remember. >> and so what do you make, what would be the next step? you know, president trump overnight talked on wednesday when he announced -- on friday when he addressed the american people about all of the tools at america's, military and economic and diplomatic, that it would be sustained if assad crosses the line again. i guess all of the leaders said that the ball is in assad's court and to an extent russia's court. do you think they'll do it again, whack him again if he uses these weapons again? >> i

president trump denouncing assad and now praising the u.s. military for what he calls a perfectly executed attack reading mission accomplished. and british prime minister tourism a dispenser nation's role in the strikes and she's pointing the finger at russia of failing to hold the syrian regime accountable for its use of chemical weapons. and residents take to the streets in damascus in a show of defiance as syria's president says the strikes will only increase his country's resolve the quote pockets russia terrorism and every inch of the nation. being. unhappy clawson welcome to the program the united states and its allies britain and france have carried out air strikes on suspected chemical weapons facilities in syria u.s. president trump says they were in response to last week's alleged gas attack in the syrian town of duma which left dozens of civilians debt missiles began hitting targets in or around the cities of damascus and homs within minutes of his announcement. the cells launched would syria from the u.s. navy ship part of a wave

not just a punishment for president assad, but about a wider principle, too. this was not about interfering in a civil war, and it was not about regime change. it was a limited, targeted and effective strike with clear boundaries. we must reinstate the global consensus that chemical weapons cannot be used. this action is absolutely in britain‘s national interest. the lesson of history is that when the global rules and standards that keep us safe come under threat we must take a stand and defend them. will you do the same again if president assad does the same again? as you have suggested he has. and do you feel you have the public‘s consent, given you have not even consulted mps in parliament? we believe the action was successful, but the syrian regime should be under no doubt of our resolve in relation to this matter of the use of chemical weapons. and i have taken this decision because i believe it is the right thing to do. ministers‘ legal advice justifies the strikes as an exceptional measure to alleviate humanitarian distress by degrading the syrian

it reacted to assad's continuing wbd use, and now they have to see what assad is going to do next. >> nicholas kristof, we know the president wanted a stronger and quicker action, quicker than this. did he get what he want said, the president? >> it sounds like he did not. it sounds like he made a speech that reflected his larger ambitions when he talked about that sustained attack. but in fact what seems to have unfolded so far as you're going with what secretary mattis described was more limited. and i think that reflects the fact when you're in the white house situation room it's very easy to plan massive campaigns. if you are in the pentagon you remember in 1999 when we were bombing bellgrade in the kosovo operation it was hard to imagine what might go wrong and then we hit the chinese embassy and all of a sudden we had a crisis with china on our hands. and particularly now the it's so sensitive with russia, with iran. i felt reassured when i heard secretary mattis talk about the constraints of the operation, the fact it would not be sustained in any meaningful way. >> how likely

they're not going to stop assad. the only way this is going to happen is if you go after the russians and iran, which we're not going to do. also, this is is in the middle of a war that syria has about won. we kicked isis' ass out of syria, but the war in syria has been won by syria. the context is interesting. as good an operation as it was, it's going to have an effect of stopping chemical attacks. neil: the president seemed to telegraph as much last week before when he hinted just get out of syria. what do you make of that and what our position should be now going forward, especially after in? >> again, in context, as you know, we helped start this thing during the last administration. with the saudis, intel stuff, we began to try to get assad out of there and it went upsidedown on us, and everybody else fast. this is now, has been won by russia and iran and syria. the russians got a port that they've always wanted. iran's got influence. this is a bad situation, we cannot get back in the middle of because again, 1

this isn'tjust about bashar al—assad. it is about who is backing bashar al—assad. interesting analysis there. much more of that to come in the papers. now it's time for the weather. good evening. it seems like these have left you wanting more you might find tomorrow a bit of a disappointment. it is probably not going to live up to the warmth or the sunshine of today. that is how the sunshine of today. that is how the day ended for a weather watcher close to wakefield. a beautiful scene here not too far away in north yorkshire. as i say, sunday, a different affair, with more cloud. lower temperatures as well. where we had the sunshine today we got close to 20 degrees just to the west of london. you can see that many spots did enjoy some sunshine. that left us did enjoy some sunshine. that left us with clear skies for the most pa rt us with clear skies for the most part to take us through the rest of the night. a bit of showers and rain into shetland, but has the night wears on we will see thickening cloud and outbreaks of rain in the south—west of england and part

without at assad government, without bashar al-assad, none of this access to the mediterranean and ultimately to the atlantic and the rest of the world is guaranteed to moscow. i want to take the story back to syria, right inside. i want to speak to mahmoud who is a syrian journalist and for the past year has lived here in the united states. he was forced to leave syria and he know what people inside that country are suffering. the message is the world and america may be missing the point here and that while chemical weapons are awful and they should not be used against i innocent civilians, what the assad regime has done to people inside syria is much worse than kwepo chemical weapons. >> absolutely, ali. first, thank you for having me. i consider the strikes took a place yesterday night as a pathetic strikes. why? now the syrian people are more desperate and more depressed because they think that regime now is stronger. that for two reason. first, bashar al-assad still capable to produce chemical weapons. second, the message the countries seasoned to bashar al-assad is you could kill your o

tonight for the two governments most responsible for supporting equipping and financing the criminal assad regime to iran and to russia i ask what kind of a nation wants to be associated with the mass murder of innocent men women and children the nations of the world can be judged by the friends they keep no nation can succeed in the long run by promoting rogue states brutal tyrants and murderous dictators last night british french and american armed forces conducted coordinated and targeted strikes to degrade the syrian regime's chemical weapons capability and deter the use this was not about interfering in a civil war and it was not about regime change as i discussed with president trump and president macra it was a limited targeted and effective strike with clear boundaries that expressly sought to avoid escalation and did everything possible to prevent civilian casualties we would have preferred an alternative path but on this occasion there is none. we can also now the use of chemical weapons to become normalized or russia has warned they would be consequences for the attacks present

chemical weapons were used in at least chlorine and that they've been used by the regime of bashar assad in the charlottesville we're looking very very seriously because you go situation in. which you have these folks who feel happy to. have the world produce those in a position like king george johnson would look germany will notice that it's a pain and i don't muscle military action but i want to stress again that no decision has been made on that in that we acknowledge and support that everything has to be done to signal that this use of chemical weapons is unacceptable and mr. nick thought no one authorized western leaders to take the role of the world's police and at the same time investigating this prosecutors judges into execution is crazy. so we begin the day with a crisis over syria u.s. president donald trump or so far held off on his threat to bomb the assad regime after last weekend's suspected poison gas attack but his allies do seem to be rallying round after an emergency cabinet meeting britain's prime minister theresa may said her government agreed on the need to take act

why don't we talk to assad? assad's arsenal of chemical weapons. but what happens if these chemical weapons leaked? how many people are going to be killed by this? are we trying to solve a problem with a bigger problem? i thought there was an agreement in 2013 that stockpiles would be eradicated and russia was a guarantor to that. but russia is saying there's chemical weapons in assad's hands. nothing at all. all of them destroyed completely. why don't we take the russian word seriously? because it isn't what appears to be happening on the ground. we have many reports, including photographs, saying a lot of people seem to have died from chlorine and possibly a nerve agent. in douma, there is no proof at all. by the way, the footage of those victims, i have spoken to chemical experts, they say it is an obvious fake, because all the rules of engagement with chemical weapons are broken in the footage. there's no reason to fake it. excuse me, but there is a reason to fake it. alexander, we have discussed that. barry, you talked about talking to assad,

position that much and puts assad on notice. >> what about what assad could be thinking as far as we saw the statement from senator mccain, right, president trump last week signalled to the world the u.s. would prematurely withdraw from syria. emboldened by american inaction, assad has reportedly launched another chemical attack. it goes on. how do you think, andrew, how does assad see these recent comments? do you think at all green lit this attack? >> yeah, it's a good question. it seems to me in president trump's mind the issue of staying in eastern syria and fighting with the kurdish-backed forces there and the chemical weapons red line are two different issues. whether president assad understands that or not is a good question. it's all part of his calculus to hold on to power, and assad is in quite a precarious military situation. he's very strong and heavy with russian and iranian support. but on his own he's very fragile and susceptible to u.s. strikes. we'll have to see what the president decides in the coming days and what the outcome will be. >> why are syria's chemical we

assad is a war criminal. so the question is now are we just going to launch missiles again, which, of course, assad and the russians will ignore, or is the united states prepared to deal with the fact that there's a war criminal running syria? i don't know if president trump has the understanding of foreign policy to deal with this kind of problem. >> he is pointing fingers at russia though. he is tweeting russian president putin's name condemning him directly. that is a change. >> that's a change, but what's the follow-through? i mean, it's really important that we stand up to russia, but here's the challenge. look at what we've been saying about russia for a year. we send the missiles in to say to russia, don't do this with assad, don't let him do this and then our president talks about putin as if he's a good -- he's a good man, as if we shouldn't be worried about him. only lately has the u.s. government been able to put pressure on russia. the fact of the matter is all the authoritarians around the world

. capabilities of syrian dictator bashar al-assad. and he singled out syria‘s two principal backers. teheran and to russia, i ask, what kind of nation wants to be associated with the mass murder of innocent men, women and children? —— to iran. the nations of the world can bejudged to iran. the nations of the world can be judged by to iran. the nations of the world can bejudged by the to iran. the nations of the world can be judged by the friends they keep. in damascus last night, flashes, bangs and streaking missiles lit the night sky. those launching the attack seemed as keen to define what this mission wasn‘t as what it was. this is not about intervening in the civil war. it is not about regime change. it is about a limited and targeted strike that does not further escalate tensions in the region and that does everything possible to prevent civilian casualties. daylight reveals the extent of the destruction. this is all that‘s left of the scientific research centre near damascus, one of the targets that took the greatest p

they were not trying to cut out the head of the assad regime. she said it was a limited and targeted strike that does not further escalate tensions in the region and tries to prevent civilian casulties. limited and targeted strike. two key words to look at here, sean, as we watch what is unfolding with the jets taking off from cypress and getting the initial bomb assessment. it is just about day break in syria. the sun will break through there in an hour's time. slaun sean john roberts at the white house. the president if you just joined us ordered air strikes in the wake of the chemical weapon's attack against men, women and children. it was a coalition of the willing including the french and brits. the president going through the heart wrenching videos that the world saw of men, women and children and infants and victims of the vicious and horrible and terrible weapons. we wish our military forces much success. they are in our prayer and thoughts. we are waiting on a pentagon press briefing and stay with the fox news channel for continuing and

trump is the muchjust —— assad is pretty muchjust egging on trump is the muchjust —— assad is pretty much just egging on trump and is the muchjust —— assad is pretty muchjust egging on trump and the international community, saying, look what i can do. like i said, this was not the first chemical weapons attack. it is one of the more severe ones this year. it seems to have use sarin gas because of the effects that we have seen, the foaming at the mouth, the seizures, all the medical symptoms that we have been seeing relate to sarin gas. so this is the most severe we have seen but it is reallyjust be assad regime trying to egg on president trump based off the previous attack. thank you very much. the is the executive board committee for the syrian american counciljoining us committee for the syrian american council joining us on committee for the syrian american counciljoining us on a breaking news story, the attack on the military airfield in the centre of syria near homs. the united nations security council is to be meeting later on to discuss the alleged chemical attack in syria

animal assad would have been history. president trump acknowledged or realized he is laying out a red line himself and he is being hypocritical in his tweets? >> i would say this is the latest in years of confusing and contradictory statements of syria coming from citizen trump and now president trump. that message and approach is a hallmark of the president's syria policy. some days he is for a tough humanitarian response and some days he says it is not our problem. some days he says we will kill isis. some day he says we will get out. this overall strategic confusion is what undermines the effectiveness of the u.s. policy in the region in my view. you know, the bottom line here is that nobody understands what president trump is willing to do and what he will do and in that vacu vacuum, other actors are advancing. this is not the first chemical strike by the assad regime in syria since president trump struck last year. he has been doing it the whole time. the message the assad regime and others have gotten there will not

. , the assad regime did not get the message last year. this time, we have struck harder and sent a clear message to assad and his murderous lieutenants they should not perpetrate another chemical weapons attack for which they willmurderous lieutey should not perpetrate another chemical weapons attack for which they will be held accountable. i want to emphasize these strikes are emphasized that the syrian regime. we have gone to great lengths. it is a time for all civilized ending urgently unite in the sectarian civil war by supporting the united states. in accordance to the chemical weapons convention prohibiting the use of such weapons, week urge responsibility to condemn the assad regime and join us in our firm resolve to prevent chemical weapons from being used again. general dunford will provide a military update. -- i'll address this from a military standpoint. french, british, and u.s. forces struck targets in syria in support of president trump subjective to determine the future use of chemical weapons. integratedwere throughout th

. capabilities of syrian dictator bashar al-assad. a combined operation with the armed forces of france and the united kingdom, is now under way. we thank them both. tonight i want to speak with you about why we have taken this action. one year ago assad launched a savage chemical weapons attack against his own innocent people. the united states responded with 58 missile strikes that destroyed 20% of the syrian airforce. strikes that destroyed 20% of the syrian air force. last saturday the assad regime again deployed chemical weapons to slaughter innocent civilians, this town —— —— this time in the town of douma near the syrian capital of damascus. this massacre was a significant escalation in a pattern of chemical weapons use by that very terrible regime. the evil and the despicable attack left mothers and fathers, infants and children thrashing in pain and gus being the air. —— gasping for air. these are not the actions of a man, they are crimes of a monster in stead. following the horrors of world war i, as century ago,

it could go after russia's support for assad. you can put more sanctions on russia, you can shame them at the united nations, but is there any action that's large enough that would make a difference against russia that president trump would be willing to support, i'm not necessarily sure, but that's something they'll be talking about tomorrow. >> josh, we have seen strong language from both the u.s. and russia, trump saying big price to pay, russia threatening most serious consequences. you seem to think that this is all a lot of talk and no real action is going to come from it? >> well, president trump said last week, let others have handle it, we're getting out of syria, a month ago standing alongside the -- i take president trumped a his word that he believes that these are horrible atrocities and he believes it's not america's job to solve it. and that can only lead you to one conclusion is that today's bluster leads to his stance that american intervention ask not the solution to this problem is how he feels. we have seen ov