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Obama's Long Road To Congressional Approval; World Reacts To Shocking Syria Videos

Aired September 08, 2013 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: We have much more ahead in the NEWSROOM, and it all starts right now.

It's third hour of the NEWSROOM this Sunday. Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. A look at our top stories this hour. In less than 24 hours Congress returns to Washington to debate a potential strike on Syria. But can lawmakers be convinced the Syrian regime is to blame for a suspected sarin gas attack? We'll take a look at the case against Bashar Al-Assad.

And members of the U.S. armed forces go online to oppose a strike. Public dissent within the military? Straight ahead.

Plus, the consequences of a U.S. strike on Syria. What will the blowback be in Tomahawk missiles were to start flying?

U.S. secretary of state John Kerry is very busy trying to convince the international community to back U.S. military action against Syria.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: What we are seeking is to enforce the standard with respect to the use of chemical weapons. We are not seeking to become engaged in or party to or take over Syria's civil war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: He met with Arab League foreign ministers today and a discussion on Syria was on the agenda. Foreign affairs reporter Elise Labott is live for us in London where she's traveling with Secretary Kerry. So Elise, is Secretary Kerry happy with some of the support he's receiving?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS REPORTER: Fred, I think he's - sounds pretty confident that the U.S. would have Arab support. He said that Saudi Arabia basically supports U.S. strikes against Syria and he said that a number of countries in the Arab League would be saying in the next 24 hours or so that they also support this statement that came out of the G-20 on Friday that called for an international response to the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

Qatar said it was going to support. So I think now the administration is trying to rally around this G-20 statement, getting a lot of Arab support. You saw earlier in the weekend in Lithuania, all 28 European foreign ministers signed on to a statement that called for a clear and strong international response. So right now, it looks like the international kind of coalition, if you will, looking a lot better than the one in Congress.

WHITFIELD: So I wonder, were there any concerns being expressed by the international community to Kerry about why they won't be more committed than just kind of lip service.

LABOTT: Well, a couple of things. I think first of all there are a lot of different countries that feel different ways. Some countries may be willing to lend military support. Others political support. Some oppose it altogether. I think it's going to be up to each individual country to say what they're going to do. But a lot of countries, particularly the European Union, want to wait for the U.N. inspectors' report, especially France. French President Hollande has said that he would take part in a military campaign but in order to get more of that political backing from the European Union, he said he wants to wait for that U.N. report.

So clearly, the administration isn't all that happy about it but at this point, Fred, it is kind of insignificant waiting for this U.N. inspector's report because it could be out later in the week and the congressional debate is taking a lot longer than that.

WHITFIELD: All right. Elise Labott, thanks so much, from London.

And tomorrow, here stateside, President Obama will talk to all six television networks including CNN about the alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria. His interview with our Wolf Blitzer airs tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time right here on CNN.

And U.S. Senator John McCain is sending a strong warning to President Obama about intervention in Syria. During a radio interview with KFYI, McCain said the president bungled the handling of the Syria crisis and that deploying U.S. troops would have huge political consequences. He even says Obama could face impeachment if military action results in American boots on the ground.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: No one wants American boots on the ground. Nor will there be American boots on the ground because there would be an impeachment of the president if they did that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: McCain has endorsed the president's plan, however, for military strikes.

President Obama wants the American people to be behind him, as well. So tomorrow he will be pressing his case in interviews to Wolf Blitzer and five other network journalists and then on Tuesday night he delivers a speech from the White House, prime time 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

Meantime, Secretary Kerry continues to make his push overseas. U.S. officials claim those videos showing the scene of an alleged chemical weapons attack are authentic but they do not show evidence of who is behind the apparent gas attack. A former CIA operative weighs in on what that means for the Obama administration.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Secretary of state John Kerry speaking out about why the administration showed a Senate committee extremely graphic videos of a suspected sarin gas attack in Syria. We must warn you, the video is graphic and apparently shows people dying from the gas attack. CNN was the first to obtain the clips of the victims. Men, women, children all seen convulsing on the ground, struggling to breathe and some are dead.

Kerry said today it's important Congress knows what the chemical weapons attack did to Syrian civilians before they vote on whether or not to strike Syria.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRY: Those videos make it clear to people that these are real human beings, real children, parents being affected in way that are unacceptable to anybody anywhere by any standards. And that it is the United States of America that has always stood with others to say we will not allow this, this is not our values. This is not who we are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon. So Barbara, is there more to these tapes?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, I think that the administration is trying to get them out in public more. They are now more on a congressional website. Senator Dianne Feinstein in California really pushing to get them out. The idea is that these graphic and terrible as they are will be the public evidence to show people what happened in Syria, according to the U.S. administration. What the impact was. And to try and certainly convince more members of Congress to support the president.

But of course, they probably need to convince the constituents of the American people first. So congressmen will then come around. I think that's really part of the strategy here. They say these videos are authentic, of course, and their reasoning behind it is they were shot from multiple angles. They have verification from survivors. Some overhead imagery from satellites matches what they saw on the ground, so they say the case is building strongly. At least that's the White House view that this atrocity happened just as the administration set the (INAUDIBLE). Fred?

WHITFIELD: Yes, and you said lawmakers are trying to hear from their constituents. But how are lawmakers reacting to is videos themselves?

STARR: Well, look, clearly, especially in the House of Representatives, it is going to be a much tougher case by all accounts for the administration to make. There is very senior support in the House. There are members that are coming around and do support the president. But have a listen to two influential lawmakers who perhaps do not.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JUSTIN AMASH (R), MICHIGAN: No, the video depicts the horrific reaction to chemical weapons. But the video doesn't determine whether we should go to war. And I've talked with my constituents and they're overwhelmingly opposed to going to war. I've been to the classified briefings. I know what the evidence is. And I think the case is not that strong right now.

REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D), MARYLAND: My constituents are concerned about the what's next. We need to know the possible consequences of the strike. And if it will possible lead to a scenario whether America gets more deeply involved in the civil war in Syria.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: And Representative Cummings there echoing what a lot of members of Congress may be hearing from back home. People want to know what the end game is here. What is the strategy? What is the military goal? What is the real reason and strategy for using U.S. military force against Syria? Fred?

WHITFIELD:. All right. Barbara Starr, thanks so much from the Pentagon.

So there are few words to describe the horror seen on these tapes but according to a point made in an article by the Associated Press, quote, "What's missing from the public record is direct proof, rather than circumstantial evidence, tying this to the regime." End quote.

Former CIA operative and CNN national security analyst Bob Baer joining me now live via Skype from Colorado. So Bob, there are some saying that the evidence is still circumstantial, that there isn't enough. What more would you want?

BOB BAER, FMR CIA OPERATIVE: Well, Fredericka, the problem is that we can't tie this to Bashar Al-Assad. We don't know if rogue officers fired this. We don't know exactly what happened. If you see a lot of people on, you know, up on the air saying who did this, you know, think this unit did. That's not enough. It is not a smoking gun and I think everybody would like to see that smoking gun before we launch an attack.

And your sources are telling you something very interesting. Your Syrian sources are telling you about the potential consequences if, indeed there were a U.S. military strike. Are these government sources? Are these citizens? And what are they saying?

BAER: These are people in the regime. They have called me up. They come across the border in Beirut and called me on Skype and they said that on Monday Bashar Al Assad made a statement inside the regime that if there's an attack on Syria he will respond by hitting Israel. I asked them would that be with chemical weapons? They said, no. It would be conventional but they expect it to escalate from there.

WHITFIELD: And is there a feeling that evidence, the intelligence community, would be able to collect evidence that would support the notion that these chemical weapons were launched, were used by the orders of the Assad regime? By the orders of Bashar al Assad and not necessarily just someone within his regime?

BAER: Well, Fredricka, the problem is that we can't intercept the president's communications. We can intercept individual units. The president communicates by land line. You can't get in to the communications. So we really won't ever know. What the administration is doing is saying, "Look, it's your country, if you can't control it, too bad. You're responsible." But getting in the international coalition, that's a lot harder.

WHITFIELD: is it possible in your view that someone within the Assad government would have used these chemical weapons and Bashar al Assad wouldn't know about it?

BAER: That's what I'm told by Syrian that is are very close to the regime is that they're worried about the disintegration of the Syrian army. There's a couple captains and majors and the rest who have gone beyond orders and some have defected, in fact, and it's possible they told me that one of these officers fired the weapons without orders. And of course, if we were to strike against Bashar Al Assad now, it would do nothing to hold the army together.

WHITFIELD: So what are your concerns if a U.S. strike were to happen?

BAER: I think there's absolute - positive that Bashar al Assad will order a strike on Israel. Israel will respond. At this point, he'll use chemical weapons in retaliation and at some point Hezbollah will get involved in this and we run the risk of a general war in that area. I think it's a mistake to attack.

WHITFIELD: And then the other question is - how does the U.S. - how can it be a witness to this and do nothing?

BAER: That's the problem. It's dilemma. I mean, if we don't do - you know, there is no answer for this. If we don't do something today, he will continue to use chemical weapons or somebody will in his army and this will continue to go on. And frankly, I think if there's ever been a time for diplomacy, it is now.

WHITFIELD: Bob Baer, and you think that's still possible, diplomacy?

BAER: You know, bringing in Iran and Russia and Turkey at the same table, I don't see it but let's try it.

WHITFIELD: All right. Bob Baer, thanks so much for your insight Coming to us Colorado today.

So President Obama's biggest battle for a strike against Syria may not be with Congress. His biggest opponent may be you, the American people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are you not listening to the people and staying out of Syria? It's not our fight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: President Obama has a tough road ahead trying to get Congress on board for strike against Syria. But his biggest battle may be the popular opinion. He's planning to address the nation Tuesday and has a full court press of interviews in the next few days, including with our own Wolf Blitzer. Some lawmakers are reluctant to offer support because they say they're getting an earful from constituents. Most of whom are against military action.

Here's Athena Jones.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Things got heated at Senator John McCain's town hall in Phoenix, Thursday.

MCCAIN: I'm (INAUDIBLE) opposed to having a single American boot on the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not good enough!

MCCAIN: - in Syria.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not good enough at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't accept our view. We didn't send you to get war for us. We sent you to stop the war.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We cannot afford to shed more Syrian blood.

JONES: As McCain who supports missile strikes in Syria try to convince a skeptical audience that taking military action is in America's national interest. It event shows the tough task ahead as the White House pushed to win over lawmakers kicks in to high gear.

Back in Washington, the Democratic head of the Senate intelligence committee who also supports strikes admitted to getting an earful from her constituents.

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: There's no question what's coming in is overwhelmingly negative. There's no question about that. But you see, then they don't know what I know.

JONES: The White House is lobbying members on the phone and in classified briefings. And national security adviser Susan Rice tweeted about a new website launched Thursday to help make the case to the American public. But right now it's clear the White House faces an uphill battle getting enough votes to pass a resolution authorizing missile strikes. Public pressure is coming from all sides with pro-Israel lobby APAC urging Congress to support the resolution saying "Barbarism on a mass scale must not be given a free pass."

Meanwhile, the liberal group Move On wants members to vote no and plans to send a petition to Congress and the president pushing a more prudent approach than military action. Key congressional leaders in both parties support action but liberal democrats and many Republicans are against strikes. And members can still change their minds. Here's New York Republican Congressman Michael Grimm on Monday's "Situation Room."

REP. MICHAEL GRIMM (R), NEW YORK: I would want the president's strike to be a very meaningful strike. We cannot allow a precedent of this regime and a regime anything like the Assad regime to use chemical weapons.

JONES: He was singing a different tune by Thursday.

GRIMM: The president and the administration has failed to really explain exactly what the plan is, what the goal is, and that's a big problem for me.

JONES: Athena Jones, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And this breaking story we're following. A carnival ride collapses in Connecticut and over a dozen children are hurt. The details and an eyewitness to the event. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Bottom of the hour now. Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Here are five things crossing the CNN news desk right now.

Number one, U.S. secretary of state John Kerry met with Arab League foreign ministers today. He is pushing for their support in a military strike against Syria. Next, Kerry will meet with British foreign secretary.

And number two, police in Pine Blutt, Arkansas say they shot and killed a 107-year-old man in a standoff. Officers went to a home late last night after getting reports of two aggravated assaults. They say the man shot at them through a bedroom door. When they identified themselves, the S.W.A.T. team tried to negotiate but that failed and officers say the 107-year-old shot at them again. They returned fire and killed him. The investigation is ongoing.

Number three, police in Dallas say this man, Van Drellen Dixon (ph) is responsible for sexual assault that is similar to eight other assaults this summer. They say DNA evidence led them to Dixon and they've been asking for the public's help to find him. The attacks took place between June 22nd and September 1st. The victims were all attacked in the overnight hours by a man covering his face with a mask or bandana.

And number four, two men are recovering today after they were bitten by sharks off the Florida coast. Authorities say it happened off New Smyrna Beach, just south of Daytona Beach. The men were swimming in knee-deep water when one was bitten on the foot and the other on the shin. Both are expected to be OK. More shark attacks happen off the Florida coast than all of the other coastal states combined.

And number five, at least 13 children are hurt after a swing ride malfunctioned today in Norwalk, Connecticut. It happened during the city's annual oyster festival this afternoon. Some of the children are seriously hurt and had to be taken to nearby hospitals. According to the Norwalk Police Department's Facebook page, the ride lost power, causing the riders to fall to the ground. Other rides were closed after the accident.

And joining me right now on the phone is Miguel Cruz. Miguel, I understand you were at the festival with your pregnant wife and your seven-year-old daughter when that accident occurred. What did you see?

MIGUEL CRUZ, OYSTER FESTIVAL ATTENDEE (OVER THE PHONE): Well, basically, we were just finishing up. We had been on the rides earlier that morning and we were just about to exit when we saw the commotion of the first responders running through the field and the ambulances and police cars going through, so we heard rumors that something collapsed. We decided to see when's going on and then when we got there, we saw the paramedics and the police officers, you know, on the ground, children laying down. Parents with them as just kind of a little chaotic and couldn't see too much because they were keeping us back and hard to watch, too.

WHITFIELD: You did not get - you and your daughter were not on that swing ride but you did see it while it was working, right? Why didn't you choose to get on it?

CRUZ: Well, for me, I would probably have gotten nauseous on it so - but we happened - we were on the ride for a little while. We needed to take a break and so we left at that point and I don't know if my daughter, Isabel, wanted to go on it or not. For some reason, we skipped it. We did see it in operation. I did notice when we were in that area we kept hearing some kind of like a banging sound and I don't know if it was related to this ride or not but every so often, I don't know a ride stopping or what it was but something didn't sound right and when we were on the Ferris wheel overlooking this ride, you know, when we're sitting at the top, I thought, geez, how safe are these rides because, you know, they break them down, they set them up. You just never know. And then we hear this happened and it was just kind of a sickening feeling to know that something like that happened.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And you apparently took a lot of the pictures that we're showing. You know? Your instincts kind of kicked right in to take pictures of a lot of people who are being treated.

Overall, you know, did you hear anything at the time? When the accident occurred on that ride. Did you see anything that was, you know, that let you know right away that something terrible had happened?

WHITFIELD: No. I mean, we actually weren't near the ride at the time of the accident occur. We heard the commotion of all the sirens and all the little golf carts that the volunteers used or they were racing through to get through to the amusement park area and then heard the sirens and then, you know, word spread. People were saying, you know, a child was crushed. A ride collapsed. So we walked over. We couldn't see too much because they were trying to keep everybody back and as much as I hate to take photos, I said let me grab a few to just document it and then maybe somebody might want or use them and at that point I said let's get out of here because we're just in the way. They're trying to get emergency vehicles in. So it doesn't help when people stand around. So at that point we just had made our way home and, you know, just thinking all the way home and it's a hard thing to think about.

WHITFIELD: Yes. All right. Miguel Cruz, thanks so much for your insight. Of course, we're wishing the best for all those involved and the many who are injured. We do understand that some were very seriously injured and taken to the hospital and many, of course, as you showed in the pictures were treated on the scene. Thanks so much, Miguel Cruz, there who attended the Norwalk Oyster Festival. Very frightening moment there earlier today.

All right. Meantime, the world is reacting to those gruesome pictures of an alleged gas attack in Syria. Some people say the videos don't, however, prove who did it. But a former U.N. weapons inspector said he knows who might be to blame. He tells us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Back now to our special coverage of the crisis in Syria and those horrifying images of an alleged gas attack on Syrian civilians. The Senate Intelligence Committee posted the videos on its website. And they were first obtained by CNN yesterday and they show men, women and children sprawled on the floor convulsing, having a hard time breathing and in some cases dying. I wanted to bring in former U.N. weapons inspector David Kay. Joining me via Skype from Bethanny Beach, Delaware. Good to see you again, David.

DAVID KAY, FORMER U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: Why are you convinced the Syrian government is behind this apparent gas attack and not necessarily a defector who may know how to use or have access to these chemical weapons?

KAY: When you look at this and when you work yourself past the horror of those pictures, what you see is multiple rocket attacks, several very distinct and different areas and at least one, the one that killed the largest number of children, an amount of Sarin, probably in excess of 50 liters in a single warhead. Terrorists don't have access to that sort of technology.

The pictures that have been collected of the actual warhead fragments itself show a very clever answer to a difficult technical problem. That is how do you blow up a warhead containing Sarin without by the heat of the explosive charge destroy the Sarin itself? Sarin does not like heat. There was an external explosive device attached, apparently attached to the warhead that did the bursting charge.

This has a hallmark of a government. Now it does not speak to whether it was Assad himself that personally pushed the button but it makes it quite clear. It wasn't a single defector acting alone. This was an organized military unit that first of all prepared the warheads and then fired them over multiple locations with unfortunately horrific effects.

WHITFIELD: So the U.S. must convince the American public that there's more to this video, David. You know, do you think the U.N. report out in possibly a week as I remember you telling me yesterday, that's about how long it might take, will show surveillance or data supporting who is definitively responsible?

KAY: Well, definitive is an awfully hard test. I hope that the results of the analysis will speak to the issue of the quality of the Sarin and whether it is something that could be prepared by a small group of terrorists or does it look exactly as a binary chemical that a government and a military only would have access to with hallmarks of the preservatives. I mean that's technically possible and I hope the inspectors have driven the analysis that far and can speak to that issue.

I also think the U.S. government has made a serious mistake in cloaking its announcement of the other data it has. We have pictures. We have listened to communications. What actually revealing them. Look. This is a time if you want to convince the largest number of people possible that this was directly the Syrian government and military doing this, you lay all of your cards open on the table. You open the envelope and let everyone see what's there.

WHITFIELD: What might the intelligence community feel like there's some danger to releasing all the classified information publicly, such as what you just laid out? Is that why perhaps they might keep that material close? And not reveal it publicly.

KAY: I understand from past associations. The intelligence community wants to collect everything and reveal nothing. This is a political decision. It's not made by the intelligence community. The more serious risk is that Syria gets off scot-free with only the U.S. being willing to take steps. You need to make this case publicly and convincely and quite frankly I would urge what normally happened, what happened to me when I came back with reports like this, the Security Council invited me to speak in closed session to the council before it went public.

It's amazing. I remember one case after being held hostage in a parking lot; the two states that spoke first and strongest about our performance were Cuba and Yemen. Not exactly friends in those days of the United States.

I also think we ought to be sure that the evidence and the people who speak about this include the French and they speak directly to the Iranians. One should not forget, Iran had chemical weapons used against it from 1981 to 1988 by the Iraqis and everyone remained silent. France suffered most from the last time chemical weapons were used in warfare. In fact, the large areas around Verden that are still off limits to people because of unexploded chemical ordnance from the First World War There ought to be a psychological campaign to be sure that the Iranians and Russian have this data rubbed in their face.

WHITFIELD: So how worrisome is it to you that countries like France and even Saudi Arabia and other nations that represent the Arab league are saying they support the U.S. military action but they are not necessarily committing any arsenal themselves?

KAY: Well, I think that is a worrisome and in fact I think that's the administration's most serious problem. They've got one opportunity and that is that when the inspection report comes back to make the case and try to build an international coalition willing not only to condemn but to join action against the Syrians. Now, I would say you had Bob Baer on earlier and I take very seriously Bob's warning that, in fact, military action against Syria could well degenerate in to something much worse and I think that -- the administration needs to give serious consideration to that, too.

WHITFIELD: All right. David Kay, thank you so much. Always appreciate your insight. Thank you.

KAY: Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: So what happens, indeed, if the U.S. strikes Syria? Could Bashar al-Assad and his allies launch that revenge attack that both Bob Bear and David Kay are talking about? We'll outline a few scenarios that could play out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: If the United States strikes Syria could some of Americas interests be at stake? Brian Todd reports on the potential for fallout that could put U.S. service members and embassies at risk.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): If American tomahawk missiles fly toward Syria in the coming days what about the blowback?

KIRK LIPPOLD, FORMER COMMANDER, USS COLE: I think the United States needs to be prepared for Syria to respond to an attack. One of the things that they have available to them are Russian missiles.

TODD: Commander Kirk Lippold knows what it is like to be in harm's way. He commanded the "USS Cole" hit by terrorists in 2000. Syria's ally Hezbollah managed to hit this Israeli ship with a missile in 2006. Top U.S. commanders say American ships will keep a safe distance but what could also be in the Syrian's range, U.S. forces deployed in Turkey. Look how close the U.S. base Incirilk is to the Syrian border, well within the Syrians missile range.

Still, Rick Francona a former U.S. military attache in Syria says Bashar al Assad is unlikely to risk striking Americans militarily. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I think the risks associated with this operation are pretty limited.

TODD: But there's an attack risk from forces other than Assad's military.

FRANCONA: To do something against an American interest, American company, an American family, yes, there are risks involved.

TODD: Last year, U.S. embassies in several Middle East countries were attacked and the most serious threat of all? Terrorism.

ANDREW TABLER, WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY: Syria's a state sponsor of terrorism and has been since the list was made in 1979. So, it has ties with a whole host of groups that could carry out attacks against Americans or American installations abroad.

TODD: Hezbollah is among the most dangerous of those groups also, Iran's top ayatollah threatened that America would quote "Definitely suffer if it launches a strike."

The "Wall Street Journal" reports Iran has instructed militants to attack the U.S. embassy in Iraq if America strikes Syria. The journal says the order came in a message intercepted by the U.S. from the head of the Qods Force the unit of Iran's revolutionary guard known to carry out attacks abroad. But American officials have this warning for anyone who would try to retaliate starting with Syria's president.

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: If Assad is arrogant enough and I would say foolish enough to retaliate to the consequences of his own criminal activity, the United States and our allies have ample ways to make him regret that decision.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that was Brian Todd reporting. Precautionary measures are already being taken. The U.S. has evacuated some Americans from its embassies in Lebanon and have told people in a consulate in southern Turkey to be vigilant.

President Obama is pressing Congress to back a U.S. led strike against Syria. Up next, two hosts of CNN's "Crossfire" debate what the president has to do to sell that plan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Monday the president is stepping up his push to get members of Congress and the country to back his plan to strike Syria. More classified briefings take place on Capitol Hill and the president is hitting the television networks. President Obama sits down with Wolf Blitzer tomorrow. You can see it right here at 6:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.

And then Tuesday night he'll address the nation from the White House at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time. I asked two of our "Crossfire" hosts Van Jones and S.E. Cupp about the president's push and what does the president need to do to sell his idea?

VAN JONES, CO-HOST, CNN'S "CROSSFIRE:" I don't think it's going to pass. I don't think it should pass. I don't think we've done enough to exhaust the diplomatic opportunities. I don't think we built a global coalition, I don't think we have gone to the U.N. So I'm more of a dove on this but I think the president has to make a decision. Right now he's not hawkish enough for the hawks who want to go in and go in for real. He is not dovish enough for the doves and so he is kind of sitting between the middle, he has kind of fallen between the cracks.

Being a modern in this is hurting him. If he wants us to engage, he has to make a strong case for that and he has to lay out a strategy to how we actually have this work out well for us and the Syrian people. If he doesn't do that Tuesday night, everybody goes to either the hawkish side, the dovish side and he is left by himself.

WHITFIELD: S.E. something tells me you are going to be in agreement here.

S.E. CUPP, SO-HOST, CNN'S "CROSSFIRE:" Yes. I definitely agree that the president has not affectively sold the case for Syria and it is too bad. Because everything we know now about Syria we knew two years ago within the first week of the conflict. We knew that President Bashar al Assad had chemical weapons. We knew he was killing his own people, we knew he had pipelines to Hezbollah and Iran and we knew al Qaeda was circling the wagons waiting to exploit the chaos as they do.

So there was time to gradually sell a case for Syria. What the president has to do now is stop confusing the international community and the American public and Congress.

WHITFIELD: What do you mean?

CUPP: By disowning red lines that he sets. He needs to go out on Tuesday night and say --

JONES: How is he disowning the red line?

CUPP: This isn't my red line. It's the world's red line. He needs to say, you're damn right. I have a red line against a dictator gassing kids in the streets. You are damn right that's my red line. And you are damn right I'm not going to allow another rowanda on my watch. He needs to be passionate about this.

JONES: I think he --

WHITFIELD: We need to see and hear from -- just stating that then; do we need to hear and see from this president that if Congress is not on board, then he needs to go about it anyway?

CUPP: He's already said that. He already said he doesn't need congressional approval.

WHITFIELD: But saying it and doing it are two different things.

CUPP: Yes, no. You're right. He has to put his money where his mouth is and he has to say look I want an international coalition; I want Congress to be on board. I want the American people to understand --

JONES: He's saying these things.

CUPP: But I'm doing it without them.

WHITFIELD: Van.

JONES: Well, now, so S.E. and I disagree on a couple things. First of all I don't think you can say this president has abandoned, shockingly enough I don't think you can say the president has abandoned the red line. He is going around the world trying to explain it, trying to build a coalition. I just don't agree with him on it. You can't say he's abandoned it.

But the other thing is I don't think that he should go in the face of Congress. I think he is a courageous president. He has a lot of integrity to go to Congress and to engage the American people but if Congress says no, I don't see how he then says, well never mind that was just a focus group. And I'm going to do whatever I want. I think he was courageous and right to go to the American people and --

CUPP: Well that's leadership, Van. If he believes in this conflict, if he believes it's a matter of national security, if he believes in stabilizing the region, that's leadership.

JONES: Sure. But there are other things that can be done besides going in the face of Congress and starting a war that nobody wants and the part of the problem is that we're in this now false dilemma. This president never said you cross the red line and I go to war the next week. He said you cross the red line I change my calculation. There are so many other things that we could be doing that we're not doing.

There is a red line, we have to do something. We can't let dictator's gas babies but the idea that we go to war tomorrow, we do nothing, that's the problem. The president should be, if Congress says no, he should be leading us to other solutions, building a big coalition, doing an arms embargo, and dealing with the humanitarian crisis.

WHITFIELD: All right. That's just a sample. It's back "Crossfire" and an all-new version of this political show. Joined hosts Van Jones, S.E. Cupp, and Newt Gingrich and Stefanie Cutter, "Crossfire" returning to CNN Monday night 6:30 Eastern Time.

All right. There will be a lot of critical developments on Syria this week. We'll tell you what's happening straight ahead.

But first, it's challenging for some students to focus in school. Well, imagine doing that when everything is a blur. After breaking his glasses, this week's 17-year-old CNN hero found himself in just that position. Now, he wants to help others around the world who faces the same obstacle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

YASH GUPTA, YOUNG WONDER: I was only 5 years old when I got my first pair of classes. When I was a freshman in high school, I broke my glasses, I just couldn't see anything. And so I really realized just how much glasses meant to me. Without them, I rally couldn't do anything normally. I started doing some research and there are millions of students around the world who need glasses but cannot afford them. I had this problem for one week. But these kids have these problems for their whole life. My name is Yash Gupta and I'm trying to help students around the world see better.

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE): Hi.

GUPTA: This is for you.

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE): Thank you.

GUPTA: There are millions of glasses that are discarded annually in North America alone. Why not put them to good use? So when I was 14, I started reaching out to local optometrists and putting collection boxes in their offices. So when a patient came to get a new pair of glasses, they could drop off their old pair of glasses.

We work with other organizations and they distribute the glasses. The other way we distribute glasses is by going on clinic trips. I have glasses we wanted to mail to Mexico today and we'll be distributing them to kids in orphanages. It's a personal interaction and that is what I really love. Being able to see the people that we're actually helping.

Watching someone get glasses for the first time, you know, just really inspiring. To date we have collected and distributed over $425,000 worth of eyeglasses which is equivalent to 185 pairs. I'm 17 years old and although many people believe kids can't make a difference, I have. I think anyone can do that. It's about being motivated and going out there and just doing it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. There is going to be a lot of movement on Syria in the week ahead. Here's a look at the packed timeline this week.

On Monday, Congress wraps up its summer recess and begins debate on the president's proposal to authorize a limited military strike in Syria. There will also be a closed door intelligence briefing for all members of the House and President Obama will give one on one interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer and several other network anchors.

On Tuesday, the president lays out his case on Syria in an address to the nation. We just learned that speech will be delivered in prime time at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

Then Wednesday, top administration officials including U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and defense secretary Chuck Hagel will hold a closed door intelligence briefing for all members of the Senate. The Senate could hold its first vote on the use of force resolution Thursday. And then on Friday President Obama welcomes the Amir of Kuwait to the White House. The two leaders are expected to discuss a wide range of critical issues, including the crisis in Syria.

And that's going to do it for me. I'm Fredericka Whitfield. The NEWSROOM continues with Don Lemon.