comparisons between theresa may and tony blair and tried to pitch this to the british public within the same kind of framework. but theresa may will continue, we're sure, to put forward this as being very much in britain's national interest. and as she said, the only option available to her government. >> nima elbagir for us covering this outside 10 downing street. >> let's go live to beirut, lebanon. fred pleitgen is standing by. what's the reaction you're hearing from the region and in syria following these strikes? >> yeah, i'm actually in touch with a lot of people in syria right now. both regular folks who witnessed these air strikes and with some folks who are at least close or in the apparatus of the syrian government. and i think for a lot of the folks in the syrian government, there was a lot of shock when initially these attacks happened or these strikes happened in the early morning hours of today. but i think once things sort of had cleared, people realize the