west. i'm mara schiavocampo in for alex witt. developing news out of syria right now, the syrian government reached an agreement with the united nations to allow inspectors to visit the site of an alleged chemical attack last week. word just a short time ago from a u.n. spokesman saying inspections will begin tomorrow. a senior white house official tells nbc news the decision by the syrian government is, quote, too late to be credible and says any evidence has likely been damaged or destroyed by continued bombings. meanwhile, the syrian government warned that any military intervention by the united states would set the middle east aflame and iran says u.s. action would have severe consequences. this morning, republican senator bob corker called for a surgical response. >> i hope the president, as soon as we get back to washington, will ask for authorization from congress to do something in a very surgical and proportional way. something that gets their attention, that causes them to understand that we are not going to put up with this kind of activity.