that chemical weapons have no use on the battlefield. so inflicting damage upon the regime that far exceeds the cost or benefit they had of using chemical weapons is essential here. it doesn t mean we intervene in the civil war or 200,000 troops in syria like president obama used to say was the only option. it means the cost to the regime far exceeds benefit we gain and we make it clear. bill: lindsey graham had this to say. i personally think he is an international war criminal. this is the third time around. i would make him a target. if i were president of the united states there would not be one runway left in syria to take off and drop a barrel bomb on any more kids and assad would slip very poorly at night. bill: do you agree making assad a target? you have to think about it. the possibility you take him out. what fills the vacuum of leadership in that country. if you bomb for four or five
mountains with blackhawks to try to interdict people which now they re having to wait several days to interdict. repair vehicles, maintain roads. apprehension is not about detection. you have to get them. speed and good roads and they will be building some, improving those as well. number three, surveillance. border patrol has a lot of cameras, sensors and radar. they will monitor the cameras to allow the agents to better work in the field. we are talking possibly 18 months, other states eventually will have to chip in as well. back to you. sandra: fascinating story. we ll keep watching it. thank you. still ahead the deputy commissioner of u.s. customs and border protection will join us live on the latest update on the mission down there at the border. bill: 27 past the hour. breaking news, the president making it clear the chemical attack in syria is his top priority at this hour. officially canceling a
inside donald trump s head because that s kind of a scary place for me. but you re absolutely right. this is a president who will at least vent, at least consider punching back. but as david says, there is no easy way out for him. but what donald trump has figured out is number one, you change the subject. you come up with distractions and you count on your base to provide you cover. bomb syria now? charlie? well, he woke up this morning thinking i may need a bigger distraction, you know. look, i think we re probably going to bomb syria anyway. a scary face of john bolton behind the president. and then i saw him in the next scene sitting next to him today. what kind of advice do you get from bolton? attack. exactly. would any of us put it past president trump to decide that a nice little military adventure in syria might be a nice distraction from this? this is when this gets existential for trump, and i think we re approaching that point now when you re getting michael cohen
welcome back to hardball. president trump could potentially face new legal exposure after today s fbi raid on michael cohen s office. and today he is also facing mounting challenges inside the white house. and of course on the international stage. as the washington post reports, trump is more willing than ever to go it alone without the advice of his chief of staff john kelly. quote, the recurring and escalating clashes between the president and his chief of staff traced the downward arc of kelly s eight months in the white house. both his credibility and influence have been severe lly diminished. meanwhile, a reported chemical weapon attack in syria. trump has taken a tougher posture towards syria, saying there will be a big price to pay. we ll see. it comes as trump s new national security adviser, john bolton marked his first day on job. how opportune. here is how the president
i was with barry levinson last week. he is the director of a film where a president in fiction decided to start a little war to cover up for hanky-panky. i think that s a lot of a very serious charge to make against a president. but i do think it s a question to raise when you have john bolton sitting next to him. and that particular president. in a situation where the president is embattled on all fronts, which you could see. to turn the sound off and watch the president in that very peculiar conversation. and he looked like he did when he did the fire and fury thing with north korea where he is crossing his arms. he looks very defensive. he looks embattled. it s with that mind-set that he goes into the meeting on syria. even on reagan, jonathan, i remember reagan i thought he started that action to cover up for beirut and the loss for the marine lives. it isn t so far-fetched, is it? i don t know if it s far-fetched. it s an awful charge. it s a very serious cha