consequences for americans. here is more from washington. as the obama administration weighs its response to syria s alleged use of chemical weapons, the state department acknowledged the risks. there are a variety of factors that go into that. determination, possible and intended consequences and possible affects in the region. all of that is part of the big picture we look at. one of the compelling examples the clinton s administration to the simultaneous truck bombings in kenya and tanzania that left 223 dead and more than tour,000 injured. 4,000 injured. this pharmaceutical factory believed at the time to produce chemical camps and training camp were bombed. the clinton missal strike strengthened the bond between al-qaeda and the taliban. paving the way for the cole bombing in 2000 and a decision
pentagon andly land 1k3 leland is in our newsroom. we begin with chief white house cory spawn denned ed henry. a big change from where things were headed hours earlier. a stunning reversal and top aids say they are making the call on his own. a risky move because it could fail in congress and could give assad more time to gas more people. that s why the change of heart did not sit well with everyone on the president s team. president obama made two dramatic decisions on friday. first earlier in the day when aides say they should move forward with military action to respond to the chemical weapons attack in syria. later the president decided to throw his staff a curve ball and over road his dash o vie rode his team. that s why i made a second decision. i will seek authorization for the use of force from the
if you re knot prepanot prepare out the threats, your bluff is called every time. that s what assad has done. called obama the bluff. they said, you re talking about dire consequences. so let s see them. and president obama s now backing off from that. despite the rhetoric. but, you know, in this case, it s watch my deeds, not my words. so then you have to question why is he not willing to act? the decision to seek congressional approval, it s a departure from the administration s decision to intervene in libya in 2011. no approval sought then. so why the change in tactic this time around? i think, heather, they watched what happened in london, at parliament this week, and their jaws dropped. they thought that the prime minister, prime minister cameron was going to follow in lock step. the bittish public, of both political parties said, nope. we don t want to have a repeat of tony blair and george bush and iraq. we are not going to do this this
ed, as i understand you have new details about just how the president came to his decision last night? that s right, greg. a pretty dramatic decision. he made two big decisions on friday and we were told he did want to move forward with the u.s. military force to deal with syria and the chemical weapons attack. then later on friday night after 6:00 p.m. eastern time he took a walk on the south lawn with the chief of staff and first floated the idea to the chief of staff that he thought it would be smart to go to congress and seek votes in the house and the senate. also the authorization of the use of force. something he wanted to consult with and not get authorization. this is a risky move and congress you know is on an august recess. they don t come back until september 9th. you have john kerry who came out yesterday, very strong and
a foolish decision aides say he was shocked and stunned that the president stood up there and said, oh, it s a red line. it s a line in the sand. was that a foolish dings, that now he is trying to reezals with way out? is that what critics where you are in washington will accuse him of? i think so. there s no question that if you set a red line you should at least have in enforcement. now looks like he s punting. look all the rhetoric that came out of the white house last week. seemed it was eminent. all of the sudden he thought he had to go to congress. he didn t think he d have to go a much more expansive operation than seeking in syria. all of a sudden now he wants to uphold the constitution after, before he delayed obamacare. unilateral condition, and now decided that congressional