navy war ships in the eastern mediterranean with the tomahawk cruise missiles because those missiles are guided to their target by satellite coordinates essentially, very precise. 1,000-pound war heads. very destructive. the key here is precision. one of the big issues is they want to minimize every possibility of civilian casualties on the ground. brianna, victor? we heard from secretary kerry yesterday that we talked about war fatigue, the president talked about being where weary. what are you hearing from the rank and file of the state department, those career workers? is that view of war fatigue shared by the people there? well, you know, for the military people, sure. i mean, i think military families are always concerned when they see their loved ones on deployment possibly going in harm s way. in this case, these navy war ships will stay far out at sea, out of range of the syrian
these are very precise weapons guided to their preplanned targets by satellite coordinates, 1,000-pound warheads on them, so very lethal. the target list, by all accounts, will include command and control centers, regime elements, weapons delivery systems areas, that sort of thing. anything they can get after that they can tie to potential chemical weapons attack or the regime itself and its efforts to engage in chemical weapons attacks. so that s what we re looking at. but still, at this hour it awaits officially a decision from the president. he has to sign an execute order, it has to come to the pentagon, and then things will get moving if that happens. barbara, as you know, the uk said no to any involvement, but could the u.s. get help from other countries if, indeed, there is a strike? well, there s hope and there s help. there s no indication at this point of any other country at
developments on the situation in syria. you just heard the president say that the united states does not plan to send troops there. that really leaves air strikes as the most likely response to the assad regime s use of chemical weapons. we bring in pentagon correspondent barbara starr. if the president gave the order, how soon would the military be ready to go? reporter: the military says, especially with the fire warships say they are ready very quickly to go. what this waits for now, john, is an execute order from the president, the president saying go. once that happens, the order goes to the pentagon and goes out to commanders in the fleet and they will be ready very quickly because these cruise missiles that would theoretically launch of a these five warships, they are guided to their targets by satellite coordinates. so a lot of this is already preprogrammed to go after those syrian targets that the president knows are the military option on the table. syrian targets command
i don t know why they wouldn t question driving into a puddle that doesn t seem to end. reporter: and in 2008 a washington state bus driver followed his gps directions right into a nine-foot bridge. continue straight ahead. reporter: his bus used to be 12 feet tall. a year later in the uk one man nearly drove off a cliff following that directional voice a little too closely. but perhaps the biggest gps blunder of all, what used to be this georgia man s childhood home. wrecking crews accidentally leveled the wrong address thanks to satellite coordinates. so maybe it s a good idea to listen to that voice in your head. turn left ahead. reporter: and not just the one coming from your dashboard. dan kloeffler, abc news, new york. hello. common sense, anyone? northeast you know, i have a funny story about this. i was driving north, and gps, whatever her name is, she told me to take a right, another right, another right, and another right. and i wound up on the same road.