congress s response is very iffy at this point, if they d even approve it. how unusual is that? well, it s not unusual in that since 1950, presidents have been going to war without declarations of war. and since 1972, this is the kind of consultation they ve been engaged with. clinton did this with kosovo, and presidents have had this kind of interaction with congress for some time now. so, here s the question after the vote. as brianna said, it s iffy right now if congress will authorize. if congress votes no, could the president still go through with that strike? and how unusual would that be? well, the administration, i think, technically can go through with this. and according to the war powers act, they have to notify congress. congress has 60 days to say no. and then there is 30 more days where operations can take place, all meaning president obama has a lot of leeway.
then brought back his entire national security and intelligence team back to the white house saturday morning for what they call a principals meeting, where they finalize this decision, and then the president came out and basically told the world that he had made this last-minute decision to hold on just for a little bit. brianna and victor? and jim, talk specifically about some of the key members of the president s cabinet, defense secretary chuck hagel, secretary of state john kerry. were they on board? reporter: well, from what we understand from talking to administration officials, yes. now, they will say, these officials do say that this did come as a surprise, so don t, you know, let s not get too swept up in the spin here. but administration officials that i spoke to yesterday said about chuck hagel, let s put this one on screen, if we have that graphic available. senior u.s. officials saying about chuck hagel, as a former senator whose views on the limits of war are well k
an imminent strike on syria is now on hold. pentagon correspondent barbara starr joins us now. barbara, resources in the region have been at the ready, on hold for a few days now. what does this holding pattern mean for the u.s. military? reporter: well, victor, brianna, good morning. you know, does the pentagon support the president? a spokesman for the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general martin dempsey, says absolutely, yes, fully on board with the delay. he says general dempsey believes it should be hard, in his words, for the nation to go to war. so, right now, the official word is they re firmly behind the president s decision, of course. those war will remain on station, the tomahawk missiles are ready to go, but they are beginning to see over the last several days the syrian military move their forces around, disperse, go into defensive crouch, if you will. so, once the decision is made, the military will have to make sure it s got all the targeting
eventually captured their unexpected visitor, caught in a cage. little cage there. amazing. thanks so much for starting your morning with us. we ve got much more ahead on the next hour of cnn s new day. it starts right now. after careful deliberation, i have decided that the united states should take military action against syrian regime targets. the president has made his decision, but will congress agree? the military strike that once seemed right around the corner now appears to be farther off on the horizon. late-night meetings, long walks around the garden, rendezvouses behind closed doors. this is not some romantic tryst. it s behind the scenes at the white house. we have the real story about how the president made his decision. we don t want another war! while washington mulls over striking syria, hundreds of
consult on this. they want input. they will get to chime in. we do not know yet what the final decision will be from congress. that will happen some time in mid-september, maybe even later. yeah, still very up in the air, and that s what s so sort of fascinating in a way about this decision that he made. we just don t know exactly what s going to happen. but still to come, there are also people from coast to coast who are on the fence about this. they re taking to the streets. stop the war! why these protesters and others across the country want the u.s. to stay out of syria. [ male announcer ] when you have sinus pressure and pain, you feel.squeezed. congested. beat down. crushed. as if the weight of the world is resting on your face.