Transcripts For KRCB PBS NewsHour 20130911

From Angela Merkel and the German Foreign minister. It took two rounds of voting in a secret ballot among members to choose their new boss. He is the first former olympic champion to head the ioc. The ninth president of the International Olympic committee is thomas bach. [applause] the outgoing ioc president has passed on the olympic baton, making thomas bach the new lord of the rings. His first speech as the most powerful man in International Sports was emotional. I want to leave the ioc according to my motto unity and diversity. I want to be a president for all. [applause] the 59yearold german lawyer is also an olympic fencing old medalist. His team won the foil event at the summer olympics. One year later, he was crowned World Champion fencing in when osiris. He has also proved himself a force to be reckoned with at the ioc. A former president took him under his wing in the early 1980s, pegging him for greatness. Thomas bach i will say only one word. Thomas bach is the future. With influential contacts, he has been hailed as a gifted man. He joined the International Olympic committee in 1991 and was voted to the executive circle in 1996. Four years later, he became ioc Vice President and now has taken over the rings. My friends and colleagues, let us this Great Universal orchestra, the ioc, play together in harmony. As ioc president , thomas bach says he once to usher in a new era for world sports. He has eight years to make his olympic vision a reality. We now have some analysis from our sports correspondent. Thanks for joining us. He had long been the front runner for this job. Was there any surprise he actually got the post . I do not think it was a surprise as such, but he would certainly have hoped to wrap up the majority in the first round of voting. He did not. Might mean a few members were concerned about some of the allegations that surfaced about him both in sporting and business terms. Certainly the lobbying done on his behalf by kuwait was against ioc rules. Still remains an issue the Ethics Committee will look at. No surprises, but not perfect nonetheless. What can we expect from his tenure . I think he certainly has a couple big issues on off the bat. The sochi winter games and rio summer games. Both of which have been beset by their own problems. Longterm, it will be picking up the flame from his mentor. He will be fighting doping, battling illegal betting. He said today after his appointment that one thing he is keen on is getting kids off the sofa and inspired and doing more sport. You mentioned doping. He has a specific issue with that. Can you tell us more . He has been a vocal campaigner against doping, but he does have questions to answer in germany. He commissioned a very controversial report on doping in which in germany. He was supposed to attend a special sitting of the Parliamentary Sports committee before he left for when osiris buenos aires. His colleagues pushed the date back, meaning he could not attend, quite conveniently. He has been keen to keep the power with the sporting apparatus and not back doping antidoping legislation in germany that could lead to an comfortable investigations higher up the food chain. Still a lot of scrutiny to deal with. Thank you very much for stopping by. Russian president Vladimir Putin appears to be taking center stage on the issue of chemical weapons in the area in syria. Putin has called on the u. S. To totally renounce the use of force in syria. This comes as support appears to be growing to put syrias chemical weapons under international supervision. France and britain are still expected to put a resolution to the Un Security Council calling on syria to the camel to disable chemical weapons or face serious consequences. Now it is the diplomats turn to address the syria crisis. After the russian proposal, the French Foreign minister announced plans to table a human resolution on tuesday. It would require syria to hand over chemical weapon so they could be destroyed. The German Foreign minister also wants to find out who is behind last months chemical weapons attack near damascus and bring them to justice. On august 21, referring to the International Criminal court , still on the agenda. But russia is likely to object. Moscow says the united date must reject the use of force against syria. Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said assad was not behind the chemical attack, and it would be unacceptable for the u. N. To blame him. We are currently preparing an effective, concise, and concrete plan. To do this, we are in contact with the syrian side at this moment. Syria confirmed it excepted russias proposal. That includes revealing its chemical arsenal and joining the chemical weapons convention. The Syrian Opposition is skeptical, fearing assad is buying time. Now, standing by in washington for us. What has the president been up to in the runup to tonights address to the nation . It has all been about syria. Tuesday, nozick tries, he had a Conference Call with the british no surprises, he had a Conference Call with the british Prime Minister and french president. Reassuring themselves they are still on the same page, that they want to run this to the ground, the new diplomatic opening, but are still willing to use military force when they deem it necessary. He went to capitol hill to talk to senior lawmakers. They have to figure out where this planned resolution that was going to be held to a vote this week is going. With all these new diplomatic possibilities, the pressure is sort of off congress. There were many lawmakers who did not vote who did not want to vote yes on this resolution. Some of those now think they do not have to anymore. They do not feel obliged to do that anymore because there are all these other opportunities areas i think what obama did on capitol hill was discussing a way forward for the resolution. There has been a lot of zigzagging when it comes to policy. Any chance he is going to be more clear or give us more clarity on the subject . You know, the dilemma obama has been in all along is that he wants to be credible when saying he will use military force if necessary. But the whole country does not want to use military force, including himself. What he will probably have to do , and he has been doing this since yesterday basically, is say, we are still ready to use military force, but at the same time we are going to give this diplomatic opening a chance. This tool dual path, saying we will continue on the path we have taken but are positing pausoming to see how the russias and syrians are on this. We had reports the Un Security Council meeting on syria has been postponed. Has it been postponed . That has not been confirmed by our sources yet. Hard to get a hold of anyone at the Security Council at the moment, to tell you the truth. This is going in all kinds of directions. We will have to wait and see. Thank you very much for that. The former german date ambassador to the United Nations. We asked for his assessment of how washington has handled the syria crisis so far. To answer this question, you really have to be aware of the difference between two very different things. One, should we meddle into the Syrian Civil War . The Obama Administration, from the very beginning on, has been quite skeptical. Because they believe there are so many uncertainties, and without the u. N. Resolution, which is not inside, one should not probably do it. The other question, which is very different from this first one, is, what do we do with this breaking of a taboo . The taboo of not using chemical weapons. As we all know, there are 189 states that have ratified the chemical weapons convention. And of course, it is absolutely important that the breaking of this convention does not go totally unnoticed and not unpunished. They have gained a reputation as the car that nobody really needs, but that many want to drive. The luxury suv segment has proved remarkably resilient during the Global Economic crisis. Now mercedes wants a slice of the pie. It has revealed its new compact crossover at the frankfurt motor show. A big debut for mercedesbenz at the frankfurt motor show. The daimler ceo cause of the firms royal baby. The entry into the booming suv sector. A Sport Utility vehicle designed for on road driving, a status symbol that will rarely leave the city. Daimler aims to make serious inroads into a luxury market dominated by audi and bmw. In demand all over the world, in europe, the americas, asia. Few global cars can have the reach of suvs. Kia once a share of that market. Its concept wowed the crowds in frankfurt. Developed at the Design Center in germany. When it goes into production it is likely to be manufactured in asia for the global market. Bmws luxury suv is now in its third generation. B w has profited handsomely from the model, selling 1. 3 Million Units since 1999. That is an impressive performance for a car that few people really need. We turn our attention to business news. Check in on the markets now. Conrad sent us this summary of the days trading in frankfurt. The International Auto fair in frankfurt started with very strong increases of the stock prices of the carmakers here at the frankfurt stock exchange. Many carmakers came out with lots of positive news. Bmw and audi reported strong sales during the month of august. The boss of peugeot promised better sales for 2014. He said he can imagine more cost cuts at the french carmaker. The main reason for the increase on the broad stock market in frankfurt was easing tension around syria and positive Economic Data from china. Industrial production stronger than anticipated. Also, the chinese retailers reported a very strong increase of sales. We stay for a closer look at mondays numbers. The bluechip dax index closed the day up. Stocks rallied up almost 2 . In the u. S. , stocks opened higher. The dow jumped 0. 74 . Euro was trading at 1. 3266. Some news to celebrate for technology fans. Apple has Just Announced not one , but to mobile phones. In an event at the companys california headquarters, apple presented the iphone 5s and the low cost iphone 5c. Intended to revive the companys fortunes in the everchanging smartphone market. Iphones are responsible for half of apple products, but even with rising sales the company has been losing market share. After a short break, four men welcome back. Four men have been found guilty of the gang rape and woman murder of a woman in delhi. The alleged instigator was found hanging in his cell in march. Last week, one of the accused who was underage at the time of the crime was given a maximum three years in a correctional facility. The case sparked anger across the country and put the spotlight on the high incidence of rape in india. Dozens of protesters gathered at the courthouse. Hang them, they chanted after the verdict was delivered. The four men were found guilty on all counts, including rape and murder. It followed a sevenmonth trial closely watched in india and far beyond. The four men will learn their fate on wednesday. All four have been found guilty on all charges they were accused of. Tomorrow, arguments on sentencing will begin for these convicts. It was in december that the gang carried out the attack in the 23yearold victim. She died two weeks later from internal injuries. A wave of public outrage followed. Mass protests were held in cities up and down india. The case sparked a wider discussion about the discrimination of women in india. After this, people Start Talking about it. The change has come. The first time, every time. The man could be sentenced to death. They can still appeal their convictions. The tragic death of the woman who was raped at the end of last year has raised the issue of the sexual abuse of women in india. We take a look at the problem making headlines in southern asia. These women in delhi are being drilled to defend themselves. They are learning about the element of surprise and using carefully targeted moves to immobilize attackers. Crime keeps rising in delhi. This Training Course is the only way we can protect ourselves. When you are mentally prepared, you can overpower a man, even a stronger one. With the authorities failing them, these women are taking matters into their own hands. Decembers gang rape and murder of a young student prompted record numbers of participants in selfdefense courses like this one. Around 100,000 women have signed up in delhi alone. Police have set up women patrol units and more checkpoints. Rape laws have been tightened and fasttrack courts opened. Politicians are selling it as a success. Critics say they are only paying lip service to the issue. They have learned to use the right words. In actual interaction and exchange of what is happening, what is happening in investigation, we do not see the change taking place. The problem is deeply rooted in indian society. Discrimination against women is right. They are often treated as secondclass discrimination against women is rife. They are often treated as secondclass citizens. Burned with acid, abused, and even killed. This fouryearold died in april after being raped. It was only one of 24,000 rapes recorded every year. The real number is thought to be much higher, and the third of victims are children. At the same time, many women in india are on the move. Men feel under threat. The country is torn between tradition and modernity. The lower middle class, people who are aspiring, you have some kind of violence. When you have violence like he witnessed in december, it was not sent the sexual assault. It was a very, very, in a sense they wanted to teach her a lesson. Widespread public anger followed decembers gang raped. It made headlines in india and around the world. Since then, the struggle moved from the street stop this is like this one. Womens rights campaigners are now working to change attitudes. We see a rise in the number of reporting the crimes that have seriously gone up, more than 300 , 400 . Yet women are yet not in that stage where they are ready to come up and taken action, take a step, fight. But these women are fighting. For the right to live free from discrimination. It is a fight that is expected to last not just months or years, but generations. Kenyas Deputy President has become the most senior officials still in power to face charges of the International Criminal court. But william ruto bust is alleged crimes are not the only ones in the spotlight. The court itself is under close scrutiny for its abilityed. Kenya prosecutor accuses ruto of orchestrating the bloodbath that followed kenyas 2007 election. He is said to have stoked ethnic tensions to support his agenda. Hundreds of thousands were forced to leave their homes. Mr. Ruto, with other members of the network, had a plan, the goal of which was to attack particular parn Vice President m rutof the civilian population due to perceived affiliation with the party of national unity. The trial has become a political football in kenya, and the country has threatened to pull out of the International Criminal court in the future. Human Rights Groups have the size criticized. For kenya to be the first country to withdraw from the International Community criminal court would be a major setback. It would be a withdrawal from kenyas own responsibilities on human rights, but also withdrawing from the kenyan people a major human rights protection that would assure that such crimes will meet justice in the future. Observers say the credibility of the icc is on the line. In 10 years of its existence, it has only achieved one conviction, raising serious questions about whether it can enforce international justice. The eu is proposing to ban all roaming charges next year, to the delight of mobile phone users. First, the stories in brief. The philippines has sent more troops to the city of zamboanga, where the country is engaged in a standoff with 200 muslim rebels. The government says the rebels are Holding Dozens of civilians as human shields. Clashes started monday when the rebels moved out into the city. A crash in guatemala has left at least 43 people dead and more than 30 injured. The vehicle plummeted 75 meters down a ravine into a riverbed. It was carrying farmers to a market west of the capital, guatemala city. Investigators do not yet know what caused the bus to veer off the road. An explosion in the southern chinese city of guangzhou has killed four people and injured 14. May have been related to explosive materials stored in a garage. The second deadly explosion to strike Southern China in todays. In two days. The fallout from recent revelations about the secret u. S. Surveillance program continues. Calls are growing in the European Union to suspend data sharing plans with the United States that were introduced after the september 11 terrorist attacks. Some european lawmakers want to pull out altogether from an eu agreement with the u. S. That provides passenger list of airplanes flying to america and allows act has to interbank transfers. The deal was controversial from the start and is likely to become even less popular now. Members of the European Parliament say they are dismayed by the recent u. S. Buying allegations. In 2010, they approve the agreement only after heavy lobbying from the u. S. And european commission. Now four of six parliamentary groups are in favor of suspending or quitting the pact. We believe the pact has to be completely renegotiated. Once we have come to an agreement on prism and other International Data protection standards. What cannot be done is that there are revelations about nsa using switch data and we doing nothing at all. Three years ago, europe made a number of concessions regarding the swift agreement. It allows the banking data of eu citizens to be saved for up to five years. The information can be passed on the u. S. Investigators upon request. But apparently, washington went even further and pulled data from the Swift Network without the permission of european authorities. That is what Journalists Group Glenn Greenwald is reporting. He has received large amounts of data on americans buying from former nsa contractor edward snowden. Staying from in the European Union. Using your cell phone to call from one country to another could get a whole lot cheaper. If it is up to the european commission, roaming charges will soon become a thing of the past. At the moment, you citizens outside their own traveling outside their home countries are charged heavy fees. Eu commission Vice President will likely propose the plan to cut all roaming charges in the European Union later this week. Once and lamented, travelers in europe would pay the same mobile phone charges abroad as they do at home. Roaming charges in the eu have been sinking in recent years. Additional charges are not capped at . 24. By country. The new plan aims to introduce a zero additional cost model by 2016. Covering Text Messages and data usage as well. Many say the measure is long overdue for a continent then that already has a common market. But Telecom Companies are afraid of losing profits they make from roaming charges. They see that capital is necessary for the massive investments they must continually put into their networks. So far, that argument has not moved the eu commissioners. The proposed measure now moves onto the eu Member States and the European Parliament for ratification. That is europe today with dw. Stay with us. Captioned by the National Captioning Institute www. Ncicap. Org captioning sponsored by Macneil Lehrer productions ifill president obama will address the nation tonight, beginning in just a minute. The subject the crisis in syria. Mr. Obama is expected to press his case for a military strike to punish the Syrian Government for using chemical weapons to kill more than 1,400 people, as well as to argue for a diplomatic solution. Woodruff and im judy woodruff. Welcome to our special coverage of the president s speech. Were also Live Streaming the event on the newshours home page. It has been a day of diplomatic maneuvering. U. S. Officials set to work to secure a deal that would allow the International Community to take control of syrias chemical weapons. At the same time, the Obama Administration has been lobbying members of congress, urging them to authorize the use of force. Gwen, what a wild 24 hours it has been from where the administration was yesterday to where it is right now. Ifill the administration has a very clear goal tonight. The president has to answer what it is he wants the American People to support, why he needs to sipt it and how he does it. Its unclear how. Woodruff and this fine like hes walking for making the case for military action at the same time hes saying we need to leave the window open for a diplomatic solution if that is doable. Ifill he has a lot of audiences out there, the American People who are very skeptical about it as well as the International Community to want to take those weapons and isolate them. Its really very tough. Were waiting to see whether its possible for him to do all those things, judy. Woodruff thats right. I believe this is the first time in several years the president has made a speech from the white house, and here he is now. My fellow americans, tonight i want to talk to you about syria. Why it matters, and where we go from here. Over the past two years what, began as a series of peaceful protests against the repressive regime of Bashar Alassad has turned into a brutal civil war. Over 100,000 people have been killed. Millions have fled the country. In that time, americas worked with allies to provide humanitarian support, to help the moderate opposition, and to shape a political settlement. But i have resisted calls for gassedy to death over 1,000 people, including hundreds of children. The images from this massacre are sickening men, women, children lying in rows, killed by poison gas. Others foaming at the mouth, gasping for breath. A father clutching his dead geildren, imploring them to cannot resolve someone elses civil war through force, t up and walk. On that terrible night, the world saw in gruesome detaillet terrible name of chemical weapons and why the overwhelming majority of humanity has declared them off limits. A crime against humanity. And a violation of the laws of war. This was not always the case. In world war i, american gis were among the many thousands killed by deadly gas in the trenches of europe. In world war ii, the nazis used gas to inflict the horror of the holocaust. Because these weapons can kill on a mass scale with no distinction between soldier and infant, the civilized world has spent a century working to ban them. In 1997, the United States Senate Overwhelmingly approved an International Agreement prohibiting the use of chemical weapons. Now, joined by 189 governments that represent 98 of humanity. On august 21, these basic rules were violated. Along with our sense of common humanity. No one disputes that chemical weapons were used in syria. The world saw thousands of videos, cell phone pictures, and social media accounts from the attack, and humanitarian organizations told stories of hospitals packed with people who had symptoms of poison gas. Moreover, we know the assad regime was responsible. In the days leading up to august 21, we know that asaid chemical weapons personnel prepared for an attack near an area where they mix serin gas. They distributed gas masks to their troops. Then they fired rockets from a regimecontrolled area into 11 neighborhoods that the regime has been trying to wipe clear of opposition forces. Shortly after those rockets landed, the gas spread, and hospitals filled with the dying and the wounded. We know senior figures in assads military machine reviewed the results of the attack and the regime increased their shelling of the same neighborhoods in the days that followed. Weve also studied samples of blood and hair from people at the site that tested positive for sarin. When dictators commit atrocities, they depend upon the world to look the other way until those horrifying pictures fade from memory. But these things happened. The facts cannot be denied. The question now is what the United States of america and the International Community is prepared to do about it because what happened to those people, to those children is not only a violation of International Law. Its also a danger to our security. Let me explain why. If we fail to act, the assad regime will see no reason to stop using chemical weapons as the ban against these weapons, rodes, other tyrants will have no reason to think twice about acquiring poison gas and using them. Over time owrk troops would again face the prospect of Chemical Warfare on the battlefield, and it could be easier for terrorist organizations to obtain these weapons and to use them to attack civilians. If fighting spills beyond syrias borders, these weapons could threaten allies like turkey, jordan, and israel, and a failure to stand against the use of chemical weapons would weaken prohibitions against other weapons of mass destruction and embolden assads ally, iran, which must decide whether to ignore International Law by building a Nuclear Weapon or to take a more peaceful path. This is not a world we should accept. This is whats at stake, and that is why after careful deliberation i determined that it is in the National Security interests of the United States to respond to the assad regimes use of chemical weapons through a targeted military strike. The purpose of this strike would be to deter assad from using chemical weapons, to degrade his regimes ability to use them, and to make clear to the world that we will not tolerate their use. Thats my judgment as commander in chief. But im also the president of the words oldest constitutional democracy, so even though i possess the authority to order military strikes, i believed it was right in the absence of a direct or imminent threat to our security, to take this debate to congress. I believe our democracy is stronger when the president acts will with the support of congress. And i believe that america actes more effectively abroad when we stand together. This is especially true after a decade that put more and more warmaking power in the hands of the president and more and more burdens on the shoulders of our troops while sidelining the peoples representatives from the critical decisions about when we use force. Now, i know that after the terrible toll of iraq and afghanistan the idea of any military action, no matter how limited, is not going to be popular. After all, ive spent four and a half years working to end wars, not to start them. Our troops are out of iraq. Our troops are coming home from afghanistan. And i know americans want all of us in washington, especially me, to concentrate on the task of building our nation here at home. Putting people back to work, educating our kids, growing our middle class. Its no wonder then that youre asking hard questions. So let me answer some of the most important questions that ive heard from members of congress and that ive read in letters youve sent to me. First, many of you have asked, wont this put us on a slippery slope to another war . One man wrote to me that we are still recovering from our involvement in iraq. A veteran put it more bluntly this nation is sick and tired of war. My answer is simple i will not put american boots on the ground in syria. I will not pursue an openended action like iraq or afghanistan. I will not pursue a Prolonged Air Campaign Like libya or kosovo. This would be a targeted strike to achieve a clear objective deterg the use of chemical weapons and degrading assads capabilities. Others have asked whether its worth acting if we dont take out assad. Some members of congress have said theres no point in simply doing a pinprick strike in syria. Let me make something clear the United States military doesnt do pin pricks. Even a limited strike will send a message to assad that no other nation can deliver. I dont think we should remove another dictator with force. We learned from iraq that doing so makes us responsible for all that comes next. But a targeted strike can make assad or any other dictator think twice before using chemical weapons. Other questions involve the dangers of retaliation. We dont dismiss any threats. But the assad regime does not have the ability to seriously threaten our military. Any other retaliation they might seek is in line with threats that we face every day. Neither assad nor his allies have any interest in escalation that would lead to his demise. And our ally, israel, can defend itself with overwhelming force, as well as the unshakable support of the United States of america. Many of you have asked a broader question, why should we get involved at all in a place thats so complicated and where, as one person wrote to me those who come after assad may be enemies of human rights. Its true that some of assads opponents are extremists, but al qaeda will only draw strength in a more chaotic syria if people there see the world doing nothing to prevent innocent civilians from being gassed to death. The majority of the Syrian People and the Syrian Opposition we work with just want to live in peace, with dignity and freedom. And the day after any military action, we would redouble our efforts to achieve a political solution that strengthens those who reject the forces of tyranny and extremism. Finally, many of you have asked, why not leave this to of to other countries or Seek Solutions short of force . As several people wrote to me, we should not be the worlds policemen. I agree, and have a deeply held preference for peaceful solution. Over the last two years my administration has tried diplomacy and sanctions, warning and negotiations, but chemical weapons were still used by the assad regime. However, over the last few days, weve seen some encouraging signs, in part because of the credible threat of u. S. Military action, as well as constructive talks that i had with president putin, the russian government has indicated a willingness to join with the International Community in pushing assad to give up his chemical weapons. The assad regime has now admitted that it has these expwps even said they joined the chemical weapons convention, which prohibits their use. Its too early to tell whether this offer will succeed. And any agreement must verify that the assad regime keeps its commitments. But this initiative has the potential to remove the threat of chemical weapons without the use of force, particularly because russia is one of assads strongest allies. I have, therefore, asked the leaders of congress to postpone a vote to authorize the use of force while we pursue this diplomatic path. Im sending secretary of state john kerr tow meet his russian counterpart on thursday, and i will continue my own discussions with president putin. Ive spoken to the leaders of two of our closest alierkz france and the united kingdom, and we will Work Together in consultation with russia and china to put forward a resolution at the . Usmed Security Council requiring assad to give up his chemical weapons and to ultimately destroy them under international control. Well also give u. N. Inspectors the opportunity to report their find business what happened on august 21, and we will continue to rally support from allies from europe to the americas, from asia to the middle east who agree on the need for action. Meanwhile, ive ordered our military to maintain their current posture to keep the prosh assad, and to be in a position to respond if diplomacy fails. And tonight i give thanks again to our military and their families for their incredible strength and sacrifices. My fellow americans, for nearly seven decades, the United States has been the anchor of global security. This has meant doing more than forging International Agreements. It has meant enforcing them. The burdens of leadership are often heavy, but the worlds a better place because we have borne them. And so to my friends on the right, i ask you to reconcile your commitment to americas military might with a failure to act when a cause is so plainly just. To my friends on the left, i ask you to reconcile your belief in freedom and dignity for all people, with those images of children writhing in pain, and going still on a cold hospital floor. For sometimes resolutions and statementes of condemnation are simply not enough. Indeed, id ask every member of congress and those of you watching at home tonight to view those videos of the attack, and then ask what kind of world will we live in if the United States of america sees a dictator brazenly violate International Law with poison gas, and we choose to look the other way . Franklin roosevelt once said our National Determination to keep free of foreign wars and foreign entanglements cannot prevent us from feeling deep concern when ideals and principles that we have cherished are challenged. Our ideals and principles, as well as our National Security, are at stake in syria. , along with our leadership for the world where we seek to ensure that the worst weapons will never be used. Americas not the worlds policeman. Terrible things happen across the globe, and it is beyond our means to right every wrong but when, with modest effort and risk, we can stop children from being gassed to death, and there are make our own children safer over the long run, i believe we should act. Thats what makes america different. Thats what makes us exceptional. With humility but with resolve, let us never lose sight of that essential truth. Thank you, god bless you, and god bless the United States of America Woodruff and that concludes president obamas 15minute address to the nation. Some stations are leaving us now to resume regularly scheduled programming. For the others, the pbs newshour will be back in a moment onair and streaming online with analysis of the speech and the rest of tonights program. Ifill and with us now for some analysis are shields and brooks. Thats syndicated columnist mark shields and New York Times mnisdavid brooks. Is mark, after listening to the president twice talk about how we shipment be look the other way, and multiple times talk about how we cant watch children being gassed tfelt like he was going for the emotional jugular tonight. It did. I was surprised that they didnt tell us where to see the videos, where they recommend the videos. It was a very defensive speech. It was responding to the criticisms and the objections that have been expressed, rather thannicism he a straightforward, this is what i think we ought to do because of this. And i think in that sense, it was a heavy lift to change public opinion, and this may have made a start, but it certainly didnt turn the tide. Woodruff david what did you hear . I give it somewhat better review, i thought it was a logical forceful speech. I thought it was aw authoritati, almost legalistic as you expect from him. Marching through, weapons used, the gas masks were deployed by the Syrian Regime, we have International Norms for a reason. Every brick ofd. The wall was built piece by piece. And i do think the president was profoundly personally influenced by those videos. I think that came through in the speech tonight even though he didnt emote it. I think he laid down the case for some action, quite logically and quite thoroughliy. He gets to the point where hes responding to criticism, and there, i think, he wants to reassure there will be no boots on the ground. And thats right. Ive heard from around the country a lot of people are under the illusion that is on the table. It is not on the table. The weak point i think is still the goldilocks moment were not going to do too much. Were not going to do too little. And i think you saw him begin to fumble a little, lose a little momentum in that part of the speech. Up until that moment and especially getting to the dip lo the make demarch at the end, i thought it was quite forceful and authoritative. The important thing for obama was to reestablish credibility. Ifill did he, mark, answer some of the questions raised, for instance the slippery slope. He made clear there wouldnt, any i dislike the term boots on the ground, there wouldnt be any men or women on the territory engaged in combat, that that was a pledge he made and that it would be limited. Part of the problem the president has as he makes the case he talks about and i agree with david, there was quite passionate when he spoke about the children, and the terrible things that were done by assad, and his regime but then we say what were going to do is really slap him on the wrist. I mean, weve used this language over and over, that he is a you know, hitlerian dimensions. John kerry has said they say munich moment. If it is that, then we simply basically say, you better not do this again, but you can continue in power, and, you know, i think its a quandary and a dilemma for the administration. It is a weird thing that we are going to take military action against a pretty evil guy in order to deprive him of one of his many weapons system. Were just really isolating one little weapons system, and maybe theres historical reason for that. Woodruff and theyll have a lot left. He did say the United States doesnt do pin pricks. Yes. Woodruff and i guess my question is we know the American People believe that the Syrian Government has use chemical weapons. That wasnt wasnt in doubt. The question is why should the United States act on it . Did he make that case . I think he did. I think the last few days have sort of made that case. Why is syria willing to go along with this . Why is russia willing to go along with it th . When the president says its because we were there willing to make the threats i think that has credibility. I do not think the syrians would be engaged in this sort of action if they werent genuinely afraid. The other goldilocks piece, military or diplomatic. Th we would redouble our diplomatic efforts, the president pledged. I i think thats awfully important to people that there be some sense that this is beyond just sort of a moral scratching of our mosquito bites. Arent we good we. We didnt let this go unpassed, uncommented upon. We did do something, even what we did actually left him in power and the people at his under his boot suffering just as much. I was listening quite closely to the emotional gestalt around the russian proposal, how embracing was he, how skeptical . He was probably a little more skeptical than i anticipated . I agree. I thought so. Ifill he started by saying something skeptical. Right. Its all a matter of degree. He could have easily said, see, it worked. This diplomatic thing looks promising. He didnt go there. He said it is there, we will investigate it. I thought he would take some credit for that. I think you can make the compelling argument the russians and syrians would not have moved but for the threat of military force. Woodruff but i have a question about the timing of this. Hes asking the American People to accept the argument, congress to do what he wants, but theres no vote coming up right now. Votes have been delayed. Is there a mismatch of timing here . Well, hes goodbye going to have some weeks, and it could be a long time. I mean, the russian thing could drag on for a little while. The congressional thing could drag on. Ifill doesnt he want the time . He does not want this at the top of his agenda for the next month. Ifill theres that. And he didnt have the votes. Ifill another reason to ask for time. If you have the votes, you vote. Thats a simple rule of politics. They didnt have the votes. Ifill especially if its something you want to do. Exactly. And you cant sustain a defeat. Theres no symbolic value in losing this kind of legislative fight. Woodruff all right. Ifill well, thank you, mark shields, thank you, david brooks. This has been as always an enlightening conversation. Now were going to return to two interviews recorded earlier this evening before the president s address, first the view of a leading senate republican, Maines Susan Collins who attended a lunch meeting with the president today and a dinner at Vice President joe binds home as the administration courted her vote. Senator councils thank you for joining us. We just heard House Speaker john boehner talk about the choice between diplomacy and military action. Is that what you see as the choice right now . I do. And initially what the administration was presenting was a choice between a military strike that was an act of war and doing nothing. And it troubles me that we were ignoring the possibility of a diplomatic solution. The last couple of days have put a diplomatic solution on the table, and i believe it should be aggressively pursued. Senator, do you think that russia is a worthy ally in that pursuit . You know, i understand those who say we cant trust the russians. But the fact is, that it is in the russians own selfinterest to defuse this crises. So i believe that we should allow some time for this to play out, to see if the russians who are, after all, the chief allies for assad can, indeed, cause him to turn over his stockpile of chemical weapons to the United Nations or some other international organization. Without russian weapons, money and support, assad would be gone. So it is the russians that have the ability to influence the Syrian Regime in a way that really no other country does except for arena and written is a very unlikely partner. Have heard today senator is whether the United Nations isepf preferable to launching a military strike on a country that has not attacked us. Certainly, it is preferable for us to try to get the chemical stockpiles, which may be the largest in the world, out of syria so that it can no longer be used to harm and kill somewherecivilians. The and i would say that it has been done before. Libya did give up some of its nuclear capability. So we have precedent for the United Nations being able to take control of stockpiles of dangerous weapons. Senator collins, you have gotten the president s best argument on this idea of a military strike, both in lunch, dinner with the Vice President and lunch on capitol hill today. What is your biggest objection to the idea of a military strike, if you had decided you are objecting, that is . My biggest concern is that we will be dragged into yet another war in the middle east and become entangled in a protracted, dangerous, and ugly civil war, where its very difficult to sort out who are the good guys, particularly at this point, when we have the terrorist Group Hezbollah helping the assad regime and the two groups that are affiliated with al qaeda. I dont think that this would end with one military strike. And im very wary of the United States being dragged in to a protracted civil war in syria. Do you know, having heard the president s case for war and the president s case for diplomacy that he had this in his hip pocket for a while, that he all along had been using the military strike option as a way of pressuring congress and pressuring russia . I actually dont. Because the very first Conference Call that we had on this issue during labor day weekend, when secretary kerry and National Security advisor susan rice was briefing us, there was no discussion of anything other than a military strike, and i do not think that the administration was actively pursuing other diplomatic means behind the scenes. Now im not sure of that but certainly initially, they were not. I think now they genuinely are. And i certai will be successful an pitn initially was to launch and strike without even coming to congress for approval. When it was evidenced that that would have created an uproar from the American People and from members of congress, he decided to go to us as he should under the constitution. That in turn allowed for more time for these othed will avert any further discussion of a military strike. R alternatives to be put forth by the russians. You dont think that the president has been talking about this all along, as he said, with Vladimir Putin, then . I dont mean to doubt the president if he says he has had discussions with mr. Putin. He may well have had during the recent conference. But certainly the public debate that was being presented to congress and indeed the actual resignation that the president sent to congress simply