president obama says the syrian government was definitely behind the deadly chemical attacks on civilians. he says if the u.s. does decide to retaliate, the message will be clear and decisive. abc s marci gonzalez joins us now with all the details. good morning, marci. reporter: good morning, john and diana. american warships and cruise missiles are in position. but president obama says he is still weighing his options. i have not made a decision. reporter: president barack obama tells pbs news hour while no decision has been made on syria, there will be consequences for president bashar al assad s regime. the u.s. claims to have indisputable evidence that they are behind the chemical attack that killed hundreds of civilians. i have no interest in any kind of open-ended conflict in syria, but we do have to make sure that when countries break international norms on weapons like chemical weapons that could threaten us that they re held accountable. reporter: the u.n. saying
used, but this isn t a closed case. syria s ambassador to the u.n. claims rebel forces are responsible for this and other chemical attacks in the country. and secretary-general ban ki-moon says after two days of investigating, inspectors on the ground in damascus still have two more days of work left to do. the u.n. urges the u.s. and allies to be patient. it is very clear, the security council has to be brought in. reporter: the state department claims the u.s. will not wait for authorization from the u.n. security council, and assad promises to forcefully respond to any military action. if bashar al assad didn t hesitate to use chemical weapons against his own sleeping civilians, what s to stop him from using them against sleeping turks, jordanians or israelis? now more than 100 house republicans and democrats have signed a letter urging president obama not to act until he has congressional approval. john and diana? marci, thank you.
substance was used, but this isn t a closed case. syria s ambassador to the u.n. claims rebel forces are responsible for this and other chemical attacks in the country. and secretary-general ban ki-moon says after two days of investigating, inspectors on the ground in damascus still have two more days of work left to do. the u.n. urges the u.s. and allies to be patient. it is very clear, the security council has to be brought in. reporter: the state department claims the u.s. will not wait for authorization from the u.n. security council, and assad promises to forcefully respond to any military action. if bashar al assad didn t hesitate to use chemical weapons against his own sleeping civilians, what s to stop him from using them against sleeping turks, jordanians or israelis? now more than 100 house republicans and democrats have signed a letter urging president obama not to act until he has congressional approval. john and diana?
and i m richelle carey in for fredricka whitfield. fury in the streets of afghanistan today. this anti-american demonstration started calmly, turned violent. one person killed. several u.s. troops were hurt in an explosion in small arms fire outside of an american base. meanwhile, afghan police are looking for the man who killed two u.s. officers in afghanistan yesterday. investigators know who he is. they say he works at the interior ministry. the syrian government says a referendum people are voting on today is aimed at changing the institution and shows a step toward ending the deadly conflict. well, that hasn t stopped armed groups and security forces from battling today in homs and damascus and hama. across syria, at least 45 people were killed today. cnn s michael homes is watching developments in syria from beirut. us thats m thousands more syrians died. violence and anti-government protests in city from the south to the north. but many of the victims, again, i
more people hurt, more people killed today across syria. this is the city of ham ma where nine died in street battles before security forces and anti-government fighters. violence has not let up despite today s nationwide vote on whether to change syria s constitution. much more on that in a minute. an update from michael holmes who is in beirut. nelson mandela, founding father of democracy in south africa, is out of the hospital. he was discharged today after being treated for an abdominal ailment. a family member said it was hernia surgery. the 93-year-old was impressened 27 years for fighting impar tied. he was awarded the nobel peace prize. turn to politics. mitt romney got what could be a much-needed boost in the tightening race for the republican nomination. arizona governor jan brewer publicly endorsed romney. she made the announcement on nbc s meet the press. he has that pro business background and that political history that i think that he would serve amer