he was out to dinner but didn t know where. ops called the ambassador s hotel and learned that the concierge recommended three restaurants but they didn t know which one he chose. reporter: ops called them all, e-mailed a picture of the ambassador and asked them to scan the dining rooms until they found him. that s persevernce. reporter: the center was created 50 years ago reportedly when president john kennedy couldn t reach anyone at the state department during a cuban missile crisis. back then, it used cables like this one from 1979. embassy tehran was taken by demonstrators at 1:00 a.m. today. madeleine albright says she will never forget one call from ops. i was in italy. they found me and they said the embassies have just been blown up. i said, what are you talking about? reporter: ops helped save one of those u.s. pilots shot down over libya this past march when a libyan man who once received an education grant from the
this hour, concerns that there are potential targets at risk by cutting homeland security funds. i m wolf blitzer and you re in the situation room. we begin with deadly new clashes today in syria as security forces try to break up anti-government protests in a number of cities. human rights activists say that at least 34 people were killed. they say to end the crackdown or get out of the way. here is arwa damon. reporter: wolf, when we see the images coming out of syria, the path that the regime continues to take seems pretty clear. they are aiming to clear. a voice yells off camera. this is video said to be from the city of hopes, which has seen many protests in recent weeks. it was posted to youtube. cnn cannot verify its authenticity or when it was shot. but one opposition activist told cnn on friday that the security forces fired straight in crowds of demonstrators and the syrian human rights information link reported a mounting death poll throughout the day. a simila