>> reporter: . >> what about the americans living in beirut as well? what impact is it having on them? >> reporter: well, we know on friday, the state department issued an evacuation for non-emergency officials and diplomats that are stationed here in beirut. the state department has also said that americans that are here as tourists or americans who are coming in as tourists should leave, pack their bags and get out. you know, itt at any point, beirut is not exactly the safest place for an american to be. there has been kidnappings of americans here over the course of many, many years. many journalists have been taken by militias. so it's a place where you need to be on guard at all times. perhaps i think the best thing to say is be careful who you trust. watch your back, and keep walking, if you will, del. >> robert ray, good advises. thank you for joining us. axis will have live coverage of president obama's speech concerning the situation in syria. that will be taking place on tuesday night. and you can get the very latest on the situation there on

embassy in beirut, lebanon. he joins us live on the phone. when last we spoke, robert, you described a lot of security outside the embassy. how are things looking now? robert, are you there? >> reporter: i am here, yes. hello. sorry about that. things outside of the u.s. embassy right now are quiet. there was a protest that just wrapped up, about 200 people that are pro-assad, lebanese pro-assad that is. they were very peaceful in their protest, but very clear in what they wanted. they do not want the u.s. to strike syria, absolutely not. that was their message. they think this is a regional conflict and no one should come in here and strike their territory. although some of the protesters did tell us that if, indeed, there was something to happen they wanted the u.s. to sit down at the table with russia, the u.n. and even assad and figure something out instead of doing war. that was the message here. some of them with red paint with their hands and holding it up to the camera saying the u.s. will have blood on their hands, blood on america i

embassy in beirut nor u.s. diplomatic facilitys in high threat areas meet standards. >> that, to me is appalling. if you were ever at a place where you are putting people who are representing us in that country have risks it's beirut. >> reporter: it's the restructuring of the state department does not take place. the lives of more u.s. diplomates will be at risk. al jazeera, washington. >>> a blackout leaves most of venezuela in the dark. why some people sa sabotage is leading today kwros. >>> thousands oh of wal-mart workers across the country are doing the same but demanding what the nation's private employer. >>> the 16-year-old girl shot by the taliban after campaigning for girls rights to an education is speaking out about the fight against terrorism. the non- violent weapon she says can be used to defeat it. >>> the venezuelan government is claiming sabotage after they were left without power. venezuela's debt thety minister said several transit lines are down from the blackout. they suggested opposition

al jazeerats robert ray reports >> reporter: on the surface, beirut seems to be booming. it's a city where construction cranes dot the deposition skyline. people relax on the mediterranean sea and every direction has ruins alongside churches and mosques. it looks like a paradise. but it's a city on edge. sectarian tensions are simmering. suspicion and fear is in the area. the conflict in syria is only making things worse. >> it's schizophrenic. we have many will lebanons insi lebanon. every community thinks of itself as a nation. those nations fighting each other >> reporter: across the capitol, various neighborhoods have sharp divisions. flags and signs show who is in control and who is not welcome. lebanon's 15 year civil war ended in 1990 and syria was left in charge. but, syria withdrew its military occupation in 2005. and since then, lebanon sectarian lines have become much clearer >> reporter: during the long civil war for lebanon that ended in 1990, this was the frontline of battle. the muslims on the west side, the christians on the east, both fighting for control

embassy in beirut. the state department is also urging all u.s. citizens to avoid travel to lebanon citing, this is a quote, current safety and security concerns. david jackson is live in beirut with more on what prompted this warning. it seems with everything that is potentially on the horizon, this is almost to be expected. >> reporter: it is to be expected, richelle. you're right. it's happened before, many times before. it is often referred to by the personnel as the friends and family rule. it means friends and family are advised at this point to leave the country and leave the united states embassy. the issue is actually ordered by the state department, and they do this around the world, really, periodically in places that you might not expect. you see it pop up occasionally in areas that don't even seem to be particularly endangered. in this case they think they have good reason, and they're certainly ordering the nonessential personnel to be out of the embassy itself. the embassy will remain open. all the embassies here remain open, and ma

how strong is lebanon's helping and how far will it breach how committed is beirut to its neighbor. floods in here as think you very much for being with r.t. today thank you for coming in so we're actually witnessing the resurgence of sectarian violence here in beirut do you think that lebannon is there a chance that lebanon. remain neutral in its position towards to syria's civil war . on the. way the. resistance of the lebanese resistance. accepting that country will be dragged into any type of confrontation among the that is components to the contrary i think there is a great deed of. positions among the lebanese that they want to live together they want to really carry on the dialogue there are lots of issues that need to be sorted out but this does not mean that they will resort to violence and trying to the do this that on the other hand for sure i mean to have that number it would constitute problems on the security on the security that you're saying international community has really fulfill its promises in helping us with the refugees and that un has offered lebanon to set

but they are to the south of beirut. they are to the north. essentially, the mediterraneans to the east, syria, damascus, 50 miles to the west. so if you are here in beirut and you are here an american and cot spills into the streets, you need to hunk ever down, stay out of harm's way because you are going to be here for a while and you will not have a way out unfortunately. the airports will likely close and we will just have to sit back, wait and see. >> that's a situation that all of us journalists are in right now as we await the united states to make a decision as to what's going to happen in the near future. richele. >> robert ray, great reporting from beirut. thank you so much. >> good morning. i hope you all are having a beautiful start to the day if you are in the northeast. high pressure is in control. i will tell you, it's an absolute gorgeous day. hard to find many clouds in the sky from new englandaults way down into the mid atlantic and across southeast. if you live across the midwest, it will be hot out there today. that heat is

embassy in beirut. the state department is also urging all u.s. citizens to avoided travel to lebanon siting current safety and security concerns. our own david jackson al jazeera reporting life from beirut, telling us more about what is going on here. and david, also making the point earlier, you made this earlier, it is important to stress this, the embassy itself is not closing down. so tell us what is happening many. >> the embassy will be functioning somewhat normally, it will be something of a skeleton that will be in there, but it will function as a normal u.s. embassy. that means that the friends and families rule, will take effect. and the friends and families of the people that work there, and the nonemergency staff as they call it will be asked to leave. it's all in an effort, really, to reduce the number of americans that are in this region. they want to make sure that americans understand that they should steer clear of this part of the world, the very extreme eastern end of the med train nan is viewed to be a dangerous spot, and they

wild wild west beirut. are listed department was writing about what it described as spillover of the middle eastern terrorist activities and to europe by hezbollah and other terrorist groups, you had kidnappings, hijackings, activities throughout the region . in turn had led to the series of hezbollah attacks around the world to secure their release. again, fast forward. many of the same groups, hezbollah as lama is your organization hamas even some of the exact same people would team up in 25 years later. danger of began to pick up pace in europe. muhammed ali, one of the key hijackers and was wanted for the twa a 47 hijacking was later arrested. operatives elsewhere in europe and in particular paris. the series of bombings that practically brought paris to a standstill his compatriot was living to the 1988 hijacking of kuwaiti air flight 42 from bangkok and then you have other operations in europe, one, for example, involves a 1989 german intelligence intercepting communications. could not quite figure ou

facility in beirut. and of course an adjacent nation, and it does not confirm to the safety standards. and one hopes that that kind of information will force some people on capitol hill to understand. >> obviously we'll be contacting members of congress as well. >> when you talk about the security, is this a human capital thing solely or is there something that they recommend in terms of construction and facilities? >> absolutely, the report came out with far-reaching standards. if buildings weren't secure, they wanted new buildings. they wanted the buildings to be further set back. they wanted security, a permitter, so vehicles couldn't easily pull under a diplomatic facility and launch a car bomb. so yes, money is a factor, and obviously these types of changes cost a lot. >> but that's come up definitely, they haven't done it for three decades. >> and in the year since benghazi, this is prima facia that you would need to act on these, and have those things occurred, even in the absence of a full report

. >> on the surface, beirut seems to be booming. it's a city where construction cranes dot the dense skyline. people relax on the mediterranean sea and buildings sprawl in every direction with roman ruins aside churches and mosques. it looks like a paradise but it's a city on edge. sectarian interests are simmering and the conflict in syria is only making things worse. >> this is schizophrenic. we have many syrians in lebanon. those nation fighting each other. >> across the capital, various neighborhoods have sharp divisions. flags and signs show who is in control. and who is not welcome. lebanon's 15 year civil war ended in 1990, and syria was left in charge. but syria withdrew its military occupation in 2005, and since then lebanon's sectarian lines have become much clearer. during the long civil war, this was the front line of battle. the muslims on the west side, the christians on the east both fighting for control of the country. since then downtown beirut went through a sort of rebirth. but many of the country's problems have

i am here in beirut, a city wrecked by war twice in my lifetime. in lebanon, a country where the syrian civil war is already spilling over, refugees pouring in, the economy staggering, violence spreading. and just a couple hours from where i am standing syria and the horrors there. people here in the middle east who have seen so much of war over the decades are a lot like americans, they are skeptical about this crisis. they're anxious about it. so tonight in a make-or-break moment for him, president obama addressed all of these audiences trying to clear things up. make his case. and lead. president obama strode down the great hall of the was to talk to the american people about war. >> tonight i want to talk to you about syria. >> reporter: he had taken the long walk once before under very different circumstances announcing the killing of osama bin laden. >> tonight i can report to the american people and to the world, that the united states has conducted an operation that killed osama bin laden. >> reporter: there was no victory in his demeanor t

sho beppu, nhk world, beirut. >>> syria's opposition has not been struggling alone. the government of the gulf state of qatar has been supporting their fight. in a recent interview with nhk, qatar's foreign minister, dr. attiyah, harshly criticized the use of chemical weapons against civilians. the government of qatar has backed syria's opposition. in november last year it hosted the formation of the national coalition for syrian revolutionary and opposition forces. the group was formally recognized as the legitimate representative of the syrian people. foreign minister attiyah accuses the assad regime of killing innocent people, including children, with toxic gas and says he would support direct military action. >> no one has the facility to launch but the regime. and it has been used before. it has been used before in february. we always wish to see something happen through u.n. security council, but with the reluctance of the security council and with the, unfortunately, the blockage of vetoes, then i think there is another way for the international community to s

and the individual was invited to go to beirut and to meet people and if he passed the test we could do some good business with counterfeit money. super notes, foreign currency, whenever you want. when the person came back to the united states, he received a photo album and the mail as hezbollah told him he was with pictures of him during the sites in the beirut area. as instructed he picked off the cover of the album and looked at two examples of what hezbollah said was its best counterfeit. you won't be able to tell the difference, he said. unfortunately the individual was a source working for the fbi task force so they brought into the secret force and jttf and they came back and said we have good and bad news. this is not counterfeit. this is real money. they tracked the serial numbers and discovered that there was real money that you may buy as taxpayers paid the was u.s. reconstruction money sent to iraq. they are passing off real dollar bills we sent for constructions of the sources are to go back and are posing as a foot soldier for the philadelphia crime world she. and i'd j

citizens were also instructed to leave the capital of beirut. president obama is returning to the united states tonight after making a global case for support at the g-20 summit at st. petersburg russia. he says the world cannot stand idly by. >>> the senate is expected to take up the issue for debate next week when members return to the capitol. president obama will address the nation on tuesday. >>> the syria question overshadowed st. petersburg as the world leaders came together for g-20 summit. no clear answer. barnaby phillips reports. >> they always managed to smile for the family photo, there was even a wave. but the summit of low expectations. at least as far as syria is concerned. and so it turned out: with russia and the united states possibly further apart when it all ended, than they'd been when it began. the russian president that mostly this year we're opposed to action against syria without the backing of the u.n. security council. although he seems to have less support for his insistence that the syrian government did not use che

they traveled the world to evaluate security, 24t they visd kenya and beirut and they covered how the security department has been ignoring recommendations for decades, recommendation that's date back almost 30 years ago to the attacks in beirut, where both the embassy and the marine barracks and one of the things that they really hone in on is they have been recommending for years that there be a position created for the undersecretary of dip attic security. this is recommended by bobby enman, and they have failed to do that. and they say that might be one of the root causes of confusion, a lack of communication, and accountability, the report highlights that there are no clear line of authorities, no minimum security standards, no formal risk manage:. >> is there a sense of outrage in the report? you mentioned the inman report back in 1983, after the embassy bombing and the barrack bombings in beirut. and then came kenya and tanzania, those bombings in 1998. more recommendations, and any sense of outrage that nothing had been fixed? >> well, i wouldn't say outrage. the report is ver

al jazeera beirut. >> the fear of an attack is spreading. we're in lebanon, robert, what are you hearing about refugees? >> well, john, it's a situation that as zena's piece just portrayed is very tense. the lebanese government has asked the world bank to texas the u.n. for funds. they fear this is a situation that will grow even mother out f control than it already has. there are many issues from health, trade, tore unfortunatelytourism.the lebanet know what to do. and if there is a strike, they fear more will come in. now 5 million plus is the estimation, the situation on the ground here is of deep concern. the lebanese people are looking for answers from their government, which, in fact, has not been a fully functional government since april of this year, john. >> robert, just one other quick question, can you tell us how the story is playing in lebanon? >> well, the story is playing incredibly deep. all eyes and ears are on this. in fact, if you walk around the streets of beirut, which is where we are, and in fact, right now it's about 3

al jazeera, beirut. >> we're joined now from beirut, it does seem there is very little talking on the ground regardless of what is going on internationally, and the fighting, as you said in your report, continues elevated. >> well, definitely. the government is pushing on with this offensive, making sure that the rebels will not exploit any situation and enter the capital. capital. they said a plan is in place, they're hoping to take advantage if and when the u.s. decides to take any military action against the syrian regime. but those rebels are also saying that the west is not collaborating with them. at least this is what they're saying publicly. but on the ground the a very different picture because as we know the syrian opposition is fractured. it's divided. they have really a different vision for th syria. there are those who are fighting for a democratic syria, and there are those fighting for an islamic state. those fighting for an islamic state they feel they may be a target. as they hear john kerry speak of the goo bad guys and good guys. most are saying that they're suspici

. >> reporter: anger and grief for palestinian refugees in beirut. he was killed on sunday and five other palestinians were wounded at a hezbollah checkpoint just outside the camp. hezbollah arms men insist odd searching the wedding party and opened fire when they refuse today stop. >> we have no security here. we are being searched at the gates of the camp. every single one of us. enough injustice. enough oppression. where else can this happen, not in israel or any other country. have you ever seen a bride being searched during her wedding procession? isn't it a shame on hezbollah to do this to us? >> reporter: the check point was one of many set up by hezbollah after a massive car bomb in the group's strong hold in southern beirut. which is right next to the camp. after sunday' shooting, various palestinian groups note calm the situation. >> we met with hezbollah and lebanese officials and we decided that this is an isolated incidents that should have no political or security impact. but is a sounding bell and if it not being on the will from all s

for instance, he pointed to the high-threat american embassy in beirut where the ambassador's office was not blast resistant and not protected by a sufficiently high enough wall. it was the 1983 bombing of the previous american embassy which killed 63 people that prompted the creation of the diplomatic security bureau. >> i think all of the members of the panel that traveled to beirut were a bit surprised when we recognized that we're on an embassy compound which actually created the new security standards because of what happened in 1983 and 1984. 30 years later, we're in an embassy compound that still did not meet those security standards. >> reporter: the state department still has not fully implemented recommendations made after an earlier investigation into the benghazi attacks. those included 1,000 marines to be sent to 27 high-threat posts. only 100 have deployed. new training for embassy personnel to prevent injury by fire. but that is still 10 months away. hiring an additional 150 of the state department's own security staff. many won't start for another year. we asked the s

al jazeera beirut. >>> earlier i spoke to al jazeera's political contributor as he plans to face the nation about syria. >> the pressure has been lifted, he's made his decision, he's come to the people and the congress as their representatives and says this is what i want to do. he went into this as saying, i am going to congress, i think i'm doing right thing, i think they'll back me, that's not happening. he has to way to either spin this if it doesn't go the way he wants it to in a way it says to the international community this is how the democracy works, this is the frults of your arab spring. you see exactly what happens. we're not going to go to syria i went to my congress and they say they're not going to do it. the problem is getting these congressmen and representatives and senators to say listen you know we need to do this, we need to do this as america, we need to do this from a moral standpoint and that's really tough for the president right now. i think when he came out and said i'm going ogo to congress now, i'm going odo this with the authority that congress grants me

. >> robert ray for us in beirut. appreciate it. coming up - a live sentence ends in suicide. the cleveland man who pleads guilty to more than 900 charges for the kidnapping and torture of three women - kills himself. >> the radiation at the fukushima plant could kill a person within a few hours. japanese officials are trying to convince the world they have a plan to get it under control. >>> hello, i'm metrologist rebecca stevenson. a relief for those in the north-east as humidity drops and cooler temperatures move in. it felt nice and cool for a lot of folks, even in ohio, when it was warm - it still felt a little better. less humidity. cleveland, pittsburg at 76. heading to maine. go north and you'll get a little cooler. maine - you are looking at temperatures in the 70s now. portland, maine at 79. you will be cooler in the next couple of days. look at the difference in the colours of the map. note how it gets a little green or blue the further north you know. overnight temperatures will cool off. toronto - 53 for

the shevardnadze today where we're in beirut capital of lebanon when you're in this beautiful middle eastern city it is hard to imagine that there is a battleground next door in syria with endless blood tears and destruction and the echoes of this conflict cannot resonates around lebanon and whoever you talk to in beirut has one question on their mind when is it going to be over. syria shattered into pieces. little remains of the peaceful little kept for a peaceful future. as rebels fight the government. of the people. his president. should. feel to share the border with such a neighbor. lebanon. with the syrians general michael. our own thank you very much for being with russia today. so a year ago when you were asked about the conflict in syria you expressed confidence that the opposition would lose you still think so. zero zero. zero zero zero zero what. the crisis it's a stop to. this. compromising you know. between. syria. and giving go. then it will be to not be for nothing you know syria has to get something. for that so all the process will continue to reach a final. final se

bombarded beirut during lebanon's civil war under the reagan administration. one month later shiite muslim suicide bombers struck marine barracks in beirut. more than 200 marines were murdered. fast forward three years later. the same administration ordered a bombing raid. under the clinton administration officials ordered attacks on al qaeda camps in afghanistan and a factory in sudan, a country that supported al qaeda. the radical group retaliated by attacking the ""u.s.s. cole" in yemen followed by the september 11th attacks. >> moreover, the chairman has indicated to me our capacity to execute this mission is not time sensitive. it will be effective tomorrow or next week or one month from now. and i'm prepared to give that order. >> while some critics argue an attack is too little, too late, others also say there's no such thing as just limited involvement and any interference could escalate. >> this could be a war in the middle east. it's serious. you've got to realize what this president has done to our military. and our military is so degraded now. >> m

i was hired after the beirut embassy bombings and inside the organization, we were known as the inman hires, admiral created standards, basic physical security standards that were required. >> after the beirut bombings of 1983. >> and the bombing in 1984 and we had the embassy inca wait a bombed. there were procedures mandated by congress, so what's happened over the years is the state department has by passed those congressionally mandated requirements by creating temporary waivers, in essence, signing off on authorization for official americans to work in these buildings, but they are substandard facilities. and that's to meet the needs of the diplomacy that the state department model has moved to, much like last week, we opened mogadishu. >> no governments are coming into place as a result of arab spring and catching up with that requires construction plans and site locations, and a lot of work. sometimes, for that higher purpose that i mentioned earlier, it is important that there be a u.s. presence and sometimes that presence requires that there be a temporary facility. you're ki

we're live in beirut with that. plus, a couple of teenagers say they were checking out a woman because they thought she was hot. that's their words. but instead of flirting back she mouthed the words, help me. that's when they realized how serious a thing they were in the middle of. we approach the bottom of the hour and top of the news on "studio b." s of grad school. 20 years with the company. thousands of presentations. and one hard earned partnership. it took a t of work to get this far. so now i'm supposed to te a back seat when it comes to my investments? there's zero chance of that happening. avo: when you work with a schwab financial consultant, you'll get the guidance you need with the control you want. talk to us today. [ dog ] on a walk, walk, walk. yeah, we found that wonderful thing. anyou smiled. and threw it. and i decided i would never, ever leave it anywhere. because that wonderful, bouncy, roll-around thing... had made you play. and that... had made you smile. [ announcer ] beneful. play. it's good

greg palkot is in lebanon's capitol city of beirut. greg? >> shep, add the fact the state department ordering all nonemergency personnel out of its u.s. embassy here in beirut lebanon and warning americans thinking of coming to lebanon to stay away. this due to in part some indication that analysts are getting that the iranian-backed lebanon based hezbollah group would retaliate against the united states in the event of a strike on syria. now, a statement when the group on friday slammed possible u.s. intervention. but was also purposefully vegas -- vague about what retaliation might be and what scale the reaction might trigger. again, this would all be either against united states assets more likely though according to analysts that we were speaking to it would be against the arch enemy of hezbollah and key ally of the united states here in the region israel. hezbollah is already involved in combat in syria. its firefighters battling alongside forces the regime there and that has caused some blow back. we went to one neighborhood here in be

: we're just about 40 miles away from syria in beirut. from our contacts on the ground in syria, the fighting continues unabated despite the diplomacy surrounding a possible strike against syria. government forces continuing to shell rebel positions around damascus, and we are told the fighting continues in a town north of damascus which is predominantly christian. that fighting going on between al qaeda linked rebels and forces of the bashar al assad regime. priests and nuns we are told are caught in the cross fire in the battle in that historic religious town. fear that is christians could be targeted in any fighting and any fallout from a possible u.s. military strike prompting prayers at a damascus church today. part of a global prayer vigil called for today by pope francis. we spoke with one of the leading christian figures here in this region. the syrian-born patriarch of the malachite greek catholic church. here is what he had to say about possible u.s. action. take a listen. >> we are against any attack, any new strike from any si

let's go to senior writer and author of several books joins me live from beirut. goo to have you with us. regardless of what the position the arab league is willing to take. you think some will back military action? >> against for iraq and al tkpw*e ria the vast majority of countries are very much behind the punitive strikes that are coming in next period. i think that mr. kerry will find a rather familiar group of people around him and they will agree with him that the time is long over due for some action to be taken. some of the arab countries would like the military action to be today rather than tomorrow. >> does that mean the countries might actually participate allaa libya you might say. >> we didn't know the details. if the campaign is going to be a long campaign then there might be room for other countries like saudi arabia and others the participate. although mr. kerry and other obama and other countries say this will be a limited activity but the repercussion of whatever strike occurs will be what the arab countries will be primarily concerned with. the

getting late in beirut. and if you want to help those affected by the syrian crisis, do pop over to impact your world on cnn.com. on cnn.com. >> we'll take a quick break. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com but i feel skinnier, you know? not really. aaah! jessica! whoa! your friend's a rate sucker. her bad driving makes car insurance more expensive for the rest of us. try snapshot from progressive. snap it in and get a discount based on your good driving. [pop!] stop paying for rate suckers! try snapshot free at progressive.com. ♪ hooking up the country whelping business run ♪ ♪ trains! they haul everything, safely and on time. ♪ tracks! they connect the factories built along the lines. and that means jobs, lots of people, making lots and lots of things. let's get your business rolling now, everybody sing. ♪ norfolk southern what's your function? ♪ ♪ helping this big country move ahead as one ♪ ♪ norfolk southern how's that function? ♪ new yorkers are choosing their next mayoral candida

nbc's ayman mohyeldin is live in beirut and he joins us now. ayman, where do these threats originate from? why did this warning go out today? and from your conversations with american personnel, are a lot of people intending upon leaving? >> reporter: well, there's no doubt the u.s. embassy certainly encourages people to take the risk seriously. they did not provide any specific intelligence reasons as to why they are taking this measure. and it's important to note that this measure is actual lit first time lebanon, the american embassy in lebanon has reduced its staff since 2006 when there was the war between israel and hezbollah. so it gives you a sense of the gravity of the moment that u.s. officials here are considering. there are a variety of reasons, among them obvious lit tensions in syria, the possible u.s. military strike on that country. but it is also the september 11th anniversary that is approaching, there are growing concerns there may be some type of attack or threat to u.s. embassies and diplomatic facilities. keep in mind this

the united states has ordered all nonemergency personnel to leave beirut and turkey due to threat. americans have been warned not to travel to lebanon or southeastern turkey. while that is where we're going to start this news bulletin with another sign that the tension is growing around syria. before we move on to what was discussed today at the g20. the united states has warned americans today to avoid all travel to lebanon and to defer nonessential trips to turkey, citing the potential for violence. warn warning all threats. the state department's travel warning came as as u.s. embassy, nonessential staff members were there. we can speak to adam there. the personnel in the american embassy there in beirut has been reduced town to its minimum levels. >> yes, no better indication whether there's a specific threat with the americans are aware of as led to this drawdown in numbers. but i think it's fair to say it's probably related to the anticipated strikes on syria by american, possibly french forces. also, of course, those are not -- it's not even sure those will go ahead pending

live in beirut. >>> several developments on the white house front. president obama met labor day with john mccain and lindsey graham in an effort to drum up support for military action in syria. >> a vote against that resolution by congress, i think, would be catastrophic because it would undermine the credibility of the united states of america and the president of the united states. none of us want that. >> that was just the first in a string of other meetings this week. watching that is nbc's tracie potts live in washington for us. does it look like then that john mccain and any others might be on board now? >> well, john mccain, lindsey graham say they're on board to push for this military action. but any others, that's still up in the air. we could find out more today at the senate foreign relations committee. secretary of state kerry, secretary of defense chuck hagel and martin dempsey all testifying their job is to go there and convince reluctant lawmakers that we are ready and that we should launch this strike on syria in retaliation for what

personnel from its embassy here in beirut. also telling americans, if they are thinking of coming to this country, maybe think again. as you know, they are getting some ominous signs remarkable of groups in the region, especially the iranian-packed lebanon-based hezbollah outfit. they say that they could retaliate against the united states in the event of a strike on syria. a statement coming out from the group today slamming possible u.s. intervention in the region. it was purposely vague about exactly what the retaliation would be and what level of intervention could trigger that retaliation. it could be, u.s. assets. according to analysts, the most likely would be retaliation against its arch enemy and absolutely key u.s. ally in the region, israel. hezbollah is already involved in the fight. militants are over in syria in combat alongside soldiers of the syrian regime of assad, and that has caused a little bit of blow back for their group here in lebanon. take a look at what we saw today in beirut. >> the war in syria is a

. >> are you concerned about diplomatic facilities in places like beirut currently don't meet security standards? lives are being put at risk. >> the report highlights systematic security failures within department of state. waivers have become commonplace. every facility had an immediate need for an intelligence analyst and previous security recommendations had been largely irg in order. a five member panel recommends the department create a new position to oversee diplomatic security. >> i just don't think that is needed. >> but that recommendation has been met with criticism by a former ambassador who served in libya and was personal friends with chris stevens who was killed in the benghazi attacks. >> how many decisions have to be made at the undersecretary level, i think the state department has are more than enough undersecretaries now. >>> high threat areas like beirut are still not up to code. >> given the current situation in syria how important is diplomatic security in places like beirut? >> security is very important. if they are not meeting standards after 30 years that's

we're i in beirut with more. >> as you can see here a lebanese soldier bringing a barricade so people cannot get to the u.s. embassy. the state department earlier said all non-emergency officials and diplomats need to exit the country of lebanon, tourists should not come in. today there are protests. they're cleaning this up now, and this was done by pro-assad members of the lebanese group here. they decided they wanted to bring 200 young folks out to tell america that they did not want a strike on syria. [ protesting ] >> i can't believe how your proud about freedom, and you support syria. they're killing kids. they destroyed two years ago, church, not mosques only, i don't understand. [ protesting ] >> you obama, you idiot, you stupid, not for capitalism, not for terrorism. >> as you can see red paint on cardboard. many protesters put it on their hands saying the u.s. would have blood on their hands if they strike syria. the message here is do not do. at the do not want outside forces here doing anything to interview with the situation. most of the people hearsay they wanted the u.s

easy for me to spill over the border into neighboring countries which is why i'm here in cities like beirut there are developers and even the kidneys on me that are constantly coming up with new and innovative ways of trying to deal with this great this illusion that bonds warning. one of us. that if we live on real time information being uploaded by users now they'll share information as to where there's a globe where possibly a missile has landed where there is a hotel this is immediately uploaded to a map and shared those extra things to save the page. this is an action especially when our country is being bombed as is happening now unless we know where the bombs will fall in the city or wherever and that's very important i think more people should their mood. how the projects in the pipeline include an app that will be able to tell the difference between fireworks which are often used here in celebrations and gunfire not to be outdone liberties on me has also recently announced it's own at the knees this is shield this provides direct communication between the public and maybe the soldi

joining us is david jackson from beirut. how are people there reacting to president obama's announcement? >> reporter: is there is something of a relaxation although they had their problems to contend with at the same time. this a nation that has gone through sectarian violence. we have had 75 people killed until car bombs over the past little while. >> that's something everybody is worried about now beginning to continue they don't want to e that go back into place and they don't want that to happen. the focus has been on syria lots of refugees coming across the border and now going back. with this week-plus after reprieve, many more probably will then go back into syria and wait out this next period of time at home active any question that egypt or another country would be involved in a military action against syria? >> is thethere social security chance and the one that stands most poised and israel says they are standing by with their finger on the trigger. they do not expect to be drawn into this, though. they don't see

greg is live in bray route -- beirut. >> there's a mixed reaction to the u.s.-led efforts to end the fighting in syria. we're not too far from that country. now that the threat of the u.s. military strike on syria seems to be on hold, and bashar al-assad, looks like he could possibly make some concession on the deadly pile of chemical weapons, the people we spoke to on the streets near beirut are catching their breath. carefully, though. and spoke to long-time syria watchers about assad's comments on russian tv today, seeming to say he might hand over those weapons. some people say in fact they offer some kind of signs of hope. take a listen to one. >> the fact that as it is conceding something, might give hope that there might be a way to negotiate out of this syrian crisis, not just the chemical weapons issue. >> still, salem says there's at best a 10-15 percent chance the comments being made by bar shark al-assad and the movementes he is making as well could mean an to end the fighting. we have the same wariness from people on the streets. >> trace: talk abo

crises in syria tonight and we begin here with abc's chief foreign correspondent terry moran in our beirut bureau. terry, good evening. >> reporter: david, here in the middle east people are riveted by what they see unfolding on the world stage, a showdown between two men, barack obama and bashar al-assad. and obama blinked. at least that's the feeling here. assad was full of defiance and dire warnings. looking confident and impeccably attired, president assad told an interviewer from french newspaper "le figaro" that president obama cannot prove his charges that the syrian regime gassed its own people. "we defy the u.s. and france to show us one piece of evidence," he said. ever since that august 21st gas attack, the pictures of the victims, especially the children, have haunted the world conscience. today the rebels sought to exploit the strong emotions. kids at a protest holding signs, urging a military strike. "save the children of syria," one said. in the damascus interview, president assad issued a dark warning. "the middle east is a powder keg and the fire is getting closer," he sai