back to jennifer griffin live in washington. she's been tracking down clearance for the suspect and more information about his life. good evening, jennifer. >> reporter: good evening, bill. we are getting more information about the suspect's arrest record. he has, we have now confirmed with federal sources, two civilian arrests. one occurred -- this is one we didn't previously know about -- in de kalb, georgia, for disorderly conduct in the 2007 to 2011 time frame while he was in the navy. there was a second arrest we have already reported on back in ft. worth, texas, oh in which he unlawfully discharged a weapon. he fired through the floor of his apartment to his neighbor's apartment. she pressed charges. there are at least two civilian arrests on his record prior to him applying for the job for which he apparently need ed a security clearance to work at the navy yard behind me . bill? >> thank you, general fejennife that. dekalb county would be atlanta, georgia. the suspect was working in texas as we continue to trace back the

jennifer griffin at the pentagon this hour. any since the strike plan has changed since the president has asked. >> officials i have spoken to who are intimately involved in the planning, the plan this week and next week is the same as it was last week. the plans are not shifting all that much there are some targets that are shifting as assad moves some of his munitions around some of the targets are shifting about. you these are minor changes to the plan. there is not a since that that u.s. aircraft carrier will come into play. the uss yes, ma'am mits is right now in the southern red sea it is unlikely that we will see u.s. air force involvement or that aircraft carrier involved i'm told by sources that the aircraft carrier was really sent to send a message to russia and iran not to come to the help of the syrian regime. it is really a show of force more than an addition to those five destroyers. u.s. destroyers armed with about 200 tomahawks off the

>> jennifer griffin reporting from washington, jennifer, thank you. >>> nearly three months after a monster wildfire killed 19 firefighters, investigators in arizona releasing details on what went wrong. >>> plus, what the iranian people think about the historic and friendly telephone call between their leader and president obama. all of that coming up next. a a okay, listen up! i'm re-workin' the menu. mayo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of great-tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and 9 grams of protein. [ bottle ] ensure®. nutrition inharge™. [ bottle ] ensure®. that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, they pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and save you up to thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs. call today to request a free decision guide to help you bett

fox news correspondent jennifer griffin has the answers tonight. >> reporter: well, aaron alexis, we have learned from navy officials was in the navy but never served in combat. never saw battle. never was deployed to the war zone. from 2007 to 2011 when he was in the navy i, he mostly worked as an aviation engineer in texas. he was separated from the navy, left in 2011. it is not clear whether he got a dishonorable discharge but he was discharged. navy sources said he had a history of misconduct. in fact, on his record there were records he was arrested at least two times. he had two civilian arrests including one in 2010 in which he unlawfully discharged a weapon and when he fired the weapon, he fired it into his neighbor's living room. she said he was complaining about the noise. she was sitting in her living room when a bullet came through the ceiling, landed near her. she pressed charges. that was in 2010. he left the navy in 2011. his friends say he traveled the to thailand for about a month recently, that he was a buddhist. but it's clear from his record that he had some sort

jennifer griffin is also with us from the pentagon. i want to get back to kt macfarland and talk to kt about what specifically would happen in this naval yard. you have been there many times. give our viewers a sense of the surroundings. this not a modern complex with marble and glass. this something you would have seen in george washington's day. a number of the building date back to the 19th century. this is where the navy built its ships up to world war ii. it's where in the war of 1812 that was the major defense for the united states for the white house that was burned by the british. there is a lot of history here. it's also a place where although they no longer build ships there, they do all of the planning for building ships, they do the procurement and the designs for the ships. so it's got a function for the navy that continues as an active function. it's also an administrative and medical facility for some navy personnel who would go there. as martha also pointed out, it's also a museum. when you think of the united states na

jennifer griffin, at the pentagon. what has the pentagon said regarding the boots on the ground which general dempsey said would be necessary? >> general dempsey said 75,000 troops would be needed for that make. but that's not their mission so we asked the pentagon about the internal contradiction in their strategy. here's the pentagon spokesman. >> if regime change is not involved, if boots on the ground are not involved if the target set does not include chemical weapon storage facilities because of concerns of releasing the sarin into the air, how do you assure people this mission will deter him from using the weapons again, or from sharing them with hezbollah? >> well, if i were in the syrian military right now, facing the prospect of u.s. military action, with support from international partners, i think it would make me think twice about using chemical weapons again. >> that's presuming the regime survives. all bets are off if the pentagon does what last night's senate resolution to do, change the momentum on the

jennifer griffin is at the pentagon. she has those details, but we begin tonight with senior correspondent rick leventhal. >> reporter: the main gate was reopened this morning but only to walk-ins and essential personnel. the building is still a crime scene and the motive is still a question. >> we believe that mr. alexis entered with a shotgun. >> reporter: the fbi is confirming that alexis did not use an ar rifle, but carried a shotgun purchased days earlier and a gun taken from a security guard that left 12 dead and several wounded. >> we believe that the deceased shooter acted alone. as such, with no other suspects at large, the investigation has moved into the phase of evidence recovery and information gathering. >> reporter: the response team is still inside building 197 at the washington navy yard. methodically photographing and documenting the scene where the fbi says alexis got in with a valid i.d. he had been employed as a contractor and had passed security background checks as late as june of this year. when a

fox news correspondent jennifer griffin has the answers tonight. >> reporter: well, aaron alexis, we have learned from navy officials was in the navy but never served in combat. never saw battle. never was deployed to the war zone. from 2007 to 2011 when he was in the navy i, he mostly worked as an aviation engineer in texas. he was separated from the navy, left in 2011. it is not clear whether he got a dishonorable discharge but he was discharged. navy sources said he had a history of misconduct. in fact, on his record there were records he was arrested at least two times. he had two civilian arrests including one in 2010 in which he unlawfully discharged a weapon and when he fired the weapon, he fired it into his neighbor's living room. she said he was complaining about the noise. she was sitting in her living room when a bullet came through the ceiling, landed near her. she pressed charges. that was in 2010. he left the navy in 2011. his friends say he traveled the to thailand for about a month recently, that he was a buddhist. but it's clear from his record that he had some sort

fox's jennifer griffin is monitoring the situation from the pentagon and joining us now. good evening, jennifer. first of all, you're getting military intelligence, senior officials that are telling you. what are the ramifications, potential impact of what's happening with the situation at play with the delay that we're seeing right now? >> well, it's really interesting, kimberly, in terms of the delay, the conventional wisdom has been that assad is now hiding many of his armaments, especially his delivery systems for these chemical weapons. but i just spoke to a very senior pentagon source who tells me that the delay actually works in their favor in some ways because if he moves those assets, which he has been, they see that. they have satellite imagery, they have a lot of intelligence, assets up in the sky. and they are seeing him move these things around. that is not going to change their calculation in terms of where the tomahawks are going to fall in the long run. the real problem for the military is if this drags on for days or weeks it's a morale issue. you've got

jennifer griffin, thank you. >>> much more on syria to come. first, the former nfl star, aaron hernandez, back in court, handcuffed for his arraignment on charges of first degree murder, as well as a slew of weapons counts. what did he say to the judge? a live report, legal analysis, and continuing coverage-the proposed war against syria. coming up. if there was a pill to help protect your eye health as you age... would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin dedicated to your eyes, from bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. ocuvite is uniquely formulated to help protect your eye health. now that's a pill worth taking. [ male announcer ] ocuvite. help protect your eye health. and now there's ocuvite eye + multi. an eye vitamin and multivitamin in one. he was a matted messiley in a small cage. ng day. and now there's ocuvite eye + multi. so that was our first task, was getting him to wellness. without angie's list, i don't know if we could have

let's get live to jennifer griffin at the pentagon. what's the latest on others possibly being involved in this? >> remember, d.c. mayor gray said they are -- it's not clear that there was more than one shooter in this case. we now have the name of the shooter, aaron alexis. we are looking for more details about him. but he appears to be someone in his 30ness -- 30ness from not worth, texas. may be a former contractor with the u.s. navy. a little bit of confusion about the identity. there will some news reports a few hours ago with the name of the alleged shooter based on an identity found at the scene of the crime, an identity card that may have been used -- may have been stolen and used by the shooter to get on the base. this yard has a lot of security and there's no indication the perimeter was breached, and so clearly the shooter may have used a stolen identity card to get on the base. d.c. police chief talked of two suspects they were looking for, based on eye witnesses at the time describing suspicious looking people at the scene

thank you, jennifer griffin. stay with fox news for live continuing coverage of the shooting through the evening. plenty more ahead on "the five." ed henry is monitoring the situation from the white house, greta van susteren is on the scene and we will have an update on the wounded. be right back. >> are you guys okay? okay. i love you, too. bye. >> is that who you were looking for? >> yeah, that's my husband. he's okay. they just got out of the building safely. they heard gunshots all morning. got out safely. they're being debriefed, he is trying to come meet me now. >> must have been nerve wracking for you all morning. >> yes, it was the worst morning imaginable. i want to find him safely now, give him a hug, tell him i love him, take him home. [ male announcer ] these days, a small business can save by sharing. like carpools... polly wants to know if we can pick her up. yeah, we can make room. yeah. [ male announcer ] ...office space. yes, we're loving this communal seating. it's great. [ male announcer ] the

jennifer griffin is there for us tonight. jennifer? >> shepard, there were two memorials today at the pentagon. the president lay a wreath at the point of impact where american airlines flight 77 hit the pentagon at 9:37 a.m. killing 184 people in a matter of seconds. he addressed the surviving family members of those killed and referenced the 6700 american service members who have died in battle since then. >> we see their legacy in the friendships they forged, the attacks at they prevented and innocent lives they saved and comrades in afghanistan completing and mission boo who by the end of next year will help to have end this war. >> that war where 56,000 u.s. troops continue to fight in afghanistan. the war that was launched shortly after 9/11 and continues until today. >> in just eighth tenths of a second, 184 lives were stolen. sections of three of the pentagon's out oar most rings were pulverized fires raised and black billows of smoke stretched skyward. >> today, the pentagon took a moment to reflect. tomorrow, it's back to pla

fox's jennifer griffin is monitoring the situation from the pentagon and joining us now. good evening, jennifer. first of all, you're getting military intelligence, senior officials that are telling you. what are the ramifications, potential impact of what's happening with the situation at play with the delay that we're seeing right now? >> well, it's really interesting, kimberly, in terms of the delay, the conventional wisdom has been that assad is now hiding many of his armaments, especially his delivery systems for these chemical weapons. but i just spoke to a very senior pentagon source who tells me that the delay actually works in their favor in some ways because if he moves those assets, which he has been, they see that. they have satellite imagery, they have a lot of intelligence, assets up in the sky. and they are seeing him move these things around. that is not going to change their calculation in terms of where the tomahawks are going to fall in the long run. the real problem for the military is if this drags on for days or weeks it's a morale issue. you've got

team fox coverage continues now with jennifer griffin at the pentagon. and jennifer, how is the pentagon reacting to the delay? >> reporter: well, harris, on the one hand, senior pentagon sources who are responsible for the planning say that the delay hurts assad as much as it does them. from a targeting point of view, assad may be moving his scud missiles and the artillery delivery systems around, but that also allows the u.s. and its intelligence services to see those assets and target them. the real cost is money. it costs a lot of money to have your navy steaming through the mediterranean and repositioning aircraft carrier groups from the indian ocean. the other toll is exhaustion. mistakes can be made if those go orders are not given. >> we have been given some reason to believe that very serious strikes may take place as opposed to cosmetic, and i say that may, because we now need to see a lot of the details. >> that was senator john mccain as he left the white house, but pentagon sources who i've spoken to, senior defense officials say that the pl

>> jennifer griffin at the pentagon. thank you. >>> still ahead a pair of state legislators in colorado may pay a heavy price for voting supporting gun control. >>> first, we're just three weeks from the start of obama care. for pain and swelling? apply cold therapy in the first 24 hours. but not just any cold. i only use new thermacare® cold wraps. targettemp technology delivers a consistent, therapeutic cold to stop pain and start healing. new thermacare® cold wraps. a better way to treat pain. how can i be a more fun mom? hmmm. can you dance? ♪ bum ba bum ba bum ♪ bum ba bum ba bum no. no? can you make campbell's chicken noodle soup? yes! [ wisest kid ] every can has 32 feet of slurpable noodles. now that's fun. mom, you're awesome. oh yeah! ♪ bum ba bum ba bum gong ] [ wisest kid ] m'm! m'm! good! hot streak. the dow gained 128 today. the s&p 500 was up 12. the nasdaq finished ahead, 23. three weeks from today is october 1st. that's also the day signup starts for the president's health care exchanges. tonight

jennifer griffin is live for us at the pentagon. we're learning about what may have motivated the suspect to carry out this attack, right? >> that's right. trace. clues left behind on his laptop and phone suggest he believed he was controlled by low frequency waves and suffered from this dilution for three months. he also etched into the barrel of his shotgun, end to the torment. not what y'all say. better off this way. and my elf weapon. >> at this point i can confirm there are multiple indicators alexis held the belief he was controlled or influenced but extremely low frequency or elf electromagnetic waves. the etching of, quote, my elf weapon on the receiver of the shotgun is believed to reference these electromagnetic waves. >> elf waves are used in naval exercises in submarine to submarine communication, shorthand for government run mind control among conspiracy theorists. >> what about this talk that alexis was going after people he knew? >> not according to the fbi. he had a routine workplace review on the friday before the a

jennifer griffin will join us in a few minutes. how do you get kicked out of the navy in 2011 and become a navy contractor thereafter? >> there are a lot of questions that remain to be answered. this person had multiple arrests on his record in georgia, in seattle and in texas. he would be hired to do work at a navy yard. that's a question that needs to be answered tonight. >> was this part of the responsibility in washington. he traveled from texas most recently. does anybody know his whereabouts leading up to 8:20 this morning? >> he did work as a subcontractor for hewlett-packard, worked in an i.t. capacity and was working at the navy yard. this is what we are hearing from sources. this was not confirmed. there is an active investigation here. officially they are trying to nail down who the other person might have been. there are fbi evidence response team members inside the building collecting evidence this hour. it will be an exhaustive crime scene that must be carefully documented. there is a lot of work to be done. we'll hea

the pentagon is not concerned, but they are watching. >> jennifer griffin at the pentagon. thank you. a senior military source tells fox news that iran has ordered an attack on baghdad as retaliation is not solid. nevertheless, preparations are made for retribution. >> with u.s. military strikes looming, the state department announced it is pulling out non emergency personnel in lebanon and warned americans from coming. in part due to signs from ir iran-backed hezbollah. more likely, according to analysts, there could be a hezbollah strike against enemy and key u.s. ally. comments today were purposely vague. >> a silent approach. the ambiguity is launched. >> keeping al assad in power is seeing as key to political links for hezbollah with it's main sponsor iran. >> they have sent fighters in syria to battle. they want that link preserved. that is existential for the military. >> the war in syria is already hitting home in lebanon. this memorial in the hezbollah strong hold of south beirut is the site of the car bomb which left 27 people dead. it is widely believed that is r

reporter jennifer griffin has more on aaron alexis, the 34-year-old who is said to have been behind today's carn national. jennifer. >> what we know about aaron alexis, he was a navy reservist. he left the navy in 2011 but did -- i'm reading from this resume -- the global war on terrorism service medal. it appears from his res ma he was an aviations electrician's mate. separated from the navy in 2011. working at ft. worth texas at the naval air station there, it's not clear what happened. eye witnesses said that when he entered the base and he began firing, they described the suspect as a -- >> neil: we just lost her there. one of the things as we look into aaron alexis' brown, -- brown, is the idea they're still looking for a person of interest. whether that means an additional shooter our accomplice so one who new aaron alexis but you can imagine how this city puts on even further tender hooks. they are take nothing precaution. in the senate, for example, that's still shut down. senate buildings are closed to incoming or outgoing personnel traffic. you can move freely within the structure

jennifer griffin will join us in a few minutes. how do you get kicked out of the navy in 2011 and become a navy contractor thereafter? >> there are a lot of questions that remain to be answered. this person had multiple arrests on his record in georgia, in seattle and in texas. he would be hired to do work at a navy yard. that's a question that needs to be answered tonight. >> was this part of the responsibility in washington. he traveled from texas most recently. does anybody know his whereabouts leading up to 8:20 this morning? >> he did work as a subcontractor for hewlett-packard, worked in an i.t. capacity and was working at the navy yard. this is what we are hearing from sources. this was not confirmed. there is an active investigation here. officially they are trying to nail down who the other person might have been. there are fbi evidence response team members inside the building collecting evidence this hour. it will be an exhaustive crime scene that must be carefully documented. there is a lot of work to be done. we'll hea

>> jennifer griffin at the pentagon. thank you. the situation with syria has many questioning what is president obama's foreign policy. senior political analyst brit hume is here with some thoughts. welcome back. >> thank you, bret. the predicament facing president obama on syria can be traced to two notions that shaped his foreign policy from the start. one is his evident belief that america and its foreign interventions are a big part of what was wrong with the world. the other was or is his apparent view that his mere presence in office would change the attitude of the world, and especially the muslim world, toward the u.s. neither of these ideas has proved out, but the president who is thought a bright fellow has been slow to learn that. unfortunately he was quick to pick up on another notion that congress should be bypassed on recess appointments to immigration laws to the employer mandate in the health care reform law. now he goes hat in hand to congress to obtain authority he said he doesn't need to engage in unilateral inte

>> arthel: jennifer griffin reporting from washington, thank you. i want to remind you that you can hear much more on this spending shutdown and the battle over obamacare by tuning in to fox news sunday. that's tomorrow. chris wallace sitting down for an exclusive interview with republican whip congressman kevin mccarthy, and senators mike lee and tim kane. that's tomorrow only on the fox news channel. check your local listings for times. >> we're getting new reaction following the historic telephone conversation between president obama and his iranian counterpart, rouhani. it's a move that essentially ended three decades of diplomatic estrangement between the two countries. brian is live in our new york city news room with more. there was mixed reaction in tehran to that telephone conversation with president obama. tell us about that. >> yeah. it was mixed. about 100 to 300 supporters of president rouhani surrounded his motorcade when he arrived in tehran today. the supporters are hopeful that the 15-minute phone conversation between him and presid

jennifer griffin will join us in a few minutes. how do you get kicked out of the navy in 2011 and become a navy contractor thereafter? >> there are a lot of questions that remain to be answered. this person had multiple arrests on his record in georgia, in seattle and in texas. he would be hired to do work at a navy yard. that's a question that needs to be answered tonight. >> was this part of the responsibility in washington. he traveled from texas most recently. does anybody know his whereabouts leading up to 8:20 this morning? >> he did work as a subcontractor for hewlett-packard, worked in an i.t. capacity and was working at the navy yard. this is what we are hearing from sources. this was not confirmed. there is an active investigation here. officially they are trying to nail down who the other person might have been. there are fbi evidence response team members inside the building collecting evidence this hour. it will be an exhaustive crime scene that must be carefully documented. there is a lot of work to be done. we'll hea

tonight national security correspondent jennifer griffin introduces us to a group of veterans who found out they had to act if they wanted something important done at all. >> buried for more than 40 years inside the vietnam era plane they were flying when they were shot down over laos in 1969. today, two air men, major james sizemore and his navigator, major howard andre, made their final journey home, to arlington national cemetery where they were laid to rest, side by side, the way they flew. their remains were found a year ago and identified in april, but once the burial was scheduled at arlington, the air force told the families of these missing airmen that the u.s. government could not afford to honor their fallen relatives with a flyover due to sequestration budget quotes. quote, the air force is unable to support the nyeover request for major sizemore due to limited budget constraints. that's when a non-profit stepped in and agree to fly in formation above the arlington ceremony in their own plane on their own dime. >> had i not made it back home from my tours overseas, i would h

jennifer griffin at the pentagon today. jennifer, what's the thinking about what he he meant by that? >> well, shepard, few at the pentagon thought that he was referring to russia. assad seemed to be hinting about a possible terrorist attack. his ally hezbollah in lebanon has 60,000 plus medium range rockets capable of hitting israel. an iraqi group said it has 23,000 fully trained and equipped martyrdom seeking forces who can blow the u.s. interests in iraq and the persian gulf at any time if the u.s. commits such a stupid act. >> it is our judgment that president assad and syria would have very little interest in picking a fight with the united states of america. >> but this white house never expected assad to use chemical weapons when it drew a red line a year ago. now, they say it -- he doesn't want to pick a fight. it seems he already has. >> i don't want to venture to guess what bashar al assad means when he says certain things. but clearly we know, we have seen how brutal he can be. >> in other words, expect anything

>> jennifer griffin at the pentagon. jennifer, thank you. >>> up next, trying to get big labor back onboard for obama care. >>> first, here's what some of our fox affiliates are covering tonight around the country. fox 25 in boston has three friends of accused boston marathon bomber in court pleading not guilty to obstructing the investigation. fox 5 in las vegas has an unbelievably interesting story about a scathing obituary announcement for a mother of eight, written by her children. here's an excerpt. "we celebrate her passing from the earth and hope she lives in the afterlife, reliving each gesture of violence, cruelty and shame that she delivered on her children." and this is a live look at orlando, florida, from our fox affiliate wofl. the big story there tonight, workers at seaworld getting their hours cut because of obama care. that's tonight's live look outside the beltway from "special report." we'll be right back. want to give your family more vitamins, omega 3s, and less saturated fat? it's eb. eggland's best

back to jennifer griffin in washington. a couple things i think are important for people to think through. first of all, john kerry said if we don't do this, he'll strike again. there's no way to know that. i'm curious, is there intelligence to suggest if we do this, if we make surgical strikes ascribed, assad won't either, a, gas his people again, b, suggest to hezbollah they gas israel and begin a full-blown thing, or, c, president assad won't escalate this in other ways? >> the thing that there's been no answer given to is that since they -- since they have given assad so much warning, you have these artillery scuds on the move. they've been hidden in civilian areas. so assad will basically be able to use chemical weapons a day after the tomahawk strikes occur and there's nothing stopping him from sharing them with hezbollah. >> if he shares them, hezbollah could use them in israel. >> reporter: they certainly could. >> shepard: we're running out of time but we'll flesh this out this afternoon and tonight on fox report a

jennifer griffin reported that. what is that all about? >> i think that the entire military council as well as the national coalition headed are looking to address the u.s. government head on. from the general's perspective, he wants to take it as military commander to military commander and explain the dynamics in a way that could help facilitate military action in the future. >> looking at the future overall, how do you think it would play out. what do you think president assad takes from this? >> already the iranian regime, the leadership from hezbollah and parts of the politicians in iraq, they are on notice that there will be a strike. they are preparing for war. even now or later. but at the same time, they had a feeling that president obama wants to have more support. when he saw what happened in london, the legislative branch, he would like to make sure the congress is behind them. that has been perceived by that axis as a sign of weakness. now civil society forces in syria, other than the opposition. people struggling democratical

jennifer griffin is live at the navy yard tonight and begins our coverage. hello, jennifer. >> reporter: hi, bret. u.s. navy officials say the suspect in this shooting never deployed, never served in combat, never deployed to a war zone. he was an aviation electrician until 2011 in ft. worth, texas. his friends say he left the navy because he didn't like getting out of bed so early. the first shots were heard shortly after 8:00 a.m., an initial burst of three gunshots, a gunman described by eyewitnesses at a six-foot tall bald african-american, wearing dark clothes and carrying an ar-15 semiautomatic eiffel. shot his way through the building 197 at the navy yard in southeast washington, d.c. he was later identified by federal authorities as aaron alexis of ft. worth, texas. >> pow, pow, pow. a few seconds, it stopped and then it was pow, pow, pow, pow. so we just ran. terrified now. i don't even know if i want to come back into the building again. i don't feel safe. >> okay, i love you. can you meet me there? >> s.w.a.t. teams roped their way onto the buildi

jennifer griffin with that part of the story live tonight at the pentagon. jennifer? >> shepard, by asking congress whether he should strike syria. the president has opened itself up to the advice and potential veto of 535 generals. and now the head of syrians supreme military council is weighing in urging the u.s. to hit hard if it hits at all. >> we think that there would be very -- the president has pushed back that the military mission itself is expanding despite reports that the military may consider using air strikes. >> that report is inaccurate. i believe that when you have a limited proportional strike like this, iraq, not putting boots on the ground, not some long, drawn out affair, not without any risks, but with manageable risks, that we should be willing to bare that responsibility. >> u.s. defense officials say the only reason to add air strikes to a naval mission by deploying stealth b-2 bombers from bases in missouri among other things would be to go after mobile missile launchers, assad's chemical weapons delivery systems which have been on the move s

a pentagon source telling fox news channel jennifer griffin that military channels have revised their plans 50 times just since president obama began considering a limited strike on syria. meanwhile, new questions about the president's leadership on syria are surfacing. >> can you imagine any president ever saying it's not my problem, it's america's problem? who the hell says that? who? what kind of person thinks that? that's what's got people trouble. >> once the administration made this call, though, i think there is a real need for us to back it up. >> this president has tried to find a way to blame everybody or anybody for everything. >> seems to be running away from a policy that he's advocating at the same time. you can't have that type of schizophrenic leadership. >> we're in this situation because the president over the last five years has been terrible leadership in the middle east. >> i have more questions than answers. >> we're in the midst of total absurdity the way this is being dealt with. >> we have a president who, unlike former presidents, has just failed to act the w

we have team fox coverage with jennifer griffin at the pentagon on the next potential steps. first though ed henry at the white house. first it sounds like the president is counting on now republicans to go along with military action. >> that's right, harris, these are republicans in the house that the president has kept at arm's length for five years. they have been bitterly opposed to him on policies like domestic healthcare and policy agenda as well. today he had john mccain as you mentioned a rival from the 2000 will campaign here with lindsey graham, someone else who sometimes works with the president but other times is a feers critic on national security issues. can you see this official white house photo from the oval office, susan rice the president's national security advisor there as well. after the meeting lindsey graham said a number of things including that the president has got to step up his game and make a more robust case to congress and measure people. he also said that case has to be -- it's not just about syria but this is basically a proxy war with iran.

jennifer griffin is live at that navy yard. jennifer, what you have learned about the gunman's time in the navy. >> harris, u.s. navy officials say that he never deployed to combat. he was never in a war zone. he served for about four years out in texas. he served as active duty reservist. he was a specialist, aviation engineer. he was discharged from the navy in 2011. but one u.s. navy official told me that he had a history of misconduct. he could -- would not say what that meant. we know he had numerous offenses on his record that showed a history of some anger issues. but, what we do know from the secretary of the navy, who spoke just not long ago ray mabis. he said he was hired as a contractor after he left the navy. the alleged shooter was hired as information specialist. a contractor after he left the navy even though he had left after a history of misconduct, harris. >> harris: how did he manage to kill some people, jennifer? >> well, there have been reports that he was -- that he somehow smuggled on to the base an ar-15

jennifer griffin live tonight from the pentagon. what is the fbi saying about what this man did and how the pentagon is reacting? >> harris, defense officials tell us they are furious the fbi put out this video footage today calling it gratuitous saying it only adds to the pain of the families brought back to the killer. clues gleaned from his now suggest a motive and he believed he was being controlled by extremely low frequency or else magnetic waives. he suffered from delusions they say for the past three months. he carved into this sawed off shotgun three different things, he wrote into the torment. not what y'all say. better off this way. and my elf weapon. >> at this point, i can confirm that there are multiple indicators that alexis held a delusional belief that he was being controlled or influenced by extremely low frequency or e.l.f., electromagnetic waives. >> e.l.f. waves were used to communicate under water with nuclear submarines until 2004. that's when the navy stopped that practice fbi says it is shorthand. >> watch t

our colleague jennifer griffin back with us. there is a line there that stood out. last year in benghazi, recognizing that in his address today. >> reporter: it was certainly a nod to the u.s. ambassador on the three others who were killed at the consulate. again if you think back to a year ago, nobody was thinking that the u.s. was in danger. in fact the pentagon was not on a war footing at that time in the middle east even though there were many things going on across north africa, egypt, elsewhere. and that's one of the reasons that this year secretary of defense chuck hagel met with the joint chiefs and ordered those forces on high alert in case of an embassy attack. marines were moved to italy just in case. and there have been 80 cases in which the u.s. military moved in to try to augment security because of threats over the last year. they learned the lesson of been tbasy in terms of how there was literally -- there weren't any military assets to go and help, they say on that night. and they have taken a lot of criticism for that ever since. also somewhat unus

it seem he's had a change of heart, brett. >> jennifer griffin live at the pentagon, jennifer, thank you. >>> stay with us for our exclusive interview with syrian president bashar al assad. that is coming up shortly right here on "special report." >>> 12 months, countless hearings and news briefings, but the numbers that still stand out from the benghazi terror attacks, four dead americans, zero arrests, zero firings. chief intelligence correspondent katherine her rrod effort has ts report. >> reporter: it showed the disconnect between the state department and most americans' definition of accountability. >> in the real world, this would never happened. this would never happened. they would be fired. they would be terminated because they failed. >> reporter: the star witness, patrick kennedy, has so far escaped blame for the benghazi terrorist attack. four state department midlevel managers placed on temporary leave after the assault were reassigned in august with no financial penalty. >> i submit respectfully, mr. chairman, that accountability includes being relieved from your job a

jennifer griffin takes a closer look. >> reporter: the last time the government shut down in 1995 it lasted 26 days. according to the pentagon, as many as 400,000 civilian dod dod workers could be furloughed this time around. military service metro parks including those serving in afghanistan are not subject to furlough and would have to continue work without pay. they would also have to pick upu the slack for civilian personnel doing their jobs as c well. these military personnel wouldrp receive retroactive pay once an appropriation is passed. it would require an act of congress to pay those civilians subjected to furloughs. for dod civilians it's not like that they would get retroactivei pay. ways of government shut down would affect the defense department, death benefitsts killed in action would not be paid until appropriations are passed. commentaries where military families shop would close. pentagon comptroller responsibll forer the largest budget in the federal government explains the impact. e >> even if the last never occurs, the planning is disruptive. >> people are worryin

arthel: jennifer griffin, thank you very much for that comprehensive report. gregg: could take the united nations scientists three weeks to verify those test samples they gathered at the site of the attack near damascus. according to the u.n., since fighting broke out nearly one-third of the country's population has fled their homes trying to escape all the bloodshed. many flooding into neighboring turkey as well as lebanon. lawmakers in washington must decide if evidence warrants an intervention in syria's long civil war? this as the president warns that doing nothing could look like open season on the united states from terrorists who want to use chemical weapons on us. greg palkot live in beirut, lebanon with more. greg, what is the reaction you're seeing there on the ground? >> reporter: hey, gregg, we're just about 40 miles from the border with syria here in beirut, lebanon. as you can imagine there's a whole lot of reaction to the possibility of u.s. military intervention in syria. also, with the way that president obama is handling the run-up to that po

now just during the hour, jennifer griffin at the pentagon confirmed that law enforcement is looking into the possibility of two shooters and one of the reasons is different bullets found in different victims but we also heard reports that one of the shooters has two different weapons so this is what we're trying to work through and it could explain this information, and we'll work to confirm it ourselves why we haven't seen the press conference as of yet and we're potentially waiting on the president, any sort of press briefing he might bring us as well. gregg: they may be waiting for firm confirmation but the associated press reporting that federal law enforcement official is now saying that the shooter, and not multiple shooters but the shooter, according to this federal official at the washington navy yard has died. we don't know the circumstances in which he died. one would assume it would be one of two ways. he was either shot by law enforcement trying to apprehend him or end the situation or he took his own life. but we should get further details at the news conference and the

jennifer griffin joins us with more on the move. jennifer. >> u.s. defense officials are describing it a prudent planning decision. the uss anymoreitz was supposed to head back to seattle after supporting operations in afghanistan. she is right now in the southern red sea. if she is moved in the mediterranea n that gives the president five in the sea. they will look at which resources will be needed for a strike. they are likely to rely on tomahawk missiles. assad has reportedly moved key assets around. >> waiting this period of time it moves the advantage to the opponents. we'll deliver a blow eventually. with this time we will deliver a significant blow than what we would have done than if we would have executed a couple of weeks ago. >> uss san antonio ship with 300 marines is off of the coast of syria. the main u.s. marine recruiting web site was redirected to a site that showed footose holding up signs and calling president obama a traitor and urging marines to refuse orders. >> i didn't join the marines to fight al-qaeda. the hackers claimed re

jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon. jennifer? >> shepherd, before the first tomahawk has been fired there appears to be mission creet. u.s. military trainers started setting up a program to train the syrian opposition in jordan in march. one of the major obstacles in launching this type of operation according to u.s.ish ifs is they are having serious problems with trustworthy groups, the main reason the cia has not provided weapons to the syrian opposition until now. the training of the rebels is not part of the limited airstrikes being considered. >> there are no plans right now, we are not contemplating the boots on the ground in syria. i will say to this section of the audience there are no plans for boots on the ground when it comes to military operations that we are contemplating right now. there are no boots on the ground planned right now. >> u.s. officials say their consideration to broaden training of the syrian operation is not a, quote, grand bargain with senator john mccain who met with the president on monday and the

they will be announcing that this morning's dual jennifer griffin, live at the pentagon. thank you. jenna: we will talk about where the investigation stands today, what about the red flags and what they do they tell us. also, we will pay attention to this story. less than two weeks before uninsured americans will be able to shop online for a health care plan. some gop lawmakers have a new plan to delay obamacare. karl rove is here and he weighs in on that coming up next. do you heart healthy, huh?! ugh! actually progresso's soup has pretty bold flavor. i love bold flavors! i'd love it if you'd open the chute! [ male announcer ] progresso. surprisingly bold flavor for a heart healthy soup. surprisingly bold flavor for a strong bag that grips the can... ♪ get glad forceflex. small change, big difference. nascar is about excitement. but tracking all the action and hearing everything from our marketing partners, the media and millions of fans on social media can be a challenge. that's why we partnered with hp to build the new nascar fan and media engagement center. hp's technology hel

jon: jennifer griffin at pentagon. jennifer, thank you. jenna: some are speculating that the president is trying to drive the republicans into a no vote on the syria resolution in an effort to disengage our country from this and other global issues. in an op-ed for "the wall street journal", deputy editorial page editor daniel henninger, the gop must support the strike for good of entire country. he says quote, an authorization vote on discrete world crisis will force inconstant mr. obama and focus and think about the world with seriousness it requires for president of the united states. republicans should support an authorization on syria for the same reason they are opposing him on obamacare, to stop america's decline. daniel henninger joins us live. as we're talking about stakes here, that is a very, very high-stakes as you put it, that this one vote could help stop america's decline. why do you think that? >> well i think that for a couple of reasons, jenna. first of all, we have to understand that this is not 2015. we don't have one y

tonight jennifer griffin at the pentagon look at the military approach hard to define. >> navy destroyers are standing by with missiles just in case. for now this gun boat diplomacy has forced assad to admit for the first time ever his regime has chemical weapons. what if talks with the russians fail? it's not clear what the u.s. military strategy in syria is. is it to get rid of chemical weapons or get rid of president assad? the message is conflicted. >> the united states military doesn't do pinpricks. >> reporter: there's been not been a strategy. >> focussing on chemical weapons does nothing to halt the role of iran inside of syria. >> it would be either regime change or complete elimination of chemicals. a strike isn't going to eliminate them. >> why the administration official tell the washington post as kerry prepared to meet the russian foreign minister two weeks ago the u.s. finally started shipping weapons to syria's rebels. the military head of the opposition said today his fighters had not received the weapons. the secretary of state kerry again threatened to use military forc