Authorities Question News Today

After president trump said we were packing our bags? >> i have no idea. it boggles the minds too why he felt he needed to do that. he had the area surrounded. pounding it daley with syrian air and russian air force and a lot of artillery. there was no need to use chemicals there. the fighters were on the verge of surrendering to the russians. that happened the next day. it wasnt the chemicals that did it. just the constant bombardment. the chemical weapons were superfluous, unnecessary and look ...

Lasted 70 minutes, targeted just a small number of facilities. aimed to send a message. that message was probably received. whether the regime is smart enough to not use chemical weapons and avoid the international hullabaloo. well have to wait and see but russia and iran havent lost enough face at this point that they necessarily have to respond militarily at this point, i should say. often retaliation in this part of the world comes in the weeks ahead rather than the hours after an event. >> y...

General, and a question for you, dana. general, can you just -- to press you on the chemical weapons program. can you give us an idea of -- was this -- should the american public understand that this is a minority of the existing chemical weapons programs? is this more than half? is there any way you can give us a better sense of the scale of what these three sites represented? also for you, general, how long did the strike last? how many minutes? hours? and, dana, can you just comment on, to pu...

>> to your first point, last night operations were very successful. we met our objectives. we hit the sites. the heart of the chem weapons program. so it was mission accomplished. give me your second part. >> the authorities question. if there are future strikes, does the same process have to go? what is the process now? >> as the secretary said last night, the president has the authority under article 2 to defend u.s. interests. and national interests. and so i am not going to speculate on anyt...

Bombers. just as the french and british aircraft were accompanied by their own fighters as part of an integrative package that provides defense for the shooters. additionally, we positioned defensive counterair around the theater. and thats still operational right now. as we observe syrian response. >> were the escorts raptors? >> i dont know the answer to that question. >> david, go ahead. >> there were reports these facilities had been evacuated in the days prior to yesterdays strike. do you h...

Of these sites not movable. and thats the source of the -- thats what really sets them back. to go back to an earlier question. thats really the difference between striking an air field and essentially a delivery platform and research development and generation part of the facility. this is far more damaging to syria. >> michael? >> general mckenzie, were the three targets that were struck, does this represent the totality of syrias known cw infrastructure or were there cw structures that were -...

Women and children, civilians repeatedly using barrel bombs and other means. can you talk about that? how should people understand the difference in the response to these more isolated chemical attacks and the ongoing conventional attacks by the assad government on its own people? >> it is clear to everyone that the syrian people have suffered for too long. and its why we are 100% behind the u.n.-backed geneva peace process and encourage our allies and partners in the region to also help facilit...

Moscow calling somebody in damascus saying you didnt need to put us through the last week with what happened in douma. dont do it again. >> for more on the coordinated air strikes, military analyst lieutenant colonel rick francona is with us. a former attache. it it begs the question of what was left in those intended targets for us to strike and whether well ever really know for sure. >> thats a good point. the syrians had plenty of time to move any high-value materials out of those buildings. ...

All it does is say there was -- there were chemicals present. there were chemical agents present. so im not sure that it would change anybodys mind. >> you anticipated my next question. i was going to say, well get a finding presumably that there was chlorine or sarin used but not necessarily the delivery agent. another question and then ill ask you what you found most significant. general mckenzie made the point of saying there were no civilian casualties and then was asked a question, im parap...

>> to your first point, last night operations were successful. we hit the site, the heart of the weapons program. it was mission accomplished. give me your second part. >> the authorities question. if there are future strikes, does the same process go to nfc, what is the process now? >> as it has secretary said last night, the president has it has authority under article ii to defend u.s. interests and national interests. im not going to speculate on anything that happens in the future. this was...