Libya Action News Today

>> senator, in this case, it is very limited, number one, and number two, there were american interests on the ground, we have u.s. soldiers, special operation forces on the ground, very close to chemical weapons. if youre saying this action was illegal, then you must be thinking the libya action by president obama was illegal, the raid by president reagan was illegal. are you saying all those actions are illegal? >> chuck, i was a senate candidate in 2011 when president obama joined military ac...

There was no strategic thinking behind it and no big strategic shift. i do think one promising thing is were never going to be in the business of regime change anytime soon. we should be in the business of defending some basic norms of civilization. 100 years ago, the u.s. entered world war i, thousands were gassed to death. we can be against gassing and so in that sense this action was a useful action and we should just be in the business of trying to make sure when people fight, they behave wi...

This action. i know you have legal questions about it, but why do you support this action? >> chuck, as you know im a strong supporter that the u.s. should take action to protect humanitarian causes like the ban on chemical weapons. so i voted for a limited strike to do exactly the same thing. a limited strike for that purpose, for the humanitarian purpose is something that i would likely support if there was a plan. but where a -- i differ, youre not supposed to start war without a plan that is...

Approval. thats what they have to do. >> senator in this case it is very limited, and number two there was american interests on the ground, very close to chemical weapons. if youre saying this aex was illegal, then you must be thinking that the libya action was illegal -- >> chuck, i was a senate candidate in 2011 when president obama joined military action against libya. humanitarian purposes. i agreed with the republicans in the house that rebuked president obama and said he exceeded his auth...

Questions about it. i want to get to that right after that. but why do you support this action? >> chuck, as you know, im a strong supporter that the u.s. should take action to protect humanitarian causes like the ban on use of chemical weapons. and so i voted for a limited strike in august of 2013 to do exactly the same thing. and a limited strike for that purpose, for the humanitarian purpose is something i would likely support if there is a plan. but where i differ from this administration an...

It scrambled political allian s alliances. it drew criticism from some of his strongest supporters and has raised all sorts of questions. was this mission accomplished or mission creep? what is the message the u.s. is sending to the world? and can mr. trump sell this to his nationalist base that was deeply skeeptical about taking any action. this is not cut and dry. ultimately the question is was this an impulsive move by a president moved by human suffering. >> no child of god should ever suffe...

The episode raised all sorts of questions about the trump administration, what is the presidents ultimate goal in ha syria, was this mission accomplished or mission creep, and what message is the administration sending to the world, china, north korea? can he sell this to his nationalist base, which was deeply skeptical about taking any action in syria? this isnt cut and dry, typical red versus blue.e. ultimately the question is was this an impulsive move by a president or fundamental change in ...

Using chemical weapons. if after the initial trach, he does not use chemical weapons, we are proposing there be no authority to continue american military action. >> you heard secretary kerry say this is not war. i interviewed two generals yesterday who said, well, you know, we havent formally declared war since world war ii, but korea, iraq 1, iraq 2, afghanistan, you can call them whatever you want, theyre wars. this is an act of war against a sovereign country, attacking them with missiles, w...

Administration will answer detailed questions on possible military action. these are the first times were going to hear these answers in public. secretary of state john kerry is set to testify as well as defense secretary chuck hagel and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff martin dempsey. as more congressional leaders come out in support of the presidents call for action, will we see the same from the rank and tile? senator bob casey will join us live. and well also have live reports from acro...

Does that send the right signal? >> well, i dont think the president changed his mind on the principle objective, which is making sure that we take action to prevent the repeated use of poison gas in syria and prevent the erosion of the -- >> but to wait until congress has come back in town and voted sends a certain signal to our allies and our adversaries. >> as the president did say, it does mean hes going through some procedures to confer and consult and get authorization from congress. i wil...