Proxy War Inside Syria News Today

Happened outside irans embassy in beirut. 23 are dead including an iranian diplomat. they claim more attacks if their demands are not met. leland vittert is live. good morning, leland. >> reporter: good morning, martha. this group wants hezbollah to top fighting to support president assad in syria. they support president assad and hezbollah. they are fighting against the al qaeda-backed groups which are largely takeing over the rebel groups inside syria. weve seen the violence come full circle. ...

Government tdoes not want the assad regime to fall at this point. the u.s. government doesnt. because theres so many actors out here, so many groups, like hezbollah and al qaeda, that they dont want to take over if the government collapses there. in a strange way, it could be argued by some that this would be a punitive measure to save the assad regime, keep it under control, dont do wild things even as youre struggling for your survival. because that could create chaos that could be bad for eve...

Little bit more, shall we? joining me from washington, general james "spider" marks. from new york, ed hussein, senior fellow for middle eastern studies at the council on foreign relations. welcome to both of you. general marks, i just want to begin with you. we have witnessed more than 100,000 deaths in syria, and thus far we are in, what, year three? pretty much stood on the sidelines. from your per spekctive at a military man why would the use of chemical weapons suddenly tip the balance in t...

Think in the middle east. at this juncture its wiser to hold back and let others act. >> your point as we saw on the map, those other countries with military might should, perhaps, give us pause if they are not acting. but spider marks, what is the risk, then, in not acting or just doing too little here? >> well, it appears like were going to do too little. yet get ourselves potentially entangled in a fight in syria. and i completely agree. you dont want to have -- this is not necessarily a war ...

Well hear from her at the top of next hour. dana bash, thank you very much for us in washington. in damascus today, here he is. syrian leader bashar al assad appearing on state-run television. and he is smiling, hes gesturing. he said his country will defend itself against any and all aggression. and in a pbs interview, president obama characterized any action hed take as a targeted, limited shot across the bow. just a short time ago, his spokesman, josh ernest, laid out the rationale for acti...

Marijuana use. john berman is in once again for jake tapper on "the lead" today. mr. berman, nice to see you and talk to you. >> great to see you, brooke. theyre popping bags of doritos in washington and colorado. its been a gray area since last november. now the department of justice has weighed in, saying were not going to block those laws. they issued these guidelines suggesting what they want the feds to do is focus on things like teen drug use or driving under the influence. thats where the...

Syria. because there is a humanitarian crisis there. >> it is. when it comes to iraq, certainly in the collective memory. then you have congress, as we mentioned, that congreference c happening 6:00 p.m. eastern time. both parties demanding the president bring them in on this. perhaps seeking congressional approval. i just want to play some quick sound. this is a dissenting is voice on that. no less a republican here. take a listen. >> let me make it clear, i believe the president can take this ...

Of syria do not understand that this is now a regional conflict. in other words, this is not merely contained now to syria. is he right? >> hes absolutely right. this is not just a syrian conflict. this is a conflict that involves practically all of its neighbors. every single arab country with the exception of only a few has taken a stand for or against the regime. and its not just arab countries. its iran aligned with assad. turkey aligned with the rebels. the u.s. aligned perhaps with the for...

It is a busy one. the news continues to come in here. another breaking story for you. the u.s. treasury department and the irs now saying that all legal same-sex marriages will be recognized for federal tax purposes. so this ruling applies, whether a couple lives in a state where same-sex marriage is legal or if they dont. so huge, huge news there coming from the treasury department and the irs when it comes to same-sex marriages recognized for federal tax purposes. as soon as we get more inform...

Bottom of the hour. im brooke baldwin. and debates all around the world and right here in the united states as countries weigh the options when it comes to syria. and how to respond to the belief that bashar al assad used toxic nerve gas on his own people. women. you see them here. children. a u.s. intel report says it is sure of it, but the u.n. has not even wrapped up its tests yet. we see these inspectors here wearing their gas masks. they are still inside syria. theyre collecting blood sampl...