Page 222 - Proxy War News Today

Officials, this is a u.s. intelligence community report, the assad regime has used the nerve agent sarin gas multiple times, according to the united states intelligence community. about 150 people have been killed because of those chemical weapons. obviously that conflict is one thats watched incredibly closely here in iran. in a sense its been characterized as a proxy war between iran and the west in syria. "out front" correspondent chris lawrence is here with us. whats amazing is how important...

Closely here in iran. in a sense its been characterized as a proxy war between iran and the west in syria. "out front" correspondent chris lawrence is here with us. whats amazing is how important this use of chemical weapons is when it comes to what the united states might do in syria. i know about two thirds of the american public say in thats a red line, if crossed, they would support military action. now that its happened, what will the united states do? >> thats the big question, the white h...

I dont think from the eyes of the rebels it will tip the balance in their favor. thats the key, they need things to tip the balance of the fight in their favor, i dont think theyll get that. >> that conflict described as a proxy war with the regime supported by hezbollah, fighters from lebanon, backed by iran, holding presidential elections today. russia also providing sophisticated weapons to assad. mean whewhil meanwhile, the ones being helped by the u.s., does the assad regime have enough out...

>> hezbollah,ç iran, and russia have decided that assad needs to win. i think now we have finally decided that it is in ourç interests that the rebels win. >> so on top of all those international interests now apparent live competing in syria, you also have a very dangerous sectarian split. against shia and that is a frightening thought for the region. >> the people of iran are considering their future without mahmoud ahmadinejad in charge of the rogue nuclear nation. theyre voting to elect ...

Rebel forces have been pushed back. so now we get involved. i do not mean to diminish the death of 100 to 150 people from the use of chemical weapons. you have 93,000 who are dead, we didnt get involved. now, its about to collapse, were going to a little bit get involved? >> incrementally, maybe, who knows, megyn? this is a serious question of not just the presidents credibility but the credibility of the united states of america. every word there at the commander in chief utters carries serious...

Its obviously a lot more difficult in syria for many reasons, but it can be done and it should be done. theres another reason here. you know, we have made it a policy, and the president has said it many times, he will not allow iran to have a nuclear weapon on his watch. theres no doubt assad is irans person in syria and collaborating with hezbollah which is a terrorist group that they are murdering people and moving on. >> congressman, when you mention the proxy war aspect of this, which i unde...

Behind this effort. >> you reported in the region so long, will this work at the end of the day as steps are moving forward, will we have a syria built on principles of sek taern groups or democratic principles? >> thats nearly impossible to answer. no one knows how that unfolds. what you have in syria is a situation thats a proxy war. if the united states gives weapons to the rebels, youll have russia, iran, hezbollah supporting assad, and you will have a powder kick for a regional war. it is d...

And the humanitarian interest and long u.s. interest is so complex. talk to us about what we are dealing with in that region. not just a relatively new leader in assad. we know his father had many dealings that people were critical of. there were 10,000 to 20,000 syrians killed. this goes back a long way that dictators will do whatever they feel necessary to stay in power. >> when you look at where syria is today, it is a proxy war. what we mean about that is you have the assad regime on one han...

This was done in libya with nato. and it can be done here as well. its obviously a lot more difficult in syria for many reasons, but it can be done and it should be done. theres another reason here. you know, we have made it a policy, and the president has said it many times, he will not allow iran to have a nuclear allow iran to have a nuclear weapon on his watch. theres no doubt assad is irans person in syria and collaborating with hezbollah which is a terrorist group that they are murdering p...

He made some comments apparently up in new york. essentially agreeing with john mccain that more needed to be done. those comments were made when there was a decision made by the white house today. you were heavily involved in what happened in bosnia. some say that may be a template for what happened in syria. is that realistic? what do you think could be done? is arming the rebels going to be enough? >> well, every situation is different. we have to learn from every one of them. in this case, a...