and i'm glad that president trump called off the strike, but the problem is that we remain on this collision path in this very, very dangerous situation without a lot of exit ramps on either side. >> then the question becomes the attack did not happen obviously, but what message was iran take from that? the fact that now we know the president has explained the entire process from his vantage point. he considered. he was ready to do it and then he didn't take action. what message do leaders take from that? >> it comes across to folks in the middle east and elsewhere in the world that donald trump choked at the key moment of making a decision that projected strength. him and his national security adviser and the secretary of state have ratcheted up the rhetoric to the point where it almost was a red line and point of no return waiting for that moment when iran did something that would trigger a u.s. attack. there are several options on the table.