surrounding by thousands of troops. while observes of the arab league are arriving in damascus to verify beshear al assad is keeping his promise to dial back the violence, start talks with the opposition and let aide workers lend a hand. before showing this next video i really do want to warn you it is very hard to watch. you may want to turn away. it underscores the sharp contrast between the two different versions of what is going on here. this is video claiming to show the aftermath of an artillery strike today on the city of hanms. there are more than just the one body you see here. it's too gori y to show. take a look. [ gunfire ] >> these are streets of a neighborhood. the gunfire in homs is reportedly nonstop now. some witnesses say it seems as if government troops are basically racing to wit out the opposition before observing can arrive. the worst appears to be happening in baba amr southwest of the central part of homs. it's not clear whether arab league observes will see this tomorrow. keeping them honest, just a couple of weeks ago president assad denied there was anything to see. >> we don't kill our people. nobody kill, no government in the world kill its people unless it's led by crazy person. for me as president, i became president because of the public support. it's impossible for anyone in this state to give order to kill. >> that was president assad december 9th talking to abc's barbara walter. his own people as anderson found out from a rare western reporter who managed to sneak into the country, his own people knew better even as he said that. >> people are terrified in a lot of the towns outside syria. the economy has ground to a standstill. there are daily violent house to house raids. activists and protesters are too scared to leave their houses during the day. so they live life on the run. moving from safe house to safe house. life is not normal. in fact, it feels like wartime era there. >> when you hear the syrian leader, the dictator of syria, saying we're not ordering the deaths of people, there are no house to house searches, people aren't being arrested and killed in their homes, what do you think? you've seen it for yourself. >> yeah. i mean, on some level, it's quite laughable. i was watching an assad interview. i was laughing at the same time, screaming at the television. of course, what's happening there is absolutely undeniable. it's all around you. you can't escape it. >> since then, it appears that it's only gotten worse for the people living in homs. that arab league delegation we mentioned at the top arrived in syria this evening. the members are at least expected to go to homs tomorrow. we don't know if they will. the opposition puts little stock in the arab league and is calling for action from the u.n. including military protection if they can get it. we spoke earlier tonight with opposition member abu rami. >> well, the situation here in homs is so bad in baba amr area in particular is under shelling. and the security forces and militia are using the armored vehicle and tanks and anti-aircraft armor, storming this area, storming this neighborhood. there are more than ten houses completely destroyed. and there were many bodies under the rubble there. there is now a genocide take place in this city of homs. >> do you have enough medical care for the people who are injured or any medical care for the people who are hurt? >> five days ago until now we don't have any medical supplies, any medical tools or equipment. also, there is a shortage of medical assistance. no doctors, there is no doctors enough. we are targeted. many of hospitals changed into prisons. most of injured people staying on the streets until they died. that's what's going on here in homs. >> what do you want the world to know about what is happening in syria right now? >> that this regime is not honest. this regime just want to kill everyone who oppose him, everyone who says for assad to step down. we are calling to direct intervene to the whole organization and the international community to intervene here in syria and stop this bloodshed that's going on in syria and in homs in particular. there are massacres that are happening every day. we are appealing these world organizations to see what's going on here. we don't have the media here to -- to make you, the outside, watch what's going on. so i would like to thank you so much to make the syrian people's voice going outside through your free media and explaining to you what's going on here. we want you to intervene. we want you to help us. we are suffering day by day and people are dying. children, women, every single person here is targeted and maybe will be killed tomorrow. >> let's dig deeper. time.com intelligence officer and cia officer robert baird. also robin wright. let me start with you with a very basic question here. people are using big words right now like "massacre" and "genocide" to suggest that whole sections of the population are being wiped out even as inspectors are arriving. are they overstating it or is that true? >> this has gone on for nine months now. this is not something that's been a short experience. the scope of it gets worse and worse despite the fact that the president of the country denies that he's ordering any kind of brutality against his own people. we're getting close to the point that we can use words like that. the united nations claims that there are at least 5,000 people who've been killed. there's some estimates that 70,000 syrians have been arrested. some of those who've been released have talked about really brutal torture. the scope of this is now getting really horrendous. >> bob, let me ask you this. if you have a president of a country like this who wants to say against a backdrop of pictures like this that nothing is going on, that nothing is wrong, how much faith would you have that these inspectors from the arab league will even get to see the right areas? >> they're not going to see anything. he's just buying time with the inspectors. this regime feels it's under threat, existential threat. it's a minority regime. i've been talking to them today. they said, look, we're never going to give up bashar al assad. we're never going to give up fighting. we'll die to the last person. i think we're seeing a sectarian war here like we've never seen in the middle east. at least in my time. >> explain to me what you mean, bob. >> well, you've got the sunnis are dug in. they're preparing for a civil war against those who control the military and the security services. a branch of shiia islam. but they're looked at by many sh sunni as postates. they've fallen away. a more difficult conflict than libya or even yemen or egypt. there are these sectarian divisions. as the fighting goes on it gets worse and worse. the fact is, we have to acknowledge it, the opposition and the rebels are killing regime figures. they are singling them out and murdering them and vice versa. so this is really very much a two-sided war which we can't forget. >> robin, the opposition here wants the other governments of the world to step in and do something about this. why can't they? what's keeping the u.n. and other countries from stepping in and saying, enough already? >> well, with libya you had first a consensus among the arabs themselves and it then went to the united nations and then it went to nato. we haven't even gotten through that first step. the arab league is still trying to negotiate with the assad regime. they're very nervous, arabs in general, about setting a precedent, again, as in libya and that the west will get involved militarily. something they don't want given the u.s. intervention particularly in iraq. they don't want to set this pattern. so there's a reluctance to open the way for that to happen. i think the international community, frankly, doesn't want to replicate what happened in libya and i think there's frankly a nervousness nine months in or a year now into the beginning of the arab up risings that -- about what will happen next. who will take over. one of the big questions is if assad does fall, as many of us believe that he eventually will, what replaces him? that's not clear. you have a real problem today between the various opposition forces. they do not speak with one voice. they are not using one set of tactics. you have the local coordination committees that are trying to engage in peaceful civil disobedience. get people out on the streets that are challenging. then you have the army defectors who've launched over the last month particularly an increasingly effective or visible campaign against the regime. they're using weapons. the two sides are not coordinating. they don't have a common strategy, a common vision. and that's a real source of concern. we don't know what happens next. >> bob, let me jump in on that point that robin just raised there about the military defectors. many of whom, as we understand it, are actually in this neighborhood that's being hammered so hard. they're trained fighters. they want to fight back. as somebody who's been involved in intelligence work, does that open any cracks for trying to say, look, there's a way to take advantage of the fact that there are military people on both sides of this to somehow get around the regime, to somehow coopt this thing and quiet it down, or is the world going to stand by and just wait until a lot of people get killed? >> well, what the state department would like is for bashar al assad to step down, have some sort of committee replace him as much has happened in egypt. but with the army, what we're seeing is the beginning of -- of cracks in it. many of the rank and file, the officers from less important units are sunni muslims. undoubtedly, as no one can tell for sure, these are the people defecting, taking their arms. last night i talked to the muslim brotherhood. the syrian muslim brotherhood who are based outside the country. and they said they're desperately trying to get arms in to these defective units. they bring them in through lebanon or the coast. so far they haven't been successful. so i think that this -- we're looking at this conflict as getting worse before we find a solution. >> all right. robin wright, bob bear, thanks so much for joining us. i'm tell ing you, folks, it's happening on the other side of the world. it may seem like it has nothing to do with you. these are big events this holiday week. thanks for joining us, you all. let us know what you think. you're on facebook, twitter and google. up next, the raw politics of courting a reluctant king make ner iowa. that's candidate rick santorum in hunting orange there. you may not recognize the other guy. congressman steve king. he's a big deal in iowa. everyone wants to know what he's thinking with just days to go until the caucuses. i will ask the congressman why he has not made a pick among the republicans. later on also, the mystery of a little girl's disappearance and the new reward being offered to anyone who can help find her in crime and punishment. first, let's check in with isa. >> hi, tom. we'll bring you the latest on the investigation into what happened at a connecticut home early christmas morning. and why firefighters could not do more to save the people inside. that and much more when ""360" continues. steak burger soup. 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[ male announcer ] find your program at phoenix.edu. many of us are taking it easy this week between the holidays, but the republican contenders are storming into iowa for support in next week's caucuses. the most recent polls still show ron paul, mitt romney and newt gingrich pretty much tied for the lead there, but with only days to go, many in the hawkeye state have their eyes on a known kingmaker, especially when it comes to the strong conservative vote. u.s. congressman steve king went pheasant hunting with rick santorum today. look at him there, just as he has with other candidates. and once again, he ended the outing with kind words but no endorsement. with time running short, i spoke to the influential congressman. congressman, you're the kind of guy that people listen to in iowa, and they're listening really hard right now, but you're not picking anyone. what does that mean? do you not like any of these candidates? >> it means more that i actually like all of these candidates, and it is a very difficult decision. a large percentage of iowans haven't decided. i'm among them. i thought i would come to a conclusion in september or october. it's nearly the end of the december, and we're within a week of the caucus, and i've not gotten to that point where my head and my heart come together. i've said when that happens, i'll jump in with both feet. >> why have you not decided? >> there are a number of reasons, one of them is how the field is spread out and another part of this is as the months have unfolded and i've watched the lack of will in this congress to tighten down on this spending, we're burning up our political capital discussing on whether we're going to be at $28 trillion of national debt or $26 trillion. europe and greece is ready to default and i've not heard from a presidential candidate the deep conviction how to get us out of this impending economic disaster we're in. i want to know when the budget will first be balanced, when we'll pay off the first net dollar on our national debt. i'd like to hear about a transformative tax policy. i'm hoping that yet happens. i thought i might get that for christmas and it didn't quite happen. >> you've raised a really interesting point. in our polls what people are most concerned about is jobs. the idea of worrying about the deficit and spending is way, way down on the list compared to that. so if you can get the candidate who says what you want for your nod, is that a candidate who can win the election? >> that is one of those questions. but, you know, from my standpoint, i don't want to appear that i'm bargaining for some piece of policy that i want and using that as a chit or leveraging point. i really instead want to see that a candidate has that conviction and understands this, and, you know, we're electing a leader. that leader should be looking over the horizon and taking us where we need to go. it's not enough to react to the public. the public wants jobs, yes, and businesses have to be able to make a profit before they can pay wages. that's all part of it. but meanwhile, if neither democrats nor republicans show the will to tighten down on our spending and get us to a balanced budget, we could march off into a financial deback kl. we need a leader to lead us away from that, to lead us away from the abyss. i'm not yet convinced any of them have that vision and are able to inspire the american people to take us where we need to go. >> your alternative, though, if you don't pick someone, if people like you doept decide who you want, is probably to allow president barack obama to be re-elected. i've heard an awful lot of conservatives say they're willing to compromise to stop that. what about you? >> well, i'm willing to compromise to stop that. i look at what he's done with our finances and extra $1 trillion a year in red ink, each year he's been in office at a minimum. and i look at him delivering us obamacare. that's got to go. we've got to repeal obamacare. i think all of the presidential candidates on the republican side have taken the oath to do that. i'm worried about the appointments to the supreme court. another four years of barack obama and i don't think we'll recognize the constitution in my lifetime again. those are all big things but it's not an easy decision. you don't just get to look at one side of the card and say i'll play this one or that one. most of it takes a subjective judgment and who actually can see in that crystal ball? i wish i could. >> in the end, do you think you're going to speak up on this? because you've said before one thing that's very important to you is that iowa remain important in this process, and i imagine one of the ways it remains important is by people like you speaking up and saying, i'm picking someone i think should win. now back him. >> well, iowans do need to do that. and i would not have said months ago that was my intention if i didn't think that that was also a responsibility that i have. but i've also said that i have to come to a conviction before i could take such a position. i just challenge all iowans, come out to the caucus, make your decision, even if you make it late it's better than not making it. i think this will be a caucus where there are thousands of iowans that make up their mind right there in the precinct caucus listening to the speeches that are given on behalf of each of the candidates. the undecided caucusgoers might hear something in that speech. whoever is the best organized, whoever has the best and the most respected speakers at the many, many locations we have might just be the surprise of the night on the caucus. perhaps i'll get around to that conviction yet. i want to just make this confession. that no one has accused me of being an equivocator overall these years. but tonight i feel like one. >> all right. we'll see if you reach that decision. i'm sure you'll come tell us first if you do. representative steve king, thanks so much for being here. >> thanks for having me. more on the raw politics now with gop strategist and former newt gingrich press secretary rich gaylon. also democratic strajist maria cardona, senior adviser to hillary clinton's 2008 presidential campaign. maria, let me start with you. you must be delighted to hear republicans talking this way. >> i've had so much fun during this process, tom, it's unbelievable, but you know the representative steve king brings up an interesting point. it's funny, because at first he dodged your question saying he wasn't endorsing anybody because he liked all the candidates so much. and then in the next breath he basically says that none of them are good enough for him and that's why he hasn't endorsed. but i think that it does upside score the lack of enthusiasm among all gop voters for any one candidate both in terms of substance, in terms of their own history, in terms of whether they're going to be able to beat president obama or not. >> okay, you raise an interesting point there about lack of enthusiasm about the candidates. but, rich, i got to tell you, traveling the country there is no lack of enthusiasm for beating barack obama. it seems to me that what they're really doing right now, particularly conservative republicans, is playing a bit of a game of chicken. they're trying to say how far can we get to the right with the candidate we ultimately choose and still win. is that a fair assessment? >> i think that's right, tom. i've traveled with steve king four years ago. he endorsed fred thompson to whom i was the senior adviser. and i think that may have something to do with his lack of enthusiasm. >> that worked out really well for you, rich. >> but the point i think is that republicans, conservatives and moderates, may not have their first choice as the nominee, but their last choice to be president is still barack obama, and as we move through this process, i think it will become clearer and cle