arnold schwarzenegger and the scandal. you're in the situation room. he's a billionaire and head of a powerful world agency. the international monetary fund dominique strauss-kahn now sits in the new york city jail cell facing sex crime charges for assaulting and he does not qualify for diplomatic immunity. what's going on? >> wolf, it's 24 hours now for dominique strauss-kahn. he has had one unidentified visitor so far. prosecutors are analyzing forensic evidence strauss-kahn cannot do much for his isolation cell and they are consideringing the options and he sits in jail. sl it an impossible mission for his lawyers? and it will be fight the alleged victim is now worried. >> i am totally confident in this woman. whal so ever. >> the woman is lying and there's reason to believe she might be lying. this is a high-stakes case. two, the second defense in a case like that is consent. something might have happened but it's not what she says and she consented to it. >> strauss-kahn's attorney have significant issues that we have already found simply with the biggest hurdle for the defense, the alleged victim, the single mother. >> they found her so credible that they went and snatched a guy of this stature off of an airplane and so certainly they found her that credible. >> a grand jury is likely to king pen actually face 12 new york city jury members? >> if he goes to jail, he loses his career. >> strauss-kahn's lawyers are likely to ask him to get out of rikers island. the cell is much smaller than the hotel suite he spent the weekend in. >> a lot smaller indeed. the shock waves are certainly spreading in france where the world finance chief is a popular politician and likely sceeen as presidential candidate. joining us is ivan watson. what are the folks over there saying to you? >> they are still reeling from shock. and the leader of the socialist party telling journalists that this was a sad moment, that she was overwhelmed right now. and and also trying to call for unity at this time and before the primaries for the 2008 presidential election, it's as if a popular politician like barack obama was suddenly arrested on rape charges. this has been a thunder cloud. and the french media is already writing dominique strauss-kahn's political obituary. take a look at these headlines. the fall of dominique strauss-kahn, calling it a knockout, ko, for someone who thought could be france's next president. >> there seems to be a significant cultural divide between france and the united states on the way he's being treated. rikers island, the jail there. what are they saying about the treatment that he's receiving in new york? >> reporter: well, the head of the socialist party said this is not the french system, to have cameras in the courtroom to show people with handcuffs before they have been actually convicted of a crime that they are accused of. she said she respected this american tradition but pointed out that it was very different and important for french, the french people to recognize that he is still presumed innocent. take a listen to what one spokesman for the socialist party had to say to me. >> it's very bizarre for us to see one of our leader between two americans like number a movie. >> reporter: some many of these people uncomfortable seeing their leader humiliated like this but at the same time pointing out that the seriousness of the charges against him means that it is very important for this investigation to be seen through to the very end, whether or not strauss-kahn is proven guilty or innocent. wolf? >> ivan, thanks very much. ivan is reporting for us from paris. we're going to have more on this story coming up later in "the situation room," including an interview with the lawyer who was representing a woman now at the center of this scandal. stand by for that. meanwhile, other important news. materials seized in the raid on obama bin laden's showing that the al qaeda leader was in the loop. bin laden communicated with his allies in yemen and was involved in an attack plan. barbara starr is getting more details for us. what else are you learning for us, barbara? >> a u.s. official very familiar with all of the documentation taken from the compound now tells us that there is an indication in there, in these documents, that bin laden was communicating with al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. al qaeda in yemen. of course, now it's viewed as one of the most dangerous al qaeda affiliate groups lead by that american-born clear rick. no word yet on whether bin laden and ma lack key were in communication. we don't know that. but very disconcerting to know that bin laden was in a communication with that group. as for these other plots, it turns out that u.s. officials suspected late last year when they usualed a travel alert for americans in europe to be careful traveling in europe to be careful. they suspected bin laden might be behind it all but tell us now that in looking at documents taken from the compound, there is a additional proof that bin laden was spurring on a plot late last year to attack americans traveling in europe. that he was in the loop on that plot, that he was spurring his operatives to do something to undertake some sort of an attack against americans and that he was really egging on the situation. of course, no attack happened and u.s. officials say that they believe that, you know, things like travel alerts always help warn people to be vigilant and makes it very tough or tougher for terrorists to undertake an attack. so who knows whether it ever would have happened but it's another link in this question, what was bin laden really directly involved in? still, no final word on how effective all of his communications were. at the end of the day, was he a guy sitting at a house typing away messages to his alleged followers or was he really pulling the strings and plotting and planning more attacks, more effective attacks? >> i was impressed that he was at least on a computer sending out instructions on a thumb drive, getting a courier to send that out to his supporters in other locations. he wasn't just sitting in a cave. he was obviously doing something. >> well, absolutely. there is no question at this point. i mean, the overwhelming thing that they have learned from all of this, officials will tell you that bin laden was much more involved than anybody in the administration thought he was. i mean, there was a clear view, not that he was living in a cave necessarily but this is someone who was in isolation. his network had been so taken down by those drone attacks in pakistan that he really couldn't do much. these documents proved something else of much different. he was doing a lot. he was sending out a lot of messages. still to be determined on the receiving end were his operatives really following his instructions. >> barbara, thanks very much. let's drill deeper right now. how alarmed should americans be that bin laden was in fact in contact with the very dangerous al qaeda affiliate in yemen? let's bring in fran townsend. she's the former homeland security advisor to president bush. she serves on the homeland security and ci achlt external advisory boards. fran, thanks very much how alarmed should we be that he was in contact with al qaeda and the arabian peninsula in yemen? >> well, wolf, we've heard testimony from the director of the national counterterrorism center and homeland security all saying that al qaeda in the arabian peninsula posed the immediate tactical threat to the u.s. homeland and to americans around the world. and so the fact that bin laden had this communication channel with them, the fact that now we are linking them to this threat in europe last summer really indicates bin laden was determined to attack americans even if it was not inside the u.s. homeland. obviously trying to get access to americans in europe during the summer months is a lot easier than trying to infiltrate into the u.s. it seems to me, based on the reporting that we're getting out of what they seized, bin laden played a much more important role in terms of continuing to target americans. >> and i wonder what his number two may be doing right now. we assume he's hiding some place in pakistan as well. let's talk about pakistan, the u.s. pakistani relationship. my impression is that cooperation between the cia and isi, the pakistani intelligence service, is getting worse, not better. >> well, a couple of things, wolf. what we can see, the cia as we know got access to the bin laden wifs but it was very limited. the isi, pakistani intelligence were there. they were all allowed to stay together. senator kerry's individual they said they would provide a helicopter tail with the technology to the united states but there's questions, will they do it, will they provide all of the tail that is recovered or keep some things back? and then the u.s. did a drone strike when senator kerry was there. there was the nato forces and the pakistan military and so there is clearly real tension there. are things that come out of visits and can only assume it's because they can not agree on what will be given to the united states when she comes. >> since 9/11, i suspect china has given pakistan about zero in terms of dollars yet china is their best friend, not the united states. fran, we'll continue this conversation. thank you. new horrors in libya. images of a mass grave. this may be the last straw for the u.s. days after announcing his presidential bid, has newt gingrich already thrown torpedos at his own campaign? why so many republican conservatives are outraged right now at newt gingrich. i'm chef michael, and my dog bailey and i love to hang out in the kitchen. you love the aroma of beef tenderloin, don't you? you inspired a very special dog food. 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go to cnn.com/caffertyfile and post a comment on my blog. >> that's amazing, jack. >> shocking new scenes of horror coming out of syria. the latest images amount to the last straw of the obama administration for the u.s. allies as they weigh new tough measures in damascus. jill dougherty has the latest for us. what is going on? >> fed up. that's the best way of putting it. any hope that the obama administration had that the syrian president would change is out the window. one of the reasons is a video that we're going to show you right now. warning to our viewers, it's graphic. >> the latest chapter in syria's horrors, reports of a mass grave in the city of daraa. amateur video shows the scene. cnn cannot verify its authenticity. the syrian government denies the claim calling it slander. syrian government forces have killed nearly 1,000 people, according to secretary of state hillary clinton. as many as 10,000 have been arrested. on tuesday clinton pointed the finger blamed directly at bashar al assad. >> he talks about reform but his heavy handed brutal crackdown shows his true intention. >> reporter: u.s. officials tell cnn that there is no indication that things are going to turn around. >> this is extremely urgent and if the government wants to see some kind of change, it's got to be now. >> the european union is discussioning more sanctions and possibly against assad himself. a u.s. official says that washington will announce its new measures within days. with daily images of increasing violence, the tough mid-east advisor to george w. bush says president obama in his thursday speech on the middle east cannot remain silent. >> he's going to need to say something about syria. the president has not yet personally said anything about it so i think that is very critical. >> there has been concern over who or what might come next. but now a u.s. official tells cnn that it may be time to take that chance, that with assad gone, things might just get better. >> what i'm hearing you say, jill s. that the u.s. may, in the president's speech recall the ambassador from damascus or say that he must step down as the u.s. did with gadhafi in libya or mubarak in egypt? >> well, nobody knows whether it will go that far. the concern was holding off now but i think you would have to say that officials feel that it's the last straw. >> as they withdraw the u.s. ambassador, it may be the next step to shutting down the whole embassy. but we'll see what the president has to say on thursday. it's a major speech that he's delivering where you are. jill dougherty, thank you. if you're job hunting, there's a help wanted sign at the cia. >> don't just watch the news. live it. 24/7. and newt gingrich is in hot water with a lot of gop conservatives just days after launching his presidential campaign. ♪ na, na... ♪ na, na-na, na [ men ] ♪ hey, hey, hey ♪ goodbye [ male announcer ] with kohler's powerful, high-efficiency toilets. flush. and done. [ all ] ♪ hey, hey, hey ♪ good-bye just days after announcing his presidential run, newt gingrich has already managed to get his pam pain into lots of hot water with republicans. in des moines with what is going on, i know you had a chance to catch up with them as well, jim. >> that's right, wolf. a slew of conservatives were right wing social engineering. now it's gingrich's political campaign just a week hold that might need political engineering in order to get back on track. day one on the ground in iowa and former house speaker newt gingrich had some explaining to do. >> would you clarify your statements yesterday on nbc about right wing social engineering? >> it was a reference to how republicans hit the roof after gingrich criticized a plan by paul ryan that would turn medicare into a voucher program. gingrich referred to it as right wing social engineering. conservatives, rush limbaugh and nikki haley all pounced and at an interview gingrich softened his criticism. >> i think he has the beginning of what could be an extraordinary plan. it's so big and central to people's lives that we need to do it right. >> gingrich sounded every bit the maverick, willing to balance the budget when he was speaker. >> who gets the credit? you or president clinton? >> let's be fair. if he hadn't signed it, it wouldn't have bounced. if i hadn't passed it, he couldn't have signed it. >> he told reporter to be prepared for an unorthodoxed campaign that would change positions. >> how do we hold you accountable? >> long before you get to the election we'll lock down. but the evolution of it may be more opened than anything you've seen in the campaign. >> so far, it seems undecided iowa voters are willing to listen. >> things don't change, we're going to be in a world of hurt. we need someone like him to be the president. >> reporter: terry said that any of the candidates could win his state. winning the presidency, that's another matter. >> let's see who makes the right impression and who know. do you see a president in one of these presidential contenders? >> it's too early to make that kind of judgment. >> reporter: now, newt gingrich is tripped off on the individual mandate in the health care law, saying that he supports one like it and then dead against it. for a campaign expected to be on the defense on the candidate's personal past, it's the policies that he says he cannot overcome. >> jim acosta in iowa where he's going to spend a lot of time over the next many months. iowa, new hampshire, south carolina, get ready for that. >> it's only week two of newt's presidential campaign. gloria borger is here and she has a new column out on cnn.com. among other things, you write, just another day on the gingrich campaign in which the candidate throws gasoline out of fire and then walks into it how bad is it? >> i think it's pretty bad. first of all, listening to jim acosta's report, i'm not sure republicans are going to be happy with how the campaign evolves. i think republican office holders want a candidate that they can depend on and that is what is happening here. his remarks on medicare inspired a wall street journal editorial that said gingrich to house republicans drop dead. that's not exactly a great way to start your campaign and the house budget chairman himself, paul ryan, who ought authorized this medicare plan, said this on laura ingraham's radio show yesterday. listen to this. >> who needs a left with allies like that? >> the truth is, there is a great divide in the republican party over this. all of the republicans walked out on that limb except for a few and voted for this plan. they are afraid right now. it's not being well received back home in their district. so the last thing they need is for newt gingrich to give their opponents a bumper sticker and i was talking to a senior republican strategist in the house who said, now newt gingrich has given democrats a sound bite to use against us in the elections in 2012. >> let me play a little clip of newt gingrich and you're going to tell us what this says. >> i mean, for people to go from all of that body of evidence to say, yeah, but for 25 seconds yesterday i thought you said x, that's beyond gotcha. >> newt gingrich is trying to blame the press here on this. but the republicans i talked to said this has nothing do do with the game of gotcha. they said, you know n. watching him over the years in politics -- and this is a friend of newt's, he said he always understood where the republican constituency was. he had his pulse on the republican base and he said, in saying this, in taking on the ryan budget, he really took on the holy grail of the republican party and that wasn't smart politics. another thing, he used this phrase, and newt gingrich is famous for that, as you know, going back to when he became house speaker. but