northeast are desperate to escape the flooding and the damage unleashed by hurricane irene. we're tracking the rescues and the danger right now. and we'll put the arrest of the uncle in a dui charge. this hour, and whether they matter to most american. i'm wolf blitzer and you're in the situation room. up first this hour, a very tough political debate over national security that will unfold between president obama and his republican challenger, whoever that might be. the commander in chief dep and it's no coincidence that war and foreign policy are getting more attention on the campaign trail with the ten-year milestone of the 9/11 attacks only a few days away. let's bring in cnn's jim acosta. he's watching all of this unfold. we know the economy will be issue number one. but national security will be a key debating point for the democratic and republican candidates. >> that's right. it's flareed up recently with libya and with the killing of osama bin laden. it's still important, wolf. like you said, with so much attention on the economy, foreign policy has taken a backseat on the campaign trail. but not today. >> it was something of a debate. president obama, mitt romney, and rick perry all sounding off on foreign policy, all revealing some of their battle plans for 2012. >> we can't lead the world by hoping that our enemies will hate us less. >> in a speech to the veterans of foreign wars, romney stook to his attack of the president playbook. >> have we ever had a president that was so eager to address with the down in the heart? >> romney delivered a jab on the weak economy that seemed aimed at rick perry. >> career politicians got us into this mess and they simply don't know how to get us out. >> taking his own campaign style speech to the american legion, president obama prepared to take off his greatest hits, winding down the wars in iraq or afghanistan, while helping to bring down moammar gadhafi and the president. the president was careful to see who would get the credit. >> those who attacked us on 9/11, delivering justice to osama bin laden. >> he says, come on, you're saying that i'm not a tough guy, i'm too weak in the knees to be de vri dissize sif. >> it's not our interest to go it alone. >> rick perry sounded as if his foreign policy may stand clear. >> i do not believe that foreign military adventurism. >> but when perry suggested that he would bypass the united nations to defend america's interest, he borrowed from bush. >> we cannot concede the moral authority of our nation to multilateral debating societies. >> the united nations must make the resolve, must be resolved to deal with this person. must resole itself and be something more than the league of nations. must resolve itself to be just more than a debating society. >> my guess s. that perry is aware of where the american electorate is and it's tired of war. >> but foreign policies successes don't always translate into election victories. just ask the president george w. bush who pushed hussein out of kuwait in a large part because of the economy, wolf. >> then when our contributor working for bill clinton's campaign coined the phrase, it's the economy, stupid. that guided the clinton campaign back in 1992. thanks very much. stay with cnn to see the republican presidential candidates face off in less than two weeks when we host the debate along with the tea party express and tea party groups in tampa, florida. that's monday, september 12th. the cnn tea party republican debate only here on cnn. president obama and mitt romney zeroed in on a war in afghanistan during their dulg national security speeches earlier today. >> as our mission is combat to support, afghans will take responsibility for their own security. and the longest war in america history. >> in afghanistan, the president has chosen to disregard the generals on the ground. i don't know of a single military advisor to president obama who recommended the withdrawl plan that he's chosen and that puts the success at our shoulders and mission at greater risk. >> let's bring in cnn's nick peyton walsh who is live in kabul. the politicians are debating here, and a lot more american troops are dying in afghanistan. what's the latest? >> this month of august, 66 dead, the majority of those caused by that one terrible helicopter crash earlier on this month. and really i think numbers like this don't show that there's been a sudden change or explosion and violence on the ground but they really do undermine the obama's administration that things here are improving. really, if it's possible to have security handed over to the afghanistans, why are more american troops dying here than ever before, worse than the height of violence last summer. certainly numbers like this are going to push the ugly truth of what is happening here under the spotlight in that heated election campaign, wolf. >> you've been there for a few years, nick. is violence really trending upward right now? they recently said that in 12 of the last 16 weeks there was less violence in exactly the same period last year. follow that, if you can. but on the other side, you have the united nations and in the first six months of this year were the worst on record, over 1400 afghans dying. there is a slight concern amongst some people. the insurgency has not been as bad as in the past. symbolic clee, a hotel, british consulate to show that the insurge general see is capable of being affected. and there are some people worried that there could be worse violence ahead and that the taliban try and show that they have more fight in them as the americans begin to withdraw and that vital re-election campaign begins, wolf. >> the united states still spending more than $2 billion a week, more than $100 billion a year in afghanistan. nick peyton walsh in kabul. thank you very much. back here in the united states, search and rescue teams working frantically right now in new jersey. as floodwaters unleashed after hurricane irene keep rising. the river will crest at a dangerously high level. hundreds of people remain trapped by record flooding in vermont. big sections of the northeast are under water because of irene. the death toll from the storm is climbing with at least 41 people killed in 11 states. obama administration officials got an aerial tour today of the damage in vermont, virginia, and north carolina. nearly three million customers across the region still do not have electricity. analysts expect the total cost of irene to be much, much higher. a lot higher than a billion. more than 200 roads and bridges were damaged in vermont. many of them were completely wiped off the map. cnn's amber lyon is joining us from grafton, verm monmon. what is happening where you are? >> look at this. this is a disaster. a car cannot get over it. i spoke with the man operating that excavator. richard says he's on an emergency mission to rebuild this road. why this is so important is that there's a town of 800 people right on the other side and they are currently isolated. it's essentially become an island because this road and the only other road leading in or out of town are both destroyed. we spoke with fire crews in the area. they also say that there was a little bit of a worry if they were able to -- if there is some type of an emergency with residents h residents on how to get that person because because it's hard to access this area. richard tells me that he's actively trying to rebuild this road because they have supplies ready for the residents. we're talking medical supplies, food, water, babe formula. those national guard trucks will be able to get in and deliver those supplies. 20 towns across vermont are having similar situations where they become isolated. 13 of them in such bad shape that the national guard says that they are going to have to helicopter in supplies to the residents to make sure that search adequately supplied and doing okay. the death toll is now at three people and the governor of vermont says that he expects more roads to ep up and access these mountain communities. there are still people in vermont unaccounted for. wolf. >> did the people you're talking to think the government is doing everything it possibly can to help them? >>. >> it's kind of mixed feelings down here. we find a kind sentiment among the people. they are really helping people if one person has water left over, sharing food and just really more of a state of shock and awe. that being said, we just spoke with a man living in this isolated community. he said that we're alone. he has not seen any type of aide in his community and there are supplies available. the national guard has supplies ready to go. now it's a matter of how with situations like these do you get it to these stranded residents. wolf? >> let's hope for the best, amber. thank you very much. >> and to our viewers, you can help make a difference. you can help those devastated by hurricane irene find out how. just visit our impact your world page. that's at cnn.com/impact. the next hurricane is forming in the atlantic ocean right now. tropical storm expected to become a hurricane in the coming hours. it's moving west-northwest and replaces catherine in the list of hurricane names. the hurricane center is using the same list as in 2005 when catherine devastated the gulf coast. chad myers will be joining us from the cnn hurricane center. for the latest on the power path and whether the united states could get slammed a again. also, libyan rebels have come out from the huge number. can the opposition, though, be believed? 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>> reporter: hi, wolf. that's certainly what some of the rebels on the front line seem to remember. we were at the last -- basically at the front line of the rebels, of the area. 100 kilometers away from the town itself. but the rebels are essentially -- they set up a checkpoint, offensive positions, and will launch missions forward towards a certain area. however, what they are doing right now is pulling back their forces and waiting for a four-day deadline to pass and then say they are awaiting their orders from the national transitional council, the rebel government, and then they will move forward. wolf. >> nick, what are you hearing about gadhafi's wherebts? >>. >> the national transition council, he told me that he knew were gadhafi was. some people believe that he's hiding out in the south. i said, is he hiding out with tribes? he just flat out wouldn't tell me. the national transition council has said a number of things that has proven to be not quite correct in the past. so it's not clear quite why he wants to tell me where they know where he is and confident that they would capture him, bring him to trial. there is a reason to believe that gadhafi is not surrounded in sert and south of the country, if they want to, they can flee as his wife and other family members did. the day before just yesterday. in fact, flee across the border to algeria, wolf. >> let me go back to fred. are you getting the sense from your rebels, and you are speaking with them and with them right now, how long they believe this intensive fighting will last? >>. >> well, they will tell you that this could last at least a siege of surge and the other gadhafi loyalists and up to a little longer and a four-day window and on the muslim calendar, and then the fighting will certainly continue again. maybe a week, ten days, they say they have a pretty high battle fatigue. they say quite frankly at this point, so many people have remained on the front line that there is a political process to keep going, they don't want to keep fighting. >> we heard from rebel leaders. they say, they are claiming at least 50,000 libyans have been killed over the past few months in all of this fighting. that number seems very high but what do you sense over there? >>. >> wolf, i think that the way that we're interpreting the figures right now, between 50 and 60,000 people disappeared during this revolution and they say that they believe they were all arrested by gadhafi. they say that they've released 11,000 people, which leaves 40 to 50,000 unaccounted for. i think that at this stage the perception is that perhaps not all dead. many of them may still be alived. the basis for those figures, just on the negotiations, i've been receiving messages, e-mail conversations with one of moammar gadhafi's sons. he said over the past few days that he's ready to negotiate for gadhafi with the rebels to bring about a siege fire but told me that the rebels would not negotiate with him and said that he was willing to come to priply to negotiate with the national council to arrange safe passage and i spoke with the deputy prime minister about that issue. he said that gadhafi himself, his sons, are welcome to come to tripoli, they can have safe passage here and when they get here, they will be put on trial and international conditions. so they are saying absolutely no conditions with gadhafi, only with tribal elders. so a very clear message for gadhafi right now. it is either hand yourself in or your going to be fighting right to the bitter end. wolf. >> and the same goes for gadhafi's son. he remains at large, right? >>. >> yeah, that's right. all still at large, wolf. >> nic robertson, fred pleitgen, thank you very much. charges of driving under the influence. could this bring new unwanted attention to the white house? stand by. plus, the battle for syria escalates and new concerns here in the united states about the safety of the chemical weapons stockpiles. why that stockpile could be at risk. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." or creates another laptop bag or hires another employee, it's not just good for business -- it's good for the entire community. at bank of america, we know the impact that local businesses have on communities, so we're helping them with advice from local business experts and extending $18 billion in credit last year. that's how we're helping set opportunity in motion. my son and i never missed opening day. but with copd making it hard to breathe, i thought those days might be over. so my doctor prescribed symbicort. it helps significantly improve my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. with symbicort, today i'm breathing better, and that means... game on! symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. 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[ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. i'm wolf blitzer. some of the stories that we're working on, the first african-american president of the united states, ramping up efforts to hold on to a key part of his base. african-americans. also, it could be his make or break moment. it could be next week. will president obama actually deliver when it comes to issue number one? the economy. jobs, jobs, jobs. and she says she was raped and forced to execute. a member of gadhafi's female militia country r unit is now speaking out. you're in "the situation room." president obama's half uncle arrested on drunk driving charges and some wonder if he got unfair treatment. what are you finding out, brian? >> the president's hatch uncle is now entangled in two legal cases. and the president and his junk driving arrest. he almost collided with this unmarked police car, according to the police report, had red and glass see eyes when he was pulled over to this restaurant, could barely keep himself from falling and kept interrupting the officer and repeatedly failed sobriety tests. when asked if he wants to make a call, he said i think i'll call the white house. he's pleaded not guilty to the charges but the story doesn't end there. according to a federal law enforcement force, he was not legally in the united states and had been previously ordered to be removed from the country. a source tells cnn, they are going through the immigration process. his boss at a local liquor store has nothing but good things to stay about him. >> when we fired him, legal paperwork and everything. >> he's had a valid driver's license for 19 years and a valid social security card when he applied for it. he tells cnn he doesn't know how he got a social security number if he wasn't legally in the country. he's the brother of another relative of president obama's. the president's half aunt that was allowed to stay in the u.s. after being denied an asylum in 2004. >> he think it's going to once again bring up this issue of some people thinking that obama is not like us. he's not one of us. he's not quite america enough. >> reporter: cnn has done many stories investigating that birth issue and we've never found any evidence that the president is not a natural born american but the president has a complicated and very fascinating family tree. i'll try to run it by you here. his grandfather was married three times. his third wife, a woman who gave birth to the half uncle in this case. that is the president's half-brother. as we mentioned in the piece, involved in that legal case she was denied asylum in 2004 and then granted the right to stay in the country legally last year. that's half aunt, half uncle on the father's side from the grandfather's third wife. now, remember, this family tree is only on mr. obama's father's side of the family. that's what makes this so fascinating. so his grandfather's second wife is the one who gave birth to mr. obama's father, and then he had -- was the father who was married to ann who gave birth to president obama. you have half-brothers over here. that is, again, on mr. obama's other side of the family. so we want to show you people on the other side of the family and mr. obama's father had three. >> on that side of the president's family, let's get legal analysis from the senior analyst jeffrey toobin. what do you make of the legal part of this story? this individual, the half uncle arrested for drunk driving under intoxication? >> well, the key question here it's a warrant that says,