We know exactly what happened afterwards. Heres what the time line looks like. The first hearing in the senate is expected to be held tomorrow. The full congress is not scheduled to return until next week. So far, the only consensus in congress is there is no consensus in congress. Im hoping by the time next week comes around and hopefully the president can make his case, that he will be able to get a majority of the house of representatives. I think its at least 50 50 whether the house will vote down involvement in the syrian war. I think the senate will rubber stamp what he wants but i think the house will be a much closer vote. With congress in a holding pattern, the Administration Says proof is building by the day that syrias bashar all ac assa used sarin gas against his own people. Nearly a third of that countrys population being displaced by the civil war. White house officials reportedly say theyre flooding the zone. The president has meetings today with republican senators graham and mccain. White house correspondent Peter Alexander has more for us. Is he hoping these two will help make his case . The Obama Administration insists the u. S. very credibility at stake here. The president recognizing hes going to need all the help he can get from allies on capitol hill. One of the reasons for the meetings today with senators graham and mccain. Today kicks off the intensifying of this effort to try to convince members of congress of the need for military action. Yesterday, the president , his Vice President and chief of staff made calls to members of congress. There are more calls scheduled for today. In addition to meetings to take place. The white house trying to step up the pressure right now. The secretary of state john kerry on sunday comparing bashar all assad, the syrian leader, to both adolf hitler and Saddam Hussein. The president s decision to seek congressional authorization really marked a dramatic shift at the end of more than a week of deliberations. The white house had been making it very clear they were leaning toward a military strike. That one could be imminent. But it appear was swayed the president in many ways to change his mind was what took place in britain. The no vote by that nations parliament. The president , after watching that from the west wing, then had a visit with his chief of staff, dennis mcdonough, walking together on the white houses south lawn before calling in his Senior Advisers, delivering that message to them. Many of them stunned, were told, by Senior Administration officials. They expressed their disagreement. But by saturday, everybody was on board. Many lawmakers have already made it clear the best hope perhaps for congressional approval is to limit the scope of any resoluti resolution. The white house realizes has a lot rising on this. No president has lost a vote for the use of force in modern times. Richard. Peter, thank you for that. Nbcs Peter Alexander at the white house. Denying the regime is using chemical weapons against his own citizens. In an interview, fazel mcdodd says rebel groups were the ones who used chemical agents. He also said there will be serious consequences if america attacks. Nor weakening of international institutions. Terrorists will flourish everywhere. This will undermined the security of americans inside and outside their country. Al qaeda is there. Any attack against syria is supporting al qaeda and its affiliates. Id like to bring in nbcs Foreign Correspondent live in beirut covering the story for us it the u. N. Is now saying 7 million refugees have been displaced by the crisis. The urgency certainly grows by the day. Also getting reports from the arab league. Youve got two groups of voices coming out of the region. What are they . Well, you have one that is led by the Syrian Government and its allies including iran and here in lebanon hezbollah. Theyre portraying this as a victory for the axis of resistance. They say this is an historic defeat for the United States for the reasons we just heard there from the Deputy Foreign minister. There are those in the arab league who still went tougher action led by the United States and the International Community. That has been led within the arab league by saudi arabia. Theyve come out and said it is up to the International Community to live up to the u. N. Charter to protect syrian civilians, to take deterrent action. If you read between the lines, that means to use force or whatever is necessary to protect syrian civilians. That is about as strong of a comment that will come out of the arab league. Particularly from the foreign policies. To give the United States and the International Community a push from the region. However, as we have heard, there are those that are concerned that any military strike on syria is going to destabilize countries like lebanon, destabilize the region into a broader conflict and worsening humanitarian situation. Live in beirut on the story. Joining me now, rhode island democratic congressman david sis linney. Thank you for being with us. Youve seen the draft resolution from the white house. Do you support it as it is . Yesterday, i traveled to washington and had the opportunity to participate in a classified meeting. As i said yesterday, we have much more information to learn before i can make a decision. I think everyone recognizes the use of chemical weapons is horrific. We have to decide whether or not a military strike will advance or protect the National Security interests of the United States. Do we fully understand what the implications of that strike will be . Does it in the end advance the National Security interests of our country . I think this is a difficult question. We have the responsibility to listen carefully to all of the evidence. The white house has said its willingness to share information and i look forward to a debate on this. I think we should be back in washington already to begin this discussion. Ill listen carefully to what the president is requesting and to what my colleagues feel on both sides of this issue. Listen to my constituents. This will be a very heavy burden to meet, to persuade me its in the National Security interest of the United States to engage in this military strike. If its do, its something we have to do as part of a very Broad International coalition. It cannot be the United States alone vindicating this important principle about the use of chemical weapons. If you were to describe the different groups in congress in terms of their view on what the white house would like to do, the Washington Post lays it out. They say the five ways congress is split on syria. Youve got the do it now already crowd. Those would want bigger military action. Some say theyre happy to debate the issue, reserving judgment. Others are just plain skeptical. And still others are antimilitary action. Those are the five groups the way the Washington Post laid out. Which group do you fall into . Which group do you think dominates now in the house . I consider myself skeptical because i think its very important that we think very carefully, review the evidence very thoroughly. Consider all of the range of options that are available before we engage militarily. And that we understand completely the consequences of military action. I think we should always be skeptical and test that very hard. So im in the camp of really wants to listen very carefully to the evidence. Listen carefully to the administration. What the president is asking. Understanding whats happening in the region. Ways the alternative. What are the consequences of inaction. But, you know, this principle of a ban on the use of chemical weapons which dates back to world war i is something the entire world should be prepared to vindicate and so far its been only the voice of america. We have urgent needs of americans all across this country that we need to focus on. I think we have to balance it against the things facing our own country as well. What will it say to this president , to the world, if no action is undertaken after what has been said to date . I mean, i think thats exactly the difficult situation were in. Not only what it will say to the world but particularly in light of the fact the president has said this is a red line, does that as a consequence require us to support some action. And is there some military action we have to take in order to send a message to iran and to russia about our seriousness when we speak. So i think thats part of the mix about deciding whats the right course of action for our country. What are the National Security implications of inaction . Does it send the wrong mess being an to the rest of the world . I think this is going to be a difficult decision. Study it, listen to experts about the region. And then make a judgment at the end i think is in the best interest of our country. Rhode island congressman David Ciccilini, thank you. President s campaign to sway skeptical lawmakers on options in syria. Our panel of experts weighs in next on those steps. And Nelson Mandela discharged from a South African hospital after nearly three months. The most Free Research reports, customizable charts, powerful screening tools, and guaranteed 1second trades. And at the center of it all is a surprisingly low price just 7. 95. In fact, fidelity gives you lower trade commissions than schwab, td ameritrade, and etrade. Im monica santiago of fidelity investments, and low fees and commissions are another reason serious investors are choosing fidelity. 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And good. Weight watchers. Join for free. Because we understand. Because weve been there. Because it works. Hurry, join by september 14th and youll get a free month. The white house is stepping up the pressure for congress to approve military action in syria. But theres a tough battle ahead. Take a listen. Yes. Im a no based on the information i have now. Feel very skeptical about the president s proposal. Theyve got a lot more explaining to do. During a briefing this morning, russians foreign minister saying the information the u. S. Provided on an alleged chemical weapons attack is, quote, absolutely unconvincing. With me now, zeke miller, reporter for time. Ambassador mark ginsburg, former ambassador for morocco. And colonel jack jacobs, medal of honor recipient and msnbc military analyst. Zeke, weve been listening to preliminary reactions to what the president would like done here. Hes going to be reapi ireachino key members. Is he going to get a yes vote . Congressional leaders say when a president asks for a vote like this, it will pass. Theres going to be a bit of strong arming that the white house and congressional leadership of both parties are going to have to do. If this doesnt pass, it really is a will reflect very poorly about the president s political power, police call capital in washington and really, sort of, set the tone for the rest of the second term. If it passes, the white house has a huge upside here. Its probably going to pass but it wont be easy and that process also is going to require the white house to really invest a lot effort and energy in getting these lawmakers across the finish line. Thats something theyve had trouble with in the past. Ambassador, when we look at different voices, different groups he needs to be communicating to, as he has different messages, explain to us the cop plmplexity of the gr in terms of who the president needs to be talking to here. Richard, just listening to the conversation earlier, its quite clear that theres members of congress who keep calling for a broader coalition. They want United Nations support. Or they want arab league participation. And all of these requests which are very reasonable unfortunately the lawmakers who are requesting that Broad International coalition are just not going to get it. No matter what the evidence is. And so despite all the efforts by the administration, were largely left right now with france, which is about to have its own parliamentary debate on wednesday. In congress, as you and i know, several things can happen. Rand paul could filibuster a resolution. The rules committee could come out with a different resolution. Theres any number of traps. The Ambassador League saying they would like further action. Stronger las veganguage. Does that give the president what he needs diplomatically . Congratulate secretary kerry for that diplomatic offensivive over the last 24 hours. The arab league needs to be able to provide greater cover. Theres divisions within the arab league. Egypt has most been opposed to u. S. Intervention. The saudis and qataris, let me add, are arming the bad guys while we try to take care of the good guys here. The ambassador giving us a hint of what is happening on the ground. The joint chiefs chair saying if we wait a week, military options dont change. Agree . I do agree. This is not a complicated exercise. Theres no multinational forces. Its not even joint. Youve got the navy thats going to fly our cruise missiles at predetermined targets, wait till the smoke clears, see if the targets need to be struck again and go after them again. Theres no strategy here. Its purely a punitive strike. The military can wait a long time before it launches one. To you here, zeke. As we watched what happened over the weekend. We saw secretary kerry coming to sunday talk shows. Does this not look good for secretary kerry, as, some are saying, he had to back pedal . Thats the arc of this whole story. He has come out essentially as the administrations chief prosecutor of the assad regime. Coming out last week on monday with the first evidence sort of explaining what the u. S. Believed to be true at that time on monday, then again on friday, with that statement. Even an hour after he finished speaking, the president speaking from the roosevelt room from the meeting with so many baltic state president s. The president back pedalled. That was probably the first indication these strikes were going to be delayed. So kerry was adamant late week and worked hard over the past 48 hours or so to fall lock step with the president. What does the United States what does the president need to clearly state to fortify the United States credibility abroad at this moment you believe . Richard, i think the president needs to do not just the fact we have the proof of the actual gas attack but theres unequivocal proof that convinces lawmakers, as well as international parties, that assad himself or his commanders ordered this attack. Number three, to convince many reluctant members of congress theres a strategy behind the attacks and what happens if they use gas again. Let me add, as i close, what happens if the assad regime orchestrates an attack on its own forces using chemical weapons in order to say its not just us, its also the other side . And then it complicates any justificati justification, given the fact this mess has only gotten messier in syria. If the president doesnt get votes, what are the serious consequences . Hell do it anyway. Hes already said hes going to do it. Theres ample precedent for that. Where president s have not received approval in the congress for taking military action. Theyve taken in anyway. Colonel jack jacobs, thank you. 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