U.S. warns Syria not to use chemical weapons: "The whole world is watching," says Panetta

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta issued a warning to Syria Thursday, saying the United States will not stand by and watch them cross the "red line"

"The whole world is watching very closely and the president of the United States has made very clear that there will be consequences if the Assad regime makes a terrible mistake by using these chemical weapons," said Panetta.

Syria denies they are mobilizing chemical weapons to put an end to a civil war that has killed an estimated 40 thousand people over 21 months. Instead, the Syrian government claims the U.S. is trying to create fear and outrage as grounds for an attack.

Secretary of state Hillary Clinton, met with Russian Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov in Dublin today, trying to defuse the situation, but is it too late for diplomacy?

OutFront tonight: National Security Contributor Fran Townsend is a member of the CIA and Homeland security external advisory board and Col Cedric Leighton is a former member of the joint staff.