in lebanon we haven't been able to broker a negotiated solution between hezbollah and the christians that is to america's liking. and in syria, between aloites and sunnis, america cannot solve this problem. this is a national identity problem of people living together. >> rose: joshua, you have made siriat subject and study of your life. when you look at chemical weapons and this discussion that we're having now, do you believe that the government has in any way used chemical weapons or has plans to? >> you know, i don't know if they've used them. the u.s. is saying they haven't. israel is saying they have. israel says yes they have. it's possible that, you know, small-- about 20, 30 people killed in this ibs dent in aleppo. we're unsure of the outcome. but syria has a lot of chemical weapons. if the aloiteites are pushed to the wall-- which they may be-- they're likely to use them. and particularly if they know that this is a red line for american involvement. right now, assad still dominates the syrian government. he knows that using chemical weapons is going to trigger american--

today, in beirut, lebanon, the u.n.'s high commissioner on refugees warned, again, of ripple effects. >> the syrian conflict is more than a humanitarian tragedy, the syrian conflict became a meaningful threat to regional and global peace and security. there is a real risk of seeing the syrian conflict spilling over. >> brown: and also today, as if to bring home that point, syria's foreign minister warned his government may launch attacks on rebel safe havens inside lebanon. >> woodruff: still to come on the "newshour": conservatives regroup; shields and brooks; contaminated water and the e.p.a. and j.p. morgan in the hot seat. but first, the other news of the day. here's hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: the securities and exchange commission says it has reached the largest insider trading settlement ever. under the deal announced today, the hedge fund c.r. intrinsic investors will pay more than $600 million. it will not admit or deny any wrongdoing. regulators charged that one of the fund's managers illegally made trade

turkey is another, hezbollah and lebanon, egypt, i agree is yet another so there is not one formula. islam is diverse and it will vary from one country to the other. in some countries, islam is in time will become a pragmatic. in other countries, it would be an ongoing revolution, radicallization. >> we have not been clear enough, john kerry has done this on his last trip but we need to be more clear about standing for democratic principleses. minority rights, women's rights, freedom of expression, all of the stuff is democracy that the muslim brotherhood in egypt is begin to to dismantle. >> even with some awful examples of mod rule in which some people -- >> brutality towards women. >> or the military in egypt may look north an look at the turkish brethren and realize that if you wait too long and try to take it to the regime you may rot in jail. >> yeah. >> that happened because they wanted to put the military back into the baracks as they said. and they did that and more. >> yeah. baracks in the full sense of the term. >> yes, indeed. let me close by this. what is the essential c

israel withdrew from lebanon. we withdrew from gaza. we gave up territory. we got terror. we cannot allow that to happen a third time. israel is prepared for a meaningful compromise, but as israel's prime minister, i will never compromise on our security. [applause] we must work together to find a realistic path forward and i think that path has to be a measured step-by-step process in which we work to advance a verifiable, durable, and defensible peace. it has to be defensible because in the middle east, especially in this middle east, a peace you cannot defend will not hold for five minutes. it has to be verifiable because as we move from one step to another, we have to make sure that we cannot only defend ourselves but also that our neighbors are actually telling their people, educating their children to live in peace. this is something we desperately want. we yearn for peace. we pray or peace and with president obama, we shall work for peace. [applause] i look forward to discussing with president obama when he comes here later this month all these issues, but in additi

lebanon in a way has been since 2009 intoord nateed to the syrian issue. on syria we have come full circle going from engagement and pressure perhaps even greater pressure on asad than we had in 2008. and he is probably regretting the support for al qaeda and iraq which is coming back to bite him. when it comes to iran, you know, i was reading an article recently in preparation for a different speech about the iran negotiation. it was the president saying how the last offer we made meeting with a relatively response from the iranians. we were feeling optimistic. we to give them time and space while keeping all our option on the table. the article is from 2006, which tells you a little bit how the issue has or hasn't changed. the fact is that this is the issue which feels the most similar now to where it stood in 2008. there's more sanctions but iran's nuclear program expanded as well. the status quo may be deteriorating but looks similar. and elsewhere we had the arab uprising but even in 2008, our concerns about president mubarak and the ability to contin

iran's losing access to lebanon through syria will help lebanon on. in addition, losing the -- addition, laws in the alliance will make it harder for iran to spread its influence to terrorist groups that have worked with syria and iran. for us, it would be a strategic gain. >> ms. richards, i see you have andten many articles opinion pieces on combating terrorism. what can we continue to do or do with more strength to address the issues of terrorism, relationship with syria? how do we curtailed as presently since -- curtail this is still since assad in control? >> i am not qualified to enter your question. i yield back my time. thank you. >> now we will go to mr. desantis. chairman,ou, madam aned witnesses. i do not believe assad should survive. that is an easy thing for me to say. i did not think he ever had any legitimacy to begin with. i agree with thomas paine on the ascendancy of these hereditary dictatorships. species paine said any of character to the same authority. north korea with year-old kid, 25- now in charge of these weapons. do you have

turkey is another, hezbollah and lebanon, egypt, i agree is yet another so there is not one formula. islam is dirse and it will vary from one country to the other. in some countries, islam is in time will become a pragmatic. in other countries, it would be an ongoing revolution, radicallization. >> we have not been clear enough, john kerry has done this on his last trip but we need to be more clear about standing for democratic principleses. minority rights, women's rights, freedom of expression, all of the stuff is democracy that the muslim brotherhood in egypt is begin to to dismantle. >> even with some awful examples of mod rule in which some people -- >> brutality towards women. >> or the military in egypt may look north an look at the turkish brethren and realize that if you wait too long and try to take it to the regime you may rot in jail. >> yeah. >> that happened because they wanted to put the military back into the baracks as they said. and they did that and more. >> yeah. baracks in the full sense of the term. >> yes, indeed. let me close by this. what is the essential con

you have seen him going to lebanon. you have seen a change in his behavior, and he could have acted differently, so he deserves some credit for that. >> his instincts are right because he was brought up in that family. and this family is rooted in iraqi culture and history and is seen, unlike some of the as being very iraqi and arab, and for that reason, is loved by sunnis and shia alike. my comments of referred to iran in a negative sense throughout, but it is important for iraq to have a working relationship with iran. we have historical, cultural, family ties with iranian society and we have religious ties. and we have every year hundreds of thousands, if not millions of pilgrims who come from iran to visit the holy shrines in iraq. so, a healthy and positive relationship between the two countries is absolutely essentials. it has got to be done in such a way that it is free of domination, that it is based on mutual respect and independence. in the current situation, that is a little difficult, but that is what we sho

the a war with iran would certainly spread to iraq and through iraq to syria, to lebanon and jordan. it would engulf western afghanistan as well which is relatively peaceful and where shiites live, and iran would be able to extend the conflict of war to there as well. the consequences would be massive. because we are now facing the possibility of confronting populations that are politically aroused and who for a variety of ethnic, religious, nationalistic reasons choose to fight. and that is a new reality can which for the united states -- which for the united states if we become more and more embroiled in this kind of conflict will absorb us, tie us down and repeat on a massively larger scale the bitter costs of the engagement that we have had to undertalk -- undertake in afghanistan and of the one that we did not have to undertake in iraq tender years ago. >> do you see, in general, big distinctions between words undertaken following an attack versus ones that we choose to launch as being equivalent to your distinction between a war of choice? you didn't use the word, but a war of

lebanon since 2009 has been subordinated by the serious issue. and syria, we have come full circle, going from engagement with russia are assad, to pressure, even greater pressure on assad and we had in 2008. assad himself is probably regret in the support for al qaeda in iraq, which is coming back to bite him. when it comes to iran, i was reading an article recently in preparation for a different ,peech about the negotiations the president saying, the last offer we made was meeting with -- was met with a relatively positive response from iranians. we were feeling optimistic, but we have to give them time and space of keeping our options on the table. that article was from 2006. that tells you little bit about how this issue has or has not changed. this is the issue that feels the most similar to where it stood in 2008. there are more sanctions. i ran past nuclear program has expanded as well. program hasclear expanded as well. elsewhere, we have had arab uprising. even in 2008, our concerns about president mubarak and his ability to continue to

in lebanon, about 320,000 as well. we look now at one man who fled last year but still hopes one day to return to syria. syrian from aleppo. the roar isce and talking about the lie in a country ruled by dictators. every dictator needs people to love him and to say that they between, the difference democratic leaders or authorities and dictatorship. that theknows revolution in syria started peacefully, but the killing insisted -- no one wanted revolution in syria, no one at all, of they were on the street because they were against killing, against violence. of course, they have family in aleppo, and i really worry about them. for the future, i hope to see the two sites compromise. i am and engineer, and i am indy to go back and help rebuilding the country. >> the situation in syria is at the forefront of john kerry's first trip as secretary of state. he is due to arrive in egypt in the next half-hour or so. perhaps a little bit of confusion at this point. john kerry is not actually down to meet president morsi today. >>

. >> these assyrian refugees have made it to safety in tripoli, lebanon, but there living conditions are difficult, and have little prospect of finding work -- these syrian refugees. the number of refugees now tops 1 million. rebels seeking to oust the president want weapons. in brussels, the free syrian army's chief of staff says if his troops were better equipped, the regime would be gone in days. >> we need weapons and ammunition. to stop killing, to defend ourselves, and to defend our citizens. >> while the arab league says members can provide weapons, the european union has an arms embargo in place. some countries are providing non-legal support. britain says it will deliver armored vehicles, body armor, and rescue equipment to the vehicles. >> each month of violence in syria means more death, wider destruction, larger numbers of refugees, and bloody military confrontation. international military cannot stand still in the face of this reality. >> the reality for the syrian people book inside and outside the country remains bleak. there is little sign the fighting will end soon.

they have been re-arming from iran, through syria, into lebanon. so assad is a bad guy. he is iran's guy. he has a stake in this and so do we. we ought to exert. it i think it's very important, what secretary kerry is doing is a very, very good step. but we need to do norensure that the right rebels are the victors after assad falls, which he almost certainly will. >> shannon: congressmen, we thank you both for your time here on this sunday. we appreciate t. >> thank jew washington's reacting after the in the-controlled senate for the first time in four years passes a budget in the g.o.p.-controlled house. the two blueprints have major difference. is there any room for compromise? i asked tom coburn if he thought the two sides could work together. >> there won't be a budget that will coalesce. i am just thankful that they put a budget out. they want to grow the government-- the government's grown 89% in the last 10 years and the median income of american families has declined 5%. the average american family is earning in real dollar what is they earned in 1989. we have g

lebanon has been very concerned about clashes on its border. the jordanian and iraqi -- the jordanian border is a tense place, that is even before we consider the golan heights and the iraqi border as well. so the regional dimensions of this is of increasing and serious concern, and that's one of the reasons for this package of policy changes and announcements that i've given today. >> edward leigh? >> may i strongly reject the neocon policies and ideas emanating from my right honorable friend from kensington? want to be gained by arsenic arms into this cauldron? have we forgotten the disaster policy of arming the rebels in afghanistan? have we forgotten the appalling atrocities being committed now by jihadi's against christians in syria? what's wrong with raising our policy on life and not death? >> well, my right honorable friend can be richard i've never considered myself to be a neocon, and don't use that, don't describe myself as bad as foreign secretary. our policy must be very carefully calibrated. and my right honorable friend draws att

when the israelis left the security zone of lebanon, they got rockets. when they left -- when they left gaza, they got rockets and kidnapping. is the trip piece on the west bank? i am concerned they will be getting them on the west bank, sooner or later. the gentleman from the wicked ptl leaks with her this iran and was it as real as the work to be? host: the president spoke specifically about hamas, a perfect segue from your point. here's more from the president from this past week. we will get your reaction. [video clip] >> this all stands in stark contrast to the misery and repression that so many palestinians continue to confront. because hamas refuses to denounce violence and cares more about pushing its own dogma rather than allowing palestinians to live freely. it is about tearing visit -- caring israel down rather than building palestine up -- tearing israel down rather than building palestine up. host: our guest this morning, nathan guttman and said arikat. your reaction? guest of people seem to forget that since hamas was elected, according to

as well as an impact on iraq, lebanon on, and jordan to rid -- iraq, lebanon and jordan. n> air sea battle is a aerational approach to defeat merging enemy anti access capabilities. i am a huge fan of it. abhisit as a soldier, you cannot get anywhere unless to travel by air or sea. -- as a soldier, you cannot get anywhere unless you travel by air or sea. of the joint forces in the position to do what they need to do. to a strategy?t it would have to deal with the four continuities of war we discussed at the beginning. on syria, i cannot really comment on that because i am not an expert at all by any means. the main thing to consider looking back at iraq is we have to understand all of battlegrounds contested between us and our enemies. cannot assume that what we decide to do is going to agree -- is going to achieve our objectives or explain everything that's wrong. any comments that go towards the equivalency of what our forces do and what force is due to take a 13-year-old girl and strap her with explosives and half are held the hand of a 3-year-old mentally disabled gir

victims from italy, greece, britain, and lebanon were kidnapped in february. captives werems killed by a joint operation by algerian and british forces to free them. >> it is with great sadness that i have to inform you we believe a british construction worker who was taken hostage on the 16th of february in northern nigeria and has been held hostage since then is likely to have been killed by his captors along with six other foreign nationals who were taken hostage at the same time. this is an unforgivable act of pure, cold-blooded murder, for which there can be no excuse or justification. the responsibility for this tragic outcome rests solely with the terrorist who took these people hostage and, as i say, are likely to have murdered them in cold blood. >> tens of thousands of people have marched through cities across spain to protest against unemployment and government spending cuts. the spanish economy is entering its second recession in three years and the jobless rate has hit 26 or send. -- 26%. >> asking people why they are protesting and they will tell

lived studies and work indeed india, pakistan, lebanon, the united states and mexico. she is the editor of living in america. poetry and fiction by south asian american writers. encounter people of asian decent in the americas her novel, braided tongue was published in 2003. i introduce rashne. >> i'm reading from a selection from a longer narrative. memory is no longer confused. it has a home land. from a farm by the late ali. sometimes the circle breaks and the woman meets the child. face-to-face. each one seeing for the first time her strength in the other. a poem by jenny. [inaudible]. after more than a year of e mails and phone conversations, amy,ling and i met at the university of wisconsin in madison. it was sometime during the mid 1980. calcutta was very hot, said amy. i wondered how our conversation about asian american literature veered to calcutta? calcutta was very hot but i got my first doll there. we spent some time in calcutta when we fled to the united states. the doll didn't look like me blond hair and blue ice bought from calcutta. she comforted me wh

. >>> they are calling the syrian rocket fire to lebanon escalation of the conflict the region. state is confirming news reports tonight regime jets and helicopters fired rockets to northern lebanon. the u.s. says it constitutes unacceptable violation of the lebanese sovereignty. president obama chief spokesman says he does not know if the president has spoken to or visited with any of the survivors of last september's terror attack in benghazi, libya. chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge has the latest. good evening. >> three days after the benghazi terrorist attack, president obama promised the sacrifice of four dead americans would never be forgotten. today, if the president personally met with the benghazi survivors the white house spokesman could not provide a direct answer. >> do your knowledge, has president obama made an effort to meet with or speak with the benghazi survivors himself? >> you know, we don't talk about specifics in terms of the president's visits to walter reid. i can -- >> or elsewhere? >> i don't have anything for you on that. i don't kno

mention those three countries from the meeting being represented by the foreign minister in algeria and lebanon, either the state or the expression of their reservations around abdicating by dividing within some arab hold andd the general in addition to convince the council to adopt a binding resolution. the bloodshed -- to stop the bloodshed and suffering of the syrian people. >> thank you very much for speaking to us. the u.s. secretary of state is making a surprise visit to iraq. john kerry is pressing iraqi leaders over the war in syria. iraqig them from entering airspace. jane has more. >> the u.s. secretary of state has arrived on his first official visit. not a surprise, but certainly unannounced given the security situation here. he is expected to discuss the issue of syria with the prime minister. particularly the pledge to check the iranian flights going to syria for weapons. iraq has checked out two of those flights since making the promise. there are other issues the u.s. would like to weigh in on, othering the increasing provinces protested what had been going on since december. al

hezbollah in lebanon. she was not specific, and when i pressed her in a follow-up, was it the assad regime, that she believes used the chemical weapons, she would not say. you heard the president say in his answer today, he's skeptical about any claims that it was the opposition that may have used chemical weapons, though he won't say whether he believes chem kwical weapons were used a all. they want to get the facts on all of this, but right now, clearly, the u.s. officials have one line, israeli officials have a different one. >> the president saying the u.s. needs to gather the facts. he makes it clear that he doesn't want that so-called, what he said genie to be out of the bottle. he said it would be a game changer if that red line were crossed by the syrian military. another red line, john king, involves iran right now. do you sense that there is a significant difference between the israeli assessment and the u.s. assessment on the urgency of what is going on? >> i don't think there is any disagreemen

let's start with the rockets fired into lebanon. how close to the capitol did they come? >> reporter: it was still pretty far out in the border region between lebanon and syria. very mountainous, indistinct where the border is. we understand two war planes hit derelict buildings, but governments tried to keep out of the fighting with a policy that calls disassociation. the concern is not that this will get a government or military response back to syria, but it might ignite the sectarian tensions inside lebanon, which pretty much mirror those that play in syria. also point out, wolf, rebels unleashing a barrage of rockets in central damascus, too. a real uptick in violence today, wolf. >> when it comes to arming the rebels, looks like there's a change emerging from the united states. what's going on? >> reporter: well, john kerry came out today and said quite clearly that he would not stand in the way of allies of the united states who wanted to arm the syrian rebels. that's not saying the u.s. would do that themselves. they've been very reluctant and the joint chiefs of

he says about half of 100 foreign staff members will move to lebanon or egypt. as those employees pull out the secretary general is sending team to investigate allegations by syrian forces. they say they used chemical weapons near the northern city of aleppo. he hopes the team will not consistent only of u.s. and european investigators. >>> rebel forces are now in control of the african capital. both sides signed a cease-fire? january. the rebels broke the agreement last week when they entered the capital. they took control of the city. their leader named himself interim president. they have announcdenounced the for breaking the cease-fire. the u.n. secretary general is calling for the rule of law to return as soon as possible. he says he's deeply concern over reports of seriousuman rhts abuses. >>> he's on his first trip abroad as leader. he is spending several days on the continent. a part of the world his country has come to rely on for trade and natural resources. the president delivered a speech at a convention center. chinese aid helped fund the center. th

syrian planes have bombed northern lebanon for the first time according to the u.s. state department here they have accused damascus of a significant escalation of the conflict -- state department. they have accused the mask is of a significant escalation of the conflict. of acused damascus significant escalation of the conflict. al-shabab has claimed responsibility for a suicide attack in mogadishu, which let as many as 10 people dead and many more injured. the lease believe government officials -- police believe government officials were the target. 10 years ago, americans led an invasion in iraq based on the idea that hussein had weapons of mass distraction. he did not. the bbc has uncovered intelligence from senior iraqis that could have changed the calculation. peter taylor has this exclusive report. >> tony blair insisted the intelligence was beyond doubt. it was anything but. >> what appeared to be gold in terms of intelligence turned out to be full. -- fools gold. >> there were two highly placed sources closely placed to saddam hussein who said that iraq had

the middle east was very prominent, when he was so lebanon, again today messages of peace. what is he trying to do? >> it is obvious he wants to build bridges with the other religions. he was very clear. he wants tohe wants to start, ia new era. as a cardinal he always had excellent relations with the and muslims. now he wants to build bridges. the other day when he spoke about brother muslims, i think the region would view this as important. i think the pope will try to change those tensions that there were before, no? >> beyond the politics, he is trying to change the relationship between the clerk [indiscernible] foupoor.nce a church for -- he says he wants to a church church poor -- wants a for the poor. he accepts people. >> this new approach, how will he use it when he has to tackle some very important issues? we have been talking about it since the 16th resigned. reform within the vatican. how will this personality bring about those reforms? which do you think he will concentrate on the most? >> for sure he will bring change. he will do it in a political way. he is a

things like the serbs, crow -- croates and muslims or the turks in turkey, the drewes in lebanon, a range of conflict, and i could go on and on and on and some of that is punctuated by our aggravated by negative stereotyping, a demonizing of the other, who is inferior to us, the way the type casting goes, inferior objectionable needs to be dealt with as an enemy and so on and this has been a playing in our society and goal of society for quite some time and we have been, i think, increasingly sensitive to this and attuned to it in part because of a very important book that was written in the 70s by ed said. said was a palestinian and activist but also a distinguished professor of english at columbia university and also a music critic for international publications. his book which was called orientalism, if he didn't coin the word, certainly made is significant so that no one could use the word oriental because it has a kind of negative connotation to it. it is a sense -- what said argued was that this is is a perception of the easterner that came from imperialistic colonial powers in the

israel was serious about preventing the flow of weapons into neighboring lebanon. but we are getting reports of more protests in egypt. demonstrators set fire to [indiscernible] and monday night. it has been intense four weeks since men were sentenced to death for their involvement in a football riot. anita, what has been happening? >> the clashes between the security forces, primarily riot police and demonstrators here, they ranged late into the night. they started up again. it is not major. they are not responding at the same levels as yesterday meaning -- yesterday evening. rocks are being thrown. one building in particular is seeing some attention here. we are getting reports that some of the police are actually trapped inside the government building, one of the buildings that was partially set on fire by protesters yesterday using molotov cocktails. if these reports are correct, police are saying that they are actually surrounded by the protesters and are too afraid to come out. one is saying that they're trapped in the building and that the police are not pre

around 320,000 are thought to be living in lebanon. >> there are bad conditions in the camp with the toilets far away and we are in the middle of the desert. there are only two bakeries. >> this is different than living in our own country and we suffer from this new environment. we try to connect with the new come back streets, they are suffering from this because they are not working here, and this is very expensive. >> john kerry is in egypt as he continues his tour of egypt and the middle east. he has met the secretary general and he is urging egypt to sign a loan deal for the international monetary fund. he joins us live from the egyptian capital. we have seen so for the historic is dominated by syria. but this is not the focus of his trip to -- trip to egypt. >> not at all. the egyptian economy is in a dreadful state and unlike countries like syria, which have a mere 22 million population strong relatively isolated from the world economy, egypt is a major player, in the sense you care to mention, with 8% of the trade going through the canal -- this is a vital area with israel. a

he says about half of 100 foreign staff members will move to lebanon or egypt. as those employees pull out the secretary general is sending team to investigate allegations by syrian forces. they say they used chemical weapons near the northern city of aleppo. he hopes the team will not consistent only of u.s. and european investigators. >>> rebel forces are now in control of the african capital. both sides signed a cease-fire? january. the rebels broke the agreement last week when they entered the capital. they took control of the city. their leader named himself interim president. they have announcdenounced the for breaking the cease-fire. the u.n. secretary general is calling for the rule of law to return as soon as possible. he says he's deeply concern over reports of serious human rights abuses. >>> he's on his first trip abroad as leader. he is spending several days on the continent. a part of the world his country has come to rely on for trade and natural resources. the president delivered a speech at a convention center. chinese aid helped fund the center

wrong hands could be hezbollah in lebanon. an ally of assad. regime of damascus. or opposition groups that may be outside the realm of what the intelligence community knows about. this information is shared and israelis said they would react again and have reacted by military in lebanon. beth parties are very concerned about what is happening in syria and of course chemical weapons are first among them. i think this is a very volatile situation that could develop any week as we saw yesterday with the latest report. >> andrea mitchell was reporting how this could be a new beginning for netanyahu and obama. how there was more warmth between them or less after chill between them might be a better way of phrasing it. but i wonder to the extent that true, how much do you think that has to do with the simple fact that obama was re-elected last year? so much of the frostiness in the first term seemed to be na netanyahu was basically betting that obama would be a one-term president. betting on romney victory. here is the re-elected more confident and assertive obama makin

i spent time in lebanon with women who had been traffic. no matter what the work we did and the stories we heard, there were stories about how the laws in lebanon on, for example, would prevent women from obtaining their passport. their employers had taken them away. i was curious about your experiences and the places you have traveled. >> it is diabolical. i am glad congress reauthorize the violence against women act. in that was the trafficking victims' protection act, which helps take away those double standards in american law. too often, we victimize the victims. in terms of internationally, that is why i referenced none of these problems are in isolation. the solutions are holistic. health is the building block of all stability. when a girl is healthy, she can go to school. she can stay in school. when she has her period, what she needs for her hygiene, she can stay in school. for every year a girl stays in school, she has her first child at an older age, and fewer children. her earning capacity skyrockets exponentially. she contribut

you have seen him going to lebanon. you have seen a change in his behavior, and he could have acted differently, so he deserves some credit for that. >> his instincts are right because he was brought up in that family. to this family is rooted in iraqi culture and history and is seen, unlike some of the as being very iraqi and very arab, and for that reason, is loved by sunnis and shia alike. here, want to also add because my comments of referred to iran in a negative sense throughout, but it is important for iraq to have a working relationship with iran. .ran is a neighbor we have historical, cultural, family ties with iranian society and we have religious ties. and we have every year hundreds of thousands, if not millions of pilgrims who come from iran to visit the holy shrines in iraq. so, a healthy and positive relationship between the two countries is absolutely essentials. it has got to be done in such a way that it is free of domination, that it is based on mutual respect and independence. course in the current s

of lebanon, najib mikati has revined -- resigned after his cabinet was unable to decide on how election should be carried out later this year. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu has phenomenonny pologized for the death of troops. the reconciliation was brought on by president obama's trip to the middle east. our north american editor, who is traveling with the president, has sent us this report. >> at israel's holocaust memorial, president obama declared we must work for the light. but ermon than diplomacy the man was hoping to change the way america was seen in the world when we came into office. obama has shown a passionate respect for their country that is sweet music to israeli ears and many liked his push for peace. one newspaper declared "love has paid a royal visit." >> for our sons and daughters are not born to hate. they are taught to hate. so let us fill their young hearts with the same understanding and compassion that we hope others have for them. >> he mailed tribute to zionism at the grave of its modern founder. the new friendlier approach is already working and he

they interviewed over 100 christian syrians in lebanon. they say malitia are driving them out because of their christian faith. one woman says her son and husband were shot in the head just because they were christians. it is the second largest in the middle east after egypt. today whole villages disappear when islamic rebels arrive. a lebanese patriarch says it is, quote,"a great exitous taking place in silence." recently cbn middle east bureau chief chris mitchell spoke with lila about persecution about christians in syria and the middle east. >> what is your situation in syria right now, specifically for christians? >> it is very hard to tell right now. the problem is that the rebels are saying that the assad government is killing the christians, and vice versa, and nobody really can tell. they're fleeing, and they're very much caught in the cross-fire. churches have been destroyed, and there are terrible reports coming out, but it is hard to sift through them at this time. >> syria is sort of the latest example of what is happening in

. >> lebanon's government decided to step down after a standoff with hezbollah. the prime minister had been in office for over two years. hezbollah had helped put him in office, but they fell out over domestic issues. there were also tensions over neighboring syria. hezbollah strongly backs president bashar al-assad. >> on friday, cyprus was still trying to find a way out of its financial crisis. the finance minister had tried russia, traveling to moscow to drum up support for it he left without clinching -- support. he left without clinching a deal. time is running out. the european central bank said it would cut off emergency funding if a plan was not in place by monday. friday saw some signs of progress. pearlman passed bills to restructure the banks and place restrictions on transactions in times of crisis -- harlem and passed bills to restructure the banks and place restrictions on transactions in times of crisis. but at the end of the day, he has still not come up with the 5.8 billion euros that was being demanded. >> the countries that ask for solidarity m

more from bay root in neighboring lebanon. >> the syrian government used some of the arguments it has been naming for years, one is the united states is an organization manipulated by the superpowers to join their own -- when it comes to this treat questiony, the they said what about the small arms that are being smuggled into their area and in the government these are used to create kay yoss in the country. >> rebels in syria say they ave taken domestic side. this amateur video says it shows them taking over a check point and they say they have aptured several armored syrian soldiers vand captured penalty at bag dat. there's lee people killed -- four mosques in neighborhoods were targeted. >> meanwhile, demonstraters say they were the target of criminal investigation and thousands of sunnis have rallied in recent weeks calling for the government to resign. now former member of the bosnian-serbian house of military advises. he was charged with committing crimes against humanity during the 1992-1995 war. he is found guilty of murder and remain and torture of non-civil glance for for wa

hezbollah is destroying lebanon and supporting the brutal massacre of the same people by president assad. fortunately, the syrian nuclear capacity was destroyed. but unfortunately, thousands of chemical weapons remain. we cann we cannot allow those weapons to fall in the terrorists' hands. it could lead to an epic tragedy. in an attempt to spring to the arab world, it is an arab choice, it is an arab initiative. it may bring peace to the region, freedom to the people, economic growth to the arab states. eventually, it can lead to a better tomorrow. we pray it will become a reality. i believe the real division is between skeptics and those who believe in peace. your voice will encourage, i believe. you came to us with the clear message that no one should let skepticism win the day. a vision that says clearly that peace is not only a wish, but a possibility. i fully support your call. there is no other way to make the fooch better. there is no better leader to make it possible. your visit is an historic step in that direction. we shall journey with you all the way. thank you. >> thank you

turkey, iraq, jordan, lebanon, and israel. and so far, we have not seen this strong american leadership. and that's what the region is hungry for because don't expect regional leadership, not even from a country like turkey. and that's why i hope the president when he comes back takes stock of what's taking place in the region. will change his posture on syria and reach some sort of an accommodation with the israelis on iran to give diplomacy a last chance, maybe, before they resort to other means. >> that is what you hope is the take away from this. in terms of the preamble and the set up, i want to play a comment made earlier about mitt romney and former bush foreign adviser dan senor on "morning joe." >> i think what's striking about this trip, he's coming to israel without a plan. most american presidents who have shown up in israel, clinton went four times. >> right. >> bush went in 2008. they went in a moment that they were on the cusp of israeli -- >> and the president's coming to close a deal. >> ambassador, i'll have

so i would imagine the place would be probably jordan, possibly lebanon. >> brown: leonard spector and david ignatius, we'll keep watching, thanks very much. >> thank you. >> ifill: next, the latest on the battles playing out at both the federal and state levels to tighten gun laws. judy woodruff has our update. >> woodruff: for gun control supporters, today's signing ceremony in colorado spelled a significant victory in a western state where many people like their guns. governor john hickenlooper signed into law a series of measures requiring new background checks for private and online gun sales. the law also limits ammunition magazines to 15 rounds. but it was a bittersweet moment as well. before that ceremony, hickenlooper remembered his friend and the state's head of corrections, tom clements, who was shot and killed at his home yesterday evening. there are no known suspects. >> tom clements dedicated his life to being a public servant, to making our state better, to making the world a better place; and he is going to be deeply, deeply missed. >> woodruff: the passage of the new l

fences along the borders with egypt, lebanon, and syria. more fences around the gaza strip and a massive wall along the west bank. a country the size of new jersey with more than 500 miles of barricades. israel is shutting out the arab world and shutting itself in. the president had one main message for the israeli people. the united states is with you in these uncertain times. it's the same message the president will now deliver to other increasingly nervous american allies in the west bank and jordan. brian? >> richard engel back in the region for us tonight. chuck todd prior to that traveling with the president starting us off. gentlemen, thanks. >>> back to the press conference, both leaders had opening statements. the actual press conference part was limited to two questions from israeli journalists and two questions from the visiting americans. so when our own friend chuck todd asked a multi part question he got called out for it. >> another question i have for you is -- >> chuck, how many you got? do you guys do this in the israeli p

that, of course, is what israel is worried about, right next door, if hezbollah, the sworn enemy in lebanon get these weapons there will be hell to pay for israel. >> ifill: margaret warner, thank you. >> brown: tomorrow, margaret will report on president obama's trip to the west bank and his meeting with president mahmoud abbas of the palestinian authority. still to come on the "newshour" tonight: afr our look at the questions surrounding chemical weaponin syria; the state of play on gun ontrol laws; life and death in the emergency room in newark, new jersey and high speed internet changing what we watch and how we watch it. but first, the other news of the day. here's hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: the federal reserve stood by its aggressive plan to stimulate the u.s. economy, keeping short-term interest rates at record lows. and it said there are signs the economy is getting stronger. one of those signs-- unemployment-- fell to a four- year low of 7.7% in february. still, the fed predicted it won't reach 6.5% until 2015. the fed and its chairn, ben bernanke, also had words of caution

the youth had written all of the dedications that will be read nd choir comes from lebanon. throughout the proceedings several references to the middle east, described as land torn by injustice and conflict. the last station of the cross was on the palestine hill where it was handed over to pope francis. he appeared very solemn and collected. he gave us very short blessing and after that, his very international crowd that gathered here tonight erupted in a huge applause. >> demonstrators in alexandria and supporters at the muslim brotherhood gathered outside the office of egypt's top prosecutor, angry and ordered to arrest problem opposition activists. >> many farmers live in the delta but rising seawater is threatening low-lying griculture land. >> it's hard to believe this was once lush agriculture land, but the rise in sea level has killed all the crops and farmers who used to work this land have been forced to leave. >> in the last five to ten years seawater mixed with aquifer water underground. seawater rises as the north rises. even a huge centimeters can make a huge d

problem is becoming potentially very destabilizing, 400,000 refugees in jordan, close to that number in lebanon. that will be on the agenda of the talks. i think the united states is faced with two options that are bad. ander to arm the opposition risk those arms falling into the wrong hands, or risk destabilization and radicalization not just of syria but the whole region. many in washington think that with time, the that states must feel the second options, which is intervening in may be in and direct way to stop be radicalization, may prompt the first, but there are no easy options and no indication yet this will take place. >> thank you very much for joining us. >>> more news from syria, the most prominent sunni cleric has been killed by a bomb blast at a mosque in central damascus. he died along with more than 40 other people in what syrian state television says was a terrorist suicide attacked at the mosque. he was an outspoken critic of the syrian opposition. >>> iran's supreme leader has acknowledged the west's economic sanctions against iran have been effective. he said this was due to