military intervention in syria we'll tell you more next and in war torn syria the violence has reached a small town near the nation's capital it's a village that holds one of the oldest christian minorities in the world the growing concerns of this community coming up and don't forget to put your best face forward the department of homeland security is putting together a huge database for facial recognition but does this really help law enforcement more on that and today show. it's friday september sixth five pm in washington d.c. i'm lynn neary david and you're watching r t we begin today with syria as the debate for and against a military strike continues in congress president obama cleared a major hurdle this week by gaining approval from the senate foreign relations committee as they voted ten to seven on their own version of military authorization however it hasn't exactly been easy for the administration to continue that momentum giving a full breakdown on the numbers behind this fight is r t political commentator sam sax i've long believed that our power is rooted not just in ou

from syria. so this also has to play out but i think it can't play out for an eternity. >> sure. >> i think the commander in chief needs to set some parameters here. >> in the meantime, you bring up a good point here because there has to be some sort of timetable or guidelines here. this is put on hold, but congress still have to grapple with other business, if you will. you're talking about balancing the budget, you're talking about the dealing with the debt ceiling, implementing obama care. how does that all fit into what we're dealing with here? do they put that stuff on hold while they deal with syria? >> no. here you are, president obama. who would you rather deal with vladimir putin or are house republicans? it's kind of a tough choice for him. he has to deal with both at the same time, right? he's going to have to pursue syria, but on the other hand, republicans say they're going to be very, very aggressive on this quell of whether you -- how you raise the debt ceiling. there are some repu

the future of syria interested in a trans national islamic. state so they're not interested in this kind of talks anyway they are respected in the rebel ranks serious fighters well funded will well armed dedicated but their money of the rebels just don't see a future for. syria they want their own country well it's very interesting hilary if we look at some of these foreign founder of fighters up to ten thousand there are some estimates and some even more fighters in syria now than there were ever in afghanistan and that the civil war in syria has only been going on for two years i mean these people fighting for syria what are they doing there and is anybody outside the the exiles can they control them in any way shape or form it's i think clearly they cannot control and we've seen over the past two years that the so-called london eleven can't control them their sponsors saudi arabia and qatar can't control them i think they are not listening to any outside backer for the benefit of syria they're very much for themselves whether it's for a pan

action on syria. the syrian regime sorr refor its backing of iran, hezbollah and even china, that is in place against the world's only super power. the u.s., whe a coalition? a sit of allies? does it not seem strange to every senator, every representative in the house of representatives that this president has not been able to find a single leader who the stand shoulder to shoulder with the united states, germany said no, britain said no, france is waitining to see what congress does. then the matter in the president's goal in striking syria. in libya, united states had a clear mission. president obama struck, purpose was on thtake out moammar gadhae change, they were that, at least in this scope. our goals in syria, not regime change but punishment. president obama said any action will be limited and proportional as he put it, we do not know if those words have any means for president obama. >> president obama said that the red line is not his, he wants a limited proportion al-milh stare strike again

tending it looks like everybody is using syria everyone's using syria now they'll go ahead jump in. let me again in for size one point if hezbollah gets what kind of missiles over further would it apply and who the target is i believe the conflict in syria centers over roads and highways something similar to the nine hundred forty eight conflict and basically as sad moves his troops inside big roads in cities if they are including hezbollah that's a factor that's a strategic military factor but also the highways among the c.d.n. cities and the highways linking syria with the surrounding countries these are the domains the rains who are hizbullah rebuilds possibly israel or the city and troops loyal to assad are moving so this is the landscape of the battle the are going to be shooting at each other being the cop turned or will define the outcome of the battle so the question is does hezbollah. that can have maxi capabilities as sound does and i'm quite sure that he would be receiving very important technicolor information and operational experience from his russian military advisors

al qaeda affiliated groups fighting here in syria. against the regime of bashar assad but mostly for their own radical islamic state and it's known it's believed to be the best armed most successful and at the same time the most aggressive opposition force here in syria and it's listed as a terrorist organization by the you when u.s. and some other members of the international community and we can see that the tactics were also. very similar to those that terrorists all around the world use we know that. early on wednesday suicide bomber struck a checkpoint at the entrance of my little village and after a car exploded at the checkpoint the militants of just stormed and we have online and i hope you can see it right now showing the rebels. the. residents have been telling media that the same day the militants managed to take over a mountain top sophia hotel and they been firing from that strategic point what we know is that a village is a very special play. not only speaking. in terms of syrian reality but internationally speaking it i

parties in syria keeping in mind interests of syria and its people realized sensational violence when possible putting an end to the crisis and build homes for syrians china hopes the international community will build consensus and promoted convening of the geneva 2 conference and secretary-general ban ki-moon join special representative, mr. president. the syrian issue is highly complex. the destruction of chemical weapons nor the process of political sentiments, going forward there will probably be this problem or that and a peaceful settlement and direction of a political sentiment. as a member of the security council china stands ready to work with other parties and make efforts for comprehensive, proper sentiment of the syrian issue. >> i think is excellently for the statement and give the floor to his excellency, fernando barack, minister of the republican affairs for the republic of guatemala. >> translator: mr. president. we're lamenting for the fact the security council is incapable of stepping up to one of the bloodiest and painful internal conflicts of our time. i am refer

pilgrim who'd been living in syria for sixteen years and he told me if everyone in syria wanted to go he would be gone this is not to say that a substantial number of syrians don't want him to go they do want him to go but there is a constituency in syria that supports a sub the problem is that we don't have the west doesn't have anyone to bring to the negotiating table the syrian opposition is completely fractured who represents the syrian opposition could could give me five names that represent the syrian opposition who can go to the negotiation table and talk to assad you know i can argue for him it was because of the point in the poorest a week in the middle east the great powers are you know they have lost their influence wherever so that's the that is one of the delimiters you know the people the countries who can bring about some sort of meaningful peace or not you know in russia there might be saudi arabia or because the so do you i knew all that was really really depressed or very depressing to find syria that's a very depressing thought that saudi arabia would be playing tha

military strike against syria. he promised to take that message back to washington next week and vote against the white house plan to strike syria. david hawkins, aljazeera, michigan. >> ahead, richard murphy speaks to us. for the latest, you can always go to aljazeera.com. >> a bomb has exploded in front of egyptian minister's home in cairo in a possible attempt on his life. six people were injured in the explosion. two attackers were killed by police. witnesses tell aljazeera a car bomb was set near the interior minister's convoy. >> the cleveland medical examiner confirmed that aerial castro hanged himself with a bed sheet. he had just started serving a life sentence as punishment for kidnapping and torturing three young women for a decade. those three women have not spoken publicly. we visited the cleveland neighborhood castro called home to see the impact his death is having on people there. >> on the 2000 block of seymour avenue in cleveland, flowers offer no hint of the painful history of the house that once

syria's best friend, russia, saying that, in fact, syria will sign on to that ban. and syria will allow the international community to take all of its chemical weapons and destroy them. and syria seems to be going along with what russia says here. and that is why everything changed today in washington, and that is why the senate has delayed its vote and the u.s. government and the president say now that the only reason this progress was made is because of a threat of u.s. military force seeming real in this case. and they're saying that is what russia and syria responded to. and if it is up to the guy who i guess saw this coming, then the senator, joe manchin pass out of here, the way forward is that the u.s. and the senate and the president should change tact to reflect this progress today. say yes to this offer from syria and russia. say yes to this offer from syria to come in from the cold and hand over their chemical weapons. lead the world in universal approval of that move. see to it that it happens and save the prospect of the use of force for if they don't f

a serious crisis a crisis in syria there's no crisis in syria there's a civil war in syria and that's a matter to address in the international diplomacy tool kit but what we have is a serious constitutional violation we have a constitutional crisis in the united states the president united states is violating the constitution he violated it and wasn and impeachable offense when he attacked libya if he attacks. syria as he proposes to do without an act of congress declaring war that's yet another impeachable offense and right now the congress the united states has before it a requirement in the constitution to call for a constitutional convention immediately do you think that congress will give a nod of yes to an approval to a syrian action. this is going to be interesting to follow because there's two third conflicting political interests the outcome will have nothing to do with morality nothing to do with justice nothing to do with u.s. national security nothing to do with international or constitutional law what we have is the republicans in congress and they have a conflict at this

they don't have any idea of a syria they intend to create. i am quite sure that that is simply not on the agenda to create a new syria or to fundamentally alter the present balance of power within the country they're talking about degrading certain capabilities of the syrian government. if they if they are serious about doing that of course that means a much more fundamental commitment to getting involved in war that they have exhibited so far so you know there are obvious contradictions here in the official position of the obama administration on one hand trying to emphasize the limited character of what they are planning to do and on the other hand claiming that somehow this will make a difference i don't know how they can square that circle. in washington as well when you square the circle. i'm not sure i can square the circle either but i can tell you that the l c c's position as the largest network of nonviolent activists in syria our position is that we would support airstrikes if they were to fundamentally degrade the capability of the

places mean syria. although because it will come you know large would continue to keep the relative peace for the this is why it's a symbolic religious a very cool term but not only. here. for a long period. of. oh. this may look like an ordinary farewell amongst friends but the man in the long as lama coat is a suicide bomber leaving on his final journey. this is his last conversation with his elder brother in a car that is supposed to take him to the roles of the central prison in aleppo syria and then explode sending him to paradise according to his beliefs these clips were found on a laptop taken from one man seen in the food age who is now in a syrian prison he calls himself rush on and says he came to syria from a former soviet republic to fight. a group called murat approached me a year ago and convinced me that muslims in syria are being oppressed and killed and that i should go and take up arms against assad for world jihad and help establish a caliphate that will extend worldwide to europe ame

now the resolution on syria is obviously so the resolution on syria is obviously a victory for russian diplomacy but the resolution has in a way also restored the u.s. credibility that was kind of lost in recent years so with the inability to make a joint decision it one time thing do you think or will we see more decisions like that well i hope we will i mean the most important thing about this resolution is that it's really paving the way for the implementation of this project of eliminating all chemical weapons. in syria and making sure that no chemical attacks can be possible in the future so it's a very good success for russia and i think good success with it for the united states because we have been working together very closely with our american colleagues on this and of this resolution allowed the united states to avoid this very sorely and delicate issue of the possibility of use of force in syria of course for us it's a very important result of the option of this resolution is that the use of force in syria is not regarded anymore internationally as something which. can be r

over all crisis in syria. a mill industry solution is not an option. >> the arab league is due to meet in the egyptian capitol to discuss the crisis in syria but there's little unity of how they respond to the chemical weapons attacks. saudi arabia and other uniteed the emirates support military enter jennings but libya, iraq rule against using force. what is expected then from the the arab the league? >> reporter: on sunday, first of all the meeting will be at ambassador level and later in the day the foreign ministers consider a draft text put forward by the ambassadors. already we know that -- a lot are saying the arab league have as far last tuesday in an ambassador's meeting. an issue which con tkepls what it called the haoe news crime can carried out by prointernational prohibited chemical weapons. i laid it at the feet of the assad government of in syria. it was suspended from iraq t lebanon and al tkp*e ria. i think the feeling today is that there won't be any show of unity. there will be a discussion

is helping israel syria was and still is and then we'll feel. in was a serious threat to israel and at the moment it almost doesn't exist nobody is asking israel to withdraw from the golan heights so in a way. this tragedy is quite a confortable situation for this word in washington how do you take a strike ok i mean in people in syria are being killed ok i mean that's one result . absolutely people in syria are being killed and that is exactly the problem certainly israel is taking advantage of a weaker syria now but the bottom line is it's striking weapons that may have been destined for hezbollah which could immediately turn around and use them against syrians so whether israel continues these foreigners into syria or not is almost irrelevant to the people of syria because they're being attacked by their own government ok josh if i go back to you if everyone forgetting the syrians now looks like it's jockeying for position in the region it's everything's a proxy now joshua. well things are proxy but as. you know the outside regime is used scu

reflection from damascus in syria. he's raring for war and president francois hollande says there will be no vote on the matter despite a recent poll suggesting that three in four french people want parliament to have a say on attacking syria and perhaps a wary or by u.k. like a defeat by lawmakers or loans administration insists he alone has the power to order an attack i'll choose to associate reports now on the french perspective. the french president a lot is constitutionally able to order over the top without a parliamentary approval but france along has been under a lot of pressure from opposition to to put this issue to a vote with the opposition and also pointed out that a lot is in a court of what he merely a position of having to wait for before acting i was spokesman from along the office said that the president hasn't yet decided whether or not to ask for a vote but what's interesting to note is that in the u.k. the prime minister is also able to work over the top without parliament the prime minister david

a low in welcome to cross talk where all things are considered i'm peter lavelle syria and the dive into the abyss the obama administration is reportedly wreath. thinking its previous position whether it should openly armed rebel groups in this grinding civil war many have the opinion that civil wars with outside involvement usually lasts longer cause more deaths are more difficult to resolve through negotiations so what is different this time around. crosstalk serious protracted civil war i'm joined by mark levine in washington he is a senior fellow with the truman national security project and a radio show host also in washington we have samara robbie he's a government relations manager at the arab american institute and in london we crossed to you as an adult he is a lecturer at oxford university and imperial college london he is also a member of the syrian dialogue project all right folks cross talk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want you know mark if i go to you first obama's mulling this we're told this is a risk is this a good idea after everything that has

soldiers in syria. how could iran help me. >> charlie: supplies, weaponry. >> we always have this kind of of -- >> charlie: hezbollah fighters have been here. >> in the border -- only on the border where the terrorist attacked them on the border with lebanon. this is where hezbollah retaliated. this is where you have cooperation. that's good. >> charlie: hezbollah forces are in syria today? >> on the border area of lebanon where they want to protect and serve and cooperate with us. but they don't exist all overseer i can't. they cannot exist all overseer i can't. from any region that they exist on the border. >> charlie: what advice are you getting from the russians? >> about? >> charlie: this war. how to end this war. >> looking for a solution, we have this advice and we are convinced about it. >> charlie: do you have plan to end the war? >> of course. >> charlie: which is -- at very beginning it was fullly political when you have these terrorists the first part of the same plan which is political shou

well syria was. was a revolution in the in the in the same way that egypt saw its revolution which toppled hosni mubarak in the same way that tunisia so revolution that toppled the and in the same way that the people of libya rose the people of syria as well as yemen other countries also rose at the very same time the context can't be ignored the syrian revolution for six months after it starts all it was calling for was the reform of the regime not the fall of the regime you mentioned that their way of started to was through peaceful protests and i take your point i was there on the ground are so many of those peaceful rallies but i think the protests. is that i saw back then in damascus and in many other syrian cities have absolutely nothing in common with the armed rebels and the problem is that yourself your group and many other arab intellectuals in the west seem to you said just that you know on this particular case using violence using aren't resistance may be justified in my my argument is th

all syria timeline everything you need to know it's all if we. well with america blaming the syrian regime for chemical attacks the u.s. national security adviser susan rice expressed concern that israel could also be at risk the use of chemical weapons also directly threatens our closest ally in the region israel where people once again have readied gas masks she's worn the chemicals could easily fall into the hands of terrorists he has received information from a number of sources that rebels active in syria are planning to launch a chemical attack on israel it would be used as a provocation against the syrian government and our correspondent has more from tel aviv. i've spoken to both the israeli foreign ministry is what is the army spokespersons units and i was asking them for a reaction to the reports we have that there is an imminent threat being planned by syrian rebels originating in territory in syria that is controlled by the syrian government against israel now the reaction was to quote one of the spokespeople for off aged the response

. >> the europeans fighting in syria's civil war. confirmation that german jihad tests are involved. >> the bank when -- bangladesh building collapse disaster. the search for survivors continues. is this a game changer for how the world deals with the crisis in syria? on thursday, the united states said that it now believes forces loyal to the syrian president have probably used chemical weapons in syria. >> the finding is a very fresh one. the u.s. defense secretary said the intelligence community reached the conclusion within the past 24 hours. >> that's right. the chemical in question is a lethal nerve agent. hagel did not say where or when it was used, but he made it clear that the blame lies with assad. >> our coverage begins with this report. >> are arriving in abu dhabi, the u.s. defense secretary said washington believes the assad regime has used chemical weapons but admitted there was some uncertainty. >> the white house delivered a letter to several members of congress on the topic of chemical weapons use in syria. the lett

we're focused on syria. still with us, director of the syrian center for political and strategic studies and former spokesman for the main syrian opposition group. saudi political affairs 234,589, and the director of the institute for gulf affairs. and former u.s. ambassador to the united nations, you're in new york. you've been at the united nations. what is the saudi perspective on the u.n. and their involvement? >> well, i was the saudi government decided to go back to the u.n. supreme coursecurity council. i just confirmed that, and they said that they are going back. i think it should be this week or next week be . kerry it "s" there, and i think they have returned an agreement to return to the u.n. security council. the u.s. i think, will be more aggressive on syria, no strikes, but more aggressive in terms of trying to push assad regime out. >> ambassador, how significant is that news? >> well, it's definitely significant. the saudis have been throwing a bit of a tantrum over something that is very un

syria is the key. that's why you're seeing a lot of iranian troops in syria because they need to protect their investment in that part of the world, just like we do. >> diplomacy is everybody inner pretty. although it sounds pretty, it is messy. colonel, if you could stay with us. i have other questions moving through this program about these two countries, and it leads to this question -- the military. how is the united states maneuvering all of those big, heavy assets? ships, aircraft carriers. they can't just stay hanging out there forever. so what are we doing about it as we still maintain a threat over syria? first, though, today is september 11th, and there are memorial services throughout the country, and in shanksville, pennsylvania. in new york city. and in washington, d.c. and we will pause to remember, next. [ male announcer ] campbell's angus beef & dumplings. hearty cheeseburger. creamy thai style chicken with rice. mexican-style chicken tortilla. if you think campbell's 26 new soups sound

still to come here i speak to those making a pilgrimage to syria to fight in what they believe is a holy war. also the opening of a crew from the international space station successfully coming to an end. on the beautiful steps of. both. here and. he with me. thanks for joining us today it looks like president obama is toning things down after weeks of bombastic statements threats that the syrian government deserves a u.s. military strike. to his nation which according to recent polls is against america getting involved in a brand new civil war he agreed to give way to diplomacy for reporting from washington. we saw president obama engaged in verbal acrobatics with the message that many americans will find very confusing he was forcefully pushing the idea that strikes against syria are necessary asking the american people to support him at the same time he would say maybe they will not be necessary and maybe diplomacy can work he was referring to russia's proposal for seriously give up its chemical weapons take a listen it's too early to tell whether this offer will succeed in any agreem

the alawites have the right to live in syria. no one should be excluded from society. >> narrator: the next morning, just as the united nations truce begins, ahmad and his comrades prepare for battle. >> (translated): we always try and pray before battle. it makes us stronger. we've realized that only god will help us. so we ask god for the strength to attack more checkpoints. >> narrator: ahmad is going to attack a large government base at wadi daif. it's a major launching point for artillery attacks in the region. it also protects the regime's main supply route from the capital, damascus, to syria's embattled second city, aleppo. >> narrator: for weeks, they've been besieging the base at wadi daif. the fighting has been intense. the brother of rebel leader jamal marouf was killed here only weeks ago. today they plan to storm the base and overrun it. the fog allows them to move unseen to within striking distance. the base lies less than a mile down this road, and is manned by up to 500 regime soldiers. >> narrator: jamal used to

while western warships and fighter jets move to within striking range of syria as the u.s. and britain seem set on military action if you want inspect there is confirm a chemical attack to place. also greece needs another massive money boost from viewers just as the people of pre-election germany get fed up with explanations on why it's ok to pour in their cash. to take off for the skies high tech as the world's finest aircraft and best buy is descent of moscow for one of the years key air shows. five pm in moscow you're watching r t m arena joshua welcome to the program while the blame game surrounding the alleged chemical attack in syria is gathering pace syria's foreign minister insists that rebels and foreign mercenaries fighting with them are behind the alleged atrocity once again refuting washington's assertion that it was the regime the calico assault claims have already damaged efforts to find a peaceful solution with the u.s. postponing a meeting with russia to discuss the revival of talks in geneva are listed often of has more in doubt. russia and the u.s. have be

is helping israel syria it was and still is an enemy of fees web. and was a serious threat to israel and at the moment it almost doesn't exist nobody's asking israel to withdraw from the golan heights so in a way. this tragedy is quite a confortable situation for is we're in a march and how do you take a strike ok i mean in people in syria are being killed ok i mean that's one result . absolutely people in syria are being killed and that is exactly the problem certainly israel is taking advantage of a weaker syria now but the bottom line is it's striking weapons that may have been destined for hezbollah which could immediately turn around and use them against syrians so whether israel continues these foreigners into syria or not is almost irrelevant to the people of syria because they're being attacked by their own government ok josh if i go back to it or is everyone forgetting the syrians now it looks like it's jockeying for position in the region it's everything's a proxy now joshua well things are proxy but as you've said you know the outside reg

oh syria a country going from bad to worse with israel's air strike against syria and more expected it would appear there are forces in the region and in washington that now see military intervention as a means to and syria's civil war given past military interventions in the region is there any reason to believe that this time it will be any different. to cross-talk the syrian crisis i'm joined by joshua landis to norman he's an associate professor and director of the center for middle east studies at the university of oklahoma in washington we have rafi shakti she is an english spokesperson for the local coordinating committees in syria and the director of the foundation to restore equality in education in syria and in jerusalem across the he is a former director general of the israeli ministry of foreign affairs and an international relations lecturer at tel aviv university all right folks cross talk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want let's go to joshua in norman joshua what do you make of the israeli air strike against syria and the possibility of more comi

and my family in syria. my name is to shun abbas those i came here because i want for my children to live in peace and to be killed russian citizens. line namely if. it were him ones or some other coming to russia or if you're calling my all and. i my name is it or not i was to come back to the lovely country when dal ward we in. my name is osama. i'm planning to stay in russia to build a new life in. until just a year ago would never have thought of leaving damascus and building a new house in a small village in the tiny republican russia and the land of his ancestors when war broke out in the caucuses one hundred fifty years ago his grandfather and hundreds of thousands of a dog is. sent to turkey jordan syria and other countries in the middle east now war has brought a twist of fate. to return to his ancestral home i have many of my brothers. but i prefer to come here because i believe that the big. you may be in the coming twenty s. not now. many syrians came to this village in search of peace and other

said nato does not play into to dissipate into military intervention in syria. secretary of state john kerry said but both haiti on president obama believe a military strike on syria needs to be discussed directly with the american people fast and let's not take a look at will the u.s. public thinks about the issue over the hearts of those americans who took part in the wrong issues paul don't want an intervention in syria at all only twenty percent are in favor as asked whether assad should bear tanks if he's implicated in chemical weapons used just under thirty percent of americans said yes the british parliament wasn't convinced that an attack on secret should happen and let's not talk to a labor m.p. mahmoud it was among those who voted against a military strike on syria mr mahmood thank you very much indeed for joining us here on r.t. so why did you make a stand against british participation in a military intervention in syria. well the key thing as far as military intervention in syria is concerned first of all can i make clear that any form of chemical we

quote cannot go on and search syria says it wants the u.n. investigate it wants the u. . and to also investigate who carried out the attacks and not just whether they were carried out the syrian ambassador to the u.n. also said he he had. he had requests that u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon that these one thousand investigating the alleged use of chemical weapons to also investigate quote story more locations where the syrian soldiers inhaled the nerve gas last week on the outskirts of damascus but it seems at this point calls to investigate and to give diplomacy a chance are falling on deaf ears in the u. whereas the u.k. and in france before but it's also important to remember that before every. u.s. intervention in the last fifty years there was a high ball flies misinformation and discrepancies and every time washington would present its case for war as the ultimate truth leading people to believe that waging war was the only way to peace but was it take a listen to a report. as the u.s. is preparing an attack on syria striking similar

and syria could invoke that one. anybody could invoke those things and the point is it's not just the u.n. is not supporting this you don't have the arab league their belief has refused to endorse any kind of military action nato for that exam for that for that purpose it has not issued any statement in support of this you don't even have the in the american polling data there's very little support among the american citizenry for any attack on syria i don't quite understand. thinks he has really solid grounds for this outside of the fact that he feels he has to you know validate his red line that you know he essentially is just amazing thing somebody has to do something somebody has to do something that's what it gets down to pepe go ahead because obama's credibility is on the line right now and he's looking like a complete buffoon foreign policy wise. his credibility is already gone come a look at the n.s.a. scandal and by the way have you heard anything about the n.s.a. scandal this best week or so of course not i

on no intervention in syria. he has actually said that recently a number of interviews and we have seen him out and about all over the place expressing his thoughts that he has kept previously behind. assad is not the endgame in syria. the goal is not to see a massive mess on the map. but he thinks that we can make this a whole lot worse than it already is. in the next year he faces the withdrawal of the united states from afghanistan and he would like us to still be there. this is one area he was quite relieved that we were there. he liked the idea that we were bogged down because we may be there and some kind of way in which we would stay, not where we would be heading out like the soviet red army headed out a couple of decades previously. he he looks at syria and probably doesn't spend every day thinking about u.s. but he spent a lot of time looking at this in the kgb, studying what the u.s. is up to. he does not think that they have thought up of anything -- thought of anything beneficial to russia. activityi

attack on syria. putin accused the rebels being behind a chemical attack in august that he said was carried out to discredit syrian authorities in the eyes of the west. >> i view everything that happened with the so-called use of chemical weapons as a provocation by the rebels who count on help from abroad from those countries that originally supported them. that is the reason for the provocation. i want to remind you the use of force against a sovereign state is acceptable only for sever defense and we -- self-defense and we know syria hasn't attacked the u.s. as one of the participants put it those who do otherwise put themselves before the law. >> became continues to insist assad was behind the attack and he will wait for the u.s. to response. >> assad regime using chemical weapons is not just a syrian tragedy. it is a threat to global peace and security. >> the u.s. president is due to address the american public on tuesday and try to make his best argument for an attack on syria, one that failed

and other nations failed to accomplish their mission in syria. if anybody believes that any saying israel does in the middle east it does not go so the americans later you know group back to play in the garden go back to kindergarten it doesn't work like this in the real world they did it because they were concerted with the obama administration which is in a bind at the moment they cannot intervene directly in syria they know that the support for the so-called rebels all the different strands of the rebs is going nowhere because their elected retreating instead of adventuring so israel with this provocation they're willing for a response either from syria either from hezbollah all or better yet from the point of view of the obama administration and israel from iran so if iran and syria don't do anything for them and they just wait you do this will be seen as it is just a provocation but if there is you know the slightest bit of a response from either syria or iran. fred what do you need shock and awe against syria just how dangerous is the situa

and fighter jets gather on syria's doorstep with the u.s. and britain for action if you have inspectors confirm a chemical attack took place. that says damascus insists rebels and foreign mercenaries are behind the alleged chemical attack accusing washington of lying over claims it has undeniable evidence of government involvement. also greece needs another massive money boost from europe just as the people of germany get fed up with explanations about why it's ok to pour in more they can't. take off for the skies high tech is the world's finest aircraft are the best pilots to send here old moscow region one of the years he shows. in this is r.t. international our top story tonight syria could be subjected to a military strike against the assad government within days that's what western powers of reportedly inform the country's opposition british warships are being deployed to the u.k. base in cyprus which is less than two hundred kilometers indeed from the syrian coast test for a seller report. events are developing fast and statements comi

and every day she says mother buddy syria or syria in arabic. my name. is brahim. the war beginning far from. the syrian woman is. trying to take care. of the troubles of the very most of other conflicts. i'm planning to stay in russia . to build a new life. the international airport in the very heart of moscow. car blast ripped through marketplaces into iraq's shia provinces killing eleven people in the latest escalation of the sectarian unrest that's gripping the country . torn from his parents' arms a russian couple wages a legal battle with u.s. social services after their five month old baby was seized following as a to a doctor. and greece writes off fifteen thousand state jobs to meet the terms of a course will bail out while france turns its eye on germany over chancellor merkel's quote selfish drive for block wide a staring.

our subject is syria. what began there two and a half years ago as part of the arab spring has turned into an all-out civil war. now has come the shocking evidence of poison gas attacks. a fatal escalation that has led president obama to ask congress to authorize the limited use of military force. and if we take action, where and when does it stop? historian and analyst andrew bacevich is here asking those questions.[ a graduate of west point and vietnam veteran, he served in the military for 23 years before becoming a professor at boston university. his books include "the limits of power" and "washington rules." his latest, "breach of trust." andrew bacevich, welcome. >> thank you very much. >> well, i'm pleased to have this chance to chat with you for a lot of reasons. one, i don't know who else has more cred than you. what would a 23-year graduate of west point offer us now regarding the dilemma in which obama finds himself, regarding syria? >> well, i mean, if i could have five minutes of the president

the war that syria. and every day she says another body in the body in a syria or syria in arabic. the war beginning looks far from. the syrian woman if you are. trying to. discover the very mother father you know my name is sama. i am planning to stay in russia. to build a new life you know sure he. is . coming up on our t.v. despite the fact that the seaquest ration has brought harm to the poor and needy in our nation it looks like the flight delays are what really gets congress moving us there's a do nothing congress just ahead. in iraq the government has ordered nearly a dozen satellite t.v. channels to end their broadcasts they claim these channels are fanning the flames of sectarian violence while predicts consider it a ploy to censor the press will tell you more coming up. plus it's been six months since hurricane sandy devastated the east coast as new york and new jersey residents continue to rebuild what's life like for those who lost nearly everything we'll tell you coming up playing the show.

investigator he says there are strong suspicions rebels in syria have used chemical weapons but says there's nothing to suggest the government forces have done the same. meanwhile israel has condemned for a series of our strikes inside syria but also takes a look at whether the ultimate target of that talks could rely could lie elsewhere . and record unemployment painful sterett he and the loveliest ratings in recent french history fronts all around marks the end of a tough first year as president. international news and comment live from moscow this is our c. with me you know hello and welcome to the program. a leading u.n. investigator says there are strong suspicions rebels in syria have used the deadly nerve gas sarin during this civil war but carla del ponte a also says she has seen no evidence the government has resorted to the use of chemical weapons those claims are in contrast to an earlier statement by the u. arts who has accused president assad's forces of using them and threatened to take action and she's going there to check on reports now from washington. you want human

he said that many syria is the flow whatever happens in syria spread all. over the region in syria libya egypt television. gas fields in syria. to a company of. serious. question in the war on terror may be good for israel's expansion but the u.s. just gains new enemies. to speak to how can you as policy be against its interests traditionally the democrats got more than two thirds of the campaign contributions that flow into their federal elections from the aggressively pro israeli faction and that was earmarked support for israel was the condition of taking that money a clean break document was issued by the main and the neoconservative mostly americans who also happen to be dual citizens people like wolfowitz and perle scooter libby all of those people and this document proposed. regime change in these middle eastern countries. overthrowing all of these independent middle eastern countries and imposing imperial control these people really do want to create greater israel. israel working with its partners. against the first democracy ever in the five thous

military action in syria. only 42% support it. then when you ask them what about military action without congressional approval, four out of five of those surveyed say no, that's not how we want it to go. that's why i think the president made a strong case for this strike, he doesn't want to say he's going to go ahead with it if congress says no. he was sort of signaling, not totally clear, that's not what he wanted to do. he said this wasn't a symbolic practice where he put this before congress. he talked to observers and they think if president obama gets both chambers saying no that he may not go ahead with the strike. this will be devastating to his presidency but there's the open question. if just the senate says okay will the president go ahead with that and that's where he's not committing. >> i'm curious about the dynamic between he and vladmir putin. mr. obama had hope to go there and do some convincing. it sounds like there was a lot less dialogue and a lot more just restating already firmed positions. >> reporter: that'

and arab league envoyed on syria. lobby world leaders to distress that his view is that the only solution is a political solution, he was asked about the international legality of u.s. military action. >> i think the secretary general or myself would not express personal opinion. we say what international law says. and international law says that no country is allowed to take the law into their hands. they have to go through the security council. >> here at the u.n. nearly everyone you speak to is talking about syria but no formal meetings have been scheduled. everyone is looking towards washington and waiting. >> well, that's james bays reporting. and here to talk about president obama's challenges going forward al jazeera's contributor michael sure. glad to have you. >> pleasure to be with you. >> how difficult a decision it is, talk about the -- the pressure that's weighing on him internationally and domestically. >> let's start domestically because as randall pinkston said, as mike viqueira said that's where the p

to syria's substantive questions being raised. continuing, in consultation with the president, we expect the house to consider a measure the week of september 9. this provides the president time to make his case to congress and the american people. with that we will take a short break and talk about congressional authorization and what was said today by the president in the rose garden. >> having made my decision, i'm mindful that i'm the president of the world's oldest constitutional democracy. i long believed that our power is rooted molt just in our military might but in our example as the government of the people, by the people and for the people. that's why i made a second decision. i will seek authorization for the use of force from the american people's representatives in congress. okay, listen up! i'm re-workin' the menu. mayo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of great-tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and 9 grams of protein. [ bottle ] ensure

no one disputes that chemical weapons were used in syria. the world saw thousands of videos, cell phone pictures, and social media accounts from the attack. and humanitarian organizations told stories of hospitals packed with people who had symptoms of poison gas. moreover, we know the assad regime was responsible. >>> vladimir putin disagrees. quote, no one doubts that poison gas was used in syria, but there is every reason to believe it was used not by the syrian army, but by opposition forces to provoke intervention by their powerful foreign patrons, who are besiding with the fundamentalists, unquote. >>> question, the u.n. reported this week that war crimes are widespread on both sides of the fighting in syria. giving that background, is it conceivable that putin may be right and obama wrong about who ordered the saran attack in syria? >> no. >> it's conceivable. it's just not true. the u.s. and european intelligence agencies collectively agreed that it was somebody within the syrian government that did this, not the rebels. the question

damascus syria. over the past week morea for an ocean of has also been reporting on the rebels fight for the ancient christian village of mostly from damascus and hellacious suppose she says the settlement which is home to some of the walls oldest son has reportedly been taken from forces by government forces mari is on her way to check her twitter feed and our website for the latest top day. comes i will bond very short break with more news including a successful touchdown the soyuz capsule bringing the crew will be international space station. after completing a months long mission in the space. of a small he's hoping to make a big impact on germany's national election and also how they plan to make loads from mainstream power is accused of boring the electorate that's coming up in. new york london. the whole world. of the original one the one on the end. of the court building at the end of the street another one a more transparent society get the money or the puppet years become we see military an

gathering toward an intervention in syria after the u.s. is trying to figure out how to respond to the alleged chemical attacks in the area of good which is east of damascus last week now we're hearing reports that military commanders have sealed an agreement on the scope of attacks with allies and with syrian opposition on the ground that could look like three days of cruise missile strikes aimed at sending a message to assad not at toppling the government or the regime or crippling the military now we're expecting to hear from the u.s. secretary of state john kerry at some point on wednesday so that he can present more evidence why the united states believes that it was the assad regime that carried out this chemical weapons attack so far they have not been able to present any convincing argument but they say they have no doubt that it was the assad regime one reason that may be aside from the videos that everybody's been able to see on you tube and pictures and witness accounts the web site foreign policy is reporting that there were cal

strategy towards syria. clearly, president obama believes contrary to the assad regime and its orders that there is no military solution to the syrian crisis. obviously, he would like to see a diplomatic solution consistent with what was agreed to by p-5 in geneva in 2012. although it is obvious that the president wants military strikes to bring about the deterrence and prevention results mentioned, clearly there must be a syria related national security set of objectives that transcends the response to the horrible events of august 21. prior to that date, the assad regime had already killed tens of thousands of syrians using mostly conventional munitions in a campaign of mass terror, one that has produced over 2 million refugees and nearly 5 million internally displaced persons. a campaign having enormously negative affect on american allies and friends in the region. prior to that date, the assad regime had already established itself as a palpable threat to the peace in the region. prior to that date, the

we don't know what is going to happen to syria. we don't know if syria will hold. we know syria is broken into these different parts. we do know that historically syria was, it has the sunni cities and damascus, it had the alawite coast and druid area in the southeast and kurdish part in the northeast, so in a way, syria itself is being tested and the proposition is being tested whether syria could hold together. one note on, i am very sympathetic to what david ignatius says that we can't really solve the sunni shia schism, the sunni shia schism dates back to karbala, it is not calling on the united states to solve that crisis but the united states has to have a syria policy that worked, but this idea that is threatening bashar al-assad with a red line, threatening with the bombing that never came and then turning to the russians and to the iranians, and we now have a proposition by the united states that we want iran to be party to the negotiations over syria. how you could ask iranians, whose revolutionary guard is a hezbollah proxy in killing syrians that we inv