libya bahrain and others in turmoil to show restraint in hadley handling the protests and that's about it no more of that epic coverage of that mock democracy in making the kind of thing something that we saw a little more than a week ago when obama delivered all these passionate speeches on people of egypt making their voice heard and embracing democracy there is no more of that now with the exception of iran of course the u.s. is for anything that's against the ukrainian leadership but the situation in some other countries seems to have spiraled out of control with egypt analysts say it was easier and safer for the u.s. to root for democracy and support the people because there is the army there which is very powerful and is largely financed by the united states and is now in control of egypt but in other countries in libya for example the u.s. doesn't have that same leverage so they are much more cautious calling for democracy in those countries i spoke to some experts here they say washington's biggest fear is that those op risings in the region could bring about leaders who will b

bylined this morning and directly conveyed our deep -- bahrain of this morning and directly conveyed our deep concern. >> the rebellion in is spreading. in bahrain, the government can't -- banned public protest. people have been killed. doctors who have tried to help have been beaten. these are supposed to be good guys. modern, international banking center and home to the navy's fifth fleet -- believe. -- fifth fleet. >> right next to saudi arabia. >> autocratic kingdom. i spoke about speaker boehner about what he did -- i will say something about the bush administration, specifically secretary of state condoleezza rise to very early on, are demanding some very important speeches about bringing democracy to the middle east. people said, well, i am not sure it should be such a top priority. something is happening and i think it is growing out of this thrust that cannot of the bush administration that the middle east needs to be democratized, that within those countries their young people willing to express themselves and be free, they have economic reform, and i think we're s

to sit on. soldiers in bahrain had fired tear gas at thousands of protesters evaded and governed by in the capital of men nama at least fifty people have been injured this comes a day after at least a fire were killed in demonstrations against the current regime in the country british authorities are now revoking some arms export licenses out of concern that weapons supply to bahrain could be used against protesters but human rights watch dogs are calling for an embargoed all arms supply. we can see across the middle east that the government is selling to repressive regimes all over that this could happen to any a point in and we've got to be aware that when we sell the both non-lethal and lethal equipment those will be used and. generally at some point they will be used on someone innocent the u.k. government needs to seriously reconsider how approaches arm sales in the first place not only have these arms be licensed to be so rude overseas in the case of bahrain. they are actively promoted as such the u.k. government and actively promotes arms sales to a number of the presses of r

-governments in bahrain are hoping to repeat the success in tunisia and egypt and are facing serious setbacks. right now, the heart of the protest is a fortified zone. mike has been following developments. >> tanks and armored personnel carriers in the streets up bahrain's character today, signs of military involvement in the crisis. the square was stoned by police powers earlier. the police moved in to clear the square without warning about 3:00 a.m. local time. hundreds of people were in the square spending the night in tents. the authorities said that they had exhausted all chance of dialogue with the protesters and they had to intervene to restore order and ensure people's safety. the police commander tells the protesters to disperse and the events were shown on state tv. then some prepared to attack the security forces. they did not harm anyone, this protester said. we were sleeping when they surprised us and attack us. demonstrators fled with the police in pursuit. helicopters flew overhead. the smell of the teargas remained sere -- several hours after the crackdown began. the

shelter in safe locations. >>> meantime, tensions remain high in bahrain and yemen as there were more massive anti-government demonstrations on monday. in bahrain about 300,000 people marched in the capital of manama. they were protesting against the monarch, who is from the sunni minority. demonstrators continue to occupy pearl square, which has become a symbol for the protests. they say they will stay until the royal family is ousted. >> we don't want the khalifas to control us anymore. enough. 200 years and 50. enough. we don't want them anymore. >> in yemen people have taken to the streets for ten straight days. they want the immediate resignation of president ali abdullah saleh. in the capital sanaa hundreds gathered around the university. they chanted "saleh, step down" and held up signs criticizing the president. >>> recently, declassified documents show that more than 30 years ago japan and the united states pressed south korea not to execute kim dae-jung, who later became president. the south korean foreign ministry made the diplomatic papers public on monday. in 1980 th

>>> this morning on "early today," wave of unrest, protests in bahrain turn deadly after the government cracks down on demonstrators. >>> engine trouble, president obama and tea party republicans score a victory in the house as plans for an expensive jet engine are scrapped. >>> and holy will robinson is a real-live version of the lost in space robot headed into orbit real-live version of the lost in space robot headed into orbit soon? captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with beyond egypt. this morning, bahrain is the newest and fiercest flashpoint of unrest in the middle east. inspired by egypt's revolt, police have squared off with protesters in a confrontation that's killed at least four people. with more cnbc's jackie deangelis joins us with more from bahrain. jackie, good morning. >> good morning. the roads right now are blocked. we have major police force in pearl square. that's where last night's altercations occurred. there wer

high-tech innovation. >>> now to the turbulent middle east. funerals are being held today in bahrain for protesters killed in a violent police raid yesterday. four anti-government demonstrators died and more than 200 were injured in the predawn attack on protesters camping out in bahrain's capital. cbs radio correspondent toula vlahou is in bahrain and joins us now by phone. good morning, toula. want to get the latest from you on what the situation is there at this hour? >> yes. actually just a little bit outside of the capital of bahrain. i am in front of the main shia mosque where thousands of people are gathering to hear the sermon this morning. and earlier in the day i had gone to the funeral where three of the protesters killed yesterday were buried. and then, tens of thousands of people showed up and followed a procession through this very impoverished town, and paid homage to these three people. it was a very emotional ceremony and many said the emotions they felt were one of sorrow for the dead, and one of rage that they were shot, and they plan to show up tomorrow, saturday,

saturday, bringing the death toll to at least 173 there. in bahrain, across the persian gulf from iran and where the u.s. sixth fleet is headquartered, it's been calm since the government pulled back its forces. our allen pizzey is there. what is the latest? >> bob, pearl square is now packed with people. they've got banners and signs and bahraini flags everywhere. a lot of loud speakers. people up on the stage. basically, this situation here in bahrain has turned from street confrontation to political haggling. the crown prince representing the government have said, "look, we'll talk to everybody. we just want peace and to heal all the wounds and get on with things." the opposition says they'll talk but talks are not going on right now. people aren't sitting face to face across the table because the opposition's problem is they have to decide what can they negotiate away on behalf of people who are out there facing tear gas and bullets and are still actually quite angry. >> schieffer: at least it sounds like things are a little better than they were a couple of days ago. the worst sit

firearms to disperse crowds thousands of mourners gathered in bahrain at the funerals of anti-government protesters killed in a brutal crackdown on thursday. for more analysis on all of this happening and developing in the middle east we're going to cross live to london where i have told the even joins us he's a british author journalist and policy analyst. they serving with us mr levin anti-government protests we've been hearing have been spreading all across the region why is that what do you think is the force behind these movements. it seems to be simply that all the governments in the region have failed to meet the needs and expectations of their people development has very widely failed or where it's occurred in the gulf very large numbers of people have been excluded from it and of course across most of the region the government officials are corrupt and the police are both corrupt and extremely brutal so it is just a kind of general revolt against the oppression of government in general the fascinating thing is that the the people who are doing the rebelling come from

the middle east. and margaret warner examines the turmoil in the tiny muslim nation of bahrain, home to the u.s. navy's fifth fleet. >> lehrer: plus, jeffrey brown explores how egypt's government blocked the internet during the uprising. >> woodruff: then, we have two budget stories. we get a liberal's view of the president's blueprint from vermont senator bernie sanders. >> lehrer: and we look at the political battles over cutting defense spending. retrenchment brought about by cu >> woodruff: and from juarez, mexico, bill neely of independent television news reports on the bloody war against the drug cartels. >> three more killings here and already. this year is on course to be even deadlier than last year, when more than 3,000 people were murdered in this small city. >> lehrer: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> and by the bill and melinda gates foundation. dedicated to the idea that all people deserve the chance to live a healthy productive life. the national science foundation. and with the ongoing support of these

injuring five. and in bahrain, the government has ordered the military off the streets. bahrain is a key u.s. ally. more than 4,000 military personnel are stationed there. it's also the home to the u.s. navy's 5th fleet, which protects the strait of hormuz, which is an oil lifeline to the west. our miguel marquez is in bahrain this morning. >> reporter: this disturbing amateur video shows how defiant protests have become here. how deadly serious the military is. last night, a small group of unarmed protesters moved toward pearl square. before they could get close, the military unleashed rubber bullets. firing into the crowd. at the hospital, pandemonium. the injured, everywhere. x-rays are examined in the hallway. bahrain, now gripped by a deadly spiral of violence and death. angry memorials for the dead, followed by protests for the government. then, more dead. both sides, passionately dug in. >> it's either death or freedom. i'm willing to sacrifice myself for the freedom. >> reporter: the political opposition canceled its protests for today, hoping to steadily up the pressure on the g

energizing moment and to rally their fellow country men. >> warner: paint us a word picture of bahrain. this is a typical gulf oil sheikdom? what's it like? >> well, bahrain is the country when oil was first discovered in the southern gulf. ironically now it has very little gulf oil left at all and relies, frankly, on saudi arabia for the extra revenues it needs to live. it's an island state halfway down the southern coast opposite iran and alongside the peninsula country of qatar. its closest ally is saudi arabia with which it is connected by a causeway of 15 or so miles of bridges. and it's a police where it has majority here is population ruled by a sunni ruling family and a large banking and financial sector where expatriots live there, west yearners live there and find it comfortable to live there. but over the years it's been overtaken in this sense of being a commercial financial center by the other gulf sheikdoms like dubai, abu dhabi and doha. >> warner: back to you on the protestors, toby. are these young people energized and organized on the internet or is this the tradition

according to a human rights watch. bahrain home to a major u.s. navy base, protesters calling for the monarchy there to be overthrown. allen pizzey is in bahrain's capital this morning with the very latest. good to have you with us. it was tough for you to get there? >> reporter: it was. the reason we're coming to you on skype is the bahrain authorities are confiscating any television equipment they can find. i was held for 11 hours in a nice way but they did take a microphone away from me. they don't want foreign journalists here but because they are a u.s. ally they are worried about keeping merge journalists and networks out and they are nervous and don't know what to do and with good reason, actually. >> what are they specifically nervous about? >> reporter: this morning, for example, there were thousands of people turned out at funeral for two young men killed in a crackdown on pearl square on thursday morning. the police kept well away but the protesters -- the mourners i guess you could call them, were extremely angry. the protests and chants have now escalated and began callin

. >>> the kings of bahrain and saudi arabia have met amid fears that bahrain's unrest could spread to its neighbor. saudi king king abdullah invited the king to discuss the enrest wednesday night. the meeting came as anti-government demonstrations in bahrain grow. on tuesday, tens of thousands of shia muslims protested against sunni rule on the streets of the capital manama. sunny muslims also hold power in saudi arabia, despite growing minority shia muslims' frustrations in the oil rich east. the country has seen calls on the internet for large scale anti-government demonstration on march 11th. the saudi government on wednesday unveiled a package worth $36 billion to help boost youth employment and support poor people. the measures are being viewed as an attempt to redistribute oil wealth to appease the public and prevent the uprising from spreading. >>> the turmoil in libya is worsening. leader moammar al gadhafi faces mounting pressure to step down despite a strong show of defiance. support for anti-government protests is growing in the military. waves of demonstrations continue ac

yemen bahrain and morocco middle east expert and himself but she told us that global dominance groups are behind the times. we might be getting rid of of thirty forty or fifty euro regime but many of these countries certainly in egypt certainly libya certainly in tunisia and back karim that might be getting themselves into just as bad or even worse trouble if they don't really understand the social proof so this is going on and we our full interests that may be driving them from outside of the middle east because i think this ties into a more global pattern where we have to understand the major geopolitical long term planning emanating from such organizations as the council on foreign relations the trilateral commission and the bluebird group who have for decades been fighting the arab world and have been fighting the sovereign nation state as an institution on a global basis so in a way if they can get rid of these strong mad men whether it be hosni mubarak in egypt or colonel gadhafi in libya and try to transition has i was saying before to a more rural chaotic and more contr

the violence in libya but amnesty number says 46 people have been killed. >>> in bahrain, demonstrators flooded back into pearl square in the capital city of manama after riot police withdrew. protesters are calling for the removal of the regime. five people were killed on thursday. more than 250 people injured in the two-day crackdown. pressure from western governments including the u.s. apparently persuaded bahrain's royal family to back away from the confrontation. bahrain is home to u.s. navy's fifth fleet. >>> a sparkling of protests going on tonight in algeria. 40,000 police flooded into the streets in algiers confronting and arresting demonstrators. the opposition lawmaker was among those hurt, suffering a head injury. authorities are lifting a state of emergency in algiers by the end of the month. >>> hopes of easing congestion in the east bay. the newest bart system up and running. the expectations for helping the environment. >>> cold rain around the bay area. snow on our mountain tops. getting very low tonight. we will talk about that, coming up next. ,,,,,,,,,

parents didn't it up in libya and bahrain and elsewhere i would think for science and my mind the big danger sign is the rising price of rice now yes there's higher or higher than it was. at eight when you had riots around the world in dozens of countries. and that's the situation you have today and i believe the situation can only get worse because of indications of drought in many parts of the world in china and elsewhere and that makes people very angry now there are all these political developments we are hearing about but if you had the hunger and the high price of food that stirs things up much more fiercely than otherwise how can governments in these troubled countries like libya and cairo reassure people right now and restate confidence in them and the economy you're an expert in paces is there a painful way to resolve this before it gets to breaking point. well in the case of libya it's too late because the government has used force to kill their own citizens once you do that you crossed that threshold and there's no going back in the case of egypt when the military announced

their. shock waves in the greater middle east with more antigovernment protests erupted in bahrain yemen jordan and where in bahrain troops fired on a crowd injuring at least fifty after thousands gathered following friday prayers the u.k. has now revoked some export licenses out of concern that weapons supplied to bahrain e. or still issues could be used against protesters. and researches make a second space walk one of the surface as part of a simulated eighteen month mars mission the mostly based mars five hundred program has just passed a halfway mark scientists are monitoring day one and he is to one day and able a manned mission to the red planet. as public anger grows in the muslim world. ask his guest whether it was political establishment is next to be toppled that's now cross talk program which is. welcome to cross talk time peter lavelle as protest and people's power rage across the arab middle east there are those who say iran's political establishment is next in line to be toppled are their objective facts on the ground to support this prediction or is it merely wished

and north africa. tens of thousands of demonstrators are gearing up in libya, yemen and bahrain. these fueled by the new social media. jenelle with the latest. >> cheryl, demonstrators across the middle east have started facebook.com pages and are tweeting away hoping to round up as many people as possible to try and overthrow their government. they've been inspired by the recent revolution in egypt that ousted egyptian president hosni mubarak and like egypt they're met with deadly force. >> government tanks have moved in in parts of bahrain. parts are in lockdown, this after a pre-dawn assault on demonstrators. police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at those camping out in the city's central square. they are demanding greater freedom and more jobs. the hospital was overloaded by people streaming in with gaping wounds, broken bones and respiratory problems from the tear gas. five dead, hundreds wounded. >> on the streets! >> abc news correspondent miguel marchkez is the latest to be caught in the violence. he was beaten but not badly injured. >> we've said repeatedly the united state

there he is having yes that's right the bar bahrain grand prix has been called off due to the unrest there in the gulf so what what we don't know we're waiting to find out in the meantime the season when i start in melbourne at the end of march ok i'll let you update us. well i thank you for joining me for the sports news and here are the top story is called off the bahrain grand prix has been postponed because of antigovernment protests in the gulf. while continental targets to a sky aim to become the first russian team to reach the last sixteen of the europa league and another big week of your pencil. and the kings of spain a little messy score the late winner is false although not be to go back to one to restore their five point lead i've been relegated to it at the top of the league. i will start with the big story in formula one where the bahrain grand prix has been called off because of antigovernment protests in the gulf kingdom the race was due to be staged on march the thirteenth but what about when the new f one season but the event had been down for more than a week

different in different countries take bahrain for instance twenty percent of the country's population is sunni eighty percent a shia the leadership all sunny shia muslims consider themselves oppressed now they want to be represented in a coalition government they're in talks now and they may find a modus vivendi rain water in other countries the phenomenon is purely social i'm sure islamic groups will take part in a box we have to differentiate between a minute that we shouldn't paint everybody with the same black stick to take the muslim brotherhood in egypt finster it is a movement that now wants to become the political party they already have twenty percent of seats in the development they're proposing a social program with the movement is actually a combination of different over forces there was a very interesting story in a local newspaper about the muslim brotherhood having a youth wing and a women's women but of these two groups just hatched themselves from the rest of the party more than joined the protest is that to mean something and we should not view the world i

majority shia population in bahrain and the ruling minority the sunnis. what they started out seeking democratic reform. but after people were killed, their demands were increased, and now they're wanting regime change. they want the prime minister to resign. they want to be represented all people equally and they're demanding the release of political prisoners who have been arrested in previous protests. >> all right, tuula in bahrain joining us live by phone. thank you. >>> another journalist covering events in the middle east got caught in the violence. abz correspondent miguel marquez was in bahrain in pearl square and was bitten by men with billy clubs. he was on the phone when it happened. >> get down. >> he said no. he said no! he said no! >> marquez was hit several times but not seriously injured. >>> cbs news chief foreign affairs correspondent lara logan continues her recovery at her home in the washington area after she was brutally attacked friday while covering the revolt in egypt. on wednesday she received a call from president obama, who expressed his concern. >>> cbs n

, yemen and bahrain. these fueled by the new social media. jenelle with the latest. >> cheryl, demonstrators across the middle east have started facebook.com pages and are tweeting away hoping to round up as many people as possible to try and overthrow their government. they've been inspired by the recent revolution in egypt that ousted egyptian president hosni mubarak and like egypt they're met with deadly force. >> government tanks have moved in in parts of bahrain. parts are in lockdown, this after a pre-dawn assault on demonstrators. police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at those camping out in the city's central square. they are demanding greater freedom and more jobs. the hospital was overloaded by people streaming in with gaping wounds, broken bones and respiratory problems from the tear gas. five dead, hundreds wounded. >> on the streets! >> abc news correspondent miguel marchkez is the latest to be caught in the violence. he was beaten but not badly injured. >> we've said repeatedly the united states believes strongly that violence is not an appropriate reaction wh

third day of demonstrations in bahrain. the rally is driven largely by complaints of a lack of economic opportunity as well as political freedom. in yemen, the cls are growing for the president there to resign. at least two people have been killed in clashes with security forces. >> thousands of students took to the streets of the yemeni capital again on wednesday to call for president ali abdullah saleh to resign. students of but -- held up cars with slogans like graduates want jobs and demanded an end to poverty and corruption. yemeni sent out police. a protest could develop into a revolution like those in indonesia and egypt is what they are fearful of. but the police failed to keep the situation under control. pro and anti-government demonstrators clashed. two men were reportedly killed. in the gulf state of bahrain, the funeral procession for a man killed in demonstrations on tuesickly turned political. >mourners chanted slogans calling for the resignation of prime minister khalifa bin salman khalifa. the unrest in bahrain is now in its third day. footage has emerged showi

called for leaders in bahrain and yemen to show restraint when handling the protests what analysts point out the spite the cautious words of concern expressed by the u.s. administration there is no more of that democracy celebration that we saw over a week ago when obama delivered all those passionate speeches on people of egypt making their voice heard and embracing democracy with. analysts say it was easier and safer for the u.s. to root for democracy and support the people because there is the army there which is very powerful and is largely supported and financed by the united states and is now in control of egypt but in other countries in libya for example the us doesn't have that same leverage levy has the richest proven oil reserves in africa it is the twelve largest oil exporter in the world experts say it is very hard to predict who will take power if gadhafi is oust it washington's biggest fear is that those uprisings in the region could bring about leaders who will be hostile to the united states market off it never was their favorite leader that's for sure but seven yea

that the country completely disintegrate. and thousands of mourners have gathered in bahrain for the funerals of government protesters killed in the brutal crackdown the riot police in the gulf state reportedly used supplies made by british companies to clear the protest human rights watch dogs are calling for an embargo on supplies and a disclosure of why export licenses were issued well for more i'm joined by barnaby pace he's from the campaign against the arms trade he's in london thanks indeed for joining us now up until now bahrain has been a stable and a good partner for britain because of its strategic importance in the gulf so shouldn't the u.k. supply them with right control equipment. i think there's something of a catch twenty two if you're if you're selling someone weapons and they want to buy weapons it's generally speaking because they intend to use those weapons at some point and so stepping back and saying oh well we sold them the tear gas and we're terribly shocked that they used. testers is somewhat disingenuous but even britain has protesters in the streets and you

these countries libya bahrain yemen before that egypt and tunisia and the police cracking down on these protests in certain countries and in fact there's a former foreign office minister here in the u.k. a member of the labor party denis macshane who has called the prime minister's visit with defense companies at this time insensitive and crass his huge incentive in class to seek to bolster the u.k. arms deal with countries in the middle east at this very sensitive time. could possibly comes to move leases are playing a part in some of the accusations now. well it is i mean we've seen just just very recently embarrassment for the u.k. after it was forced to revoke arms licenses to both bahrain and libya amidst fears that british arms had been used against protesters during the trouble but of course you can't sell arms to countries like this and to to police and military like this without being and still remain in control of what they're used for so although david cameron is now trying to ascertain that they weren't that british arms weren't used in the suppression of protesters on

a feather track together. radar helps us watch birds in flight. >> hello. in bahrain, thousands of part prep -- of protesters are calling for the monarchy to give more power to the people. troops have opened fire on people trying to retake control of parole square. the current prudence has now been asked by the king to start a national dialogue to fulfill the hopes and aspirations of all precious citizens. the u.s. president has urged all governments in the gulf to show restraint. >> valley has lost a son. -- bowlealie has lost a son. he was shot by police. [sobbing] >> people want to stop discrimination and continued discrimination. people want to stop the systematic torture. they want policy for fellow prisoners. they want the government to stop corruption appeared >> across town, it was the supporters of the king who took to the street. there is real wealth, but most of its loans to the minority that rules the country. >> they are trying to achieve the rights as well, but it is not the way they should do it. >> what would happen if the protesters got their way? >> they would des

seeds are certainly there in iran, bahrain, in yemen, perhaps beyond there. again tonight, we begin with our chief foreign correspondent richard engel on post in cairo. richard, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. the protests have been spreading across the region, but so far appear to be strongest in iran, which already had an organized opposition movement. inspired by egypt, iranians are finding the courage to relaunch their revolt against the regime in tehran. thousands of protesters clashed with riot police in tehran on monday. at least one protester was killed. for many, it's all too familiar. the iranian government violently repressed similar demonstrations in 2009, after elections many iranians claim were stolen by mahmoud ahmadinejad. this time iran is making it clear right from the start it will not tolerate a new round of protests. iran's parliament today issued a fierce warning, calling for the execution of protest leaders, including former presidential candidate mir hossein mousavi, and even the moderate ex-president mohammad khatami. they may not be empty th

tonight from libya to bahrain, where today there was a violent crackdown. our reporters and cameras were

bahrain, the home of the u.s. navy's fifth fleet, demonstrators retook the square where the calls for reform have now given way to calls for the king to step down. bahrain is a logistical hub and command center in u.s. operations in iraq and afghanistan. last night in a 180-degree turn the crown prince offered to open up a dialogue with the protester. abcs' miguel marquez is there. >> reporter: it's amazing the difference that 24 hours makes. this time yesterday, the country appeared poised for civil war. now it's a celebration at pearl square. it appears we're headed for a negotiated political settlement. in order to get the settlement they want, these protesters are willing to stay for the long haul. they've set up tents all the way around pearl square here. they're serving food. that tea is called freedom tea and they're very organized. this area over here is the men's section. right back here, the people in black, that's the women's section. [ chanting ] the big question is, what will get these protesters to go home? they want a constitutional democracy. they want the king to back

bahrain yemen before that egypt and the police cracking down on these protests in certain countries and in fact there is there a former foreign office minister here in the u.k. a member of the labor party dennis shane who has called the prime minister's visit with defense companies at this time insensitive and he's insensitive and crass to seek to both u.k. arms deals with countries in the middle east at this very sensitive time we've seen just. very recently embarrassment for the u.k. after it was forced to revoke arms licenses to both bahrain and libya amidst fears that british arms had been used against protesters during the trouble they david cameron is now trying to ascertain that they weren't that british arms weren't used in the suppression of protesters one just can't have that kind of control if one is an arms selling country we've also seen in the past accusation of the u.k. selling arms in exchange for oil in relation to saudi arabia and we've also seen it over a number of years a very in relationship between storage area and gulf governments and the military and police force

yemen and bahrain. allen pizzey begins our coverage of the middle east in turmoil. >> reporter: a ball of fire. the sound of gunfire. and an explosion. the rage that began has reached tripoli. people claim fighter jets have fired on protestors. jets landed in malta the pilots asked for asylum saying they refused orders to bomb the rioters. it's colonel moammar qaddafi's desperate attempts to keep people from overthrowing his regime. the capital is torn by burning barricades and gunfire. the death toll may have topped 300 with uncounted more wounded. police say the libyan's parliament in tripoli was torched. with no independent reporting possible, the only way to see inside the country was through videos posted on the internet. one unnamed source claimed the libyan air force was ordered to hit military installations in an effort to keep weapons from protestors. it didn't work. these jubilant young men are brandishing arms, including anti-tank rockets apparently looted from a military base in bengasi give which protestors claim they now control. while anarchy reigned in the streets, liby

across the arab world, with a violent crackdown on protests in bahrain. germany's defense minister comes under power -- under fire for allegedly plagiarizing his doctoral thesis. the first ever gold medal of the skiing world gym bishops. -- world championships. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> several gulf states are clamping down as anti-government protests continued. in yemen, thousands of people took to the streets for a seventh day, demanding an end to president ali abdullah saleh's 30-year rule. in bahrain, the army was deployed across the capital to restore order there. officials are concerned the unrest in bahrain could destabilize the region. security forces have above the strict measures to stop the protests. >> the message sent by army tanks rolling through the streets on thursday was clear. bahrain's rulers want to ensure this does not become another cairo. unlike in egypt, they have the support of the military. a defense ministry spokesman urged people to avoid gathering in central areas. the protesters' tent city and has been flattened, th

saudis will survive. but yemen egypt and jordan -- >> bahrain? >> and bahrain is a big issue. they're complicated by the fact that 3/4 of the people are shi'ites and they want their religious freedom. >> and the ruling family are sunnies. >> the ruling family is sunni. >> which is the situation that you have in iraq. >> it's a situation that makes it overly complicated because there were different parts that are overlapping gear what about jordan? i think that the kings in jordan have done a wonderful job. the only problem there and that 70% of the jordannians are palestinians so now it's the palestinian view that will prevail there. but i think that they have been treated well. i think that the jordannian kings have been trying hard to make a better life for their people, and i think that they will escape this. >> rose: what is the worst scenario for people whose business is to worry about a sufs flow of all? >> i think that the worst scenario is that iraq cannot settle down. that the peace that we have brought to iraq dissipates as soon as our troops are pulled out this august and d

before the events occurred in egypt and now in libya bahrain and elsewhere there were things signs and my mind the big thing to sign is the rising price of folk the price of food now as highest was even higher than it was in two thousand and eight when you had riots around the world in dozens of countries and that's the situation you have today and i believe the situation can only get worse because indications of drought in many parts of the world in china and elsewhere and that makes people very angry in the case of libya it's too late because the government has used for us to kill their own citizens once you do that you've crossed the threshold and there's no going back in the case of egypt when the military announced they weren't going to fire on the protesters that open the way to a peaceful transition which we have so far seen in the gym i think that's the crucial factor is oh boy being conflict also transparency opening up the government to scrutiny where the money is is is is very crucial the fact is that the problems in tunisia and egypt are replicated in many parts of the worl

bahrain that they are very conscious of the fact the occupation of the central square gives a sort of focus to these things which i think is why they so violently cleared it last night but the u.s. is interested in some ways my question was a veiled reference to the u.s. because so many say obviously u.s. policy foreign policy has been behind the fall of mubarak in egypt what about the position the influence of the u.s. now in the region is it gaining influence or some suggest actually losing influence what's its main agenda now in the middle east. well i think the u.s. is at a crossroads i think in part its relevance has been shown up by advance in egypt i think it's interesting again that the u.s. was seen to be a check on the overreach of power of mubarak temptations to use have high levels of violence against his own people things that have happened in iran and in the past in syria didn't occur really the same scale in egypt i think that's partly because of american influence what's going on in bahrain again is very interesting to see these are u.s. made tanks u.s. funded and supp

. officials calling for leaders of leave yeah bahrain and others in turmoil to show restraint in hadley handling the protests and that's about it no more of that epic coverage of democracy democracy in making the kind of things with egypt analysts say it was easier and safer for us to root for democracy and support the people because there is the army there which is very powerful and is largely financed by the united states and is now in control of egypt but you know other countries in leave you for example the u.s. doesn't have that same leverage so they are much more cautious calling for democracy in those countries i spoke to some experts here they say washington's biggest fear is that those op risings in the region could bring about leaders who will be hostile to the united states and many analysts and only say for the u.s. it's not really about supporting democracy in those countries it's about securing their interest in leave you to experts say the u.s. would so much rather have things as they were off it was never their favorite leader that's what for about some seven years ago h

hillary clinton pronounced herself very impressed by the progress that bahrain is making on all fronts she said that's quote there seems to be a strong. broadly held commitment to democracy. that was that was before pro-democracy demonstrators filled the streets and the government responded with deadly force it leave you to experts say the u.s. would so much rather have things as they were warmer cut off he was never their favorite leader that's what for about some seven years ago he reached to open up a levy is all riches to the west and to let them invest in oil production so they kind of left him a little but now with protest spreading like wire wildfires across the region the u.s. seems to to have little control over what's going to happen next year as the region becomes increasingly unstable the price of oil spikes on global markets it is now at its highest level since before the two thousand and eight financial crisis libya where protests are much more violent than they were in egypt or any. all is now as the richest proven oil reserves in africa it is the twelfth largest