iraq is not in position to become a player at all. iraq is weak. it is basically at the receiving end of the bigger players in the region. i think the development that took place in front of the whole world without any intervention to stop it was the return of al-qaeda in the islamic state of iraq, in such a big way with thousands and thousands of fighters. this will not disappear in a month or in a few months, or even in a year or two years. this is really a shift in the power play. now we have a new player on the stage other than the local government. we really have a force to be reakennereckoned with which wile things much, much harder. >> if there is an end game in syria, can iraq then also take a little time to figure out it's medium- and long-term future? >> oh, certainly, if there were a resolution in syria, it would have a positive impact on iraq. really what is happening in iraq is that a group of sunni arabs has launched guerrilla war, an insurgency. this insurgency has been going on now for many years. and we know from the history of ins

parts of iraq. in some ways they are not being held accountable. the sunnis and the shiite should work on re-conciliation, on being committed to getting rid of the militias and al qaeda. adopting the militias and al qaeda is dangerous to iraq. the shiite leaders understand what is happening. the sunnis and the shiite should work on re-conciliation, on being committed to getting rid of the militias and al qaeda. adopting the militias and al qaeda is dangerous to iraq. the shiite leaders understand what is happening. they are not blaming the sunnis. they are blaming al qaeda particularly. they believe as we believe citizens should feel there is justice and equality, and this will allow us to be rid of the terrorists. it is not true to say the sunnis are all al qaeda. the sunnis are a target of al qaeda. they are killing sunni leaders. sunni politicians cannot move freely because they are targeted by al qaeda. at the same time they are targeted by the government and some militias, who are doing somethi

from iraq. al qaeda is thriving and our allies and our friends are in retreat. >> the current situation in iraq is deeply disturbing. the violence there is a human tragedy. the resurgence of al qaeda affiliated forces in falluja and elsewhere represents a threat not just to the people of iraq but to our own security and to that of our friends and allies in the region. share in concerns that many of us have expressed about recent developments in iraq. the united states has announced it will expedite military deliverye, including of uavs and hellfire missiles. the administration has stepped up intelligence sharing to help iraq security forces in the fight. that is appropriate. they are holding ongoing conversations with iraq about other ways in which the united states might assist. that is appropriate. assistance that might be the sale of weapons, such as attack helicopters, to iraq. the issue here is not whether such aircraft would help iraq fight violent extremists. it would. the question is whe

you a current forest or an iraq. because. i still remember the smell of the chemical weapons so well i didn't see. the killing so. good luck. to build a. mission to teach me. this is why you should. only. please. welcome back to cross talk where all things considered i'm peter lavelle to remind you that we're discussing iraq and afghanistan. all right gentlemen let's switch gears here let's talk about afghanistan richard what's your reading of what's going on in afghanistan because karzai you know he talks a lot about the rule of law but it seems like the deal he really wants with the americans about remaining so keeping some troops there it's all about how much he's going to get paid it's all about mr karzai isn't it. well he's. certainly no no virtuous figure when it comes to straightforward government in our sense of the word that there has been a major corruption problem and it's something that the karzai leadership has done nothing about as far as i can tell so. no we are leaving the the military is going to come out wit

after saddam to be an iraq for all of us not iraq for the sudanese because the ruling iraq. and the of the sunni partners did one man show one party one ethnic group or one part of the it's over here and there you should want it just one kurdish position no matter what the kurds and other allowed to have different sorts of opinions regardless on on where they leave and what kind of circumstances where they meet and whether or not they they're entitled to fighting al qaeda and their own backyard then are they going to morrow because this iraq is numbered i mean you claim that you cannot prove it and are in the fist any longer in iraq but yet you claim that you have to have an absolute unity when it comes to the kurdish question even though kurdish realities in turkey in iraq when he says syria actually very different i said you know when i said the kurdish unity i am not claiming the kurdistan is unity because every country has its own peculiarities when i say the kurds in syria for example kurds in syria we have more than thirty. blue to go parties every political party is p

iraq. it is a subject that we will be in our lastt segment. we will spend 45 minutes on that subject as an expert on foreign-policy issues from the corporation. here are some headlines from papers around the country. "u.s. walks tightrope by handing arms to iraq." we will talk more about that. here's the story from reuters. about thes iraq insurgent attacks. joe spoke with iraq he prime iraqier -- spoke with the prime minister. it a message he repeated in wither call on monday speaker of the iraqi council of representatives. veterans feel the staying -- the sting. it for david, seeing the images qaeda flags flying over buildings in recent days has been devastating. a silver star for heroism on his 29th birthday fighting as an army staff 2000ant on november 10, four. the article goes on to interview other u.s. service members who fox in that area -- who fought in that area. we are talking about the supreme court halting gay marriage in utah. phone lines are open. the conversation is also goi

it's difficult to deal with lives lost in iraq. it's difficult to deal with lives lost in a car accident of a military member or a suicide of a military member, because we're brother and sister in arms and there's a relationship there that's built that you'll never forget. and so i can never explain properly to anybody when somebody gives their life, but the bottom line what i do know in each and every one of those cases, they raised and volunteered to be in the military because they're proud to be part of the army. they were proud to do this mission. they were proud to be involved in that. and many of them died doing the things they wanted to do. and that's what i remember. i remember their service and their sacrifice and i remember that they dedicated themselves to something much greater than themselves personally. that's what the army's about and that's what i remember. even though i know it's very difficult as we look back at some of the sacrifices that were given. >> what sort of future do you see for iraq and besides the smal

iraq's prime minister al qaeda fighters in control of key towns to give up that says the militants enjoy a rise of influence fueled by the war in neighboring syria. the army's greatest threat. military is disconnected from the public who apparently don't understand what it's actually for and that's the claim coming from a parliamentary watchdog. also the sled hockey team prepares to make its debut at the upcoming paralympics meet the captain's family to find out where he is drawing his strength and inspiration from . center here in moscow this is international with the twenty four hours a day iraq's prime minister is calling on al qaeda fighters and all those who joined them to surrender the militant group is occupied key cities of the country's biggest province and the government is struggling to regain control middle east correspondent is following the conflict. well the situation certainly is becoming increasingly volatile but we've now heard from the iraqi prime minister it is him urging all those who have joined al qaida to give up the fight he has hinted at the possibility of harde

forces in iraq was not for the sake of iraq alone. it was first and foremost in our national security interest to continue training and advising iraqi forces and to maintain greater u.s. influence in iraq. that core principle should have driven a very different u.s. approach to the sofa -- that's the status force forces agreemet diplomacy. the obama administration should have recognized after years of brutal conflict, iraqi leaders still lacked trust in one another and a strong u.s. role was required to help iraqis broker their most politically sensitive decisions. for this reason, the administration should have determined what tasks and troop numbers were in the national interest to maintain in iraq and done so with ample time to engage with iraqis at the highest level of the u.s. government to shape political conditions in baghdad to achieve our goal. we focus on this failure not because u.s. troops would have made a decisive difference in iraq by engaging in unilateral combat operations against al qaeda and other threats to iraq's

iraq and iraq's democracy. of course it is -- it has its specificities. it is not similar to all democracies. we have our traditions, our legacy, our history, and also be respected. but we do also agree on many of the international criteria when it comes to democracy. and i do believe that iraq is able to become a very important model. the constitution has many flaws, as i said, but nonetheless at this point it guarantees liberty and freedom. it guarantees partnership and the building of a strong state. so, again, some articles would need to be amended and this is stipulated by article 142 that says that some of the articles should be amended. but at this point the constitution can bring iraq into a better iraq. now, i do not agree with the prime minister in the way he manages the country. and i believe that committing to constitution and applying the rule of law is not obvious in the policies of the government. as i said, it's a selective policy. sometimes laws are implemented. in specific circumstances. and i

iraq's prime minister urges al qaeda fighters in control of key towns to give up as the militants enjoy a rise of influence fueled by the war in neighboring syria. the army's greatest threat the u.k. military is disconnected from the public apparently don't understand what it's actually for that's the claim coming from a parliamentary watchdog. and russia's sledge hockey team prepares to make its debut at the upcoming paralympics meet the captain's family to find out where he's drawing his strength and inspiration from our top stories this hour. live from our studio center here in moscow this is r.t. international with you twenty four hours a day militants have attacked an army barracks north of baghdad reportedly killing twelve soldiers the iraqi government is currently struggling to regain control of key cities in the country's west occupied by al qaeda fighters the prime minister has called on the group to surrender shortly get live expert opinion on this but first middle east correspondent is following the conflict. well the situation certainly is becoming increasingly volatile but

state department who served in iraq and he's also author of we meant well how i helped lose the battle for the hearts and minds of the iraqi people gentlemen cross-talk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want and i very much encourage it peter if i go to you first in washington the blame game is raging again who lost iraq who lost afghanistan mr gates is a. memoir of his time in office is really getting a lot of people upset and probably rightfully so from a if you're in the white house i mean and we have to look at what's going on in iraq now what obligation does the united states have to reintroduce itself in a greater military way not with troops not boots on the ground but what obligation does the united states have to save the molecule government well the answer is none and not that anything could actually help the united states state spent nine years applying hellfire missiles and drones and automation and attacks of all sorts of kinds and none of that worked it is the definition of of mental illness to keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting dif

troops in iraq after 2011 and then he portrayed iraq as kind of being this stable state which didn't need american troops. now that iraq is getting in trouble, we're selling them hellfire missiles. this is not helpful, this is actually destructive. you're not going to solve this problem with hellfire missiles. a counterinsurgency situation? you need have a political plan. you have to have a military operations but it's got to be embedded in a larger political strategy. right now maliki doesn't have a larger political strategy. what general petraeus had, we lack the leverage because we don't have troops there. we lack the loanch the get them to do that. >>rose: let's assume that obama did negotiate to leave some troops there, not to engage in warfare, but simply for some kind of peace keep mission. >> a buffer stabilizer type role. >>rose: would it have made a difference? >> it's impossible to know but i think probably it would have made a difference. certainly at the time a lot of people are saying, hey, iraq is tao fragile to leave them alone. you need to be an arbiter to act betwee

today al qaeda has been in iraq since the united states invaded iraq flows to iraq you took advantage of the presence of the united states now the war shifted more than against it followed occupy have but then take a look at the bus for i agree with you that's history but if we look at syria right now again the united states to one degree or another is supporting groups that a take the mantle of al-qaeda and because the united states wants assad to go i mean i just don't get this here ok there's some good al qaeda in there some bad al qaeda. well that's what's funny peter. and i think we go ahead like you are i'm speaking answer this money will go quickly go back to daniel go ahead sir go ahead first of all the united states you know the u.s. has been criticized all over the united states and the president is reluctant to be involved in syria in order to avoid inflating the support for al qaeda because of its invasion and he's being criticized i think the united states is very cautious not to interfere personally in the. conflict in syria and be it there are elements of al qaeda i men

flexing its muscle al-qaeda hosts voice its banners over swaths of iraq while washington funnels arms to state forces for what is predicted to be a bloody counterattack. the first of syria's chemical weapons are shipped out for destruction as rebel groups turn on each other any merciless turf war with over five hundred fighters killed in clashes over just one week. with a month before the winter olympics starts the host city is putting a priority on security to make sure the games remain safe and undisturbed. plus confidence in the e.u.'s leaders has never been lower according to a new poll at least in the hard hit areas of europe where governments are scrambling for solutions through an entrenched economic crisis. you're watching r t live from moscow i'm lindsey france thanks for joining me. the black flag of al qaeda was this week raised over to iraq's cities which are now under the control of jihad is spent on creating a new islamic nation but the real bloodletting is yet to begin one the expert as the iraqi army and tribal militias mobilize and prepare to counterattack or to that

iraq's prime minister urges on kind of fighters in control of key towns to give that sounds the militants enjoy a rise of influence fueled by the war in neighboring syria. the army's greatest threat to the u.k. ministry is disconnected from the public who apparently don't understand what it's actually for the claim coming from a parliamentary watchdog. and russia's sledge hockey team prepares to make his deputy at the upcoming parlin pigs were made become to his family to find out where he is drawing his strength and inspiration from. this is a international coming to you live from moscow hello and welcome to the program. iraq's prime minister is calling on all kinds of fighters and all those who joined them to surrender the militant group has occupied k cities of the country's biggest problems and the government is trying to regain control let's not get more front aussies middle east than to pull a clear pull of the situation that seems to be becoming increasingly aggravated is iraq on the brink of civil war just like neighboring syria. well the situation certainly is becoming increasing

occupation so what is the fall of the city signify for not only the progress of iraq but the region as a whole joining me now to discuss is eugene career nater for the answer coalition thank you so much for coming on metal thank you so much for having me so you jeanne what the main factors that are contributing to your failed state of iraq today well i think the key factor that we have to mention is that the occupation of iraq by the united states fundamentally destabilize the country the united states just completely disassembled the iraqi state as it existed and not only didn't really put anything in place but actually set up a structure which made it sort of bit official for forces to become more at the serial to divide along sectarian and other sorts of lines of what we're seeing now is the real fruits of all of these time bombs land mines that were set by the u.s. occupation all coming to fruition all at the same time we saw two thousand and thirteen one of the most deadliest years over eight thousand people died in iraq and i think this situation of pollution nobody is very relat

they are fighting in iraq, as well. it is not just about oil anymore. yet,ve not seen much of it but if we have americans in the region fighting with somebody's groups, there is certainly a possibility they will come back. >> ok, how much of this is being fueled by the broader sunni and shia split? there, but the chasm has widened in the last couple of years. >> there is an ideology that is separate from the sectarian splits, but this segment of al qaeda in iraq and syria as well is the most sectarian. it hates shia more than any other al qaeda segment in the world, so this segment in iraq fueled a little bit more than others by the sectarian split, and a real focus on targeting shia. forward,hanistan going do you think that if the u.s. had fought harder to keep a certain number of troops in iraq a couple of years ago, what we are seeing today could have been mitigated? >> it is possible, but part of the problem in iraq right now is a governance issue with the government, including the competence of some of the security forces in cities like -- and and

is kevin oh and the crisis in iraq is fueled by the syrian war. we risk the possibility of the extension of this militarization that we're seeing in iraq right now we're seeing it already in syria where a civil war has expanded to a regional war and it's now spilling over into iraq the increasing militarization by the united states to the iraqi government is only going to make that worse not better and of course the irony is on the one hand you've got the united states supporting the rebels in syria have now come over the border into iraq and we're also hearing this week no offering drones or military support not personnel but military support to fight these very same people the for the against them directly you have this scenario where the sunni population which is the minority but a large minority in iraq feel completely disenfranchised disempowered disconnected from their own government and so the u.s. is saying instead of and insisting that the government change its policy of discrimination towards one of egalitarianism many quality for all so

is iraq collapsing? we have a very sharp panel to talk about the violence in the middle east and what is fueling it. >>> also, have you made your new year resolutions to stay healthy? then you'll want to listen to david amos, who has boiled it down to some simple rules for the new year. >>> and everybody's talking about america's decline, vis-a-vis china. but a major european intellectual says don't believe any of it. >>> and another story on how to ruin your economy in five easy steps. last week venezuela clicked all of the boxes. >>> finally from head to toe covering including the eyes to no covering at all, what is appropriate for the modern muslim woman. i'll share a surprising survey. >>> here's a startling statistic, more than 8,000 iraqis were killed in violent attacks in 2013. that makes it the second most violent country in the world after its next door neighbor syria. as violence has spread and militants have gained ground in several mideastern countries, people have been wondering, how much do

we quit iraq in 2011 the wrong way. we quit iraq, we declared it a great success. we declared a great success when he was repressing the sunni's. now he comes to us and he wants missiles, we have given him. he wants drones and he will not use them in the war on terror. they are instruments of choice in his war against the sunnis and kurds. >> you make it sound like he will stay in power because of the weaponry from the u.s. >> i have known this man. it's an interesting thing. like all of a sudden, you see the unmaking, the emergence of a dictator. right now, he has something good going for him. he is now running for third term as prime minister. the rules in iraq recolluded that. he shredded those rules. now he's running for third term as the prime minister. as the candidate of supreme leader. >> we appreciate your insight. we appreciate your reporting from dangerous places. thank you you both. >> thank you. >>> a citizen held in pakistan feels abandoned. in a video he is asking the u.s. government to help him come home. what does his family say? hear what they tol

considered on peter lavelle when the cure is worse than the disease iraq is clearly again falling back into extreme civil strife washington says it wants to help but most iraqis appear wary of any more american assistance then there is afghanistan washington plans to finally leave this year the sad reality for all involved it's the fact that washington may never be able to leap. to cross-talk iraqi afghan legacies i'm joined by my guest richard murphy in new york he is a former u.s. career ambassador to syria and currently an adjunct scholar at the middle east institute also in new york we have don de bar he is an anti-war activist and host of a daily radio program and in washington we cross to peter van buren he is a veteran of the u.s. state department who served in iraq and he's also author of we meant well how i helped lose the battle for the hearts and minds of the iraqi people gentlemen crosstalk rules in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want and i very much encourage it peter if i go to you first in washington the blame game is raging again who lost the rock who los

which combines iraq and syria and the tribes in iraq are very much opposed to that so there still is very great tension between them but i think the fundamental point is that odierno is still trying to justify his role in the war based on the idea that well you know the iraqis were trained by us to handle this they may have been trained to handle this but the real problem is something that the united states unleashed which is not going to be solved by a military force but here we are today i mean is there any solution what is the solution now is there any clear path that the u.s. should. make at this point i don't think there's anything the united states can do to undo the damage that it has already done there's going to have to be a long term political process it's going to take many many years who knows how long it's going to take but but what we do know is that that even if they the government is able to retake solutia and other places where a cut is currently in control or has a military presence the problem is not going to be settled at all the problem of sunni shia tension with

backed chaos to iraq and in syria washington support for armed opposition has benefited extremists in washington i'm going to check on our quiz. as you know it is a group now said it should be in control of illusion and ramadi is the islamic state of iraq and the levant also known as isis it's seen as a formidable fighting force and it's militants among the most radical cells in a syrian isis is self dates back to the early years of the iraq war it was formed in april two thousand and four by sunni insurgents and soon after a pledge allegiance to bin laden two years later it was rebranded as the state of iraq in two thousand and thirteen its military successes against us again strong influence in syria we saw it add to its name and of course and then also developments the group has taken control of loot in other parts of the province in iraq and proclaimed an islamic state earlier we spoke to iraq war veteran adam told us the resurgence was essentially going to need by the u.s. occupation i've had a long way since my time an illusion two thousand and four and been able to step back an

prior to the invasion of iraq there weren't really any al qaeda in in iraq there were a small group called the answer which were actually being fought. saddam hussein's try to eradicate it but since we're unable to find a weapons of mass destruction a lot of media coverage was given to the al qaeda in iraq because there was one of the reasons why we originally went. but al qaida hasn't been on the run in iraq and the and the general public is not. prole. i would say but they are certainly not pro the iraqi army as well as iraqi security forces and this is due to the highly concentration of shia militias within these armed forces so much of the shoes sunni population and big parts of the shia population who are not sympathetic to the militias do not fear or feel any confidence to you reckon security forces and therefore. reduce lack of credibility to the iraqi security forces the al qaeda is. given some room to maneuver that anders kai go in for my danish intelligence officer who's joining us there giving us his perspective on what's happening in iraq thank you. u.s. of ghana stand relation

the jihadists entrenched in iraq's western province are from a group called the islamic state of iraq and of the levant a u.s. military publication says the organization expanded its influence significantly last year and now boasts over five thousand members it was formed back in two thousand and four year after the u.s. led invasion of iraq began these sunni extremists were then known as the al qaeda in iraq after pledging allegiance to the infamous organization the group's leader said this summer that its goals are to tear down the border between iraq and syria and to destroy both governments many of its members are fighting against president assad in syria and the group says they carried out a suicide blast in lebanon a couple weeks ago and kerry guard is a former danish intelligence officer who served in iraq he believes that al qaeda is as strong as ever and that iraqi security forces are overmatched in my opinion. has never been on the run it might have been downscaling due to pressure but once this precious lifted the organization is back in full force and it uses these. pulses

troops in iraq after 2011. he portrayed iraq as being a wonderful and stable state. now iraq is getting into trouble and we are sending them hellfire missiles and all sorts of high- tech emissions -- munitions. this is not helpful, it is deductive. you will not solve this problem with missiles. a are facing counterinsurgency situation in a rock and you need a political plan. you can have a military line of operations, but it has to be embedded in a larger political strategy. a do not have a political strategy. we need something like what general petraeus was able to do in 2007. wisdom tot have the do that. we would like the leverage. that thesume president had negotiated with the iraqi government to leave some troops there, not to be engaged in warfare that might be going on at that point in time, but simply for some kind of peacekeeping mission. >> a buffer, stabilizer type role. >> would it have made a difference? >> it is hard to know, but i think it would have made a difference. a lot of people were saying that iraq is too fragile to leave them on their own. you

just like in iraq. and both uniformed and civilian senior officials came to me and had all these statistics about how the death rates were comparable for med-evac in iraq and afghanistan despite the time difference and so on, and, therefore, because it was statistically pretty much a wash, it wasn't worth the investment to put additional resources into it. my reaction was a pretty simple one. if i'm other soldier have been blown up, want a helicopter there as quickly as possible. i said, we're just going to do it. and so we sent more helicopters, several additional field hospitals. i made that decision in january of 2008 or 2009 -- i can't remember which -- and by july, something like 80% of our medical evacuations were taking place in less than 40 minutes. but it was -- the problem in part, it seemed to me, was that the people who were in charge of these things weren't looking at them from the soldiers' standpoint. they were looking at it from sort of 30 or 40,000 feet. the other problem in the pentago

well, i say if iraq-- if iraq is in chaos because we withdrew our troops then the obvious solution is to send our troops back in. right, senator mccain. >> first of all, no combat troops, obviously. let's get that out of the way. i would suggest perhaps sending david petraeus and ambassador crocker back over there. >> stephen: okay, yeah, david petraeus could fix this thing if you just gave him a tank on the battlefield. now obama-- (laughter) i think obama must do this. ladies and gentlemen, it is important obama has to do this because once you've been at war in a place, you are always responsible for anything that ever happened there. that is why-- and i've said this before, that is why you must never end wars. think about this. if you think about it, they're never, ever would have been a world war ii if we hadn't stopped fighting world war i. that's just math. or are you a a fan of hitler, president wilson. or take that, or take that pussy napoleon, he retreats from moscow, pretty soon rasputin, the commies move in, crush chef bangs his shoes, the next thing you know putin is tople

and then the war in iraq is over. and al-qaeda flags are fly nothing fallujah and soldiers that lost brothers in iraq and tell us how they felt to see the iraqi cities back in the hands of the extremist. >> plus if good guys have guns, the bad guys will stay away. detroit police chief james craig tonight. ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, governor mike huckabee. >>> thank you. it is a great audience here in new york and we are so glad to have you, welcome to huckabee from the fox news studios in new york city. well, there is one thing standing in the way of republicans adding to the majority in the house and releasing the september from harry reid from the democratic foils and that was other republicans. jesus said a house divided against itself can't stand. and neither jesus' statement and obama care have been repealed. many are not finding enough work to pay their bills and the economy favoring those connected with washington and wall street. and our standing in the world bungled by policies like spying on other leaders.

for iraq and help iraq in such a moment. and at least by the advice -- to tell them, look, we are being blamed for changing the regime there. we want real democracy to be a established there. not the democracy we see no. so work together, and for those whom you have given them more than what they should get, we should tell them no that went too far -- and solve the problem in a peaceful way. otherwise, if the critics -- kurdish parties will expand, and the other will extend from other sites. then by that way the problem is not going to be solved. what happened in iraq was done by -- [inaudible] and i think the extent of power is still needed to rearrange things, especially for those whom you have given more than they should get. >> so this is a good question for all of us here in washington. the kinds of support that you are looking for from the united states, you've already mentioned sale of weapons, not by themselves but certainly the sale of the weapons, advice to the government on an inclusive, advice and expectation of