hello and welcome to. the foreign minister of iran is in russia had of the next round of syria peace talks one thing nuclear negotiations finally progress inc tehran is seeing diplomatic doors open can't help solve the syria question what is being discussed with moscow and we'll hear read name in richmond continue caught up with mr to find out the answer first hand. drawn is on the verge of a diplomatic breakthrough. nuclear program may be over. crippling sanctions seems closer than ever and world powers are even asking for ending the war in syria on top of that there is a new billion dollar trade deal with moscow in the works. is the islamic republic on its way back into the international scene. into a lasting spring. for a minister it's really great to have the on our program today. so you just came back from damascus you've spoken to president bashar have you talked about inside concrete have you come up with any concrete solutions. really i just come from the middle east. i was in lebanon i was in jordan i was in iraq and i see a common thread among everybody. concerned abo

american invasion and american support in syria if. some of the concessions that both the assad government and the opposition promised to the current it's only because they they want to have them on their side so it seems that it's not so much about peaceful dialogue and negotiations with the authorities but rather any kind of change for you can confluent major political cataclysm don't agree with kurdistan's autonomy has been strong because of the u.s. invasion of kurdistan has been enjoying it is autonomy it is for the region since one thousand nine hundred after the uprising but i feel you can have very argued the united states put a lot of resources into strengthening our. the autonomy of kurdistan having this region secure and safe and burgeoning into. states and again united states did a very important thing by removing saddam from power we can all is that and without the us support the iraqis could have not removed saddam from power but again the kurdistan region did either stability or security it has not been because of the us presence but definitely removing saddam fro

www.aljazeera.com. >> big powers are talking more honestly to each other about syria. it's less clear what that means to the assad government in damascus. that's the inside story. >> hello, i'm ray suarez. during the long bloody slog of the syrian war a certain rhythm has long since set in. lots of movement, lots of violence, lots of death, lots of international concern and then nothing. nothing but strike and counter strikes, denunciations from the united nations nothing while syrians continue to flee and die in horrifying numbers. but secretary of state john kerry while pushing for movement in the israeli-palestinian conflict and broker a non-proliferation deal with iran has been pushing hard to the end of the fighting in syria. >> u.s. secretary of state john kerry is not taking no for an answer on his trip to europe and the middle east this week. an in fact, he told the syrian national coalition leaders if they don't attend peace talks in switzerland on january 22nd the u.s. will pull its support. >> i'm counting on both parties as well as the 30 or so plus other nations to come togeth

till next time you will find us online at aljazeera.com/thestream. >> time to talk piece in syria. the most significant effort yet to find a solution to the conflict is about to begin. this is the world news from al jazeera. also ahead - an anti-government protestor killed in ukraine as police break down barricades. a senior pro-government protest leader shot and wounded as a state of emergency takes effect. in the dark a lawyer who campaigned against government corruption in china goes on trial in beijing. >> delegates from 40 countries are gathering in switzerland with one aim in mind, to try to end an ongoing war in syria. it's the first time the international community managed to get both syrian government and opposition to sit down together to talk. the meeting, known as geneva two is the biggest diplomatic push to stop the fighting. these are live pictures from switzerland where the meeting is being held. >> in a moment we'll speak to al jazeera's reporter. first, let's go to james bays, our diplomatic editor at the meeting. james, what is going to be on the agenda for today

this month's international peace conference on syria as the russian foreign minister hosts meetings with his iranian and syrian counterparts. and as the n.s.a.'s mass surveillance antics draw unwelcome comparisons with this sea of east germany r.t. talks to veterans of a feared and revered cold war spy service to find out just how much the two have in common. you're watching r t international live from our moscow studios where it's just after one pm i'm lindsey france thanks for joining me relations between the u.s. and afghanistan are in jeopardy after the latest killings of civilians by american troops in the war zone the afghan president says seven children and a woman died in a u.s. airstrike on wednesday and nato claims the incident took place during a counter terror operation and admits that it least two civilians were killed by mistake it's the latest in a series of collateral damage scandals that have shaken u.s. afghan relations kabul has repeatedly demanded an end to night raids and airstrikes in civilian areas some analysts say it should be taken a step further by ensurin

the foreign minister of iran is in russia had of the next round of syria peace talks one thing nuclear negotiations finally progress inc tehran is seeing diplomatic doors open can't help solve the syria question what is being discussed with moscow and we'll hear read name in continue with mr to find out first hand. drawn is on the verge of a diplomatic breakthrough. nuclear program may be over. the grip of crippling sanctions seems closer than ever and world powers are even asking for iran's help ending the war in syria on top of that there is a new billion dollar trade deal with moscow in the works. is the islamic republic into the international sea. turning into a lasting spring. for a minister it's really great to have the on our program today. so you just came back from damascus you've spoken to president bashar have you talked about and see concrete have you come up with any concrete solutions. really i just come from the middle east. i was in lebanon i was in jordan i was in iraq and i see a common thread among everybody. concerned about the spread of widens spread of ext

they even began to talk. so talk takes a while. none of us are satisfied with leaving syria to the kind of horrendous acts that have engaged in, which is why i said there will be parallel efforts being made while the talks are going on in order to try to find different pressure points and different ways of finding a solution, but my sense is that -- this is already one of the worst catastrophes of humanitarian crises in the world today. you have upwards of 9 million people displaced. the burden on jordan is growing and significant. the burden on lebanon is growing and significant. the increase of the number of terrorists and terrorist groups is unacceptable to any nation that cares about stability and -- and -- and the long-term safety and security of our people. so this crisis is growing, not diminishing, and i believe the impact is going to be -- continue to be felt in ways that is going to compel others to think in many different ways to think about the options down the road. >>> it is now 1:00 eastern time, you are listening to secretary of state john kerry talking about the on

cantaloupes on an extremist group in syria tell shocking details of their ordeal as the militants fighting under the black flags of all kinds and the region as the most radical power in the region feared even by assad's forces meanwhile. it's still feeding the fighters in in syria. america's middle east policies are raising eyebrows with washington's offer to help find this a militant group in iraq appearing to draw it together with iran. also this hour a huge fire sale ireland's consuls of historic cities got under the hammer in europe as cash strapped governments invent new ways to meet their budgets plot. you're going to be to follow that radiation record companies to your horror it's lights are down fears of fracking as a new report reveals hundreds of complaints of contamination but officials and companies in need to ignore them. this isn't international coming to life from moscow hello and welcome to the. several hundred captives of a hard line rebel group links to al qaeda have been freed in syria they were being held by fighters from the islamic state of iraq and find who

and let us recognize that most of the death and destruction in syria come from conventional weapons which are thrown in abundance to all the warring sides from many quarters different actors have been inserted a sectarian get a mission into this country some of these obvious have generated or said forth in prophecy but we have also been continued into a community we have also seen continued into communities already there it and even demonstrators of against extremism syrians are still united india deep love for their country pride in their culture and religious heritage and long history of living in peace syrians must start talking to each other again to regain what has been lost we see power for example of this the spirit of sort of their it in every day with the many mothers and fathers striving to protect and instruct go to of ditch families on a daily basis in syria i decided that all syrians women and men i you gauged in the effort to shape our shared future. excellences let me turn now to the war that begins at this conference. the syrians themselves had the primary responsibi

look in in syria groups that have been affiliated with al qaeda are benefiting from u.s. support and saudis support a great allies saudi arabia and the next story in iraq is this the so so-called al-qaeda has made a comeback and is now you know threatening on bob province so it is a good question what what is al qaeda is that al qaeda in in somalia where you have small regional conflicts you know groups with no with no desire for a global jihad it seems to be a pretty convenient term that doesn't mean it doesn't exist but it certainly seems to be overused jarome in tel aviv you like to apply to that i mean it is a term used very very often you almost want to get to the point where it's just a kind of a franchise. since a typical since its inception in one thousand eight hundred eight i think that we don't have to look for new new the phoenicians is one of the crowd sometimes refer to. this and this is a group within its own memory and the person who spoke really now located the pakistan area and there are other groups that are closely cooperating with al qaeda and basically go to the

iran to take part in peace talks will syria but to respond as the country's main opposition group threatens to drop out just a day after his agreed to have turned. and syria's president said that coming conference must focus on timing towers and. look at how mercenaries from europe contributed to the spread of germs hardest one that. this is all seem to national coming to live from moscow hello and welcome to the program now these are not images from a disaster and these are actual seen from the ukrainian capital taken overnight the pictures show protests of running amok angry over plans for naught they say aimed at punishing them for holding rallies the response has been fear is a mix of a lot of cocktails clubs and five bombs thrown and police trying to stave off a revolution alexy to shove skis in caves forty. it's morning now in here but the chance in the right place where the investments and rattled in a very violent manner yesterday are not dying down you can see what remains of the police cars and police buses which were burned yesterday a pretty depicting picture of what h

you're against any money being sent to syria what does it mean he just won here of to stand back and see how the work plays out in syria like gayle all cities . no i think that europe should not finance the war in syria and it is exactly what europe is doing today. europe with the united nations well obviously today we see european states shamefully financing terrorist organizations that are there for the sole purpose of overthrowing a power in place the legitimate power of bashar al assad which is a legitimate power in a country where everything was going well before the foreign invasion because that's pretty much what we have today in syria it's not civil war but a foreign invasion in syria one is trying to destabilize the region and i don't have to tell you who is of course behind this project if syria folds and other muslim countries has fallen in the few last months well this will be a positive for israel and positive for the united states and its allies and the loser will of course be a wrong that we absolutely try to isolate by all means on the international scene so there it

. i told you that syria wants to go back one thousand years in syria who were only see the pregnant woman being killed at their feet. this is that in a detailed. when you get a free ten before and after that. at that. you will not only that the shelves in the hearts of those who export to this kind of thinking get teary at the same gentleman. with four others are being killed before the eyes of their children and what is what it is that the children ofo respod to our aspirations are dancing before that. syria he and this is what is happening here. a useful thing. whoo hoo. i'm totally abstract year. under what is called the greatest area of revolution. civilians are being killed and two elderly women and children. chinese army bomb attack. victims of such bombings are not asked to by their political or religious at the weekend thinking that we see the light is being parents we see them at great speed i'm tired. under the slogan off revolution. children are killed in their schools people in the universe is that women know and that having children and that's all kinds of slogans such

extremists move in. syria's opposition decides it will attend peace talks to the u.n. retracts an invitation to iran just a day before the geneva summit starts a move moscow has called a mistake. russian diplomats urged those attending the peace talks to focus on terrorism plaguing syria amid reports of al qaeda training camps across the country other top stories this hour. live from our studio center here in moscow it's just turned eleven pm this international radical opposition supporters in the ukrainian capital continue their assault on police barricades for a second night government protests they want to force the country's entire leadership out to say they're not leaving and warned recently published new laws aimed at preventing them from holding rallies will only boost the violence legislation was announced last week and quickly passed as the crisis escalated and is in kiev. tension may have come down in terms of the noise at the governmental court in kiev but it's still far from settled only a few meters are separating the police lines and the line of the protesters or the

of al qaeda. some note that the organization is in more places than ever before, particularly syria and iraq. does it still constitute a serious threat to u.s. national security? david gurstei nrveg ross, and brian jenkins, sr. advisor to the rand corporation and author of many books on terrorism topic. juan cole, university of michigan and shahid, thanks oall of you for being here. so juan, how is the al qaeda of today different from the al qaeda that attacked the u.s. on 9/11? >> well, in my view, it's a mistake to refer both to core al qaeda and to the affiliates in syria and iraq as all queald. al qaeda. the original al qaeda was in fact multinational and it made a decision to hit the far even my, the united states first before engaging in local battles because it felt that the united states were propping up these local states. so the things that are being called al qaeda in iraq and syria are not like that at all. they are not multinational. they have a national focus and they are not interested very much in hitting the united states. they're just radical sunni islam political

; that it has to have an inclusive syria, where every citizen can live in dignity, lead by a government that the people of syria empower with their consent. so the fact that 40 countries and organizations came here from near and far, from asia, from south central asia, from europe, america, from the north american can't tent, from latin america, africa, north and south, all came, united in support of the syrian people, in support of their hopes for the future of syria, and in support of the geneva communique which does one thing that is of great significance. it recognizes that a political transition is the only way to go, and that the political transition required under geneva 12 is a transition government with full executive authority by mutual consent. every entity here today with one exception talked about that, and embraced the geneva 1 communique. it is significant that all of the other countries, but that one, came here to endorse the geneva 1 communique, understanding from the outset that the invitation sent by secretary general ban ki-moon made it clear that was the purpose of

americans, the russians, the syrians, the iranians, have all set out their bottom lines for syria's future. it can't all happen. the bloody civil war and the peace conference in was switzerland are the inside story. ♪ >>> hello, i'm ray suarez. syrians are continuing to fight and die in hellish conditions. even as some of the world's best-known diplomats descended in geneva. the powerful gathering is talking about peace but have presented very different ideas about whether bashar al-assad stays or goes. meanwhile iran able to continue to fuel the fire, are publicly doubting the chance for success. and assad is ready to fight to the last syria. foreign negotiations gathered in the stated hopes of drafting a plan to bring peace to syria, but right from the start, he hard lines of division between many of the participates, especially the syrian government and leaders of the opposition, cast doubt on the success of the conference. >> translator: the syrian people aspire to have a strong army that protects their assets, land, and ethnicity, protects it's borders and land. >> the syrian

syrians, the iranians have all set out their bottom lines for syria's future. they all can't happen. the peace conference in switzerland are the inside story. >> hello, i'm ray suarez. the powerful gathering of international leaders is talking about peace but presented very different ideas about whether bashar al-assad's stays or goes. meanwhile iran's leaders invited and then uninvited from the swiss conference unable to fuel the fire are publicly doubting the chances for progress. and judging from the delegation appearance in montreux, assad is ready to fight the last syrian. foreign ministers and negotiators from som several nas gather. right from the start, the hard lines decisions between syrian government and leaders of the opposition cast doubt on the success of the meeting. >> the syrian people aspire to defend the borders of the sovereignty. >> reporter: representing the government of bashar al-assad denounced the proceedings and the participants. >> no one in the world has the right to give or take legitimacy to a president or government or constitution or law or anything

syria and the reports of al qaeda training camps across the country. this is our seeing to national coming to you live from moscow hello and welcome to the brawl graham radical opposition supporters in the ukrainian capital continued their assault on police barricades for a second antigovernment protests they want to force country's entire leadership out the rioters say they're not leaving and warned that recently published new laws aimed at preventing them from holding rallies will only bruise the violence there the legislation was announced last week and quickly passed as the crisis escalated . isn't here for us. tension may have come down in terms of the noise at the governmental court in kiev but it's still far from settled only a few meters are separating the police lines and the line of the protesters or the rioters and still sometimes exchanging project arrows at each other over the night we saw an attempt by the police to push the protesters off this particular place here the failed attempt when the protesters started charging with a writer started charging at the police the

attempts to stop the civil war in syria. also now joining the conversation, joshua landis, and the director of the center for middle east studies at the university of denver. joshua, let me start with you, what is the united states up to and has it made any progress in its efforts to stop the fighting in syria? >> well, it hasn't made a lot of progress. there's complete chaos on the ground on the rebel side who have been fighting each other tooth and nail as you mentioned in your start up, and the -- the worry on the part of the opposition is if they begin to talk to assad, he is quite powerful on the grown now, and this could lead to the partition of syria. a rebel controlled area in the south, and a regime controlled area in the rest of the country. so what their real beef is to try to hold the american's feet to the fire and make them actually deliver on this promise they made at geneva one that assad would step down, because they don't have the power to do that themselves. so that's -- the trackations that are going on right now in an effort to commit america to the position th

more concrete news from you know there's a stalemate on the ground but news from syria coming out from syria this morning are very disturbing just. the syrian regime the assad regime targeting different neighborhoods of rebel forces continued strife humanitarians and just we heard here in washington yesterday the chief intelligence. official of the administration talking about syria becoming a heart for islamic fundamentalism and for terrorism possibly striking at the u.s. it joe it's very interesting i was watching very closely the u.s. secretary of state's comments about what's going on there and and i think we all agree whatever your political stripe is that there is this civil war is truly truly dreadful but the u.s. and its allies constantly criticize and point out atrocities committed by the assad regime but they are very tepid in criticizing opposition groups and particularly groups that most people believe are linked to al qaeda or groups like al qaeda you know does this create the kind of an atmosphere of compromise and diplomacy that's necessary i guess what i'm saying and pu

syria al-qaeda linked rebels and other opposition groups engaged in bloody infighting the growing divisions among those aiming to topple assad of threatening the forthcoming peace talks in geneva. plus the backing of e.u. leaders dips to an all time low as. a clearance sale of countries assets to patch up budget holes. the security being a major concern at the upcoming winter olympics in sochi we take a look at how the host city is making sure athletes and spectators are protected. in the past seven days top stories and the latest developments this is the weekly on. thousands of iraqis aflame their homes in anbar province which has turned into a war zone after al qaeda linked militants took control of the two largest cities that the army has yet failed to retake the occupied territories that have been declared an islamic state by the militants as the iraqi military gathers its forces for a decisive assault. looks at what is empowering the extremists in the region. young good luck. with. integrity they run on chaos emboldened by the fighting in syria these al qaeda linked militants

lebanon's border with syria. the vatican is undercut scrutiny by the u.n. on the children's rights. the catholic church has been slammed over allegations of child sex abuse by priests and an inadequate response from church officials. protest over high-cost redevelopment plans for city in northern spain spread to madrid. oulsons in the street call it a waste of money for the cash- strapped country that it can afford. -- thousands in the street call it a waste of money for the cash-strapped country that it can't afford. coming up this hour, but he waved its the australian open hard with some players and spectators passing out from the heat. steamy details coming up in sports. and then on hand to give us the details of his recent coverage of the ongoing conflict in central african republic. story in the hague for war the trial is on for four members of hezbollah accused of assassinating former lebanese minister. his death nine years ago sent shockwaves throughout the region. he was killed in a massive car bombing, which many of his supporters blamed on the syrian regime. anyscus has always

of syria of a better thing out of the. about to syria. to play into the engine the father parties who are actually from the beginning of the crisis they have been really intent on destroying syria the institution so much kidnapping them killing so we don't want to look back what we want to do is to try and save people from so many massacres from so much blood should try and see the light at the end of the tunnel and that would depend of course on you know how the parties different parties involved in solving the syrian conflict conflict cooperate with the charter and of course the syrian national council is one of such parties at this point as they seem to be divided and don't even seem to be decided in fact whether to conference the geneva two conference or not why do you think there is so much division was in down i think the division come from because of the these parties first of all they have and they have been living outside of course so many years they are kind of. you know the whole do not know what the syrian people are going through and second i think because of the sour

stay away from the iran negotiations and syria because they're divisive d problematic. what you focus on is domestic policy in the beginning of his speech and you start off and say the american economy is recovering. our growth is one of the fastest in the western world. however, we've got problems and one of the main problems is income and wealth and equality and here's how we're going to deal with it. we're going extend unemployment benefits. we're going to deal with the hispanics in this country who are undocumented. bring them out of the shadows. we want to raise the minimum wage and i want to work with you in congress on these things, but i have to tell you that if you don't work with me, i have a pen, and i have a phone and i'm going to do my best by executive order to keep this economy moving and keep it going forward but i want your support. >> that will win a lot of support. >> clarence is going crazy over there. >> eleanor. >> pat's an old presidential speech writer and that was actually right on the mark. >> so was i. >> well. >> believe me, that's not the way to win friend

state forces for what's predicted to be a bloody counterattack. the first of syria's chemical weapons i should blog for destruction that is rebel groups turning each other in a merciless turf war with over five hundred fighters killed in clashes over just one week. with a month before the winter olympics stars of the host city is putting a priority on security to make sure the games remain safe and undisturbed. confidence in the leaders has never been called into a new poll at least in the hard hit areas of europe where governments are scrambling for solutions and entrenched economic crisis. you're watching r t international for this week's top stories as well as today let's take a look at what we have this morning the black flag was this week raced over to iraq's cities which are now under the control of jihad is bent on creating a new islamic nation but the real bloodletting is yet to begin when experts as the iraqi army and tribal militias mobilize and prepare to come to attack our g.'s gun which as you can reports. young little burka with whom you're not integrity they run on chaos

to the infamous intelligence programs but there is little hope of any fundamental reform. syria says it's ready to unite with moderate rebel groups in the fight against hardline radicals according to the country's foreign minister who is in moscow ahead of the peace talks. and scotland's police day britain's foreign secretary is on a charm offensive to convince undecided scots not to quit the u.k. as among stick to a decisive referendum. this expanded moscow watching r.t. international with me marina joshie and has been embroiled in some pretty dirty business now president obama could be about to clean up america's the tory asli invasive intelligence reforms and friday which could impose limits on the n.s.a. after whistleblower edward snowden revealed to us all just how far he had gone into our private lives but expectations of any fundamental change are pretty low as are g.'s sam sachs reports from washington d.c. . today president obama heads to the department of justice just a few blocks from here and he'll deliver a speech on n.s.a. reforms specifically what he supports from the

u.s. backed counter attack on the insurgent forces. in syria. opposition groups. are growing divisions among those. threatening the. us the backing of. all time with. politicians affecting the way people see the common currency as they look for replacement. being a major concern of the upcoming winter olympics in sochi we take a look at how the host city is making sure athletes and spectators are protected. seven days top stories and the latest developments this is the weekly. thousands of iraqis are fleeing their homes in the anbar province which is turned into a war zone after al qaeda linked militants took control of the two cities. yet failed to retake the occupied territories that have been declared an islamic state by the militants as the iraqi military gammas its forces for a decisive assault. looks at what is empowering the extremists in the region. they run on chaos emboldened by the fighting in syria these al qaeda linked militants overran parts of iraq including the city of fallujah. we have said earlier that the serious story should and will actually go into iraq

funnels on to state forces what's predicted to be a bloody consulate attack. the first of syria's chemical weapons are shipped off to destruction and rebel groups turn each other in a mercy list with about five hundred fighters killed in clashes over just one week . with a month before the winter olympics starts of the host city is pushing a prior she on security to make sure the games remain safe and district. confidence in the e.u. leaders has never been you know was going to be a new ball would he say in the hard hit areas of you would where government us when being the solution to an entrenched economic crisis. may very well welcome to you if you've just joined us here on r.t. international you're watching this week's the week. the black flag of al qaeda was up this week and raced over to iraq's cities which are now under the control of jihad is bent on creating a new islamic nation but the real blood letting is yet to begin want to experts as the rocky army and tribal militias mobilized and prepared to come to attack is going to change again reports. young girl not going to do with. i

where previously we would never have gone last year we were asked to go to syria with a mission of observers to observe a ceasefire which let's face it never really existed and after a few months we decided to call it a day because i could foresee the moment when we would have killed many killed it was actually a miracle that nobody was killed in those. fightings between the army and the opposition groups even mali we have non-state actors we have jihadists we have transnational organized crime drug dealers people dealing with. human beings and they are transnational that's even a new maybe a new phase but this is the reality of the twenty first century i would like to dwell on basic idea of early intervention that you alluded to supposedly a terror at the bigger disaster i know that the man who was heavily criticized for its inaction in a one in its in action in congo and that may be one of the reasons why i felt the need to intervene so swiftly in libya and that intervention as you mentioned was authorized by the u.n. security council not only a lot here regime change in that cou

went up for a lot of angle states, the euro crisis faded because of coordination and ecd. syria, the war got worse, but oil prices didn't spike because of the global process on fracking and the ability of the u.s. and russia to surprisingly work together. so my question is, given what you said about crises and in particular spots coming forward, what do you see about the resilience and the institutions that if an international order to function well in response to them the next year? is nader getting stronger or weaker? is the u.s. pivoted asia really going to add security to that region? is viewin the u.n. going to be o intervene effectively in africa as problems pop up or some other agency going to step in? in other words, what do you see as the most effective global institution going forward? and are any of these threats potential risks to weaken or undermined the kind of responsibility, the response ability of these institutions be? that's a great question. i do believe, i do believe that we still have a very, very big institutional challenge. and as everybody knows, we have talk

david foster. coming up in the next 60 minutes, syria says it will be going to planned talks in geneva but repeats its calls for foreign states to stop funding the rebels. >>> three people killed by a car bomb as the trial begins over in the murder of the country's prime minister. >>> such crimes can never be crustfied. >> the vatican says there can be no excuse for child abuse, bbut disappointed victims. >>> and another anti-government protest law. >>> we begin with this. al jazeera has obtained a leaks document in which the syrian government details its reservations about un-backed talks in geneva. but it has confirmed in the note to the un chief that it will be there for the talks. let's go to kristin live now from un headquarters in new york. the reservations are there on paper now. what are the implications? >> well, david, this could be very significant. we did expect that the syrian government would be taking part in these talks, but for the first time, we're getting an official document laying out their position, and they do seem to be laying out their reserve accusation

these local states. so the things that are being al-qaeda in iraq and syria are not like that at all. they are not multinational. they have a national focus, and they are not interested, i think, very much in hitting the united states. they are just rad sunni islam, the political islam. >> when the president's claim was challenged by pointing out that their flag flies all over iraq and syria obama responded . . . david i want to go to you, a significant portion of al-qaeda leadership has been taken out. how has that effected their ability to coordinate and carry out any kind of attack? >> the first thing is i question whether a significant portion has been taken out and down for the count. when we look at this group it's a clandestine organization it is cellar in node. it is very difficult to beat such an organization through a strategy that is just based on attrition of leadership which is what our drone campaign has been based on. >> so are obama's comments lulling americans into a false sense of security? this >> i wouldn't say that. but we have a perception about what beats an en

the group called the islamic state of iraq, combatants who are also engaged in syria's civil war. they're trying to rally the iraqi sunnies to their cause. more than 100 people have been killed in recent days. groups associated with al-qaeda are spreading violence and using the country as a transfer point to join the fighting against bashar al-assad forces in syria. >> those who know the geographical nature of the pro since realize it's a crossing point for armed groups from iraq to syria, and from syria to iraq. >> reporter: in ramadi fighting continues today. dressed in black waving al-qaeda flags. suggestions that perhaps al maliki has picked a fight. >> let's make it clear who is responsible for the fighting. we're partnering with the iraqi government to fight the shared threat at the end of the draw we can help them fight it but we want to help them build their own came ability to do so themselves. >> reporter: the u.s. has rushed arms and surveillance technology to iraq in order to help the government combat the resurgent al-qaeda backed rebels. >> joining us now to talk ab

which of these outside powers have the political will. to cross-talk developments in syria i'm joined by my guest in our bill in washington he is a member of the brookings institution and a scholar in residence at the american university and in new york we cross to joe lauria he is a u.n. correspondent for the wall street journal all right gentlemen welcome to the program crosstalk rules and in fact that means you can jump in anytime you want joe is the weekend's here where does the geneva process stand i mean maybe the best thing that's happened is that it's even happening. yeah i guess it that it stands pretty much where it began irreconcilable differences between the two parties they sat in the same room they spoke through mr brahimi the u.n. negotiator they spoke to each other there are a lot of rumors that the syrian government had decided that they agreed certainly to talk about a transitional government that's been shut down so really no progress was made no progress was expected except on the humanitarian front there was an attempt to get aid into homes that's not over yet that o