>> photograph uk proof of apparent russian meddling cobb flicts with vladimir putin sids

claims that his country is an observer. >> booming marijuana business in colorado. >> has college life tame. >> why earth bound battles today could turn into star wars tomorrow. i'm antonio mora, welcome to "consider this," here is more on what is ahead. >> vice president joe biden ukraine. >> the secretary urged russia to take concrete steps to implement the geneva agreement. >> actions of the militant bears similarities to actions in crimea. connection. unacceptable. >> yemen's interior ministry says al qaeda... >> a major al qaeda base in the southern mountains. this comes a week after video surfaced of a training camp that the u.s. considers yemen's al

dangerous. >> april 20th, 4/20 - known as another day but... >> a day to enjoy marijuana. >> wild to see this many here. >> marijuana is legal. where else would i be. >> we begin with a russian threat to invade ukraine's eastern provinces as relations between moscow and ukraine deteriorates. they've been accused of trying to kick off a civil war in ukraine. and said russia would intervene if fighting continued. that followed a clash outside a ukrainian city on sunday, where three pro-russian fighters were killed. sergei lavrov claimed the fighters were unarmed civilians. sergei lavrov insisted that russia had no forces in ukraine and was not trying to manipulate benefit. >> officials released a series

of pictures, including these, showing a special forces soldier, who seemed identical to this soldier in ukraine. >> the u.s. is monitor, according to jay carney, and threatened russia with more sanctions. david rhode joins us, an investigative reporter for roit jers and a 2-time pulitzer prize, who wrote about the unhappy relations between russia and ukraine. how the u.s. made the putin problem worse. i'll get to that in a minute. first the pictures - the white house believes these are russian special forces in ukraine. we know sergei lavrov denies it. he and vladimir putin denied there were special forces in crimea. they have since admitted it. is there doubt at this point that the forces are russian and they are trying to destabilize the situation in the east. >> i think there's no doubt that russia is trying to destabilize

the relations in the east. these are russian services. they are good at this. i don't think the proof is 100%. there's no question that the key player is vladimir putin. if he wants to stablilize things, he can. if he wants to de stablilize he can as well. >> liv dismissed the -- sergei lavrov dismissed u.s. sanctions on monday, saying that efforts to isolate russia would collapse because russia is an independent power that knows ha it wants. sounds like a dig at the west, and that the strategy of carrots and sticks is not working. >> that's what he's saying. the reality and what we found is russia has a one-dimensional economy and are dependent on oil exports. since vladimir putin came back as president he hasn't created a modern economy. they turned the urban middle class of russia against him. >> he has a high popularity.

>> no question he's in a good position. real sanction, and what we see so far are targeted against the individuals. if they were the type of sanctions against moscow carried out against iran, where essentially iran was cut off from the world banking system, where the oil exports were slashed by a third. if those sanctions were brought against the economy it would have a devastating impact. yes, europe needs gas, putin needs the ony. >> to pay for that. there were crippling sanction, if would be different. we have vice president joe biden in kiev for talks. ukraine's prime minister saying vladimir putin's dream is to restore the soviet union. do you think he's right? is that what vladimir putin wants as a non-communist soviet union. >> i don't think he want a soviet union, he wants to restore russia's traditional sphere of influence. what he considers friendly countries, particularly ukraine

on the borders. for better or worse, he sees this as a plat. these are not real demonstrations in kiev. in their minds n.a.t.o. expanded closer and closer. it's been the west taking advantage of russian weakness, vladimir putin insists he's stopping that. >> that is the thesis behind what you wrote. you talked about vladimir putin's ascendance to the '90s, and the u.s. was taking advantage to the russia. first they have good relation, and flights to afghanistan during the afghanistan war, but then the defense systems that u.s. pulls out of the treaty, to be able to protect against missiles from iran, and things start to deteriorate. vladimir putin is trying to diminish the influence and surround it with hostile

neighbours. we didn't here from experts and officials that if the u.s. had been nice to vladimir putin, he would be a democrat today. no one said he would be a difficult partner. we contribute to the problems both george w. bush and the barack obama administrations there was a pattern of overconfident, intsangs and clumsiness, leading -- inattention and clumsiness, with vladimir putin leading to thinking he was surrounded by the west, not respected. it was not the greatest 14 year stretch of american pollics. >> what about the overconfidence and the expansion of n.a.t.o. nations wanted to be part of n.a.t.o. are you talking about former soviet republics - they wanted to be part of n.a.t.o. and have application, because they were worried about what was left of the russian power. >> a pattern too, a sense from the american side, jacob busch, and president obama -- george w.

bush, and president obama, that we could get along with russia. a key thing is russia's neighbours. we believed, and politically every american president has to export n.a.t.o. expansion. they can't say the majority of polls want to join n.a.t.o., but you have to stay under russia's control. there's a political rally, were there had to be n.a.t.o. expansion. democracy was the other issue. president obama and george w. bush talked about democracy, upset when vladimir putin centralized power. the two areas, neighbours, how they'd be treated, areas where there would be major disagreements. the u.s., pro-democracy movements in u.s. ukraine, that word goes too far, where the u.s. - where russia - that's the red line for them, because they are russia's doorstep and there's no way that

russian, vladimir putin, will allow too much influence in those countries, that's the key problems. some diplomats say we have to say to georgia and ukraine sorry. you can't be part. not even what we talk about now, ukraine being part of the european union, vladimir putin is saying that can't happen, we have to be part of the pro-russian block that has been created. we need a strategy towards russia. no american president can be seen abandoning the people of georgia and ukraine. it's a political problem. you are seen as weak on russia. the reset worked for a little while. the inattentiveness has been a problem too. you try to make friendly with dmitry medvedev. the intermediate president between the vladimir putin presidencies. do you think that was a mistake?

trying to make friendly with dmitry medvedev. and the debate with romney, where he dismissed russia. >> it wasn't the largest threat. trying to work with dmitry medvedev was positive. it was a realisation that there are fundamental differences with russia. a big mistake from a former bush administration official was not trying to create a new security architecture in europe that was no longer nato and included russia. the three pillars would be europe, a unified europe, the u.s. and russia, moving past the cold war. that didn't happen under george w. bush, or barack obama, and we find ourselves with the very polarized situation, and i think an opportunity was missed in the '90s, maybe in 2001, and now it's a dangerous situation. i mean, russia sees n.a.t.o. as an envy, acting in questionable ways. people are nervous about what will be done. >> a final question, has

vladimir putin made the u.s. final worse. >> he has. these are false statements. it looks like these are russian troops in eastern ukraine. creating instability. vladimir putin was never going to be an easy partner. russia is a major country demanding attention like china, we haven't given it attention. what are we going to do now. are we going to confront vladimir putin, contain him. the white house is not considering that. >> a lot of interesting issues that are brought up. thanks. >> turning to yemen, where an unprecedented 3-day attack targetting al qaeda killed 55 militants. the tault marks a -- assault marks a significant escalation by drones and forces in the arabian peninsula. it is considered the most dangerous branch of the terror group. the operation comes days after a

brays ep video showing a -- braysen video showing more than 100 fighters in al qaeda, in yemen shown around the world. i'm joined by brigadier general mark kimmitt. who served as assistant secretary of state and defense for middle east policy. >> good as always to have you on the show. when we last spoke we talked about the public meeting alarming a lot of people, do you think the assaults over the past couple of days are a show of force and reaction to that gathering? >> i really don't. i think what we have seen and have seen is a coordinated effort between yemeni special operations goreses and u.s. forces supporting the yemenis the fact that the video came thafr time doesn't seem to me to be or have a gant impact from what appears to be an operation

long in planning and execution. >> not deshtly connected to the gathering or leading to intelligence that would have allowed the assaults. >> there may have been confirmatory intelligence that came out of the videos. i think for the most part what we are seeing is an operation that's been long-planned by the yemenis and the u.s. in support. >> these continued on monday, and a target was an aq a.p. base built, with a training ground, store houses for weapons. in the day of drones, when i read about it, it made me wonder why are they doing something like that in the open. >> drones are like looking at land beneath you, take a look at what is happening - look at the

missing airline. it's the same with a drone. it looks at a small amount. you need the intelligence getting you in the general vicinity. there's concerns about leakage getting to al qaeda. i think that you had this disconnect between intelligence gathered and the ability once it's gathered to get the drones locations. >> you hear often how you kill 10 of these militants, and you have 10 more coming in to replace them. how significantly do you think the attacks have hurt them? >> it's important. i don't think it's significant. until we address that bacterial petrie dish called syria, where we are creating dozens of fighters every day, i don't think we'll get a grip on it. this attack, however, may be a bit different. it may, in fact, turn out that

after the intelligence gathering is done, that the key leaders were killed during the attacks. leaders are harder to replace. if we see there's a number of leaders, such as key bomb-makers killed in this attack, it may have a significant impact. if it's a bumping of fighters, that won't have much impact at all. >> certainly they are hoping to target ibrahim hassan tali al asiri, the famous bomb maker they have. >> i want to ask you a question about these attacks. the press is reporting that yemeni officials say the attacks were a ult are of renaling -- result of regional cooperation. is the u.s. getting more help in the fight against al qaeda. >> we hope so. the saudis have a good grip on the region, and a good understanding of the fighters in the fighters flow. if we are seeing the saudis in their interest recognising that

providing intelligence will be helpful to their interest, that's a good thing. i don't think there's a central gathering place or clearing house. that's what we'd like to see, but if we have individual nations on a bilateral basis providing intelligence to yemen. there's providential results coming out of that. >> you get a sense of that from the reporting on all this. >> let's talk syria. bashar al-assad set syria in elections for june. i don't know how he'll manage that in a nation in the middle of a civil war, as it is now. he seems to be emboldened after gapes. now, we -- gains. >> now, we talked how a small number of u.s. antitank weapons seems to have gotten into the hands of the rebels. there's a debate about providing rebels with man-pads, shoulder-fired missiles.

do you think the u.s. should provide them or we will provide them to them. >> there'll be as many people arguing yes as know. >> when we provided stinger missiles, they were devastating against the soviets in the late '70s, and early '80s. the question is not providing the weapons, but maintaining control of the weapons, what will prevent those weapons from falling in the hands of, say, unvetted rebels or al qaeda groups. there have been many ways, and there are a number of different ways of providing end-use monitoring as the state department calls it, whether it's physical or technical, where the weapons may be able to be disabled if they fall into the wrong hands. one thing that everyone is concerned about is seeing weapons provided by the united states falling into the wrong hands and bringing down

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>> the deadliest avalanche in the history require of mt everest killed at least 13 sherpa, the nep lease that serve as guides. many are calling for a boycott of climbing of the highest mountain as peak season gets under way. every year hundreds of foreigners challenge ever ests, with a team of seven paying about $75,000 for the chance. sherpas get a fraction of that, despite they have one of the most dangerous and deadly jobs. "outside" magazine found working as a sherpa on everest was more dangerous than being a soldier in iraq from 2003 to 2007. for more, we are joined by santa fe, nick heil. digital everest's most controversial season." good to have you with us.

i know that that controversial season is nothing compared to this tragedy that we have seen already before anybody has summited. there are conflicting reports about what happened exhibits the avalanche. 400 -- since the avalanche. 400 climbers and sherpas are in limbo on the mountain. what do you think will happen? >> it's sort of a high altitude standoff now. the sherpas issued a list of demand, specifically to the nehm alley government. the -- nepali government. what we are hearing is there's a lot of individual conversations at the base camp among the individual expeditions up there. >> nepal's government makes a lot of money from the climbing expeditions. after the deaths, what i'm

reading is sherpas command that the government take better care of them if they are hurt or die. and maybe they will not climb this year in memory of those that are dead, and others - other reports are that they are pressuring the government for the better benefits. yes. >> a lot of that is true. you know, among the list of demands is an increase in accidental death insurance. you know, a larger amount of compensation. it's sent to the families of the victims, they have asked for a peace of land in nepal to erect a memorial. so, yes, there's a lot on the table right now, and i think the sherpas are sort of, you know, arguing that they are the ones that are at the greatest risk, and they deserve a little bit were. >> i want to talk about that. there's conflicting reports about what the mountaineering agencies want. i know some declared the year as

black efferest year, and are calling for suspension of climbing activities and mulling about whether to continue other expeditions. others are mountain ears are lobbying the sherpas to not climbs. >> we are getting mixed reports. there's incentives for the expeditions to continue. there's a lot of money and clients that spent a year preparing for this. there's a huge amount of infrastructure are up there. it's a very, very considerable decision and event to pull up stakes and leave everist once you are established there and started the process of climbing it. there's definitely a concerted interest in having the expeditions carry on. a lot of these expeditions have

long-standing relationships with the sherpas and want to respect what happened. this is the worst accident in everest history. there's a lot of smooth athy and compassion and concern that the sherpas need a strong voice, a lot of respect, and the wishes need to be lisped to. >> let's talk about the daner they face. the area where the sherpas were killed, is described as having hanging glashias. it's dangerous. john krakouer said some of the pieces of ice are as big as a beverly hills mansion. why not just - bigger. >> why not go over the area, shopper over the area and start climbs beyond that area. the sherpas were trying to set it up for the people they were helping. a lot of climbing mountains doesn't begin at the base, why not avoid the dangerous place?

>> well, first of all, it's extremely expensive to fly people higher than base camp. i think it's, what, $1500 an hour to run the helicopters. so costs become prohibitive to do something like that. i think there is still a level of tradition that people want to stick to. hicking up the base camp, making a push. i don't think they are ready to fly you up to the summit or halfway up to the summit or build a chair lift or any extreme measure just yet. >> people are dying in big numbers this week, and the sherpas. the ones that make the most. make about 6,000 a year. it's a lot compared to the average, you know, salary in nepal. but as your magazine reported, the death rate

is horrifying. >> yes. >> we have done a little comparative analysis, and we determined that the mortality rate among sherpas is the highest everywhere. this is one of the most dangerous jobs on earth. i can't think of anywhere that there's a service industry where there's a mortality rate this high. we compare them to other people and adventurous occupations, including alas can bush pilots, commercial fishermen, combat soldiers in the first few years of the iraq conflict and the higher. >> i know, and it's sad to see what happened. the $6,000 they can make puts a lot of pressure on them to do it and take the risks. the book is dark summit. appreciate you coming on the show to talk about this tonight. thank you.

>> my pleasure, thanks. >> switching topics now to new concerns over the increasingly big business of legal marijuana, as many as 80,000 people flocked to the main square on sunday for a 4:20 rally. it's the first since colorado became one of two says to legalize recreational ma'amming. april 20th, has been an unofficial marijuana party day. thousands pumped money into the economy at the denver cannabis cup trade show where everything from pipes to edible forms of marijuana were on display. marijuana edibles have been linked to two recent denver fatalities, one where a college student fell to his death from a balcony, and another where a husband shot his life. i'm joined from ricardo baca, editor of "the cannabis", that is an awful lot of people, even

though using pot in public is not legal. has the smoke started to clear? >> it was a crush of humanity. and the smoke is cleared. people are moving on. a lot of people in the industry are thrilled to be past another 4:20. there was no violence like last year, there was a big shooting. we are thankful for that. money is a big part of the game. colorado collected around $3.5 million in taxes and fees from recreational marijuana, that may go up with 150 fines. some paid for smoking marijuana in public, which is illegal. a.b.c. reported that the marijuana industry is bringing in more taxes to colorado than liquor, it's an incredible boon to the economy. >> between 5 and 6 million in revenue taxes from

recreational marijuana in the first two months and the fees for the next fiscal year are anywhere between 65 million and 130 million. that's how much people are expecting the taxes to bring in. and there's all sorts of ramifications from the industry - probably bringing in more taxes to the government. it's big for the economy. you described 4:20 in denver as part of an entertain. holiday, with entertainers, snoop dogg, white cliffs don, cheech and chong among others. there's a debate over whether there is a pot tourism boom. do you think there is? you know, we have seen a boon in traffic. i can't help but run into these people regularly when i report on the beat. people visiting from ohio, and wisconsin in the east coast.

it's happening. on what level we are not sure. i did report on all of the crazy entertainment taking over colorado, and really it was better than any new year's eve, and recollection, because the line-ups were stellar, especially if you are a fan of hip hop for jam ball. >> a lot of people are in town. i followed the piece by saying lots of great ents, not all had packed houses. snoop sold out red rocks. but i went through a couple of concerts that were relatively empty. a quarter full or less. there's not the infrastructure to support the event thriving. year. >> on the more serious side, a lot of concerns of driving while intoxicated with marijuana, and now there's two deadly incidents

linked to the use of marijuana edibility in colorado, one where a 19-year-oldate six pot cookies and fell off a balcony to his death. and chris kirk was shot to death by her husband chris using back pain medication. it's not clear if pot caused the deaths, but do these incidents have people rethinking whether specifically the marijuana edibles should be allowed? >> it's a controversial issue, you have the media reporting. they are reporting straight forwardly what are the cops and sheriff saying, the coroner in the cases of death. you have the propot industry in the lobby coming out and saying that these people couldn't have done the acts based on the thc content in the blood. there must have been pre-existing conditions. it's a serious issue, it's

something looked at right now in the colorado state governments. you know, one of the bills looked at is saying should marijuana infused edibles be forced to come in specific shapes or sizes. should we be allowed to take the size of a gummy bear or lemon drops. that's something they are looking at now. >> they are edible of all types, lemon drops, chocolate - the concern is kids will think it's candy, and eat them. >> there's so many real concerns, but that is a major one. the others are addressing can thc alter your brain chemistry that you would commit an awful act, and, you know, there's so much research to be kun. >> there's the -- to be done. >> there's research to come out saying it seems that it seems to alter the brains of 18-24-year-olds. a lot of concerns there. you investigated the edibles,

because there is a little regulation, and men provide less thc, the active ingredient in marijuana, than what they promised, but others delivered more. is there a danger with these of getting? >> there is. and we followed that piece up with basically a dos and don't - eight steps to figure out the right way to dose edibles for you. it doesn't help that very few of the labels are accurate, you know. we spent thousands in testing for the one piece, where we tested 13 product, most three times a piece and found out 5% were on target if they said plrp going to be -- there were going to be 150mg, there was 150mg. 5% hits that. the rest were primarily severely underdosed and there was one

that was supposed to be 100mg, and 140mg of thc. if you are going out and expect this to be, okay, 10 pieces and 100mg, each piece is 10mg, not quite. you can't count on the numbers for the packages. >> they are not going bring real dangers, a lot of people laughed when the denver post announced there would be a marijuana issue. it was probably the smart choice, it's big news. >> good to have you back on the >> these protestors have decided that today they will be arrested >> these people have chased a president from power, they've torn down a state... >> what's clear is that people don't just need protection, they need assistance.

al jazeera america. we open up your world. >> here on america tonight, an opportunity for all of america to be heard. >> our shows explore the issues that shape our lives. >> new questions are raised about the american intervention. >> from unexpected viewpoints to live changing innovations, dollars and cents to powerful storytelling. >> we are at a tipping point in america's history! >> al jazeera america. there's more to it. >> has college life gone lame?

a new piece on slate.com claims compuses need more fun. studies of helicopter parenting show levels of depression among students. is it part of the helicopter generation, making college much less fun, that is not good for anyone. rebecca schuman wrote the piece and is an education collegeman. she's an adjunct professor at the university of missouri-saint louis. all work and no play makes students dull boys and girls? >> all work and no play makes students something, something, as homer simpson would say. >> do you think it is - what is that something, something. do you think it is making them more dull, less creative? >> i don't think it's making them more dull, but i do think it's making them more anxious, and more likely to fail as adults. >> and you think there are serious consequences when you

look at this, saying that the binge drinking phenomena is a result of this. >> to me it is, because it's the other side of the same coin. when so much of your day on the clock, so to speak is spent caring tremendously about your grades, and just in the sort of manic preprofessional anxiety, the time off the clock is going be spent rebelling from that, in what i call not free play, but scheduled destruction, organised nighalism, which is not nurturing, not productive and doesn't prepare people well for adult life. >> it's an extreme reaction to stress and intensity. >> how much of this is the parent's fault. are helicopter parents - is helicopter parenting that, you know, not giving kids freedom because of all our worries as we grow up.

how much are we to blame? i think it's the parent - the parent responsibility in the sense that we are all the parents of this generation of young people. i think it's a societal situation, where, you know, in - we have this 24 hours news cycle where people are seeing disasters and terrifying things. they want to protect the kids. the schools want their funding and want their kids to get good test scores. they teach the tests. you know, the companies that make the cheap liquor that students drink want to sell a lot of it. i don't think it's just parents, it's an interesting confluence of a lot of things at once. >> all the intensity, concern about grades and working so hard to have better professional life later. is that a good thing. i mean historically hasn't the knock on students been when are the kids going to get their acts together and get serious about the future? >> yes. well, like the total weirdos,

like peter denclidge, he went to a small clem, and is only on the most popular show on television. >> he went to a clem that you referred to as weird. >> one of the weirdest. i mean that in the best possible way. i think the focus on getting grades and college as a preprofessional box to check is actually not preparing students well for futures at all. >> isn't it an unfortunate new reality. when i was in college. which was a few years before you were in college, you didn't have to worry about getting a job. you went to the college, got mediocre grades. things are tougher. more. >> absolutely not. the reason is, you know, an a is the most common grade given at college today.

so every kid coming out of college has a four point. that's not going to help anything. what employers want is dynamic adaptable go-getter interesting individuals that know how to solve problems and get out of jams, how can you know how to solve problems, get out of jams, one. >> and your concern that too many students come out, homogenius, and with little originality. what should we do differently. >> well, i think that if you take the pressure off the students to get the perfect grades by telling them "look, everybody has perfect grades now", that doesn't matter. it takes little to get an a these days, you don't have to do everything - you don't have to learn to the test. you can learn to learn. you can learn to grow. you can learn to become a better

thinking-feeling person, and i swear i promise you that i will help you on the job market more than a fore point looking like everyone else's fore point. >> what do you tell your own students. live a little. >> interesting quirky ways. there's a student i teach that rocks a full kizer moustache, that walks around barefoot. it's just him. >> that could be a problem too. >> yes. so i wish more students would sort of hang around with him. i don't know what they talk about. i bet it's interesting. i wish that they would start. >> you're an optimist. >> i wish they'd start their own cafe, that served weird things that they made, and the price of emission was an abstract sketch of a family pet. i wish that they'd think so far outside the box.

that they destroy the box. >> i'm not sure college presidents are listening to that and thinking "i want boxes destroyed on my campus". >> caltech does. >> you're probably right. it's a different experience on campus now than a while ago. it's good to think about what it means to all of us. >> coming up, how international conflict could interstellar conflict. >> all this week, trades near the speed of light... >> if you're not trading at those speeds, you're toast! >> billions of dollars at stake, is our economy insecurity now at the mercy of these machines? >> humans aren't able to receive information in that timeframe. >> we're looking at the risks, rewards, and dangers of high frequency trading >> there are no rules or

regulations >> all this week on the new expanded real money with ali velshi helping you balance your finances and your life. now an hour, starting at 7 eastern / 4 pacific only on al jazeera america

the stream is uniquely interactive television. we depend on you, >> you are one of the voices of this show. >> so join the conversation and make it your own. >> the stream. next on al jazeera america and join the conversation online @ajamstream.

>> today's data dive looks to the stars and the history of astrology. the astrological sign of taurus began on sun. it's based on the belief that the position and rotations of the moon, sun and other planets give clues to human

relationships and fate. thousands of papers print horoscopes because three-quarters of readers admit to flipping to check on daily fortunes. that started with the sunday express, august 24, 1930, when it printed a horo scope to mark the birth of princess margaret. avt rollogical references date back 4,000 years, and later in the second tentury tolomy >> results of analyses were skewed in favor of the prosecution >> the fbi can't force the states to look at those cases >> the truth will set you free yeah...don't kid yourself >> the system has failed me real reporting that brings you the world. >> this is a pretty dangerous trip. >> security in beirut is tight. >> more reporters. >> they don't have the resources to take the fight to al shabaab. >> more bureaus, more stories. >> this is where the typhoon

came ashore. giving you a real global perspective like no other can. >> al jazeera, nairobi. >> on the turkey-syria border. >> venezuela. >> beijing. >> kabul. >> hong kong. >> ukraine. >> the artic. real reporting from around the world. this is what we do. al jazeera america. on al jazeea

>> could the final frontier ball the battlefield of the 21st century, a battle from the council of foreign relations is awakening old fears that space will be a source of conflict as countries are putting china, north korea and beyond are laying claims behind the atmosphere. every aspect becomes more and more to rely on satellites for gps, communications and other things. is the stage set for a new kind of war, one that will happen above the skies. joining us from philadelphia, is derrick pitts, chief astronomer at the franklin institute science museum. great to see you. the new threat highlighted by the council on foreign relations is that it would not be difficult for an enemy to carry out an attack on the satellite network. they see dangers in three situation, the biggest being a conflict on earth could lead to a conflict in space, taking action against satellites - possible?

>> well, it's certainly something that needs to be considered as possibly on the radar, for sure. because if we consider that it gives us an excellent platform to look at other countries as a way to look at their strategic developments, those assets on earth's orbit become - can become targets for destruction, to take out capability, as more countries come online with this capability, especially those that are not friendly with the united states, it's something that needs to be carefully attended to. >> it talks about peacetime interference, accidental or intentional. this is going on. there's probing of satellites, using people using lasers to jam and blind signals from satellites. already. >> quite a bit of it is going on. there's no question about that.

the one that is most disturbing is when a - when one country destroys another satellite. even one of theirs, creating so much more space to breathe, it becomes dangerous to other satellites, with the same altitude of space. that kind of inadvertent destruction could turn into a really serious situation if another country takes that as a potentially aggressive move. it could awes a disproportionate response causing a big problem. >> you and i have talked about the dangers, destroying the satellite, creating more. what are the repercussions if an enemy network. >> it depends on what satellite they choose to hit. if they go to the strategic

assets looking at the cape eighty of other countries, they lose site of the ways to see things on the planet. if it's a communication satellite we could use communication. the one thing we have to keep in mind is the u.s. holds 43% of all the space assets in orbit now. a number of them are known, but they are spy satellite. the ones used to keep track of what everyone is doing. it's important to have the capability, but a country trying to cripple us would have to have the capability to take out a lot. there's no question. we don't have one of those satellites, there's many of them. there are others to fill the gap. nonetheless, it points to what could happen if someone takes a disprop aerationate response.

it could step up falling apart - relationships falling apart and turning into something nasty. >> what form would those attacks take place in. how would - how would satellites be attacked. >> well, there's a couple of ways satellites can be attacked. one way is to launch a satellite from the surface. up to a region where a satellite might be, and you can ram the spacecraft into the satellite to destroy it. you could destroy a satellite or you could explot a device that would cause it to break up. even if they - even if another country doesn't have an opportunity to understand or explode a device, having the impact with a small mass can do the job to get away.

something of a baseball can destroy a satellite without difficulty at all. >> the president in china pushed for involvement in space, slaming it's in response to military use in the u.s. and others. is that a fair charge, or just an excuse on china's part. part of the problem is that there are few regulations to deal with all of this. yes, back in 1967, there was a set of regulations put together between the u.s. and russia that i refer to as the do unto others policy in spaces you would have others do unto you. that sort of - it took care of that. but the charge that he's making here has to involve the other countries that have come online recently. iran, for example, north korea, for example, because the russians and the u.s. have been at this for some time. with no set of regulations because they have come on as of late with great capability, and

all the countries wanting to exert their might, show what their strength is now that their economic development has gotten strong, it affords them another place where they can show that they are developing strength as well, and, indeed, if they don't have the u.s. best interests in mind, which self of these countries don't, they may see it as an opportunity where they can attack the u.s. on a space platform. 15 seconds left. vul neribilities are tremendous. dependence is enormous. instead, itself. it's a good thing we have 43% of the assets, we have redundancy. we don't need to open the door to the possibility. we need to maintain strength and superior yority for the good of all the countries in the world, not just the u.s. >> derrick pitts, thank you for being on the show.

the show may be over, but the consider considers on the website aljazeera.com/consider-this or welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm stephanie sy here are the stories we're following for you. a supreme court that changes the rules for college admissions. >> but now it's time for russia to stop talking and start acting. >> joe biden calls on russia to pull back its forces in ukraine. a massacre in south sudan, the un says they were targeted killings based on ethnicity. and the sunshine state