02/03/15 02/03/15 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica this is democracy now! >> we are deeply concerned about the latest break in the cease-fire and the aggression these separatists with russian backing, russian equipment russian financing, russian training and russian troops are conducting. and we will continue to take the approach that we have taken in the past, which is to ratchet up the pressure on russia. >> as fighting intensifies in eastern ukraine, the obama administration is now considering directly arming ukrainian forces against russian-backed rebels. this comes as former soviet leader mikhail gorbachev warns

the confrontation in ukraine -- cold war. we will speak to professor stephen cohen. then to turmoil in north africa and the middle east. >> the general impression is the country's rate close to total chaos, and if they miss this opportunity, it is very difficult to imagine there will be a secure nation in the country that will allow is only to start a new process. >> as libya faces its worst crisis since the u.s.-backed ouster of muammar gaddafi in 2011, we look at a region in tremendous turmoil from syria to iraq to lebanon to yemen to saudi arabia to egypt. we will speak to professor vijay prashad. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. president obama has unveiled his

$4 trillion budget proposal for next year, asking congress to raise taxes for the wealthy and corporations to help fund education and fix crumbling infrastructure. the plan includes nearly $280 billion in tax cuts for some poor and middle-class families. it also seeks to recoup losses from corporations that stash an estimated $2 trillion overseas by taxing such earnings at 14% still less than half of the 35% rate for profits made in the united states. the budget takes aim at the high cost of prescription drugs proposes a new agency to regulate food safety, and seeks $1 billion to curb immigration from central america. it also calls for a 4.5% increase in military spending, including a $534 billion base budget for the pentagon in 2016, plus an additional $51 billion to fund u.s. involvement in syria, iraq and afghanistan. speaking at the department of homeland security, obama said across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration would hurt the u.s. military. >> last week top military

officials told congress that if congress does nothing to stop sequestration, there could be serious consequences for our national security. at a time when our military is stretched on a whole range of issues. and that is why want to work with congress to replace mindless austerity with smart investments to strengthen america. and we can do so in a way that is fiscally responsible. >> the united states and coalition forces have continued their bombardment of islamic state militants in iraq and syria. on monday, u.s. central command reported 27 airstrikes in the past 24 hours, including nine near kobani, syria, and 17 across iraq. meanwhile, the britain-based syrian observatory for human rights said airstrikes by the syrian government targeting rebel-held areas killed over 40 people. a u.s. drone strike has reportedly killed four people traveling in a car in southeastern yemen. unnamed local sources identified the victims as al-qaeda suspects. it was the third such attack to hit yemen in a week, including

last monday's strike, which killed a 12-year-old boy. meanwhile, the latest tally from the bureau of investigative journalism shows u.s. drone strikes have killed nearly 2,500 people since president obama took office, including more than 300 civilians. obama has overseen nearly nine times as many strikes in pakistan, yemen and somalia as his predecessor, george w bush. greece's new prime minister and his finance minister are each meeting with their italian counterparts today as they continue to bring the anti-austerity message across europe. speaking in london monday, he sought to call him fears over the syrixza's plan. >> my message to our german friends and to all europeans is that no hand will be overplayed because we're not entering this in a confrontational manner. this is what journalists love to

put trade situation is, a wide west slow down -- a wide west showdown. we have a common objective and that is to find, to strike a mutually beneficial deal, one that minimizes the cost of this crisis for the other europeans not for the greeks, not for the germans, but thinking from a european perspective. >> he appeared to back down onsyriza's coffer debt write-off am suggesting they could swap for bonds linked to economic growth. he later issued a clear vacation saying if we need to use euphemisms and financial engineering tools, we will. the bottom line, however, is the same, he said. meanwhile, the government minister has about the new government will use its veto to block a massive free trade killed between the united states and european union. critics of the pact known as the transatlantic trade and investment partnership say it would sacrifice environmental

and safety regulations for the benefit of corporations. greek minister said to the news network, it would veto the deal and what he called a gift to all european people. syriza's victory in greece has renewed anti-austerity sentiment across europe. over the weekend, up to 100,000 people gathered in the spanish capital madrid for a rally led by the leftist party podemos, or "we can." podemos has surged in spanish opinion polls with a vow to undo austerity. in related news, croatia has canceled the debts of its poorest residents. under a new government plan, an estimated 60,000 low-income residents will see their debts absorbed by creditors, including local banks, major telecommunications providers and city governments. the move comes after more than 300,000 croatian citizens saw their bank accounts blocked last summer due to debt. the anti-islam pegida movement has held its first-ever march in austria. but the roughly 250 pegida supporters who gathered in vienna were heavily outnumbered by thousands of

counter-demonstrators. in the german city of frankfurt, meanwhile, about 1,200 anti-pegida demonstrators confronted a rally of 85 pegida supporters and threw eggs at leader heidi mund. u.s. oil workers have launched their largest strike in 35 years amid demands for safer conditions, higher pay and better health care. nearly 4,000 members of the united steelworkers union walked off the job sunday at nine sites, which supply about 10% of the country's refining capacity. one refinery in california has shut down, while managers at several other sites have taken over operations. the strike comes after union negotiators rejected an offer from shell, which is leading contract talks on behalf of major firms including exxon mobil, bp and chevron. united still workers says the oil industry "the richest in the world," saying it could afford to address problems, including unsafe staffing levels dangerous conditions which lead to fires, leaks and explosions

. here in new york, employees of a top legal nonprofit providing services to the poor have gone on strike. dozens of attorneys and other employees of mfy legal services have walked off the job to demand fair pay, family leave, and manageable workloads amidst high turnover and an increasing number of cases. employees say managers have taken illegal steps against the union, including eavesdropping at a meeting. freed al jazeera journalist peter greste has spoken out after 400 days in egyptian prison. greste and two of his al jazeera colleagues, mohamed fahmy and baher mohamed, were jailed for spreading false news on behalf of the muslim brotherhood, which the government considers a terrorist group. they were arrested as part of a crackdown on al jazeera after a coup against muslim brotherhood president mohamed morsi in 2013. speaking in cyprus, where he was flown following his release, greste described the lead-up to his release. >> i went for a run in the prison warden called me over and told me time to pack your

stuff. i said, what do you mean? he said, you're going. i said, to another prison? he said no no, that your stuff and go. and i can't tell you the real mix of emotions that was boiling inside. it was like a sense of relief and excitement, but also real stress of having to say goodbye to my colleagues and friends people who have really become family inside that prison. >> canada's foreign minister meanwhile, has said the release of canadian-egyptian journalist mohamed fahmy is imminent after fahmy agreed to renounce his egyptian citizenship. it could be released within hours. a new egyptian law allows imprisoned foreigners to be deported. peter greste is australian. the fate of the third al jazeera journalist, baher mohamed, remains unclear, as he is an egyptian citizen. the parents of 43 mexican students missing since september have taken their struggle for answers to the united nations. the parents traveled to geneva

where the u.n. committee on enforced disappearances is considering mexico's record. speaking to reporters as he wore a t-shirt showing his missing son, bernabe abrajan de la cruz called for international help to uncover the students' fate. >> we of decided to come here to this committee to get some support and to really obtain justice, given the fact our government is not able to do anything, so we came here so that human rights at the international level will force the government to let us, the 43 pam ways parents, know the truth and find our children, our beloved ones to end this torture. >> so far the remains of just one of the missing students have been identified. last week, the mexican government said the students were murdered on the orders of a drug cartel which mistook them for a rival gang. but the account contradicts published reports that directly tie government officials to the students' disappearance.

a new report published sunday by the mexican magazine proceso accuses mexican authorities of torturing and beating more than two dozen municipal police officers in order to force them to confess to attacking the the students. the united states has expanded sanctions against venezuelan officials and their family members. the u.s. refused to name the officials who will now be banned from receiving visas due to alleged involvement in human rights violations and corruption. venezuelan president nicolas maduro criticized the restrictions. >> we will not allow an empire that is kept us and all of latin america and the caribbean in its sights, an empire that has hated and has schemed against the boulevard document for over 200 years to attempt to great the right to punish boulevards homeland, to threaten homeland. >> more than 4,000 people have submitted claims for

compensation over a deadly ignition-switch defect general motors took over a decade to address. kenneth feinberg, who is overseeing the compensation fund for victims, said many of the claims have been deemed ineligible due to a lack of documents. feinberg, who also oversaw compenstation to victims of 9/11 and the bp oil spill, said 120 claims have so far been approved. >> so far, we have found 51 deaths and 69 physical injury claims eligible to be paid. those are the statistics so far. not one eligible claimant not one, has yet refused the money and decided to litigate. so i think we're doing something right. >> in a victory for the open internet, the chair of the federal communications commission is set to propose regulating internet service as a public utility. fcc chair tom wheeler is expected to submit a proposal to fellow commissioners this week that would classify internet access as a telecommunications

service under title ii of the communications act, a step long demanded by advocates of net neutrality, the principle of a free and open internet. in a statement, the group free press called wheeler's move -- "one of the most important victories for the public interest in its history." in the family of a teenage girl shot dead by denver police last week have demanded a federal investigation into the killing of jessie hernandez. police say hernandez, who was 17, drove a stolen car toward a police officer before they opened fire. the shooting marked at least the fourth time in seven months denver police have fired at a moving vehicle, despite a policy urging officers to try to move out of the way, instead of shooting. in a statement, hernandez parents said -- "we are dismayed that the [denver police department] has already defended the actions of the officers and blamed our daughter for her own death, even while admitting they have very little information. in recent mnths, police killings have torn apart communities across this nation, and this

unjustified shooting of our daughter is only the latest sign of an issue that requires federal oversight," they said. and those are some of the headlines, this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with aaron mate. >> welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. the yuan has raised the dental from fighting eastern ukraine to over 5200 people since last april, following the ouster of ukrainian president viktor yanukovych one year ago this month. another 1.59 people have been displaced. according to russian backed rebels in donetsk, shelling in eastern ukraine has killed at least eight people and wounded 22 others in the past day. ukraine says five morbid soldiers have died. this comes as the white house now considers arming ukraine in its fight against russian backed separatists. washington re: supplies nonlethal military quitman ukraine, but there's a growing push to send arms from rifles to weapons.

on monday, jin sakae was asked about u.s. policy. >> there are a whole plethora of reports out this morning that the administration is reconsidering providing legal assistance to the cranium government. would you care to address those? >> we're constantly assessing our policies on ukraine to ensure the response to achieve our objectives. we're particularly concerned about recent escalating separatist violence and separatist attempts to expand the territory they currently control further be on the cease-fire line, as well as the toll of civilian and military casualties. >> it sounds like you're not saying no, the reports are wrong. is it accurate than to say this kind of assistance is now part of the conversation? >> we haven't taken options on

or off the table. it is an ongoing discussion. we have take into account events on the ground, but i don't have anything to lay out for you in terms of internal deliberation. >> [indiscernible] >> i don't think anyone wants to get into a proxy war with russia. that is not the objective. our objective is to change the behavior of russia. that is the reason you put the sanctions in place. we certainly want to help ukraine, sovereign government, thrive and go through this transition period. no decisions have an made. i'm talking about the fact that we of course preserve the right to consider a range of options. >> on thursday, secretary of state john kerry will travel to kiev to meet with ukrainian leaders. quotes last week, former soviet leader mikhail gorbachev warned the confrontation in ukraine in a new cold war. he said --

"if we call a spade a spade, america has pulled us into a new cold war, trying to openly implement its general idea of triumphalism. where will it take us all? the cold war is already on. what's next? unfortunately, i can not say firmly that the cold war will not lead to the hot one. i'm afraid that they might take the risk." on monday, german chancellor angela merkel said the conflict cannot be solved militarily. >> germany not support ukraine with weapons. i am firmly convinced this conflict cannot be solved militarily and therefore insist on the one hand, we will impose sanctions if necessary. we have done that jointly in europe and on the other hand, we will use all diplomatic means resolve this conflict through talks or at least alleviate it. >> to talk more about the crisis in ukraine we are joined by stephen cohen, professor emeritus of russian studies and politics at new york university and princeton university. his most recent book, "soviet fates and lost alternatives: from stalinism to the new cold

war," is out in paperback. welcome to democracy now! what is happening in ukraine? >> gorbachev had it right. we're in a new cold war with russia. the epicenter of the new cold war is not in berlin, like the last one but it is right on russia's borders concert is much more dangerous. you and i have talked about this since february, i think. what we saw in february has played out, i regret to say, a political dispute in ukraine became a civil war. it is not only a new cold war, it is a proxy war. we're arming killed -- kiev. the adult to spoil anybody's day, i said and figured, this had the potential to become a new cuban missile style confrontation with the risk of war. that is where we are now. i think were chopped was right.

>> there's a cease-fire reached in september. what has happened since then? >> it was never honored in full. through many provisions of the cease-fire, which was supposed to stop the fighting in the east and the to direct negotiations between the rebel government or fighters. we call them separatists. they were not separatist when this began, but now they are. they don't want to live with kiev anymore. it was supposed to lead to negotiations. the main thing that happened was, a required both sides to pull back their artillery primary, kiev because kiev was bombarding the capital cities of eastern ukraine. that artillery was never pulled back. it was supposed to be 30 kilometers. helpful -- how far back i pulled them, i don't know. at those cities have been bombarded in the last few weeks. the cease-fire was honored kind of marginally for a couple of months, but about a week ago, 10 days ago, the fighting

escalated. now there is a dispute because it illuminated the possibility of negotiations will stop who began the escalation? the state department, you heard saki it was russia and russian agents. russia and the rebels say it was kiev. we're in a fog war. that comes from world war i, when there were so much misinformation -- we do not have e-mail, and a troubled more slowly, that the perception of what was going on was distorted, corrupted by news. and it led to war. the -- its worse because it moved so fast. on social media. you have all this misinformation coming out of kiev, a lot of mass go -- moscow and washington. for us to sit here and say, who threw the first punch 10 days ago, is honest impossible. trucks on monday, three prominent think tanks issued a joint report urging the united

states to provide ukraine $3 billion in nonlethal and defensive lethal military assistance over the next three years. former deputy secretary of state strobe talbott is president of brookings. >> and the context of what is happening in ukraine today, the right way to characterize it is an act of war on the part of the russian federation. this means that there is going on in ukraine today a literal invasion not a proxy war, but a little invasion by the russian armed forces. it is a literal occupation of large parts well beyond crimea of eastern ukraine and a virtual annexation of a lot of territory other than just crimea. in that respect, this is a major

threat to the peace of europe, to the piece of eurasia, and therefore, a threat to the interest of the united states and i would say a threat to the chances of a peaceful 21st century. >> that is former deputy secretary of state strobe talbott, now president of brookings. your response? >> he is much more than that. people need to drop their masks and say with a personal stake in this is. strobe talbott, whom i have known for years, was the architect of the american policy that led to this crisis. he was the russia hand, under president clinton, when the expansion of nato toward russia began. understand what he said, and the role out of this report has been coming. if you look at the signatures of these are the leaders of the american war party, the people who literally what a military showdown with russia. stop and think what that means. stop and think what that means

as if rush is going to back off. the people who sign this report and they've been bringing it out for days, are saying he literally just said the future of the 21st century is at stake in ukraine. stop and think what that means. then he went on to say things that are fundamentally untrue, that russia has invaded and annexed eastern ukraine. i mean, when the state department was asked a few weeks ago, can you confirm the presence of russian troops in eastern ukraine death go the state department which misleads about the story all the time said, no, we cannot. this is what i'm talking about the fog of war, where we are being told russia and the next eastern ukraine, the stake of the world in the future of the world is at stake here, and basically, they're calling for war with russia. >> we're going to continue this discussion in a minute. we're talking with professor stephen cohen.

we will be back in a moment. ♪ [music break]

>> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with aaron maté. our guest is professor emeritus of russian studies and politics at new york university and princeton university, stephen cohen. his latest book "soviet fates , and lost alternatives: from stalinism to the new cold war," >> i presume you would knowledge putin is destabilizing ukraine sending and weapons and tanks

and some troops in some form. is the point been he is acting not to revive the soviet empire, but to stop nato encroachment? >> that is my short point. let me ask you a question. 5 billion people approximately live in this area of eastern ukraine. they have lived there for centuries. the grandfathers, parents are buried there. their children go to school there. that is their home. do they have no humanity or agency? we have taken, not i, but the main present his country, is referring to them as putin partly his dogs. where's the community and these people who are dying? one million have been turned and took refugees. these are people. who was doing the fighting? primarily, the folks, the adults, of these people. have they had russian assistance? absolutely. has kiev had western assistance?

billions of dollars. general hodges is an american nature officer. publicly announces he is in ukraine to train the national guard. both sides are involved militarily. but make no mistake if there was not an indigenous rebellion in eastern ukraine, there would not be the principal war. these -- are we abetting the west? yes >> last month, traveling -- u.s. soldiers from the 2nd cavalry traveled to the soviet state of latvia for a military exercise dubbed "atlantic resolve," to trains soldiers from latvia, other baltic countries and poland. in addition, the u.s. brought more than 50 units of military equipment, including 17 armored vehicles "stryker" that will stay in europe. ben hodges is commanding general of the u.s. army in europe. >> the decision was made last year to leave the equipment to

stay in europe. some more than 200 tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, the decision has not been made yet where they will stay. for sure, some will stay in germany at an american base, but we are looking at options to put some of them in latvia or that the when you come a stone you poland, romania, bulgaria. >> that is ben hodges, the commanding general of the u.s. army in europe. bringing in former soviet state and others, what does this mean? >>'s presence in love the a? -- his presence in latvia? he is in ukraine now. you heard what strobe talbott said. we have to do everything now to defend ukraine. either way, he doesn't mention there are two ukraine's.

what about the people in the east? has a nephew entity? you referred to me as emeritus. that means i remember things. i remember when we hit these kind of cold war extremes back during the last cold war, people spoke out in opposition in this country. not just ordinary folks, but senators, members of congress, even the administration was divide. "the new york times" and "the washington post." the american war party is on the march. you can see how close we are to literally a military confrontation with russia and there is not one word of establishment, mainstream opposition. is this good or bad? do we go to war? did we have a debate before we went into iraq? we did. we lost the debate but we had a

debate. there is no debate whatsoever now. the danger is great. there's no opposition. all of these people are your showing -- you are showing there on the march. >> what is driving this policy on the part of the u.s.? many people who took part in the cold war are no longer in power. but they seeking to revive that era? is it a matter of confronting putin because it'll like him? >> all of the above. i don't know. i'm not smart enough to tell you. historians will look back, assuming there are historians to look back, because they now are mobilizing nuclear weapons as well. russia has said it is faced with overwhelming force on its borders, he will use tactical nuclear weapons. when is the last time you heard a great power say that? we say -- obama says, we're

modernizing our nuclear weapons. what does that mean? we're pointing them even more at russia. why is this happening in the united states? i don't know. i think there are a lot of factors mixed in. but the demonization of putin has become so extreme in this country, i do not recall and enter this field back in the 1960's, the united states ever demonizing a soviet communist leader the way our leaders do, obama, mrs. clinton referring to him as hitler. if putin is hitler, clearly, we have to go to war. that is the logic. is it not? is it not? where are the voices that say, this is crazy? he may be a russian nationalist, he may be threatening, but hitler? >> during an interview on cnn, president obama acknowledged united states played a role in the ouster of viktor yanukovych

last february. >> mr. putin made this decision around crimea and ukraine not because of a grand strategy, but essentially he was caught off balance by the protests and viktor yanukovych fleeing after we brokered a deal to transition power in ukraine. >> president obama's comments read headlines in russia. this is russian foreign minister sergei lavrov. >> i have two comments which are important. there's been confirmation the united states was directly involved from the very beginning in this antigovernment coup d'état. and president obama literally called it the transition of power. secondly, i would like to know obama's rhetoric shows washington's intention to continue doing everything possible to unconditionally support ukraine's authorities who have apparently taken a

course toward a military solution to the conflict. >> that is the russian foreign minister and before that president obama. >> president obama said something that undoubtably he was later told he shouldn't have said because he wasn't clear what he was referring to. many people have argued that the united states organized a coup in february to overthrow the president of ukraine and bring the power of this new pro-america pro-western philosophy. i do not know that is true. but what obama said leads people to think that is what he was acknowledging full stop he wasn't. here's what happened. and he is right about crimea. he just let the cat out of the back. an agreement was brokered in february. everybody think back. it is only one year ago. foreign minister's of europe as violence raged in the streets of kiev, brokered a deal between the sitting president and the opposition leaders. that he would form a coalition government and call new

elections in december. and everybody thought, wow violence overdid, back on the democratic track. and what happened? the next day violence took to the streets, stormed the presidential palace, viktor yanukovych fled to russia. but we now know that when that deal was struck by the european ministers, putin and obama spoke and putin said to obama, are you behind this? obama says, i am. let's get back on peaceful track. that he asks putin, are you behind it? putin said, 100%. the next day, this happen. so something happened overnight. obama lost control of the situation. he did not know what was going on. but when he says they negotiated a peaceful transition to power, he is not referring to the overthrow of jan a coach, he is referring to the deal he signed onto to keep the cranium president in office for another eight or nine months until

national elections. so he is now confirmed russia's dark suspicions that the cia or somebody carried out a coup. i'm sure he regrets having said that, but it is completely unclear to me -- i voted for him twice -- whether president obama understands what is going on in ukraine. because he said a number of things that are so diverted from the historical record that either he is getting batted five or he is not being attention. i don't know which. >> can you sketch out the fighting that is taken place in april, the yuan says the death toll is now over 5300. samantha power, the u.s. ambassador to the u.n., has praised kiev's response and said they practiced remarkable almost unimaginable restraint in their attacks on separatists. >> it makes me ashamed to be an american citizen. let's remember when abbasid or power was not ambassador power, she was the great architect and ideologue of responsibility to

protect civilians. everybody is familiar with that. >> explain it briefly. >> you explain it. it means the united states is obliged to do everything it can to prevent human a train disaster resulting in their from natural or war-like measures. and that has been an american official policy since clinton. whether it is a wise policy or not, i don't know. at the architect now says what is going on in eastern ukraine, and there are a lot more than 5000 dead, even the u.n. is that we don't know. but let's say 5300. there also million .5 -- 1.59 refugees. the united states is saying and the state department and the white house and the u.n., kiev has been restrained. back up. what has kiev called since april its military operation in east? an antiterrorist operation. if i declare you are a terrorist

not a rebel, not a political opponent, you are a terrorist i don't talk to you, i kill you. and that is what kiev has been doing with american support. it is been destroying the city and centers of eastern ukraine. have the rebels fought back and killed ukrainian army members? absolutely. but what in the world are we doing supporting a government that is bombing -- by the way, amnesty international, human rights watch and many other organizations have now said these are war crimes and yet the mayor can government with but we just played angela merkel, the german chancellor earlier. she does said germany will not support weapons. she says there's only a diplomatic answer. what is the solution and what you feel about sanctions as the front page of "the new york times" talks about the arming of dust u.s. arming ukraine? >> your trotting out every person who has behaved unwisely in world leadership and asked me what i think of them.

what i think of them, we need some leaders. i thought when i first visited you in february or january, the solution with the chancellor merkel what because -- why? because merkel speaks russian and german and putin speaks russian and german. they can talk like you and i talked. they understand once is. angela merkel has said all along, this cannot be resolved i military means. there must be negotiations. and yet politically, she supported every escalation of the crisis. why has she done that? because she was, and maybe she still could be, the key figure here. >> and she's coming to the white house monday. >> yeah, but she is been in ukraine -- she's been everywhere. she moves. there's distance between the white house and berlin, no question. angela merkel could end of this or she could go along way and put her foot down come in no more sanctions, no more nato

involvement. stop and think who she is. look what is going on in greece. by the way if the u.k. leaves the eu in may and there's a referendum, who will run europe? germany. in germany's attitude toward russia and china are phenomenally different than washington's attitude. -- fundamentally different than washington's attitude. we may be below the radar, not just the split, but the trip of germany and the part of europe that follows germany away from the united states. everything is at stake in this civil war. how to get out of it. it is the same solution we talked about here on this broadcast months ago. a cease-fire, withdrawal of artillery soak the cities in donetsk are not being bombarded. kiev's doing this to sit down

under the auspices of the great powers and talk to the rebels. some kind of federalism, some kind of the motion of authority. the governors of the regions of ukraine are pointed in kiev. our governors are not appointed in washington, we like them. there's no federalism there. everybody says federalism means a russian takeover, but germany has a federal system, canada has a federal system, we have a federal system. they are hard, but it can be done. you get it through leadership. where is the leadership? where is president obama? where's chancellor merkel? and leadership, punishing the president of the country, he has no power. he is no power. he is not the leader. the power is with the people in ukraine who control the fighting battalions and what is left of the army. so we don't even know what kind of regime leadership is possible in kiev. professor stephen cohen thank

you very much for being with us professor emeritus of russian studies and politics at new york university and princeton university. his most recent book, "soviet fates and lost alternatives: from stalinism to the new cold war," is out in paperback. and we will link to yourecent writings on the ukrainian crisis are on thenation.com. this is democracy now! democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. when we come back, process professor vijay prashad on the middle east. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with aaron maté. >> from the crisis in ukraine, we turn now to turmoil across north africa and the middle east. and like in ukraine, american policy past and present has a major role in sowing conflict and unrest. libya faces its worst crisis since the u.s.-backed ouster of muammar gaddafi in 2011.

the country is run by two different governments, each with their own parliaments and armies. in between them are several other militant groups, including a branch of the islamic state that took credit for a deadly attack on a tripoli hotel last week. the u.n. mission is trying to hold last-ditch unity talks between libya's two main warring factions. last month, the u.n. mission chief warned libya faces "total chaos," if the talks fail. >> the general impression is the country's rate close to total chaos and that if they miss this opportunity, is very difficult to imagine there will be a situation that will allow easily to start a new process. >> in neighboring egypt, at least 18 civilian protesters were killed late last month while marking the fourth anniversary of the revolution that ousted hosni mubarak. it was the worst killing of protesters since general abdel fattah el-sisi became president last june. sisi's regime has banned protests and continued a crackdown on political

opponents. the u.s. renewed u.s. military aid last year after a brief pause following the 2013 coup. on monday, an egyptian court confirmed the mass death sentences of nearly 200 supporters of the muslim brotherhood, the party of ousted president mohamed morsi. the crackdown has also extended to journalists. on monday, al jazeera reporter peter greste spoke out from cyprus after being released from an egyptian prison and deported. greste had spent 400 days behind bars with two al jazeera colleagues. >> i can't say how relieved i am at being free. i really do not expect -- we were settling in for a period of months and to be out today with just a few minutes notice, really is just extraordinary. but i also feel incredible angst about my colleagues, leaving them behind. >> greste's colleague, egyptian-canadian mohamed fahmy, appears close to release and

deportation after renouncing his egyptian citizenship. the fate of the third al jazeera prisoner, baher mohamed, an egyptian national, is expected -- is unclear. meanwhile iraq is coming off its deadliest month in years. the united nations says over 1,375 people were killed in january. in an interview last week, outgoing defense secretary chuck hagel said the u.s. might need to send non-combat troops to iraq for the ongoing campaign against the islamic state. >> in syria, the world's worst humanitarian crisis, the u.s. backed off the calls for the ouster of president basher al-assad. u.s. actions in syria now appear geared toward fighting the islamic ste, not the assad government it once threatened to strike. as the u.s. wages its bombing campaign against isis, the militant group continues to kill foreign hostages, beheading two japanese nationals last week. in syria's neighbor lebanon hezbollah and israel exchanged fire last week in one of their most violent clashes since the 2006 war.

the incident was followed days later by a washington post report that the cia and the israeli counterpart assassinated a senior hezbollah leader seven years ago this month. the killing of imad mughniyah raises a number of legal issues, as well as the potential for reprisals from hezbollah. >> seven years after that joint assassination, relations between president obama and israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu are reportedly at their lowest point to date. white house officials have criticized netanyahu for a planned trip to the u.s. next month to address a joint session of congress on iran. to the south, president obama led a large delegation to saudi arabia last month following the death of king abdullah. obama's trip was seen as a major display of u.s. support for the saudi kingdom despite its poor record on human rights at home and abroad. in an interview on cnn president obama defended the u.s. partnership with saudi arabia and his decision not to raise human rights concerns during his trip. >> sometimes we have to balance our need to speak to them about

human rights issues with immediate concerns we have terms of countering terrorism or dealing with regional stability. >> to the south of saudi arabia is yemen, where uncertainty prevails following the resignation of president abdu hadi last month. houthi rebels have controlled the capital sana'a since launching an offensive in september. they've set a deadline of today to seize power unless the political crisis is resolved. the houthis appear to have major backing from ali abdullah saleh, the longtime u.s.-backed president ousted by a popular uprising in 2011. amidst the crisis, the u.s. continues a drone war inside yemen targeting al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula, which has grown deadlier in recent years and took credit for the charlie hebdo massacre in paris. well, to discuss the state of the middle east and the u.s. role in ongoing conflicts, we are joined by vijay prashad. a professor of international studies at trinity college, he is the author of several books including "arab spring, libyan

winter" and, most recently, "the poorer nations: a possible history of the global south.". his new piece for the hindu is called, "the architects of west asia's chaos your." welcome to democracy now! let's talk about benjamin netanyahu coming not to the white house, not invited by the white house, but i -- represented by the opposition to the white house and congress. john boehner, he is going to be addressing a joint session of congress. >> well, i mean, this has been a drama are several years. the so-called -- netanyahu-obama clash. this is not the first time he has decided to stop -- this is not the first time the republicans have invited him to speak in congress against the

wishes of the white house. but i think there's a little too much being made of this particular event and a little too little at the same time. it is a little too much because i think there is been come over the course of the last several months, a return to sort of stable set of alliances that the united states has had for decades. in other words, lining up again with this major allies, israel, saudi arabia, and now saudi arabia and american-backed egypt. these pillars of stability have asserted themselves in the region. it is no secret that mr. obama has put a lot in terms of working with the saudis in the region. so i think in that sense, too much is made of the clash with netanyahu. there is a stability of u.s. -israeli interest and they're going forward together on the ground. there's too little made of this

because, unfortunately, this kind of clash that mr. netanyahu is setting up is going to bring up the problem of solving the dispute with iran. to my mind, there's no way forward in the middle east unless there's some -- nunnally from the unid stes, tlso saudi arab. mr. netaahu's high-stakes game coming to the u.s. congress is going to muddy the attempt to create -- for one of the major coradictionsn weern ia. oing to lebanon, can you talk about the balance that erupted last week? two israeli soldiers, one spanish peacekeeper were killed, and days later, this revelation that the u.s. and israel collaborated on a 2008 assassination of a hezbollah figure? >> the problem in syria has been grave. over 200,000 people dead. much of syria destroyed. no sign of a political solution. increased audacity by the

islamic state and by al-nusra and other al qaeda-backed groups. in this past two years, israel has repeatedly struck against hezbollah targets inside syria. there was a strike late last year in damascus airport over an apparent load of rockets that were coming in to resupply hezbollah, perhaps from iran. just a few weeks ago in another area up in the mountains in syria, israel struck a car killing in iranian general and a 20-year-old hezbollah fighter. when this attack happened, hezbollah chief gave a speech saying, hezbollah is going to respond. finally, after so many provocations. so what hezbollah did was, they did not attack across the blue line, which is the human mandated border between israel and lebanon, but attacked an area of lebanon that israel has

occupied. in other words, it was a calculatedttack inside the region. israel responded across the blue line killing a spanish peacekeeper. but within hours of the retaliation from israel, hezbollah concted the u. peacekeepers and said there done with their attack on israel and now the status quo can come back. in other words, there have been provocations, but in a sense hezbollah has been fairly disciplined in its retaliation. nobody wants a war at this time between hezbollah and is wrote, will complicate matters to greatly in the region. threatening to enter threatening to create more chaos in that country. so nobody wants a war. fortunately, this particular episode ended with -- not peace, but calm that was there before. it wasn't a very good thing that right after that, what was revealed that "the washington post" and by "newsweek" essentially validated what

people in hezbollah had no prolonged time, which is that the father of the boy, the 20-year-old killed, his fher is a major military chief of hezbollah had been killed in a massive car bomb in 2008 in damascus, a bomb that was posioned by the americans. it was triggered by the israelis. this is not the first major -- used against hezbollah. in the attempted assassination of hezbollah spiritual leader in 1985 in beirut. he survived the attack but 80 civilians died. so there has been a pattern of provocation. fortunately, for now this has not escalated into full-blown war. >> the issues this raises, the u.s. using a car bombing in a country where it is not at war, syria seven years ago, can you talk about the legal issues and do you see the potential for reprisals from hezbollah? >> firstly aaron come as i said, this is not the first time

the united states has used a car bomb against hezbollah when it has not been itself at war. in 1985, the bombing in beirut was an enormous car bomb. it was placed by american intelligence and british intelligence. so there has been a pattern of utilizing this kind of assassination strategy against has blood targets, not only hezbollah targets, but inside iran against the nuclear people associated with the nuclear program. there was a series of assassinations two years ago relatively unexplained. this has got major legal ramifications. the united states was not at war. the united states utilized jordan the kingdom of jordan to have the car bomb to riven through. it was associated with israel in the strike. of course, there is a different standard for the goose and a different standard for the gander. there's been no real international questioning of what has happened. there's been no real outrage. i'm not surprised at the security council this question wasn't raised about using this

kind of violence. meanwhile, 2005, the man is still inside the root. a major politician in lebanon. there's been a huge u.n. process of trying to uncover who killed him. here, cia officials are directly saying that they conducted in assassination and damascus and there is been absolutely no condemnation of it. >> professor, will you have two minutes and we want to deal president obama's trip to saudi arabia. start with saudi arabia. >> the united states has begun to put a lot of eggs into the basket of saudi arabia hoping they'll have state of the lysing the situation. stabilize the situation in north eric -- africa. i think this is a mild approach. i think the approach should be to create push between the different parties of the different conflicts to bring saudi arabia and iran together, but on the other hand, i think the obama administration is trying to play both sides against the middle.

on the one side, giving saudi arabia complete carte blanche and on the other side, i suppose keeping the talks with iran going at a very mute level. libya is a victim of this air cold war where their utilizing libya as a battleground for their own reticular forward pollack -- particular forward policy. i mean, the west [indiscernible] laboratory to prove it can conduct a military strike and create a good outcome. in fact, the opposite is demonstrated. the west is entirely absent. as you know, the american embassy is no longer in libya. the amerco embassy to libya is based in malta. there is no emphasis from the west to try once again bring parties together. it is a very dangerous situation for which is why the u.n. envoy has repeatedly said over the course of several months that we are near total chaos inside libya. it is a real scandal. i wish there was more reporting, more care about what is

happening to a country that was destroyed by war prosecuted by nato. >> finally, the u.s. drone strikes in yemen? >> well, it is clear to people who observe yemen that until the u.s. drone strikes come until the was invasion of iraq, al qaeda had been largely vanquished in yemen. it was because of abdullah daleh from his own vendetta, to put it like this, the drone strikes don't seem to be having the kind of impact that the government says they have. they seem to be having the opposite impact. it is too bad there's been no reassessment of the strategy of assassinating people and meanwhile -- >> vijay prashad, thank you for being with us, professor of international studies at trinity

(music playing) ♪ you're probably wondering where i am-- i know this doesn't look anything like las vegas. in fact, i'm over 5,000 miles away in france in my hometown of ribeauville. i'm actually standing right here in front of the patisserie my parents ran when i grew up. the shelves inside are still filled with the kinds of wonderful pastries that my father used to make, and as kids, we used to live upstairs and we used to smell those pastries. on today's show, i will be preparing tarts like the ones my father used to make for his customers right in ribeauville. the first is an easy to prepare poached pear tart with a delicious rum-flavored almond cream. then it's a tarte aux fruits or a fruit tart that's beautifully decorated for any special occasion. so back to las vegas, and back to the kitchen for this episode of secrets of a chef.