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>> and now, bbc world news. >> this is bbc world news america. i am kathy kay. 72 hours. this is how long the president of syria has to stop the violence or face the consequences. >> an empty chair in the arab league, almost unthinkable, and this is the way that the crisis is affecting this nation to its core. >> in iraq, the last american troops to ready to withdraw. and auctioning off the state treasures. pennsylvania is putting some wild west history on the trading bloc. -- block.

>> a welcome to our viewers. syria has three days to stop the bloody repression of its people or face sanctions. the 22 member organization delivered the all ultimatum after a group of syrian protesters attacked a military intelligence complex. >> every day, more evidence emerges that the government has liberal attitude to the opposition protests. these pictures appear to show members of the security forces beating up the opposition supporters. who wants freedom, says one of the man. make sure you shave their heads

before beating them properly, says another. and these pictures show the syrian government tanks attacking opposition strongholds despite the pledge to withdraw. the conflict is getting closer to a full civil war. these are a number of the defectors taking on the security forces. they say they were involved on an attack on a military base last night. >> once again, the syrian government is encouraging their own supporters out onto the streets. they have been rallying to denounce the international pressure. and syrian television has shown video of the release of 1000

political prisoners. turkey is among the countries that have run out of patience and they said they will cut off supplies. >> we can't approve a system that has been committing crimes against humanity. if this trend continues, we may have to revise our decision. >> in the capital of morocco, they have gathered to and from the decision to suspend syria. they have decided to boycott the meeting. >> this is the empty chair of the republic -- this is a graphic illustration of how this crisis is shaking of the arab world to its core.

there is a breakdown in diplomacy and growing violence on the ground. >> the prime minister of catarrh says -- qatar says that syria may face sanctions. john, it just how much clout does the arab league have over the syrian president? -- >> for years, we have thought of this as a useless organization that does nothing, but they have been moving very quickly and decisively on syria. the move to suspend syria has set the diplomacy running. and this has kept the pace on the ground where the violence has increased in the coming days. this has produced -- produced a

serious response. and of course, those that want to change things in syria may lead the rest of the world -- to add on pressure to a new u.n. security council resolution. the turkish are getting very tough on syria. they have unleashed a new diplomatic wave of action against syria. >> they are not known for being a bold and radical organization but they voted for this suspension. what is going on? >> this is very interesting. many of those governments have spent years repressing -- they are fighting for their own survival. what is happening in syria may

drag them down. this is serious because those who support the opposition, they may surely end up encouraging that opposition. the governments in the gulf and the rest of the world believe that they have to do this because there will be left high and dry. >> in other news, mario monte has been sworn in as the prime minister of italy. he will take on the role of economics minister. and the other new prime minister, in greece, as a confidence vote in parliament. he says they have to take bolder

steps than the current austerity measures. 255 members voted in favor of the new government. the number of people out of work has reached a 15-year high level. the number of young jobless has gone to an all-time high of over 1 million. this is compared to the neighboring economies. karzai has outlined his conditions to continue military bases in afghanistan. he said that ending the controversial nighttime raids was essential. the meeting is taking place among tight security. we have more on this agenda. >> this is an afghan tradition,

a gathering of political leaders. he came to get their backing for a new proposal. >> no searches of the homes, no taking of the president. who are they? they have no right to be here. this is our soil. >> in return, he says that the americans can maintain the military base in afghanistan. but they may not like the deal that he is offering. and as it got under way, a major security operation around the capital. the taliban had sworn to attack the delegates. and they are discussing

reconciliation. >> security forces are on the highest levels of alert. around the city, there are more patrols and more roadblocks. they plan to have stopped a number of potential attacks but there may be others. >> many shops were closed today and many streets were deserted. people stayed in their homes, fearing the worst. >> from afghanistan to iraq, at the end of this year, the last 30,000 american troops may be packing up and shipping out. barack obama would have preferred to keep a small contingent there. what is america leaving behind.

he spent time with u.s. forces as they prepared to withdraw. >> this must be the busiest military truck stop in iraq. long convoys had southward out of the country. after nine years, the presence is coming to an end. the war has cost america over $700 billion, and as they pack up, some are asked the question, was this worth it? >> the cooperation really brought civilization back to a tolerable level. the difference, i am proud every day. >> that pride and optimism -- the cost has been far greater.

conservative estimates exceed 100,000. people live with the daily fear of violence and the infrastructure is in tatters. >> we have no water, no reconstruction, no nothing. this is destroyed. >> there is a hope for democracy and freedom of speech. the protest swept the most of the iraq world. >> the attention of the world was focused elsewhere in the middle east and the protests on baghdad -- these were dispersed by force. this is now free of demonstrators, many of whom have given up.

in the face of being arrested. >> this is torturing, the same way of the previous regime. and the country has not changed. >> since 2003, the society of iraq has been turned on its head. followers of al-sadr are those who gained the most. but every year they call for the americans to go. this has been seen as his victory. >> for more on the future of iraq, i am joined by the former american ambassador to the country. thank you so much for coming in.

yesterday in congress, john mccain said the early withdrawal of american troops was a victory for iraq. do you think that this is the possibility? >> i would say this, this has been the plan for the last three years, since president bush negotiated the agreement that committed us to withdrawing by the end of 2011. much has been said on this subject but i think in effect, barack obama has been carrying out the plan that was laid out by his predecessors. >> when you have your moments of anxiety about the country, what is it that worries you? >> my biggest moment of anxiety is that there may be a resurgence of the sectarian violence on the scale that this

occurred in 2006. we have left iraq with the ability to deal with these kinds of situations. political structures that are intact, and the much- strengthened security forces of the army and police. the basic elements that are needed are there to carry forward. >> the issue in iran is a problem. the invasion has shifted the balance of power in that part of the world. -- >> it is very popular to say this but it seems that iran is having problems of its own, with the internal political difficulties and the unrest, economic issues, also. they have not been able to provide well for their people. they are beset by enough problems on their own not to go meddling too heavily.

this is a concern but not an overwhelming concern. >> it is interesting that as we look at the departure of the american forces, we are still looking back at the reasons for the war. you see you may not have done this. >> i would have waited for the inspection process to work its way through, and of course, it turned out the weapons were not there. but let's be clear about one thing. a very bloody tyrant was removed from the governance of iraq. i think iraq has been better off since 2003 as a result. this has been a painful process but they have come a long way in the last eight years. >> you were there in 2004 and 2005, where we saw the most violent sectarian issues that we

have seen in iraq. would you imagine that we would be here? >> there were moments in 2006 with the country was on the brink of chaos. i did wonder in those days, when i was the director of national intelligence, where we wondered how this would turn out and if this could be salvaged. and with some very intelligence political and military strategies, we were able to pull the country back from the brink. i don't think that they want to go there again, i really don't. >> what would stop them from going back -- >> as part of the commitment to the country and a symbol of our interest, the ideally speaking, this is what we would have wanted to do. the judgment on the part of both

governments was to open the status of forces agreement, this would have generated so much political problems -- some with political problems but possibly on our own, that people did not want to go to the political trouble that would have been required. >> you are watching bbc world news. looking to raise cash any way that they can. in one state capital, a high bidder can now own history. today, the u.s. congress gave the highest civilian honor to for space pioneers. this is the first time that this has been awarded to those involved in the space program. we have this story. spaciouseautiful, for skies -- ♪

>> honoring the american space pioneers after the moon landing, neil armstrong and buzz aldrin and michael collins are given the congressional gold medal, the highest civilian honor. this fall of those who pushed the frontiers of mankind. john glenn was the first one to go into space in 1969. >> this could be said of all the space travel's, we came in peace for all mankind. >> this is one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. >> in 1969, they first want on the moon and this was seen by people all over the world. they talked about the dream of keeping space exploration alive.

this dream is dependent on russia, this is the only means of reaching the international space station ever since nasa has closed down the space program early this year. today, americans. -- america's space heroes call for america to look to the future. they have called for a manned mission to mars. but americans will have to wait until they can celebrate making new discoveries. >> desperate times call for desperate measures. this is a phrase that is all too familiar during this economic crisis. in harrisburg, pa., they are trying to make ends meet. the state capital has declared bankruptcy and it has gotten so

bad that the treasures meant for a museum are now going to be auctioned off instead. >> who would think that there was anything wrong? this hardly looks like a city in crisis but the state capital of pennsylvania is in dire straits. 8000 wild west artifacts are gathering dust. >> dueling pistols -- >> fragments from the country's turbulent frontier history, collected at considerable public expense from a museum that will never be. >> a vampire killer kit. >> who would want to be without this? >> badly needed dollars in the city desperately short of cash. >> we just ran into economic

situation -- that would be conducive to that kind of development. >> that is putting it mildly. next door is a waste incinerator burning and metaphorical hole in the city's finances. >> this is why they had to file for bankruptcy. the debt payment last year alone was $65 million. they cannot burn enough trash to make the debt payment. >> of the retrofit was a disaster. this cost more than $300 million of debt. it happened on the watch of the previous mayor, a man with a fondness for big projects like this civil war museum, one of several schemes that did not see the light of day. >> there was one mayor for 28 years and the happened to be

someone who believed in borrowing money. we have three times the debt of any other city in pennsylvania. >> the result was a fight over whether harrisburg should accept bankruptcy or be taken over by the state. this is hardly what the city needs. >> they have lofty ambitions and thought nothing of running up high levels of debt. the cold hard reality was always going to bring them to their knees, as they try to deal with the wreckage that the state capital finds itself in. >> a small occupy harrisburg camp. >> i believe that this is a microcosm of what is going on, nationally. as this city falls apart, so is this country. this is a small piece, showing a

larger picture. >> it is up to a federal judge to end this crisis. >> i cannot get over the idea that someone actually may buy a vampire killer kit. we are used to pavement, but what about towels? after decades of digging a network of passages, three counties in england are connected. he went to see this project under way and now has gone back to see the finished project. >> is this solid? >> this is the breakthrough they have spent decades working on, and just look at this condition. yorkshire and northumbria are finally joined together,

underground. >> we should be able to get through it in half an hour. you can see what is happening there at the other end. >> congratulation. how about a hand? >> the three counties. >> 100 kilometers. >> i went down the system last year and even though i am obviously very brave, this is an intimidating place to be around. >> they don't like -- >> this is not just the narrowness, but to thank all of this was under water once.

and they have explored places like this under water. >> back then, they only had 20 meters to go through, but with their bare hands, it still took them over a year. this is all down to a passion for exploration. what would you like -- would you like to go through passages like this as a hobby? this team of amateurs has unveiled the largest cave system in britain, one of the longest in the world. >> i think he is a lot more grave than me. there is no way he could get me to go into those tunnels. we will have updates on the web site all the time, at bbc world news america. we will see you back here tomorrow. >> funding was made possible by

the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. the freeman foundation and union bank. and shell. >> this is kim. about to feel one of his favorite sensations. at shell, we develop fuels that will help us get the most from our resources. let's go.

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