11/18/15 11/18/15 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! >> when individuals say we should have a religious test and that only christians -- proven christians should be admitted, that is offensive and contrary to american values. more potentnk of a recruitment tool fry's sale -- for isil than some of the

rhetoric that has been coming out of your during the course of this debate. amy: as president obama criticizes republican efforts to syrian refugees in the wake of the paris attacks we , will speak to peter bouckaert, human rights watch's emergencies director. just back from months in the balkans and greece speaking to refugees escaping the wars in syria, afghanistan and iraq. , then to congresswoman barbara lee of california. >> september 11 changed the world. our deepest fears now haunt us. yet i'm convinced that military action will not prevent further acts of international terrorism against the united states. amy: that was 14 years ago when congresswoman barbara lee stood alone voting against the u.s. invasion of afghanistan. now she is calling on congress to repeal the 2001 and 2002 authorizations for military force saying they have used as

, blank checks for endless war. she will join us from washington. then to paris. climate activists are preparing for a massive march ahead of the u.n. climate talks. will authorities allow it to happen? all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. in france today, at least seven people have been detained and two have been killed after a series of gun battles and a police raid on an apartment in a northern suburb of paris. authorities said the operation targeted a belgian man accused of masterminding the paris attacks that killed 129 people friday. abdelhamid abaaoud was initially said to be in syria. early this morning, french police stormed an apartment in st. denis, where a woman reportedly killed herself by detonating a suicide vest. a second suspect was killed,

reportedly from gunfire and a grenade. at the time of this broadcast, authorities say it's unclear whether abaaoud was in the apartment. french interior minister discussed the operation. since 4:00 this morning, french special forces police have carried out an operation to neutralize terrorists. seven people were arrested. two people have died, including a woman by explosives. amy: five police officers were wounded and a police dog was killed in the hours-long operation. meanwhile, authorities in belgium have charged two men with assisting salah abdeslam, a second fugitive suspect in the paris attacks, by driving him to brussels. abdeslam's family has called for him to turn himself in. amid security fears tuesday, authorities in hanover, germany, abruptly canceled a soccer match following a "concrete tip" about

a planned bomb attack. two air france flights bound for paris from the united states were diverted over reports of bomb threats. france, russia, the united states have launched fresh airstrikes against the islamic state in syria. a u.s.-based human rights group russia of bombing at least 10 medical facilities in syria last month. physicians for human rights said totalonicled 16 attacks on medical facilities in syria in october alone, the worst toll to date. friday's deadly attacks in paris have set off a storm of calls to close borders and reject refugees fleeing syria. in the united states, house speaker paul ryan and senate majority leader mitch mcconnell have called for a pause in the u.s. program accepting syrian refugees, and governors of at least 27 u.s. states have said they will not accept syrian refugees. the white house held a

conference phone call with 34 governors tuesday to try to -- and president obama said attempts to block refugees are offensive and contrary to american values. >> we are open to hearing actual ideas, but that is not really what has been going on in this debate. when candidates say, we want to admit three-year-old orphans, that is political posturing. when individuals say that we should have a religious test and that only christians -- proven christians should be admitted, that is offensive and contrary to american values. amy: that is president obama speaking in the philippines today. we'll have more on syrian refugees with peter bouckaert of human rights watch and california congressmember barbara lee after headlines. it remains unclear exactly how the upheaval in paris will impact the united nations climate change summit, which

opens in paris november 30. environmentalists from around the world have planned a massive march with 200,000 people expected the day before the talks begin. ahead of the summit, the u.s. senate voted tuesday to block president obama's new regulations to cut carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants. this all comes after last month shattered records becoming the , warmest october ever recorded worldwide. we'll have more on the paris climate talks and the outlook for protests later in the broadcast. in nigeria, at least 32 have been killed in a suicide bombing at a crowded market in the northeastern city of yola. it's the latest in a series of deadly attacks attributed to the militant group boko haram. the attack comes just days after the nigerian president muhammadu buhari visited the area and deemed boko haram "very close to defeat." the obama administration has

announced approval of a $1.29 billion arms sale to saudi arabia, despite reports of possible war crimes in yemen. the state department approved the sale of tens of thousands of bombs, as well as munitions and other weaponry produced by boeing and raytheon. the weapons replenish stocks used by saudi arabia in its u.s.-backed bombing campaign in yemen, where amnesty international has warned of apparent war crimes by the saudi-led coalition. meanwhile, executions in saudi arabia have reached a 20-year high with more than 150 people executed this year. in the united states, a new report reveals at least 100,000 women in texas have attended to self-induce an abortion. the groundbreaking study by the texas policy evaluation project comes as the supreme court has agreed to hear a challenge to a sweeping taxes -- texas anti-choice law. since the law passed in 2013, about half of the state's 41 abortion clinics have closed.

the study found as many as 240,000 texas women have tried to end a pregnancy without medical assistance, citing restrictions including a lack of funds to travel to a clinic or the fact their local clinic had shut down. in kentucky, the state's last remaining full-time abortion clinic has been vandalized for the second time in less than a month. last week a man threw a rock through the glass door of emw women's surgical center, just two weeks after another man hurled himself into the clinic's window, shattering it. the clinic's executive director told insider louisville -- "we're not angry, we're not afraid, we're just really sad that the mentality out there isn't more understanding and compassionate for women." a spanish judge has issued an arrest warrant for israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and seven other former and current israeli officials over the deadly israeli raid on the 2010 gaza bound aid flotilla. nine people were killed when israeli commandos stormed the mavi marmara in international waters, a 10th died after four years in a coma.

the case against israeli officials in spain emerged after spanish activists on board the flotilla sued netanyahu. the judge's move means netanyahu could be detained and questioned if he steps foot in spain. president obama faced protests over the role of the u.s. military as he arrived in the philippines for the apec summit. his visit comes as the philippines supreme court considers a constitutional challenge to a military deal that would grant u.s. troops broad access to military bases in the philippines. diego torres was among the activists who gathered to oppose obama's arrival in manila. today obama will arrive in the philippines, and this is our welcome for him, a protest that rejects his presence because we do not want the leader of the united states, the chief architect of aggression and cruelty toward many nations around the world, to land in the philippines. amy: the norwegian oil company statoil has announced it's ending its arctic drilling program. while its stakes in the arctic

don't expire until 2020. the move comes after shell walked away from its oil drilling program in the arctic after spending $7 billion on it. republican presidential candidate ben carson's own advisers have acknowledged he is struggling to comprehend foreign policy. carson, who is the leading republican candidate in some polls, has blundered on the topic of foreign policy, including wrongly claiming china is involved military in syria. speaking to the "new york times," a top carson advisor said -- "nobody has been able to sit down with and have him get one iota of intelligent information about the middle east." meanwhile, louisiana governor bobby jindal has ended his campaign for the republican presidential nomination. after failing to gain much traction, jindal said tuesday it was not his time. >> we announced today we're suspending the presidential campaign. look, i am honored to have had a chance to run for the president

of the united states. my parents and their 45 years ago in search of freedom and opportunity. never in a million years with a have imagined i would be governor, much less on for president. this was in our time. amy: and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. juan: welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. friday's deadly attacks in paris have set off a storm of calls to close borders and reject refugees fleeing syria where over 4 million people have already fled to escape the war-torn country. less than 24 hours after the paris attacks, poland's incoming european affairs minister said poland would pull back from a european union-wide commitment to relocate refugees. the anti-refugee sentiment was quickly echoed by other right-wing leaders across europe. in france, marine le pen, the head of the national front party demanded a "immediate halt of all intake of migrants in france."

in the netherlands, geert wilders, the head of the people's party for freedom and democracy, called on the country's prime minister to close the borders entirely. amy: meanwhile, in the united states, house speaker paul ryan and senate majority leader mitch mcconnell have called for a pause in the u.s. program accepting syrian refugees, and governors of at least 27 u.s. states have said they will not accept syrian refugees. a syrian passport which appears to be fake was found near the body of one of the paris attackers, whose fingerprints matched someone who passed through greece and the balkans. but all the attackers identified so far are european nationals. amy: president obama said any attempts to block entry of syrian refugees to the united states is "offensive and contrary to american values." when are not well served in response to a terrorist and -- intofend

fear and panic. we don't make good decisions if hysteria or an exaggeration of risks. and i think the refugee debate is an example of us not being well served by some of the commentary that has been taking place by officials back home and in the media. hearing are open to actual ideas, but that is not really what has been going on in this debate. we wanteddates say, -- won't admit three euros orphans, that is political posturing. when individuals say we should have a religious test and that only christians -- proven

christians, should be admitted, that is offensive and contrary to american values. more -- morek of a potent recruitment tool for isil than some of the rhetoric that has been coming out of here during the course of this debate. amy: that is president obama speaking in the philippines. for more we're joined by peter bouckaert, human rights watch's emergencies director. he has spent the last few months in the balkans and greece speaking to refugees coming mostly from syria, afghanistan and iraq. , posting messages and images on twitter bouckaert has helped expose the realities of life for refugees fleeing violence at home. he was one of the first people to share images of aylan kurdi - the three-year old syrian boy who had drowned off a turkish beach. peter bouckaert, welcome back to democracy now! as you come back just in the the two days, dealing with

refugees, documenting what is happening on the ground, your response to what is being said in the united states about not accepting refugees? >> it is morally referenceable and factually wrong to equate these people with terrorists. they are fleeing from the terrorists and phase horrors of iraq, syria, and afghanistan. many are tried to bring their families to better future in europe and they should be welcomed. they will contribute to our society and have a right to asylum. they should not be having to risk our lives and take all of this humiliation on this journey just to get what is legally their right. juan: you have interviewed many of the refugees. could you talk about some of their experiences and what they have told you about what they are fleeing? some actually fled after being subjected to bombings from western powers as well. >> yes my many of them have come directly from syria. they have tried to state in syria for as long as possible. it is not like this was their

first choice. they really love their country. they face bombing from the west and from russia as well, especially by the al-assad regime. many have lost family members to those bombings. i have met a lot of young men and women who have lost their legs and other limbs to these bombing raids, and who have been carried this whole journey to safety in europe. amy: i would to turn to comments made by house speaker paul ryan regarding admitting syrian refugees to the u.s. >> the national defense bill i will sign later today requires the president to come up with a plan for defeating isis, not just containing, but defeating isis. the containment plan is not enough. that has failed. in addition, the majority leader and our committee chairs are developing a plan to address the syrian refugee crisis. our nation has always been welcoming him a but we cannot let terrorists take advantage of our compassion. this is a moment where it is better to be safe than to be sorry.

so we think the prudent, the responsible thing is to take a pause in his budget aspect of this refugee program in order to verify that terrorists are not trying to infiltrate the refugee population. in the end, the ultimate solution to this crisis is a strategy to defeat isis. all of this rises above politics. this is not about politics. this is about national security. and so we will invite all of our colleagues, republicans and democrats, to work with as quickly to address the urgent nature of the situation. amy: can you talk about what paul ryan is calling for? >> i think it is absolutely misguided. yes, there is a struggle to defeat isis, but it is not just a military struggle, it is a struggle for the height -- hearts and minds of the people of the middle east. and that struggle is the most important component of what we have to accomplish. and by shutting the door on the

refugees fleeing from isis and from the horrors of the war in syria, we're doing no favor in terms of winning the hearts and minds of these people. the reality is that any syrian refugee coming to the united states already goes through four different levels of security review by different u.s. agencies, so the danger of anybody coming in under the guise of refugee status and being a terrorist is absolutely miniscule. we admit 70,000 people already every year, many of them from iraq and some are you, and there has not been a single incident of a person turning out to be a terrorist. juan: can you talk about the reaction in europe to the refugees, both before the attacks in paris and now subsequently afterward? >> i think one of the reasons why these two crises, the paris attack in the refugee crisis, have become conflated is because it europe has not felt in charge

of this crisis because they have not had clear and coherent policies toward these refugees. it has been chaos in europe, and it is really important instead of shutting the door on these people, that we come up with coherent policies which allow people to claim a silent in a way which is safe and protect their rights. juan: why has it been so chaotic, given the fact this is been going on for at least a year or more? >> still on the beaches of there are still drownings every day. many of the humanitarian needs of these desperate people are being met by volunteers and not by you institutions because there are no eu policies for these people. the eu cannot agree to a common policy on how to combat these people and that is why we have chaos. it is really important europe and the world takes charge of this crisis or otherwise was the crisis will take charge of europe. amy: speaking tuesday, the czech

president milos zeman said that young migrant men should be "fighting for their country against islamic state." >> the majority of these illegal migrants are young, well supported men. and i am asking, why these men are not fighting for the freedom of their country against the islamic state? why are they not working for their country and its improvement so that their country overcomes its current state of underdevelopment? amy: that is the czech president speaking tuesday. peter bouckaert, your response? >> a lot of these men are fleeing because they do not want to fight for assad. they do not want to be part of the killing machine. and many are fleeing because they do not want to be forced by iran to fight for assad in syria. i think that is a noble reason to not want -- to flee, to not

want to be a killer. but it is important on the other hand these people are, dated, that the chilling can be educated. there are 400,000 syrian children out of school in turkey alone. if we do not revive him with the education, there is no future for syria because nobody will be able to run the country the future. amy: what is the u.s.'s responsibility for the refugees and the original cause? >> we are faced with a generational crisis in the middle east. these conflicts really are a challenge to our generation. and we need a global response. we all need to do our part, including the u.s. and canada and australia to accommodate these refugees, to provide them with safe refuge, to help educate their children, and ultimately, to help resolve the conflicts in syria, iraq, and afghanistan. amy: how to the crisis get started? >> it is absolutely true afghanistan was invaded by the united states in 2001 and iraq was invaded in 2003.

many the stak remain in terms of the policies adopted, so we do also have a moral responsibility for these people fleeing the consequences of our actions come to some degree. amy: we're going to go to break and then come back to play a report by human rights watch, the refugees on the ground, then barbara lee will also be joining us, congress member barbara lee. and we will go to paris to talk with climate activists. lamarche is be allowed after the paris attacks -- will marches be allowed after the paris attacks? stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. friday's deadly attacks in paris have set off a storm of calls to close borders and reject refugees fleeing syria where over 4 million people have already fled the war-torn country. so far this year, more than 800,000 asylum-seekers and refugees have arrived in europe by sea. we're going to turn to a video by human rights watch capturing this journey to europe. the film is to raided by judith sunderland.

-- narrated by judith sunderland. wait! take the baby, please. >> during our ride, the rubber boat started tipping. kids were falling on top of each other and women were falling on top of each other. the whole boat filled with water and then it stopped. we were calling for help. we contacted the greek coast guard and they saved us. life isn't safe anymore. we can't live in syria anymore. >> over 800,000 asylum-seekers and migrants reached europe by sea this year. more than 200,000 arrived on the greek islands in october alone.

most of them come from countries where conflict, repression, and fear forced people to flee for their lives. warned us ton leave or our lives would be in danger. they killed seven of my friends. they mostly targeted women. and did they threaten you personally? they said to you, you have to go? >> yes, because i was educating people about violence against women in different provinces. that is why i was threatened. >> over 3400 people, including many children, have died at sea trying to reach european union this year. despite the risks, they keep coming. >> my daughters and i suffered so much, the decision to make

was difficult. we knew it was a death journey. we knew our lives were at stake, but it didn't matter we lived or died, the risk was better than to continue living as syrian refugees in turkey. >> where are you going now? how many days? >> when did you leave? >> human rights watch sent teams of researchers to document the dangerous journey and the hardships upon arrival. spoke to syrians, afghans, iraqis, and somalis. story, we heard that the only way out of violence and terror at home and unbearable conditions in neighboring countries was to resort to smugglers and flee through dangerous crossings. when we were taken through the mountains in iran, my son fell and fractured his leg and my sister fractured her

forehead. we were going through the mountains and the smugglers were pushing us. if we did not run, we would have been shot. the smugglers forced us onto the boats. we were scared. we did not want to go on the boats. safe and legale routes to seek refuge in a far fewer people would be at the mercy of the smugglers. >> did you go to an embassy to apply for asylum? >> i e-mailed the canadian embassy, but they did not reply. witnessed scenes of chaos and many borders -- at many eu borders. daily arrivals of thousands of people on greek islands created an ongoing humanitarian crisis. fitting those most vulnerable the hardest.

she has been bed ridden for 15 years. she can't move her legs and she can't see. she can't speak and she just moans. we don't know where she will sleep tonight. please, help us. we can't stay out here day and night like the others. we can't stay out here with her. reacht of those who greece by sea continue their journey over land to the western balkans, encountering police abuse, terrible detention conditions, and cascading border closures. many eu governments are focused on preventing arrivals instead of managing the flow humanely. a plan to relocate tens of thousands of asylum-seekers from front-line states like greece and italy have gotten off to such a slow start, at this rate, it will take over 180 years to reach the target.

and months into this crisis with winter approaching, volunteers, not governments, are still at the forefront providing humanitarian assistance. >> do something so the refugees won't suffer so much on the way. we have suffered a lot. we came on foot with small children. people are going to come here anyway, no matter how difficult. they are determined to come. >> until now, the response of eu governments to the crisis has been deeply flawed, defined by deaths at sea, chaos, and distressing humanitarian conditions. people should not have to risk their lives or face so many obstacles to reach a place of refuge. the european union has a legal and moral obligation to fairly process and humanely host asylum seekers and refugees, and respect the rights indemnity of

everyone who arrives at its border. before the war, damascus was very good. we have money, houses, cars -- everything. the war damaged everything. >> so what do you need? >> peace. eu government should ensure safe passage, access to asylum at and within its borders, and make sure human rights and compassion are at the heart of its response to this challenge. >> desperate journey, europe's refugee crisis, narrated by judith sunderland. still with us is peter bouckaert . peter, the volunteers you reference and that we saw in that film, who are they? where they coming from? >> i think that is one of the

most inspiring aspects of what is happening in europe. we have apathy by european governments, but volunteers have come from all over the world to try to help these desperate people. we have spanish lifeguards on the beaches with jet skis rescuing boats when people fall in the water. just last night, an iraqi man fell off a boat analyst died. they spent 45 minutes looking for him in the night. andsraeli dr. revived him treated his hypothermia. it is that kind of coming together by volunteers which is saving. amy: in the last woman we saw in the pews, where was she from? was she from afghanistan? >> yes. amy: what did she tell you? >> she told me the obstacles that we face in europe are not going to stop us. we have walked over mountains to get this far and we will get to our destination. so the question really is, how difficult do we want to make this journey for people?

because they are determined to bring our children to safety. amy:, the people a day are lending on less posts? >> on some of the days i was there, for 5000 people. amy: a day? >> yes. and those people are paying $1200 for this trip when there is a legal fairy doing the same journey for 20 euros, which is -- empty. amy:p, thank you for being with us, emergency george for human rights watch. as we turn to washington, d.c., as paul rayna mitch mcconnell are calling for a pause in the u.s. program accepting syrian refugees, i want to bring into the conversation commerce member barbara lee of california. your response to the crackdown, now 27 governors are saying they will not accept syrian refugees. in fact, your theory, peter bouckaert, around the finding of the syrian passport, the false passport in one of the gunmen in

paris? >> i think isis, they wanted the passport to be found. they hate refugees more than anyone else because these refugees are fleeing from their self-for claimed caliphate. they would love the door to be shut on his refugees. amy: congress member barbara lee , what is being called for in congress? your response to the house speaker? >> there are some who are calling for a halt, i believe bigger ryan wants us to come as he said, put a pause in our refugee policy and resettlement policy. but i have to say, this moment really test the character of our nation, amy stop when you look at the vetting process, investigation, the screening, the background checks that occur as it relates to refugees, especially syrian refugees, those can take up to two years. homeland security is very

thorough. i am on the appropriations committee and we want to support and make sure homeland security has all of the resources it tods, but i have to say that put a halt into allowing people to come in who are widows, who are children, who are fleeing horrific circumstances? that is not who we are as a country. and there are many of us who are not going to accept this type of move to really put a halt in this program. this is the moment when we have to step up as a country and demonstrate to the world who we are, and we do have two issue -- i mean, excuse me, we do have our overall national security issues and difficulties that we have to address, but we must step up as leaders and address them in a way that is american. that is the american way to do this. juan: congresswoman lee, and your response to the fact that this huge refugee crisis, the responsibility of the united states given the refugees are largely coming from syria, iraq come and afghanistan --

precisely the countries that our government is involved in military interventions and occupations of and have now led to this chaos and extremism in their own lands? >> 14 years ago, i voted against the blank check that authorized the use of force that created the conditions for what we see today. this was the wrong approach, i believe. we see the military actions have .ot made the world any safer and in fact, we need to really begin to look at our overall strategy and look at what are the underlying causes and reasons for all of this chaos and all of this violence. that does not mean we do not intend to deal with isis and in the other terrorist group. we cannot look at the world through rose-colored glasses. we have to have a comprehensive strategy that is going to dismantle and defeat isis. that doesn't mean we create war and more violent and more

conditions that cause people to continue to flee. we have to go back to the drawing board, i believe, and come up with a reasonable, rational strategy. also, let me say, we have not had a debate. we have not had a new authorization to use force. we have not done our jobs as members of congress to authorize these new wars. so we need, this point, i think him a full debate on the options, the alternatives, the costs and consequences. minimally, we should not prevent people fleeing from countries that are war-torn from coming to our country. we had very strong investigative processes will step we do background checks. homeland security, if they need more resources, i would support more resources. i think many members what. but we can't allow the character in the values of our nation change under such a terrible crisis that is taking place. amy: congress number properly, we want to go back to that moment 14 years ago when you cast the sole dissenting vote

against u.s. invasion of afghanistan. let's go back to that speech three days after september 11 attacks. >> september 11 changed the world. our deepest fears now haunt us. yet i am convinced that military action will not prevent further acts of international terrorism against the united states. this is a very complex and complicated matter. now this resolution will pass, although we all know that the president can wage a war even without it. however difficult this vote may be, some of us must urge the use of restraint. our country is in a state of mourning. some of us must say, let's step back for a moment. let's pause for just a minute and think through the implications of our actions today so that this does not

spiral out of control. now, i have agonized over this vote. but i came to grips with it today. and i came to grips with opposing this resolution. during the very painful yet very beautiful memorial service. as a member of the clergy so apple -- eloquently said, as we evillet us not become the that we deplore. amy: that was california congress member barbara lee speaking three days after the 9/11 attacks. commerce member lee, you are now calling on congress to repeal the 2001 and 2002 authorizations for military force saying they have been used as link checks for endless war. can you talk about who is joining in this call? when you made that speech 14 years ago,

you got death threats, had to get security around you. >> amy, those were very .ifficult days we had been under terrible attack. we lost many, many people. my chief of staff's cousin unfortunately was on flight 93. we lost wanda and all of the victims of the horrific attacks of 9/11 -- we still think about and pray for and wonder how this could happen. believe you me, during that moment, we had, i believe, then, the chance to step out and continue with our mourning as anger, but as members of congress, with the rational approach to address terrorism in a way that did not cause more wars, more terrorist attacks, and more violence. having said that, in the iraq resolution came forward the next year with this resolution as the

basis for the iraq resolution. and at this point, we ask the congressional research service last year to conduct a survey for us -- unclassified -- to determine when and where these authorizations have been used. well over 30 something times they have been used in somalia and yemen -- all around the world, for the use of force or four other types of detention -- guantanamo, wiretaps, you name it. and so we need to go back. this is a new day, another war that the united states is in, and in fact, i think the public is demanding that we debate this, look at the consequences, debate whether or not we should authorize another use of force. i'm not saying we should or should not, but minimally, are constitutional responsibility warns that we do that will step now, we're many members of congress who have supported this effort. sometimes i have amendments to the appropriate bills and --

that would say, let's repeal these authorizations. mcgovern and others in a bipartisan way have stepped up and offered these amendments. and we probably get between 150 and 170 boats. in the house, takes about -- 218 votes and we have not gotten to that point yet. but i believe the more we talk about it, the more the public is going to demand that they understand what is taking place and engage and make us engage in doing our jobs the proper way and engage in a debate. because three days after the horrific attacks of 9/11, i think we had a one hour debate, amy, on the use of force. that, to me, was wrong. it advocated our responsibility. we should have waited. we should have come up with a conference of strategy in our response to 9/11. so i think we need to go back now and have that debate that we

never had before, quite frankly. juan: congresswoman lee, your assessment of how president obama is dealing with the situation currently? obviously, he came into about two in the wars in the middle east. now he has extended the troops -- ground troops in afghanistan through the end of his war. and reinserted 50 more or 50 ground troops now into syria. your sense of how he is chilling with things? >> first, he certainly has shifted direction from the bush administration. of course, i am extremely concerned about the additional troops. i don't support the use of ground troops. we understand this has to be a regionally led commitment to dismantle and disable and read the world, quite friendly, of vices, but it has to be regionally led. i think the president is tried to calibrate this in a way, and he has said he is not going to send ground troops in, but i don't want to see this mission

occur on his watch. he did send forward a resolution under speaker boehner last year for us to debate and vote on. and speaker boehner never brought this resolution before us. so we have never even had a chance to look at what the president has done or is doing and really have congress either back it or not back in. so i think what the president is saying now is very important when he talks about the refugee crisis and how we should not shift our policy and how we need to continue to step up and do the right thing as americans. so the president, i think, needs to have congress weigh in on his strategy. because if we don't weigh end, we have abdicated our responsibility to the administration and then the public will never know what be whichs will would is the escalation of use of force in the region, which we have not authorized.

the u.s. has just killed the obama administration yet another arms deal with saudi arabia. in the last year, signed the biggest arms deal in the history of the world with saudi arabia. of therabia behind a lot militant activism from al qaeda to isis. do you condemn these sales? >> first, we need to reduce the sale of arms throughout the world. , for when you look at example, trying to read koran of the ability to develop nuclear weapons, we engaged in a strong robust diplomatic effort. many years ago i introduced the first resolution calling for the end of no contact policy for special envoy impressed to begin to negotiate with the elimination of their program of developing nuclear weapons. so far, those negotiations and that iranian deal has worked.

so i think we need to move in that direction in terms of diplomacy, in terms of trying to seek global peace and security to all selling arms countries. because what you will have is an arms buildup throughout the world. and then weapons will be pointed at each -- each country will have weapons. of course, nuclear weapons is the ultimate weapon -- pointed in all directions. so we need to determine ways as a president has done with regard to iran, ways in which to engage to reduce the threats and to reduce the sale and the use of force and armaments and military weapons, because these can only make the world more dangerous. juan: i'm wondering what advice you might have to parliamentarians in france now as france is going through the same kind of crisis that this country went through after the .ttacks of 2001

the president is now seeking authorization from the french parliament for extraordinary measures in his country. what advice might you give to the parliamentarians of france? >> first, my thoughts and prayers go out to the people of france. they are really in a moment of sorrow and pain. we feel the tragedy and the pain their suffering. of course, france is one of our oldest -- is our oldest ally. and we have many, many connections, many relationships. our foreign policy. we have many similarities to the french people, so we have to really feel what is taking place and support the french people throughout this terrible, difficult moment. my only suggestion would be to debate this, to listen, to look at all of the alternatives, and to not rush to judgment -- whatever the parliament decides, i think it takes a methodology and strategy that really will

keep the country safe and will ensure that violence is reduced, rather than engaged in actions that would create more havoc and more violence. but i tell you, that is up to the french parliament and the french people to determine how best they want to respond as a country. an option, were not congress member lee, the u.s. spending actually trillions of dollars on war when you look at all of the costs, including soldiers coming home deeply wounded and being cared for for the rest of their lives, not to mention the havoc on the ground in the middle east from afghanistan to iraq and syria. what is the option? what is the foreign policy that you would design? >> foreign policy that i would design, and i have legislation that sort of sets out, for example, a roadmap to a strategy in the middle east would be as

it relates to isis, and that is looking at not the military option as the first option, amy. that is always going to be there. but looking at how we can support and enhance a regionally-led strategy that would lead to a political and diplomatic -- people have to be empowered. they have to feel their countries are including them in the government and in all of the ofelopment and the fabric their governance. that is not happening in many countries in the world. and so we have to have a regionally led strategy. my legislation lays that out. as i said earlier, the military option is always going to be there. we can said the use of force or military action is never acceptable. but we have to try other methods of first if we really want to achieve global peace and security. and i think that is what many members of congress are saying. regardless of the extremely right-wing responses.

we as leaders have to really lay out a vision and an alternative and hopefully, have a debate on what those alternatives are because our veterans have come home -- many can't even get a job. many are homeless. i am the daughter of a veteran. i am telling you, our veterans have paid a very heavy price. they have served this country well. they have done everything we have asked them to do, yet we cannot seem to figure out ways to ensure their health, the mental health, their security. of course, we are done much better under this administration . and when, of course, as i have to say, when speaker pelosi was speaker during those years, we did invest more in our veterans and in their security, economic security, health care in mental health. we haven't a never thing we should do. we need to do more for our veterans. i am on the veterans subcommittee of the appropriations committee and believe you me, we need many more efforts and many more resources put into the veterans

initiative. have 30 seconds. on a different issue, the supreme court has just agreed to hear the challenge to the texas law, abortion law. in july, you introduced a bill to expand abortion access by repealing the hyde amendment, which gives or forbids any kind of federal funding of abortion. where is that going and your response to the supreme court looking at this law that could close three quarters of the abortion clinics in texas? >> let me say behind him him it was instituted in the 1970's. he prevented a full range of access through protective health services including abortions for low-income women, many of which are women of color. congress has stepped up in the past two try to repeal that amendment. young women around the country have developed a movement, several years ago, to say, we're not going to allow this to continue without having a full debate on it and without having

an effort to repeal this hyde amendment. i have to apply all of the members of congress, pro-choice caucus, leader pelosi and the women, especially, around the country who said that introduce and a bill -- a bill to repeal it. we have 103 cosponsors in just months. i think the country understands the right-wing is try to take away women's rights. there is a war on women. we're not going to let that happen. we have to fight back. we are on the offense. and one day -- and i think it will be sooner than later -- we're going to make sure that low-income women have full access to reproductive health services and that is the way you ensure liberty and justice for all women. amy: commerce member barbara lee, thank you for being with us. we will be back in a minute will stop

♪ [music break] amy: "what do you go home to?" by explosions in the sky.

this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. juan: we end today's show in paris, by looking at the impact of friday's attacks on the upcoming u.n. climate change conference. organizers from around the world have been planning demonstrations and actions throughout the two week conference, including a massive march scheduled for november 29, the day before the talks begin. as many as 200,000 people are expected to attend. amy: but now french authorities are threatening to curtail public demonstrations and marches in the wake of friday's attacks. for more weaker directory to paris to alix mazounie, the international policies coordinator at climate action network france. on tuesday, she was part of a meeting yesterday with french foreign minister laurent fabius to discuss ways the marches and demonstrations could go forward. alix, welcome to democracy now! what came of this meeting and then i would like to ask you to describe what the climate is

like in paris now. ofso indeed, a number [indiscernible] what could come out, what, mobilizations would still be authorized not just on november 29, but also across both weeks of the conference. many things were planned. the political signal he sent us is we want to maintain a form of public expression across those weeks while looking into options , always the, the main concern is safety of the french people and of all of the people in the streets of paris, international's, nationals. and express themselves. he sent us an important political signal but he is the minister of foreign affairs, not the minister in charge of safety concerns. what we are waiting for now is a definite response from the prime minister tonight or tomorrow morning to tell us exactly what form -- we hope there will be a form of political expression.

the question is not whether or not there will be won, but which one there will be, taking into account the security constraints. juan: in terms of the situation with the borders and the people who would not becoming from other countries, coming into france, will there be increased difficulties in that sense? peopletes we were told with visas would still be up to get through the borders and it was only a matter of security checks at the borders regularly so people would have to have all of their documents with them, but normally, apart from a few extra challenges, it should not stop international groups from coming to paris. a very important signal of solidarity, we need them to be in paris with us throughout the cause and march with us on the 29th and support as also across the world, not just in paris. we know a number of artists will be organized in different places across -- marches will be organized in different places across the continent and we want them to march in solidarity on our behalf and in our name.

we hope the message will be sent across to everyone. amy: we're speaking just hours after another raid on a paris apartment and this resulted in seven arrest and two people dead . it is not clear how much more these kinds of actions will be going on. why do you feel it is still important to march november 29, not to mention have actions throughout the two weeks of the climate summit? the discussions we have been having among french groups and with international groups is more than ever before, we need to tackle climate change. if there is one more that needs done, it will increase social stability, make sure people have food in their stomachs, make sure people can live with they are and don't live in a climate of fear or instability. in that context, we want a strong climate agreement in paris. we want to make sure more and more people mobilize on the issue of climate change but more

generally, around solidarity, unity, and peace which are all very connected issues. the city of paris, i don't know it translates into english, says, we can cope with waves, but we will never sink. more than ever, people across the world paris the to stand up and say that our fearless and what their rights to freedom of speech and that climate change can express way we this. that is why we need people to mobilize across paris and across the world and solidarity with us. juan: are you worried the national leaders, now so much focus after the worldly events of last three in fighting terrorism -- last week in fighting terrorism, might not be as focused on the issue of the negotiations that occur at the summit? concern,s a major indeed. we know leaders are coming to paris, but we're not sure whether climate change will be the one and only priority on their agenda.

and understandably so. at the same time, climate change is a symptom and the causes and consequences of climate change are connected to all of this terrorism that is fueling terrorism, feeling the social instability in which we live today. to us, it makes sense to discuss even more so what we need to tackle climate change, why we need a strong agreement in paris, why we need strong, action everywhere, solidarity, financial support from developed to developing countries, a vision with no fossil fuels in the picture and a world where there are jobs being created things to renewable energy and energy visions a. all of these issues must connect in paris. now we have more of a leverage to get a strong climate agreement in paris. , thank youazounie for being with us. you're standing in front of place de la république the place de la république or people are showing the solidarity with those who died on friday. alix mazounie is international

policies coordinator at climate action network france. and that does it for our broadcast. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]

>> there is a mass extinction occurring on the planet today. >> we may well lose half of the world's biological diversity. >> the most dire numbers, i think, are on the timescale of about 35 years. >> do we kn e