generations of americans including my own have grown up successful and safe because we chose to lead the world and tackling the greatest challenges and choosing to leave the world can be quite a challenge in itself but why does the united states is left to pick and choose what's really important let's take a look at the mixed messages of american foreign policy. and what really drives that policy go here's a hint it's form from the real little slick letters that have very sticky repercussions. i am facing revolution as a middle class in america rises up to fight for their right to collectively bargain

a one woman brings a face to the cause this week with student harriet rowan from wisconsin. and great and it seems to be coming to its senses but who's controlling its mind will some say it's the us military machine. good evening it's tuesday march first eight pm here in washington d.c. i'm going to soft you're watching our team and our top story today laying out the future of u.s. foreign policy that was the agenda today for u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton and she spoke for the house foreign affairs committee and it looks like events each and every day are now changing the global landscape so it's becoming more and more clear that the power and influence of the u.s. government well that's shifting as well are due course kind of receivers out looks into the changing tides of u.s. foreign policy. but. afghanistan iraq

egypt. libya. when it comes to u.s. foreign policy this country's hands are not just full they're often time secretary of state hillary clinton charged with the task of laying out a plan for the future generations of americans including my own have grown up successful and safe because we chose to lead the world and tackling the greatest challenges but now clear signs that the challenges and the times are changing but a lot of people in this country have come to the conclusion that our policy overhaul has been inconsistent sometimes we support the bad guys and the bad guys become our enemy. twenty eleven has been a major year with major shifts in prominence and power in northern africa and the middle. and signs that us will influence maybe we need just days

before the regime of egyptian president hosni mubarak fell both secretary clinton and cia director leon panetta called it stable and somewhat. prepared and there are also inconsistency is on the war in afghanistan in afghanistan integrated military and civilian surges that help set the stage for our diplomatic surge to support afghan led reconciliation that could end the conflict and put al qaeda on the run but robert walk and a senior u.n. official just said quote it is fair to say that security in the country is that its lowest point since the departure of the taliban even secretary of defense robert gates said this just last week to a group of cadets at west point in my opinion any futures defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big american land army and asia. or into the middle east or africa should have

his head examined as general macarthur so delicately put it there is also the matter of money our own economy weak and losing leverage to other powers like china and brazil and other frustrated voiced by lawmakers doesn't make any sense for us to be borrowing money from china and give it to other countries especially giving it back to trying to. now when it comes to iran there is a clear position given by the state department the denial of human dignity in iran is an outrage it deserves the condemnation of all who speak out for freedom and justice but in many other regions like the rain albania and most prominently iraq where many many more people are killed at the hands of u.s. allied governments the silence is deafening. and as the landscape changes daily in libya cracks in the foundation here grow deeper we must maintain

firm ties with our allies and enemies must be clearly identified it is a constantly changing position on good versus evil and increasingly diminishing power to influence what's next in washington christine for r.t. and for more i spoke to the president of the future freedom foundation hornberger earlier today and also lawrence korb is a senior fellow at the center for american progress i asked him whether the united states might intervene militarily in libya here take a response first. you know they're sending warships over there and it's just classic us foreign policy they they shift with the tides they support these dictatorships they have supported them for decades and then all of a sudden the wind started shifting people start getting angry now worries over the brutality the tyranny the torture and so the tide shift for the u.s. government as well so the reader supporting the dictators they're out there instead

of really what they should be doing is just leave the world alone that's what the u.s. government should be doing well considering that you stand up because of course hillary clinton today spoke to lawmakers on the hill and the prop month congress approved a sixteen percent cut in funding for the state department and the u.s. agency for international development created that and that if those cuts went through it would be the guy the skating to national security same sentiment that's go by mike mullen and robert gates about their respective agencies but you know can we support all of these projects and adventures abroad you're saying the u.s. should just stay out clearly we're not doing that. absolutely and you know look national security is one of those meaningless terms that they ever came up with it's an ad hoc subjective determination to justify whatever they want to do including the multi decade support of hosni mubarak the dictator of egypt the dictators in tunisia yemen. you know all over that region as well as in latin

america and other parts of the world and what i think americans need to be doing dean is doing exactly what the people in the middle east are doing is start reflecting on what is the role of our government in all this you know in creating the the anger and hatred is that it's engendered the terrorist threat that they've used as the excuse to take away our freedom we need to be doing some soul searching over here just like people over there are doing are doing soul searching the state of pornography accident and the future of freedom foundation you know all our square that that keep out of the u.s. will take any kind of lead and live the after we're a military intervention but he also told me that military power should and is not the answer to everything. will we use military force where we into i would be very surprised if we put troops in on the ground i do think however if nato were the you when authorizes missions to take refugees out by ship or to have

a no fly zone the united states would participate in that but we will take the leadership but why was he i mean why not get involved in tunisia and egypt and all these other countries and then all these better experiencing on the rest well i mean again you did not have the same situation in tunisia in egypt i mean and egypt when the government briefly turned its firepower on so this is we condemned goods and then you know then president mubarak backed off and we use our influence with the egyptian military to tell them not to do it they certainly misjudge the situation but there's a big difference between describing it and supporting it if you go back and look at the speech that president obama gave in caro he basically. he foretold it and urged people to do what they're doing take there and you know their own future into their own hands provide for economic and political freedom hillary clinton said that a strong strategic american response will be essential so she's saying that that there will be some kind of response what that mean a strategic response you said that america's not going to take

a leadership role but they will get involved somehow well i mean strategic response that you simply means that you will do it in keeping with your overall global security after all the last thing we could offer you to blame these problems on the united states because i'm doing that anyway well he's trying but he has no evidence in the united states to get more involved in the war. you know forces on the ground i mean the wonderful thing is those planes that are killing people there are russian planes they're not american planes those are mix i mean that would be horrible if those were american fighting so if they were using united states it's not going to solve these issues were terribly they're going to have to be solved with diplo diplomacy and development and i think that's a good a good thing whereas the bush administration thought everything could be solved militarily she's talking about the fact that in iraq you're going to turn over the situation to our state department and the people by the end of this year and in

afghanistan hopefully if you put civilians can bring about reconciliation i think that's the way it should be because military power can't be answer to everything that was lawrence korb of the center for american progress. now when we talk about the protests in the middle east here's something else that we have to be very mindful of all that in reference cause a surge in oil prices and higher oil and gas prices as well as the skyrocketing price of crude oil that is the last thing americans need right now and just today thank you ben bernanke he testified in front of the u.s. congress he told lawmakers that a prolonging rise in oil prices what in fact was a danger to the u.s. economy but he didn't think the increase would last too long according to him the situation will not get out of control well for more investigative journalists greg palast is talking to us from the long island new york greg good to see you celebrating the things that he sort of downplaying the current situation saying that these are just temporary increases the situation won't get out of control do you do you agree with that assessment well it's temporary in that we've now gotten

used to seventy dollars a barrel oil as a low price it's like it's that old joke about you know someone keeps punching you in the face and they say well we're now going to just start slapping your face and say thank you very much you know. yes i don't there's no question hundred dollar bill oil is it suspicious actually because we really haven't had much of a drop in production worldwide very little oil is sold on the spot market i don't see just cation for these rising gasoline prices but it is temporary but what's not temporary is the high price of oil which is being controlled by at least the choke off of supplies by the opec cartel new oil companies which are kind of. you know he backing on the cartel we have a monopolized we have a monopolist oil market and so while britain and key is very pleased that it will

be you know he's saying everything's going to be hunky dorey no. and of course some experts are predicting that it has as high as two hundred twenty a barrel but i also want to mention that you know the u.s. investor the first deepwater drilling permits and the gulf of mexico since we've he's not an oil spill and of course regulators have been under pressure from the well industry and also from some lawmakers to get these projects started again because of the spike that we're seeing the spike over the weekend i'll bring that into the conversation i really for getting what happened last than a year ago oh absolutely forgetting because see this again that's been played it's just b.p. the piece the bad boys think b.p. it's peepee management culture and that's not since the big drillers chevron they're all using the same arifin myth it's none of them are prepared for major oil spill again they were supposed to be prepared they said the we prepared the words it was not just b.p. all the companies were supposed to respond to

a blowout they didn't they can't and so we're not prepared i mean if it happens again it's it's tuesday and they really really don't know how to control deep sea. deep water drilling is not a perfect technology got its dangers i think it's sort of becoming more and more political where you have these environmental groups there saying we need to force these oil companies to further investigate the harm or harmful effects of girling whereas those oil companies and many republicans are once again shouting drill baby drill yes it's back to the drill baby drill and it's not going to the first of all we've been drill baby trilling and the price was one hundred bucks a barrel it's not because of the moratorium on deep water drilling it's not that much oil actually but they're saying of course you know the glenn beck. the lower of the world of the country are saying we need more permits more promise than the price will finally be maybe seventy dollars well i think what we need to do is get

off the you know we have the oil companies choking off production worldwide that's what's got it that would reduce the price of oil but obviously we have to get off it this is incredibly expensive if you consider the amount of investment you make it if you include the clean up of oil spills if you include the wars but what we're what we're doing in libya let's not forget that b.p. had a big contract this side of a contract work davi the tremendous cost of it the shadow cost of oil is the real danger and that ain't going away mr burnet going away you think that the u.s. well i will intervene militarily because of oil interests in libya what do you think you know because the people that will be taking over will want to sell the oil because a lot of money they can't drink the oil they're going to want to sell it and they want to go to want to open the gas lines back up to two totally believe me no one's worried about not getting at it or oil here's another thing that i want to mention because you know. he goes to hell now twice

a year to explain the fads monetary policy ninety both have criticized this very policy thank isn't going to just be another bubble of inflation that's going to burst republicans have been particularly critical what's your take on. well i mean the republicans want to choke off the money supply when we're short of money here that's like saying if you're thirsty well let's cut off the water. it's it's madness it's destructive it's anything obama green and he have been very very stingy about putting money into the economy when we desperately desperately need capital he's opened the the window for cheap borrowing for the banks but he's not forced those banks to really lend the money now in britain the last prime minister of britain said if banks didn't rely on the money. they were going to shut them down. brainiac used not using his power to shape so the banks were giving you money to better get this into the economy so he should put in your money but also not

just give it to the banks but tell the banks you don't get the money unless you give it to the people and of course now we see those people on the street thank you bailout those banks but what about investigative journalist greg palast thanks so much for your time today and while us foreign policy for stakes are huge amount of the u.s. budget politicians are focusing on making cuts here at home and most people are not too happy about it after two weeks of protests in wisconsin demonstrations are spreading throughout the entire nation over the weekend we saw tens of thousands of people taking to the streets just to support the workers in wisconsin while harry and claire rowan is one of the organizers of the union protests there in madison and he's joining us over the far wall with that bill fletcher co-author of this book right here solidarity divided the crisis in organized labor and a new path towards social justice thank you both so much for being here going to start with you a lot of folks are saying that that what is happening in madison wisconsin is just

a microcosm of the of the bigger issue which is this awakening in the labor movement would you agree with that assessment or absolutely it's it's awakening it's resistance it's actually inspired by the arab revolt and the you mean so no question about it how. in the arab world people under incredibly have conditions challenge to very backward regimes and they have been when someone of courage and masses of people turned out i think. from discussions that i've had with people who have been on the ground very in wisconsin they've time to given that they were inspired by the people to come forward resistant and not simply take what was being thrown at them right but definitely a different situation harriet i want to bring you into the conversation talk about your involvement in all of this. hi thanks very much for having me on i guess i

just my spirit here is just back from sleeping here i guess it's been fourteen nights so far and just building a community with the people who have the time and energy to spend in the capital to make sure that our voices being heard. it's interesting because you know when we think about the youth especially these days they don't get involved too often i mean you see some things some things posted on facebook but as far as actually coming out taking to the streets like you said sleeping in the capital for two weeks you know we see a lot of that why is it this issue though that's cause people like yourself to actually come out and do something about it. i mean i think here's your fact that it will affect so many people i myself and it is you get me mad at them and there were fat meat and i'm not any of you it will affect my creator and my professors and it will affect. their i interact with very brief words if you're the attack on people or their wives or or your people don't play in the united.

because everyone has their stake and i want to also mention that a new new york times c.b.s. poll actually said that most people oppose taking away a collective bargaining rights bring that into the conversation bill i think that that's part of what really touched a nerve with people on the one hand in the other part of the world people fighting for an expansion of the marcus lee but here you have this governor and his allies that are attempting to restrict it. and people in the united states in respect of what they you know how they view the economic issue the budgets resists the idea of losing the basic rights and i think that this really did touch this nerve that we know whether you're in a union or not how do you touch our rights a collective bargain but you know the other side of that argument harriet is that this is not in this you're not entitled to this man and we've seen

a video cline of private sector unions the question of course is with this going on are we going to see the decline of public sector unions as well and if so what is that going to mean. i'm not sure if i can really address that question all i know is that i've seen people inside the capitol. literally every every group of people that you could imagine there's teachers here they're just normal people there's there's juden there's workers there's steel workers as private sector workers and public sector workers firemen and policemen and i think that i mean at this point our our basic fishing that we are united around is that the will harm the people of wisconsin overall and that that is something that we can you know we can all rally around and work together and how stop it as much as we can the people that you're talking about the students the workers the teachers how much longer are they

anticipating you know sleeping at the capitol and being out on the streets how much longer this thing going to go on. i can't i can't speak for everyone but i think that i myself we found an assurance that not only are we being heard but we're being taken into consideration there there's a difference between governor scott walker knowing what we're saying and taking it seriously and i think he really needs to understand where people are coming from and understand the emotion and the investment that people have in this that it really i mean it's not that often you can get people on such a consistent basis basis to spend so much time and energy and money doing something. doing anything and i think that he really needs to sit down and think seriously about why all these people you know why and hundreds of people been sleeping in the capital for fourteen absolutely and you know when we think about

that are we going to see any kind of compromise bill do you think when it comes to this issue because he's saying that we have to we have a budget deficit we have to. we have to cut spending you know the if if the budget was the problem then he wouldn't give engaged in giveaways to the corporations just in january so that's i mean that's why this is not about money this is about a change in the balance of power that's what this is and i think people on the ground get that this is what we were called bogart and he was trying to force through very quickly legislation which is regressive that's what this is about and i think would happen is that he thought people were simply going to take it and maybe there would be one of the protests he was never expecting this level of resistance nor is there the rest of the republicans expected and of course what some call regressive others call i'm conservative but you mentioned something interesting you said the word corporation and yesterday on our show we had

a discussion about wal-mart and you know how it's sort of politically entrenched as some would say with the republican party there but you know what we think about these big business is that some of them are in bed with the government isn't at all how the system works and in the point of this any corporation is to make a profit it's a business then they take their money and you know they don't need attempt to political campaigns because that's how they get influence so is it a matter of these people rising up because they're also maybe questioning the system as well yes exactly people are going for they are in fact question the system and they're getting tired of being crushed for thirty years we've been witnessing a decline in the livingstone of the average working person in the united states people have been surviving through or trying to keep their livings to it mainly through a brawl right but that's gone i mean particularly with this from session people are suffering and they look at the scene of tax breaks for the rich and yet they're

being told they have to tighten their belts and this whole. nonsense about whether government as a title tighten its belt is really ridiculous because what government is supposed to be. providing protection for the average person the people that are not succeeding with the goodness of the rules of government too that's why would happening now is amazing that people just think or know harriet i'm going to give you the last word the folks said that you're speaking to are they sort of questioning the system as well as some of those people that are in the state capital and again are out on the streets and have been for so many days now i mean yes i think a lot of people are nicely with bill purpose this is not about money it is about a change in the ground for our and i think our president and the way that the people inside of the capital of the people outside of the top capital been treated today and yesterday and in the days leading up to that i mean we were being squeezed and squeezed and more and more of our rights and our for our state capital

are being taken away there i am sitting at office right now and there are thousands of people chanting outside trying to get in the building and as i speak governor is giving his address and there this building is not sold there's no one is very few people in the are considering how many people are out to china to get it and i think that that's i mean that just shows that this is about a change in the balance of power i mean he knows that people will not stand for this and there was a charge to keep him out while just what a fascinating discussion thank you both for being here harry of blair rowan over in madison wisconsin for a stay safe there in both letter here in our d.c. studios thank you so much for q. and switching over to another major world power the united kingdom the people of britain are about to get program about who they are and how they live with the latest nationwide census just around the corner but now there's fear over who actually gets to see the sensitive information well that's probably because

a controversial u.s. defense corporation that's right the defense prison is in charge of collecting the data are you correspondent laura and it explains take a look at this. it senses time in the u.k. when every household in the country is asked to provide detailed information about their lives to the government so they can keep track of what's going on and who will be in charge of this sensitive data. yes it's controversial u.s. arms manufacture a lot need martin and campaigners ranging from religious groups to peace activists to data protection lobbyists are really against it on ethical grounds play on a number of oppressive regimes but also. the us heavily in the wars they fought in iraq and afghanistan opposed by the majority of people in britain even if supported by the british government firstly to worry in the sense of spain given to such

a company into their intelligence and surveillance wing which is not meant as a brow but secondly many people will object to participating in an activity which helps the profits of a company engaged in things which most people in the country don't approve hill to boycott the census despite the risk of prosecution he says he won't be alone look lead makes land mines and nuclear weapons and contracts out interrogation it wants a although it will be the u.k. arm that carries out the survey there's still a worry that the information could fall under the auspices of the us patriot act which compels personal data held by any company on systems in the us to be made available to government intelligence the office for national statistics which gauged lockheed martin maintains its taken measures to make sure u.s. authorities can't access the data. all dance across this it will be carried out in the u.k. leave will be held any point outside the u.k.

and the lockheed martin staff will have access to any personal sense of. all dancers the property of the and only u.k. you owned companies will have any access to personal data and it's that last point that raise red flags for data protection lobbyists who say that all the private information collected during your senses will be available to practically any organization that requests that any use under any statute. but only use by the security intelligence services for national security purposes any use for the pursuit of crime any use in pursuit of an e.u. community operation so any e.u. rules that information can be passed over so it's essentially any government use whatsoever the confidentiality has been abolished and u.k. government agencies don't exactly have a great track record when it comes to safeguarding information three years ago

a file containing secret terror related documents was left on a train more recently the national health service lost the medical records of tens of thousands of people thanks to lockheed martin's involvement in the census it would be hard for the u.s. authorities to lay their hands on that information if they wanted a tip when the census is used by the government to awards grants to local councils and recognize new groups in society a sense is run by lockheed martin raises grave concerns and question about ethics and international security if a lot of people boycott us that says it'll make it ineffective and a waste of money but the two hundred forty million dollar contracts amounts will go into looking at martins pocket anyway your emmett's r.t. . and that doesn't rest and i prefer more of the stories we covered go to our website as r.t. dot com slash usa and also get to check out our you tube page it's a duck class last partner and you notice our city.