hear that it's the sound of u.s. debt by rocketing deep into the oblivion so the several wars already on its plate can be one of us really afford one more we're going to take a look at what it costs to get the military machine. your viewers which are eligible were there your oh so where in the world is libya anyway sadly a tough question for many americans we're going to explore whether ignorance is bliss when it comes to war. and surviving a nuclear disaster so many in japan fear the worst is yet to come but for some of

those who have lived through the atomic bomb this crisis is all too familiar. good evening it's tuesday march twenty second five pm here in washington d.c. and we see cough and of you're watching our t.v. . now there are plenty of concerns that americans may have about the intervention in libya but a time one belt tightening as all the domestic political rage writing checks for a war that's half a world away has raised a lot of questions about our budget priorities are to florida lister has more on the cost of war. one to blunt point five billion dollars the reported cost of this united states tomahawk missile launched into libya. it's only been a few days into operation odyssey dawn and already the cost of this environment

from sea and air are skyrocketing. the price of day one alone. more than one hundred million dollars in the first two hours they fired one hundred ten cruise missiles so so right there thousands of teachers of course could be paid for coming at a time when he chairs not to mention other public workers are fighting to keep their livelihoods close to ten percent of people are unemployed and the country faces fourteen trillion dollars national debt the u.s. has already committed trillions to ongoing wars in afghanistan. as well as iraq. get despite all this has moved to the helm of this international intervention but can the country of toward getting involved again the united states clearly doesn't have money for this we will end up taking money from other important programs

domestically and other lawmakers locked in a constant debate over u.s. money problems are going public it's a strange time in which almost all of our and rational days are spent talking about budget deficits rageous problems and young at the same time that all of this passes which is a very expensive operation this mission was led by the united nations but quickly the united states has emerged at the forefront that you have to one. there was so many cars that day what is justifying this role for the u.s. despite claims from the top of the humanitarian intervention people from the streets. now to the condit don't buy it the u.s. mission is to dock it from having any influence on oil price peak oil expert michael rupert says the real reason for the bloodshed all boils down to the one point five million barrels of oil a day coming from libya which the west simply cannot afford to lose you can't take

any supply out and not expect the price to go up dramatically for everybody on the planet but not everyone taking a hit in the pocket conflict is good for some of the most powerful u.s. corporations and military contractors they have made literally super profits spectacular profits off of the wars in iraq and afghanistan so it won't be any different in terms of the war in libya guarding a story of them destroying military equipment and in libya opens up markets for more american british and french arms sales in the world just to find perhaps for some who have benefited a war that adds to the tool other conflicts have taken on the u.s. economy and reputation in the world we will spend at least a half a trillion dollars right now in afghanistan and no libyan the money we're spending it for the incursions into pakistan the united states has to start focusing on things here at home otherwise we not only be broke but we have the rest of the

world angry at us the price some believe is too high for america to pay more in the third party. ok let's recap this whole thing we're already fighting two wars in iraq and afghanistan we have two other wars that we don't like to talk about but it doesn't mean they're not happening in yemen and pakistan and to add insult to injury our latest wartime adventure kicks off on the eighth anniversary of the invasion of iraq. now regardless of what nice little label you slap on our involvement in libya this is a war american troops american bombs american jets and american tax dollars are being spent on a country that most of us probably couldn't find on a map and more on that in just a second but no public discourse was held there was no congressional debate on why we're going in there in the first place and i've been looking around as far as i can tell no one seems to have a clue about how the heck we're kind of getting out and then of course there's that's we don't have any money pouring forty cents for every dollar we spend in

washington is unsustainable we are out of money that's what we're going to borrow from china are. broke and we don't have the money i mean everybody is already talking about our debt our deficit why would we want to add to it are you joining me for more on this is derek political director at brave new foundation so derek which is it are we broke or what. well we've got money i think that's what this is venture in libya shows it's just that we don't have the right priorities as you pointed out in your earlier segment that first day of the war in libya cost us our hundred million dollars at least and you're hearing here in the united states that we're going to have to live with draconian cuts to basic services that keep people from falling through the cracks so it's very clear to me at least that we have plenty of money in the united states when it meets the priorities of our policymakers just numb for the people on a country well like comedian jon stewart that it probably in a lot funnier way than i ever can you can't fire tomahawk missiles and teachers at the same time but as you know it's undercut the whole narrative that we keep

hearing in washington about how we're broke or appropriate broke when we suddenly can find money for conflicts. but i think just through actually coming out of backwards a little bit you actually can fire tomahawk missiles and fire teachers at the same time in fact here in texas i spoke about this on one of your past segments that my wife is a teacher here in texas and she's been caught in the way off so it's absolutely true that we have plenty of money for things like war for companies like lockheed martin and raytheon which makes the tamad cruise missile we just don't have anything to educate our children apparently and i think that points out just a broader problem in american political system that our leaders aren't hearing us when we're telling them things like most likely voters want out of afghanistan for instance now what do you think accounts for the fact that we chose libya obviously we've been hearing this term humanitarian crisis right but i mean libya is not the only place in the world where there are people who need help perhaps in overcoming whatever leaders they have in power. absolutely and you know i don't want to deny

that there are folks who back a no fly zone who have good intentions or are going in this in good faith but i think if you look at the contrast between what we're doing in libya and what we're not doing in places like bahrain or yemen or other places it's very clear that the determinant here is whether there's a u.s. national security interest involved with oil prices and or reserves i mean that's if you just look at it and that's just got to be what it is senator webb said as much in his recent interviews that this has much more to do with where the oil is than where the humanitarian crises are and congressman john mark is that the same thing that i have to ask when we keep hearing about this whole war for oil debate and like i asked my previous guest we heard the same exact justification in the buildup to the war in iraq what we've learned from the debacle in iraq is that invading a country and using heavy air force and getting our troops on the ground which thankfully we're not doing in libya yet doesn't necessarily mean that we're going to have access or cheaper oil somehow or there's absolutely sure i mean the iraq war one of the chief costs of that war to the u.s.

economy was the damage that it did by causing oil prices to go through the roof and if you look at places like afghanistan where there's not significant oil reserves even being in that country is costing four hundred dollars per tank of gas for the u.s. military so it increases the demand for oil was drives up you know the price for it but it was this broader concern with the united states trying to find what it amounts to a military solution to every part problem around the world and we just can't sustain that on the budget that they're telling us we have to live in the united states now what do you make of this sort of let i guess in the obama administration because i'm sure if they were president bush going into libya the left would be up in arms and yet you have you know a lot of folks that sort of cut their teeth on the bosnian crisis where they suddenly discovered that there's such a thing as so-called humanitarian award is right so you don't have as much of the criticism from the left at this conflict because obama really is selling it under these humanitarian auspices what do you make of that great. well i think that's a problem in the way americans think about bombs in general i mean we kind of think

that our missiles help humanitarian situations but i mean if you think about the iraq war we keep bringing it up in the first fifty so-called persistent strikes in the iraq war none of them hit their intended target and i don't think that's something that we're thinking about when we're talking about helping with missiles those missiles are only as good as the intelligence so the intelligence that targets them or the people to target them where the people we're working with on the ground to locate those targets and so this idea that you can drop a bomb in a place where there's a mix of civilian and military in place moves and not kill people that are innocent inside the conflict is just it's a fantasy and it's something that drives this warped view that americans have about military force being something they can't help rather than its basic function which is to destroy the enemies of the united states but why haven't we learned our lesson in iraq i mean there's folks like yourself there is you know the organization that you represent i mean there are so many people out there trying to bring that message out on a daily level and we fill don't seem to have any sort of understanding of the

lessons that we should have learned in those other conflicts will i make three points in response to that the first is that the american people are very cognizant of the disconnect between whether war helps i mean most americans want us to cut military spending far we are not far before we cut things like social security and medicare and second is that unfortunately inside washington there's this bubble that's created there lionizes the use of military force as this quote unquote greatest force for good in the world in quote and finally there's a lot of money in making war one of the most powerful lobbies inside washington d.c. is the defense contractor lobby and those places have disseminated there are no new factories and places where they have people working on the weapons throughout every congressional district in the united states so there's there's a lot of pressure on members of congress to say yes to things that send money to companies that are making weapons in their district right where you brought up american. and sort of this perception that we have this greatest force for good in the world and i want to i want to play a little piece that one of our reporters killing four dead where she actually went

to the streets and asked the folks everyday americans what they thought of the conflict in libya and to maybe place it on the map take a look we're here outside the white house in washington d.c. asking people where the united states is currently bonnett and even had a chance to talk to the president himself sure libya. i'm not green is your friend and if i'm correct to say there is that correct. me on the spot here. no to be honest with you it's after here in africa. right there maybe a really good beer will be here live you know. like here. on. tunisia. libya is next door trees it yeah.

yeah yeah right here in washington d.c. baby. it's more around here yes by the united states and libya. moammar gadhafi is. a bad man because gadhafi the very bad man and you agree with the president well i am the president we're there to. make sure they're cut off is taken out of power trying to get rid of gadhafi. trouble trying to rid of gadhafi. down the papers like move right now libya is right there here and why do you think we're in libya. well there's they're in civil war right you know so but i'm not sure exactly why we're there it's really sad the congress gave themselves a weekend off so that the president could go ahead and declare this war you know what do you know funny thing i have no idea. i really couldn't answer because i

have not read the paper and vacation you know i haven't watched the news here today . we didn't know what do they. now. let me out let me live yeah you'll probably. hear us all the u.k. i particularly on the afghanistan right now because the reaction you're going to be whatever the commander in chief tells them to next go. the lords and you're from the congo right would you like the united states is how the midwives libya get help but what i would. call more. how i get it will be admitting i have no idea. that were you not really and i'm in favor of whatever the commander in chief has made his decision to do i'm a citizen somebody who would you consider bombing in saudi arabia bahrain or yemen if they're abusing their own people once again step by step step by. so derek are

you surprised i mean one lady said we need to go and mexico another guy was like well if obama first then we got to do it i mean what's your reaction to this this is the american born it's pretty shocking i think it shows how far removed we've come from the idea of just defending our nation when it's under attack to be sort of adventures overseas that i think would shock you sounding college pretty terribly i mean if people can't point we're libby is on the map i mean i don't want to make the statement too strong it's a pretty good indicator the u.s. national security interests might not be tied up so tightly in that country on the other side of the planet right either that or we can do a good enough job of explaining it to our own people now there's not just confusion among the american people it seems like there's also a lot of confusion about our actual mission in afghanistan among the lawmakers that are supposed to be there in force and the policy is now i want to bring up something that senator john mccain said when he was asked about what what he thinks that happen if what if the outcome is i don't know al qaeda rises up in libya who

are the actual rebels and what will the government look like and this was his response take a listen. he was approved unfortunately he has the blood of american society his hands so yeah every single time we can answer a question it seems like well that guy is the bad guys that we got to get rid of him and there we go i mean what does that say to you. well there are bad guys all over the planet there are beggars in the united states but the problem with the way that the united states approached this is if you look at the messaging coming from the administration it's not clear if we're there to get rid of gadhafi or if it's just to force it or fly zone or it's to attack any and all emplacements that might threaten civilians and the u.n. resolution is very specific but it's not clear that within the administration there's clearly either in their internal understanding of what they're doing or in their messaging to the public and that's why frankly a lot of those people on the street couldn't tell you what we're doing in libya but you know another reason that shouldn't get lost in our conversation is maybe if we weren't spending so much money lobbing bombs overseas and spending more money on

education here in the united states those people might be able to find living on a map and that's an excellent point no you know you bring up this topic of methadone and i do want to point out i mean obama has been very very good in everyone the administration has been harping this whole point of this is an international coalition in france is leading this big international group now winds to a few years back france was seen as this like you know huge enemy of the united states we renamed our french fries to freedom fries and a congress since when did france become you know this big power that we can suddenly hide behind. well i mean it's i'm glad you brought for instance because the relations between the united states france britain and the other members of the so-called coalition of the willing you're really show you how poorly planned this operation is right now france and the united states and britain are in a dispute a kind of testy dispute actually over what the next phase of the commanding control looks like in a sop aeration france doesn't want nato to have control great britain in the united states are insisting upon it our ally turkey is insisting that just the united

nations be the umbrella organization for this so you can tell that this is a very slap shot quickly put together ill thought out policy in every one of those soft spots in when folks can't answer the tough questions like that is a place that could sink us further in further into an extended conflict and we've got to answer those questions but overall it's clear that u.s. national security interests aren't tied up i'm not in this to justify a hundred million dollar a day excursion to at least one hundred million dollars they're going to take a game of hot potato that we think could be losing now we're almost out of time but what do you think is the best earth an area outcome how long do you personally think that we're going to be involved in libya honestly i couldn't answer that question but i think any amount of time at this point is too long we're in danger of becoming stuck in yet a third war in the arab world or the muslim world and every time one of those missiles fall there is a chance that it's going to kill civilians and when that starts happening and it will happen eventually nobody's perfect that is going to risk

a backlash that could undermine everything the united states is trying to do around the world in the relations that we're trying to build with the muslim world and i think it's a disaster waiting to happen that are waiting to happen thank you so much that a scare crow political director of brain films that asian now let's turn to some of the developments on the ground in libya our correspondent paula here is in the capital of tripoli interpret in front of the destruction that we've just been talking about that's been caused by the latest airstrikes. well in the latest coalition air strikes to libyan naval bases and to libyan airports were hit we're hearing from the government spokesperson is going to see him here in tripoli and number of people were killed in what he says was a civilian airport in the city of sirte and certainly state television here has been reporting nonstop that many people have been killed many people have been injured in these latest strikes rebel leaders in the east of the country have been meeting with members of representatives of the united nations in the city of to brooke and there they are discussing humanitarian concerns and the latest

humanitarian efforts there was a cease fire and non-student by the government on sunday but this seemingly continues to be ignored on the ground as intensive fighting continues for government in three cities in the city of zen town in the waist and there we're being told the government troops continue to bombard the town in the city of misrata for the fourth consecutive day government troops have surrounded the town and they are stopping the supply of all water fuel and electricity to residents inside and then in the city of baghdad bureau which is the next largest city after the rebel stronghold city of benghazi where we've been told they government troops continue to ambush that is intensifying and the latest word we have is a ripple fighters are advancing from benghazi to actually be able to try and help become raids and follow fighters there now overnight here in the capital city of tripoli there were major explosions most of them came from the south of the city there was a lot of smoke in the skies that is where the compound of gadhafi is situated it

has already been hit before a three story building near the controls the command and control center for his operations was we were told really destroyed but certainly here for several hours throughout the night monday it was anti aircraft fire canada is the latest to send for fighter jets we understand that they have flown over libya but they haven't actually as of your participated in any operations they've also seemed to refueling tanks here qatar has seemed. six fighter jets they have landed in crete the british typhoon fighters have also participated in the first ever combat mission that took place on monday and we've been told that they will be a rather meeting of the united nations security council that will be held this coming thursday to discuss these latest developments and the latest operations on the ground what is also sending alarm bells is that we are hearing from rebel leaders as they advance westwards to try and recapture some of the towns and some of the cities that they've lost they're calling the international community for more coverage so people are saying we're just heimdall those are just how long is

the international community to keep going to provide this in a cupboard and what will be the continuous climb of civilians more people on the ground becoming increasingly alarmed that innocent people are going to be killed all right that was r.t. correspondent paula slayer reporting from tripoli in libya. and from fighting to libya to the devastation that continues to rock japan reports coming out of that country indicate that radiation may still be leaking into the air and of course not surprisingly a lot of people are still worried about the safety of their food and water supplies and all of this as the country continues to be rocked by massive aftershocks now of course when we talk about japan we do have to remember the other nuclear disaster affected that nation for us i'm talking about the atomic bombs that fell over hiroshima and nagasaki there are two as i were bennett is in the other sarky and you follow the following report this man has been on the scars of nuclear disaster for most of his life as a resident of nagasaki you share your malarky has had liver and kidney problems

since he was thirty five he's already beaten cancer twice every time. he feels it could be his last battle. you sure are watches events unfold at fukushima fearing the true nature of the disaster is yet to show itself and you will find that the results of the contamination will just end off the event of a handed down from generation to generation i have four daughters the first to have another has breast cancer and for the results of a disaster will be shown in generations to come. you should know was just eleven when the bomb was dropped he survived the blast and was exposed to lethal levels of radiation on his two trips to the hypocenter first to find his father then to bury him despite everything he's pro-nuclear power but still thinks fleeing from from is

the wise thing to do he couldn't be i don't think the public or the government are overreacting in this situation i think people must take all precautionary measures they can to avoid the worst for the rest of the night gets psyche the stands today had to be built from scratch eleven square kilometers were jews to dust the cloud of its tragic past still hangs over the city its residents though know what it means to suffer and are willing to help those in need members of the international volunteer organization the lion's club here collecting for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami everyone's desperate she gave me donations already ten times higher than normal. we have a case of something happens in our nation we call it the nation that i need help each other especially the people and i guess i am very very sensitive to comic power so we are very worried about what happens if you are in and we want to help

out and only every way it sounded like a sack it is a oriel for the seventy five thousand died when atomic bomb was dropped here this one mark that exact moment now the city will forever serve as a reminder of the destructive potential of nuclear power and those here are now praying that for. a rabbit in the same way that a sucky transformation has been remarkable ground zero is unrecognizable the city would escape any radiation from a meltdown at fukushima but there is a nuclear plant close by and the incident has left residents living in fear. of the but. people. are very sensitive to the incident. we've never experienced such a devastating accident before and i think everyone is now free things could happen again i was in the street. before but now because i can see it snow and you. know this memorial represents the craze by so many off the explosion the

basin's tranquility a far cry from the destruction wrought by the tsunami has done its tonnage its place reminds us the ripples from a radioactive disaster extends for generations often it's. just something so much that that country has been through now in the wake of the nuclear crisis that japan underwent are american scared of perhaps a similar sort of disaster happening right here on our soil laurie harvest of the resident dog that took this very question to the streets. as japan struggles with a nuclear crisis are you concerned about the stability of nuclear facilities near you this week let's talk about that we are. so we feel this cold not a nuclear plant i mean would. you like if they should open. across

the river from a nuclear power plant virginia. it's a concern certainly it's better than doing a lot of tax dollars on a new energy source there's something about you know it's like this you know you look at so. if a report came out tomorrow that. cancer people put down. so people would take to nuclear energy but then work people are really interested in you know certain. different kinds of alternative energy when you think about those. well i hope until enough companies put enough money into the research you know there's enough research dollars it's not going to be a viable alternative and what pays for those tax dollars right correct so if we stop spending money on war we can start spending money on energy getting that would never happen. hopefully my lifetime i find it amazing the amount of energy what's being used here in error codes in light specifically around times square so i think

people are. maybe a bit too much use to use loads and loads of energy so it's it's it's going to be quite hard to get them to use. to spend more on green energy because they're going to be more expensive the you support nuclear energy you know when a well because it's a disaster i think you think it's a disaster waiting to happen absolutely so what should we do because we consume a lot of an original idea i have no clue i thought if you don't know then how can we rule out nuclear energy how can you buy it so many people so afraid of nuclear energy i don't know that this is happening right now but most plans are pretty safe sure i think it centers on people always taken the worst and maybe that's a reaction from nine eleven even with people always think that things can get bad so i think there's an armageddon feeling do you support nuclear energy. you know honestly it's going to be

a pretty boring answer but i haven't really thought from like you about it if you think people do think a lot about their energy source or do they kind of take it for granted i would say most people probably like me they just they don't think about it you know i mean i can make out.