of ridding the world from terrorists lawrence wilkerson a former u.s. official in the administration of george w. bush told r.t. that america thinks its exceptional and abuses the power no longer has. i. after nine eleven america did not just go after those who perpetrated that tragic vicious attack it only showed a campaign on nations that had nothing to do with nine eleven we're talking about iraq where hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians have died since two thousand and three america's been in constant war since nine eleven in different countries are we talking about one of the most profound overreactions in military history to talk about that i'm joined by colonel lawrence wilkerson whose service call in powell as chief of staff colin powell secretary of state under george w. bush colonel wilkerson thank you so much for joining me thanks for having me more than six thousand american servicemen have died in the last decade of war spawned

by the nine eleven attack. tragedy worth remembering and knowing no doubt but why in all those speeches delivered by american officials i never hear about hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians dead in the wars waged by the united states and other countries like iraq as a collective entity we seem to think were exceptional and so exceptional that we don't have to think about other people with as i said that's a position you can maintain as long as you are as powerful as we were powerful as rome in its day post world war two but we're no longer that powerful in our powerful recedes even as we speak here today some of the people who were at the helm back then are now writing books saying everything they did was right including guantanamo including everything else i'm talking about dick cheney first of all president george w. bush and at the same time they're all blaming each other for something why all this

confusion and should one be worried about the general picture that's being created of the last decade of war because they're all trying to blame each other and trying to get out of some of the blame and yes we should be. and why are they trying to blame each other let's let's face a factor for a moment that most americans don't even think about. nine eleven happened when george w. bush and dick cheney's what. they allowed the greatest killing of americans on american territory since florida. a lot of their rhetoric and aggressive actions post nine eleven was to hide that fact and also to keep it from happening again because if it had happened again they probably would have been impeached on the spot thrown out of office so we spent four trillion dollars to counter an attack by bin laden's a lhari that cost maybe half a million that's not very cost effective that's really bad it's bad business so you have to understand that first of all about the bush cheney administration the

second thing you have to understand i think is that we have made a cottage industry if not a much more than a cottage industry out of the what my former boss colin powell has called the terrorist industrial complex lots of people are making lots of money off of this so-called global war on terror you're saying that you had lots of doubts about building this case for war in iraq was it possible that some point. to stand up and say no we have doubts we're not writing this speech where we're out of it we all did key points in the preparation of cold piles presentation on some of those occasions george tenet and his deputy john mclaughlin said ok ok we'll it's wrote out of the cia head of the cia and the director of central intelligence at the time . will throw that out and they threw it out the real essence of that presentation that they preserved they being george tenet and john mclaughlin and i think on or some strong influence from the vice president's office they preserved and that was

the mobile biological laboratories that was the active nuclear program as symbolized by the aluminum tubes and it was the existing chemical stocks and. next in this hard connections between al qaeda and baghdad those were the real faults of the ads in that briefing that george tenet and john mclaughlin the representatives of not just the u.s. intelligence community but of israel finance britain jordan and a host of others who were feeding intelligence into us. that's what they said was sacrosanct they said that is the case that is what saddam hussein is doing only later did we learn that even those elements of his presentation were composed of half truths false woods even and i think today after doing more research outright lies lies created in the defense department under undersecretary of defense for

policy doug feith and his special iraq team why and allies created in the vice president why in your opinion because i wanted for the same reason that in the summer of two thousand and two i have discovered that b. emphasis on enhanced interrogation techniques changed suddenly from being to try and find out if another attack were coming after all a lot of time expired for another attack or a coming it would have come. in the summer of two thousand and two it shifted suddenly to enhanced interrogation in order to find out if baghdad had contacts with al qaida so we were actually torturing people not under the so-called smoking gun argument that we might have another attack so it was justified we were torturing people so we could attack iraq and convince the american people we should do so that's how drastic it got now ask me why they want to go to war with iraq and i'll give you a half a dozen answers if it's douglas feith that's protection of israel if it's paul

wolfowitz the deputy secretary of defense it's a little bit of israel it's a little bit of oil and it's a little bit of bringing peace and democracy and freedom to the middle east if it's george bush who i fear the nexus between al qaida and baghdad which cheney had convinced him of i'm sure george tenet had convinced him of it george tenet didn't think there was that big a nexus. with dick cheney i think it was all iraq right now is sitting on probably two hundred billion barrels maybe three hundred billion barrels that's a rx on oil report that surpasses the. the radio. if iraq is sitting on three hundred billion barrels of oil if that turns out to be true it will be more than saudi arabia now you know why dick cheney went to war in iraq it also was the low hanging fruit north korea was far more dangerous but too difficult one hundred thousand casualties were predicted by the pentagon on both sides seoul would be destroyed iran was too difficult seventy million people not fractured like the

iraqis and the sunni and shia christian and other so the low hanging fruit was a right to just use the moment in the wake of nine eleven they use the moment and in the wake of nine eleven to divert from afghanistan our real target should have been our real target and go to iraq that's exactly what they did you said they would testify if they put someone like dick cheney on trial and out what would you accuse them off i think he's already done it no one needs to accuse him of anything he has admitted publicly it is on videotape that he condoned waterboarding that he would still waterboard then he does not believe waterboarding is torture waterboarding is torture there is a fact ok yes the man's guilty but they're saying they did it in the best interest of their country it seems to be the ultimate reasoning which can't be confronted what would you say to that i say that the in never justifies the means. and the question is does the lesser evil ever justify itself because it prevents

a greater evil there are some real problems with that argument the logical problems as well as philosophical and what i would call value laden problems first is you can never know a hypothetical you never know if your lesser evil action actually prevented the greater evil big cheney spends hours on television and elsewhere and in this book trying to say that his actions prevented a greater evil another attack on the united states and so forth well that's his interpretation my interpretation of the bureaucracy which is probably far better than his because i was buried in it i heard people talking about it every day so bottom line is i know what dick cheney doesn't know because he was in the ivory palace and he can't no horse holders surrounded cheney the people who surrounded cheney or david addington and john hannah and scooter libby and they tell dick cheney what dick cheney wants to hear george tenet told dick cheney what dick cheney wanted to hear oh yes it's working mr vice president we're getting great

information and we're stopping terrorist attacks that is utter bull they didn't stop anything through inherent in hance interrogation techniques i have that from some of the most respected people in the f.b.i. and the intelligence community so i can't fault big cheney for not knowing the truth because he couldn't know the truth you strap he's trapped in his own military but the truth is the methods don't work and they rebound to your discredit and they recruit as you said for your enemy dick cheney is asked what would happen if an american were captured in iran and what would happen if they waterboarding because they thought he was a threat to the state of iran and so forth he just skirted around the question what he really said was if you listen closely americans are better than anybody else in the world. americans shouldn't be waterboarding but anybody else we can waterboard especially if we're americans doing it that's essentially what dick cheney said now

here's the kicker about forty percent of america agrees with you poll you look at the polls that have been done about forty percent of america at any given time they think that americans have the right to torture other people and other people don't have the rights to torture americans for various reasons most seven think it's that way because we have a bigger gun that's why they think we can get away with it and do it because we have a bigger gun that's why i say the reckoning is coming the reckoning when we are just another country in the world and that day is coming it may not come in my lifetime but unfortunately i think it's coming in my children and my grandchildren's lifetime and this is going to be a hard time for washington because we no longer going to have the money where no are going to have the economic might we're no longer going to have the military might and so forth to say to the world we can torture you but you can't torture us

many say that america's response to nine eleven was one of the most profound overreactions in military history with your grave with that i think initially it was proportional it was rational it was fairly well supported in the international community and it was a sadness that yes the initial reaction what we should have done was gone to afghanistan as we did did what we did about six months later said ok here's your government karzai you've got it go ahead and run your country as best you can we'll give you economic and financial support from afar we're going home oh by the way footnote if you entertain terrorist in this country again will come back and do it again in what way could that overreaction backfire. i think it already has and this is a. change really that's happened since world war two it's been creeping up on us and now with libya it's here we have

a an executive power that is beyond any check by the people by the congress or by the courts for war we can go toward the drop of a coin it matters not that the obama administration and i have to say i voted for president obama it matters not that they have protested rather futilely and idiotically really that they were involved in hostilities that the war powers act was not relevant and so forth it certainly was any time you kill people for state purposes the war powers act is relevant and the constitution is relevant we've reached a point now where the present in the united states can kill people for state purposes any time he or she would feels the need james madison said very eloquently when you compile combined the power to initiate war with the power to execute it you have achieved tyranny that is a very profoundly worrying situation in this that's happened in this country.

to terrorist attacks. since. the. vision of a. look back at nine eleven to see.

today's news in this week's top stories in our t.v. u.s. commemorates its worst terrorist attack that divided the world the nine eleven assault ten years ago prompted america to launch a policing mission that many experts claim has made the world more dangerous. russia bids farewell to the players of a top national ice hockey team who perished in a plane crash the jet went down shortly after taking off in the us level region killing forty three people on board. and moscow was to send a fact finding mission to syria to get first set information about the crisis there this as russia's president medvedev refuses to take sides in the conflict saying that talks are the only way to peace. on the back with more in fifteen minutes but first a sports update from the tosh. you

know what she is porous news live in our jeanne thanks for joining us the headlines . richard branson to be open decided a repeat of the twentieth and final meanwhile samantha saucer and serena williams will do battle for the ladies' title at train heat flushing meadows. in our mall school strong premier league leaders and safety rivals call on you away from home and second seeded zeitz in pittsburgh also lose on saturday. and the last two by pamela brown and dignitaries play their respects to be looking at sea ice hockey players were killed in a plane crash this week. let's begin with the latest from flushing meadows was there in a williams knocked out carolyn was knocking the u.s. open semifinal the american through to the championship decided now with these winning six two six four over the top seed meanwhile samantha styles are advanced to her second career grand slam final in the earlier clash the australian beating

surprise package care been in the rain delayed match style so stop it strongly taking the press by six games to be unseated germany pulled back to the level of a game and in fact textile the decider was one sided though with style so running away five love and securing a six three two six six two win to reach the final is now aiming to become the fastest woman want to win a major since dawn's nineteen eighteen wimbledon victory. to the french very. noisy now but it take it in now i'm just happy i'm giving myself another two to be see just go out there and you know use a little bit of that experience from last year really go after it and see what i can do but it would be. the major highlight of my career. all the men. djokovic defeated georgia federer in the second meeting of the season the match went to a full five sets out with a joker coming from two sets to love down and saving too much boy in state pension

to get through six seven full six six three six two seven five five time when a federal law said the same stage into the same man at last year's u.s. open while the top seeded is hoping for his the grand slam title in twenty eleven and lo. it's always important to. be called to stay positive and to believe to believe that you can win i mean since you're already in the fifth said he's sorry for the marriage it's only one breaker difference so i may. as well. so only rafael nadal now stands between djokovic. defeating the full seeded and. do three six six two in the second semi once again denying the scots hopes of a major success the dull versus jock which will be a rematch of last year's model one and a battle between the world stopped to play as the men's decide that will be played on monday. of football and south as they saw the top four russian sides in action

as the day started with a shock defeat moscow has to cross they did not mind that first match without a national team goalkeeper i can feel if he picked up a serious knee injury a fortnight to go and the absence was a glaring one opened for the visitors thirty six minutes in there more misery was them hey don't say scholars they need to go instead of be chipped to go just three minutes later gorani the man making need to zero two does not mean. it has to pass remains all that seasonally for the rest of the game. this taking advantage of it made way through the second half. cool nike and late substitute alexander cup warning will drowned out the formula upset on the stroke of full time. i. de force needs and did as big as well he could have ended the day on top of a had avoided defeat that look a mighty but it was beyond them as men throwing away

a two goal lead to lose four to don colossal bitch and alexander have been caught up both striving with us out the kids in need in the driving seat but local full back in the second summer signing big that i be you know launching become big just after the break and now the new iraq will fully pick a sado tide proceedings right on the alamo. and yet one more man who's just started your style of looking might save money is left to make the difference because he's begging a brace within thirty minutes to complete the full two spring to look mighty. or be mean well have slipped from full stiff if after a disappointing three one loss at a snub up you see sound open for that has eight minutes in flowing handball in the box there are many international easily putting the ball away now straight to the second half where the hosting double delayed throw alexander i'm useless as a five home after a free kick the brass not show pulled one back from this spot with four minutes to

go giving visitors a hope for a draw being keeper sygate music of then joined his team mates up from hoping to score in the dying minutes father has managed to deal with that threat to enjoy the new brocoli it's a big score beyond doubt and injury time hitting an empty net side to give the premier league new boys a well deserved three one victory over former russian champions. and there are four games scheduled for sunday spotlight most schools are already in that shot and wait till i'm caught in the adam and it's neil neil at half times then elsewhere second from last spot. food chain places that are still rock bottom crazy and serve it up welcome to i while launching take on bold and usually not got a. new. you know i didn't much to say to how the only english sides i have kept one hundred record in england. is

a alex ferguson's man demolished walton on the road five nail while the sky blue scored three against wigan elsewhere chelsea and also the narrow windows while they were down to still have to nail and everton and aston villa. now look and have pulled out of hell until next season it was expected that all the teams would give players to the great stricken team but local officials say they will take that one year break now sunday sell thousands of people come out to pay their last respects to the players often is laid out in the team's home or either following wednesday's crash which occurred just off to take all. points of the forty five people on board just to survive the crew they are in a critical condition in hospital now around thirty five thousand mourners came to the stadium meanwhile the open golf has been renamed the look of my tea cup and memory of the dad's job you will be contested on monday between the champions to

live up to your live and last is runners up. local coach. was agreed to retire and managed to claw game his own tribute. to the boys have accomplished a lot in the world. and mourning. and. friends friends trying to leave through time at least in some way well remember them always. irreplaceable. now australia has started a stall near there are beating heavy underdogs in sunday's clash the game will start at six six the top time to call the world is called twenty six amounts on points in the second period great golf for one of the tournament favorites and join in russia's pool scene where i learned the u.s. teams went into sound and then the late they exchanged full details africa fold back to begin their title defense on the high notes of the springboks speeding's

wales by one point seventeen sixteen thanks to the late troy and a conversion. over to boxing now where defended his w.b.c. heavy weight title by beating polish contender thomas make on sound as a knights fourteen year old ukrainian edging his opponent with a technical locality in the town proud with a win goal has extended his record to forty three a victorious four two bills by with just two defeats claiming off to the ballot that he's next goal will be finding britain david he was lost to the pallies younger brother blood this year. in formula one defending champion sebastian vettel has secured his staff of the season ahead of the talent grand prix championships gemini's are waiting until late told the ponce to sign moving in front of mclaren steal lewis hamilton and jenson button twice champion for nadal also will solve a second row for ferrari red bull had never before claimed phone nor a podium finish and the story more as

a track tell us he may well have now secured polls for each of the thirteen races so far this season reno's russian without a bit off or didn't have a bad day either with the sound of quick a stime but it is a bit tell who is the man with the race due to take off in just over one hour. and finally ukraine's big board it is sure one individual gold the pentathlon world championships here in moscow while the combined russian women's result are on them a team bronze medal and one quarter of reports. four out of seven are. ssion women qualified for the finals of the modern pentathlon world championship in moscow and judging from their opening performance it seems one of them might even get it placed on the podium you have a good fish nick over start of the second event with the best results from earlier fencing tournaments while her team partner you can see you know who to ask you know wasn't third swimming competition so both women relinquish their leading roles with which nicole was dropping to fourth and her asking are all the way down to

thirteenth. in the thirty events which is show jumping. and her horse made only one mistake and climbed up to third place going into the final phase which is running and shooting at that point she was the only russian left with a chance to claim a podium spots as her other teammates slipped away below thirty. become blind events which is a little similar to biathlon where athletes run a three thousand meter distance stoppages should it's our guess separated the cool headed from the rest though the russians result was enough to win an individual medal the fourth place finish still and that you have. a place on russia's olympic team. despite the fact that you've posted to personal best results and fans since women still can win the bronze this shows that we must been tough on is very competitive now and to win

a tournament an athlete must out to himself that certain mental will continue over the next few days with the men's women's and make steam relays still to come as well as the men's individual final. cost for of r.t. moscow that's the sport last fall's coming up until now stay tuned for the world weather update. the old. coot the latest in science and technology from the ground force and. we've got the future of covered.

please send this week's top stories on our t.v. the violent aftermath of nine eleven the world commemorates history's deadliest terrorist attack but criticism of washington's resulting war on terror refuses to go away. forever young russia bids farewell to the players of a top national ice hockey team who perished in a plane crash that killed forty three. in moscow is the son of a fact finding mission to syria as president medvedev refuses to take sides in the conflict saying that talks are the only way to peace. through pm here in the russian capital this is r t now it was the day that changed history americans of the world were shocked by the worst ever terrorist attack ten years.