remember. an iraq war veteran tells police in new york their job is to protect and serve not to beat and comfort spray his videos gone viral and he is speaking out and talk to him about his beef with the way protesters at occupy wall street have been treated by police. nearly nine years. america's war in iraq will be over. it may be over but is it mission accomplished as the commander in chief promises to withdraw all troops from iraq by the end of the year what is this need for the future there and are troops only leaving because iraqis leaders have told the u.s. it's overstated to welcome. what is. for external intervention and if you buy a bottle of nato. rebels in benghazi may not have been made before she broke the old joke. but one of them tomatoes original objective in libya to protect civilians

not to kill gadhafi gone with the libyan leader dead it will the new government be what these external forces had in mind. there's a bad state of civil liberties some of the strange to say some say is even worse than under the bush administration so a lot of former president sent prisoners to guantanamo bay where many were tortured is this president stepping up the game by skipping the torture and going straight for the kill. good evening it is friday october twenty first eight pm in washington d.c. i'm christine freeze out there watching our team. well today marks the end of week five of the occupy wall street protests and there are no signs this movement is slowing down in fact they continue to gain steam as more and more americans

sympathize with the movement today also a new group of protesters are taking a page from the occupy wall street handbook. this is what to look like in harlem today outside of the harlem police precinct people protesting the n.y.p.d. stop and frisk tactics of protesters led by karl dicks a spokesperson for the revolutionary communist party you see there also author and activist cornel west they say new york police practices are both racist and unfair r t was in the middle of the action when police decided to arrest the activist during these peaceful protests the video you see here police taking cornel west and karl dicks into custody along with about thirty other protesters now these protests come just two days before the annual national day of against police brutality a lot of light of course being shed on this issue of police brutality in the last few weeks because what we've seen at occupy wall street it's all the movement gain

support because people say what they're seeing is clearly unfair some even using that phrase screw us and we multiply but recently we saw one protester yell of police for several minutes angry about their treatment toward protesters and this wasn't just any protester this is sergeant mark thomas a former iraq war veteran who wore his camouflage and his medals and gave police a little piece of his mind. and you know usually. you do like. this video has gone viral on you tube with nearly two million hits and we're joined

now by sergeant smart honest as in our new york city health. sergeant thomas was watching that video you look angry or shouting and it seems though like police are listening what made you so angry. you don't christine romans were made me angry was. to see the police her norm. i haven't seen or you know become violent with the police or you know or you know or dangerous to anybody else that was in the populace these were peaceful protesters as you mentioned on this was one of the reasons that the occupy wall street movement got so much coverage and really gained in support because of what we saw police using their batons police using pepper spray in this video that we've seen on you tube you're saying if you want a fight go to iraq go to afghanistan what do you mean by the us. well what i meant

by it was that you know this country has a on going war that you know i don't necessarily agree with i don't agree with actually. you know to hurt the citizens that you swear to protect you know is this kind of you know a contradiction to the oath they should take as you know a police officer to you know be courteous and professional and sort of a contrast of course with what you were dealing with tell us a little bit about your service i know that you were i believe in fallujah in iraq and also you come from a long line of military people in your family just crossed generations talk a little bit about this i mean you. and your parents your grandparents have been fighting for freedom put that into perspective with what you have seen in new york on all i was a process. my mother she she did twenty years in the military. i grew up on military bases and you know all across the united states and

my grandfather he was a director of veterans affairs in new york city my great grandfather was a navy cook in world war two you know he places criminalisation. so i've lived all over the world all over the country you know because of my parents you know being in the military so i've always had you know. pride in my country and what we are you know i've always thought that america was the greatest country in the world and the constitution that we have is you know one of the best. as i served in iraq i started you know saying things that you know that were unjust as far as you know why we were there what we were doing there we were there to win the hearts and minds i was involved in a riot in iraq with the local populace to rocks at us and after. that iraq on was done we didn't you know go in the crowd and start beating and arresting people so to come back to my own country and see the police doing this to people i

went to iraq to protect you know was you know a big contradiction in you know i'm not going to stand for it my family you know is totally supportive of what i'm doing in this whole movement because you know they serve you know over sixty plus years in the military you know they're still struggling to get. into you know make ends meet and you know in this economy and you know that a lot of people are saying you know they're not so for a line i don't understand i can't see how sixty plus years in the military is not a lie so you know as a part of the ninety nine percent you know i think it's my duty as a leader and you know as somebody who you know chose to protect and serve this country you know continue my job you know it's not a. i take it lightly and stop once i left the marine corps some really interesting things you said there first of all being in iraq having people actually threaten

your safety and you not lashing out at them and coming back and seeing this behavior by police has got to be frustrating i let me ask you because i watched this video a few times and. and you kind of i looked in the police's eye the police officers eyes and look at their faces their only listening it seems like they're thinking about what you're saying take us back to that day what was the reaction by these police officers who were standing around and you know were they digesting what you were saying from my personal opinion i believe that it was a make sure. you know not understanding what to do and then you know they started understanding what i was saying i think it's not a resonating with them that you know they really do have a duty and that doesn't give them you know the right to hurt hurt these people and i think that it took a person like most of you know who has led in and has been through the trials and

tribulations of war and understands what it would have feels like to be in a you know actual riot where people don't like you you know it to speak out of against i think more veterans around the united states you know from out in not even the united states that this is a global you know they should go out and help these protesters and you know give them a voice certainly you look nothing like the dirty hippies we keep hearing are part of this movement on wall street and on main streets around the country i want to ask you today an important announcement came down of course by president obama that all u.s. troops will be leaving iraq by the end of this country when you heard that today. at the end of year when you hear that today what was your reaction. well i just heard the news a few hours ago i was in the maze and i applaud president obama in doing that we should have been going along time ago i hope he decides to stop the war in

afghanistan or other countries that we're involved in because. coming home to america i don't see how you know the war has changed you know our way of life the economy is not better you know people's attitudes about the wars and. it just doesn't make any sense to you know continue losing innocent you know you know america's youth you know the put us in a little bit of perspective for me of course one of the main demands of a main protest by people on occupy wall street is that this system change you have served your country you said your parents have served this country and this struggle is hitting you personally in vats things are not easy for you you're having trouble finding a job the war in iraq i be ending for real this time to talk about what you see ahead in this country and what you really think needs to change especially in light of some of those things you were yelling at occupy wall street. well what i feel about is that every american has something that they feel you know is wrong with

the government and we're all right that's why there's no one clear measures to occupy wall street movement which is global because we globally we all have issues with the one percent you know you know destroying the world for the rest of us so you know this is the this is our opportunity to voice you know our opinions. people need to take this opportunity and go support their local occupation because we can't leave it into the hands of senators and congressmen or you know long government officials to just one day wake up and fix everything we have to use our voices everything that you feel about what's going on with your government is right and you need to go out and voice it without you going down and supporting you will never be heard you people will continue to. control our lives they control the air we breathe the water we drink and we need to have a say in that and without them going down the support we will never have

a say so but the biggest thing that i would say that i feel is that the people that actually you know put their blood sweat and tears into this country need to be the ones that are benefiting from this country we have a lot of people in this country you know that are not getting up at six am cleaning the streets or going to war zones fighting for that allows for you know nine hundred dollars a month and then the come home when you know they have nothing but you know a g.i. bill to go to college where once you get out of college you know you've been in a job is still slim so i think we need to just overall just go out and support and push your own opinions because you know i'm just one person and i'm just a part of the ninety nine percent i'm just i just want to inspire people and veterans to go out and protect these people but it certainly sounds like you are inspiring people some are on you said you thought maybe your words are resonating with police it seems like they're resonating with people who are clicking on this video. almost two million has maybe maybe by now it's been two million hits on this

video why do you think so many people are watching this. i think so many people are watching is the words that i say and the passion and emotion that i have like i tell people. it's a difference when you do something and then when you love something i have a passion for this country i live my whole life you know. around the world on the bases where been surrounded by people who are passionate americans who are very patriotic so they're patriotic blood runs through my veins and. you know i'm trying to inspire people because it's like you know why don't you care while why why i continue to allow the things that you know are wrong to continue at winning we need to do something about it somebody somebody has that was their pain certainly a question a lot of people are asking thanks so much for joining us iraq war veteran sergeant shamar thomas thank you christine well moving on today as i mentioned the united

states will withdraw all troops from iraq by the end of the year president obama says all troops other than about one hundred sixty active duty soldiers attached to the u.s. embassy will be out of iraq before christmas the last american soldier will call cross the border out of iraq with their help. proud of their success and knowing that the american people stand united in our support for our troops. that is where it is notorious for its iraq war and this isn't largely a result of iraqi leaders refusal to give us troops immunity from prosecution in iraqi courts the americans have refused to stay without it now there has been talk that of the forty thousand or so troops in iraq about three or four thousand would stay to help with training but iraqi prime minister nuri al maliki told president obama just want enough votes by the iraqi parliament to allow this to happen getting out of iraq certainly a promise made by candidate barack obama won many people say propelled him to pass

hillary rodham clinton back in the primaries who he constantly reminded people voted to authorize the war in the first place so we want to dig deep into both the history of this and look ahead to the future and what this means on a global scale earlier i spoke to michael bryant he is the author of america's failure in iraq and here's part of our conversation. well americans not all americans will be out of iraq that's for sure and the the announcement says that most american troops will be leaving iraq which is you know not a bad thing that obama promised that. he's coming through with his promise although as you said a moment ago there was a lot of debate back and forth between our government the government of iraq for us to stay but many many americans will remain there there have been reports over the last year or so of thousands of security contractors that will be there

for the u.s. state department providing security for about five installations u.s. state department installations around the country of iraq so i i feel that i don't see any doubt that there's going to be thousands of american contractors of all different types security contractors construction contractors you name it that will be remaining in iraq and again as i mentioned in my book and as i've said repeatedly on this program all we ever hear about is the soldiers there are the ones who are in the uniforms there are many thousands of americans that will remain let's talk about this decision and this relationship between iraq and the united states as we just said you know it seems to me the u.s. actually wanted to keep a few thousand troops there they did not get that wish granted by the iraqi parliament by iraqi leaders of course it's hard to say what went on behind closed doors but i want to play a little piece of what president obama said today. as of january first being with

our strategic framework agreement with iraq it will be a normal relationship between sovereign nations an equal partnership based on mutual interest and mutual respect a normal relationship an equal partnership is possible and no it's not it's not possible because of the fact remains that the. paul bremer disbanded the iraqi army in the rear iraqi national police here for invasion in march two thousand and three and it will take decades for the iraqi security infrastructure to be back on their feet as they were you know before our invasion and that was the main reason why we want to stay there they are you know years away from being able to defend themselves it's going to really be a wait and see that is why we wanted to stay even though barack obama as the candidate as you mentioned said he promised that we would be he would pull us out

of iraq within a creed became the president all the sudden started to backpedal and i can only imagine that was because once he became president the lights went on and he was told we're not ready to pull out no way no how not only are we not ready is iraq ready or not is the security of our country ready i do want to put up some figures for our viewers about the actual cost of war take a look at this those serving in the u.s. military in iraq since two thousand and three thirty two thousand two hundred came home injured in some way and the two thousand that i think amputated had one or two wounds and it'd the u.s. military nearly forty five hundred and of course the most staggering statistic iraqi civilian deaths this is taken from two thousand and five to today fifty thousand a lot of reports say that number is closer to a million and monetary cost of war certainly very high somewhere between eight hundred billion a trillion dollars and what should we take from these numbers. if you look at all

of those numbers and i know i mentioned this extensively in my book if you look at all of those numbers that you just showed up on your screen what would the numbers have been if we hadn't invaded iraq in march of two thousand and three. zero let's move on to libya now where many libyans are celebrating the death of a dictator colonel moammar gadhafi of course killed yesterday after forty two years in power western leaders say now the gadhafi is dead a transition to democracy and again but what's next in our region is anything but clear and even though nato is expected to end its bombing campaign in libya or business there may just be beginning this is towards a short time ago our own and he's an owie arrives on the ground in libya i spoke to her earlier and asked her to give me the latest on the situation in tripoli take a listen. well the mood is celebrate story lots of people out in the streets off of thorns horns being honk lots of azerbaijan but i have to say it's definitely

a different feeling than when we saw barak in egypt ousted where people were out on the main square singing playing their guitars crying on their knees here it's people out with semiautomatic and automatic weapons plainclothes people sitting in the air and there's still a feeling of chaos here the n.c.c. which is the national transition committee announced that the official liberation ceremony will take place later today on saturday at least here in libya in benghazi which of course is the rebel stronghold not here in tripoli and there are rumors that that's perhaps because just a couple of days there were shootouts here between and c.c. troops and get coffee while so that we don't see the us out in the streets there are critics who do feel that they are somewhere hiding and that it's not quite a very secure situation here in the capital. like i said but really the mood certainly is celebrate for lots of people here in tripoli happy that daffy is finally certainly an interesting time there i want to get your take unease that president obama has made sure to point out that the u.s.

was by no means in charge these last six or seven months that this was a unified front and if anyone is taking the lead it was taking the lead in this it was british prime minister david cameron and french president nicolas sarkozy however it seems to me the u.s. is certainly spend a lot of money on this lot of weapons whose war was this really what what is the mindset of people where you are. well it of course depends who you ask a lot of people here are friends of obama in the west obviously because they're being told at least that that's who saved them really that's who provided them with weapons i think it was vice president joe biden who said today that some two billion dollars went into this so-called humanitarian mission here and obama today kind of praising the fact that there were no ground soldiers here in tripoli and in the rest of of libya during this mission but a lot of money has gone into this like you said a lot of weapons and certainly the experts and analysts that we've been speaking to

around the world are talking about the libyan oil there's no secret that it has the largest oil reserves here in africa and it's not an accident but the west of course is is now going to be doing very well as expected with the national transition committee a lot of those leaders are probably going to be perhaps elected or somehow come into office so this is far from the end of the mission even though the u.n. security council is now looking into officially end the no fly zone the question of what's next for libya certainly remains far from answered yeah really really interesting point i mean i want to mention you talked about people firing weapons into the air people honking horns we can hear that all the way here so so it is certainly a loud and chaotic situation let's look ahead to the future of course this is still very new but what do you expect do you have been covering the arab spring for us going from country to country you mentioned you were in egypt what do you expect things to look like when we think of where the arab spring started we must remember it was in tunisia a lot since their time for this weekend and

a ninety nine to one chance really that is in the midst will win in these elections talk about that i know it's loud there and what you may expect is what the world may expect to see happen in libya in terms of a future government there. well first of all i just want to point out that it will be interesting to see how the local media covers the elections in tunisia because of these killing and. i think it's fair to say that the mainstream media will be talking very much about those two news in our elections we'll be talking about gadhafi throughout the weekend up and on throughout the year really in terms of two news that there's certainly into these each believe if you take three countries completely different atmosphere is one thing that they all have in common is chaos that can happen after these so-called democracy is begin their new life it's unusual like you said it's expected or even i sense a third line is that this will take control of the country in egypt is expected that the muslim brotherhood with russia is declared

a terrorist organization will get thirty percent of the pergamon in november and here the main fear not so much yet about the islamists although certainly people are talking about that with the main fear is that we're going to see some kind of tribal war break out that was already correspondent and he said now we're on the ground in tripoli. libya of course one of many examples in which a dictator was taken down was killed with the help of the u.s. government but how common is this and why not instead capture moammar gadhafi or for that matter of sullivan lot more and more a lockie why not question them see what we can learn from them and then try them decide on a punishment that is after all what happened with saddam hussein and with other prisoners still being held lots of ways to see this and to think about this a little while ago i spoke to lieutenant colonel anthony shaffer senior fellow at the center for advanced defense studies i asked him to weigh in on this honest change of strategy under president obama. well you. did last report was

exactly right there are huge violations of law and this is just getting worse and let me be very clear i'm i'm a conservative and i am against the targeted unmitigated killing of individuals where they be u.s. citizens or not for the very fact that if you kill them they can talk and let me tell you that more a lot he would have been a treasure trove of information and let me say this to be very clear there's no reason we could have not captured in yemen as a purpose of environment that is military terms or we can do whatever the heck we want and folks i've talked to a special operations community have told me they prefer they prefer to capture these guys for the intel value rather you kill them so why on earth with president obama be authorizing the summary assassination of u.s. citizens let me give you this little blurb there are at least four other u.s. citizens on the kill capture list so you've got to wonder what's going on and therapist feels like. a friday when they were in office i suspect where he's got

he's completely right if this was a republican president we would have everybody up in arms about it the fact that we have a liberal doing it somehow makes it ok which really in my mind makes it it just her why you ask the question why why are these leaders and these people not being captured certainly a lot of theories out there one of which is that well we can send one to guantanamo we're trying to shut that down a lot of different theories about this but i do want to talk about this in terms of libya a little while ago we showed a report in which asia times correspondent have to ask ourselves gadhafi i mean you say a lockie the job he also knew a whole lot. was what he had been put on trial he could have aired a lot of dirty laundry a secret deal perhaps between the west and libya a lot of details still murky about exactly how he died about how gadhafi died but it seems to be the goal why do you think the u.s. didn't try him well look there was a turn

a change. border guard here after nine eleven and this was so more we're going to weaken each documents were there was clear relationship between western intelligence service that it would have us you know it was libyan intelligence and obviously the libyans are trying to gain favor by poor people over you know florence here and that was lieutenant colonel anthony shaffer senior fellow at the center for advanced defense studies and i want to tell you about what's coming up next week here on r t a brand new life and we will continue our coverage of course of the occupy wall street movement bringing you the very latest so what are some of the funnel it fundamental issues behind it these nationwide protests well let's head to the golden state people aren't seeing much gold these days in fact thousands can't even afford health care forcing them to spend hours waiting in lines at a free health clinic in los angeles i'll show you the faces of those people in california and while people in california look for help the mainstream media and our politicians sure aren't the ones to turn to especially when it comes to

figuring out how much trouble the u.s. is really facing well as floor the true scale of the jobs crisis and weed through those questionable numbers you've been getting plus there's one american that seems to me ok in the money department the president so all the rest of the country feels the economic burden obama kicks off a week of fund raising schmoozing with the rich and fabulous those are just a few of the stories we have in store for you next week along with much more news and in-depth interviews to keep it right here on our t.v. and that is going to do it for now but for more on the stories we cover go to our dot com slash usa or check out our youtube page youtube dot com slash r t america you can also follow me on twitter at frowsy be sure to keep it here have a great night.

it is always the opportunity. nobody seems to know. never to face quite hard the argument that they're being overly dramatic. looking to conflict eldrick i'm lauren less for.