it was caused by gangs aided from abroad jordan based political analyst professor hisham kassem told me earlier that he thinks the bomb attack is a sign the gangs have been active for a long time in a bid to destabilize the country. right from the start the demonstrations were not truly peaceful and there were many incidents of. gangs perpetrating crimes against the army against the security forces against the civilians and of course there were denying it the so-called opposition denying it for a long time but now everything has become clear these terrorist acts these shameful terrorist acts are a clear indication that there are armed gangs and there are terrorists working in syria to disrupt life in syria they are not aiming their aggression only against their regime but against the whole syrian people and against the whole syrian obviously what we are witnessing in syria is not evolution but actually it is

a very ugly conflict to dismantle not only the syrian regime but to change the whole area it has nothing to do with democracy and freedom and that there are certain forces international forces and local forces as well which are actually trying to change the situation in the area or do political reasons. respective of the costs that will actually be imposed on the syrian people and on the whole area. well let's get some other analysis on the latest syrian violence author and middle east expert tariq ali told me earlier that he believes the opposition is responsible for the attack and that they are laying the ground for a foreign intervention. some of the opposition are saying there he said the regime organized this last themselves but i think it's unlikely the fact is that the national called a nation committee in istanbul which is being coordinated

itself to a certain extent by nato. is not in control of all the forces on the ground so i think it's quite likely that the suicide bombing was carried out by an opposition force and western governments like france saying that even if they get it the conditions have been created for them to do it something they never say about suicide bombs in. israel or countries which they are supported so i think the indications are that the bombing was carried out by the opposition to create havoc and to create reprisals and a response we tried make foreign intervention more possible i think there any calls for nato in under whatever disguise occupying syrian airspace i don't really on justified and shouldn't be supported by anyone we've seen what the six month bombing of the of libya has done on the ground the figures being touted now are

between twenty five and thirty thousand libyan people died in both bombing raids we do not want the same thing to happen in syria where we've been following developments in syria since the very first sparks of uprising ten months ago and we'll keep you up to date on all the details of that suicide blast in the capital as they emerge you can also follow our twitter feed an r.t.s. facebook page for the very latest. returning the u.s.

military president obama has announced that america's focus will now be on establishing its superiority across asia and the pacific the plans call for more resources for the country's air force as well as improved surveillance and better cyber warfare capabilities but it's gonna reports there are still plenty of unanswered questions. the new strategy is to move away from ground wars from long term stability operations to mobile wars where the u.s. can as we don't put out a put it shift and deploy forces to fight any enemy anywhere they said they're going to invest heavily in new capabilities seen drones in space technology is to give the u.s. military this whole new shape which is the defense secretary said it will be nothing like the cold war or the post cold war military meaning they're moving away from ground wars toll words air wars toward the intelligence war so to speak the u.s. as pull troops out of iraq would seal life thousands of contractors behind president obama said it was draw all day for u.s. forces in afghanistan which is due in twenty fourteen but winding down the decade

of being conclusive wars in iraq and afghanistan won't necessarily mean less wars but rather wars of a different shape the u.s. is already fighting this new kind of warfare on multiple fronts in different countries with the use of air force with the use of drones levy as one example the whole country was destroyed mainly from air pakistan is another example not not a successful one though people in pakistan are infuriated by u.s. strikes which end up killing many civilians and as it happened recently their own pakistani soldiers although washington said the strike was a tragic mistake the u.s. will have to do a lot of damage control work to help the pakistani leadership overcome the humiliation so although the u.s. administration looks at the old strategy of ground wars is passe and irrelevant in this day and age yet it's not clear what result the new strategy will bring. in that we're going to respond to all these military analysts going to be crucial who

could use the battle is intensifying in a shrinking us. this is a pseudo strategy that was lauded by the us military industrial complex that is where they're going to make money the united states has failed with the troop intensive so-called coin in iraq and afghanistan it's the game is over so now they're shifting their attention to the high tech stuff this is how under the age of. their military contractors are going to make a mega huge bucks by provoking another arms race in the classical fashion against china a bomb is just a talking head for god's sake he's only signed up whatever has been done under the intense turf battle between the us army us marine corps. navy and the air force so for the u.s. navy and for the u.s. air force they are the main winners in this they knew war for the shrinking you as

budget. which is unveiling the plan was already drawing the peace groups around the world many of them say the strategy is nothing but a military expansion disguised as a drawdown. this is not a step away from war this is not a step towards pacifism or a step towards a retreat from empire building it's actually the use of a military strategy that costs the american political leaders be they obama or whoever takes his place afterwards last on the home front if there are fewer american casualties of all the bleeding is done on the other side of all of the destruction is done by those who are suffering the consequences of air war they feel that there will be less antiwar sentiment at home so it's not a promise in the progressive directions what the obama administration and what the pentagon are doing in it and obama signaled that explicitly in his speech he puts

again the primacy of the turn towards asia which really is a turn against china i think they're looking forward to this competition and the evolution of a possible cold war type scenario with china which again gives the pentagon a long term enemy which justifies gives rationale to the continued expansion of the us defense budget this does not cut the defense budget it only slows the projected growth of the defense budget the u.s. government budget deficit is a major major problem in a threat to the united states standing in the global market but nonetheless the primacy of the military industrial complex is in fact intact so if there's a budget shortfall you'll see teachers laid off nurses laid off firefighters laid off but the pentagon will get more than its fair share. well coming up later in the program military maneuvers in the middle east washington is sending thousands of troops to israel for a planned training exercise the move sparks worries of a possible buildup to an attack on iran. that's still to come but first

a study beginning and no less spectacular decline ten years on and the euro is fighting for its very survival with member countries plagued by deepening debt and widespread disorder that means that what began as a project to establish an economic european superstate is now quickly becoming its very undoing. reports from brussels. the birth of an ambitious project a common currency celebrated with no less than a big bang. theory is the beginning of a strong europe there you're. back to the war the better. yet ten years down the road the euro is not in the best of shape. the spiralling sovereign debt crisis credit downgrades rising interest rates tens

of millions unemployed budget cuts and violent protests. the euro is growing undergoing the worst crisis it has ever been and obviously the founders of the of the euro did not hope that this would happen for what began as a step towards a united europe has become a race against time with e.u. leaders scrambling to keep it together. euro skeptics have long argued that the euro was flawed from the start pursuing a political dream above all else well they say lumping together polar opposite economies like that of greece and germany into a monetary union could never work or economic rationality has been thrown out of the window in the pursuit of this goal and we're now reaping the consequences of a couple that with internal squabbles and deadlocks there has to be from somewhere that some economic entity that is credible is going to back every euro zone

and there are only two or three entities that can do that what is european central bank. the other is basically the german government and neither of them right now are willing to do it but this exhibit shows the journey of the european union and the creation of the single currency with documented events in history that explain why it would have been appealing to decision makers at the time so much so the crux of the fundamentals may have been overlooked or ignored which brings us to this point ten years after the creation of the euro its appeal has waned and despite last ditch efforts to save it its future is still uncertain in the spirit of the new year we asked for some predictions but one can be sure of is that this crisis is going to be a long and bumpy road however if you would ask me do you think that the euro would still exist in ten years time my answer would be yes they can't bring themselves to admit that it was a mistake and so i'm afraid we risk the very thing they purport to fear which is a disorderly breakup of the euro caused by having tried to keep it together for too

long downgrades almost certainly i think you'll see a french downgrade i still think this is solvable if the political will is shown in certain member states to allow for what is called solidarity in europe. and if not if we are in for a huge huge recession in europe city my prediction that at least greece will leave the euro in the next year and what happens beyond it is unpredictable euro watchers may have divergent views of the single currencies future but it seems whichever way the euro goes it won't be painless does or cilia r.t. brussels. will come out for you later in the program here on r.t. . this but it is an example of a failed meeting between an outside culture and a native people. a view from the inside of hell ancient communities in russia struggling to keep their traditional way of life. that's still to come free but

first the u.s. is moving files of its troops to israel for a planned joint exercise comes against the backdrop of increasing tensions in the persian gulf over iran's threat to block the crucial who's straight some analysts have voiced fears it could be part of a build up to a military strike on iran. who's in jerusalem is following developments. well certainly people here are concerned by the latest developments they come at a particularly sensitive time in the region as the american president barack obama has signed into law sanctions that will make it very difficult for countries to buy oil from iran and what we're hearing from the israeli military is that it will reportedly be holding its biggest military drill ever with the united states and what's important to note is that we're not talking here of only a military exercise we're talking about the deployment of thousands of american troops into israel what we're hearing from both sides is that they will be testing various missile systems against rockets and against missiles what we're hearing

though from the iranian officials is that they believe that this is the latest and most blatant sign that israel is planning to attack iran and attack at some time soon the israelis of course denying this their announcement comes just ten days after the iranians held a military exercise near the crucial strait of hormuz but the israelis say that this announcement that they'll be holding this joint exercise with the americans is unrelated to the iranian exercise tensions certainly are running high here in the region what we're hearing from tehran is that they believe that the european union is waging an economic war against it and this is in light of the e.u. constituting imposing sanctions against iranian oil export exports and indeed if this goes ahead it could be implemented by the end of january what we're hearing from iran is a threat that they in turn will close and block the oil trade through the crucial

for moore's strait and they've also warned the american naval presence in and around the persian gulf certainly tehran is feeling the pinch of the sanctions that the international community has imposed and looking to impose against it the currency dropped to a record low after the american president signed into law those sanctions so what we're hearing from. iran is also that it's good paying its own naval exercises but these exercises will go ahead soon part of a series that has been dubbed the great prophet so certainly that has people both here in the region and in the international community concerned. about lobby of the national iranian american council in washington claims the actions of america in israel indicate that they are preparing for war against iran which could descend into a massive middle east conflict we're getting closer and closer to war with iran. anybody who argues that this kind of extraordinary confluence of events planned

exercises by the u.s. and israel the exercises that iran was doing in the in the persian gulf we have sanctions in place with no diplomacy the only way that that is through confrontation back in september the u.s. actually provided israel with an advanced radar and for the first time actually deployed. permanently deployed u.s. troops to israel that was a small contingent of couple hundred troops what we see now though is this much larger exercise not unprecedented but definitely something that is going to have an impact right now as we see this sort of tit for tat confrontation between the u.s. and iran the idea is that were there to be a massive war in the middle east presumably with iran that we would be ready to have set up command within israel and actually have israel set up a command center in europe at the u.s. european command iranian officials have said this they're going to consider any

strike by israel a strike by the united states now tougher a close up series as we continue to explore russia and bring its most spectacular corners closer to you and this week our team has ventured to part of the country's far east the region. this is russia's most part of cultures with all sorts of customs and traditions mixed into an amazing blend but as tom discovered sometimes it's hard to adapt old habits to the pace of modern life. the dance of the drums these are the nana and native people who were here in the far east long before the first russian explorers arrived they still retain links to their pretty russian culture. to the minister for new most nanae families are happy

for us to teach our native culture here at the village hall there is a relatively large population of man i and that's helped conserve some of the traditions of the central to the nano way of life has always been fishing the russians brought with the new technology and culture most of the eighteen thousand and eight sea now have other jobs but still take regular trips out onto the windswept ice. fishing is extremely important to us as part of our traditional way of life to fish drop we froid them boil them smoke them and dry them we are all sorts of fish. but further to the east we find a much bleaker picture this village is an example of a failed meeting between an outside culture and a native people whereas the night sea have accepted a large degree of assimilation but remain productive and connected to their heritage the origin people here have lost far more than just the native ways the

orit's were also a native fishing people now their fishing boats lie broken and unused on the shore of. our parents are to blame they started the drinking the children seat and start as well some children grow up too fast they start smoking at six since soviet times attempts to integrate the origin to society have had disastrous results the houses here go largely unrepaired most or its children soon drop out of school unemployment and alcoholism are rife you thought that if we tore away their culture and implanted ours will help them so they became dependent now the. social and economic situation has changed they need to start helping themselves but they're not ready to do that oksana as house is falling apart and she hasn't stored enough food to last them in the winter but her and her jobless husband want to be given a new house and free schooling. why is your husband not working does he want to

walk he wants work but there's no jobs and in the neighboring town he would need to go there every day but it's not far she would need to pay for the bus to help at wages but at the moment. miller's house nearby is much better kept she is the village elder and shows me pictures of her grandfather revered as the last ground sharman amid a world still rooted in its origins but nowadays the people around her are very different they've given up they don't want to live a normal life there are now only a few hundred or it's left this village is perched on the edge of the sea but in a quite different sense it's now clinging to the edge of existence tom barton r.t. . orthodox believers around the world are celebrating christmas including those

here in russia and we can now bring you live pictures from the cathedral of christ the savior which is by the moscow river just along from the kremlin. and to talk us through what's going on in russia's main cathedral we can now hear from correspondent karen. and the editor of russia profile magazine on the results on samara and smell listen to their. days all at the editor of russia profile leading religion expert and reporter right here where it's january sixth two thousand and twelve and what are we looking at well we are we're watching the direct broadcast the prices save a cathedral where a real. old russian began about twenty minutes ago to celebrate the christmas service and one of the most often questions asked is why is

christmas here celebrated at rush hour on the sixth seventh and not on the twenty fifth well it is celebrated on the twenty fourth when you states that's december but to julian calendar that ancient calendar the russian orthodox church together with several other orthodox churches such as the church of georgia church of serbia the greek orthodox patrik good to jerusalem morning stories of loan to office and never change the calendar which in the western church in to sixteen st sheree was adept to become the what is known as a greek origin. and today there is a two week difference that's why the twenty fifth of december julian calendar falls to january seventh the gregorian calendar which is cold when you use civil calendar and there's also

a forty day fast that occurs. just past precedes the. the holiday of the need to have a t. it's not as strict as the lent but it's still of a rather lengthy. for the forty days. are there any kind of special foods that break that fast i hear there's you have to have a white candle on the table for instance there are a lot of lots of folk tradition scared of which differ from from place to place so you wouldn't say that necessarily there has to be a white plan to general. educate will stand the entire ceremony everybody takes place for many hours yes it's usually the right in an ordinary church there would be chairs in the back where the elderly and the sick mainly sit it's or it's a russian tradition in greece you would see. the pews in the in the in the churches

so it's not something that is that is or like in the united states of america you would find orthodox churches with pews it's not a matter of faith it's a matter of tradition. how do the celebrations of the russian orthodox people differ from other people in the west in the west it's about santa claus if christmas giving presents the christmas tree in that sense there is a lot in common here here you know we see you know the. deacon coming out with the with the book of gospel's proclaiming the procurement on it fragment of a. out of the bomb before the morning star had by begotten you the lord has sworn and it will not change his mind. the choir response to the to the arj he mentioned this is a junior deacon no no this is

a son this is weekend. to coming back to your question on the. what's in common what's difference in this. liberation of of christmas there has been in fact a lot of interaction between christian and western christian east in this celebration of christmas in fact the holiday as such was. generated in the west and then was. adopted in the east. the crisp. beautiful sights and sounds coming from the heart of moscow from crisis a view cathedral. in the editor of russia profile magazine that talking us through some of that video which is taking place in the cathedral and it goes on all night and by the way we'll have more coverage from the heart of the russian capital in the next hour for you and just remind you that you can watch the vigil life in full

on our web site right now at r.t. dot com. well coming up are we look back at the fall of the u.s.s.r. cross-talk host peter bell and his guests discuss what went wrong and whether the soviet union could have been saved right after a quick recap of our top stories here on our team just a moment. it's

not about spilling blood. it's the war of barricades from one side and fears blockade from the other. invisible border people from the land for twelve years. the conflict that divided serbia into two hostile parts is still not over. one stream cascading from mountain slopes the view is miss mirage.

but this beauty brings death at a speed of more than two hundred kilometers per. step to the launch. party live here in moscow top stories for you nell syria's interior minister says twenty six people are being killed after a suicide bomb attack targeting a police bus ripping through a residential part of the mass because it comes amid growing opposition calls for the overthrow of president assad by military means. shifting strategy barack obama announces and then to iraq stock of patience to focus on increasing u.s. influence in asia extra emphasis on air domination and unconventional warfare.

and israel is preparing for a joint exercise with the u.s. but this kind of troop movement involved spots concern of a possible build up to many to strike on iran. up next people of these guests of boris yeltsin was a key history maker or just in the right place at the right time crosstalk is next on our team. if you. want to play. polo in welcome to cross talk i'm peter lavelle boris yeltsin was he a great man who made history or was he merely a product of his time opinions differ widely don't know one denies the important role he played in creating our present crosstalk continues that series on the collapse of the soviet union twenty years ago. played keep.