carries out its threat. britain has published an article outlining his plans to battle corruption and strengthen civil society and tackle poverty all part of his campaign to return as a president with the election now less than two months away. the u.s. projects its influence all around the world but it's trouble on the home front that the republican presidential candidates are using to try and voters american foreign policy scholar john farrow explains how there is actually very little to choose between them. thank you for joining us on r.t. thank you for having me on the show. let's start with the g.o.p. russel's in iowa do you think they indicate an ideological divide among the g.o.p. well i think in general the g.o.p. has a consensus certainly a consensus on economic matters they don't want government interference in the

market and this is a consensus that even includes ron paul if you look a little closer at some foreign policy issues there's a little bit of a difference with ron paul obviously being the outlier wants to scale back u.s. role in the world the rest of runway or any other take more harker's position in the sea in the current obama administration serves a general consensus or two so i don't think there's a lot of differences between the republican plan or i mean santorum comes from a completely different school than mitt romney and ron paul. they certainly do they're appealing though to some of the same voters and i think in a general election we of course would see the republican candidate move toward the center in order to get as much of the center and independent votes as possible but right now during the primaries they're pretty much going to be clustered around the same kind of positions and they're running against the obama administration and

there isn't a lot of difference between them we've seen their positions we've heard their positions on countries like iran right now way which is the hot spot what role do you think they foreign policy play in their campaign right now to be honest foreign policy doesn't play much of a role in part because the obama administration has taken foreign policy off the table certainly national security issues it's very difficult to run to the right of barack obama foreign policy after what he's done the killing of osama bin laden. the expansion of drone war in pakistan but it's also difficult to run on the left either around him because of course he's ending the war in iraq so he's essentially don't criticize him they still criticize him but it doesn't really get him a lot of leverage or a lot of interest from the media you know the red meat issues for the republicans are going to be the economy and some cultural issues as well foreign policy you

know i mean as herman cain said i don't know where he was back a back up back a stand is i mean that unfortunately is a popular position in the electorate here in the united states a kind of will for all willful ignorance of what's going on in the world and yet that might harm their position on local issues i mean when they're talking more when they're talking iran they seem to be connecting the foreign policy with the here at home well that they sometimes do and you know they're always trying to make a point connected to the economy whether it has to do with say reducing military spending or increasing military spending ultimately it's got to come back to what we call pocketbook issues i mean what americans have in the last couple of elections voted on that is jobs you know the point of an issue you know whether they have houses you know the foreclosure more dangerous. generally the kind of

healing about the u.s. economy in general judy trade balance and so forth those are going to be the key issues at the end of the day for the republicans and me of course i have to appear presidential so i have to talk about foreign policy but they know alternately that that's mostly for show i mean when they really want to appeal to voters they really have to grab the ball once and they kind of me it's not going to get any better well that's hard to say i mean even economists have difficulty predicting what's happening with the economy. slight improvement with the unemployment rate i think for the president the most important thing is perception if americans feel that the economy is getting better they tend to overlook the numbers. but they don't want it to look better now as long as obama still president. the republicans yeah oh absolutely. the breaux publicans have been doom and gloom i mean this has been their bread and butter during the campaign if they can make it seem as though the

world is getting increasingly worse they themselves will be superman who comes in to save the situation relations with countries. countries like north korea countries like china russia seem to be managed differently under. different presidents how do you think that's going to change now. for the remainder of their i mean yes the year well president obama made a big point at the apec meeting and why to say you know we're we're making the pacific pivot you know we're moving away from the middle east and we're going to focus more on asia. in some sense be wishful thinking because of course in the united states has a certain limited range in terms of foreign policy opportunities it basically is still in afghanistan still has to deal with iran and pakistan still do dealing with the aftermath of iraq still dealing with the arab spring in the aftermath there

it's very difficult for the united states to to make a pivot like this so it's more of an aspirational pivot it's what the obama administration would like to do and so it's made a couple of gestures by putting some more marines in australia by saying that we're going to kind of focus more on china but whether will actually see some concrete changes it's going to be very difficult. you know what the obama administration has already done a modest opening to burma a very very bottom scope and north korea press. doesn't have a lot of political capital it doesn't want to waste it initiatives it might appear from republican critics to be appeasement so appeasing china appeasing north korea peace in burma he doesn't want to get into a situation in which if there is eventually now especially in the lead up to the elections were either congress or the republican candidates can say we told you we told you this guy likes to sit down with dictators we would have none of that if we

were president does that mean that the u.s. is changing its strategy in that region in the i mean in the middle east and in strategy in general not just the middle east you know i think the obama administration has had a. pretty clear trajectory for the last three years it's tried to extricate the united states from the worst kind of legacies of the previous administration primarily in iraq but also looking ahead in afghanistan but at the same time dealing with what has been considered a key issue and that is counterterrorism and the perception that democrats are weak on national defense issues and so the president has been very careful to say hey you know we will go to war if necessary and we will use force when necessary so i think this balance will continue for the remainder of his term all of the presidential candidates. make israel the centerpiece of their foreign

policy discussions do you think it's because it's really the most important foreign security issue for them or are. elections well it's primarily elections i mean if you look at the obama administration's position toward israel. even israel will say it's been the best relations in a long time. the obama administration opposed palestinian initiatives in the us going after statehood continued military support of israel doff basically when netanyahu refused to do anything on the settlements issue again there's been some aspirational language with the united states would like to happen in solving the arab israeli disputes but generally speaking there has been no transformation of the united states remains from years of research the republican candidates are thinking well there are two constituencies who want to reach out to one of our evangelicals evangelicals who have very strongly said that we stand with israel and

the others jewish voters who if they can peel them away from obama would be a great cuckoo in the two thousand and twelve election could you elaborate a little bit more about that specially with the g.o.p. presidential candidates right now and it was specially after what you said that obama has done everything to what seems to be appeasing israel yet the candidates the g.o.p. candidates are saying that he has not done enough that's right i mean it makes for good headlines i mean strangely it might seem because of course it seems like the republican candidates are trying to outdo themselves in saying that they're friends of israel even to the point of almost outsourcing foreign policy decisions to netanyahu with the debate between romney and gingrich who would you know call netanyahu to get approval prior to any kind of u.s. policy which in some sense is unheard of in u.s. foreign policy circles again i think this is primarily because of who they were looking toward in iowa in the constituency in iowa there was

a perception that maybe whoever kind of grabs hold of the evangelical vote will be able to determine you know the course of iowa into a certain extent. that was smart politics whether this will translate into a real election year issue when the republican candidate is chosen i doubt it i don't know i can't really see mitt romney using the israel issue to much advantage come the fall but certainly in the republican primaries it's useful politics and now with the arab revolutions do you think that has anything to do or affect in any way that presidential candidates campaigns i would like it to hear of course this is a major event on the world stage unfortunately the united states is rather poor especially with our elections and sometimes even the greatest transformations have very little effect on politics here in this country of course there were some statements by michele bachmann of course to try to suggest that the president had made

a mistake by aligning himself with arab spring protesters because that would assure in islamists and this of course was the greatest fear for michele bachmann and several other republican candidates beyond that no effectively you know obama from a from a strategic point of view could leave moral questions to the side but from a strategic point of view do quite a good job he didn't dive in he waited and then divorced himself from problematic u.s. alliances with mubarak for instance in egypt. said he would lead from behind in libya which seemed to be in hindsight a smart strategy as well so he's essentially protected his flank against the republicans this issue it's going to be hard for the upon the michele bachmann has to go kind of out on the limb you know and with a rather farfetched argument in order to try to attack the president on his positions on the arab spring so like it or not i think the president has taken arab

spring off the table as well as an election year thing so i mean with the fact that they have gone into war and we. and that was quite a sight criticized by john mccain it was endorsing mitt romney that's right now mind you if the situation in libya deteriorates if the situation in egypt deteriorates if we have full scale civil war in syria that's another matter but the situations as they stand now with elections in egypt with the situation relatively stable in. libya and the situation of course is not good in syria but the level of violence hasn't escalated to an all out civil war. status quo if that remains i don't think some of the election year issue thank you very much for joining us and i.

so.

the arab league al mongar heads while qatar calls for intervention in syria other members warn it could lead to a region wide on dress meanwhile damascus has announced a general amnesty for political prisoners in accordance with the peace plan. the u.k. off the ante against iran and pushing for a tough new oil embargo which tehran's promised counter by blocking a vital transit route london says it will take military action in the persian gulf if the islamic state carries out its. time as he reports it out published an article outlining his plans to battle prompt some strength and civil society and tackle poverty as part of his campaign to return as president with the election now

less than three months away. up next in sport here in our city with kate. hello welcome to the sports and here's what's coming up. in this and outs rafael nadal overcomes injury to go through with roger federer but i learned i would ask a nickel i'd have a drink a bow out on day one at this trade in open. while top form defending champion kim price does and top ranked caroline wozniacki win their openness and the women's draw in the album. and pakistan as the giants upset champions green bay baltimore be tourist in the battle to decide the super bowl finalist steps up. first to tell us where world number two rafael nadal has overcome a knee injury to spearhead the seeds charge into the second round of the australian

open responded seal the deal with his ninth place against american qualifier alex because that's off six four six one six one was the final score germany's tommy haas is up next. while third seed roger federer was also an easy win out against russian qualifier alexander could have said seven five six two six two was the way this one finished. but it was a nightmare start for nicholas have a drink a russian for what while number three crashed out in five sets it is flavio to paula later admitted his new racquet was giving him a lot of problems. however local favorites bernard to make is through to round two of the he fought back to beat twenty second seed found over in a five set thriller the nineteen year old came from two sets down and said his mental strength was the key to his victory. the one thing this is it's very hard in the position to sit still love him having three said points and say. you know if

someone knows i think you know the drill to tell but you know. look at the new. and you had so many chances to me and. you can then as one of the reasons that made me push through in the knobs and got some confidence. martin del potro is also through the argentinian drops the first set against his little known french opponent at the end mannerly no however the former u.s. open champion recovered to be called big tree in just under three hours sealing it with a fine exchange in that. turned on the women's side caroline wozniacki lived up to her world number one status as the top ranked dane swept aside local hopeful and. the other about to get her quest for amazing grand slam title off to a very quick start. time running champion kim clijsters take in the distance in the first set but dropped just one game in the second as the belgians or a portuguese qualifier. or seven five six one. while

korea as outing hardly broke a sweat in her comprehensive six one six love defeat of great britain's heather watson the twenty two year old belarusian had too much power from the baseline for her opponent who drank answered the world's top one hundred all very easy for as you said the hardest thing was trying to get up in the morning. didn't get my coffee in the morning today i was really. so. definitely getting it was so early and i wanted to come play. a little bit longer on center court that everything was closed in my coffee so i kept trying to talk with my eyes without it and it was not working. well meanwhile last year's beaten finalist and french open champion li na of china is seeded fifth and came out an easy six three six one winner against who used to represent russia but is

now playing for classic starts. elsewhere a russian qualifier you know shocked a nineteenth seed flavia pennetta in three sets but. that's about after going down in three sets to point out n.t.a. of france. for both our asses hopes of closing in on the premier league top four were dented on sunday night after they lost three two in a stroller at swans a and they are sharon set up robin van persie to open for the government on the five minutes but the home side was soon level through scott sinclair's penalty and they can die but the welsh side ahead early in the second half to walcott made it to chew on sixty nine minutes but this one is immediately went up the other end and scored the winner through danny gray and. leon best netted the winner as newcastle went six with a one zero when it came to q.p.r. last on stay fit and if you're asking baggage claim thirty feet on areas of the back missed opportunities. were different your performance was not good enough.

which way we lost a game where when you came back. to win the game because we looked like. we could be doing to keep them as well after. the game and. made some great i think that is where we missed some on blue butcher entries. for me while fourth place chelsea have announced they've completed the signing of england's central defender gary cahill from bolton the twenty six year old has reportedly set the blues back just over ten million dollars and regular first winter signing underwent a medical on saturday and then watched his new side win one militant just sunderland and intimate and have tabled a twenty five million euro bid for column stabbers but it's unlikely to reach national city's valuation for the argentina striker interest rivals ac milan withdrew from talk to sign the twenty seven year old on thursday after alexander potter refused to join parasite drama milan had already agreed personal terms with the player but were forced to pull out of the go see asians p.s.g.

themselves have also expressed an interest in tethers not play for city's is that the birmingham on september the twenty first. well meanwhile city will be looking to reclaim their three point lead at the top of the premier league table this monday night about the munchies man go to wake and while rock bottom and two points from safety. on to american football now eli manning was the star as the new york giants stunned reigning super bowl champions the green bay packers thirty seven twenty at lambeau field to win the n.f.c. divisional playoff well a major upsets didn't look on the cards in the game evenly poised going into the half time break but on the last play before the intermission manning picked out the next with a thirty seven yard pass to give new york a twenty ten lead while the home side struggles to get back into the game and were guilty of giving away too many turnovers and the giants effectively sealed their place in the n.f.c. championship game when manning threw a four yard touchdown pass to mario manningham to give the visitors a thirty eight thirteen lead in the fourth the final score against thirty seven

twenty and new york will next play san francisco for a place this super bowl. four meanwhile the baltimore ravens beat the texans twenty thirty to reach the a.f.c. championship game for the second time in four seasons despite falling behind to an early field goal the ravens pursued in front joe flacco story a one. on touchdown pass to chris wilson the home side seven straight ahead and the baltimore or to back again connect with bolden to the ravens a seventeen three advantage at the end of the first quarter but five minutes before half time a one yard touchdown run by arian foster trim the deficit to seventeen thirteen however baltimore's defense remain resolute and despite his team's best efforts they were unable to force overtime so is the ravens when i meet tom brady's new england patriots. winter sports now and after a seven year gold medal drought russia have

a new freestyle skiing hopeful teenager pavel craft of pulling off a surprise ariel's win at the season opening world cup event in canada well the new formats will see the top four see a slug it out in the super final of the russian nineteen year olds jump while the judges the most two point one favorite alleviate all sure. they are. claimed brahms to give japan their first ever world cup aerials medal want russia's previous freestyle top gong came back in two thousand and five when now coach dimitri occupier of prevails in the locals event. and finally to ice hockey where tesco must go beat reigning ted tell champions sell about c.l.i.'s three one on home ice to clinch their third win in a row and base their claims for a playoff spot in the western conference robert onion reports. sysco used to be one of the most degraded sites in soviet hockey but quite a lot has changed over the last twenty years now the club is struggling to return

to the summit of the cape shell and facing the leaks reigning champ and slovakia life was an important test only way and the only man blasted into what twenty eleven they won at the site and then on sunday they met again in mosco where the hosts promptly showed their intentions to be that success and can the nation of moves around a visit there is dual culminated with. seven minutes in one i the home side kept of their pressure creating more goal scoring chances and they were soon rewarded the most are always finding that from the blue line to extend their men's lead to nil i go over the second period so solid fired back with one of the league's most skilful players and men never gives up alex under a new of letting the visitors assault however they only managed to break the

deadlock after the second intermission. i just over a minute into the third to get a minimal forgave sela a glimmer of hope to one. or the of get breaking through the armaments defense with his individual efforts but it wasn't enough to call ice and once his downs failed the hosts scored again. because the puck sprints of the entire length of the rink and wrapped up the scoring three one two minutes from time game over i mean you can see we didn't think much of my points. we tried to focus on our game and this approach worked we played groups defensively we managed to switch from the fans too often pretty quick. clearly under fixedly they're a very strong team so we had to do with some tough pressure in this game and i like the way we played tonight we should keep it up but as

a team we help each other on the ice and we try to to fight hard in a battle hardened final both that sound you get to get electric today live for us satisfy us this guy have the perfect record of two victories out of two games against scoring gunning cup holders so a lot so for a man now looking to get even stronger for a bit well known marty. some of the cultures that so much as i can which of course his wife monica density are recasting america's global military strategy or just more of the same problem bombers new vision for the pentagon is aimed at saving.

the arab league at loggerheads ball caps are calls for intervention in syria other members warn it could lead to a breach of rest that says damascus announces an amnesty for political prisoners in accordance with the peace plan. london the ante against iran pushing for a tough all embargoed promise to counter by blocking a vital transit for. the u.k. says it will take military action in the persian go through if the islamic state follows through with a great story from london in just a few moments. as well as even reports on reveals his plans to battle an end.