well protests in afghanistan today grew more violent and more bloody as anger and distrust for americans there grows now the protests are in response to the burning of several qur'an holy books at the airfield in kabul afghanistan some of the workers there who are of afghanis descent say they tried to stop them from being burned american soldiers at the time said they burned them because prisoners were using the books to communicate with one another now muslims of course consider the qur'an to be the literal word of god and to treat each copy with respect it's considered blasphemy when these books are burned so as you can imagine the violence there has been really really bad there have been a number of deaths including two american soldiers who were shot by a man in an afghan military uniform now there have been a number of apologies issued. i'm general john allen commander of the international security assistance force i've ordered an

investigation into a report i received during the night that i set personnel above remember base improperly disposed of a large number of islamic religious materials which included koran and it wasn't just general president obama also apologized in a letter he wrote to afghan president hamid karzai and which he expressed regret for the religious materials saying it was quote unintentionally mishandled and bob graham airbase but the president's apology came several days after the incident and many people who live in afghanistan say it is simply not enough. apologies are not enough. they have to be put on trial and the culprit should face the war. so how will this incident affect the current war in afghanistan and how could this have been handled differently to help me answer those questions i've got former u.s. marine and current iraqi blogger. with me hey there jake clearly people are angry

and outraged i just want to get your thoughts on the impact of what's happened here well this this is extraordinary unfortunate event and i think that all the press has done you know and it is important job of identifying that this is really really problematic for the nato and i said forces that have been trying to win the hearts and minds for ten years inside of afghanistan and it's detrimental to the effort of winning the hearts and minds it's extraordinarily you know it's in comprehensible how people could let a qur'an be burned from a muslims point of view and this goes with the general position that the u.s. has a p.r. problem with the islamic world and i've been i have to tell you christine i've traveled to fifty eight countries i've been in the military and done diplomacy and we americans just have no idea how bad our people view us what the public opinion of the greater islamic world is of america and here people are just here's another

opinion jake that's sort of going around i think that's a really good point because we see mostly what the american media tells us. and we did we saw john allen's generals island apology president obama of course also apologize in that letter but. i want to play something that republican presidential candidate newt gingrich said about those apology no no and then we can talk about it president apologized for the burning but i haven't seen the president demand. the government of afghanistan apologize for the killing of two young americans thank you hamad karzai the president of afghanistan doesn't feel like apologizing but i think we should say goodbye and good luck we don't need to be here risking our lives and wasting our money on so many. so jake i mean you again brought up this point about the way people in all these other countries who

don't live here view this mentality. talk a little bit about what newt gingrich said and what you think how that plays out well you know newt gingrich is you know he's pretty much a one of the biggest international knuckleheads i've ever seen come out of the republican party that is basically seems to be somewhat prominent among a lot of conservatives you heard the applause there when he said that well the second part of what he said was goes with the broader american opinion that we shouldn't be in afghanistan and that's done by libertarians done by conservatives and democrats so of course he's going to get a prod for that so yes we shouldn't be in afghanistan this war should have been over a long time ago that part's right what the first part about is demanding that the afghans you know do this and this is like you know where does it get off without i mean it was it was it was an accident you know the soldiers or marines didn't you know purposely you know try to commit this problem but it's you know. he's just he's just so clueless about how to conduct international affairs and i just say we

broadly and the general speaking general allen and obama and leon panetta and everybody else has apologized there's nobody left to apologize so it's not a matter weeks thing it's a matter of diplomacy and newt gingrich doesn't understand that and we need more diplomacy and of course we saw you know one of the afghans that was interviewed there a lot of protests you know right outside of bob graham and people are angry and they say i'm sorry but sorry is not going to cut it we need a trial we want actual justice. i mean do you think this thing is going to die down or do you think that the afghan people are going to continue to push i would say and tell there's some sort of trial or investigation into this but it doesn't look like there's necessarily. going to be something that would appease them. christine you know that's excellent point i mean this they're not going to they're not going to forget about this i mean this is the koran regardless of whether they can read it or not it is irrelevant the fact is that these people have been offended they've

been seeing their country torn apart for the later part of you know thirty years going back to you know right hundred seventy nine and they're just fed up with everything and they just want everybody to leave and i think that the u.s. would be in its best interest to leave and let them have it and you know the same here is most importantly is up americans have to know that we need to become more sensitive towards the islamic world and these kind of events we don't understand how bad it makes our image it's so dr mental to us i mean i think that's a good point but it's also jake not the first time this has happened there have been incidents in the past when qur'an have been burned like my soundbite from the white house briefing back from when george w. bush was president and the president yesterday had a regularly scheduled secure video teleconference with prime minister maliki he opened. the meeting i believe it was either the first or the second issue that the president brought up to tell prime minister maliki he had heard about the incident

when the koran was desecrated and he apologized for that in the sense that he said that we take it very seriously we were concerned about their reaction we wanted them to know that the president knew that this was wrong and that the commanders in the field had. publicly reprimanded the soldier and removed him from iraq. and this is not to mention the qur'an burning pastor terry jones and the rage he sparked i mean this should be religion one hundred one for military folks especially those living in afghanistan why has that lesson still not been learned foreign terror was started that the pentagon is not properly called trained soldiers for cultural sensitivities and awareness the pentagon has not been interested in and in that generally speaking the hearts the minds campaign has largely been counterproductive in every in every possibility and i do think although we need to see this is a broader part of fourth generation warfare we're now the information war is

a part of it now the the taliban are using this against us to the karzai government is using this against us and you know the islamic world will use this against us as well and rightfully so because the us should not be in the business of burning korans or burning books remember that's what the nazis did the nazis burned books and we don't want to be like them right former u.s. marine also r.t. blogger jakes alberto lending his perspective to this matter that is still going on right now thanks so much i see your stamp while the united nations humanitarian chief is headed to syria to try to deliver aid to the conflict torn country the red cross has been hoping for a cease fire in order to get in with medical help as well but still is heard no answer about this request in some cases though they have gotten in have started to evacuate wounded and sick women and children for the from the city of homes but there is growing unrest and bloodshed on the streets of syria which includes the

deaths of nearly seventy people just in the last twenty four hours r.t. correspondent maria for notion is in damascus and has more on the ongoing crisis there. time to change tactics with fighting in homes entering its third week the syrian opposition based abroad and its foreign supporters seem to have run out of patience the foreign military solution to the country's crisis always considered as a last resort might now become a realistic scenario we are really close to thing with military intervention as the only solution there are two evils military intervention a protracted civil war the opposition outside they have contact with the external powers and they don't have contact with the with the with the syrian the syrian people directly for baker of course of that is going to play mujahid not his real name has been fighting the assad regime for months he went to all protests and spent many days in jail but now he says the crisis has gone too far. as for me

i give up actually because it is is not just does not just. a war we are losing we are losing buddies even in this engine i see you really give me i am ready to give up and it will be waiting for the for the promises but not everyone is ready to compromise with the death of two journalists and homes an american war reporter and the french photographer pressure from overseas has become more tangible we need to the international community needs to do more to help the syrian people but there are fears that this helping hand may also be carrying weapons we should consider every option ranging from sanctuaries to seeing that weapons are brought to the hands of

those who are resisting us so they can defend themselves look here in syria the home of position seems to strongly oppose the idea of foreign help. we don't want any interference from abroad these countries may think that they can use this for their own interests for the syrian people will not allow that but to be able to resist strong political reforms are needed and with a vote on constitutional reform around the corner many here are certain any military intervention will derail the political process aimed at ending the crisis according to r.t. sources here in syria the fighting in homes is now over with the army taken control of the city if it's confirmed many agree the political discussion between the authorities and the opposition will become more realistic but only if foreign intervention can be kept at bay refinishing r.t. damascus syria. and happening today the friends of syria conference in tunisia

where representatives from more than seventy countries are meeting to try to come up with some solutions to put a stop to the violence there now ideas floated today included more forceful intervention against syrian president bashar al assad and also outside countries sending aid and weapons to opposition fighters now neither russia nor china attended this conference saying they refused international intervention in syria and it's unclear what exactly will come out of this but we do want to take a deeper look at the situation as a whole and to help me do that i've got robert naiman policy director for just foreign policy he's an illinois. hey robert let's just start with the mission of this conference and your thoughts on what's behind it. we'll be seeing these two different elements reflected in the conference were we describing your poor memory there are some voices there are looking who are an opportunity who are western military intervention in syria and their own voices they're very skeptical

that so for example within the congress there was a push that the final conference community. explicitly bar western know that there are eventually the united big suppose that the same time. we're certain voices western government voices or some media is saying well we rule that out western military intervention so it's very confusing to understand what is the u.s. and its western allies are really trying to do they really were willing to rule western military intervention now be a part of this because then we can focus attention more constructive political and diplomatic good for example the red cross trying to negotiate and to fire homes so people can be evacuated you could call that intervention but of course very different kind of intervention and dimension based on

a good education based on consensus the. attempt to cooperate for the well being of civilians but i think quite as the sound of the effort as we saw with libya western military intervention intervention means different things to different people for some people it means getting involved at all for other people it means well we're just not going to send you know trips and we're not going to you know do airstrikes there still are ways to get weapons sent into this country to arm these opposition forces that's what a lot of people have been calling for obviously russia and china do not want this to happen. talk a little bit about what i mean certainly that was an idea floated today and that keeps getting a lot of support we see you know senators from here in the u.s. john mccain lindsey graham and joseph lieberman talking about that you know these opposition forces need to have weapons to be able to defend themselves. talk

a little bit about some of the consequences though if that sort of avenue is taken . will who says won't use the word in the summer where it's already seeking place not western shipping a weapon but weapon coming from. qatar or saudi arabia other places who are injured one so who is one of them although this is already going on i think their objection to these calls even in the mood of the argument many. there's no likely prospect. shipping weapons to the opposition is going to allow them to you who has the syrian government forces here in the syrian government can get weapons from russia iran other places so the prospect is kind of in the.

forces in homes or other places can we in the military confrontation with the syrian government if they get more weapons from the west or from drew so all you're doing you send in more weapons is just glee in the conflict militarily let's talk a little bit of a slow mo see here i mean there have been reports that the assad regime has or is trying to move forward with plans for this national referendum on the new constitution it would certainly decrease have power the power of his party. what are some answers i mean what are countries like russia and china china trying to do here and what do you expect to see happen diplomatically in the next couple days. well i think it's hard to judge because there are so many boys don't also i think different things earlier in the congress the. western united the. spoke more favorably over diplomatic in consensual solution

recall of the russian going out earlier. if you look at what the u.s. and saudi arabia did in yemen they were very patient that negotiating a political solution we just saw an election in yemen. that turned the page on previous president. and was supported by the men in the election was supported by the main faction they've been in jail so there are alternatives but there are no immediate goal as they walk on who are very very different from glee robert naiman policy director for just foreign policy we appreciate you weighing in certainly that situation changing by the moment really there well today is the nationwide opening of the new military flick act of valor now diffused real life navy seals to give americans a realistic view of what these secretive forces do now once the trailer and was

exciting and heroic but it is of course hollywood so does the movie portray reality or just what the u.s. government wants you to see it's a question worth asking and when the mainstream media often ignores to what extent does the pentagon doctor hollywood scripts in order to shift public opinion argy correspondent among the lindo shows us this cozy relationship and how it's been winning the hearts and minds for years. some of the world's most elite warriors outfitted with the most technologically advanced equipment and then he'll fire power toward secure. the american hero comes out on top in act of valor but there is something missing from hollywood suppose it realistic portrayal of the u.s. military that stuff looks fine but soldiers today who are joining the military the

number one thing they're going to be doing is driving around in a truck or walking around in a foot patrol in a big circle every day day after day and every single day a bomb is going to go off the roof. blow up one of their friends blow up one of their vehicles in an act of valor there are definite reinforcements of the muslim terrorists and the ball is an old school joe hockey he wants to kill americans but the film doesn't show the damaging effect of war on u.s. troops also missing soldier actions on the battlefield they're described as war crimes then valor many military movies such as act of valor aren't born here in hollywood but in the pentagon and while they may be a success at the box office the true measure of success isn't just measured in dollars but in the number of recruits they can help bring into the service. this film was made with a facking of the military for

a reason it exposes the future generation of seal operators to our community and how we operate. it with the pentagon have teamed up to create entertaining propaganda since the early twentieth century but the partnership really took after the success of top gun. now many more filmmakers are getting access to taxpayer funded military equipment if the message lines up with the pentagon's mission what is that ultimately happen. it's a hollywood studio since i've said screenwriters quite publicly your screenplay cannot get out of the pentagon then we financially are not in a place to be able to make your movie besides shaping the narrative of how we perceive war some are concerned that movies like these are specifically targeting america's core youth if you look at how this movie act of valor came about a special operations commander mcraven straight up told people that the movie began

as an effort to recruit minorities into the seal seals just you're not there to teach people about the hardships of war act of valor has all the makings of a hollywood blockbuster complete with some high flying promotion by the navy seals dropping in on the red carpet premiere we ended up being able to shoot the action and the way you watch a football game on t.v. . but military battles are no game to veterans who have seen the ugly face of war they are plagued with psychological trauma for the rest of their lives and the reality was they didn't go to do anything for rowing but their role as an occupier the real feeling guilt for what they had actually been a part of is what's caused i mean the epidemic of suicides today in the military no b.s. here. sometimes turns up but. fortunately for a bit of cash and ready access to real military hardware hollywood is more than willing to provide a happy ending for both the movie's hero and the pentagon. in

los angeles for among the lindo r t. all right so i think this bears some looking at the academy awards after all are this weekend so let's talk about this sometimes too close for comfort relationship between hollywood and the pentagon you know on one hand it's important of course hollywood directors want to get the most accurate information so they consult the pentagon but the bottom line is sometimes there's a tradeoff sometimes that means the pentagon says sure we'll not only give you advice and consult you will give you our men our actual men will give you our actual weapons but you need to give us your script so we can make sure it's accurate things are taken out of that script at times too so i want to talk to keith harmon snow he's a war correspondent and he is williamsburg massachusetts keith talk to me a little bit about this do you think there's a direct correlation between movies like this activity or and military recruitment . absolutely first of all you guys in the movie act of valor in the production of

it they're saying that this is this represents the dynamic that exists in the world today but the truth is it has nothing to do with the world today look at america we've got poverty hopelessness destitution kids who don't know what they're going to have do for their futures no opportunity for anything poor people even middle class and they can't see any hope in the world what do they do then watch them film like this and they're recruited they're promised massive pay benefits a promise been adventure they see these ideas of courage and honor and and valor which are not anything like the reality and it's one of your spokeswoman said they come back from having killed people seeing things is atrocity they're incredibly traumatized what they do they're committing suicide by crazy because suddenly they're faced with the reality of what they left behind and b. what they really did recruitment this isn't about hollywood this is the pentagon this is a hollywood film is the pentagon propaganda well that's what i want to ask you i mean what do you think about this i think

a lot of people would be surprised to find out about this sort of i'll scratch your back you scratch mine mentality going on here i mean we've got the pentagon which by the way is funded by our tax dollars allowing movie studios to use military hardware and bases at a discounted rate and in return these filmmakers submit their scripts for input and changes are made i mean there's a strong belief by critics that some edits are actually taken out if there's anything critical of military policy what do you think about that i mean how often does this occur so i think seeing this as a hollywood operation with a little bit of pentagon supporters i'm scratching the back i think we have to look at it is a psychological operation against the american public. that means this is not hollywood it's total propaganda by and for the pentagon using hollywood as the face and then they say well ok well the pentagon does look a little with hollywood and we but this is the pentagon these are real live navy seals what's outrageous is you go to the web site for this film and there's

a section where you can donate to support the navy seal foundation to support naval warfare i mean why are they asking the american public or whoever watch this film to give a twenty or fifty or five thousand dollar donation to support naval warfare i mean we're talking about billions and billions of dollars of taxpayers' money being used for this production including this kind of thing where they send the navy seals off to commit atrocities but i'm there's nothing honorable on either encase and i'm sure people who are watching this are at least thinking you know this is a movie this is hollywood as one of the person in the story where the people interviewed in the story said you know the reality is you know you're you're walking in circles you're doing foot patrols you're scared for your life but they're not going to make a movie about that movies need jazzing up they need heroes and they need villains so i mean should hollywood be faulted for that. well you know if people want to find different ways to avoid reality the reality of the suffering in the world the

rat reality of our perpetuation and creation of terrorism at this very moment all over the world for example united states covert operations navy seals intense mountain division forces were involved in the massive atrocities that existed in were committed in in eastern congo in one thousand nine hundred sixty no one knows anything about this but they're not going to show us american soldiers slaughtering innocent women and children which is what happened thousands and thousands of innocent women and children in september october of one thousand nine hundred sixty we're never going to see that what we see as this hollywood nonsense that is as i say it's pentagon nonsense and these guys don't operate by day they never operate by day in the film they couldn't make the film because it's all in everything you do at night and i got this from the tenth mountain division operative directly so it's total propaganda and people as i say i mean what we have for people to use to avoid reality and become a more immature psychologically disturbed pathologically insane society which we

have and that would be alcohol drugs which the cia brings in i mean the cia in the film is portrayed as the victims not victims the perpetrators of terror so we've got alcohol drugs propaganda and entertainment those are four of the big ones yeah there are only certainly some interesting points and i think it's just if there's bringing to light because i think that this is a relationship a lot of people have no idea actually exists or correspondent kate snow thanks so much. well that's going to do it for now but for more on the stories we covered go to our to dot com slash usa or you tube dot com slash our to america and you can follow me on twitter at christine. culture is the same of jargon code you know dollar any one of the little words tell the difference some even new boss same as the old boss this could very well describe what has happened in yemen after an uncontested presidential election what

does the future. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else you hear or see some other part of it and realize that everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom harpur welcome to the big picture. welcome to the future to the peaks of the looking glass at what will be the homes of the future where the walls might just be smarter than the residents every day trash protects you from the elements outside and the whole system works to save you money to shine the spotlight on the latest building projects all around russia technology i'm doing here on r.g.p. please go listen church. fish.

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