today on r t it took years after the u.s. bombed hiroshima and nagasaki to understand the true impact nuclear weapons had on japanese civilians and today nearly a decade after the war in iraq began we're starting to get a clearer picture of what impact depleted uranium is having on iraq and people the story about a disturbing trend in birth defects ahead. and they say talk is cheap but if rumors are true about the white house wanting to hold talks with iran could it be a costly mistake for the obama administration just weeks before the election and at a time when most americans believe war should be a last resort r.t.

asks what's so wrong about bringing iran to the negotiating table. and r.t. is counting down until the presidential debate number one between president obama and governor romney that's already gotten plenty of other attention something that you won't see on network news the third party debate but don't worry we've got you covered we will have a preview of that coming up. it's monday october twenty second four pm in washington d.c. i'm christine for example and you're watching our t.v. . we want to get this hour with a closer look at the aftermath of the u.s. led war in iraq there is new information out that over the last few years there has been a significant rise in miscarriages and also in birth defects and babies in that country according to the environmental contamination and toxicology bulletin in the past

seven years the number of babies born with major birth to facts increased by more than sixty percent and forty five percent of pregnancies in cities studied and in miscarriage this is one of several studies that finds direct connections with military assault in certain regions of iraq and major health problems particularly with babies r g correspondent liz wahl takes a deeper look. a new study takes a look at birth defects in two of the hardest hit cities during the iraq war including fallujah and central iraq and bars around the southeastern region of the country the study from the bulletin of environmental contamination and toxicology takes a close look at birth defects at hospitals in these cities over the span of a decade and the findings are disturbing to say the least this chart takes a look at the percentage of birth defects for patients at volusia general hospital between one thousand nine hundred one and two thousand and ten as you can see birth defects skyrocketed between two thousand and four and two thousand and six it was

in april of two thousand and four the u.s. marines first bombarded the city and as time goes on the number of babies being born with congenital defects continues to rise significantly and according to this study between two thousand and seven and two thousand and ten nearly sixty percent of all babies recorded had birth defects and it looks like there is a link between the time military assaults began and the number of babies that are miscarried during this time but the number of miscarriage miscarriages rises drastically forty five percent of pregnancies and in miscarriage the scientists also took hair samples from children with birth defects and fifty six flu shot families and what they found is that the toxic chemicals of mercury and lead were found to be five times higher in these children and the effects are devastating you're looking at babies born with severe birth defects in the flu should general hospital but we may and august two thousand and ten the most common abnormalities

include congenital heart defects neural tube defects and facial cleft ng now this study is just one of many that links military assaults the prevalence of birth defects toxic metals like mercury lead and depleted uranium are used in bullets and bombs and pregnant mothers and their unborn babies are especially prone to toxic chemicals and pollution and during the u.s. army's three we've been bar. men of illusion marines use hellfire missiles and two thousand pound bombs in addition to what the pentagon classifies as chemical weapons these are tanks loaded with the pleated uranium and phosphorus bombs white phosphorus was the same weapon saddam hussein used against the kurds in february of one thousand nine hundred one one of the many reasons the united states used to justify their invasion of iraq so what does that apartment defense have to say about this a spokesperson told r.t. quote we are not aware of any official reports indicating an increase in birth

defects that albums are or fallujah that may be related to exposure to the metals contained in munitions used by the u.s. or coalition partners we always take very seriously public health concerns about any population now living in a combat theater unexploded ordinance including improvised explosive devices are a recognized hazard in other words at this point the pentagon doesn't see lead mercury or depleted uranium as recognize hazards and about a month the world health organization organization is set to release its long awaited study on the lingering health effects in iraq and it's expected their findings will make the same link that exposure to toxic medical's metals excuse me a result of repeated bombings has not just ravaged the country cities but its future generations bodies as well and washington loses all r.t. now on to iran a country that is once again in the spotlight and dominating discussion both for national and international leaders and for much of the u.s.

mainstream media as well now this is in part due to an article published over the weekend in the new york times which sparked a major discussion about the u.s. role in dealing with iran ahead of tonight's presidential debate on foreign policy . the article outlines a somewhat vaguely how both the u.s. and iran have agreed in principle to talks after the november sixth election the talks would be aimed at tehran curbing its nuclear ambitions though some of called it an attempt by iran to use the prospect of direct diplomatic talks to buy time following the publication of the article both the white house and iranian officials publicly denied it national security council council spokesman tommy vietor says it's not true that the united states and iran have agreed to one on one talks or any meeting after the american elections we continue to work with the p five plus one on a diplomatic solution and i have said from the outset that we would be prepared to meet bilaterally the president has made clear that help prevent iran from getting a nuclear weapon and that we will do what we must to achieve that. if you want to

dissect this and also to look at it in a few different ways i've got adam carolla promise a producer for huff post live to help do that adam i know you've covered this from a few different angles let's put politics aside for just a second here and talk about the foreign policy aspect of this if this new york times article is true or even parts of it are true what are the implications here short well the implication is that the united states has publicly vilified iran and now they're going largely behind the us public's back and is reaching out to them to for whatever reason or whatever way create a political resolution to the nuclear file to the nuclear program that has many people in washington worried you know there's been this sort of for the last thirty years or so you want a phobia in the american political culture and so any attempt by the obama administration to reach out to iran can really be used by their political opponents their domestic political opponents to you know create fodder for the campaign for

the the cat the debate tonight on the foreign policy realm you know i argue that it's there's a good for obama to do this i think this issue with iran u.s. relations is really reaching a crucial point where the iranian public is buckling under these you know most profound saying sions and the u.s. position of power in the region is you know really precariously delicately in the balance what do you think it says though about the state of foreign policy that both parties both you know the administration and iran seem to be denying in engaging in such a popular course of action well it's possible that the new york times report wasn't entirely accurate and how they portrayed this agreement i mean we don't really know if a date has been set if you know the endpoints have been agreed to what we do know is that both sides are open to some sort of direct bilateral negotiation and that's really significant because what both publics have been or what both governments

have been telling their people is that it's almost impossible to come to think oh shooting table. so that's sort of the real the real impetus for putting down these reports and denying it so ok we will bring politics into this some calling this you know a quote unquote october surprise saying it could give the president like you said it could be a popular thing give the president a boost but i'm wondering i mean is there any indication that mitt romney would refuse talks or would even do things differently if he's elected well it's a good question because i think you're wrong in leaders in their public statements have even said that they don't really see much of a difference between obama and romney i mean we see in the last four years the obama administration has largely continued or expanded bush's a push is covert policies against the islamic republic of iran so there isn't really you know an idea of what a romney presidency would do a negotiation zz i think it would be a bad idea for me to pull out of talks if they were agreed upon because it would make it seem like romney really isn't interested in talks and it would put the onus on the ited states to kind of come to the table and that's not

a position that the u.s. wants to be in instead i think you're on looks at united states of the system as a continuous system and one that has really you know kept the same policy of pressure and more pressure on iran for the last thirty years or so and so it's been so interesting watching you know the media reaction to this it used to be that a big story would be saved you know for the front cover of the sunday new york times and i think eventually that's where it was printed but but this came out on saturday so they gave you know the producers of those sunday shows anough have a chance to change the topics and to book asked a major mainstream media blitz when it came to interpret ing the meaning of this report let me just play out of a small bit of what you may have seen or heard this weekend. days before the big debate on foreign policy the obama fan club newsletter i.e. the new york times drops a bombshell claiming the u.s. and iran have agreed to negotiate on nukes let me ask you about something that's developing this morning in the new york times exclusive reporting about iran

yesterday there were reports of the administration is considering or moving toward direct negotiations with iran over its pursuit of nuclear weapons and the timing of this is so curious the weekend before this final presidential debate hours really before and i think that's why the white house was so quick in its denial. so the timing the curious nature of this is that what about the fact that most americans at least according to polls would prefer diplomatic talks to the alternative you know no talks at all or military force sure and that was one of obama's original two thousand and eight campaign promises you know he wanted to bring iran to the table and come to the table for talks i don't think he entered the white house really knowing what that would entail when he made his proposals some would say that they were half hearted that they didn't really address key iranian concerns over the u.s. or u.s. presence in the region and some would say that iran wanted just wanted to buy time i think that this these current round of sanctions kind of play into that because it says it gives the obama administration

a chance to say look we can save face now we've implemented the most harsh sanctions regime in the history of us here on relations and now the iranians are really for starting to feel it and are starting to capitulate under u.s. pressure so if that's the argument that the u.s. wants to make then it makes sense that they would want to say you know give these signs are these weeks that they're ready to talk in that iran is ready to talk converse lee iran can also say you know look due to the arab spring due to the u.s. losing allies in the region the u.s. is now ready to talk in the u.s. wants to have some sort of diplomatic agreement with iran so that we don't we can put these hostilities behind us because really at the end of the day you know it's the american people it's the iranian people that are losing out over these continued hostilities between the two governments and those arguments really give the the two sides a way to pull back from the brink and to come away from from that they have put themselves towards yes certainly you're right i mean sometimes in winning the messaging more is more important than what's what actually happens you were talking

just a second ago about the sanctions i know an official with the obama administration said today that while diplomacy could be a part of the puzzle sanctions have been essential to the u.s. plan designed to pressure iran to come back to the table i mean is. this is a desperate measure by iran because of these crippling sanctions or you know do you think there's a whole lot more to the puzzle here i think at the end of the day these new good news is the nuclear negotiations are really more joe political in nature you know the same sions have had definitely a horrible toll on the population my own family included is is is feeling these these sanctions i think that it can be used as a way again you know to bring both sides to the table but what's interesting is that you know congress and the wall is the one that has a knack of these these sanctions and so it would take legislation to repeal them you know additionally they've implemented these sanctions for a whole variety of reasons not just the nuclear program ostensibly you know the

human rights violations that iran has committed or it's you know quote unquote global support for terrorism and so it's hard to see how the u.s. administration obama's administration would repeal these sanctions piecemeal if if iran had some sort of agreement for its nuclear program i just heard you say that even your family has been impacted by the sanctions i mean what have you heard what do you think is the story not being told in the u.s. that you would like to get across here well i think what's most interesting the most interesting is that the u.s. administration has said that we're going to let you know humanitarian and medical aid go through and that's true there are preventing that but what they are doing is cutting off effectively iran central bank and also how it plays on the international market for financial transactions and that has effectively created an economic humanitarian blockade because quite frankly iranian hospitals cat pay pharmaceutical companies for the the medications they need and so people you know

iranian americans are resorted to bringing medication with them you know mass amounts of tylenol you know special cancer related treatments or you know medications to iran physically because quite frankly the hospitals there can't buy it themselves due to financial sanctions certainly so some basic things are a whole lot of people in this country probably take for granted. and just so much going on that we really really aren't so aware of adam karami a producer of huff post live thanks so much thank you. still ahead on our team are you ready to rumble third party presidential candidates assure our program tonight square off between president obama and governor romney well introduce you to some of the all there political contenders on the scene.

this presidential election is not just about obama and romney there are also third party candidates on the ticket and they will influence its outcome see a debate among this nation's major third party candidates right here on our t.v. on october twenty third. i will fight. that i also promised that i'd like every single day the member of.

my own. well tonight's debate on foreign policy between governor mitt romney and president barack obama is being touted as the third and final debate between presidential

candidates well in fact it's not the other presidential candidates will actually be debating tomorrow and also next week remember when you go to cast your ballot there will be far more than just two names you keep hearing that you have the option to vote for libertarian gary johnson is on the ballot in forty eight states plus washington d.c. the green party candidate jill stein is on the ballot in thirty seven states and d.c. the justice party's rocky anderson is on the ballot in fifteen states and virgil goode of the constitution party is in twenty six states of one of those states virginia causing some drama and quite a few republicans are concerned that he could take votes away from mitt romney in his home state which will cost well most likely be a close contest now as far as these other debates i should tell you governor mitt romney and president obama worry in fact invited to participate but they declined tomorrow's debate will be hosted by larry king and next week's by artie's own host of the big picture tom hartman i want to speak now to christina's home and founder

of the free and equal lections foundation the group sponsoring the debate there christine i know last time we spoke you hadn't yet announced the host of tomorrow is today we now know it's going to be larry king talk about how you came to that decision to have him host to and his reaction when you approached him. they actually approached us i got a call from ora t.v. there larry king and we started talking and i said hey does larry king want to moderate this the stork debate and he said sure so it was that easy and they've been a great team to work with i've been so happy and i'm really looking forward to come operating the debate with them tomorrow evening starts at eight pm central time eight to nine thirty pm a lot of americans though as you know christine they're unfamiliar with some of these candidates from other parties even by calling these debates you know quote unquote third party it's sort of hands at the other four candidates all sort of being lumped into the same group are there major differences between the four candidates participating in tomorrow night's debate well there are some differences

but i think there are a lot more similarities these candidates are coming together to unite against a spectrum i guess is two party stranglehold of the system they all agree that we should in the federal reserve there should be no patriot act there should be no sofa no indeed no drug war maybe even no war so we're going to gather this discussion and then shining a light on the money in politics the money and media and the need to open the debates and we're doing that here three nico election so you don't expect you know as we saw it with debate number two between romney and obama got a little contentious people were joking that it looked like certain parts of that night that that one one of the two when it was about to throw a punch i mean you don't expect to see you know such a contentious such a contentious nature tomorrow night. no i mean the commission on presidential debates is committing a front or as a voter for quite some time as i mentioned in a previous interview and. the league of voters that is does that as well as well

srini collections you know when you have a debate like the commission of such presidential debates run by the former chair of the republican and democratic party you look at the money the sponsors behind it are tied in to buffet you know general motors and a c.n.c. i mean these are these are just it's not a real to face them here green equal room here to open it up not only was in the united states but worldwide and we're so happy thank you art to america for covering this debate live worldwide tomorrow at eight thirty at the hilton chicago really great to be moderated by larry king well the bottom line is that you know most states forty eight states in this country will have other candidates in addition to just romney and obama it's a little bit surprising that this is not has gotten such little attention but almost no attention and yet you know third party candidates you know they're often called spoilers ralph nader back in two thousand ross perot in one thousand nine hundred two but you know they weren't invited to these main debating even in the

primaries leading up to picking romney as the republican nominee talk a little bit about that process. that's because the system is greg again the creation of the australian ballot the ballot access varies so difficult for candidates to get on the ballot the days of it debates are close we have that voting methods we need to implement proportional representation these are the sort of things that we hope to inspire people as they see these candidates yesterday gary johnson from the libertarian party of the bee jill stein from the green party rocky anderson from the justice party and virgil goode from the constitution party and all these four candidates i see for me i personally see them as individuals i don't even think the party system works because the origins of the constitution our forefathers it doesn't even mention parties in the constitution so i look forward to seeing the ideas discussed and seeing that common denominator and i see a huge peaceful movement arising in two thousand and thirteen and lots of kids people wanting to run for office in the two thousand and fourteen elections and i

proceeded back to this notion of third party candidates being called spoilers as i mentioned an interruption of virgil goode who a lot of people haven't heard of you know but he served in the u.s. congress he served the state senate in virginia the romney campaign is very worried about having his name on the ballot that that help you know take away votes from mommy talk about this notion that third party candidates are spoilers especially in close elections well the system was so concerned the two parties that they were so concerned about a spoiler set and they should come out in support of proportional representation instead ross voting these sort of things would get rid they would squash the spoiler back but it really isn't a spoiler effect of anything it's a two party system spoiling america so what we need to do virgil he's been in office for over thirty five years rocky anderson with the justice party former mayor of utah and wound gary johnson out new mexico former two term governor just signed amazing woman you know we have really great people coming together to point

out the corruption again we have all these problems today because of the money in politics that these in are the the like. any they get special interest social banks all connected to the federal reserve and we're here to brains that break that stranglehold of the huge peaceful movement of free nickel elections working again with honest media like you guys another oh and we just found out just five minutes ago this will be aired on television nationwide throughout the united states through c.-span yeah and we will be airing it as well of course we're going to keep our viewers and you mention the time and we'll get we'll give it at the end but we're going to be giving coverage before the debate and then airing the debate here live just a couple other questions for you that christina talk a little bit about the extent to which you think these third party candidates could affect the upcoming election i think that there's going to be more of a fact in the two thousand and fourteen races the two thousand and twelve races read we looked we saw was the republican party did to ron paul for example they

would rather crash the party than let ron paul take over well who knows who the democratic party would do to the republican party if it came to that in the november election but in the case as congressman ron paul said himself around nader you know the congressional the local races the two thousand and fourteen races those are key to breaking our system so again once we get through november we're here to stay green eagle is the beginning and we love our team america was actually there last i think there's a pride in studio one staff everybody has their you guys just really radiate and well i'm so while you had a good time i know it but you and i spoke last week really quick christina i know a lot of these candidates we mentioned all for them my name still fighting to get on the ballot in more states than there on any updates on this. sure it's just another reason why the system is rigged those ballot access areas are created by the two parties and so i was a national ballot access critic for ralph nader two thousand and eight i would have

worked around paul's doesn't matter across the spectrum and oversaw getting over half a million signatures not only did i manage all the states throughout the us but i was on the ground gathering signatures according hundreds of circulars simultaneously stacked this issue of and dealing with all of these bogus laws that well the third party is an independent another reason for the suparna it's a waste of money to keep them from being able to raise money for their campaign because they aren't on the ballot so i like to drive a stake through the heart a system so all those candidates are going to run in thirteen they're all going to be for better ballot access barriers like maybe a flat file and that's something five hundred bucks to get on the bow colorado louisiana well we're here to let the people decide right certainly should be interesting christina told when founder of the free and equal elections and of course a reminder r.t. america will be airing the debate live tomorrow night our coverage begins at eight pm eastern with the debate itself kicking off at nine o'clock when the capital count is up next on our team left check in with laura lister to see what is on the

agenda today lauren happy monday what you working on. because foreign policy debate is tonight between obama and romney so we're going to take this is an opportunity to talk about what some individual citizens foreign policy agenda may be and why they need choosing to get out of the country so we have dug casey on his of casey research he is just got such a huge fan club and trust me he doesn't miss is mince his words and our viewers are and your viewers are going to be very excited to see what he has to say christine in just a couple minutes ago where they go and when they're getting out of the country well you will just have to watch the show to find out all right definitely worth a stick around for lauren show but for us here that's going to do it for more on the stories we cover go to our youtube dot com slash r t america or check out our website r t dot com slash usa and you can of course follow me on twitter if you're not already you can find me at christine we're going to back here in

a half hour. mr . absolutely.

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