the u.s. pledges a switch to a supporting position in afghanistan by spraying away the military possibly maintaining that we're long past the twenty fourteen withdrawal de. france and its military to mali to drive al qaeda linked militants that how already gained control of vast areas of the west african country. and made in the u.k. local clothes manufacturers on the prime minister and top brass to buy british.

this is coming to live from moscow i'm marina joshing welcome to the program president obama says that u.s. forces will and most combat operations in afghanistan by spring and switched to a support role that's the outcome of a meeting between the president and afghan leader hamid karzai in what's thought to be the final chapter america's military presence in the country by. now reports the u.s. troops could remain of ghana stand well beyond twenty fourteen. during his election campaign president obama may have sounded very resolute to leave afghanistan in two thousand and fourteen but the white house is now negotiating terms to stay there the president said if u.s. forces stayed their role will be different but critics argue it's an attempt to rebrand a military presence which both the majority of americans and afghans a pope's going to listen to what president obama said about the mission after twenty fourteen i think. you know although obviously we're still.

two years away. i can say with assurance that this is a very different mission and a very different task and a very different. for the us if we're able to come to an appropriate agreement now one of the key points of the agreement that the president mentioned there keep point probably is immunity from prosecution for u.s. troops so that the afghans cannot prosecute any american soldier if they commit a crime that's the deal that the white house couldn't get from the iraqi government the u.s. wanted to keep some troops there but couldn't because of how we opposed the iraqis were to allowing the u.s. to further operate there with impunity but with homemade karzai it could be different he indicated that he is willing to give that immunity that he's willing to bourg it besides he knows that he's in power because of the americans and many experts believe his government will collapse in no time after americans leave but whatever post twenty fourteen deal comes out of their negotiations it might not be

easy for washington to sell it to the american people because despite the administration trying to present of ghana's stand as a success story in many ways they see it as a failure and don't understand why their troops should stay any further policymakers in washington can't really come out and say that they don't want to walk away and just just pack up and leave from such an important geopolitical position now that they've spent billions and billions of dollars to have a presence there but such chill political calculations may not sound very appealing to the american people at a time when the country's head over heels in debt despite pledges that u.s. troops in afghanistan will switch to a mainly support role phyllis bennis from washington bases used for policy studies believes it's still a long way off before local forces will take full control. we're talking about an official acknowledgement by the two governments that now the afghan military is in

control what that means is anybody's guess but what it does not mean is that the u.s. troops are going to be pulled out early there's a huge occupation force in the country that's not going to be brought out in twenty thirteen in the spring what we're talking about is a claim that as of that time the afghan people the afghan military the afghan government will officially be in charge they will be in charge of the military now the idea that the u.s. forces still there or the nato forces still there are going to take their orders from the afghan military i think is rather spurious that's certainly not going to happen i don't think the afghan government has the capacity to survive without massive u.s. support that means both economic support and crucially military support but his reliance on that support leads to one massive corruption which is widely hated throughout the country cause i had very little public support in in the country and

militarily his his very large army isn't capable of standing up to the other militias it's one more militia the u.s. leaving will leave his government and his own position in a very and in a very precarious moment and he may well not survive that politically. now with critics doubting america's promise to withdraw our troops from afghanistan our resident asks people in new york what they think of the pullout and the campaign. there is because of that wonderful oil. it's all about money. reaction to america's afghan mission from the streets of the big apple that's coming your way later in the program. president francois hollande has confirmed that french military intervention in mali will go on as long as necessary and this as government forces take the strategic town of qana from al qaida linked militants with the help of french airstrikes on the area the un has

also agreed to speed up the deployment of an african led force to the country as the most militants are looking to enforce strict sharia law in the region sparking fears it could become an al qaeda stronghold and eventually be used to threaten europe jeff steinberg senior editor of executive intelligence review says the crisis in mali is a result of the collapse of the gadhafi regime something which france itself helped instigate. there's definitely an element of falling back on an old colonial controller molly was given its independence in one thousand nine hundred sixty but is still part of the francophone region of africa the rebel operations in northern mali have existed for quite some time but it was only in the aftermath of the overthrow of the khadafi government in libya which was promoted by france britain and the united states in particular really double crossing china and

russia at the un security council for regime change it was only after that that you had a massive flow of weapons out of libya into the hands of the rebels which basically took a low intensity conflict and threw it into a much greater crisis where the rebels outgunned the mali an army and so suddenly as the result of one badly flawed regime change policy in libya we have instability spreading to many parts of the african continent and beyond so it's a kind of a supreme irony that the french are being asked to come in and clean up a mess that they themselves helped create dreamy prime minister benjamin netanyahu has said stopping iran from building nuclear weapons will be

a top priority if you wins in the upcoming election despite iran denying the allegations if you asked a major threat in israel as artie's policy you're now reports manning israelis are already preparing for war. mushroom clouds confusion hysteria this is israel's last day according to a young filmmaker who wants to shock his country into taking action i've created this morning to share my thoughts and my fears with the world about the potential threat that is coming from iran if you ask me the same question two years ago i will say that people don't think about it so much but today it is different we can see that the majority here of israel are preparing this so i think most mentally grandparents are holocaust survivors from a mania a foreshadow he fears of what could come it took hitler six series to kill six

million jews and it will take. only six minutes that's why i made this movie many israelis are really uneasy fearing iran might be building a nuclear bomb and tehran isn't mincing its words threatening tel aviv it will teach it a listen if it tries to attack first warning is we need missiles will make sure israel does not survive in the center of israel is a problem and that's where we have to move forward not only that we haven't got enough voters it's very very populated so everything that is falling in this area can cause casualties. in two thousand and six during the second lebanon war rachel balmer ors and her family hid here from the katyusha rockets raining down from across the border she never imagined she'd be restocking her shelter again so soon and for potentially more deadly consequences of course i'm afraid from the war from

with iran because nobody wants war and peace and now i have also some rain children five grandchildren and i'm afraid i'm afraid because my cells will go to the army there are soldiers in the air i don't want it the recent war with gaza was a chance for tel aviv to test its iron dome missile defense system but israelis are anxious in part because of widespread media coverage of just how unprepared for wall the country is many bomb shelters and residential buildings are rundown and neglected or have become furniture storage rooms while most of israel's arab citizens about to twenty percent of the population lack shelters altogether as the chances of war start looking all too real the army says four times as many israelis are collecting the state funded gas masks when they were several months ago i am a big concern it's not like i think they're going to be

a war. just. the side my fear this thing came from and with impending doomsday predictions circling the country no one wants to be caught and prepared police where our t.v. television. seeking a solution to the syrian conflict the un's be sad voice as a military will not lead the country out of civil war while rebel extremist fighters claim more strategic gains in syria's north. and easier said than done britain's m.p.'s are urged to dress in only what's been made in the u.k. we'll bring you those reports after a short break. you

know sometimes you see a story and it seems so poorly you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else you hear or see some other part of it and realize everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm sorry welcome to the big picture.

welcome back you're watching r.t. coming to live from moscow and the u.n. an arab league fees and wait for serious as there can be no military solution to the conflict meeting with top diplomats from moscow and washington has reiterated the need for more diplomacy to and the violence this is there some fifty countries that will call for you when to refer the situation in syria to the international criminal court a move could open the way for war crimes prosecutions the security council to consider the appeal layer meanwhile syrian activists say islamic militants have seized a strategic air base in the north capturing ammunition and military equipment washington is weighing how to secure a syria's chemical weapons that could fall into the hands of extremists u.s. and middle east experts also say the countries you raney i'm stockpiles are going to be at risk reports claim the basket is up to fifty tons of i don't richen raney i'm a little alice tamara xabi says western states present only one side of the conflict

. there's a lot of noise about it there was a bombing in two thousand and seven the israeli jets bombed the site in syria claiming that it is a nuclear site there was no indication yes the i.a.e.a. visited the site the i.a.e.a. said that there were traces a few rain of depleted uranium but they did not confirm that there was any quantity or at least you know this huge quantity that is being publicized i mean they're saying fifty tons of uranium this is this is i don't know where they come up with a number. i did some research and it appears that they came up with a number because they they they they are coming up with the story that this site that was there that was bombed in two thousand and seven would actually require fifty tons that doesn't mean that the syrians actually have fifty tons and that doesn't mean that the site is actually for a nuclear program the syrian central government was able to control more than. six

months there's an advance of the syrian army and the syrian official police and they are controlling most of the country there are only some areas in the country where rebel fighters in some areas in the countryside where the syrian army withdrew from these areas because they thought that these areas were not important strategically but over all the syrian central government under the leadership of president assad controls most of the syrian territory obviously it's difficult because there are many fighters infiltrating from outside syria there are many a lot of money being infiltrated being pumped into syria to these rebel groups by neighboring country especially by by turkey by qatar by other european and by the united states there is a sponsorship of these these terror groups severe weather is becoming the new norm for the u.s. that's according to a draft of the country's national climate assessment released on friday with a flickering electrical grid crumbling roads and bridges america's infrastructure appears unprepared for what mother nature can throw at it are these marine import

now reports now on what's being done to address the problem. over the past decade america has spent hundreds of billions in the name of national security wars military intervention fighting terrorists and hunting online hackers meantime getting much less attention is a domestic danger lurking in and lighting up every corner of the country the u.s. power grid in recent months federal officials have warned that america's electric cables substations and transformers are not sufficiently secured and are vulnerable to attack by anyone with a weapon and some basic know how experts say the energy grid is also outdated and antiquated unable to prevent outages from cascading in october superstorm sandy hit twenty four states causing some sixty three billion dollars in damage more than four and a half million people lost power and new york was left crippled by massive floods

leaving much of the city including half of the big apple plunged into darkness two months after the storm the streets of downtown manhattan remain clogged with tubes wires and heavy equipment because dozens of the city's iconic skyscrapers still rely on generators for power things like this. nature building. that does not occur in hong kong shanghai. because they have built systems designed to deal with the reality of nature. that is this kind corners feeling to invest. in economy when it comes to america's electricity ninety percent of the grid is privately owned by utility companies beholden to investors. energy sector in the united states is law actually. and to.

ask for. only by regulation own the federal government amend that law it regulation state and local governments though it possible to call our grids to gather that he is saying there are many reasons not only financial and also policy reasons where really changes. if we want to change our safety and livelihood the changes aren't just limited to the grid engineers have warned that many of america's bridges roads dams levees and power plants are in danger of crumbling if not repaired especially as sea levels continue rising even one bomb is nothing compared to what hurricane sandy did across the northeast

a thousand miles of destruction it was a very very big natural event. and you know to have congress not funding the. repair of the basic industry infrastructure. is just staggeringly shortsighted a broken foundation that risks the chance of becoming the nation's biggest homegrown danger marina portnoy r.t. new york. and our online team is working twenty four seven to provide you with the latest stories and pictures on our website and here are some of them let's take a look. public health emergencies sparked in the u.s. as the country is gripped by the deadliest flu outbreak in a decade killing more than a dozen people and leaving thousands struggling to fight off the illness. and also online recently granted russian passport in hand french actor gerard depardieu gets another invitation this time to join the fundies communist party.

and you're watching r t let's take a look at some other stories making news around the world now in pakistan leaders of the shiite minority have refused to bury the bodies of more than a one hundred victims killed in series of sectarian bombings on thursday the shia leaders are protesting over a lack of security in the country three days of mourning were declared following the attacks among the deadliest carried out by sunni extremists shia muslims are a minority in pakistan and have been the target of a recent surge in violence. overnight rioting has again hit the city of belfast in northern ireland a bus was torched and police used rubber bullets and water cannon to try a disperse a crowd at least four officers were injured in the clash over this loyalist block dozens of roads during rush hour causing traffic disruption throwing missiles and powerful bombs tension has been boiling for more than a month after the city council decided to fly the union flag in front of city hall

for only eighteen days in the year. around ten thousand people have protested in slovenia's capital of the ballot the are demanding that the country's prime minister and opposition leader resign after an official report accused them of corruption police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds dressed as zombies try to break through to the parliament building the latest allegations of grafts awakened previous gird that spread across libya in the vampyr. hour u.k. clothing manufacturers are calling on the prime minister and cabinet to buy british they say the industry needs a boost amid growing tension between firms selling real u.k. made clothes and those just using the union jack as a label but as artie's laura smith now reports from london it appears hard to find an outfit not made overseas. it's got the british flag on it but all of these

clothes made in britain a quick look at the label shows they're not made in china made in vietnam anywhere but here and down on the high street the story's no different you'd be hard pushed to find anything with a made in britain label on it in any shop a recent survey by a daily mail journalist found just one item in sixty three with a british made label but now david cameron and his ministers are being urged to back british from their hats to their socks and wear only british made clothes it's not impossible there are companies that still make clothes in the u.k. including the firm that's doing the urging private whites b. c. but the vast majority of what we were ninety percent at the last count and including everything i'm wearing today is made abroad since two thousand and fifty two percent of jobs in the textile industry have disappeared and we imported twelve

and a half billion pounds worth more clothing than we export it last year even some companies that trade on their very british north don't manufacture here so even if david cameron and his colleagues did pledge only to buy british it's unlikely to revive britain's a leg textile industry as doubts rise about america's promise of a military spring clean and ghana stan our very own resident into the streets of new york to find out what people think about the u.s. long lasting operation there. the obama administration has recently said that it's considering having no troops in afghanistan after december of two thousand and fourteen is that a good thing a bad day or a totally made up thing designed for political shenanigans this week let's talk

about that do you even think he's going to do it he said that to years ago and it didn't happen so i don't buy it so why does he keep saying it if he doesn't mean it . to get people to like it their families will be happy with hopefully you know you finish what you started what did we start and what do we have to finish what is finishing mean i guess to capture or. do you think that we've defined what and means it's tough because you know we don't know everything i think we need to have a world presence to maintain the market and why is it up to us to maintain a well presence why don't we just get out of everyone's business well that's a good idea too but if no if we don't do it nobody will and otherwise the world's going to go to war and we were in his stabilizing factor and until now and time it's been us but we're the ones causing all the wars. depends on your perspective i guess i'm sort board more defending than attacking but don't you think that there

are some people in the world that feel like america imposes its will on their countries just put america's will lose its freedom and democracy at its heart it's not a fanatical you don't think it's its own might be money and imperialism a little bit too i don't believe that it is imperialism. and what about money do you think that money might drive some of our reasons for most of course but money is going to help everybody i don't think it's happening i i just came back from afghanistan so oh so you don't believe he's really going to pull the troops away. entirely i think that i think that there are presence there is important and this war sustaining what we've done so far my opinion is that the reason we are over there is because of the wonderful oil and i don't have it's all about money and. that's a marina someone who puts your life i'm the line doesn't that make you mad and

makes me really upset because we have a lot of marines that are dying each and every day in afghanistan you know and you know for god's sakes i can be next you know so it does make me pretty upset that he's promising something that he's not owning up to the bottom line is we're so used to having us troops all over the world up in everyone's business that we probably can't imagine us pulling out of anywhere and that makes americans the world's bullies whether we like it or not. coming your way after a short break capital count compare is the fiscal cliff rides with a speeding train for disaster.

crime is a plague of the big cities but in a tiny arkansas town of twenty five thousand it is really getting out of hand pure gold is a property crime index of more than double the national average and rape burglary and assault are also way above average poor poor gold is a dangerous place to live in but what's the answer to living in constant fear of criminals well the mayor thinks that the answer to that problem is to live in constant fear of the government how logical the mayor and police chief have a doorstop plan to send out police patrols with a fifteen's and full swat armor to i guess intimidate the local population into submission well actually the plan is for them to stand around it ask people an important question ask them to show id the answer to crime isn't a police state sending guys out with automatic weapons and body armor around just

to check people's i.d.'s like it's the berlin wall or something won't do anything a guy who breaks into your house for crystal meth money isn't going to be affected by this only the good average citizens will have to show an armed thug of their id just to go buy milk but that's just my opinion. good afternoon welcome to capital account i'm lauren lyster here in washington d.c. these are your headlines for thursday december twentieth two thousand and twelve in the u.s. as the fiscal cliff approaches reuters reports republicans are aiming to vote today in the house on

a plan which obama promptly says he would veto meanwhile fish has warned the u.s. could lose its aaa credit rating if washington doesn't get a deal to treat what we call economy ria no this may all feel like deja vu and maybe it will all turn out fine maybe it won't though where do you want to place your bets we'll talk to the daily reckonings eric bryant and joe bowman about their choices plus a german study finds paying taxes has a positive impact on a person's subjective well being no word on what the findings would bring in the west but if you are counting on taxation to make you feel like your quality of life is on the up and up state side we'll talk about some other economic options and the opec of maple syrup has been robbed millions of dollars worth of the hot commodity has been stolen from canada's maple syrup cartel yes cartel i said maple syrup cartel and those are not my words that's according to the new york times we'll talk about it in loose change let's get to today's capital account.