washington says it all really assignats afghan mission to assisting local forces from the spring response regulation over plans to maintain its military in the chaotic country. mali government forces chase militants out of a key city with the help of french military air strikes after president francois on stated intervention in the area will continue as long as necessary. loyalist the clashes shake northern ireland yet again after the console decision to why the union flag days a year. we're

watching r g it's one of a clock here and was going to live with me tom would say america is to leave local forces in charge of combat operations in afghanistan and so show us support for all displaying the announcement came from the us president barack obama after a round of talks with his afghan counterpart on what's being hailed as a last chapter of the u.s. afghan mission but i scan it can reports american involvement in the country looks said. 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 stay 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 oppose my

solution to a president obama said about the mission after twenty fourteen i think. you know although obviously we're still. two years when. i can say with assurance that this is a very different mission and different task and a very different footprint for the u.s. if we're able to come to an appropriate agreement as you know one of the key points of the agreement that the president mentioned their 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 oppose 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 and that he's willing to bargain 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 that is 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 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 despise at this latest announcement afghan forces i know positioned to take full control of affairs in the war time country so says phyllis bennis from washington space institute for policy studies. 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 karzai has very little public support 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 that the afghan president's washington trips are done and dusted laurie often assaults people in new york what they think of their country's campaign in afghanistan. the reason we're over there is because they're wonderful. it's all about. the views of the decade long invasion from the streets of the big apple coming your way later in the program. a french pilot has been killed in fighting in mali as a european nation continues to launch strikes against islamist militants it comes after mali's government troops chase rebels out of

a key central town of qana aided by the french military that's after president alanda announced on friday that the intervention would last as long as necessary the u.n. security council called for a speedy deployment of international forces to battle the rebels seized the north of the country last april and since made significant advances a number of governments voice their concerns over mali potentially becoming a terrorist stronghold which could threaten its neighbors as well as you would the senior editor of executive intelligence review says the french have helped create the region's instability which they're now trying to get rid of. 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. gadhafi

government in libya which was promoted by france britain and the united states in particular really double crossing china and russia and the u.n. 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 meanwhile to france soldiers have died in

somalia during a failed mission to rescue the hostage and it's also been killed the raid in the area began hours after french troops intervened in mali to help government to special rebels name their hundred nine french people held hostage across africa. at least four police officers have been injured in the latest outbreak of loyalist clashes in northern ireland tensions been running high for more than a month after belfast console decided to fly the union flag above city hall for only eighteen days a year are to serve for use in the province looks into what else is fueling the unrest recreational rioting that's what some people are calling it. has been taking place all across belfast in the past week many of them peaceful but in pockets violence breaking out in the craters on the other side many of them

young their faces covered as police come under attack with rocks and petrol bombs mark easton's the director of the east belfast mission group is working with young protesters to try to calm the tensions some kids are doing it for fun or doing it for more sinister motives in terms of control terms of par in terms of ego. or doing it because it's sexier than the playstation you know young girls are doing a book and young girls even with young children we've seen on the streets i don't think a fully realized what their actions can result. they're just. and so we're striving along and you know it's not fun for me. on the circuit decision at the beginning of december to limit the number of days the union flag flies at city hall but in what's been the most sustained outbreak of violence since the one nine hundred ninety eight good friday it's clear that the problems run much deeper one

of the protesters here asking. just a wonderful. one are in pace to get off their backs age peter robinson least you're not really not them he was the one that had to start. for us to come out on the street to protest against. a nice set of banks a very retail wall of flack. rubbish and. you know but when he wanted also it on the streets for his own actions. we can make for the thing the protesters would predict that any kind of compromise when it comes to this is the flying the flag of it's the flag turn not said. we know we're not going to get back up to normal action because it's the majority really. uneasy nudist or ins now holds to try to reengage politically but we're told much more will need to be done there be no quick fixes here i don't think there's any silver bullet i think

there's so many different things need to happen economic. investment political investment community investment by and by all the stakeholders in these communities to try to resolve the wide raft of issues that are a blight you say fall there's been over one hundred people arrested more than sixty police officers injured and millions of pounds spent in policing these riots and in lost business revenue. they these riots have been highly localized the damage has already been far reaching this is a new generation bringing violence back onto the streets of belfast it's a far cry from the darker days of northern ireland's conflicts that doesn't make it any less trouble. fell fast. on the way crime and punishment find out why those accused of committing notorious

massacre is suing the syrian conflict will soon be getting a ticket to the hague. well for the. science technology innovation all the news developments from around russia we've got the future covered. you know he's a good leverage surely to mccurry was able to build a news most sophisticated robot which fortunately doesn't give a darn about anything turns mission to teach music creation why it should care about humans and world this is why you should care only on the.

morning news today vorlon says once again flared up. these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. giant corporations are on the day. you're watching arsenal a group of more than fifty countries is preparing to officially asked the un security council to refer the crisis in syria to the hague the move could pave the way for war crimes prosecutions by the international court the backers of the initiative stress that gross violations have taken place during the twenty two month conflict and everyone responsible should be held to account it allows the latest round of mediation talks in geneva where russia and the u.s.

on the top peace and avoided syria reiterated their commitment to a peaceful solution to the crisis and as a relentless fighting rages on some western experts claim damascus might be hiding a stockpile of role you raney i'm a political analyst believes that that statement should be taken with a pinch of salt. 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 of uranium 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 the number. obviously i did some research and it appears that they came up with a number because they they feel 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. past six months there's an advance of the syrian army and the syrian official police and they're controlling most of the country there are only some areas in. countries. 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 through these rebel groups by a neighbor grudge especially by by turkey by qatar by other european and by the united states there is a sponsorship of these terror groups crumbling roads and bridges flickering

electrical grids america's infrastructure is creaking and it's becoming a big problem and even tough mother nature has played a hand in wrecking supplies recently the government is earmarking money for almost anything other than energy as mine about my experience over the past decade america has spent hundreds of billions in the name of national security wars military intervention fighting terrorist 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 our role normal 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 coops wires and heavy equipment because dozens of the city's iconic skyscrapers still rely on generators for power things like this going to show months with major buildings. that does not occur in hong kong in shanghai. because they have built systems designed to deal with the reality of nature so it is this cutting corners feeling to invest in you know most you know what are you

reckon 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 privately operated and took her. there for. only by regulation own the federal government and then that law it regulation to state local governments though it is possible to call our grant to gather that he is saying there are many reasons not only financial and also policy reasons where really changes have to. 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 during a port i.r.t. new york. on our website or right now hundreds of aboriginal rights activists stage a mass rally in canada pledging to bring that country's economy to its knees find out why online. class and reach their flailing economy it

appears are some greek served declared war on the mainstream media log on to r.t. dot harm to find out more. israeli's prime minister benjamin netanyahu says stopping iran from making a nuclear bomb will be his top priority if you wins the upcoming parliamentary vote the threat of an attack seems so real to many israelis that they already snapping up guess miles and renovating bomb shelters as policy has been discovering. mushroom clouds confusion hysteria this is israel's last day according to a young filmmaker who wants to shock us country into taking action i have created do for more room 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. it is

different we can see that the majority here of israel are preparing even so i think most mentally grandparents are holocaust survivors from a mania a foreshadow he fears of what could come it took six serious to kill six million jews and it will. only six minutes. that's why i made this more many israelis already 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 waning missiles will make sure israel does not survive 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 these radios are anxious in part because of widespread media coverage of just how unprepared for war the country has 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 connecting the state funded gas masks then they were several months ago i am a big concern it's not like i think they're going to be a worry. just. the side my fear this thing case and with impending doomsday predictions circling the country no one wants to be caught unprepared police fear our t.v. television. has washington been bluffing about the troop withdrawal from afghanistan and was in time mission justified in the first place artie's a resident hit the streets of new york to gauge opinion.

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 thing 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 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 it means it's tough because you know we don't know everything i think we need to have a world presence to maintain the mockers why is it up to us to maintain a world 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 really need a stabilizing factor and until now in time it's been us but we're the ones causing

all the wars. depends on your perspective i guess i'm sort were more defending than attacking my opinion is that the reason we are over there is because of the wonderful oil and. it's all about money and. that the marinas they want to put your life on the line doesn't that make you mad it 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 old enough 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.

and a few minutes on a regular financial check up from washington with lauren lister. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so silly you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else you hear or see some other part of it and realized everything you

thought you knew you don't. i'm tom hartman welcome to the big picture. 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 fitch has warned the u.s.

could lose its aaa credit rating if washington doesn't get a deal to treat what we call economy 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.

in the u.s. as we watch this fiscal cliff charade it honestly sounds just so much like what we were hearing during the debt ceiling debate of two thousand and eleven when lawmakers were bickering and another ratings agency was threatening to drop the u.s. is aaa credit rating and then it of course did now that was met with much fanfare in the beginning but then not many direct consequences the dollar has strengthened against other currencies the u.s. has borrowed at record low rates since and maybe this whole fiscal cliff saga will play out in the exact same way and if another ratings agency in this case which downgrades the u.s. so what won't matter and with events that actually do change the contours of the game we don't actually know what these things will even.