why you should care only. france is targeting the last remaining militant strongholds in the north of mali and civilians in cities liberated by the french led military coalition report widespread civilian casualties. a u.s. and geo claims more than fifty countries were involved in america's notorious extraordinary rendition program some going as far as hosting cia black sites for enhanced interrogation of terror suspects r.t. asked why so many governments got involved in what activists call state sponsored kidnapping and even torture. and president ahmadinejad flies into egypt in what is the first trip of its kind by an iranian leader in thirty years the visit is seen

as an attempt to improve ties between the two regional heavyweights amid rising tensions with israel. top news and commentary live from moscow this is r.t. glad to have you with us now the french military assisted by local militia has taken the city of the last major city stronghold controlled by islamists meanwhile the warplanes have continued striking of the remaining militant hideouts in the far north of the country the french foreign minister has hinted that the operation may be over as early as march but while the advance has been swift and the conflict is already taking its toll on the civilians artie's gonzalo want reports from the war torn country. that is their money they know what i'm going to look at today in this town and everyone is celebrating the capture of two important . leaders one of them is mohammed the head of the demon

a group which retired will continue to for months particularly violating the rights of women he was captured along with. the leader of the movement for unity and jihad in west africa say he was taken north of close to the border with algeria the capture of these two leaders demonstrates what everyone knows the city of go into book to buy havens of security in a dangerous wilderness we were ourselves detained by the mali an army when trying to get to the city of duane's any movement towards the north has been strictly forbidden since last weekend when six million soldiers were killed by explosives planted by rebels on the roads leading there was this risk affects the stability of the country and distances in mali are so big that it is next to impossible to travel safely on the roads and so now the region lacks food medicine and fuel specifically in this part of the region of it and not to there are about seven

thousand refugees children suffer the most coming unless medication is brought in without the centers treating malnutrition like the one we saw him up to would face tragedy to coming. clean. treating malnutrition is a necessity in today's critical situation negligence was the cause of malnutrition before but now and then this crisis most children are suffering tizen as it happens in every home where children don't get enough care and could die who need that alternative syrians are being tried to deliver supplies to timbuktu the in the share and spread them to the north from there we also saw many people come to donate blood so desperately needed in hospitals a christian community in the central region of mali has been collecting supply see that as. the war has taken on a religious meaning and when that happens the first thing they to announce they're hunting us those who are directly linked with religion. get us out. despite the

fact that the war is moving away the situation remains critical a country filled with refugees and deport the health and food crisis is putting eighteen million people at risk of malnutrition is there pressure on us but what is what am i going to hear gonzalo lunch or mali for r t. geo political analyst patrick henningsen believes the war on terror is just a pretext used by some powers to tighten its grip on africa. this is supposedly an african led mission but really if you look under the surface of it all these happenings in the last month or so go pills perfectly into the united states africa directive agenda which has been put in place in two thousand and seven under bush and it has really caught pace under the obama administration so it could be a case of this is just an entree for bigger escalation on the western powers in the future look at the government in mali is a junior military coup that took over

a democratically elected president who fell out of favor with the u.s. so again it's the king making nation building and we're going to see more and more of this enough for africa's untapped economically in the west is really racing with china to gain sort of dominance on this continent because of all the you radio the cobalt. you know tanian the lithium all the rare earth minerals the gas the oil africa is absolutely bountiful and this is going to be a battleground in the resource wars of the twenty first century. and coming up later in the program oil money can't buy you love rich and black gold well the gulf monarchies that once it took pride in being some of the most stable countries in the region are now shaking under a storm of popular uprisings. a new york based ngo group has released a report claiming fifty four countries took part in the cia's secret to detention

and rendition program according to the document governments around the world aided in transportation kidnapping and torture with some even providing prisons known as black sites going to church account comments. this is a very comprehensive report prepared by the open society foundations not only do they detail torture techniques that were used at cia secret prisons overseas to so-called black sites but also give a list of countries that one way or another produce appétit in cia secret detention an extraordinary river in dition operations including by hosting cia prisons on their territories detaining interrogating torturing going to be using it to be jewels assisting in a tour in the capture and transport of detainees and so on so the list includes countries like of galveston all australia canada denmark djibouti age of georgia germany syria turkey italy the united arab emirates. united the united kingdom yemen and other countries while

president bush acknowledged that the cia had secretly detained about one hundred prisoners and this report alleges that there were more the u.s. government had only identified sixteen high value detainees italy is the only country where a court has criminally convicted officials for their involvement in extraordinary rendition operations canada is the only country to issue an apology to an extraordinary rendition victim here are our who was rendered to and tortured in syria only three countries in addition to canada and that have swayed in australia and the united kingdom have issued compensation hoops ordinary rendition victims this report is rife with human rights abuses and it's clear that high ranking bush administration officials bear responsibility for authorizing human rights violations and yet no one was prosecuted because the u.s. government has classified everything related to its torture practices any

accusation would be dismissed on state secrets grounds. journalist and historian douglas valentine thinks that anti terror measures enforced by america are overzealous it's worth a rise by the u.s. congress by certain very important congress people who believe that they are reflecting the will of the american people in a way go to nine eleven there was a huge outcry in america for vengeance for the united states to prove for the government to prove that it was more terrible than the people who had watched the nine eleven attack and so the congress believe it had to reflect the will of the american people authorize the cia to do this since nine eleven the government has been able to maintain this attitude that it's required for security to commit crimes. this is never been necessary before it and what it exhibits is what it illustrates is that the government has. since nine eleven

a more capable propagandizing the american people by exaggerating the threats that exist in order to perpetuate which probably is a state of emergency that really doesn't exist in which the government is able to portray the united states the greatest military power that ever existed on the planet earth and some of it though the person that was being bullied. the truth is exactly the opposite and still to come in the program we have more on vice president biden's euro trip after a flying visit to paris and berlin joe biden sat down with the british prime minister and is it national security chiefs for talks in london. for the first time in more than three decades an iranian leader is making an official visit to cairo president ahmadinejad is attending a muslim summit to discuss the security issues with egypt mohamed morsy earlier

journalist neil clark told my colleague bill died of it tehran needs all the friends it can get. round strongest ally in the arab world has now been serious serious been abroad a lot of iran of course this is the reason why the pro israel lobby why the americans why the saudis etc so keen to talk a sad now there's no such moment the syrian government is about to fall but were it for that iran would be even more isolated than it is today and the unit in a very dangerous position so they are what makes good sense what iran is trying to build bridges with cairo are there financial motives behind this meeting where we've got to believe the economies and bearing in mind the situation there in iran with all those sanctions appearing to have a quite an impact on the iranian economy do you do they both need each other i think they do and i think from morsi point of view i think as we see harty going to rest in egypt and what people are very happy with how things are going to get seen carrying on a look at it and ship people are on the run to be one way that she can say to these people look i'm not just a us puppet i'm going to be different here so i think from his point and he could

get popularity at home by taking a more conciliatory line towards iran and from iranian point of view course they've been pretty good on house i mean the pro israel lobby has been very successful in getting the u.s. and other countries to pass tougher and tougher sanctions on iran he really can't he's a really bad state so iran needs all the friends he can get there's no reason for iran to be isolated there's no proof it's developing nuclear weapons it's got a peaceful nuclear energy program which there's no evidence to the contrary so therefore it's it's wrong but it should be totally isolated and i'll be back with more news after a short break right here on r.t. . and it seems so you think you understand it and then you glimpse something else. and realize that everything you. are welcome to the big picture.

news today. these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. operation.

for moscow this is back with us the gulf kingdoms of bahrain and kuwait are seeing fresh public discontent with the country's on elected rulers crackdowns on dissent have been stepped up over the last two years when the unrest began activists report peaceful demonstrations for more rights and democracy are increasingly met with arrests and a brutal force that says the west is accused of turning a blind eye to violations by its key arab allies this as reports. says. life in the gulf used to look like this. but the black gold hidden beneath the sands transforms the arabian states from inhospitable deserts came storing structures of glass and steel physical testaments to their wealth and power in

a wider region known for its tinderbox tensions the gulf monarchies have stood out for their relative stability and for an oil dependent west eager for a military stronghold to counter on the gulf became a strategic away since petro dollars have helped to insulate the gulf against economic hardships plaguing other states but not against popular uprisings now the gulf monarchies as a whole have been struggling to stave off the effects of the arab spring with varying degrees of success as largely seen as the most tolerant. the gulf countries but the worry is that the trend could be reversed activists say that it already has been political gatherings of more than twenty people are banned as are political parties and when the last opposition dominated parliament challenge the ruling authorities it was dismissed voting rules were changed to ensure critics say a more compliant parliament speaking out against the system has landed many activists in jail as for those who took to the streets to protest we were beaten up by. the special forces team and the sound bombs and but on and

after the march whoever is on the street isn't just being detained and thrown into jail it's a struggle activists in bahrain are all too familiar with. three days after egypt's former president was ousted from power protests began in both frames like the kuwaitis they weren't demanding an end to the monarchy but more representation at a violent crackdown saw a shift in some of those demands of those to move out to stop it is a daily in different areas i didn't see the regime against that because of the should i do that the situation. one thousand five hundred prison others we have. every day we have a lot of. security forces surrounding day it is attacking the people at the king and houses as in other gulf states the monarchy blames the unrest on a radical minority they are hardliners they want to see regime change they want to

implement their own style of government and impose on the rest of the population of bahrain a system of government that is unacceptable these demands called for a. minster style democracy captain head of style democracy in golf but critics disagree saying the protesters simply want their governments to listen i want to. violent crackdowns he says westminster and capitol hill simply turn a blind eye to victims because we live in a country which have the u.s. and the united states and they don't get aboard the people they don't care about the humanity they don't care about the bahraini blood they care about though you would. whether in bahrain saudi arabia qatar oman or kuwait scenes like this one are becoming increasingly more common but nasa shows up always like this one show that the dots well below isn't enough to insulate the countries

from people taking to the streets and demanding a greater say in their political system and unless the monarchies show themselves willing to listen their stability may prove to be a mirage lucy caffein of r t kuwait. meanwhile three former opposition m.p.'s have each been sentenced to three years in prison for criticizing the policies they were arrested last october after joining mass protests against new electoral laws that were adopted just weeks before the parliamentary vote the verdict comes just a few days after another man was jailed for five years his and for his anti regime tweets for more we can cross to analyst eric draitser from new york mr thanks very much for being with us as always now amnesty international has often condemned the abuse of human rights in kuwait yet the international community is turning a blind eye why do you think this is. well because kuwait is

a client state of the united states it is part of the u.s. imperial system along with saudi arabia and qatar and bahrain and a number of other countries so for that obvious reason because they they can't really step out of line from what the line is from washington from london and from elsewhere so that's the primary reason and the secondary reason is quite simple as well because it is against the strategic interests of the western powers if you are to have destabilization in kuwait and you are to have the western community the international community as it's called committing condemned the ruling family you will have an overthrow of that regime you will have a destabilization of the region which benefits democratic forces but which is very much detrimental to the united states and their agenda for the region now you mentioned that the court is a client state does the u.s. play a role in allowing the crackdowns to continue by being slow to condemn the use of violence. i mean that's

a very conservative way of saying it not only do they allow it to continue the united states is really an active participant in all of this it's important to note that these countries although they're nominally independent they don't really have an independent foreign policy they very much bowed to the dictates of washington and the other imperial powers knowers is more evident than with the issue of syria the destabilization of the syrian state and the syrian regime which is an initiative by the united states the british and other powers this is been this is been made possible by saudi arabia qatar and the gulf monarchies the monarchies are looking around and they're seeing a democratization a wave of democratic upsurge in the region and they know that their regimes will not withstand it unless they're able to crack down on these forces and to maintain their strategic position within the imperial system so on the one hand they crack down on the opposition on the other hand they maintain. positive business relations

with washington with london with paris and so for now going back to what you just said a second ago isn't the kuwaiti government afraid that by backing of the syrian rebels that they could stop problems at home as what we're seeing in turkey right now. sure they're i'm sure they're afraid of that but they also understand that there is no other option for them for them to do back away from this issue or worse yet from the perspective of washington do support the assad regime in the question of national sovereignty it would be signing their own death warrant they understand that the only thing standing between them and an angry mob is brok obama the u.s. imperial system in whichever puppet president they have in charge at the moment and really quickly do you think that there's any chance that this current unrest cared to end up as a full scale revolution. in any of the gulf monarchies it's entirely possible it depends on the social dynamic it's the qatif region of saudi arabia where the

shiite minority is rising up this is still a small part of the country the protests would need to spread to the sunni majority and that is true for bahrain that is true for kuwait that is true for all of these countries if that happens then the days of feudal monarchy are over and the future in a democratic society would then be able to happen all right eric draitser as always it's a pleasure to have your thoughts on the subject thanks for being with us thank you . now remember you can always stay updated with all of the latest news by heading to our website r.t. dot com here are some of the stories that we have for you there right now. the famous crime novelist christine managed to cause m i five a few sleepless nights when they feared she may have exposed britain's biggest wartime secret find out online how the queen of crime got under the skin of london . plus is an interesting one burglars in chicago may be getting

a free pass to go about their business after police in the city say they will deal with such calls when they have time on our dot com and we tell you why many who will not get a quick response. now the u.s. vice president has joined the prime minister david cameron for security talks in downing street it was attended by british military chiefs intelligence officials and political leaders joe biden arrived in the u.k. on monday following visits to berlin and paris for top level meetings there are reports. for the vice president he's known for sometimes putting his foot in his mouth it could of almost being another gaffe but some a very quick to point out when he said that he talked of being delighted to have been invited to that meeting and of having spent half his life in security meetings in the u.s. but people are quick to point out you don't actually have a spoke for years on the u.s. national security council but he can be forgiven for that possibly he was referring

to other security commitments but during his visit to downing street this is what part of what he took part in he was invited to this national security council meeting it was chaired by prime minister david cameron and it's thought that what was on the agenda and talks about there were issues such as syria afghanistan iran and north africa now it's not unheard of foreign nationals to attend u.k. national security council meetings although it certainly is not common practice now perhaps that's a sign of as day biden made mention to the special relationship that britain and the u.s. enjoy he spoke of the u.s. and britain as having the most open relationship that they have with any country in the world well that's all well and good but this is a satisfactory relationship everyone wants to talk more about that i'm doing by a member of the u.k. independence party stephen wolf thank you very much joining us to stephen a few

relationships that's going to that is it really beneficial day for everyone i'm not sure it actually is i mean it should be we are and we are two countries that actually share common values terms of our legal systems our language the way that we look at business and it should be but over the period of the years that we have this special relationship to winston churchill first quarter the phrase we see lots of arguments between ourselves and those of the united states clearly there was a huge to. from the way that the british public did not want to get involved in afghanistan we also had a disagreement in the way that we did not want to get in vietnam and only recently we've had president obama suggesting that the british people should not exercise that democratic right and have a referendum of whether they should be in or outside of the european union so

clearly the special relationship is often tested but there's lots of people here don't even believe that relationship is special. down to some other stories from around the world this hour. serbian old nationalists have rallied in belgrade to protest against upcoming talks with kosovo demonstrators called the president's decision to meet with the head of the self-proclaimed republic treason they also slammed of each you for mediating the talks kosovo declared its independence from serbia in two thousand and eight and was recognized by most of the european union. china has reportedly unlocked weapons targeting radar on a japanese naval vessel in the east china sea beijing neither confirmed nor denied tokyo's allegations the incident comes amid ongoing tension over a chain of islands both countries consider their own the dispute has already sparked several violent protests and strained relations between the two. the

british parliament has approved a bill that will allow same sex couples to marry prime minister david cameron said the vote is an important step forward that will strengthen society his consistent support of a bill caused a split in his own conservative party. half of which voted against it just a few days ago france approved similar measures in favor of gay marriage. be coming up after the break abby martin looks at american saber rattling and all the pretext used to invade countries that's breaking news that right here on r.t. . choose your language. because you know if the medical procedure itself enough. to have the the concerns years ago. choose the opinions that invigorated your mind

. choose the stories that imply the life choose be access to your auditing. download the official publication to yourself and choose your language stream quality and enjoy your favorites. if you're away from your television or it just doesn't sit well with your mobile devices you can watch on t.v. anytime anywhere. to live on one hundred thirty three bucks a month for food i should try it because you know how bad the less bad luck. i mean . i know that i'm still the same really messed up. in the old fairy so

personally apologize if that. worst sure we're going to. wipe out six of the radio guys and call the tail a minute for a big profit. quote we're about to get you've never seen anything like this i'm telling. i'm out in mine and this is breaking the set to ten years ago today former secretary of state colin powell laid out his case before the u.n. for an all out war against iraq under the pretext that saddam hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction here's a clip to jog your memory. less than a teaspoon of dry anthrax a little bit about this amount this is just about the amount of a teaspoon less than

a teaspoon full of dry anthrax in an envoy shut down the united states senate iraq declared eighty five hundred liters of anthrax but unscom estimates that saddam hussein could have produced twenty five thousand liters it should come . no shock then that since saddam hussein forced out the last inspectors in one thousand nine hundred eight we have amassed much intelligence indicating that iraq is continuing to make these weapons we know that iraq has at least seven of these mobile biological agent factories what followed this anthrax fear mongering was operation iraqi freedom that cost over eight hundred billion u.s. dollars thousands of american casualties over a million dead iraqis and of course no weapons of mass destruction to justify military occupation that lasted nearly nine years today history repeats itself as the well oiled gears of the american war machines to.