i'm here to cairo to seek a new beginning between the united states and muslims around the world and you know chooses to do this by giving an impassioned speech to a carefully selected israeli audience using plaintive zionist imagery and naming an israeli boy who lost a leg in a rocket attack but failing to mention the dozens of palestinian children killed in israel's bombardment of gaza last. month no wonder his reception in ramallah was cold well it's not such a large crowd of anti obama protesters here in ramallah but the sentiments being expressed here already reflective of the general mood on the palestinian streets. this is just a big shame on the palestinian leadership this visit is just for supporting israel . he came to meet with the zionist regime the people he refused to accept obama because of the american imperialism and the american authority but if the united states once under the united states has the will they could immediately stop

israel from destroying the very last opportunity of peace based on two state solution but they're not doing that and the question is would he have if he was not visiting israel. and yet the main message from obama's three day trip was not even on the decades long conflict but rather more of the usual recruit on the situation in neighboring syria the united states continues to work with allies and friends and the syrian opposition to hasten the end of assad's rule and only ran on its nuclear program more of the same warnings netanyahu seized on that year to send a message to tehran about american loyalty to israel mr president i want to thank you once again for always making clear that israel must be able to defend itself by itself against any threat it's no coincidence that obama chose israel for the first foreign visit of his second term relations between him and it on yahoo have been strained particular video over west bank settlements and the waning freight. and

although they both put on a happy face for the cameras there's no denying the mistrust below the surface israel can never see the right to defend ourselves to others even to the greatest of our friends in the off the map of the arab spring the united states needs all the friends it can gaze but for all the pomp and ceremony a bomb is visited chief nothing more than reminding these raids and palestinians that they need to make peace while leaving the arab world feeling even more alienated from washington to see r.t. . from the north of iraq to the south a taxi we have followed thought makers' a journey through the war torn country still to come after a short break stay with us.

on the road to basser this morning the u.s. army is beginning to withdraw from iraq. in december twenty seventh after nine years of occupation the last american troops are finally leaving the country. every guy got in about it i don't know what it members of the iraqis anger towards the departing invaders who once dreamed of being liberators the departure resembles abandonment and escape despite the optimistic speeches. a. sleep. a little.

april twenty twelve and i'm back in iraq in soho on the border with turkey. i have an appointment this morning with khaled and his taxi.

family the united states said they would make a democracy out of iraq in the heart of the arab world. but iraq i see today is a country on the brink of chaos torn between three groups kurds sunnis and shias. it is a country divided a stranger to peace that i'm about to cross a taxi ride to the heart of iraqi history. from the hole in the north of travel down through l b let some ammonia. tikrit volusia baghdad babylon. and i'll file a road map of the iraqi tragedy. serve obviously i'm delighted the americans have finally left iraq as much as we're rocky's a very happy not to see it or hear anymore enough was enough of the americans occupied us so we hate them like they lean here in iraq they killed in creating the

conditions for chaos they are responsible for the whole tragedy because we were living in peace and they came to destroy our country and us over told us of the. journey begins on the mountains of iraqi kurdistan. an army of two hundred thousand soldiers called peshmerga watch over this rather particular region of the country. was. my first stop is an l.b.o. the capital of iraqi kurdistan is the only region of iraq today that is seeing peace and an economic boom the miracle of being made possible by the discovery of oil. in kurdish territory. for a long time dominated by baghdad and saddam hussein kurdistan dreams of achieving

autonomy. the first customer the first passenger on our trip is a member of the new kurdish parliament. but just you know in iraq we can say that oil has always been a curse. but today in kurdistan that's changing. foreign oil companies are coming here to work with. the revenues are finally being used for reconstruction and what negative it's a huge difference for us as in saddam's times we never benefited from the oil money or would he had any of this that i don't know that yet he went so it's quite simple we could spend for we're iraqis and where i think they're very rapidly as soon as we have been able to create a stable basis for building

a country ninety nine percent of people will vote for independence with. no one to one or the people who want their own country a country called kurdistan are looking at it as that they want their own passport but it's not kurdish one i spoke to could stand. a land of shepherd's kurdistan is discovering well through its oil a nightmare for baghdad which had long controlled with the resources and riches. without driver khalid we had east towards the mountains along the border with around. driving through abandoned villages i feel like i'm visiting some a trace. passenger ahmed is a survivor today he's on

a pilgrimage paying tribute to the dead. so i started in one thousand nine hundred eight during the al and i fell a military campaign waged by saddam against the kurds my village was completely destroyed. and that some of the inhabitants would be ported to southern iraq and locked up in the terrible new grandson prison count. that. many women children and men were last weekend and thrown into mass graves. the kurds have always dreamed of independence saddam hussein decided to eliminate the problem once and for all. his cousin to go down in history as chemical ali was in charge of the repression.

on march sixteenth one thousand nine hundred eight his helicopters dropped bombs loaded with toxic gas over kurdish villages. one hundred thousand civilians were killed and three thousand villages were raised the kurds rebellion was crossed. here in the villages the peshmerga built up supply. anyone opposed to saddam could seek refuge here. so the regime began by attacking the villages for saddam burning gassing and destroying the villages meant controlling kurdistan. lunches like a homage to the victims on the menu adama stuffed vegetables prepared by a mad wife. a sunny like saddam hussein my driver. he didn't know or didn't want to know the terrible truth. look i'll show you the house where

i was born yeah here on this hill where we're sitting is like a memorial to the village as it was before the tragedy it was here that the villagers came together every evening to talk to play backgammon and listen to the radio. i leave a comment to mourn and commemorate his loved ones. we continue towards the east and kirkuk the former capital of kurdistan today on iraqi territory. so what if that god be praised i'm not scared when the region was under american control i was afraid about it but as soon as the iraqi police and army took over things got much better if the americans didn't know the region they were afraid and trigger happy that they didn't hesitate to fire anyone who approached them as a passenger foreigner anyone. on this road has seen a lot of drama how many times did the american shoot down iraqis here for no reason gotta go. through the windscreen the first iraqi checkpoint appears it's time to

lower the camera and film or discreetly. that. the soldiers here are regularly targeted by armed groups and are also quick to shoot at you and a lot of the attacks and kidnappings are frequent in area. at the moment checking our identity an itinerary takes too long hours. but at last we can hit the road again a road that is more than dangerous. to be honest no one took this road before al-qaeda basically all the terrorists control the region and everyone is afraid of venturing out on this road today we feel a bit safer at getting there but it. the constant road blocks me now two hundred kilometer journey takes eight hours. night

has fallen when i reach her coke and the sky is lit up by flast tanks the city floats on a vast sea of oil. for centuries pilgrims came here to gather around the eternal flames. the kurds would dearly love to reclaim the city the former capital of baghdad. he is unwilling to lose such a profitable treasure. one term to a majority of kids today is a mix of turkmen arabs kurds and christians a veritable ethnic powder cake. so i want to talk about this morning's planters around occurred but the network who can kurdistan's independence he would pay with his own blood. said i want to.

cut a book. that has to become part of current standing and that it's vital that we are bonded by blood to go to them but them they can kill us and shoot at us but he won't change anything we are linked to kurdistan as a city i mean we cannot live outside of kurdistan it would be like dying. my brother we invite you to a restaurant that. my i cannot let you go without inviting me i am a kurd and hospitality is a custom with us. you can continue your journey after the mail and i swear before god when i come to the restaurant with me you are welcome when you get away of course. for khaled it's time to pray. for us to eat. as we enter the village a few peace men appear as an escort. i would say to watch as they say to protect us

. and so i pay for everyone's meal as a kind of friendly tax. was. it said that kirkuk could be one of the world's richest cities it is certainly one of the most dangerous. but discreet an ordinary heroin. saima who is a kurd investor are opposed and fortune and the opening of a private school a generous act which has attracted envious attention. i'm terrified. if i do the day after not that was broadcast to promote the school but to physio and so i got a telephone call and i'm with you old enough to join with the know your first hobby hello about any hello little you know name nothing of hobbies it is them on. a man introduced himself as a member of

a terrorist organisation and demanded money for them and my colleagues were terrorized through. other like so's the school for a month and then i said we have to open it again we can't just give him. michael but we have to we're still life has to go on. that. neither the terrorists nor anyone else can stop me from working as a mystical only god is the master of my destiny. if it's. too late.

they've been living this way since the seventeenth century. their rituals are strict. their communities are the select. they clearly missed english between their own and the alien. and guard their family and thinks the treasure. when we reach must to the second biggest city in iraq it has been locked down by the army. the previous night two bombs went off in the suit. i have to negotiate with the military chiefs for three hours before they let me in. across what appears to be a dead sitting and yet today mosul is in party mode. and. i

asked my name is ahmed on about i'm a law student today is a festival university day that's why we can see all the troops they had to protect us jade. the situation is very difficult the country is undergoing a wave of anonymous attacks and assassination my dream is quite simple i just want to live in an iraq that's safe and at peace. it's a magnificent country mustn't forget that it was once respectfully known as mesopotamia the land between two rivers i dream of peace. but peace seems impossible. the americans have gone but now kurds shias and sunnis battle for control of the city even the mosques are under military protection the internetting killing goes on in the name of allah. a leave muscle with no regrets. this road fraught with danger can also hold certain surprises and. stops to help

a friend even in iraq one can run out of petrol. it's hilarious we have the world's second biggest oil reserves and we're short of petrol and gas. were reduced to filling up on the black market at exorbitant prices. common sense would suggest that petrol was available in quantity and free apps not free but not too expensive anyway and what. john and. as soon as we arrived on the outskirts of tikrit saddam hussein's former stronghold were arrested by the police i have the feeling we were expected. after a few hours of questioning were put under house arrest in a hotel and forbidden from going out.

and the situation eases the following afternoon when we were granted two hours of freedom but we're still under close surveillance. the next man who joins us in the taxi is in mourning his name's feel he's a journalist and he lost his best friend. two days ago. but then god will save iraq all over again. sorry. you had to draw your they want to make iraq a wretched country located at the north b. . but lo they assassinate the best among us the terrorist who kills a journalist like my colleague at the news channel who kills a religious man behind an academic or teacher certainly doesn't do it for religious reasons it's obvious he does it mostly for money because our religion does not

tolerate all these crimes the only motive for these crimes is money and they're ordered from outside to kill our best people have any of us. in the city center the mosque still bears the name of the man who built it was saddam hussein's. idealist come to pay a final homage to his murdered friend. i am on april second two thousand and twelve coming around the holiday inn a journalist for a local t.v. station was killed instantly when his car exploded and my. am relaxing evening along the banks of the tigris overseen by the palace of the local hero saddam. saddam was always surrounded by members of his own tribe and many here miss the man who built a sunni state much to their advantage. they can injure or kill the

americans didn't come here to look for weapons of mass destruction nor to hunt down saddam hussein they came to rob us and to kill us asian iraq it was a unified country but at the moment when they arrived at the americans that triggered divisions by creating ethnic conflicts just you know this very well. they destroyed everything and then they left but they don't have the open in reality they're still here. they make people think they've gone but they're still present their aim is to create discord in iraq with all my life and that is all but. as we leave tikrit we come to a village the heart of saddam hussein's kingdom where he was finally caught. on december fourteenth two thousand and three saddam was captured at dawn in his

hideout in a farmyard a miserable rattle two meters underground. disheveled and distraught he surrendered to the american forces. in his possession with two kalashnikovs and seven hundred fifty thousand dollars. ponzi. of the nose taxi is a gas guzzler and we need more petrol. but it was here. we seek out the black market a parallel business which fills the coffers of a few politicians civil servants and terrorist groups to. the oil money benefits everyone apart from the iraqi people. you know of. the temperature hits more than forty degrees on the machines

a cool down with a hose. for the men it's time to wash and pray before sitting down for a meal. that surprised by my presence but soon open up. for the sunny customers. the whole affair was an american manipulation. move or the greek word kuwait plays a key role in the arab world and. the americans use the country to trap saddam like i'm a fairy i mean. how did before they set the babies up and he took it up well it was a prearranged ambush. it's time to leave and head for lucia khaled doesn't like stopping for too long. kidnappings are frequent here and for

the criminal gangs everyone has a price probably including me. in. the killing in the kidnappings may be motivated by political or religious convictions but increasingly simply for profit. i've lost count of the checkpoints along the way but the controls this morning seem interminable. i don't know who this fee for victory sign is aimed at once we finally enter the ravaged city of fallujah. and the larger no joe was the scene of one of the most violent american offensives . from a g.i. summerlee killed youngsters i'm told families here jani. kalisch

recover. all of their blew up cars and caused a lot of fatalities. our fallujah is the most ravaged city in iraq of them annoying. oh yes that's the america it's a legit. the heat is unbearable and our motor is overheating the local grocer helps us to cool. that. he's a man driven by anger he experienced the battle of fallujah at first hand and how hard it was what i would have the our democracy now is quite simply about killing and stealing our wealth. from the effects of the white phosphorous bombs and now our children are going to sink it. that they are not what they are so beloved all the god living with us go and see the hospitals and you'll see mothers throwing away their babies deformed by all the chemical weapons. and that i could do if there is justice in the world bush will have to answer for his war crimes and

crimes against humanity he claimed iraq had weapons of mass destruction but where were they these weapons. before let me although i do know that there was a killer using white phosphorous bomb while i'm on one side and not even the mosque was safe from his barbarity when i look at the ruined minarik well now that's bush's democracy job and only a little more about the other bullshit. on november seventh two thousand for a deluge of fire rained down on the city of two hundred mosques. to die it was a last stronghold for al qaeda he didn't. twelve thousand marines three hundred tanks and a hundred or so helicopters were launched against. the biggest urban battle in iraq was underway.

the american victory was total the casualty figures speak for themselves one hundred american soldiers were killed and on the iraqi side it's estimated there were between four and five thousand victims most of them civilians. the battle left a city in ruins where death continue to take its toll. in their offensive it's thought the u.s. troops used white phosphorus bombs and depleted uranium weapons banned by all international conventions. so our new passenger is not administrator at the general hospital. since the battle

of fallujah ended he's got a record of the children born with congenital malformation. for him there's no doubt the americans were responsible for this tragedy. of the. for me the administrator's office becomes an empty chamber of horrors. that i looked at the war is far from over in fact it's still going on for the stigmata rivera and their involvement in two thousand and five we know to a spectacular increase in genetic malformations a new born babies how large the. voters only show a tiny part of the reality.