thank you. they pulled twenty twelve and i'm back in iraq in suffolk on the border with turkey. thank you i have an appointment this morning with a lebanese 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. little ammonia. tikrit volusia baghdad babylon. and. a road map of the iraqi tragedy. of obviously i'm delighted the americans have finally left iraq as much as we are rockies are very happy not to see it here anymore enough was enough the americans occupied us so we hate them like they lean here in iraq they killed in creating the conditions for chaos they're responsible for the whole tragedy of them and of course we were living in peace and they came to destroy our country and also without all of 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 a country. that . joe. 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 on kurdish territory. from. 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 what 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 of finally being used for reconstruction of what i think that it's a huge difference for us as in saddam's times we never benefited from the oil money or. that he had any of this that i don't know that he went so it's quite simple we are kurds before we're iraqis and can wear them out so 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 there's no kurdish one i suppose you 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.

nineteen eighty eight during the fall or military campaign waged by saddam against the kurds my village was completely destroyed. and some of the inhabitants would report it to southern iraq and locked up in the terrible new grass on one prison counter. many women children and men women 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 of a kurdish villages. one hundred thousand civilians were killed and three thousand

villages were raised the kurds rebellion was crushed. here in the villages the peshmerga who didn't built up supply. anyone opposed to saddam could seek refuge here. so the regime began by attacking the villages. burning gassing and destroying the villages meant controlling kurdistan. lunch is like a homage to the victims on the menu adama stuffed vegetables prepared by a mets wife. a sunny like saddam hussein my driver hell it is. 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 a city 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 commemorate his loved one. we continue towards the east and kirkuk the former capital of kurdistan today on iraqi territory. so what if that is going to be praised i'm not scared of 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 and they didn't hesitate to fire anyone who approached them like the passenger foreigner anyone with. 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 a journal about the attacks and kidnappings are frequent in the area. and there is no 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 the 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. unwilling to lose such a profitable treasure. one term to a majority of kurds today is a mix of turkmen arabs kurds and christians a veritable ethnic powder keg. said i want to start this morning's planters around occurred but they're not workers who can kurdistan's independence he would pay with his own blood. said i what. kind of gook. has to become part of kurdistan again that it's vital to your bonded by blood to go to them but them they can kill

us and shoot at us but it won't change anything we are linked to kurdistan let them in syria we mean we cannot live outside of kurdistan it would be like dying. my brother we are invited to a restaurant. might 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 middle and i swear before god i want to come to the restaurant with me you are welcome when you know but get away of course. for khaled it's time to pray. and for us to eat the. 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 is a kind of friendly tax and one of the. it served

of kirkuk could be one of the world's richest cities it is certainly one of the most dangerous. discreet on ordinary heroin saima who is a kurd investor are opposed and fortune in the opening of a private school a generous act which has attracted m.p.'s attention don't let money. i'm terrified so little if they do the day after not food was broadcast to promote the school to physio i got a telephone call i'm with you and they said oh yes there's a lot of hobby hello about any hello you are you know doing nothing at happy feet is the. and then introduced himself as a member of a terrorist organization and demanded money. and my colleagues were terrorized through. the night says the school for a month and then i said we have to open it again we can't just give him.

we have to work still life has to go in on you it up and had it set not to the terrorists nor anyone else can stop me from working a bit still only god is the master of my destiny. wealthy british style. tied to the tirelessly. target. market why not. come to. find out what's really happening to the global economy with mike's culture for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune in to kaiser report on. the world of.

science technology innovation and all the latest developments from around russia we've got the future covered. ily. ily.

lead. 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 city and yet today mosul is in party mode. my name is ahmed and about i'm a law student today is a festival the university day that's why we can see all the troops they're here to protect us. 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 pete 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 are gone but now kurds shias and sunnis battle for control of the city even the mosques are under military protection the internet in 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 perhaps not free but not too expensive anyway. but john. as soon as we arrive on the outskirts of tikrit saddam hussein's former stronghold where 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're 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 fi deal he's

a journalist and he lost his best friends just two days ago. but god will save iraq a little. sorry. he had to draw it they want to make iraq a wretched country than us be. but that would be assassinate the best among us the terrorist who kills a journalist like my colleague at the news channel or who kills a religious man behind an economic 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 in need of up. in the city center the mosque still bears the name of the man who built it was saddam hussein and i'm fabulous come to play

a final homage to his murdered friend i knew all on april second two thousand and twelve kemi runs a holiday. and a journalist for a local t.v. station was killed instantly when his car exploded. down. a relaxing evening along the banks of the tigris overseen by the palace of the local hero sadam. 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 came in just for 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 ation 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 know but 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 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 were two kalashnikovs and seven hundred fifty thousand dollars.

now there are those taxis a gas guzzler and we need more petrol. but it was here. we seek out the black market power well 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. are all part. of. the temperature heads more than forty degrees and the machines are 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 opened up. for the sunny custom as the whole affair was an american manipulation. move or the greek word kuwait plays a key role in the arab world and. the americans used the country to trap saddam of like them very i mean hard to hoard they set the bait up and he took it 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. 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 how this fee for victory sign is aimed at once we finally enter the ravaged city of fallujah. joe was the scene of one of the most violent american offensives of. the g.i. summerlee killed youngsters and whole families here any time last carrier collision . but the blue eyes and caused a lot of fatalities. is the most ravaged city in iraq of them and. i guess that's the american military.

the heat is unbearable and the motor is overheating the local grocer helpless to cool it. he's a man driven by anger he experienced the battle of fallujah at first hand and how hot it was watch i am what have they are you call that democracy now is quite simply about killing and stealing our wealth our lands with burnt from the effects of the white phosphorous bombs and now our children are gone disfigured. heads 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 that saddam the only the could do if there's 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. let me although i do know that this was a killer using white phosphorous bomb while the mamma said i'm not even the mosque was saved from his barbarity when i look at the ruined minarik well that's bush's

democracy in the judgement only a little more about the other bullshit i be at. on november seventh two thousand and four a deluge of iron and fire rains down on the city of two hundred mosques had to die it was a last stronghold for the al qaeda mujahedeen. twelve thousand marines three hundred tanks and one hundred also helicopters were launched against villages. the biggest urban battle in iraq was underway. after. 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. and. our new passenger is not administrator at the general hospital. since the battle of fallujah ended has kept records 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 that the war is far from over in fact it's still going on for the stigmata are there and they're evolving in two thousand and five we know to a spectacular increase in genetic malformations a new born babies a lot of this what the. voters only show a tiny part of the reality just for the month of january we recorded forty three cases yacht. we are facing a lot of problems. because no one thought to drink no good school.

mates when you feel part. of what's not going up up is a law in the local needs you might want to community l.n.g. moulton will be. done for a match up artist i was fired i must fight so. i'll fight. right. to mission and free accreditation free transport charges free to arrangements free risk free. to tide free. download free broadcast plug in video for your media projects

a free media dog our teeth on tom. small arche fueling flames of under arrest and activist in pole position gridlocked and old lies ations was involved with the right to be seen to be credible. when the bureau's job isn't just a formula for controversy burning rubber on the streets of bahrain checkered flag ship weekend on our team. live.

live. live leak live live . the remaining suspect in monday's marathon attacks is a lawyer after a fierce standoff with police in a boston suburb in his brother who was killed in an earlier gun fight is being

investigated for links with extremist groups in the north caucuses. remodel r.t. spoke exclusively to the mother of the two alleged bombers who says her children were constantly monitored by the f.b.i. and could never of carried out a terror attack. loves a nation at war against itself killings bombings and terror attacks set the saying for the iraqi elections on t.v. reports from the heart of the unrest where al qaida flags fly over the bastion of in your action which even a decade long u.s. occupation failed to temper. and burning rubber in bahrain ahead of the formula one grand prix antigovernment protesters clashed with police trying to draw attention to the human rights abuses in the kingdom.