to basser this morning the u.s. army is beginning to withdraw from iraq. in december twentieth eleven after nine years of occupation the last american troops are finally leaving the country. every gun got in it but if i may add a little bit ma'am i observe the iraqis anger towards the departing invaders who once dreamed of being liberators their departure resembles abandonment and escape despite the optimistic speeches. a. cease.

and i'm back in iraq in sat on the border with turkey. i have an appointment this morning with our lebanese taxi. families in the united states said they would make a democracy out. iraq in the heart of the arab world but the 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 travelled down through l b let some ammonia kirkuk mosul tikrit volusia baghdad babylon. and. a road map of the iraqi tragedy. serve obviously i'm delighted the americans have finally left iraq as much of what we are rock is a very happy not to see it here anymore enough was enough of the americans occupied us so we hate them like they lean here in iraq raid 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 us over it all of us out of them but. my 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 on 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. that's the. biggest you know with 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 negative it's a huge difference for us as in saddam's times we never benefited from the oil money or. that he had any put is that. he went so it's quite simple we could spend for where iraqis where the 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 could stand 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 a round. driving through abandoned villages i feel like i'm visiting cemeteries. passenger ahmed is a survivor today he's on a pilgrimage paying tribute to the dead. school.

sally as i don't know so i started in one thousand nine hundred eight during the military campaign waged by saddam against the kurds my village was completely destroyed. and that some of the inhabitants would be forced to southern iraq and locked up in the terrible new grandson on prison counter. many women children and men were nasa created 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 their 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 metz 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 and they didn't hesitate to fire at anyone who approached them as a passenger foreigner anyone with a sign on this road has seen a lot of drama how many times did the american shoot down iraqis here for no reason gonna 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 but armed groups are also quick to shoot at you and about the attacks and kidnappings are frequent in the area. and there is no checking our identity an itinerary takes too long hours. to that 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. 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 keg. so i went to. this morning's planters around occurred but did not work out who can kurdistan's independence he would pay with his own blood. kind of book. that has to become part of kurdistan and that leaves it's vital

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 i'm a city i mean we cannot live outside of kurdistan it would be like dying. my brother we invite you to a restaurant. 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. and 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. 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 m.p.'s attention. i'm terrified. if i do the day after or not that was broadcast to promote the school. 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 that is simple. a man introduced himself as a member of a terrorist organisation and demanded money. and my colleagues were terrorized

through. other like close the school for a month and then i said we have to open it again we can't just give in. we have to we're still life has to go and. neither the terrorist leader or anyone else can stop me from working as a pistol only god is the master of my destiny. they played in a family jazz bed together. play hijacked a plane together. just send them from music to tara.

twenty five years old questions still remain. just bad highjack. hold it. hold of. her mother live. the speech. she gave. her. i wish i.

lived. on it and. i. find i'm a better little. 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 am 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 it 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. why reduced to filling up on the black market at exorbitant prices. common sense would suggest. petrol was available in quantity and free perhaps 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 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 fadel 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 yet they want to make iraq a wretched country cannot be. a glow in the assassinate the best among us the terrorist who kills a journalist like my colleague at the news channel or who kills a religious man in 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 have seen. in the city center the mosque still bears the name of the man who built it was saddam hussein. delist come to pay a final homage to his murdered friend. who also on april second two thousand and twelve. a holiday in 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 can just 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 ation iraq it was a unified country but then what happened when they arrived as the americans that triggered divisions by creating ethnic conflicts just you know this very well. they destroyed everything and then they left but they are not 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 that. as we leave to crit 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 it. we seek out the black market power 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. now full tilt 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 opened up. for the sunny custom as the whole affair was an american manipulation. mover the greek word kuwait plays a key role in the arab world and. the americans used the country to trap saddam of like them fearing i mean how did before 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. i'm last collision.

but they blew up cars and caused a lot of fatalities. is the most ravaged city in iraq of them annoy you. know yes that's the american answer but. the heat is unbearable and the motor is overheating the local grocer helps us to cool it. he's a man driven by anger he experienced the battle of fallujah at first hand and how there was watch i would have the article 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 well known as they are so beloved all the god living with us go and see the hospitals and you'll see mothers throwing away their babies deform the by all the chemical weapons that saddam the only it all 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 the mamma found not even the mosque was saved from his barbarity look at the ruined minaret well i'm not. that's bush's democracy in the judgment only of the what the other was a good idea. 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 on one hundred also helicopters were launched against pollution. 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. and their offensive it's thought the u.s. troops used white phosphorous bombs and depleted uranium weapons banned by all international conventions.

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. for me the administrator's office becomes an empty chamber of horrors. up i learnt 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 how large that this is what the. voters only show a tiny part of the reality just for the month of january we recorded forty three

cases yacht. wealthy british. markets. find out what's really happening to the global economy for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines joining me to cause a report on. it.

and. and. i.

u.k. armed forces admit to holding dozens of suspected militants without charge at a british base in afghanistan the public and parliament want to know why they were kept in the dark over the detentions. you want to fishes and top diplomats urged britain and france to drop their plans to supply weapons to the rebels in syria while opposition factions accuse each other of betraying the revolution. and jobless and in jeopardy leaders warn that the blocks seven point five million young unemployed need work soon or they will be driven into the arms of extremism.