the a. on the road to bass for this morning the u.s. army is beginning to withdraw from iraq. in december twentieth after nine years of occupation the last american troops are finally leaving the country. remember the guy got in about it and i do have a little bit of 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. 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 it would make a democracy out of 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 the town 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. 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 as we are rockies are very happy not to see it or hear 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 are responsible for the whole tragedy of them and of course we were living in peace and they came to destroy our country and also but all of us of. 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 be made possible by the discovery of all . 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. here but just you know what in iraq we can say that oil has always been a curse. but today in kurdistan that's changing the.

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. that he had any of this that. he went so it's quite simple we are kurds before 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 him as that they want their own passport but this now could i suppose you could stand. a land of triplets kurdistan is discovering well through its oil a nightmare for baghdad which had long controlled with the resources and riches.

without driver khalid we head east towards the mountains along the border with around. 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. in a school. so i started in one thousand nine hundred eight during the al and i follow 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 grass on one prison counter. many women

children and men were nasa created and thrown into mass graves. and now gory but. 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 have a 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. 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 mets 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 but you know as a passenger foreigner anyone with. this road has seen a lot of drama how many times do the american shut 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 out about the attacks and kidnappings are frequent in the 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 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 buildings 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 plant is a round could but who can kurdistan's independence he would pay with his own blood . so i would. cut a book. that has to become part of curse standard and that leaves its vital we're 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 let's have 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 may. i swear before god when i come to the restaurant with me you are welcome but. a way of calling. 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. discreet an 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 look. i'm terrified. if i do the day after not fat 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 solo hobby hello about any hello little you know name nothing of hobbies that is someone bought it. a man introduced himself as a member of a terrorist organisation and demand money for that and my colleagues were terrorized through. weather like so 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 work still life has to go on. that. neither the terrorists nor anyone else can stop me from working as a pistol only god is the master of my destiny.

wealthy british style the stock. price. market why not. find out what's really happening to the global economy with mike's cause or for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune in to kaiser report on. the civilized world produces more food than it needs. well people die of hunger in other countries. millions of victims every year. where a meal is the most about nutrition. was

. is flood or droughts to blame. it was a bad year without a train. we couldn't plods anything but that. there was great hunger. is a good help comes too late and without good intentions. charity diplomacy and business model to. a. more news today violence is once again flared up. these are the images go forward has been seeing from the streets of canada. giant corporations are today.

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 after 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 have 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 feel he's a journalist and he lost his best friends just two days ago. but god will save iraq

. sorry. we had to draw your they want to make iraq a wretched country cannot 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 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 any of us. in the city center the mosque still bears the name of the man who built it was saddam hussein and i'm. come to pay a final homage to his murdered friend i knew all on april second two thousand and twelve around the holidays. and a journalist for a local t.v.

station was killed instantly when his car exploded. until. 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 certain are saying they came to rob us and to kill us ation iraq it was a unified country but then what happened when they arrived 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 with all my life itself. 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 powell 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. not all part. 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 sony customers the whole affair was an american manipulation. mover 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 theory 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 who this fee for victory sign is aimed

at as we finally enter the ravaged city of fallujah. joe was the scene of one of the most violent american offensives of. a g.i. summerlee killed youngsters and whole families here. i'm lost carrier always a collision. but they blew up cars and caused a lot of fatalities. is the most rapid city in iraq of moment but of c o u s c america. 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

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 a bone disfigured. heads are not what they are so beloved all the god will be with us going see the hospitals and you'll see mothers throwing away their babies deformed by all the chemical weapons on the only 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 this was a killer using white phosphorous bomb while the mamma said and not even the mosque was saved from his barbarity look at the ruined minarik. that's bush's democracy not just the holier of them about the other bullshit i be at.

on november seventh two thousand and four a deluge of iron and fire rained 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. and their offensive it's

thought the u.s. troops used white phosphorous 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 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

learned 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 the. file. voters only show a tiny part of the reality just for the month of january we recorded forty three cases. for me this is a summer. holiday. you know sometimes you see a story and it seems so for life you think you understand it and then you glimpse

something else and you hear or see some other part of it and realized everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom harpur welcome to the big picture. seals are born to right on the ice fields of the white sea. throughout the twentieth century the pulps were hunted for their snow white furs. russia imposed a ban on this trade and hunters have since been replaced by tourists but these pups stay safe forever. saving seals on our teeth. both of.

those trees. you. wish. me good. i mean they're really. good leverage sure. to build the needs most sophisticated. certainly doesn't give a dollar amount anything. to teach music creation and why it should care about

humans and. this is why you should care only. spread nationwide following. demonstrators turning against the government. meanwhile. thousands of people were injured to code as on this international calls police actions disgraceful on the keys is that. the businesses. in the. hundreds of demonstrators were arrested in frankfurt for until seventy message which is being echoed in spain and portugal. also another story the trade this week is syria's opposition refuses peace talks just a day after the lifting of the e.u. .