coming up on our t.v. and afghanistan the u.s. has announced plans to hold peace talks with the taliban well the international coalition and the u.s. forces will start withdrawing from the country what's the future for afghanistan we'll try to answer that question and more coming up turns out the f.b.i. is also watching us citizens from the skies that admission came today from the head of the f.b.i. while testifying before congress will have a look at their program lacks transparency and strict guidelines another day for mass protest and brazil one of the reasons many people are on the streets they're upset over a new sports stadium being built with taxpayer dollars the same thing is happening here in the u.s. so why are there no protests here to look at that issue later in the show.

it's wednesday june nineteenth four pm in washington d.c. i'm margaret how well you're watching our city. we start in afghanistan where after nearly twelve years of war in the country the u.s. and taliban say that they will begin talks about ending this war afghan president hamid karzai is not so keen on the peace talks though and announced today that he will not participate unless the process is afghan led the u.s. and taliban meetings are planned for this week at the taliban's new office in doha qatar which saw a lavish opening the news comes just hours after tuesday's ceremony in kabul that celebrated the handover of of afghanistan's security control from the u.s. and allied forces to the afghan army and police well this marks the final stage of the international coalitions troop withdrawal plan to be completed in twenty fourteen taliban spokesperson mohammad name so that they would use legal means to

end with they called the occupation of afghanistan but didn't say when the immediate ceasefire would be coming he went on to say the jihad continues to end the occupation and establish an islamic emirate to achieve this goal we will follow every legitimate means the emirate of the taliban with its military effort has a strategic goal related to the future of afghanistan the movement is not intending to harm any parties and will not allow anybody to use afghan territory to threaten other countries but the fighting continues will defense official say that for u.s. troops were killed in a deadly ambush tuesday under nearby air base in afghanistan so when will the fighting end and what's next for afghanistan with me to discuss this i'm joined now by michael o'brien author of america's failures in iraq hi there michael so i want to get right down to the four troops that were killed on tuesday while these peace peace talks are going on this week what does this say about the security and

stability of afghanistan when this is happening now what do you say to that michael will you know the thing is that if troops are being killed it. it's all it's all relative you know what it what is what is peace what is what is withdrawal. if troops our troops are being killed while these announcements are going on and all the sermons are going on that we were just talking about as you said there's still oil of there's still still violence going on in afghanistan and the sad thing about it is is i i have to hearken back to the to the past you know the beginning of the segment what is it thirteen years now that we've been there and things were going so well all all those years ago before the bush administration went into iraq so it all it all comes back goes starts the or it comes back to the president all the stuff that's going on right now and here we are entering talks with the

taliban the the very entity that we had up against the ropes they were down for the count they were gone we had overthrown the taliban regime everything was going great and then we just dropped the ball when we went into iraq and here we are all these years later. going into new into peace talks with them in in doha per you know which is where the u.s. used to have its have its base so it's it's just very ironic certainly interesting to say the ways michael so i want to talk you know about defense contractors and there were all they played a very controversial role in both iraq and afghanistan what's their role going to be it coming up when the troops leave afghanistan well my contention is and i talked about this at length in my book and i've mentioned it in many interviews since is the fact that we are employing mercenaries there are about one hundred

eighty thousand contractors in iraq right in afghanistan right now about fifty or sixty thousand. military forces mostly u.s. there which are going to be drawn down and it's really kind of interesting because he can almost equated. the us government here in the states you know we we lower the number of federal employees and we replace them with two or three contractors and all we talk about is the government's the size of the government is shrinking but the cost is going through the roof but we never talk about that same thing is happening with the u.s. military all anybody talks about media or anybody talks about is soldiers in uniform but under the radar are contractors wearing civilian clothes you know the baseball caps you know the goatee like i got on the and the sideburns and the tats sole over i'm in the cargo pants and they're all their old former military or former policeman here in the states they're most an aries and we're employing

d.o.d. and state and everybody is employing civilian mercenaries ok michael so if we if we go on what you're saying are we really withdrawing if we leave these contractors them place depends on who you ask that who yes i'm asking you are we are we withdrawing american citizens no way they're going up through the roof it is it is it is a contractors market and i was a contractor in iraq for fourteen months companies that are employing contractors of every of every stripe mercenaries truck drivers cooks whatever the companies are making a killing because if you pay a mercenary a hundred grand you're paying the company that employs the mercenary three fifty ok you know so if americans soldiers going down americans going up is two different things i want to take you know it's you that's how about it's my understanding that the u.s. met with the taliban secretly in two thousand and eleven and now we're meeting with

them formally openly letting the world see it what do you make of this and how do you think these talks are going to play out well let's just legalize drugs here in america it's the same thing i mean you know they're legalizing pot in colorado it's the same. if you can't beat them hold hands with them we can't beat the taliban because we just like vietnam we're making a conscious decision not to win so we might as we'll you know sing kumbaya with them and that's what we're doing with the taliban there right now we're running out of time michael i want to get to this next question quickly if the attacks can ten year and they go she actions with these islamic radicals from the taliban take place can you say that the campaign in afghanistan was a victory no just no way forward no no the can because what did we go there for we went there after nine eleven that's where al qaida was at the as the welcome guest of the taliban we were going to take out al qaida out of afghanistan and take

out the taliban regime out of afghanistan that was our goal with going near where are we today taliban still in power and if they're in power al qaida is probably waiting to come through the back door so of course it's a failure if it would be of success if the taliban regime didn't exist anymore and if cow al qaida was not in afghanistan and was all for all practical purposes did and neither of them has occurred so it's a failure i'm telling great to see you michael we have to leave it there that was michael o'brien author of america's failure in iraq president obama spoke in berlin's braeden bird gate earlier today calling for quote more efforts to limit the spread of nuclear weapons the president said he is confident that america's strategic nuclear weapons could be reduced by one third while still maintaining u.s. security well mr obama also said that he would seek to renew negotiations with russia to end what he referred to as cold war nuclear posture earth artie's peer all over

had more on obama's speech and for len take a listen. one of the major points though that was made by the u.s. president this keynote speech in front of the historic brandenburg gate was that he wants to see a third one third reduction in u.s. nuclear weapons now he said he would be contacting the leaders leaders in russia to try and coordinate some for the plan and there he did praise the the work that's being done with the new start treaty saying that that would limit the amount of nuclear weapons in the world to two nine hundred fifty s. levels however he said he wanted to make that go further and wanted to try and push it on a little bit more by one third and be speaking to the russian leadership about that now fred thank you very much for talking to us just what type of reaction has. received from people here in berlin i think people were disappointed as you already

mentioned five years ago there were two hundred thousand people listening to obama on this time they were like four thousand handpicked people most likely to be american that's just like two percent of what he could gather as a senator people are disappointed with obama being a president a lot of people from the left to pick hopes that obama will clean up the mess the true presidencies of george bush two when you're. bringing in more transparency into government and actually the opposite happened were consumed with the n.s.a. prison scandal is probably one of the biggest intrusions of people's privacy not only in the u.s. but also in europe demonstrators here on the streets of berlin claiming that the n.s.a. our stance the two point zero i mean feelings pretty strong isn't it oh it's very strong especially in berlin it's the come it's the fifty's on aversive of j.f.k. speech in a. divided balloon and it's just now a company scandal actually freaking out that the n.s.a.

is much more effective from spying than the starving stasi could ever have dreamed of fredrick road from european students to liberty thanks very much for. that's all we've got time for that was our tease peter over the head of the f.b.i. was back before congress today and made a surprising admission robert mueller told congress his agency has in fact used domestic drones for surveillance on u.s. citizens this latest admission comes amid a month of scandals for the intelligence community including that revelation that the n.s.a. has been snooping through e-mails and phone records artist meghan lopez explains take a moment today and look up at the sky above chances are that you will see birds and planes and clouds but something else is flying high above that likely won't catch your eye drones and those unmanned vehicles are being used to spy on u.s. citizens outgoing f.b.i. director robert mueller acknowledged as much at a senate judiciary hearing today with this explanation does the f.b.i.

are use drones for surveillance on the u.s. sure yes. i want to go on to a question that a well let me just put it in context there are very very minimal way and very seldom so there you have it it was the first time an f.b.i. official has gone on the record to acknowledge the use of you avi's an american airspace but it didn't come out of the clear blue with respect to them using drones not so much from the n.s.a. surveillance scandal to robert mueller as testimony on capitol hill today we now know that the government not only can monitor americans using cyberspace but also using american airspace now the f.b.i. claims that it only has a few of these u a v's and its possession but given the advancements in drone technology these machines can fly at very high speeds to cover huge distances and then hover for hours so a few drones might be all it takes to keep an eye on an entire nation with something surprising did come out of the hearing today the facts that the f.b.i.

has not yet set up a way to regulate you a.v.'s so instead of asking a question i think i can assume sense you do use drones that the f.b.i. has developed a set of policies procedures and operational limits on the use of drones and whether or not any privacy impact on american citizens will we are in the initial stages of doing that and i will tell you that our foot for book footprint is very small so the f.b.i. and other government agencies are using drones without having a policy to protect the public and that has the electronic frontier foundation and other privacy advocates very concerned it's a very kind of learning technology to use particularly first the braille it's become her stand that we also understand that there are potential goodhue says for this the hearing was likely the last time robert mueller will testify in front of the senate his term is set to expire in september and president obama is expected

to nominate former bush administration official james komi to take on. over but don't expect a new face to embrace the drone program as the technology progresses as they become cheaper as different technology can be added they'll be used more so the next time you look up in the sky smile big brother just might be watching in washington meghan lopez r.t. one year ago today wiki leaks founder julian assange sought refuge in the ecuadorian embassy in london he's been granted asylum in ecuador but u.k. officials will not allow him to travel safely out of their country the standoff between a son in the u.k. authorities could leave him trapped inside that embassy for years to come and it's costing the british taxpayer millions r.t. sarah first has more from london but this being one year since the sons. of the ecuadorian embassy here in knightsbridge in london now the wiki leaks

founder had sought asylum off of the u.k. supreme court refused to really pin his appeal against extradition to sweden where he's wanted for questioning allegations by two women of sexual offenses allegations which he denies being one year but if the end any nearer in sight and does julian the son still is being worth it we very rarely get to glimpse exactly what goes on behind these doors and we've been able to speak to his son himself to find out how he's feeling one year old. every day that we've rebuilt our principles we truly. consider this when i was in solitary confinement in prison here in london for about half an hour and my conclusion was of. course it is worth it one must and of course . throw away your ability to act it's very important to keep your ability to act in various ways and i have kept my ability to act in the organization preserves its

ability to act. after these struggles but i'm very comfortable and happy with what we have accomplished and i'm sure history. started and just imagine very very well indeed what the other day and feeling in the sunshine state is about when day by the balcony behind me with those foreign minister he been visiting him ahead of his meeting with his we take counsel part william hague's nazi with us to the press conference held by acquittals foreign minister and made. the ecuadorian government will continue to ensure that julian assange keeps receiving the protection we're giving him under asylum in our country protecting his life his personal integrity and particularly his freedom of expression his confinement continues but the wiki leaks founder hasn't stopped i know he's made numerous appearances throughout the

world's media and of course continue to make sure that his message to support the whistle blows continue to be heard and perhaps even providing inspiration for some of the most recent high profile whistle blows in fact speaking recently about the n.s.a. whistleblower edward snowden today in a song he wrote indeed many of us to describe today in a song. that was r.t. sarah firth reporting thousands of brazilians took to the streets for a second day in a row in what's been dubbed a brazilian spring. demonstrate outside the national stadium in the capital brasilia many are outraged the country is spending millions on a new stadium for the world cup and the olympics take a look. you are. ok was the ok. was the ok.

across the country police have used tear gas pepper spray and rubber bullets to break up demonstrators the crowds are voicing their concerns about how brazil is spending money on stadiums and set of much needed social programs well here in the states taxpayer funding is doled out in support of stadiums too but where's the outrage in the u.s. political commentator sam sacks takes a look at that issue. it is fun separately to organize the thoughts though cup two thousand and fourteen do it in context with the receive that was six years ago an announcement that the world's biggest soccer tournament would be coming home to brazil for the first time since one thousand nine hundred fifty but with one year to go until the tournament kicks off this is what's happening in brazil this week. at least two hundred thousand brazilians have taken to the

streets all around the country with massive demonstrations in major cities like sell paolo and rio de janeiro cities which are also currently spending huge amounts of public money on sports stadiums and security in preparation for the global soccer tournament next year and then the olympics in two thousand and sixteen and demonstrators want to know why billions of dollars in public money is being funneled to build extravagant sports stadiums while schools hospitals roads and water facilities around the country are crumbling a sentiment summed up in this now viral you tube video so world cup is going to add up to about thirty eight billions of dollars that's more than the last three world cups at a together they added up to about twenty five billions now tell me in a country where illiteracy can reach twenty one percent on average than herself a country that ranks eighty five in the human development index a country where thirteen million of people are under fed every day and where many

many other people die waiting for medical treatment those that country need more stadiums to make matters worse to raise even more revenue the public services in brazil have been cut and bus fares have been increased a move that sparked the demonstrations around the country last week and the nation's poorest have suffered the most as favelas are bulldozed to make room for new tourist destinations as many as one point five million families are expected to be forced out of their homes before the world cup kicks off meanwhile private real . state developers construction companies and multinational sponsors are doing very well securing huge contracts and preparing for a profit bonanza when the world flocks to brazil next summer but what happens to the broader brazilian economy after the games are over in two thousand and ten south africa host of the world cup and the country was only able to recruit a tenth of the nearly five billion dollars spent to prepare for the games meanwhile fifa the international soccer governing body made its money off south africa's

hospitality collecting billions in television and marketing rights so it's no wonder why brazilian taxpayers feel like they're getting a raw deal but this is a debate that should also be very familiar to americans since every single year a new cash strapped city decides to divert public funds away from essential services and toward corporate sports owners who want to build a new stadium in detroit the n.h.l. is red wings are seeking millions from the state to build a new arena meanwhile the city itself is under the control of a financial manager who's desperately slashing spending on public services like education in atlanta the falcons want to construct a new billion dollar stadium and they want taxpayers to put up two hundred million dollars for construction and then even more than that over the next forty years to maintain the stadium and in chicago where fifty public schools will be closed mayor

rahm emanuel wants hundreds of millions of dollars to be diverted to a new sports stadium for de paul university a private school so crony capitalism and corporate welfare for sports owners isn't just taking place in the developing world it's a booming industry right here in the united states too only there aren't hundreds of thousands of people protesting in the streets of detroit or chicago demanding better use of public funding and more accountability and while government officials in corporate sponsors in brazil and the united states think that building mega. state of the art sports complex is a side of progress that will benefit the economy you have to wonder what good are these stadiums if they're built in cities that can educate their kids they can provide health care to their sick and where the citizens don't even seem to want them. in washington same sex. it hasn't exactly been the best political season for canadian politicians who've been mired in scandal after scandal after scandal first up to run tomorrow rob ford has been accused of smoking croc on camera this

alleged video has yet to be released but he's still in office next up montreal interim and mayor michael apple bomb who resigned yesterday after being arrested and charged with fourteen counts of fraud and conspiracy among other charges and apple bomb took over last over the last toronto mayor gerald tremblay who left office in november after evidence surfaced that his staff allegedly took bribes his corruption probe is still ongoing and finally london ontario as mayor joe fine tanna was currently under indictment for misusing public money for his son's wedding he plans to seek reelection that is if he doesn't make a pitstop to jail first with me to discuss these scandals around canada is running levine a political science lecturer at the university of toronto hi there ronin so let's get right down to it it looks like the mayors of canada are in a contest to see who can become ensnarled in the biggest scandal what do you make

of what's going on north of the border. i think there must be something in the water the corruption just seems to be an infectious disease where you actually describe it was actually not even the political story. of the city i was in mississauga which is a suburb of toronto but by itself because of the city in canada she's been facing conflict of interest accusations and on friday basically the case against her was tossed out on the technicality so there's no way out and rob who is going to have trying to get you mentioned in the alleged cocaine smoking scandal his case may be heard by the supreme court of canada i don't want tomorrow so there's conflict of interest or corruption allegations going. on the left and right and there's a lot of canadians going what is going on. you kidding aside it's actually appears to be a whole bunch of unrelated issues of course greed is greed and politicians are politicians

and indy's case is each one of them it's a matter of either votes that were taken in office where they didn't clear that they had a personal interest in what was going on bribes they were seeing from developers and it all points to what although a lot of canadians are quite attentive to politics but local politics in canada are not party politics and where is the federal and provincial level here in canada they tend to deal with parties that enforce themselves and kick people out of the party who are not playing along at the welcome level there does seem to be a bit of a lack of oversight into what some of these local politicians were able to get away with or were able to get away with until now and with two mayors now out in montreal the mayor in toronto under a serious cloud and mirrors in mississauga in london ontario under suspicion or under accusations people are looking and wondering whether or not this is a big problem that needs to be addressed what seems to me professor levine scandals

up there they're either classified as up the skirt for hand in the till as canadians would say so even prior to those may oral scandals canada has some very questionable players i want to talk to you about that political system is it and it self the problem. i don't know if you as i did american who's living in canada and one of things i point out to people about local politics in canada is that it's a lot like the united states a lot like a lot of our city governments which are nonpartisan so they're not allowed to identify which member party they're part of they're not allowed to lobby for them and coalitions so those things the fact that these candidates need to build independent political bases are things that we as americans understand this is normal for us it's a riddle of norm and we are having is a bit of an issue has it been the mechanisms for patching them. different there's a very active media so all of these scandals are playing out in the media right now

but the media does not always pay attention to welcome politics and citizens are allowed to make complaints but it's complaints that cost them after what they have to pay for legal fees and if they lose because of interest case a complaint against a politician then they might have to be responsible for that elected politicians fees so i'm actually part of a number of people who are saying i think we need to evaluate the writers that we have here in canada so maybe things are going to do we have the right mechanisms for holding our government officials accountable and if that's the kind of thing we are good people are discouraged for running because they may have exhibited we feel we could cost them the sale of the and forgive me for cutting you off their service we have to leave it there that was running levine a political science lecturer at the university of toronto you know that does it for now for more on the stories we've covered go to youtube dot com slash r t america check out our website at r.t. dot com slash usa you can also follow me on twitter at m underscore j underscore

hell stay tune prime interest is next. well with. science technology innovation all the least of melanin still around russia we've got the future are covered. i would rather ask questions for people in positions of power instead of speaking on their behalf and that's why you can find my show larry king now right here on r.t. question more. league

. would. you.

good afternoon to welcome to prime interest i'm perry and boring in washington d.c. and here's the headline from the room following today. it's bad day after six weeks of job openings from the last announcement in scaring risk markets into a correction taking speeds we've been seeing much recent price inflation and unemployment data still have not reached target and it caters to begin beavering if the fed might reduce its bond buying princes later this year we'll talk with dr interest producer bob english from the new york stock exchange in just a bit and the pending consultant bill boyd to financial advisory services is under the gun no not because of its role in the botched independent foreclosure review of the charges led.