iraq's prime minister urges al qaeda fighters in control of key towns to give up as the militants enjoy a rise of influence fueled by the war in neighboring syria. the army's greatest threat the u.k. military is disconnected from the public apparently don't understand what it's actually for that's the claim coming from a parliamentary watchdog. and russia's sledge hockey team prepares to make its debut at the upcoming paralympics meet the captain's family to find out where he's drawing his strength and inspiration from our top stories this hour.

live from our studio center here in moscow this is r.t. international with you twenty four hours a day militants have attacked an army barracks north of baghdad reportedly killing twelve soldiers the iraqi government is currently struggling to regain control of key cities in the country's west occupied by al qaeda fighters the prime minister has called on the group to surrender shortly get live expert opinion on this but first middle east correspondent is following the conflict. well the situation certainly is becoming increasingly volatile but we've now heard from the iraqi prime minister it is him urging all those who have joined a kind of to give up the fight he has hinted at the possibility of hardening these militants if indeed they do so they are facing a massive siege that has been launched by the government troops now maliki was speaking in his weekly televised address and he volunteered that it is to continue what he calls the sacred war against al qaida is the local branch which is known as

the as none the state in iraq and they live and he also said that he would continue to finish the push to retake the key ambar cities often and ramadi which earlier were taken over by the militants in fact the militants had to compete for the regime as their new independent state what we see happening now is that al qaeda going to militants are trying to capitalize on the six period of tension that is currently inside iraq and this is a tension that the united states failed to resolve you'll remember of course that the united states occupied iraq for eight years and then pulled out leaving behind this major sick tarion power of the cake at the same time some of the al qaida militants who are now fighting in iraq all reportedly coming from across the border in syria and of course the united states has been supporting the syrian opposition which inadvertently has allowed these extremist islamist militants to flourish in

the first place the united states is now saying that it will be sending an emergency shipment of surveillance drones and missiles to iraq in an attempt to try and prop up its allies in baghdad the militant group now in control of calls itself the islamic state of iraq and the levant and its forces are also known as the most radical jihadist wing or the syrian rebels well let's take a closer look at the organization which is gaining momentum in the region. well its roots go back to the early years of the iraq war it was established in april two thousand and four by sunni extremists and pledge allegiance to bin laden at that time it was called al qaeda in iraq two years later it was rebranded as the islamic state of iraq in two thousand and thirteen again a strong presence in the northern syria area which saw it at levant to its name and of course in the latest developments the group has taken control of the key town in

the province in iraq and proclaimed it and islamic state their plan is to unite iraq and syria to form an islamic state a known as a caliphate so in our talk to michael prize now he's an iraq war veteran and he joins us live now from los angeles michael the u.s. is saying it's not sending any military to iraq no boots on the ground but is the iraqi army actually capable of dealing with this on its own. well you know as the u.s. government knows it at this time cannot send u.s. troops because it knows that the people of the united states and the soldiers in the military would not accept that and so the question of is the iraqi government up to the task of being able to regain control in these regions i mean that is yet to be seen i mean it's going to be a question of whether the maliki government can inflict enough violence on these groups to kill enough people to put them back into submission or if they're able to form the types of political alliances that have been formed in the past to be able

to have some kind of settlement but you know i really think it's you know there was an op ed in the new york times today by thomas friedman that raise the question of if the are the iraqis not just the iraqi government are the iraqis up to the task of moving forward from this in the country thomas friedman asserts that this isn't the result of a power vacuum that was left by the united states but the result of a values vacuum that the iraqi people need values and that's the reason for this violence is the most disgustingly racist characterization of the iraqi people and this is a matter that can be solved by the iraqi people but on their own and without this kind of foreigners. in iraq many is saying that this mess is due to the u.s. is actions that is that fair. it's one hundred percent correct this situation in iraq today the root of all of this violence is the us invasion and occupation and what did the u.s.

government expect was going to happen you go into a country violently invade it and you occupy and disable all of its government ministries all vital elements of the government that provide services disabling dismantling the police force all of these things installing a temporary u.s. dictator named paul bremmer and then forming this client government that along sectarian lines favoring sectarian groups against each other arming groups against each other and then installing a government that pursuit of violently sectarian policy which continues to this day this is the inevitable result of a divide and conquer policy i mean i was there in two thousand and three i remember the new iraqi government being set up along sectarian lines sectarian divisions that did not exist any way near or nearly at all the way they are today so the insurgent in the region be an arm of the fight each other i mean this was a part of the policy of these sectarian divisions now getting to such an extent that we could be seeing a civil war developing in iraq we're seeing in syria just briefly i think that's

what it looks like and of course i hope that's not the case because i would be a great tragedy for the people of iraq who have already gone through so much hardship and destruction. thank you very much indeed for joining us live from l.a. well the iraqi government has delayed it's all told the militant held city of fallujah for now in fear of civilian casualties but the troops and tanks besieging the city ready to attack soon as they get the order for the residents it's a looming catastrophe so he's going to come reports. the residents of. hell during the u.s. occupation now face their own army so soft on the cd the iraqi government has lined up tanks on loaded fighter jets preparing to drive al qaeda linked militants out of the city the u.s. is packing more hellfire missiles and other weapons for the iraqi army to use and everybody knows when the bombing begins there will be blood brian back with me

brian so many innocent iraqis have died in terror attacks do you think this anti terror assault could turn out to be just as deadly as terror itself it could be even more deadly if the people of. have been through this before two thousand and four twice the u.s. marines committed huge war crimes against the people of pollution they can they call a kill zone anything that moved was killed when you declare a kill zone you say everything that moves must die everything that moves must be a terrorist everything that moves is a legitimate target who then dies who then suffers it's the the people of fallujah themselves of course they don't want to live under what do they want to live under these kind of military assaults paid for by the united states with arms from the united states carried out by the movie government which has also been a brutal against the residents of fallujah i don't think so crucial question thank you thank you no doubt there is an urgent need to drive these militants out after

all how can you allow extremists to run in towns again territory expand but then you also have to ask if you see bombing as a viable option in order to drive extremists out of residential areas how different is it from what bashar assad is doing in washington i'm going to check on. the islamic state of iraq and the vendor controlling fallujah is it the same time urging attacks on its rival opposition groups in syria while other rebel leaders are urging a truce between the factions you can read all about this on our web site right now auntie dot com and meanwhile the second round of peace to syria. it's just around the corner but the country's opposition bloc is split on whether to attend coming up later in the program this hour we've got expert opinion on what is behind the syrian national coalition divided stance. one of the biggest threats to britain's armed forces the lack of public understanding of what they stand for that's according to a recent u.k.

parliament treat report an m.p. say the opposition to wars in iraq and afghanistan and a reduced public appetite for overseas interventions is leading people to question the purpose of the u.k. army public support for defense is dropping due to what is seen as a lack of a long term strategic mission meanwhile massive military budget cuts are putting the army's capabilities at risk despite being one of the world's top defense spenders britain's planning to cut personnel by nearly thirty thousand over the next six years is artie's test. the army's recruiting but applicant numbers are slow to pick up amid thousands of layoffs there's a massive drive to recruit army reservists but leaked mid year army memos revealed the number of people listed on the reserve over a three month period was just three hundred sixty seven barely a quarter of the target the ministry of defense said that after wrapping up the

recruitment drive in september there were more than fifteen hundred applicants in the first four weeks and that it's too early to make a conclusion but this young man says he simply can't be convinced my grandparents were in the air force actually during the second world war at the time enjoyed it wasn't such a bad idea to be joining the forces because they were fighting a war against fascism i don't agree with the way they. used it was used as a force to aggressively. defend this morning but was arrested to commemorate the conscientious objectors to military service those who would exercise their right to refuse to kill now at the time of the first world war for instance they faced a restroom jeers from some of society who view them as cowards but times have indeed changed. a decade of fighting in iraq and afghanistan has made the british war weary a most people join the armed forces to be in the

peace business not in the war business because such is a threat to their livelihood nobody wants to be in a war because in a war activists have also lashed out at recruitment campaign started at sixteen and seventeen year olds who according to one recent study a more suitable to post-traumatic stress disorder at the moment were asking a sixteen year old who we don't trust point to drink a pint of beer in the pub we don't trust to fight in a general election we're asking that person to make a very far reaching legal commitment towards a career like having a baby care of foreign accounts or the ministry of defense. says the report completely ignores the benefits and opportunities to offer his young people but for this young man it's a career path is it ready to change his mind about the. people that if you're joining the army you're going to be brought to shoot people who don't. do so so your article. german from the stop the war coalition believes that

britain's role in the world is changing and so should its defense policies we've had a whole number of years of the war on terror of interventions which have not been successful so people why aren't. pounds being spent. on the armed forces on all these things work and strategic of going to war in afghanistan and iraq have been shown to be complete failures and i think it does raise very serious questions about british foreign policy we've been claimed that we have a special relationship going back decades with the united states but the simple truth is the united states doesn't really need british the british military aspect of it operations and therefore it is quite a turning point for the british military in british foreign policy and it's one that the government is reluctant to accept but which i think in this respect as in so many others the public opinion is well ahead of the government. has been on the

winter and the paralympics roster since one thousand nine hundred four this year will see russia's team make its debut we've already seen them on ice and their captain and now we meet those who've helped him so you can endure so many hardships in his drive for victory. well four of it in salute and he's known as the captain of the national paralympic flood talking to here in russia but in this house he's just known as dad. we asked about his family and the first time he met his wife irene a. we first met when i was in the army serving in this area it was a spark from the very beginning and grew as we dated it you could see it was love at first sight my entire life changed it had a new meaning but another kind of change was coming the two were considering time the not one of the team went off to war where he lost both of his legs i removed

into his hospital room to help with his care and the couple continued with their plan to marry when asked about the proposal irene a said she knew it was coming most will move this well i was expecting the proposal and the wedding day we had a lot of guests and we all had so much fun. but the mood changes a little when we ask irene how she felt about his and jury. i couldn't believe it for a long time. coping with the stress of any injury requires real psychological resilience they both clearly have that in spades. he does everything for the family we all feel that he helps people realize that life isn't over that everything is possible life goes on. the marriage is stronger than ever and katia became the second woman to change of a team's life six years ago. now he's heading for the paralympic games and that

also means leaving his loved ones. for the team his two passions in life are never too far from each other. i really enjoy all the time i get to spend at home because when i'm away in training sessions with the team i miss my family very much it's the same as the game when you sit on the bench for a long time just watching the others play and then you get this little time in nice and you want to make most of it you're one hundred percent committed. a commitment shared by everyone in the house while the dream is eager to take home gold come march he already has his prize at home in the moscow region and margaret how will our team. with both the olympic and paralympic games fast approaching don't forget to follow the amazing journey of the olympic flame before doing it online as well you can catch the best moments of the record breaking. the twenty fourteen winter

olympics in sochi on altie dot com. it's on its epic journey. three days. through. the cities of russia and. relayed by fourteen thousand people. or six. in a record setting trip by land air. and others. olympic torch relay. on. the. international live here in moscow coming up this hour the taxpayers picking up the bills. they spilled a site will eventually become the premier whole however it's already over ten times its original budgets it's set to close close to

a billion euro we report and the huge national construction projects in germany that but it's many times i've just poor planning. if you. know opportunity. to start to construct your own. give don't want to be gangstas you don't want to. deal with they don't want to blow with the time a kid came to be we can't see. just me. there i was in my own problems in the hood with a very big thirty round clip. but it felt like. i said put it out there. i don't want to die i just really do not want to die young young he.

says the media lead us so we leave the baby. by the sea bush a secure. place the party visible it seems that no one is asking with the guests that you deserve answers from. politicking only on r t. v bunking the myth of german efficiency public construction projects have been turning into economic time bombs to you critics say to the irresponsible planning of those in charge and it's taxpayers who are forced to foot the bill as aunties peter one of the reports. if you listen to the politicians germany's ruling in it but if you believe those

following the money trail is a different story. mainly it's a problem with cost estimates they use wrong data they start building and eventually they run out of money and then tax plans have to pick up the bill. currently germany has one of the biggest struction sectors in europe but all around the country there's evidence that those in charge of the purse strings on the best to make building decisions this building site will eventually become books premie a concert hall however it's already over ten times its original budget it's set to cost close to a billion euro it's not just the grand artistic projects that have cost the big money here in ne tourist information booth has already cost taxpayers around one and a half million euro for the ultimate in modern german construction white elephants

look no further than right here at the brandenburg airport grossly over budget already four years behind schedule it's currently costing nearly one million euro a day to run and that's without any planes or passengers to those a train tunnel in late zigged that ended up five hundred million over budget that had expected in two thousand and five the german reputation for efficiency to hold up when it comes to construction we know is running for election this year the e.u. parliament believes those in power don't have the required skills to decide on huge projects it's not their money they can dream they can play they can make each and every kind of. drafts. because they don't have to paid they are in charge for four years before eight years as long as the project is not finished. they are

fighting for the additional costs to increase the national debt so the taxpayer pays twice first for the interest rates of additional debt then extra costs for planning those familiar with construction business know that if you plan to go it will be more expensive than if you plan in advance she was sworn in as chancellor for a third time late last year and promised five billion to fix up germany's rule germans will have no idea how much that promise and eventually cost them peter all over. germany. if you right now disbelief in his own strategies dot com to find out why the former u.s. secretary defense feels disillusioned about policies plus some other juicy details a former top military man reveals in his memoirs. and also the holiday of one

terrorist might have run over time as he fails to return back to prison after his new year's leave more details on that story and others just a click away. the u.n. is claiming that all syria's chemical weapons stockpiles are said to be destroyed by this june the first batch of chemical materials has now been removed from the country meanwhile heavy fighting between moderate and radical rebel factions continues and the opposition is once again its final vote on whether to take part in this month's geneva two peace talks middle east expert manual oxon writer told me earlier that he believes the opposition does not represent the syrian people's interests. the term syrian opposition is wrong as it could be this these groups are neither syrian nor opposition so they don't have in their interest in the good the benefit of the people or of the country to screw ups are very very often influenced by the west by turkey by the go if states we have to imagine or to

see those groups more like militant gangs like a sort of mafia those groups who claim about themselves that they represent the moderate opposition of the mob or moderate rebels don't have any influence on the battleground we know in the meanwhile that the fights on the ground are. extremists . some of it in brief this are in private dash police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse angry crowds of student protesters who've been staging or running for one of the most violent national elections in the country's history the crowds call for a general strike against prime minister sheikh hasina the weekend's poll with over two thirds of the seats and the results were published the country has been plunged into chaos with reports of dozens of deaths and widespread allegations of wrongdoing. in the turban kashmir region to the streets for the funeral of a band of hizbul mujahideen militant eighteen year old was killed by the indian

army in a gun battle mourners carried the body of a man while shouting and the indian slogans demanding their state independence from the country a gunfight broke out late tuesday evening after the army received intelligence about a build up of militants in the area has seen an insurgency against indian rule since nine hundred eighty nine. angry activists in south korea have staged a protest in seoul against kim looming on the they believed to be the north korean leader think they too were flags of a neighboring country pictured last month execution of the community. raised tensions on the korean peninsula have prompted the united states to deploy more troops and heavy tanks in seoul as part of the so-called military i didn't see. to bring up today for the moment the news team with wolf in just over half an hour from now in the meantime is there a way to curb violence in america's murder capital shellshocked just ahead you know

it's international but if you're in the u.k. it's going underground with action returns. when a country experiences a tragedy like the recent terrorism in volgograd there question is what to do about it i mean we have to do something right let's never let a good tragedy go to waste one do remember recommends getting rid of the moratorium on the death penalty for prayers groups including terrorists because the death penalty is the perfect way to punish a suicide bomber also this do remember failed to mention high level cryptic kratz in the government as those who could possibly face the firing squad perhaps that was just an honest oversight i'm not against the death penalty in some rare instances but punishing terrorists after the fact doesn't bring victims back the focus needs to be on the source of terrorism soldiers can play around all day with weapons because the government gives them

a salary weapons and training some people are recruiting arming and training new terrorists you don't need to usher in a massive surveillance state to stop terrorism or go death penalty crazy what you need to do is hit the funding and training source hard if you can i mean how many of you guys out there could make a remotely detonated bomb a c. four on your own without help almost none of you see for doesn't grow on trees someone pays for it but that's just my opinion. dangerous entailments in contradictory alliances is the us hasn't. many client states how well do these fine states and alliances serve america's national into political interests and is washington hopelessly overstretched in its foreign policy commitments. oh my god. you don't have. to think about. ya know

a couple. three. for. by what i know about seven people a good man got to buy the guy says so yeah it was like a run to my fam but that's the close of my brothers i know about ten people who have danced to imagine that all the my brightest and care ever day i walk out my house the i'll will feel right and know by six and if you live in a shack they all died before even time seventeen as is almost natural edge in the sun about oh gosh i live you know nobody's summer oh it's a. carrot am sent in my day the current day came to me on it's an hour.

you to see somebody and i did in the call way that on no bottom for the seed a need to send out of your gaze and expose my lies a lot of will die. first that they happen because the violence it was like you know was a shocker but we came together. the second one it was all but we still came to get it and it there when everybody just sing just a just split up.