a terror suspect is arrested in new york after an explosion a wrong a central bus station injuring three people. with his turkey cheering his middle east tour on announces the withdrawal of russian troops from syria. and the israeli prime minister is in europe seeking support for donald trump's recognition of jerusalem as israel's capital but the e.u. foreign policy chief makes it clear brussels will not follow suit. for the latest on these stories head to com coming up a former special envoy to syria is the guest on sophie talking about the long running civil war in the for islamic state.

welcome to. the war against islamic state may be entering its final phase in syria a resolution to the country's wider civil conflict is not yet inside while the deadly grind continue or can the warring parties be finally brought to the table while i ask. former dutch special and way to syria. running state is making its final stand in syria shaken by the blows of government and kurdish forces the end of the war against the caliphate is in sight with the main enemy over gone what will happen to the truce between president and the syrian rebels the form of isis the end of the syrian civil war or will it only serve to prolong the

carnage. because when dan former dutch special envoy to syria a veteran diplomat author off just storing. and nation the civil war in syria welcome to the show a great pleasure to have you with us jim and that islamic state holds no more than a few small towns in south this serious stunning reversal from the times one that stretched from aleppo to missile now you might expect isis to revert to guerrilla tactics and are ground terrorism now how dangerous well the terror will be after its military is defeated well there will be underground so it's more difficult actually to conquer an underground organization so they will try to do terrorist operations perhaps not in syria but elsewhere around the world so why do you think they're going to get resources for that where well that's a point since they don't have any oil and gold they have less resources but you

don't need much resources to carry out a terrorist attack. why you don't need much resources to carry out a terrorist attack but you do need resources to keep an organization together you have to feed the people yes but i think they will have their cells or even people who are not really part of the organization are willing to carry out attacks on their own a separate cells so the syrian forces fighting isis are taking having losses in there as our whereas islamic state getting the strength and lots of aisha from to make a tough last stand in their remaining syrian territory i mean why are they folding like a house of cards right now they are ministry defeated they are perhaps still stretched out at various desert areas within syria or perhaps small parts of iraq so but an organization which doesn't have an army gun still carry out all kinds of terrorist attacks all over the world as we have seen in europe for instance in western europe

there have been various at the expo people who have grown up in europe they are not being sent by the so-called islamic states but they are already there and sometimes for various generations wise ass is more resistant to assad's troops than the u.s. backed syrian democratic forces after the fall of rocca. struck a truce recently with faye s.t.'s according to the reports from the insights here in media center. well i think there it is a same it depends on let's say the syrian regime wants to attack the islamic states just as well but thus far over the last few years the syrian regime has used other forces to eliminate one another it's a kind of war economy so sometimes it looked and the syrian regime has been accused of gordon a thing with the islamic state but in fact if that was the case at all it was just

the let's say a military strategy to use other forces to eliminate other. and i mean and i think that still is going to happen in a province like it live in the northwest there you have the the successor of. and they will be perhaps at that by the americans by others by the turks so as long as other countries other armies are doing the work for him to syrian army it's all right with the mosque is so they use use these other forces like friends of the kurdish forces in the north they have received in the past arms of the syrian regime not because they were friends of the syrian regime but because that state it suited the syrian regime to use them to attack others and allemande they so once these other forces have been eliminated like this lemming state then i think this

era regime will turn to others and the meece like the kurdish forces in the north but it seems like the race to take credit for victory against i says is really on who can claim to be the ultimate winner here for instance french president mccall has already said we have won and. at the same in that general victory. i think it's not and the country that is really can claim that they have victory because there are so many countries involved in the fight against against islamic state it is the western alliance our countries the syrian regime. radians do so to claim it i think it's a political statement but it isn't ones to claim that he or she is the main responsible for winning from dives and it's has been

a process of various years what does d. and devices mean for the local groups on the ground in syria when are the syrian kurds and assad's forces going to go against each other ones to common how such anime is no more or will we see add to facto partition of syria between the kurds and arabs i think nobody wants a partition of syria but the problem is everyone wants to have the power and syria sold them a big question now is the. us is eliminated or defeated militarily and the regime troops and the. opposition troops are confronting one another with the help of on the one side russia and iran and on the other side by the americans how much the americans are still prepared to support the people they were supporting before or whether offered has been a free for us and they don't want a front ation with russia in syria and probably also not the other way around now

there's all this talk of a fish or pre-lit political transition in syria and how maybe gone after a peace deal is hammered out now we keep hearing about the opposition and what they want but what should we do with those who fight for us at our are they going to just accept something they fought so hard to prevent. well i think the main forces in syria fighting for. are supporting him are russia and hezbollah and iran and they none of them wants to news their allies so they will keep supporting him. supporting they will keep supporting the regime because they don't want to do so strategically. what about you know syrians who are certainly a partially not all of syria but a lot of people in syria are still supporting us what about them. well they they

will wait until there is a new situation but syria is peaceful so they will keep supporting the regime and many others are opposing the regime and the negotiations are you can better gold interest syrian talks in geneva as long as both sites still want to eliminate woman or the opposition wants to leave at least that although they say we have no preconditions and this is the syrian regime in fact wants to get rid of the opposition so the syrian regime minutes really speaking is getting more and more strong and the country's military speaking on the party that is stronger military speaking the more it is strong the less they're willing to really make any concessions you know after i visit to russia vladimir putin discuss peace in syria with donald trump do you think washington and moscow care really come to

a consensus in syria and saying how their relations in all the other areas chests abysmal i think this is relations the relationship between moscow and the mosques and the united states and the masses is fully a symmetrical. russia is a friend of the president of the americas in fact is anime and have not only during the civil war about during this war but also in the past had very. negative relations so it will be very difficult to have a real compromise between the united states and russia because they simply because a semblance of mackenzie's you have noticed if you notice that mr and damn for the past half year or so americans aren't so adamant about. assad leaving is as a precondition to anything anymore because they do understand. in order to have

some sort of peace settlement in syria they need us right now and i don't think that russia is actually insistent on not staying once the peaceful transition is done i don't think that assad as a person is the sole important thing for russia. no a so there's no those all important as a person but he is important as far as his leaving would cause a risk in the regime falling apart so indeed the americans are americans so much less to have him leave folderol from time to time they keep saying at the again so in the end i think most countries are accepting that he will stay and. dearest told that he would have to leave at the beginning of the transitional period but there must first be a transitional period at all because for the regime transition is

a kind of dirty word almost that they want don't want any transition the most they want and they reform us so but as long as they stay in power for the regime it's ok but gradually also from the gulf states also from qatar and saudi arabia and others and for turkey those old those countries was first want to him to leave not only to leave but. they have now come to other opinions because they got particularly turkey also they got a lot of damage or does a fund that is from their support of the opposition because this gave the kurdish forces a chance to occupy a big part of balls on syria. promise of endemol then take a short break right now when we're back we'll continue talking to a close friend and former special envoy to syria axum bassa there are two incidents and iraq now let's talk about how the syrian civil war is going to play out in the

near future some change. few. more more more when all childs seem wrong when all the world's just all. the world is yet to shape our is the answer you can stick up to it and indeed from an equals betrayal. when so many find themselves worlds apart wheat just to look for common ground.

we're back with nicholas a van dam former dutch special envoy to syria discussing the situation on the ground and the war torn country welcome back mr van dam now the united states has a lot more troops on the ground in syria that they care to meet and it seems that there is no plan for any me at withdrawal what will the american military presence mean for the final act of the syrian war when it comes it is really openly

open and that whether or not the americans want to stay there and gone from the syrian regime and the russians i very much doubt that they're really want to continue this war has almost already taken seven years to go into a new military actions against whom so if they would be they might defend the opposition but they don't think they are going to take in any way to serve the regime they may be using these forces to eliminate extremist forces in the province for instance together with the turks together with others but i don't think they are willing and the more goal to fight the regime so it will be a two goal you could call it a cleaning up. against terrorist extremist forces but this is both in the interest of the regime and both india interest of the moderate forces of the

opposition you've mentioned turkey and i want to talk a bit about it the country has recently established another syrian foothold on christ is going to keep it strips on syrian territory for as long as it pleases are they playing stabilizing role here what's your take. i think the main thing for dave for turkey is to get rid of any powerful position of the b. y. deed to accord this party which is empowered and the p.k. k. so if they can at lehman they or neutralize the role of the kurds in syria then for them it's ok i think. and of course if turkey suffers from terrorist attacks which would emanate from northern syria they want to. attack those as well these forces but i don't think the turks i think they will already have regretted

that they've intervened at all because if they had not intervened probably the kurdish second factor would be that strong so i think india and they are going to cooperate with the regime to eliminate the kurdish forces in the north is a common interest but it's quite a switch from wanting to eliminate or to to topple the regime of president bush. together with other forces and then come back and cooperate with him against the kurdish forces which have achieved quite a lot of independence now what is saudi arabia which is accuser sponsoring rabble is across the region. protests as being to fit it well that's just a band on them. did i think the m d a so days they are much more focused on the role of iran than on any other force so they want to

diminish the strength of iran for strategic reasons and for that they have no also a kind of link with israel boots which also wants iran to be eliminated from syria territory so i think deep deep saudis at first they wanted to topple the regime and i think now they accept that but they are much more interested in the strategic issue from syria because they didn't have any and the problem with syria in the past but since let's say the american go to patient of iraq and they off her mouth the arrhenius have a norm enormously one gained ground in the whole region in iraq in syria in lebanon so i think that is the main preoccupation sold those countries that interfered minutes really directly or into a drink in syria they had side effects which were very unfavorable towards them and

now they're concentrating on these factors to eliminate them so for the turkey this is the kurds and for this odious this is iran since we're talking about all the players involved and you mentioned iran iranian sponsored manpower is crucial to us at success all those advisors militias etc if that stays in power and eventually wins the war is that going to give iran for a chill mastery over syria will assad have to become aidan's client. i didn't i don't think so in the sense that also wouldn't want those forces those foreign forces on his country except in a kind of way like for instance russia having a military base or so but not to to dominate the regime is not what he wants at all he would he he they help them but once he will be back in

power over the whole of syria that he doesn't want them anymore but the rain ians have their interests or it's israel of course so they want to have a kind of military base in syria to at tax or defense against israel but the israelis don't want this at all so in a way the iranians will have to withdraw when there are not any more need of it and this is i think the done trees that support the regime they cannot simply dictate to president bush what they want him to do because it's a beautiful thing they want to keep their so-called client their ally but that they're allied to syrian allies not simply going to do what their supporter is saying if they feel that it's not in their interests in iraq the kurdish population is in a face of our lands one back from the ruins of isis it is an baghdad's hands but it

is restless and it all comes on the back of the recent independence referendum campos ass's war break out in iraq over the kurdish question. well there is inside iraq i think in my opinion the kurdish democratic party or do they say the other leaders have a verizon the joint interview during the referendum they claimed all were the stone which was having a not only me but also the parties the controversial areas which they conquered in the interest of battling isis but francisco cook has also been very controversial so i think as long as the kurds under the leadership of morris on the or anyone else stay within that tree which had the or official core of this autonomy i don't see there is there's any reason for war and they have withdrawn so i think there's no and no to any reason for war and the war but if they would have stayed within

not just because of the oil but also it's also important if they would have stayed in kirkuk and refused to leave then it would really be a war a reason for war but that reason has now been lifted or has been has gone has been eliminated by their withdrawal so the iranian side or rather a rivalry is what shaping in the middle east lately lebanese prime minister saad hariri quit his post very abruptly while a saudi arabia some say he was kidnapped they saudis claim that lebanon declared war on them then how do you returned is now prime minister again really bizarre turn of the van statten clip visits to paris cypress egypt what's going on here is this all connected to the iran saudi standoff was think what he said what the prime minister of lebanon said was that he had problems and the hezbollah being part of the lebanese political equation is dominant but it has to

bunch bigger military power done friends the lab and the lebanese army i don't. thing as far as i've been able to follow that hezbollah has a role in wanting to dominate the whole of lebanon the beauty is very unwise but that can be that in the perception of saudi arabia they want a much bigger role. than they want them to have and this is old interlink iran saudi arabia that has been given a corridor yes. but if you're saying that hezbollah being part a large part of the lebanese political establishment equation is the problem that we see her area being back being prime minister should we assume that the problem is gone it's dealt with. the problem or did issue of

hezbollah being very very powerful militarily as long as they don't threaten the government of lebanon there is nothing nothing that bad for the government is the saudi lack blockade of qatar part of the saudi arabian cold war as well as qatar going to cave eighteen or move to iran scam pushed by saudi hostility well i think that the gulf states in general the gulf cooperation council states they have taken a role which is very and to rein in. some states but also they have. more open relationship with. russia. and this is very much rejected by so dear abia but i think if you have a conflict the place too many conflicts and you want to solve and i think it's better to have some relations if not good relations done just to have also

relations and i think in this respect is playing out so it's kind of intermediary role because of the exclusion by the other gulf cooperation states. has moved more in the direction of iran. because of this oman is a case apart because they have growth of legal relations but i think this whole attitude against iran could be a little bit good be changed i mean from an minutes and. then most of. stood at the towards more recurrence of the eight three. but one of the princes once told me that the sudanese have in their d.n.a. a kind of hostility towards iran. we'll see how it all plays out

lester of thank you very much for the center of the abler talking ten o'clock former attached special envoy to syria thatcher and diplomat about the civil war in syria and the ways that sending across a wider middle east that is it for the latest edition of next time. thank you. reclined is a messaging app first store of value and a medium of exchange there as a messaging app this is the history of economics the history of money the history of trade the history of the evolution of the d.n.a. in our cells of our bodies suggest that bitcoin will be a lot higher because we as

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me. leave the e.u. . on the. readings and salyut stations tis the season for misreporting hawk watchers c.n.n. a.b.c. c.b.s. and others came under serious fire from fellow journalists and news media watchdogs after a series of russia gate based stories implicating president trump and his band of cronies in one form of skullduggery or another were found to be patently false most egregious was our good friends at c.n.n. one friday could barely contain their neo liberal con delight in reporting that according to reliable sources an individual fronting for wiki leaks had emailed the

trump campaign a secret offer giving them access to the allegedly hacked d.n.c. emails before they were going to be released to the public. and because wiki leaks could only have gotten those d.n.c. e-mails from russia you could practically hear the champagne pop and c.n.n. president jeff zucker's office that day. this was finally this was finally the smoking gun that blitzer tapper and the rest have been pining boars since trump beat hillary clinton in the deep state declare of the that that could only only only only be ructions fault if you if you haven't heard by now it appears that cnn's reliable sources aren't all that reliable and apparently misread the dates on the e-mail yes the collusion e-mail actually came after wiki leaks release the b. and c. e-mails to the public in the person who sent the links appears to be just some

random citizen not even remotely connected to he can't leaks as the inner subs glenn greenwald eloquently writes us media outlets are very good at demanding respect but journalists also have the responsibility not just to demand respect and credibility but to earn it this is not the first time that c.n.n. and others have gotten stories blatantly wrong about wiki leaks trump and russia gate and it certainly won't be the last for those of us who lived through the run up to the george w. bush iraq war and the whole weapons of mass destruction destruction fiasco we've seen these major media mistakes missed reportings and unreliable sources before i ask how many more lives and corporate p.r. apologies will it take for its time to turn off the least trusted name in.