it is possible remember that we're talking about global powers at play israel is not a global power but we do have our interests are very vital interests which we are trying to protect now there was a moment when dan merry can attack on syria seems not just an abba to blow but also imminent and possibly expansive involving not just syrian targets but since then both washington and i think if the european allies have stepped back a little bit. do you take it as a tactical move or do you think there has been some reassessment about what has actually happened and do more perhaps they were assessment of what can happen as a result of the american strikes i think there's a problem in the way we perceive this something happens in this case it was the chemical attack on civilians and syria and then the public in the media are waiting for the response of course playing into this is also this this very unique american president which tells us via twitter what he plans to do and so everyone's waiting

for this attack remember that the last attack by the united states was also not a game changer but more a signal and also here again is a for waiting we're sitting back and waiting for the american response it's not going to be toppling the syrian regime so it's going to be something calculated in the middle we don't know what we don't know when but of course this is the american calculation i wouldn't make a mistake of timing israel into this and also remember that the last attack by israel until four had nothing to do with a chemical attack israel is not a global player player as far as being the regional a policeman and we are not carrying out messages by global powers we are looking out for our own interests i personally believe that the timing here was coincidental well colonel as you said we have a very very unusual president in the white house and i personally think that flipping a coin is more reliable than predicting mr trump's actions but i still wonder after everything that was written and sat and then taken back and done written and sat again. do you think districts will still follow yes i think it will happen it's

clear to me that the american administration will have to fulfill this kind of promise given to their people into the world i think president trump now has a side strategic and military considerations also the very important consideration of his word of standing by his word remember that he criticized president obama for drawing a line in the sand or declaring a red line and then not enforcing it he even made made fun of him for this so i think it's very clear now that have president trump said that there is going to be response then it will be i just think that our expectations in a way that this american response will be so severe that it will be a game changer i think this is not the case it will again be messages and very careful calculation by the americans not to deteriorate into a clash a direct confrontation with russia but even if it's a targeted strike it's not actually you know a tiny little trifle it's actually

a military attack on a sovereign nation don't you think that the u.s. should maybe we are overplaying the danger but don't you think that you are underestimating the significance of all of this because this is not what they are supposed to do to strike a your neighbor or another nation across the world militarily i know that these are all dotted on regular bases but this is actually against international law ok again that's not separate remember that russia is now inside a different country on the invitation of the legitimate u.n. recognized syrian government understood i'm not even going to argue that issue i'm just saying that certainly countries look out for their interests and like i said completely separated from the israeli case that we can discuss later that has nothing to do with this issue i think the americans for instance if they decide to take out installations that specifically have to do with chemical weapons i think all mankind would agree that that is a positive thing to do because using chemical weapons to all mankind is considered a sin. violation of international law of our basic morals so again i'm that's what

i'm giving recommendations to the united states i'm just saying i can certainly understand why the united states with their global responsibilities and their interest in the middle east will want to signal to the a fraud regime that these red lines are serious now colonel i take it from your comments that you fully subscribed to the version of assad's culpability in this so horrendous attack and i wonder if you're basing your conclusions on the promise of his irrationality him being evil but still pursuing pragmatic goals or perhaps on the contrary human being totally and suicidal imad very good question trying to figure out leaders in the region is extremely complicated i'm going to say that i gave up completely but it's extremely complicated as far as president assad looking out for his own interest maintaining his regime i think this goal has in a way enabled him to use many means that many of us would consider not appropriate

and crossing in violating very moral codes. using chemical weapons let's just make it very clear as an israeli i would strongly argue not to make a judgment by video clips you see in the media the media is manipulated by various factors in the region that has interests this is done a lot to us i would not do that to others but in this case i think the world health organization's and other international institutions that time and time again go in verify and say that actually samples taken taken in the field demonstrate that chemical weapons have been used i think it's safe to say they will we see now in syria is extremely troubling to say the least i think you're slightly misrepresenting what the world health organization has actually sat it expressed concern about the use of chemical weapons and i think we would all agree that using chemical weapons is absolutely inadmissible i think even the syrian government would state i'm pretty firmly but what they will tell. organization sad that they

have received reports from some of the part there again is asians in the field why massage bar there again is asians included syrian american medical association which is indeed a fairly heated debates jaish i slammed reach was in control of that territory so i as of now i don't think there is any single international organization that has actually suggested what you have suggested i think it's best that everyone of our viewers goes in assesses the data that's out there i said and i'll say it again we can be very careful to jump to conclusions i am certainly not an expert on using chemical weapons remember that when you say chemical weapons as a variety of of chemicals out there some are classic chemical weapons like seran gas and also there's been a use of chlorine in syria i wouldn't even address this specific attack and again remember i'm an israeli standing here in israel trying to analyze the situation. looking at the last few years of what's happening in syria seeing this regime clinging as hard as they can to the throne when. this war has taken such

a devastating toll of hundreds and thousands of people killed and this so many displaced mainly my concern is an israeli is the instability in the suffering of my neighbors and not a calculation of what specific issues have to do with the assad regime in general by the way most israelis would tell you know that the assad regime has proven unfit to rule but again we're talking about interests i know understand and appreciate that russia is inside of syria to maintain and uphold the syrian regime and quite successfully let me ask you specifically about the russian position because you yourself gave twenty five years of your life to military service i'm sure you understand that in military terms using chemical weapons in that particular situation was absolute nonsense to many liabilities to little gains especially given that the syrian army was poised to take over that suburb. anyway but even if

you believe that the assad government authorized tag do you think the russians now are the being slagged or willfully covering up for the government which as you sowed has perpetrated such a current us crime against its people you know israel has a lot of respect for russia we have very good cooperation coordination with respect with some of what's going on and i understand and appreciate that russia is looking out for its interests also russian forces are inside of syria and have a good view of what's going on so it's very difficult and i think it would be a mistake on my part to do that kind of calculation again going to the specific attack i didn't even say and i cannot see who was it ordered by who is it approved by who knew about it and i would rather look at the broader picture even you know also i think we make a mistake them sometimes after hundreds and thousands of people killed taking one specific incident of using who are mean and being shocked as if that is some crossing some red line and all the rest all the other people that are you know

that's that's war also that i think is a mistake i think many times the the meanings that are used in the internal war in syria are means that are questionable i'm talking about bombing civilian and terrorist act currently it's not like israel has never done dot itself a bombing civilian areas let's let's not get into that discussion because i seriously don't think it's any we're going to you never would we go in carpet bomb a civilian population we have a question gaza right now as we speak we're not bombing gaza well you did on many occasions before and the same happened in beirut in lebanon but i am not interested in pursuing the truth because i think syria is more pressing issue right now let me ask you specifically what you mentioned before so that we we should not draw conclusions based on our own social media videos because they could be manipulated and the al qaeda affiliates which provided those videos jaish al islam which was in control of when that attack happened which was accused by adam. international off

using gas poisonous gas against the kurds in two thousand and sixteen days girl was documented rearranging children's corpses for emotional impact there are also strong indications dad they have applied foam to the mouse of some of the corpses are you saying that these groups actions and potential motives do you not to raise a any suspicions on your part may surprise you but again i will not take a specific video clip and draw conclusions from that and that's why i would not claim to know exactly what happened in a specific attack i'm looking at the broader picture of what's happening in syria and when you ask me you know what is my aspiration as an israeli my aspiration is stability and peace in syria and stopping the stopping the suffering in the killing of people so so so again i'm not i'm not claiming to know exactly what is being done but the you're already claimed that it was the outside government that was behind it there's no doubt in my mind and also relying on israeli sources which i

believe are more based on intelligence there's no doubt in my mind that there are tactics that are used by the assad regime which we would consider not moral and certainly they have been chemical attacks in syria and even we have to look not far back into the future and understanding that there were chemical weapons that in the agreement with the united states most of them at least were destroyed were all of them destroyed i don't know but certainly they were there and they were used in a way i don't see the point to argue this specific issue because i'm talking on a general issue of a minority in syria a dictatorship in a way clinching to the throne holding on to its regime and continuing year after year after year fighting the various segments inside the country using very brutal means to achieve this and remember again my perspective just as a neighbor because. israel i don't have any claims for syria we don't have any any

disputes at least as far as syria is no interests inside of syria besides stability well colonel we have to take a short break but to be back in just a few moments stay chant. if you are competing like the auto insurance industry why four thousand dollars a year can i be protected against all these medical emergencies that take place in my car therefore we know that the price of having medical insurance or be a thousand dollars a year about thirty thousand dollars a year they're overcharging me by twenty five thousand dollars where is that going is going to oligarchs american oligarchs. zia's says holland kentucky.

police you can go green street. a co money city it was almost no coal mines lived. jobs are gone all the coal mines that should. live to see these people the survivors of disappearing before their eyes. i remember thinking when i was younger that if anything ever happened to the coal mines here that it would become a ghost town but i never thought in a million years i would see that and it's happened it's happened to. american sanctions would be done is it but i mean is this justice is a fair is the sorrow. for jews a country like a tissue paper book and when it thinks it doesn't need it anymore it just costs the

way i think it's very immoral. welcome back to worlds apart it's been about dontcha lawman and israeli air force veteran and columnist for the jerusalem post colonel let's talk about israel's own actions namely beast massive air raid on the t. four air base near holmes is this is not the first time that israel hit targets in syria and until recently russia's reaction to dive has essentially been to look the other way do you see moscow will continue to tolerate what it clearly sees as a pretty dangerous behavior on the part of face a real interesting question because after the last attack we heard rhetoric from syrian leadership from from side to russian leadership criticizing israel for the

attack my guess is that it also had to do with the early warning and coordination about the specific attack because in general i think russia respects the fact that we are carrying out pinpoint attacks that have to do with vital interests of israel mainly preventing strategic weapons coming online that would that would hurt israel because if you notice i mean what are we doing inside of syria that we have no claims from syria we have no disputes with syria the only reason to enter syrian air space would be to take out specific targets that are threatening us so that's why i think when you say turning the blind eye maybe it's a bit more than that it's an appreciation that israel must look out for are in it while i agree with you that up until recently russia and israel have been able to keep it civil and even friendly but when israel launches a massive attack on the day when russia believes its main priority is to have heard world war three from breaking out i can just tell you that this is not very good

for fostering. you know goodwill even if you believe that israel has to do it didn't have to do it on dot particular day. i remember talking with someone with a lot of operational experience i can tell you that many times the timing of operations were such that many aspects aligned mainly the intelligence and the timing of an operation is very interesting sometimes you wait for many months and even years and then when the time is right you carry out the operation and many times in the past it happened that it's coincided with another event and then the entire world is speculating about the timing when really the timing had nothing to do with the other events in this case my guess and it's only my guess and my assessment that this attack into four was an issue of timing it was for two things i would imagine one could be unmanned systems by iran that are threatening israel second or maybe both are strategic capabilities to be transferred to his but i remember also when we talk about syria we're talking about many many years of

airplanes coming into damascus airport offloading equipment and to two for going on trucks and then these convoys going in and arming to the teeth preparing for the next round of violence to attack our villages our civilians so this is why this is a vital interest for israel to neutralize these capabilities i would even guess that we would want to do it our interest would be to never intervene never do anything that is perceived as interfering intervening in this war in syria but i think we have no choice with the the claim that the israeli leadership is making is that under no circumstances can israel out of iran to establish its military infrastructure in syria but i think that that kind of argument doesn't sit very well neither with syria nor i think to some extent russia and in response to. you know previous attacks on the syrian the military facilities one of your jabs

has already been downed i'm talking about af sixteen's it was their first military job loss to adam a fire in many decades do you have any fears that it may not. the last because syria it seems is taking a much more bullish view on what it has to do to protect its own sovereignty in you know in the form of pilots or maybe you think that i would be all worked up because of one downed f. sixteen absolutely not war is complicated during war you lose soldiers you lose tanks and occasionally use a plane it's just equipment no big deal especially in this case with the pilots bailed out safely in israeli territory remember also that our ammunition most of that is many factored in israel is such that we don't need even need to fly into syria we just take off fly over israeli territory launch the missile that flies one hundred kilometers hits its target and no plainest across the border so i think this issue of downing israeli jets has absolutely no reflection to the situation the situation is the strategic issue in the sensitivity of our cooperation or

coordination or delicate ordination with russia which is now assisting the assad regime and when we hit a target that's very important for us in iranian or syrian targets shortly it's complicated if in the same base we have russian forces in the last thing in the world we would want to do is term even one russian soldier now colonel i heard you say that israel's current security post is meant to protect your resolve not to allow the breach of israeli sovereignty and you use that word sovereignty quite a lot and you're writing you also sadat it means that we can do you whatever we want to do you take out any component we want wherever we want and i honestly cannot understand how you can put the respect for sovereignty and the entitlement to do whatever you want to do wherever you want to do it in one face what makes you believe that any country with respect to yourself or your security interests without getting the same respect from you excellent point i got to tell you when i write that i think about that myself and also i think israelis sometimes may be

over react in the shoes who have sovereignty. but it's important to understand that when we violate someone's sovereignty for instance we fly in lebanon a lot you may you may ask how can we fly over another sovereign nation isn't that disrespect to our neighbors so first i would tell you that we respect our lebanese neighbors a lot and wish them all the best of a lot of stability and peace because when you look into the entire region that our interests our interests are peace and stability when you look at iran the iran just flew a drone into israel and we shot it down a few months ago why is the run and the trading israel for what they say very clearly to what end to destroy us why do we penetrate and go and attack a target or is it to go in to kill. civilians is it go to carpet bomb someplace is it to violate someone's sovereignty just to show that we can know is to take out a specific target and it's true that in israel's history we did this many times and

we still do again as a pilot i'll just tell you i flew all over the middle east we fly wherever we need to fly and we do whatever we need to do but i also can tell you that when we do it it's pinpoint to achieve our military our strategic goals making sure that what we're doing is necessary if it's taking out the iraqi nuclear power plant in one thousand nine hundred one or the syrian one just a decade ago it's because we believe what the leaders what the leadership says if a leader says i'm going to kill you and i'm also building building a nuclear facility i must believe them and attack i think you're also slightly mr presenting these are the iranian position but to some extent what you're advocating is that is a miniature copy of don't know trompe you know somebody who is fear it's precisely because of he's supposedly rationality but he's real has a very different geography and frankly a very different set of challenges from that of the united states wouldn't it be much better for israel from

a strategic point of view to rely on its accuracy and to rely on its diplomacy rather than these big. force because i appreciate your kind she a lot but. even for the russians as you know ask card as we try to maintain good relations with israel it is not very sympathetic position that you advocate and i must tell you that i understand it's not easy sometimes it's not easy to understand israel from within so from outside of israel and getting mostly narratives it's extremely difficult you mentioned israel in the united states together i would mention israel the united states again as far as very aligned strategic interests very close collaboration but certainly we are nothing like the united states and i wouldn't compare israel to the united states not in size not in scope not in responsibility while i was more and more hinting at the demeanor at the poster that you take it is very arrogant it is very dismissive of other countries and he this very similar to some extent to the american position interesting interesting point

and don't forget in israel is a vibrant democracy so i will speak to you here and according to my political views i may support or object to israeli government's policies specifically i support these discoveries policy when it comes to attacking t four and iranian assets because i think there's no choice maybe other things i criticize the government as far as maybe acting a bit aggressive on the diplomatic front it could be it could be by the way that we live now in an era where donald trump is proving to the world that this works i'm personally object to this kind of way i believe a lot in diplomacy even though i wore military uniform for most of my life i believe we all in this also israelis must appreciate much more the importance of diplomacy but also you know we just we just had the holocaust memorial day yesterday here in israel next week we have our independence day there are lessons in our soul and one of these lessons is you know that with all due respect at the

end of the day sometimes we have to go in need and do what needs to be done because the if there's an imminent threat and some. maybe using that fact to annihilate us and they're even looking at the camera and saying we will wipe israel off the face of the earth i think maybe at that time we need to act and diplomacy has to be put aside at that moment while colonel if this is not deficient position of iran i just have to mention it here but hey you mentioned donald trump and i mentioned him before and the current israeli leadership has done has gone to great lengths to in grass shape itself with the trump administration they use flattery they use enticement what have you and don't know trying for it to some extent reciprocated he sas things that israeli political elite wants to hear but he does not always follow up on them do you see any potential danger in israel associating itself with the tromp administration to such an extent i think many israelis make

a interesting mistake and that is every time a new u.s. administration comes along we relate to it is this that is the united states of america forever and ever and then every word the president says every letter he writes we take a stream of the seriously and i think this is a mistake the us administration comes to us and instruction goes bottom line israel american relations have been extremely well from the declaration of independence of israel especially in the last thirty years we have wonderful strategic collaboration whatever administration if it's obama or trump believe it or not always the collaboration becomes better and better. now there on the table like moving the embassy to jerusalem issues like that where it's again it depends on your personal opinion half of the israelis will tell you it's smart half of the israelis will tell you it's a big mistake it depends on your personal view again we're a vibrant democracy we can't agree are they on everything i think it's a mistake in taking every issue like that now and think yes the americans are with us because donald trump tweeted it be very careful and also be very careful in

predicting what america will do according to a specific tweet i think we have to wait to see. we have to be very calculated and strategic well my my my last question to you would be exactly about what america may or may not do it's been reported in haaretz the other day that in the in the days leading up to the chemical attack suppose that chemical attack in duma prime minister netanyahu spent a lot of time on the phone with donald trump trying to dissuade him from withdrawing the american troops from syria and reportedly to no avail do you think trump is going to go at had to withdraw all plans now simple answer no and again donald trump tweet something and then we think ok i was probably going to carry out this well thought out strategy i don't think that's the case i think he said something he tweeted and then his advisors were surprised confronted him with their own opinion but i think now there's a debate within the us administration personally i believe that the united states of america has global responsibility has regional responsibility and they must they

must not for israel certainly not for israel i don't think this discussion between the time you know and trump is only about israeli interest i think they have regional interests. dismantling this evil entity which is isis is an extremely important mission and i hope the united states doesn't just unilaterally now pull out of this effort and leave the playground for the other actors because the united states has important responsibilities well colonel let's leave it there i really appreciate you appearing on our show thank you very much for that i also encourage our viewers to keep their letters anything going on our social media pages as i mean i'll see you again same place same time here on worlds apart.

franking gave americans a lot of new job opportunities i needed to come up here to make some money i could make twenty five thousand dollars as a teacher or i could make fifty thousand dollars a year truck so i chose to drive truck people rushed to a small town in north dakota was an unemployment rate of zero percent like gold rush is very very similar to a gold rush but this beautiful story ended with pollution and devastation a lot of people have left here i don't know too many people here anymore slow down so much they lost their jobs got laid off and the american dream is changing that's not what it used to be. and it's a tough reality to deal with. what

politicians do. they put themselves on the line to get accepted or rejected. so when you want to be president. or somehow want to listen. to going to be for us it's like them before three in the morning can't be good. i'm interested always in the waters and. this should.

the u.s. the u.k. and france carry out strikes against the syrian government in response to an alleged chemical attack in eastern good at the intervention game just hours before international inspections were due to arrive to investigate the claims. united nations security council holds an urgent meeting on the attack and rejects a russian draft resolution calling for an end to aggression against syria. his prime minister of praises the joint military operation against assad's government has limited targeted and effective. and in other news russia's foreign minister claims the international chemical weapons watched.