that you can select. and talk is now when. it seems like america has already decided what the key issue in the upcoming vote will be and it's not going to be perceived russian influence as some outlets would like you to believe it's going to be the donald but keep in mind he won't actually be anywhere on the ballot these are mid-term congressional elections but regardless the way american politics is developing it seems like the upcoming vote in november will be a referendum on one man he will mop and archie new york echoing that idea we talked to a former adviser to retired congressman ron paul who told us he thinks the current crop of candidates have run out of ideas this election like most but this one especially this midterm elections upcoming in the united states is not going to be about ideas it's up particularly going to be about policy there's a very intellectual mood in the country right now there's really three parties in the united states right now there's the trunk party there's the. trump or non trump

republicans which is sort of the remnants of the old george w. bush reagan era party and then there's the democrats democrats have lots of problems and divisions among them but they're all united in their hatred and that's not so much an intellectual exercise as it is a referendum on him and this device of the atmosphere we have in america. a palestinian child has reportedly died after being shot by israeli soldiers in the border fence and gaza during the latest round of demonstrations there because this health ministry says that one other person was killed and over two hundred more wounded during friday's rallies the strips residents have now been protesting for over four months calling for the right of return to israel for palestinian refugees displaced in one thousand nine hundred eight and one nine hundred sixty seven including reports. on. their. right.

oh ok i'm standing here one hundred meters away from the fence that separates gaza strip with israel and as you see thousands of holliston protesters continue to participate in the great march of return for more than nineteen weeks as you see the palestinian protesters have been burning tires to blur the vision of the israeli snipers. and we just heard a live ammunition that was targeted the protesters ok that was very loud and very close for us this is the person who was targeted by the live ammunition we heard just right now. the crew. caught. up. with. the crew. thousands of palestinian protesters are suffocating from that you guys

fired by the israeli forces out of. i don't i mean it was shot and the legs just see what it's like what meets your eye way. will fire from us. that is going to hurt me how the billboards are going to. this but everything's despite the tear gusts of jeeps that fired tear gas despite the tear gas stoves that's hard to grasp and despite the snipers that shoot plaza munitions on the palestinian protesters journalists and part of the x. the palestinians continue to protest along the front and side different locations in the gaza strip the i.d.f. says its actions were in line with standard procedures and that the measures it took were prompted by the presence of more than eight thousand violent rioters. friday's rally was the nineteenth in gaza since the end of march during that time

israel has killed one hundred and sixty six palestinians and wanted more than seventeen thousand including over four thousand with live ammunition political scientist professor saeed near says the i.d.f. use of force is wholly disproportionate. as a matter of fact the israeli are using the life i mention or over the place not only in gaza whenever it's comes to the palestinians a confrontation usually they use the life i mentioned most of the times sometimes they use their bullets but mainly in gaza so organized by a lot of busting in factions all of protestant and factions and it is sort of presenting the palestinian whether to go to the borders and to to clean their right of return back to their homes which was a land which was taken from them in one thousand forty eight and then on the other hand there's a bit of feelings have nothing what do you mean by guides israeli have if sixteen and thirty five and they have tanks they have i'll give you have everything i'm

going to do have kites this is absolutely unmatch or back after the short break. but politicians do you should. they put themselves on the line if they get accepted or rejected. so you want to crush injuries. or something want to be rich. but you'd like to be close it's like the full story of the whole the people. on the interstate always in the waters of. the ship in the same. anyone else chose seemed wrong. why don't we all just don't all.

get to shape out just be active. and engaged with equals betrayal. when so many find themselves worlds apart we choose to look for common ground. or come back to the program after nearly seventeen years and billions of dollars the united states' battle against the afghan opium trade has yielded more bleak results your style of spin taking a closer look. this is what an opium poppy looks like just ahead two of these is

enough to produce enough heroin to keep an addict on the needle for more than five years now that i have your attention in afghanistan in the past year alone poppy cultivation levels swelled by over sixty percent to hit a record of more than three hundred thousand hectares with a farm gate value of almost one point four billion dollars this is the main revenue stream for the taliban's war against the us forces in the country and one recent study says the u.s. is putting this money into its enemies pockets itself in some areas development programs inadvertently supported poppy production one example of this was the rehabilitation and development of variegation systems when the u.s. invested in afghanistan's agriculture and irrigation they hoped farmers would swap from growing poppies for more conventional crops and in some cases it worked their whole lot we thought that maybe they thought i would you are so good at it without

thought up that gap on a. broad lot of good faith held up. well there are no particular good effect you know that they don't tell us how to feel about god the fairy again there is a plan or a thought is a product out there a good narrative you use your idea how to normal have by him i thought afghanistan but you can see the deeper you go when you are shot and on the afghani question but while some learned about growing grapes others took the chance to boost their poppy harvest u.s. aid spend more than two billion dollars on culture since two thousand and two including tens of millions funneled into the taliban's heroin business. and if these. surprise you they shouldn't after all it's just a small chunk in the billions of american tax dollars frittered away waste which

washington itself admits to and say dear are has identified up to fifteen point five billion in waste fraud abuse and failed reconstruction effort since its inception in two thousand and eight through december thirty first twenty seventeen when you look at an occupation that is spending hundreds of billions of dollars year after year and you look at a couple billion dollars misspent on drug eradication and you can't really call that every effort you know ninety nine percent of the effort is going into the use of bombs and guns i would love for the united states to launch a war on global peace sustainability happiness and joy maybe we would get more of those things certainly yet in the opposite of the stated intention is the norm not an exception here the u.s.

is waging many alternative wars the war on terrorism the war on drugs but in afghanistan they appear to be shooting themselves in the foot in both cases. russia's foreign ministry says the recent evacuation of the white helmet from syria shows the rescue groups have been quote foreign agents working on anti syrian interests for huge amounts of money israel helped them to flee to request from countries last month over fears they could face persecution as the syrian government recaptures territory in the southwest of the country the group has been receiving funds from the u.s. and its nato allies but critics point to multiple controversies surrounding the white helmets among other instances its rescuers have been seen at executions and even waving terrorist flags with extremists some syrian civilians have also offered damning testimony against them.

debbie at all you saw with no they would bring cameras and explosives something to destroy for example this building here that find people in the streets and promised the money or food just say whatever they needed. to syrian first responders who risked their lives to say about theirs in war torn aleppo the face of on relenting brutality heroes have emerged. cops to tumble and whenever food aid was brought into the white helmets and the rebels would take it all for themselves to give us nothing not even bread. they have a whole chose to risk their lives to save others. when

you see that little beach when we go out to buy food we'd see them if there was a collapsed building off tourist shelling they cordoned off the area and save rebel fighters people they cared about they would leave the civilians the same happened not far from here a building was destroyed in shelling and they came just to pull their own out as usual they lift civilians. we've been able to get these brave people and their families out of syria after the extraordinary work they've done saving lives the white helmets the nice people they held the rebels only did in save civilians the locals out for rebels. so plenty of accusations afshin rattansi put them direct to the head of the group an artist going underground. tell me about. the can each the boy whose photos

were awards he was covered in dust and the white helmets of the bordley saved his life. the truth is as you know i'm running definitions home was bombed and he was extracted by our teams from under the rubble we did not photograph in the source of the photograph that was published was not of the white helmets but a journalistic reporter we saved him and his brother who stayed in hospital for several months until he recovered we were surprised at the way he was used and exploited by the russian government to speak in the media. on that me she's father been given the safety and been taken to a safe place he would have spoken differently than he did under the threats of the syrian regime he knows well that we saved his son and his brother who stayed in hospital for several months until his full recovery because mother. told us actually the photograph was used to exploit him with regard to the way helmets they

primarily work with the press it's a professional tool they are using we had a pulitzer prize winning journalist seymour hersh on the program telling us the way the hell that's your propaganda organization in truth a man's father is obliged to speak in that way and he's not in total safety under the regime that has announced the assassination of eleven thousand convicts in the prisons over the last few weeks alone he is obliged to speak that way and i understand his position however we know that we have fulfilled our duty when we rescued his two sons from under the rubble after they were bombed by the syrian regime this is our duty and we do not expect thanks from anybody for fulfilling our duty towards our own people in syria as for the other journalists i don't know who they are the journalist that you are referring to those who have come up with such talk unless they are part of those journalists that create propaganda against the white helmets which have become known by the name we do not feel the need to respond to them because they are aware of the fact that they are lying and we know that they are lying. the full interview will be aired throughout saturday here on

our t.v. and can be found on our website and you tube channel. and that's news update for this hour but don't forget you can always catch up on all the latest at our website r.t. dot com thanks for tuning in this hour. and after a tense and we're going on the ground as scotland hosts its annual military parade above the ship with austerity funded bank of b.s. in the shadow of millions killed injured or displaced up the u.k. interventions in iraq afghanistan libya and syria coming over the show terrorists

or humanitarian volunteer of real video or fake propaganda or truth as assad's forces secure victory in the south of syria we speak to the boss of the white helmets. about allegations of links to isis and al qaeda in a going underground exclusive all the civil war coming up in today's going underground but first today is the one year anniversary of the landmark has built a peace deal in syria and is now syria's victorious but charlotte said aided by the international community wins his war against isis and al-qaeda linked groups who exactly with the british funded white helmets and we recognize the very important and valuable work that the white helmet so doing they always he says doing this in a difficult conditions they are incredibly brave the white helmets one near unanimous praise from britain's arguable still group of a power media during british support for militants trying to overthrow the syrian government is the u.k.'s channel four news explaining the context of why. legacy

set up for murdered labor m.p. joe cox funds the white helmet white helmets joe cox wanted them to get the nobel peace prize to save one life is to save humanity that is their motto but that's not the way some see it mr clyde. members and that's proven on the on the new theme members of killing. old excuse or celebrating although did bodies of the humanitarian heroes arguable the enemy of donald trump and president assad hollywood though doesn't see it that way at all thank you to the white house. sadly right the head of the white homeless is not able to join us tonight the white helmet being celebrated there at the oscars and while the head of the group couldn't make it to receive the other wardrobe has been able to make it to talk to going underground the head of the group that has been nominated for the nobel peace prize for its work in a conflict that has killed wounded or displaced millions joins me now via skype

from istanbul in turkey. welcome to going underground so how many lives have the white helmet saved. since the establishment of the white helmets in syria at the beginning of twenty thirteen and until now we have saved more than one hundred fifty thousand people from under the rubble during the aerial bombings by the syrian regime in russia. and who from foreign governments have supported you know. like all of the humanitarian organizations that are working in syria like that arab syrian red crescent all the other humanitarian organizations like the agency that are affiliated to the united nations that receive international funding from all countries we don't have any exclusions in terms of funding we accept funding from america great britain holland denmark canada france and other countries by japan and qatar and we also receive very large public financial donations. from the arab people and people from different countries that

is through the donation campaigns that we launch through our websites or social media the british prime minister talks proudly of british funding for the white helmets britain give more than the united states. yes britain is one of the largest supporters of the white helmets and that can't be hidden from anybody the british government announces publicly in the financial amounts that it offers to the white helmet and we also have a true partnership with the british government at the service of humanity in syria and i want to get into the humanitarian issues in a second but did you feel a bit abandoned by a gold trump who appeared to try to stop funding by the u.s. government for the way home it's. new and i think there's been some vagueness on this issue is there was general funding which included funding for the white helmets and after that came to a stop it was restarted again on the funding for the white helmets began again in a normal way there is currently no reservations or reticence on the amounts that

are donated to the white helmets on the contrary the budgets that are offered by the united states of america have in fact increased in order to sponsor the search and rescue operations that's we do in syria the bombings and raids are done by russia and the syrian regime and so are the white helmet still are in syria because there are reports that white helmets are being evacuated to other countries. those that have been evacuated are ninety eight volunteers and their families escaping the revenge operations that they were subject to by the syrian regime and the militias that are affiliated to it that's word advancing towards the syrian golan heights however we can you still have around three thousand seven hundred volunteers who are working in the areas that we are able to access and are providing essential services to the communities that they work with where did the ninety six go. currently they are still in jordan right so the money in britain or israel or france is. been reported they are still in jordan ok i don't know were

what you thought of this with the british broadcasting corporation's panorama program british aid is going to terrorists they made their program call in jihad these the jihad is you pay for what do you make of allegations that aid money from britain is actually going to terrorists the program that was presented by panorama was not in relation to the funding that was received by the white helmets there has been some reservations about some of the funding that went to certain organizations however the truth was later revealed as this was merely propaganda and a promotional action by the media that was aimed at distorting and ruining the reputation of civil syrian activists eventually the work of these organizations was restarted and continued once their innocence was proven through an investigation that took place in britain with the sponsoring parties so you've never worked with the free syrian police and all white helmet volunteers are always other throughout the

throughout the conflict. no no i have never said those words what i said was that the b.b.c. report was concerning other organizations i've not said that we do not work with the syrian free police we do work with the free police and with all the civil organizations that work in the areas that we are able to access what i said is that the program was talking about other organizations and not the white helmets organization in syria since you have been involved in the white helmets have you ever seen any evidence of infiltration in the way of helmets by islamist groups national and system when we established the organization there were rules and regulations in relation to the international humanitarian norm and the management of the search and rescue operations teams based on which this organization was built that it began to expand and prosper and became an international humanitarian entity working for the service of the syrian people and to save them from under the rubble after the air. shelling done by the soon regime

and in russia we have not seen any case of infiltration having said that there has been on some occasions certain areas that we have had to evacuate in the sudden and quick manner and therefore we left behind some clothing or equipment to have been used by some groups to distort the reputation of the civil defense the photographs and fabrications that have come out as a result are not necessarily truthful or generated by the syrian civil defense the white elements in fact in regards to all the issues that have surfaced if they were ever related to that organization we produce an official statement and we announce our stand regarding the mistakes that's might take place. so are other organizations responsible for the alleged fake videos and photos a large. i believe that the main motive for the forgery and misuse of the photographs comes from groups that are active in social media and that are affiliated to russia and the syrian regime they are constantly working on ruining our reputation in order to refute the facts regarding what we offer to the united

nations' community concerning the violations that have been committed by the syrian regime against the civilians which includes the use of chemical weapons as well as the violations that have been committed by the russian army during their operations in syria tell me about. the boy whose photos were awards he was covered in dust and the white helmets bordley saved his life. the truth is as you know i'm running definitely she's home was bombed and he was extracted by our teams from under the rubble and we did not photograph in the source of the photograph that was published was not to the white helmets but a journalistic reporter we saved him and his brother who stayed in hospital for several months until he recovered we were surprised at the way he was used and exploited by the russian government to speak in the media and i'm reminded me she's father been given the safety and been taken to a safe place he would have spoken differently than he did under the threats of the syrian regime he knows well that's we saved his son and his brother who stayed in

hospital for several months until his full recovery because mohamed. told r.t. the photograph was used to exploit him with regard to the white helmets they primarily work with the press is a professional tool they are using we had a pulitzer prize winning journalist seymour hersh on the program telling us the way the helmets were a propaganda organization in truth a man's father is obliged to speak in that way and he's not in total safety under the regime that has announced the assassination of eleven thousand convicts in the prisons over the last few weeks alone is obliged to speak that way and i on the. down his position however we know that we have fulfilled our duty when we rescued his two sons from under the rubble after they were bombed by the syrian regime this is our duty and we do not expect thanks from anybody for fulfilling our duty towards our own people in syria as for the other journalists i don't know who they are the journalist that you are referring to those who have come up with such talk unless they are part of those journalists that create propaganda against the white

helmets which have become known by the name we do not feel the need to respond to them because they are aware of the fact that they are lying and we know that they are lines were in any way helmets also evacuated to a glib this year as part of the evacuation plan to northern syria you know yes the evacuation of some of them yes the volunteers have been evacuated with their families to the city of italy what was it like for them traveling in the russian buses i understand with isis and al qaeda linked groups four million they want transported in russian buses the buses were sponsored by the evacuation process was sponsored by the red presence and there was a deal between the opposition parties and russia however when they were moved to italy they did so on the names that were different from their real names and they didn't explain that they were volunteers with the white helmets by fear of the revenge that they could have been subjected to they were afraid and worried we were in direct communication with them throughout their journey and they were afraid

during their journey until they reached a safe place which was the point where they were received the syrian government says it's just waiting. linked groups and al qaeda linked groups british government in a freedom of information request said that you document war crimes for the british government is that would you send the british government gotten out of the city in truth the syrian war is a global issue it's no longer the issue of the syrian regime alone we know that the party that negotiates in syria in support of the syrian regime is russia and the parties that negotiate in other areas are other countries this issue is no longer syrian in syria the issue is also an end. a national one and it now needs an international trial and an international court in order to hold accountable those who have committed violations in syria from all sides as everybody knows this the regime has used chemical weapons in syria on the fourth of april twenty seventh seen. as that is according to the report that was produced by the joint investigation committee wherein constituted by the decision of the security council

that stated in its report dated on the twenty eighth of october twenty seventh seen that the syrian regime has used sarin gas in a home and resulted in ninety one dead and five hundred thirty nine wounded because of this we are in need of an international trial for the judgment of those who have committed violations in syria in order to reach peace and stability in syria yes the o.p.c. w. hasn't said whether it was the way of elmers the syrian government the russians the british who used the chemical weapons and i didn't say that the o.p.c. w is the one that made the statement i said the joint investigation committee which is constituted by the decision of the security council in twenty fifteen is the one that produced a report on the twenty eighth of october twenty seventh and said that the syrian regime is the party that stands behind the attacks that took place on the fourth of april twenty seventh scene you can refer to the report it's available on the security council website and it was published on the twenty eighth of october twenty seventh seen ok just finally about documenting war crimes the journalist

vanessa believes the daughter of a former senior british diplomat who are attention to the beheading of a twelve year old abilities neural didn't sinking in july twenty sixth abducted near a white helmet base in ireland sorry why is there no white helmet documentation of the killing of this boy. first of all vanessa bts not a journalist that makes reliable reports because she knows that she is not truthful and she does not work in an unbiased way when russia stop the o.p.c. double teams from going to do much to check the place for the use of chlorine gases in the last few bomb. vanessa beatty was present self the russians allowed her to access that particular place when they did not allow the international teams to do the same for this reason we cannot confirm any news that have come from vanessa. we did not know about that place we did not know about that issue we only heard about it through social media and we deny the story we did not see that event to publish or announce it we have denied the incident and it does not abide by the

international humanitarian content rules and regulations do and certainly for news aren't. thank you thank you very much. coming up in part two of going underground we speak to a journalist who has been on the ground in syria but this is really a long time critic of the white helmets noticeable coming up about to a going underground. what politicians do you should. put themselves on the line to get accepted or rejected. so when you want to be president. some want to be. too great to be with a white woman.